{"id":14414,"date":"2026-01-09T22:52:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&#038;p=14414"},"modified":"2026-01-09T22:52:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:52:39","slug":"the-work-of-the-lines","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/the-work-of-the-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"861. The Work of the Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cIt was said, \u2018Since it is a time of good will, let us ask for mercy for the inclination to commit an offense.\u2019 They asked for mercy and it was given to them. He said to them, \u2018See, that if you kill it, the world will end.\u2019 They incarcerated it for three days and sought an egg that was born on that same day, but throughout the land of Israel, none was found. They said, \u2018How will we do it? If we kill it, the world will end! And if we ask for mercy for half, half is not given from above.\u2019 They poked out its eyes and let it go, since one does not tease one\u2019s kin\u201d (<em>Yoma<\/em>&nbsp;69b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe inclination to sin\u201d is the inclination to receive pleasure, discerned as&nbsp;<em>Hochma<\/em>. \u201cIf we kill it, the world will end,\u201d meaning that the purpose of creation\u2014to do good to His creations, to receive pleasure\u2014will be revoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd if we ask for mercy for half,\u201d meaning that it will spread downward only to half of the degree of&nbsp;<em>Hochma<\/em>. That is, why should we make the middle line? To cancel the left line, but there is fear that they will not extend the middle line. Hence, it is best if it spreads down only half of the left line, meaning only illumination of&nbsp;<em>Hochma<\/em>, as it will be later by the decision of the middle line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHalf is not given from above.\u201d Only wholeness comes from above, since when spirituality is revealed below, it is always in wholeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey poked out its eyes and let it go.\u201d That is, precisely through the middle line, for&nbsp;<em>Hochma<\/em>&nbsp;is called \u201ceyes.\u201d RASHI interpreted that he was blinded by blue, as in \u201cYou put a boundary to the sea,\u201d meaning that he does not see below that it is expansion from above downward, and he feels only in his place. \u201cOne does not tease one\u2019s kin\u201d means that he has it during the&nbsp;<em>Dvekut<\/em>&nbsp;[adhesion].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIt was said, \u2018Since it is a time of good will, let us ask for mercy for the inclination to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6246,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-14414","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kabbalah | 861. 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