ביאור הדברים ע״פ את שבתותי כו׳

1An explanation of the words on the verse “My Shabbosos,” etc. The meaning of “you shall keep” and “you shall revere” will be understood by first introducing the concept of the level of a Name, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Before the world was created, there were He and His Name alone.”

For the Names are what join the lights with the vessels. That is, by way of analogy, a person’s name: by it and through it he turns to those who call him by his name; but when he is by himself he has no need of his name at all.

It follows that the level of the name is that by it and through it one draws him forth, so that he is drawn out and revealed. So too it will be understood above: the Names are what join the lights with the vessels.

(And see what is written in the discourse beginning “On that very day all the hosts went out,” in Parshas Bo, where it was explained that the other Names, besides the Name Havayah, are in the vessels of the Ten Sefiros.

But it is explained elsewhere in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, whose soul is in Eden, that this does not mean that the Names are the vessels themselves, for the vessels are the attributes (middos), whereas the Name refers to the Creator Himself, for He Himself, as it were, is called E-l, as in the teaching, “To Him, and not to His attributes.”

Rather, what is written, that the Names are in the vessels, means that they are the life-force (chayus) and the illumination from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is enclothed in the vessel and gives life to the vessel; for the vessels have in them life-force from the Infinite Light apart from the light that is enclothed in them.

And this is the meaning of the other Names, which may not be erased. The Name Havayah, however, is the drawing down of the light into the vessel: it joins the light with the vessel and draws it into the vessel.)

Now, the Names above are the level of the letters: the Name Av (72), the Name Sag (63), the spelling-out (milui) with yuds, the spelling-out with heis, etc.

Now, by way of analogy below: although the letters come into being from the intellect, nevertheless the essence of the letters bears no comparison at all to the essence of the intellect. For the intellect itself is the very essence of insight, and the insight arouses the attributes, so that one desires, for example, what the intellect shows to be good.

It follows that the attributes have a real connection to the intellect, and they unite with each other; but not so the letters, which are only garments for the intellect.

(Like a garment, which is not so united with the one who wears it, and [as it is written,] “Like a garment You change them, and they pass away.” But the union of the attributes with the intellect is like the union of the body with the soul, which have become truly one.

That is because the letters are the level of the inanimate, which is not so with the attributes. And see what is written in Parshas Bereishis on the verse “And He formed,” etc., and in the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev,” in Parshas Vayeshev, regarding “the wall of the daughter of Zion”; and see what is written on the matter of garment and body in the discourse beginning “‘Remember’ and ‘Keep’ were said in a single utterance.”)

That is: nevertheless, it is impossible to grasp the idea except through letters, and they are the level of the inner garments. For even a person’s attributes do not receive the flow of the intellect, so that it is drawn into an attribute, except through the letters, since the thought in which one thinks the idea is the level of letters.

(And in the same way the Names above will be understood: for instance, the Name Av of yuds is what brings the light of Chochmah (wisdom) to be enclothed in the vessel of Chochmah, just as, by way of analogy, the letters join the intellect and the attributes.)

Now, according to this we can understand a little of what is written in Etz Chaim on the tzimtzum (contraction) that took place in the Infinite Light, and a vacant space remained (as is written in Sha’ar Iggulim VeYosher, Branch 2).

And it is stated in Otzros Chaim, at its beginning, in a gloss, that what is written, “a vacant space and a void,” is not meant literally, for a reshimu (impression) of the light remained there; but relative to the Infinite One it is called a void.

And in Etz Chaim the nature of the reshimu is not explained; only in the book Emek HaMelech does [the author] explain it: that it is the level of letters, the 231 gates, forward and backward, etc.

(And see on this also in Zohar HaRakia, on Parshas Bereishis, on folio 15, and in the Mikdash Melech there. And see what is written above on the verse “I am asleep, but my heart is awake,” on the subject of “Ask Me of the osiyos [the letters],” etc.)

That is, the tzimtzum was that there should be no revelation of the Infinite Light through the letters. And this is [the meaning of] what is written in Etz Chaim, that the light withdrew. And the explanation: for how can “withdrew” apply, since it is not within the bounds of place?

And furthermore, it is written, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” Rather, it means that it is in a state of concealment and is not revealed through the letters,

and not as before the tzimtzum, when the light was drawn forth and revealed through the letters; rather, the letters alone remain, without the revelation of the light. And this is the meaning of the reshimu, etc.

For, by way of analogy below, the letters, in their nature and their essence, bear no comparison to the essence of the idea; they are only like a garment, and through them one can understand the idea.

2That is, for one who is wise. But one who is not wise, and has no heart to understand the idea, but nevertheless grasps and apprehends the letters alone: the idea is in a state of complete withdrawal from him, that is, in a state of concealment.

And although he grasps the letters, they in themselves have no connection at all to the essence of the idea. If so, the idea is in a state of concealment and withdrawal from him, and his grasp of the letters is like a mere reshimu (impression).

3This will be understood better through an analogy from a comment of Tosafos: the insight of the Ri, the Tosafist, was written in ink on paper, and the ink and paper bear no comparison to the essence of the Ri’s insight, which is stored and united with him in the treasuries on high.

Only, one who is wise and learned can understand and grasp the insight by means of the letters (that is, because he is wise and has a heart to understand on his own), even though they are physical, in ink and paper.

But one who is not wise will understand nothing of the insight; and although he grasps the letters well, the insight is nevertheless in concealment and withdrawn from him, since the insight bears no comparison to the essence of the letters in themselves.

And in the same way the analogue above will be understood, regarding the tzimtzum (contraction): the light withdrew so as to be in a state of concealment, that is, it was not granted that there be a revelation of the light through the letters

(as, by way of analogy below, the idea will not be understood at all through the letters except by one who is wise and understands from the spirit of his own wisdom and understanding;

but there is one who grasps the letters alone and does not understand the idea at all. So too, by way of analogy, above: the tzimtzum is that there should be no revelation of the light, only the letters themselves).

And this is a mighty tzimtzum, in which the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) withdrew, for it is in a state of actual concealment; only a reshimu (impression) remained, and that is the letters, and those letters are what are called Names.

And as is written there, in Emek HaMelech: the Name Sag (63), etc., and from the final yud of the Name Sag the World of Tohu came into being. And this is [the meaning of] what is written in the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 15: “It broke through and did not break through,” etc.

(And in the commentary on the Idra by the Arizal, of blessed memory, see what is written there on folio 128, end of side b, “The tav marked a mark for Atik Yomin,” etc. These are his words: “I found written from the Rav, may his memory be for the life of the World to Come: Now, you already know that within the last level of the Emanator the existence of all the worlds came about; and it is as if we were to say, by way of analogy, the Malchus of the Malchus of the Infinite One, although no description or Sefirah at all applies, G‑d forbid, to the Infinite One.

It follows that the tav, the last of all the letters, is what emanated everything. And from here is the root [of the fact] that in the World of Atzilus too, the Malchus of Adam Kadmon descends and becomes Atik at the head of Arich Anpin; and this is the tav at the end of the letters of Adam Kadmon.

And this is ‘The tav marked a mark for Atik Yomin.’ And therefore the letters begin with tav-shin-reish-kuf, which are in the mystery of the reversed seal; and understand this well. Thus far is what I found written in the name of the Rav, may his memory be for the life of the World to Come.” End of quotation there.

And according to what is written, it is understood that the letters as a whole, all of them, are also only the very last level, except that the tav is likewise the last level within the letters, and it is what emanated everything. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “by way of analogy, the Malchus of the Malchus,” etc.; and this is “The tav marked a mark,” etc.)

42. And now we can understand the meaning of “Creator of holy ones, may Your Name be praised.” The meaning was explained above: all the levels of the holy ones, in the loftiest heights in the upper worlds, come into being only from the level of “Your Name.”

For they bear no comparison to His essence and being, and they are a creation, something from nothing. And it also refers to the souls of Israel, which arose in thought, which is the level of letters, called “Your Name,” etc.

5The explanation is that “holy” (kodesh) is the level of Chochmah (wisdom), which is what is called kodesh. And the meaning of “holy ones,” in the plural, as in the words “and holy ones praise You every day, selah,” is that there is a level of Chochmah up to the loftiest heights: the Chochmah of Atzilus, the Chochmah of Akudim, the Chochmah of Adam Kadmon, and still higher than the level of Adam Kadmon.

It follows that there are very many gradations of the level of Chochmah, one above the other; and this is “holy ones,” in the plural.

6And their coming into being is called “Creator of holy ones,” for they are a creation, something from nothing; for relative to the essence of the Emanator they are called by the name “creation” in the full sense,

since He, may He be blessed, is exalted endlessly above all the loftiest levels and gradations within the level of Chochmah, as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim [Tanya], Part II, chapter 9.

It is only that they were drawn forth and came into being from the level of the reshimu, that is, the letters that remained after the Infinite Light withdrew from them, as mentioned above.

7And this is how the creation of all the levels of the holy ones is only from the level of “Your Name,” which is the level of letters. And as is written in Etz Chaim, Adam Kadmon is called Adam of Beriah.

Although Beriah is very low, for they are the level of separate beings, below even the level of the World of Atzilus, and of this it is said, “and from there it divided,” etc., yet relative to the essence of the Emanator, even Adam Kadmon is considered Adam of Beriah.

