91. "And Joseph said to his father, 'They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me in this here (Heb. zeh masc.).'" (Beresheet 48:9) Rabbi Shimon explained in relation to this the verse, "And that (Heb. zot fem.) is the Torah which Moses set before the children of Yisrael" (Devarim 4:44). When lower Israel - WHO ARE CALLED JOSEPH - said, When SUPERNAL Israel is high above them, "They are my children," for the Holy One, blessed be He, gave me the Torah CALLED ZEH (ENG. 'THIS'). THEREFORE SCRIPTURE SAYS "IN THIS (HEB. ZEH)." Behold YISRAEL AND their true laws, according to the laws of the Torah which were given them. Come and see, When Yisrael will shelter under the wings of the Shechinah, the Torah is called 'zeh,' as in "this (zeh) is my El, and I will praise Him" (Shemot 15:2). THIS IS ALSO THE MEANING OF THE VERSE "WHOM ELOHIM HAS GIVEN ME IN THIS," WHICH IS THE TORAH. But as long as David was not speaking from under the wings of the Shechinah, but prophesied that which will be, THE TORAH is called zot (Eng. 'this,' fem.), AS IN "AND THAT (HEB. ZOT) IS THE TORAH."
92. Rav Nachman said, From this, WE UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'ZEH' AND 'ZOT,' AS IT IS WRITTEN, "Though a host should camp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident (lit. 'in zot')" (Tehilim 27:4), zot (Eng. 'this') being the Torah when the Messiah will come, WHEN THE TORAH SHALL BE REVEALED. It is therefore written, "And the voice of the turtledove (Heb. tor) is heard in our land" (Shir Hashirim 2:12) IN THE MASCULINE, INSTEAD OF TORAH, WHICH IS THE FEMININE. TOR IS A NAME OF A DOVE. Why was Torah likened to a dove? Because its voice is sweet like that of a dove. This voice will resound when the Messiah will come at Judgment Day; NAMELY BEFORE REDEMPTION, WHEN THE MESSIAH WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENT AND WAGE WAR AGAINST THE NATIONS WHICH ENSLAVE YISRAEL. YET IT IS NOT YET THE TIME TO REVEAL THE TORAH. IT IS THEREFORE CALLED 'TOR' IN THE MASCULINE, AND ZEH ('THIS,' MASC.).
93. We learned, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing bird is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" (Ibid.). The flowers are the patriarchs of the Chariot, ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB, who will rise in the world and will be seen IN THE LAND.
94. "The time of the singing bird is come," that is, the singing that will be sung by the Levites when they return to their worship of yore. "The voice of the turtledove" IS THE SECRET OF THE VERSE "whom Elohim has given me in this (Heb. zeh)." THIS REFERS TO THE SECRET OF THE TORAH IN ITS MALE ASPECT, CALLED 'ZEH,' WHICH IS ALLUDED TO IN THE VERSE "WHOM ELOHIM HAS GIVEN ME IN THIS (HEB. BAZEH)." These are the words of the Torah which are pleasant as the voice of the turtledove, Zeh.
95. HE ASKS, What does this mean? HE ANSWERS, The secret of this matter is that when Yisrael are not sheltered under the wings of the Shechinah, the Aleph of 'zot' descends beneath all THE GRADES, and the Hei of "zeh (Eng. 'this') is my El, and I will praise Him" departs. Since the Temple was ruined, the Hei could not dwell among the idolatrous nations and the Holy Hei was separated from the Name. When Yisrael will return to their country, the Holy Hei, which was cut from the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, shall return to 'zeh' and come out of the Day of Judgment, while the Aleph will be mended AND COME BACK TO 'ZOT.' HE ASKS, WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, Hei or Aleph? HE ANSWERS, Hei is more important with respect to holiness, and Aleph is more important with respect to the letters.
96. Rabbi Aba opened the discussion with the verse, "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span?" (Yeshayah 40:12). 'Zeh (Zayin-Hei)' and the turtledove (Tav-Vav-Resh) are supposedly alike; NAMELY, THEY JOIN TOGETHER. Zayin OF ZEH joins Resh OF TOR, the Resh OF TOR joins the Tav OF TOR, AND FROM THIS COMES THE COMBINATION OF ZERET (ENG. 'SPAN'). Vav OF TOR IS ATTACHED to Hei OF ZEH, TO FORM VAV-HEI OF THE NAME OF YUD HEI VAV HEI; ZEIR ANPIN AND HIS NUKVA. The measurement of the span of the Holy One, blessed be He, is 670 years, from heaven, ZEIR ANPIN, to earth, THE NUKVA. HE ASKS, How can this be? HE SAYS, Zeh - tor HAS TWO PERMUTATIONS, 1) Zeret - Vav-Hei 2) Hei-Vav - Terez, in which Hei OF ZEH comes before Vav OF TOR. Hei OF ZEH precedes Vav OF TOR, THE PRECEDENCE OF HEI ALLUDES TO BINAH, WHICH POURS ABUNDANCE UPON ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS THE VAV. The Vav before the Tav OF TOR and Tav before Resh OF TOR and Resh OF TOR before Zayin OF ZEH: THIS IS THE PERMUTATION OF HEI-VAV - TEREZ, THE SECRET OF 670 YEARS FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH. "Foursquare it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be its length, and a span shall be the breadth of it" (Shemot 28:26).
97. "And he said, Bring them, I pray you, to me, and I will bless them" (Beresheet 48:9). He says, Since they study the Torah, AS SAID "WHOM ELOHIM HAS GIVEN ME IN THIS (HEB. ZEH)," WHICH IS THE TORAH, and the attribute ZEH is between them, I will bless them.
98. This is the secret of the words, "And he said to him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob'" (Beresheet 32:28): THE NAME JACOB IS OF SMALLNESS WITHOUT MOCHIN. IT IS THEN WRITTEN, "And he said, 'Why is it that you ask after my name?'" (Ibid. 30). HE SAID TO HIM: What is it, WHY DO YOU ASK FOR MY NAME, A NAME BEING UNDERSTANDING? Yet in the former verse, YOU SAID THAT YOUR NAME IS JACOB, WHICH MEANS A LITTLE IS ENOUGH FOR YOU, AND YOU DO NOT WISH TO ATTAIN AND KNOW THE NAME. As we explained before. There is another secret IN THIS VERSE, "And Jacob asked him... And he said, 'Why is it (Heb. zeh) that you ask after my name?' And he blessed him there." That is, he said to him that he will bless him due to Zeh.
99. We learned a great mystery from this verse, but I have come before you only to teach you the verse I just spoke of, saying that the Torah is called Zeh. It is also written, "That (Heb. zeh) Sinai before Hashem the Elohim of Yisrael" (Shoftim 5:5), SINAI BEING THE TORAH GIVEN ON SINAI. ALSO, when the Torah was given by Moses, IT WAS SAID OF HIM, "This (Heb. zeh) man Moses" (Shemot 32:1), and also "this is my El, and I will praise Him," WHICH MEANS the Torah CALLED ZEH descended before the Elohim of Yisrael. THEN THEY SAID, "THIS IS MY EL..."