כי כאשר השמים החדשים והארץ החדשה וגו׳

1“For as the new heavens and the new earth,” etc. Now, it is written, “In the beginning (Bereishis) G‑d created the heavens and the earth,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Bereishis — for the sake of Israel, who are called ‘beginning’ (reishis).”

They also said: for the sake of the Torah, which is called ‘beginning.’ If so, since heaven and earth were created for the sake of the Torah and Israel, we are compelled to say that there is a level of heaven and earth in the Torah and in the service of Israel, by which and through which the physical heaven and earth are sustained.

2The explanation is this: our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Why is it called by the name eretz (earth)? Because it ran (ratzsah) to do the will (ratzon) of its Maker.” That is, ratzsah is a term of running (ratz) and also a term of will (ratzon).

As it is written, “In You (bechah) I run (arutz) through a troop,” which is also a term of running and also contains the idea of will, as will be explained.

3The explanation: it is written, “And the chayos ran and returned (ratzo vashov).” This level of ratzo is a longing in the heart to cleave to Him, blessed be He.

It is also a term of running (merutzah): just as one who runs from his place onward, so is this longing of the chayos — to go out and rise up from their place, to be nullified and absorbed into the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He. It is akin to what is written, “Seraphim stood above Him (mima’al lo),” which is explained [as] “above His Shechinah.”

4That is, their longing is to be absorbed there, etc. Likewise, the souls of Israel as a whole, in their source and root, have a level of ratzo, with will and longing to cleave to Him, to the Infinite One, blessed be He, as it is written, “And your longing shall be for your husband.”

This is because of her apprehension, being on the level of “earth,” which is the lowest level — to be a “people” and a separate thing, etc.

So too with the soul of man below, which reasons and contemplates the One G‑d: how He, blessed be He, renews in His goodness, etc., and brings all the worlds into being from nothing into actual something.

Therefore it too is on the level of “earth,” in a state of ratzo and will to cleave to Him, blessed be He, and “to love Havayah, for He is your life.”

5Now, this level of ratzo is in the reading of the Shema, and the level of shov (return) is in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer and in Torah study, which is the level of the revelation of G‑dliness from above to below, as is known.

The Verses of Praise (Pesukei deZimra), which precede the Shema, are to recount the praise of the Omnipresent, as it is written, “The exaltations of G‑d are in their throat,” and through this it becomes like “a double-edged sword, to execute vengeance,” etc. — that is, to tear apart the partitions that screen off the revelation of G‑dliness.

All this is only a preparation for the Shemoneh Esreh, for in the Shemoneh Esreh there is the drawing down of the revelation of G‑dliness, when one says, “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G‑d,” which is the revelation of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) within the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin).

But in order to come to this, one must first set out the praise of the Omnipresent in the Verses of Praise, as in “Blessed is He who spoke and the world came into being”

(For although the G‑dly soul is on the level of “earth,” which is the level of ratzo, this is only from the standpoint of its root, [where] it has a constant yearning to cleave to Him, blessed be He.

But in its descent below, to be clothed in the body and the animal soul, which conceal its light, etc., and draw it after them to be drawn into the murky darkness of the affairs of this world, then the longing and the ratzo for G‑dliness become concealed and hidden within it, as is known: “one nation shall prevail over the other nation,” and when this one rises, etc.

Therefore, in order that it be able to come to the level of ratzo at the time of the Shema, it needs great preparation for this, and that is [the purpose of] the Verses of Praise, in setting out the praise of the Omnipresent, etc. And all of it is a preparation for the level of shov of the Shemoneh Esreh, for the ratzo, too, is for the sake of there being shov, as is known — just as the Levites were subordinate to the Kohanim, etc.

And also, in particular, the Verses of Praise are a preparation for the Shemoneh Esreh, which is a drawing down and revelation below, for first one must tear apart the separating partitions through the Verses of Praise, so that the revelation below can take place.)

[It recounts] how by a single utterance alone heaven and earth and all their host came into being, etc.

And as one concludes this blessing in Yishtabach: “King, Unique One, Life of the worlds”; and in “Blessed is He who spoke” one likewise says, “Unique One, Life of the worlds, King.” This means that He, blessed be He, is single and unique just as before the creation of the world, and [being] “Life of the worlds” is only from the level of “King.”

For the level of kingship is only a mere radiance from Him, blessed be He; this radiance is drawn forth from Him, blessed be He, to be the life-force of all the worlds, higher and lower.

6It is known that there is a multitude of worlds, above without end and below without limit. This is the meaning of “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever (le’olam va’ed)”: for va’ed has no break.

That is, the glory of His kingdom is drawn forth to give life to worlds and creations without end, as it is written, “Is there any number to His troops?” etc., and it is written, “A thousand thousands serve Him, and myriads of myriads stand before Him” — and this is the number of one troop, etc.

7Yet with all this multitude, they are nonetheless all drawn only from the level of “King,” which is merely the level of a “name,” as in the words “for the sake of His Name, with love. King,” etc.

This is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). And from this is born the stirring of love in one’s heart when he says, “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d.” The meaning of “Havayah your G‑d” is as stated above, “Hear, O Israel, Havayah is our G‑d,” etc.

And this is the added superiority that is known to us over all the troops on high: that He has brought us near to His great Name, which is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) and the very essence of His G‑dliness, blessed be He — the level of “Unique One,” which is far, far above the level of “Life of the worlds,” which is only from the level of “King,” etc.

And this is why the Community of Israel is called “one,” as it is written, “One is she, My dove,” etc., for she receives from the level of “Havayah is One” in the fullest sense.

8That is, by her being in the state of “She is one to her mother”: that through contemplation she comes to a state of oneness, having only one will — to cleave to Him, blessed be He.

This is the above-mentioned level of ratzo toward the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), to cleave to the very essence of G‑dliness, as it says, “Whom do I have in heaven,” etc.

And this is the meaning of “And you shall love” in the Shema. The meaning and nature of the ratzo is as it is written, “In You (bechah) I run through a troop”: “bechah” specifically — in Your very essence; and “I run through a troop” refers to the level of “A thousand thousands serve Him, and myriads of myriads stand before Him”

(and see what is explained elsewhere on the verse “Great in power, His understanding is beyond number,” how the root of every troop is in the six extremities (vav ketzavos) of Atzilus; see there) — that among all of them he desires nothing but G‑d alone.

“I leap over a wall (shur)” refers also to the level of all the supernal encompassing lights (makifim), for shur means a wall, as it is written, “Daughters strode upon the wall (shur).”

By way of analogy, a wall encompasses a city; these too “I leap over,” for the longing is only for His very essence and being, blessed be He

This is the meaning of “Whom do I have in heaven? And besides You I desire nothing on earth,” etc.: “heaven” is the level of the encompassing lights and “earth” is the level of the inner lights — that is, the level of “wall” and the level of “troop” mentioned above — and I run past them and leap over them by the power of my longing, “bechah,” truly in Your essence.

9Now, from the above-mentioned level of ratzo in the Shema, there afterward comes about shov in the prayer.

Therefore at the end of the Shema, too, one concludes, “I am Havayah your G‑d,” meaning literally “your G‑d”: that there be a revelation of G‑dliness in each and every one, from above to below, “to become one with the One,” etc.

10Afterward, in the Shemoneh Esreh, in the eighteen blessings, this revelation of light is drawn down in a state of actual shov — in the eighteen blessings, when one says, “Blessed are You, Havayah”: from “Blessed” to “You,” in revelation, in direct address, as is known.

After the Shemoneh Esreh, in the study of Torah, this revelation is drawn into the Torah, as it is written, “and the Torah is light,” etc., for “spirit brings spirit,” etc.

Through the above-mentioned level of ratzo, the level of “spirit” is drawn down — a drawing from above to below — as it is written, “If he sets his heart toward Him, His spirit and His soul He gathers to him,” etc.

Afterward, in the practical performance of the mitzvos, this level of shov is drawn down further, as is known concerning the root of the mitzvos: it is to draw the light into a vessel specifically, as it is written, “For a mitzvah is a lamp,” etc.

11Concerning the fulfillment of the mitzvos, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Against your will you live.” That is: after the love and longing with self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), in the above-mentioned state of ratzo, there afterward comes about the state of shov — “against your will you live” in the body — so that there be a revelation of the G‑dly light from above to below through the performance of the mitzvos.

This is the meaning of “with all your heart” — with self-sacrifice first, in the state of ratzo — and afterward, “and with all your soul,” which is the level of shov: to bind thought, speech and action with the thought, speech and action of the Torah and mitzvos, etc.

12Now, the level of shov is called “heaven,” for in this level of shov, through Torah and mitzvos, the light is drawn above in the manner of an encompassing light, as is known that the mitzvos are encompassing lights (makifim). Therefore the mitzvos become garments for the soul in the Garden of Eden, for garments and encompassing lights are one thing, etc.

This is the meaning of “bound up in the bond of life,” etc.: this “bond” is the mitzvos, as is known. And the Torah, although it is called “food,” is nevertheless also a garment, as it is written, “He wraps [Himself in] light as a garment.”

Therefore this level of shov, through Torah and mitzvos, is called by the name “heaven”: for just as the heavens encompass the earth, so this level of shov encompasses the above-mentioned level of the ratzo of “earth.”

Moreover, by way of analogy from the physical earth and heavens, we see that the earth is only like a mustard seed compared with the expanse of the sphere of the heavens, which surround it on all sides equally.

So the proportion of this level of ratzo of “earth” to the level of shov of Torah and mitzvos — which are called His will and His wisdom, blessed be He — is only as the proportion of a mustard seed to the great expanse of the heavens.

13This is [the meaning of] “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool.” The meaning: “My footstool” is like the footrest of a throne, which raises the feet; so the souls, which are called “the son is the leg of his father,” are elevated through the level of “earth,” which is the level of ratzo.

In particular, whenever there is an elevation for the level of the supernal “earth,” which is the Community of Israel, as on Shabbos and festivals, [it is called by the word “foot”]: as it is written, “If you turn away your foot (raglecha) because of the Shabbos,” and likewise the three festivals are called the three regalim (“feet”).

14And “The heavens are My throne” is the level of shov, which is descent and drawing down; this is like one who sits on a throne, who lowers his stature.

This is [the meaning of] “And You, Holy One, sit [enthroned] upon the praises of Israel.” The meaning: He, blessed be He, is holy and separate from all the worlds; only through the praises of Israel is He drawn to be “sitting,” lowered below, as in the saying that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and occupies Himself with Torah, etc.

15This is why prayer is called “a ladder set upon the earth, and its top reaches to heaven.” The meaning: the ladder is the ascent in the state of ratzo, but “its top reaches to heaven,” for in the Shemoneh Esreh the shov begins, as mentioned above, and its main part comes afterward through Torah and mitzvos.

This is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, according to one opinion, that the earth preceded the heavens in creation. For it has been explained above, concerning the Shema, the Shemoneh Esreh and Torah, that the level of ratzo must come before the level of shov.

And this is the rule: specifically from an arousal from below is an arousal from above brought about, as it is written, “If he sets his heart toward Him,” and only then, afterward, “His spirit and His soul He gathers to him.”

Therefore “earth” (eretz), which is a term of ratzo, preceded “heaven,” which is the level of shov.

16With all this, one will understand what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Bereishis — for the sake of Israel, who are called ‘beginning,’ and also for the sake of the Torah, which is called ‘beginning’ — G‑d created the heavens and the earth,” the physical ones.

For in the Torah and in Israel there is a spiritual heaven and earth. In the Torah it is the level of shov, which is the level of “heaven,” as explained above; and in Israel, in their service with self-sacrifice, it is the level of ratzo, the level of “earth.”

Therefore it is specifically through the Torah and Israel that the physical heaven and earth are sustained — that is, through the spiritual heaven and earth, which are the ratzo and shov that come through the Torah and Israel

17Now, all this concerns the heaven and earth of the present, in which there must first be the level of “earth,” ratzo, and afterward it receives from the level of “heaven,” the shov, etc.

But of the Time to Come it is written, “Behold, I am making a new thing in the earth.” The meaning and substance of this newness in the level of “earth” is that in the Time to Come the ratzo of “earth” will not apply in the way it does now,

which is the ratzo and longing to go out of the opposite, where “darkness covers the earth,” etc., as explained above regarding the Verses of Praise,

which are the level of “the exaltations of G‑d in their throat,” so that through this it becomes “a double-edged sword to execute vengeance upon the nations” — which are the animal soul and the body, etc. — that is, through the ratzo there comes about a nullification of will, the level of “transforming darkness into light.”

This applies only now, when there are kelipos that conceal until “darkness covers the earth”; this is the level of garments that clothe and conceal, as it is written, “I clothe the heavens in blackness,” etc.

