623. The third thing to observe is the cup of benediction, for which ten things were ordained: It requires washing, rinsing, adorning, wrapping, and must be undiluted, full, taken up with both hands, and placed in the right hand; he who says the blessing must look at it, it must be raised a handbreadth from the surface, and he must send it around to those members of his household as a present.

630. AND THE CUP OF BENEDICTION MUST BE full, as it is written: A cup "full with the blessing of Hashem" (Devarim 33:23); and also he HAS TO BE full of the wine of the Torah, and so must a person be perfect, as it is written: "a plain man" (Beresheet 25:27). THE MEANING OF THIS IS a perfect (Heb. shalem) man, as in the verse: "And Jacob came to Shalem" (Beresheet 33:18), NAMELY JACOB IS HERE CALLED 'PERFECT'. So also must the Soul be perfect, without any fault being in it, because "For whatever man he be that has a blemish, he shall not approach" (Vayikra 21:18). So also here, THE LETTERS OF Elohim: (Aleph-Lamed-Hei-Yud -Mem) can be re written as Aleph-Lamed-Mem with Yah (Yud-Hei). And IT HAS the numerical value of cup (Heb. kos), WHICH IS 86. THUS THE CUP HAS to be full (Heb. male), for Aleph- Lamed-Mem in reverse order is male: (Mem Lamed Aleph). FOR THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF THE LETTERS OF THE WORD CUP IS THE SAME AS 'FULL OF YAH' (MALE YAH). For when is it full? When there is Yah there. And that is: "Because Yah has sworn by His throne" (Shemot 17:16), WHERE THE NAME IS NOT COMPLETE, BUT LACKS VAV HEI. The numerical value of Adonai, TREATING ALL TENS AS UNITS, Vav-Hei. The Central Column is full from both of them, OF YUD- HEI AND THE VAV-HEI. And therefore THE NAME OF Adam (Eng. 'man') dwells upon it, which is the explicit Name, YUD-VAV-DALET, HEI, HEI- ALEPH, VAV-ALEPH-VAV, HEI-ALEPH; WHICH HAS THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF 'ADAM'.

631. REGARDING THE CUP OF BENEDICTION, THAT must be taken up with both hands, corresponding to the Torah which was written on two tablets. Five commandments on the one tablet correspond to the five fingers of the right hand, and five commandments on the second tablet correspond to the five fingers of the left hand, that were given with the right, that is, the right hand, THAT IS TO SAY THAT THE FIVE OF THE LEFT WERE INCLUDED IN THE FIVE OF THE RIGHT. And for this reason IT IS WRITTEN: "and took in his hand the two tablets of stone" (Shemot 34:4), and not 'in his hands,' NAMELY IN ONLY ONE HAND, WHICH WAS THE RIGHT, and this is as Scripture testifies: "from His right hand went a fiery law for them" (Devarim 33:2).

632. REGARDING THE INSTRUCTION THAT HE WHO SAYS THE BLESSING must look at the cup of benediction, this is because it corresponds to the Land of Yisrael, WHICH IS MALCHUT ENCLOTHING BINAH, about which it is said: "the eyes of Hashem your Elohim are always upon it" (Devarim 11:12); and the eyes of heaven are the seventy (numerical value of the letter Ayin, which, as a word, means 'eye') members of the Sanhedrin, with Moses and Aaron over them, they being the two upper eyes, NAMELY, CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, being one right eye and one left eye, amounting to 72, the same numerical value as the expression 'with wine' (Heb. beyayin). FOR THE SEVENTY MEMBERS OF THE SANHEDRIN CORRESPOND TO THE SEVEN SFIROT: CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT, EACH ONE BEING COMPOSED OF TEN. AND OVER THEM ARE CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, WHICH ARE MOSES AND AARON, AND THIS IS THE SECRET OF HIS LOOKING AT IT, TO DRAW DOWN CHOCHMAH AND BINAH TO THE CUP, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and this is the secret of why he who says the blessing must look at the cup.

633. AND THE CUP OF BENEDICTION must be raised a handbreadth from the surface. Since the letter Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI is a cup, it has to be raised up to the letter Yud OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, which is CALLED 'a handbreadth', for the Hei is opened up in it with the five (Hei) fingers, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE FIFTY GATES OF BINAH. And he must send THE CUP OF BENEDICTION round to members of his household as a present, NAMELY in order that his wife should be blessed, for she is THE SECRET OF the Nefesh, about which it is said: "but now our soul (Heb. Nefesh) is dried away: there is nothing at all" (Bemidbar 11:6), and she is blessed and bears fruits, as it is written: "Let the earth bring forth grass" (Beresheet 1:11).

640. The eighth THING TO OBSERVE is that at least three men must be present for the cup of benediction. Why? BECAUSE THE CUP ALLUDES TO BINAH, and Binah is the third of the ten Sfirot, WHEN COUNTING THEM from the top downwards, NAMELY, KETER, CHOCHMAH AND BINAH. For this reason, if less than three men are present, the cup is not required. ANOTHER EXPLANATION WHY at least three men must be present for the cup of benediction is that it refers to 'They call You thrice holy'. Furthermore, the Torah did not state less than three, NAMELY: Priests, Levites and Yisrael, WHICH ARE the Torah, Prophets and the Writings, AND IT WAS GIVEN in the third month, on the third day. And this Binah is Yud- Hei-Vav OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE THREE COLUMNS. And in its regard it was said: The night has three watches. And Malchut is the fourth Hei, WHICH RECEIVES ALL THREE COLUMNS, and about her it was said: The night has four watches, CORRESPONDING TO THE THREE COLUMNS AND MALCHUT THAT RECEIVES THEM. And the letter Shin with the three branches corresponds to the three watches, while the letter Shin with four branches, corresponds to the four watches.

641. And the ninth THING TO OBSERVE is the cup of benediction, that is one quarter of a log, the amount corresponding to the letter Hei, WHICH IS the fourth LETTER of the Name Yud Hei Vav Hei. And the tenth THING TO OBSERVE is that when there are ten men present, he WHO SAYS GRACE adds 'let us bless our Elohim'. THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT the lower Shechinah, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is both fourth and tenth - the fourth letter of the name Yud Hei Vav Hei, and the tenth in the count of the ten Sfirot - WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF THE TEN LETTERS Yud-Vav-Dalet, Hei- Aleph, Vav-Aleph-Vav, Hei-Aleph. AND THEREFORE THE PRESENCE OF TEN PERSONS IS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO MENTION THE NAME 'OUR ELOHIM.' And a man must be very careful not to throw these matters in a place where he shouldn't, like one who throws away bread, and how much more so one who throws out from his table the bread of the Torah, for it is the Shechinah, about which it is said: "This is the table that is before Hashem" (Yechezkel 41:22). End of Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd).