ושאבתם מים בששון ממעיני הישועה (בישעיה י״ב)

1“And you shall draw water with joy from the wellsprings of salvation” (in Isaiah 12). Now, throughout the whole year there was the libation of wine upon the altar, and this is stated explicitly in the Written Torah in a number of places.

And on the festival of Sukkos there was, in addition, also the libation of water upon the altar, all seven days of the festival. And this is a law [given] to Moses at Sinai (Sukkah 34a; Zevachim 110b),

which is not stated explicitly in the Written Torah; only, the Rabbis supported it on a verse. And the drawing of the water was [done] with great joy, on account of [the verse] “And you shall draw water with joy,” etc., as explained in Tractate Sukkah, at the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5.

And the reason must be understood: why is it not stated explicitly in the Written Torah, etc.? (And see on this in the Zohar, at the end of Part I, in the Hashmatos, folio 11b and folio 12a and b.)

Now, first the matter of the wine libation must be explained. For of wine it is written (Judges 9), “Shall I leave my wine, which gladdens G‑d and men?” It being known that Binah (understanding), “the mother of the children,” is joy, as it is written, “The mother of the children is joyful.”

For joy is the revealing of what is hidden; therefore it is drawn specifically from the level of Binah. That is, when one understands and grasps the hidden things of Chochmah (wisdom), so that it is drawn into revelation, into actual understanding and comprehension, so that he grasps it well, then there will be joy.

Whereas when he does not yet grasp the matter well in comprehension, but it is still hidden in the power of his Chochmah and is not truly revealed to him, he will receive no delight or joy at all.

However, Binah is called Gan Eden, “the hidden world” (alma d’iskasya), as is written in the Zohar, Part I, Vayeitzei (153b, 154, and in other places).

And this was the service of the Levites, as it is written, “And the Levite, he shall perform the service”: that they draw down the level of “he” (hu), that is, the hidden world—“‘He’: this is Atika,” which is enclothed in Binah—from concealment into revelation. That is, through the song that they would sing over the wine, which is the level of Binah.

And this is the meaning of “wine that gladdens G‑d and men”: that it brings G‑dliness into revelation for men; that is, through Binah, when one understands and grasps the greatness of G‑d, his soul will be set aflame for G‑d.

And this is also the quality of physical wine, which likewise causes joy and the revealing of what is hidden: “Wine enters,” etc. (And see further on the matter of “And the Levite, he shall perform the service” in the maamar beginning “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang,” and on the matter of “He” in the maamar beginning “Lech Lecha,” regarding “He made us.”)

However, the difference between the wine libation of the whole year and the level of “festivals for joy,” and especially Sukkos, “the season of our joy,” when there was also the wine libation, is

as, by way of analogy, a person who is stirred and gladdened by something: even so, the joy and the stirring can be hidden within him from others, so that his inside is “inlaid” with gladness and joy, and it is not revealed to every eye.

But when he is stirred and gladdened very greatly by something, then his joy is seen by every eye, and he sings and dances with his feet and claps with his hand, for it cannot stay hidden, because of the sheer greatness of the joy.

So [too] all year long: even though one is stirred by the G‑dliness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, who fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds (memalei kol almin and sovev kol almin), nevertheless it is hidden within him, for the light of joy is concealed in the vessel, and the vessel limits it.

But on the festival of Sukkos his joy is seen by every eye, for the light breaks through the vessel, because of the sheer greatness of the light of joy and the abundant revealing of what is hidden.

(And see what is written in the maamar beginning “Havayah is for me among my helpers,” and what is written at the beginning of Parshas Shelach, in the maamar beginning “The matter of the spies,” on the explanation of “flowing with milk and honey”: that because of the added light and revelation, the vessels will not be able to conceal, etc.)

And this joy is “the great noise”: just as one sings and dances when gladdened by something physical, so, and even more than that, is the singing and dancing in spirituality, in songs and praises before G‑d, as it is written, “And the Ofanim, with a great noise.”

This is the matter of the wine libation of the whole year; and on Sukkos too they would also pour a libation of wine. And the water libation was on the festival of Sukkos alone: they would pour wine into this bowl and water into that bowl—“the western one of water,” etc.

And the wine libation is the level of Binah, and the water libation is the level of Chochmah, and it is far higher and loftier than the wine libation.

The explanation is that this is the level of Kohanim and Levites, as is written in the Zohar (Part III, 39a): “Wine comes from the side of the Levites,” etc., “and the side of the Kohen [is] from clear, shining water.”

For the nature of water is to descend from a high place to a low place, and this is the level of the Kohen: the flow descends to the High Priest and from there to all the Kohanim, as our Sages said, “The High Priest takes a portion first”; by the measure of a head, he bestows. And wine is the level of the Levites,

which is ascent from a low place to a very high place; and it is also “to raise the voice,” with noise and song, which is the level of revelation, as our Sages said, “All that wear a shir (a chain) may go out with a shir.”

Whereas water is in silence, like the level of the Kohanim, “whose service is in silence,” etc. And just as the level of the Kohanim is higher than the level of the Levites, as it is written, “And they shall be joined to you and serve you,” so the water libation is far higher and loftier than the wine libation

(and especially since it was living water, whose level is known to be very high and lofty, in the level of Chochmah, as is written elsewhere regarding the living water of the sanctification of the waters of purification, etc.; and also as is written in the discourse “And you shall tell your son,”

on the difference between Yom Tov and Shabbos: that this too is the intellect of Imma and the intellect of Abba (mochin d’Imma and mochin d’Abba). And elsewhere it is explained that this is also the difference between blessing and holiness. Also, that is why of the Kohanim it is said, “And you shall sanctify him,” while of the Levites it is written, “to purify them,” as is written elsewhere, in the maamar beginning “A Shabbos of complete rest” and on [the verse] “And I will make … of kadkod”).

22. Now, the matter of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah is known: the Written Torah is only the level of letters and their combinations, as our Sages said, “The whole Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Therefore all its letters are counted, so that one may neither add nor subtract, and every letter must be in its [proper] form and shape, and [letters] touching disqualifies. Now, the letters are in the level of Binah (understanding), as is written elsewhere on [the verse] “And you shall engrave upon it the engravings of a signet”; and see the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Vayikra.

As is seen by experience: when an idea comes to the point of understanding and comprehension, the level of letters in thought becomes revealed in it. But in the level of Chochmah (wisdom), which is above comprehended intellect, there is not yet the level of letters.

And this is the matter of the letters of the Torah: that the Written Torah is in the level of Binah, and Binah is called a Torah scroll, as is written in the Zohar (Vayakhel, folio 210).

That is, the level of the letters of thought. And although “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah,” [that is,] in relation to the Emanator it is the level of Chochmah, but in relation to the created beings it is the level of Binah. (Therefore [there are] fifty days from the Exodus from Egypt until the Giving of

the Torah, corresponding to the fifty gates of Binah, and on the fiftieth day, the fiftieth gate, the Torah was given; and see the Zohar, Tetzaveh, 183a.) And the Oral Torah is the level of Chochmah, and there the letters are not so much the main thing,

but rather the idea and the intellection are the main thing, revealed within the letters. Therefore one is not so exacting with its letters, for in the Oral Torah the main thing is the wisdom and the intellection,

as they say in the Gemara, “What is the reason of Rabbi Meir?” etc., which is the level of reasons (te’amim), and that is the level of Chochmah, as is known.

(And although below, the Written Torah is the level of Z’eir Anpin and the Oral Torah is the level of Malchus, on the contrary, in truth, “With Chochmah He founded the earth,” which is Malchus, the Oral Torah; and “He established the heavens,” Z’eir Anpin, the Written Torah, is “with understanding” (tevunah). And see what is written on [the verse] “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool,” etc.)

And with this the matter mentioned above will be understood: that the wine libation is written in the Torah, while the water libation is not written in the Torah but is only a law [given] to Moses at Sinai.

That is, because wine is the level of Binah, the Written Torah; and this is the meaning of “the wine of the Torah,” as [explained] below. Therefore it can be written in the Written Torah.

Whereas the water libation, which is the level of Chochmah, cannot be written in the Written Torah, to spread out in the form of written letters. And this is the level of the intellect of Abba and the intellect of Imma (mochin d’Abba and mochin d’Imma).

(And according to what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 26, end of chapter 1, it is understood that as Atzilus is above Beriah, so Chochmah is above Binah within Atzilus itself; that is, Binah is Beriah of Atzilus, whereas Chochmah, and in particular the level of Chochmah that is called “living water,” is the level of Atzilus of Atzilus.

That is, the level of Binah is called Mi (“Who?”), which stands to be asked about; for though it is a level of concealment, it is the concealment of revelation. As in the matter of what is written, “He forms light and creates darkness”: Yetzirah (formation) is revelation, and Beriah (creation) is concealment; that is, the concealment that pertains to revelation, [to] thought and speech. Whereas the level of Chochmah, which is Atzilus—

in relation to Atzilus, Beriah and Yetzirah are equal, and “darkness is as light,” as is written elsewhere. That is, because the level of Atzilus is above the order of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus) of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

Therefore the concealment and the revelation within the order of hishtalshelus, which are the levels of Beriah and Yetzirah, are both truly equal in relation to Atzilus. And so, through the water libation on the festival, one draws down the revealing of the concealment that is above the order of hishtalshelus, that is, the level of Chochmah, which is Atzilus, the level of mochin d’Abba.

Therefore it is far higher and loftier than the wine libation, mochin d’Imma, which is the revealing of the concealment within the order of hishtalshelus. And see what is written in the maamar beginning “The Song of Songs,” on the explanation of “For your love is better than wine.” And this is like the splitting of the Sea of Reeds:

for sea and dry land are the concealment and revelation of the order of hishtalshelus, the hidden world and the revealed world (alma d’iskasya and alma d’isgalya). But through “the east wind” (ruach kadim), the Primordial One (Kadmono) of the world, who is above the order of the hishtalshelus of the worlds, then “He turned the sea into dry land,” for there both are equal, and “darkness is as light,” as [explained] above.)

And with this will be understood what our Sages said on [the verse] “For your love is better than wine”: “The words of the Scribes (soferim) are more pleasing to Me than the wine of the Torah.” And it must be explained: what are “Scribes,” and what is “the wine of the Torah”?

The explanation is that it is explained in Sefer Yetzirah: “With three things the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world: with sofer, sefer and sippur” (scribe, book and telling). Sofer is the level of Chochmah, which bestows upon sefer, which is Binah, the level of thought.

3And sippur is the level of speech, which receives from sefer, which is Binah (understanding), for without thought it is impossible to speak. And this is [why] with these three things the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world:

for the coming into being of the worlds is from the level of “the word of G‑d,” which is the level of sippur; and speech receives from thought, which is called sefer, which is drawn from the level of Chochmah (wisdom), “Where is the sofer?” And this is “Bereishis bara” (“In the beginning He created”): that is, through [the flow] being drawn from Chochmah to the level of thought, and from thought to speech.

4And this is “The words of the Scribes (soferim) are more pleasing to Me”: the level of sofer, which is Chochmah (wisdom), and there is the root of the Oral Torah and of the water libation, “more than the wine of the Torah,” which is the level of the Written Torah, called sefer,

which is the level of Binah (understanding) and the wine libation. For the level of Chochmah, which is the level of sofer, is far higher and loftier than the level of Binah, which is the level of sefer. (And see what is written in the maamar beginning “Where is the sofer?” and on [the verse] “I am black,” etc., on the matter of sofer and the words of the Scribes, etc.)

However, although Chochmah is above the level of Binah, nevertheless Chochmah and Binah are “two companions that never part,” and if so, they must always be joined below; and through an arousal from below [comes] an arousal from above.

And this is “And you shall draw water with joy (sasson)”: water is the level of Chochmah; “you shall draw” it “with joy,” which is the level of Binah. And through this the levels of Chochmah and Binah will be joined, to be “two companions that never part.”

(And see what is written elsewhere, in the maamar beginning “See, I set before you,” etc., on this matter: how also in the service of G‑d below, in man, the two levels of Chochmah and Binah must always be together, the level of “a point in its palace,” and it is impossible to have endurance with one level alone, etc.; see there.

And see what is written in the maamar beginning “Know this day,” regarding “Peace, peace, to the far and to the near.”) And for this [reason] the men of deeds would sing and dance at the time of the water libation.

(Also, that is why they would pour the water at the time of the wine libation, as is written in the Rambam, end of Hilchos Temidin uMusafin. And this is also the matter mentioned in the Zohar) (Parshas Balak, 189a, bottom) on [the verse] “And he brought him wine”: that he cast water into that wine.

