זכור את יום השבת לקדשו

1“Remember (zachor) the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” And it is written, “Keep (shamor) the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” And our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Zachor and shamor were said in a single utterance, something the mouth cannot speak and the ear cannot hear.”

This needs to be understood: since the ear cannot hear [it], why did G‑d let us hear such a thing?

2And what purpose did this aspect serve? But the explanation is this. It is written, “Not with you alone do I make this covenant, but with whoever is here and with whoever is not here.”

For all the souls that were destined to be enclothed in a body, until the end of all the generations, were all present at the assembly at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, even though they were not enclothed in bodies until a later time.

3Now this needs to be understood. What place is there for a soul without a body to receive the Torah? And what use is its receiving [it], while it is not yet enclothed in a body, for fulfilling the Torah later, when it will be enclothed in a body?

Surely a person cannot transfer a thing that has not come into his possession; and perhaps the body will hinder and obstruct [it].

4We also need to understand the verse, “You shall have no other gods before My face (al panai)”: why specifically “before My face”? Is it not written, “There is nothing else besides Him”?

But all this will be understood by first explaining the Giving of the Torah, what it was. For not all of the Torah, in its general principles and its details, was said at Mount Sinai at the time the Torah was received,

but only the Ten Commandments; the entire Torah was said section by section, each section at its appointed time and season, throughout the forty years that they were in the wilderness.

Rather, the point is that at the time of the Giving of the Torah, Israel was given the power and the preparation to be receivers of the Torah, that is, to draw down a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, through engaging in the Torah and the mitzvos.

Therefore all the souls too, before their enclothement in bodies, were at the assembly at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, for the souls also, while they were not yet enclothed in bodies, needed this power and this preparation.

The explanation is that through the Torah and the mitzvos the unity of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is revealed in a person’s soul, as is known. (It may be explained along the lines of what is written in Parshas Bo, in the maamar beginning “On that very day,” in explaining the Name Tzevaos: that it is the unity of the Infinite Light in [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as in Atzilus; see there, regarding “so He is united with the vessels of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, until He Himself is the hosts (tzevaos),” etc.)

Now, the soul is in the category of a created being, brought into being anew from nothing to something. And a created being bears no comparison to the Creator and supernal Emanator, blessed be He, Who is exalted and uplifted, holy and separate, etc.

“And Your Name is holy,” etc. For “His Name alone is exalted”; only His splendor and the radiance of His Name are “upon the earth and the heavens,” etc.

5“And holy ones” — these are the souls — “praise You every day, selah,” and so on. And wherever selah is said, it means without interruption. And how can the unity of the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, be revealed in it through engaging in the Torah and mitzvos? For if an idolater were to perform them, he would draw down nothing,

and there would be no revelation at all of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, through him. Only to Israel was this given, at the assembly at Mount Sinai: that they have the power and the preparation to draw down a revelation of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, through engaging in their Torah and their divine service.

That is why the Torah was given with tumult, thunder and lightning, [so that] “all the people that were in the camp trembled.” For it is known that for a new existence to come about, it cannot be something from something,

as, by way of analogy, a seed sown in the ground cannot sprout and be renewed as another existence until it first rots and returns to the dust; for it is through the nullification of the something into nothing that the renewal of existence is born.

6So too at the time of the Giving of the Torah: through the tumult, thunder and lightning, to the point that “all the people that were in the camp trembled,” they came to the level of a complete self-nullification (bittul) of their very existence before the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He.

And “at each and every utterance their souls flew out”; and through the nullification of the something into nothing a new light was drawn down to them from the level of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, so that there would be a revelation of the very Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, in their souls.

This is [the meaning of] the statement of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him: “For in order to nasos you has G‑d come.” That is, nasos is from the expression “raising a banner (nes)”: G‑d came with thunder and lightning until “all the people trembled,” so that they would have self-nullification of their existence, as explained above.

7Now, the angels asked for the Torah, saying, “Bestow Your glory upon the heavens,” and it was not given to them. The reason is that the angels came into being from the level of speech, as it is written, “And by the breath of His mouth all their host.”

