25. The Yud in Pinchas was put in him to enjoin the letters only when he has been zealous for the Holy One, blessed be He, and came to straighten that which was crooked upon seeing the sign of the member of the Holy Covenant that Zimri inserted into another territory. NADAB AND ABIHU were corrected here from their earlier deviation, for NADAB AND ABIHU deviated in a foreign female, as it is written, "When they offered a foreign fire" (Bemidbar 3:4). They were corrected through the foreign woman THAT PINCHAS SLEW, as it is written, "And has married the daughter of a strange El" (Malachi 2:11). Just as in the first case there was a foreign fire, here too was a foreign woman.

110. He opened the discussion saying, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Tehilim 23:5). They sat there all day long. The friends were rejoicing with words of Torah and the joy of Rabbi Shimon was great. Rabbi Pinchas took hold of Rabbi Elazar and did not leave him all that day and night, and rejoiced with him. He referred to a verse about him, "Then you shall delight yourself in Hashem" (Yeshayah 58:14). All this great joy and pleasure are in my portion, AS RABBI ELAZAR WAS HIS DAUGHTER'S SON. Sometime in the future, they will in that world announce about me: Fortunate is your lot, Rabbi Pinchas, that you have merited all this and "peace, peace be to you, and peace to your helpers; for your Elohim helps you" (I Divrei Hayamim 12:19). They rose to depart. Rabbi Pinchas rose, held onto Rabbi Elazar and did not let him leave. Rabbi Pinchas escorted Rabbi Shimon and blessed him and all the scholars. As they were departing, Rabbi Shimon said to the friends, "It is time to act for Hashem" (Tehilim 119:126).

171. Come and see that the Yud י at the beginning OF THE NAME, YUD HEI VAV HEI, includes it all. It is concealed on all sides, and no paths open WITHIN IT. It encompasses male and female, NAMELY THE SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA, AS THE YUD IS THE SECRET OF ABA AND TWO LETTERS OF THE YUD FULLY SPELLED - NAMELY VAV AND DALET - ARE IMA. THEY ARE CONCEALED AND UNOPENED. The tip at the top of the Yud hints at naught, MEANING KETER CALLED SO, SINCE THERE IS NO CONCEIVING IT. Afterwards, the Yud, THE SECRET OF EDEN, issued from itself that river that continually flows out, NAMELY BINAH. From it, Hei will conceive WITH A SON AND A DAUGHTER, WHICH ARE VAV AND DALET. ITS SHAPE HINTS AT ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT AS EMBRYOS WITHIN IT, IN THE SHAPE OF DALET AND VAV. Of this HEI, it is written, "And a river went (lit. 'goes') out of Eden" (Beresheet 2:10). IT IS WRITTEN "goes out," MEANING CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING, not 'went out,' IN THE PAST TENSE. For this reason, THE HEI need not part FROM THE YUD. As a result, it is written, "my love" (Shir Hashirim 4:1) IN RELATION TO HEI, WHICH IS WITH YUD AS TWO FRIENDS THAT NEVER PART FROM ONE ANOTHER.

173. After BINAH gave birth, she produced a male child, placed him before her, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, and there is a need to write Vav, WHICH HINTS ABOUT THE SON; NAMELY, ZEIR ANPIN AFTER HE WAS BORN AND CAME FORTH TO HIS PLACE. This one, THE SON, inherits Aba and Ima. AND ZEIR ANPIN inherits two portions, ONE FOR HIMSELF AND ONE FOR MALCHUT. From him is nurtured the daughter. Therefore, it is necessary to write afterwards Vav-Hei together, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, just as the first Hei IS JOINED together WITH THE YUD, MEANING Yud Hei. There must be no separation between them. Also here Vav Hei are together and there is no need to separate them. We already established these matters. These matters here are also taken up to another place. Fortunate is the portion of the righteous, who understand supernal secrets of the Holy King and are worthy to be thankful before Him. Thus, it is written, "Surely the righeous shall give thanks to Your name: the upright shall dwell in Your presence" (Tehilim 140:14).

231. Rabbi Shimon wept and said: A king without a queen is not considered a king, so a king who clings to a maid who is the servant of the queen, where is his honor? A voice will inform the Queen saying, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold your king comes to you: he is just and victorious" (Zecharyah 9:9). The Righteous, YESOD, is victorious, because until now he rode in a place that is not his, in a strange place, NAMELY THE MAID, and nurtured it. NOW THE QUEEN RETURNS TO HIM.

234. We have learned that this maid would eventually rule the Holy Land below, just as the Queen ruled at first, as it says, "Righteousness lodged in it" (Yeshayah 1:21), REFERRING TO MALCHUT CALLED RIGHTEOUSNESS, but now "a handmaid that is heir to her mistress" in every respect, BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW. However, the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future return the Queen to her original position and then whose joy will it be? One says: The joy of the King and Queen. It is the joy of the King for returning to her and casting off the maid as we said. It is the joy of the Queen, because she has returned to join the King. This is the essence of, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion."

282. "For he knew not that she was his daughter in law (Heb. kalah)" (Ibid.), MEANING the destruction (Heb. kelayah) of the world, as translated into Aramaic, WHICH MEANS THAT HE DID NOT KNOW SHE WAS DESTROYING THE WORLD, as kalah is derived from kelayah. Why did he not know? Because she welcomed him so as to receive from him. She came there to be alleviate and bestow mercy upon the world. ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR, "She was his daughter in law" is literally a bride (Heb. kalah), as it is written, "My bride (Heb. kalah), with me from Lebanon" (Shir Hashirim 4:8).

285. (A) "And she said, Will you give me a pledge, till you send it?" (Beresheet 38:17) These are the marks of a Queen blessed by the King during her nuptials. And he said: What pledge shall I give you? And she said: Your signet, and your cord, and your staff (Ibid. 18). These are the heavenly bonds, the jewels of the Bride who is blessed by these three - NAMELY Netzach, Hod and Yesod. Everything is contained within these three. The Bride is blessed from this. Immediately, "he gave it her, and came into her, and she conceived by him" (Ibid.).

(B) "And it came to pass about three months after" (Ibid. 24). HE QUESTIONS: What is meant by three months? HE ANSWERS: After a tripled month. The three months ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, as we have established. HERE IT IS WRITTEN, "About three months," MEANING as the fourth month began, DENOTING MALCHUT, to stir up the Judgments in the world due to the sins of mankind and to nurture from the Other Side. Then, "it was told Judah, saying, Tamar your daughter in law has played the harlot" (Ibid.), so the bride is found on the Other Side. It is written, "Bring her out" (Ibid.) as the verse says, "And cast down from heaven (to) earth the beauty of Yisrael" (Eichah 2:1). "And let her be burnt" (Beresheet 38:24) with a flaming fire in exile.

(C) It is written, "When she was brought forth" to be drawn into the exile, "She sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man whose these are, I AM WITH CHILD" (Ibid. 25). It is not written: 'from whom these are,' but "whose these are," WHICH MEANS these items are proof of him by whom I am with child. THESE WERE BRIDAL ORNAMENTS AND THEY HAD ALREADY BECOME HERS, AS EARLIER MENTIONED, BUT ONLY HE GAVE THEM. Immediately, "And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She has been more righteous (Heb. tzedakah) than I" (Ibid. 26). Assuredly she is righteous, for this was brought about by that name, FOR SO IS MALCHUT CALLED. What brought upon her this name? He continued, "than I (also: 'from me')," as it is written, "For Hashem is righteous, He loves righteousness (Heb. tzedakah); the upright shall behold His face" (Tehilim 11:7). This is because tzedakah is justice (Heb. tzedek) and Hei, and she received that name from me. She inherited IT from me and all this is come from me.

324. The secret of the matter, it is written, "The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy, that his mother taught him" (Mishlei 31:1). His mother is Batsheba, NAMELY, THE SECRET OF MALCHUT CALLED BATSHEBA (LIT. 'DAUGHTER OF SEVEN'). We have learned that it is written, "The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father: but a foolish son is the grief of his mother" (Mishlei 10:1). Assuredly he is the grief of his mother. See what is written, "A wise son makes a glad father," MEANING so long as the son walks in a straight path, and he is wise, he "makes a glad father." This refers to the Holy King above, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, as it is written, "Makes a glad father" without specifying, WHICH POINTS TO THE FATHER ABOVE. AND IF this son is on a stumbling manner, it is written, "But a foolish son is the grief of his mother." For sure it is the grief of his mother, referring to the Congregation of Yisrael, DENOTING MALCHUT. The secret of the matter is the words, "And for your transgressions was your mother put away" (Yeshayah 50:1), WHO IS MALCHUT.

355. Come and see: SHE, THE RED COW, is actually called Batsheba according to the secret of wisdom, DENOTING MALCHUT NAMED COW FROM HER LEFT ASPECT, AS THE MALE IS CALLED AN OX AND THE FEMALE A COW. SHE IS RED DUE TO GVUROT. That is why everything referring to her is in sevens, FOR IN THE CHAPTER THERE IS MENTION OF cow seven TIMES; ALSO, seven burnings, seven sprinkles, seven washings, seven unclean, seven clean and seven priests with Moses and Aaron included in the count of seven. THEY ARE ALSO CALLED PRIESTS, as it is written IN THE CHAPTER, "And Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron..." (Bemidbar 19:2). That man that spoke of Batsheba (lit. 'daughter of seven') spoke very well. All this pertains to the secret of wisdom.

357. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister..." (Vayikra 18:12). Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion saying, "And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness..." (Vayikra 20:17). We have learned that Adam lived apart from his wife for 130 years and did not beget children, since Adam did not want to copulate with his wife after Cain slew Abel. Rabbi Yosi taught that from the time death was decreed for him and all mankind, he has said, why should I beget children that will be destroyed? He immediately separated from his wife.

369. We have learned that after the passing of Cain and Abel, Adam returned to his wife. A different spirit enveloped him and he begot Seth. From this lineage, the righteous trace their line in the world. The Holy One, blessed be He, increased Chesed in the world, and with each was also born a female to populate the world, just as above, AS ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT WERE BROTHER AND SISTER. The friends have established in the general Mishnah that it is written ABOUT THEM, "And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness... It is a disgraceful (Heb. chesed, it is confusing but the word chesed can mean disgraceful or kindness) deed" (Vayikra 20:17). Assuredly it is Chesed, for after Chesed rests, offspring and roots come out underneath upwards, and branches spread, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT. What was near moved away. Then the branches grew, ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, and came to join into one in a tree. This was in the beginning, in the concealed state of the world. It is written, "For I have said, the world is built by love (chesed)" (Tehilim 89:3). THEREFORE, from now on, people in this situation THAT MARRY THEIR SISTER "shall be cut off in the sight of their people" (Vayikra 20:17).

379. This is like the Mishnah that is unspecific, MEANING THAT WITH WHAT WAS MENTIONED THAT ABA AND IMA ARE NEVER SEPARATED, THE GENERAL WORDS OF THE MISHNAH WILL BE UNDERSTOOD. It is written here, "The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or daughter of your mother" (Vayikra 18:9). Since it is said, "the daughter of your father," what is "or daughter of your mother?" HE ANSWERS: If she is from the side of Aba, MEANING THE SIDE OF ABA IS DOMINANT IN HER, MALCHUT is named Chochmah. If she is from the side of Ima, MEANING THAT THE SIDE OF IMA IS DOMINANT IN HER, she is called Binah. At any rate, whether from here or there, she is from Aba and Ima TOGETHER, for the Yud, WHICH IS ABA, never parts from the Hei, NAMELY IMA. This is the secret in the verse, "Whether she is born at home" (Ibid.) WHEN SHE IS from the side of Aba and "or born abroad" (Ibid.) WHEN SHE IS from the side of Ima, AS IMA IS THE EXTERNAL PART OF ABA. THE END OF THE VERSE EXPLAINS ITS BEGINNING.

383. Rabbi Chizkiyah said: All is according to the supernal secret to show that one who causes a defect below causes a defect above. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter in law" (Vayikra 18:15): We have learned that the marital visits of the scholars are on Shabbatot, as they know the secret of the matter. They will meditate with their hearts with a complete wish, and the offspring they produce are called children of the King. If these cause a flaw down below, it is as if they cause harm to the bride on high, NAMELY MALCHUT. Then we find written, "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter in law (Heb. kalah, also: 'bride')." This EXPLANATION is for those who comprehend Torah ways. For the rest of the people, THE EXPLANATION IS the revealed one, MEANING literally your actual daughter-in-law, THE WIFE OF HIS SON. Because of this sin, the Shechinah departs from them, NAMELY, HE ALSO HINTS THAT THE BRIDE ON HIGH DEPARTS BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECT BELOW.

393. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of mother and daughter" (Vayikra 18:17). We have learned that these kinds of incest are among the laws of the Queen, even though they are both revealed and hidden. There are listed "her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter" (Ibid.), for the world needs them to populate the world, as we have learned. One who reveals one nakedness of these, woe to him and woe to his soul, as because of this he will uncover other nakednesses.

395. We have learned that Batsheba was chosen for David from the day of Creation. What had delayed HIS TAKING HER was because he took the daughter of King Saul. That day, Uriah took her mercifully even though she was not to be his. Later, David came and took what was his. Since David forced time before the Holy One, blessed be He, to kill Uriah and behave in this way, he sinned before Him. So He punished David, because the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to return BATSHEBA to David in order to sustain for his sake the holy supernal kingdom, AS BATSHEBA WAS THE CHARIOT OF MALCHUT. So what he yearned for was really his.