Hei of Behibar'am

220. "Do you thus (Heb. zot) requite Hashem" (Devarim 32:6): ZOT is the Shechinah. We have explained this issue that we learned that Hei of "when they were created (Heb. behibar'am)" (Beresheet 2:4) is small, ALLUDING TO MALCHUT. Hei in "Do you (Heb. ha)," is large, ALLUDING TO BINAH. It has been said that we learned what Rabbi Yehuda said: Hei always ALLUDES TO the Holy One, blessed be He, and is called a mother. There are two worlds, BINAH AND MALCHUT, of which it is written, "from everlasting (lit. 'world') to everlasting" (Tehilim 106:48), THAT IS, FROM BINAH TO MALCHUT. We have learned this in regard to the meaning of the words, "mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil" (Bemidbar 28:5), WHICH MEANS THAT YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN DRAWS OIL FROM THE SUPERNAL WORLD TO THE LOWER WORLD, WHICH IS MALCHUT. THIS IS THE MEANING OF, "DO YOU THUS REQUITE HASHEM," WHICH COMBINES TOGETHER THREE GRADES, WHICH ARE THE UPPER WORLD, WHICH IS THE LARGE HEI OF "DO YOU," YUD HEI VAV HEI ITSELF, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN THAT DRAWS PLENTY FROM IT TO 'ZOT,' WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH.

221. We learned that Rabbi Yehuda said, I have looked in several places that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not withdraw His love from Yisrael. For wherever they were, the Holy One, blessed be He, was among them, as it is written, "I will not cast them away, nor will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them" (Vayikra 26:44). "with them" is exact, WHICH MEANS THAT THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, IS among them and never left them.

222. Rabbi Yitzchak was walking along the way when Rabbi Chiya came across him. He said to him, I see in your face that you dwell in the dwelling of the Shechinah. It is written, "and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of Egypt" (Shemot 3:8). IT IS WRITTEN, "and (Heb. Vav) I am come down," yet it should have been "I am come down," SO VAV IS REDUNDANT. HE ANSWERS, "and I am come down," means beforehand, SINCE THE VAV IS THE PREFIX OF THE PAST TENSE. When is that? When Jacob went down to Egypt, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, WENT DOWN WITH HIM. Why DID HE COME DOWN? "to deliver them out of the hand of Egypt." For had He not been among them, they would not have been able to tolerate the exile, as it is written, "I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him" (Tehilim 91:15).

223. He said to him, Surely wherever Yisrael dwell, the Holy One, blessed be He, is among them. And wherever the sages of the generation go, the Holy One, blessed be He, goes with them, as it is written, "For He shall give His angels charge over you" (Tehilim 91:11). We derive it from the verse, "And Jacob went on his way...And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is Elohim's camp" (Beresheet 32:2-3) surely. Let us now join together and walk the path I know as we are walking to a certain place to welcome the Shechinah, NAMELY TO RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI. He said to him, IT IS certainly SO. Rabbi Yitzchak said, We have learned that those who act as messengers to perform a good deed are harmed neither in their going nor in returning; and we are going to be seen before the Holy One, blessed be He, so we are not afraid.

224. While they were walking Rabbi Chiya said, It is written, "These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth" (Beresheet 2:4). The heaven comes to include the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN CALLED HEAVEN; and the earth comes to include the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS MALCHUT CALLED EARTH. And all that is below ATZILUT, NAMELY THE THREE WORLDS, BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH, are called the generations of heaven and of earth, from which THEY WERE BROUGHT FORTH, NAMELY FROM ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT.

225. He said to him, In that case, what is, "when they were created (Heb. behibar'am)" (Ibid.)? We learned that beHei bra'am (Eng. 'with Hei He created them'), NAMELY WITH MALCHUT. YET YOU SAY THEY ARE THE GENERATIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, NAMELY FROM ZEIR ANPIN AS WELL. He said to him, It is all the same thing, since when heaven, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, joined WITH MALCHUT, then this Hei, WHICH IS MALCHUT, produced generations, which are called "the generations of the heaven and of the earth." He said to him, If that is so, why have we explained that behibar'am means beAbraham (Eng. 'with Abraham'), WHICH IS SPELLED WITH THE SAME LETTERS? HOW IS ABRAHAM CONNECTED WITH THIS? He said to him, It is all the same; beAbraham IS CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS CALLED ABRAHAM, that is, he is the heaven THAT IS ZEIR ANPIN. For from there, FROM THE SFIRAH OF CHESED, ZEIR ANPIN begins to spread. THAT IS, THE FIRST SFIRAH OF ZEIR ANPIN IS CHESED, AND SO THE NAME ABRAHAM ALSO ALLUDES TO ZEIR ANPIN LIKE THE NAME HEAVEN. AS FOR WHAT HAS BEEN SAID IS THAT beHei bra'am is the earth, WHICH IS MALCHUT. THUS HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE INDICATED IN THE WORD BEHIBAR'AM. And all this is the same issue.

226. He said to him, It is surely so. I have learned that it is written, "These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth," and we have learned that this world was created with Hei, WHICH IS MALCHUT, as it is written, "behibar'am," NAMELY BEHEI BRA'AM (ENG. 'HE CREATED THEM WITH HEI'). The World to Come, WHICH IS BINAH, is created with Yud, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH, as it is written, "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden" (Beresheet 2:10). THE RIVER, WHICH IS BINAH, GOES OUT OF EDEN, CHOCHMAH, TO WATER THE GARDEN, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN. HE ALSO SAYS THAT A RIVER THAT WENT OUT OF EDEN incorporates the heaven, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS ALSO CALLED A RIVER. The Garden incorporates the earth, WHICH IS MALCHUT. THUS THE EXPLANATION ALSO SAYS THAT ZEIR ANPIN GOES OUT OF CHOCHMAH AND BINAH THAT ARE BOTH CALLED EDEN, AND WATERS MALCHUT, THE SECRET OF THE GARDEN.

227. For we have explained that the words, "a fountain of gardens" (Shir Hashirim 4:15) refer to the heaven, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS CALLED RIVER AS MENTIONED. It is a well of living water, as it is written, "and there Isaac's servants dug a well" (Beresheet 26:25), and, "And he removed from there, and dug another well" (Ibid. 22). "And streams from Lebanon" (Shir Hashirim 4:15), NAMELY FROM CHOCHMAH THAT IS CALLED LEBANON, AS THE STREAMS are adorned above WITH CHOCHMAH and rise to the head of the King, NAMELY TO THE THREE FIRST SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN, as it is written, "For Your steadfast love (Chesed) is great above the heavens" (Tehilim 108:5), SINCE THEY ARE DRAWN FROM CHOCHMAH, WHICH IS ABOVE ZEIR ANPIN CALLED HEAVEN SINCE THEY ARE DRAWN FROM CHOCHMAH, WHICH IS ABOVE ZEIR ANPIN CALLED HEAVEN.

228. HE EXPLAINS HIS WORDS: "From Lebanon," WHICH IS CHOCHMAH, come out STREAMS, NAMELY PLENTY to Binah, and flow and are drawn to all corners, NAMELY, TO THE FOUR WINDS, CHESED AND GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT OF ZEIR ANPIN until those founts stream and come down to gather in that place called the great sea, NAMELY MALCHUT, as it is written, "All the rivers run into the sea" (Kohelet 1:7), WHICH MEANS THAT THE STREAMS OF CHESED AND GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT OF ZEIR ANPIN RUN TO MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED SEA. It is also written, "look to the rock whence you are hewn" (Yeshayah 51:1), WHICH IS ABRAHAM, NAMELY CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN. Following "AND STREAMS FROM LEBANON" it is written, "A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride" (Shir Hashirim 4:12), WHICH IS MALCHUT THAT RECEIVES THE STREAMS FROM ZEIR ANPIN. From it, FROM MALCHUT, generations came out to all WORLDS, as it is written, "when they were created (Heb. behibar'am)" - He created them with Hei (Heb. behei bra'am), WHICH IS MALCHUT, THAT IS, actually with Abraham, WHO IS CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN THE SECRET OF THE STREAMS THAT FLOW FROM SUPERNAL CHOCHMAH THAT IS CALLED LEBANON TO ZEIR ANPIN, AND FROM ZEIR ANPIN TO MALCHUT, AND FROM THEM TO ALL THE GENERATIONS IN BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH. Rabbi Yitzchak said, Even with Jacob himself, WHO IS TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, SINCE TIFERET INCLUDES WITHIN IT CHESED AND GVURAH. It is all the same issue.