האזינו השמים ואדברה ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי יערוף…

1“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. My teaching shall drop like the rain,” etc. Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: The Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) asked improperly, “And He will come to us like the rain” (in Hosea, chapter 6), and the Holy One, blessed be He, answered her properly, “I will be like the dew to Israel.”

To understand “a parable and a figure, the words of the wise”: that they likened the resting of the Holy One, blessed be He, upon the Congregation of Israel to rain or to dew, and the difference between rain and dew. The explanation is this: behold, teshuvah (return) preceded the world.

And the explanation of the matter of teshuvah, and also of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “It turns out that all his days are [spent] in teshuvah”: how is it all his days? Now, the essence of teshuvah is as it is written, “And the spirit shall return (tashuv) to Elokim who gave it” (in Ecclesiastes, chapter 12).

And the explanation of the matter: now, we say, “The soul that You gave within me is pure; You created it, You formed it, and You breathed it into me.”

The meaning of “You breathed it” is the level of the supernal breath, so as to be separate, a thing and an entity in its own right, like a person who blows breath from his mouth, so that the breath becomes separate, by itself.

And so too regarding the soul, it is written, “And He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life”; and this is the level of “the spirit of His mouth” and “what comes forth from the mouth of Havayah,” as it is written,

“For by everything that comes forth from the mouth of Havayah does man live.” And motza (“what comes forth”) means its coming out from concealment into revelation. And see the Zohar, Parshas Tazria (folio 47b).

But the level of “You created it” is, by way of analogy, like the level of thought, which is still in concealment and is united with the soul. Now, [the blessing] specified four things in the soul as it goes out from concealment into revelation to be enclothed in the body:

“You gave,” “You created it,” “You formed it,” “You breathed it.” For the source from which it was hewn is exceedingly high above, and in order for it to descend wondrously [low] to be enclothed in a body, it must contract itself and expand itself through many kinds of contractions (tzimtzumim) and expansions.

And in general they divide into four levels, as it is written (in Job, chapter 28), “Then He saw it and declared it; He prepared it and also searched it out. And He said to man.”

For before it comes to the state of “And He said to man,” that is, to be enclothed in a body, there must first be the level of “He saw it and declared it,” etc.,

which are four levels: contraction and expansion, drawing-down and expansion, corresponding to the four letters of Havayah. And this is also what the Name Havayah indicates: the yud is the level of contraction, the hei is the level of expansion in length and breadth, and the vav is drawing down, etc.,

as is known. (And see on the matter of “Then He saw it,” etc., in Midrash Rabbah, at the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, chapter 40, and in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, at the beginning of Parshas Bereishis. And in the Zohar this verse is mentioned: Part I, folio 5, end of side a, and folio 199a;

Part II, folio 206b; Part III, 111b; and the verse “And He said to man,” in Part I, folio 79, end of side a.) And this is [the meaning of] “For Havayah’s portion is His people; Jacob is the cord of His inheritance.”

That is, the soul is a portion of Havayah Himself, which descends by way of contraction and expansion, etc., like the Name Havayah, until it comes to be enclothed in the level of “Jacob, the cord of His inheritance,” which is the body.

(And see on the matter of “For the portion” in [Midrash] Rabbah, Parshas Toldos, chapter 65, on [the verse] “And I am a smooth (chalak) man,” folio 73a; Vayetzei, chapter 68, folio 77b, on the verse

“And behold, a ladder”; and at the end of Parshas Terumah, folio 150, column d; Nasso, beginning of chapter 9, folio 228b; Parshas Balak, chapter 20, folio 279a. And see the Zohar, Part II, folio 96a and folio 86a; Part III, folio 94a, 107a, folio 278b.)

Now, not the whole soul descends below to be enclothed in the body, but only a ray of it, by way of contraction, etc., as mentioned above.

But the whole soul and its source remain above, and [this] is called mazal. And of this they said, “A person has a mazal,” and “Everything depends on mazal.”

And what they said, “Israel has no mazal,” refers to the mazalos of the [heavenly] princes and the stars, which [G‑d] apportioned to all the nations who worship the stars;

but there is a level of mazal that is the source and root of the soul. And it is called mazal from the word nozel (“flowing”); except that nozel is a passive form, and mazal is an active form (and see the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, the entry “Mazal”):

for it is the source from which the bestowal and the spirit of life flow down, “to revive the spirit of the lowly.” Also the divine flow and the thoughts of teshuvah that come to a person come by the power of the level of mazal.

For “even though he does not see, his mazal sees”: it sees and hears the proclamations above, “a heavenly voice goes forth and proclaims,” etc.

And through this it bestows below, so that there is an arousal in the heart, etc. For the ray that descended and spread below into the body is not something entirely separate from its source and root above (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “When you go out”),

except for those liable to kares (excision), in whom the soul is cut off; that is, the ray that spread and descended below is cut off from its mazal and its root (and see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an atzeres”).

Now, it is written, “And flowing (nozlim) from Lebanon.” The meaning is along the lines of “And wisdom (Chochmah), from where (me’ayin) shall it be found?” For “wisdom gives life”: it is the beginning of the expansion of the life-force, drawn from a level that is above intellect, and this is the level of ayin (“nothing”), which is not grasped.

And this is the level of Lebanon, and from it the bestowal flows (see the Zohar, Parshas Ha’azinu, folio 298a). And from this the essence of teshuvah will be understood: that the soul returns, in a state of self-nullification (bittul), with self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), to its supernal source and root from which it was taken, which is the level of ayin, the level of mazal.

And this is the purpose of its descent into this world: that it be at a higher rank and level than it was in the Garden of Eden, enjoying the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) according to its comprehension,

which is through the level of contraction, the level of Chochmah; whereas through teshuvah it is in a state of complete self-nullification to its source and root, which is far above the level of Chochmah, being the level of ayin.

2And this is [the meaning of] what is written regarding the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, “Until Your people pass over, Havayah.” For through the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, Israel were elevated to a very high and exalted rank and level, far above the level of Havayah, which is the level of contraction and expansion, etc.,

for this is what the Name Havayah indicates, as mentioned above. And it is the root of the matter of coming-into-being; for the Name Havayah means that He brings all existing things into being (mehaveh), and the coming into being from nothing to something is through contraction (tzimtzum) and expansion, etc.

Whereas at the level of mazal, which is the level of ayin (“nothing”), the level of coming-into-being does not apply at all. And this is [the meaning of] “Until Your people pass over, Havayah”: that is, they passed beyond the level of Havayah, to the level of mazal, the level of ayin, the level of teshuvah (return), “And the spirit shall return to Elokim who gave it.”

For its being given and its descent below are in the mode of contraction and expansion, etc., “that You gave,” “You created it,” “You formed it,” etc.; and teshuvah is to be in a state of complete self-nullification (bittul), as before its descent, and even more so, as mentioned above.

32. (And see Rabbeinu Bachya, Parshas Yisro, regarding “You shall not take the Name,” on the matter of “And the spirit shall return,” that it is as is written [here]; and see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Behar) (folio 108, end of side b): that the level of “And the spirit shall return,” etc., is like the matter of what is written, “In this year of Jubilee you shall return,” etc.

And see what is written on the matter of the Jubilee at the end of the discourse beginning “And they found a man gathering wood,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “And it shall come to pass on that day that a great shofar will be sounded”: that this is also the level of Yom Kippur, the day of teshuvah (return).

4And as for what is written, “to Elokim who gave it,” even though this teshuvah (return) is the level of “Until Your people pass over, Havayah,” which is above even the Name Havayah, as mentioned above:

something similar was explained above, in the discourse beginning “You are standing,” regarding “That you should pass into the covenant,” etc., “to be Elokim to you”: that the meaning of “that you should pass into the covenant” is like the matter of “Until Your people pass over, Havayah,” etc. See there.

But the matter will be understood according to what is written on [the verse] “I will greatly rejoice,” regarding “My soul shall exult in my G‑d (Elokai),” and in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an atzeres,” on the meaning of “The rock of my heart and my portion is Elokim forever”;

and this will be understood further according to what is written in the Zohar on [the verse] “No eye has seen, Elokim, besides You, what He will do for one who waits for Him”; and this is in Parshas Pinchas (folio 239b)

and in Parshas Va’eschanan (folio 267b); and see the Mikdash Melech in both places. And see further on this in the Zohar, Vayakhel (folio 210b).

The matter of “And the spirit shall return” is further mentioned in [Midrash] Rabbah, Mishpatim, chapter 31 (folio 149, column c), and in Parshas Metzora, chapter 18 (folio 185a),

and in Koheles Rabbah on this verse. And with all this, the precise wording of our Sages, of blessed memory, in the Mishnah, chapter 4 of Avos, is well explained: “Better is one hour of tranquility of spirit (koras ruach) in the World to Come,” etc.:

specifically “tranquility of spirit (ruach),” as it is written, “And the spirit (ruach) shall return.” And see further in the Zohar, Part II, in Parshas Terumah (141b to 142a), and in Parshas Mishpatim (97b).

Seemingly, it is in a somewhat different sense from what was written [here], for there it explains this matter as the ascent of the ruach from the lower Garden of Eden to the higher Garden of Eden, whereas here it was explained that this is above the level of the Garden of Eden, etc., as mentioned above.

But one who studies the Zohar, Part II, Parshas Terumah, there (folio 142a), in what it says, “And as long as this supernal neshamah does not ascend into the wellspring of the Ancient of Ancients, the most hidden of all hidden,” etc.,

and in the Zohar, Shelach (folio 159a), regarding “three worlds,” etc., “the first world,” etc., “in this manner,” etc., up to “No eye has seen, Elokim, besides You,” etc., and in the commentary of the Ramaz there, will find that it all has one intent.

Furthermore, in the Zohar, Terumah, there, it speaks of the level and rank of the ruach among [the levels of] nefesh, ruach, neshamah, which is below the level and rank of neshamah;

whereas here we are speaking of the matter of “And the spirit shall return” as applying also to the level of the neshamah itself. And [the reason] it says “And the spirit (ruach) shall return” is because this ascent is far above even the Name Havayah, that is, above Chochmah (wisdom),

where it is the level of ruach, as is written in the Zohar, in Parshas Bereishis (folio 37b and folio 58a), on [the verse] “My spirit shall not abide in man”:

“When the people of the world are meritorious,” etc., “the Holy One, blessed be He, arouses the supernal spirit of life, until that life reaches the place where Jacob dwells,” etc.

And it is explained in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, at the end of Parshas Bereishis, that the drawing down of “the supernal spirit of life” is from Arich Anpin (the Long Countenance), for there is “length of life”; and so it is in the Zohar, Terumah (folio 178, end of side b);

and along the lines of what is said in the Midrash, Bereishis Rabbah, at the end of chapter 2, on the verse “And the spirit of Elokim hovered over the face of the waters”: “This is the spirit of Mashiach, as you say,

‘And the spirit of Havayah shall rest upon him.’ By what merit does it draw ever nearer? ‘Hovering over the face of the waters’: by the merit of teshuvah, which is likened to water, as it is said, ‘Pour out your heart like water.’” End of quote.

5And the reason it is called by the name ruach (“spirit”) will be understood further, in some small measure, according to what is written in the explanation of “The mezuzah on the right,” on the matter of avir (“air”), which is above the level of or (“light”), etc.

See there. And in Sefer Yetzirah it states, “One: the spirit of the living Elokim,” and according to the explanation of the Pardes, Sha’ar 3, chapter 5, this is the level of Keser (the Crown). See there. And from all this will be understood what is written, “And the spirit shall return,” etc.:

because this ascent through teshuvah (return) is “to Elokim who gave it,” that is, above the four contractions mentioned above, of the levels of “that You gave within me,” and “You created it,” “You formed it,” “You breathed it into me,” etc., therefore it says, “And the spirit (ruach) shall return.”

That is, [it returns] to the level of the supernal ruach, of which it was said, as a punishment, in the generation of the Flood, “My spirit shall not abide,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “Until a spirit is poured upon us from on high,” etc.

And see the Zohar, Part III (folio 130b), on [the verse] “And the spirit shall rest upon him,” etc., and Part I (folio 77a): “At the time when the Spirit of all spirits raises up the sweetness of the neshamah,” etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “If he sets his heart toward Him, His spirit and His soul He will gather to him” (in Job, chapter 34). And the Zohar, Terumah (folio 162b) explains: “Spirit draws spirit and brings spirit,”

that is, through the spirit of man ascending upward, when he sets [his heart] toward Him, blessed be He, then “His spirit and His soul,” from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), “He will gather to him,” etc., as is explained elsewhere.

And in [Midrash] Rabbah, Bereishis, chapter 14, on [the verse] “And He breathed into his nostrils”: “Because in this world [it is] by breathing, therefore he dies; but in the Future to Come [it will be] by giving, as it is said, ‘And I will give My spirit into you, and you shall live.’” And this is through teshuvah, the level of “And the spirit shall return to Elokim who gave it,” specifically.

6And as for what it says, that in this world [it is] by breathing: that is, the level of the neshamah that is enclothed in the body is drawn from the level of “and You breathed it into me,” which is the level of the supernal breath, etc.;

but its root and source is from the level of “who gave it.” Only, because in the body there shines only [what comes] from the level of “You breathed it into me,” therefore he dies.

But in the Future to Come there will shine in the body itself from the level of “And I will give My spirit,” etc. And see [Midrash] Rabbah, Parshas Ki Sisa, chapter 41, on [the verse] “And He gave to Moshe”: “For Havayah gives wisdom,” etc. See there.

7Also, the meaning of “And I will give,” the level of a gift, is like the matter of an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila) that is above an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), along the lines of “I have a good gift in My treasure-house, and Shabbos is its name,” etc., as is explained elsewhere. And see what is written on [the verse] “And from the wilderness, Mattanah” in the discourse beginning “Go out and see.”

Also along the lines of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “One who gives, gives with a generous eye.” For just as in a person, by way of analogy, there is a generous eye and an average [eye] (in the Mishnah, chapter 4 of Terumos), so too, by way of analogy, distinguishing with distinctions without

end, there is a root and source for these two levels, along the lines of what was explained at the end of the discourse beginning “When you hearken to the voice,” on the matter of “to do what is right in the eyes of Havayah”: that they are two levels of providence, etc. See there.

8Now, the root of the level of the generous eye is the matter of the “open eye” (eina pekicha). And of this it is said regarding Joseph, “over the eye (alei ayin)”; and this is “No eye has seen, Elokim, besides You, what He will do for one who waits for Him.”

And from this level is drawn “And I will give My spirit,” etc. The matter of “And the spirit shall return” will be further understood according to what is written in the Zohar, Part I, Vayechi (folio 245a and b).

And see further in the Zohar on the matter of “And the spirit shall return” (Part I, folio 85, end of side a; 106b; 130b; folio 217b; Part III, folio 215, end of side b; folio 224, end of side b);

and there it is explained that the level of “The sacrifices of Elokim are a broken spirit,” which is the matter of teshuvah (return), is the level of “And the spirit shall return to Elokim,” etc. End of the gloss.

93. And this is [the meaning of] “all his days in teshuvah (return)”: for each day the soul shall return. For indeed, every night his soul returns; only, at night it returns to the level of “And You breathed it into me,”

which is the level of the supernal breath, from which the soul separates to be enclothed in the body; and at night it returns to be included and united with its source, for those who merit this rank and level, as it is written, “Who shall ascend the mountain of Havayah? … One with clean hands and a pure heart,” etc.

Whereas each day [the soul] must be in a state of teshuvah to the Source of all and to its supernal root; and this is at the time of prayer, in the Shema.

10And this is [the meaning of] “Hear (Shema), O Israel”: shema is an expression of gathering and assembling, as in “And Saul summoned (vayeshama)”; that is, that the scattered [powers] of the soul, the aspect of Israel, should be gathered and assembled,

which are the level of the three intellectual faculties and the seven emotive attributes (middos) in a person, which have been scattered in the pleasures of this world, in a person’s thoughts and schemes, each according to his standing and level; and to turn darkness into light, and to give over his soul in [the word] “One.”

11And the way his heart will be transformed is by his taking to heart what is written, “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil,” “and you shall choose life,” etc.

For in everything there is an aspect of life and an aspect of death: the spirituality is the aspect of life, and the physicality is the aspect of death. And likewise, in this way, even in the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, and the spheres: everything has matter and form.

And the matter is the aspect of death relative to the form, which is the spirit of life within it. And of this it is said, “and you shall choose life,” that is, the Life of life, blessed be He, as it is written, “To love Havayah your G‑d

… for He is your life” (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “Hear, O Israel,” in Parshas Va’eschanan, and in the discourse beginning “His left hand is under my head,” in Parshas Ki Sisa).

And therefore he will say, “Whom have I in heaven? And besides You I desire nothing,” etc. And “if for those who transgress His will [it is] so, for those who do His will, how much more so.”

That is: once he sees that so much life is drawn into the pleasures of this world, which are the aspect of “those who transgress His will,” all the more so, and a fortiori, in the aspect of “those who do His will,” which are the mitzvos, which are drawn from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of His will, in which the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is enclothed,

and He is the Life of life. Therefore his heart will be transformed from one extreme to the other, from darkness to light, and [he will come] to cleave to G‑d, [Who is] One, with actual self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), because he sees in his soul how he is separated from the true life.

And therefore, “in the place where baalei teshuvah (those who return) stand,” etc., because they transform darkness into light, and “they cry out to Havayah in their distress.”

For because of the distress and bitterness of his heart, which has reached the very soul, he cries out to G‑d, beyond the grasp of his soul, to cleave to Him with actual self-sacrifice.

And therefore the reading of the Shema is the level of teshuvah (return): “Hear (Shema), O Israel,” that is, to gather and assemble the scattered [powers] of the soul from darkness to light, in order to give over his soul in [the word] “One.” And this applies to every person, even one who has never sinned in his life.

Nevertheless, perforce the soul is enclothed in the body, etc.; and as is explained elsewhere, this is the whole essential purpose of the soul’s descent into this physical world: in order to be in the state of a baal teshuvah over this, over [the fact] that it is separated from the true life, the Life of life, blessed be He.

12And this is the matter of Shabbos, [whose] letters [are those of] tashev (“return”). For behold, [of] Shabbos [it is said], “For on it He rested from all His work”; but toil and effort do not apply before Him, blessed be He, so how does the term “resting” and “repose” apply?

Rather, the matter is: “For six days He made,” etc. That is, the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, spread forth into the level of “making” (asiyah), through the Ten Utterances by which the world was created.

13And “Bereishis (‘In the beginning’) is also an utterance,” as it is written, “You have made them all with wisdom”; for even Chochmah (wisdom) is considered as physical making before Him, blessed be He. And on Shabbos there is a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He,

at a level that is above the level of Chochmah; and this is the level of resting and of return (teshuvah). By way of analogy: a person who places his attention and thought on the work that he did; and when he rests from his work, he returns his attention and thought to its source,

which is the very being and essence of the intellective soul (and see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “To explain the matter of Yom Kippur,” and in the discourse beginning “Return, O Israel, unto”).

And this is [the meaning of] “Teshuvah preceded the world”: for the world was created with Ten Utterances, and “Bereishis is also an utterance,” which is the level of Chochmah;

but the level of teshuvah preceded [it] and is exceedingly high above the level of Chochmah, as mentioned above (and see what is written about this at length in the discourse beginning “To understand the matter of the verse, ‘Who is a G‑d like You,’” etc.).

But “one who toiled on the eve of Shabbos,” as mentioned above, etc., is the matter of prayer each day, in order to reach the level of Shabbos; for each day [there is] a ray resembling Shabbos.

And a person will do this at the time of prayer: he should clear himself of all his affairs, so that he has resting and repose as on Shabbos, and divert his mind from all the extraneous thoughts that disturb [him], to bind his soul to G‑d and to give over his soul in [the word] “One” in the Shema.

And this is a preparation for the Shabbos day; for on Shabbos the whole day as a whole is the level and rank of teshuvah, while on the weekdays there is only a ray resembling this, at the time of prayer.

144. Now, Yom Kippur is called “Shabbos Shabbason” (a Shabbos of Shabbosos), for it is the Shabbos of all the Shabbosos of the year: all the Shabbosos of the year are considered, relative to it, like weekdays relative to Shabbos. For it is the principal day of teshuvah (return), and in all the Shabbosos only a ray of it shines.

15And the explanation of this matter: the essence of teshuvah (return) is the nullification of his will, and to turn darkness into light, beyond the grasp of his intellect. And “there is will and there is will,” etc.

And on Yom Kippur the supernal will is revealed from a higher and more exalted level. And this is [the meaning of] “Before Havayah you shall be purified,” that is, above the level of Havayah, along the lines of what is written, “Until Your people pass over, Havayah,” etc., as mentioned above.

16And therefore on Yom Kippur we say, “Forgive us (selach lanu),” for forgiveness is the revelation of the will. As in the analogy of a person who asks his fellow for pardon: even if he knows that [the other] will not do anything to him, nevertheless he does not want him to be angry with him (and the matter of anger is the reversal of the will);

rather, he wants him to incline his will toward him. So too we ask and pray, “Forgive us,” that the level of the supernal will be revealed.

(And in this way prayer is called tzelosa, for the meaning of tzelosa is as in “atzli vedoch,” which is an expression of inclining: that He incline, as it were, so that there be a revelation of the supernal will, blessed be He, as is explained about this on [the verse] “Let the city of Sichon be built and established.”)

And this is [the meaning of] “I have forgiven according to your words”: that is, as you ask; according to the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), so is the arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila). And just as a person nullifies his will below, from darkness to light,

for everything depends on the will, and all of a person’s thoughts, intellect and emotive attributes (middos) conduct themselves according to the will, so the supernal will, blessed be He, is revealed to him; for “there is will and there is will,” as mentioned above.

17And this is [the meaning of] “Who abundantly forgives”: there are many levels of forgiveness, for each and every one according to how he has prepared his heart. Now, the most exalted level in the nullification of the will through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) is the level of the heart’s desire (re’usa de-liba) and the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart, out of the knowledge of G‑d; and “all believe”

that He alone is, and no thought can grasp Him at all, and “in the heavens above and on the earth below there is nothing else.”

18And therefore he has no will or desire whatsoever other than Him, as King David, peace be upon him, said, “Whom have I in heaven,” etc.

And “I have forgiven according to your words” is written: that so will there be an arousal from above, that the supernal will, blessed be He, be revealed, as it is written, “If your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; if they be red like crimson, they shall be like the supernal wool,” and as it is written, “And the hair of His head was like clean wool.” And this is the level of the teshuvah (return) of Yom Kippur.

(And see on this matter of “they shall be white” in [Midrash] Rabbah, Vayechi, chapter 99, on the verse “And teeth white from milk”; and at the beginning of Parshas Vayikra, on the verse “This good mountain and the Lebanon”; Parshas Emor, chapter 27;

Bamidbar, chapter 2; Nasso, beginning of chapter 8, beginning of chapter 10; and in Shir HaShirim Rabbah on the verse “Like the tents of Kedar,” and on the verse “His palate is most sweet,” and on the verse “Your neck is like a tower of ivory,” etc., “your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,” in Song of Songs, chapter 7, [verse] 5. And see the Zohar, Part II)

(folio 20a; 27, end of side b; 135a; Part III, 49a; 50, end of side b; 67a; folio 248b, and folio 255b).

And what is written there (folio 248b) on the matter of “the whitening of the halachah” (libun hilchasa) will be understood according to what is written in the discourse beginning “The voice of my Beloved,” in Parshas Shemos. And therefore the second Tablets were given on it [Yom Kippur]; for

behold, the essence of the Tablets is “I am” (Anochi) and “You shall have no,” which are the general and collective expression (klalus) of the Commandments, and of the whole Torah in its entirety: “I am” is that which encompasses all the positive commandments, and “You shall have no” is that which encompasses all the prohibitions.

And the explanation of the matter: the meaning of “I am” (“I, Who I am”) is that the level of His essence and being, blessed be He, as it were, was revealed to be “your G‑d,” to rest and be revealed in you, through the level of Havayah, which is the level of contraction (tzimtzum) and expansion, etc.

(And see what is written about this regarding the festival of Shavuos, in the discourse beginning “And G‑d spoke,” etc., “I am,” etc., and in the discourse beginning “For this commandment that I command you,” etc.)

And how many multitudes of myriads of contractions and expansions, etc., until there is the level of “your G‑d.” And this is through [the mitzvos], for “Who has sanctified us with His commandments” [is] with the supernal Kodesh (holiness), above the level of Kadosh (holy), etc.

For the 248 positive commandments are the 248 “limbs of the King”; they are 248 drawings-down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, as in the analogy of the limbs of a person, in which the blood spreads, which is the soul and the life-force, etc.

And this is why, before every mitzvah, we bless: “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G‑d, King of the world, Who has sanctified us with His commandments.” The meaning: “King of the world,” for the world is from the level of His sovereignty (Malchus), blessed be He;

but us He has sanctified with His commandments and brought to the level of the supernal Kodesh and the level of “I, Who I am,” etc. And in general they are divided into three categories: Torah, avodah (divine service) and acts of kindness (gemilus chassadim). Acts of kindness is the right line, from above to below; and avodah is the left line, from below to above: “His left hand is under my head.”

That is, he raises his head above the level of his intellect’s grasp. And Torah is the middle line, etc., as is explained elsewhere (and see about this in the discourse beginning “I am Havayah your G‑d,” of the section of tzitzis, and in the discourse beginning “To My mare,” and in the discourse beginning “Your cheeks are comely with circlets”). And “You shall have no” is the general and collective expression of the prohibitions,

for “your iniquities separate between you and your G‑d,” for a transgression dulls a person’s heart, and the light of G‑d does not rest and become revealed upon his soul. And this is [the meaning of] “You shall have no other gods before My face (al panai)”;

for all transgressions are called by the name “other gods,” for “whoever commits a transgression creates an accuser,” etc., and it is from the kelipos (husks) and the sitra achra (the other side). And the verse warned that you should not have the power of the sitra achra “before My face.”

That is, that they are what withhold and separate “My face,” that is, the revelation of His indwelling, as it is written, “May Havayah make His face shine upon you,” “May Havayah lift up His face.”

(And see what is written on the matter of “before My face” at the end of the discourse beginning “Remember the Shabbos day to keep it holy,” and in the explanation on [the verse] “Let them bring royal apparel,” regarding “I will surely hide My face on that day.”)

Now, the first Tablets were given on Shavuos, with thunder and lightning, and therefore they did not endure. For the tumult of thunder and lightning is from the level of the revealed world (alma de-isgalya), and from there the external forces draw nourishment, through the descent of the levels and the chain of descent (hishtalshelus) of the worlds and the chambers.

As it is written, “Her feet go down to death,” and “His kingdom rules over all.” Whereas the second Tablets were given quietly, as it is written, “And no man shall go up with you,” etc.,

because they are the level of the inner dimension of the heart, the level of the hidden world (alma de-iskasya), the level of the heart’s desire (re’usa de-liba), where the sitra achra has no hold or nourishment at all.

(And see what is written about this in Parshas [Ki] Savo, in the discourse beginning “This day”; and see the Zohar, Part I) (folio 50b), and in Sefer Hadras Melech (section 138), and in Parshas Terumah (136a), and in Parshas Shemini (folio 39a).

And see on the matter of the superiority of the second Tablets in [Midrash] Rabbah, Parshas Ki Sisa, chapter 46, regarding “And He would tell you the secrets of wisdom,” etc. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The essence of the cry is in the heart”; see the Zohar, Parshas Shemos (folio 20, beginning of side a).

195. And this is the matter of “And He will come to us like the rain.” For behold, rain descends in a cloud, “Who covers the heavens with clouds”; and clouds come into being from mists, which “go up from the earth,” so that there will be the cloud and the darkness.

That is, that he should take to heart his distance from the light of G‑d’s countenance, and the concealment of His light, blessed be He: “He made darkness His hiding place,” and “all lights are darkened before Him,” for no thought can grasp Him.

And then “From afar Havayah appeared,” with an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila), so that “He will come to us like the rain”: this is supernal kindness and the great love (ahavah rabbah) from above, to cleave to G‑d, [Who is] One, with the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, upon his soul, the level of the supernal will.

(And see what is written on this matter, how the bitterness over the distance brings about the revelation of the great love, in the discourse beginning “You are standing,” regarding “And weighed the mountains in a scale.”)

And this is [the meaning of] “My teaching (likchi) shall drop like the rain”: likchi, that He is taken (lokchin). For through the mitzvos, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” one takes Him, as it were, actually, and draws down the Infinite Light, blessed be He, actually. For the 248 positive commandments are 248 drawings-down, “limbs of the King”;

just as, for example, one who grasps a person by one of his limbs and pulls him toward himself: the whole of him is drawn to him. So too, as it were, through the mitzvos, which are “the limbs of the King,” one draws down, as it were, a ray and bestowal from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.

And although the mitzvos involve physical matters, the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), nevertheless the life-force, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is enclothed in them, is caught and absorbed in them; just as, for example, limbs, in which the life-force of the blood, which is the soul, spreads.

20And this is [the meaning of] “shall drop (ya’arof) like the rain”: the level of oref (“the back of the neck”), the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus); and through this, likchi, one takes Him, actually, as it were. And this is “like the rain” (kamatar and kegeshem),

that is, through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) in the manner of teshuvah (return) from the depth of the heart, so that “a mist goes up from the earth,” “Who covers the heavens with clouds,” etc., “From afar Havayah appeared,” etc., as mentioned above.

(And on the meaning of “Give ear, O heavens,” etc., “shall drop like the rain,” it can further be said that “the heavens” are the supernal emotive attributes (middos) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), which are called Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of Atzilus, as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Ha’azinu)

(folio 296b): “‘The heavens’: these are the supernal heavens, those that are known to be called the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He,” etc.; “‘And let the earth hear’: the supernal earth,” etc.,

which is the attribute of His sovereignty (Malchus), blessed be He. And Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, said to them, “Give ear … and I will speak”: that is, that through Torah and mitzvos he draws into them the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from far above the level of heavens,

that is, from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place,” which is the level of the supernal Keser (the Crown) and is called Arich Anpin. And of this it is said, “My teaching shall drop like the rain,” as is written in the Zohar at the end of Parshas Vayikra (folio 25, end of side b):

that this is the matter of “Drip down, O heavens, from above”: “‘From above’: certainly it comes from Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One), and not from that place which is called ‘heavens,’” etc.

And see there in the Mikdash Melech. That is, from there it is drawn into the level of heavens, so that the rain (geshem and matar) descends from the level of heavens to the level of earth.

But the root of this drawing-down comes from above and beyond the level of heavens. And therefore it says, “Give ear, O heavens,” etc., to the level of this supernal drawing-down of “My teaching shall drop like the rain.”

And this is what is written in the Midrash on Parshas Ha’azinu, and in Koheles Rabbah (folio 92, column d) on the verse “I know that whatever He does,” and these are its words: “The Holy One, blessed be He, decreed that the heavens should praise Him, as it is said, ‘The heavens declare the glory of G‑d.’ Moshe stood and silenced them, as it is said, ‘Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak.’” End of quote.

And see about this also in [Midrash] Rabbah, Bereishis, chapter 5. And this is because Moshe drew into the heavens from a level that is far above the level of the heavens themselves.

Now, “the wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he in wisdom,” etc. And this is [why] Moshe stood and silenced them: so that they receive from the level of this drawing-down and revelation, which is greater than they themselves.

21And along these lines it was explained elsewhere, regarding the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, that “the waters congealed,” for “since it is occupied with swallowing, it does not spit out,” in the discourse beginning “Six days you shall eat matzos.” And see what is written on the matter of “He causes the rain to descend” in the explanation on [the verse] “Moshe commanded us the Torah, an inheritance,” etc.

And see the Zohar, Parshas Va’eschanan (folio 263a), on [the verse] “Hear, O Israel,” of the Shema: “It is written, ‘Give ear, O heavens’; so too here, ‘Hear, O Israel,’ and it is all one matter.” And see there in the Mikdash Melech.

That is, in the Shema one also draws down from this level; and this is the matter of “Havayah is our G‑d, Havayah is One.” And for this he says “Hear, O Israel” to the Israel of above, for the level of this supernal and mighty drawing-down, etc.

But behold, for this supernal drawing-down to come from the level of Keser (the Crown), “He made darkness His hiding place,” this is through “a mist went up from the earth,” which is the level of an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), as mentioned above; and this is the bitterness over the darkness that conceals His light, blessed be He.

And therefore this arousal from below rises up to the level of the supernal darkness that is above the light of the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), which is the level of “He made darkness His hiding place,” from which it is drawn that the rain

descend in a cloud, the root of that cloud being drawn from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place.” And see what is written about this at the beginning of Parshas Vayikra, on the matter of “For the cloud rested upon it,” etc.

22And this is the matter of “For it is a stiff-necked (kesheh oref) people, and You shall forgive.” For it is stated in the Midrash that “stiff-necked” is said in praise: that is, firmness in the service of G‑d above intellect; and through this one draws down the level of “shall drop (ya’arof) like the rain,” etc.

And similarly in the Shema: in order for there to be the drawing-down, it is through the level of teshuvah (return), “And the spirit shall return,” etc., as explained above at length. And see on the matter of “And a mist went up” in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Tzav (folio 28, end of side b).

Now, the level of “shall distill like the dew” is a still higher drawing-down, as [will be explained] below. However, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “An unlearned person (am ha’aretz) cannot be pious (chasid), nor can a boor be sin-fearing.”

That is, it is impossible to draw down the level of chasid, a ray from the level of “and abundant in kindness (chesed),” the level of the love of G‑d, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, upon his soul, the level of rain (geshem and matar) mentioned above, when he is an am ha’aretz who has no Torah.

For the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is far above the level of Chochmah (wisdom), shines and is drawn down below only by way of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), from cause to cause, etc. (and see what is written on the matter of “nor can an am ha’aretz be pious” in the explanation on [the verse] “And the Jews undertook”);

and therefore it is first enclothed in Chochmah, as is written in the holy Zohar: “Three bonds: the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah, and Israel; Israel are bound to the Torah,” etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “Give ear, O heavens (shamayim)”: it is the level of the Written Torah; sham mayim (“there is water”), which is the level of the higher Chochmah, like water, which has no color, etc.

23And so is the matter of the Written Torah, which is the level of the higher Chochmah (wisdom), as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Rabbi Akiva would expound heaps upon heaps [of laws] on each and every crownlet.” For each and every crownlet alludes to many matters of the higher Chochmah, wondrous, too numerous to count;

and likewise every shape and form of the letters, and their cantillation notes, their crownlets and their vowel points: all of them are in wondrous wisdom, higher and higher, without end or limit.

24And “and I will speak (va’adabrah)” is an expression of leading and drawing, as in “He shall lead (yadber) peoples under us.” That is, in order to draw down to Israel the level of “My teaching like the rain,” there must first be “Give ear, O heavens” and “let the earth hear,” which is the level of the Oral Torah,

which receives from the Written Torah. For through the Written Torah and the Oral [Torah], “My teaching shall drop like the rain,” etc., which is the love, in the revelation of G‑d’s light upon his soul.

Whereas when he has no Torah, the light of love does not rest and become revealed in his soul; for “three bonds are bound one to another: the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah, and Israel.

Israel are bound to the Torah, and the Torah to the Holy One, blessed be He” (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “For with You is the source of life,” on the meaning of “Who lowers [Himself] to look upon the heavens and the earth,” and on the matter of “Look down from Your holy dwelling, from the heavens,” etc. See there. And see what is written on [the verse] “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool”).

256. Now, all of the above, the level of rain (geshem and matar), is the request of the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael): that is, that it should be drawn down through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata).

But the Holy One, blessed be He, answered her, “I will be like the dew.” Dew is a very high and exalted level and rank, which it is impossible to draw down through an arousal from below, for the deeds of those below have no power to arouse this great love. Nevertheless, after the arousal of the deeds of those below, so that “He will come like the rain,” etc.,

then, of itself and as a matter of course, the level of the dew is drawn down. And this is the level of the festival of Sukkos, “And a sukkah shall be for a shade by day”; and it is written, “Havayah is your shade,” and “In the shadow of My hand I have covered you,” the level of “And His right hand embraces me.” (And it is possible to say that also according to the Holy Tongue there is a connection between sukkah and tal (“dew”), and this is according to what is written in Nehemiah

(chapter 3, [verse] 15), “He built it and covered it (vi’tal’lenu),” which means like a sukkah, as is written in the Shorashim; and so wrote the Metzudas Tziyon, that it is a matter of shade.

For “in the shadow of my roof” (Bereishis 19) Onkelos translates “betelal”; and so too in the Gemara (chapter 3 of Sukkah, folio 31), “this beam of the covering (metalalta).”

And this is [the meaning of] “shall distill like the dew”; and then they will be able to come to the level of “my speech” (imrasi), that the speech be Mine, along the lines of “And I have put My words in your mouth” and “My mouth shall declare Your praise”: it shall declare of itself and as a matter of course, as mentioned above.

(And this is [the meaning of] “And I have put My words in your mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have covered you”: that the level of “My words in your mouth,” which is the matter of “my speech like the dew,” is the matter of “and in the shadow of My hand,” etc., one level with the festival of Sukkos. And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an atzeres.” And see the Zohar, Bereishis)

(folio 4, end of side b), and in Parshas Tzav (folio 35a). Now, the end of the verse is “to plant the heavens and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

That is, the level of dew is drawn into the level of heavens and earth, as it is written, “Give ear, O heavens,” etc., “shall distill like the dew,” etc.; and through this, “to say to Zion,” etc., as mentioned above regarding “Look down,” etc., “and bless,” etc.

And therefore dew never ceases, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said; because its source is very far above the deeds of those below and the arousal from below, which reach only as far as the source of the souls of Israel and their supernal mazal.

Rather, the dew descends and is drawn from a supernal light called “the crystalline dew” (tala de-vedolcha), as it is written, “For Your dew is the dew of lights” (in Isaiah, chapter 26, [verse] 19) (and see the Zohar, Part I)

(folio 130, end of side b, and folio 232a), that the meaning of “lights” is literal: “from those supernal lights that shine above,” etc.; and Part III (folio 128b): “‘Lights’: the light of the whiteness of Atika,” etc.,

as it is written, “And its appearance was like the appearance of bedolach (crystal),” etc.; which is far above the level of the mazalos, which are “Notzer chesed” (“He preserves kindness”) and “Ve-nakeh” (“and He cleanses”), etc., as is written in the holy Zohar, etc.

(And this is why in the blessing of Jacob it is said, “May G‑d give you of the dew of the heavens,” etc.: for this is far above the level of the root of the souls of Israel in and of themselves, which is from the level of the mazalos. And in the Zohar, Parshas Tazria) (folio 49a), regarding “Sprinkle upon them waters of purification”: “the remnants of the crystalline dew.”

And this is the drawing-down from the level of mazal and Notzer chesed, as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the passage beginning “Why was the section of Miriam juxtaposed,” etc. See there. And they are called only “the remnants of the dew,” and this is in order to purify one who is impure through [contact with] the dead.

