54. HE QUESTIONS: What song did they sing? HE ANSWERS, "For Hashem is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all Elohim" (Tehilim 96:4). THEY SAID this when they raised their wings, WHICH IS THE ASPECT OF THE RIGHT COLUMN, MEANING CHESED TERMED "GREAT." When they spread them, they would say, "For all the Elohim of the nations are idols: but Hashem made the heavens" (Ibid. 5). THIS IS THE ASPECT OF THE LEFT COLUMN THAT SUBDUES THE ENTIRE OTHER SIDE. When they covered the ark cover, they would say, "Before Hashem; for He comes to judge the earth: with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity" (Tehilim 98:9). THIS IS THE ASPECT OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN DENOTING TIFERET, REFERRED TO AS JUSTICE.

95. We have learned that all leaders of every generation were present before the Holy One, blessed be He, in their forms before they came to the world. Furthermore, before they came into the world, all human souls were carved before Him in the heavens with the same forms literally as they are in this world. All that these souls learn in this world, they already knew before coming to this world. We have learned that all this holds true with the people of true piety.

115. We have learned that Yisrael has a more fortunate share than the idolatrous nations, as the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to purify them and have mercy for them as they are His portion and inheritance. It is written, "For Hashem's portion is His people..." (Devarim 32:9) and "He made him ride on the high places of the earth" (Ibid. 13). "On the high places" exactly, as they join up higher and higher WITH ZEIR ANPIN. Therefore, the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, is clinging to them, as it is written, "'I have loved you,' says Hashem" (Malachi 1:2) and, "But because Hashem loved you" (Devarim 7:8). From this excessive love, He gave them one day during the year to purify them and clear them from their sins, as it is written, "for on that day..." (Vayikra 16:30). This was in order that they may be meritorious in this world and in the World to Come, and that no sin may be found in them. Consequently on this day, Yisrael are crowned and rule over the prosecutors and all spirits.

232. About this, it is written, "Humble, and riding upon an donkey" (Ibid.), as he was poor at first "and riding upon an donkey." As we have established, it refers to the lower crowns of the idolatrous nations, the firstborn of which Hashem killed in Egypt, AS THEY ARE CONSIDERED "AN DONKEY." This is the meaning of, "And all the firstborn of cattle" (Shemot 11:5). We have established this matter so to speak with "just and victorious" MEANING that he is more VICTORIOUS than anyone. Until now, the Righteous, NAMELY YESOD, resided without righteousness, DENOTING MALCHUT. Now that THE RIGHTEOUS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS are joined, he is "just and victorious," because he NO LONGER dwells in the Other Side. We have learned that "the righteous perishes (lit. 'is lost'), and no man lays it to heart" (Yeshayah 57:1). This verse is complicated. IT READS "lost" when it should be written 'is lost.' So what is the meaning of "lost?" HE ANSWERS: He really lost. What did he lose? The Queen - and he joined another place called maid.

271. Rabbi Chizkiyah and Rabbi Yesa left. They said surely when there are no righteous men in the world, the world will survive only by the merits of the deceased. Rabbi Yesa said: When the world needs rain, why do people go to the deceased TO PRAY? Does it not say about "one who inquires of the dead" that it is prohibited? He replied: You have not perceived the wing of the bird in Eden, REFERRING TO THE SECRET OF BINAH, MEANING YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE LEVEL OF BINAH, SINCE THE VERSE "one who inquires of the dead" literally means the dead, denoting the world's evildoers from the idolatrous nations that are always dead, AS THE WICKED EVEN DURING THEIR LIFETIME ARE CALLED DEAD. But about Yisrael, who are truly righteous, Solomon said, "So I praised the dead that are already dead" (Kohelet 4:2), those that have already died at a different time, MEANING THEY GAVE THEMSELVES FOR THE TORAH, but not this time. They have already died, and now they are alive.

289. Rabbi Yitzchak said: IT WAS the practices of Egypt THAT THEY USED to worship the maidservant, MEANING THE KLIPAH CALLED MAIDSERVANT, as we have explained. The practice of Canaan WAS TO worship THAT PLACE called "the captive that was in the dungeon" (Shemot 12:29). Therefore, it is written, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren" (Beresheet 9:25). For this reason, they all falsified in matters of holiness and everything practiced IDOLATRY. For this reason, IT IS WRITTEN, "After the doings of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt..." (Vayikra 18:3). Rabbi Yehuda said: They created evil Judgments that will rule over the land, NAMELY MALCHUT, as the verse says, "That your land be not defiled" (Devarim 21:23) and, "And the land is defiled" (Vayikra 18:27).

290. "After the doings of the land of Egypt:" Rabbi Chiya said, "That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it" (Iyov 38:13). We have learned that the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future will cleanse His land, MALCHUT, from all the defilement of the idolatrous nations that defiled it, just as one takes hold of a garment and shakes out from it all the filth, referring to all THE WICKED buried in the Holy Land. SO HE WILL SHAKE OUT THE LAND in order to cast them out and IN ORDER to purify the Holy Land, DENOTING MALCHUT, from the Other Side. It is as if it was sustaining the other ministers of the nations, from whom it received defilement in order to guide them. And He will cleanse it and remove THE MINISTERS OF THE NATIONS to the outside.

298. Rabbi Elazar asked of Rabbi Shimon his father: We learned that it is prohibited to teach Torah to idolaters and very beautifully did the Babylonian scholars explain that which is written, "He has not dealt so with any other nation" (Tehilim 147:20). But ONE COULD ASK since it is written, "He declares His word to Jacob" (Ibid. 19), so why write again, "His statutes and His Judgments (lit. 'justices') to Yisrael?" IT IS A REDUNDANT EXPRESSION. He replied: Elazar. Come and see how fortunate are Yisrael within whom this supernal portion was planted by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "For I give you a good doctrine" (Mishlei 4:2) - to you and not to the idolatrous nations.

301. If it is so to Yisrael, THAT TORAH IS NOT TO BE REVEALED BUT TO ONE WHO IS IN THE UPPER LEVEL, it is all the more so with the idolatrous nations. If one gives to all those who are uncircumcised even a single letter of the Torah, it is considered as if he devastated the world and was false to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. It is all dependent upon this, CIRCUMCISION. One is bound to the other, TORAH IS CONNECTED TO CIRCUMCISION, as it is written, "If My covenant be not day and night, it were as if I had not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth" (Yirmeyah 33:25).