And the level of speech is the level of the revealed world (alma de’isgalya), like physical speech in man, by way of analogy, which is a middle garment of the soul that is not so united with the soul; rather, it goes out from concealment into revelation, outward, to another,

8and becomes a thing of its own. Israel, however, arose in thought, which is the level of the inner garment that is united with the soul; and it is the level of the hidden world (alma de’iskasya).

For thought is in a state of concealment, and thought is united with the intellective soul always, without separation, since there can be no revelation of an idea at all without thought, in which one thinks and ponders that idea.

But in the letters of speech the idea is enclothed only at times, when it rises in one’s will to speak. So too, by way of analogy, above there is the level of letters; for otiyos (letters) is from the expression of drawing forth, as in “The morning comes (asa).”

9And so too, “And He came (ve’asa) from the holy myriads,” etc. And there is the level of the letters of speech, from which the angels came into being; and there are the letters of thought, where Israel arose,

for the six hundred thousand letters of the Torah are the six hundred thousand roots of the souls of Israel; for the letters are the level of garments, as in the statement of Elijah in the Tikkunei Zohar: “You fashioned garments for them, from which souls fly forth to human beings.”

But Israel arose in thought, which is the level of the inner garment that is united with the soul. And this is what the Zohar calls “He and His bones (garmohi) are one in them.”

10The explanation of the matter: “He and His life (chayohi) are one in them” refers to the level of Chochmah (wisdom), [as in] “You are wise,” etc.

For Chochmah is called “His life,” as it is written, “And wisdom gives life.” And “He” is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself, which is infinitely exalted and uplifted above the level of Chochmah, etc.

11Nevertheless, when the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is enclothed in Chochmah, it becomes “He and His life are one in them.” For He is the knowledge and He is the known, etc.,

and He and His wisdom are one. And “He and His bones (garmohi)” refers to the level of the letters of thought: when the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is enclothed in the level of thought, which is the level of “His bones,” these being the level of letters and garments,

as in the saying, “You fashioned garments for them,” etc., nevertheless it becomes “He and His bones are one in them,” for “My thoughts are not your thoughts.”

12Therefore the Torah was not given to the angels: because they are from the level of speech, which is the level of the middle garment that is not so united with the soul

as thought is, which is the level of the inner garment, therefore they cannot draw down a revelation of the unity of the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, through engaging in the Torah and the service of the mitzvos, so that the unity of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, will be revealed below as above. Only Israel [can], who arose in thought.

13Now, although Israel’s superiority over the angels is great by virtue of their souls, as explained above, nevertheless the Torah was given to them only as enclothed in a body and vital soul.

For it is known that the purpose of the soul’s descent into this world, to be enclothed in a body and vital soul: this descent is for the sake of an ascent,

that is, to raise it from the level of “He and His bones” to the level of “He and His life.” In the holy Zohar this is called “to be absorbed into the body of the King,” that is, to be

like the union of the body with the soul when it is enclothed in it, so that every pain and blow in the body, G‑d forbid, the soul feels, and it is affected by what happens to the body, because

they are united and have truly become one. Such an elevation is impossible by virtue of their souls alone, which arose in thought, which is the level of a garment of the soul,

as in the saying, “You fashioned garments for them.” For the letters of thought, relative to the intellective soul, even though it unites with them, and there cannot be an idea without thought, nevertheless the letters in thought are [as in] “Like a garment You change them, and they are changed.”

For one idea can be enclothed in these letters, and at times in those letters; and it is not truly united, as the body is with the soul. That union is the level of “He and His life,” in which the soul is affected by the life of the body, etc.

And this union is not revealed in the soul on its own account, but only when it is enclothed in a body with the vital soul; for this descent is for the sake of an ascent.

14The explanation is this. The animal soul, the vital soul, was taken at its root from the holy chayos of the Chariot, “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc. Now, the chayos carry and are carried along with the Throne.

This means: since they are carried, in relation to the Throne, being nullified to it as a horse is nullified to its rider (by way of analogy, the horse conducts itself according to its rider’s will), on account of which it is called a Chariot (merkavah).

(So too the Patriarchs are the Chariot, because they were always nullified to His unity, may He be blessed.) Therefore they also carry the Throne,

as, by way of analogy, with a horse: although the rider upon it is the main thing, and the horse is nullified and secondary to the one riding it, nevertheless the horse

leads the rider from place to place, to a place the rider could not reach on his own. So too the chayos carry the Throne from the place and dwelling of His glory to a place that is exalted and uplifted.

