בשעה שהקדימו ישראל נעשה לנשמע יצתה בת קול…

1“When Israel put ‘we will do’ before ‘we will hear,’ a heavenly voice (bas kol) went forth and said: ‘Who revealed to My children this secret, which the ministering angels use?’

As it is said (Psalms 103:20): ‘Bless Havayah, His angels, mighty in strength, who do His word, to hearken to the voice of His word’: first ‘who do,’ and afterwards ‘to hearken.’” (In the Gemara, chapter 9 of Shabbos, 88a, at the end.)

To understand this matter, one must first understand the matter of the Giving of the Torah. For surely Avraham our father, peace be upon him, already fulfilled the entire Torah before it was given, as it is written, “And he kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My teachings.”

And it specifies four things: “My charge”: these are the negative commandments; “My commandments”: these are the positive commandments; and “My statutes and My teachings”: these are the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the positive and the negative commandments.

2And as it is written, “So that he will command his children,” etc. Thus the Torah was an inheritance to them from their fathers. And [we must] also understand the matter of the descent of G‑d upon Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning at the Ten Commandments,

and that at each and every utterance their souls took flight; and what is written in them? “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery,” etc., which are simple matters that even human reason requires.

All this will be understood by first introducing what is written in Mishneh Torah [Deuteronomy] after the Ten Commandments: “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What are the testimonies,’” etc.

“And you shall say to your son,” etc.; “And Havayah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Havayah,” etc.

This is the question of the wise son, as is written in the Yerushalmi (chapter Arvei Pesachim, halachah 4).

For all the mitzvos, as a whole, do not pertain to the soul except when it is enclothed within the physical body, which “many evils have befallen,” and to which the command “Turn away from evil” pertains, for the body is drawn after it, “and do good,” by fulfilling the positive commandments, the mitzvos of action [done] with physical things, such as tzitzis, tefillin, shofar, sukkah, lulav and the like.

Whereas the soul by itself, before its descent into this world to be enclothed in a body, had no need of this. If so, why did the soul descend so far,

to be enclothed in a physical body for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvos of action? And what advantage does it gain in all its toil? To this the verse answers us: that the purpose of all the mitzvos is in order “to fear Havayah,” etc.

And the explanation of the matter: It is written, “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness,” etc. (I Chronicles 29). For concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, being called “great,” as it is written, “Great is Havayah and highly praised,” our Sages, of blessed memory, said: When is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d.

The meaning is that His being called great is on account of His greatness, which extends from the head of all levels to the end of all levels, to bring into being, from nothing to something, all the emanated and created beings, etc., and to give them life and sustain them,

as it is written, “You made the heavens,” etc., “and You give life to them all”; and so many myriads of myriads of worlds depend on His utterance, as it is written, “Is there any number to His legions?” etc.

Now, this attribute of greatness is not considered, and is not called by the name “greatness,” at all, except in the coming into being of the power of the Maker in the thing made, through the Ten Utterances, in combinations of letters, as is explained elsewhere.

(This is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, in chapter 9 of Berachos, 58a, at the end: “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness”: this is the work of Creation.)

Now, the letters are called “stones,” and the combinations are called “houses,” as is written in Sefer Yetzirah: “Two stones build two houses.” And all the combinations as a whole (klalus) are called by the name “city”

(and see what is written in the discourse beginning “These are the accounts of the Mishkan,” on the meaning of “like a city that is joined together within itself”: it can be said that this refers to the combinations of the letters of thought, which bring into being the hidden worlds (almin stimin), and the combinations of the letters of speech, which bring into being the revealed worlds (almin d’isgalyan)).

And this is [the meaning of]: When is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d. But in relation to the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and in His very Self, He is not called by the name “great” at all,

for it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed”; and “You are He before the world was created,” etc.; and “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humility,”

for “His Name alone is exalted”; only “His splendor is upon earth and heaven”: the level of splendor and radiance alone, in which there is revealed the level of the existence of His extension, and not His essence; for it is written, “And His greatness is unsearchable.”

And this is [the meaning of] “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness”: this attribute of greatness is nullified before You and does not merit the name at all. (And this is [the meaning of] “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness”: the coming into being of the level of greatness is through the Name Havayah, that is, the yud, [which is] tzimtzum (contraction), etc.

Therefore this level of greatness is considered as nothing in relation to His essence, may He be blessed, and is the level of actual nothingness (ayin). This is along the lines of what was explained in the discourse beginning “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk,” on the meaning of creation being called “something from nothing”:

for it is drawn forth and comes into being from a mere glimmer, which is the level of nothingness and is considered as nothing before Him, may He be blessed; and as is written below in section 3, that before Him, may He be blessed, whatever is above is called the level of “something” (yesh) in relation to what is below it, etc.

Therefore even the level of greatness that is in the level of “the city of our G‑d,” that is, the supernal speech, which brings into being from nothing to something, is called actual nothingness. And see what is written on the matter of “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness” in Torah Ohr, Parshas Vayetzei, in the discourse beginning “And Lavan rose early,” and in Parshas Va’era, in the discourse beginning “And G‑d spoke to Moshe.”)

(And see further on this verse in Midrash Rabbah, at the beginning of Parshas Ve’eleh HaMishpatim, and in Parshas Bamidbar, section 1, 210a; Zohar I, Bereishis, 31b, at the end; Vayechi, 241a, at the end; Zohar II, Parshas Bo, 42b, at the end; Zohar III, Emor, 89a, 92a; Naso, 137b; Haazinu, 295a, at the end.)

And [this is] like the analogy of a person’s speech, which is nullified in relation to the source from which it is hewn, namely the breath of the heart; so too, as it were, by way of analogy. Now, it is written, “The word of a king is sovereignty”: this level of greatness and extension is called by the name “speech.”

For just as a person’s speech is only for another, so this greatness and extension is only to bring into being all that exists, etc.

And just as a single utterance of a person bears no comparison to his emotive attributes (middos), and all the more so to the intellect, so this attribute of greatness bears no comparison [to Him], for it is only an extension from two letters of the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “With Yah, Havayah formed the worlds”: with the yud the World to Come was created, and with the hei this world.

And as it is with His attribute of greatness, may He be blessed, so it is with all His attributes; for it is written, “For all that is in heaven and on earth,” meaning that all are nullified before Him, may He be blessed.

(And see on the matter of “For all that is in heaven and on earth” in Midrash Rabbah, at the beginning of Parshas Terumah; Zohar II, Mishpatim, 116a; Naso, 148a; Shelach, 168b; Pinchas, 257a, at the end.

And this is what is said in Midrash Rabbah at the beginning of Koheles on the verse “Vanity of vanities”: that the seven vanities (havalim) that Koheles spoke of correspond to the seven days of Creation, etc. (see there); these are the level of the seven attributes (middos) mentioned above, which are only the level of a breath (hevel) and a mere glimmer, which does not touch His being and essence, may He be blessed, at all. And see on this in Zohar III, Tazria, 47b.)

And so it is with the level of His Chochmah (wisdom) and His Binah (understanding), may He be blessed: even the level of the supernal Chochmah is considered as actually nothing before Him, may He be blessed,

except that it so arose in His will to draw the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into ten Sefiros, that there be the levels of Chochmah and Binah, etc.

And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “‘In the beginning’ is also an utterance”: that the beginning of revelation, which is the level of Chochmah, is also nothing but the level of utterance and making; for utterance and making are all one, as in the saying, “Blessed is He who says and does.”

Now, it is written, “Havayah founded the earth with wisdom.” The meaning is: the level of “earth” is the level of the word of G‑d of the Ten Utterances by which the world was created; the foundation of the level of speech is in Chochmah

(see what is written on this in Iggeres HaKodesh, on the verse “A land which,” etc., “the eyes of Havayah,” etc., and on the verse “And David made a name”), as, by way of analogy, in physical man, where the combinations of letters come from wisdom;

for an infant, as long as he has no daas (knowledge), cannot speak. And this is [the meaning of] “In the beginning G‑d created,” which the Targum Yerushalmi renders “With wisdom.”

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “‘In the beginning’ is also an utterance.” The meaning is: in order that the word of G‑d be drawn down below, into the lower realms, “Let there be light,” etc., “Let there be a firmament,” etc., the beginning of revelation had to be in Chochmah, in a general and collective form (klalus).

3And afterwards it is divided into particulars in nine other utterances. And Onkelos rendered “In the beginning” (bereishis) as “bekadmin” (at first), which alludes to a still higher level: the matter of what precedes the intellect (kadmus hasechel), the primordial thought (machshavah kedumah),

that is, the level of the supernal will, the source for there to be the level of Chochmah (wisdom), the beginning of revelation. For Chochmah being called “beginning” is relative to the emanated and created beings, etc.; whereas before Him, may He be blessed, He is high and exalted by myriads of levels, etc.,

so that even though He is called “wise, but not with a knowable wisdom,” etc., nevertheless “no thought can grasp Him,” and it is not fitting to call Him even by this name at all. And of Him it is said, “You have made them all with wisdom”: even the supernal Chochmah is considered as physical making before Him.

4And this is [the meaning of] “Last in deed, first in thought.” The meaning is: that which is the beginning of revelation, the level of Chochmah (wisdom), is the end of the deed of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Therefore Onkelos rendered “In the beginning” as “bekadmin,” which is the primordial thought, to be the source for the level of Chochmah, that it be the beginning of revelation; and this is the level of the supernal will, and it is the source of the Torah and the mitzvos.

5Summary. First “who do His word,” and afterwards “to hearken.” The matter of the Giving of the Torah. And at each utterance their souls took flight. The matter of “And He commanded us,” etc., “to fear…”:

that this is the purpose of all the mitzvos and the purpose of the soul’s descent into the body. “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness.” When is He great? When He is in the city:

the level of the supernal speech; but before Him, may He be blessed, this greatness is considered as nothing and is called “nothing” (ayin), “for all,” etc. “In the beginning,” the supernal Chochmah, “is also an utterance.” And Targum Onkelos [renders] “bekadmin”: the level of the supernal will, the primordial thought.

62. Now, in order that there be this tzimtzum (contraction) and this humility, to descend and be enclothed in the level of speech, which is called “greatness”: for this is a great descent, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place of His greatness, there you find His humility.”

The meaning is: there is no humility more immense than the self-lowering to be enclothed in the level of greatness, etc., since in truth it is considered as nothing and naught before Him, may He be blessed, as mentioned above regarding “Vanity of vanities,” etc.

This is through Torah and mitzvos, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said on “In the beginning (bereishis) He created”: “For the sake of the Torah, which is called ‘beginning’ (reishis),” etc.

Also, as the Sifrei says on Parshas Haazinu: “One of three acquisitions that the Holy One, blessed be He, acquired in His world: the Torah is one acquisition,” etc.; for an acquisition indicates something that is most precious (as is explained elsewhere).

Now, concerning the mitzvos, it is mentioned in the Zohar that the 248 commandments (pikudin) are the 248 limbs of the King.

The meaning is: just as, by way of analogy, a limb, which is flesh, sinews and bones, which are the level of a vessel, and the light and life-force (chayus) spread within them, and as a whole (klalus) they are called by the name “limb”: so the mitzvos are vessels for His will, may He be blessed,

in which and through which the light and life-force of the supernal will, may He be blessed, spread from [the level of] the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), so that it become the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), in a revealed state, in the lower realms, along the lines of what will be explained (below, section 3) on the meaning of “to fear Havayah,”

and this is through Israel, who do the mitzvah, as it is said, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” etc. (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes,” concerning “For by everything that comes forth from the mouth of Havayah does man live.”)

Now, the Torah is the level of “the blood, which is the soul,” for it is the blood that draws the spirit of life into the limbs from the soul itself, and it is the source of the soul’s life-force in the limbs

(see below in Shir HaShirim, in the discourse beginning “To My mare among the chariots,” in the second discourse). So is the matter of the Torah: it gives life to the level of the mitzvos themselves.

And this is [the meaning of] “This is the Torah: adam (a man)”: alef, dam (blood). For they are the explanations of the mitzvos and the details of their laws: how the mitzvah is to be in its proper form.

And through this will be understood the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “Whoever occupies himself with the teaching (torah) of the burnt-offering is as though he offered a burnt-offering, as it is said, ‘This is the teaching (torah) for the burnt-offering,’” etc. And they said on the verse “And in every place incense is offered, presented to My Name, and a pure meal-offering”: “These are the Torah scholars,” etc.

But why, then, should this distinction of the Torah be superior to the mitzvos themselves, which apply only at the time when the Holy Temple stood, and specifically at the place of the altar, whereas Torah scholars who occupy themselves with Torah in every place and at every time are credited by Scripture, etc.?

And similarly with the other mitzvos of the Torah: there are some of them that depend on time, such as Shabbos, shofar, sukkah and lulav, which apply only in their time;

but outside their time, it is no mitzvah at all; whereas Torah study is a mitzvah at all times: to occupy oneself with words of Torah, even with the laws of Shabbos and sukkah, etc.

Rather, the matter is as mentioned above: the Torah is the level of the blood, which draws life-force (chayus) to all the limbs equally, as a whole.

The mitzvos, however, which are the limbs of the King, by way of analogy, have in them a division of time and season, as it is written, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every desire under the heavens.”

The meaning is: even though the mitzvos are the desire and will of G‑d, they have a time and season, because they are “under the heavens”; that is, they are below the level of the Torah, which is called “heavens.” For the mitzvos are the revelation of the drawings-forth of the will, to make the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, shine in some particular level.

As, for example, to make a sukkah, etc., which is a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in a lofty level and a lofty rank of the supernal lights, because so it arose in His will. And the Torah is the direction of the manner in which this revelation shall be,

as, for example, with a sukkah: that it must be specifically seven by seven handbreadths, and that its covering must not be of anything susceptible to ritual impurity, and many similar detailed laws, of the specific manner in which the drawings-forth of the will shall be;

and only then will the Infinite Light, blessed be He, rest and be revealed in this level. By way of analogy: a householder arranges in his house that such-and-such a vessel shall stand in such-and-such a place, and such-and-such a vessel in such-and-such a place.

7And so is the matter of the level of the Torah, which becomes like the householder for the practice of the mitzvos. Therefore the mitzvos were likened so as to be called by the name “limbs of the King,” for the life-force (chayus) that spreads within them is merely the moisture that makes them grow, in the mode of coolness.

Whereas the Torah is likened to blood, the level of adam: alef, dam (blood). For the blood is the soul, and it is the very one that draws the essential life-force and the spirit of life that is within him, and not merely in the mode of growth. Therefore it [the Torah] is above the level of place and time.

8And this is [the meaning of] “This is the Torah: adam (a man)”: that is, the adam that is upon the likeness of the throne, “a likeness as the appearance of a man (adam),” the level of “I will be likened (adameh) to the Most High,” the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), above the level of place and time.

And as it is written, “Behold, there is a place with Me,” etc.: for in relation to the life-force, above and below are equal. As we see with our senses: the blood is the soul, [whereas] what spreads within them to make them grow becomes like them, and they become actually one flesh; and there is in them the division of the limbs, and therefore they are placed under time and place.

But the Torah, which is not merely the level of the revelation of the drawings-forth of the will, but the level of the revelation of the directions of the will, as mentioned above, and which draws the directions of the supernal will into the will that spreads within the mitzvos:

the source of this drawing-forth is called the level of “the Will of all wills” (raava d’chol raavin), which is not within the bounds of place and time at all

(and therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “And all desires cannot compare to it”: even the desires of Heaven, etc.). (And see what is written on the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk,” concerning “and to His voice shall you hearken,” and what is written in the discourse beginning “For on this day He shall atone.”)

9Summary. The matter of “In the beginning”: for the sake of the Torah. And the matter of the 248 limbs of the King: “a time for every desire.” And the matter of the Torah being called adam. And “Whoever occupies himself with the teaching of the burnt-offering is as though he offered a burnt-offering.” And “All desires cannot compare to it.”

103. Now, the purpose of the matter of the Torah and the mitzvos, in drawing down the revelation of His will below, is what the verse says: “And Havayah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Havayah,” etc. For it is written, “Fear Havayah, you His holy ones.”

We need to understand: why specifically “His holy ones”? Is it not written, “Let all the earth be in fear of Havayah”?

But the matter is as is known from what is written elsewhere on the verse “For My thoughts are not your thoughts”: that before Him, may He be blessed, whatever is higher is called the level of “something” (yesh) in relation to what is below it, as it is written, “To cause those who love me to inherit yesh.”

From below upward, however, whatever is below, which is grasped and visible to the eye of all flesh, is called “something” (yesh) in relation to what is above it, which is called “nothing” (ayin), for it is not grasped and seen.

11And this is the essence of the drawing down of the revelation of His will, may He be blessed, below: that from below upward should be the same as from above downward.

And just as from above downward everything is nullified before Him, may He be blessed, and is as actually nothing and naught, as it is written, “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness,” etc., and “before Him all is considered as actually nothing,” so shall it be in the level of revelation from below upward:

“And all flesh shall see together,” etc.; “And they shall enter into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the dust, from before the terror of Havayah,” etc., to be nullified to Him, may He be blessed.

And along these lines is the difference between what is written, “Let all the earth be in fear of Havayah,” which is the lower awe (yirah tata’ah), as it seems to us that below is the “something” (yesh);

but the meaning of “Fear (yeru es) Havayah” is that there be the level of es, which is subordinate to the Name Havayah, that is, actual self-nullification (bittul),

as [it is in truth,] that above is the “something” (yesh) and below is considered as nothing. And this is [the meaning of] “For there is no (ein) want to those who fear Him”: that there be the level of nothingness (ayin) and bittul, and through this there is “no want,” etc.

12And this level of the higher awe (yirah ila’ah) is drawn forth through occupation with the Torah, concerning which they said, “If there is no wisdom, there is no awe,” as is written below in the discourse beginning “And G‑d spoke,” etc., “I am Havayah.”

And this is [the meaning of] “Fear Havayah, you His holy ones”: that this level of awe is drawn forth through “Who has sanctified us with His commandments.” And this is [the meaning of] “And He commanded us,” etc., specifically “to fear Havayah.”

And this level of great awe, in the level of this revelation of will, was in a great and immense revelation at the time of the Giving of the Torah

(see what is written below at the end of the discourse beginning “And G‑d spoke all the words,” in the name of Midrash Rabbah, Yisro, section 29, on the matter of “A lion has roared; who will not fear?”, which refers to the Giving of the Torah), upon Mount Sinai, with thunder and lightning,

and at each utterance their souls took flight, to the point that our Sages, of blessed memory, said that their impurity (zuhama) ceased; “Do not read charus (engraved) but cheirus (freedom)”: from the angel of death and from subjugation, until the sin of the Calf, etc.

(And see on the matter of “engraved upon the tablets”: chapter 5 of Eruvin, 54a, at the end; and in chapter 6 of Avos; Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Mishpatim, beginning of section 32; Ki Sisa, section 41, 156b; end of section 47, 161c–d; Pekudei, section 51, 163d; Metzora, section 18, 185b;

Naso, section 10, 240a; section 13, 254a, on the offering of Yissachar; Shelach Lecha, section 16, 267d; Zohar II, Yisro, 84; Mishpatim, 114a; Tetzaveh, 183a; Beshalach, 45b; Zohar I, Bereishis, 37b, at the end; Chayei Sarah, 131b; Vayikra, 6b.)

And therefore our service became necessary, little by little, etc., as it is written, “Little by little I will drive them out,” etc. And this is the added excellence of the giving of the Torah to Israel at the time of the Giving of the Torah.

Although the Patriarchs, too, fulfilled the Torah, it is written of Avraham, “And he kept My charge (mishmarti)”: it is called a “charge” (mishmeres) of My commandments, for it had not yet been given to shine upon the earth in a great and immense revelation as at the time of the Giving of the Torah

(and see on the matter of “Because he hearkened,” etc., in Shemos Rabbah, beginning of section 1; Vayikra [Rabbah], end of section 2; Shir HaShirim Rabbah on the verse “His palate is sweetness”; in the Gemara, Yoma 28b; Nedarim 32a; the end of Kiddushin, 82a; and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “Moshe would speak”).

And the utterance “You shall not murder,” etc., came so that the life-force (chayus) of the revelation of His will, may He be blessed, would be drawn down below even into these matters, in the keeping of this prohibition.

And the matter of “You shall not murder”: for it is written, “Whoever sheds the blood of man (adam) into man (adam),” for “G‑d has made the one opposite the other”: the adam of Belial, which is the evil inclination, opposite the adam of holiness.

13Now, Israel arose in [G‑d’s] thought; therefore, through their sin in deed, speech and thought, they cause the level of the shedding of the blood and life-force (chayus) of the adam of holiness into the adam of kelipah (the husk).

And likewise, along these lines, with the other transgressions: “You shall not commit adultery,” that they not cause a wasted flow of bounty to the external forces. And likewise “You shall not steal,” etc., which is through guarding and taking care against hypocrisy and ulterior motives, etc.

14Now, at the time of the Giving of the Torah, the utterance itself decreed, saying, “You shall not murder,” meaning in the future tense: that this level would never be seen.

For the future and the imperative are both expressed in one form. But after the sin, when our service became necessary, it is through our speech: as we speak words of Torah, we draw down, little by little, from His supernal will, as it is written, “And I have put My words in your mouth,” and through this “sins will cease from the earth.”

Now, the Written Torah is “a tree of life to those who grasp it,” and the Oral Torah is called in the Zohar “the tree of good and evil,” for through it the good is separated from the evil (as was explained at length in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the epistle beginning “In the Ra’aya Mehemna, Parshas Naso: ‘And the wise will shine’”).

As, for example, when one studies “These are treifos (fatal defects) in an animal,” etc., “and these are kosher,” etc., there takes place a refinement (birur) and separation between the impure and the pure, and “all workers of iniquity will be scattered,” “as wax melts before fire,” etc.,

until the days of Mashiach, when He will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth; and it is written, “On that day Havayah will be One and His Name One,” and “to be one in One.” And this is the mitzvah of appearing [in the Temple]: “All your males shall appear (yera’eh)”: “just as he comes to see, so,” etc. (at the beginning of the first chapter of Chagigah).

The meaning is: just as from above downward “before Him all is considered as nothing,” so it is from below upward, as mentioned above.

And this is [the meaning of] “For eye to eye they shall see”: that the seeing of the eye below will be equal to, and aligned with, the seeing of the eye above.

And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “If you hearken to the voice,” concerning “to do what is right in the eyes of Havayah.” But now, at a time when the Holy Temple is not standing, we say, “And we are unable to see and to bow down,” etc.

15And this is “because of our sins,” etc. For “your iniquities separate between you and your G‑d”: that is, iniquity makes a separation and distinction between the seeing of your eye and the seeing of the eye of your G‑d.

Through this the Holy One, blessed be He, ascends on high, and “the river will be laid waste and dried up”: “laid waste” in the First Temple, and “dried up” in the Second Temple, etc. For even in the level of the First Temple, the level of “‘In the beginning’ is also an utterance,” the level of Chochmah (wisdom), it “will be laid waste,” and the level of the drawing down of the revelation of G‑dliness, may He be blessed, departs; and all the more so it is “dried up” in the Second Temple,

which is the level of the revelation of the attributes (middos) that are in His heart (and see on this matter in the Zohar, Bereishis, 6b and 26a, and in Parshas Shemos, 9b).

And the matter depends on teshuvah (return) (see what is written on the verse “For the mountains shall depart”), for through teshuvah and good deeds “the light, that it is good,” will be revealed;

and this is through the bitterness of his soul, in his being one of the “masters of reckoning” (marei d’chushbena), as it was in Egypt, as it is written, “And they embittered their lives with hard labor,” etc. And then they merited, and “their cry went up to G‑d.”

16Summary. That the purpose of the matter of the Torah and the mitzvos is “to fear Havayah”: “Fear Havayah, you His holy ones.” And this is the revelation as [it is in truth,] that above is the “something” (yesh) and below is as actually nothing and naught, as mentioned above in explaining “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness.”

