"And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head"

333. "And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head" (Beresheet 47:31). HE ASKS, What is the bed's head? HE ANSWERS, It is the Shechinah, WHICH IS ALWAYS PRESENT AT THE HEAD OF A SICK MAN. Rabbi Shimon said, Heaven forbid THAT HE WAS BOWING DOWN BEFORE THE SHECHINAH, SINCE HE WAS A CHARIOT OF TIFERET, WHICH IS ABOVE THE SHECHINAH. He bowed to his own attribute, TIFERET. HE EXPLAINS HIS WORDS, Come and behold, the bed is the Shechinah, of which it says, "Behold it his litter, that of Solomon" (Shir Hashirim 3:7). The bed's head is the foundation (Yesod) of the world, the head of the sacred bed, THE SHECHINAH; the head refers to Israel, TIFERET, standing at the bed's head, WHICH IS YESOD, FOR TIFERET IS ABOVE YESOD, and therefore Israel bowed to himself, NAMELY TO TIFERET.

334. You might say THAT HE BOWED DOWN TO THE SHECHINAH, WHICH IS ABOVE THE HEAD OF A SICK MAN. At that time, he was not yet ill, only later. It is written, "And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, 'Behold, your father is sick'" (Beresheet 48:1). But when he bowed down, he was not sick. Of necessity, he bowed down because he knew that he then ascended to the holy supernal grade of the whole throne TIFERET. He therefore bowed down to that Chariot, the supernal throne. FOR CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET ARE THE SUPERNAL THRONE OF BINAH, AND TIFERET IS INCLUDED OF THEM ALL. It is the perfection of the great and strong tree which is named after him, NAMELY TIFERET CALLED ISRAEL AFTER HIS NAME. Therefore, "Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head," for surely he was elevated into his own grade and adorned with crowns, MOCHIN, of the Holy King TIFERET.

335. "And he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head." Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion saying, "All this have I proved by Wisdom: I said, 'I will be wise;' but it was far from me" (Kohelet 7:23). We have learned that King Solomon inherited the moon, THE NUKVA, together with all her aspects. In his days the moon was in fullness, being blessed by all THE GRADES. When he wanted to understand the statutes of the Torah he told them, "I said, 'I will be wise;' but it was far from me."

336. Rabbi Yehuda said, Jacob stated, "but I will lie with my fathers and you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their place of burial" (Beresheet 47:30). In connection with this, we learned that a man whose soul departed in another domain, NAMELY OUTSIDE THE LAND OF YISRAEL, and whose body was buried in the Holy Land, scripture says of him: "But when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination" (Yirmeyah 2:7). Yet Jacob said, "And bury me in their place of burial," though his soul departed in another domain, IN EGYPT.

337. Rabbi Yehuda said, Jacob is different THAN OTHER MEN, since the Shechinah held him and cleaved to him. This is the meaning of the words, "I will go down with you into Egypt" (Beresheet 46:4) to dwell with you in exile "and I will also surely bring you up again" (Ibid.), for your soul shall be united with Me, and your body shall be buried in the graves of your fathers. This comes to teach us that his soul left in another domain, YET "I WILL ALSO SURELY BRING YOU UP AGAIN" TO BE BURIED IN THE GRAVES OF HIS FATHERS.

338. "And Joseph shall put his hand on your eyes" (Ibid.). Surely because he was the firstborn, AND IT IS FOR THE FIRSTBORN TO PUT HIS HAND ON HIS FATHER'S EYES. For according to thought, he was the firstborn of the first seed, as we learned. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, knew this secret THAT HE THOUGHT OF RACHEL, He let him know that it would be Joseph, WHO WILL PUT HIS HANDS ON HIS EYES, whom he greatly loved.

339. "Shall put his hand on your eyes ..." HE ASKS, What does this come to teach us? Rabbi Yisa said, This teaches us of Jacob's importance, THAT HIS SON, A KING, WILL PUT HIS HAND ON HIS EYES, and also informs him that Joseph is alive and will be present at his death. Rabbi Chizkiyah said, I have learned something, yet I fear of revealing it, since Wisdom abides with the common customs. Rabbi Aba tapped him and said, Speak up and pluck up your courage, for everything is disclosed in the days of Rabbi Shimon AND THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AFRAID.

340. RABBI CHIZKIYAH said, We learned from the book of Rabbi Yesa Saba (the elder), in the chapter about customs, that when a man merits a son in this world, THE SON should put dust on his eyes when his father is buried as a sign of respect, an indication that the world is now concealed from him, and that he, THE SON, inherits it in his stead.

341. This is because a man's eyes reflect the world and contain all the colors. The white color in them is like a great sea which surrounds the world on all sides. Another is like the ground dug out from the water. The ground stands in the midst of the water and so does the color in the midst of the water, NAMELY IN THE MIDST OF THE WHITE COLOR WHICH INDICATES THE WATER OF THE OCEAN.

