"Extol Him who rides upon the clouds"

709. Among them all, the seventh is the most valuable, WHICH IS CHESED, except for the eighth FIRMAMENT, WHICH IS BINAH, who leads all seven firmaments and stands upon them all. It is written, "Extol Him who rides upon the clouds" (Tehilim 68:5). HE QUESTIONS, Who is the one who rides the clouds and what are the clouds (Heb. aravot)? HE ANSWERS, 'Aravot' is the seventh firmament, WHICH IS THE FIRST SFIRAH OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS CALLED 'CHESED,' AND INCLUDES ALL THE SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT ARE BELOW IT. Why is it called 'Aravot?' Because it is mixed (Heb. me'orav) of fire and water together, NAMELY from the south, WHICH IS WATER, and from the north, WHICH IS FIRE. It is mixed of the two sides AND THE ONE WHO RIDES ON THE CLOUDS IS THE EIGHTH FIRMAMENT, BINAH.

710. If you ask, If so, what about the two Aravot (Eng. 'willow branches) that are joined with the Lulav (Eng. 'palm leaf'), we have learned that this is what is written, "Extol Him who rides upon the Aravot." AND THEY ARE NETZACH AND HOD THAT ARE CALLED 'THIGHS.' HE QUESTIONS, Who gave thighs, WHICH ARE NETZACH AND HOD, in the body, WHICH IS CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, and who gave a body in the thighs - MEANING, HERE YOU SAY THAT ARAVOT ARE CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE BODY OF ZEIR ANPIN AND THERE YOU SAY THAT THEY ARE NETZACH AND HOD, WHICH ARE THE THIGHS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF ITS BODY. WHO COMPARES THEM, seeing that this one, NAMELY THE BODY, produces fruit and this one, NAMELY NETZACH AND HOD, which are thighs, does not produce fruit.

711. HE ANSWERS, But certainly it all resembles the secret of Aravot (willow branches) of the Lulav (palm leaf), for one of these willow branches of the Lulav, WHICH ARE NETZACH AND HOD, is fire, WHICH IS HOD, and the other is water, WHICH IS NETZACH. They all pertain to the same secret, FOR THE ONE IS COMPLETELY WATER AND THE OTHER IS COMPLETELY FIRE AND THEY ARE NOT MIXED ONE WITH THE OTHER, FOR THEY ARE TWO SFIROT EACH WITH INDIVIDUAL DOMINION. It is the seventh FIRMAMENT, WHICH IS CHESED, which combines fire and water together in one secret, FOR IT IS ONE SFIRAH, AND SO WE FIND THAT IT COMBINES WITHIN ITSELF THE TWO ARAVOT OF THE LULAV IN ACTUALITY. Because the firmament Aravot includes within itself all the other six SFIROT, WHICH ARE GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT, AS THE HIGHEST ONE INCLUDES ALL THOSE THAT ARE LOWER THAN IT, that is the secret of the supernal Chariot. The Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS BINAH, desires this firmament more than all the firmaments and His desire is always to perfect this firmament with the highest beauty. On this, it is said, "Extol Him who rides upon Aravot," MEANING He who rides on Aravot. Who is He? This firmament that stands over the living creatures, NAMELY BINAH THAT STANDS ABOVE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT ARE CALLED 'LIVING CREATURES,' for it is He who rides on the clouds.

712. "And rejoice before Him" (Ibid.): It is not written, 'From before Him' but rather "before Him," BECAUSE 'FROM BEFORE HIM' IMPLIES BEFORE BINAH, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH and there is nobody who can know anything in Him. But "before Him," WHICH IS BINAH THAT RIDES UPON THE CLOUDS, one who enters before this firmament must enter with joy and without any sadness at all, because this firmament causes it so that neither sadness nor anger can dwell at all, because everything there is with joy. THEREFORE, IT SAYS, "AND REJOICE BEFORE HIM."

713. Therefore, the High Priest who stands before Him enters the Holy Sanctuary only in joy and expresses joy, because the place causes it. Of this, it is written, "Serve Hashem with gladness, come before His presence with singing" (Tehilim 100:2), because one should not show sadness in it.

714. You may say, One who is in pain and in dire straits, who cannot feel joy in his heart, and because of his dire straits he has to ask for Mercy from the supernal King. If so, then he shouldn't pray his prayer at all and should not enter with any sadness at all, because he cannot gladden his heart and enter before Him with joy. What remedy does this person have?

715. HE ANSWERS, Surely we have learned that all the gates are closed and locked, but the gates of tears are not closed. Tears come only from pain and sadness, and all those who are appointed over the gates break the obstacles on the roads and the locks. They bring in these tears and that prayer enters before the Holy King.

716. Then, that place, NAMELY MALCHUT, is distressed by the sadness and distress of that person, as it is written, "In all their affliction He is afflicted" (Yeshayah 63:9), BECAUSE THE PAIN OF THE PERSON TOUCHES THE SHECHINAH. The longing of the Supernal World, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, to this place, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is like a male whose longing is always toward the female. Therefore, when the King, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, comes to the Matron, WHO IS MALCHUT, and finds Her sad, he gives over to Her hands whatever She desires. That person or that prayer do not return empty, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has Mercy on him. Blessed is the portion of that person who pours out tears before the Holy One, blessed be He, in his prayer.

717. It is similar on Shabbat. There is one who fasts on Shabbat and expresses sadness because of his pain, yet during Shabbat that supernal Firmament dominates, WHICH IS BINAH, that one that appears with joy, and causes everyone to rejoice. As for that PERSON, who is in sadness, once this FIRMAMENT dominates, it revokes that punishment that was deemed against that person. We have already learned this. AND THIS IS WHAT IS SAID, "Extol... " WHICH MEANS to give honor and exaltation to He who rides on the clouds, for He is joy and causes joy for everyone and He is the firmament which is above the Living Creatures, NAMELY BINAH, AS EXPLAINED EARLIER. "Yah is His Name" (Tehilim 68:5): Certainly, because in this place is this Name included, BECAUSE BINAH IS CALLED 'YAH.' "And rejoice before him," meaning not to expresses sadness before Him, as explained.

718. Rabbi Elazar said, This passage should have said, "Extol Him who rides upon the clouds" AND THIS PURPORT WOULD BE BINAH THAT RIDES UPON ZEIR ANPIN. What then is the meaning of "upon the clouds?" AND ALSO with "Yah is His Name:" It should have said, 'Yah is He,' IF IT REFERS TO BINAH. What is the meaning of "His Name?" This verse is said about the most concealed of all and the most ancient of all, NAMELY ARICH ANPIN THAT IS MORE CONCEALED THAN THE CONCEALED SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA AND MORE ANCIENT THAN THEY. He is not revealed and not known at all, BECAUSE ITS CHOCHMAH IS CONCEALED ENTIRELY, AND DOES NOT ILLUMINATE BENEATH IT AT ALL, and rides upon the clouds, WHICH ARE ABA AND IMA, WHO ARE YUD-HEI. And if you ask, Since He comes and rides on Yud-Hei, even though He is concealed, can He be revealed in this place?

719. HE ANSWERS, But "Extol Him who rides upon the clouds" refers to the most ancient of all, the most concealed of all, which cannot be grasped, AND WILL NOT BE REVEALED. Upon what does He ride? The clouds, Yud-Hei, NAMELY ABA AND IMA, which is the secret of the first LEVEL that emerged from Him, BECAUSE ABA AND IMA EMERGED FROM ARICH ANPIN. This is "His Name" of that which is concealed that is not known, BECAUSE His Name is Yud-Hei. THEREFORE, THE VERSE SAYS, "YAH IS HIS NAME" and not THAT ABA AND IMA THEMSELVES are HIS NAME. Rather, ABA AND IMA are HIS NAME because of that curtain that separated and emerged before Him. That curtain is His Name, BECAUSE MALCHUT IS CALLED 'NAME' and this is His Chariot, MEANING THROUGH THAT CURTAIN HE IS CLOTHED IN ABA AND IMA, AND THEREFORE is not known at all, BECAUSE IT IS NOT REVEALED BY THEM.

720. And this is His "Great Name," NAMELY ABA AND IMA WITH MALCHUT OF ARICH ANPIN THAT ARE ENCLOTHED IN THEM. There is a Name that is not as great as He, NAMELY THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, even though He has more letters, BECAUSE ABA AND IMA ARE CALLED ONLY BY THE TWO LETTERS YUD-HEI ALONE. STILL IN ALL, it is the Great Name. Therefore, with this Name we utter and say Amen, which is DRAWN from Him. With this NAME, Amen goes on continuously, BECAUSE THE UNION OF ABA AND IMA IS NEVER INTERRUPTED. With the other Name, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS CALLED YUD HEI VAV HEI, it is not so, BECAUSE THE PAIRING OF THE MALE AND FEMALE IS INTERRUPTED BY THE SIN OF THE LOWER BEINGS.

721. THUS WE SAY, 'Amen, May His Great Name be blessed FOREVER AND FOR ALL ETERNITY.' For when this Name is perfected, everything is complete, and all the worlds rejoice. And in the Name are included the higher and lower beings. In this Name are included the 613 precepts of the Torah, which are the inclusion of all the secrets, the upper and the lower. It is the combination of the Male World above, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, and the Female World below, WHICH IS MALCHUT.

722. All the precepts are organs and limbs to express through them the secret of the Faith, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE SHECHINAH. One who does not notice and observe the secrets of the precepts of the Torah does not know and CANNOT observe how to perfect the limbs in the supernal secret. The limbs of the body are all established upon the secret of the precepts of the Torah, BECAUSE THE 248 LIMBS CORRESPOND TO THE 248 POSITIVE PRECEPTS AND THE 365 VEINS CORRESPOND TO THE 365 NEGATIVE PRECEPTS. Even though there are certain limbs that are big and vital, AND THERE ARE SOME WHICH ARE SMALL AND INFERIOR, if any of them, either big or small, is removed, even the smallest in the person, he is considered blemished. He who diminishes even one precept of the precepts of the Torah makes a blemish in a place where there should not be any.

723. Come and see what is written, "And Hashem Elohim took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it" (Beresheet 2:15). We have learned that "to till it and to keep it" refers to the offerings, and it is all one. But this is the secret of the precepts of the Torah. "To till it:" These are the 248 supernal Limbs, "and to keep it" are the 365 lower limbs, NAMELY THE 365 SINEWS. Those higher ones pertain to 'remember,' WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, and those lower ones pertain to 'keep,' WHICH IS MALCHUT. And it is all one.

724. Blessed is he who is worthy of completing the precepts of the Torah. He causes man to perfect his spirit and soul in this world and in the World to Come. The Torah merits the person to inherit two worlds, this world and the World to Come. Everyone who endeavors in Torah endeavors in life, life in this world and life in the World to Come and is spared from all the bad punishments, which cannot dominate him. If by endeavoring IN TORAH it is thus, it is all the more so for he who acts AND FULFILLS THE PRECEPTS OF THE TORAH.