אשירה לה׳ כי גאה גאה וגו׳

1“I will sing to G‑d, for He is exalted, exalted,” etc. And Onkelos translates, “He is exalted above the exalted ones,” etc. This will be understood by first understanding the matter of the soul’s descent into this world: that this descent is for the sake of an ascent, as is known.

Now, before the soul came into this world, it stood before G‑d in awe and love, as it is written, “As G‑d lives, before Whom I have stood.” And it is impossible for it to stand above, before G‑d, without awe and love (dechilu u’rechimu), for without awe and love it does not fly upward.

And of this it is said, “And the chayos ran and returned (ratzo vashov), like the appearance of a flash of lightning” (although this is said of the angels, the same holds for the souls and all the host on high).

“Running” in love: that “his soul yearns, and even pines away,” etc. And “returning” in awe: for “who is it that would pledge his heart to draw near?” etc.

But in its descent into this world, the awe and love became hidden, and it was clothed in the physical body, and it could no longer be constantly at the level of “running and returning like the appearance of a flash of lightning,” as it was above, but only at intervals and at set times, when the love is aroused.

And even then, this love and awe bear no comparison to the love and awe it had in days of old. And this descent is for the sake of an ascent: that it be elevated through occupation with the Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvos.

2Now, one must understand the advantage and superiority of occupation with the Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvos over the awe and love that it had. But

now, there is the well-known saying, “Master of wonders, Who in His goodness renews each day, continually, the work of creation”: from the very beginning of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) to the end of all created beings, they are renewed each day from nothing to something. And this renewal is at the level of the light that fills

all worlds (memalei kol almin), so that it comes by way of the chain of descending worlds, from cause to cause: first the spirituality of the higher worlds and the separate intellects, and afterwards it descends and comes down, lower and lower, until the life-force becomes physical, to become the making of the physical heaven and earth.

3It is like the soul that spreads through the body: its first revelation is in the brain, as intellect; afterwards in the mouth, as speech; and afterwards in the hands, as action, etc. And this renewal, so that there be the levels of above and below, spirituality and physicality, is “in His goodness,” which is the attribute of His goodness and compassion.

As it is written, “G‑d is good to all, and His mercies are upon all His works.” For He, blessed be He, is the Infinite One (Ein Sof), Who encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), Who is equal and makes equal small and great; above and below, physicality and spirituality, are equal before Him, etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “Master of wonders.” That is, even the level of “wonders,” which are the hidden worlds (almin stimin), etc., bears no comparison to Him, blessed be He. And as it is written, “doing wonders” (oseh fele): the level of “wonder” is the level of “doing” (asiyah), etc.

4Now, the cleaving of the soul to its root, to the living G‑d, comes from its grasp of the life-force that spreads forth from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, to give life to the worlds.

For “with You is the source of life,” etc. Through this it is at the level of “running,” to love G‑d, “for He is your life,” specifically “your life.”

But “if your heart runs, return to the One,” because He Himself, blessed be He, is the Master of wonders and does wonders, and is not within the scope of the soul’s grasp and its cleaving; therefore it is at the level of “returning.”

5And this is [the meaning of] “awesome in praises, Master of wonders,” [and] “awesome in praises, doing wonders”: because He is the Master of wonders, doing wonders, therefore He is “awesome in praises,” for one is afraid to praise Him, etc.

But through occupation with the Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvos, the soul will cleave to the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), the Master of wonders. For the Torah and the mitzvos are drawn from the level of the Master of wonders and the light that encompasses all worlds.

6And this was the meaning of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds before the giving of the Torah: “He turned the sea into dry land.” For the sea is the level of the concealed world (alma d’iskasya).

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Everything that is on dry land is in the sea,” except that the waters cover them and they are not seen. That is, the level of the concealed world came into revelation as the level of the revealed world (alma d’isgalya), so that there could be a revelation of the drawing down of the Torah at the giving of the Torah.

7Now, the combinations of the letters of the Torah are called, by way of analogy, “horses.” And of this it is said, “The horse and its rider He has cast into the sea,” as will be explained.

For although the horse is secondary to its rider, nevertheless it has a special advantage: it can run and carry the rider to a place the rider could not have reached without

a horse. So too, all the combinations of the letters of the Torah have this advantage and superiority, when a person’s soul cleaves to the combinations of letters even though he does not know and understand the matter with the eye of the intellect, but only utters and speaks them (excluding thought, which is not considered like speech).

These raise the soul to a place the soul could not reach by virtue of its own root. For the root of the letters of the Torah is very high above the root of the soul, for “Abba founded the Daughter” (Abba yasad barta).

Only, the person must be at the level of a “rider” of the letters, drawing and guiding [them] through the awe and love that he arouses, as much as he is able to bear, “each according to his own measure.”

8[It may be] even the natural love that is hidden within him; for without any awe and love at all, it does not fly upward.

And as it is with Torah, so it is with the other mitzvos, as it is written, “And they will keep the way of G‑d, to do charity and justice, so that G‑d may bring upon Avraham that which He spoke concerning him.”

