The Israelite

94. As they were walking along, they saw a Israelite coming toward them. Rabbi Yosi said that this person is an Israelite, because he looks like an Israelite. When he reached them, they asked him WHO HE WAS. He told them that he was on a religious errand, as he lived in the village of Dramin and the time of Sukkot having arrived, they needed a Lulav and the other three kinds. He was on his way to cut them down for the purpose of the commandment. They walked together.

95. The Israelite spoke to them and asked: Have you heard why we need the four kinds of the Lulav to appease the world during this holiday, BUT NOT AT ANY OTHER TIME? They told him: The friends have already explained this subject BY TELLING THE REASON, but if you have a new explanation, then say it.

96. He said to them: The place where we live is indeed a small one, but all indulge in the study of the Torah. We have a rabbi, who is well known among the Rabbis, whose name is Rabbi Yitzchak and who is the son of Rabbi Yosi from Mechoza'a. He teaches us new explanations of the Torah each and every day. And he said that during this holiday, it is the time for domination, WHEN YISRAEL OBTAIN DOMINATION OVER THE MINISTERS OF THE SEVENTY NATIONS. SO IT IS WRITTEN: "Then the proud waters have gone over our soul. Blessed be Hashem, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth" (Tehilim 124:5-6). AND HE ASKS, "Does water have teeth?" AND HE REPLIES THAT they - THE PROUD WATERS - refer to the other nations, AND THE "TEETH" REFER TO the supernal ministers of these nations, who are worshippers of the planets and constellations. They are blessed through Yisrael, and they are called proud waters, as it says "the malicious waters."

97. To dominate THE MINISTERS OF THE NATIONS, we come with the Holy Name that is represented by those four kinds with the Lulav: THE MYRTLE IS THE SECRET OF CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, FROM THE LETTER YUD OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI; THE WILLOW BRANCHES ARE THE SECRET OF NETZACH AND HOD, FROM THE FIRST LETTER HEI OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI; THE LULAV IS THE SECRET OF YESOD, FROM THE LETTER VAV OF THE YUD HEI VAV HEI; AND THE ETROG IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT OF THE LOWER HEI. Together they appease the Holy One, blessed be He, and rule over the proud waters by means of the Holy Name. They bring and arouse upon us the holy waters, NAMELY THE ABUNDANCE OF THE UPPER WATERS, for the water libation ceremony at the altar, WHICH IS MALCHUT. AND THESE UPPER WATERS OVERCOME THE PROUD WATERS.

98. And he went on to say that on Rosh Hashanah, the first awakening, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, recurs and appears in the world. THIS MEANS THAT THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE RETURNS TO ITS PREVIOUS STATUS ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CREATION. AND HE ASKS: What is this first awakening? AND HE ANSWERS: It is the lower courthouse that is aroused in order to judge the world. It is when the Holy One, blessed be He, sits on the throne of Judgment and judges the world.

99. This courthouse rules and judges the world until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), when her face, of the Female Principle, lights up, THIS MEANS THAT THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE RECEIVES THE UPPER THREE SFIROT - KETER, CHOCHMAH AND BINAH - CALLED THE 'FACE.' At this time, the slanderous serpent leaves the world alone, because he is busy with the scapegoat which has been offered to him. This offering is from the side of the spirit of defilement, which is appropriate FOR THE SLANDEROUS SERPENT, WHO IS THE PROSECUTOR. So while he is occupied with his scapegoat, he does not approach the Temple, OR THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. THAT IS, HE DOES NOT APPROACH THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL IN ORDER TO PROSECUTE THEM ANYMORE, AND DOES NOT SEPARATE THE MATING OF ZEIR ANPIN AND THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE.

100. This scapegoat is like the sin offering of the he-goat on the first day of the month. Because he is occupied with it, the face of the Temple, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, lights up. And this is how all Yisrael find mercy in the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and He removes their sins. But there is one secret, he told them, that may not be revealed, except to exceedingly wise, saintly, and pious men. Rabbi Yosi asked him: And what is that secret? So he answered: I have not yet evaluated you, SO I CANNOT TELL WHETHER YOU ARE FIT TO HEAR THIS SECRET.

101. They proceeded on their way, and after a while he said: When the moon, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, approaches the sun, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, then the Holy One, blessed be He, stirs up the northern side, WHICH IS THE LEFT COLUMN, and He grasps her lovingly and draws her toward Himself. THIS IS THE SECRET OF ASKING PERMISSION AND APPEASEMENT. And then the southern side, WHICH IS THE RIGHT COLUMN, is aroused from the other side. And eventually the moon, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, rises and joins the east, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN. Thus, She draws sustenance from both sides, FROM THE SOUTH AND FROM THE NORTH, and receives the blessing OR THE ABUNDANCE OF THE MATING, in silence. And now the moon is blessed and filled WITH THE ABUNDANCE, as a woman approaches her husband. THIS MEANS THAT A COMPLETE MATING HAS OCCURRED, IN WHICH ALL THE MOCHIN ARE REVEALED TO THE WORLD.

102. Just as there is a secret pertaining to the shape of the parts of the body of man, ZEIR ANPIN and its composition, so too there is a secret pertaining to the shape of the parts of the body of the Female Principle OF ZEIR ANPIN and its composition. And the only difference between them is their color: THE COLOR GREEN IS THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHILE RED IS THE SECRET OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. NEVERTHELESS, THE SHAPES OF THEIR PARTS ARE SIMILAR. And as there is that above which joins her and rises to receive her with love, so below ATZILUT, beneath the moon, lies the secret of another, lower man OF THE OTHER SIDE. HE ALSO HAS THE SAME PARTS OF THE BODY, NAMELY THE LEFT AND RIGHT AND SO ON. WHAT WE LEARN FROM THIS IS THAT ALL THE LEVELS ARE MODELED AFTER ONE ANOTHER, SUCH THAT THE SHAPES OF THE UPPER LEVEL CARRY DOWN TO THE LOWER ONE. AND THE AROUSAL OF ANY ONE OF THESE ASPECTS, AROUSES AN OPPOSITE ASPECT IN THE OTHER LEVELS, AS SHALL FURTHER BE EXPLAINED.

103. Above, the left arm OF ZEIR ANPIN holds THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE and rises lovingly toward her. Similarly below the FEMALE PRINCIPLE, the serpent, which is the left arm of the spirit of defilement, is THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF DEFILEMENT. He who rides upon THE SERPENT, WHO IS THE MALE OF THE DEFILEMENT, GRASPS AND MATES WITH IT. By this he approaches the moon, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, and draws her toward him, MEANING THAT HE IS NURISHED FROM HER from between those that are clinging - MEANING THE PLACE OF THE MATING - and thus, she is defiled.

104. Then, Yisrael below offers the scapegoat ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH. The serpent is drawn to it, FOR ITS ENTIRE CRAVING IS FOR THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LEFT. THROUGH THE SCAPEGOAT, YISRAEL DRAW THE SWEETENING OF MALCHUT IN BINAH AND THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LEFT FROM BELOW UPWARD. Then the moon is purified AND BECOMES FIT TO RECEIVE THE ABUNDANCE FROM HER HUSBAND, ZEIR ANPIN. She then climbs up and clings above TO ZEIR ANPIN in order to be blessed. While before, when she was below AND HAD NOT YET MATED WITH ZEIR ANPIN, she was dark, now her face lights up.

105. The same is true of Yom Kippur, another day on which the evil serpent is kept busy with the scapegoat, WHICH IS THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LEFT. JUST AS ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, WHEN THE SERPENT IS BUSY WITH THE SCAPEGOAT, the moon is separated from it and may busy herself in protecting Yisrael as a mother protects her children. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, blesses Yisrael from above and forgives them for their sins.

106. Later, when Yisrael reach the holiday of SUKKOT, the Right COLUMN of above is aroused, AS ALLUDED TO IN THE VERSE, "AND HIS RIGHT HAND EMBRACES ME" (SHIR HASHIRIM 2:6). This allows the moon, WHO IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, to attach herself to him, NAMELY TO THE RIGHT, and then her face is fittingly illuminated. Then she shares her blessings with all the ministers below, NAMELY THE SEVENTY MINISTERS OF THE NATIONS. By keeping them occupied with their blessings, they are distracted from approaching and sucking from Yisrael's portion. AS IS DESCRIBED WITH THE SERPENT AND THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, ITS OCCUPATION WITH THE SCAPEGOAT DEFLECTS ITS PROSECUTION OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE.

107. The same applies below IN THIS WORLD. When all the other nations are blessed, they all become occupied with their portion and do not meddle with Yisrael or covet their portion. JUST AS WE DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY - THE SERPENT WITH THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE AND THE SEVENTY SUPERNAL MINISTERS WITH YISRAEL - SO IS THE CASE WITH THE SEVENTY NATIONS AND YISRAEL BELOW. This is why DURING SUKKOT, WHEN THEY OFFER THE SEVENTY BULLS AS A SACRIFICE, Yisrael draw blessings down to all the supernal ministers OF THE SEVENTY NATIONS, so they will be occupied with their portion and not meddle with Yisrael.

108. When the moon is full of blessings from above as she aught, Yisrael come and draw sustenance from her for themselves alone. That is why it is written: "On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly (Heb. Atzeret)" (Bemidbar 29:35). What is this assembly? It indicates the assembling of the blessings from above, from which only Yisrael may draw sustenance. And that is why it is written: "There shall be a solemn assembly for you," REFERRING SPECIFICALLY to 'you' and not to the other nations; to you and not to the other supernal ministers.

109. This is the reason why YISRAEL appeases THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, with water libations UPON THE ALTAR. THIS gives the supernal ministers OF THE NATIONS part of the blessings, so that they are occupied with it and do not meddle with the joy of Yisrael when they come to draw the blessings from above. And of this day, it is written: "My beloved is mine and I am his" (Shir Hashirim 2:16), MEANING that there is no stranger interfering with us.

110. This day is like the day on which a king invites a close friend to a special feast, prepared on a special day, so that his friend will know his deep love. The king thinks to himself: Now I wish to feast and be merry with my beloved alone, but I fear that during my feast all the other ministers will come and join us at our table to be together and take part in the festive meal that I have prepared for my beloved and myself. So what does the king do? He first regales his governors and ministers with dishes of vegetables and beef. Only after they are satisfied can he sit in peace with his friend and enjoy the supernal banquet with the world's finest delicacies spread before them. And while alone with the king, his friend puts before him all his petitions and requests, which the king grants. So just as the king enjoys the company of his beloved alone, with no stranger disturbing them, the Holy One, blessed be He, enjoys Yisrael. Hence it is written: "On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly."

111. Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Chiya said: The Holy One, blessed be He, established the right way for us; happy are those who delve into the Torah. They approached THE ISRAELITE and kissed him. Rabbi Yosi applied to him the verse: "And all your children shall be taught of Hashem, and great shall be the peace of your children" (Yeshayah 54:13). When they reached a field, they all sat down. That man asked what changed when the verse says, "And Hashem rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah" (Beresheet 19:24), AND DID NOT USE THE TERM 'ELOHIM'? And what changed during the Great Flood, when the term 'Elohim' is used, while the term Hashem, AS MENTIONED IN THE OVERTHROWING OF THE CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH, IS NOT USED AT ALL?

112. We have learned that everywhere the term "and Hashem" is mentioned, IT INDICATES Him and His courthouse, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS MERCY, TOGETHER WITH HIS FEMALE PRINCIPLE, WHICH IS JUDGMENT. But when the term Elohim is mentioned alone, this indicates only the courthouse, NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WITHOUT ZEIR ANPIN. In the case of Sodom, Judgment was passed not to destroy the world, and thus, ZEIR ANPIN was involved in carrying out Judgment. THAT IS WHY IT IS WRITTEN "AND HASHEM," VAV - YUD HEI VAV HEI, INDICATING THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, TOGETHER WITH HIS COURT OF JUSTICE, WHICH IS HIS FEMALE PRINCIPLE, FOR THE LETTER VAV, WHICH CARRIES THE MEANING OF THE ENGLISH WORD 'AND,' THAT IS JOINED WITH YUD HEI VAV HEI, INDICATES THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. But in the case of the Great Flood, the whole world and all of its inhabitants were destroyed. THAT IS WHY THE EVENT IS DESCRIBED WITH THE TERM 'ELOHIM,' INDICATING THE ATTRIBUTE OF JUDGMENT ALONE, UNTEMPERED BY MERCY.

113. And although you may say that Noah and all who were with him WERE SAVED AND NOT ALL WERE DESTROYED, IT IS ONLY BECAUSE THEY were hidden from sight and unseen BY THE ANGEL OF DESTRUCTION. Thus, IT IS CONSIDERED THAT everything, NAMELY, EVERYTHING THAT WAS SEEN BY THE EYES OF THE ANGEL OF DESTRUCTION, that existed in the world was destroyed. That is why the term "And Hashem," indicates that He does not destroy all that is revealed to the eye, AS IN THE CASE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. However, the term Elohim indicates that all should be carefully concealed, because He destroys everything, NAMELY ALL THAT IS REVEALED TO THE EYE. That is why the term Elohim REFERS TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE alone, WITHOUT ZEIR ANPIN, WHO IS MERCY.

114. And this is the secret of the verse, "Hashem sat at the Flood" (Tehilim 29:10). SO HE ASKS, What is THE MEANING OF THE TERM "sat?" AND HE ANSWERS THAT if it had not been written in the scriptures, we could not have said it, BECAUSE THE TERM "SAT" INDICATES that He sat alone, by Himself and was distinct from the Judgment THAT WAS PASSED AT THE GREAT FLOOD. THIS IS BASED ON THE ANALOGY THAT here it is written: "HASHEM sat," while in another place it is written: "He shall sit alone" OUTSIDE THE CAMP (Vayikra 13:46). THE MEANING, IN BOTH CASES, IS THAT HE WAS ALONE, by himself. ALL THIS LEADS TO THE FACT THAT AT THE SENTENCE OF THE FLOOD, YUD HEI VAV HEI SAT ALONE; HE DID NOT JOIN IN THAT JUDGMENT. AND THAT IS WHY THE SENTENCE WAS IMPOSED AS JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY.

115. Now because Noah was out of sight after the sentence was passed, the world was destroyed, and His temper was quiet. It is written: "And Elohim remembered Noah" (Beresheet 8:1). For UNTIL NOW when He was destroying the world, Noah was not remembered, because he was out of sight.

116. I have learned a secret that the Holy One, blessed be He, is revealed and concealed. He is revealed when presiding over the lower courthouse, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE CALLED RACHEL WHO STANDS FROM THE CHEST OF ZEIR ANPIN DOWNWARD, and He is concealed when He is AT the place from where come out all the blessings, WHICH IS THE STATE IN [mb1]WHICH ZEIR ANPIN MATES WITH LEAH. LEAH STANDS FROM THE CHEST OF ZEIR ANPIN UPWARD, AND FROM THIS MATING ALL BLESSINGS COME FORTH. This is why all the affairs of man that are hidden from sight are blessed from above, while all those exposed to view are under the influence of the court of justice, NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WHO IS FROM THE CHEST OF ZEIR ANPIN DOWNWARD, because this is the place that is revealed, NAMELY THE REVEALED WORLD. IN OTHER WORDS, CHASSADIM are REVEALED IN HER BY THE ILLUMINATION BY CHOCHMAH. The one who is called the 'Evil Eye' rules over it, MEANING THAT ALL JUDGMENT AND KLIPOT CLING TO THE PLACE WHERE THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH IS REVEALED. BUT IN THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE ABOVE THE CHEST THERE ARE HIDDEN CHASSADIM, WHICH IS WHY IT IS CALLED THE HIDDEN WORLD. NO KLIPAH CAN SEIZE IT. THUS, BLESSING FROM THE HIDDEN WORLD REST ON HIM WHOSE AFFAIRS ARE CONCEALED FROM SIGHT, BUT JUDGMENT FROM THE REVEALED WORLD REST ON HIM WHOSE AFFAIRS ARE FOR ALL TO SEE. Thus, all is according to the supernal secrets of above.

117. Rabbi Yosi wept and said: Happy is the generation who has Rabbi Shimon among it. His merit has brought us to these mountains, so that we could hear such supreme matters. He continued: This man has come for the SOLE purpose of revealing these matters to us. The Holy One, blessed be He, sent him to us. And when they came to Rabbi Shimon and repeated ALL THAT THEY HEARD, he said: Definitely, all that he said is true.