ויושט המלך לאסתר את שרביט הזהב ותקם אסתר…

1“And the king extended to Esther the golden scepter, and Esther arose and stood before the king,” etc. [We need] to understand the differences between this passage and the passage above, for there it says, “And the king extended the golden scepter that was in his hand.”

Also, there it says, “and she touched the top of the scepter,” while here the implication is that he gave her the whole scepter. And [we need] also to understand what this matter is at every time.

Now, the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is called by the name Esther after [the verse] “And I will surely hide (haster astir) My face on that day.” For the face of G‑d, which is the revelation of His Shechinah (Divine Presence),

as it is written, “May G‑d make His face shine upon you,” is now, in the time of exile, hidden, at the level of “on that day” (for “that day” indicates a day that is not seen and revealed, which is not so with “this day”).

And in particular, in every soul of Israel: when the aspect of the spark of his G‑dly soul is covered and clothed in the physical garments of thought, speech and action, and the light of G‑d does not rest and become revealed in him, so that the love of G‑d, to cleave to Him, would be grasped and fixed in his mind and heart in a revealed way in the heart,

but only in the aspect of something encompassing (makif) over him from above, this level of love is called by the name Esther, for it is hidden, at the level of “on that day,” in that it is not in revelation.

2It is the level of “a point within the chamber” (nekudah beheichala), in the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the point of his heart. Assuredly the love is hidden in every soul of Israel, and there is no person who lacks this inner dimension; only, bringing it out from concealment into revelation is not the same in every person.

Therefore, in the days of Mashiach, when man will be refined, then it will be at the level of “And the glory of G‑d shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see,” etc. And “It shall be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our G‑d; we hoped for Him,’” etc.

That is, the light of G‑d will shine in revelation until it is grasped and fixed even in his mind and human intellect, and “all flesh shall see,” with physical, sensory sight, that “our G‑d” is at the level of “this,” for which “we hoped,” and not at the level of “that.”

3Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “All the festivals will be abolished in the Time to Come, except Purim, as it is said, ‘And the days of Purim,’ etc., ‘and their remembrance shall not cease from their seed.’” Our Sages, of blessed memory, also said: “The halachos will not be abolished in the Time to Come.”

The explanation is this: the significance of Shabbosos and festivals is that on them there is the aspect of the ascent of the worlds and of the sparks, for every spark of a soul of Israel rises a level because of the light of G‑d

that is revealed at those times. On them there is added light, joy and the gladness of G‑d, to set the souls aflame to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, with surpassing intensity. In particular, on Pesach the light of love, the supernal Chesed (kindness), is revealed in the inner dimension of the souls.

4Through this all the sparks of the souls of Israel are elevated, to arouse the great love for G‑d and to push away all that hinders and obstructs [it],

that is, the things that are the opposite of, and against, the love of G‑d, namely physical desires, so as to subdue the sitra achra (the other side). As it is written, “To Him Who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for His kindness is forever.”

That is: in order that the light of the supernal Chesed should shine to the world, He struck the firstborn of Egypt, who are the very opposite of this. As it is written, “Who is this coming up from the desert like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, from all the powders of the merchant?”

That is: the Congregation of Israel is called “this” (zos). She is “coming up from the desert,” that is, [from] the physical things that are not for G‑d, which resemble a place of desert and desolation;

and also, midbar (desert) is related to dibur (speech), that is, idle words. She rises from them on Shabbosos and festivals, and then it is “like columns of smoke.”

For just as physical smoke comes into being because the fire burns something that is the opposite of its nature, namely the moisture in the wood or in the wick on which the fire takes hold,

for the amount of smoke is according to the amount of moisture in that thing; so too, as it were, when the light of G‑d is revealed on Shabbosos and festivals, it burns and consumes the manifest opposing thing, so as to subdue the sitra achra.

5She is also “perfumed” (mekuteres): kitur is the name for a fine smoke, like the smoke of burning spices (mugmar) and of the incense; and because it is so fine, the Torah does not call it “smoke” but “cloud,” as it is written, “And the cloud of the incense shall cover.”

This is because it does not burn and consume a thing that is truly opposite, since in the thing on which the flame takes hold there is nothing of what is

opposite except a very little. Nevertheless, she must be at this level, the level of “perfumed,” to burn and consume, each according to his level and according to the stature of his soul, ascent after ascent.

Afterwards there will be the level of myrrh. This is what is said in the Megillah, “When the turn of each maiden came to go in to the king”: for all the sparks of Israel are at the level of Nukva (the feminine) in relation to the Holy One, blessed be He, to rise and to behold the light

of G‑d, each according to his level: “six months with oil of myrrh.” Oil is the level of Chochmah (wisdom): to be at the level of myrrh (mor), the level of bitterness (merirus). For once one rises from the desert and crumbles and separates the evil, so that it is consumed and burned in the smoke and the fine smoke,

then one will understand well the bitterness over the opposite, how and what it is. Afterwards one will come to the level of frankincense (levonah), which is the level of joy in the gladness of G‑d: “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker.”