15The explanation is this. It is written, “And upon the likeness of the Throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man (adam),” etc. “Like the appearance,” with the kaf of comparison: for the way and order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), from world to world, from the head of all levels, etc.,

is in the form of “man,” in three lines: the right hand, the left, and the middle, which is the body. And so the order of the chain of descending worlds extends: “Chesed is the right arm,” and Gevurah, etc.

16And the chayos, in carrying the Throne, carry “the appearance of a man” that is upon it upward, to the level of “for He is not a man,” etc.,

above the level and the bounds of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), to draw down from there a new light to the level of “man” that is upon the Throne. This is a new drawing-down and a new light from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) to the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). For “You are wise”: that is, He is enclothed in the level of “wise,” etc.

17But He Himself, may He be blessed, is exalted and uplifted, for [He is] “not of any of these attributes at all.” And there it is said, “for He is not a man,” etc.: He does not admit of the changes and the division of levels, “Chesed is the right arm,” etc., that belong to the level of “man.”

For the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) runs from cause to effect, from the head of all levels, which is the World of Atzilus, to the end of Asiyah, which is the life-force of this earth from the utterances “Let the waters be gathered,” etc., “and let the dry land appear,” etc., “Let the earth sprout,” etc. This is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin).

But above the level of the chain of descending worlds is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in a state of concealment; it is truly equal at the end of Asiyah as at the head of Atzilus, for before Him “darkness is as light,” etc.

18[And] “on the earth below there is nothing else,” and “all before Him is considered as nothing”; and even the World of Atzilus, and what is above Atzilus, is like a drop of water [compared to] the ocean. Only

through immense contractions (tzimtzumim) were there emanated “Chesed, the right arm; Tiferes, the body,” etc.; “Chochmah, the brain; Binah, the heart,” etc.; “the skull of the tefillin,” etc. This is the level of “man” that is upon the Throne.

19And in order to draw down from the level of “not a man” to the level of “man,” so that there be “You are wise” and the drawing-down of the three lines, “Chesed is the right arm,” etc.,

this is the service of the angels: to raise and lift up the Throne and “the appearance of a man” upon it to the level of “for He is not a man,” etc., to draw down from there a new flow and a new coming-into-being in the level of “man.”

20In the same way, the Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot, as the supernal chariot (merkavta ila’ah): raising His attributes (middos), may He be blessed, to Him in a state of self-nullification (bittul), [as in] “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” etc., so that there be drawn into them

and through them a revelation of G‑dliness and of the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He. This is through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) for G‑d, with longing and thirst to be included and nullified in the very Infinite Light, blessed be He: Avraham with the attribute of love, as it is written, “Avraham who loved Me,”

21and Yitzchak with the attribute of Gevurah (restraint), as it is written, “and the Fear of Yitzchak,” etc. And so too: “We are the seed of Avraham, who loved You; the children of Yitzchak, his only one,” etc.

And this is through fulfilling the mitzvos and the Torah. For there are mitzvos that are of the nature of elevation, such as terumah, the tithe, and charity, as it is written, “Charity (tzedakah) uplifts (teromem) a nation,” etc.

22And there are mitzvos that are of the nature of drawing down, such as tzitzis and tefillin, etc. In them and through them the soul will be raised up to the very Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, and a revelation of the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) will be drawn into the soul.

However, since the Torah and the mitzvos are clothed in three hues — Torah, divine service, and acts of kindness: Chesed (kindness) is “the right arm,” from above to below;

23and divine service is the service of the sacrifices, from below to above, “a fire-offering, a pleasing aroma,” etc.; and engagement in the Torah is the middle line, for the Torah includes both of them.

That is why it is called “the middle bar,” which runs through from end to end. And to raise the Torah and bind it to the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the level of “man” — “for He is not a man” — this is through Israel, who are the seed of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.

24And we have as an inheritance from our forefathers the longing and thirst to be nullified and included in the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He. And they were given this power at the Giving of the Torah: that they raise and lift up the level of “man,” the three lines, above the level of “man,” upward, as explained above.

