"Lift up your eyes on high"

Synopsis

Rabbi Shimon asks if anyone who lifts his eyes and looks up could see anything that he wasn't permitted to see. He answers that the title verse means that whoever wants to see and know about God's deeds should look up, and after seeing all the armies and legions of angels then he can ask, "Who created these?" Rabbi Shimon says that 'who' is Binah, and that there is never an answer because Binah is always hidden and concealed and unknown. Next he talks about: "Who brings out their host by number," saying that Binah brings everything out with the sound of the Shofar. This is the secret of the divine faith, which extends through all the levels from Zeir Anpin and downward all the way to Malchut. The armies are then divided up and numbered and named. Rabbi Shimon extends another explanation for, "Lift up your eyes on high," which is that whoever looked at the Tabernacle saw in it both what was above and what was below. All the works of both worlds were contained in it.

Creation Eyes

213. כְּתִיב שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם וּרְאוּ מִי בָרָא אֵלֶּה וְגוֹ'. הַאי קְרָא אוּקְמוּהָ, אֲבָל ת"ח, וְכִי בְּגִין דְּיִסְתָּכַּל ב"נ עֵינוֹי לְעֵילָּא, וְזָקִיף לוֹן לְעֵילָּא, יָכִיל לְמִנְדַּע וּלְאִסְתַּכְּלָא בְּמָה דְּלָא אִתְּרָשׁוּ לְמִנְדַּע וּלְמֶחֱמֵי.

Creation Deeds Eyes

214. HE REPLIES: No, "Lift up your eyes on high" MEANS THAT whoever wishes to behold and know the deeds of the Holy One, blessed be He, let him lift up his eyes and see how many are the armies and legions, AND HOW MANY are the deeds, each different than the other, one mightier than the other. Then you may look and ask, "Who created these?" We explained this mystery: 'who', WHICH IS BINAH, created 'these'. FOR BINAH is a place located up high, hidden, concealed and unknown. It remains a constant question, because this place is not revealed.

214. אֶלָּא שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם, מַאן דְּבָעֵי לְאִסְתַּכְּלָא וּלְמִנְדַּע בְּעוֹבָדוֹי דְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, יִזְקוֹף עֵינוֹי לְעֵילָּא, וְיֶחְמֵי כַּמָה חַיָּילִין, וְכַמָּה מַשִׁרְיָין, עוֹבָדִין מְשַׁנְיָין דָּא מִן דָּא, רַבְרְבִין אִלֵּין מֵאִלֵּין. וּכְדֵין תֶּחֱמוּן וְתִשְׁאֲלוּן וְתֵימְרוּן, מַאן בָרָא אִלֵּין. מִי בָּרָא אֵלֶּה, הָא אוֹקִימְנָא רָזָא דְּמִי, בָרָא אֵלֶּה. דְּהוּא אֲתָר דְּקַיְּימָא מָרוֹם וְגָנִיז וְסָתִים וְלָא יְדִיעַ, וְקַיְּימָא תָּדִיר לְשָׁאֲלָה, בְּגִין דְּלָא אִתְגַּלְיָיא לְהַהוּא אֲתָר.

Chassadim Directions Faith Grades Shofar Zeir Anpin

215. "Who brings out their host by number." HE ASKS: What does "that brings out" mean? HE ANSWERS: Since that place is hidden and concealed, NAMELY, BINAH, it brings out all by the secret of the sound coming out of the Shofar, ZEIR ANPIN CALLED 'SOUND' COMES OUT OF BINAH CALLED 'SHOFAR'. That sound is the amount of all the supernal armies and the account of everything. Thence is found the secret of the divine Faith, WHICH IS MALCHUT, on all the supernal sides, CHASSADIM ON THE RIGHT AND CHOCHMAH ON THE LEFT, WHERE CHOCHMAH IS REVEALED. It extends in grades FROM ZEIR ANPIN downward TO MALCHUT. The armies are then divided after their kind, and all are numbered and called by name. "Because of the greatness of His might" (Ibid.) refers to the right side;"He is strong in power" (Ibid.) refers to the left side. "No one is missing" (Ibid.) from the sides drawn from the two directions, FROM THE TWO COLUMNS RIGHT AND LEFT, WHERE NOTHING IS MISSING, BECAUSE THEY COMPREHEND ALL OF REALITY. EVEN THE CENTRAL COLUMN ADDS NOTHING, ONLY COMPRISES WHAT IS IN THE TWO COLUMNS, RIGHT AND LEFT.

215. הַמּוֹצִיא בְּמִסְפָּר צְבָאָם, מַאי הַמּוֹצִיא. אֶלָּא בְּגִין דְּהַהוּא אֲתָר דְּאִיהוּ טָמִיר וְגָנִיז, אִיהוּ אַפִּיק כֹּלָּא, בְּרָזָא דְּקוֹל דְּנָפִיק מִשּׁוֹפָר. וְהַהוּא קוֹל, אִיהוּ מִסְפָּר דְּכָל חֵילִין עִלָּאִין, וְחוּשְׁבָּנָא דְּכֹלָּא. וּמִתַּמָּן אִשְׁתְּכַח רָזָא דִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא עִלָּאָה, בְּכָל אִינּוּן סִטְרִין עִלָּאִין, עַד דְּנַגְדִּין דַּרְגִּין, וְאִתְמַשְּׁכָאן לְתַתָּא, וְאִתְפָּרְשָׁאן כַּמָה חֵילִין לְזִנַּיְיהוּ, וְכֻלְּהוּ קַיְימָן בְּחוּשְׁבָּנָא, וְאִקְרוּן בִּשְׁמָא. מֵרוֹב אוֹנִים, דָּא סִטְרָא דִּימִינָא. וְאַמִּיץ כֹּחַ, דָּא סִטְרָא דִּשְׂמָאלָא. אִישׁ לֹא נֶעְדָּר, סִטְרִין דְּנַגְדִּין מִתְּרֵין עֲבָרִין.

Astrology Creation Eyes Firmaments Stars Tabernacle

216. Another explanation to the verse, "Lift up your eyes on high and behold, who has created these." This verse means that when the Tabernacle was constructed and completed, whoever saw the Tabernacle, beheld in it WHAT WAS above, and WHAT WAS below, and saw all that in the Tabernacle. For all the works of the upper world and the lower world were all contained in the Tabernacle. And we established that whoever looked at the clasps, could see in their illumination that of the stars, because this is how the stars are situated in the firmament.

216. דָּבָר אַחֵר שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם וּרְאוּ מִי בָרָא אֵלֶּה, הַאי קְרָא כַּד אִתְּקַם מַשְׁכְּנָא. וַהֲוָה אִתְתָּקַּן, כָּל מַאן דְּחָמֵי לֵיהּ לְמַשְׁכְּנָא, אִסְתָּכַּל בֵּיהּ לְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא, וְכֹלָּא חָמֵי בֵּיהּ בְּמַשְׁכְּנָא. בְּגִין דְּכָל עוֹבָדִין דְּעָלְמָא עִלָּאָה וְתַתָּאָה, כֻּלְּהוּ אִתְתָּקָנוּ בֵּיהּ בְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, וְהָא אוֹקִימְנָא, כָּל מַאן דְּחָמֵי אִינּוּן קְרָסִים בְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, וְאִסְתָּכַּל בְּהוּ, הֲוָה מִסְתָּכַּל בִּנְהִירוּ דִּלְהוֹן, בִּנְהִירוּ דְּכֹּכָבַיָּא, בְּגִין דְּהָכִי קַיְימָן כֹּכָבַיָא בִּרְקִיעָא.