But in the Future to Come, for there to be the actual resurrection of the dead, this is through a revelation from the level of the very essence of “the dew of lights” itself.

26And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And I was with Him as a nursling (amon),” regarding “Behind and before You have formed me”: that in the level of the supernal will there are two levels, etc. See there. And in the same way is the matter of “shall drop like the rain” and “shall distill like the dew”;

for ya’arof, from the word oref (“the back of the neck”), is called the level of “behind” relative to the level of “shall distill like the dew,” which is the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the supernal delight, etc. Except that, nevertheless, in the level of ya’arof too there is drawn a ray from the level of the inner dimension that is enclothed in the level of the mazalos;

and therefore it is called “the remnants of the dew,” etc. And see further what is written on the matter of the arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila) that is above the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) in the explanation on [the verse] “Go out and see,” etc.

(in Parshas Kedoshim), and in the explanation on [the verse] “I sleep,” etc., “for my head is filled with dew.” And see further on the matter of “shall distill like the dew” in the Zohar, Vayakhel, folio 210a.

27A summary of the discourse on [the verse] “Give ear.”

28Section 1 will explain the matter of “all his days in teshuvah (return),” and it has four topics. The first is that it first presents the explanation of the saying, “The soul that You gave within me,” etc.:

namely, that the root of the soul is exceedingly high above, and in order for it to descend wondrously [low] to be enclothed in a body, it must contract itself and expand itself through many kinds of contractions (tzimtzumim) and expansions; and in general they are four kinds of descent. And this is “You gave within me,” “You created,” “You formed,” “You breathed,” corresponding to the four letters of Havayah, etc.

Second: However, not the whole soul enters into the body, but only a ray of it, by way of contraction, etc., as mentioned above.

But the whole soul and its essence remains above, and is called mazal. Third: The matter of the mazal is as it is written, “And flowing from Lebanon.” Lebanon is the level of ayin (“nothing”), from which Chochmah (wisdom) is found.

29And this is the matter of teshuvah (return): that “the spirit shall return to Elokim who gave it,” that is, to the level of its supernal root, the level of ayin and mazal mentioned above, “Until Your people pass over, Havayah,” above the level of the Name Havayah, [whose] yud is contraction, etc. And this is through teshuvah, with self-nullification (bittul) and self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh).

Fourth: And now the matter of “all his days in teshuvah” is well understood: for each day there must be this level of teshuvah to the Source of all, in his saying “Hear, O Israel,” etc., for he must give over his soul in [the word] “One.”

30Section 2 is a gloss.

31Section 3 has two topics. First: it will explain how his heart is to be transformed, to come to the level of teshuvah (return), self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) and self-nullification (bittul), mentioned in section 1; and it will say that this is by his taking to heart what is written, “And you shall choose life.”

For in everything there is life and death: the physicality is called death, and the spirituality within it is called life; and He, blessed be He, is the Life of life.

32And if so, he will contemplate: if for those who transgress His will, which is in physicality, so much life-force and delight is drawn down, for those who do His will, which are the mitzvos, how much more so.

And if so, “And besides You I desire nothing,” etc.; and he will come to actual self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), because it grieves him greatly that he is separated, etc.

Second: it will explain that this teshuvah (return) is the level of Shabbos, [whose] letters [are those of] tashev. And the resting, below, is to divert his mind from all the disturbing thoughts, to bind his soul to G‑d, to self-sacrifice in [the word] “One”;

and above, it is the matter of the ascent of Chochmah (wisdom) and the emotive attributes (middos) that had spread forth into the level of “making” (asiyah); and on Shabbos [there is] the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) at a level that is above Chochmah.

However, specifically “one who toiled on Erev Shabbos,” in the prayer of each of the six weekdays, which is the ray resembling Shabbos, to self-sacrifice in the reading of the Shema, as mentioned above, “will eat on Shabbos.”

33Section 4 has two topics. First: it will explain that Yom Kippur is called “Shabbos Shabbason” because it is the principal day of teshuvah (return), and on Shabbos only a ray of it shines. For the essence of teshuvah is the nullification of will; and behold, “there is will and there is will.”

34And on Yom Kippur the supernal will is revealed, which is the level of “before Havayah,” and from there is drawn “Forgive us.” But it is written, “I have forgiven according to your word”: that is to say, according to the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), the heart’s desire; through this the arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila) is revealed, the supernal will mentioned above, “snow” and “wool,” etc.

Second: it will explain that this is why the second Tablets were given on Yom Kippur. For “I am” and “You shall have no” are the general and collective expression (klalus) of the positive commandments and the prohibitions:

through the positive commandments, the revelation of His being and essence, the level of “I am,” is drawn to be “your G‑d,” through the Name Havayah; and the level of the prohibitions is that there be no concealment and that “other gods” not separate. And they were given quietly: the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart.

35Section 5 comes to the explanation of the verse, and it has two topics. The first is what was explained: how, through the teshuvah (return) mentioned above,

there is then the level of “And He will come to us like the rain,” the level of “a mist went up”: through the distance he will arouse the great love (ahavah rabbah), rain; and then “My teaching (likchi) like the rain,” that He is taken, as it were.

Second: it will explain that nevertheless the drawings-down mentioned above cannot take place unless he has Torah, for “three bonds,” etc. And this is “Give ear, O heavens” and “let the earth hear”: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah; and afterwards, “shall drop like the rain,” etc.

36Section 6 will explain that the rain is what is drawn down through an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila); but “I will be like the dew” is from a level that the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) does not reach, since it is above the level of the source of the souls of Israel and their mazalos: the level of the crystalline dew (tala de-vedolcha), which is above the mazalos and “Notzer” and “Ve-nakeh.”