For Atzilus is called Adam of Asiyah, “You have made them all with wisdom,” since Atzilus is the level of vessels: the attribute of kindness, the attribute of judgment, the level of measure and limit, etc.; and in them there is division, Chesed by itself and Gevurah by itself, and the inter-inclusion of Chesed and Gevurah, etc. Therefore it is called Asiyah (making).

And the World of Akudim, which is not yet in a state of division, but rather all the Ten Sefiros are bound (akudim) in a single vessel, is called Adam of Yetzirah

(and so it is in the Zohar, in Zohar HaRakia on Parshas Bereishis, on folio 15, in the commentary of our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Meir Poppers, on the passage “At the outset of the authority,” etc., who wrote so in the name of the Rav, of blessed memory).

And Adam Kadmon, which is above even Akudim (for Akudim are actual Ten Sefiros, only bound in a single vessel, whereas Adam Kadmon is above this; but even so, it is a source for the Ten Sefiros, and in the very end the level of Atzilus will come into being from it), is therefore called Adam of Beriah, for relative to the Emanator it too is called a creation, something from nothing.

(And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Blow [the shofar],” regarding “It arose in thought to create the world with the attribute of judgment,” etc., “a sun and a shield,” etc.; see there.)

8And according to this we will also understand the descent of the souls into bodies, which is for the sake of an ascent, even though before their descent too their ways were exceedingly lofty, for they arose in thought.

Only, one whose soul is from Beriah is from the level of the thought of Beriah, and one whose soul is from Yetzirah is from the thought of Yetzirah, etc., and one whose soul is from Atzilus is likewise from the thought of Atzilus.

And the six hundred thousand souls are the six hundred thousand letters in the Torah, even though in writing six hundred thousand letters are not found in the Torah.

That is because of the letters that lengthen [a vowel], which are the letters alef, hei, vav and yud, included within the vowel-points, which are not in writing but are present in thought; but which of the vowel-points they are is not known, etc.

(The meaning is that it is along the lines of what is stated in the Gemara, in Kesubos, folio 69b: “It is written ינחם,” and Rashi explains: “You cannot pronounce a patach under any letter unless an alef or a hei is next to it, or by virtue of the vowel-point beneath it, and it comes in place of a letter, as though ינאחם were written.” End of quote.

So the vowel-point beneath it comes in place of a letter, as though an alef or a hei were written; and likewise with vav and yud. Therefore, counting these letters, which should have been [written] but vowel-points came in their place, there are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah; and which of the vowel-points it is, is not known to us.)

Now, to understand the descent for the sake of an ascent above the level of “they arose in thought,” it will be understood by first introducing the subject of Shabbos: that there is a higher Shabbos (Shabbos ila’ah) and a lower Shabbos (Shabbos tata’ah).

That is, what is written, “And He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done”: this is resting from the level of Asiyah (“doing”), and this is the lower Shabbos. And what is written further on, “for on it He rested from all His work that He had created”: this is the higher Shabbos.

9The explanation is that Shabbos is the level of the ascents of the worlds: Asiyah into Yetzirah, Yetzirah into Beriah, and Beriah into Atzilus, etc., up to the loftiest heights, so that even Adam Kadmon rises into the Supernal Emanator.

For Shabbos is, by way of analogy, like a person who ceases and rests from some labor: while he works, his intellect is enclothed in the doing of the work and lowered into it, and when he stops, his intellect returns to its full strength and rises upward to contemplate spiritual matters, far above the intellect involved in the work, which is called “ordinary matters” (milin dehedyota), etc.

10And in the same way the ascent on Shabbos up to the loftiest heights will be understood above. However, the ascent that reaches up to Atzilus, that is, the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus, is called the lower Shabbos.

And the nature of this ascent is that, although Atzilus bears no comparison to the very essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), it is nevertheless actual G‑dliness.

Whereas Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are truly separate and limited, to the point that they have the choice to do, G‑d forbid, the opposite of His will, may He be blessed, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said of Metatron, that they struck him with sixty lashes of fire, etc. And they bear no comparison to Atzilus.

Therefore their ascent into Atzilus is a mighty and wondrous ascent, in which the created being rises and is included in the Creator, so that the Infinite Light, blessed be He, becomes enclothed in it

(for in Atzilus the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is enclothed in the vessels of Atzilus, since the kav (line of light) ends in Atzilus; so, in the same way, when the Ten Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are elevated into Atzilus, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is actually enclothed in them).

And this is through self-nullification (bittul). For in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah they are the level of a “something” (yesh), one who loves: Michael with love, Gavriel with awe, “they tremble from the terror of the Throne,” etc.

But there is a level higher than love and awe, namely the level of bittul. For Avraham is the level of love, but Moshe, “and what are we,” is the level of bittul, “heavy of mouth”; and therefore Moshe is within and Yaakov is without.

And from this we will also understand why the aspect by which there is a glimmer of Shabbos every day is the level of the Shemoneh Esreh: because the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, with bowings and prostrations, is the level of bittul, “a still, small voice,” etc.

(and therefore the Shemoneh Esreh is in Atzilus, that is, along the lines of the level of Shabbos). And the ascent of the Torah and mitzvos of the whole day is through prayer.

Although the Torah is higher than prayer, nevertheless, since it is lowered into a physical voice, it therefore needs to be elevated through prayer, “the continual burnt-offering,” etc. And all this is called the lower Shabbos; and this is at Kabbalas Shabbos (welcoming the Shabbos), when we add from the weekday onto the holy day.

And therefore “Give” (havu) is said three times, corresponding to the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, up to “Bow down to Havayah in the beauty of holiness,” which is the level of Atzilus; and therefore its initials spell kabbalah (receiving), that is, Kabbalas Shabbos, which is the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus.

(And kabbalah too is in Atzilus; and see Mavo She’arim, Gate Three, Part Two, end of chapter 15, on this ascent of Beriah, etc.; see there.)

And there is a dispute among the halachic authorities whether work during it is forbidden by Torah law. And afterwards, at the actual onset of Shabbos night, the ascents of Atzilus begin: the evening prayer is the ascent of Malchus, “the Field of Apples” (chakal tapuchin), etc.

And afterwards, in the day, are the ascents of Z’eir Anpin and of Abba and Imma, until even Adam Kadmon rises in a mighty ascent into the Supernal Emanator; for Adam Kadmon too is a creation, something from nothing

(and just as the lower Shabbos is the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus, so too the higher Shabbos is the ascent of the Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah of Atzilus; for Chochmah is called “that He created,” a creation, something from nothing, “and Chochmah is found from ayin (nothing),” and its ascent is into the level of Keser, which is the Atzilus within Atzilus.

And so the ascents go up to the loftiest heights, until even Adam Kadmon, which is called Adam of Beriah: its ascent is into Atzilus, that is, into the Infinite Light, blessed be He.

For in the worlds as a whole, in which Adam Kadmon is called a creation, something from nothing, etc., Atzilus is nothing but the level of the Infinite Light, that is, the revelation from the Infinite One, blessed be He; for Atzilus is from the word vaya’tzel (“and He set aside”), which is the separating out of an illumination, etc.; and see what is written on this in the explanation on the verse “These are the journeys.” It follows that, in general, Shabbos is the level of Atzilus.)

And this is [the meaning of] “for on it He rested from all His work that G‑d created to do.” The meaning: “that He created” is Adam Kadmon, which is called Adam of Beriah; “to do” is Adam of Atzilus, which is called Adam of Asiyah; for Adam Kadmon is the source and root of Atzilus, as explained above.

And this is the level of the higher Shabbos. And the lower Shabbos is what is written, “And He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.”

(And although Atzilus is called Asiyah, while the lower Shabbos is only the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: in truth, Shabbos night too, when the Malchus of Atzilus ascends, is also the lower Shabbos. Therefore “And He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done” is the lower Shabbos, for Malchus is the Asiyah within Atzilus.

And the Shabbos of the day (Shabbasa deYoma), the ascent of Z’eir Anpin and Chochmah, etc., is the beginning of the higher Shabbos, “from all His work that He created,” which is the Beriah of Atzilus, as mentioned above. And in the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 5b: “‘My Shabbosos’: this is the higher Shabbos and the lower Shabbos,” etc.; “‘es’ comes to include the Shabbos boundary,” etc.

It may be explained: the higher and the lower Shabbos are Shabbos day and Shabbos night, and “es comes to include” is what we add from the weekday onto the holy day, which is the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus. And the Mikdash Melech there explains the higher and the lower Shabbos as Atik and Z’eir Anpin, etc.)

113. Now, the explanation of the lower Shabbos will be understood from the mitzvah of the Sabbatical year (Shevi’is), which is called “a Shabbos of solemn rest” (Shabbos Shabbason), in which there is also the level of ascents, except that the ascents are only from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to Atzilus.

And therefore it is said, “the land shall rest,” for the resting in the Sabbatical year is only for the Malchus of Atzilus alone, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

And therefore only the working of the land was forbidden. But from Atzilus upward there is no ascent at all, as is written in the Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal], in Ta’amei HaMitzvos, Parshas Behar.

12Nevertheless, there is in it an aspect in which man and animal are equal, namely regarding the mitzvah of removal (bi’ur) in the Sabbatical year: it is a mitzvah to remove the produce of the Sabbatical year from the house when it is gone for the wild animal from the field,

as it is said, “For you, and for your cattle and for the wild beasts that are in your land, shall all its produce be, to eat”: as long as the wild animal eats from the field, you eat from what is in the house; once it is gone for the wild animal from the field, you are obligated to remove that species from the house, etc.

The explanation is that man and animal exist also in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: the face of an ox and the face of a lion, the wild beast being included under “animal” (and there is also the level of the face of a man).

And the Chayos bear the Throne, like the analogy of a chariot, which raises the rider to a place he cannot reach by himself, etc.

For their root is from the World of Tohu, except that they fell. But after the good is sifted out from the evil (and the Chayos of the Chariot are after the sifting), they lift up to their root, to Tohu.

Therefore, through their ascent from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to Atzilus in the Sabbatical year (for then is the ascent of Beriah to Atzilus), man and animal are equal,

for Atzilus is the level of an encompassing light (makif) relative to Beriah, and the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) for Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “Master of our strength, Rock of our stronghold,” etc.

“Master of our strength” is the level of the Malchus of Atzilus, which becomes Atik for Beriah; and this is “Rock of our stronghold,” that is, the level of an encompassing light for Beriah; “Shield,” “Stronghold” is the encompassing light for Yetzirah and for Asiyah, etc.

Therefore man and animal of Beriah, although the level of animal bears no comparison to the level of man, are nevertheless entirely equal relative to Atzilus

(along the lines of what was explained regarding Moshe, who draws down Daas (knowledge) to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, because man and animal of Beriah are equal relative to the Daas of Moshe, etc.; see what is written on this on the verse “And these are the ordinances.”

And it may be that in the same way, in the Kiddush of Shabbos night, in which Daas is drawn down to Nukva, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, it is included that Daas be drawn down even to our souls, the level of “animal” of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, for the reason mentioned above, that man and animal are equal relative to the encompassing light, sovev kol almin, etc.).

And in the same way the lower Shabbos will be understood: it is the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to Atzilus, which is a mighty ascent, etc., as is understood. Now, in the Time to Come there will be a revelation of sovev, which is the level of the essence of the light, the source of all the encompassing lights, and it is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the kav, etc.

And now it is in concealment; not that it encompasses from above, but, as it is written, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”; only it is hidden from all, etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “My Shabbosos,” meaning: the two Shabbosos are Mine. For even the lower Shabbos, which is self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion in Atzilus, is called My Shabbos,

for Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah bear no comparison to Atzilus, as mentioned above (from the matter of man and animal, etc.; and therefore we are commanded on Shabbos, by Torah law, regarding the resting of an animal).

And of this it is said, “you shall keep”: it is incumbent upon you only to guard what is given to you, as in “I have a good gift in My treasure-house,” etc.

That is, by guarding against all things that prevent the revelation, even the sins that a person tramples with his heels, such as falsehood and arrogance, as is explained elsewhere.

Also, the meaning of “you shall keep” is, by way of analogy, like guarding, which is from the outside: so too this revelation is only in the manner of an encompassing light (or makif); and the root of all the encompassing lights is from the light that is above the kav; and Shabbos is the level of makif, even the lower Shabbos

(it shines in the manner of makif and not as an actual revelation within the soul; and this is for the reason mentioned above, that the root of all the encompassing lights is from the supernal makif, sovev kol almin, etc.), while Torah is the level of inner light (or pnimi), as below.

And the concept of makif will be understood by way of analogy: when a person thinks of some thing in his thought, that thing is encompassed in his thought, and his thought encompasses that whole thing; and nevertheless that thing is not changed or affected by this.

13Now, above too, it is written, “I, Havayah, search the heart and test the kidneys,” and a person’s hidden things are revealed before Him. And the thought and knowledge of the Holy One, blessed be He, with which He knows all created beings, actually encompasses them.

And the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the future just as the past; and nevertheless this knowledge does not compel a person, and he has the choice for good, or for the opposite, G‑d forbid, to think evil, etc. That is because no influence or revelation is drawn from this knowledge into the person; it only encompasses him.

(It is by way of analogy like a person’s thought, which causes no effect or change in the thing that it encompasses in his thought, as mentioned above; although it is written, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts”: for when some thing is encompassed in a person’s thought, that thing is not actually encompassed by it, only in the imagination of the person’s thought and mind,

and therefore that thing is not affected or changed by this encompassing, since his thought has no ability to touch the thing, etc. But the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom it is written, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts”: His thought and knowledge, with which He knows the created being, actually encompasses every created being, as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim [Tanya], chapter 48.

Nevertheless, it is written, “For a G‑d of knowledges (de’os)”: there are two levels of Daas (knowledge). The first is the level of supernal Daas, which shines only in the manner of a makif (encompassing light); and therefore, even though it actually encompasses, nevertheless this knowledge and makif does not compel the choice.

And this is the power of the Holy One, blessed be He: that this knowledge of His, at the level of supernal Daas, be only in the manner of a makif from afar, so that the person is not affected by it and it causes him no compulsion at all, in the same way that a person’s thought causes no effect on a stone that he pictures in his thought.

And although a person’s thought is not truly a makif at all, only in imagination, whereas the knowledge of the Holy One, blessed be He, is an actual makif, nevertheless He is able [to bring it about] that even this actual makif causes no effect. And this is why it is nevertheless only the level of makif, precisely.)

And there is a level below this, from which the influence is drawn inwardly into the person, as the angel asks, “This drop, what will become of it: wise,” etc. So the Holy One, blessed be He, places wisdom in it, and this level is drawn inwardly, so that he is wise.

But the level of supernal Daas is in the manner of makif, and therefore it does not compel the choice, etc. And in the same way the matter of Shabbos will be understood: a very lofty level shines upon the person, that is, in the manner of makif, etc.

144. Nevertheless, this needs examination: whether the analogy of the makif of knowledge fits the drawing down of the makif on Shabbos. For as to the knowledge, which causes no effect and no compulsion upon the choice, we must say that this is because it is the level of the makif that is from afar; for there are two levels of encompassing lights (makifim).

The first: although it is a makif and does not shine inwardly, nevertheless an effect is drawn from it, as a person is stirred when he prays with a congregation, because of the makif of “Wherever ten are [gathered], the Shechinah rests”; and this is called the near makif, which shines into the inner light.

The second is the general makif, which encompasses evenly and does not shine inwardly at all, and no effect is drawn from it; as all this is explained at the end of Parshas Shemos, in the explanation on the verse “Those who come, [Yaakov] will take root,” etc.

If so, the knowledge, which does not compel the choice at all, is so because it is the level of the separate makif; whereas on Shabbos there is an additional soul (neshamah yeseirah), which is a revelation from the level of the supernal will (as is explained elsewhere on the verse “And Moshe assembled,” etc.).

Therefore it may be that, although the lower Shabbos and the higher Shabbos are both the level of makif, as mentioned above in explaining “My Shabbosos you shall keep,” nevertheless, it may be said, the lower Shabbos is the near makif, from which an illumination and an effect are drawn, etc., and the higher Shabbos is the supernal makif, a makif for the makif, etc.

And it is also explained elsewhere that on Shabbos the encompassing lights of the weekday enter as inner lights, and higher encompassing lights are drawn down.

And it is also explained elsewhere, on the meaning of “And the children of Israel shall keep the Shabbos, to make the Shabbos,” that through “they shall keep the Shabbos,” power and strength are drawn down so that they will be able to “make” the Shabbos that comes afterwards.

And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “To My mare,” regarding the dew that drips from Atika in the three meals of Shabbos, from which the power for the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) is drawn, etc.

15Now, from all this the descent of the souls for the sake of an ascent will be understood; and the main ascent is in the Time to Come, “for the day that is entirely Shabbos.”

The explanation is that the root of the souls is from the level of thought, which is the level of Beriah, and the ascent is into the level of Atzilus, as mentioned above, that Shabbos is the ascent of Beriah into Atzilus; and the main ascent is the level of the higher Shabbos, and this is the revelation of the Time to Come.

For the root of the souls is from the level of Adam Kadmon, for “arose in thought” is the level of Adam Kadmon, as is explained elsewhere; and their descent from there is a descent for the sake of an ascent,

that is, the level of the higher Shabbos, the ascents that go on until Adam Kadmon, which is called Adam of Beriah, rises into Atzilus, which is the revelation of the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof).

But now the revelation is only in the manner of makif, and it is the level of sovev; but in the Time to Come the makif will be revealed as an actual revelation, etc.

And see what is written on the verse “And you shall eat, eating,” on the new souls that will be drawn down in the Time to Come from the very level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is above the kav, with which the souls of the tzaddikim will be crowned in the Time to Come; as is written in Sefer HaGilgulim, chapter 7, that this will be in the seventh millennium, which is the higher Shabbos itself.

16Now, at first glance it needs examination how to reconcile this discourse, that the ascent of Shabbos is even in Adam Kadmon, that Adam Kadmon too rises, etc., with what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “For the conductor, on the Sheminis,” that Adam Kadmon is above the ascents of Shabbos, etc.; see there.

But in truth there is no difficulty at all, for something greater than this is explained elsewhere: that even Binah (understanding) is called “the morrow of the Shabbos,” meaning that it is above the level of Shabbos;

for the Shabbos of the night and the Shabbos of the day are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, and Binah is above this, etc. And elsewhere we find in the Zohar that Shabbos is Binah, as is written in the Zohar (Part II, folio 63b, and folio 88a).

Rather, it must be that this is because there are several levels in Shabbos: there is a level in Shabbos relative to which Binah is called “the morrow of the Shabbos,” and that is Shabbos plain and simple.

But there is a level in Shabbos that is called “a Shabbos of solemn rest” (Shabbos Shabbason), and this is the level of Binah. And this is in particular terms, within Atzilus itself.

17And likewise it will be understood in the worlds as a whole: there is a level in Shabbos relative to which Adam Kadmon is said to be above the ascents of Shabbos, and there is yet another level of Shabbos that applies also to Adam Kadmon; as was explained, that regarding Shabbos two levels are stated, “from all His work that He created” and “from all His work that He had done.”

For the level of Shabbos “from all His work that He had done” is Adam of Atzilus, which is called Asiyah; and Adam Kadmon, which includes Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah equally, is above this ascent of Shabbos;

but the level of Shabbos “from all His work that He created to do” applies also to Adam Kadmon, as mentioned above. (And see in the Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal], Parshas Kedoshim, on the verse “My Shabbosos”: two Shabbosos, the supernal Hadar, etc.; and that is the Yesod of Adam Kadmon, which is the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Adam Kadmon, as is written at the end of the discourse beginning “For the conductor, on the Sheminis.”

So we see that this higher Shabbos applies to the inner dimension of Adam Kadmon, etc. And see Pri Etz Chaim, in the introduction to Sha’ar HaShabbos, chapter 4: “and so they all rise up to Adam Kadmon.”

And see in Ta’amei HaMitzvos, Parshas Behar, at its beginning: “up to the Supernal Emanator,” meaning even Arich, etc., “all the emanated beings, all of them,” etc. And this needs study in Sefer HaGilgulim, end of chapter 17; and see Mavo She’arim, Gate Three, Part Two, end of chapter 15.)

185. “And My Sanctuary you shall revere.” The meaning: “My Sanctuary” refers to the Torah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Since the Holy Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing in His world but the four cubits of halachah.”

And the Torah is the level of inner light (or pnimi); therefore of it is said “you shall revere,” for awe is drawn through revelation from close by (as in “And the people saw and trembled, and stood far off,” that is, in order to rest a little from the great awe that is close by; and at the Splitting of the Sea, through the revelation, “And Israel saw,” etc., “and the people feared,” etc.).

And regarding Shabbos, which is an encompassing light (or makif), it is said “you shall keep.” And it gives the reason, “I am Havayah.” The meaning: ani (“I”) has the letters of ayin (“nothing”): the essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), which “no thought can grasp,” is Havayah.

And Havayah is the light that is drawn down as an inner light: for the yud is tzimtzum (contraction), and it is the level of Chochmah (wisdom), since the coming into being of Chochmah from the Infinite One, blessed be He, is through a tzimtzum in which a reshimu (impression) remained, as explained above.

And afterwards the hei is Binah (understanding), the expansion of the intellect, etc. And this light too, which shines as an inner light, is from the Infinite Light (it is the level of the kav, for the light is of the same kind as its source, as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the section beginning “He and His life-forces”), and all is one.

And therefore, “And My Sanctuary you shall revere,” etc. (And see the Tikkunei Zohar, beginning of Tikkun 24; and see what is written on the tzimtzum of the yud on the passage in the Zohar, Part III, Acharei, folio 79b, “Bring atonement for Me.”)

And it may be said that this is also [the reason for] the juxtaposition of “Honor your father and your mother” with “Remember the Shabbos day,” and likewise in Parshas Kedoshim, “Each man shall revere his mother and his father, and My Shabbosos you shall keep,”

and it is along the lines of the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Kedoshim, folio 82a: “And this is the Torah of Havayah,” etc., “and this is the honor of Abba and Imma,” etc.;

for the Written Torah is called “the instruction of your father,” and the Oral Torah is called “the teaching of your mother”; and the Torah is inner light and Shabbos encompassing light, and all is one, as mentioned above.

19And the explanation of the matter, that the Torah is called “My Sanctuary,” is as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim [Tanya], chapter 52: that the Talmud is drawn from the Heichal of the Holy of Holies of Beriah, in which the Malchus of Atzilus is enclothed; and therefore it is called inner light, the level of Atzilus that is drawn down and enclothed in Beriah.