25In them and through them a revelation of G‑dliness and of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the level of “man,” will be drawn into their engagement in Torah and their divine service, in fulfilling the mitzvos, which are on the level of “man.”

This is [the meaning of] “I (Anochi) am Havayah your G‑d (Elokecha).” Anochi is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, which is above the bounds of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus); it will truly be “your G‑d,” dwelling and revealed in the very soul of man,

only that it is drawn down through the level of Havayah, tzimtzum (contraction) and expansion, etc. But for Israel this level of Havayah is drawn from the level of the very Anochi.

26And this is specifically when it is enclothed in a body [and] the vital soul, which was taken from “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc., which carry the Throne and “the appearance of a man” upon it to the level of

“for He is not a man.” Through this the soul attains an advantage and an added superiority by being enclothed in them, and it will be a descent for the sake of an ascent.

27For it is known that the power of the baal teshuvah (one who returns) is greater than that of a tzaddik, etc., as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where those who return (baalei teshuvah) stand,” etc.

The reason is according to the statement of the Zohar that “they draw Him with greater strength.” Therefore, when the soul is enclothed in a body and “has come down astoundingly,” it is in the state of a baal teshuvah,

for the longing and thirst for G‑d, in self-nullification (bittul) to Him, may He be blessed, will grow with surpassing intensity, as much as his soul can bear in its comprehension, because he contemplates the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Who, as His Name is, so is He: He has no end, etc.

28And all the pleasures of this world, after which the body and the vital soul are drawn, are very far from G‑d’s light and His holiness.

Therefore the soul will pine and yearn to leave its sheath, namely the garments that are in the body and the vital soul, and he will come to fulfill “You shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart and with all your soul,” etc.

29As it is written, “Whom have I in heaven? And beside You I desire nothing,” etc.; “My flesh and my heart pine,” etc. This is also an added superiority that comes to a person after the soul is enclothed in the body, surpassing [what it had] before

its enclothement, like “the advantage of light” that comes “from darkness”: for he comes to the level of “with all your might (me’odecha),” beyond the measure of the soul’s comprehension. This is the level of self-nullification (bittul) in the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, to draw down from there a revelation of actual G‑dliness into his engagement in Torah and his divine service.

30All this is through the Giving of the Torah, for then this power was given to Israel, for this elevation and drawing-down to come about through them: that self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) should rise

and be included in the very Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, and that the drawing-down of the Torah and the mitzvos be from the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He. This is accomplished specifically through Israel, who merited this at the Giving of the Torah.

Whereas had this power not been given, their self-sacrifice would not rise and be included so much in the very Essence of the Infinite Light, blessed be He,

nor would the drawing-down of one’s Torah and divine service draw so much from the level of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is above the bounds of worlds, far above the level of “man,” the level of “for He is not a man,” etc.,

concerning which Scripture says, “If you are righteous, what do you give Him?” etc. But in Israel this power was drawn [down] at the Giving of the Torah, that the drawing-down of the mitzvos should depend on them; and there is drawn into them the level of the very Anochi, to be truly “your G‑d.”

31This is [the meaning of] “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt (Mitzrayim).” For the entire order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) is called Mitzrayim, the level of constriction (meitzar) and limit, since it is in the form of “man,” three lines, and above and below, etc., which are the division of levels.

But to Israel was given the power of unity with the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), which is above the chain of descending worlds, the level of “for He is not a man,” etc., where there is no division of levels at all.

32And “You shall have no other gods before My face”: although it is phrased as a command, it is also phrased as a promise, that there will be no level of tzimtzum (contraction) and concealment that hides and conceals

G‑d’s light and His holiness from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the life-force from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus): “Even darkness does not darken,” etc. Whereas in the order of the chain of descending worlds, in the form of “man,” there comes about the descent of the levels and their enclothement in the ministers (sarim).

33This is [the meaning of] “which G‑d your G‑d apportioned to all the peoples,” whereas “But you G‑d took, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt”: from the level that is below, in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), to the level that is above the chain of descending worlds.

And this is [the meaning of] “from the house of slaves”: for in Mitzrayim, the order of the chain of descending worlds, there can be a house of slaves; as with Avraham, from whom Yishmael issued, etc. But above there is no concealment or hiding at all: “May He make His face shine with us, selah.”

