שובה ישראל כו׳

1“Return, O Israel,” etc. Now, there are two levels, Yaakov and Yisrael; and it is written, “Not Yaakov shall [your name] be called,” etc. The explanation is this.

Now, it is known that the purpose of the creation of the worlds is that there be for Him, may He be blessed, a dwelling place among the lower realms (dirah betachtonim), that is, through the subjugation of the sitra achra (iskafya) and the transformation of darkness into light (is’hapcha), etc. For

indeed, olam (“world”) is from the term he’lem (“concealment”), which is the darkness and the hiddenness that conceals and hides the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that dwells within it, so that it appears to be something (yesh), a thing unto itself. And this darkness will be transformed into light in the Time to Come,

for “eye to eye they shall see,” etc. And this is through our deeds and our divine service during the days of exile, in the manner of the subjugation and transformation of the soul from “the one opposite the other,” by fulfilling what is written, “Know this day and take it to your heart

that Havayah, He is Elokim,” etc. For through this level of knowing, which belongs to “today, to do them,” and which is the level of knowledge alone, one merits, in the days of Mashiach, “tomorrow, to receive their reward,” at the level of actual sight,

for “eye to eye they shall see,” etc. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “When you hearken to the voice.” And the meaning of “Havayah, He is Elokim” is the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) and the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah) (the interweaving of the Name Havayah within the Names Elokim and Ado-nai, and the interweaving of the Names Elokim and Ado-nai within the Name Havayah)

that are in the Shema: “One,” and “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever” (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “Go forth and behold,” on the subject of “Lift up your hands”), through which one will come to “And you shall love,” etc.,

and to be in the mode of subjugation and transformation, etc. Therefore we recite the Shema twice every day, evening and morning, because this unity of “Havayah, He is Elokim” must be “in the heavens above

and upon the earth,” etc.; and corresponding to these two levels, which are heaven and earth, we recite the Shema twice, evening and morning.

(And see what is written on the subject of evening and morning, the attribute of night and the attribute of day, in the discourse beginning “Because you did not serve.” And this is also the meaning of “For a G‑d of knowledges,” that there are two [kinds of] knowledge: [the view] from below upward is called “something from nothing” (yesh me’ayin),

and this is the attribute of night; and from above downward it is the reverse, that above is the existence (yesh) and below is “considered as nothing,” and this is the attribute of day. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.”)

Now, just as in the world there are heaven and earth, so in the soul of man there are these two levels, for the soul is comprised of these four levels: intellect and thought, speech and action. (And see Zohar, Part III, Pinchas, 220b, on the verse “There is no action or reckoning,” etc.)

Now, intellect and thought are the level of heaven, and speech and action are the level of earth. For although thought too is a garment of the soul,

like speech and action, nevertheless thought is comprised in and united with the intellective soul, and it is impossible for it to have intellect without the letters of thought;

so it is like that locust whose garment is of itself and within itself. Whereas speech and action are levels separate from the soul, and the soul does not clothe itself in them always, but only at the times when one speaks and acts, etc.

Therefore it is called by the name “earth.” And there must be subjugation and transformation in the soul from “the one opposite the other,” both in the level of heaven and in the level of earth, so that all four levels be united with G‑d alone;

that is, that intellect and speech be filled with Torah, for the Torah [comes] from Chochmah, etc., and “you shall speak of them,” etc.; and the level of action is stated explicitly in the second section: “and you shall gather in your grain,” which is the deed of charity, etc.

Now, the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah) is the level of Yaakov: yud akev (“heel”), the yud, the level of Chochmah (wisdom) and self-nullification (bittul), drawn down into the level of the heel and the end of the level, so that there be subjugation and transformation.

That is, when a person is still at the level of battle in this subjugation and transformation, for then the attribute of Elokim and tzimtzum (contraction), so that there be a world of separation (alma deperuda), is what prevails in him, and it is primary in the person’s soul;

only that he draws down the level of the yud, that is, the interweaving of Havayah within Elokim and Ado-nai, for “Havayah, by Chochmah,” etc. But Yisrael:

“for you have striven with Elokim,” that the Name Havayah has already prevailed over the Name Elokim, that is, the interweaving of the Names Elokim and Ado-nai within Havayah;

so he is above the level of Elokim, which is the tzimtzum, etc. And “with men”: these are the forces that spread forth from the Name Elokim, which are the agents of judgment and accusation, etc. (And see Zohar, Part I, Vayishlach, 174a.)

22. Now, it is written, “And all the people saw, and they fell on their faces, and they said, ‘Havayah, He is Elokim,’” twice (in I Kings, chapter 18).

(And see about this in [Midrash] Rabbah on Koheles, near its end, at the end of the passage “Dead flies make the perfumer’s oil reek and pour forth”; and Zohar, Part III) (65a, 264a);

Zohar, Part I (45a); in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu, chapter 17; Jerusalem Talmud, chapter 3 of Taanis, halachah 4; and see Rashi’s commentary (on Judges, chapter 5) on the verse “Hear, O kings,” [that] at Carmel it will be said twice.

Now, to understand why they repeated it twice. But the explanation is that “Havayah, He is Elokim” has two meanings. The first: that Havayah is the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, as a drawing down and spreading forth,

which is from the level of Havayah and Chesed (kindness), “He remembered His kindness,” to bring all beings into being; this very [light] is itself Elokim and the tzimtzum (contraction) by which it contracted itself so that there be separate, finite worlds,

with a multitude of divisions of levels, kinds upon different kinds. For this tzimtzum, although in truth it is a great contraction relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is not limited, is nevertheless Havayah itself,

since through it the level of Havayah is drawn down to bring all beings into being from nothing to something; for without the tzimtzum there would be no worlds at all, since they would be nullified in their source and would be as if they were not. If so, the tzimtzum too is the very Havayah and the drawing down of Chesed, and they are united in a complete and absolutely true unity.

(And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “And Elokim spoke,” etc., “I am Havayah,” “and I appeared to Avraham,” etc., and at the end of the discourse beginning “Know this day.”) And the second meaning:

that the level of Havayah and the drawing down of Chesed which brings all beings into being (for on this account it is called Havayah, from the term hoveh, “being,” and the yud at the beginning of the word is to show that He brings into being constantly), this level is

only the level of Elokim and tzimtzum relative to His Essence and Being, may He be blessed, as it were; as it is written, “I am Havayah, that is My Name”: the level of Havayah is only the level of a name, like, by way of analogy, a person’s name, Avraham, which is only for others, to call him by his name,

but the name has no comparison or relation at all to the essence and being of the person, for it is not of his being nor of his measure at all. So too:

this level of the drawing down of Havayah and Chesed from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to give life to the worlds and to bring them into being from nothing to something, bears no comparison at all to Him, may He be blessed, as in the analogy of the radiance of the sun [compared] with the sun, etc. For

indeed, He alone, may He be blessed, is holy and set apart from the category of worlds; and His Name too is “exalted,” at the level of “alone”; only “His splendor” and the radiance of His Name are “upon the earth,” etc., a glimmer of a glimmer;

and even this is at the level of “upon” (al) specifically. And the level of Havayah does not apply to Him, may He be blessed, for the meaning of Havayah is the yud, Chochmah (wisdom), etc.;

and even “You are wise, but not with a knowable wisdom” does not apply to Him, may He be blessed, except relative to the level of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), in which the levels of Chochmah and Binah (understanding) came down in a chain;

and He, may He be blessed, is their source, as it is written, “For with You is the source of life,” and He is the source of Chochmah and the source of Binah;

but He does not actually clothe Himself in the level of Chochmah, for it is written, “And Chochmah is found from ayin (nothing)”: from the level of ayin, that is, the coming into being of Chochmah is not by way of a chain-like descent and clothing of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself,

but from a level that is nothing and naught, which is the level of radiance, etc., as is explained elsewhere. (And see the discourse beginning “None shall miscarry.”)

And this radiance is itself a vast and immense contraction relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, as it were.

And this is what Yaakov said in his prayer: “If Elokim will be with me and will guard me,” etc., “and I return in peace to my father’s house,”

then, “and Havayah will be to me as Elokim.” The meaning is: after “Elokim will be with me,” in the mode of subjugation and transformation (iskafya and is’hapcha), and after all the levels up to “and I return in peace,” etc.,

then he will come and reach a great and wondrous level, namely self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, which is far, far above the level of Havayah, until the level of Havayah will be considered as the level of Elokim.

(And see what is written about this at the end of the discourse beginning “I am Havayah your G‑d,” in the section of tzitzis, and at the end of the discourse beginning “And I return in peace”; and see [Midrash] Rabbah, Vayetzei, section 70, regarding “The Holy One, blessed be He, took the words of the Patriarchs and made them a key to the redemption of the children”; and see what is written about this at the end of the discourse beginning “And all your children.”)

33. Now, Yaakov spoke in the order of the levels, from below upward, and this is the level of the tzaddikim, who walk before G‑d from level to level.

But one who has strayed from the path and “sinned against the soul,” having caused a blemish through some prohibition or through neglecting a positive commandment, cannot draw down the level of Havayah into the level of Elokim, in the higher and lower unity, so that there be subjugation and transformation, since he has blemished the Name Havayah.

For the mitzvos are called “the mitzvos of Havayah,” as is said in the holy Zohar, that they hang upon His Name like grapes on a cluster, on the right and on the left: on the right the positive commandments, and on the left the prohibitive commandments.

4Now, in the order of the bedtime Shema we say, “If I have blemished the letter yud and become liable to stoning”; and likewise, in the confession “For the sin” on Yom Kippur, we mention stoning, burning, etc.

They did not speak specifically of grave transgressions for which one is liable to actual stoning (such as one who worships idols, who is among those who are stoned),

for the Torah is in the mode of hishtalshelus (a chain of descent), having within it physicality and spirituality; and just as there is physical stoning for transgressions that are grave in physical terms, so there is spiritual stoning for a sin that our Sages, of blessed memory, weighed as grave transgressions, along the lines of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, in the chapter Lifnei Eideihen, “Jews outside the Land,” etc.

For idolatry in its physical sense is bowing down to the sun and moon, because from them comes forth the flow of sustenance, as it is written, “with the bounty of the produce of the sun, and with the bounty of the yield of the

moons.” Although in truth the flow is drawn down through them, they are only the agents of the flow, and one who bows down to them regards them as something (yesh) and a separate thing, as if they bestowed [it] on their own.

Now, physical bowing means that one bends his physical head and body; and there is spiritual bowing, when one bends and nullifies his intellect before the thing that flows from the sun and the moon, which are “the bounty of the produce,” etc.,

in anxiety over his livelihood, by means of some stratagem, as if that stratagem were the main thing in this flow. Although it is said, “And Havayah your G‑d will bless you in all that you do,” it is written “Havayah your G‑d”: that it should not be separate from His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, etc.

Whereas when he regards the stratagem as the essence of the flow, which is the level of separateness, etc., for this he is liable to spiritual stoning,

for stoning is with stones; that is, through this he brings it about that he has a heart of stone, so that he cannot open his heart in contemplation of the level of Havayah, etc.

And likewise “whoever becomes angry,” etc., and haughtiness of spirit, etc., which are as though one worships idols, because they are the opposite of self-nullification (bittul);

and so he blemishes the letter yud, which is the matter of self-nullification, the level of Chochmah (wisdom), etc. And likewise through neglecting positive commandments that depend on the letter yud: neglect of Torah [study], for the Torah [comes] from Chochmah, etc.

(And see the Ra’aya Mehemna at the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, and Parshas Shoftim, 274b.) And the hei of the Name is the level of contemplation, at length and breadth, on the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, to set one’s heart aflame, etc.;

that is, like the letter hei, which has length and breadth, by way of analogy. And corresponding to this is burning: that he burns his heart with a strange fire and with lusts for material things, etc.

And similarly there are many particular transgressions and neglects of mitzvos that blemish the Name Havayah, each one according to what he knows in his own soul; and therefore he cannot draw down the Name Havayah into the level of Elokim, which is the tzimtzum (contraction), in the lower and higher unity, so that there be subjugation and transformation.

5The counsel that is counseled for this is “And they cried out to Havayah”: in order for there to be drawings down of Havayah, one must first have the level of a cry in the heart, “from the inward part of man and a deep heart,” from the depth of the heart, and be nullified and included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is above the level of Havayah,

for “I am Havayah, that is My Name,” etc., as mentioned above; but in respect of His Essence and Being, may He be blessed, He is called by the name Anochi (“I”), “Who I am,” which is not

grasped by a name. And of this it is said, “I, I (Anochi Anochi) am He Who blots out your transgressions for My sake”; and it is written, “Before Havayah shall you be purified”: above the level of Havayah, for there is the ascent of the souls of Israel as a whole on Yom Kippur.

And this is through the level of compassion, the attribute of Yaakov, which “extends from end to end”: that is, from the lowest end, where he has descended lower and lower, to the highest end, at the very top of all

levels, the level of Anochi, which is above the level of Havayah. And this level of compassion is that he arouse compassion upon the spark of G‑dliness in his soul, after he takes to heart the exaltedness of the Infinite One, blessed be He, in His glory and His very Self, Who is high and lofty above the level of Havayah,

for “Havayah, by Chochmah,” and it is written, “You have made them all with Chochmah,” which is like physical making. And therefore great is the compassion for the spark of G‑dliness in his soul, how it has come down astonishingly “from a high roof,” etc.

And it is this level of compassion that we request: “G‑d of the world, in Your abundant compassion,” etc. “In Your compassion” specifically, that is, You know how great the compassion is, without measure, and it is not within the capacity of our souls’ comprehension

to gauge the greatness of the intensity of the compassion over this great descent from the Infinite Light, blessed be He; since our souls are in a state of limitation and created something from nothing, they do not have this feeling about this descent from the Infinite Light, blessed be He. (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “As an eagle stirs up.”)

And this is [the meaning of] “And Chanah prayed upon (al) Havayah, and weeping, she wept”: through the level of weeping, which is the level and attribute of the arousal of compassion, she prays “upon Havayah,” “upon” specifically, above the level of Havayah. And see what is written about this in Parshas Mishpatim, on the verse “None shall miscarry or be barren,” etc.

6And this is [the meaning of] “Return, O Israel, unto (ad) Havayah your G‑d (Elokecha)”: that is, until (ad) Havayah will be at the level of Elokim and tzimtzum (contraction), through teshuvah (return), which is the arousal of compassion.

For the essence of teshuvah is in the heart: that the teshuvah be so great, in the innermost part of the heart, from the depth of the heart, that he returns to be nullified and included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is far, far above the level of Havayah;

only “before Havayah shall you be purified,” and “I, I am He Who blots out,” etc. And see what is written on the verse “For this commandment which I (Anochi) command you,” etc., in Parshas Nitzavim.

74. Now, the order of teshuvah (return) is not according to the order and chain-like sequence of the levels from below upward, as mentioned above; rather, it is in the manner of a leap, above the level of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus). And the verse has explained the reason:

“for you have stumbled in your iniquity.” And this is as it is written, “My strength (kochi) has stumbled because of my iniquity”: that is, the soul, as it is written, “Whatever your hand finds to do with your strength (kochacha),” etc.

(See Zohar, Part III, Pinchas, 220a.) For the soul is called a lamp, as it is written, “The soul of man is the lamp of Havayah”; and “a transgression extinguishes,” etc., that is, it extinguishes the lamp, etc. (as is explained in the discourse beginning “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk”).

Therefore the soul has no strength to stand in the battle lines, in the mode of subjugation and transformation (iskafya and is’hapcha), and to draw down Havayah into the level of Elokim in the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) and the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah), since it has been weakened and its strength has stumbled because of the transgression that extinguished its lamp. Therefore it must “leap over a wall” to the height of the levels.

And this is [the meaning of] “When you go out to war upon (al) your enemies”: “upon” specifically. Therefore, first “Return, O Israel,” until Havayah will be at the level of “your G‑d (Elokecha),” and afterwards “Take with you words,” which are the Torah and the mitzvos, as is written

in [Midrash] Rabbah, Parshas Tetzaveh, section 38; “and return to Havayah,” to draw down the level of Havayah into the level of Elokim in the higher and lower unity, through subjugation and transformation. For this is the purpose of man’s creation in this world: to observe and to do, in the order of the levels

(and therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “With whom did He take counsel? With the souls of the tzaddikim”; and see Zohar, Part III, Emor (folio 100b), on the verse “She is my father’s daughter,” etc.;

and the level of “my father’s daughter” is as is explained at the end of the discourse beginning “Yehudah, you,” on the meaning of “your father’s sons”), and to go from level to level, from below upward. Teshuvah, however, is only for the time when the soul needs it, to “leap over a wall,” not in order and not by way of hishtalshelus;

but afterwards, when “he returns to Havayah and He will have compassion on him,” from this the Name Havayah is drawn down, the level of the coming into being of all beings, with a renewal of the life-force (chayus), etc.,

and to repair all the blemishes and to fill all the lacks, where he omitted a positive commandment or blemished through a prohibitive commandment. Then the Name Havayah will be drawn down into the level of Elokim in the higher and lower unity, so that there be subjugation and transformation.

8And this is what is said in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: “And He called: Havayah, Havayah”; that is, Havayah calls and draws down the level of Havayah. That is to say, through the level of “Havayah your G‑d (Elokecha),” where Havayah is at the level of Elokim, He draws down, so that Havayah be drawn down into the level of Elokim in the higher and lower unity. And these two [mentions of] Havayah

are written in two verses, for it is written, “Havayah, compassionate and gracious,” and it is written, “Gracious and compassionate is Havayah.” The meaning of “Havayah, compassionate and gracious” is that from the level of Havayah there is drawn down the level of compassion and Chesed (kindness), to bring worlds into being, something from nothing, and to contract itself into the attribute of Elokim, which is also the attribute of Chesed, as mentioned above.

9And “Gracious and compassionate is Havayah” means that as for the coming into being and the drawings down of Chesed (for this is only a level of tzimtzum, contraction, relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, as it were), what causes this tzimtzum to be is “gracious and compassionate”: for from the level of Anochi, “Who I am,” are drawn down the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, in which

and through which He calls and draws down “Havayah, Havayah,” etc., as mentioned above. (And see what is written about this at the end of the discourse beginning “And I pleaded with Havayah.”) And this is [the meaning of] “For with You is forgiveness, so that You may be feared,”

for through the level of forgiveness on Yom Kippur, which is the revelation of the Supreme Will, “before Havayah shall you be purified,” the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are drawn down, so that there be a revelation of the level of awe, which is the yud of the Name Havayah,

as is said in the holy Zohar, “The yud on His head, for in it dwells awe”; and the hei is the level of love. And these are “the hidden things [that] belong to Havayah our G‑d,” for the hidden things are love and awe; and “the revealed things”: the vav and hei are revealed;

these are the Torah and the mitzvos: the Torah is the vav, a drawing down, “the voice is the voice of Yaakov”; the hei is the level of the practical mitzvos, which are in Asiyah (Action), etc. And this is the revelation of the Name Havayah, so that there be a renewal of the coming into being, etc., as mentioned above.

10And see what is written further on the subject of “For with You is forgiveness, so that You may be feared,” on the verse “Return, O Israel, unto,” etc., and on the verse “Blow at the New Moon”; and see the Zohar, Emor, folio 101a.

And this is [the meaning of] “Going, he goes on, weeping,” etc. For Israel, in their root above, are called “a holy seed is its stock” (in Isaiah, end of chapter 6),

whose foundation is in the mountains of supernal holiness (see Zohar, Part I, 15a, and the Zohar HaRakia at the beginning of Parshas Bereishis, on the verse “The blossoms have appeared,” etc.).

And “the drawing of the seed” (meshech hazara) is the drawing down and descent by which their souls descended and came down through the chain [of levels] below. (And see [Midrash] Rabbah at the beginning of Parshas Vayigash, regarding “‘him who draws the seed’: this is Yosef”; and see what is written on the subject of Yosef at the end of the discourse beginning “And I will make [your windows of] rubies.”

And see further [Midrash] Rabbah, Vayishlach, section 79, that it refers to Yaakov; and it is all one matter, as it is written, “These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef.” And see what is written about this at the end of the discourse beginning “And they shall take to you a heifer,” regarding “cedar wood and hyssop.”)

And for them to return and ascend into the supernal holiness, from below upward: “going, he goes on,” from level to level, in a going that has no measure or interruption, rising very high, through the level of “weeping,” which is the arousal of compassion, and “weeping, she wept,” through which they will be at the level of “upon (al) Havayah,” etc., as mentioned above.

11And afterwards, “coming, he will come with joyous song, carrying his sheaves”: for he in turn draws down, from above to below, an addition and increase of light, in the renewal of the coming into being, to draw down the level of the Name Havayah into the level of Elokim, so that there be

subjugation and transformation (iskafya and is’hapcha) in all matters, both in “turn away from evil” and in “do good.” Of this it is said, “Take with you words (devarim) and return to Havayah”: these are many things (devarim), in which there is to be the drawing down of Havayah.

And this is [the meaning of] “carrying his sheaves”: by way of analogy, like sheaves and bundles of grain, which are of the same kind as the seed, made with addition and increase; so great will be the power of teshuvah (return).

(And see what is written on the verse “When Pharaoh sent away,” on the subject of “And I will sow her for Me in the land,” etc., [and] “I planted you a choice vine,” etc.; see there what I wrote on the verse “And behold, we were binding sheaves”; and on the subject of the meaning of “with joyous song,” in the discourse beginning “And I return in peace,” etc., “and [Havayah] will be,” etc.) And with this, the Midrash Aggadah that Rashi cites is understood

(on Judges, beginning of chapter 5): “At Sinai it was said, ‘I am Havayah your G‑d’; at Carmel it will be said doubled, ‘Havayah, He is Elokim; Havayah, He is Elokim,’ in the days of Eliyahu.” End of quote.

That is: at Sinai the souls of Israel were tzaddikim, and through the Torah and mitzvos they draw down the Name Havayah into the level of Elokim, as mentioned above; but at Mount Carmel, through teshuvah, they reached “unto Havayah your G‑d,”

that is, through their returning to be nullified in the essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the Name Havayah, as mentioned above. Therefore they repeated it, saying twice, “Havayah, He is Elokim,” which is the matter of the two meanings mentioned above.

12And this is what is said in the Midrash on Koheles there: “Another explanation: ‘Dead flies make reek,’ etc. It speaks of the generation of Eliyahu: yesterday they were making words reek against him,” etc.,

“and today they pour forth words and say, ‘Havayah, He is Elokim; Havayah, He is Elokim.’” End of quote. For this is called “pours forth the perfumer’s oil,”

which is oil mixed with spices, which has a pleasant fragrance. And this is like the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, on the verse “the fragrance of his garments (begadav)”: “the fragrance of his traitors (bogdav),” as is written in [Midrash] Rabbah, Toldos, end of section 65.

13And this too is the drawing down from the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the level of “Like the precious oil,” etc., “running down upon the beard,” etc. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “If only you were as a brother to me,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “This is the dedication of the altar”; and on the subject of “pours forth,” in the discourse beginning

“To understand the matter of the blessings.” And this is also the matter that at Sinai Anochi (“I”) was said, and at Tavor Anochi was said twice; see there in Rashi. That is: through the mitzvos one draws down the level of Havayah from the level of Anochi, and this is so that [He] be “your G‑d (Elokecha)”;

but regarding teshuvah it is said, “I, I (Anochi Anochi) am He Who blots out your transgressions”: Anochi twice, corresponding to the two depths of the heart, “From the depths I have called You,” as is explained in the discourse beginning “For this commandment which I (Anochi) command you this day,” etc.; see there. And this is above the drawing down that comes through the mitzvos.

14And this is why at Mount Tavor they merited this level, namely through teshuvah; and from this there also derives the matter of the doubling, twice, of “Havayah, He is Elokim,” for the one depends on the other.

And see, on the subject of Tavor and Carmel, [Midrash] Rabbah, Vayechi, beginning of section 99; and the Targum Yonasan (on Judges, chapter 5, and on Psalms, chapter 68, [verse] 16); and the Gemara, chapter 4 of Megillah (folio 29a). And this is like the matter mentioned in Zohar, Part I, Vayetzei (folio 158a),

on the subject of “the mountains of division (bater),” which are the mountains of separation (turei deperuda), the level of “and from there it was parted and became four heads”; and see [Midrash] Rabbah, Bereishis, section 16, and Song of Songs, on the verse “Until the day breathes,” etc.