That is, through the mitzvos, which in general are called “charity and justice,” as will be explained, there is drawn down upon the level of Avraham, which is the attribute of love in “running,” “going on and journeying.”

“That which He spoke concerning him”: “upon him” (alav), specifically, is the level of the Master of wonders, which is far above the soul’s grasp and its cleaving to the living G‑d; and that is why it is at the level of “returning,” as explained above.

9The explanation of this is as follows. Now, “the way of Havayah” means a way and an entrance for there to be Havayah, that is, that there be the level of Havayah.

It denotes the bringing of the worlds into being from nothing to something through the letters of the Name Havayah: the yud, Chochmah (wisdom), etc. For He, blessed be He, is above Chochmah, and “You are wise,” etc.

That is, it is in the manner of “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humility”: for “You have made them all with Chochmah,” a physical making.

10And it is written, “I am Havayah, that is My Name”: only My Name, as with a name, which is not of the same measure and substance as the essence, etc. And before the world was created, there was He and His Name alone.

“Alone” means in a state of concealment. And in order for Havayah to be in a state of revelation, the attribute of His goodness and compassion was drawn forth: “G‑d is good to all, and His mercies are upon all His works.”

“Who in His goodness renews,” etc.; “the Good One, for Your mercies have not ceased,” etc. This is the level of abundant mercy (rachamim rabbim) that precedes the World of Atzilus (Emanation), which is far above the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).

For the attribute of mercy within the order of the chain of descending worlds has, opposite it, the attribute of judgment, which contracts: “right and left,” etc. And it is a level of measure and limit.

But the abundant mercy that is above the chain of descending worlds is a compassion that has no measure and no proportion, not even the proportion of a person who has compassion on a fly, which is far removed from the nature and rank of a human being.

Even so, it has some proportion [to him], since it is a creature like him. Not so with the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He: nothing compares to Him at all, not even the higher worlds, the level of “wonders.”

11Therefore this great attribute of mercy extends to them as well, for He is the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Who encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), etc., and He is the One Who is equal and makes equal, etc.

And of this it is said, “Gracious and compassionate is Havayah”: [the verse] puts the level of “gracious and compassionate” first, so that there be Havayah. These are the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (yud-gimmel mechilin d’rachamei), the source of Atzilus, etc., as explained elsewhere.

12And this is the “way,” the drawing down, for there to be the level of Havayah. It comes through an arousal from below, in charity and justice, which in general are all the mitzvos of the Torah, as will be explained.

In particular, it is the mitzvah of charity, which is the arousal of the attribute of compassion, to bestow with the attribute of his goodness and kindness, “to revive the spirit of the lowly.”

And through this there is an arousal from above, so that there be “the way of Havayah, to do charity,” etc.: that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, be clothed in the level of Torah and mitzvos.

13And that there be “You are wise,” etc., is the attribute of His goodness and compassion, so that there be this clothing and this drawing down, as in the words “the compassionate Father, Who is praised,” etc.

And of this it is said, “Justice and charity in Yaakov, You have made”: through the justice and charity in Yaakov, the level of “You” is made, that is, the revelation of G‑dliness. But now, with this charity, “justice” is written alongside it.

As it is written, “to do charity and justice,” [and] “justice and charity in Yaakov.” For it is not enough to arouse only the level of His kindness and goodness, blessed be He, since this is an arousal of the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), Who is equal and makes equal, etc.

Of this level it is said, “The spider (semamis) takes hold with its hands, yet it is in the palaces of the king”: even the spider, which is the level of kelipah (the husk) and the sitra achra (the other side), has nourishment and a hold [there], etc.

14This is like the matter of “not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth,” etc. And one must arouse the level of justice above, so that life-force and nourishment are not drawn down

except to the side of holiness (sitra d’kedushah). “May G‑d make His face shine upon you,” “May G‑d lift up His face toward you”: that is, the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and essence of the life-force. But the nourishment of the external forces and the sitra achra (the other side) is from the excesses: the nails and the hair, etc.

15And this level of justice, which is G‑d’s, comes through an arousal from below: the level of justice that a person exercises on himself, concerning the excesses of his bodily life, as against charity.

For our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Your life comes before your fellow’s life”: specifically your actual life, as in the example of the flask of water, where if both drink, both will die, etc., as is found in the Gemara.

Not so your excesses: they do not come before your fellow’s life, for it is not right that a person should pamper himself with the delights of the world while his fellow dies of hunger, G‑d forbid.

16And through this justice that a person exercises, not to give nourishment and life-force to the excesses of the body, he brings about the level of justice above, so that life-force is not drawn to the excesses, which are the external forces and the sitra achra (the other side). And this is why we praise and bless G‑d, “Who loves charity and justice.”

17Now, the other mitzvos of the Torah are also called “charity” in this way, for the 248 positive commandments are the 248 “limbs of the King.”

That is, by way of analogy, like a limb in which the life-force of the soul is clothed: without this life-force, the body remains like an inanimate stone.

So too, the mitzvos are the level of “limbs of the King,” in which the life-force and the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, are clothed.

18And that this life-force be drawn down is likewise because of the attribute of His goodness and compassion, as mentioned above, through an arousal from below: the fulfillment of the deeds of the mitzvos in actual practice.

For example, tefillin: writing the passages and the [divine] Names on the parchment of an animal. Through this one draws into them supernal holiness from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, to be like a soul to the body of the mitzvos. And this is the level of the attribute of mercy: to give life to one who has nothing of his own, etc.

19And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “to do all the words of this Torah,” [and] “and you shall keep and do them (osam)”: it is written atem, “you,” as explained elsewhere.

Therefore one who fulfills the Torah and the mitzvos is called a tzaddik. And the virtue of a tzaddik is a very great virtue, for Scripture praises him, “The tzaddik is the foundation of the world,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “He saw the tzaddikim,” etc.

“He arose and planted them,” etc. At first glance, the term tzaddik means that he is righteous in his judgment and does no wrong to people, and that is not such a great virtue.

Rather, the main reason for the name tzaddik is that he is a master of charity (baal tzedakah): one who bestows charity and kindness with the attribute of his goodness and compassion, to give life to the mitzvos by fulfilling them in actual deed, and to draw into them life-force and the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, like a soul into a body, as mentioned above.

20And this is the purpose of the soul’s descent into this world. For in this descent, although it is a great descent with regard to awe and love, nevertheless its stature grows great, for after its descent into this world it becomes the level of a baal teshuvah, one who returns, since it must return, etc., as explained elsewhere.

And “in the place where baalei teshuvah stand, a complete tzaddik [cannot stand],” etc. For the level of abundant mercy, which is far above, is what is revealed in the level of the baal teshuvah.

That is, specifically after the soul’s descent into this world, when the compassion is very great (whereas before its coming it is at the level of a complete tzaddik).

And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One may stand to pray only in a mood of seriousness (koved rosh),” and Rashi explains: submission. That is, to arouse abundant mercy upon the spark of G‑dliness, etc.

Through this one arouses abundant mercy above, from the source of mercy, and draws down the level of “gracious and compassionate,” so that there be a revelation of Havayah in occupation with the Torah and the mitzvos, and that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) be within it, etc. Therefore it is precisely this descent that is for the sake of an ascent.

21And this is [the meaning of] “I will sing to Havayah, for He is exalted, exalted.” For song is an arousal of the level of joy, that is, the level of revelation.

For sadness and melancholy are a constriction and shrinking of the life-force, while joy is the revelation and spreading out of the life-force, as in “his face shone,” etc.

22And this revelation is so that there be a revelation of the level of Havayah from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, Who encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), the Master of wonders, etc.

And the level of Havayah, the yud, Chochmah (wisdom), etc., comes to be through drawing down the revelation of “for He is exalted, exalted.” Exaltedness is the level of “wonders,” and “exalted, exalted” is the level of the Master of wonders.

That is, that there be a revelation, a drawing down, of His kindness and goodness from the very highest level, the level of abundant mercy that precedes the World of Atzilus (Emanation). Through this level, “the horse and its rider He has cast into the sea”: for the revelation of this level is far above the level of “the horse and its rider.”

These are the level of the combinations of the letters of speech that are in awe and love, as mentioned above; just as, by way of analogy, even the horse cannot run in the sea.

23Therefore, at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, it is said, “And you shall be silent,” [and] “Why do you cry out to Me?” etc. For in order for the sea to be turned into dry land,

that is, for the concealed world to be in the state of the revealed world, changing the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), it comes through a great and mighty descent from far above the order of

the chain of descending worlds, from the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Who encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), Who is equal and makes equal, etc., the Master of wonders and “exalted, exalted,” until everything is in a state of self-nullification (bittul), etc.

24Therefore the word ramah has two meanings: a term of raising and elevation, and a term of casting, which is from above to below. For this is the level of the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, Who encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), and above and below are equal.

25And from there is drawn “My strength and song (zimras) is Kah.” Yud-hei are the level of the hidden worlds (almin stimin), and zimras is from the expression “and your vineyard you shall not prune (sizmor),” which is a term of cutting.

And just as one hews a stone from a mountain, so the letters yud-hei were hewn from the Master of wonders and “exalted, exalted,” to be in a state of revelation. And this hewing is through the level of “my strength” (ozi), the level of gevuros (powers of restraint), so that there be the level of “You are wise,” etc.

For this is His humility, and these indeed are His gevuros and contractions (tzimtzumim), etc. There must also be the level of tzimtzum (contraction), so that the flow not go to the excesses, as explained above.

26And afterwards there comes to be the level of “This is my G‑d,” etc., the level of revelation alluded to in vav-hei; and this is “and I will glorify Him” (ve’anvehu). But this revelation will be in the Time to Come: “tomorrow, to receive their reward,” but “today, to do them.”

And this is what is written, “And it shall be said on that day: Behold, this is our G‑d; we hoped (kivinu) for Him.” Kivinu is from the term kavin, lines and drawings-down: we have made the lines and drawings-down of the Name Havayah to be in a state of revelation. The yud: a tip above and a tip below.

The hei: three lines and breadth, etc. And of this it is said, “Say of the tzaddik that it is good”: for through the tzaddik, “G‑d is good to all,” etc., is drawn down.