ביאור על הנ״ל

1An explanation of the above.

2To understand the explanation of the matters on [the verse] “Who raises Himself up to sit,” etc.: we must first lay down two introductions. The first is what is written in the Pardes: the reason why we are able to extract oil from all things,

as is done in the preparation of medicines. It is because “You made them all with wisdom,” so that in all things the level of Chochmah (wisdom) is enclothed; and this is the level of the oil, which is the level of Chochmah,

as is written in the Zohar, that wine is Binah (understanding) and oil is Chochmah. And therefore it is written, “a wise woman from Tekoa,” for “Tekoa is foremost for oil.”

3Now, the good oil and the anointing oil are in the Chochmah of holiness that is in the ten supernal Sefiros. And of this it is said, “Like the good oil,” etc., “the beard of Aharon,” etc.,

as is written in the Zohar, [Parshas] Vayikra and Parshas Emor. But all the other oils are from nogah, and in nogah is the level of the Chochmah that is in human intellect.

4The second introduction is the meaning of what is written, “and the Torah is light.” For the meaning of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) is the Malchus (sovereignty) of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), in which is the whole tzimtzum (contraction) mentioned at the beginning of the book Etz Chaim: that a tzimtzum came about in the light, so that a vacated space and a void would come to be. For all of it is in the Infinite Light, in the light specifically,

5[and] not in His very essence and being, G‑d forbid. And the intent of this tzimtzum is that afterward, through the service of man in this world, which comes into being through this tzimtzum, [the light] will be drawn down, so that there is a revelation of the Malchus of the Infinite One as before [the world] was created.

That is: just as the light is before the tzimtzum, so exactly will the revelation be below, so that the tzimtzum will not conceal at all.

6As it is written, “I am first and I am last, and besides Me,” etc. That is: “I am first,” as [He] was before the tzimtzum; and “I am last” means as it is written, “And G‑d alone shall be exalted,” etc.

And “besides Me” refers to the middle, when the level of tzimtzum and concealment has come about: there too it will be [that] “we have no King but You,” so that the self-nullification (bittul) is revealed and there is no concealment or hiding. And this drawing down is through the Torah.

And this is [the meaning of] “and the Torah is light”: that it draws down the level of the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) as [it was] before the tzimtzum, also after the tzimtzum. (And this is [the meaning of] “the Mishnah is a queen”: the drawing down of the revelation of the Malchus of the Infinite One, the light that is above the tzimtzum.)

And this is the matter of Rav Yehudah: “all the learning was in Nezikin,” and he was exempt from prayer, etc. For the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) is [a matter] of hiding and concealment,

as it is written, “He made darkness His concealment.” This refers to the coming into being of the level of Keser (the Crown); for Chochmah (wisdom) is called light, being the level of revelation,

as it is written, “the beginning of wisdom”: the beginning of revelation. And Keser, which is above Chochmah and does not shine and become revealed, is called, with respect to us, by the name “darkness,” because it is not grasped.

As is written in the Zohar, Parshas Bereishis (page 32a). (And see what is written on [the verse] “I am black,” etc., on the subject that the Torah was given as black fire upon white fire.)

And also for this reason Keser is called darkness: it is a hiding of the Infinite Light. And Chochmah is a hiding of Keser, which does not shine except through Chochmah; it follows that Chochmah hides and conceals Keser.

And therefore the measuring line (kav hamiddah) is called botzina dekardinusa, from the term “kardenaisa wheat” (chitei kardenaisa), which denotes dimness and blackness; because there must be measure and limit: “up to here is the level of Chochmah,”

7[and] “up to here is the level of Binah (understanding),” etc. All this is darkness and not light. But light is the revelation of the bittul, that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) be below as [it is] above the tzimtzum, etc.,

just as it is before Him, may He be blessed, for the tzimtzum is only in relation to the worlds, as is known. And this is specifically through the Torah: “He reveals deep things out of darkness”; “Out of the depths I have called You, G‑d.”

For the Torah is the level of Chochmah, which is drawn from the Malchus of the Infinite One (Ein Sof) (which is the level of the hidden brain (mocha stima’ah) of Atik; for the level of Keser and Atik is called the Malchus of the Infinite One; and, as is known, from the level of the Malchus of Adam Kadmon came the Keser of [the World of] Atzilus),

and there the light of the Infinite One, blessed be He, rests in the manner of “I have not changed,” exactly, for there is no hiding or concealment there at all. And as it is written, “Let there be light”: this is Chochmah; and Keser is called avir (air).

And Rav Yehudah, who was a very great man, was able to draw down the supernal bittul through being himself nullified (batel) in Krias Shema; for he was not exempt from Krias Shema, only from prayer.

8And he wished to draw [it] down also into Nezikin, the place of the kelipos (husks), which are the four principal categories of damage, so that “He will swallow up death forever,” as will be in the time to come, at the time of the resurrection of the dead, when the bones will live and skin and flesh “will be formed over them,”

as is said regarding the bones of Yechezkel: that it will be actual physicality, and nevertheless they will delight in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) without eating and drinking, because the supernal bittul will be drawn down also into actual physicality. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the future, ‘holy’ will be said before the righteous”: that holiness will rest below.

9In this way was the Torah of Rav Yehudah and of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, whose Torah was their occupation: their Torah was in a state of actual self-nullification (bittul) to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), and it was not they who spoke the words of Torah; rather, the word of G‑d was in their mouth, etc.

10And this is the matter of “the Mishnah is a queen,” like a king who commands, etc. For there is the level of a servant, who studies in order to know the will and the decree of the king; and there is the level of a king, who is himself the one who decrees, etc.

And therefore it is said of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, “And he was king in Yeshurun,” etc. It follows that the conclusion of this second introduction, on the meaning of “and the Torah is light,” is that through occupation with the Torah in self-nullification (bittul) one draws down the level of the actual Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the tzimtzum, so that it will be revealed below, in [the World of] Asiyah,

as Rav Yehudah was [engaged in] learning in Nezikin, to transform darkness, specifically, into light. And see what is written in Parshas Bereishis on [the verse] “Go out and see.”

11On this basis the matter of the lamp and the light will be understood in general terms. For the wick is a thread, and upon it the light is drawn; and the thread alludes to the tzimtzum (contraction) of the light, for through the tzimtzum only a line (kav) and a thread were drawn.

And afterward this line was drawn forth to give light by measure and weight, and it is called the measuring line (kav hamiddah). There are several aspects in this matter of the measuring line, and it is also called a cord (pesil) (as is written in the Zohar, Pekudei, page 233a) on [the verse] “and a linen cord in his hand, and the measuring reed,” etc.:

“At times the measuring reed and at times the measuring line, and therefore a cord and a reed,” etc. For the measuring reed is the matter of the measuring of the hidden world, which is called the sea; this measure is by means of the reed, which grows beside the water.

12And the measuring of the revealed world, which is called dry land, is by means of the cord, etc. In any case, the level of the wick is the level of the measuring line.

But the light that hangs on the wick is the level of “Torah is light,” which is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the tzimtzum and the measure, as it is written, “Its measure is longer than the earth”;

and as is explained elsewhere, that this is the matter of Yaakov’s blessings [coming] specifically through Yitzchak: for Yitzchak is the level of the Gevurah (restraint) of Atik Yomin, the root and source of the measuring line, and therefore Yaakov was blessed through him.

For the blessing is “of the dew of heaven”: this is Scripture; “and of the fat of the earth”: this is Mishnah; so that through this an added light will be drawn down, immeasurably more, beyond the essential light that is according to the measure, etc.

And the main hold of the light on the wick is through the consuming of the oil, which is the refinement of the Chochmah of kelipas nogah, human intellect, as mentioned above in the first introduction; that is, when it is absorbed into the light that is entirely nullified to the level of “and the Torah is light.”

13Now we will come to the explanation of the matter: to explain the two kinds of lamp. The first is what is written, “The lamp of G‑d is the soul of man,” in which the soul alone is a lamp; and in a lamp there are the three aspects mentioned above:

light, wick and oil. If so, all of this is in the soul itself. The second lamp is as it is written, “For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah is light”; and in this too there are the three aspects mentioned above.

The explanation is: “the lamp of Havayah, the soul of man,” is the G‑dly soul (and not the animal soul, which still needs to be refined and is not called by the name “lamp of Havayah,” for it is not written “lamp of Elokim”),

which does not need rectification (tikkun) for itself. And it is the wick that draws down the light, which is the supernal bittul, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), the Malchus of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), where the beginning of the line (kav) and thread is, which is enclothed in the ten Sefiros of [the World of] Atzilus, the source and root of the G‑dly soul.

And the G‑dly soul is also called a wick: “Yaakov is the cord of His inheritance.” Therefore it is in the power of the G‑dly soul to draw down the light and the bittul, until the oil, which is the Chochmah (wisdom) in human intellect that is in the intellectual soul of nogah, is drawn after the wick.

14Now, the oil that is drawn after the wick is what burns and is entirely consumed, until it becomes complete fire. It is what causes the great kindling of the fire, for it is the very thing that burns, until it is actually transformed to be like fire; which is not so with the wick.

And this power in the oil of kelipas nogah, more than in the G‑dly soul, the wick, is because its essential [root] is from the World of Tohu, which is very high above

(for in Tohu there was an abundance of light, which is more than the level of the measure of the measuring line of Tikkun); but because they were one beneath the other, they shattered.

That is, because there was no inter-inclusion; and inter-inclusion is Tikkun, which is drawn by way of lines (kavim), as is written in the Ilan. And this is the matter of “the soul of adam (man)”: alef, dam (blood).

Just as the blood circulates and goes through all the limbs, “their beginning wedged in their end,” to the point that for a headache one lets blood from the foot, etc., so is the drawing down of the soul, the G‑dly soul.

15And all of this is only in order to refine the intellectual soul, so that it be actually transformed into the fire above, so that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) actually shine in it as above. For from Tohu itself Tikkun is made: from Akudim [and] Nekudim, Berudim is made.

And this is the level of the lamp of the soul: the G‑dly soul is the wick, for the essence of the lamp is the wick, and the oil is the refinement of the intellectual soul. And from this light is made, which is the supernal bittul, etc., as mentioned above.

16Now, [as for] the reason that this bittul is called by the name “light,” and also why it is drawn specifically through the consuming of the oil, for it is the oil that becomes fire and complete light,

which is not so with the wick: it has already been said that this is because its root is from the World of Tohu. But the explanation of the matter is according to what is explained in many places:

that there are two levels of love and awe. The first is the love and awe that is limited according to the measure of the soul’s comprehension, etc.

17The second is the great love and immense awe, beyond what the soul can bear in its comprehension, etc.; and it comes from contemplation of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which surrounds all the worlds equally. The first level is called “with all your soul.” And in this way was the love and awe of the soul in Gan Eden, according to the measure of [its] comprehension.

18The second is called “with all your might (me’odecha).” For me’od means without limit; that is, the vessel of the heart cannot contain the immense love and awe, until it becomes the level of an encompassing light (Or Makif).

And this is the level of teshuvah (return) “with surpassing strength”: “surpassing” means beyond the vessel. And for this was the purpose of the descent of the light of the soul from Gan Eden to this world: that it come to the level of “with all your me’od,” for teshuvah is [possible]

only in this world. For through this love and awe that is without limit, one thereby draws down the limitless Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the tzimtzum;

whereas Gan Eden is called “the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence),” [which comes] through tzimtzum: “with the yud the World to Come was created,” etc. And therefore, “Better is one hour in teshuvah,” etc.

19Now, this level of the great love of me’od is called Or Chozer (returning light). And the reason it is called by the name “light” is that we see the difference between fire and light, and water: from fire one can kindle one from another without end or limit,

which is not so with water, for there is a limit to what it gives: even if there is much water, it will run out or diminish when a great multitude drinks from it.

Not so with fire: even from the light of one lamp one can light lamp from lamp, until it never runs out at all. It follows that although burning fire, in itself, is a limited thing, like water,

nevertheless there is in it a level of unlimited power, in that it can be drawn on from lamp to lamp without ever running out; which is not so with water, which is limited.

And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, is likened specifically to fire, as it is written, “He is a consuming fire”; for “I, G‑d, have not changed,” whether before the world was created, etc., because the drawing forth is only a mere glimmer, which does not affect His essence and being.

20This is like the analogy of fire: one who lights lamp from lamp does not diminish the first lamp, and therefore it has no end. Not so with water, in which a lack is caused, etc.; therefore it will be entirely used up through many drawings,

whereas fire is not used up through many kindlings from it, because no lack at all is caused in it; only [something] in the manner of a glimmer.

21Now, from this analogy of physical fire, that although it is truly limited, nevertheless an unlimited drawing forth will come from it, so too the thing it illustrates will be understood regarding the love of “with all your might (me’odecha).” For me’od means without limit, above the limitation of the vessel of the soul.

22Now, it is surely understood by everyone that this does not mean that it is love and awe that is truly without limit or end; for how could it be that in a human being there should be love and awe that is truly without limit?

Rather, the intent is that it is more than the limitation of the vessels of intellect and emotive attributes (middos) in a person: these vessels do not have the power to contain and limit this love and awe within them; rather, it is surpassing, beyond these vessels.

And therefore it is called “with all your me’od,” your me’od: that is, relative to your vessel, this great love is called me’od and without limit; but in truth it is within limit.

23Nevertheless, since relative to the person it is the level of “with all your me’od” and the level of “with surpassing strength,” therefore through it one actually draws down the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is above the tzimtzum, which is the true limitlessness.

It follows that although this great love is, in itself, possessed of limit, nevertheless, because it is more than the limit and vessel of the soul, it therefore effects a drawing down from the level of what is actually without limit, namely the actual Infinite Light.

And therefore this great love is called by the name “light”: it is exactly like the analogy of light and fire, which, although limited, has an unlimited drawing forth from it; which is not so with water, etc.

And in the same way will be understood the superiority of the love of “flashes of fire,” “with all your me’od,” over the level of love that flows like water, which is the level of “with all your soul.”

24Now, this great love comes into being in the soul specifically through its being enclothed in the body and the animal soul, for then it comes to the level of teshuvah (return) “with surpassing strength”;

whereas the love of the G‑dly soul before its enclothing in the body was in a state of limit and vessel, according to the soul’s comprehension, etc. And therefore the G‑dly soul is called a wick, for the wick is something limited in essence, like the cord and the measuring line.

But through its enclothing in the animal soul, when the oil of the refinement of the intellectual soul, which is from nogah, whose root is from the World of Tohu, is drawn after the wick of the G‑dly soul, through this specifically the oil will be transformed into light,

which is the level of the great love of “with all your might (me’odecha),” and a supernal bittul beyond the vessel, like Rav Yehudah, upon whom was the awe of his Master.

Therefore this great love is called Or Chozer (returning light), for it is light drawn from the refinement of kelipas nogah, whose root is from Akudim [and] Nekudim, as mentioned above; but through this, afterward, the actual Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) is drawn from above to below, and this is the level of “and the Torah is light.”

25And all this is the level of the lamp of the soul. But there is no soul without mitzvah, for “an ignorant man is not pious, and a boor does not fear sin.”

And also, a mitzvah without a soul is nothing, for “whoever says, ‘I have nothing but Torah,’ does not even have Torah.”

26Therefore there must be both. The explanation is that in “a mitzvah is a lamp,” the mitzvah is the lamp, that is, the wick. And the explanation is

that the things with which the mitzvah is done are also from the World of Tohu. But the mitzvah is also the level of an encompassing [light] (makif), for through the fulfillment of the mitzvah a supernal makif is drawn down.

And therefore the mitzvos are garments and royal robes, so that through them the soul will be “bound up in the bond of life”; for [the mitzvah] clothes and encompasses the soul in order to raise it, for anything that needs to ascend is encompassed all around.

27And through this makif that encompasses it, it ascends, as one throws a stone by means of a sling, etc., something that would not rise at all by itself. And conversely, with a transgression too, “it wraps around him,” etc.

And therefore we put on the tallis and tefillin before prayer: as is known, for anything that must be raised from below, the supernal light first descends, and this is the encompassing light (Or Makif), which is what raises [it], as mentioned above.

And through this the intellectual soul will be transformed into the light above, in prayer. And therefore we pray every day the same text (whereas Torah requires, specifically, renewal; see the Zohar, Bereishis, in the Introduction, page 12b:

“and to make it fruitful every day”). For every day one raises a spark of the vital soul; for all “the days of our years, in them seventy years,” are that many sparks of the vital soul that must be refined; whereas the G‑dly soul is eternal.

It follows that the mitzvah is the level of the wick: in it and through it the oil is consumed into the light, and so through the mitzvah there is the ascent of the intellectual soul of kelipas nogah,

and also of the parchment of the tefillin, of kelipas nogah, and of the money of charity, to be absorbed into the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He. For the root of the mitzvos is in the Malchus of [the World of] Atzilus, for Torah is the level of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes),

28and mitzvos are in Malchus: “the commands of the King.” But because “their end is wedged in their beginning,” the Malchus of Atzilus rises up to the very Malchus of the Infinite One (Ein Sof).

And therefore through this the intellectual soul rises into the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), as is known that after the refinement, from the Name Ban the Name Sag is made, etc.

29And this is [the meaning of] HaMagbihi (Who raises Himself up): the yud after the hei is superfluous; but [the verse] means to say that this ascent of the Malchus of Atzilus, which is called hei, so that it rises so high up into the Malchus of the Infinite One, is through the yud, and this is the yud within the hei.

For the Malchus of Atzilus is the level of a dalet, for “it has nothing of its own”; and through the drawing down of the mitzvah a yud comes to be within it, and through this it becomes the level of a hei; and through the yud within it, it rises up into the Infinite Light, the Malchus of the Infinite One.

And this is the meaning of HaMagbihi: the ascent of the hei, which is the Malchus of Atzilus, into the Malchus of the Infinite One is through the yud within the hei, which is what is drawn down through the fulfillment of the mitzvah.

In it and through it is this ascent. And the explanation of this is according to what is written in the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi (end of page 232b), on the meaning of “Let the Name be,” etc.: “Why does it say yehi (let it be)?

Rather, yehi is the mystery of the drawing forth from that supernal place which is hidden, of which we have spoken, which is yud-hei, down to the mystery of the covenant, which is the lower yud, like the upper yud: the beginning

like the end. And therefore yehi is the mystery of the drawing forth from the most hidden of all hidden down to the lowest level; and by this word the whole work of creation was established, as it says, ‘Let there be a firmament,’ etc.” End of quotation.

And so it is in the Zohar, Bereishis (page 16b). The explanation is that yud-hei are Chochmah and Binah: Chochmah is called yud, being the level of a point. That is because “the beginning of wisdom”

means the beginning of revelation from the Infinite One, blessed be He; and the beginning of revelation can only be the level of a point, so that they will be able to bear and contain [it], like a spring, which at the start of its emergence from the source is small, and only afterward, as it moves away from the source, widens and becomes a river.

And this is the first hei, which is the level of “the broad places of the river”; but Chochmah, which is closer to the Infinite One and is the level of the spring, is only a point. And this is also the level of bittul.

30Now, when afterward there must be a drawing down to the level of the Malchus of [the World of] Atzilus, which is the revealed world, the source of [the Worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and is the level of “the Name of G‑d” — “Name” specifically, which is the revelation to another — this drawing down is through the Yesod (foundation) of Z’eir Anpin, and it too is the level of a yud.

31And this is the matter of “the lower yud, the mystery of the covenant.” And this is “Let the Name of G‑d be blessed,” etc.: in order for there to be revelation in the level of Malchus, which is called “Name,” it is through yehi: Chochmah and Binah in Yesod.

And according to the writings of the Arizal, it is because the Yesod of Abba ends in the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin. It follows that the level of the upper yud, which is Abba himself, shines in the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin.

Therefore the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin is also called yud. And this is also the matter of the yud that was added to Pinchas son of Elazar the Kohen, because he was zealous over the blemish of the covenant,

as is written in the Zohar, at the beginning of Parshas Pinchas (pages 213b and 215b, and 236b). (And from this there is a proof against the explanation of the Mikdash Melech, Parshas Vayechi) (page 232)

on the meaning of yehi; see there. And see there in the Ramaz, that it is the yud of the spelling-out of the final hei of the Name Av, which is the level of the Yesod of Abba, etc. And see the Idra Rabba (page 142).

32The explanation of the matter is as we see that sight extends and reaches further down than the sense of hearing. For the sense of hearing extends

only as far as the level of voice and speech: one hears the voice and speech of one’s fellow, but one will not grasp physical action with the sense of hearing; whereas with sight one grasps and perceives physical action.

33That is: because sight is rooted in the level of Chochmah (wisdom), as the Sages are called “the eyes of the congregation,” which is above the level of Binah (understanding), from which hearing is rooted, therefore it descends lower.

Not so the faculty of hearing, which derives from Binah, that it should descend so far down. For whatever is higher can lower itself further down. And therefore the Yesod of Imma ends at the chest and does not extend into Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Z’eir Anpin;

but the Yesod of Abba extends down to the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin. For Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Z’eir Anpin are the level of Asiyah within Atzilus, and this drawing down can only be through the Yesod of Abba, the level of sight, etc.

34And this is the matter of “Let the Name be,” etc.: for the influence to be in the level of Malchus, which is called “Name” and is also called the Asiyah within Atzilus, it is also through a yud specifically, which is the level of the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin, in which the Yesod of Abba shines.

And this is the meaning of yehi: yud-hei are Chochmah and Binah, and the second yud is “the righteous one, the foundation of the world.” And see further in the Zohar, part 3 (page 236b), on the matter of this level of this yud.

35Now, when Malchus receives this revelation of the level of yud, it then becomes, from a dalet, a hei. And therefore, according to this, there is also understood

the meaning of HaMagbihi: the ascent of Malchus into the Malchus of the Infinite One is also through the yud within the hei, which is the glimmer drawn to it from the Infinite Light; and as is explained above, every ascent is through a drawing down from above first.

Now, this level of the yud within the hei, which is drawn down through the mitzvah, is the level of the wick drawn into the lamp, as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas (page 219a), and in the Mikdash Melech: “Once the wick is united,” etc.

And through this drawing down the power comes about for Malchus to ascend to its root. And see in the Zohar, at the beginning of Parshas Tzav, on [the verse] “This is the law of the burnt-offering,” etc.

And this is the meaning of HaMagbihi: the mitzvah is the level of a wick and a lamp that raises the intellectual soul, just as above, the ascent of the Name Ban is through the yud of [the Name] Av, which is drawn down through the mitzvah, as mentioned above.

36And see what is written in Parshas Shelach on [the verse] “And it shall be for you as tzitzis,” on the matter of the fire of yud and the fire of hei. And the matter of lashaves (to sit) means that this ascent of

the Malchus of Atzilus into the Malchus of the Infinite One is in order to draw down light and life-force (chayus), so that the level of Malchus will come into being in the manner of sitting: “and G‑d sat as King forever.”

For sitting and kingship are all one level, for “there is no sitting in the Temple courtyard except for the kingship of the House of David alone.”

37And likewise our Sages, of blessed memory, said that with regard to a woman it is called moshav (sitting); for sitting is a descent and lowering, in the aspect of the back (achorayim). And likewise the hand-tefillin, which is Malchus, is [put on] seated.

And the yud on the strap of the hand-tefillin is the matter of the yud mentioned above. One may further say [that] the meaning of HaMagbihi lashaves is: for “the king stands on the platform, and Augustus sits.”

38And the meaning of Augustus is the King of kings. That is, when Malchus receives from the Malchus of the Infinite One the level of the King of the kings of kings, of this our Sages, of blessed memory, said the parable, “Augustus sits,” etc.

And this is HaMagbihi, specifically lashaves: through the ascent mentioned above there comes to be the level of “and G‑d sat as King forever,” etc. And this sitting is such that “her feet” will not be “going down,” etc.

For one who sits on a throne lowers his body but raises his feet from the ground; and this is “and the earth is My footstool,” etc.

39The explanation of these matters is explained elsewhere, on [the verse] “Then sang” (Az Yashir). And afterward, “Who lowers Himself to see” (HaMashpili lir’os): this is the level of “and the Torah is light,” and it is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) from the Malchus of the Infinite One “in heaven”: the Written Torah;

“and on earth”: the Oral Torah. For just as the earth receives from heaven, as it is written, “it drinks water of the rain of heaven,” so the Oral Torah receives from the Written Torah, as we say, “From where are these things [known]? For the verse says,” etc.

Lir’os (to see) means lera’os (to be seen); that is, that there be a revelation of the actual Infinite Light “in heaven and on earth,” which are the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, the word of G‑d, above the revelation of the level of the light of love from the G‑dly soul, which is also called light, as mentioned above.

But that is drawn only from the level of hearing and contemplation, as it is written, “Hear, O Israel,” etc., “And you shall love,” etc., “and with all your might.”

But the level of “and the Torah is light” is the level of HaMashpili lir’os: that is, lera’os, in the manner of actual sight and revelation: “eye to eye they shall see,” etc.