ששת ימים תאכל מצות וביום השביעי עצרת להוי׳ אלקיך וגו׳

1“Six days you shall eat matzos, and on the seventh day [shall be] an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d,” etc. Now, we must understand why He, may He be blessed, says, “Six days you shall eat matzos,” when just before it He said, “Seven days you shall eat matzos with it.”

But the point is that here the intent is not to give the warning about eating matzah, but rather [to tell] that on the seventh day there is an Atzeres, etc.

But as for its first saying “Six days you shall eat matzos,” the implication of the verse is that through this, that “six days you shall eat matzos,” through this there will afterwards be “and on the seventh day an Atzeres,” etc.

2Now, we need to understand what the connection is between eating matzah for six days and there being, through this, “and on the seventh day an Atzeres.” Furthermore, [the meaning of] “and on the seventh day an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d” is because on the seventh [day] of Pesach there was the miracle of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds.

3Now, [at] the Pesach of Egypt, its [prohibition of] chametz applied only one day; if so, they merited the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds not through eating matzah all six days. Why, then, is it said for the generations [to come], “Seven days you shall eat matzos with it,”

and also, [why is it] specifically through “six days you shall eat matzos” that they will be able to come to “and on the seventh day an Atzeres,” etc.?

4We also need to understand why, of the seventh [day] of Pesach, it is said, “an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d,” while of Shemini Atzeres it is said, “an Atzeres shall be for you.”

We also need to understand what is written, “And they baked the dough that they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of matzos, for it had not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not tarry,” etc.,

which implies that this gives the reason why they baked matzos and not chametz: because they were driven out of Egypt and [the dough] did not have time to leaven.

5But this is puzzling, for eating chametz was forbidden to them at least on the one day, as is stated in Pesachim, folio 96b. If so, how could they have baked chametz, so that a reason would be needed, “because they were driven out,” etc.?

We also need to understand what is said in the Haggadah: “This matzah that we eat, for what reason? Because the dough of our fathers did not have time to leaven before there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, and He redeemed them.”

6For in any case they had already been commanded, “With matzos and bitter herbs they shall eat it.” Moreover, the revelation to them of the King of the kings of kings was after midnight.

And the command, “With matzos and bitter herbs they shall eat it,” is before midnight, for the Pesach [offering] is eaten only until midnight;

and likewise this matzah that we eat is also specifically before midnight. If so, how is it “because,” etc., “there was revealed,” etc.?

The explanation is this. Regarding “In the evening you shall eat matzos,” [the word] matzos is written מצת, lacking a vav; but regarding “And they baked,” etc., “cakes of matzos,” matzos is written מצות, full, with a vav.

That is because the vav is the drawing-down, [namely] that there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings (and see the Zohar, Vayetze, folio 157a, and the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Pinchas, folio 251b).

If so, there were two levels of matzah. The first is what is written, “In the evening you shall eat matzos,” which is the matzah of before midnight, and it is מצת, lacking a vav.

And the second is what is written, “And they baked,” etc., “matzos,” etc., which is the matzah of after midnight, and it is full, with a vav, that is, after there was revealed to them, etc.

7Therefore it says in the Haggadah, “This matzah that we eat, for what reason? Because the dough of our fathers did not have time to leaven before there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings,” etc., which is the matter of מצות, full with a vav, which was specifically after midnight.

For this matzah that we eat is also of this level, as [is seen] from its being written, “Six days you shall eat matzos,” with a vav, which proves that this matzah that we eat is also of this level and rung. And therefore, through this, there will be drawn down “and on the seventh day an Atzeres,” etc.

82. To understand all this, we must first introduce [the meaning of] what is written, “For not by bread alone does man live,” etc., for this resolves the question:

How does food have the power to give life to a person? Is not bread of the level of the vegetative, and man of the level of the speaking? If so, how can the vegetative be that which gives life to the speaking, which is far above it?

But [the answer is]: “Not by bread alone,” by virtue of the bread’s own essence, “does man live,” but rather “by all that comes forth from the mouth of Havayah,” which is actually clothed in the bread, namely, from the utterance “Let the earth sprout vegetation.”

And as is written in the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah, Parshas Eikev, that very word of G‑d enters into that food, and it nourishes and gives life to the person. But we need to understand: is not the word of G‑d clothed in man as well, from the utterance “Let us make man”?

9If so, why should he receive life-force from the bread, in which [the word] from the utterance “Let [the earth] sprout,” etc., is clothed? But the explanation is according to what is explained in several places [and see what is written in Parshas Beshalach, in the discourse beginning “To understand the matter of lechem mishneh (the double bread)”]:

that the root of the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal is from the level of the World of Tohu (Chaos), which preceded the level of the World of Tikkun (Rectification), etc.; only they descended through many levels and through the shattering of the vessels (sheviras hakeilim), until they came down very low and physical things came into being from them.

10And man’s root is from the World of Tikkun, and the principal [element] of the World of Tikkun is the level of Chochmah (wisdom) of Atzilus. And it is called “the drawing-down of the intellect (mochin),” for “through Chochmah they were refined.” And man, in whom there is an intellectual soul, the root of its descent is also from the level of Chochmah.

And the shattering of the vessels that took place in the World of Tohu was in the level of the seven emotive attributes (middos); but they are the level of the middos that are above the Chochmah of Atzilus, and they are called “the great beast” (behemah rabbah) [and see Etz Chaim, Shaar 8, that the Daas (knowledge) of Tohu fell in the shattering of the vessels, and also that in the seven lower [Sefiros] there was included as well the power of the mochin that is within the middos, etc.

And therefore the animal soul in man, which is taken from kelipas nogah, from the shattering of the vessels, also reasons and comprehends, etc. And see what is written in Parshas Miketz, in the discourse beginning “Who is enthroned on high,” etc.]

11And because there was no [quality of] inter-inclusion in them, they shattered and fell, and so they are [now] below man; therefore they need to be refined specifically through man, for “through Chochmah they were refined,” as mentioned above.

But once they are refined, they give life to man by virtue of their root, which is above man. And this is [the meaning of] “but by all that comes forth from the mouth of Havayah does man live.”

For the meaning of “that which comes forth from the mouth of Havayah” is the source and root from which the utterances were drawn forth, to be revealed from the mouth of Havayah; and at the level of their source and root, the bread is taken from a higher level, as mentioned above.

12And this is the reason that the utterance “Let us make man” is the last of the Ten Utterances, while the utterances “Let [the earth] sprout” and “Let the earth bring forth,” etc., all precede the utterance “Let us make man”: it is for the reason mentioned above, since their root is in the World of Tohu, which preceded the World of Tikkun, where the root of man is.

And therefore Rav Nachman said, “And the reason I did not tell you [this] in the evening is that I had not eaten beef” (in Bava Kamma, folio 72). From this it is understood that food adds life-force also to the power of a person’s wisdom and intellect.

And so too our Sages, of blessed memory, said that a child does not know how to call “Father” until he tastes the taste of grain; and that is for the reason mentioned above:

since the root of foods is above, in the World of Tohu, which is above the Chochmah of Tikkun, therefore they have the power and the ability to strengthen and to add to even a person’s power of Chochmah [and see what is written on the verse “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes”].

13So too, this will be understood in the service of G‑d: this is the matter of the refinements of the 288 sparks of Tohu that are clothed in physical things, which are refined and rise up into the level of Tikkun, the root of the G‑dly soul;

that is, through the service of G‑d in the Shema and prayer. The strength and life-force added to him through eating for the sake of Heaven are included in “One” and “And you shall love,” and they add to the power of contemplation and to the stirring of love for G‑d, so that the contemplation, the Daas, and the love and awe are with a force and a bond greater than [comes from] the power of the G‑dly soul itself;

that is, for the reason mentioned above: since there are clothed in them the 288 sparks of Tohu, which are above the level of Tikkun, they are therefore able to add an elevation even to the Chochmah and the middos in the G‑dly soul

(as is known from the matter of “and the chayos carry,” etc., and as is explained in Parshas Yisro on the verse “Remember the Shabbos day to keep it holy,” etc.) in the Shema, in prayer, and in occupation with Torah and mitzvos.

143. And according to the above introduction, the matter of the mitzvah of eating matzah on the festival of Pesach will also be understood.

For it is explained in the Zohar, Vayetze, [folio] 157b, that just as in physical understanding a child does not know or understand anything until he tastes bread, as the reason has been explained above, so too, when Israel went out of Egypt, they did not know how to grasp the greatness of G‑d until they ate matzah, which is the level of bread that comes forth from the supernal earth.

For by that which comes forth from the mouth of Havayah, which is drawn into this bread, man and the G‑dly soul live, to know and to recognize Him Who spoke and the world came to be.

15And just as plain life-force is drawn to the intellectual soul from physical bread, as mentioned above, so from eating matzah on Pesach life-force is drawn to the Daas of the G‑dly soul.

The explanation is that chametz is [the quality of] elevation and self-exaltation, for it swells and rises and raises itself up, whereas matzah has no elevation at all. So too in the service of G‑d: chametz is the self-exaltation and coarseness of the kelipah, whereas matzah is lowliness and submission, in the mode of “Nullify your will.”

[And this is “For my heart was soured (yischametz)”: [the verse] likens the heart that inclines to wickedness to chametz. And so in the language of our Sages, of blessed memory (Rosh HaShanah, folio 3, end of side b): “Here, before he soured; here, after he soured.”

And so too they likened the evil inclination to sourdough, and said, “Who holds [us] back? The sourdough in the dough holds [us] back.” This is because coarseness is the source of all the falls into lusts and every kind of evil, may G‑d protect us].

16Now, it is known that in the exile of Egypt, Israel were very much bound up below, and their intellect and their middos were in the straits (meitzarim) and limits of the world’s physicality, which cause [one] to be a separate existence (yesh), etc.

And the essence of the Exodus from Egypt was through there being revealed to them the King of the kings of kings, which is the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is above the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus); through this the quality of self-nullification (bittul) was drawn into them,

as the teaching says, “‘And with great awe’: this is the revelation of the Shechinah.” And through this bittul and higher awe (yirah ila’ah) they went out of all the straits and limits.

17And so too the physical Exodus from Egypt, etc. And this was after midnight. But first they were commanded to eat matzah before midnight, as it is written, “In the evening you shall eat matzos,”

which is the level of nullifying [one’s] will, submission and lowliness, drawn from the level of lower awe (yirah tata’ah); this is the preparation and the vessel for the revelation and the higher awe that was drawn down and revealed to them after midnight, etc.

And also, the matzah is called in the Zohar “the food of faith” (michla di-mehemnusa), for faith too is a level of bittul: one nullifies his intellect and seeks no reason, but believes the truth with pure faith.

18And this level is drawn into the soul through the mitzvah of eating matzah. This is along the lines of what was mentioned above, from the analogy that bread gives life to man, and it is along the lines of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, that a child does not know how to call “Father” until he tastes, etc.

For the child’s knowing to call “Father,” which was drawn into him and newly arose in him through his tasting the taste of bread, is not in him as understanding, reason and complete knowledge, for he does not know how [this is] his father or why he must love him; and nevertheless he calls his father.

It turns out that this calling is his bond with his father, not through reason and knowledge that he grasps, but only as recognition; and it is a level of very great smallness (katnus), beneath reason and knowledge.

19Nevertheless, that bond is very strong, so much so that his soul is very bound to his father’s soul. That is because that knowing, which newly arose in the child through the taste of bread, has its root in the root of the bread,

which is from the World of Tohu, which is a level above comprehended knowledge, as mentioned above, above Chochmah, etc.; and therefore it is drawn down in a level that is beneath comprehended knowledge, etc., and therefore the bond is very strong.

20So too with the eating of matzah as a mitzvah, [matzah] being called in the Zohar “the food of faith”: for faith is the recognition, the knowing and the bond with the Holy One, blessed be He.

And all Israel believe that He alone is, exactly as He was before the world was created, as it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed” [see in Parshas Va’eschanan, in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day,” the explanation of the matter of knowledge and faith].

21And this drawing-down is from the level of supernal Daas, for the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is above Chochmah, etc.; therefore it is drawn down and clothed in the level of faith.

And therefore matzah is “the food of faith,” for the root of bread is from this level, as mentioned above regarding the child’s knowing to call “Father” through bread, etc.; except that this is in the understanding of matters of this world, which is drawn from physical bread, drawn from the earth of physicality.

But in the bread of matzah on Pesach there is drawn down and clothed the power from the level of the supernal earth, from which bread comes forth, which draws down this level in [relation to] G‑dliness itself, so that one knows to call [to] the Father in Heaven, etc., with a strong bond, to the point of the soul’s being wrung out, etc., even though he does not actually grasp [it] with intellect and comprehension.

22And this is the level of self-nullification (bittul). From this there is also drawn the level of “Nullify your will,” and the level of lowliness, “and let my soul be as dust to all,” which is the power of the level of “earth” from which bread comes forth.

[And see what is written on the verse “And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings,” and see what is written on the verse “And Yehudah approached him,” concerning the level of “earth”: that in thought, earth came first, even before heaven, and therefore it is specifically from it that bread comes forth, etc., as mentioned above.]

234. Now, this level of matzah requires guarding, as it is written, “And you shall guard the matzos,” that is, to guard [it] from the external forces, so that it not come to the level of leavening, which is coarseness and self-exaltation;

that is, because it is at the level of lower awe (yirah tata’ah) and the bond of faith alone, beneath reason and knowledge, it therefore requires guarding.

24And therefore it is called מצת, lacking a vav, since it is still at the level of smallness.

Also, מצת lacking a vav is from the language of matzusa (strife), as in “strife (matzah) and quarrel (merivah),” as is stated in the Zohar, Part III, folio 251b. The quarrel is in order to bring about the nullification of the yesh and of the coarseness, in the manner of “A person should always stir up his good inclination against his evil inclination,” etc.; and therefore it was before midnight.

Whereas the matter of the second matzah is specifically after midnight, after the Pesach offering, after there was revealed to them, etc.

For the matter of Pesach is what is written, “And Havayah will pass over (u-fasach),” which is the matter of skipping, a drawing-down that is not according to the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), as it is said, “‘And with great awe’: this is the revelation of the Shechinah,”

which is the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is far above the chain of descent of the worlds, which then shone and was revealed in their G‑dly soul. And this is “before there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings.”

That is, “the kings of kings” are the four levels of Malchus that shine in the four worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; and “the King of the kings of kings” is the level of the Malchus of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), which is far above the chain of descent of the four worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

[And this is the level of “At the head of the King’s authority” (beresh hurmanusa de-malka) mentioned in the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 15; so writes the book Eshel Avraham there.] For it was specifically through this level of revelation that “He redeemed them,” as it is said, “‘And I will pass through the land of Egypt’: I, and not an angel.”

25And therefore this revelation is called “and with great awe (mora gadol).” For yirah (awe) is a feminine term: this is the level of lower awe, drawn from the level of the Malchus of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, in each world according to its measure.

But mora gadol is a masculine term: this is the level of higher awe (yirah ila’ah), which is the level of the masculine (dechar), and it is drawn down through the revelation of the level of the King of the kings of kings, as mentioned above. And this is the matter of the second matzah, of after midnight, for matzah is the level of bittul, as mentioned above;

but the matzah of before midnight is the level of lower awe and of faith as it is clothed in a level beneath comprehended knowledge, as mentioned above;

and this is the level of “When Israel was a youth,” etc., “the kindness of your youth,” etc., and “Out of Egypt I called My son,” etc., and like the child’s calling “Father,” etc.

But the level of bittul of this matzah of after midnight is the level of true bittul and higher awe, in which there was drawn down a revelation of what is above comprehended knowledge, which shone then in their souls;

that is, from the level of the revelation of the Infinite Light that is above the chain of descent, which then shone upon them from above to below, as an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila). And this is the matter of “‘And with great awe’: this is the revelation of the Shechinah.”

And therefore this level of matzah needs no guarding at all from leavening, which is the level of selfhood and coarseness, since the external forces have no hold [on it] and draw no nurture at all from this level [for higher awe is the light of Abba, which repels the external forces; only the level of lower awe requires guarding, etc.].

26And this is the meaning of “the dough of our fathers did not have time to leaven before there was revealed to them”: it refers to the second level.

For it does not have the ability to leaven at all, because of the intensity of the revelation of the level of the King of the kings of kings that was revealed to them, where there is no nurture and no hold for the external forces, which is the yesh and the self-exaltation that are called chametz.

27And this is [the meaning of] “And they baked the dough,” etc., “cakes of matzos, for it had not leavened”: that is to say, it did not come to leavening.

And that is because “they were driven out of Egypt”: Egypt has no hold whatsoever on this level, [in] which there was revealed to them, etc.; and if so, it follows of itself that “it had not leavened,” etc.

And therefore, even though on their way from Egypt until they came to Ramses they had a contraction of the road (kefitzas haderech), nevertheless, together with [the time] until they lit the fire to bake, the dough certainly stood longer than the time it takes to leaven; and even so it did not leaven, for the reason mentioned above (and this resolves one of the questions above).

And therefore here it says מצות, full, with a vav, for the vav is the drawing-down that was drawn into them from the level of great awe (mora gadol) and higher awe,

as we say in prayer, “and the awesome (ve-hanora), G‑d Most High,” with an added vav, whereas “the great, the mighty” [are said] without a vav [as is explained elsewhere, in Parshas Va’eschanan, in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day,” etc.].

Whereas the level of lower awe is still called מצת, lacking a vav, and therefore it needs guarding from the external forces; but the level of the second matzah, which is called מצות, full with a vav, needs no guarding

(and see what is written at the beginning of Parshas “These are the generations,” on the matter of “names (שמות) like the names (כשמת),” full with a vav and lacking a vav; see there. And see what is written in Parshas Naso on the verse “and guard you… and be gracious to you,” etc.).

28Now, from here we can give the answer to the question mentioned above.

How do we say of this matzah, which we eat before midnight, that it is “because the dough did not have time,” etc., when this is the level and rung of the second matzah, which came only after there was revealed, etc., that is, after midnight?

But the explanation is that all this was specifically at the time when Israel were then in the exile of Egypt,

and did not yet have Torah and mitzvos; therefore they were not able to receive the intense revelation of the level of great awe, or to have in them the level of bittul and higher awe, before midnight.

Rather, before midnight there was only the level of מצת lacking a vav, that is, the level of lower awe, “Nullify your will.”

29And specifically through this they were able to receive the revelation mentioned above after midnight, and through this there was drawn into them the level of “the dough did not have time,” etc.

But after Israel received the Torah and mitzvos at Mount Sinai, and [now], throughout the entire year, also before Pesach, we draw down a drawing-down of G‑dliness through Torah and mitzvos,

therefore also with this matzah that we eat before midnight we are able [through the fulfillment of the Torah and mitzvos that preceded it all year] to receive the level of the revelation of the Shechinah, from the level [of] “there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings,” after midnight, etc.

30As is written in the Zohar, Vayetze, mentioned above: “First matzah, and afterward mitzvah,” with the addition of a vav; see there. It follows that the level of mitzvah is of the level and rung of the second matzah, which is מצות, full with a vav.

That is because through the fulfillment of the Torah and mitzvos there is drawn down the level of the 620 pillars of light of the supernal Keser (Crown), which is itself the matter of “there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings,” etc.;

and therefore what was drawn to them at midnight, which is a time of favor (eis ratzon), is drawn to us in this matzah that we eat before midnight; that is, because we have Torah and mitzvos, which are the very essence of the supernal will, etc.

31And this is what is said in the Haggadah: “This matzah that we eat, for what reason?” The meaning is: granted, when they were in the exile of Egypt, being very much in the state of exile of the kelipos and the sitra achra,

and they did not have Torah and mitzvos, they were commanded to eat the matzah of before midnight, which is the level of מצת lacking a vav, so that this would be a preparation for them, through which they could afterwards receive the great revelation mentioned above.

But we, to whom the Torah and mitzvos have already been given [now, the mitzvos are the commands of the King, and by fulfilling them one fulfills “You shall surely set a king over yourself,”

which is the level of lower awe at least, as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 41, and as is explained elsewhere on the verse “And G‑d spoke,” etc., in the discourse for the festival of Shavuos], if so, what is the point of eating this matzah specifically before midnight?

32And it answers, “Because [the dough] did not have time,” etc. That is: our eating of matzah, although we eat it specifically before midnight, nevertheless its matter and its drawing-down are not only from the level and rung of the first matzah alone; rather, there is drawn into it also from the level and rung of the second matzah, which is the level of bittul and great awe, to the point that [the dough] did not have time to leaven.

And this is from the level of the revelation in which there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings, and He redeemed them, which is the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, that is far above the chain of descent (hishtalshelus); and this revelation and drawing-down is drawn to us in this matzah too, for the reason mentioned above.

And how are the two drawings-down alluded to in one matzah? Now, it is known that the difference between chametz (חמץ) and matzah (מצה) is only in the letter hei.

33Now, the filling (milui) of the hei, [when it is spelled out,] is also the letter hei, and therefore it is called “the doubled” (ha-machpelah), as is explained elsewhere; and these two heis that are alluded to in the one hei of matzah are the two levels of matzah mentioned above;

for the filling is of the level of the concealment that is hidden and concealed within the hei itself.

And this concealment within the hei, which is the level of Malchus, has its root in the level of Keser, for “their beginning is wedged in their end,” etc. And see what is written on the verse “And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great,” etc.: “power” is the matter of the revelation of what is concealed, etc.; see there.

345. Now we must understand the matter of the seventh [day] of Pesach, and how it is that through “six days you shall eat matzos” first, then specifically “and on the seventh day an Atzeres,” which is the matter of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds, as mentioned above.

For the matter of sea and dry land above is the level of the concealed world (alma d’iskasya) and the revealed world (alma d’isgalya). It is like the sea and the land below.

For everything that is on dry land is [also] in the sea, except that on dry land they are revealed, whereas in the sea they are concealed, for they are absorbed and covered within the sea, which covers over them (and see in Parshas Beshalach, in the discourse beginning “Then [Moshe] sang”).

And likewise above: the level of Malchus of Atzilus is called “earth” and is also called “sea.”

That is, the radiance and the drawing-forth of Malchus that is drawn down and clothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, to give life to the worlds [and bring them] from nothing into something, which are the revealed worlds, which appear to be a separate thing, an entity of its own: this level is called “earth.” Of this it is said, “Let the earth sprout,” etc., “Let the earth bring forth living creatures,” as is explained in the Zohar in many places; and see in Parshas Shemini, folio 39b.

That is, as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the section beginning “He and His life-forces,” that the main bringing-into-being of the yesh, a thing entirely separate, is from Malchus of Atzilus, which becomes the Atik of Beriah, for “there is no king without a people,” etc.; which is not so of the level of the middos of Atzilus themselves; see there.

35Now, Malchus receives the light and the flow from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) through the middos of Atzilus, and it is specifically from it that [the flow] is afterwards drawn into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah;

for the Infinite Light, as it shines in the supernal middos of Atzilus, cannot come into revelation in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah at the outset,

for in Atzilus “He, His life-forces and His vessels are one,” so that the Chesed (kindness) of Atzilus is actually the level of the Infinite, and there is no comparison at all [with] the level of the Chesed of Beriah,

which is a level of limitation, the camp of Michael, [standing] with love to receive the flow, through the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), from the level of the Chesed of Atzilus, which is without limit; as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh on the matter of “and I am dust and ashes,” etc.; see there.

[It cannot,] unless this light of Chesed is first concealed in the level of Malchus, and from it the flow afterwards descends into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah;

for the attribute of Malchus is exaltedness and loftiness, as it is said, “and Who is exalted from the days of old,” and in general loftiness is a withdrawal, so that the life-force does not descend upon them so much;

and therefore the level of Malchus is called “sea,” since just as the sea covers and conceals what is within it, so too the level of Malchus conceals and covers the level of the supernal middos of Atzilus

(and see what is written on the matter of “and the sea was over them, above” in Parshas Balak, on the verse “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov”); and therefore this level of Malchus is called the concealed world.

But what shines and spreads forth from it to the created beings of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, so that they are revealed worlds: this level is called “earth.”

(And so it is in the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 18b, that these two levels are the matter of the first two verses of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel” and “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”; and see Sefer Shel Beinonim, Part II, chapter 7.)

Now, all this is specifically when the light and the flow are drawn by way of, and in the order of, the chain of descent from Atzilus to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, from the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin); for then the levels of sea and dry land, the concealed world and the revealed world, apply.

For such is the gradation of the chain of descending worlds, that it is impossible for the light and the flow that are in Atzilus, which is in the mode of the Infinite, to be revealed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, [which are] created and limited beings, except through concealment first, the level of the concealed world,

which in truth remains in concealment and hiddenness, and only a radiance and a drawing-forth alone is drawn from it, to be the source of the flow to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, the level of the revealed world.

But on the night of the seventh [day] of Pesach there shone and was revealed a great and intense radiance from above the order of the chain of descent, from the level of the Infinite One, blessed be He, Himself, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), “Who is equal and makes equal,” etc.,

for Atzilus and Asiyah are truly equal before Him, and “darkness is like light,” truly, so that concealment and revelation in the order of the chain of the worlds, the concealed world and the revealed world, are truly equal before Him.

Since in truth He is not within the category of worlds at all, therefore, through a descent and drawing-down from this level, [an effect] was drawn to change the order of the chain of descent entirely, so that the level of the concealed world actually became revealed, like the revealed world:

the concealment itself, as a whole, came into revelation, and not by way of a radiance and drawing-forth alone (and see what is written in Shir HaShirim on the explanation of “For your love is better than wine”).

And this is “And Havayah drove the sea with a strong east wind (ruach kadim),” etc. The meaning: the “east (kadim) wind” is a drawing-down from the level of the Primordial One of the world (Kadmono shel olam), that is, from the level of the Infinite One, blessed be He, Himself, Who is not within the category of worlds at all.

And through this revelation and drawing-down, “He made the sea into dry ground”: the level of the concealed world became the level of dry land, which is the level of actual revelation below.

36And this is the matter of the Splitting of Yam Suf (the Sea of Reeds): the level of Malchus of Atzilus, which receives from the sea of the supernal Chochmah of Atzilus, is the end (sof) of the World of Atzilus, and in it the lights of Atzilus are concealed.

And therefore it is called “sea.” And through the revelation from the level of the Primordial One of the world (Kadmono shel olam), which then shone in the level of Malchus, the concealment of Yam Suf became actual revelation and dry land; that is, the very essence of the lights of Atzilus was then revealed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

(This will be understood better according to what is written in the Zohar, Bereishis, mentioned above, that the level of “One” (echad) and the level of “forever” (va’ed) in the Shema are the matter of sea and dry land; and as it is written, “Let the waters be gathered to one place,” etc., for Malchus of Atzilus is the level of the “place” of the One, as it were; see the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 42.

And the explanation of the matter is understood according to what is written on the verse “And I appeared” (Va’eira): that in truth, with respect to the Holy One, blessed be He, as He is in His essence and being, may He be blessed, the word “one” does not apply to Him at all, for He is singular (yachid) and unique and He alone is; but rather, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, He is One in the seven heavens and the earth and the four directions of the world, etc.

And therefore it is well understood that this level is called “sea”: for the creatures in the sea have their life and existence specifically within the sea; and so is the level of the concealed world, in which they are united in the One, for they are all nullified in existence within their source, etc.: “Behold, there is a place with Me,” etc.

And the level of va’ed (“forever”) is echad (“one”) with its letters exchanged; it is the source of the revealed worlds, where it seems as if the world is a thing and an entity of its own, etc.

Now, His being and essence, may He be blessed, is the level of yachid (singular); and see there, that through the Torah the level of yachid itself is drawn down into revelation, and of this it is said, “But by My Name Havayah I was not known,” etc.

That is for the reason written elsewhere, that the Torah is called “the parable of the Primordial One” (mashal hakadmoni), the level of the Primordial One of the world, etc.

Now, at the Splitting of the Sea, of which it is also said, “And Havayah drove the sea with an east wind (kadim),” etc., which is the revelation from the level of the Primordial One of the world, Who is singular and unique and He alone is, therefore through this revelation He turned the sea into dry land: the level of “One” was drawn into actual revelation in the level of “forever,” that is, the revelation of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah) itself within the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah).) (And see what is written on the verse “If you will listen to the voice,” etc., “to do what is right,” etc.; see there.)

And along these lines is the matter of the people of Jericho, who would “bundle” the Shema: they would say “One” and “And you shall love” without interrupting to say “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” for they wanted the love to be drawn from the level of “One,” the higher unity itself;

except that the halachah is not according to them, for this is only the level of the Splitting of the Sea, which was drawn down through an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila); and the mention of the Splitting of the Sea is in [the blessing] “True and firm” (Emes VeYatziv), which is after the Exodus from Egypt,

that is, after one concludes the Shema with “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” etc.; only then does one mention the Splitting of the Sea, in “True and firm.”

376. And this is [the meaning of] “Six days you shall eat matzos, and on the seventh day an Atzeres.”

For the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds was specifically on the seventh [day] of Pesach, for Yam Suf is the level of Malchus, which is the level of the seventh day, as is known, for the first day is the level of Chesed.

38And the seventh day is the level of Malchus; and then the level of the “east wind” (ruach kadim) was drawn down and revealed, for “their end is wedged in their beginning”: “from the beginning, from of old (mi-kedem), she was anointed.”

But this revelation comes specifically through first “six days you shall eat matzos.”

For the matter of eating matzah has been explained above: that it too is the matter of the drawing-down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is above the order of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), which is the matter of the “skipping,” that [the dough] “did not have time to leaven before there was revealed to them the King of the kings of kings,” etc.

And therefore, through eating matzah six days, which is the drawing-down of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) in revelation into all six middos, from the level of Chesed to the level of Yesod, there follows from this “and on the seventh day,” which is the level of Malchus, “an Atzeres,” etc.

That is, its being the level of sea and concealment becomes the level of dry land and revelation.

(That is, through the “east wind,” which is a drawing-down from the level of the Primordial One of the world (Kadmono shel olam), Who is not within the category of worlds at all, not even so as to be [called] “encompassing,” etc.; and it is an arousal from above that is above the arousal from below that comes through the performance of the mitzvos, and therefore it is said, “And you shall be silent.”

Except that, even so, this drawing-down comes specifically through first “six days you shall eat matzos,” which is an arousal from below, to draw down an arousal from above, a drawing-down from the level of sovev kol almin, the supernal will;

then, through this, the drawing-down from above the level of sovev kol almin will rest [upon us] and be drawn down, as is explained elsewhere on the matter of “Open to Me,” etc., “and I will open to you,” etc.; and see what is written in the explanation on the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk,” and what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Give ear, O heavens,” on the matter of “I will be like the dew,” etc.)

And this is “an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d (Elokecha)”: for Havayah is the level of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah), which is called “sea,” as it is written, “Havayah is One”; and the Name Elokim is the level of the source of the drawing-down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, which is called “dry land.” And on the seventh [day] of Pesach there is a revelation that is above both levels, as mentioned above;

and therefore it is an Atzeres for both levels, “to Havayah your G‑d.” And then what had been called Havayah, which is the level of sea and the concealed world, became “your G‑d” (Elokecha), in actual revelation.

(And this is the meaning of atzeres: retention and contraction, for the waters contracted and congealed and became like a heap (ned), until it became dry land. I found this written, and it needs examination.)

Now, although in the reckoning of the Counting of the Omer the seventh day of Pesach is the level of Yesod and not the level of Malchus, as is known, that is in the aspect of the count of the Omer (chushbena de-omer), which is an elevation from below to above; and through the elevation and the arousal from below one draws down “today is day,” etc.;

and therefore the first day, which is the matter of the revelation from above to below, of itself and as a matter of course, is not counted, and one begins from the second day. This is not so with respect to the level of the drawing-down from above to below that is drawn on the first day of Pesach

(which is the essence of the festival of Pesach, a term for skipping, which is an arousal from above; whereas the drawing-down through the counting of the days of the Omer has as its main point the festival of Shavuos, etc.).

Thus the first day of Pesach is the main, first drawing-down, and it is in the level of Chesed; and then the seventh day of Pesach is the level of Malchus.

However, at the Pesach of Egypt, since Moshe and Aharon and the seven Clouds of Glory were with them, they were able, even without eating matzah, to draw down from the level of the revelation that was revealed to them on the first day, drawing it into all seven days.

And therefore its [prohibition of] chametz applied only on the first day alone, which is not so now (as is written above, in the discourse beginning “This matzah,” etc.; see there).

And from here it will also be understood why it is written “an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d,” while of Shemini Atzeres it is said “shall be for you,” and why “for you” is not said here as well.

This will be understood by first introducing one more matter, namely, to understand the reason that the complete Hallel is not said on the festival of Pesach except on the first two days, and how it differs from the festival of Sukkos, on which the complete Hallel is said on all the days of the festival.

39Now, it is known regarding the saying of Hallel on a festival that it is a matter of abundant joy and praise for the added light and revelation that shines and is revealed from above.

And also, the meaning of hallel is the drawing-down of light and revelation, from the expression “when His lamp shone (be-hilo).” And as is explained elsewhere, the two meanings go together, for through the hallel and praise one draws down the radiance and the revelation, etc.

And it is known that the essence of the mitzvah of reading Hallel is specifically when it is completed, for then it is called a mitzvah, and according to all opinions one first recites over it the blessing “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” etc.; whereas when it is read with skipping, it is called in the Gemara only “the custom of their fathers” (in Taanis, folio 28b),

and our Sages, of blessed memory, said (there), “Hallel on Rosh Chodesh is not from the Torah.” If so, the reason is not understood at all why the complete Hallel is not said at least on the seventh day of Pesach, on which there was the great revelation from above the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), etc.

But the explanation is that when Israel went out of Egypt they were still at the level of smallness (katnus), for they had not yet received the Torah and mitzvos, not until they stood at Mount Sinai; and therefore they were called by the name “youth” (na’ar), as it is written, “When Israel was a youth, I loved him” (in Hosea, chapter 11);

and therefore, although they then had the revelation of great and mighty miracles, which comes through the descent of a great and intense radiance from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), nevertheless this radiance did not shine and become revealed in them except in utmost smallness

(and see the Pri Etz Chaim, on the kavanah of the seventh [day] of Pesach, where smallness is mentioned, etc.; see there. At first glance it is puzzling how it is a level of smallness, when, on the contrary, the light and revelation are drawn from a level above the order of the chain of descent, as is said in the Zohar, “it depends on Atika (the Ancient One).”

But according to the above it is well understood: in truth the revelation is from a very high level, but the revelation to them was in a mode of smallness, for the reason mentioned above, since they had not yet received the Torah and mitzvos and there was not yet completeness in them, as is said in the Zohar).

(And see in the Gemara, chapter 8 of Bava Kamma, folio 92, end of side b, “When I was small,” etc.

And see on the matter of “When Israel was a youth” in the Midrash Rabbah, Ki Sisa, end of section 43, and in Shir HaShirim Rabbah on the verse “A palanquin he made for himself,” and in the Zohar, Part II, end of Parshas Bo, folio 43a; Vayakhel, folio 217, end of side a; and in the Mikdash Melech there. And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “Set me as a seal,” on the matter of the straps of the tefillin of the head.)

And this is by way of analogy to a father’s love for his son, in which there are two modes. When the son is small, the father’s love for him is revealed and very intense, so much that he hugs him, kisses him and carries him in his arms.

Nevertheless, the love is not revealed so much in the small son, except in small things, for he does not yet understand and feel the great things so much.

Whereas when the son is grown, although the father’s love is then not seen and revealed so much, in hugging and kissing him, nevertheless it extends and is revealed to his son more, in teaching him wisdom and giving him all his needs then, in his maturity, which are great things, etc.

40So too above, by way of analogy: at the Exodus from Egypt, of which it is said, “When Israel was a youth,” for there was not yet so much completeness in them, therefore, although the revelation was a great love from a very high place, nevertheless it shone in them only in a mode of smallness; and therefore the complete Hallel is not said on it.

(As for the complete Hallel being said on the first days of Pesach, it is explained in the Zohar there; and also according to the plain sense it is right, for although there was not yet so much completeness in them, nevertheless their going out of the state of Egypt was from darkness to light in a spiritual sense as well:

from the level of Egypt, “the nakedness of the land,” and the forty-nine gates of impurity, they went out to be servants of G‑d.

If so, there is nothing greater than this, even though they were not yet made complete until the receiving of the Torah; and for this the complete Hallel is said on the day of their going out of Egypt.)

Whereas on the festival of Sukkos, which is after the receiving of the Torah, when the supernal love shines and spreads in them in a mode of maturity (gadlus), like a father’s love for his grown son, which is revealed and from which great things are drawn, etc., as mentioned above, therefore the complete Hallel is said on them on all the days of the festival.

And with this introduction the reason is also understood that of Shemini Atzeres it is said, “an Atzeres shall be for you”: it shines and is revealed to you yourselves; whereas of the seventh [day] of Pesach it is said, “an Atzeres to Havayah your G‑d,” for it does not shine and become revealed in the mode of “for you” so much, until the receiving of the Torah.

(And therefore Shavuos is called Atzeres in the Gemara, and they said of it, “All agree that on Atzeres we require ‘for you’ [as well],” etc.

And see the Midrash Rabbah on Shir HaShirim, on the verse “How beautiful are your steps”: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, “The Atzeres of the Festival ought to have been fifty days away, corresponding to the Atzeres of Pesach; but,” etc.; see there. Thus the festival of Shavuos is, in relation to the seven days of Pesach, like Shemini Atzeres in relation to the seven days of Sukkos.

That is, as mentioned above, that on Pesach the revelation is not drawn so much in the mode of “for you” until the festival of Shavuos, on which the Torah was given. Now, regarding Hallel, the Ramaz explains (on Parshas Emor, folio 96, beginning of side a): “For indeed, the secret of Hallel is to illuminate Malchus, the secret of Ado-nai, which equals hallel in numerical value,” etc.; “and therefore the complete Hallel was not said until the festival of Shavuos.” End of quote.

And the matter of illuminating the Name Ado-nai can be understood from what is written in the discourse beginning “And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great,” that this is like “one who answers ‘Amen, yehei shmei rabba mevarach’ with all his strength,” etc.; see there.

And in the book Me’orei Or, letter hei, section 14, he wrote: “Hallel is a name for Malchus, for she praises Havayah constantly. There is a complete Hallel: Malchus as a complete partzuf; and there is a Hallel that is not complete: half a partzuf, from the chest downward.” End of quote.

And this difference is like the superiority of the First Temple over the Second Temple, as is explained in the Zohar, Part II, Shemos, folio 9b, and in the Mikdash Melech there (see there), that this is like the upper hei and the lower hei.

And along these lines he wrote in the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry hallel: “Complete Hallel and incomplete: there are those who explain that the complete is in the secret of Binah, and the incomplete in the secret of Malchus. But the correct [view] is: complete Hallel is the moon in its fullness, and incomplete Hallel is in the secret of the breach of the moon.” End of quote.

And according to what is written in the name of the Mikdash Melech, the two explanations go together: complete Hallel is when Malchus receives a great radiance, until it is at the rung of Binah, as in “He did not cease cherishing her until He called her ‘My mother,’” etc.)

(And see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “Song of Songs,” on the matter of the two meanings in the level of kallah (bride): the sense of “my flesh is consumed (kalah)” and the sense of “my soul longs (kalsah),” etc. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “May He reveal to us its reasons,” on the matter of “On that day it will be,” etc.)