"Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass"

740. Rabbi Shimon opened with: "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass, the company of the bulls with the calves of the peoples" (Tehilim 68:31). "Rebuke the wild beast" refers to that beast on to which Esau held. "Reed grass" is as we have learned, for on the day that Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, Gabriel came and stuck a reed in the sea, and the city of Rome was built on it. What is "reed?" It is the male of that wicked animal ONTO WHICH ESAU HELD, which has a small part in the unity of holiness, namely the reed that GABRIEL stuck into the great sea. And for this reason it rules the world, and about this rule it is written: "the reeds and rushes shall wither" (Yeshayah 19:6). "Reed" is the regime and head over all kingdoms, and furthermore IT IS FOR THIS REASON CALLED "reed," since in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to break it as a reed.

741. Come and see: In Egypt THAT "WILD BEAST OF THE REED GRASS" rules, and a number of different types of regime issue from it. And they all are in the secret of chametz. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, broke it, He removed the chametz (lit. 'leavened bread') and introduced matzah (lit. 'unleavened bread'). What did He use TO BREAK IT? With the smallest and thinnest thread, He broke the letter Chet of chametz (Chet Mem Tzadi). Thus it is called "the wild beasts of the reed grass" because it is as easy to break as is reed. With what was it broken? It was with a thread small as a hair that He broke the Chet and removed it from its former state and it became matzah. Therefore it is written: "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass," for the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it, and the Chet of chametz was broken and became a Hei.

742. And in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will break that reed as follows: He will break off the foot of the Kof of kaneh (lit. 'reed'), so hineh (lit. 'behold' - Hei Nun Hei) will remain, AS IS WRITTEN: "Behold, Adonai Elohim will come with might, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His hire before Him" (Yeshayah 40:10). What is the meaning of "and His hire"? This is the operation on that letter Kof, "and His hire before Him," for He will remove the foot of the Kof OF KANEH (KOF NUN HEI), making it into hineh. "A harbinger to Zion will I give: Behold (Heb. hineh), behold them" (Yeshayah 41:27).

743. Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd). Rabbi Shimon opened with the verse: "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass, the company of the bulls with the calves of the peoples." "Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds" refers to a reed, to which is attached Esau, which is the great city of Rome, that Gabriel stuck as a reed in the great sea - WHICH IS A SECRET OF THE REED ATTACHED TO MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED 'THE GREAT SEA', and on it a large city, Rome was built, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE KINGDOM OF ESAU. And this is a reed that is CALLED 'chametz' (lit. 'leavened bread'). When the Redemption comes to Yisrael, He will break THAT REED, as it is written: "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass, the company," and the chametz THAT IS DRAWN DOWN FROM THE REED is immediately removed from the world, WITH its machmetzet, NAMELY, ITS FEMALE, which is THE CITY Rome, and matzah (lit. 'unleavened bread') will be revealed in the world, for this is the Temple, the First Temple and the Second Temple, WHICH ARE BINAH AND MALCHUT.

744. The Faithful Shepherd said: They, THE FIRST TEMPLE AND THE SECOND TEMPLE, correspond to the pupil of the right eye and the pupil of the left eye, and they correspond to the large and small Rome, corresponding to the two clouds that cover the pupils of the right EYE and of the left EYE. They, in turn, correspond to leaven and leavened bread. And as long as these are not removed from the world, not to be seen or not to be found, the First Temple and the Second Temple are unable to be revealed in the world.

745. And what healing will there be for the clouds that darken the pupils of the right and left eyes? What will be their remedy? This is the gall of a calf, as it is written: "there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down" (Yeshayah 27:10). "There shall the calf feed" refers to Messiah son of Joseph, about whom it is said: "His firstling of his herd, grandeur is his" (Devarim 33:17), WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE FACE OF OX FROM THE LEFT SIDE. "and there shall he lie down" refers to Messiah son of David. One, NAMELY, MESSIAH SON OF DAVID, removes the large Rome, and the other, NAMELY MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH, removes the small Rome; and corresponding to them are Michael and Gabriel, WHERE MICHAEL CORRESPONDS TO MESSIAH SON OF DAVID AND GABRIEL TO MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH.

746. And hence the Chet, which is a thin thread, is broken, and is replaced with a Hei, TURNING THE CHAMETZ (CHET MEM TZADI) INTO MATZAH (MEM TZADI HEI). For initially, "The reeds and rushes (Heb. suf) shall wither." 'Reeds' refers to the rule of Rome, which is an end (Heb. sof) for all the kings, and which in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will break. "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass" means rebuking the wicked beast, which is the Chet of chametz, and the foot of the Chet of machmetzet is broken, of which it is said: "Her feet go down to death" (Mishlei 5:5). Moreover: "Rebuke the wild beast of the reed grass" means that He will break the foot of the Kof of kaneh (Kof Nun Hei), and hineh (Eng. 'behold' - Hei Nun Hei) remains. Immediately: "Behold, Adonai Elohim will come with might..." and: "A harbinger to Zion will I give: Behold, behold them (Heb. hineh hinam); and to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings." THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF 'hineh' is sixty; NAMELY, SIXTY YEARS after the year 1200, THE VERSES QUOTED ABOVE WILL BE FULFILLED, AS IS CLARIFIED BELOW.