כי תשמע בקול ה׳ אלקיך לשמור את כל…

1“When you hearken to the voice of Havayah your G‑d, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of Havayah your G‑d.”

Now, it is written, “The eye of Havayah is toward those who fear Him,” and it is written, “The eyes of Havayah are toward the righteous.” The matter will be understood [as follows]: the Torah is called “the inner keys,” and awe is called “the outer keys.”

2And [the Sages] said: Whoever has Torah but has no fear of Heaven is like a treasurer into whose hands they gave the inner keys, but the outer keys they did not give into his hands, etc.

The explanation of this matter: it is known, concerning the mitzvos, that “the 248 commandments are the 248 limbs of the King.” For just as the limbs draw the life-force of the soul,

so the mitzvos draw down the life of the World to Come for the righteous, who “sit and enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah.” For their enjoyment and delight in G‑d, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, who has no end, etc.,

and to whom, may He be blessed, there is no comparison at all, this is nothing but a mere radiance and illumination, so that there be a revelation of comprehension in the souls, which are on the level of a created being, brought into being anew, something from nothing.

And what brings about this drawing-down is the mitzvos: they draw this radiance down in Gan Eden, and this radiance is the radiance of the mitzvos themselves, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah” (as the matter is explained in Sefer Shel Beinonim [Tanya], chapter 39).

Of this it is said, “And He placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to keep it”: “to work it,” through the positive commandments, etc.; for through the positive commandments one works Gan Eden, drawing the radiance down into it.

Now, since “one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than the whole life of the World to Come,” therefore, all the more so and a fortiori,

one must draw the flow of the radiance into the service of Him, may He be blessed, in this world. And all the more so since “this world is like a corridor before the World to Come,” which is like a banquet hall, and “prepare yourself in the corridor,” etc.

Only, in this world it is not at the level of enjoying comprehension and wondrous delight, as in the World to Come, for “there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world”; it is only at the level of “by his faith he shall live,” “shall live” literally, as is explained elsewhere (on the verse “And you shall know this day,” etc.).

Now, in the World to Come, which is the dwelling place of souls without bodies, the radiance from the mitzvos is revealed in an open manner. But in this world, where the soul is clothed in a body, one must “set counsels in his soul” so that this drawing-down be revealed in the soul.

That is, through contemplating how He, may He be blessed, fills all worlds (memalei kol almin): “You made the heavens and the heavens of the heavens,” etc.;

“Who forms ministering [angels], and whose ministers all stand in awe and proclaim aloud,” etc.; “and the Ofanim and the holy Chayos, with a great noise,” etc.

3From this, dread and awe will fall upon the person as well. This is the level of the outer keys, for this awe is taken from the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), which is the level of a mere radiance and illumination, for the coming into being of the worlds and all the host on high within them; and through it the quality of awe is drawn down, as it is written,

“When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,” etc.; “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?” etc.; “Blessed is He who spoke, and the world came into being”: that is, “Blessed” is derived from “who spoke, and the world came into being,” for this is nothing

but a radiance, etc. And see what is written above on the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk.” But the main thing is the inner keys: the level of a key, to open up and reveal the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus).

That is, the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is not within the bounds of worlds at all, as it is written, “You are Havayah, alone”: truly alone,

just as before the world was created, when He, may He be blessed, was alone; and “I, Havayah, have not changed,” etc. And this is because “all before Him is considered as nothing,” and as truly naught.

For it is written, “For with Yah, Havayah is the Rock of the worlds”: with the yud the World to Come was created, and with the hei this world was created. These are

like the letters yud and hei in a person’s thought, which are nullified relative to his thought and intellect as a whole, and all the more so relative to his being and essence. So, and even more so, are all the levels of this world and the World to Come nullified relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in His very Self and Glory, and they are not reckoned under the name “worlds” at all,

for they are as truly naught and nothing, and as if they had never been. Only, to soothe the ear by way of a physical analogy, it is found in the writings of the Arizal, of blessed memory, that it is like a single drop in the ocean, etc. Therefore, now too, He is alone, may He be blessed.

4And it is He whom we ask to be revealed in the soul, as it is written, “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d.” The meaning: “ve’ahavta” (and you shall love) is from the word “avah,” which denotes desire and will: that it be the soul’s will that Havayah your G‑d be revealed, present before [you].

As is written in the Zohar on the verse “That they take for Me an offering”: that “for Me” (li) means “Me” (osi), etc. That is, that there be a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, upon one’s soul, so that there be self-nullification (bittul) of the soul toward Him, may He be blessed, “with all your heart,” etc.

(And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “And I will betroth you to Me.”) And this is through the Torah: “And these words, which I command you today, shall be”: “I” (Anochi) literally, and not the level of a name alone, which is the level of radiance and illumination,

but His Essence and Being, as it were, is revealed through the Torah. For the Torah is called “voice”: “The voice is the voice of Jacob.” Just as the voice draws from the heart to speech, and it is what joins spirituality with physicality,

so the Torah is the drawing-down of the revelation of the inner level, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, to be clothed in the physicality of the Torah and of its mitzvos written in it.

5Therefore it is called “reading (korei) in the Torah,” like a person who calls (korei) his friend to come to him; for the whole Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He.

That is: just as through a person’s name one calls his essence and being, so through the Torah one calls and draws down the essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He,

for it is His Name, may He be blessed, being His wisdom and will, may He be blessed, which is not understood or grasped by human intellect; for according to

human intellect, reason would not have dictated [that it be] as is written in the Torah; rather, so it arose in His will, may He be blessed, and so His wisdom, may He be blessed, required, which is above the intellect and comprehension of created beings.

6Therefore it is called the level of “His Name,” for with it and through it “they call Him,” to draw down the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself. “You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing [with] will”: that there is drawn the Will

of the Most High to every living thing; and “His mercies are upon all His works,” “slow to anger and great in kindness,” to be “near to all who call upon Him, to all who call Him”: precisely “Him,” Himself, and not the level of a name, etc.

72. And this is [the meaning of] “When you hearken to the voice (bekol) of Havayah your G‑d”: for it is written “bekol” [in the voice] and not “lekol” [to the voice], as it is written, “And He said: If you will diligently hearken to the voice (lekol) of Havayah your G‑d,” etc.

“Voice” is a drawing-forth from concealment into revelation; and “lekol” means hearing and understanding [directed] to this drawing-forth, that is, to the drawing-forth itself, which is the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus).

But “bekol” means in the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the voice: “when you hearken,” that the hearing be at the level of the inner dimension of the drawing-forth, that which is drawn forth from the concealment,

that is, the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He: that this revelation be drawn upon one’s soul, so that it be in a state of self-nullification (bittul). And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said in [Midrash] Rabbah at the beginning of Parshas

Ki Savo, on the verse “Fortunate is the man who listens to Me”: fortunate is the man at the time when his hearings are for Me, etc. (And see in the Zohar, Beha’aloscha)

(folio 152a): “The soul of which we spoke: this is Tiferes Yisrael, which is the Torah itself.” And it is known that Tiferes is called “voice”: “The voice is the voice of Jacob,” etc.

If so, what is clothed in the inner dimension of the voice is what is written there in the Zohar: “And the soul of the soul: this is Atika Kadisha,” etc. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Set me as a seal,”

that there is Torah and there is Torah, etc., [and that it] is called “reading in the Torah,” etc.; see there. And this is the matter of what was written [above], “Therefore it is called ‘reading in the Torah,’” etc. And this is “When you hearken to the voice (bekol),” etc.

But it must be in the order of the levels: first the outer keys, and afterwards the inner keys. For there is an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard, as it is written in the Megillah of Esther, “And she stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s house,” and “Haman had come into the outer courtyard of the king’s house.”

The outer courtyard is the level of Pesukei deZimrah (the Verses of Praise), which speak in praise of the greatness of the Former of all, and of His extending over all creatures, and of His having done the wonders and these great deeds: “Praise Havayah from the heavens,” etc.;

“You made the heavens,” etc.; and so too the Song over the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, the revelation of the wondrous miracle in this world.

8And the inner courtyard is the recital of the Shema and its blessings. And “the king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house”: this is the level of the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh, which is the level of self-nullification (bittul), etc.

And from there, “the king extended the golden scepter”: this is the level and the quality of gold, namely, “the flashes of fire” of love, etc.,

which he extended and drew from the level of “house” to the level of “inner courtyard”; that is, that this love be revealed also in the Shema, in the fulfillment of “And you shall love,” etc.

And this is “Fortunate is the one You choose and bring near; he shall dwell in Your courtyards”: two courtyards, the outer courtyard and the inner courtyard; and afterwards, “we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house”: the level of “house,” in the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh, which is the level of self-nullification, etc.

(See in the Zohar, Chayei Sarah, folio 129b, on the matter of “he shall dwell in Your courtyards”; and see what is written on the verse “And I will betroth you to Me,” etc., in the haftarah of Parshas Bamidbar.

Also on the verse “And Moshe assembled,” on the matter of the gate of the inner courtyard, etc.; and on the verse “And the king extended to Esther,” etc.; and on the matter of the Shemoneh Esreh being called “house,” on the verse “The heavens are My throne,” etc., “what house,” etc.)

Now, drawing down this self-nullification, so that it be fixed and established in the heart and soul all day, and the distracting thoughts of the times not interrupt it or disturb it, etc.,

is through the Torah, as it is said, “And you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk,” etc. And this is “to all who call Him in truth,” and “there is no truth

but Torah,” etc.; for specifically “the lip of truth shall be established forever.” For the love that is revealed in prayer, since it is in time, therefore passes and goes away after the prayer.

But the Torah is above time: “which I command you”: “I” (Anochi) literally, which is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin);

and therefore “today” is said of it, for wherever “today” is said, it means forever and to all eternity, without cessation or interruption.

93. However, the foundation of the Torah is founded on the positive commandments and the negative commandments written in it.

Therefore the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, does not rest and become revealed through the Torah, so as to be fixed in the heart and soul, except through fulfilling the positive commandments and the negative commandments, and “you shall eradicate the evil,” etc.

For “evil shall not dwell with You,” and [You are] “of eyes too pure to look upon evil.” It is like the analogy of a house into which one wishes to bring the king: it needs sweeping and washing, so that it be clean of anything soiled, and no unsightliness or refuse be found in it. So,

in order that the heart be a dwelling and an abode for the indwelling of the revelation of the Infinite Light within it and in its inner depths, one must purify the heart of all evil: both by turning away from outright evil, in what is forbidden, etc., and by subduing bad traits in the soul,

such as anger, etc.; and “you shall not stray after your heart and after your eyes, after which you go astray (zonim),” etc. Scripture calls them by the term “zonim,” like an unfaithful woman (zonah), who is forbidden to her husband “after she has been defiled,” etc.

10Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever says, ‘I have only Torah,’ does not have even Torah.” For the Torah at this level, when it is not in purity of heart, is called the level of “a gate to the courtyard,” which is below the level of awe, etc.

And this is “to keep (es) all His commandments”: “es” means “with” (as in “He who walks with (es) the wise will become wise,” meaning with the wise);

that is, together with the mitzvos there is to be the aspect of safekeeping for the drawing-down of “which I command you today,” which is drawn through the Torah, so that it have safekeeping and permanence in the heart, “never to be moved, forever and ever.”

For in the mitzvos there are two aspects: [one,] that the mitzvos are the 248 limbs, which draw the life-force of the soul; and the second,

that they are vessels for the light that takes hold and burns there. For without the oil and the wick the light does not shine at all; and likewise, without the lamp the oil would spill and not be drawn after the wick, and the light would depart.

So the mitzvah is the level of a lamp for the light of the Torah: the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is drawn down and revealed in the Torah has no true permanence except through the mitzvos, which are the level of safekeeping and permanence

for the light of the Torah, so that it be kept and endure through them, by fulfilling the mitzvos in actual deed. Of this it is said, “And the deed of charity shall be peace”: specifically “the deed,” for charity is the general and collective expression (klalus) of the mitzvos.

11Therefore it is called simply by the name “mitzvah,” as it is written in Nehemiah, “And we laid upon ourselves commandments, to give a third of a shekel,” etc. For

just as charity is the bestowing and drawing-down of life-force, “to revive the spirit of the lowly,” so is the fulfillment of all the mitzvos; they are all called by the name of charity. And it is written, “Through charity you shall be established (tikonani).”

