ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה את יעקב…

1“And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Yaakov; each man and his household came.” Now in Parshas Vayigash it is also said, “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt, Yaakov and his sons.”

We need to understand why the matter of their coming to Egypt is repeated in the Torah, and also to understand the differences from there to here. For here it says, “who came to Egypt with Yaakov.”

2And in Vayigash it says, “who came to Egypt, Yaakov.” We further need to understand what is said in Parshas Vayigash, “the children of Israel,” etc., “Yaakov and his sons,” which includes Yaakov as well among “the children of Israel.” But Yaakov is Yisrael himself, as it is written, “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael.”

3If so, how can he be called “the children of Israel”? The explanation is this. It is written, “We came down, indeed came down,” etc.: a descent after a descent. And similarly, regarding the Exodus from Egypt and the redemption, it is written, “And I will bring you up, also bring [you] up,” etc., [and] “We shall go up, indeed go up,” etc.

That is, two ascents, which is an elevation after an elevation. But in fact, at the Exodus from Egypt they were raised up only once, as it is written, “I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt,” etc., “to a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Rather, this second ascent alludes to the redemption that is to come, speedily in our days, amen. (And likewise in Shemos, chapter 3, verse 14, He told him of the final redemption, as Rashi explains there.)

4For it is written, “As in the days of your going out of the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders”: the verse likens the final redemption to the Exodus from Egypt.

That is: just as the whole essential purpose intended in the exile of Egypt and the servitude of two hundred and ten years was in order to merit receiving the Torah, [when] “face to face G‑d spoke.”

5As it is written, “And this shall be the sign for you,” etc.: “when you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve G‑d upon this mountain.”

So too, the whole length of this exile is in order to merit the revelation of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the Torah, which will come in the Time to Come. For at the Giving of the Torah there was the receiving of the revealed Torah, but as for the inner dimension of the Torah’s reasons, their revelation will be in the Time to Come.

6And of this it is said, “I will show him wonders,” and as it is written, “Eye to eye they shall see.” And so too regarding the servitude and the exile, of which it is said in the exile of Egypt, “And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks, and with all labor in the field.”

[This] refers also to the final era. “And they embittered their lives”: this is the Torah, for it is our life. “With hard labor (be’avodah kashah)”: this is the kushya (the difficulty). “With mortar (chomer)”: this is the kal vachomer (the inference from minor to major).

7“And with all labor in the field”: this is the Baraisa. “And with bricks (u’vilvenim)”: this is libun hilchesa (the clarifying of the halachah). For we do not have in hand a clear halachah and a clear ruling, since all the laws of the Torah are taught in dispute: these declare fit and pure, and those declare unfit and impure.

If so, just as through the servitude of Egypt in mortar and bricks they merited the Giving of the Torah, so too, through the libun hilchesa of this time of ours, they will merit the revelation of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the Torah in the Time to Come, so that there will be [the fulfillment of] “I will show him wonders.”

8Now, to understand the matter of libun hilchesa (and also the matter of “with all labor in the field”), and how through this the revelation will come in the Time to Come, we must first explain the meaning and the concept of “King, praised and glorified forever and ever, [is] His great Name.”

For the purpose of the soul’s descent into this world, a descent for the sake of an ascent, is in order “to behold the pleasantness of G‑d” in the World to Come and in the Upper Gan Eden and the Lower Gan Eden.

That is the apprehension of the souls, who “take pleasure in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence),” which is a wondrous delight, without end or limit, without bound.

9Now, the books mention only the Upper and the Lower Gan Eden, but in truth there are many levels of Gan Eden and of delights, without end.

And this is [the meaning of] “praised and glorified forever and ever.” And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “The righteous have no rest in the World to Come, as it is said, ‘They go from strength to strength.’”

And “the pleasantness of G‑d,” that delight, comes from the level of a revelation of His great Name, etc., for which all the sufferings of Gehinnom are worthwhile, in order “to behold the pleasantness of G‑d.” And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Better that he be judged,” etc.

10Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said that Avraham chose for himself the servitude of exile instead of the sufferings of Gehinnom. For the purpose of Gehinnom is to purify the soul of the sickness of the evil that is within it.

It is like “the refining pot for silver”: the waste and the dross are burned up inside the furnace, and the silver remains clean of all dross. So too, in order that the soul be able to receive the light of the supernal delight, to be “taking pleasure,” etc.,

it must first be refined in the fire of Gehinnom, to separate the evil from the good, for it is written, “Evil shall not dwell with You.”

Now Avraham chose for himself the servitude of exile, which is also a kind of purification for the soul, as it is written, “from the iron furnace, from Egypt.” And the exile of Edom is called “the furnace of affliction,” etc.

11However, the soul is a created being and finite, and it is impossible for the soul to receive the radiance of the supernal delight, which is without limit, forever and ever.

[It is possible] only through the clothing of the light of the delight in a vessel and a garment, as it is written, “Who wraps Himself in light as in a garment,” which is the light of Torah; and as it is written, “And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden,” for Eden is the level of the source of delights.

(And as is written in the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, in the entry “Eden,” in the name of the Tikkunei Zohar: the Upper Eden is the level of the Supernal Keser (the Crown); and therefore it is said of the level of Eden, “No eye has seen,” etc.)

And “a river goes out of” this “Eden to water the garden (gan)”: that is, the level of the fifty-three (gan) portions of the Torah. For “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom),” and the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is clothed only in Chochmah, which is koach mah (“the power of ‘what’”), the level of self-nullification (bittul), [as in] “and what are we,” etc.

Therefore, through the Torah the soul is able to apprehend His great Name (which is the level of the Supernal Keser, the Malchus (sovereignty) of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), which is called “His great Name,” which is drawn down and clothed in Chochmah, etc.), for the whole Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He, etc.

12And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “‘There are sixty queens’: these are the sixty tractates; ‘and eighty concubines’: these are the Baraisos; ‘and maidens without number’: these are the halachos.”

Now, the comparison and analogy of the Mishnayos to queens, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Mishnah is a queen,” is based on the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “The woman gives seed of the red, from which [comes] the flesh,” etc. It follows that the main seeding of the child is from the female drop.

As it is written, “When a woman brings forth seed and gives birth,” etc. And the male drop serves only to refine the female drop, so that the child is formed from the good and choice [part].

And as it is written, “And You have girded me (vatezareini) with strength,” from the language of “he winnows (zoreh) the threshing floor”: the level of refinements. (And in truth this is a matter of a refinement after a refinement, for the female drop too is drawn forth after a refinement.

For this drop comes into being from the foods she eats, which are refined until they turn into blood in the liver; and [the blood] rises to the heart, and from there to the brain; and afterwards the seeding of the drop is drawn from her intellect (mochin), as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 39.

It follows that this drawing forth is from what has already been completely refined, to the point that it is included in the mochin of the female (Nukva), and then the female drop is drawn from there. Yet even so, for a child to come into being from it is impossible until it is refined with a second refinement through the male drop, as explained above.)

So too, the Mishnayos are the level of refinements: “through Chochmah (wisdom) they are refined,” impure and pure, forbidden and permitted. “Permitted” (mutar) means that it is not bound (asur) and tied in the hands of the external forces, and it is able to rise and be included in holiness. For “the blood is the soul.”

Now, from every food that is eaten, [part] turns into blood, for “there are three rulers: the liver, the heart and the brain,” in which the blood is refined, a refinement after a refinement. And with the strength of that eating a person reads and prays “with all his heart and with all his soul,” etc.

But with forbidden foods, even though he studies and prays with the strength of that eating, it does not rise to G‑d, to be “with all your heart,” etc. And this is the refinement of foods.

13And likewise the refinement of garments and houses, the level of encompassing things (makifim): this refinement is through the level of Chochmah (wisdom), the level of the Mishnayos.

But for supernal Chochmah, His wisdom, may He be blessed, [of whom it is said,] “He is wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” to be drawn down so as to be the level of the refinements, is through the Tannaim, the masters of the Mishnah; as it is written, “and the mighty ones (eisanim), the foundations of the earth.”

Eisanim has the letters of Tannaim: they are the ones who lay the foundations of the “earth,” the level of the Oral Torah. And as it is written, “A maskil of Eisan,” for they draw down from the level of maskil (the one who understands); and it is written, “He who understands (maskil) a matter,” etc.

Therefore [the Mishnah] is called “queen” (malkesa), for the King’s union with her is constant. And this union is the drawing down of the mayin duchrin (masculine waters) of supernal Chochmah to refine the mayin nukvin (feminine waters) of Ban. And this is through the Tannaim, the sages of the Mishnah.

For Tannaim has the letters of eisanim, since they receive from the level of Chochmah (the Yesod (foundation) of Abba is called eisan; see Iggeres HaKodesh, on “and righteousness like a mighty (eisan) stream”), in the manner of “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai,” etc., until “and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly.” Thus their tradition is from Moshe, who is the level of Chochmah.

Therefore their halachic rulings, in the main, were not based on the decision of their own intellect, but on what they had received, one man from the mouth of another, back to Moshe.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Sukkah, folio 28a) about Rabbi Eliezer: on twelve [matters] he told them, “I have heard,” [and on] eighteen he told them, “I have not heard.”

And likewise about Akavya ben Mahalalel: “I heard from the many,” etc. That is because they were in the state of “nothing” (ayin) and of actual self-nullification (bittul).

Therefore the level of Moshe shone in them, which is the level of true self-nullification, “and what (mah) are we” (the level of Mah of the mayin duchrin, which refines Ban, which is a refinement after a refinement), “from the water I drew him.”

This is not so with Eliyahu, [whose name] in gematria is Ban: the self-nullification in the outer dimension (chitzoniyus). Therefore his body ascended, etc. Therefore the halachos that the Tannaim stated in the Mishnah are the level of actual G‑dliness, which is what is drawn forth after the second refinement, of Mah of supernal Chochmah.

14As our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “These and these are the words of the living G‑d”; therefore we raise refutations from them. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “The exiles are gathered in only in the merit of the Mishnayos, as it is said, ‘Even when they recite (yisnu) among the nations, now I will gather them.’”

For the ingathering of the exiles is a matter of refinement and separation, etc., [and so] it is in the merit of the Mishnayos, the level of refinements, as explained above.

They also said, “Israel will be redeemed only through tzedakah (charity),” which is the level of the ascent after the separation. It comes about through tzedakah,

for “tzedakah exalts,” etc., and “His right hand embraces me,” specifically. And as it is written, “And you shall be gathered one by one,” etc.: to be “one with the One” comes about through “tzedakah exalts,” etc.

15“And concubines”: these are the Baraisos, as in the analogy of the concubine, with whom the King’s union is only occasional and in privacy, etc. So too, the drawing down of supernal Chochmah (wisdom) into the Baraisos is at intervals.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Any Baraisa that was not taught in the house of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya is not a Baraisa.” (For they are not certain and clear; and it is like the three thousand halachos that were forgotten in the days of mourning for Moshe.

So too, the Baraisos not taught in the house of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya are not so certain, because the drop of mayin duchrin from the level of the Upper Eden was not drawn into them. That is because they are from the World of Beriah (Creation) and not from the World of Atzilus (Emanation); for in Atzilus supernal Chochmah shines, which is the level of the second refinement, “through Chochmah they are refined.”

But into the Baraisos not taught in the house of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya nothing was drawn from the level of Atzilus, from the true refinement; therefore they are not so certain. Only the Baraisos of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya are drawn by the second refinement of supernal Chochmah, which is the level of the higher union of the mayin duchrin and the mayin nukvin. Even so, they are called only “concubines,” like the concubine, with whom the union is occasional and in concealment, etc.)

This is not so with our Mishnah: we raise a refutation from it, and there is no answer. And above, this is the matter of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Michael stands and offers the souls of the righteous upon the altar.”

That is the level of a refinement of the souls that are fit to be included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), which is at intervals, etc. (And as is explained elsewhere, in the explanation of the Zohar on Parshas Chayei Sarah, on “And behold, Rivkah was coming out,” etc.)

16“And maidens without number”: these are the halachos, which are the sayings of the Amoraim, from which we do not raise refutations at all, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Are you setting one man against another man?” They are called alamos, a term for virgins (besulos).

“Before she has received a male, she is called,” etc. For the supernal Chochmah (wisdom) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation) does not rest within it, since Talmud is in the World of Beriah (Creation), which is called “creates darkness,” for supernal Chochmah does not shine there openly, etc.

They are only the level of a vessel prepared for supernal Chochmah to rest in, as it is written, “Virgins after her, her companions, are brought to You; they are led with joy and gladness; they enter the King’s palace.”

And this is the matter of libun hilchesa: one must clarify the halachos and draw into them supernal Chochmah, “wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” etc., His wisdom, may He be blessed, etc.

(In it are clothed the level of the Upper Eden and the level of His great Name, etc., as explained above. And libun hilchesa is through questions and resolutions, as we find with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the chapter Bameh Madlikin, that through this he draws down the depth of Chochmah. And this is the level of libun (whitening), for it draws from the level of the supernal whiteness, which is the level of Keser (the Crown) and Chochmah.

And this is the meaning of “the trees of Levanon,” and as is known concerning the white garments of the High Priest on Yom Kippur. And the whole matter of the service now too, in libun hilchesa, is to refine the refinements mentioned above. And then, in the Time to Come, it is written, “Virgins after her, her companions, are brought to You.”)

With this will be understood what is said in the Zohar, that the whole Torah and the mitzvos are “to perfect the mystery of His Name.” For there are seven Names that may not be erased, namely the Name Kel in Chesed (kindness), etc.

For in order for there to be a drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, who “is not of any of these attributes at all,” into the attribute of Chesed, so that “the world is built with kindness,” it is only from the level of a name and a mere radiance from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He; and this is the level of the Name Kel.

17As is known, a person’s name, for example, bears no comparison to his essence and is considered as nothing. And likewise the Name Elokim in Gevurah (restraint).

Therefore, to draw Him, may He be blessed, to be clothed in His attributes (middos), so that “the world is built with kindness,” is through Torah and mitzvos: through this mitzvah this Name is drawn into this attribute, etc. But the main meaning of “to perfect the mystery of His Name” is to draw down from the level of His great Name, which is the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof).

18As is known, there is the union of the Name Havayah and [the Name] Ado-nai, which is a drawing down from the level of the Name Havayah, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), into the Name Ado-nai, the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin).

And through Torah and mitzvos there is a drawing down from the level of His great Name, as explained above regarding “praised and glorified forever and ever [is] His great Name.”

19And through this [comes about] “to perfect the mystery of His Name”: that the revelation of this level be drawn into all the other Names. And this is what is said at the beginning of Parshas Va’eira, “And I appeared to Avraham,” etc.,

“but by My Name Havayah I was not known to them”: because the Torah had not been given to them. For the revelation of the Name Havayah, which is the level of His great Name, is through the Giving of the Torah, as is explained elsewhere.

20And this is the meaning of “And You have brought us near, our King, to Your great Name”: for this drawing down from the level of His great Name comes about specifically through the souls of Israel.

And this is what is written, “For G‑d will not forsake His people, for the sake of His great Name”; and it is written regarding Yehoshua, “And what will You do for Your great Name?” For “three knots are bound to one another: Israel is bound to the Torah, and the Torah to the Holy One, blessed be He.”

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said that King David, peace be upon him, would join the Torah above with the Holy One, blessed be He: that is, that the Holy One, blessed be He, should sit and be lowered into the Torah, which is the joining and the drawing down of the level of His great Name into Chochmah (wisdom), etc.

21And this is the meaning of “And these are the names of the children of Israel,” etc.: actual names, in the sense of what is written, “And David made a name.”

And the holy Zohar explains that he made a holy Name: he drew down the revelation of the Name Havayah below, to draw the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) from the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), the yud of the Name.

And the heh of the Name is the level of speech, and “the breath of His mouth,” may He be blessed, etc., to the World of Asiyah (Action), as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh. And this is the meaning of “the names of the children of Israel”: the children of Israel draw down and make the revelation of the supernal Names below.

As explained above, in the explanation of “to perfect the mystery of His Name,” etc., and in the explanation of “praised and glorified forever and ever [is] His great Name.”

(And in particular Yaakov and his twelve sons, the tribes, whose root is actually in the World of Atzilus (Emanation), in the ten Sefiros, which are themselves the supernal Names. As is also known from Pri Etz Chaim, the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah (Divine Presence) is called the union of Yaakov and Rachel, or of Yisrael and Rachel, which is the union of Havayah with Ado-nai.

For the root of Yaakov’s soul is drawn from the level of the Name Havayah, and the root of Rachel’s soul is drawn from the level of the Name Ado-nai. Therefore the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is likened to Rachel, as it is written, “like a ewe (rachel) before her shearers,” etc.

And likewise the twelve tribes correspond to the twelve permutations of Havayah, for in each month one of the twelve permutations of Havayah shines in Ado-nai, etc., as is explained elsewhere. And this is why it says of the tribes, “the Reuveni, the Shimoni,” etc., for the Name Yah is in each one of the tribes, etc.

And the meaning of “And these (ve’eileh) are the names” is that the drawing down of the Names is through the Torah, as explained above concerning “sixty queens,” etc. And the six orders of the Mishnah, each one comprising six: this is the numerical value of eileh,

as is explained elsewhere on “These are the accounts of the Mishkan,” and it is the level of drawing down. But before that there must be an elevation, which is through the Name of Forty-Two; and this is [why it says] ve’eileh, whose numerical value is forty-two. And see what is explained elsewhere, in Parshas Toldos, on “And he called them names like the names,” where the first is with a vav and the second without a vav; see there.)

But the meaning and concept of “And these are the names,” etc., “who came to Egypt” refers to the time of exile. For there is a level of “Egypt” of holiness above,

as is written in Likkutei Torah regarding the throat, which is called Mitzrayim (Egypt), from the word meitzar (a narrow place), etc. That is, Mitzrayim is from the word meitzar, the level of concealment and hiddenness. And it is known that of the time of exile it is written, “Our signs we have not seen.”

The meaning is that the letters and the supernal Names that we draw down through Torah and prayer “we have not seen,” for they are not in a state of revelation for us.

That is because they are hidden in the level of Mitzrayim, the level of a narrow place that conceals and hides, etc. This is not so with the Land of Israel, which is called “a good and spacious land,” which is the level of revelation, etc.

22The explanation of the matter is as follows. His great Name is the Name Havayah, and it is known that the yud is the level of tzimtzum (contraction), and the heh is expansion in length and breadth, etc.

For this is the way of drawing down from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, into the worlds: first there must be tzimtzum, and afterwards expansion, etc. (And so it is with the descent and the drawing down of the light: first in the level of “Egypt” of holiness, and afterwards the level of “a good and spacious land,” the level of expansion and revelation.)

Now it is written, “We came down, indeed came down (to Egypt),” etc.: a descent after a descent. And likewise regarding the Exodus from Egypt and the redemption it is written, “And I will bring you up, also bring [you] up,” etc., [and] “We shall go up, indeed go up,” etc.: an elevation after an elevation.

To explain all this, concerning “Egypt” of holiness and the descent of the children of Israel and Yaakov there, we must first present an analogy, which is this.

The letters of thought and of speech both flow from one source, the light of the intellect. For the emotive attributes (middos), kindness, judgment and compassion, are drawn from the intellect, and thought is drawn from the attributes

(that is, for the most part, since there is no thought at all unless there is a desire for that thing. But sometimes thought receives from the intellect itself and from the attributes within the intellect, even though the attribute has not yet spread into the heart. As is known from the difference between displeasure (kepeida) and anger: anger is an attribute in the heart.

Displeasure, by contrast, is only in the mind, and even so the thought is full of it. And similarly with the other attributes within the intellect: thought can receive from them directly, not by way of the attributes in the heart. And know that even speech sometimes receives from the intellect not by way of the attributes.

And this is the matter of Rosh Chodesh, as mentioned [in the discourse] on “And it shall be, from one new moon to another,” etc.; see there. All the more so with thought. But at times thought also receives from the attributes; and see the passage of the Zohar in Parshas Pinchas on “I will rejoice,” etc.; see there. This will also be understood from the application below, concerning Yaakov’s descent to Egypt in Parshas Vayigash.)

And [thought] evolves and descends lower and lower to become the letters of speech. Yet even so, they are still bound and united with the light of the intellect, which shines and is clothed in them; for a person’s thought accords with his intellect, and likewise from a person’s speech his wisdom is known.

And in the manner of this analogy it will be understood [how it is] above: although He has no bodily form, etc., nevertheless “the Torah speaks in the language of people.”

For it is written, “How manifold are Your works, O G‑d; You have made them all with wisdom.” Thus the coming into being of the worlds is through the level of Chochmah (wisdom).

23Yet it is written, “By the word of G‑d the heavens were made,” [meaning] that they came into being through the level of speech. Rather, the meaning is that His wisdom, may He be blessed,

[which is] “wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” evolved down into “the word of G‑d,” which are the Ten Utterances, “Let there be light,” “Let there be a firmament,” “Let the earth sprout forth”: the level of the revealed worlds (almin d’isgalyan).

And likewise in the level of the hidden worlds (almin stimin) that are not revealed, which is the level of His thought, may He be blessed, so to speak, there are also letters and utterances, “Let there be light,” etc.,

as is known to those who study the Zohar regarding the Heichalos (Chambers): above, in the hidden worlds too, there are the levels of heavens and earth, stars and constellations, angels and souls. And “from world to world” His wisdom, may He be blessed, “wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” shines and is clothed in them.

(And the radiance and drawing down that comes from the level of Chochmah (wisdom) is the level of Yaakov; and its being clothed in thought and speech, which are the level of letters that set limits, is the matter of the two descents into “Egypt” of holiness, a descent after a descent, from thought to speech, as will be explained.)

Now, the essence of supernal Chochmah before it is clothed in the level of worlds, that is, before it is clothed even in the hidden worlds, is called “Yisrael, li rosh (a head for Me),” etc.

(Just as the soul is clothed in the head, as is written in Tanya, chapter 53, so the radiance from His great Name is clothed in the level of “Yisrael, li rosh,” which is the level of supernal Chochmah; as in the saying, “And You have brought us near, our King, to Your great Name,” and as explained above.)

And the drawing down of supernal Chochmah to be clothed within worlds is called Yaakov, yud akev (“yud, heel”): a radiance is drawn from the level of supernal Chochmah, which is called yud, to be clothed in the level of worlds, which are only the level of heels in relation to supernal Chochmah itself.

As it is written, “And the earth is My footstool”: the level of “earth,” which is the level of Malchus (sovereignty), is called “My footstool,” and it is the level of the letters of speech.

And similarly with the letters of thought, etc. (And see what is explained elsewhere on this matter, on the Zohar in Parshas Kedoshim, “‘And My servant whom I have chosen’: this is Yaakov,” etc.

And this is what is written, “From the hands of the Mighty One of Yaakov, from there [came] the shepherd, the stone of Israel”: the level of “stone” is letters, as is known from Sefer Yetzirah, “Two stones build,” etc., and they receive from the level of Yaakov.) And this is why Yaakov is called “the middle bar, which bolts from end to end.”

And this is the first descent, in Parshas Vayigash, “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt, Yaakov and his sons”: a descent into the level of constriction and limitation, to be clothed in the level of the hidden worlds.

Therefore it says here, “the children of Israel … Yaakov”: the level of Yaakov is called by the name “the children of Israel,” since it receives from the level of supernal Chochmah, which is the level of “Yisrael (mentioned there in Parshas Vayigash), li rosh,” as explained above.

24Now, of the exile it is said, “Our signs we have not seen.” For signs and wonders are a change in nature, as in “And you shall take of the water of the River,” etc.,

“and they shall become blood on the dry land.” And this is through the radiance of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), the level of the Name Havayah (as explained above, that the level of the great Name shines in supernal Chochmah).

And this is what Pharaoh said, “I do not know Havayah”: [he knew] only the level of the Name Elokim, the level of the tzimtzum (contraction) in “the word of G‑d,” in which it is impossible to change the order of creation.

But through the radiance of supernal Chochmah the combinations [of letters] change. For the coming into being of water is from the utterance “Let the waters be gathered,” which is drawn forth in “the word of G‑d,” from the Ten Utterances; but the radiance of Chochmah can change the combination from water to blood.

25As is seen plainly, the intellect directs and changes speech as it wishes. And this is also the meaning of the staff, which was from the Tree of Life, which turned into a serpent, and from a serpent [back] into a staff.

That is the change from concealment to revelation and from revelation to concealment. And likewise what is written, “Put your hand back into your bosom,” etc., “and he took it out of his bosom, and behold, it had returned like his flesh,” etc.

Therefore all the wonders were through Moshe, who is the level of the radiance of Chochmah (wisdom), as it is written, “For from the water I drew him,” the level of supernal Chochmah.

And this is what is written, “Our signs we have not seen”: “our signs,” specifically, for Israel arose in [G‑d’s] thought. For in exile there is the level of hiddenness and concealment, to the point that the world appears to be an existence (yesh), a thing in its own right. As it is written, “You are a G‑d who hides Himself.”

26And the second descent is what is said here, “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Yaakov”: the level of “Yisrael, li rosh” descends into the level of constriction and contraction together with the level of Yaakov.

This is the descent into the level of the revealed worlds and “the word of G‑d,” which is a second contraction and descent. And “from my flesh I shall see”: the voice that comes out of the breath of the heart is a simple voice, and it is contracted so as to be divided among the five places of articulation of the mouth, alef, ches, heh, ayin from the throat, etc.

And this is the matter of Moshe being “heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue”: for Moshe is the level of the radiance of the essence of Chochmah, [which] cannot come to revelation in speech except through a tzimtzum (contraction).

27As it is written, “And you shall be to him as Elokim,” specifically. Yet even so, it is still bound and united with its source and root, the level of “Yisrael, li rosh,” which shines and is revealed in the world of speech as well, as it is written, “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael.”

(That is, the level of Chochmah (wisdom) that is clothed in the attributes (middos) and from there is drawn into speech; and therefore Yaakov is not called a son of this Yisrael.) As it is written, “And you shall be gathered one by one,” to be “one with the One.”

“Each man and his household came”: Reuven and Shimon, the level of sight and hearing, which is drawn from the level of Yisrael into the revealed worlds too, as it is written, “And she called his name Reuven, for [G‑d] has seen,” etc.

28“And she called his name Shimon, for G‑d has heard.” Levi: “Now this time my husband will be joined to me,” the level of bonding and union.

For sight and hearing are the level of individual Providence over all the ways of people, and “He tests the kidneys and the heart”; “before You all the hidden things of the heart are revealed.”

[This is] not like the view of those who deny individual Providence, “and they said, ‘Yah will not see, nor will the G‑d of Yaakov understand,’” since it is drawn down through the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), in “the word of G‑d” and the revealed worlds.

Rather, they are still bound to their source and root. (And this is the meaning of “And these are the names,” etc.: even in Egypt the level of the supernal Names is drawn down, “each man and his household,” male and female, the union of Mah and Ban; only that “our signs we have not seen.” But this concealment is the cause of the immense revelation afterwards, as will be explained shortly.)

29Now, revelation can come about only through concealment first: the level of the yud, contraction, and afterwards the heh, expansion in length and breadth; as in the creation of the world, “first darkness and then light.”

And this is the matter of the exile in Egypt: for there to be the revelation of the Giving of the Torah, “the revealed things [are] for us and for our children,” “face to face G‑d spoke,” the exile of two hundred and ten years was enough. But for the Time to Come, when the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the Torah will be revealed,

for “eye to eye they shall see,” etc., and “the glory of G‑d shall be revealed,” etc., the whole length of this darkness is needed: “first darkness.”

As it is written, “And Avraham rose early in the morning”: the revelation of the level of Avraham comes in the morning, specifically after the darkness of the night. (For the Giving of the Torah was the revelation of the Name Havayah, as it is written, “But by My Name Havayah I was not known to them”; only at the Giving of the Torah is it said, “I am Havayah,” etc.

But of the Time to Come it is written, “And Havayah will be Elokim to me”: there will be a revelation from a still higher place, to the point that the Name Havayah will be considered only like Elokim, as is explained elsewhere. And this is the essence of the revelation of His great Name. As is known, in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy it says “Havayah, Havayah,” with a pause between them, etc.

For the first Name Havayah is what is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and the revelation will come from there, etc. Therefore it is delayed a long time and the darkness is greater, for afterwards there will be a greater light.

And this is [the meaning of] “House of Yaakov, come and let us walk in the light of Havayah,” meaning in the light that shines in the Name Havayah, as is written in the Idra Rabba (folio 130).) And this is the meaning of “Hear, O Israel, Havayah,” etc.:

“Israel,” specifically. “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”: Yaakov said it. And this is the matter of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) and the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah), to be “one with the One,” etc.

30The explanation of the matter: at first glance it is not understood: if Yaakov’s descent to Egypt is the drawing down of the radiance of supernal Chochmah (wisdom) into the hidden worlds and the revealed worlds, as explained above.

If so, it is puzzling how this can be called the exile of Egypt. Is this not how the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) and the coming into being of the worlds must be, as it is written, “You have made them all with wisdom,” that is, through the Ten Utterances, as explained above?

31And if this is the order of creation, what does it have to do with exile and servitude? But the matter is as explained elsewhere on “I am asleep”: the exile is likened to sleep, for sleep means that one closes his eyes and sees nothing.

So too of the exile it is written, “Our signs we have not seen.” The meaning: “our signs” are the level of the letters of Torah and prayer.

They are the level of drawings down from the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) into the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). But in exile there is no revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) to our eyes; the letters are hidden and concealed. Yet “my heart is awake,” for above there is the full revelation of the lights.

This was not so in the time of the Holy Temple, when there was a revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) actually below, and fire from above would descend to consume the offering, etc. But in exile the worlds (ha’almin) conceal.

32And this is [the meaning of] “who came to Egypt”: the Names are clothed in the worlds, in a state of hiddenness and concealment, etc. Therefore it is called sleep, for the revelation is not before our eyes.

Only above is there “and my heart is awake.” Therefore in exile, too, it appears that “the world follows its natural course.” But in truth He “does great wonders alone”: He alone recognizes them, even though they are not visible to our eyes.

33It can also be explained further. Certainly, if the revelation in the worlds were from the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), the worlds would not hide and conceal so much from our eyes.

The proof of this: when the redemption began to sparkle through Moshe our Teacher, peace be upon him, who is from the level of the radiance of supernal Chochmah, at once signs and wonders were done before the eyes of all, with changes in nature, etc. That is because speech is nullified before supernal Chochmah, its source; in the manner of the saying, “He who said to the oil that it should burn,” etc.

But that is with the revelation of the radiance of supernal Chochmah itself, which is what is called the level of Yisrael. This is not so in exile: then the revelation in the worlds is not from the level of supernal Chochmah itself, which is from the level called “Yisrael, li rosh.”

Rather, some radiance breaks through and is drawn down by way of a screen and a garment. This level is called Yaakov, and from this level [light] shines in the worlds to give them life, from nothing to something.

Therefore the worlds hide and conceal this radiance, and “it was not known that it had come into their midst.” And so “our signs we have not seen”: “we have not seen,” specifically, for in truth now too everything is by individual Providence, as in that time.

34And everything is like those signs and wonders, only that “we have not seen,” for no change is noticeable. And this is in the manner of “To Him who alone does great wonders”: the one for whom the miracle is done does not recognize his miracle, because the worlds conceal. And this is the very essence of exile.

The reason for this is that the revelation in the worlds is only from the level of “the children of Israel” and the level of Yaakov, and not from the level of Yisrael, which is supernal Chochmah (wisdom) itself.

35An illustration of this, by way of analogy, is any intellectual concept: one who grasps the depth of the idea in its truth can clothe it in many kinds of letters, whether in these letters or in other words, as he needs; thus he can change the combinations.

This is not so with one who does not grasp its actual depth: even though he grasps its subject, he cannot change the combinations at all, but can only tell it in the combinations he received.

36As, by way of analogy, one who knows the wording of the Mishnah, “These are kosher in an animal,” etc., cannot say it in other combinations; he can only repeat the wording exactly as it is, without addition or omission.

But one who knows the inner meaning and the core of what is intended can state the laws of the Mishnah in other expressions and words, etc. And this is what we say, “May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity (le’alam u’le’almei almaya).”

Meaning: the request is that the revelation in the worlds be from the level of His great Name itself, and through this the worlds will not conceal at all. And see what is explained in Parshas Chukas on “Therefore those who speak in parables say,” etc., [and] “let us calculate the account of the world.”

37The root of the matter is that there is Yisrael Sava (the elder Yisrael) and Yisrael Zuta (the lesser Yisrael). Meaning: “Yisrael, li rosh” is the level of Chochmah (wisdom).

But the very essence of supernal Chochmah, “wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” cannot be grasped, for it is as He, may He be blessed, is by Himself, even had He not created the worlds. Only the level of Netzach (victory), Hod (splendor) and Yesod (foundation) of Abba shines to be a source for the worlds and becomes the intellect (mochin) of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes).

38And Netzach, Hod and Yesod are, by way of analogy, “kidneys that counsel” how to bestow; see Iggeres HaKodesh, the section beginning “To understand a parable and a figure.” And the level of Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Abba is called Yisrael Sava.

And the meaning of “the children of Israel who came to Egypt” is the drawings down from the level of Chochmah (wisdom) mentioned above, which is called Yisrael Sava, into the letters of thought. Therefore Yaakov, who is from the level of the back (achorayim) of Abba, which is clothed in Tevunah, is called a son of this Yisrael, which is Yisrael Sava, Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Abba.

39And this is what is said in Parshas Vayigash, “And these are the names of the children of Israel,” etc., “Yaakov and his sons”: Yaakov himself is named as included among “the children of Israel,” because there it speaks of the drawing down from the level of Yisrael Sava, which is drawn into the letters of thought.

Therefore, relative to the level of Yisrael Sava, Yaakov is called “the children of Israel,” etc. And this is the first descent “to Egypt,” namely into the level of the letters of thought, which are also called “to Egypt,” since they are the level of letters and vessels that limit the light, etc. And the second descent is into the letters of speech.

40And this is what is said in Parshas Shemos a second time, “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt”; and speech receives from the level of Yisrael Zuta.

For Yisrael Zuta is the level of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes). For although Z’eir Anpin is the six extremities (vav ketzavos) of Atzilus: Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (restraint), Tiferes (beauty), Netzach (victory), Hod (splendor) and Yesod (foundation),

yet when the intellect (mochin) of Abba and Imma is clothed in it, it is called “Yisrael, li rosh.” For there is a great difference between when the mochin shine in the attributes (middos) and when they are attributes alone.

By way of analogy, below: a child is easily angered, whereas one whose attributes are within the intellect is slow to anger. Therefore we say “Merciful Father” (Av HaRachaman), for the level of Chochmah (wisdom) is the source of compassion

(and see what is explained above on “The heavens are My throne,” in the explanation of “tzedakah exalts,” etc.; and this is [the meaning of] “Who is like Your people Israel, one nation,” etc.). Therefore when the mochin shine in Z’eir Anpin it is called Yisrael.

But nevertheless it is Yisrael Zuta, for it is only a drawing of the mochin into the attributes. Yisrael Sava, by contrast, is Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Abba itself, by way of analogy the intellect itself.

Now, from the level of Yisrael Zuta, which is Z’eir Anpin, [light] is drawn into the level of the letters of speech, as in the analogy of speech, which receives from the breath of the heart, where the attributes dwell.

41And this is the meaning of “And these are the names of the children of Israel” said in Parshas Shemos, which refers to the second descent, the drawing of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) into the letters of speech. Therefore the level of Yaakov is not called

“the children of Israel,” for Yaakov, who is the level of the back of Abba, is not a son of Yisrael Zuta but, by way of analogy, a brother.

And this is what is said, “the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Yaakov”: speech receives from the level of the children of Yisrael Zuta, and also from the level of Yaakov, etc.