The Night of the Bride
125. Rabbi Shimon was sitting and studying the Torah on the night when the Bride, Malchut, was to be joined with her husband, Zeir Anpin. All the friends present in the bridal chamber on that night, following the holiday of Shavuot, are obliged to stand under the wedding canopy (Heb. Houppah) and rejoice in the corrections of the Bride, i.e. study the Torah, the Prophets, Holy Writings and finally the inner secrets of wisdom, for these are Her corrections (Heb. Tikkunim) and adornments. The Bride receives corrections, adorns herself and rejoices all that night. The day after, on the holiday of Shavuot, she comes to the wedding canopy with them. Her friends, who studied the Torah all night long, are called the “canopy attendants” (lit. ‘sons of the canopy (Houppah)’). As she approaches Houppah, the Creator asks about them, blesses and embellishes them with the bridal adornments. Happy are those who are so honored!
All the days of exile are called the night, because this is the time of the concealment of the Creator’s face from Israel. The impure forces separate His loyal servants from Him. Yet this is the time when the bride joins with her husband (in Hebrew “husband” and “master” are the same word, therefore the second meaning is what one should bare in mind). The Houppah is a wedding canopy under which the ritual of bonding of a bride with a bridegroom (their merging in a Zivug) takes place.
The union between the bride and her husband (the Zohar uses the word “husband” instead of “bridegroom”) occurs thanks to the righteous people engaged in the Torah and commandments. They are referred to as “the supporters of the Torah”. All the high levels called “the Torah secrets” become revealed through them, because they are also called the MAKERS of the Torah, as is described in § 124. Therefore the time of exile is called the NIGHT, WHEN THE BRIDE JOINS WITH HER HUSBAND. ALL THE FRIENDS, THE SONS OF THE BRIDE’S MIRTH, ARE CALLED THE SUPPORTERS OF THE TORAH.
After THE END OF CORRECTION and complete deliverance as the prophet Zechariah writes (14, 7): “And there shall be one day which shall be known as the LORD'S, not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.” THE NEXT DAY THE BRIDE COMES WITH HER HUSBAND UNDER THE CANOPY, because the BON will be like the SAG and the MA will be like the AB. (See § 64).
This state is therefore defined as the next day and a new canopy. At this time (in this state) the righteous are called the SONS OF THE CANOPY, and there is no action in them, because it is written: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11, 9).
Since these righteous people elevated the BON to the SAG by their actions, i.e. made it similar to the SAG, they are considered to have made a new bridal canopy; hence they are called “the sons of the canopy”.
The night of the Shavuot is when THE BRIDE JOINS WITH HER HUSBAND, because the wedding ceremony takes place on the next day during the reception of the Torah. On that day the creation reaches the end of correction as it is said (Isaiah 25, 8): “He will swallow up death for ever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces.”
The Torah describes this state as: “graven upon the tables” (Exodus 32, 16). The word “graven” – “Harut” (Heb.) should rather be pronounced as “Herut” – freedom, the freedom from the angel of death. The sin of the golden calf followed and the high level was lost. Since Shavuot is the day when the Torah was received, it is regarded as the end of correction.
Therefore all the necessary preparations (i.e. the corrections carried out during the period of concealment) end on the night before the holiday of Shavuot. On this night the bride joins with her husband so as to come under the bridal canopy on the following day. All the corrections are completed and the angel of death is defeated thanks to the actions of the righteous ones, who erect a new canopy.
All the bride’s friends, the supporters of the Torah, are also called “the sons of the bridal chamber”. They are obliged to merge with the Shechina-Malchut (the bride) on that night, which is called “exile.” Only then do their actions in the Torah and commandments correct and purify her from evil so that she would emerge with good properties.
Hence the supporters of the Torah should rejoice together with the bride seeing the corrections they made in her. They continue with their corrections in THE TORAH, then in PROPHETS and finally in HOLY WRITINGS. All the levels and revelations of the Torah secrets that make up the Shechina’s structure in the end of its correction are only made by the righteous supporters of the Torah during the period of exile.
All the levels that emerge during the state of exile are called the bride’s corrections and adornments from the Torah, Prophets and Holy Writings. This is because the Sefirot Hesed, Gvura and Tifferet constitute the Torah, the Sefirot Netzah, Hod and Yesod are Prophets, and Malchut is Holy Scriptures. The light of the VAK is called the Midrashim and the light of the GAR is called the Torah secrets. All these corrections should be made in Malchut (the bride) on the night when it completes its corrections (i.e. in the darkness of exile from the spiritual, man works on his inner corrections).
It is known that the end of correction does not bring anything new. All the MAN and MAD, all Zivugim and levels that emerged one after another during 6000 years will be merged and corrected with the help of the light of Atik.
The bride will then come under her canopy and THE CREATOR WILL ASK ABOUT EVERYONE, i.e. about all those who raised the MAN for the last Zivug at least once. The Creator waits for all the small Zivugim to get together, asking about everyone. When they are combined, a great Zivug called “RAV PAALIM U MEKABTZIEL” will take place. All the created beings will be blessed and adorned. The end of correction is referred to as the decoration of the bride’s crown.
126. Rabbi Shimon and all the friends stayed awake that night; each of them brought forth the revelations from the Torah again and again. Rabbi Shimon was rejoicing and so were all his friends. Rabbi Shimon said to them: “My sons, how happy you should be, because tomorrow the Bride shall not come to the Houppah without you, because all those who correct Her and rejoice this night shall have their names written in the Book of Remembrance. And the Creator shall bless them with 70 blessings and crowns from the Upper world”.
The Book of Remembrance mentioned by the prophet says: “And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Malachi 3:15).
But how can we understand the words of the prophet: “they that work wickedness feared the LORD”? Moreover, they were inscribed in the Book of Remembrance as people who “feared the LORD and thought upon His name”.
The fact is that in the end of correction, when the great Zivug of Atik is made, the powerful light will be revealed in all the worlds. Everyone will return to the Creator in this light. The Talmud (Yomah 86:2, “The Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”) says: “He, who returned through love, will have his sins turned into merits.”
This is what the prophet says of the sinners denying the importance of the spiritual work: on the great day of the end of correction, when the light of return shines, all the worst and deliberate sins will turn to merits and their words of slight will become fear before the Creator.
All the evil and good deeds are written before Him, for He will need them on the great day of the miracle. All the merits fill the Kli, which receives the light necessary for the final correction. Hence it is said that the Creator would write the names of those who fear Him in the Book of Remembrance. He will need them on that day to complete the common Partzuf. The prophet says: at that time, they will be close to the Creator as sons who served Him.
Everything and everyone will be written in the Book of Remembrance. The Creator will note all the sins, as if they are merits, as if they served Him. These are the words of the prophet.
The number 70 means the light of Hochma, the GAR, an adornment, a crown. The light of Hassadim is called blessing, because the world was created with the letter Bet (blessing), as it is written: “For ever is mercy built” (Psalms 89:3). But at the end of correction the light of Hassadim will also be like 70 crowns, like the light of Hochma, because the MA and the BON will ascend to the AB and the SAG. Therefore “The Zohar” says that the Creator will bless them with 70 blessings and adornments of the Upper world’s crowns.
127. Rabbi Shimon revealed and said: “The Heavens declare the Creator’s glory. I have already explained that the bride awakens to enter under the bridal canopy with all the friends who rejoiced with her through the previous night. She receives corrections, adorns herself and rejoices with them now.”
128. On the following day, the crowds, the heavenly hosts and camps join her and they await all those, who corrected her by studying the Torah that night. For Zeir Anpin bonds with Malchut and she sees her husband, and it is said: “The Heavens declare the Creator’s glory.” “The Heavens” alludes to the Bridegroom (ZA) who enters the Houppah. “The Heavens declare,” i.e. like the radiance of a sapphire they shine upon Malchut from end to end.
The day of the end of correction is called “tomorrow” as is said in the Talmud: “Do today and receive reward tomorrow” (Eruvin 22:1). The crowds are masses of people, who do not serve the Creator, the hosts – chariots with warriors in armor – are the higher groups of angels that accompany the souls as it is said: “For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalms 91:11). As was previously stated, the Creator waits for everyone and so does the Shechina.
Heavens are the bridegroom entering the bridal canopy. This is the state of the end of correction, of which it is written: “The light of the moon (Malchut) shall be as the light of the sun (ZA)” (Isaiah 30:26). The Creator is called the “Heavens,” and at the end of correction He is referred to as the “bridegroom” as it is said: “For as a young man espouseth a virgin … so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (Isaiah 62:5).
Wherever it is said that the Creator descends, it indicates His severity and judgment, because it speaks of diminishing His greatness in the eyes of the inferior ones, as is said: “His might and greatness is in His place.” But at the end of correction, when all sins will turn to merits and when it becomes clear that all the spiritual falls were rises, the Creator becomes the “bridegroom” and the Shechina becomes his “bride.”
The Hebrew for “bride” is “Kalah,” as in the words “Kalat Moshe” (Torah, Numbers 7), where the completion of work on the altar is described. Hence in the Torah the word Kalah means the end of construction. The Hebrew word for “bridegroom” is “Hatan.” It means descending the spiritual levels, as is said in the Talmud: “Descends the steps” (Yavamot 63:1). However, this descent is greater than all the previous ascents, because it advances towards the bride at the final moment of correction.
The bridal canopy represents all the Reflected light received on the MAN raised by the righteous in all Zivugim, at all times during 6000 years. Now they are accumulated in one powerful Reflected light rising above the Creator and the Shechina, soaring above the bridegroom and his bride like the bridal canopy.
In this state the righteous are called “The Sons of the Canopy.” Each of them has his own part in this canopy, because they raised their MAN to the screen of Malchut and generated the Reflected light. At the end of correction the Creator is called Hatan (bridegroom), because “Nechit Darga” descends from its level and joins the bride under the canopy.
At this time (in this state) the heavens SAY: this is a great Zivug of the future as the Talmud says: “The wife tells her husband” (Brachot 3:1). The word “tells” (“Mesaperet”) implies a Zivug and comes from “Sapir” (sapphire).
THE LUMINESCENT SAPPHIRE is the ascending Reflected light. The Reflected light, LUMINESCENT is equivalent to the Straight Light, LUMINESCENCE. This enormous Zivug will accumulate all the Reflected light of all Zivugim made during 6000 years and the Straight light will shine in it FROM END TO END.
129. The Creator’s glory (EL) is the bride, Malchut, as it is written: “EL is angry every day.” She is called EL on all days of a year. On the holiday of Shavuot, when she entered under the Houppah, she is called GLORY and EL, which means glory upon glory, splendor upon splendor, and dominion upon dominion.
“El” is a name of great mercy. However, it is said here: “El is angry every day.” The Torah says: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” This is because the Shechina is a small planet, the Moon, which rules at night. It is called “fear of the heavens” because it is the property of the righteous, who should raise the MAN through their desire to be corrected. Thus they correct Malchut with the Reflected light.
Therefore it is written: “God hath so made it, that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). For it is impossible to raise the MAN without fear. The lack of fear before the Creator is called Malchut’s rule at night, the state of darkness. In the absence of the light all the restrictions and sufferings come forth. They are opposite to the property of day, mercy. If not for this fear, the property of morning and day would never be able to emerge.
So it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” Night enters morning, for without night there would be no morning and night must be. Therefore “EL IS ANGRY EVERY DAY”. The property of mercy, called EL, is revealed only through the property of ANGER. So this property is also considered mercy and consequently the Shechina is called EL.
Therefore it is said that the CREATOR’S GLORY = EL IS THE BRIDE, MALCHUT CALLED EL, because it is impossible to achieve the state of “day” without the state of “night”. So it is in the 6 days of the creation, of which it is said: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day”, or a second day and so forth. We see that night is included in the name of day. As all of them are called the 6 DAYS of the creation, so are 6000 called “night” in the property of mercy.
The great Zivug at the end of correction will bring the light of day, the moon will become like the sun, as the prophet said (Zechariah 14:7): “It shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light”. The levels of Malchut will increase twofold, because during 6000 years the light of the moon was as is said: “And there was evening and there was morning.”
At the end of correction, when the moon becomes like the sun (ZA), the moon will be twice as great as before, because its greatness will equal that of ZA, of which “The Zohar” says: “GLORY UPON GLORY, DOMINION UPON DOMINION”. Although the moon was merged with the light of morning for 6000 years (“And there was evening and there was morning, one day”), now, when it is as big as the sun (ZA), it turns to the light, LUMINESCENCE OUT OF LUMINESCENCE, whereas previously its light was due to inclusion of the properties of the higher Sefirot.
DOMINION UPON DOMINION, because for 6000 years it was like a small planet shining at night, while now it rules during the day for it is as big as the sun.
130. At the hour when the sky (ZA) descends under the bridal canopy and shines upon Malchut, all her friends, who corrected her by studying the Torah, are known by their names, as it is said: “The firmament showeth His handiwork”. “His handiwork” refers to the members of this covenant, who are called “His handiwork”. As it is written: “Establish Thou the work of our hands upon us,” which is the sign of the covenant imprinted on man’s flesh.
The friends are the supporters of the Torah, which includes good and evil deeds. Even the evil, uncorrected parts of it are KNOWN BY NAME (of its corrected part), as is said: THE FIRMAMENT SHOWETH HIS HANDIWORK. Heavens is the Book of Remembrance, which is the light of the great Zivug that leads to the return, to the correction out of love, when intentional sins become merits (Talmud. Yomah 86:2).
Even of those who spoke evil things, it is said: “They will tell one another of their fear before the Creator” (See § 126). Therefore the action defined as “the supporters of Torah”, which includes both good (for the worthy) and evil (for the unworthy), now becomes completely good and holy. It turns into THE WORK OF HIS HANDS – the Creator’s actions, for THE HEAVENS SPEAK even of the unworthy. It turns out that the friends have only performed good actions and carried out holy work, because all of them have corrected Malchut and ALL ARE KNOWN BY THEIR NAMES.
Hence it is said: “ESTABLISH THOU UPON US THE WORK OF OUR HANDS” (Psalms 90:17). However, it is impossible to understand whose hands are meant: His or ours? It is only said that the union is characterized as “the work of our hands”, because establishing it is Yesod (Yesod is not only a name of a Sefira, but also means basis, foundation in Hebrew), foundation of the entire structure.
The correction of Yesod is Brit Milah (the circumcision). Hence it is said that the existence of a union is called the work of our hands, because we separate Orlah (foreskin) from Yesod through the work of our hands. But this only happens before the end of correction. At the end of correction THE WORK OF HIS HANDS will be revealed. The Creator will detach Orlah from us and THE HEAVENS SHALL DECLARE THE WORK OF HIS HANDS. But before that, we are obliged to make the correction of circumcision, therefore we ask: “ESTABLISH THOU UPON US THE WORK OF OUR HANDS”.
131. Rabbi Amnon-Saba then said: “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin”, i.e. a person should not allow his mouth to utter evil thoughts and be the cause of bringing sin to the sacred flesh, which bears a mark of the holy covenant with the Creator. If he does so, he shall be dragged to hell. Domeh, the ruler of netherworld, stands in the gates with hundreds of thousands of angels, but he is not allowed to touch all those who have adhered to the holy covenant in this world.
Man is warned against uttering evil things; he is encouraged to raise MAN (his pure prayer) with the help of the Torah and commandments. If an impure force clings to his prayer, it will receive his MAN. Man will have a grudge against the Creator and thus he will draw the Orlah to the holy union. As a result, his holy soul will fall into captivity of the impure forces, and they will take it to hell. This is similar to what Rabbi Elazar said about falling into Lilit’s hands (See § 68).
THE HOLY BODY, WHICH BEARS A MARK OF THE HOLY UNION, alludes to the holy soul guarded with the help of the holy union, as is said: “From my body I will see my Creator”, i.e. from my natural properties. But doubts bring the impure force of ORLAH back. It clings to the holy union and instantly drives the Divine soul away. Therefore “the Tree cried out: Sinner, do not touch me”. This Tree is Yesod, Ateret Yesod (foreskin – the very essence of the creation, egoism), the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
“DOMEH, THE RULER OF HELL” – DOMEH (from Dmamah - inanimation) robs man of his soul and leaves him lifeless. This is an angel that fills man’s heart with doubts in the Creator’s greatness, creates in him a sinful desire to perceive His thoughts as those of a human being in this world. It received this name because it likens the Creator’s thoughts to man’s (DOMEH also means likeness, similarity).
At the beginning, man understands that the Creator’s thoughts and ways are different from ours. The created mind cannot grasp Him, His thoughts and His actions, because our mind is inferior to His. As a result of sin, the angel Domeh imbues man with a silly spirit that forces him to say that the human thoughts are similar to the Creator’s. This fills man with doubts that DRAG HIM TO HELL.
The power of Domeh is in its name, as is said: “Who is as mighty as You are, who is LIKE You, the King that kills and resurrects?” It points out that connection with the one LIKE Him leads to death; whereas man finds life in realization that there is none like Him.
The doubts and thoughts that man receives from Domeh are countless. “The Zohar” says that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DEADLY ANGELS ARE WITH HIM and all of them are by the gates of hell. Man is taken through the gates, but they are not yet considered hell.
BUT HE (ANGEL) IS NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH ALL THOSE WHO ADHERED TO THE HOLY COVENANT IN THIS WORLD. Even if man did not fully adhere to the union, even if there is still good and evil in his deeds, all the same he is regarded as being loyal to the holy union. Unless man is filled with doubt, the angel Domeh is not allowed to drag him to hell.
132. When it happened to King David, he was horror-stricken. At that time, Domeh ascended before the Creator and said: “Almighty Lord, in the Torah it says: “And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife… shall surely be put to death”. David profaned the holy covenant, did he not? The Creator said to him: “David is righteous and his holy covenant remains pure, for it is known to Me that Bath Sheba was destined for him since the creation of the world”.
Although David committed no sin, as is said in the Talmud (Shabbat 56:1) that he, who says that David sinned is wrong, he was horror-stricken all the same, as if he had really sinned, because Domeh cited the Torah in his complaint.
However, Bath Sheba had been destined for David since the creation of the world (the Talmud. Sanhedrin 107:1), so he did not break his union. But if Bath Sheba had been destined for David, why was she first Uriah’s wife? Is a wife not considered a half of her husband’s body? If she is a half of David’s body, then how could Uriah take her, if nothing in him agrees with her?
The fact is that Bath Sheba is David’s true Nukvah (female) from the day of the world’s creation. David is a male part of Malchut and Bath Sheba is the Nukvah in Malchut. But since at the time of the world’s creation, Malchut rose to Bina to receive from it the property of mercy (bestowal), Bath Sheba also required this correction in GAR. Without it she could not have given birth to the soul of King Solomon.
Uriah the Hittite was an exalted soul, the properties of GAR. The name “Uriah” consists of Ur = Ohr (light) and i(a)h = i (Yud) + h (Hey) = the first two letters of the Creator’s Name HaVaYaH, i.e. Uriah means “the Creator’s light”. The fact that his name contains only the first two letters Yud-Hey = H(ochma)-B(ina) and lacks the two last ones Vav-Hey = ZA-M(alchut) shows that his light is the light of GAR. Therefore in order to correct Bath Sheba in the property of mercy, she was joined with Uriah. As a result she became fit to serve as the Queen of Israel.
133. Domeh said to Him: “Almighty Lord, what is revealed to You is concealed from him”. The Creator answered: “Whatever David did was with My permission. Because every man who went to war did not leave until he had given a bill of divorce to his wife.” Domeh insisted: “If this is so, he should have waited for three months, which he did not.” The Creator replied: “This delay is applied only if it is suspected that the woman might be pregnant. But it is known to Me that Uriah never touched her, for My Name is imprinted in him as a testimony. Uriah is the Creator’s light, though it is written Uriahu = Ohr + Yud + Hey + Vav without the last Hey, Malchut, meaning that he never used Malchut”.
The letters Yud-Hey in Uriah’s name (Alef-Vav-Resh-Yud-Hey) demonstrate that he never touched Bath Sheba. Uriah refers to GAR without VAK. “The Zohar” points out that when the use of VAK is to be emphasized, the name Uriahu is applied. However, Uriah was Bath Sheba’s first husband, so he had nothing of VAK in him, only GAR, i.e. the light of Hochma without the light of Hassadim, for Vav means Hassadim. Hence he cannot come near Bath Sheba.
134. And Domeh said to Him: “Almighty Lord, this is exactly what I have said: if You knew that Uriah never touched her, who revealed that to David? He should therefore have waited for 3 months. Yet if You claim that David did know of it, why did he send him to his wife saying: “Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet”?”
Usually the readers of the Torah give this example as evidence of King David’s less than exalted qualities and of the inconsequence of the Creator’s judgment. He forgave David for sending Uriah to his death etc. We should nevertheless remember that the Torah speaks of the spiritual worlds and their laws, which have no direct and obvious consequences in our world. There is a cause-and-effect connection: whatever occurs in our world is a result of a spiritual action, but not vice versa. That, which is described in the upper world does not necessarily have to happen in ours. Thinking that the Torah is a narrative about our world is a major delusion, which reduces the Torah of the world of Atzilut, the Creator’s holy names and His light to the lowest level of creation, which is strictly forbidden: “Ye shall not make with Me gods”.
135. And He said to Domeh: “David certainly did not know, but he waited for more than 3 months, as 4 months had passed. We have learned that on the 25th day of Nissan, David ordered the people of Israel to go to war. They conquered the land of Moab and remained in it for 4 months, until he went to Bath Sheba in the month of Elul. On Judgment Day the Creator forgave him his sin. Others say that David dispatched his orders on the 7th day of Adar and all the troops assembled on the 15th day of Iyar and he went to Bath Sheba on the 15th day of Elul. On the Day of Atonement, the Creator forgave him for that sin and spared him from death at the hand of Domeh.
Domeh is the angel in charge of adultery who imposes penalty for it. Since David was forgiven on the Day of Atonement, he escaped death at the hand of Domeh. His death was a consequence of Uriah’s death at the hands of the children of Ammon.
136. Domeh said: “Master of the Universe, I have one thing against him: why did he open his mouth and said “As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this deserveth to die” and condemned himself to death. Hence I have the power to bring death upon him.” And the Creator said to Domeh: “You are not allowed to bring death upon him, for he has repented and confessed in front of Me saying: “I have sinned against the LORD”, albeit he did not. His sin against Uriah was in killing him. I have imposed punishment upon him and he has accepted it.” That instant Domeh gave up his claims and returned to his place and dejection fell upon him.
The last letter Hey in the name of HaVaYaH has two dots – restriction (sternness) and mercy. All the corrections of Malchut with the help of the union of circumcision are meant to conceal sternness and reveal mercy. The Creator’s name descends into Malchut. Even though Malchut is under the prohibition of the first restriction (i.e. sternness and judgment) and all the impure forces are fastened to it, yet this point is concealed and only Bina’s property of mercy is revealed, the impure forces are powerless and cannot attach themselves here.
Breaking the covenant means to reveal the sternness and judgment in Malchut (letter Hey). As a result, the impure forces immediately attach themselves to it, because this property is a part of them. Therefore the holy soul, the Creator’s name disappears at once, as it is written (Job 4:9): “By the breath of God they perish.”
David embodies Malchut’s property of mercy; hence he needs to be safeguarded against the revelation of sternness in Malchut. Because he who reveals the property of sternness, i.e. breaks the covenant with the Creator, surrenders himself to the impure forces. They condemn him to death, for the property of sternness in him becomes revealed before the impure force (angel Domeh) that wished to get hold of David’s soul and drag it to hell.
David asked for the Creator’s forgiveness for adultery and received it, because he had been innocent. However, being only in charge of adultery, Domeh had no right to ask the Creator’s permission to punish David for sending Uriah to his death.
137. David said to this: “Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.” “Unless the LORD had been my help” means that had the Creator not guarded David from the angel Domeh. “Almost” means that only the distance as thin as a thread remained for Domeh to drag his soul to hell.
David is Malchut of which it is written (Proverbs 5:5): “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on the nether-world.” This is because it is the end of holiness (of the spiritual). The impure forces originate in Malchut; it sustains them, as it is said (Psalms 103:19): “His kingdom ruleth over all.”
However, when Malchut is dominated by its property of mercy (see § 122), it consists of two points: its own point of sternness and the point of mercy it received from Bina. Its point of sternness is concealed, while and the point of mercy is revealed. Thanks to this correction, the impure forces have no more than Ner Dakik (small luminescence) of Malchut. This can only sustain their existence, but does not allow for their spreading.
Ner Dakik, the source of existence of the impure forces is also known as Hoteh Dakik, a small sin, as it is written (The Talmud. Succah 52:1): “At the beginning, the impure force seems as thin as a spider’s web, but later on it becomes as thick as a shaft”. It is called small (Dakik), because sternness and restrictions are concealed in the property of mercy.
He, who breaks the covenant, causes the point of sternness in Malchut to be revealed. As a result, the impure forces attach themselves to Malchut and draw much light and receive strength to spread and expand. The person, who acts so, is said to be forsaking his own soul: “By the breath of God they perish” (Job 4:9).
When he deserves to return to the Creator, he corrects Malchut with the property of mercy. Therefore this process is called Teshuva, whereas the property of sternness becomes concealed inside the property of mercy like a small candle.
Therefore it is written: UNLESS THE LORD HAD BEEN MY HELP – the Creator accepted my return and repelled the angel Domeh by returning Malchut to the property of mercy. He made the property of sternness as a small candle, the thread-thin LIGHT THAT IS BETWEEN ME AND THE IMPURE FORCE.
This is the minimal light that must be present between Malchut and the impure forces. It enables Malchut to exist and be sustained by this light called “small sin,” so that DOMEH WOULD NOT DRAG MY SOUL TO HELL.
This light saved me from the hands of Domeh, for unless the property of sternness had returned to Malchut, I would have perished.
138. Therefore, every person should be careful not to say what David said, because he will not be able to say to Domeh, “It was an error” (Ecclesiastes 5:5) as it was with David, when the Creator defeated Domeh. “Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice” (ibid.), i.e. for what you have said. “Destroy the work of thy hands” (ibid.) i.e. the sacred flesh, the holy covenant, which you have broken and therefore you should be dragged down to hell by the angel Domeh.
There are two ways to return to the Creator (See “The Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”, §§ 45, 59, 64; The Talmud. Yomah 86:2):
1) Return from fear, when the intentional sins become unintentional,
2) Return from love, when the intentional sins become merits.
Before the end of correction, the force of sternness, restriction and judgment still deems necessary in the world, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 3:14): “God hath so made it, that men should fear before Him”. Malchut is obliged to sustain the existence of the impure forces as Ner Dakik, so that they would not disappear from the world.
Therefore Malchut’s corrections are made in two points: mercy and sternness. Sternness is concealed, while mercy acts openly. That is why the Tree of knowledge of good and evil is so feared: if man is worthy – it is good, if not – it is evil (see §§ 120 – 124).
DURING 6000 YEARS, OUR RETURN TO THE CREATOR IS EXCLUSIVELY MOTIVATED BY FEAR. As a result, our intentional sins turn into unintentional rrors, false steps; and we return Malchut to its property of mercy. Sternness and judgment are concealed in it as a small candle (small sin), since Malchut is still obliged to remain in the property of fear. Hence this is called “the return from fear.”
Small sin that ought to remain is also called an unintentional sin, a mistake, because in itself it is not regarded as a sin. It only leads man to the committing of unintentional sin. Man intentionally sins only after having first committed an unintentional sin.
Thus, although the small sin remains in Malchut, it is not really considered a sin. Through these concealed judgment and sternness we come to the intentional sins. Therefore it is said: “At the beginning it is like a thin hair”, i.e. like a small sin. Later on, unless we adhere to our covenant, it “becomes as thick as a shaft”. This occurs, because the property of sternness, judgment becomes revealed in Malchut.
It is said that Domeh stands at the gates of perdition, because the power of a small sin is only an entrance, for it is said that it is as thin as a spider’s web. Therefore our return is called “forgiven sins”, which turn into unintentional errors.
All of this is said about the return from fear. The second kind is the return from love, when all the intentional sins turn into merits (see § 126).
Therefore MAN SHOULD BE CAREFUL NOT TO SAY WHAT DAVID SAID, i.e. he should not utter the word, which causes revelation of sternness in Malchut (the way David did). HE CANNOT SAY TO DOMEH THAT IT WAS AN ERROR, because he is not sure he can return to the Creator at once, so that his sin would be forgiven and made unintentional, AS IT WAS WITH DAVID, WHEN THE CREATOR DEFEATED DOMEH.
It happened with King David, because all his actions before the Creator were pure. His only crime was the event with Uriah. So the Creator became his shield and helped him to return to Him at once. His sin turned into an error, as it is said in “The Zohar” (§ 137): UNLESS THE CREATOR HAD HELPED ME, DOMEH WOULD HAVE DRAGGED MY SOUL TO PERDITION. Other people should fear this angel, because an unintentional sin may lead them to hell.
DESTROY THE WORK OF THY HANDS, THE SACRED FLESH, THE HOLY COVENANT, WHICH YOU HAVE BROKEN AND THEREFORE YOU SHOULD BE DRAGGED TO HELL BY THE ANGEL DOMEH. Our correction called “the holy covenant” is regarded as “the work of our hands”, as it is written: “Without my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26) (see § 131). As a result of revelation of the property of sternness and judgment in Malchut, the correction of the covenant was compromised, and Domeh drags the soul to hell.
Therefore THE FIRMAMENT PROCLAIMS HIS HANDIWORK (§ 130). At the end of correction the firmament will proclaim His handiwork, because all the corrections will be rewarded. It will become clear that this was HIS HANDIWORK AND NOT OURS, and THE FIRMAMENT PROCLAIMS IT. The great Zivug RAV PAALIM U MEKABTZIEL will be made on these corrections (see § 92). PROCLAIMS refers to the descending upper light.
Know that this is the originality of our world until the end of correction and after it. Before the end of correction Malchut is called the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, for Malchut is the revelation of the Creator’s rule over this world. Until people achieve a state where they can receive His light (as He conceived in the thought of creation), the world is ruled by good and evil, by reward and punishment.
This is because our “Klei Kabbalah – desires to receive” are impure, stained by egoism, which (i) prevents the light from filling theses desires, (ii) separates us from the Creator. The infinite goodness, which He prepared for us, may only be received in the altruistic desires, because these delights (unlike the egoistic ones) are not limited by the creation’s bounds.
Hence it is written: “The LORD hath made everything for His own purpose” (Proverbs 16:4). All the deeds in the world were initially created by Him to enable us to please Him. Therefore the people in our world are engaged in what is totally opposite to the purpose of their creation. The Creator clearly states that He created the world for Himself: “I have created for My glory” (Isaiah 43:7).
Yet we say the opposite thinking that the world was created for our consumption, satisfaction and exaltation. So it is no surprise we are unworthy to receive the Creator’s perfect bounty. He rules over us through good and evil, in the form of reward and punishment, because one depends on the other.
We feel His rule as good and evil, because we constantly use our desires (to receive pleasure) and thus become opposite to the Creator. Man cannot feel the Creator as the obvious source of evil. This will undermine the created beings’ perception of the perfect Creator.
That is why, when man feels bad and denies the Divine Providence, a shroud falls upon him and he loses the sensation of the Creator’s existence, which is the worst punishment in the world!
Hence the sensation of good and evil in the Creator’s rule gives us a constant feeling of reward and punishment. Although a person feels the evil in the Creator’s rule, he makes an effort not to lose faith in the good purpose. But if he cannot believe that the Creator purposefully sends him unpleasant sensations, he loses faith and moves away from Him.
Although He has done, is doing and will be doing all the actions in the world, it remains concealed from those who feel good and evil. When they feel evil, they allow the impure force to conceal the Creator’s rule and the faith in Him. Thus man receives the worst punishment in the world – the sensation of being remote from the Creator, filled with doubt and disappointment. Yet when he returns to the Creator, he receives a reward and can become one with Him.
The Creator’s rule by reward and punishment enables us to achieve the end of correction, when all the people will correct their Kelim (desires) and will use them for the Creator’s sake. “The LORD hath made everything for His own purpose”, i.e. our bestowal should be absolute.
And the great Zivug of Atik will be made, whereupon we will return to the Creator from love. All our intentional sins will turn to merits, all evil will become infinite good, and the Divine Providence will be revealed in the whole world. ALL SHALL SEE that it is HIS HANDIWORK and there is none other beside the Creator. After the sensation of evil and punishment turns into the one of good and reward, we transform our egoistical desires into altruistic and deserve to attain the Maker. We conform to His handiwork by blessing and elevating Him above all evil and all punishments. The words THE FIRMAMENT PROCLAIMS HIS HANDIWORK refer to the great Zivug: all the actions are performed by Him. He has done, is doing and will be doing everything in the creation.
139. Because of this, “the firmament proclaims His handiwork”. These are the friends who have joined the bride (Malchut) by studying the Torah during the night of Shavuot. All of them are the custodians of her covenant, who are called “His handiwork”. She praises and registers each and every one of them. What is the firmament? It is where the sun, moon and stars and signs of the zodiac are located. The firmament is called the Book of Remembrance. It announces and inscribes them, so that they can be the sons of His own palace, and He always fulfills their desires.
Yesod of Zeir Anpin, on which Zivug is made for the revelation of all the levels – the sun, moon, stars and the signs of the zodiac, is referred to as the firmament. Everything exists, because it makes a Zivug with Nukvah, which is called the earth. Yesod of Zeir Anpin gives Nukva all of these heavenly bodies, which shine upon her.
But it turns out that Malchut is smaller than the sun (ZA). At the end of correction the moonlight will be as the sunlight, and the sunlight will be 70 times more powerful than before. Malchut will be the size of Zeir Anpin during the 6 days of the creation. When will it be? Rabbi Yehuda says: on the day, when death disappears forever, the Creator and His Name will be one.
The firmament (ZA) is the HaVaYaH, which is called the sun. Malchut (Nukvah) receives from it and is called the moon. During 6000 years Malchut receives the light from the 6 days of the creation, but Zeir Anpin does not reveal that Creator and His Name are one; hence the moon is smaller than the sun. This is because Malchut consists of good and evil, of reward and punishment.
There is a considerable difference between “Him” and “His Name.” His name is Malchut, in which all Zivugim are accumulated one by one, all the states of merging and separation. At the end of correction, at the time of which it is said “when death disappears forever”, “the HaVaYaH and His Name will be one.” The Name (Malchut) will be like the light of Zeir Anpin, i.e. good without evil. The individual Providence will be revealed and the moonlight will be equal to the sunlight.
Therefore at this time (in this state), Nukvah is called the Book of Remembrance, in which all human deeds are inscribed. Yesod of Zeir Anpin is called remembrance, because it registers all the actions of the entire world. It studies and analyzes all the created beings, which receive the light from it.
During 6000 years of correction the Book and Remembrance exist sometimes together and sometimes separately. But at the end of correction these two levels merge into one and Malchut is called “the Book of Remembrance”, because ZA and Malchut form a single whole; the light of Malchut equals the light of ZA.
Therefore the firmament is a place, where the sun, moon stars and the signs of the zodiac are located. The firmament (Yesod of ZA) emanates all the light of the world and sustains all existence. It passes the light on to Malchut, when it is small and when the state “He and His Name are one” is not yet achieved. At the end of correction it will be exactly like Malchut correspondingly called the Book of Remembrance.
So when Malchut receives all the properties of Zeir Anpin (the firmament called Remembrance), it becomes the Book of Remembrance and the firmament will be one with it.
140. “Day to day brings Omer – a sheaf” is an allusion to the sacred day that belongs to those supernal days (Sefirot) of the King (Zeir Anpin). It praises the friends, who study the Torah during the night of Shavuot. They say to each other the same words that are written, “Day to day brings a sheaf”, thereby praising Him. The words “and night to night” refer to the levels, the Sefirot of Malchut that govern the night, praise one another with the knowledge that each receives from a friend, from another Sefira. This state of complete perfection makes them loving friends.
Having explained that THE FIRMAMENT PROCLAIMS HIS HANDIWORK is THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE, “The Zohar” continues analyzing that, which is written in the same Book of Malachi (3:14): “Ye have said: ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked mournfully because of the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered’. Then they that feared the LORD spoke ONE WITH ANOTHER; and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His (holy) name. And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, on the day when I make a miracle, on the day of the end of correction”.
Before the end of correction, i.e. before we prepare our desires so as to receive only for the Creator’s sake, Malchut is called the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, for Malchut is the rule, which corresponds to man’s deeds. Inasmuch as we are not yet ready to receive all the delight that the Creator prepared for us in His thought of creation, we are obliged to be governed by Malchut with its good and evil.
Just this rule prepares us for the correction of our desires to receive (Kelim de Kabbalah) into the desires of bestowal (Kelim de Ashpa’ah), thus reaching the delight He conceived to bestow upon us.
As was previously stated, the sensation of good and evil creates in us the feeling of reward and punishment. When man tries to retain his faith in the Creator while feeling evil and can continue observing the Torah and commandments as he did before, he deserves a reward.
In case he cannot stand this test and moves away from the Creator, he is then filled with doubt or stops believing altogether that the Creator governs the world. Or he feels resentment towards the Creator in response to unpleasant sensations. The Creator punishes for all thoughts as He does for all actions (The Talmud. Kidushim 40:1).
It is also said that righteousness is no help to the righteous man on the day of his sin. But sometimes man’s doubts are so overpowering that he even regrets the good deeds he did in the past and says: “Ye have said: 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked mournfully because of the LORD of hosts?’” (Malachi 3:14). He becomes a complete sinner, who feels sorry about his righteous past (complaining that he wasted time and effort instead of enjoying the world like the others!) and his sorrow and doubts wipe out all his good deeds. The Torah warns us: “Righteousness is no help to the righteous man on the day of his sin”.
But even from this state man can return to the Creator. Yet he is considered to be beginning on his path, as though he has just been born, because all his good deeds of the past are gone.
One should not take the aforesaid literally even in its spiritual context, since he who works in order to achieve whole-hearted altruistic actions will experience falls and rises, becomes filled with doubts, and tries to overcome them. Such a person believes that each time, he starts from the beginning, that he understands no more than a newly-born baby. Whereas a person who works in his egoistical desires is constantly filled with self-esteem and adds every new day to the previous one. Nothing seems to disappear. This is what makes his spiritual growth impossible.
Only the one who really ascends the spiritual levels feels like a new-born baby before his Creator. As he ascends from one level to another, the previous state always disappears. Until man achieves a higher level, he is in total darkness and feels that he starts all over again.
The divine providence, which rules over us through good and evil, causes us to rise and fall, everyone in his own way… Each rise is considered a separate day (the sensation of the light). As a result of the big fall, i.e. regretting the previous good deeds, which are called “Toeh al ha-Rishonot”, man feels as a new-born during his ascent.
Therefore man begins each ascent as if he commences on his way to the Creator all anew. So every ascent is regarded as a separate day, because there is a night between these states. Hence each fall is considered a separate night.
This is what “The Zohar” tells us: DAY TO DAY SHALL BRING A SHEAF – in every ascent we approach the Creator’s day (the end of correction). HE PRAISED THE FRIENDS AND THEY SAID TO EACH OTHER. This is because, as a result of the great Zivug at the end of correction, all of them will be worthy of returning to the Creator from love. The desire “to receive” will be completely corrected and they will only receive for the sake of the Creator, in order to please Him.
In this great Zivug we will reveal all the supreme goodness and delight of the thought of creation. We will then see with our own eyes that all these punishments that we feel during falls purified and corrected us. They enable us now to receive and feel the Creator’s goodness at the end of correction.
Had it not been for the terrible sufferings and punishments, we would have been unable to achieve the sensation of perfect delight. Therefore these intentional sins turn into merits, as it is said: DAY TO DAY SHALL BRING A SHEAF – every ascent up to the end of correction is like a separate day in Malchut.
This day is revealed by the word, which supports the Torah in all its greatness. What is this word? “Ye have said: 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked mournfully because of the LORD of hosts?’”
These words brought penalties that now turned into merits, because they can reveal all the perfection and magnificence of that great day thanks to the previous punishments. So now those, who uttered these words, fear the Creator and praise Him. These words were said by those who made efforts to advance on the True path, and felt disappointed as a result of receiving uncorrected egoism of the higher level. In other words, disappointment only comes to the people, who truly work for the sake of the Creator.
Hence it is said about them: “Saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”. All the nights: falls, sufferings and punishments that sever their connection with the Creator, now turn into merits and good deeds. Night turns into day, darkness becomes light and all the 6000 years become one great day.
All Zivugim that were made one after another and that revealed the rises and consecutive levels now gathered into one level of one great Zivug – the Unity shining from end to end. Hence it is written: DAY TO DAY SHALL BRING A SHEAF, i.e. the intervals between days turn into merits. Everything becomes the Creator’s one glorious day!
The words “Night to night” refer to all the levels ruling at night. They praise one another and each one receives everything that man feels as suffering in the state of fall, which is called night. As a result of such sensations, intervals are formed between the sensations of a day. Each level is thus separated from another; a night is an aspiration to attain the Creator. All the nights are full of darkness. But now all the nights gather and form one vessel of reception of the supernal wisdom. It fills the earth with the Creator’s knowledge and nights shine like days.
This is because every night receives its own part of Knowledge strictly as a result of joining with the other nights. Thus, each night is said to help the other nights in the Knowledge, i.e. man is ready to receive the Knowledge only if he joins with the other nights.
Since night is a feeling of lack of knowledge, attainment and sensation of the Creator, by their joining together, nights form a perfect vessel of reception of the Creator’s Knowledge. And they praise one another, because each one received his part of the Knowledge thanks to his friend, by joining with him. Only in unity can they receive the supernal Knowledge. Hence it is said that through perfection achieved by all, the nights became loving friends.
141. He speaks of those, who do not obey the Creator and He does not wish to hear them. But they made lines through all the earth, i.e. these things make a line between the inhabitants of above and the inhabitants of below. From these words the heavens are formed, and from these words the earth is molded. And if you should say that they wander around the world in one place, the verse states that they are to the end of the world.
Up to now we have discussed the most terrible punishments and sufferings in the world – remoteness from the Creator and loss of faith in Him. Besides, according to “The Zohar”, all the plagues in the world, all the sufferings become included into one great Zivug, as it is written: “And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you” (The Torah 28:63)
All will gather and become one great light and everything will be filled with joy and happiness. Therefore it is said that THERE ARE NO SHEAFS AND NO THINGS IN THE OTHER WORDS OF THE WORLD, which are man’s sufferings in this world. They will turn into joy and happiness, and the holy King shall wish to hear them.
So, all the sufferings of the 6000 years will gather and turn into enormous delight, as the prophet said: “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none” (Jeremiah 50:20).
Everything will turn into merits, so that they will ask and search “for the past sins that can be included in Zivug and which can be laughed at, for they were felt as sufferings and now they are joy and happiness.” But they will not find any. There will be no more sufferings as they were in the past, although they would be sought after, because now all the sufferings turn into the great light.
This high level created by the great Zivug from all the souls and all the deeds, good and evil, is now defined as a pillar of light, which shines from one end of the world to the other. This is the perfect unity, as said by the prophet: “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one”. All the senses will grasp the Creator’s complete and perfect name “the Infinitely good One.”
Since this highest level is achieved as a result of bringing together all the sufferings and punishments, it fills the entire universe with the light, including the earth. However, it should be noted that the sufferings of which “The Zohar” speaks here are not the sufferings of the body insufficiently filled with pleasures. These are the sufferings caused by the remoteness from the Creator!
But if sufferings are so useful, then why is it written “not them and not the reward for them”? The sufferings are necessary because they are corrections. But the real sufferings, for which man can receive the level of the end of correction, are caused by moving away from the Torah and commandments, which grieves the Creator. THE SHECHINA SUFFERS, because, while suffering in his heart, man speaks badly of her against his will. This is a disgrace for Shechina, because man is unwilling to endure and reach the end of correction. The Torah tells him to be patient and be guided by faith above reason. Man should selflessly believe that these sufferings are the corrections he is obliged to go through.
Man’s soul is also a Partzuf consisting of the ten Sefirot. In its initial, undeveloped state, the soul is defined as a point, as a potential future spiritual body. If man works on himself, he gradually acquires a screen on this point and makes a Zivug on it. He pushes away all the pleasures for the sake of the Creator and receives the light inside this point. This way man “enlarges” it to the size of a Partzuf and transforms the point into the body, into the newly-born Partzuf.
He then develops his screen, gradually passing from the small state into the big one, until he receives all the light inside his spiritual body. This state is called the end of the individual correction. When all such individual corrections merge into one, the general correction of the entire world (i.e. of Malchut) will take place. Malchut is a Partzuf that consists of separate souls. Each soul, the Partzuf of each soul, is a part of Malchut. Malchut is a collection of all the Partzufim that are to be made by people. To make a Partzuf is to acquire a screen and become filled with the light.
The words THE INHABITANTS OF ABOVE AND THE INHABITANTS OF BELOW refer to the order of times in the spiritual world, which is different from ours. When the Creator wished to create the world, He instantly created everything: all the souls filled with the light in the state of absolute perfection called the end of correction, where all the created beings receive His infinite delight.
This ultimate state was born with the Creator’s first thought to create the world. It exists in its final form from the very first moment, because the future, present and past are merged in the Creator.
All human progress is necessary to enable us to imagine that the following is possible:
1. Change of time: its prolongation ad infinitum, i.e. when time stops and the present merges with the past and the future; when time reverses its course or disappears. Yet time is the only thing that provides us with the sensation of existence. By “switching off” time, we lose the sensation of existence!
2. Transformation of space: stretching and contracting of space into a point; space taking other forms, dimensions; infinity and a total absence of place.
I referred to these issues in my previous books and would not like to digress from the text of “The Zohar”. However, we should remember that the notions of time and space are non-existent in the Creator. It can help us to understand our true state, not the one we feel now. In actual fact, we are totally different from what we think of ourselves at the moment. We feel this way because our sensations are distorted by our own egoism that permeates our senses and impregnates our bodies.
Therefore, all that is described in the Torah strictly refers to the spiritual realm. This information transcends time, because time exists only in the perception of those who are still confined to their egoistical Kelim (desires). From this we can understand what is said in the Torah: “The Creator let Adam and Moses see all generations” (The Talmud. Sanhedrin 38:2).
If the described above existed long before the creation of human generations, how can the Creator show them to Adam and Moses? It is possible, because all the souls with all their destinies from the moment of their creation to the end of their correction emerged before the Creator in their completeness and they are in the Garden of Eden. From that level, they descend into the bodies of our world, each at its own “time”. There, above, the Creator showed them to Adam, Moses and all the others who were worthy of it. However, this is a difficult notion, and not every mind is ready to grasp it.
“The Zohar” says: “The way the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin become ONE above Chazeh of Zeir Anpin, where they are free from Klipot, Malchut merges into ONE with Zeir Anpin below its Chazeh to form unity below as it is above. This is because the Creator (Zeir Anpin) is One above. Malchut becomes One to be able to merge with ZA. This is the secret of unity expressed in the words: “He and His Name are one,” because “He” (ZA) and “His Name” (Malchut) are merged with one another.
The level that is born at the end of correction in the state of “He and His Name are one” already exists above as a sum of all the 600 000 souls and deeds “during” 6000 levels (“years”) in the world. They will emerge before the end of correction, but they exist in their eternal form above, where the future exists as the present.
So the pillar of light, which will shine upon the world from one end to the other at the end of correction, already exists in the Garden of Eden. It shines there the way it will be revealed to us in the future. The two levels will shine at the end of correction and “He and His Name will be one”. There will be a pillar (line) shining from the inhabitants of above (i.e. the souls in the Garden of Eden) and from the inhabitants of below (i.e. the souls clothed in the bodies of our world). “One receives One”, these two levels shine together and reveal the Creator’s unity, as it is said that on that day “He and His Name will be one”.
From the aforesaid one can assume that the pillar of light that shines in the Garden of Eden descends to our world and shines in it. But this is not so. THE FIRMAMENTS ARE MADE FROM THEM, because this level makes a Zivug on Yesod of Zeir Anpin (called firmament). Therefore all Zivugim, which ascend above the firmament are referred to as the heavens. The level, which receives from the firmament, is called the earth.
When the line (pillar) of light unites the inhabitants of above and the inhabitants of below (the distinction between the supernal Garden of Eden and the inhabitants of this world), the inhabitants of the supernal Garden of Eden receive the firmament from a Zivug above. What they receive is called the new heavens for the inhabitants of above. Only a small luminescence called the new earth descends below the firmament to the inhabitants of below. This is what “The Zohar” says: “From these the firmaments are made, and from these the earth is made.”
Although in this great Zivug, all that occurs above the firmament (Zivug) spreads to the earth below the line of Zivug, one should not think that this Zivug (like all the previous ones) is just a thin line of the light. This is not the limited inner place (Israel), as it is written at the beginning of creation: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place.”
But the light of this Zivug whirls around the world and fills it. This light reaches even the outer parts of the worlds (“the peoples of the world”), as it is written by the prophet: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:9).
142. Because the heavens are formed by them, who resides there? He repeated, “In them He set a tent for the sun. This is the holy sun, which is called Zeir Anpin, and it resides there and is crowned with them”.
143. Since Zeir Anpin resides in those heavens and crowns Himself with them, He is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber (bridal canopy). He is happy and runs along these heavens. Then, He leaves them and enters into another tower at a different place. He comes from one end of the heavens, from the upper world, i.e. from Bina. What is His circuit? It is the extremity of the heavens down below, i.e. Malchut, which is the circuit of the year that revolves around all the ends. It is attached to the heavens and extends from there to this firmament.
“The Zohar” speaks about the great secret of the sun’s coming out of its hiding. It is worth pointing out that the Kabbalists often use the word “secret” only to explain and reveal the mystery in the passages that follow. The reader should nevertheless understand that there are no mysteries in the world. Man attains everything on his level. Even in our world, in the process of his development, man apprehends new notions on every level. Whatever he thought to be a mystery the day before becomes clear and obvious today.
The same is true about the spiritual attainments. Kabbalah is called a secret wisdom, because it is concealed from ordinary people. But as soon as a person acquires a screen and begins to feel the spiritual world, the mystery turns into reality. The process continues until the entire universe completely attains all the Creator’s secrets (see “The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”, § 148).
The sun emerges from its cover (Nartik), from under the bridal canopy and rushes to the tower at a different place after the great Zivug under the Houppah. Zeir Anpin leaves its cover and enters Malchut, which is called the tower of Oz of the Creator’s Name, because Malchut then merges with ZA.
The end of Malchut is called “the circuit of the year.” Before the end of correction, the impure forces attach themselves to it. They are called “the end of days.” After the end of correction it is still necessary to correct this part of Malchut called “the end of days”. To this end, the sun emerges from its cover, like THE BRIDEGROOM COMING FROM UNDER THE BRIDAL CANOPY. He enters the tower of Oz (Malchut) and RUNS and shines on all the ends of Malchut to correct “the circuit of the year” of the lower end of the heavens.
This last action corrects all the ends of Malchut and unites all from the heavens to the firmament. Malchut receives the light of THE END OF THE HEAVENS above the firmament (ZA).
144. There is nothing hidden from the circuit of the year and from the circuit of the sun that revolves in all directions. And there is nothing hidden, i.e. there is no supernal level hidden from Him, because everything revolves and comes to Him. Nothing can be hidden from Him. Thanks to Him and thanks to them He returned to the companions when they fully repented and corrected themselves. All this year and all this time is for their study of the Torah, as it is written: “The Creator’s Torah is perfect.”
After the great Zivug, a restriction was imposed on all the upper Light (see § 94). Therefore a new Zivug (TOWER) is necessary, which will reveal all the upper Light again. It was concealed as a result of disappearance of the level BON, before it begins to ascend to the SAG. Therefore NOTHING IS HIDDEN FROM THE CIRCUIT OF THE SUN THAT REVOLVES IN ALL DIRECTIONS. A Zivug between the circuit of the sun and the circuit of the year corrects the ends of Malchut on all sides, until the correction is completed. This is so that BON ascends and becomes like the SAG. This is a complete correction of the BON, whereupon THERE IS NO SUPERNAL LEVEL HIDDEN FROM HIM, because all the levels and the upper Light are again revealed in all its completeness and perfection. NOTHING CAN BE HIDDEN FROM Him, because all the levels and the Light gradually return to Him, until all becomes revealed.
It is said that the revelation does not occur momentarily, because during its circuit, the sun shines in the sufficient measure for the COMPLETE REPENTANCE, as it is written that He punishes the sinners and cures the righteous, whereupon all achieve the complete revelation of the Creator.
145. The word HaVaYaH is mentioned six times; there are also six verses from “the Heavens declare” until “The Creator’s Torah is perfect” (Psalms 19:2-8). And this is the secret of the word BERESHEET, which consists of six letters. The words “THE CREATOR CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH” contain 6 words when written in Hebrew (“Bara Elohim Et Hashamayim Ve-et Ha-aretz”). The other verses beginning with “The Creator’s Torah is perfect” and ending with “more to be desired are they than gold” (Ibid.), are equated with the six letters in the word BERESHEET. The six names are equated with the six words “Bara Elohim Et Hashamayim Ve-et Ha-aretz” (“THE CREATOR CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH”).
The six letters in the word BERESHEET include everything that exists in the heavens and on the earth in an unattainable form; therefore it is only designated by these letters, without their combinations. There are also six words “Bara Elohim Et Hashamayim Ve-et Ha-aretz” (“THE CREATOR CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH”), where everything the word BERESHEET contains (the heavens, the earth and all that fills) can already be attained.
The same principle allows for comprehending what is included in the six verses beginning with “the heavens declare” and ending with “The Creator’s Torah is perfect”. This is just the beginning of revelation of the end of creation, i.e. in the form of letters, as in the word BERESHEET. The complete revelation and attainment of the end of creation begin with the verse “The Creator’s Torah is perfect.” Each of its six names constitutes a particular attainment and points out that only after completion of this level do all the letter combinations become revealed and attained in the great Zivug at the end of correction.