342. The third color in the middle of the eye is Jerusalem, the center of the world. The fourth color in the eye is where the power of sight dwells; NAMELY THE BLACKNESS IN THE EYE. It is called "the apple of the eye" (Tehilim 17:8), where the face is seen and the most dear sight of all, Zion, the innermost point of all, where the whole world is seen, where the Shechinah dwells, which is the beauty and sight of all. The eye is the worldly inheritance, and therefore he WHO DIES leaves this and HIS SON takes it and inherits it.

343. He said to him: This was well said, but this matter has an even deeper meaning, though the children of the world do not know or look for it. For when a man departs from the world, his Nefesh is hidden with him, and before it leaves the body his eyes see certain things, as we have explained in relation to the verse, "For no man shall see Me, and live" (Shemot 33:20), that men do not see in their lives what they see in their death.

344. His eyes are opened to the sight they have just seen, and those standing by should put a hand on his eyes and close them, because of what we learned about common customs. When the eyes remain open to the dear vision, if he has a son, the son should be the first to put his hand over his eyes and close them. It says, "And Joseph shall put his hand on your eyes," for another unholy sight is come before him and the eye that beheld the supernal holy sight must not look at the other sight.

345. Another reason is that the Nefesh is close by in the house, and if the eye is open, and the other sight OF THE OTHER SIDE will be upon his eyes, whatever he beholds shall be cursed. AND SINCE HIS NEFESH IS STANDING IN FRONT OF HIM, HE MIGHT LOOK AT IT AND IT WILL BE ACCURSED. This is not respectful to the eye, or to any of the dead man's relatives, especially to the dead man himself. It is degrading for him to behold what he should not BEHOLD, and lay his eyes on another thing; NAMELY THE OTHER SIDE. Therefore he is covered by dust. The friends have already spoken about the judgment which THE DEAD MAN undergoes in the grave, AND THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO SPEAK ABOUT IT. It is a sign of respect that the eye be closed by the son that he left in the world.

346. Come and see, for seven days AFTER THE DEMISE, the Nefesh goes from the grave to the house and back, and mourns him. Three times a day, the Nefesh and the body are judged together, though nobody in the world knows it, or observes it so as to awaken his heart.

347. Afterwards, the body is sealed IN THE GRAVE and the Nefesh goes to bathe in Gehenom, then goes out to roam about the world and visit THE BODY IN the grave, until it wears that which it wears.

348. After twelve months every body rests. The body reposes in the dust and the Nefesh is bound and enlightened by the Ruach, which in its garment is satisfied in the Garden of Eden. The Neshamah ascends to the bundle of life, THE NUKVA, the greatest pleasure of all. All of them are attached to each other, THE NEFESH TO THE RUACH AND THE RUACH TO THE NESHAMAH, at certain times, ON SHABBAT, HOLIDAYS AND THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH.

349. Come and see, Woe to the people who do not regard, who do not know nor understand why they exist, and neglect to observe the precepts of the Torah. Some of the precepts of the Torah are made into a holy garment above IN THE UPPER GARDEN OF EDEN, and some are made into a holy garment below IN THE LOWER GARDEN OF EDEN. Some precepts are made into a holy garment in this world. Man needs them all. They are made of man's days as we explained.

350. Rabbi Yehuda Saba (the elder) was very anxious one day TO KNOW WHAT HE WOULD HAVE IN THE WORLD OF TRUTH. He was shown in a dream a certain image made of bright light which shines to the four directions. He asked what it was, and they said to him: This is your garment, which you shall wear here. From that day ONWARD, he was happy.

351. Rabbi Yehuda said, On each day the spirits of the righteous sit, clothed in their garments in rows in the Garden of Eden and praise the Holy One, blessed be He, with the highest glory, as it is written, "Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name, the upright shall dwell in Your presence" (Tehilim 140:14). Rabbi Aba said, It is first written, "And Israel bowed himself..." As we explained, the bed is the Congregation of Yisrael, THE NUKVA; the bed's head is the Righteous; "upon the bed's head" refers to the Holy King, that the peace is His, NAMELY TIFERET, as it is written, "Behold his litter, that of Solomon" (Shir Hashirim 3:7). For he bowed to himself, BEING THE CHARIOT OF TIFERET, to him who stands upon the bed's head whose name is Yisrael, AS TIFERET IS CALLED YISRAEL. Therefore, "And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head."

352. Afterwards, when Jacob saw that he was perfected in the highest grade(TIFERET) together with the patriarchs, CHESED AND GVURAH, and that he alone was wholly mended, FOR TIFERET IS THE CENTRAL COLUMN WHICH INCLUDES CHESED AND GVURAH AND MEASURED AGAINST ALL CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, his heart rejoiced and he was strengthened by the supernal will of the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO WAS PLEASED with him. Then it was said of him, "And Yisrael strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed," on the bed itself, THE SECRET OF MALCHUT, since he was perfected in a higher grade, MEANING, HE WAS MADE WHOLE BY THE ATTRIBUTE OF TIFERET WHICH IS ABOVE MALCHUT. Happy is his portion.