והיה לכם לציצית וראיתם אותו וזכרתם וגו׳ למען…

1“And it shall be to you as tzitzis, and you shall see it and remember, etc. … So that you remember and do, etc.” Now, the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is called a bride, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is called by the name groom, as it is said, “‘On the day of his wedding’: this is the Giving of the Torah,” and it is written, “On that day you will call [Me] Ishi (my Husband), etc.”

2And the explanation is: it is written, “This shall be called Ishah (woman), for from Ish (man) this was taken.” For the Congregation of Israel is called by the name Ishah on account of esh hei (fire [and the letter] hei);

for “with hei He created them”: the five articulations of the mouth, and “by the breath of His mouth all their host,” which is the source and origin of the Ten Utterances with which the world was created, that is, the one utterance [with which] it could have been created, etc.

3And the meaning of the hei is this: it is “a light letter that has no substance” (asa kalila delis bei mamasha), for it is a mere glimmer that goes out from the breath of the heart to the mouth, to be the source of speech.

For that glimmer does not touch the essence and being of the soul, but is only the power of extension from it, which is drawn from the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) alone, for this is not a drawing-forth of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the soul.

And so, by way of analogy, the life-force (chayus) that is drawn forth for the creation and coming into being of the worlds from nothing to something, and to be the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) and the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), is nothing but a radiance and glimmer from the level of the outer dimension;

that is, from the level of His Malchus (sovereignty), may He be blessed, which is only an extension to what is other than Himself, etc., for there is no king without a people, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

And this glimmer and drawing-forth in the Congregation of Israel, the source of souls, so that they have fire and fervor, to be kindled and set ablaze with flashes of fire and a yearning to be nullified and included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is called Ishah: esh hei. And as it is written, “And your yearning shall be to your Ish (husband).”

And it is written, “The lamp of Havayah is the soul of man”: for the soul is called a lamp, by its inborn nature like a lamp that burns from below upward and like a flame that rises of itself, before its coming into this world to be enclothed in the physical body; and afterwards too, whoever comes to fill his hand and his heart for G‑d, it is within the power of his soul to arouse the love, etc., as is explained in Sefer Shel Beinonim (the Tanya).

4But [we need] to understand: since the life-force is drawn forth so that there be created beings, from nothing to something, which are the level of am (a people), [as in] omemos (dimmed), separate [beings], from where will they have the power to have the level of self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion in the Infinite One (Ein Sof), etc.?

Now, about this the verse said, “For from Ish this was taken”: Ish is esh yud (fire [and the letter] yud). For the yud is the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), since the yud is a small point.

And so too, Chochmah is only the level of a lightning flash that flashes in the mind before it comes to Binah (understanding) and comprehension, in the revelation of the mind; for Binah is the broadening of daas (knowledge) and the expansion of the mind, in length and breadth.

And so, by way of analogy, supernal Binah is the world of delight for the souls, who take delight and pleasure in their intellection and comprehension of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He; and this comprehension is called by the name yesh (something), as it is written, “To cause those who love Me to inherit yesh,” and it is called Gan Eden.

But “Chochmah from ayin (nothing), etc.” is the level of Eden, the source of the delight; just as no delight is revealed in Chochmah while it is still flashing in the mind, before it is revealed in Binah and comprehension, for then the delight is revealed, whereas in Chochmah the delight is still in its source, hidden. For “Chochmah from ayin, etc.” is the level of actual self-nullification in the Infinite Light, blessed be He.

And “with Chochmah He founded the earth”: so that the level of self-nullification is drawn into the source and root of the souls of Israel, and from there it separates and divides into the six hundred thousand souls of Israel, which are the roots of the souls, and in them are branches, etc., to draw into them, too, the level of self-nullification, so that they have the nullification of the yesh, in the level of Ishah and lamp (ner).

And this is [the meaning of] “the lamp of Havayah”: that is, it is drawn from the level of Havayah that the soul be in the level of a lamp.

But how will the drawing-down of supernal Chochmah be in a revealed manner below? It is, by way of analogy, like the drop from the brain of the male, which must first spread through all the limbs, etc.;

so there must be an extension and drawing-down of Chochmah through the 248 limbs of the King (ramach evarin deMalka), which are the 248 mitzvos; for the mitzvos are vessels for the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is enclothed in them, like the limbs, which are vessels for the soul and the spirit of life that spreads through them.

And it is the mitzvos themselves that draw the level of supernal Chochmah, the level of self-nullification, to the souls of Israel as a whole, so that they be in the level of Ishah and ner, [ner] being numerically 250 (resh-nun).

And this is as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Terumah, page 166b: that the 248 mitzvos that are drawn down below are drawn through two levels, right and left: “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.”

For the flow and drawing-down of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is drawn down below is the level of Chesed (kindness), and water, which descends from a high place, etc.

But if the drawing-down were drawn down to be below as it is above, the worlds would not be in the level of yesh and a separate thing at all.

So there must be the level of tzimtzum (contraction), so that [they] be in the level of yesh, and nevertheless self-nullification be drawn to them; that is, that the self-nullification come specifically from what is yesh and a separate thing, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

[And see what is written in Parshas Miketz, at the end of the discourse beginning “HaMagbihi lashaves” (“Who is enthroned on high”): the meaning is “hamagbiha yud” (He who raises the yud), which is the yud that is in the hei; for the dalet is the level of “delis lei migarmei klum” (“it has nothing at all of its own”), [and] it becomes a hei through the yud within it;

and this is the level of the mitzvah, by which from tzedek (righteousness) is made tzedakah (charity), etc.; see there. It follows that through the mitzvah the yud is drawn into the dalet, so that it becomes a hei.

5And this is exactly like the matter explained here: that it is the mitzvos themselves that draw the level of supernal Chochmah, the level of esh yud, to the Congregation of Israel, so that they be in the level of esh hei, etc.

And this is [the meaning of] what is said in the Midrash on Song of Songs on the verse “Sustain me with ashishos (raisin cakes)”: “with two fires (ishos)”; and in the Tikkunei Zohar it explains: “two fires, a white fire and a red fire”; and in Tikkun 64 it explains “with ashishos”: “ish and ishah.” And the intent is all one, namely the level of esh yud and esh hei mentioned above.]

62. But this glimmer and drawing-forth that is in the level of supernal Chochmah, to draw down in the manner of self-nullification (bittul) below, into the created worlds, shines and is drawn from above, from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is far, far above Chochmah.

For in order that there be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Chochmah — even though “He is wise, but not with a known wisdom, etc.,” nevertheless, for there to be a revelation even in this manner, such that it be at all fitting to call [Him] by the name “wise” —

after all, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is as His Name: He has no end and has no, etc., and He is high and exalted, etc. Rather, this drawing-forth, for this revelation to be, is called, by way of analogy, by the name “hairs.”

For, as an illustration, the hairs of the head are from the surplus of the brain; their nourishment and their hold are in the brain that is in the head, and nevertheless the main life-force that is in the brain is not drawn into them, for if one cuts them there is no pain at all; rather, this is a drawing-forth from the surplus of the brain, which does not touch the essence and being of the life-force.

And even this is nothing but a small and contracted glimmer through the hollow of the hair, etc.

So too, this glimmer and drawing-forth, for the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to be revealed in Chochmah, is in the level of hairs, which has no comparison or relation to the essence and being of the Infinite Light, blessed be He.

And this is the cause that brings about the division of the flow and the drawing-forth into many divisions, into worlds without number, none of which are like one another, for each and every one is distinct from its fellow.

And this is because of the difference in their comprehension of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is drawn to them, for the comprehension of one is not like that of its fellow.

Therefore they are called “separate intellects,” for their separateness and division is only in their intellect and comprehension [for otherwise separation does not apply to them, since it exists only in physicality, which occupies space], in that one is not like its fellow; and so it is in all the worlds, from world to world, etc.

And from there the level of self-nullification is drawn, which is the drawing-forth of the comprehension of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, into the created worlds as well, to each and every one according to its own measure.

7And this is [the meaning of] “And it shall be to you as tzitzis, and you shall see it”: which refers to the “thread of techeles (sky-blue)” mentioned just before it, in the preceding verse. And “techeles is wool (amra),” which is the level of “and the hair of His head like pure wool,” which is the level of the hairs mentioned above;

except that it is dyed with the color of techeles: for when it is drawn down below it becomes the level of techeles. For that color is from the lower light (nehora tata’ah) that grips the wick: when it consumes some physical thing that it holds onto, such as a wick or wood, the color changes to techeles.

8And so, by way of analogy, [the Sages] said, “Techeles resembles the sea, and the sea [resembles] the sky, and the sky resembles the Throne of Glory,” the level of His Malchus, may He be blessed, which is called “a land that consumes its inhabitants”: for the way the worlds receive their life-force from it is through self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion, in that they take upon themselves the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven, to be nullified and included in their source.

Whereas to the level of what is separate, and to the sitra achra (the other side), no life-force is drawn from there. (And see [Midrash] Rabbah on Nasso, section 14, at the seventh prince, page 257b: “And He gave a portion of techeles to those who fear Him, for it is like His glory, etc.” See there.)

And since the worlds are created in the level of yesh (something), this is like the analogy of the light that grips a physical thing. Therefore this drawing-forth of the extension of the life-force from the level of His Malchus, may He be blessed, to give life to the worlds created from nothing to something, is called by the name techeles,

which is the drawing-forth of self-nullification, so that the yesh be nullified. (And this is [why] it resembles the Throne of Glory: for a throne is the level of self-nullification, just as the throne is nullified relative to the one who sits on it.)

And all this is drawn from the level of the hairs, the level of wool (amra), “and the hair of His head like pure wool,” which is the drawing-forth of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is far, far above Chochmah, etc., as mentioned above.

93. But this drawing-forth depends on the service of Israel below: it is they who draw it down, by an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), through the deed of the mitzvos that they do below because it is the command of the King. So through this they arouse an arousal from above (isarusa dileila),

so that there be a drawing-forth of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in the level of hairs, drawn in the level of Chochmah to the 248 limbs of the King, which are the mitzvos, that they be vessels and limbs for the level of supernal Chochmah to spread and be enclothed in them, so that in them and through them the revelation be drawn down below, and the mitzvos be bestowers of the revelation of Chochmah.

And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall remember (u’zechartem) all the commandments of Havayah and do them”: that is to say, that you make the mitzvos to be in the level of males (zecharim), who bestow the revelation of Chochmah and the level of self-nullification (bittul), so that there be below the nullification of the yesh, as mentioned above.

But “and you shall not stray after your heart … after which you are unfaithful (zonim), etc.”: harlotry (zenus) is the name for the level of fervor and flashes of a strange fire,

like a harlot who is ardent after strangers and turns away from her husband. [The meaning is] that all the pleasures of this world that a person needs to enjoy should be with coolness, and as though he were compelled, etc.

10And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Their Torah fixed and their work occasional.” The meaning of “occasional” is: merely in a passing way, without any ardor or fervor or warmth of the heart at all, so as not to make it the main thing, etc.

And just as the harlot is forbidden to her husband, as it is written, “A man, if [his wife] goes astray, etc.,” “and she was defiled, etc.,” so one who is drawn after a strange fire that is not for G‑d, in the vanities of the world and the pleasures of men, cannot be the level of Ishah, esh hei, to receive from Ish, esh yud.

And as is written in [Midrash] Rabbah on Koheles (page 87a), on the verse “I spoke with my heart”: “The heart goes astray (sotah), as it is said, ‘Let your heart not go astray to her ways’ (in Proverbs, chapter 7, [verse] 25); the heart is unfaithful (zonah), as it is said, ‘And you shall not stray after your heart, etc., after which you are unfaithful.’”

And about this it is said, “Turn away from evil and do good”: “good” is the light. That is to say, in order that one’s deeds shine with the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, there must first be “turn away from evil,” “and you shall not stray after your heart”: “your heart” specifically, for the heart is of the element of fire. And through this, “so that you remember (tizkeru)”: that we ourselves become the level of males (zecharim), who bestow.

[And in this sense [the Sages] said, “Do not read morashah (inheritance), but me’orasah (betrothed)”: for the Torah is the level of a bride, betrothed to the souls of Israel, who are the level of the male (dechar) and the bestower.

11And so it is said, “Israel is holy to Havayah, the first of His harvest”: for Israel is the first and the source of the Torah, as is explained on the verse “My dove, etc.”]

That is: in you and through you the mitzvos will be called by the name “vessels” and “limbs of the King,” so that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, be drawn into them; for on the arousal from below depends the arousal from above.

12And this is [the meaning of] “and you shall make them (atem)”: “I account it to you as though you had made Me.” And this is through “and you shall not stray.” For in the separate worlds, one who desires something and craves it becomes the level of Nukva (the feminine), a receiver, because he receives delight from that thing which he desires.

Whereas in the world of unity, through being the level of Ishah, esh hei, he becomes the level of the male (dechar); for “their end is wedged in their beginning,” and “last in deed, first in thought.”

And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “Behind and before You formed me”: “behind”: [last] in the work of creation.

For in the work of creation, Adam, the first man (who was comprised of all the souls), was created with the last utterance of all the created beings, which is the utterance “Let us make man,” and nevertheless he is the level of “before,” for the souls of Israel arose in thought; and as it is said, “Bereishis (in the beginning): for the sake of Israel, who are called reishis (first).”

“And you shall be holy to your G‑d (Elokeichem).” Now, kadosh with a vav is the drawing-down of the supernal Kodesh (holiness); and “kadosh” [is said] three times, until “Havayah Tzevaos.”

13And the drawing-down of this holiness is the level of hairs, as mentioned above; for this is the concept of holiness, as it is written concerning the nazirite, “He shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.” And the drawing-forth of the level of hairs mentioned above comes through the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), as mentioned above.

And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall be holy”: that you will draw this holiness “to your G‑d (Elokeichem),” meaning, to the level of G‑dliness that rests in you, which is the level of His Malchus, may He be blessed; and as it is written, “You shall surely set a king over you, etc.,”

which is the level of the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah), the level of the nullification of the yesh, like “And we bow and prostrate ourselves and give thanks,” and like “And the host of heaven bow to You”; for even their level of self-nullification is called yesh: there is (yesh) someone who is nullified, etc.

Whereas the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) is the level of the self-nullification of supernal Chochmah, and “Chochmah from ayin, etc.”: actual self-nullification in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, so that it does not occupy any place at all, in absolute truth; as in the matter of “And what are we, etc.”