146. As they were sitting, Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon entered. He said to them: “Certainly the face of the Shechina has come, hence I called you Paniel (the Creator’s face)” (see § 119). You have seen the Shechina face to face. Now that you have received the knowledge about Benayahu Ben-Yahuyada, it certainly refers to Atik, the Sefira of Keter, as the scripture after it reads, “And he slew an Egyptian”. And he who is the most concealed is Atik.
It is said in the continuation of “The Donkey Driver” how he revealed the soul of Benayahu Ben-Yahuyada to Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Abba. As a result of this, Rabbi Shimon called them Paniel. The soul of Benayahu Ben-Yahuyada is a spiritual level destined to be revealed in the future, at the end of correction. So they were in the state of concealment of the upper light (see § 113), as was said about Zivug of the circuit of the sun and the circuit of the year, until they found Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakunia and consequently received all the light.
Therefore Rabbi Shimon says to them, YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BENAYAHU BEN YAHUYADA. This means they attained the six verses and achieved the six names. When they attained the soul of Benayahu Ben-Yahuyada with the help of the donkey driver, their attainment had been concealed from them, for they were still in the six verses. But now they have attained and revealed his soul, which is the great Zivug of Atik, when everything is revealed to all.
147. The verse, “And he slew the Egyptian” is explained in another place, i.e. at a different level, in a different way. He began by saying: “And he slew an Egyptian, a man of good stature, five cubits high.” All this relates to the same secret. This Egyptian is the one who is known and is described as “very great in the land Egypt in the eyes of the Jewish slave,” for he is great and honored. This is what the old man explained (see § 99).
The Torah describes the killing of an Egyptian in the book of Exodus (2:12). As we learned from the article about Rabbi Amnon-Saba, on another level (i.e. in a different language of the Chronicles) it is expressed differently. But these two verses are one and the same secret, because it is written in the book of Samuel: “And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man” (2:23:21), while in the Chronicles it is written: “And he slew an Egyptian, a man of good stature, five cubits high.” Both of these verses are the same mystery, which “The Zohar” continues expounding.
148. This case was studied in the Divine Assembly. “A man of good stature” and “a goodly man” are both the same, because they constitute the bounds of the Shabbat. As it is written: “And you shall measure from outside the city.” It is also written “You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in length, in weight, or in measure.” And so was Adam, the first Man. And if you say that it is written about five cubits, remember that these five cubits extended from one end of the world to the other.
The matter concerns the Divine Assembly, of which Rabbi Shimon said: “I saw the ascending ones, but how few they were” (The Talmud. Succah 45:2). There is a lower assembly of the angel Matat. However, the described above takes place in the upper assembly, which will be expounded further.
“A goodly man” is the level of Moshe (Moses). It is written about him in the Torah: “And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10) and “My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house; with him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches” (Numbers 12:7-8)
“A goodly man” constitutes a measure, which extends from one end of the world to the other. Its form and size correspond to the Shabbat bounds. During 6000 years, the Shabbat bounds only extend for 2000 Amah (cubits). After the end of correction the Shabbat bounds will extend from one end of the world to the other, as it is written: “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).
As we already know, the light can descend and fill the Partzufim down to the level of the Parsa. The Shabbat is a spiritual state when the worlds of the ABYA with all that inhabits them ascend above the Parsa to the world of Atzilut. Above the Parsa there are only the pure forces, the corrected desires (Kelim). So naturally there is no need to extract the pure Kelim from the impure ones and to correct them during the Shabbat.
The Shabbat luminescence shines not only in the world of Atzilut, but beyond its bounds as well. It affects the 16 Sefirot from the Parsa down to the Chazeh of the world Yetzira so that the soul can only be in the state of “the Shabbat” with these desires. The language of our world describes it as the permission to transcend the bounds of the city of Atzilut (70 Amah) by 2000 Amah down to the Chazeh of the world of Beria, and then 2000 Amah more – from the Chazeh of the world of Beria to the Chazeh of the world of Yetzira (70 Amah are considered to be within the city limits).
After all the Kelim (desires) are corrected there will be no restrictions, and the world of Atzilut will spread down to our world. The state of the Shabbat will prevail in the entire world, in all desires of all the created beings.
Hence it is written: “A GOODLY MAN” AND “A MAN OF GOOD STATURE” ARE BOTH THE SAME, BECAUSE THEY CONSTITUTE THE BOUNDS OF THE SHABBAT, AS IS SAID: “AND YOU SHALL MEASURE FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY” AND IT IS ALSO WRITTEN: “YOU SHALL DO NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN JUDGMENT… OR IN MEASURE”. From this it follows that an object’s measure represents its limit, as in the words A MAN OF GOOD STATURE. This indicates the bounds of the Shabbat after the end of correction, which will extend from one end of the world to the other.
The words “A MAN OF GOOD STATURE” explain that he will determine his size according to his own will. AND SO WAS ADAM before his sin; he extended and shone from one end of the world to the other (The Talmud. Hagigah 12:1), as the bounds of the Shabbat after the end of correction.
THESE FIVE CUBITS EXTENDED FROM ONE END OF THE WORLD TO THE OTHER. The five cubits are the five Sefirot: Keter, Hochma, Bina, ZA and Malchut that expand and fill everything from one end of the world to the other after the end of correction.
149. It is, as the Scriptures say, “like a weaver’s beam,” referring to the divine rod (The Torah. Exodus 4:20), which was in his (Moses’) hand and upon which the divine ineffable Name was engraved by Betzalel and his apprentices by the radiance of the letter combinations. This is called “weaving,” as is written, “Them has He filled with wisdom of heart… of the craftsman… and of the weaver” (The Torah. Exodus 35:35). And the engraved Name radiated from within this rod in all directions by the light of the sages, who engraved the ineffable Name in 42 properties. The rest of the passage from here onward is similar to what the old man has explained to us. Happy is his lot!
The mystery of letter combinations in the sacred names is called “weaving”. As a weaver joins his threads into a cloth, so do the letters join into combinations of the sacred names, which designate man’s spiritual level of attainment. “The Zohar” says that the divine rod in Moses’ hand had struck the letter combinations of the ineffable Name, which Betzalel and his apprentices engraved in the Sanctuary.
The Creator’s rod is therefore called a “weaver’s beam.” The Hebrew word for “beam” is MANOR (from OHR - light). This refers to the radiance of the letter combinations in the ineffable Name, which Betzalel weaved and engraved on the divine rod.
But the rod does not radiate in all directions before the end of correction, because there is a distinction between the Creator’s rod and that of Moses. It is written in the Torah about the rod of Moses: “Put forth thy hand and take it by the tail (of a snake), and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand” (Exodus 4:4).
But after the end of correction, the rod will radiate in all directions, as it is said: “And the engraved Name radiated from within this rod in all directions by the light of the sages, who engraved the ineffable Name in 42 properties. The ineffable Name engraved on the rod radiated in all directions, i.e. in the property called “He will swallow up death for ever” (Isaiah 25:8). The radiance of the engraved name is the light of Hochma of the Name MB.
150. Be seated, my dear ones. Be seated and let us renew the corrections of the Bride this night. Because whoever joins her on this night will be guarded above and below all the coming year and will complete this year in peace. This is described in the verse: “The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him, and He delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalms 34:8-9).
As was stated in § 125, there are two explanations of the aforesaid. The first explanation says that since the day of giving of the Torah (the light of the end of correction) forever abolishes death and brings freedom from the angel of death, one should make efforts to receive this light on the day of Shavuot. This light is renewed during the holiday and delivers from death.
According to the second explanation, Malchut is called the “year” and the renewal of the light by the supporters of the Torah after the end of correction will also bring the complete and final correction of the year (i.e. Malchut). The renewal of the light by the supporters of the Torah is referred to as the correction of the night of the bride, Malchut, which is called the year. This leads to the correction of the year.