But on Shabbos, Beriah rises into Atzilus itself, and therefore it is called encompassing light; and the higher Shabbos too in the same way. And nevertheless all is one, as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Kisei HaKavod, that the Heichal of the Holy of Holies is the Keser, Chochmah, Binah and Daas of Beriah, and the soul of the Heichal of the Holy of Holies is lights that sparkle from the Keser, Chochmah and Binah of Atzilus, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

20Now, according to this one may explain Tikanta Shabbos (“You instituted the Shabbos”) in the Musaf of Shabbos, of which it is stated in Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaShabbos, chapter 20, that it is arranged in the order tav-shin-reish-kuf,

and it is the illumination of the twenty-two letters that shine in the supernal brain (mocha ila’ah) from below upward, in the mystery of what is written in the Zohar, “The tav marked a mark for Atik Yomin, Whom none resembles.” And see what is written on this in the commentary on the Idra by the Arizal, of blessed memory, on folio 128, end of side b, regarding “The tav marked a mark,” etc.

21And see further, on the letters, the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Vayikra, on “and they fly in the air,” which is the addition of light to the letters from the “air” of Arich Anpin, etc.

And in the same way one may say here too: this is the tav-shin-reish-kuf of Musaf, the level of an addition of light to the letters, which are in Z’eir Anpin and Nukva;

for the middle-sized letters are in Z’eir Anpin and the small letters in Malchus, and now, in the Musaf of Shabbos, an addition of light is drawn to them from Keser.

Therefore this is drawn through the level of the Malchus of Adam Kadmon, which becomes Atik Yomin; and this is “The tav marked a mark,” etc. And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “And the kohen shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits,” etc.

22Now, according to what is written, that on Shabbos there is a further ascent up to the loftiest heights, so that even Adam Kadmon rises into the Infinite Light, blessed be He, then it is self-evident that the matter mentioned above is also to be interpreted with respect to this,

along the lines of what the Arizal said, that the tav is the last level of the Emanator, which is what emanated everything, etc. And in the book Emek HaMelech, Gate Two, chapter 7, he also writes on the tav, etc.

23Now, it was explained above, on “Creator of holy ones, may Your Name be praised,” that the coming into being of Adam Kadmon, and even of the level of Chochmah (wisdom) that is above Adam Kadmon, is from the reshimu (impression) that remained after the tzimtzum (contraction) and the withdrawal of the light, etc.

And on Shabbos is the ascent of Adam Kadmon into the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), that is, what had withdrawn into a state of concealment shines in it openly, as mentioned above.

And this is why this ascent is through the tav, for “the tav marked a mark,” etc., along the lines of what was mentioned above in the name of the Arizal, of blessed memory.

And this is why we say tav-shin-reish-kuf in Tikanta Shabbos in Musaf, for the Musaf of Shabbos is an addition of holiness, as is written in the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry Musaf.

And this is the meaning of “the burnt-offering (olas) of Shabbos on its Shabbos”: Shabbos itself rises (olah) on its Shabbos, and this is the level of the higher Shabbos, in which the ascent is up to the Infinite One, etc.

24Now, to understand further the connection of the level of letters with the Infinite Light:

It is explained elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “Because you did not serve,” etc., what the difference is between light (or) and abundance (shefa): an illumination is such that nothing at all is lacking through it in the source from which the illumination is drawn. And so, by way of analogy, the letters of a person’s thought and speech are only an illumination drawn from his nefesh and his neshamah,

for they occupy no place at all, and there is no change or diminution at all in his soul because of the thoughts, and it can think thoughts without end.

So too the illumination that is drawn from the Infinite One, blessed be He, into all the worlds is only an illumination and expansion from Him, may He be blessed, and “all before Him is considered as nothing”; it occupies no place at all relative to Him, and there is no change in Him whatsoever, G‑d forbid, as it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and “You were the same before the world was created,” etc.

Therefore the illumination that is drawn from the Infinite Light is called by the name “letters.” And this is also [the meaning of] what is written, “within the last level of the Emanator,” etc., meaning that in this illumination too there are several levels,

just as, by way of analogy, there are also several levels in thought: there is mere thought, which is the outer level relative to deep thought, which is inner, etc.;

and the worlds were drawn from the last level of the illumination and thought, etc. (And see what is written on this in the explanation on the verse “I have seen, and behold, a menorah all of gold.”)

However, regarding every level of thought above, it is written, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts”: for a person’s thought enclothes the soul and encompasses it from every side, etc.,

whereas with Him, may He be blessed, thought does not enclothe Him or encompass Him, G‑d forbid, for He, may He be blessed, is exalted and lifted above this, and He is holy and separate, etc. (as is written on this elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion,” etc., and in the discourse beginning “Go out and see”).