24. Rabbi Elazar inquired of his father: Behold, NADAB AND ABIHU were two individuals, why were there not two, MEANING WHY WERE THEY NOT REINCARNATED INTO TWO PEOPLE, BUT ONLY IN PINCHAS? He replied: Each was a half body because they did not marry, AND ONE WHO DOES NOT MARRY IS CONSIDERED A HALF PERSON. For this reason, the two are incorporated in one, as it is written, "And she bore him Pinchas: these are the heads."

34. We have learned that this river gave forth deep streams, WHICH REPRESENT THE THREE SFIROT - CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN - with the anointing oil to replenish the Garden of Eden, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and water the trees and plants, NAMELY THE SFIROT OF MALCHUT. Of this, it is written, "The trees of Hashem have their fill; the cedars of Lebanon, which He has planted" (Tehilim 104:16). These streams, NAMELY CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, flow and continue on and join two pillars that the Baraithas refer to as Yachin and Boaz, NAMELY NETZACH AND HOD. These NAMES are appropriate. From there, NETZACH AND HOD come out all these streams, NAMELY CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, and rest in a certain level referred to as Righteous, NAMELY YESOD, as it is written, "But the righteous is an everlasting foundation (Heb. yesod)" (Mishlei 10:25). All together they join in that level referred to as "sea" that is the sea of wisdom, NAMELY MALCHUT. This is the meaning of the verse, "All the rivers run into the sea" (Kohelet 1:7).

185. Rabbi Aba said: Why does the letter Vav contain Vav-Aleph-Vav ואו IN THIS PRONUNCIATION? HE ANSWERS: Vav, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, sits on the throne, REFERRING TO MALCHUT CALLED THRONE, as the verse reads, "And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" (Yechezkel 1:26), REFERRING TO ZEIR ANPIN. The Aleph is silent within VAV and is not revealed, AS THE ALEPH REPRESENTS ARICH ANPIN, CLOTHED FROM THE CENTER DOWNWARD WITH ZEIR ANPIN, AND IS NOT REVEALED OUTSIDE OF ZEIR ANPIN. This is what is written, "'By Myself have I sworn,' says Hashem" (Beresheet 22:16), AS ZEIR ANPIN SWORE BY ARICH ANPIN WHO IS CLOTHED WITHIN HIM. For this reason, THE ALEPH is written but not pronounced, MEANING WHEN WE READ THE VAV, THE ALEPH IS SILENT AND IS NOT HEARD IN ITS PRONUNCIATION, AS IT HINTS AT ARICH ANPIN WHO IS CONCEALED AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE. The last VAV comprises the first and we have established that THE LAST VAV is Yesod, the ending of the body, TIFERET, and comprises it all, AS IT IS PART OF THE BODY. Therefore, the letters are connected one with the other, Vav-Aleph-Vav being the beginning and end, MEANING TIFERET AND YESOD THAT ARE ONE, AND THE ALEPH REPRESENTS ARICH ANPIN CLOTHED IN TIFERET, as we have explained.

189. We have learned that Rabbi Yehuda said: The priest awakens peace in the world above and below. We have learned that he enters the first level OF MALCHUT and washes his body. He departs this level to the next, OF ZEIR ANPIN, washes his body and extends peace to this one and that one, ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT. He sanctifies his hands and they are blessed together. In everything, he needs to show action BELOW IN ORDER TO TRIGGER ITS COUNTERPART ABOVE. He needs to show that the garments he wears should be in line with his actions and he should aim to organize everything as needed. Then the upper and lower beings will be blessed.

198. Afterwards, he washes his body and sanctifies his hands to enter into another holy service. Then he aims to enter another most holy, lofty place; NAMELY, THE HOLY OF HOLIES. Three rows surround THE HIGH PRIEST-his colleague priests, Levite and the rest of the people. THEY REPRESENT THE THREE COLUMNS, PRIEST AND LEVITE REPRESENT RIGHT AND LEFT AND YISRAEL REPRESENT THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN. They raise their hands towards him in prayer. A knot OF ROPE of gold hangs from his leg, FROM FEAR PERHAPS HE WOULD DIE IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES, AND THEY WOULD NEED TO PULL HIM OUT WITH THIS ROPE.

203. Rabbi Yosi said: At the time one sleeps in his bed, his soul departs, ascends and testifies about him concerning that person's activities of that entire day. THEREFORE, the body says to the soul, "My soul, have I desired you in the night," WHEN YOU GO OUT OF ME, "my spirit within me, I seek you."

215. Rabbi Aba said to him, "With my soul (Nefesh) have I desired You in the night; with my spirit (Ruach) within me I seek You..." (Yeshayah 26:9). HE QUESTIONS: It should simply state "my Nefesh in the night," MEANING IT SHOULD SAY, 'MY SOUL IN THE NIGHT; WITH MY SPIRIT WITHIN ME I SEEK YOU.' Why write also "I seek You," when it should say, 'it seeks You,' AS IT REFERS TO HIS SPIRIT. He answered: We have established? that it resembles "in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath (lit. 'Ruach') of all mankind" (Iyov 12:10), MEANING THAT MY NEFESH AND MY RUACH ARE NOT HIS OWN NAMES, BUT ARE TWO LIGHTS - RUACH AND NEFESH - CLAD IN A BODY, AS EXPLAINED FURTHER.

216. Come and see that the Nefesh and Ruach always exist jointly in the world. We have learned the total service that man must serve the Holy One, blessed be He, is as we have learned, "And you shall love Hashem, your Elohim..." (Devarim 6:5). He needs to love the Holy One, blessed be He, with his very soul. This is referred to as an utter love, the love of his Nefesh and Ruach. Just as these NEFESH AND RUACH cling to the body and the body loves them, so must man love the Holy One, blessed be He, and cling to Him, as the love of the Nefesh and Ruach. This is in essence the verse, "With my soul have I desired You in the night," MEANING my very soul THAT IS CLAD IN MY BODY.[YB1]

220. We have learned that from the day the world was created, THE SOULS OF THE GREAT PIOUS ONES have stood before the Holy One, blessed be He, held back IN HIS PRESENCE. THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, WATCHES THEM until the time arrives to send them below, MEANING TO BECOME CLOTHED WITH A BODY, and they rule above and below. Thus the verse, "As Hashem the Elohim of Yisrael lives, before whom I stood." It doesn't say, 'I stand,' but "I stood," MEANING BEFORE DESCENDING TO THIS WORLD. Afterwards, he returned to his place IN HEAVEN and entered his chamber. Other SOULS do not ASCEND TO THEIR PLACE until they die. This is because they never stood earlier BEFORE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, ON THAT LEVEL of the others, NAMELY ENOCH AND ELIJAH THAT MERITED TO ASCEND TO THEIR PLACE WHEN STILL ALIVE. For this reason, Elijah became a messenger and angel above, AND ENOCH TOO. And these were those that clung most to the King, MEANING MORE THAN AN ANGEL.

223. "You shall afflict your souls..." (Vayikra 16:29). It says "your souls" in order that Yisrael be found meritorious before the Holy King, and meet with the goodwill of the Holy One, blessed be He. They must cling to Him in order that all their sins may be forgiven. Therefore, whoever eats and drinks on the ninth day and pleasures his soul with food and drink will find himself with the affliction on the tenth day doubled, and it will be considered as if he fasted on the ninth and tenth. "Your souls" includes all, body and soul, to surrender on this day in order to have atonement for sins.

254. After THE DEMONS go with them through the world, they return them to their graves and they see body worms picking at THEIR flesh. THE SOULS mourn for them, FOR THE BODIES. These sorcerers go to the cemeteries and perform their sorcery, make an image of a human form and slaughter before it a goat. Later, they bring that goat to that grave and that image they shatter to four directions and raise it to the four corners of the grave. Then they perform their sorcery. All these groups assemble with evil kinds and bring this soul, which enters the grave, and speaks with them.

287. Rabbi Elazar said: We have established this portion in esoteric terms in several ways. When we look into these words, we hear from it the secrets of the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Judgments everywhere, AS WE EARLIER EXPLAINED. TAMAR knew ALL THIS and she prepared herself for this to complement the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, in order that kings and rulers would descend from He who will rule the world. Ruth did the same thing; ALSO RUTH IMPLORED BOAZ FOR A LEVIRATE MARRIAGE LIKE TAMAR.

292. About all those who did not merit during their lifetime TO BE IN THE HOLY LAND and are brought there later to be buried, it is written, "And made My heritage an abomination" (Ibid.). His spirit expired under another, strange dominion and his body came under the dominion of the Holy Land, so he made, so to speak, the sacred profane and the profane sacred. Those who deserve that their souls expire in the Holy Land will have their sins forgiven and will merit to be bound under the wings of the Shechinah, as it is written, "And will forgive His land" (Devarim 32:43). Moreover, if he merits during his lifetime TO BE IN THE HOLY LAND, he will merit to have drawn upon him consistently the Holy Spirit. Those who dwell under another dominion, MEANING OUTSIDE THE HOLY LAND, will have drawn upon them a foreign spirit.

313. Four wings cover the body with small hands beneath their wings, each engraved with five. They fly high above the chamber that is beautiful in form and handsome in appearance.

341. Therefore, "shall your camp be holy" (Ibid.). One must SEE that he does not become defiled through his sins and through transgressing the words of Torah. If he does so, they defile him, as it is written, "That you should be defiled (Heb. venitmetem) by them" (Vayikra 11:43). The word "Venitmetem" is written without Aleph, POINTING TO AN EXTRA MEASURE OF DEFILEMENT. We have learned that there are 248 limbs in the body and all become defiled when one becomes defiled, meaning as soon as he wants to become defiled, it IMMEDIATELY ACQUIRES DEFILEMENT. "Therefore shall your camp be holy." What is meant by "your camp?" This refers to the limbs of the body. "That He see no unclean (lit. 'nakedness of') thing in you" (Devarim 23:15). What is a "nakedness of thing?" This is an allusion THAT YOU MUST NOT BRING a strange nakedness to come to this thing, FOR IT IS STRANGE TO MALCHUT CALLED 'THING,' as we have established. If YOU DO so, He will surely "turn away from you" (Ibid.). Therefore "your father's wife shall you not uncover" (Vayikra 18:8). What is the reason? It is because it is written, "It is your father's nakedness" (Ibid.), as we have established.

364. If a person is not holy, but draws a spirit from the side of defilement, then LILIT comes and plays with the child. If she kills him, she clings to the spirit OF THE CHILD and never lets go. If you ask, What about the others THAT DID NOT DRAW SPIRIT FROM DEFILEMENT? She kills them and there appear before her these three holy SPIRITS who take away his spirit. Behold, these people were never in the side of defilement, so why does she have the ability to kill them? HE ANSWERS: This is so when they are not sanctified; THEREFORE, SHE CAN KILL THEM. They never had any intention to become unclean and they did not become unclean. Therefore, she only has control over his body, TO KILL HIM but not the spirit, AS THE SPIRIT IS BROUGHT BEFORE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE.

388. Seven complete weeks, MEANING SEVEN SFIROT OF MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED SHABBAT, WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETED, are expressed by seventy letters OF THE NAME OF AYIN-BET (72). THE MAIN BODY IS SEVENTY, AND TWO EXTRA ARE THE SECRET OF WITNESSES OR SCRIBES. HE EXPLAINS HIS WORDS: When the 72 ascended, they ascended by the letters Vav, DENOTING ZEIR ANPIN, IN ITS CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, which are listed in the portion of Beshalach in the verses, "And the angel...removed...and it came... And Moses stretched out" (Shemot 14:19-21). When the Shechinah receives FROM ZEIR ANPIN and the seven impressions are stamped on Her BY HIM, NAMELY SEVEN COMPLETE SFIROT, THEN seventy imprinted letters OF THE NAME AYIN-BET rise from Her. We have learned that the letters OF THE NAME AYIN-BET ascended through certain marks and hidden ways KNOWN only to truly righteous men, pillars of the world.