34And this is [the meaning of] “Zachor and shamor were said in a single utterance.” Zachor is for the masculine (dechar), meaning that it is a drawing-down and bestowal from above to below. It is called by the term zechirah (remembering) because the term

“remembering” applies to what is distant: [a thing must be] “a remembrance between one’s eyes” because it is far from him. And so it is with the drawing-down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus): in itself it is exalted and uplifted, holy and separate,

but [it is] “You are wise”: He is enclothed in the level of “wise.” And for there to be this enclothement, there must be the level of remembering: “Remember us, G‑d our G‑d.”

35And shamor is for the feminine (Nukva), the level of the receiver, from the expression “And his father kept (shamar) the matter,” meaning, he waited. It is the level of prolonged hope, in which the receiver hopes and looks expectantly to the giver, like a poor man who watches and looks [to see] when the householder will put something into his hand.

As it is written, “Behold, as the eyes of servants to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes,” etc.

36And as the saying goes, “To You our eyes are lifted.” Now, for there to be a union of this level of waiting (shemirah), [belonging] to the receiver, and a union of this bestowal, [belonging] to the level of the giver, so that the giver and the receiver be included [in each other], there must necessarily be an arousal of a level higher than both of them;

that is, through the level of “for He is not a man,” etc., where there is no division into giver and receiver at all. And from there is drawn down and bestowed, in abundance, the inclusion of the two levels, zachor and shamor.

And this is [the meaning of] “they were said in a single utterance, something the mouth cannot speak and the ear cannot hear”: that there be a revelation of the level that is above division. For at the Giving of the Torah there was a revelation of the level of Anochi, which is the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).

37This is the essence of the giving of the Torah to Israel: that the drawing-down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), should depend on them.

And this is [the meaning of] the statement of Rav Yosef: “Were it not for this day that brought it about, how many Yosefs are there in the marketplace!” For had the power [of] the revelation of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, not been drawn down at the Giving of the Torah, but [only] that engagement in the Torah be within the chain of descending worlds, from the level of Chochmah downward,

“how many Yosefs are there in the marketplace!” For engagement in the Torah draws down nothing of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, except in Israel, who merited this at the Giving of the Torah and were given the power mentioned above.

38To explain further the verse, “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt”: the Chochmah (wisdom) that is enclothed in the emotive attributes (middos) — although the attributes certainly conduct themselves according to the Chochmah enclothed in them,

as we see that “according to his intellect a man is praised” in his attributes, for a child loves small things, etc. — nevertheless, not all of the Chochmah and the intellect is enclothed in the attributes, but only a tenth part.

For “the face of a lion on the right”: aryeh (lion) has the letters of re’iyah (sight). That is, sight is the level of Chochmah: “Who is wise? One who sees,” etc.

39And it is enclothed in the right, the attribute of Chesed (kindness); and likewise gevurah is numerically equal to re’iyah, etc. And this level of sight is the last level in Chochmah (wisdom),

which is a tenth part, the Malchus of Chochmah. For in order that, from the level of Chochmah, there be offspring, the emotive attributes (middos), which are not of the essence of Chochmah, the whole of Chochmah cannot be enclothed there, but only a glimmer of it.

And this is the level of Mitzrayim, a strait (meitzar) and a narrow place. And so we see tangibly in the structure of the human limbs: the seat of love is in the heart,

and the seat of Chochmah is in the brain, and the extension of the brain to the heart is specifically by way of the strait of the throat. And this is the meaning of Mitzrayim: meitzar Mi, “the strait of Mi.”

40Now, in this strait is the rule of three ministers: the chief cupbearer in the windpipe, where there is the extension of Chochmah (wisdom);

the chief baker in the gullet, where there is the extension of Binah (understanding); and the chief slaughterer in the jugular veins, the extension of Daas (knowledge). This is because the strait is very constricted; therefore the three ministers mentioned above draw nourishment [there].

41That is why Yosef, who was brought down to Egypt, to the place of the three ministers mentioned above, mentioned only the level of Elokim: “Elokim will answer for Pharaoh’s welfare”; “What ha-Elokim is doing He has shown to Pharaoh.”

All is the level of Elokim, which is the attribute of tzimtzum (contraction), as is known. But when Israel went out of Egypt, then at the Giving of the Torah the level of “the chariot of Elokim” was revealed,

in which the level of Elokim is elevated by its chariot; just as with one who rides a horse: although the horse is nullified and secondary to its rider, nevertheless the rider is elevated by it. So too, through the chariot, the level of Elokim is elevated above the level of tzimtzum.

42And this power that the chariot has, to elevate the rider, is because they are “twice ten thousand (rivosayim), thousands of shin’an.” Shin’an is an acronym of shor (ox), nesher (eagle), aryeh (lion),

and the final nun alludes to the level of adam (man), as is known. This is because “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc., were taken from the level of “before any king reigned.”

Therefore they have this power to raise the level of Elokim, which is the level of the Throne and “the appearance of a man” upon it from above, to the level of “for He is not a man.”

43With this we will understand the verse, “Ado-nai is among them (bam), Sinai in holiness.” For bam is written with the beis rafeh (soft); yet according to grammar it should have had a dagesh, since the yud of Ado-nai is sounded in pronunciation.

The explanation: a dagesh indicates a beginning, as the saying goes, “All beginnings are hard.” Therefore, had bam been written with a dagesh, it would indicate the beginning of the life-force in them from the level of Ado-nai, as “a point in the sanctuary (nekuda beheichala)”; for that is the way and the drawing-down by which Malchus is enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

For all the conduct of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah is through the enclothement of Malchus, the power of the Actor within the acted-upon. That is the way of drawing down from above to below, so that there be the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) and the coming-into-being of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah in the order of their conduct.

But in the way of elevation from below to above, the level of “the chariot of Elokim,” they carry the Throne (and are not carried, as in the way of the chain of descending worlds from above to below, the level of Malchus enclothed in them).

Then “Ado-nai bam” is rafeh, for the level of Ado-nai is in a state of nullification (bittul) to them, and there is no expression of beginning here, since there comes about an inclusion of Ado-nai in them as one, on an equal footing.

And this is [the meaning of] “Sinai in holiness”: the level of Sinai, from which hatred descended upon the idolaters, is elevated into the level of the supernal holiness.

44Therefore “Ado-nai bam” is rafeh, in the manner of inclusion, so that there be elevation on a single stalk. And this is [the meaning of] “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves”: for in the level of Mitzrayim there is what is called the level of slaves.

For in the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), from cause to cause, in the order of the levels, which is called Mitzrayim, from Avraham there issued Yishmael and Yitzchak, etc.

But when “I brought you out of the land of Egypt,” they were above the chain of descending worlds; they will not be in the state of slaves at all, for there the sitra achra (the other side) has no nurture and no hold at all.

45“Thousands of shin’an”: do not read shin’an but she’einan (“that are not”). The reason is that their root is in Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), which has only nine Sefiros, for Malchus is “the tenth of them all.”

But Z’eir Anpin itself has only nine Sefiros. And there are nine Sefiros from above to below and nine Sefiros from below to above; these are the two letters tes of Matat (Metatron), the eighteen blessings of prayer, which are in Atzilus

(unlike the eighteen blessings of the morning [service], which are on the level of Matat of Asiyah). But in Malchus they are rivosayim (twice ten thousand), for it is ten complete Sefiros, as is known.

46“At each utterance their souls flew out.” Now, “with [the letter] yud the World to Come was created,” etc. The yud is the level of tzimtzum (contraction), so that there come into being the delight of the soul in Gan Eden from the revelation of the radiance, etc. For the worlds could not bear the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself without being nullified out of existence.

47And they cannot receive a revelation of the delight of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself, for it is exalted and uplifted, etc., except through an immense and great tzimtzum (contraction), by concealing and hiding His great light so that it is not revealed except in the form of a yud, etc.

And the arousal from below for this tzimtzum is through their souls flying out to the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, the source of delight, to draw down from there the delight of the souls.

And this is [the meaning of the teaching] that the Holy One, blessed be He, restored them with the dew with which He will in the future revive the dead. That is the matter of the crystal dew (tala devedolcha), which is the drawing-down of the supernal delight into Gan Eden, the delight of the souls.