"Unless Hashem builds the house"

98. Again he opened the discussion and said: "A song of ascent of Solomon, unless Hashem builds the house..." (Tehilim 127:2). This verse was uttered by King Solomon when he built the Temple. When he started building, he saw that the work was finished by their hands, but was constructed on its own. Then he said: "Unless Hashem builds the house..." He referred to the secret of the verse, "In the beginning Elohim created" (Beresheet 1:1), for the Holy One, blessed be He created and furnished this world, NAMELY, MALCHUT, with all that is needed.

99. "They who build it labor in vain" (Tehilim 127:2). His builders are the secret of those rivers, THE SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN, going out of and into this house, MALCHUT, to prepare whatever is needed. And though all come to fix and construct it, surely, but for Hashem, who is the secret of the high world, BINAH, who prepared and made the house as it should be, all who build it labor in vain. For THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS what BINAH made and prepared. "Unless Hashem keeps the city" (Ibid.) as it is written, "the eyes of Hashem your Elohim are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year" (Devarim 11:12). It was explained, that by that watchfulness, it is kept on all sides.

100. And it is written, "Behold it is his litter, that of Solomon, sixty valiant men are round it, the mighty men of Yisrael" (Shir Hashirim 3:7). THE LITTER OF SOLOMON IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT. And they all guard it. Why do they guard it? Because "of the fear by night" (Ibid. 8). This is the fear of Gehenom, that is before it. And so that it would be rejected, all are standing around it.

101. All are inside the illumination of the incomprehensible thought. And that light of the not-known thought strikes the veil and they illuminate together and become nine Temples.

102. These Temples are not lights, nor Ruchot (Eng. 'spirits'), nor Neshamot (Eng. 'souls'), and there is no one to comprehend them. The will of these nine lights, all within the thought, that is counted as one of them, is to chase THE NINE TEMPLES AND GRASP THEM, while they are within the thought. But they do not grasp nor become known, because these pertain to neither will nor to supernal thought. They grasp them, FOR THEY GET MOCHIN FROM THEM, yet do not grasp them, FOR THEY CANNOT BE COMPREHENDED. All the secrets of the Faith are within them. And all the lights coming from the secret of the supernal thought that is underneath are called 'the Endless World', for this far do the lights reach yet do not reach nor become known, for there is no will nor thought in here.

103. When thought shines, it is not known by whose light, FOR THE THOUGHT IS NOT GRASPED. Then ITS LIGHT is covered and closed inside Binah, FOR BINAH CANNOT RECEIVE CHOCHMAH WITHOUT CHASSADIM, AND THEREFORE, THE LIGHT IS CONCEALED IN IT. LATER it shone upon whoever it shines, MEANING THAT CHASSADIM SHONE, and entered one another, FOR CHOCHMAH AND CHASSADIM WERE INCLUDED WITHIN ONE ANOTHER, until eveything was included together. This was already explained. And the secret of the offering is that when all goes up, everything is bound together and they shine the one within the other, FOR THE LOWER RISES TO THE HIGHER AND JOINS IT, AND BY THAT RECEIVES SUPERNAL MOCHIN. FOR ALL THAT IS LOW RISES TO THE HIGHER AND THE HIGHER SHINES UPON THE LOWER. Then all the grades rise TO THE HIGH ONE. And the thought MOUNTS AND is crowned by the Endless Light. And the light with which the supernal thought is shining, is called 'the Endless World'.

104. Once thought is shining and powers were expanded from it - NAMELY, BINAH, THAT WENT UP TO IT, RECEIVED CHOCHMAH FROM IT - AND EXPANDED DOWNWARD it became concealed, stored and unknown. BECAUSE OF ITSELF, IT IS CLOSED AND DOES NOT SHINE AT ALL UPON THE LOWER BEINGS. And there from it expanded in all directions and spread in the one expansion, which is the secret of the Supernal World, NAMELY, BINAH AS SAID.

105. And this SUPERNAL WORLD is subject to questioning, which is the supernal utterance, NAMELY, BINAH. It was established that it is called 'Who' (Heb. mi), as it is written, "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who (Heb. mi) has created these" (Yeshayah 40:26). That is, that 'question' created 'these'. FOR 'WHO', BINAH, CREATED 'THESE', THE SIX SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN. And then MI (MEM-YUD) expanded and became a sea (Heb. yam, Yud-Mem), the ending of all the grades, being below IN MALCHUT. And from there, BINAH, it started to build below IN MALCHUT, and all that it did IN MALCHUT was exactly as is done above, IN BINAH, the one corresponding to the other, because BINAH protects everything above and below.

106. This expansion, the Supernal World, comes from thought, bECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT SPREADS FROM THOUGHT IS BINAH CALLED 'THE SUPERNAL WORLD'. This is the meaning of "unless Hashem keeps the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Tehilim 127:1), who is the keeper of Yisrael, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN. For keeping does not proceed FROM ZEIR ANPIN but from the Supernal World, BINAH, AS WAS EXPLAINED BEFORE.

107. Come and see the blue in the Tabernacle; everything is sustained by a high mystery. Blue, MALCHUT, and purple, TIFERET, are bound to one another, SO THAT ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT WILL BE UNITED. And we have learned the secret of the verse, "For Hashem your Elohim is a consuming fire" (Devarim 4:24), that there is a fire that consumes fire, eats and extinguishes it, the one fire being stronger than the other. (THE ENDING IS MISSING, IT MAY BE FOUND IN BERESHEET 248-269).