ביאור מעט ע״פ שבת שבתון כו׳

1A brief explanation of the verse “A Shabbos of complete rest” (Shabbos Shabbason), etc.

2The souls’ descent from the level of “it is pure” to be clothed in a body is for the sake of an ascent to the level of “And you shall be holy people to Me.”

See the introduction to Pri Etz Chaim, that all the Torah and mitzvos are to draw down an addition of light beyond the fixed allotment, etc.; see there at length.

And see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “And I will make your windows of kadkod”: the point is that the souls are drawn from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the vessels, and the angels from the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the vessels. And the meaning of the vessels of Atzilus

is that Chesed itself is what is called the level of a vessel, as the saying goes, “Chesed is the right arm,” whereas the light is of the level of “He is not any of these attributes at all.”

Nevertheless, the vessels of Atzilus are actual G‑dliness and are called “He and His vessels are one” (ihu vegarmohi chad). Therefore it is called “it is pure” (tehorah hi), a term of clarity, for it is not something that conceals His holiness, may He be blessed, as do Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, of which it is said, “and from there it parted,” which is not so in Atzilus.

3And their ascent to the level of kodesh (“holy”) means into the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the vessels of Atzilus. And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it,” that the ascent is from the level of “He and His vessels are one” to the level of “He and His life-forces are one,” etc.; see there.

Now, purity is mentioned regarding the Levites, and holiness regarding the kohanim. See the Zohar, Parshas Shemini (39a), that the Levites are from Binah and the kohanim from Chochmah; and see further in Parshas Beha’alosecha (151b)

and in Parshas Korach (177b). Now we must understand how this fits with what was said above, that the souls are rooted in the inner dimension of the vessels, and the ascent is into the level of the light.

It may be explained according to what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 41, chapter 7, that the three levels of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of Atzilus are lights relative to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, yet they are nevertheless called vessels relative to the level of Chayah of Atzilus,

which is the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah) of Atzilus; so much so that even Binah, which is Neshamah, is called a bodily house for Chochmah, which is Chayah.

4And this is [the meaning of] “His life-forces” and “His vessels”: “His vessels” are Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, and “His life-forces” is Chayah, the level of Chochmah; see there. That is, the three vessels mentioned above, the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of Atzilus, are the Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah of Atzilus.

And Chayah, which is Chochmah, is the Atzilus within Atzilus. It is like, by way of analogy, a person: the intellect is truly united with the soul, so much so that the soul is named after the intellect, “the intellectual soul,” as is explained elsewhere; whereas thought, speech and action are garments, etc.

5And see what is written about the level of Chayah in the explanation on the verse “And G‑d spoke all these words.” And this is [the meaning of] the descent for the sake of an ascent.

And this is what is said right after it: the souls of Israel are rooted in the level of thought, that is, Beriah; and, in Atzilus, that is Binah, which is the Beriah within Atzilus; and then they are [at the level of] “it is pure.”

6And afterwards [comes] “You created it,” which is actual Beriah, for “Binah nests in the Throne.” And see what is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “To understand what is said in the Haggadah, ‘This matzah,’” on the difference between the intellect (mochin) of Imma, which is the source and order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and the mochin of Abba, which is what is above the order of hishtalshelus.

7And this is the meaning of what was mentioned, that the ascent is from the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) to the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). For “Binah nests in the Throne,” which is Beriah, Z’eir Anpin in Yetzirah, and Malchus in Asiyah; that is, the thirty vessels of Atzilus that become a soul for Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: the ten inner vessels in Beriah,

8the middle ones in Yetzirah, and the outer ones become a soul for Asiyah; see about this in Iggeres HaKodesh, on the verse “And David made a name.” And this is [what is meant by] the light that fills all worlds, and from there is the root of the souls before their descent into the body,

for they are drawn from the vessels of Atzilus, as mentioned above. And the ascent, to become “holy people,” is into the higher Chochmah of Atzilus, which is called the light that encompasses all worlds, since it is not clothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; for from Binah downward [the levels] are clothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, “Binah nests in the Throne,” whereas the higher Chochmah shines in Atzilus.

For Atzilus, relative to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, is called the light that encompasses all worlds. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Who has counted,” on “and the number of the fourth of Israel.”

9As for the matter of kadosh and kodesh, it may be explained that Malchus of Atzilus breaking through the screen between Atzilus and Beriah and becoming Atik for Beriah is what is called kadosh, which is a radiance of the light that encompasses all worlds; for the Atik of Beriah is the encompassing light (sovev) of Beriah, and [it is] above the level of the light that fills all worlds within Beriah.

10And in the same way the Atik of Yetzirah and the Atik of Asiyah. Nevertheless, all this is called kadosh with a vav, which is the drawing down of a mere radiance, whereas the supernal kodesh is the higher Chochmah itself, which shines

only in Atzilus itself, as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 47, chapter 1, that the level of the point of Malchus of Atzilus that broke through the screen and descended to become Atik for Beriah certainly no longer bears any comparison to Atzilus, etc.; see there.

Alternatively, it may be said that the level of kodesh and the threefold kadosh apply even in Atzilus itself; for it has already been explained that in Atzilus itself there are also the four levels of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, in which the higher Chochmah is called Chayah, and it is the Atzilus within Atzilus.

11And this is the supernal kodesh itself. And Binah is called the Beriah within Atzilus, and from there comes the level of purity, as it is written of the Levites, “to purify them”; and Z’eir Anpin and Nukva are the Yetzirah and Asiyah within Atzilus.

And three encompassing [lights] (makifim) are drawn upon them from the level of the supernal kodesh, and this is the matter of the threefold kadosh, etc. And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 41, chapter 7, that the level of Chayah, which is the higher Chochmah, also contains the levels of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah and Yechidah,

and the levels of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of Chayah are clothed in the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of Atzilus, which are Binah and Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. If so, it may be said that the levels of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of Chayah are the threefold kadosh, and the Chayah and Yechidah within the level of the higher Chochmah are the supernal kodesh itself.

122. Now, as for this ascent [coming] through the yoke of mitzvos, which is the acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, the explanation is that “Abba founded the daughter”: Malchus is rooted in the higher Chochmah, the supernal kodesh itself.

Therefore it too is called kodesh, as is explained in the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas (page 254b), that it is written, “for it is holy (kodesh) to you”; see there. And therefore, through this, the souls ascend to the supernal kodesh.

One may further say that the souls’ rising from the level of the unity of “He and His vessels” to the level of the unity of “He and His life-forces,” mentioned above, comes about through drawing down the light of Keser, which is above even Chochmah, which is called Chayah; for since

it is above both levels, “His life-forces” and “His vessels,” it is therefore what joins the two levels mentioned above (as is written in a similar way elsewhere, on the verse “gathering wood,” etc.).

And the drawing down of Keser also comes about through the yoke of mitzvos, for Malchus too is rooted in the level of Keser, which is why it is called “the supernal Keser, which is the Crown of Malchus,” etc.

And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “Who has counted,” mentioned above, regarding “I have even made it”; and as is written in the Zohar, Bereishis (page 24a),

regarding “the zarka that is thrown to a known place”; and in the Mikdash Melech there, which writes: “And at known times, when it rises to the very top and is thrown up to Arich, which is called Ein Sof, it is then called zarka,

for it is a stone that is thrown upward within the sling, which is the lip, by the five articulations of the mouth, etc.” End of quote. It is possible to say that this means that the letters of prayer are called stones, and it is known that crowns are made of them, as is written in the discourse beginning “The mezuzah on the right,” etc.

13And this is the matter of “the zarka that is thrown,” etc. Along these lines one may explain the sprinkling (zerikah) of the blood of the daily offering (tamid): it is to arouse the level of zarka mentioned above. And nowadays it is the elevation of the animal soul, for by the power of this refinement one brings about the ascent of Malchus. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev”; and see further on the matter of zarka, etc.,

in Pardes, Sha’ar HaTe’amim, chapter 1. And this is also the meaning of “I am like a verdant cypress,” as is written in Pardes there, that ani (“I”) has the letters of ayin (“nothing”); and see the Zohar, Parshas Shelach (158b), on the matter of ayin.

Now, the level of His sovereignty (Malchus), may He be blessed, which is called ani (“I”), is rooted in the level of ayin (“nothing”), as mentioned above, except that it descended, “like a verdant cypress”; but afterwards it is what rises up to its root.

And this is the level of zarka mentioned above. And this is the meaning of “Unique One, Life of the worlds” and “Unique King,” etc., which we say in Baruch She’amar and in Yishtabach. And see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “For You are my lamp.”

14Now, through this it also raises the souls of Israel that are bound up with it, as is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “So that glory may sing praise to You and not be silent,” and through this, “Havayah my G‑d, I will thank You forever.”

And this is the meaning of “With this (bezos) shall Aharon come into the Holy (hakodesh)”: specifically “with this” (zos), which is the attribute of His sovereignty, may He be blessed, whose root is exceedingly high and exalted.

15Therefore it is said, “and a fool does not understand this (zos).” And see the Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Acharei, section 21, on “With this shall [Aharon] come”; and see what is written elsewhere on the verse “Let not the wise man glory,” etc., “but only in this let him glory,” etc., “and righteousness in the earth”; and this is the meaning of “And righteousness exalts,” etc.

Now, the ascent is on Shabbos, as it is said, “for it is holy (kodesh) to you”; for Shabbos is the intellect (mochin) of Abba, and [it is] the ascent of Malchus into the light of Abba.

163. However, the filling of all the blemishes is on Yom Kippur, which is “a Shabbos of complete rest” (Shabbos Shabbason), which is the level of the Holy of Holies (kodesh hakodashim), which is far, far above even the level of the supernal kodesh and the higher Chochmah, as it is written, “And Chochmah is found from ayin (nothing),” and as is written above in the name of the Zohar on Mishpatim

(page 121, end of side b). Therefore, through a drawing down from this level, all the blemishes are filled. And this is [the meaning of] “And he shall atone for the Holy (hakodesh),” etc.

That is, through the Kohen Gadol, who enters the House of the Holy of Holies. And this is along the lines of what is written in the Zohar, at the beginning of Parshas Yisro (67b): “There is a King above, who is the mystery of the Holy of Holies, and beneath Him there is a kohen,” etc.,

“who is called great,” etc. And see there in the commentary of the Ramaz: “There is a King above” means the Malchus of Adam Kadmon, which becomes Atik for Atzilus, and its radiance is chiefly in the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich; and this is the meaning of the Holy of Holies: they are the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich, etc.

17And the Kohen Gadol is the supernal Chesed of Arich, which is called “the day that includes all the days.” And it is he that draws the light from the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich Anpin to be revealed in the higher Chochmah

of Atzilus; see there. And it is along the lines of what is mentioned elsewhere on the meaning of “You are a kohen”; see the commentary of the Ramaz on the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Eikev, that he draws from the level of “He” (hu) to be in the level of “You” (atah), that is, from concealment to revelation, etc.

18And the level of the Kohen Gadol below, in the service of G‑d, is the level of great love (ahavah rabbah). For a kohen is the level of Chesed, which is love,

but a Kohen Gadol is great love, which is the level of “and abundant in kindness (rav chesed).” And see what is written in the discourse beginning “When you light the lamps” about the great love of Aharon,

which is above the level of the natural love that comes from the level of “kindness to Avraham.” And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And you shall make holy garments for Aharon.” And this is the inner dimension of the heart: “To You my heart said, ‘Seek My face,’” etc.; see what is written in the discourse beginning “You are standing.”

19Now, in this drawing down from the level of the Holy of Holies there are also two levels: the first is called “Shabbos Shabbason hu,” and the second is called “Shabbos Shabbason hi.” That is,

the Holy of Holies itself is the level of the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich, while the main drawing down must be from the level of Atik that shines within it, which is the lowest level of the Emanator. And this is the meaning of “There is a King above”: that is, the Malchus of Ein Sof, “who is the mystery of the Holy of Holies,” which is clothed in the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich.

The explanation of “There is a King above” will be understood according to what is written in the discourse beginning “The voice of my beloved,” on “Your kingship is a kingship of all worlds”: that “Your kingship” means, by way of analogy, the light when it is included in the luminary, for then it is truly united with the essence of the luminary, etc.

20Now, when the revelation is drawn from the level of Atik itself, it is then called “Shabbos Shabbason hu,” in the masculine; for it is the source of the flow, and the level of Arich Anpin,

which is the root of the emanated beings, receives from this level. And the revelation of the level of Atik, it is possible to say, is above the level of the Holy of Holies.

21This is like what is explained elsewhere on the meaning of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Could it be [that you are to be holy] like Me? The verse teaches, ‘For I am holy’: My holiness is above your holiness.” This does not mean like His actual being and essence, G‑d forbid, for how could it enter the mind to say so?

Rather, the meaning of “like Me” is His radiance, may He be blessed, that is clothed in the root of the emanated beings; and this is the level of Atik, which is called the lowest level of the Emanator.

22If so, this level is above even the level of the Holy of Holies, which is what is called “your holiness,” for it is the root of the emanated beings;

whereas the level of Atik is called “My holiness,” for it is the lowest level of the Emanator, except that it is what shines in the level of the Holy of Holies, and then it is called “Shabbos Shabbason hu.”

