769. That youth opened the discussion with the blessing after the meal and said, One verse says, "And you shall eat before Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 4:23) and another verse says, "And rejoice before Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 27:7). These verses were fulfilled when the children of Yisrael dwelt in the Holy Land and appeared before the Holy One, blessed be He, in the Temple. How are they fulfilled today? Who can eat before Hashem and who can rejoice before Hashem?
770. HE ANSWERS, Certainly it is so. At the beginning, when a person sits down at his table to eat, he makes the blessing for bread, "Hamotzi." What is the reason we say, "who brings (Heb. hamotzi) forth bread" and not 'he who brings (Heb. hamotzi) forth bread,' WITHOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE HEI? It is written, "He creates (lit. 'creator') the heavens" (Yeshayah 42:5), but not written, 'He who creates (lit. 'the creator').' "He has made (lit. 'maker') the earth" (Yirmeyah 10:12) and is not written 'He who has made (the maker) the earth.' What is the reason that here we say Hamotzi (Lit. 'the bringer')?
771. HE ANSWERS, The Hei is hidden from all the things that come from the upper concealed world, WHICH IS BINAH, AS THERE IS NO DEFINITE ARTICLE (HEI) THERE. THIS SHOWS THAT IT COMES FROM THE HIDDEN AND CONCEALED WORLD. All the things that are from the lower world, WHICH IS MALCHUT that is more revealed, are written with a Hei, as it is written, "That (Hei) brings out their host by number" (Yeshayah 40:26). "That (Hei) calls for the waters of the sea" (Amos 5:8). They are all from the secret of the Lower World. If a Name is written, it is also with a Hei, such as "the great El" for example. And here where He is revealed WITH A HEI, IT IS BECAUSE it is from the secret of the lower world, because when a person is blessing, the Shechinah comes before him.
772. "And you shall eat before Hashem your Elohim" is included here, in speaking words of Torah. So it should be, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is standing before him, as it is written, "This is the table that is before Hashem" (Yechezkel 41:22) and, "And you shall eat there before Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 14:26).
773. Because the person is standing before his Master, he must also favor the poor, to give them just as THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, gives him to eat. HE SHOULD BE like one who is eating before the Holy King, and he should not be a glutton at his table, because gluttony is from the Other Side. This is the secret of, "Give me to swallow, I pray you" (Beresheet 25:30), which is by way of gluttony, which is a requirement of the Other Side, as it is written, "But the belly of the wicked shall feel want" (Mishlei 13:25). Therefore, it is written, "And you shall eat before Hashem your Elohim" and not before the Other Side. One should not be occupied with frivolous things and the preparations for the meal, but should be occupied with words of Torah, for one gives strength to his Master when words of Torah are spoken at the table.
774. "And rejoice before Hashem your Elohim." This refers to the Cup of Blessing. When a person blesses with the Cup of Blessing, he should rejoice and express joy and no sadness at all. As soon as the person has taken the Cup of Blessing, the Holy One, blessed be He, stands over him, and he should cover his head joyfully and bless over the cup in the presence of three people WHO ATE TOGETHER, 'Let us bless Him, of His bounty we have eaten.'
775. 'And by whose goodness we live:' Here we must AIM the desire up to the most ancient of all. Therefore, it is in a concealed way, as it says, 'BY WHOSE GOODNESS' AND DOES NOT SAY, 'BY YOUR GOODNESS.' HE SAYS, 'By whose goodness' and not 'goodness,' because 'by whose goodness' is the supernal Right, WHICH IS THE SFIRAH CHESED and 'from whose goodness' is a different level below that comes from the right side. It is a level that is lower than it, NAMELY THE SFIRAH OF YESOD. THEREFORE, he must say, 'By whose goodness,' because the world is built by that goodness, WHICH IS CHESED. AS IT IS WRITTEN, "FOR I HAVE SAID, THE WORLD IS BUILT BY CHESED" (TEHILIM 89:3) and is nourished by it.
776. HE QUESTIONS, Why is it called 'goodness' and why 'Chesed,' WHICH ARE TWO NAMES? HE ANSWERS, 'Goodness' is when THE SFIRAH contains everything within itself and THE LIGHT does not spread to descend downward. Chesed is when THE LIGHT descends below and does good for all the creations, the righteous and the wicked without hesitation, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT CONTAIN JUDGMENTS. Even though both of them, GOODNESS AND CHESED, are one level as it is written, "Surely goodness and kindness (Heb. chesed) shall follow me" (Tehilim 23:6). AND WE CAN ASK, If IT SAYS 'goodness,' WHY DOES IT SAY 'kindness,' and if IT SAYS 'kindness,' why DOES IT SAY 'goodness?' It would be sufficient to say one OF THEM. But, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, 'goodness' means that it retains everything within itself and does not SPREAD down. Chesed descends and spreads down and nourishes everything, the righteous and wicked alike.
777. Here it says, "And by whose goodness we live," WHICH IS POSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN THAT THE FLOW DOES NOT DESCEND TO THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. Therefore, it says again, 'Who sustains the entire world with His goodness, with grace, with kindness (Heb. chesed), and with Mercy.' This is the meaning of, "Who gives bread to all flesh, for His steadfast love (Heb. chesed) endures forever" (Tehilim 136:25). Therefore, IT SAYS, 'He provides food for all,' namely for the righteous and the wicked, for everyone. This is called 'the Blessing of the Right,' WHICH IS CHESED. The Left, WHICH IS GVURAH AND JUDGMENT, is not included in the Blessing after a meal. Therefore, the left HAND should not assist the right HAND TO HOLD THE CUP.
778. After he is reciting the Blessing after a Meal, we have to attach the Land of the living, WHICH IS MALCHUT, to the right, so it is nourished from there to sustain and give nourishment to all. Therefore, the second BLESSING is the Blessing of the Land. We should mention in it Covenant and Torah, NAMELY 'for Your Covenant which You have sealed in our flesh; for Your Torah which You have taught us' to show that the Covenant and the Torah are nourished from this goodness, which is the perfection of this goodness.