"Binding his foal to the vine," part one

582. "Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass's colt to the choice vine" (Beresheet 49:11): Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion saying, "Hashem shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul" (Tehilim 121:7). HE ASKS, After saying, "Hashem shall preserve you from all evil," why add "He shall preserve your soul?" HE ANSWERS, "Hashem shall preserve you from all evil" in this world and "shall preserve your soul" in the world of Truth.

583. By "the keeping in this world" is meant that a man is protected from evil accusing demons, which go in the world to bring charges against people and cling to them. By "the keeping in the world of Truth" is meant that when a man passes away from this world, if he be meritorious, his soul ascends to be adorned in its place. But if he is not MERITORIOUS, several legions of demons appear before him and drag him into Gehenom, where he is delivered to the hands of Dumah, who hands him to the chief in charge over Gehenom. There are 13,000 chieftains with him, who all await the souls of the wicked.

584. Come and see, There are seven chambers in Gehenom, and seven gates. The soul of the wicked enters THERE. There are several fiends, spirits and gate keepers, and one chief in charge over each gate. The souls of the wicked are delivered to these chiefs by Dumah. Once they are delivered, THEY close the gates of burning fire.

585. There are double gates, which are opened and closed, the outer ones are open and the inner closed. Every Shabbat all of them are open. The wicked go out as far as the outer gates, where they meet other souls, which tarry there, BUT DO NOT ENTER GEHENOM. When Shabbat goes out, the herald comes out to each gate and says "The wicked shall return to Sheol" (Tehilim 9:18). Come and behold, the souls of the righteous are protected by the Holy One, blessed be He, from being delivered into the hands of the chieftain Dumah, as it is written, "Hashem shall preserve your going out and your coming in" (Tehilim 121:8) and "He shall preserve your soul."

586. "Binding his foal to the vine:" HE ASKS, What is a vine? HE SAYS, It is the Congregation of Yisrael, THE NUKVA, as it says, "You have brought a vine out of Egypt" (Tehilim 80:9) and "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine" (Ibid. 128:3). Your wife is as the holy vine, THE SUPERNAL NUKVA. Rabbi Yosi said about the vine over which we say the benediction - 'Who created the fruit of the vine (Heb. bore peri hagefen)' - 'created' means "a tree yielding fruit" (Beresheet 1:12). 'The fruit of the vine' is a fruit tree, 'yielding fruit' is the male, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, and the 'fruit tree' is a female, NAMELY THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN. Therefore, "who created the fruit of the vine" includes a male and a female together, MALE AND FEMALE.

587. "Binding his foal to the vine:" This is King Messiah, who will rule over the nations' armies, and over the hosts in charge of the idolatrous nations who derive their strength from them. King Messiah is destined to overpower them.

588. Because this vine, THE NUKVA, rules over the lower crowns, through which the idolatrous nations reign, and is victorious above, the children of Yisrael, who are called "the choice vine," will conquer and annihilate the other legions below, and King Messiah will overpower all of them. It is written "poor and riding upon an donkey, and upon a colt" (Zecharyah 9:9). The donkey and the colt are two crowns, through which the idolatrous nations rule. They are of the left side, the side of profanity. AND KING MESSIAH OVERCOMES THEM.

589. HE ASKS, Why DOES SCRIPTURE SAY ABOUT KING MESSIAH THAT he is poor? Can King Messiah be called poor? HE ANSWERS, Rabbi Shimon said it is so, because he has nothing of his own, SINCE IT IS THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN which is called King Messiah. But it is the holy moon above, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN, which has no light of her own, save what she receives from the sun, ZEIR ANPIN. SHE IS THEREFORE CALLED POOR.

590. King Messiah, THE NUKVA, will have dominion and will be united in his place above. Then "behold, your king comes to you" (Zecharyah 9:9). It does not say what king, SINCE HE INCLUDES THE NUKVA ABOVE AND KING MESSIAH BELOW. Below he is poor because he is of the aspect of the moon, WHICH IS THE SUPERNAL NUKVA. FOR THE MESSIAH BELOW IS DRAWN FROM THE NUKVA, AND IS THEREFORE CALLED POOR LIKE HER. Above She is poor, THE NUKVA HERSELF, because She is the mirror which does not shine OF HER OWN, BUT FROM ZEIR ANPIN, AND IS THEREFORE CALLED bread of poverty. With all that, THE MESSIAH IS "riding upon an donkey, and upon a colt," which are the stronghold of the idolatrous nation, to subdue them. The Holy One, blessed be He, THE NUKVA, will be strengthened in His place ABOVE, AS THE VERSE, "BEHOLD, YOUR KING COMES TO YOU" INCLUDES THEM BOTH.