18Therefore we were warned in the Shema, “Beware, lest your heart be seduced and you turn aside,” etc., “and bow down.” The meaning: every concealing kelipah is called “other gods” and idol worship;

and the bowing down is a drawing down — just as through bowing in holiness, in the bowing at “Blessed,” one draws down a revelation of G‑dliness. So too, “one opposite the other [G‑d made],” etc.

19This is [the meaning of] what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Jews who live outside the Land are idol worshipers in purity.” That is, when one is, G‑d forbid, entirely “outside the land” — the supernal “land,” which is the level of will for G‑d, blessed be He, the level of “earth, which ran,” etc. —

but rather is drawn entirely after the vanities of this world — even though they are permitted things, from the good within nogah — through this he causes nourishment and a drawing down to the level of nogah.

20This is called bowing down and drawing down to the level of “other gods,” etc. — that is, additional nourishment for the external forces. And through this, “He will close up the heavens and there will be no rain”: there will be no drawing down in holiness from the shov of the supernal heavens, etc.

That being so, each person must arouse the level of ratzo — “If he sets his heart toward Him” — to transform darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness, etc.,

and “to serve Him with all your heart,” etc., which is the level of “earth”; and through this, “I will give the rain of your land,” etc., which is the level of shov.

This is not so in the Time to Come, of which it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity,” etc.: there will be no kelipah at all concealing the revelation of G‑dliness. And it is also said, “Your Teacher will no longer be hidden, and your eyes shall see,” etc.

If so, there will be no need at all for the nullification of the “something” (yesh), which is the ratzo of the present — to go out from the opposing contrary, etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “Behold, I am making a new thing in the earth.” That is, there will not be, as now, ratzo and an arousal from below through which the drawing down comes; for then, since the revelation below will be as it is above, ratzo does not apply, etc.

Therefore He said that there will then be “the new heavens and the new earth that I make” — “I” specifically, that is, from an arousal from above alone and not from an arousal from below at all; for an arousal from below is needed only to refine and to transform from darkness to light, as explained above.

But in the Time to Come, when this will not be needed, there will be an arousal from above alone. Therefore He said, “that I make.”

And that is why He calls them “new heavens” and “a new earth.” The meaning: they come as a revelation from above to below, from the very Essence of the Emanator, a level such as has not yet been in a state of revelation at the beginning of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).

As it is written, “On the day that Havayah Elokim made earth and heaven”: this “Elokim” is the level of tzimtzum and concealment.

For the present heaven and earth were drawn forth through the Name Elokim, as it is written, “In the beginning Elokim created,” etc.; and through “earth,” which is the level of ratzo, the judgment and the tzimtzum of the Name Elokim, which obscures and conceals, are sweetened.

21This is [the meaning of] “On the day that Havayah Elokim made”: that this Elokim is absorbed into Havayah. This is the meaning of “Havayah Elokim made” — the union and merging of these Names together.

All this comes through “earth” and “heaven,” ratzo and shov; but “earth” must come first — the level of ratzo first.

But in the Time to Come, when there will be new heavens and a new earth, it is the level of “that I make,” not through the contractions of the Name Elokim.

And then the heavens will come first, for there will be no need for the ratzo to come first, etc. And this is [the meaning of] “And His arrow shall go forth like lightning,” which is the level of revelation from above to below.

22But we must understand the matter of the new heavens and the new earth.

If they come only through an arousal from above alone, which is the meaning of “that I make,” etc., then how can there be in this [a level of] “earth,” the level of ratzo, from the term “running” (ratz), as explained above?

Why, then, did He say “and the new earth that I make”? He should have mentioned only the level of “heaven” alone.

But the explanation is that even in an arousal from above alone there are these two levels of ratzo and shov, except that the heavens precede the earth.

23To understand how there can be a level of ratzo in the very Essence of the Emanator, since nothing at all conceals before Him:

It will be understood by way of analogy. We see a level of ratzo and shov in the physical human body, in the breath of life within it, which beats in his heart and is called in the Zohar “the beating of the heart” (defiku deliba). For the life-force in the heart comes specifically by way of breathing — ratzo and shov, in expansion and withdrawal —

and so it repeats over and over: it expands, then withdraws again, then expands again, like the pulse in the hand, where the life-force is drawn forth and expands, then withdraws again, then expands again.

And so it is exactly in the beating of the heart, which is the expansion, withdrawal and expansion of the breath of life in the heart; and this is exactly like the level of ratzo and shov.

Thus such ratzo and shov is still entirely within the person’s body itself, and not from something else toward it (that is to say, this ratzo and shov is like the drawing of the soul’s life-force into the body, the order of this drawing being through expansion and withdrawal, etc., which is the level of ratzo and shov).

And also, it will further be understood from this analogy that in the beating of the heart the ratzo does not precede the shov; on the contrary, the shov precedes the ratzo.

As is plainly observed, first there is the expansion and drawing of the life-force into the heart, which is like the level of shov, the drawing of the light into the vessel. But immediately it withdraws again, which is the level of ratzo and the withdrawal of the light from the vessel; and it settles again, and so on over and over.

It is like breathing, the breath of the mouth: at first the breath and air go out, and immediately they come back, and go out again. And after this pattern the discerning will understand above, regarding ratzo and shov from above to below

(and not [only] regarding the ratzo and shov of “and the chayos ran and returned,” of the creatures, etc.; but, on the contrary, also in the supernal flow of the Infinite One, blessed be He, into vessels and worlds.

And also, even at the very beginning, from the very start of the drawing forth from the Infinite One, blessed be He, to be clothed in the root of the vessels, which are the root of all the worlds, higher and lower, ratzo and shov — which are withdrawal and expansion — also apply.

For as soon as it is drawn forth and expands, there must be withdrawal; otherwise the vessels would be nullified from being vessels, etc. Only, the expansion comes first. It is like the level of shov, and afterward comes the level of withdrawal and ratzo, and so on over and over. And see what is explained elsewhere on the verse “And let them take for Me an offering,” etc.),

that a level of ratzo applies as well; only, the expansion of the light comes first, and afterward it immediately withdraws again, and expands again.

And this is the meaning of “The voice of my beloved knocks” (dofek): the voice and the drawing down from above to below is also like the pulse (dofek) mentioned above.

24In Etz Chaim this is called “reaching and not reaching” (mati velo mati): the light reaches and expands, and then withdraws again and does not reach. The level of “reaching,” the expansion, precedes the level of “not reaching.” And all of it is within G‑dliness itself.

And this is [the meaning of] “For Havayah your G‑d is a consuming fire.” The reason the divine flow is likened to fire is that the nature of fire is to withdraw after expanding, like the beating of the heart.

25And this is the meaning of the new heavens and the new earth: in the supernal drawing forth, which is drawn by an arousal from above alone, there are also the levels of heaven and earth.

The drawing forth, the level of “reaching,” is called “heaven”; and the level of the withdrawal of the light from the vessel, which is called “not reaching,” is the level of “earth,” from the term ratzo.

26Therefore here “heaven” precedes “earth,” since the level of “reaching” precedes the level of “not reaching.” This is not so with the ratzo and shov of created beings, where there must first be “earth,” the level of ratzo, and afterward “heaven,” the level of shov — as it is written, “And the chayos ran and returned,” and it is written, “On the day [Havayah Elokim] made,” etc., “earth and heaven,” as explained above.

27And this is the meaning of “For as the new heavens and the new earth,” etc., “stand before Me”: “before Me” (lefanai) precisely — that is, in the level of the innermost dimension and essence, where an arousal from below does not reach at all. “So shall your seed and your name stand.”

The meaning: “your seed and your name” is the level of the arousal from below and the drawing forth that is drawn through the arousal from below. For the mitzvos are called “sowing,” as it is written, “He sows righteous deeds (tzedakos),” and through this “He causes salvations to sprout,” in the revelation of G‑dliness from the level of the 370 lights, etc.

And “your name” is the level of accepting the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, [as in] “And David made a name.”

28Now, it has already been explained that the level of the new heavens and earth is a revelation from a level that an arousal from below does not reach at all, and that this revelation will be in the Time to Come.

If so, one might have thought that the drawing forth through an arousal from below, in Torah and mitzvos — in the level of our “earth and heaven,” ratzo and shov — will be entirely nullified because of that tremendous revelation from the level of “that I make.”

To this He said, “So shall your seed and your name stand”: this level of the arousal from below, too, will be elevated to “stand before Me,” in the innermost level itself, just like the level of the new heavens and the new earth, etc.

As it is written, “Behold, My servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up and be very high.” That is, “My servant” is the level of the arousal from below, the level of “to work it and to guard it,” etc. This very level will be elevated from ascent to ascent, until “very high.”