The meaning of “tikonani” is that through charity you will become an abode (machon) and a dwelling for the indwelling of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which has no permanence or footing to stand firmly in its place except through charity, which is the level of the general and collective expression of the mitzvos; for it is they that keep the light and make it endure.

12Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever says, ‘I have only Torah,’” etc.; its plain meaning is that one must occupy oneself with Torah and with acts of kindness, and not with Torah alone.

The point is that Torah alone is light without a vessel, and it has no permanence except through acts of kindness, the general and collective expression of the mitzvos.

(And see what is written on the verse “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments,” that there too the keeping is through the mitzvos, that is, that through the vessels the light is kept and endures, etc.

However, above, on the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk,” it was explained that the safekeeping of the “lamp of mitzvah” is through the Torah. Accordingly, one could have explained the verse here according to its plain sense:

“When you hearken to the voice,” which is the level of Torah, so that through this it will be drawn “to keep all His commandments,” for the Torah is the safekeeping of the lamp of mitzvah, etc. And there are seventy facets to the Torah. Also, the “keeping” mentioned here means that the light not withdraw to its source,

and this is specifically through the vessels, as was explained in the explanation on the verse “And the Jews accepted,” on the meaning of “we will do and we will hear,” etc.; see there; and on the verse “And the earth is My footstool,” etc. While above, the keeping meant [keeping] from the level of “a sin extinguishes a mitzvah,” that is, from the external forces’ drawing nourishment from the inner light (or pnimi) and the vessel.

And this keeping is specifically through encompassing lights (orot makifim), etc. And see what is written in Parshas Vaeschanan on the verse “And this is the commandment,” etc., “to keep all His statutes,” etc., “and you shall keep,” etc.: two keepings. And see what is written on the verse “You shall keep, to offer,” etc., “‘Keep’: this is Mishnah,” etc.)

With this will be understood what is written, “But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am Havayah who does kindness, justice and charity on the earth.”

At first glance this is not understood: “understands and knows Me” means having the knowledge of G‑d; so why does it conclude, “that I am Havayah who does kindness,” etc.?

But with what was said above it will be understood: “understands and knows Me” means “Me” literally, which is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, His essence and being, as it were, which is revealed in the Torah. And see [Midrash] Rabbah, Naso, at the beginning of [chapter] ten.

But this has no true permanence except through doing kindness, justice and charity, which are the level of vessels. And the reason why specifically they are the level of vessels, the verse explains:

“for in these I delight”; that is, so it arose in His will, may He be blessed, that specifically the mitzvos be the level of vessels for the revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He. “Which I command you today”: at the level of “today, to do them” there is the revelation of “I” (Anochi) itself, that is, His being and essence, as it were

(and see [Midrash] Rabbah at the end of Koheles, on “And moreover, because Koheles was wise,” and in Parshas Noach, at the end of chapter 35; Mishpatim, chapter 30; Zohar, Part II, end of 122a, and 158b; Part III, 110a and 256b), whereas the World to Come is the revelation of a mere radiance and illumination.

With this will be understood what is written, “Who shall ascend the mountain of Havayah, and who shall stand in His holy place? One of clean hands,” etc.: that not every person merits the World to Come

except through the sufferings of Gehinnom and the River of Fire (Nehar Dinur), etc., as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, gave three good gifts to Israel, and all of them were given only through suffering: the World to Come, Torah, and the Land of Israel.”

13And the sufferings of the World to Come are many times over the sufferings of this world, to the point that there is no comparison, etc. At first glance this is not understood, for [the Sages] said,

“One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than the whole life of the World to Come.” Why, then, can one in this world be in teshuvah and good deeds with no need of sufferings, [while] so much [suffering is needed] for the life of the World to Come?

But the explanation is this: the World to Come is the revelation of the radiance, and this revelation comes by way of the descent and chaining-down (hishtalshelus) of the levels,

which are many and varied; and in order that this revelation come to each and every one as befits him, according to his deeds and his level, he must of necessity bear so much suffering, in proportion, etc.