23And this is the meaning of “the holy King.” And see what is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “And it shall be, from one new moon,” on “and Shabbos in its Shabbos.” And then it is said, “And he shall atone for the Holy (hakodesh),” for it also fills in even the blemish that touches the light of Abba, which is called the supernal kodesh. And the level of “Shabbos Shabbason hi”

is when the generations are not worthy and there is no arousal from below as there should be; then the drawing down is not from the level of Atik itself. Nevertheless, the light is drawn from the level of the Holy of Holies itself, which is the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Arich Anpin,

except that the level of which our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “My holiness is above,” etc., does not shine in it, as mentioned above; and then it is called “Shabbos Shabbason hi.”

24And then it atones only for the blemish that reaches the Sanctuary of the Holy (mikdash hakodesh), which is Binah, which receives from Chochmah, just as the level of hi (“she”) receives from the level of hu (“he”), etc.

The explanation of the matter may be given according to what the Ramaz writes on Parshas Vayikra (page 15b) and on Parshas Emor (page 94): that in the tikkunim of the beard (tikkunei dikna), which are the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, there are two levels: the first, the hairs, and there is the presence of Imma; and the second, the inner light within them, which is the presence of Abba.

Now, the hairs themselves are drawn from Arich Anpin, but the inner [light] clothed within them, which is the level of “like the good oil,” etc., “running down upon the beard,” is drawn from the light of Atik that is clothed in the Keser and Chochmah of Arich Anpin. And see what is written elsewhere on “And Yosef was brought down to Egypt,”

that it is the drawing down from the Yesod of Adam Kadmon and the Yesod of Atik, which is drawn into the mazalos of Arich Anpin, etc.; and the source of this drawing down is from the Chochmah of Adam Kadmon.

25And this is the meaning of “like the good oil,” etc. Therefore, when the inner dimension within the thirteen tikkunim of the beard is also drawn down and shines, it atones also for the Holy (kodesh), which is Abba;

whereas when it is drawn only from the outer dimension of the thirteen tikkunim of the beard, it does not atone for the Holy itself, but only for the Sanctuary of the Holy, which is Imma.

264. One may further explain the level of “Shabbos Shabbason hu” and the level of “Shabbos Shabbason hi” even within the drawing down that is from the level of Atik itself.

This is according to what is written elsewhere on the verse “He gives snow like wool”: that is, it is a novel thing that He gives a radiance in the snow,

which is the thirteen tikkunim of the beard, whose root is from Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain), in which the Gevurah of Atik is clothed, so that it is truly “like wool,” which is the level of “the hair of His head like pure wool,” which is drawn from the Gulgalta (the skull), in which the Chesed of Atik is clothed.

For the root of the level of the beard is drawn from the two sides (pe’os) of the head, which are the two times Matzpatz, the two times Havayah, Havayah, that precede the Thirteen Attributes: “Kel, merciful and gracious,” etc.

And it is specifically through this radiance from the level of the Chesed of Atik that it is called “Shabbos Shabbason hu,” in the masculine (zachar), for “He remembered (zachar) His kindness” is the level of Chesed, etc.;

and it is a drawing down from the level of the light of Atik that is clothed in the Keser of Arich Anpin, which is above the level of the light clothed in the Chochmah of Arich Anpin.

27And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, the beginning of chapter 7 and the end of chapter 3. Also according to what is written elsewhere on “And Yosef was brought down,” mentioned above, that this is a drawing down from the level of

the Yesod of Adam Kadmon, which is above the level of the Malchus of Adam Kadmon that becomes Atik for Atzilus; for the level of Malchus is only a radiance relative to Yesod, which is the level of the drawing down from the Infinite Light itself.

28And it is explained in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Kedoshim, that the level of the supernal Shabbos is the splendor (hadar) of the Yesod of Adam Kadmon, etc. If so, accordingly, it may be said that “Shabbos Shabbason hi” is when the drawing down is drawn from the Malchus of Adam Kadmon,

but “Shabbos Shabbason hu,” in the masculine, is when the source of the drawing down is drawn from the Yesod of Adam Kadmon, etc. And this comes through “for there the tribes went up,” through which “And Yosef,” etc.; and the meaning of “for there [the tribes] went up” is through an arousal from below.

For the twelve tribes, together with the tribe of Levi, correspond to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; that is, the root of their root is from there. And they themselves are also from the Chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah, which is drawn from the Malchus of Atzilus.

Therefore, through their arousal from below, at the level of “for there the tribes went up,” they arouse above, in the level of the Holy of Holies of Atzilus; that is, they arouse the level of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy of Arich Anpin.

And then, through this, there is drawn down also from the level and rank called “My holiness is above your holiness,” mentioned above. And this is the meaning of “And Yosef was brought down,” etc.,

that is, the level of “like the good oil,” etc., “running down upon the beard,” etc. See the Zohar, Parshas Emor (the end of 88b), and the end of Parshas Tzav (the end of 34a), and what is written in the explanation on the verse

“For with You is the source of life,” at its end, on “In Your light,” etc. And see what is written elsewhere on the meaning of “sevenfold, like the light of the seven days,” etc.

Now, all this is drawn down on Yom Kippur. And this is why the Kohen Gadol enters the House of the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. And although his ascent was only up to the Chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah (see Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 53),

yet it is as is written in Zohar HaRakia, Parshas Bereishis (page 45), on the meaning of “to join the seventh with the seventh”: for all the unifications and prayers have effect only in the Chambers (heichalos), and with the unification of the Chambers there is a unification in Atzilus;

for when the Chambers are united in the seventh (which is the Chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah), then Z’eir Anpin and Nukva also rise to become mayin nukvin (feminine waters) for Abba and Imma, and then the Mother receives from Atik through the Yesod of Abba; and from there upward a union does not apply, for there is no Nukva there.

And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “to join the seventh with the seventh”: the Yesod of Imma, corresponding to which is this Chamber, which is called the Holy of Holies. End of quote. And see about this in the Zohar, the end of Parshas Pekudei (page 260, end of side b), and in the Mikdash Melech there.

From all this it will be understood that through the Kohen Gadol’s entering the Chamber of the Holy of Holies in the Holy Temple, he arouses likewise far, far above, so that Abba and Imma receive from Atik, which is the level of Ein Sof itself, through which the filling of all the blemishes comes about; for “You are the perfection of them all,” etc.

29Now, the Ramaz explains, at the beginning of Parshas Tzav, on “Come and see: this burnt offering (olah) is the ascent and binding of the Community of Israel above,” etc., “and all is illuminated from the mystery of the Holy of Holies,”

that the Holy of Holies is the three heads: the uppermost head [is “Holy”], and “Holies” are the two other heads, one within the other, etc.; see there.

30If so, according to this, that the level of Radla, the Unknowable Head (Reisha d’Lo Isyada), which is Atik, is the level of the Holy of Holies, then we must understand what the level above this is, of which our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “My holiness is above your holiness.” For it is impossible to say that it refers to

the very essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), which is above the level of Atik (as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 41, chapter 3, that the level of Atik is the lowest level of the Emanator, as if one were to say, by way of analogy, the level of Malchus of Malchus, etc.; see there),

for this is impossible, since it has already been explained that when they said, “Could it be like Me?” it does not mean like the very essence of the Infinite Light, for how could it enter the mind to say so?

Rather, it refers to the level that is clothed in Atzilus, which is the level of Atik, etc., as mentioned above. If so, according to the Ramaz’s explanation that the Holy of Holies is the three heads, among which is Radla, we must understand what the level above this is, of which they said, “Could it be,” etc.

However, the matter is along the lines of what is written in the commentary on the Idra Zuta by Rabbi Chaim Vital (page 288a), explaining what is written there on side b, “This Atika is found in three heads.” The meaning of “is found”

is: it is found, and is hidden, and is revealed in three heads. It follows that the essence of Atika is the Ein Sof; however, because of its being hidden in the three heads, the three heads too are called Atika Kadisha. End of quote.

It follows that even the level of the uppermost head, which is called Radla and the Holy of Holies, is [so] only because the Infinite Light itself, which is called Atika Kadisha, is clothed in it.

And this is the level of “My holiness,” which is above “your holiness,” etc. And see the commentary on the Sifra deTzniusa by the Arizal, of blessed memory, in the first chapter (page 119a), where he writes as follows: “Know that it is the head that is not a head, where the hiding place of the might of the Essence is; it itself does not grasp what is in it.

And this is the meaning of ‘it does not know and is not known what is in this head,’ as it were, like a person who does not grasp the essence of the soul within him.” End of quote.

31From all this, “Shabbos Shabbason hi” and “Shabbos Shabbason hu” will be understood with additional explanation. The meaning of “Shabbos Shabbason hi” is when the drawing down is from the Holy of Holies, which is the level of the three heads,

and also the revelation of the radiance of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) through the three heads mentioned above; just as, by way of analogy, in a person: although he does not grasp the being and essence of the soul within him, what it is, nevertheless the radiances and powers of the soul are revealed in the head, which is the intellect, and sight, hearing, etc.

But the level of “Shabbos Shabbason hu” is when there is drawn down a revelation of the very essence of the Infinite Light that is clothed in Radla, etc. And this is the meaning of “like the good oil,” etc.: “The Good One, for Your mercies have not ended,” etc.