6This is [the meaning of] “six months with spices”: for just as a scent is absorbed and enters into one’s body and delights one’s soul with richness, although it is something that has no substance and is not seen or revealed to the eye; the scent is only absorbed into the body.

So too, joy in G‑d is from the hidden world (alma de’iskasya); only, it gladdens the heart and kindles it to glow and blaze with the light

of G‑d. “From all the powders of the merchant” are all the kinds of fervor that are in every soul of Israel, each one according to his own measure. And this is [the meaning of] “with the women’s cosmetics,” for with all these “the maiden comes to the king.”

7Now, all the kinds of ascent and drawing near of the Congregation of Israel to the Holy One, blessed be He, on Shabbos and Yom Tov, and however much they rise, ascent after ascent, to the loftiest heights, are called “touching the top of the scepter.”

For the golden scepter is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, and it is itself the life-force of all the worlds, higher and lower, as it is written, “…the golden scepter, and he shall live.” And she cannot rise and see and receive her life-force from the whole scepter;

rather, the scepter remains in his hand, and only a glimmer reaches her, at the top of the scepter. This glimmer is the level of a fierce love like flashes of fire and a flame that rises upward: the higher gold, “the gold of the wave offering.”

Its lower end is when this fierce love burns and blazes from his contemplation of the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, [as] the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) and the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). Its upper end is when it blazes and glows from his contemplation of His very being and essence, may He be blessed, and “no thought can grasp Him at all”;

and the term “greatness,” memalei kol almin and sovev kol almin, does not apply to Him. Only of the glimmer and the drawing down of life-force from Him, may He be blessed, can one say “filling” and “encompassing”; but “His greatness,” specifically, “is unsearchable.”

That is, it is not at all applicable to search out and contemplate His greatness, how He is “very great and praised,” except in [relation to] the Name Havayah, blessed be He, which denotes the drawing down of life-force to the worlds.

But before Him they are truly considered as truly nothing, and as if there were no worlds there at all, as it is written, “I, G‑d, have not changed”; and “You are He before [the world] was created, and You are He after the world was created,” all equally;

and before Him, may He be blessed, the aspect of worlds does not apply, neither at the level of “filling” nor at the level of “encompassing,” for He is not within the bounds of worlds at all.

8As it is written, “Great is G‑d and highly praised, in the city of our G‑d, His holy mountain.” And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “When is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d,” etc.

For before Him, may He be blessed, the term “greatness” does not apply, since all the worlds, higher and lower, are all considered as nothing before Him. Rather, the attribute of His greatness is His humility: that He clothes Himself in the level of greatness so that His kingship may be “a kingship of all worlds.”

9As it is written, “G‑d sits as King forever.” And this is [the meaning of] “And You are holy, sitting [upon] the praises of Israel.” That is: Your being “the praises of Israel” is the level of “sitting,” which is a lowering and a humility for You, for in truth You are holy and set apart from this bound.

But in the Time to Come the light of G‑d will be revealed in a great and mighty revelation, that is, the drawing down of His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, and His essence and being, from the level of “I, G‑d, have not changed”: was, is and will be in one instant; and “all flesh shall see,” with the eyes of the physical intellect, that “our G‑d” will be at the level of “this,” as mentioned above.

10This revelation will be in the lower realms specifically, below. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “At the time it shall be said to Yaakov and to Israel, ‘What has G‑d wrought’”:

that the ministering angels will ask this of the tzaddikim; and in place of what the ministering angels used to say, “Where is the place of His glory?”, they will say, “The whole earth is full of His glory.”

11This is [the meaning of] “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband”: the light of G‑d that is revealed in her now is called “her husband,” but in the Time to Come [she] will be at a higher level.

Therefore it is written, “She has fallen; she will no more rise, the maiden of Israel.” That is: the aspect of rising and ascent will not apply to her, for the light of G‑d will be in great revelation below specifically.

This is because darkness is transformed into light, and not only the subduing of the sitra achra, to nullify them and humble them, as in the other exiles, of which it is written, “To Him Who struck Egypt through their firstborn,” etc.,

“And He slew mighty kings,” etc. Rather, [it is] that then, too, “I will turn to the peoples a clear language,” etc., and “many peoples shall go,” etc.

12Now, the miracle of Purim was a semblance of this: the heart of Achashverosh was turned to good. That very same mouth that said, “and the people,

to do with it as seems good in your eyes,” is the very one that said, “And you, write concerning the Jews as seems good in your eyes.” This is the transformation of darkness into light, and “the glory of G‑d is revealed” below, in the place of darkness specifically.

13Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said that the halachos too will not be abolished. The explanation of the matter: our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “Flee, my beloved, and be like a gazelle,” etc.: “Just as a gazelle turns its head backward…”

That is, by way of analogy: just as in a person, within the bone of his head are placed his brain, his intellect and his understanding, and when he turns the bone of his head backward,

the brain within it, and the spirit of his intellect and understanding, are also drawn after it; so too, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, drew down and clothed His will and His wisdom in the place of His “back,” which is the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), namely in physical matters, as with animals in the Order of Kodashim

14and with money in the Order of Nezikin. For the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of His will and His wisdom, may He be blessed, is clothed in them, and His emotive attributes (middos), may He be blessed, are also drawn after them of themselves, as a matter of course, as it is written, “He has turned His right hand backward,” etc.

And “through Chochmah (wisdom) they are sorted out.” That is: the term “sorting out” applies only to something that is mixed in, such as a kind within its own kind, and is not recognizable. So, by way of analogy, a broker who exchanges “a cow for a donkey,” as compared with one who studies this mishnah and halachah.

15Likewise, a butcher who busies himself with cutting the limbs of the animal into pieces, and with the entrails, etc., is a butcher. But one who busies himself with knowing all the details of the laws that depend on the limbs of the animal, to distinguish between treifah and kosher,

and likewise with one who exchanges a cow, to know, distinguish and sort out between the liable and the exempt, and likewise in the Order of Taharos, between impure and pure, etc.;

16and likewise in all of Shas, Mishnah and Gemara, and all the halachic authorities, early and later, the supernal will and His wisdom, may He be blessed, are revealed and made clear, and through this the evil is sorted out and separated from the good,

that is, the invalid from the valid, and the liable from the exempt. And likewise with practical mitzvos that depend on the emotive attributes (middos), such as one who guards a lost object, who is exempt from giving a perutah to a poor man, for one who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from [another] mitzvah.

17That is, if he is occupied with it for its own needs, to spread it out and to shake it out; and there is no difference whether it is the lost object of a rich man or of a poor man.

Whereas if he guards his own garment, even if he is not as rich as the owner of the lost object, there is no mitzvah in it.

The same applies to charity and acts of kindness: when one does kindness to people, this is a mitzvah; but if he does it for his own need, there is no mitzvah in it.

If so, when one does a mitzvah with a physical thing, this is the transformation of darkness into light; for the light of G‑d is the revelation of His will, may He be blessed, and [it is] light in the place of physical darkness specifically.

18And this is [the meaning of] “Behold, this one stands behind our wall.” That is: the level of His wisdom and will, may He be blessed, is the level of revelation, at the level of “this,” in the matters of the Torah;

only, it “stands behind our wall,” for the light of G‑d does not rest and become revealed in him, because “your iniquities separate,” and stand opposite him as a wall.

19The counsel offered for this: “He gazes through the windows, He peers through the lattices.” For a window is an opening made in a wall.

So too the lattices, except that lattices are small cracks, while a window is a larger opening. So, by way of analogy, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Open for Me [an opening] like the point of a needle,” etc.

That is, that he break his heart, the heart of stone, so as to have “a broken spirit, a broken heart.” For all the screens, the wall and the partition that divide between him and his Father in Heaven are the level of coarseness of spirit, because of which he considers himself something (yesh), and his own desires are dearer in his eyes than the desires of Heaven.

20With all the above, the matter of Esther will be well understood and explained: at first, “when he saw the queen standing in the court,” it was the level of “this one coming up from the desert,” mentioned above.

For even the level of the inner court is considered a desert compared with the king’s house itself, since the king does not dwell permanently in the court as in the house; then there is revealed a glimmer and drawing down of the light of G‑d.

21And then, “Esther drew near”: she rises and draws near to the king, in longing for her Beloved. But all the ascents and drawing near are no more than “and she touched the top of the scepter.”

But afterwards it is written, “And Esther continued,” etc., that is, when she was with him in the house, “and she wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.”

For the weeping is to arouse great compassion upon the spark of G‑dliness that has been clothed in garments of coarseness of spirit, from the level of Haman, who “devised against the Jews”; for from him such thoughts come to the Jews.

22And then darkness will be transformed into light. Therefore, “the king extended to Esther” the whole of “the golden scepter,” that the light of G‑d should shine in revelation below specifically.

And then, “Esther arose”: that is, she rose up in her place and her station, so that she would no longer need the level of “coming up from the desert.”

And this is [the meaning of] “and she stood before the king”: that she will be at a great level before him, as it is written, “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.” (And see, on the matter of “And the king extended,” etc., what is written in Parshas Re’eh on the verse “When you hearken to the voice,” etc.; and in the Mikdash Melech, Part I, Parshas Vayechi) (228b).

Also there, in the discourse beginning “When you hearken,” mentioned above, the matter of the inner court and the matter of the house were explained. And see further on the matter of the house above, Parshas Bereishis, in the discourse beginning “The heavens are My throne,” etc.,

“Where is the house,” etc. And see further above, Parshas Vayeshev, in the Haftarah of Chanukah, on the verse “You shall guard My courts,” [explained] in another way.