The soul, when it rises from earth to heaven

19. Midrash Hane'elam (Homiletical interpretations on the obscure). The sages began their interpretation of this passage WITH THE VERSE, "Your oils are fragrant. For your flowing oil you are renowned" (Shir Hashirim 1:3). Our sages have taught that when the soul of a human being rises from earth to heaven, REFERRING TO THE TIME WHEN A PERSON SLEEPS AT NIGHT, it stands in the Divine Illumination. The Holy One, blessed be He, visits it.

20. Come and listen, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: When the soul of a righteous person stands in the place where the Shechinah of His blessed Glory rests - MEANING THAT IT IS WORTHY OF RECEIVING THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF 'STANDING UPRIGHT,' and is worthy of sitting by Her, TO RECEIVE THE GARMENT OF CHASSADIM, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF 'SITTING' - The Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, calls upon the patriarchs, WHO ARE CHESED, GVURAH, AND TIFERET, HIS THREE COLUMNS. And He says to them, Go and visit so-and-so, the righteous person who has come, and welcome him in peace in My Name. THIS MEANS THAT THE THREE COLUMNS SHOULD PASS ON THE ILLUMINATION OF THE MATING, WHICH IS CALLED PEACE. THE WORDS "IN MY NAME" REFER TO THE NUKVA. And they claim it is not proper for a father to go and visit his child, but rather the child should seek after his father to see him.

21. The Holy One, blessed be He, then calls upon Jacob and says to him, You, who suffered the sorrow of RAISING children, go and welcome so-and-so, the righteous person who has come here, and I shall go along with you, as it is written, "those who seek your face Jacob, Selah" (Tehilim 24:6). It does not say "seek" in the singular, but in the plural, BECAUSE IT REFERS TO THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS WHO JACOB WELCOMES AS THEY SEEK HIS "WELCOME." Rabbi Chiya said, This we understand from the first part of the verse. as it is written, "This is the generation of them that seek him," WHICH TEACHES US THAT THE INTENTION OF THE VERSE ALLUDES TO THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS, NAMELY THE SEEKERS, THE LEADERS OF THE GENERATION.

22. Rabbi Ya'akov said in the name of Rabbi Chiya, Jacob, the Patriarch, is the Throne of Glory. And the teachings of Elijah also state, Jacob the Patriarch is a Throne by himself, as it is written, "Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob" (Vayikra 26:42). The Holy One, blessed be He, established a covenant with Jacob alone, more than THE COVENANT HE ESTABLISHED with all his fathers. He made him a Throne of Glory FOR HIS DIVINE PRESENCE TO REST UPON, distinguishing him from his predecessors. AND THE REASON IS THAT HIS FOREFATHERS, WHO ARE ABRAHAM AND ISAAC, ARE NOT ABLE TO SHINE WITHOUT HIM. THEREFORE, HE IN HIMSELF INCLUDES THEIR LIGHTS AS WELL AS HIS OWN, AND THUS BECOMES A THRONE TO HIMSELF.

23. Rabbi Eliezer was sitting and studying Torah when Rabbi Akiva arrived. He said to him, Sir, what are you studying? He replies, The passage where it is written, "and to make them inherit the Throne of Glory" (I Shmuel 2:8) - what does "and to make them inherit the Throne of Glory" mean? This is Jacob, the Patriarch for whom he made a Throne of Glory by himself that would receive Torah for the souls of the righteous.

24. And the Holy One, blessed be He, goes with JACOB on the first day of every month. And when the soul sees the glory of the mirror, which is the Shechinah of the Master, THEN THE SOUL praises Him and bows down in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. This is THE MEANING OF "Bless Hashem, my soul..." (Tehilim 104:1).

25. Rabbi Akiva said, The Holy One, blessed be He, stands over THE SOUL. And the soul begins by saying, "Hashem my Elohim, You are very great...", continuing with all the verses to the end, as the passage reads, "Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth..." (Ibid. 35). Rabbi Akiva continued, As well as this, it praises the Holy One, blessed be He, thanks Him for the body that is left in this world, and says, "Bless Hashem, my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name" (Tehilim 103:1). THE WORDS, "ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME," ALLUDE TO THE BODY. AT FIRST, THE SOUL PRAISES AND THANKS THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, FOR ITS OWN ACHIEVEMENTS. THEN IT SAYS, "BLESS HASHEM, MY SOUL! HASHEM MY ELOHIM, YOU ARE VERY GREAT." AND THEN IT PRAISES AND THANKS HIM FOR THE BODY, MEANING THAT THE SPLENDOR OF THE SOUL IS DRAWN DOWNWARD TO SHINE UPON THE BODY. AND THEN IT SAYS, "BLESS HASHEM, MY SOUL, AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME, BLESS HIS HOLY NAME." THESE PRAISES ARE OFFERED FOR THE LIGHT OF THE BODY.

