141. The second LIGHT is the light that gradually fades away before nightfall. THIS IS the secret of the prayer of Isaac, to properly amend and establish this grade, as it is written: "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide" (Beresheet 24:63). The vision at "eventide" and all sorts of darkness are related to him, ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF MINCHAH (THE AFTERNOON PRAYER). At this eventide, Jacob looked at the minister of Esau, ABOUT WHOM IT IS WRITTEN: "AND THERE WRESTLED A MAN WITH HIM" (BERESHEET 32:25).

233. At that time, "out of the ground Hashem, Elohim made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight" (Beresheet 2:9). However, before that time and not until THE SIN OF THE GOLDEN CALF is erased, the rain of the Torah, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, does not come down TO WATER THE SEEDS OF THE SOULS OF YISRAEL. Therefore, The Children of Yisrael, who are similar to the herbs and trees, are not able to grow. The secret of this matter is as written: "And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet grown...and there was not a man to till the ground" (Beresheet 2:5). "A man" alludes to Yisrael, "the ground" is the Temple and "to till" is to offer sacrifices.

234. Another explanation of the phrase: "plant of the field" is THAT IT ALLUDES TO the first Messiah, MESSIAH BEN (THE SON OF) DAVID, who was not yet on earth, whereas "herb of the field" is the second Messiah, MESSIAH BEN JOSEPH. HE ASKS: Why WERE THEY NOT "IN THE EARTH?" HE REPLIES, Because Moses was not there with them to serve the Shechinah. Of him, it is written: "And there was not a man to till the ground." The secret is given in the verse: "The staff shall not depart from Judah..." (Beresheet 49:10), which refers to Messiah ben David, "nor the scepter from between his feet," which refers to Messiah ben Joseph. "Until Shiloh come" is an allusion to Moses, as the numerical value of MOSES is the same as that OF SHILOH. "And the obedience of the people be his (Heb. velo yik'hat)" is A PHRASE WHOSE LETTERS ALSO FORM THE HEBREW WORDS, Levi Kohath, WHICH MEANS THAT THE CORRECTION SHALL REACH FROM MOSES TO KOHATH AND LEVI, HIS ANCESTORS.

235. Another explanation OF THE VERSE: "plant (Heb. siach) of the field" IS THAT IT REFERS TO THE SOULS OF the righteous, who come from YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS CALLED the Righteous, the life (Heb. chai) of the worlds. Because Siach (Sin-Yud-Chet) CONSISTS OF THE LETTERS Chai (Chet- Yud) and Shin. Shin BY ITSELF ALLUDES TO the three branches of the tree, which symbolize the three patriarchs - CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHO IS CALLED A TREE. THE LETTER SIN IN SIACH IS NOT DERIVED DIRECTLY FROM ZEIR ANPIN, BUT from the life of the worlds, WHICH IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN.

236. ANOTHER EXPLANATION ABOUT THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS APPEARS IN THE VERSE: "AND NO HERB (HEB. ESEV) OF THE FIELD," IN WHICH ESEV CONSISTS OF THE LETTERS AYIN-BET AND SHIN. THE LETTER SHIN IS AN ALLUSION TO THE THREE LEAVES, WHICH ARE YUD- ALEPH-HEI-DALED-VAV-NUN-HEI-YUD - NAMELY THE COMBINING OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, AND ADONAI, WHICH IS HIS FEMALE PRINCIPLE, THEY HAVE A NUMERICAL VALUE OF AYIN-BET (SEVENTY-TWO). THAT IS YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHEN FULLY SPELLED OUT WITH YUD'S, AMOUNTS TO SEVENTY-TWO. THE BRANCHES - NAMELY CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, ARE THE THREE LEAVES FROM WHICH NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD ARE SUSPENDED. THEY ALL ADD UP TO SEVENTY-TWO, AS EACH ONE OF THE THREE BRANCHES EQUALS SEVENTY-TWO. THEY DO NOT REACH THE PLACE, WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH, UNTIL THE appearance of he who is called man, who is YUD HEI VAV HEI, FULLY SPELLED WITH ALEPH'S AS Yud-Vav-Dalet, Hei-Aleph, Vav-Aleph-Vav, Hei-Aleph. THIS ALLUDES TO MOSES and this is WHY IT IS WRITTEN: "And there was not a man to till the ground," ALLUDING TO MOSES WHO HAD NOT YET CORRECTED THE SHECHINAH PROPERLY.

237. For this reason, it is written OF MOSES: "And no herb of the field had yet grown." This means that the righteous man, MOSES, was not yet grown - Moses, who validates THE VERSE, "Truth shall spring (grow) out of the earth" (Tehilim 85:12). As THE TRUTH is described IN THE VERSE: "And it cast down the truth to the ground" (Daniel 8:12), IT REFERS TO the students of the Torah, who are like the plants THAT GROW AND SPRING OUT OF THE EARTH. But they do not grow OR SPRING FORTH FROM THE SHECHINAH in exile until THE TIME WHEN THE WORDS "Truth shall spring out of the earth, ARE FULFILLED. This TRUTH is Moses, about whom it is written: "The law of truth was in his mouth" (Malachi 2:6), because no man relates to the Shechinah as well as he. This is WHY THE SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT HIM, "And there is not a man to till the ground," WHERE THE GROUND ALLUDES TO THE SHECHINAH. BEFORE MOSES, THERE WAS NO ONE TO CORRECT THE SHECHINAH.

261. If he transgresses THE PRECEPTS OF the Torah, THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF HIS BODY shall be watered by the bitterness of the Tree of Evil, which is the Evil Inclination. It is written about all the parts of the body that are made of the four elements in him, "And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage..." (Shemot 1:14). They made them bitter by the bitterness of the gallbladder (Heb. marah). Of the sacred parts of the body, which are from the side of good, it is written: "And when they came to Marah (lit. 'bitter'), they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter..." (Shemot 15:23). Similarly, the sages of the Mishnah said that the verse, "And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage..." refers to hard questions, "in mortar (Heb. chomer) refers to inferences from minor to major," and "in brick (Heb. levenah)" in clarifying (Heb. libun), the Halachah, "And in all manner of bondage in the field," allude to the Barayta, "All their bondage" is the Mishnah. BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS AND TRANSGRESSION, THE OTHER SIDE CLEAVED TO ALL THE PARTS OF THEIR STUDY OF THE TORAH. AS OUR SAGES OF BLESSED MEMORY SAID, 'IF A MAN IS NOT WORTHY, THE TORAH BECOMES TO HIM A DEADLY POISON'.

274. RABBI SHIMON continued the discussion saying, "And out of the ground Hashem Elohim formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the air" (Beresheet 2:19). Woe to THE PEOPLE OF the world whose hearts are closed, whose eyes are shut and who do not look into the secrets of the Torah and perceive that the "beast of the field" and the "bird of the air" allude to the ignorant. Even those who have ACHIEVED a living Nefesh, BUT HAVE NOT YET REACHED THE LEVEL OF LIVING RUACH, are of no service to the Shechinah in exile or to Moses who is with Her. For all the time that the Shechinah is in exile, Moses did not move away from Her.

285. Of THE MIXED MULTITUDE it is written: "Now the serpent was craftier than any beast of the field" (Beresheet 3:1). Here, "craftier" means to do evil more than all the other animals, which are the other idolatrous nations. THE MEMBERS OF THE MIXED MULTITUDE are the children of the primordial Serpent that seduced Eve BY THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, so the mixed multitude is indeed the impurity that the Serpent injected into Eve. From this impurity, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE MIXED MULTITUDE, Cain came forth and slew Abel the shepherd, of whom it is written: "For that he also is (Heb. beshagam) flesh" (Beresheet 6:3). Beshagam is Abel and is definitely Moses, BECAUSE THEIR NUMERICAL VALUES ARE EQUAL TO EACH OTHER AND, AS IS KNOWN, MOSES IS THE REINCARNATED SOUL OF ABEL. And he was the firstborn of Adam.

290. "And they heard the voice of Hashem Elohim..." (Beresheet 3:8). THIS ALLUDES TO THE TIME when YISRAEL approached Mount Sinai TO RECEIVE THE TORAH, as it is written: "Did ever people hear the voice of Elohim speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?" (Devarim 4:33). WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THERE IS AN ANALOGY BETWEEN THE VERSES DERIVED FROM THE USE OF THE WORD "HEAR." While the mixed multitude, WHICH COULD NOT BEAR TO HEAR THE VOICE OF ELOHIM, perished, those FROM AMONG THE MIXED MULTITUDE WHO REMAINED ALIVE said AFTERWARDS to Moses, "But let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die" (Shemot 20:19). They then caused the Torah to be forgotten BY BRINGING THE SIN OF THE GOLDEN CALF UPON YISRAEL. THE MIXED MULTITUDE consists of ignorant people, about whom it is written: "Cursed be he that lies with any manner of beast" (Devarim 27:21), because they come from the side of that Serpent, of which it is written: "You are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field" (Beresheet 3:14).

302. The waters of this ice THAT BELONGS TO the frozen sea shall only flow when the mighty force of the South, WHICH IS THE RIGHT, reaches it and draws it to itself. The waters that were frozen by the North side, WHICH IS THE LEFT, then melt and flow by the South side AND ARE BESTOWED ON THE LOWER BEINGS to water all the animals of the field. THIS IS A REFERENCE TO THE GRADES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF ATZILUT AND ARE IN BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH, as it is written: "They give drink to every wild beast" (Tehilim 104:11). These GRADES are called 'mountains of separation' - AS IT IS WRITTEN OF BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH, "AND FROM THENCE IT WAS PARTED" (BERESHEET 2:10). These are all watered when the South side starts to approach it and then the waters flow. Because of this supernal force, which originates IN THE SOUTH, all shall be in splendor and joy.

418. Rabbi Shimon said: It is written, "And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet grown: for Hashem Elohim had not caused it to rain upon the earth" (Beresheet 2:5). "And no plant of the field" refers to big trees - but just after they are planted, when they are still small. THIS IS WHY THE VERSE STATES, "AND NO PLANT OF THE FIELD WAS YET."

426. WHY DO ALL THE WATERS OF CREATION SEPARATE UNDERNEATH IT? The river that flows and comes out OF EDEN, NAMELY BINAH, rests on the garden, and enters into it, NAMELY THE MOCHIN OF THE TREE OF LIFE THAT SHINES ON THE GARDEN ARE FROM THE RIVER, WHICH IS BINAH. From there, FROM BINAH, the waters divide and flow in many directions. This garden received all THREE ASPECTS OF THE MOCHIN. Afterward, they flow from it and are separated into many streams below, as it is written: "They give drink to every beast of the field" (Tehilim 104:11). THIS MEANS THAT EACH OF THE LOWER BEINGS RECEIVES NOURISHMENT FROM ITS CORRESPONDING ASPECT IN THE MOCHIN OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. HE ELABORATED FURTHER BY SAYING, Just as THE MOCHIN come from the supernal world, NAMELY BINAH, AND BINAH waters the supernal mountains of pure balsam - WHICH ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF BINAH - so when THE MOCHIN later reach the Tree of Life, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, they also separate in all directions, according to their individual path - RIGHT, LEFT AND CENTRAL. THUS THEY ALSO PART IN THE GARDEN, WHICH RECEIVES FROM THE TREE OF LIFE.

447. Immediately AFTER SHE HAD TOUCHED THE TREE, "the woman saw that the tree was good..." (Beresheet 3:6). What did she see? Rabbi Yitzchak said: A tree that emits pleasant odors, as it is written, "As the smell of a field, which the Hashem has blessed" (Beresheet 27:27). Because of that pleasant odor, her desire to eat from it was aroused. Rabbi Yosi said: Her seeing, AND NOT THE ODOR, AROUSED HER DESIRE TO EAT FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "AND WHEN THE WOMAN SAW..." Rabbi Yehuda said to him: But AFTER THE SIN, it is written: "And the eyes of them both were opened...," WHICH MEANS THAT THE SEEING WAS ACHIEVED ONLY AFTER EATING. SO BEFORE THE EATING, THE PLEASANT ODOR TEMPTED HER. RABBI YOSI replied: This seeing BEFORE EATING that was related to the size of the tree IS THE ASPECT OF THE LIGHT OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, AND THIS SEEING brought THE DESIRE UPON HER. THE SEEING AFTER THE EATING WAS GREATER THAN THE SIZE OF THE TREE, AND OF THIS, IT IS WRITTEN: "AND THE EYES...WERE OPENED." Therefore, it is written, "And when the woman saw," stressing THE WORD 'woman' TO INDICATE THAT THE SEEING WAS THE LIGHT OF THE ASPECT OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE.

458. "And Hashem set a mark upon Cain lest anyone finding him should smite him" (Beresheet 4:15). This is one of the twenty-two letters of the Torah, WHICH IS THE LETTER VAV that he placed upon him for his protection. THE LETTER VAV IS RELATED TO YESOD, WHICH IS RELATED TO THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT. THIS HE MERITED WHEN HE REPENTED AND AGREED TO KEEP THE COVENANT. Rabbi Yehuda said: Why is it written, "And it came to pass, when they were in the field"? HE ANSWERS: A field signifies a woman. Thus, BECAUSE OF A WOMAN, he rose and killed ABEL. For it is from the side of woman, WHO IS THE LEFT SIDE, that he inherited his murderous tendency, which is the aspect of Samael that brought death to the whole world WHEN HE SEDUCED ADAM AND EVE WITH THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. Similarly, Cain was jealous of Abel because of his wife, AS ABEL HAD A SECOND WIFE. Rabbi Chiya RAISED AN OBJECTION BEFORE RABBI YEHUDA. HE said: The reason CAIN KILLED ABEL was as it is written that "Cain was very angry, and his face fell" (Ibid. 5). It was because his offering was not accepted AND NOT BECAUSE OF A WOMAN. RABBI YEHUDA said THAT CAIN WAS ANGRY THAT HIS OFFERING WAS NOT ACCEPTED, and all the reasons were before him WHEN HE KILLED ABEL, INCLUDING JEALOUSY BECAUSE OF THE EXTRA WIFE.