And this revelation was at the time of the Giving of the Torah. And this is the advantage over “Avraham fulfilled,” etc.

“You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery”: an expression of command and an expression of promise. And now the refinement (birur) is through the speech of Torah. And this is “just as he comes to see.” And “we are unable,” etc. And the matter of teshuvah (return).

174. Now, this level of seeing and this self-nullification (bittul) is called “to hearken to the voice of His word,” the level of “You shall surely set a king over yourself,” etc.: “to hearken to His voice and to cleave to Him,” and to be nullified to Him, may He be blessed.

(And this is the meaning of “to hearken to the voice of His word”: His actual word, along the lines of what is written of the Time to Come, “And all flesh shall see together that the mouth of Havayah has spoken,” that is, “Your Teacher shall no longer be concealed (yikanef)”: that there will no longer be garments concealing the supernal speech, which make the world appear as a “something” (yesh) and a separate thing, but rather all will see how the word of G‑d is what brings into being and gives life, and all before Him is as actually nothing and naught,

as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapters 20 and 21; and see what is written on this at the end of the discourse beginning “And He will wave His hand over the River.” And this is the meaning of “to hearken to the voice of His word” in connection with the Giving of the Torah.

And the meaning of “the voice of His word” will be understood along the lines of what is written in the discourse beginning “If you hearken to the voice”; and from there it will be understood how even now this level applies, through occupation with the Torah, as is written on the matter of “If there is no wisdom, there is no awe,” etc., as mentioned above.)

But this must be preceded by the level of “who do His word.” For it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds”: all the worlds, higher and lower, their existence and their coming into being from nothing to something, are from the level of His Malchus (sovereignty), may He be blessed.

Seemingly, then, how is it possible that “His Name be proclaimed King” over them? But the matter is that through Torah and mitzvos one draws down the level of the supernal will, so that “His Name be proclaimed King.” And this is [the meaning of] “[Who] has sanctified us with His commandments.”

And this is [the meaning of] “Blessed are You, Havayah our G‑d, King of the world”: that is, that one “bless” and draw down the level of “You,” the level of Chesed (kindness), to be “King of the world,” through Havayah being our G‑d, and our being nullified to Him, and “[He] has sanctified us with His commandments”

(and see what is written on this also in the discourse beginning “Blow the shofar on the New Moon,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “On the eighth day he sent away.” And this is the matter of “who do His word”; and this is [the meaning of] “Do not read banayich (your children) but bonayich (your builders),” for they build the attribute of His kingship, may He be blessed, by drawing down the supernal will, blessed be He, so that there be a revelation of His kingship, may He be blessed),

Now, this power that was given to the children of Israel, “the people near to Him,” to be the cause that draws down His will, may He be blessed, is through the revealing of “this secret to My children”: that every one of Israel has, in a hidden and concealed state, the hidden love (ahavah mesuteres) for G‑d;

and one must bring it out from concealment into revelation, with toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, as it was in Egypt: “And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks,” etc.

And they said in the Zohar: “With mortar (chomer)”: this is kal vachomer (the inference from minor to major); “and with bricks (leveinim)”: this is libun hilchesa (the clarification of the law), which is through occupation with the Torah with analysis and in depth.

18And along these lines, prayer was instituted for us: to give over one’s soul at [the word] “One” (echad); and the main thing is to give over the will, so that there be a nullification of the will before His will, may He be blessed, in “turn away from evil and do good,” and in “sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you,” and likewise in occupation with the Torah beyond one’s habit;

for occupation with the Torah according to habit is the way of nature, and it is like “a commandment of men learned by rote.”

Through this it is impossible to arouse the drawing down of the supernal will, which is called “the most hidden of all hidden” (temira d’chol temirin) (see Zohar II, end of Parshas Yisro, folio 89a), except through an arousal from “the inward part of a man and a deep heart,” above nature, through which it will come out of its sheath, from concealment into revelation.

Therefore now, at a time when there is no Holy Temple, the mitzvah of prayer is incumbent upon us: that at the time of prayer every person of spirit (baal nefesh) should be fired up in his soul to arouse his heart to G‑d, so that through this he will afterwards be able to draw down the supernal will through occupation with the Torah;

unless it is someone whose Torah is his occupation, whose soul is bound up with Him, aflame with Him, as is written elsewhere, who is exempt from prayer because he needs no preparation to arouse his heart, etc., as is written elsewhere.

19And this is the level of teshuvah (return); and “in the place where baalei teshuvah (returnees) stand, the perfectly righteous cannot stand,” for they draw forth with greater strength (bechayla yatir) from concealment into revelation.

And this is [the meaning of] “Better one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come,” because the level of the World to Come is that they delight in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence),

that is, in that which is the level of the revelation of the extension; whereas through the baal teshuvah there is a drawing forth from the source of all, “the most hidden of all hidden,” as mentioned above;

and this is through the sitra achra (the other side) being subdued, and darkness being transformed into light and bitterness into sweetness. For, indeed, “darkness shall cover the earth,” so that it does not shine in a great revelation below as above, as mentioned above, but rather according to the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and enclothement in many coverings; and if so, its revelation below is according to the capacity of the recipients.

But when the sitra achra is subdued, etc., then above and below are equal, as it is written, “For eye to eye they shall see,” etc.; and it is written, “On that day Havayah will be One and His Name One,” “to be one in One,” as mentioned above.

And this is [the meaning of] “When Israel put ‘we will do’ before ‘we will hear’”: for the level of “we will do,” which is the matter of drawing down His will, may He be blessed, to be “King of the world,” through the doing of the mitzvos, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” comes first, before the level of “we will hear,”

which is the level of the nullification of [one’s very] existence (bittul bimetzius) to Him, may He be blessed; for the level of “we will hear” is drawn from the level of “we will do,” as mentioned above

(and see in the Midrash, Parshas Vayikra Rabbah, beginning of section 1 and end of section 5, on the matter of “mighty in strength, who do His word”; and see in Zohar III, Parshas Balak, 191a, on this matter, and in Parshas Lech Lecha, 90a). And this is through the revealing of “this secret to My children,” etc.,

which is through toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, to bring out from concealment into revelation, as mentioned above; and “through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) [comes] an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila),” to arouse the drawing down of the supernal will, the level of “the most hidden of all hidden,” as mentioned above. And see in Parshas Behar, 108b: “In the love of their hearts to draw near to the Holy One, blessed be He, they put doing before hearing.”

20As is written elsewhere. And see in the discourse beginning “Let them bring royal apparel.” And see what is written on the matter of “When Israel put ‘we will do’ first” in the discourse beginning “Go forth and see,” [on] “He did not cease to cherish her.”

And it is possible to say that the meaning of their having put “we will do” first is: that the level of the self-nullification (bittul) of “we will do,” to be nullified to the Master of the will, rises to the level of the primordial thought, which is called “bekadmin bera” (at first He created), which is above the level of Chochmah (wisdom); and it is the source of the Torah and the mitzvos, as explained above.

And see what is written in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day he sent away,” on the meaning of “And before (kedem) You formed me.”

21Summary. (And this level of self-nullification (bittul) is called “to hearken to the voice of His word,” and it must be preceded by “who do His word”: to draw the will into the supernal speech; and this is through revealing the hidden love, the level of the nullification of will, through which one arouses the revelation of the supernal will.

Therefore “better one hour of teshuvah (return) and good deeds in this world,” etc., for through this one draws down from beyond the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), so that the revelation below be as above. And this is the matter of their having put “we will do” before “we will hear”: that the level of “we will hear” is drawn from the level of “we will do,” which rises to the level of the supernal will, the level of “bekadmin bera.”)

225. And the explanation of the matter, according to what is written in Midrash Rabbah at the beginning of Parshas Vayikra: “Or perhaps a burden that is hard for six hundred thousand is easy for one?” etc.;

“If we continue to hear,” etc.; “and Moshe hears,” etc. And see there that along these lines it explains “mighty in strength,” etc., “to hearken,” etc. See there.

23And the matter is as explained elsewhere, in Parshas Mattos, on the verse “Saying: This is the thing,” etc.: the matter of “Moshe prophesied with ‘This’ (zeh),” etc., the revelation of the supernal holiness (Kodesh), whereas the level of “Thus” (koh), “in our likeness,” etc. See there.

And this was the revelation at the Giving of the Torah, and this was hard for the six hundred thousand souls to receive; for the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in this way shines only in the supernal Chochmah (wisdom), from which is the level of Moshe,

for Chochmah is koach mah (the power of “what”), and this is what is said of Moshe: “And what (mah) are we?” Whereas with the six hundred thousand souls, their root is from the six extremities (vav ketzavos), which are the attributes (middos) below the level of Chochmah.

24Therefore their souls took flight, as it is written, “My soul went out when He spoke,” and as is written in Midrash Rabbah on Shir HaShirim, on the verse “His palate is sweetness.”

For the revelation of this level is as [it is in truth,] that above is the “something” (yesh) and below is the level of actual nothing and naught. And see on this in Sefer Shel Beinonim, beginning of chapter 34 and end of chapter 36, that the essence of this revelation is in the supernal Chochmah (wisdom), as is written there in chapter 35, in the gloss.

And this is what is called “to hearken to the voice of His word,” which only Moshe could hear.

And see what is written in the discourse on the explanation of “If you hearken to the voice,” [on] “the inner keys,” etc.; and in the Siddur, in the discourse beginning “Ado-nai, open my lips,” in the explanation of “the voice of the words of the living G‑d,” and on the verse “The voice of my Beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping,” etc.

