652. Rabbi Aba opened the discussion with the verse, "And he made a molten sea... It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them" (I Melachim 7:23-25) and "twelve oxen under the sea" (Ibid. 44). "It stood upon twelve oxen" surely, for the sea is adorned by twelve within both worlds, THE SUPERNAL WORLD BINAH AND THE LOWER WORLD THE NUKVA. The upper twelve are the Chariots appointed from above. THEY ARE CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT ABOVE THE CHEST OF ZEIR ANPIN, EACH INCLUDING THREE. TOGETHER THEY AMOUNT TO TWELEVE AND BINAH RIDES OVER THEM. HENCE THE CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT ARE CONSIDERED AS CHARIOTS. And the lower twelve are the twelve tribes, BEING CHESED, GVURAH, NETZACH AND HOD OF THE NUKVA EACH INCLUDING THREE AND TOGETHER AMOUNTING TO TWELVE. THE NUKVA, TIFERET BETWEEN THEM, RIDES OVER THEM. When Jacob saw the supernal adornment, CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, and the Shechinah in front of him, WHICH IS MALCHUT, THE SECRET OF THE FOUR LEGS OF THE SUPERNAL THRONE, he wanted to complete the adornment, so he called for his twelve sons and said to them "Gather yourselves" and prepare yourselves to perfect the faith, THE NUKVA. THEY SHOULD RECTIFY THEMSELVES WITH THE SECRET OF THE ADORNMENT OF THE NUKVA'S TWELVE, SO THAT THE NUKVA WILL BE COMPLETED, LIKE THE NUKVA ABOVE, BINAH, AND THE ADORNMENT WILL BE COMPLETED.

653. Come and see the twelve tribes with four standards to the four directions, "Three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them." So three tribes look to each of the four directions of the world, three tribes to the right arm, CHESED, and three tribes to the left arm, GVURAH, three tribes to the right leg, NETZACH, and three tribes to the left leg, HOD. And the body of the Shechinah, TIFERET CALLED BODY, is above them, as it is written, "and the sea was set above upon them," AS THE SEA IS THE SHECHINAH.

654. Why are there three tribes per arm and three tribes per leg? The secret of this is that there are three joints in the right arm OF THE LOWER BODY, and so in the left arm, the right leg and the left leg. They are twelve altogether, attached to the body as above. Whence do we know that? From the verse, "All these are the twelve tribes of Yisrael: and this" (Beresheet 49:28). HE ATTACHED, "AND THIS IS THAT WHICH THEIR FATHER SPOKE TO THEM," THE NUKVA CALLED 'THIS,' because the reckoning is complete with her, as it says, "And the sea was set above upon them," WHICH IS THE NUKVA CALLED SEA. THUS, THE TWELVE TRIBES ARE ATTACHED TO THE BODY OF THE NUKVA ABOVE THEM.

655. "The seven eyes of Hashem" (Zecharyah 4:10) are the seven eyes of the congregation, NAMELY, CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT OF THE HEAD OF THE NUKVA CALLED HEAD CONGREGATION. BEING THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH, THEY ARE ONSIDEREED TO BE EYES. They are the seventy members of the Sanhedrin, AS EACH OF CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT IS INCLUDED OF TEN, SEVENTY IN ALL, IN THE SECRET OF THE VERSE "FOR THE JUDGMENT IS ELOHIM" (DEVARIM 1:17). The hairs THAT GROW FROM THIS HEAD ARE ALLUDED TO in the verse, "All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand" (Bemidbar 2:9). "All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben ..." (Ibid. 16). ALL THOSE GREAT NUMBERS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE HAIRS OF THE NUKVA.

656. You may ask: In Egypt, when Jacob departed from the world, where was perfection at that time, where were all those WHO WERE NUMBERED IN THE CAMPS, WHO ARE CONSIDERED THE HAIRS OF THE NUKVA? IF THEY WERE NOT THERE, THE NUKVA WOULD THEN BE IMPERFECT, FOR THEY ARE HER HAIRS. HE ANSWERS, Indeed they were seventy souls WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN EGYPT, CORRESPONDING TO THE MOCHIN OF THE SEVENTY MEMBERS OF THE SANHEDRIN, and they begot innumerable descendants during the seventeen years THAT JACOB LIVED IN EGYPT, as it is written, "And the children of Yisrael were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty (Heb. vaya'atzmu)" (Shemot 1:7). THEY WERE ALSO CONSIDERED AS THE HAIRS OF THE NUKVA, as it is written, "They are more (Heb. atzmu) than the hairs of my head" (Tehilim 40:13). THE WORD 'VAYA'ATZMU' ALSO REFERS TO HAIRS. THEY LIVED AT THE TIME OF JACOB'S DEPARTURE FROM THE WORLD, AND THEREFORE PERFECTION WAS NOT INCOMPLETE. Happy is the portion of perfect Jacob, who was perfected above and below.

657. Rabbi Elazar said TO RABBI ABA, Surely this is AS YOU STATED. But concerning the supernal correction of the Jubilee, BINAH, how could there be so much there, NAMELY THE TWELVE ASPECTS? RABBI ABA said to him: After the lion was set to enter the vineyard, who should follow? THIS MEANS, EXPLAIN IT YOURSELF.

658. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion with the verse, "But He is unchangeable (lit. 'in one'), and who can turn Him? and what His soul desires, even that He does" (Iyov 23:13). The supernal establishment IN BINAH is all one, and there is no division in it, like in the lower ESTABLISHMENT IN THE NUKVA, as it says "and from thence it was parted, and branched into four streams" (Beresheet 2:10), FOR THERE IS SEPARATION WITHIN THE NUKVA. Though it is divided, it all comes to one when you examine it, FOR EVEN THE SEPARATION IN HER IS FIXED BY THE CORRECTION OF THE TWELVE, AND THEN SHE IS ALL ONE. BUT BINAH WAS NEVER DIVIDED, AND NEEDS NO CORRECTION OF THE TWELVE TO FIX HER.

659. But the establishment of the supernal Jubilee, BINAH, is also supported by twelve like the lower one, THE NUKVA. And though it is one, AND WAS NEVER PARTED, yet it perfects every side, this and that side - IN OTHER WORDS, THE ONENESS OF THE SFIROT TO THE RIGHT COMPLETES THE LEFT SIDE, AND VICE VERSA. Thus the six supernal extremities, CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD OF BINAH, become twelve, since each of them lends ITS LIGHTS to its neighbor and is included of its neighbor's LIGHTS. Hence they are twelve, with the body OF BINAH ABOVE THEM. THEREFORE, everything is based on twelve. What is the body? It is Jacob, as we learned, NAMELY TIFERET, AND NOT BINAH WHICH IS THE HEAD AND NOT THE BODY. HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT BINAH IS THE BODY OVER THE TWELVE? HE ANSWERS, the head and the body are together, MEANING, THEY ARE INCLUDED WITHIN EACH OTHER, AND THEREFORE THE ASPECT OF TIFERET EXISTS ALSO IN THE HEAD OF BINAH.

660. WE SHOULD further EXPLAIN THE SECRET OF twelve. There are three joints in the right arm, Chesed - Chassadim, WHICH MEANS ALL THREE PERTAIN TO CHESED, and three joints in the left arm, Gvurah - Gvurot, THAT IS THREE TIMES GVUROT, three joints in the right leg, Netzach - Netzachim, THAT IS, THREE TIMES NETZACH, and three joints in the left leg, Hod and Hodot. Together, there are twelve, and with the body, TIFERET, which stands above them, there are thirteen. The Torah too is expounded by the thirteen attributes, THE THIRTEEN ATTRIBUTES OF MERCY DRAWN FROM THE THIRTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEARD OF ARICH ANPIN, which are all one WITHOUT, HEAVEN FORBID, ANY SEPARATION. They are drawn from above downward as one, until they reach that place, which is in division, THE NUKVA.

661. There are seven supernal eyes, THE SEVEN SFIROT CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT OF THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH CALLED EYES. There are "the eyes of Hashem, they rove (masc.) to and fro through the whole earth" (Zecharyah 4:10); they are male; NAMELY OF ZEIR ANPIN, since it is the place of the male. It is written elsewhere, "For the eyes of Hashem run (fem.) to and fro" (II Divrei Hayamim 16:9), they are part of the adornments of the Shechinah below, the place of the female. The seven supernal eyes, EITHER OF THE MALE OR OF THE FEMALE, correspond to the verse, "Yours, O Hashem, is the greatness (Chesed), and the Gvurah, AND THE TIFERET, AND THE NETZACH AND THE HOD, FOR ALL THAT IS IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH (YESOD) IS YOURS; YOURS IS THE KINGDOM (MALCHUT), O HASHEM" (I Divrei Hayamim 29:11). This place, MALCHUT, completes each end OF THE SIX EXTREMITIES CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD.