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.