But in this world, which is the revelation of “I” (Anochi) itself, behold, of Him, may He be blessed, it is said, “Even darkness does not darken,” etc., and “Havayah is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call Him in truth.”

For He is the One who is equal and makes small and great equal. And the angels ask, “Where is the place of His glory?”: that is, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is not grasped, etc.

(Whereas at the level of the radiance, behold: “and the Ofanim, with a great noise,” etc.; “let them praise the Name of Havayah.”) And they say, “The whole earth” (this physical one) “is full of His glory.”

144. However, the ultimate intent in “When you hearken to the voice of Havayah your G‑d,” which is the drawing down of the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof),

blessed be He, in revelation upon one’s soul, and in keeping all His commandments, to be a vessel and a light for this revelation, is so that there be the level of self-nullification (bittul), etc. And this is “to do what is right in the eyes of Havayah,” etc.

15The explanation of this matter: it is written, “A G‑d of knowledges (de’os) is Havayah”: two knowledges, the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) and the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah). The higher unity is from above to below: “all before Him is as nothing,” etc.

And the lower unity is from below to above: the level of something from nothing, etc., as is explained elsewhere. And both of them are G‑dly powers: the lower unity is in the Name Elokim, which contracts and separates so that there be a world of separation, the level of “something” (yesh), etc., so that there be specifically the nullification of the “something”; and the higher unity is in the Name Havayah, etc.

16And this is “From heaven Havayah looked”; “Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven”; “Havayah looked down from heaven,” etc. That is, He clothed Himself in this attribute, to watch over from heaven, from above to below,

that is, the level of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah). For at times He clothes Himself in this attribute, and at times He clothes Himself in, and watches over with, the attribute that is from below to above, the level of the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah).

17And this is “The eye of Havayah is toward those who fear Him”: toward those who fear Him, who are at the level of the outer keys, He watches over with the level of one eye, either the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) or the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah). Whereas toward the righteous, who are at the level of a bond (hiskashrus), “one pillar, and Tzaddik is its name,”

“for all in heaven and on earth,” which Onkelos translates, “who holds fast in heaven,” etc., it is at the level of “the eyes of Havayah”: for these two levels of eyes are equal, from below to above as from above to below.

(Along these lines is the saying of the Midrash at the end of Shir HaShirim Rabbah: At the time when Israel do the will of the Omnipresent, the Holy One, blessed be He, looks upon them with both His eyes, as it is written, “The eyes of Havayah are toward the righteous”; and at the time when they do not do the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, He looks upon them with His one eye, as it is written, “The eye of Havayah is toward those who fear Him.”)

And as it is written, “The upright (yashar) shall behold His face”: truly yashar [level], so that from below to above too there is revealed the level of the self-nullification (bittul) of “all before Him is considered as nothing”; and as it is written,

“For eye in eye they shall see,” etc.: that is, the eye that is from above to below in the eye that is from below to above; and as is written in the holy Zohar, “to be one within one”: that within the level of the lower unity, the higher unity rests and is revealed.

For without the revelation of the level of the lower unity first, the higher unity does not rest and become revealed, as the saying goes, “The Holy One, blessed be He, [who is] One above, does not sit,” etc.

18And of this we say, “We give thanks (modim) to You,” etc.: like a person who concedes (modeh) to his fellow that it is truly as he says, so “we acknowledge (modim) to You” that it is true that “all before Him is as nothing,” etc.,

and not as it appears to eyes of flesh, something from nothing, etc. And “one who does not bow at Modim,” etc.: for one must be at the level of acknowledgment at any rate.

But for this self-nullification (bittul) to be truly revealed below as above, that is through the Torah: “When you hearken to the voice (bekol) of Havayah your G‑d,” in the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the voice. This inner dimension

is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is far above the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and there above and below are equal. Therefore it is drawn from there that this self-nullification be revealed below as above.

And this is “to do what is right (hayashar) in the eyes of Havayah your G‑d”: “hayashar” as in “The upright (yashar) shall behold His face”; that is, to make the two levels of eyes at the level of yashar, in one equality, “to be one within one,” and “eye in eye they shall see,” etc.