לריח שמניך טובים שמן תורק שמך על כן עלמות אהבוך

1“For fragrance, your oils are good; your name is oil poured forth; therefore the maidens love You.”

(See the Midrash Rabbah on the Song of Songs on this verse, and on the verse “Return, return, O Shulamite”; and at the beginning of Lech Lecha; Vayikra [Rabbah], end of chapter 3; Naso, chapter 13, on the offering of Nachshon, regarding “mixed with oil”; and at the beginning of Tavo.) Now, sometimes the Torah is called wine and sometimes oil: “for Your love is better than wine.”

The matter [is this]. It is written (Zechariah 9:17), “and new wine makes the maidens flourish”; and in the Gemara, first chapter of Bava Basra (12b): “one whose heart is sealed” etc., “wine opens him”; “wine enters, the secret comes out”: the joy that was hidden is revealed, etc.

And in the service of G‑d, “for Your love is better than wine” means: “Your love” is love and awe with fervor that comes from contemplation, which is the level of wine, Binah (understanding): to contemplate how “Your kingship,” the revealed world, is the level of revelation, [bringing] something from nothing, giving life to the dimensions of space and time, “and Your dominion is in every generation,” etc.

And this is the level of the secret that is hidden within the worlds, to the point that the world seems to be a thing existing in its own right. And the awe and love born of this contemplation are “the secret comes out” mentioned above, as though the level of G‑dliness were seen, how “all before Him is considered as truly nothing,” as is known, etc.

(And this is the meaning of “Who revealed this secret to My children?”: “Who” (Mi) is Binah; and it is the revelation of the concealed kindnesses (chasadim) in the Yesod of Imma, that is, the revelation of love and awe, etc.)

And it is known that the Congregation of Israel is called “bride,” and this is when the secret comes out into revelation, so that the light of G‑dliness shines in the souls of Israel. And this is called “when she has received the male”

(in the Zohar, Bo, 38b; and see the Zohar HaRakia there, and the work abbreviated Seh”m, folio 9a, section 21), for the Holy One, blessed be He, is called “bridegroom.”

And a bride has nothing of her own, only what is given her from above: “for your Husband is your Maker,” etc., and “the glory of G‑d has shone upon you,”

“though I sit in darkness, G‑d is a light for me.” And she is called the level of na’arah (maiden) with a hei: the five Gevuros of the male, which he gives her at the first union; these are “Your love” mentioned above, whose essence is from the hidden world,

except that they come out by way of Nukva, etc. (And see Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Shema at Bedtime, chapter 11, the section beginning “Likkutim,” and chapter 6; and Mikdash Melech at the beginning of Tzav.)

And before she has received, when the light of G‑dliness has not yet shone within her, she is called na’ar, without the hei, [that is,] without the five Gevuros mentioned above. And this is one whose heart is sealed, like a virgin, who has not been stirred to awe and love by the contemplation of the revealed world mentioned above; and [these] are called “maidens” (alamos).

(And see what is written on “The eyes of all,” that then she is called kol (all), lacking the hei of kalah (bride), [which is] the five Gevuros of the male, etc.; and see what is written about this in the maamar beginning “He will revive us after two days,” etc.; and see what is written on “I will betroth you to Me,” etc., and on “And if a woman vows,” etc., and on “When you go out,” etc., “and afterward you shall come to her,” etc., and on “It is good to take refuge.”)

2And the counsel so that there be also the level of “the maidens love You” is the level of oil: “for fragrance, your oils are good.” And the Torah is called “oil poured forth” (shemen turak), [oil] that is poured from vessel to vessel, so that what was below comes above,

for it is turned over, etc.; then the fragrance rises from the bottom of the first vessel, whereas while it was full of oil the fragrance was below, as mentioned above, etc.

And the point of the analogy is that the Torah came down, step by step, into physical matters, narratives of events and physical letters: “G‑d founded the earth with wisdom”; “Abba founded the daughter”; so that what is below is turned upward and what is above downward, etc.

And this is “your name is oil poured forth”: the whole Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He; then [comes] “for fragrance, your oils,” etc. And the letters are called “horses,” for they come through many stages of descent from the masculine world, the level of oil, etc.

(And it is called “oil poured forth,” which is turned over, etc., because the letters, although they are below intellect and the emotive attributes (middos), and are called “stones” in Sefer Yetzirah, being the level of the inanimate,

yet the root of the letters and of the inanimate has its source above intellect, only it is like an inverted seal, etc. And see what is written on “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House,” concerning letters and stones, etc., and on “And Yehudah approached him,” etc.

And this is “for fragrance, your oils,” which are drawn from the fragrant oil, which is the level and rank of the anointing oil. And see what is written concerning “pure balsam” in the explanation on “O that you were [as my brother],” etc.; and see what is written concerning the anointing oil)

(later on), in Parshas Naso, on “This was the dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed,” etc.; and in the Ramaz on Parshas Emor (89), regarding “that supernal oil,” etc.

And see Iggeres HaKodesh, the section beginning “And David made,” concerning the root of the letters, whose source is the hidden intellect and the beginning of intellect, etc.

And see what is written at the end of Parshas Miketz, in the maamar beginning “The Chanukah lamp is a mitzvah,” etc., that the letters of the Torah are rooted far, far above the level of the Torah [itself], etc.

And see there, that of the Torah it is said “and the Torah is light,” while the letters are rooted in the level of air (avir), which is the source of light (or), etc.; and air is ruach (breath).

3And this is the meaning of “for fragrance, your oils,” for fragrance (rei’ach) and spirit (ruach) are one matter, as is explained elsewhere, and as our Sages said on “My pleasing fragrance” (rei’ach nichochi): “a gratification of spirit (nachas ruach) before Me,” etc.

Therefore the letters are called “horses,” for they lift very high upward, and all ascents from below to above are by means of the letters, for “thought accomplishes nothing,” etc.

And see Mevo She’arim, Gate 3, Part 3, chapter 3, on “from His mouth [come] knowledge,” etc. And [as with] one who rides a horse: the horse will carry him to a distant place that he could not have reached on foot, etc.

So too, by way of analogy, when he puts all his thought into the letters, they lift him and raise him to a high place (as written on this later, at the end of the maamar beginning “To My mare,” etc.). But it is written: “He does not desire the strength of the horse, nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.”

Meaning: when he does not immerse his Chochmah, Binah and Daas in the letters, but only his thought, this is like mere horse-riding, where only his legs cling to the horse, and the horse runs while he does nothing, etc.

Rather, “G‑d takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope for His kindness”: meaning, that he immerse his Chochmah, Binah and Daas in contemplating the greatness of G‑d, together with the cleaving of his thought to the letters

(and see what is written in Parshas Beshalach, in the maamar beginning “To My mare,” and on “Then [Moshe] sang”). And he should take to heart the well-counseled counsel when he sees that he is very far from being stirred in his heart and from fervor [born] of contemplation, etc.:

he should humble himself utterly, saying: “What am I, that I should have fervor, for my heart is sealed, since

I am utterly, utterly distant from the One G‑d?” Only this is in his power: to plead for his soul, to desire to cleave to G‑d. And this is “those who hope for His kindness”: they wait and long with great longing for the revelation of G‑dliness, etc.

4“And I do not want to be separated,” etc. This is the meaning of “His kindness” (chasdo): chas dalet, [pity on the dalet,] the revelation of G‑dliness. And this is “a diadem of beauty” (tzefiras tif’arah): for those who await (metzapim) His beauty and the splendor of His majesty. And from this he can draw G‑d’s kindness upon himself, so that his heart will be stirred, etc.

And so too regarding the study of the Oral Torah, the revelation of His blessed will in this physical world: pure and impure, permitted and forbidden, etc.

And one who does not have even the level of “those who hope for His kindness” mentioned above: of him it is written, “He remembered His kindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel,” the level of Nukva, etc.; “upon Israel, His faithfulness.” And to the house of Israel He draws down faith as well, etc.

5To explain further the meaning of “oil poured forth”: it is according to what is written elsewhere explaining the Zohar (Bereishis, 27b) on “the Mishnah is the wife of that youth,” etc.,

that in the laws of the revealed Torah before us, the very essence of supernal Chochmah is clothed and drawn down, a revelation that does not exist even in the higher worlds,

for even in the Garden of Eden only the radiance of the Shechinah shines, and a mere glimmer of supernal Chochmah, etc. And the reason for this is explained elsewhere (regarding Purim, in the maamar beginning “For Avraham did not know us”) from the analogy of the lion, etc.:

“the face of a lion on the right,” etc.; and likewise the glimmer of supernal Chochmah must necessarily be clothed in the lowest place, namely in the laws of impure and fit, etc.

See there. And it is also like the analogy mentioned in Iggeres HaKodesh near its end: “Moreover, speech,” etc., is only a glimmer, etc., whereas in the drop [of seed] there is drawn also from the very being and essence of the soul; see there.

6And see further there, the section beginning “In the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Naso.” And this is the meaning of “oil poured forth”: the very essence of the oil itself is poured out and drawn down below.

And this is [how] what is above comes specifically below, as mentioned above. And as for “your name is oil poured forth,” the meaning was explained above, namely as our Sages said, “the whole Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He,” etc.

And see what is written on this on “And these are the names of the children of Israel,” and in Parshas Yisro, in the maamar beginning “Moshe spoke,” how all the performance of the mitzvos is “to perfect the mystery of His Name,” etc.; see there.

And in the Zohar, Parshas Tzav (34a), “your name” is explained as Malchus, into which the oil of supernal Chochmah is poured and drawn; see there.

(And see the Zohar, Parshas Yisro, 87b, on “A good name is better than good oil,” and the Zohar, volume 1, end of 96a.) And this is as written in the Zohar, Parshas Terumah (145b): “The inheritance of the father, the daughter inherits,” etc.

And this is as is known concerning “with wisdom He founded the earth,” specifically, unlike “He established the heavens with understanding”; and as written on this in Parshas Bereishis, in the maamar beginning

“To understand the reason,” etc., and on “And [G‑d] formed the man [of] dust,” etc. Now the level of Malchus [is] “the mouth: the Oral Torah we call her,” etc.

And see what is written later, in the maamar beginning “I am black,” on “The words of the Scribes are dearer to Me,” etc., that they are above the level of “book,” which is the level of the Written Torah, etc.;

see there. And see Iggeres HaKodesh, the section beginning “He and His life-force,” on what is written there: “only it is like an inverted seal, and their beginning is wedged in their end,” etc.

And this is “your name is oil poured forth”: into the laws of the Oral Torah there is drawn from the level of the essence of the oil, which is exceedingly high and exalted; that is, as it is written, “Like the good oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aharon,” etc.

And as written (later) in the maamar beginning “When you kindle the lamps,” that the level of the beard of the High Priest is the level of hairs, which are the laws, etc., and upon this there is the level of oil from above, etc.;

see there. And as for its saying “the beard” twice, “the beard, the beard [of Aharon],” one may say [it is] according to what is written later, in the maamar beginning “I am black,” that the laws in the positive commandments, which are from the level of Chesed, are drawn from the level of the supernal beard,

which is the level of whiteness, “white as snow” and “like pure wool”; and the laws in the negative commandments are drawn from the level of “his locks are curled, black,” etc.; see the Idra of Naso (beginning of 132a).

And this is the meaning of “for fragrance, your oils are good”: for the level of “like the good oil,” etc., “running down upon the beard,” etc., has its root exceedingly high and exalted.

Therefore it is called “fragrant oil,” and this is the meaning of “thirteen rivers of pure balsam oil” (in the Gemara, Taanis 25a), which is a higher level than plain oil; and as written elsewhere, in Parshas Terumah, at the end of the maamar beginning

“Now it is written, ‘And your people are all righteous,’” etc. And see the Zohar, beginning of Emor (88b), and see the Zohar, beginning of Terumah (127b).

And see concerning “for fragrance, your oils” in the Zohar, Parshas Acharei (end of 58b), and in Parshas Beha’aloscha (150a), and in Parshas Tzav (end of 35a), and at the beginning of Parshas Vayera (96a), and in the Ramaz there.

7One may further say, in explaining “for fragrance, your oils,” etc., and “oil poured forth,” etc., following the plain sense of the explanation of the Midrash on the Song of Songs, which explains that “oil poured forth” is a higher level than “for fragrance, your oils,” which is

only a kind of mere fragrance from the oil; but “oil poured forth” is like a person who pours from a vessel into his friend’s vessel, who gives him the oil itself.

And this is according to what is written elsewhere (in the maamar beginning “Moshe commanded us the Torah,” etc., in Parshas VeZos HaBerachah), that in the flow from the Written Torah, which is the level of the bridegroom, to the Oral Torah, which is the level of the bride, there are two levels and ranks.

The first is in the manner of “the fallen fruit of the supernal wisdom is Torah,” and it is called erusin (betrothal), which is an external flow; and this is “for fragrance, your oils.”

And as written in Likkutei Torah on Tehillim, on “He established a testimony in Yaakov,” etc. And this is why it is only a kind of mere fragrance: a glimmer of the Yesod of Abba, and not its very being and essence.

However, the second level is that there be drawn from the level of the bridegroom to the bride, from the level of the inner dimension of the Written Torah; and this is nisu’in (marriage) and the union of bridegroom and bride; see there. And this is “your name is oil poured forth”: the essence of the oil of supernal Chochmah is drawn into the level of Malchus, the Oral Torah, etc.

8Now from all this follows “therefore the maidens (alamos) love You”: that is, the level of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, which receive from the level of Malchus, which is the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; as written in the Zohar, volume 3

(end of 58b), volume 2, 144b (and see further volume 1, 98a; volume 3, 59a, 71b).

And likewise from the level of Malchus of Atzilus there is drawn a revelation below in each and every one of Israel, through their accepting upon themselves the yoke of the kingship of Heaven.

And then, in the study of Torah, there is drawn into him as well from the level of “for fragrance, your oils,” etc., and “oil poured forth,” etc.; and this too is in the manner of the two levels mentioned above, betrothal and marriage;

that is, that the light of G‑d be absorbed and grasped in the mind and in the heart, [for] “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one,” etc., and that the contemplation enter “within a man, and a deep heart,” etc.

And as our Sages said, “the light within it brings him back to the good”; and as written at the end of the maamar beginning “When you kindle,” on “like the good oil,” etc., that runs down “according to his attributes,” etc., and “the oil of his right hand calls out,” etc.; see there.

9And this is why it first says “for Your love is better than wine”: wine is contemplation of the revealed world, and from this contemplation comes about the level of the bride, etc., as mentioned above.

But so that there be also the level of “the maidens love You,” that is, even one whose heart is sealed and who has not been stirred by the contemplation mentioned above,

this is through occupation with Torah, which is the level of oil, as mentioned above, which is the level of “that I (Anochi) command you,” etc.,

which no thought can grasp at all; and because it is from a very lofty level, therefore it can make an engraving and a vessel even in one whose heart is sealed, etc.

And [this is] like what is explained in Parshas Bechukosai (the maamar beginning “It is explained in Etz Chaim”), that through this an engraving is made from within in the animal soul, etc.; and this is the meaning of “a well that princes dug,” etc.;

see there. And [it is] like what is explained further elsewhere (in the maamar beginning “I will betroth you to Me”) concerning “my heart and my flesh sing to the living G‑d,” for

the heart and the flesh, because they are physical vessels, etc., do not yearn for “the courts of G‑d,” which are the source and life of the soul, like the level of contemplation of the revealed world, which is called wine, as mentioned above,

but only when they sing to the living G‑d Himself, in His glory, etc.; for the higher a level is, the more it can descend and spread further below, and through this it comes and reaches the heart and flesh, etc.; see there at length.

And so it is here: because the level of “the fragrance of your oils” and “oil poured forth” is a flow from a level far higher than the rank of wine, and oil floats on top of wine, etc.

And in the Gemara, first chapter of Shabbos (5b), where the Sages and Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri disagree whether they count as joined to one another,

and this is because oil is very high, at the level of “the supernal Chochmah of all,” as written in the Zohar, Parshas Tzav (34a), and therefore it is far, far above the level of wine, etc.

And therefore it can take effect even in one whose heart is sealed, that his heart be engraved through words of Torah, so that there be also “the maidens love You,” etc.; and like “I will pass through the land of Egypt: I and not an angel,” etc.

10(2) One may further say, in explaining “for fragrance, your oils,” etc., and “oil poured forth,” etc., following the Midrash mentioned above, that this is the matter of “A person should always divide his study into three: a third in Scripture, a third in Mishnah and a third in Talmud.”

Now in studying the mitzvos, Mishnah and Talmud, one comprehends and grasps the very being of His blessed wisdom, since it has been clothed in physical matters, which are truly His blessed will and wisdom.

And this is “oil poured forth,” etc. This is not so with the narratives of Tanach, where His blessed wisdom, clothed in the words and combinations of letters, is not comprehended at all.

And as written in the Zohar, Beha’aloscha (152a), that the plain sense understood from the narratives of the Torah is called “the garment of the Torah”; and the Ramaz explained there

that, for example, [in] the section “And these [are the kings]…in the land of Edom,” etc., certainly the event happened as it happened, and [the verse] does not depart from its plain meaning, but G‑d’s intent in it is not [the event] itself;

rather, in it are hidden the secrets of the World of Tohu, etc.; see there; and in the Zohar there (149b), which elaborates on this. And in the Pardes, Gate 27, chapter 1, he elaborates in explaining the above Zohar statement, and writes as follows:

“But when a person comes to study the Torah, his intent must be that he is studying that matter as being divine words, whose immense inwardness is hidden from him, etc.; and even though he understands nothing of it

but the plain sense of the narrative, and needless to say this one, but even one who does not understand at all, etc., he too has a good reward.” End of quote.

Therefore the letters of the Torah and the plain sense of the narrative are called “the fragrance of your oils”: for even though the inwardness of His blessed wisdom, hidden and clothed in that narrative and those letters, is not understood or comprehended at all

(unlike grasping the plain sense of the laws and mitzvos as they come in the explanation of the Mishnah and Gemara, where even the plain, understood sense is called “the bodies of the Torah” and not merely a garment; see there in the Zohar and in the Pardes),

nevertheless the letters and the plain sense of the narrative are themselves “the fragrance of your oils,” for in them and through them the one who reads Scripture draws down a fragrance and glimmer from the level of “the oil of holy anointing,”

just as, by way of analogy, one smells a good fragrance even though he does not taste it in his mouth at all, and even though he is far from it, etc.

On the contrary, this fragrance is drawn from an exceedingly high place, which is the level of the fragrant oil, which is above the level of plain oil, supernal Chochmah, etc.

And because it is higher in rank, it cannot come into revelation in a manner of closeness, in the manner of taste, like “oil poured forth,” etc.,

but only in the manner of fragrance, etc. (as written in the explanation on “These are the journeys of the children of Israel,” concerning “the Jordan at Jericho”). And this is what is said in the Zohar, Beha’aloscha (149b):

“That word of that narrative does not come to show about itself alone, but comes to show about that general principle,” etc.; see there.

Nevertheless there is also an additional, immense advantage in the level of “oil poured forth,” which is the drawing down of the essence of supernal Chochmah, and not merely fragrance and a glimmer, etc.; and both alike are good.

Now the study of the Zohar and of the Arizal is included in “a third in Scripture.” And the reason for this is written elsewhere, in explaining the Zohar on Bereishis (27b) mentioned above.

In brief: the Midrash of the Zohar, and likewise Midrash Rabbah and the other Midrashim, are commentary on Scripture; and Rashi explained in the first chapter of Berachos (11b) that Midrash is close to Scripture, etc.; see there.

And although in Hilchos Talmud Torah it is explained that the Midrash of the Torah, that is, Sifra and Sifrei and the like, is included in “a third in Mishnah,” that is at any rate because they are the explanation of the laws and bodies of the Torah, just like the Mishnah itself.

But in studying the secrets of the Zohar there is no comprehension even for the greatest of sages, only knowledge of the existence of the chain of descending worlds, and no comprehension of the essence at all; and this is like the study of Scripture,

where one reads the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He, even though he does not comprehend at all the essence hidden in them, as mentioned above; and similar to this is the study of the Zohar and Etz Chaim.

Therefore it is included in “a third in Scripture.” (And this resolves what the Ran writes at the end of the first chapter of Avodah Zarah: “since Mishnah is weightier than Scripture,” etc., “why is a third of the day needed for Scripture?”)

Therefore this too is called “for fragrance, your oils,” for knowledge of the existence is like mere fragrance compared to comprehension of the essence of His blessed wisdom that is in Mishnah and Talmud.

And [this is] along the lines of what is explained in Iggeres HaKodesh near its end, that in studying the order of the chain of descent, even if one has comprehended the existence, it is not in itself superior to the study of the mitzvos, in which one comprehends and grasps the essence, etc.,

but rather in that knowledge of the existence is also a great and exalted mitzvah, and indeed surpasses them all, as it is written, “Know this day,” and “Know the G‑d of your father,” etc., and it brings to a whole heart.

Moreover, the fragrance and the knowledge of the existence are also a glimmer from the level of the inner dimension of the Torah, etc. (And see the Zohar, Parshas Acharei, 73a: “three levels,” etc., “and each level upon level, hidden and revealed,” etc.; see there; and see what is written on this on “For the thing is very near to you.”)

Therefore there must be both levels, “for fragrance, your oils,” etc., and “oil poured forth,” etc.; and from this follows “therefore the maidens love You,” as mentioned above.