The Letters "Teth" & "Chess"
177) The letter ט "Teth" then came up and said: "O Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to place me at the head in the creation of the world; since through me Thou art called "Tov" (Good and Upright)".
The Lord said to her: "I will not create the world through thee; as the goodness which thou representest is hidden and concealed within thyself, as it is written, "O how abundant is Thy Goodness which Thou Hast Laid up for them that fear Thee (Psalms, 31:20)". Since then it is treasured within thyself, it has no part in the world which I am going to create, but only in the world to come".
And further, it is because thy goodness is hidden within thee, that is, it is proof that the world which I desire to create has no portion of your goodness in this world but rather, it is for the future world to come.
And in addition, because your goodness is concealed within thee, the gates of the temple sank into the ground, as it is written:
"TOVOO", "SUNK IN THE GROUND ARE HER GATES (Lamentations 2:9)".
Besides, the letter ח "Chess" is at thy side, and when joined, this unity, that is, the combination of the "Chess" ח and the "Tess" ט, results in causing thee to make טח "Chet" (Sin) (It is for this reason that these two letters are not to be found in the names of any of the Holy Tribes). She departed immediately.
178) The following is to elucidate somewhat the subject matter of the discussion just pointed out. The "Tess" symbolizes the Sephirah "Yesod" (Foundation) of "Z.A", that is, the concealed essence of the Sephirah "Yesod" (Foundation) of "Z.A".
The letter "Zaddik", the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, represents "Z.A". The letter "Zaddik" is also called "Yesod" (Foundation). The צ "Zaddik" is the ninth of the "Decimal Letters", from the "Yood" downward.
It is by means of the Sephirah that "Z.A" unites with his "Nukvoh", the feminine pPrinciple, as aforementioned.
However, the ט "Tess" is the ninth letter, counting from the "Aleph" downward. She has her abode in the Sephirah "Binah" (Intelligence) of "Z.A".
The letter ט "Tess", which is the Inner part that abides in the Sephirah "Yesod" (Foundation) of "Z.A", bears the attribute "Tov" (Good), as it is stressed in our Holy Scriptures: "EMROO ZADDIK KEE TOV (ISAIAH, 3)".
Therefore, since she is actually the souls of the Sephirah "Yesod" of "Z.A", which Sephirah is immune from seizure by the "Klippoth", the letter ט "Tess" thought herself to be a fit vessel for use by GOD in the creation of the world.
This is why GOD answered her that the goodness she represents is hidden and concealed within her. It is about this light that the Sages of the Talmud said: Adam the First had the great privilege of using the light which GOD created on the first day. By means of that light, Adam was able to see from one end of the world to the other.
179) However, when the Maker foresaw the future generations, he saw the wicked generation of the flood as well as the generation that was to follow, called "Dor haPalgoh", the generation of separation, He gazed upon their evil doings and decided to hide this light for the future, that is, for the "Zaddikim" who will appear when the final redemption will consummate.
This is dramatized in Genesis, thus:
"VAYAR ELOKIM ES HOER KEE TOV." (1:4).
The Hebrew word "Tov" (Good) is a synonym for the Hebrew word "Zaddik", as it is said: "Imroo Zaddik Kee Tov Kee Pree Ma-Alleichem Yeicheloo ?", meaning: "Say ye to the righteous, that is shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings ?"
To be specific, since the Creator foresaw that the "Rshayim" (the Wicked), by means of their corrupt deeds, will open a door by their wickedness, through which the "Klippoth" can seize at the light; so, in order to prevent this from taking place, GOD concealed the light; that is to say: GOD raised the light and concealed it in the "Upper Zaddik" and "Zedek", that is, in the "Upper Yesod" and "Malchut" of "Abbah and Immah", Father and Mother, which are "Chochmoh" (Wisdom) and "Binah" (Intelligence).
As a result, this light of "Zaddik" and "Zedek" of "Abbah and Immah" is drawn in great secrecy into the innermost sanctuary of the Sephiroth "Yesod" of "Z.A", where the letter ט "Tess" abides.
180) Thus, because of the effect of this emendation, GOD told the ט "Tess": "As the goodness which thou representest is hidden and concealed within thyself; so it is treasured within thee and has no part in the world which I am going to create; but, only in the world to come, that is, since I am obliged to conceal your light from the wicked, for you are destined to be rendered only to the "Zaddikim", the righteous, they being the deserving ones who are fit and adjusted to receive the light from "l'olam habo" (the World to Come); that is to say: You do not have the adequate light with which to correct this world meaning the last two phases of "Atzilut": "Z.A" and "Nukvoh". This is because your exposure to the evil powers would make you easy prey for the "Klippoth" who would then gain access to you and thereby seize your light.
181) GOD revealed further to the ט "Tess" that due to her good being concealed within her innermost recesses, the gates of the Holy Palace were sunk. Consequently, this light shines only in the inner sanctuary of the "Yesod" (Foundation) in concealment and the "Nukvoh", then, can only receive from this light and transmit it to her gates by way of concealment within her Interior sanctuary, this being why the gates of the "Nukvoh" sink within her innermost sanctuary of her "Yesod" (Foundation); for only thereby are the gates guarded from seizure by the alien forces and it is only in this way that the "Nukvoh" can be sure that the alien forces will not dominate her gates; for at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple, the enemy did not prevail over the gates of the palace because they were sunk into the ground, as cited by the Sages of the Talmud (Tractate Sotah: 9).
Therefore, inasmuch as thou art in need of so much preservation from seizure by the "Klippoth", the Creator told the letter ט "Tess", Thou art not a fit vessel for me to use in the creation of the world. It is also for this reason that the Creator pointed out to the ט "Tess" that the letter ח "Chess" is adjacent to her and that, together, they make up the word "Chet" sin for the "Chess" is actually "Hod"; that is to say: it is "Malchut", the "Nukvoh", which is comprised of "Z.A". It also designates the left "Tsinor" (Duct) of the "Yesod" of "Z.A".
182) It is pertinent to remember that two channels are found in the Sephirah "Yesod" of "Z.A":
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To the right, through which the souls are brought to birth; and is indicated by the letter ט "Tess".
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To the left, the channel where from the sediment is excreted to the alien forces, the "Klippoth", and is indicated by the letter ח "Chess".
Te be specific, the ח "Chess" is identified with the ק "Koof", which is comprised in the "Yesod" (Foundation). From the ק "Koof", a tenuous shine reaches the alien forces. We have learned from the foregoing that, because of this shine, the "Klippoth" acquire the power to imitate the Holy Spiritual Man "Partzuf haKdooshe"; even as the monkey imitates men here on earth. The Hebrew word for monkey or ape is ק "Koof".
183) The two opposing powers, Good and Evil, that is, the holy and the unholy, by the decree of GOD, were set one over against the other.
As aforementioned, the two channels which are found in the Sephirah "Yesod" are close to each other. The intervening wall that exists between them is as thin as a layer of the skin which garments garlic.
This is why, at times, the left channel of "Yesod" (Foundation) is able to gain preponderance over the right channel and therefore results in the combination of the two letters ח "Chess" and ט "Tess", which together make up the Hebrew word טח "Chet" (Sin).
The fact that the numerical value of "Chet" is "Seventeen", the same as that of the Hebrew word "Tov" is an indication that it is decreed that good and evil are to stand one over against the other.
However, it could also happen that the right channel, where the letter ט "Tess" abides, might gain preponderance over the ח "Chess". Then, the numerical value would also amount to "seventeen" and have the effect of tilting the scale over to טוב "Tov" (Good).
If, however, the dominion becomes tilted over to the left channel, the ח "Chess" then gains the upper hand over the ט "Tess" and it is also then that the word "Tov" (Good) is subdued by the word "Chet" (sin), the numerical value of which, as already pointed out, is also seventeen.
184) This is why GOD said in addition to the ט "Tess", the letter ח "Chess" is at thy side, meaning this as a warning to the, ט "Tess", which would then result in the union of both letters, the ח "Chess" and the ט "Tess", the combination of which spells out חט "Chet" (Sin).
In other words, this would give the "Klippoth" power to bring out the sacred bounty to themselves. It is the place where corruption and sin prevail.
The Zohar therefore stresses that these two letters, the ח "Chess" and the ט "Tess" are not marked in the names of the holy tribes; to prove that the tribes stem from a high source and are therefore separated from the ח "Chess", which is apt to involve man in sin; for the ח "Chess" is the source of all that is negative.
It is because of this that our holy sages stress the fact that the bed of Jacob is perfect, which means that no worthless matter was ever ushered forth from Jacob to the alien powers. Such was not the case, however, as far as Abraham and Isaac are concerned (Psachim: p. 56) Yishmael came from Abraham and Esau from Isaac. Both of them were admixed with evil. This explains why Jacob is connoted the Chosen One of the Patriarchs.