"These are the accounts of the Tabernacle"

12. "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses" (shemot 38:21). Rabbi Shimon opened the discussion with the verse: "In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth" (Beresheet 1:1). This was already explained and expounded upon in different manners, yet the Holy One, blessed be He created it resembling the higher one, so this world will be shaped like the higher world, WHICH IS MALCHUT. And all the supernal hues of above were installed below IN THIS WORLD, to join and connect world to world, THIS WORLD TO MALCHUT.

13. And when the Holy One, blessed be He wanted to create the world, He looked at the Torah and then created it. And He looked upon the Holy Name, YUD HEI VAV HEI, which comprises the Torah, and gave existence to the world. The world was created by three sides - Chochmah, Tevunah, and Da'at. By Chochmah, as it is written - "Hashem by Wisdom founded the earth" (Mishlei 3:19); by Tevunah, as it is written - "by understanding (Heb. Tevunah) He established the heavens" (Ibid.); and by Da'at, as it is written - "by His knowledge (Heb. Da'at) the depths were broken up" (Ibid. 20). So all contribute to the existence of the world, and by these three, the Tabernacle was built, as it is written, "and I have filled him with the spirit of Elohim, in Wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge" (Shemot 31:3).

14. All these three, CHOCHMAH, TEVUNAH AND DA'AT, were alluded to in this verse. "In the beginning" corresponds to "in Wisdom," FOR CHOCHMAH IS CALLED 'BEGINNING' AS IT IS WRITTEN, "THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM" (TEHILIM 111:10); "Elohim created" corresponds to Tevunah, FOR TEVUNAH IS CALLED 'ELOHIM'. "The heaven" is as written - "and in knowledge." FOR ZEIR ANPIN IS CALLED 'HEAVEN' AND IS THE INNER MEANING OF DA'AT. And all are mentioned in the building of the Tabernacle. In this secret it is written, "And these are the accounts of the Tabernacle," for this is the secret of Chochmah, AS ACCOUNTS AND NUMBERS ARE DRAWN FROM CHOCHMAH. "The Tabernacle of the Testimony," is the secret of Tevunah, FOR THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH, REVEALED IN YISRAEL - SABA AND TEVUNAH, IS CALLED 'TESTIMONY'. "According to the commandment of Moses," is the secret of Da'at, FOR MOSES IS THE SECRET OF DA'AT. All is done the one corresponding to the other, for everything the Holy One, blessed be He, created in this world, He created it as the reflection of above. All this is shown in the building of the Tabernacle.

15. Come and see: When the Holy One, blessed be He told Moses to construct the Tabernacle, Moses was dumbfounded, for he did not know what to do, until the Holy One, blessed be He showed him how it looked, as it is written, "And look that you make them after their pattern, which was shown to you in the mountain" (Shemot 25:9). The meaning of "after their pattern" is as we learned, that the Holy One, blessed be He showed Moses the supernal form of each thing, THE SPIRITUAL FORM, and each one OF THE SPIRITUAL HIGHER FORMS shaped itself to RESEMBLE the IMAGINED form made on earth. IN THIS WAY MOSES KNEW.

16. HE ASKS, It should have been written, 'which you see' instead of "which was shown to you," AND ANSWERS, We learned that the mirror which does not shine, WHICH IS MALCHUT, showed him within it all the wheels and shapes made below, like a mirror reflecting within itself every image.

17. This is the meaning of the verse, "which was shown to you." "You" is the secret of the mirror which does not shine, MALCHUT, which reflected all those forms for Moses to see. And he saw each thing correctly, as if looking through a glass lamp, and within a mirror reflecting all the shapes. And when Moses beheld them, he found it difficult. FOR INSIDE MALCHUT THE SPIRITUAL SHAPE OF EVERY OBJECT STOOD OUT, ONLY EACH SHAPE RESEMBLED THE IMAGINARY SHAPE PERTAINING TO THIS WORLD IN THE TABERNACLE, SO THERE WERE TWO SHAPES TO EACH OBJECT: THE SPIRITUAL AND THE IMAGINARY SHAPE. THEREFORE, MOSES FOUND IT DIFFICULT, FOR HE KNEW NOT WHICH ONE TO GRASP. So the Holy One, blessed be He said to him, 'you follow your signs and I follow Mine,' THAT MOSES SHOULD GRASP THE IMAGINARY SIGNS OF EVERY OBJECT, AND THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE WOULD GRASP THE SPIRITUAL SIGNS OF EVERY OBJECT. AND THEN THE SPIRITUAL SHAPE WOULD DWELL ON THE IMAGINARY SHAPE. Moses was then clear-minded as to the construction OF THE TABERNACLE.

18. And when all the work was completed, Moses had to count everything, so Yisrael would not say that some gold and silver was left, and that he was planning to take it. Therefore, he counted before Yisrael, as it is written, "and be guiltless before Hashem and before Yisrael" (Bemidbar 32:22).

19. The reason the verse states, "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony," is that the Holy Spirit, WHICH IS MALCHUT, CALLED 'TABERNACLE', was a mirror which reflected to everyone the amount of all the gold and silver offered by Yisrael. And the Holy Spirit would say, "And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was a hundred talents..." (Shemot 38:25), and "all the gold that was applied for the work..." (Ibid. 24), for the Holy One, blessed be He was pleased with all the craftsmen, and wanted to display their trustworthiness before all.

20. "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle." Come and see: At the time when the construction of the Tabernacle took place, the Other Side roamed about, to bring accusations. He found no flaw in the faithfulness of the craftsmen, so the Holy One, blessed be He caused him to yield before Moses. And he, the Other Side, had to check their worthiness in spite of himself and to acknowledge it before all. This is the mystery of the verse, "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle." And we explained that "These" is the same as in "even these may forget" (Yeshayah 49:15), REFERRING TO THE OTHER SIDE, FOR BOTH CASES ALLUDE TO THE OTHER SIDE. It is also written, "as they were counted according to the commandment of Moses." For there, ACCORDING TO MOSES, all was counted and numbered, until the accounting of the Tabernacle was complete before Moses and all of Yisrael.

21. "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony." HE ASKS: What is "Testimony"? HE ANSWERS THAT the word 'Tabernacle' is written twice, "THE TABERNACLE, THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY." One above, IN BINAH, THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY, and one below, IN MALCHUT, THE TABERNACLE. And the Tabernacle is called "the Tabernacle of the Testimony." What is "the Testimony"? It is as in the verse, "the tribes of Yah (Heb. Yud-Hei), a testimony to Yisrael" (Tehilim 122:4), this name, YUD-HEI, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, is a testimony to Yisrael.

22. The verse, "This He ordained in Yehosef for testimony..." (Tehilim 81:6) is explained in the same manner. IT IS CALLED 'testimony' for the name Yah in Yehosef, WHICH STANDS FOR CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, is surely a testimony. These two letters, YUD AND HEI, give testimony everywhere, NAMELY, THEY SHINE WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH CALLED 'EDEN' OR 'TESTIMONY'. And there is testimony here IN YUD-HEI. For this reason IT IS WRITTEN, "the Tabernacle of Testimony" MEANING THAT it is the Tabernacle of that testimony, YUD-HEI, NAMELY BINAH. Therefore it is called a Tabernacle, after the secret of the Holy Name, YUD-HEI. This is the meaning of the verse, "and My testimony that I shall teach them" (Tehilim 132:12). Since that place YUD-HEI is the most hidden and concealed of all, THEREFORE IT IS SAID, "I SHALL TEACH THEM."

23. "As they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses." HE ASKS: I do not know yet whether the Tabernacle was counted or the Testimony, AS IT WAS SAID, "THE ACCOUNTS OF THE TABERNACLE, THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY." HE REPLIES: Assuredly the Testimony was, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF YUD-HEI AS MENTIONED. For since the day the patriarchs and the tribes, the sons of Jacob, passed away from the world, the children of Yisrael were left in exile, and because of all their troubles, they forgot the knowledge of the Supernal Holy Name, which is the name Testimony, that sustains heaven and earth, NAMELY, THE MOCHIN OF MALE AND FEMALE. For these two letters, YUD-HEI, established the high and low worlds, and all the sides of the world, NAMELY, THEY GIVE THEM MOCHIN.

24. When Moses came, this name OF YUD-HEI was accounted and remembered in the world, and when he was in the thorn bush, he immediately asked about this name, as it is written, "and they shall say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to them?" (Shemot 3:13). There the name was entrusted to Moses. THIS IS THE SECRET OF THE VERSE, "AS THEY WERE COUNTED, ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF MOSES."

25. HE ASKS: IT IS WRITTEN, "THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY... the service of the Levites" What is "the service of the Levites?" HE ANSWERS, This is a secret, as it is written, "And the Levite shall do the service (lit. 'serve him')" (Bemidbar 18:23). For HE is the secret of the Holy Name, BINAH, that is called 'he' and not 'you', NAMELY, THIRD PERSON AND NOT SECOND PERSON, LIKE MALCHUT, WHICH IS CALLED 'YOU'. That is the reason the Levites serve THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY, WHICH IS BINAH. Another explanation: the service of the Levites is carrying the Tabernacle upon their shoulders from one place to another, as it is written, "But to the sons of Kehat he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belongs to them, they bore it on their shoulders" (Bemidbar 7:9). THEREFORE THE TABERNACLE IS CALLED IN THEIR NAME, NAMELY "THE SERVICE OF THE LEVITES."

26. "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony." Rabbi Aba opened the discussion with the verse: "And in that day it shall be, that the root of Yishai..." (Yeshayah 11:10). "In that day" refers to the time when the Holy One, blessed be He will increase peace in the world, and then the root of the Tree of Life will prevail, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN, THAT RECONCILES AND MAKES PEACE BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT. From this root all other roots will prevail below, NAMELY, THE GRADES IN MALCHUT AND IN BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH, for they all are rooted and draw their strength from it.

27. The verse continues, "...that stands for a banner of the peoples" (Yeshayah 11:10), for it is a banner and an ensign to the mystery of the Holy Name, YUD HEI VAV HEI. "To it shall the nations seek" (Ibid.) because there is found the secret of existence, THAT IS, MOCHIN, of the Holy Name. Therefore the nations shall seek it, IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CHOCHMAH AND DA'AT FROM THERE, "and many people shall go and say, 'Come and let us go up to the Mountain of Hashem'" (Yeshayah 2:3). Therefore, "to it shall the nations seek." "And his resting place shall be glorious" (Yeshayah 11:10), "His resting place" is the Temple, WHICH IS MALCHUT, as it is written, "This is My resting place forever" (Tehilim 132:14); it will be "glorious" because it is thus called 'the Glory of Hashem,' when "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun" (Yeshayah 30:26), THE LIGHT OF MALCHUT SHALL BE AS THE LIGHT OF ZEIR ANPIN, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold" (Ibid.), AND THE LIGHT OF ZEIR ANPIN WILL BE SEVENFOLD WHAT IT WAS BEFORE.

28. And the resting place of the root of Yishai, WHICH IS MALCHUT, called 'the glory of Hashem' must never be counted or numbered. What is the reason? Because no blessing dwells wholly upon something counted. Blessings prevail only where there is no reckoning. And this is the first time MALCHUT was counted, as it is said, "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle."

29. Come and see: The Tabernacle is now subject to an inventory, FOR MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED 'TABERNACLE' CORRESPONDS TO THE LEFT COLUMN, WHENCE COUNTING COMES. Therefore it needed the prayer of Moses, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN JOINING RIGHT AND LEFT AND POURING BLESSING UPON THEM AS MENTIONED ABOVE, as it is written, "And Moses blessed them" (Shemot 39:43). What is the blessing he gave them? 'May blessing be upon the work of your hands.' There were no blessings upon that counting until Moses bound it to the upper Tabernacle, BINAH, as it is written, "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted according to the commandment of Moses." AND THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY IS BINAH, and were it not for Moses who did the counting, they would not have been able to count as it is written, "according to the commandment of Moses."

30. He opened the discussion and said: "And the word of Hashem came to him (Elijah), saying, 'Arise, go to Zarephath...behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you'" (I Melachim 17:8-9). HE ASKS: Where did the Holy One, blessed be He, command her? AND HE REPLIES: Before entering the world, the Holy One, blessed be He decreed above that the crows should bring food to Elijah, and that woman should give food to Elijah.

31. It is written: "And she said, 'As Hashem your Elohim lives, I have nothing baked, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in the cruse...'" (Ibid. 12). The meal was counted, for the jar contained a handful of meal, and that was its quantity. Being measured, it was not worthy for a blessing to dwell in it. But it is written, "For thus says Hashem, the Elohim of Yisrael, 'The jar of meal shall not be spent, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that Hashem sends (Heb. tet) rain upon the earth'" (Ibid. 14), AND BECAUSE OF THAT BLESSING, THERE WERE BLESSINGS UPON IT THOUGH IT WAS MEASURED.

32. HE ASKS: It is pronounced 'tet' BUT IS WRITTEN 'TITEN' (ENG. 'GIVE'), why is this so? HE ANSWERS in all that generation there was no person who was meritorious like that woman. Therefore it was written: 'titen' (lit. 'she will give'), to say, you will give rain upon the world due to your great merit.

33. It is written: "And the jar of meal was not consumed, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Hashem which He spoke through Elijah" (Ibid. 16). And though the meal was measured, for it was a handful, NEVERTHELESS no blessings were stopped from it, because of what Elijah had said, that "the jar of meal shall not be spent." And it is written, "the jar of meal was not spent." Even though the Tabernacle of the Testimony was accounted, since this was decreed by Moses, blessings dwell in it all the more. Therefore it is written, "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony that were counted according to the commandment of Moses."

34. "These are the accounts of the Tabernacle." Rabbi Chizkiyah opened the discussion and said: "Do not come near, take off your shoes from your feet..." (Shemot 3:5). This verse was thus explained, that the Holy One, blessed be He separated Moses from his wife so he may cleave to the Shechinah, as it is written, "for the place on which you stand is holy ground" (Ibid.). The holy ground is the Shechinah, NAMELY, holy unity with the high world Moses held onto at that time.

35. For then the Holy One, blessed be He connected him with the fondness of above, and he was appointed supernal chieftain in charge of the house, MALCHUT, MEANING THAT HE BECAME A CHARIOT OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS SUPERIOR TO MALCHUT. He decrees, and the Holy One, blessed be He performs, as it is written, "And the earth opens her mouth, and swallows them up..." (Bemidbar 16:30), and "as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split" (Ibid.). It is also written, "Rise up, Hashem...Return, Hashem" (Ibid. 10:35-36). That is why it is written, "As they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses," for according to Moses the Tabernacle was accomplished, and everything counted. The counting of the Tabernacle, MALCHUT, was done by Moses, as it is written, "I have indeed taken count of you" (Shemot 3:16). Moses was a voice, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN that utters the speech, MALCHUT, and he took count of it so it may come out of exile. And now you are commanded to draw holiness from above downward, as it is written, "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Shemot 25:8).

36. "And Betzalel the son of Uri, the son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah..." (Shemot 38:22). Rabbi Yehuda said: We have already learned that Betzalel was of the right side, FROM CHESED, and arranged everything. Moreover, Judah was the king and ruler over the rest of the tribes. Therefore, he who accomplished the whole work of the Tabernacle issued from him. It was explained that BetzalEl means 'IN THE SHADOW' (HEB. BETZEL) OF EL. Who dwells in the shadow of El? The right side, AS CHESED IS CALLED 'EL'. From this side did he construct everything and he inherited the Wisdom to accomplish all the work.

37. "And with him was Aholiav, son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan" (Ibid. 23). He is of the left side, of rigorous Judgment, FOR DAN INDICATES JUDGMENT (HEB. DIN). We already explained that by these two sides, RIGHT AND LEFT, the Tabernacle was made, WHICH IS MALCHUT. It was built and tied to them, so it may be between right and left. And this was already taught and explained.