591. "He washes his garments in wine" (Beresheet 49:11) is like the verses, "Who is this that comes from Edom, with crimsoned garments from Botzra?" (Yeshayah 63:1) and "I have trodden the winepress alone" (Ibid. 3). The wine is the side of Gvurah OF ZEIR ANPIN, of strict Judgment upon the idolatrous nations. "And his clothes in the blood of grapes" (Beresheet 49:11) refers to the lower tree, THE NUKVA, the court of law called grapes. The wine is mingled with the blood of grapes in order to be clothed by both THE STRICT JUDGMENT OF ZEIR ANPIN AND THE JUDGMENT OF THE NUKVA, to crush beneath it all the other idolatrous nations and the Kings of the world.

592. Rabbi Yosi opened the discussion with the verses, "Binding his foal to the vine" and "And on the vine were three tendrils, and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth" (Beresheet 40:10). Come and see how stupid are people who neither know nor care for the glory of their Master, or regard the words of the Torah. They do not know their ways, or what they are caught in, as it is written, "The way of the wicked is like darkness, they know not at what they stumble" (Mishlei 4:19).

593. At the earliest time, prophecy rested upon people who would know and look to know the highest glory. When prophecy was stopped from them, they resorted to divine voices. Now both have ceased, and people resort only to dreams.

594. The dream is from the lower grade outside, for we learn that a dream is the sixtieth part of prophecy. Why? Because it comes from the sixth grade below, as was already explained, THAT IT IS FROM HOD OF THE NUKVA, WHICH IS THE SIXTH GRADE FROM NETZACH AND HOD OF ZEIR ANPIN WHERE PROPHECY IS. Come and behold, dream is accessible to all, since it is from the left side, HOD OF THE NUKVA, and descends many grades DOWN TO THE ANGEL GABRIEL, WHO DELIVERS THE DREAMS. A dream may be seen even by wicked men and even by gentiles.

595. Sometimes evil angels receive and hear the dream, and inform men. Some of them mock at men and tell them false things, and sometimes true things which they heard. Sometimes, they are sent to the evil to tell them lofty matters.

596. It is written of this wicked man that he saw a true dream, as it is written, "And on the vine were three tendrils." What is the vine? It is the Congregation of Yisrael, THE NUKVA, as it is written, "Look down from heaven, and behold, and be mindful of this vine" (Tehilim 80:15). It says "from heaven" IN "LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN," since it has been cast from there, according to the words, "And cast down from heaven to earth" (Eichah 2:1). "And be mindful of this vine," NAMELY the vine which is "this," THE NUKVA CALLED "THIS."

597. "Three tendrils" as in the verse, "There were three flocks of sheep lying by it" (Beresheet 29:2), ARE THE SECRET OF THE THREE COLUMNS. "And it was as though it budded," as it is written, "And Solomon's Wisdom excelled" (I Melachim 5:10) means that the moon shone, THE NUKVA CALLED SOLOMON'S WISDOM; "and its blossoms shot forth" refers to the lower Jerusalem, THE NUKVA. Another explanation for, "and its blossoms shot forth:" It refers to the grade above THE NUKVA, which suckles Her, NAMELY YESOD, as it says, "whose seed is in itself, upon the earth" (Beresheet 1:11), WHICH ALLUDES TO YESOD, THAT POURS UPON THE NUKVA CALLED EARTH. "And its clusters brought forth ripe grapes" (Beresheet 40:10), in which to keep the preserved wine, SO THAT THE KLIPOT WILL NEVER HAVE A HOLD ON IT.

598. See how much this wicked man saw. It is written, "And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them" (Beresheet 40:11). He saw here the cup of poison, the branch of the court of justice, which issues from these grapes. It was given to Pharaoh, who drank it, as it came to pass AT THE TIME OF THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT, on account of Yisrael. When Joseph heard this, he rejoiced and recognized the truth in that dream. Hence, he interpreted his dream for the good, for bringing him good tidings.

599. Come and see, "Binding his foal to the vine" since strong forces of the heathen nations were subjugated underneath this vine, as we said that through the power of the vine, THE NUKVA, their force was bound up and subdued, as has been explained.

600. Rabbi Shimon said, There is a vine and there is a vine. There is a holy supernal vine, THE NUKVA, and there is a vine called "the vine of Sodom" (Devarim 32:32), WHICH IS AN EVIL KLIPAH. There is also "a strange vine" (Yirmeyah 2:21), the daughter of a strange El. Therefore, it is written "this vine," WHICH HINTS THAT SHE IS THE NUKVA CALLED "this," the same that is called "an entirely right seed" (Ibid.) "a noble vine," AS IT SAYS, "AND I HAD PLANTED YOU A NOBLE VINE" (IBID.), refers to Yisrael who issued from this vine. When Yisrael sinned and abandoned this vine, it says, "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom" (Devarim 32:32).

601. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yitzchak were walking along the road. Rabbi Yehuda said to Rabbi Yitzchak, Let us walk through this field, which is more level. While they were walking, Rabbi Yehuda said, It is written, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet" (Mishlei 31:21). This verse has been explained by our friend Rabbi Chizkiyah. He said that the evil are sentenced to twelve months in Gehenom, half of them in heat OF BURNING FIRE and half in snow.

602. When they enter the fire, they say, This must be Gehenom. When they go into the snow, they say, This is surely the intense cold of the Holy One's, blessed be He, winter. They start with, 'Hurrah,' AND REJOICE FOR COMING OUT OF GEHENOM, but later, WHEN THEY UNDERSTAND IT IS A GEHENOM OF SNOW, they say, 'Woe.' David said, "He brought me up also out of the gruesome pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet..." (Tehilim 40:3); NAMELY from where they first say 'Hurrah' and then 'Woe,' AS THE WORD HAYAVEN (ENG. 'MIRE') CONTAINS BOTH VAV-HEI (ENG. 'HURRAH') AND VAV-YUD (ENG. 'WOE').

603. Where are their souls perfected? In A GEHENOM OF snow, as said, "When the Almighty scatters kings in it, snow falls in Tzalmon" (Tehilim 68:15). One might think this also applies to Yisrael, THAT THEY ARE SENTENCED TO SNOW. Of this, the verse says, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household" Why? "For all her household are clothed with scarlet." The word shanim (Eng. 'scarlet') may also be pronounced 'two (Heb. shnayim);' meaning, the circumcision and uncovering, the Tzitzit (fringes) and the Tefilin, the Mezuzah and the Chanukah candle, and so on. TO WIT, YISRAEL ARE QUICK IN OBSERVING THE PRECEPTS AND HAVE DOUBLE PRECEPTS, FOR IN CIRCUMCISION THERE IS BOTH CIRCUMCISION AND UNCOVERING, IN PRAYER-THE TZITZIT (FRINGES) AND THE TEFILIN, AND ON THEIR DOORS THEY HAVE THE MEZUZAH AND THE CHANUKAH CANDLE. THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT AFRAID OF THE GEHENOM OF SNOW, WHICH COMES FOR LAZINESS AND SLACKNESS IN OBSERVING THE PRECEPTS.

604. Come and behold, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household." This is the Congregation of Yisrael, whose "household are clothed with scarlet," like we said in relation to the words "crimsoned garments" (Yeshayah 63:1), which is a robe of strict Judgment, in which punishment is exacted from the idolatrous nations. The Holy One, blessed be He, will don a red garment and a red sword and punish the red, ESAU. The garment is red as in "crimsoned garment" and "Why is your apparel red" (Ibid. 2). Of the red sword, we learn from the verse "The sword of Hashem is filled with blood" (Yeshayah 34:6). He will punish the red, as it is written, "For Hashem has a sacrifice in Botzra" (Ibid.). Also "her household are clothed with scarlet," since THE NUKVA comes from strict Judgment, AND THEREFORE "SHE IS NOT AFRAID OF THE SNOW."

605. Rabbi Yitzchak said, This is indeed so, but we should explain the words "her household are clothed with scarlet (Heb. shanim)." These are the primordial years (Heb. shanim), THE SECRET OF THE SEVEN SFIROT CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT, for she is included of them all and sucks from all sides, as it is written, "All the rivers run into the sea" (Kohelet 1:7). SHE THEREFORE DOES NOT FEAR THE JUDGMENTS, WHICH ARE SNOW.

606. While they were walking, they met a child who was walking to Cappadocia behind a donkey, upon which rode an old man. The man said to the child, My son, read to me a passage of scripture. He said to him: I KNOW not one BUT MANY PASSAGES, but alight first, or let me ride before you, and I will recite it. THE OLD MAN said to him: I am old and you are a child and I do not want to be put on the same level WITH YOU. THE CHILD said to him: Why then did you ask me to recite verses to you? He said, so that we shall walk together. The child said, may this old man hang himself, who rides and knows nothing but says he does not wish to be on a level with me. He left the old man and walked on the road.

607. When Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yitzchak arrived, the child approached them. They asked him and he told them what happened. Rabbi Yehuda said, You have acted rightly, come with us and let us sit here and hear your words. He said to them, I am weary since I have not eaten today. They took out bread and gave it to him. A miracle happened and they found a streamlet under a tree. He drank of it, and they drank and sat down.