26. And the Holy One, blessed by He, goes ALONG WITH JACOB. How do we know this? From the passage where it is written, "And Hashem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre." This is Jacob, WHO IS CALLED MAMRE. SO THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, DID INDEED GO WITH JACOB. AND HE ASKS, Wherefore is the name Mamre? AND HE ANSWERS, Because Jacob inherited two hundred worlds in Eden, and he is the Throne BECAUSE HE BECAME THE THRONE OF GLORY. And Rabbi Yitzchak explains, The numerical value OF Mamre is 281. So there are the two hundred of Eden WHICH JACOB ATTAINED, as it is written, "and those that guard the fruit thereof two hundred" (Shir Hashirim 8:12), and 81 is the numerical value of Kise ('throne'). THUS, MAMRE'S NUMERICAL VALUE OF 281 COMES FROM THE TWO HUNDRED WORLDS OF EDEN, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF CHOCHMAH, THAT IS CALLED EDEN, AND FROM THE THRONE, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF CHASSADIM THAT CLOTHE CHOCHMAH. For this reason IT IS SAID, "And Hashem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre." And for this reason, JACOB is called Mamre. HE INCLUDES THE ASPECT OF EDEN AND THE ASPECT OF THE THRONE TOGETHER, WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF MAMRE. HENCE "AND HASHEM APPEARED TO HIM."

27. Rabbi Yehuda asks, What is the meaning of, "by the terebinths" (Heb. elonei)? IF MAMRE IS JACOB, WHY DOES IT SAY "THE TEREBINTHS OF MAMRE?" AND HE ANSWERS, It meant to say 'his might,' as it is written, "by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob" (Beresheet 49:24). THUS, "THE TEREBINTHS OF MAMRE" BEARS RESEMBLANCE TO "THE MIGHTY JACOB," BECAUSE ELONEI MEANS MIGHTY AND STRONG, AND MAMRE IS JACOB. The verse "and he sat in the tent door" is as it is written, "Hashem, who (Heb. mi) shall abide in Your tabernacle (or: 'tent')" (Tehilim 15:1). THIS MEANS THAT THE "TENT DOOR" IS THE SECRET OF THE ILLUMINATION OF THE RIGHT COLUMN, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE COVERED CHASSADIM. The verse "in the heat of the day" is as written, "But to you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings" (Malachi 3:20). THIS REFERS TO THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LEFT COLUMN. AND THIS IS THE SECRET OF THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH WITHOUT CHASSADIM, WHICH IS DESCRIBED AS A 'SUN COMING OUT OF ITS SHEATH' BECAUSE THE LIGHT OF CHOCHMAH DOES NOT SHINE WITHOUT THE SHEATH OF CHASSADIM. AND WHEN IT DOES SHINE WITHOUT CHASSADIM, IT BURNS. ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF THE VERSE, "IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY," IS WHEN THE WICKED ARE CONDEMNED BY IT. BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ARE HEALED BY IT BECAUSE THEY ELEVATE THE MAYIN NUKVIN (FEMALE WATERS) AND DRAW DOWN THE CHASSADIM IN ORDER TO CLOTHE CHOCHMAH.

28. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai said, At that time, WHEN THE SOUL IS AT THE STAGE OF "THE HEAT OF THE DAY," the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, SHARES HIS ABUNDANCE WITH THE SOUL. And when the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, heard the Holy One, blessed be He, REFERRING TO THE ENTIRETY OF ZEIR ANPIN, move towards THE SOUL - MEANING THAT THE PATRIARCHS WERE AWARE THAT THE SOUL WAS IN THE STATE OF "THE HEAT OF THE DAY," AND IN NEED OF THE "PLACE OF THE CLOTHING OF CHASSADIM" - they asks Jacob to go with them and welcome THE SOUL in peace.

29. And ABRAHAM AND ISAAC stand over THE SOUL. THIS MEANS THAT AFTER JACOB SHARED THE ABUNDANCE OF CHASSADIM BY WELCOMING IT WITH PEACE, THE TWO COLUMNS OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC SHONE UPON IT. As it is written, "And he lifted up his eyes and looked" - REFERRING TO THE SOUL - "and lo, three men stood over him." The "three men" are the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who stood by him, observing the soul and the good deeds it has performed. THIS MEANS THAT THEY EXAMINE THE MAYIN NUKVIN ('FEMALE WATERS') OF THE SOUL AND SHARE WITH IT THE MAYIN DUCHRIN ('MALE WATERS'). "...And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground," because he saw the Shechinah of His Blessed Glory with them. Hence, it is written, "...therefore do the young maidens love you" (Shir Hashirim 1:3).

30. Another explanation of, "And Hashem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre." The sages began with this verse that speaks of the time of one's demise. We learned that Rabbi Yehuda said that at the time of a person's death, which is the day of the Great Judgment when the soul is separated from the body, no one leaves the world before he sees the Shechinah, as it is written, "...for no man shall see me and live" (Shemot 33: 20). And three ministering angels accompany the Shechinah to welcome the soul of the righteous, as it is written, "And Hashem appeared to him...in the heat of the day." This is the Day of Judgment that burns like a furnace in order to separate the soul from the body.