460. Come and see: Pinchas stood before the strong Judgment of Isaac and blocked up the breach, NAMELY HALTED THE PLAGUE, WHICH CAME FROM THE HARSH JUDGMENTS OF THE LEFT THAT IS CALLED 'ISAAC.' For this reason, the letter Yud was added to complete Pinchas' name, GIVING IT the same secret AS THE NUMERICAL VALUE of the name Isaac. He stood in the breach as it is written: "Then stood up Pinchas, and executed judgment..." (Tehilim 106:30), PINCHAS HERE BEING SPELLED WITH A YUD. He stood in the breach against the Judgment of Isaac in order to defend Yisrael, which is why their names have the same number, MEANING PINCHAS HAS THE SAME NUMERICAL VALUE AS ISAAC.

461. You might suggest that the number, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF CHOCHMAH, is dependent on none but its eyes, NAMELY ON THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH THAT IS IN MALCHUT, FOR EYES ARE CHOCHMAH, AND CHOCHMAH IS REVEALED ONLY IN MALCHUT AND NOT IN ANY OTHER SFIRAH, while here reckoning DEPENDS above, upon Isaac, WHO IS THE LEFT COLUMN OF ZEIR ANPIN. HE REPLIES, you are certainly right, THAT THE RECKONING, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF CHOCHMAH, DEPENDS UPON ISAAC, since Isaac depends upon and is drawn from the place that is called 'eyes,' NAMELY HE IS DRAWN TO CHOCHMAH THAT IS IN MALCHUT, where the Judgments of the whole world are judged. FOR ALL THE JUDGMENTS THAT ARE IN THE WORLD HAVE THEIR ROOT IN THE JUDGMENTS OF CHOCHMAH, for its eyes are the Ayin (= seventy, Eng. 'eye') thrones OF JUDGMENT, WHICH ARE where the judgments that are in the world are, and they are called 'the seventy members of the Sanhedrin.' AND THE NUMBER SEVENTY (AYIN = EYE) IS BECAUSE THEY ARE DRAWN FROM ITS EYES. Thus everything is one, because Isaac AND THE EYES OF MALCHUT go together, FOR MALCHUT IS BUILT UP FROM ISAAC AND HER EYES ARE FROM HIM, NAMELY FROM THE LEFT COLUMN, AND SO THE TWO OF THEM ARE REALLY ONE, and everything fits.

462. So Pinchas is Isaac, for Pinchas stood up and judged the case OF ZIMRI AND COZBI, and put on the strong Gvurah, which is left CALLED 'ISAAC.' And because OF THIS DEED, Pinchas merited the right, NAMELY HE EARNED THE PRIESTHOOD, WHICH IS CHESED, left being here included in the right. "has turned My wrath away" (Bemidbar 25:11). What is the meaning of "turned My wrath away?" AND HE ANSWERS THAT this refers to the three officials in Gehenom WHO ARE CALLED 'Destruction,' 'Anger,' and 'Wrath.' For Pinchas saw that wrath spreading and being drawn down from the side of Isaac. What did he do? He put on THE LEVEL OF Isaac, WHICH IS THE ROOT OF WRATH, and then he took hold of that wrath as one who takes hold of his neighbor and pushes him back.

463. And then he judged the case and executed judgment. He judged according to the rule that if a man has sexual intercourse with a gentile woman, the zealots may fall upon him AND IT WAS PERMITTED TO STRIKE ZIMRI. And he passed judgment, as it is written: "and thrust both of them through" (Ibid.). Wherefore it is written: "has turned My wrath away (lit. 'back')," while elsewhere it is written: "He has turned back His right hand from before the enemy" (Eichah 2:3). Just as THE TURNING MENTIONED in the latter, is back, so also in the former case, it is back. And thus the Yud THAT WAS ADDED here to Pinchas is the Yud that is in Isaac, WHICH ALLUDES TO YESOD. And it is all "above the children of Yisrael" (Bemidbar 25:11), for when he saw that wrath, he saw it as it was descending over the heads of the children of Yisrael, AND IT IS THEREFORE WRITTEN: "HAS TURNED BACK MY WRATH BACK FROM (LIT. 'ABOVE') THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL."