169. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion by quoting, "Who is this coming up out of the wilderness?" (Shir Hashirim 3:6). "Who is this" is the joining of two kinds of holiness, of two worlds OF BINAH AND MALCHUT, into one firm bond. "Coming up (Heb. olah)," means that it actually comes up to become the Holy of Holies. Because "Who," WHICH IS BINAH, is the Holy of Holies and has joined "this," WHICH IS MALCHUT, so that she, THE MALCHUT, will be a burnt offering (Heb. olah) which is the highest class of sacrifices (lit. "Holy of Holies'). "Out of the wilderness," means that THIS inherits it from the wilderness in order to become a bride and enter the bridal canopy.
170. Furthermore she came out of the wilderness (Heb. midbar) as it is written, "And your speech (Heb. midbarech) is comely" (Shir Hashirim 4:3), meaning that she is "coming up" with the speech in a whisper. And we have learned why it is written in scripture, "these mighty Elohim. These is Elohim that smote Egypt with all the plagues in the wilderness" (I Shmuel 4:8). But is it possible that all the Holy One, blessed be He, brought about occurred only in the wilderness? Was it not in the place of habitation? But the phrase "in the wilderness" (Heb. bamidbar) IS TO BE INTERPRETED by speech (Heb. bedibur). As it is written, "and your speech is comely," and, "from the desert (Heb. midbar) peaks" (Tehilim 75:7). Similarly "coming up out of the wilderness" (Shir Hashirim 3:6) means by the word that is uttered by the mouth, she, MALCHUT, is "coming up" and enters between the wings of the Mother, she, BINAH. Afterwards, through speech, she, MALCHUT, descends and rests upon the leaders of the holy nation.
171. HE ASKS: How does she, MALCHUT, rise up through speech? AND HE REPLIES: Because when a person awakens in the morning - at the time that he opens his eyes - he should at first bless his Master. How is he to make the blessing? This is what the pious ones did: They prepared beside them a vessel of water, and when they awoke at night, they washed their hands, rose up, and studied the Torah. And they blessed on their Torah recitation as well! WHEN the cock crows and it is exactly midnight, then the Holy One, blessed be He, joins the Righteous in the Garden of Eden. It is forbidden to utter any blessing IN THE MORNING with unclean hands, as it is at any time of the day.
172. Because when a person falls asleep, his spirit departs from him. And when the spirit departs from him, the spirit of impurity comes forth, settles on his hands, and defiles them. So it is forbidden to utter any blessing without first washing ONE'S HANDS. And if you might say, If it is so, then on a day when a person does not go to sleep and his spirit does not depart from him, the spirit of impurity does not defile his hands; NEVERTHELESS, when he enters the lavatory, he should not utter any blessing nor read the Torah - not even one word - until he washes his hands. And although you might say that it is because they are sullied, this is not so! Because how did they become soiled?
173. Woe to those people who are not aware and do not pay heed to their Master's glory, and do not know what the world is based on. Because there is a certain spirit that dwells in every privy in the world, a spirit that enjoys dirt and excrement, and immediately settles on the fingers of the hands of that man.