53. And in order to understand the matter of “from the wellsprings of salvation,” one must first [explain] the verse “I will raise the cup of salvations.” For King David, peace be upon him, said this about his attribute, which is the level of Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus (Emanation), which is called “the cup of salvations.”

As is written in the Zohar (Vayechi, 250a): “For into this cup blessings are drawn from those salvations above, and it takes them and gathers them to itself,” etc.

Just as speech, by way of analogy, is the vessel into which the powers of the soul, intellect and emotive attributes, etc., are drawn and enclothed, so Malchus is the vessel into which the flow from all the ten Sefiros is drawn, etc.

And this is what Hillel said at the rejoicing of the Beis HaShoevah: “If I am here, all is here,” as the Zohar explains (in the Hashmatos belonging to Part I, folio 12a): “If the Shechinah, which is called ‘I,’ dwells here, all is here,” etc.; see there.

And “salvations” is explained in the Zohar (Terumah, 169a): “What are ‘salvations’? This is the right, as it is written, ‘His right hand saved for Him,’” etc.

And in Parshas Bereishis (folio 1) it explains that they are the “five strong leaves that surround the rose,” which are the five Gevuros; and the point is that they are the five Gevuros sweetened by the five Chasadim, etc., as explained in the Zohar HaRakia at the beginning of Bereishis, there.

And the matter of the salvation is that Malchus of Atzilus descends to give life to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as it is written, “Her feet go down to death”; therefore it needs the level of “salvations” to save it, so that there be no nurture of the external forces.

And about this David said, “I will raise the cup of salvations”: that the level of the cup be raised, to lift it up into Atzilus, where “evil shall not dwell with You.” (And see the Ramaz at the beginning of Bereishis, who explains that the raising of the cup is to draw down to the level of Malchus from the five Gevuros of Atik Yomin, etc.)

And this is the meaning of “from the wellsprings of salvation”: it is the wellspring from which the salvations are drawn to the cup of blessing, etc., in the manner of what is written elsewhere on the explanation of “Let us bless” (nevarech) in the blessing of the zimmun, which is as is written in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Bo

(42b), on the matter of source, wellspring and excavation; and this is the level of a pool (berechah), to which the wellspring that flows from the source is drawn; see there.

And this is “Let us bless” (nevarech): to draw down this level of a pool, to draw from it to the cup of blessing, which receives from the level of the pool mentioned above.

And this is the meaning of “the wellsprings of salvation” (and that is the level of the Yesodos of Abba and Imma. And as is written in the Zohar) (end of Parshas Balak, 212b, bottom): “‘From the wellsprings of salvation’: these are Abba and Imma,” etc.,

“and all of it is from the deep flowing springs,” etc. And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “There are sixty queens,” on the matter of what is written of the Time to Come, “And a wellspring shall come forth from the House of G‑d and shall water,” etc.

For now, when the flow is drawn from the level of “And a river goes forth from Eden,” which is the level of Binah, then in the descent below it is said, “and from there it separates,” so that it becomes the level of a “something” (yesh) and a separate thing.

But when there will be the revelation of the level of a wellspring, which is the level of “And wisdom (Chochmah), from nothingness (ayin) it is found,” then it will “water” even the level of “the Valley of Shittim,” etc.: that below too there will be the revelation of self-nullification (bittul), etc.

And from this too will be understood, with added explanation, the matter of the superiority of the water libation: that it is from the level of a wellspring, the level of Chochmah, which is far higher and loftier than the wine libation, which is from the level of Binah, the level of “And a river goes forth,” etc. (And see the Zohar, Part III, 39a, mentioned above.)

And one may also say that “the deep flowing springs” are the two mazalos, “He preserves” (notzer) and “He cleanses” (venakeh), from which Abba and Imma receive. And according to the Ramaz’s explanation of “I will raise the cup of salvations,” that the salvations are drawn from the Yesod of Atik Yomin, which is enclothed in Arich Anpin, if so, the wellsprings of salvation are Atik Yomin and Arich Anpin, etc.

It is further explained there in the Zohar, Balak, that the wellsprings of salvation are Netzach (victory) and Hod (splendor); and in the Pardes he raised a question on this: how does [the name] “wellsprings of salvation” pertain to Netzach and Hod? But according to what is written elsewhere on the matter of “And the Netzach: this is Jerusalem,” this will be understood, etc.

6Now, according to what was explained above about the water libation, that it was not given to be written in the Written Torah because it is from the level of sofer, which is above the level of sefer, as [explained] above,

in this way one will further understand the matter of the hakafos on Shemini Atzeres, which were not written even in the Oral Torah and are only a custom. For

they are the encompassing lights (makifim) of Abba, and therefore they were not given to be written even in the Oral Torah, which is the level of the inner light of Chochmah (wisdom), etc.

And something close to this is explained elsewhere, on the matter of the evening prayer being optional: this is because this drawing-down is from a very high place, so high that the arousal from below does not reach there so much; therefore it is optional, not truly obligatory, for the reason mentioned above. See the Zohar, Part I, 133a.

And one may further say, on the matter of “And you shall draw water with joy,” that there was great joy at the drawing of the water: this is understood from what is written elsewhere on [the verse] “On the eighth day, Atzeres,” that the level of Chochmah shines in a state of distance, as it is written, “I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it is far from me.”

And this is also the meaning of “And his sister stood from afar,” and it is written, “Say to Chochmah, ‘You are my sister.’” And see the Mikdash Melech, Parshas Toldos (142a), on the explanation of “From afar G‑d appeared to me.”

But from the level of Binah (understanding) it is drawn in a state of closeness; and this is “As a man whom his mother comforts,” etc. Therefore specifically “the mother of the children” is “joyful,” for joy is the level of revelation, which is drawn specifically from the level of Binah.

7And this is the meaning of “wine that gladdens,” etc. But on the festival of Sukkos the souls of Israel have the power to draw down the level of Chochmah (wisdom), so that Chochmah too will shine in a state of closeness and revelation, exactly like Binah (understanding).

And about this it is said, “A wise son gladdens a father”: specifically “a wise son.” And see on this in the maamar beginning “On the eighth day, Atzeres.” And this is the matter of the joy of the Beis HaShoevah: that the level of “living water,” supernal Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), is drawn in a state of revelation and closeness, in the manner of “the mother of the children is joyful,” for joy is revelation.

That is, that then the intellect of Abba (mochin d’Abba) is drawn down and revealed as much as the revelation of the intellect of Imma (mochin d’Imma), etc. And this power comes through the teshuvah of Yom Kippur, “before Havayah you shall be purified,” etc.; see there.

That is, through teshuvah one arouses the level of Keser (the Crown), which is above Chochmah; and then, through the revelation of Keser in Chochmah, it is drawn down that Chochmah be in a state of revelation.

8And see what is written on [the verse] “I have gathered my myrrh.” And this is, by way of analogy, [like] a wise man: when very many new ideas occur to him, he is compelled to reveal a little of his wisdom,

because he cannot bear the abundance of light. And it is like the matter of what is written elsewhere on [the verse] “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,” etc. And see what is written elsewhere on [the verse] “I will exalt You, G‑d,

for You have drawn me up,” etc.; this matter is explained there. And see what is written in Parshas Shemos, at the end of the maamar beginning “Who gave man a mouth?” And this is the matter of “And Your pious ones shall sing for joy” in the Zohar, at the beginning of Parshas Vayeitzei (148b).

Also, just as teshuvah is the level of “to the far one who has become near,” so through this there is drawn from above that what is the level of “I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it is far from me” will shine in a state of true closeness. And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And I pleaded,” etc.

9And one may further say: it is explained in the maamar beginning “And you shall tell your son” that on Yom Tov joy is mentioned, because it is the intellect of Imma (mochin d’Imma), the level of comprehension;

but on Shabbos, [which is] the intellect of Abba (mochin d’Abba), which is what is above comprehension, joy does not apply, only self-nullification (bittul). And in the same way, [with] the level of the “clear water” of supernal Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), joy does not apply.

But through the “Shabbos of complete rest” of Yom Kippur, which is a level above Shabbos and above supernal Chochmah, therefore it is drawn down on Sukkos that Chochmah shine in closeness, in the level of comprehension; and therefore there was joy at the water libation.

10And it is a joy that is in the level of self-nullification (bittul), in the manner of what is written at the end of the maamar beginning “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh sent,” regarding “And [G‑d] did not lead them,” etc., on the matter of the land of Canaan.

And therefore this is “the wellsprings of salvation”: that there be no nurture of the external forces, for Chochmah (wisdom) repels them, and so [does] the joy that is in the level of bittul, etc.