371. "And he blessed Joseph" (Beresheet 48:15). We have to examine this verse, since it is written, "And he blessed Joseph," yet no blessing was conferred upon Joseph, but upon his sons. It should have been written, 'And he blessed them.' Why is it said that he blessed Joseph, if Joseph was not blessed?

372. Rabbi Yosi said, The particle 'Et' before 'Joseph' ALLUDES TO MALCHUT. It is written "Et Joseph," which is the blessing for his sons SINCE HIS SONS, MENASHEH AND EPHRAIM, ARE CONSIDERED TO BE MALCHUT CALLED ET. When his sons are blessed, he is blessed before them, therefore it is written also "Joseph," for man's children are his own blessing.

373. Rabbi Elazar said, "And he blessed (et) Joseph ..." 'Et' is precise ALLUDING TO MALCHUT. For he blessed the sign of the Covenant, NAMELY THE SECRET OF THE COVENANT that Joseph kept, WHICH IS MALCHUT. For this reason, the righteous, Joseph, is called Et, as it is written "Et Joseph" since Joseph includes the secret of the Covenant, MALCHUT, that is present with him.

374. "The Elohim, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked" (Ibid.): "Elohim" is the secret of the Holy Covenant, NAMELY MALCHUT CALLED HOLY COVENANT. My fathers indeed walked before him, WHICH MEANS THAT MY FATHERS ARE before and above this secret, NAMELY BEFORE MALCHUT. FOR MY FATHERS ARE Abraham and Isaac, CHESED AND GVURAH OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH PRECEDE MALCHUT AND ARE HIGHER THAN HER, as that place, MALCHUT, is sustained and nourished by them.

375. "The Elohim who has been my shepherd:" HE ASKS, What is the reason he repeats the word "The Elohim?" HE ANSWERS, This is a high secret. He blessed the place, MALCHUT, in the secret of living Elohim, BINAH, the source of life, whence blessings are drawn. He therefore mentioned himself in this place by saying, "The Elohim who has been my shepherd." For all blessings originate in the source of life, BINAH, and are received by Jacob, THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN. When he receives them, that place, MALCHUT, receives them from him, as all comes from the male, JACOB. Hence it says, "And he blessed et Joseph," ET BEING MALCHUT WHICH RECEIVED HER BLESSINGS FROM JACOB, ZEIR ANPIN.

376. For this reason, wherever blessings are to be given, the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS MALCHUT, should be blessed first; for if He is not, the blessings remain unfulfilled.

377. But you may say that when Jacob's father blessed him, he did not first bless the Holy One, blessed be He. HE ANSWERS, Come and see that when Isaac blessed Jacob, he did not do so before blessing the Holy One, blessed be He. After this, he blessed Jacob. How do we know that? From the verse, "...And said, 'See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed'" (Beresheet 27:27). There is a blessing here for the Holy One, blessed be He, in the words "which Hashem has blessed," and He was blessed with the establishment of the blessings. Then it says, "Therefore the Elohim give you" (Ibid. 28) since the field, MALCHUT, was established by the blessings, for they issue only from it after it is already established by the blessings. In the same manner, first Jacob blessed the Holy One, blessed be He, and then did he bless his sons. Come and see; in the morning, a man should first bless the Holy One, blessed be He, and then the other inhabitants of the world. We have explained it in relation to the verse, "In the morning shall he devour the prey..." (Beresheet 49:27).

378. Come and see, When Jacob wanted to bless the sons of Joseph, he saw through the Holy Spirit that Jeroboam, son of Nevat would issue from Ephraim. He opened the discussion with the words, "Who are these" WHO SAID, "THESE ARE YOUR ELOHIM, YISRAEL?" (SHEMOT 32:4). HE ASKS, What is the reason he said, in relation to idol worshipping, " ...these are your Elohim, Yisrael?" HE REPLIES, This is a secret. Of all the sides of the evil serpent, there is the side of the spirit of defilement considered to be the aspect of the serpent, and there is its rider, SAMAEL - IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE MALE AND FEMALE. When they mate, they are called 'these' IN THE PLURAL, TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE NOT JOINED IN UNITY LIKE THE MALE AND FEMALE OF HOLINESS BUT ARE SEPARATED, BECAUSE THE OTHER SIDE BEGINS UNITED BUT ENDS IN SEPARATION. They appear in the world in their several aspects; ALL THAT ARE DRAWN FROM THE SERPENT ISSUE FROM THE MATING OF THE MALE AND THE FEMALE CALLED 'THESE.'

379. The spirit of holiness, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN, called zot (Eng. 'this,' fem.) which is the secret of the Covenant, is an imprint that is always upon man, THE IMPRINT OF CIRCUMCISION. Also "this is my El, and I will praise Him" (Shemot 15:2) and "this is Hashem," ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH ARE IN THE SINGULAR. But THE MALE AND FEMALE OF THE OTHER SIDE, SAMAEL AND THE SERPENT, are called these IN THE PLURAL. Hence it is written, "These are your Elohim, Yisrael."

380. Therefore it is written, "Even these may forget" (Yeshayah 49:15), REFERRING TO THE MALE AND FEMALE OF THE OTHER SIDE, "and I" - the secret of this, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN - "will not forget." It is also written, "For these I weep" (Eichah 1:16), for the sin OF THE GOLDEN CALF CALLED THESE brought them much weeping, BEING THE CAUSE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE. Another explanation for, "For these I weep:" The reason for this is that permission was given to this place, NAMELY TO THE SERPENT AND SAMAEL, to rule over Yisrael and destroy the Temple. Since they were given permission I weep, I being the Holy Spirit, NAMELY THE NUKVA called I.