Now, the ascent from the mountains of separation, to be included in the One, is the level of teshuvah. And this is the matter explained elsewhere on the verse “and abundance of peace” and “mighty to save.”

Therefore, from this there comes afterwards the ascent that is not gradual. And this is the meaning of what is written at the end of Song of Songs, “Flee, my beloved,” etc., “upon the mountains of spices”: the level of fragrance, “and he shall be fragrant (vaharicho) with the fear of Havayah.”

And this is also the meaning of “pours forth the perfumer’s oil,” as mentioned above. Nevertheless, the Torah was given at Sinai specifically, which alludes to the level of the tzaddikim, as is written in the Targum Yonasan (on Judges, there),

that it is lower and smaller than all the mountains, which is the matter of lowliness and self-nullification (bittul), the level of “And let my soul be as dust to all,” and specifically through this, “Open my heart to Your Torah.” Whereas the mountains of Tavor and Carmel, the mountains of separation,

are called “humped mountains” (harim gavnunim), from the term “or a hunchback (giben) or a dwarf”: for the sinner who blemishes one mitzvah becomes one lacking a limb, etc., as is explained there, in the discourse beginning “For this commandment,” on the subject of “You shall be whole (tamim),” etc. But through teshuvah,

“in the place where baalei teshuvah (those who return) stand,” etc. Therefore it was said regarding them afterwards, twice, “Anochi,” etc., as mentioned above.

But even so, it was explained above that teshuvah is for the time being, to “leap over a wall,” etc., but afterwards one must draw down through Torah and mitzvos.

15And this is the matter of Sinai: for this is the level of the permanence of the order of drawing down. And in [Midrash] Rabbah, Parshas Vayetzei, section 68, on the verse “And behold, a ladder set on the earth,” etc.: “This is Sinai,”

which is also the level of “and its top reaches to the heavens.” And this is as Yaakov said, “If Elokim will be with me,” etc., “then Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”

16And this is the level of the tzaddikim, as mentioned above, that through this, too, one can reach this level, along the lines of what is written regarding the mitzvah of teshuvah, “Who will go up for us to the heavens?” etc.

And see what is written in the discourse beginning “My dove, in the clefts of the rock.” And the point is that teshuvah is not specifically for transgressions, but for distance from G‑d, as is explained in the discourse beginning “Give ear,

O heavens,” on the meaning of “all his days in teshuvah.” And whoever draws near to G‑d with greater eminence must be more humble of spirit, lower and lower, at the level of “And his sister stationed herself from afar,” “[from afar] Havayah appeared to me.”

17And as is explained in the discourse beginning “When you kindle the lamps,” on the subject of their having instituted “Forgive us, for we have sinned” in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, after the reading of the Shema, in which one accepts upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven (kabbalas ol) and the mitzvah of “And you shall love”:

for that is the very reason: specifically after he has accepted upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and prolonged [the word] “One,” then he will understand that there is sin and transgression, and then he will say, “Forgive us,” etc.

See there. And see what is written on the verse “How goodly,” on the subject of the three [kinds of] teshuvah (return) of nefesh, ruach and neshamah, so that it turns out that all need teshuvah. And see Zohar, Part III, Parshas Acharei (folio 73a),

regarding “Three levels are bound one to another,” etc. See what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “And you shall not omit the salt.” Now, the Torah is hidden and revealed;

therefore, although at Sinai “I am Havayah your G‑d” was said only once, nevertheless, the Torah is hidden, and in this is alluded also the second aspect within the meaning of “Havayah, He is Elokim,” which is through teshuvah.

Therefore it is said “Return, O Israel (Yisrael)” specifically, which is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Yaakov. That is, in the reading of the Shema one says, “Hear, O Israel,”

and specifically then, afterwards, one says in the Shemoneh Esreh, “Forgive us, for we have sinned,” etc., as mentioned above, which is the matter of “Return, O Israel.”

It can also be said that the meaning of “Return, O Israel” is: return to be at the level of Yisrael, which is above the level of Yaakov; and return so much, until Havayah will be at the level of “your G‑d (Elokecha),” as mentioned above.