And this was through his being the level of “mighty in strength” (see in the Gemara, Shabbos, chapter 10, 92a, and chapter 4 of Nedarim, 38a), because he was a man of stature, ten cubits [tall];

that is, that there shone in him the ten supernal Sefiros of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), the first of which is the supernal Chochmah.

And this is because koach (strength) is the level of Chochmah, koach mah; and from there is drawn the power of self-nullification (bittul) for self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh). (And see what the Ramaz wrote on Parshas Pinchas, folio 220, on the meaning of “Whoever answers ‘Amen, may His great Name be blessed’ with all his strength.”)

Now, through Moshe the souls of Israel are able to receive [and] to hearken to the voice of His word; and this, too, is through “mighty in strength.” Now, koach (strength) is twice yad (hand) [in numerical value]; this is the matter of “Lift up your hands in holiness,” which is explained in the discourse beginning “Go forth and see.”

And through this they are “who do (osei) His word”: osei is an expression of rectification (tikkun). And this is what is written, “And now, may the strength (koach) of Ado-nai be magnified,” as is written elsewhere;

that is, that they draw down the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), into the supernal speech.

And this is the matter of “Whoever answers ‘May His great Name be blessed,’” and this is through “with all his strength,” “mighty in strength (koach),” as mentioned above. And this is also the matter of Yaakov giving David twenty-eight (koach) years of his own: the level of the drawing of the strength (koach) into the Name Ado-nai, etc.

25And this level is called “His angels, mighty in strength,” along the lines of what was explained in the discourse beginning “And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel,” on the meaning of “Seraphim stand above him,” etc.

And therefore they are called “His angels, mighty in strength,” also along the lines of “and the Chayos carry the Throne,” and “upon the likeness of the throne a likeness as the appearance of a man”; and they carry and exalt this level to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself.

And the strength is in them because their root is from the World of Tohu, as all this is explained in the discourse beginning “‘Remember’ and ‘Keep’ in a single utterance,” in Torah Ohr, Parshas Yisro,

and in Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShabbos, concerning “A crown they shall give to You,” etc., “angels”: that is, that Chochmah and Binah are called “angels,” etc. (see there); and see Me’orei Or, letter mem, section 61. And in its plain sense, “mighty in strength” is as Rashi explains at the end of the first chapter of Kiddushin (40a): that he clothed himself in strength to subdue his inclination. See there.

And this is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (at the beginning of chapter 4 of Avos): “Who is mighty? He who subdues his inclination, as it is said, ‘Better is one who is slow to anger than the mighty, and one who rules his spirit than the conqueror of a city’” (in Proverbs, end of chapter 16).

And the intent, it can be said, is that through subduing the evil inclination, which is from the level of the dross of the Gevuros (restraints), and sweetening it so that it be nullified to the good inclination, which is from the level of love and Chesed (kindness), through this one draws down the sweetening of the Gevuros from the level of “slow to anger and abundant in kindness,” etc.

And through this he is [among] “who do His word,” for he rectifies and builds the supernal speech, which is called “the city of our G‑d,” which is from the level of the Name Elokim and the Name Ado-nai;

and he draws into it the magnifying of the strength (koach) of the Name Ado-nai, as in “And now, may the strength of Ado-nai be magnified,” etc. And this is through “Havayah is slow to anger,” etc.

26And see what is written below in the explanation on the verse “Take the count of the sons of Gershon,” on the meaning of “The Sanctuary, Ado-nai, which Your hands established,” etc. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: that in the Time to Come the Holy One, blessed be He, will call Jerusalem by a new name.

That is what is written, “And the name of the city from that day shall be ‘Havayah is there’” (end of Ezekiel), as explained in Midrash Rabbah, Toldos (section 65), and in Midrash Eichah (68b, end of the section) on “For these I weep”: “Happy is the city whose name is like the name of its King,” etc., as it is written, “And the name of the city from that day shall be ‘Havayah is there’” (see there).

And this is because Jerusalem is yirah shalem (complete awe); and now it is called “the city of our G‑d (Elokeinu),” and “Elokim has made it so that they should fear before Him.”

But in the Time to Come they will be in the level of “Fear Havayah,” in the level of actual self-nullification (bittul), through “And the glory of Havayah shall be revealed,” etc., as explained above.

And this is through the service now in the level of “mighty in strength,” who are the ones “who do His word,” etc. And through this they will be able “to hearken to the voice of His word” in actuality, which now is said only of Moshe, etc., as mentioned above.

And as is written in Midrash Tehillim (end of section 14): that in the Time to Come there will be fulfilled what Moshe said, “Would that all the people of Havayah were prophets.”

Nevertheless, even now, this level [is present] in service, that is, through occupation with the Torah, for through this it is the level of “the voice of His word” in actuality, as it is written, “And I have put My words in your mouth,” and it is written, “My tongue shall echo Your word,” etc.

And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “And you shall know this day,” at its end, on the saying of the Sifrei, “For through this you come to recognize,” etc. But this must be preceded by being “mighty in strength, who do His word,” etc.