ביאור על הנ״ל

1An explanation of the above.

2To understand the roots of the matters discussed above. In general, all the matters discussed above are, in the language of the Kabbalah, the unification and coupling of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) and of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus). And to explain the matters in detail: above, the level of Mitzrayim (Egypt) is meitzar Mi, “the strait of Mi.”

That is: it is explained in Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal], Parshas Vayeshev (in the passage beginning “And now we shall explain the mystery of Yosef”), that the throat is called “the land of Egypt.”

For it is the narrowest place in the whole person. For surely the three mochin (faculties of intellect), as they descend and spread out below in the body, there broaden across the whole width of the body in three lines.

But when they are in the throat, that is, as they descend from the head to the throat before they spread out in the body, there they are in a place that is narrow to the very last extreme. And there is the mystery of Mitzrayim, and it was from the back that Egypt drew its nurture.

3And this is the meaning of Pharaoh (פרעה), [whose name has] the letters of ha’oref (הערף), “the nape of the neck.” And this is [the meaning of] “And Pharaoh stood upon the River.” For the River is the Yesod (foundation) of Imma, which extends through the throat down to the chest of Z’eir Anpin, and within it the brain of Daas (knowledge) is enclothed. And Pharaoh, who is the nape, the level of the throat, stands upon the River itself.

And the Exodus from Egypt is the going out of the mochin from the strait of the throat as they spread out into the body; and from there they are drawn into the level of Malchus (sovereignty), which is “a good and broad land,” a broad place. The throat, however, is the level of Mitzrayim, a narrow place, as said above.

4The explanation of these matters: first we need [to understand] what the throat is, which is called the “land of Egypt” of holiness. Its nature is that it is an intermediary, for the drawing of the mochin from the head to the heart comes about specifically through the mediation of the throat.

That is, by way of analogy, in a person, when there is a transformation from intellect into an emotive attribute: from the intellect that understands how a certain thing is good, there comes into being in him a love and a longing for that thing.

5Now the love that has come into being in him, so that he loves that thing, is because of his intellect’s understanding, for he first grasped with his intellect how that thing is good for him; and through this the attribute of love was born in him, to love that thing.

And this is what the transformation of intellect into an emotive attribute means: from the level of the intellect, in which he first grasped with his intellect how that thing is good, a flow is drawn to the heart and is transformed into the level of an emotive attribute, namely the attribute of love,

which was born in the heart from the intellect that is in the brain. Since this birth of the attribute comes from the intellect that was drawn from the brain to the heart and became love, it follows that the intellect is transformed into emotive attributes.

6Now this is a tzimtzum (contraction) with respect to the intellect: that it be transformed into an entirely different nature, becoming an emotive attribute. For this there is an intermediary that joins the brain with the heart, and that is the throat. It is the intermediary that brings about the transformation of intellect into an emotive attribute, so that the brain and the heart are joined.

That is, in the throat there is the windpipe (kaneh), which is called “the chief cupbearer” (and the gullet is “the chief baker,” as explained elsewhere), which draws the flow of the element of water and the moisture that is in the brain to the heart. For every kaneh is a matter of drawing down from above to below.

As in, “Acquire (keneh) wisdom, acquire understanding.” And it is the intermediary that joins the flow of intellect in the brain, so that it spreads out as an emotive attribute in the heart.

Now this intermediary between intellect and emotive attribute is neither of the nature of intellect nor of the nature of an emotive attribute.

That is to say: before the intellect is drawn into the level of the throat, while it is still in the brain, it is entirely of the nature of intellect, and it is only his grasping how the thing is good.

Likewise, after the intellect has been entirely transformed into the nature of an emotive attribute (which is after the Yesod of Imma ends at the chest, as [explained] below), the intellect then becomes entirely of the nature of an emotive attribute and enlarges the attribute; and this is the level of spreading out and breadth.

But when the flow is at the level of the intermediary, which is the throat, that is, when the intellect contracts itself in order to be transformed into an emotive attribute, before its transformation, when it has not yet actually been transformed but is contracting itself in order to be transformed, then it is the level of the throat. For the throat is neither of the nature of the mochin in the head

7nor of the nature of the emotive attributes in the heart. It is not the nature of intellect, for when the flow is in the throat it has already come down from the nature of intellect in the brain, descending and being drawn [onward] to be transformed into the nature of an emotive attribute.

Nor is it the nature of an emotive attribute, for it has not yet come within the nature of an emotive attribute. And this is the level of a break between the nature of intellect and the nature of an emotive attribute,

that is, “betwixt and between,” and it is called “the place of the cut”: it has come down from its first nature, which was the nature of intellect, and its second nature, which is the nature of an emotive attribute, it has not yet reached.

(And therefore this is the narrowest place in the whole body. For the emotive attributes are in a state of spreading out, and [they spread] more even than the intellect that gives birth to them, as in the analogy of a spring, which is thin where it comes out,

and afterward, as it is drawn onward and spreads out, a great river is formed from it, etc. So too we see that the emotive attribute broadens of itself, once it comes into the heart, more than the intellect that gave birth to it. As in the example of one who is angry at his fellow for some reason: when the anger spreads in the heart it grows greater than the force of the reason that gave birth to it. And so too with love, etc.

And this is what is written there in Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal]: that when the mochin are in the body they have more spreading and breadth than when they are in the head. And see what is written in the maamar beginning “There are sixty queens,” on the subject of “A river is blessed from its banks.”

Nevertheless, at any rate, while they are in the head they too are in greater breadth than when they are drawn through the throat, for then they are in utmost narrowness, since they have come down from the nature of intellect and have not yet reached the nature of an emotive attribute, but are only about to be transformed, etc. Therefore they are in utmost contraction, being neither this nature nor that nature.)

8And from this the parallel above can be understood. Now, [consider] the Yesod of Imma, which ends at the chest of Z’eir Anpin. That is: Imma is the level of Binah (understanding), which is the level of intellectual comprehension.

And Z’eir Anpin is the level of the emotive attributes (middos) of Atzilus (Emanation). And the emotive attributes come into being from the intellect, as [explained] above in the analogy. And this is [the meaning of] the Yesod of Imma ending at the chest,

that is, the flow of intellect being transformed to become an emotive attribute. (Elsewhere the matter of “up to the chest” is explained [thus]: even the emotive attributes, although essentially they are only emotive attributes, are nonetheless also composed of three levels: Chochmah, Binah and Daas; Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes; Netzach, Hod and Yesod.

That is: the level of the reason and the inner dimension of the Chesed, the Chesed itself, and the level of its bestowal. And these three levels are also called “three thirds.”

Now the upper third is the level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas of the emotive attribute itself, and not actual Chochmah, Binah and Daas; and this is [the meaning of] “up to the chest.” And the level of the Chesed itself is the middle third,

which is from the chest to the navel. And the level of Netzach, Hod and Yesod of the emotive attribute itself is the lower third, from the navel to the thighs; and it is the source of the Netzach, Hod and Yesod of the configuration (partzuf) as a whole, which are the legs. And the upper third is what faces upward to receive from its cause.

And this is [why] the Yesod of Imma ends at the chest: from the true Chochmah, Binah and Daas, which are the mochin in the head, [a flow] is drawn to become mochin and a level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas for the emotive attributes in the heart, which is the upper third. Nevertheless, we say that the intellect is transformed into an actual emotive attribute.

For the upper third of the body is actually of the nature of an emotive attribute; it is only called mochin relative to the emotive attributes. But relative to the intellect itself, this is called being transformed into the actual nature of an emotive attribute.)

9However, there must be an intermediary to join the Yesod of Imma with the emotive attributes, which are Z’eir Anpin. And this is the level of the throat, where the mochin begin to be transformed to become life-force (chayus) for the emotive attributes, and they have come down from their first nature, in which they were intellect, the level of the mature state of the mochin (gadlus).

10And now, in the throat, it is contracted into the level of the immature state of the mochin (katnus), in order to be transformed into an emotive attribute. And therefore there it is the level of Mitzrayim, meitzar Mi.

The level of Mi is the fifty gates of Binah, which are drawn into the emotive attributes. When they are in the throat, they are in utmost narrowness and immaturity, for it is a level of narrowness and immaturity relative to the mochin when they are in the head, as said above,

11and also relative to the emotive attributes in the heart: for when it has become the nature of an emotive attribute, the intellect then enlarges the attribute so that it spreads out greatly, as said above.

In the throat, however, it is not yet the nature of an emotive attribute in revealed form, nor is it in the mature state of the mochin. Therefore this is narrower than the level of intellect and than the level of the emotive attributes.

12And this is what is found in the writings of the Arizal, that garon (the throat) and Charan are one matter, as explained in Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal] at the beginning of Parshas Vayetzei: the two have the same numerical value.

Since the level of the throat is narrowness and immaturity, it is therefore the level of Charan. For the judgments and the severities (gevuros) are drawn from the immaturity of the mochin, as is known from the analogy of an infant, who cannot bear at all anything contrary to his will, because his intellect is very small;

but an elder, whose mind is self-contained, is able to bear what is contrary to his will, because his mind is settled, from the level of mature mochin, as it is written, “With the aged is wisdom.” Therefore from the level of the throat the level of Charan is drawn.

13Now this level, the mochin being in the throat as described above, which is called Mitzrayim, is the level of ibbur (gestation), as mentioned in Pri Etz Chaim, in the Gate of Pesach: the level of ibbur is that Z’eir Anpin is contained “three within three,” in a state of gestation in the womb of Imma.

For this is what gestation means: the throat interrupts in between, and the emotive attributes are not revealed, in the manner of birth and actual revelation, in the heart. And below, too, in [divine] service, there is likewise the matter of gestation, as said above, which is in the strait of the throat:

that is, when one comprehends His greatness well, blessed be He, and has love and awe in concealment, but does not bring them out into revelation, so that they would be revealed in his heart.

This is because they are in the blockage of the throat, where they remain in a state of gestation and concealment and do not come to revelation in the heart, etc.

14And this is also the meaning of the verse “And Pharaoh stood upon the River.” That is, when Z’eir Anpin is in the state of gestation, which is the mystery of Mitzrayim, then it is said, “And Pharaoh stood,” etc. For the River is the Yesod of Imma, in which the mochin are in a state of gestation and concealment,

that is, when they are in the strait of the throat, as said above. And there Pharaoh, who is the nape, stands and treads upon the River mentioned above and holds back the birth, etc. And in the service of G‑d, this is the level of the alien desires that hold back the revelation of the emotive attributes, etc.

15Now, having explained the matter of Mitzrayim, which is the throat, and that the exile of Egypt is when Z’eir Anpin is there in a state of gestation,

we can now explain the Exodus from Egypt, which is the level of birth: that is, the emotive attributes come out into revelation from contemplation, and then the emotive attributes grow great.

16Now what brings them out from concealment, which is gestation, into revelation, which is birth, is also the throat mentioned above, for from the throat the voice issues. And the voice is what brings the emotive attributes out of the concealment mentioned above into revelation.

Now it was explained above how this birth and this revelation of the emotive attributes is also the level of joy. For joy is the level of revelation: when the king is joyful, he reveals himself.

17And this joy is as it is written, “How beautiful you are and how pleasant, love in delights.” And it is explained there that this is the level of Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel), which is called “joy,” being the level of the revelation of the revealed world (alma de’isgalya).

And it is also what is called “love in delights.” And the explanation of the root of the matter is this: it was explained above that birth is when Z’eir Anpin comes out from the womb of Imma into revelation.

Now, then the building of the configuration (partzuf) of Malchus begins, which is the level of the Nukva, for she begins from behind Z’eir Anpin. (As mentioned in Etz Chaim: there is an opening opposite the chest of Z’eir Anpin, at his back, through which Malchus comes out.

And this is the meaning of “My beloved put forth his hand through the opening.”) That is, from behind Z’eir Anpin, which is the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), the building of the configuration of the Nukva begins.

And this is why joy, which is Knesses Yisrael, the revealed world, comes into being after the birth of Z’eir Anpin: for then, afterward, when the Yesod of Imma is revealed at the chest of Z’eir Anpin, which is the birth of the emotive attributes called Z’eir Anpin, the coming into being of the configuration of the Nukva begins.

But the substance of the matter is that there are two levels in Malchus, the level of the outer dimension and the inner dimension, as mentioned (in Zohar HaRakia) at the beginning of Parshas Bereishis, on the statement “As a lily,” etc.,

“…so is my love”: the outer dimension of Malchus, namely what descends into [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to give them life, is the “lily among the thorns”; and the inner dimension of Malchus, which does not descend at all, is the level of “my love.”

Now what is mentioned in Etz Chaim, that Malchus comes into being from the opening at the back of Z’eir Anpin, refers to the outer dimension of Malchus, which is the level of the outer dimension of speech. This level comes into being from the opening at his back, for the root of her building is from the back of Z’eir Anpin.

But her inner dimension, which is the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of speech, has the root of its building in the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin. (And see what is written on this on [the verse] “There are sixty queens,” etc., “My dove is one,” etc.) And this level, that is, her inner dimension, is called “the bride of Moshe,”

for Moshe is “the husband of the Queen (Matronita),” and she is also called Knesses Yisrael, for the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin is the source of all the souls of Israel together; and of it is said, “How beautiful you are and how pleasant, love in delights.” And this is also the level of joy.

18Now it was explained above that what brings them out from concealment, which is the level of gestation, into revelation, which is birth, is also the throat, that is, through the voice in it.

And this is what was explained above on “The voice is the voice of Yaakov”: that is, one who reads in the Torah. For through reading the Written Torah, which is called Mikra, one brings them out of concealment into revelation, so that there is the level of birth. This is why it is called Mikra,

for it is named after the reading (keriah): one reads aloud, to bring them out of concealment, which is the level of gestation, into revelation, which is birth, as said above.

19And it is specifically through Mikra, which is the Written Torah, because the difference between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah is that the Written Torah is the level of the mochin of Abba, and the Oral Torah is the level of the mochin of Imma. Therefore in the Written Torah there is strictness about the letters specifically: they are numbered and counted, and they must be made according to their law.

20That is: the letters of the Written Torah are, in themselves, only hints at the wisdom. So even though one understands and grasps in it, with his understanding, more than what is written explicitly, he is not permitted to add letters according to his greater grasp of it.

The reason is that the Written Torah is from the level of the mochin of Abba, which is the level of Chochmah (wisdom), and “for the wise, a hint”: the combinations of its letters hint at the manner in which Chochmah is drawn down. For example, alef is a yud at its head, a yud at its end, and a line in its middle.

21This is a hint at the higher Chochmah and the lower Chochmah, which are the yud of Havayah and the yud of Ado-nai. And sometimes, in place of the lower yud, a dalet is made, because

Malchus, which is the lower Chochmah, is called dal, “poor.” And the line that runs diagonally, in the form of a vav, is the level of Tiferes, which joins Chochmah and Malchus.

22Likewise, beis is three lines, above, below, and the right-hand line; and it too hints at the manner of the drawing down.

And likewise, gimmel is one line, which is a vav, with a point, which is a yud, beneath it. This indicates the level of Yesod, and therefore it is called gimmel,

for it is gomel dalim, “bestowing on the poor.” That is, it bestows kindness and abundance on Malchus, which is called dal, “poor,” as it is written, “Fortunate is he who considers the poor,” etc.

23Now the vav and yud [of the gimmel] are like the letter vav, except that the form of the letter vav is a yud [and then] a vav, to indicate the inner core of the drop, which is the yud at the beginning of the flow, etc., and it is afterward drawn out in the flow of the vav, as is known.

Gimmel, however, is the reverse, the vav above and the yud below, to indicate the conclusion of the flow in Malchus after the light and the flow have been drawn from the giver, etc.

And likewise all the letters, and the crowns (tagin) on them, are all hints at the manner of the drawing down, etc. And the wisdom in the drawing down of these lights is the wisdom in the Written Torah. Its revelation in the Written Torah is only by way of hint; it does not come as actual revealed comprehension and understanding in the letters of the Written Torah.

(For in the narratives of the Torah, such as the story of Lavan and the story of Balak, the plain meaning revealed in the verse, understood openly from the letters, although it is a complete Torah, is nevertheless called “the garment of the Torah” in the Zohar) (Part III, folio 152).

But the bodies of the Torah (gufei Torah) are what is clothed in the garments, and they are not revealed explicitly in the letters, only in the manner of “for the wise, a hint.” And about this David said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold,” etc.: that he may understand the wisdom from within the hints. And in the Torah there is also the level of “the soul of the soul.”

24And see what the Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto) writes there, for example on the verse “And these are the kings”: certainly it was an actual event, and it happened just so, but within it are hidden the mysteries of the World of Tohu. Therefore of some of them the name of his city is stated, and of some not; and of the last, the name of his wife is mentioned.

And there are several more differences which, for the story, neither add nor detract, but according to the mystical meaning they hint at wondrous matters, as written in the writings of the Arizal, in Etz Chaim and Otzros Chaim.

It follows that the letters and verses of the Written Torah are all hints at the wisdom, and not a revelation of intellect in the letters, in the way it is in the Oral Torah, as [explained] below.

For the revelation of intellect in the Written Torah is what is called “the garment of the Torah,” as said above, and the garment is revealed. But even the bodies of the Torah,

which are the details of the laws, and all the more so the mysteries, which are called “the soul of the Torah” and “the mystery of mysteries,” which are the soul of the soul, are not revealed at all in the letters of the Written Torah, only in the manner of “for the wise, a hint.”

25This is because the Written Torah is drawn from the higher Chochmah, which is above the level of actual revelation in the letters; for the revelation of intellect in letters is from the level of Binah, as [explained] below.

But from Chochmah the revelation can only be by way of a hint, and this is “for the wise, a hint.” Therefore one is not permitted to add even one letter according to his greater understanding and comprehension, etc.,

since the wisdom does not come to actual revelation in the letters; so adding letters because of greater comprehension, etc., has no place, and by this one would invalidate the Torah. For the hint must be exactly as it is in the Written Torah that Moshe received from the mouth of the Almighty.

26From this it emerges for us that the Written Torah is drawn from the level of the higher Chochmah, which is the level of the mochin of Abba, and therefore it is called “the instruction of your father.” And the Oral Torah is called “the teaching of your mother.”

Therefore it is specifically through Mikra, which is the Written Torah, the level of the mochin of Abba, that [the emotive attributes] are brought out of concealment into revelation. This is the meaning of “The voice is the voice of Yaakov”: in the throat, the voice of reading the Written Torah brings [them] out of concealment into revelation.

But the Oral Torah is the level of the mochin of Imma, which is Binah (see on [the verse] “A locked garden,” on the matter of “additional understanding (binah yeseirah) was given to woman”); it is the source of the combinations of letters (which are “the engravings of a signet”),

as, for example, in the human soul: the combinations of letters come into being from one’s comprehension and understanding, for exactly according to the understanding, so do the combinations of letters multiply. When his comprehension and understanding are broad, the combinations of letters are also many,

and if his understanding is short, the letters are few. For the letters are vessels for the light of comprehension and understanding: comprehension and understanding are revealed in the letters, and therefore as is the abundance of the light, so is the abundance of the vessels.

(Not so the level of Chochmah, which is above comprehension: it is not actually revealed within the letters, only in the manner of “for the wise, a hint,” and therefore the letters do not multiply, etc., as said above.)

So too above: the Oral Torah is called “the instruction of your mother,” since it is from the level of the mochin of Imma. For just as from the father’s drop a child with two hundred forty-eight limbs is formed in the mother’s womb, etc.,

so from one verse, “You shall dwell in sukkos,” there is made in the Oral Torah the tractate of Sukkah, and Rashi’s commentary, and Tosafos, and the codifiers. That is because it is the level of Imma, which is comprehension. And therefore it is what is called “a good and broad land.”

27And this is why it is also called “the land of the deer (tzvi)”: it is like a deer, whose skin does not hold its flesh, for when the flesh is taken from it, the skin shrinks. But as long as the flesh is in it, then all the while the flesh keeps growing, its skin grows likewise.

And this is the analogy for the Oral Torah, which is the mochin of Imma, the level of the faculty of understanding, which is clothed in the letters as light and vessel, in a revealed way. Therefore, the more comprehension increases, the more the letters increase of themselves.

As we see that in the Mishnah the letters are few, because there the understanding is still brief; but in the Talmud, where understanding and comprehension were increased with great breadth

(for Talmud is in [the World of] Beriah, where the Chochmah, Binah and Daas of Atzilus are clothed, and Mishnah is in Yetzirah, etc.), therefore the combinations of letters there multiplied greatly.

And this is why it is called “a good and broad land”: it broadens without end, for whatever a seasoned student will in the future originate is counted as part of the Oral Torah, and then the letters broaden, etc.

Therefore in the Oral Torah there is no strictness about the letters as in the Written Torah: the Mishnah speaks in this wording and a Baraisa in other wording,

and likewise the Gemara in other wording. This is for the reason stated above: the essence of the Oral Torah is understanding and comprehension, and the letters multiply and change according to the comprehension, etc.

(All this is because in the Oral Torah the comprehension is revealed in the letters, that is, from the level of the mochin of Imma. Not so the Written Torah, which is from the level of the mochin of Abba, which are not revealed in the letters; rather the letters are hints, and therefore the hints are specifically thus and so and do not change because of one’s greater understanding, as said above.)

(And this is why Binah is also called “the broad places of the river.” And see what is written in Parshas Lech Lecha concerning the hei of Avraham: that in order for there to be broadening and spreading out, its root is from a place higher than Chochmah, that is, from the level of the tip (kotz) of the yud, which is the level of Keser, which is above Chochmah.

In the same way it can also be understood regarding the Oral Torah, which is the level of Binah, understanding a matter at length: its root is higher than the Written Torah, which is the level of Chochmah.)

28Now, just as Binah, which is called the Oral Torah, is called “a good and broad land” because of the broadening of the combinations of letters, so it is exactly with the level of Malchus, the Nukva of Z’eir Anpin,

which is also called “a good and broad land,” for she is the very essence of the Oral Torah, as in the well-known statement of the Tikkunei Zohar, “Malchus is the mouth; we call her the Oral Torah.”

For of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah it is said, “Wisdoms sing aloud in the street”: two wisdoms. The higher Chochmah is the level of the Written Torah, and the lower Chochmah is the level of the Oral Torah, and she is what is called “a good and broad land.”

For she broadens greatly according to the indwelling of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, within her. That is, as is known from the writings of the Arizal, in this Malchus differs from all the Sefiros: she has many changes, for at times she broadens greatly and at times she shrinks exceedingly.

29And there are many levels in this broadening, and these changes are actually in the vessels of the level of Malchus: at one time she is only a point beneath Yesod,

at another time she grows up to the level of Netzach, Hod and Yesod, and at another up to Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, etc. And sometimes she broadens until they are equal in stature.

30And the whole cause of these changes in the vessels depends entirely on the influx and drawing down into her of the light from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He. For when the revelation of the light diminishes, the vessel too diminishes, to be only a single point; and of this it is said, “I am black,” etc., at the level of a single point.

31And when the revelation of the light increases, then the vessel too actually increases, all in proportion to the revelation of the light. And this is why she is called “the land of the deer”: the growth and spreading of the skin depends on the growth of the flesh, for when the flesh diminishes and departs, the skin shrinks.

And this indicates what was said above: that in Malchus the increase and decrease of the vessels depends on the increase and decrease of the lights. Therefore there are many changes in her growth and in her stature, so to speak, which are the vessels; not so the other configurations (partzufim), which have no changes at all in their vessels.

32And the changes on Shabbos and Yom Tov are a matter of added light, etc., but the vessels have no increase or decrease in them. For Abba and Imma never broaden or shrink, since there is never any change in their vessels.

And the emotive attributes called Z’eir Anpin likewise do not broaden and shrink; rather, when the mochin of nursing (yenikah) flow to them from above, they receive the mochin, or the mochin do not flow to them;

but the emotive attributes themselves do not shrink and broaden, as Malchus does, in whose very self there are changes. Thus the spreading of the vessels of Malchus depends on the spreading of the lights.

33And this is a special excellence in the vessels of Malchus: they are utterly nullified (batel) before the lights. And this is why she is called “a good and broad land,” for she broadens in proportion to the abundance of the light, etc.

And this is the advantage of occupying oneself with the Oral Torah, even over the level of “love in delights.” For joy and “love in delights” are the level of yesh and davar, an existing something: joy is in the revelation of the heart, in which one feels the joy and the delight in his heart, and this is the level of yesh and davar.

But in the Oral Torah the light is hidden and the delight is not felt. Therefore it is loftier, for it is the level of mah (“what”), the utmost self-nullification (bittul), without any feeling at all.

34And this is what He said, “And I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt”: this is the going out and revealing of the emotive attributes from the throat through the voice of the Written Torah;

then afterward, “And I will bring you to the land”: the Oral Torah, which has a special excellence and level in being “the land of the deer,” etc., “good and broad,” as said above.

35Now we must explain “And I will set tzvi in the land of the living.” This is a further excellence of the Oral Torah, and it is a second reason why it is called “the land of tzvi.”

For tzvi means will (from the word tzivyoni, “my will”; and likewise “they were created with their consent (tzivyonan)”: the Holy One, blessed be He, asked them, “Is it your will that I create you?”; and likewise “but you were not willing,” which the Targum renders ve’la tzevisun, etc. And in the Holy Tongue too it means desire, or glory and splendor, as explained in the books),

that is: His Supreme Will, blessed be He (and desire is the inner dimension of the will, as is known), is clothed and revealed specifically in “the land of the living,” which is the Oral Torah.

And this is a further excellence of the Oral Torah over the Written Torah. The Written Torah, Mikra, is the level of the mochin of Abba alone, which is the level of Chochmah; but there is not so much revelation in it of the Supreme Will itself, which is above Chochmah.

For it is impossible to understand and to rule on any halachic decision, which is the Supreme Will, to acquit or to hold liable, forbidden or permitted, etc., from the Written Torah; one cannot understand the ruling from it, since it is only the level of His wisdom, blessed be He.

But in the Oral Torah the Supreme Will, blessed be He, is clothed and revealed: these are the halachic rulings in the Oral Torah, forbidden and permitted, which are the Supreme Will, blessed be He.

36And this is “And I will set tzvi in the land of the living” specifically: the revelation of the Supreme Will is specifically in the Oral Torah. This is because “last in deed” is precisely “first in thought,” and “their beginning is wedged in their end,”

and therefore Malchus is called “a woman of valor, the crown of her husband,” and she is also called “a land of desire (chefetz),” on account of the revelation of the will specifically in her

(as in the physical earth: the revelation of the power of growth, which is the level of the Infinite, to create from nothing, etc., as written in Iggeres HaKodesh on “He and His life-force,” and in the maamar “A woman of valor, the crown of her husband.”

Now in the Oral Torah too there are aggados and halachic rulings, and in the aggados, too, only the higher Chochmah is clothed; but in the laws and halachic rulings the Supreme Will is clothed. Therefore the study of the laws is far loftier than the study of the aggados, as stated in the Gemara, Sotah, folio 40.)

37But although the Oral Torah has special excellences and levels over the Written Torah, being called “a good and broad land” and having in it the revelation of the Supreme Will, nevertheless in one respect it is lower in level, for it has descended very low into physicality and speaks only of physical matters

(and see what is written in Parshas Bereishis). But about this it is said, “And I will bring you to the land concerning which I lifted up My hand,” etc.

As in the analogy of the hand, with which one lifts an object lying below: the hand can lift it higher than the head, and can place it upon the head. So too Malchus, which is called the Oral Torah, is the level of the land: although she is clothed in physicality,

nevertheless “I lifted up My hand” to raise her above the head, above the level of the higher Chochmah. For she is the level of “a woman of valor, the crown of her husband”: she is the level of a crown (atarah) and Keser (the Crown) for Z’eir Anpin.

38This is for the reason stated above, “And I will set tzvi in the land of the living,” for in her is the revelation of the Supreme Will, etc. And the Crown (Keser) is above the mochin in the head, as is known.

And this is “concerning which I lifted up My hand.” That is: “My hand” is the arms of Arich Anpin, which are the Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich Anpin, which prepare Malchus, as it is written, “The Sanctuary, O L‑rd, that Your hands established.”

39And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall be a crown of tiferes (splendor),” etc., “and a royal diadem in the palm of your G‑d.” That is: the royal diadem, which is Malchus, is “a crown of tiferes,” as said above, meaning “the crown of her husband.” “In the palm of your G‑d”: this is through “concerning which I lifted up My hand,” the arms of Arich Anpin.

40And this is “to give it to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov.” For the Patriarchs are the Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin, and it is a special distinction for them that the land was given to them, because she is “a woman of valor, the crown of her husband,” a crown (Keser) for Z’eir Anpin, as said above.

And this is the distinction and the level of the Oral Torah. “And I will give it to you as a heritage”: that the light should be hidden in it, which is the utmost self-nullification (bittul), in which the self-nullification is not felt at all. And in this it is higher even than the level of “love in delights,” which is the level of yesh and davar, in which the joy is felt in the heart.

But study, when it is in a state of self-nullification, in the manner of “I am the Mishnah that speaks in your mouth,” is actual self-nullification, without any feeling at all, as said above.

41And this is [the saying] “The Mishnah is the Queen,” as is known. And this is “to give it to Avraham”: for Avraham is the level of love, and the land, which is the Oral Torah, is higher even than the level of “love in delights.”

It follows that what is explained in this verse is, above, the general matter of the union of Abba and Imma and of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; and these very levels are exactly [present] in the service of G‑d every day, for a person has all these levels within him.

42Therefore every day, morning and evening, we mention the Exodus from Egypt. For first there is the level of the exile of Egypt, which is the gestation of Z’eir Anpin in the womb of Imma, and it is the level of Mitzrayim, the strait of the throat;

and afterward, through “Say to the children of Israel, ‘I am Havayah,’” which is occupation with the Written Torah, called “the Torah of Havayah,” comes the birth. And this is the term Mikra, for one reads (korei) and brings them out of concealment into revelation.

But just as physical birth is impossible without birth pangs and suffering, so one must feel pain and anguish over the withholding of the revelation of the Name Havayah in his heart.

43And through this there will be the birth, which is joy and delight, as it is written, “a joyful mother of children.” Above, this is the birth of Z’eir Anpin, and below, in the soul, it is the revelation of the emotive attributes, love and awe. And the blood of impurity (dam niddah) comes out: all the alien thoughts are pushed away through the birth, etc.

And afterward, “And I will bring you to the land.” Above, this is the flow descending from the level of Z’eir Anpin to Malchus, and it is called “the land of Canaan,” for it subdues (machnia) all the external forces and all the judgments are sweetened, because

through the birth, which is the level of maturity (gadlus), the external forces have no nurture; but from the level of gestation and immaturity (katnus) they do have nurture, as explained elsewhere.

44And below, the land is the level of the Oral Torah, and it is [the land] “concerning which I lifted up My hand,” for “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” and “you shall be a royal diadem,” etc., as said above.

And since it is known that every day new mochin are drawn down above, and likewise in the human soul, as it is written, “They are new every morning,” etc.,

so that one becomes a new creation, therefore there must be an Exodus from Egypt every day: the drawing from the mochin to the emotive attributes is through the strait of the throat, that is, through the Written Torah; and afterward, “And I will bring you to the land,” which is the Oral Torah, called “a land of desire,” as said above.