"And in the beginnings of your new moons"

684. Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd). "And in the beginnings (lit. 'heads') of your new moons" (Bemidbar 28:11). THE WORD 'HEADS' IS WRITTEN IN THE PLURAL, referring to Jacob and Joseph, NAMELY, ZEIR ANPIN AND YESOD, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph..." (Beresheet 37:2) that renew the moon, WHICH IS MALCHUT. I have found in the Book of Enoch that he said that just as on the first day of the month, the moon, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is purified to come close to her husband, ZEIR ANPIN, so must one portion be given to the Other Side and from the same type AS THE OTHER SIDE, NAMELY, A GOAT; so also the woman when she is purified for her husband, one portion must be given to the Other Side, and from its own type.

685. And what is that portion THAT THE WOMAN HAS TO GIVE TO THE OTHER SIDE? It is the fingernails with their dirt and a little of the ends of her hair, for she has to comb her head and tie them together, TO GIVE THEM TO THE OTHER SIDE, and then that Evil Side will not go after her to harm her, but will leave her alone from all sides. And what does she do with those hairs and nail clippings? After she has bound them together, she has to place them where people do not pass by, or in holes in the bottom of the yard, and conceal them there.

686. Again: "And in the beginnings of your new moons." The sages of the Mishnah said: When the new moon used to be sanctified according to the court, flares used to be kindled on the tops of the mountains and they used to say: Sanctify it the way you see it. The moon would be shaped thus , sometimes with the beams facing upwards, and sometimes so , facing downwards, sometimes to the east thus , and sometimes to the west, thus sometimes to the south and sometimes to the north. And this is its facing in six directions that Tiferet, which is a large Vav, encompasses, NAMELY: Greatness, Gvurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod and Yesod. GREATNESS, WHICH IS CHESED, IS FACING THE SOUTH, AND ITS LOOKING TO THE NORTH IS GVURAH, TO THE EAST IS TIFERET, AND TO THE WEST IS YESOD.

687. The point that is drawn IN THE MOON, WHICH IS MALCHUT, from the inside, is Chochmah, and the line that circumvents the moon is Keter. AND AS A RULE that point, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is sometimes a crown FOR ZEIR ANPIN, IN THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: "A VIRTUOUS WOMAN IS A CROWN TO HER HUSBAND" (MISHLEI 12:4), and sometimes a throne FOR ZEIR ANPIN to sit upon, and at yet other times a footstool for his feet OF ZEIR ANPIN.

688. HE ASKS, Why is MALCHUT called 'moon' (lit. 'white')? HE ANSWERS, it is named after the clarification (whitening) of the Halachah, NAMELY, IT IS NAMED AFTER CHOCHMAH OF THE RIGHT SIDE THAT CLARIFIES THE HALACHAH, WHICH IS MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED 'HALACHAH'. FOR CHOCHMAH is from within MALCHUT, IN THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: "The king's daughter is all glorious within" (Tehilim 45:14) and she is whitened in the fire of Binah that descends upon her. And the secret of the matter is to be found in the verse: "though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Yeshayah 1:18). And whereas she was called 'Adonai', THE LETTERS OF WHICH, REARRANGED, SPELL 'Dina' (Eng. 'Judgment'), which is red with Gvurah, NAMELY, WITH THE LEFT COLUMN where Binah is, she becomes whitened by the side of Chesed where Chochmah is, and returns to THE NAME OF Yud Hei Vav Hei, WHICH IS MERCY.

689. And what is the cause of MALCHUT's changing from Judgment to Mercy? This is the completely righteous, for the moon, WHICH IS MALCHUT is from the side of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Its Klipah is darkness THAT IS, if it is a bright black spot, which is the Evil Inclination, which is a handmaid, ABOUT WHOM IT IS SAID: "and it be lower...but be somewhat dimmer" (Vayikra 13:21). And MALCHUT has nothing of her own, but only that thread that gives her light, THIS BEING THE SECRET OF A THREAD OF CHOCHMAH OF THE LEFT SIDE WITHOUT CHASSADIM, WHICH IS HER MAIN STRUCTURE, BUT ITS LIGHT IS AS THIN AS A THREAD BECAUSE IT CANNOT ILLUMINATE WITHOUT CHASSADIM. For it accompanies it during the night-time, which is the Exile, IN THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: "SHE RISES ALSO WHILE IT IS YET NIGHT" (MISHLEI 31:15) and leaves it during the day. FOR THE DAY IS THE TIME OF THE RULE OF THE CHASSADIM OF ZEIR ANPIN, AND CHOCHMAH OF THE LEFT SIDE IS UNABLE TO RULE BY DAY. FOR DAYTIME is THE LIGHT OF CHESED OF the World to Come, WHICH IS BINAH, in which "But to you who fear My name the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings" (Malachi 3:20).

690. But that point that is within the moon, WHICH IS MALCHUT, that is from the side of the Tree of Life, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, IS THE SECRET OF CHOCHMAH OF THE RIGHT SIDE, WHICH IS CHESED, and is as a never ceasing spring, BECAUSE IT IS DRAWN DOWN FROM SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA BY WAY OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHOSE UNION IS NEVER ENDING, and about which it is written: "like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Yeshayah 58:11), and it is called 'a loving hind' from the side of Chesed, WHICH IS LOVE, this being as is written: "I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore I have remained true to you" (Yirmeyah 31:2), LOVE BEING THE SECRET OF CHESED; and it has two beams from the light, thus: and sometimes "but one was higher than the other" (Daniel 8:3), thus: and at other times they are equal. End of Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd).