106. "Now, you are commanded, do this, take wagons out of the land of Egypt" (Beresheet 45:19). Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion with the verse, "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love her, rejoice for joy with her" (Yeshayah 66:10). Come and behold, When the Temple was destroyed and Yisrael were exiled from their land because of their sins, the Holy One, blessed be He, had ascended on high and did not notice the destruction of the Temple or His exiled people. The Shechinah then went into exile with them.
107. When He descended, He saw that his House was burnt. He looked for His people and behold, they were in exile. He asked for the Lady, NAMELY, THE SHECHINAH, and learned that She was exiled. Then, it is written, "And on that day did Hashem Elohim Tzva'ot call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth" (Yeshayah 22:12). And OF THE SHECHINAH, it is written, "Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth" (Yoel 1:8), because "he is gone," MEANING, HER HUSBAND. For He went away from Her, and they are apart.
108. Even heaven and earth themselves mourned, as it is written, "I clothe the heavens with blackness and I make sackcloth their covering" (Yeshayah 50:3). All the high angels mourned for Her, as it is written, "Behold, the mighty ones shall cry outside; the angels of peace weep bitterly" (Yeshayah. 33:7). The sun and moon were in mourning, their lights darkened, as it is written, "the sun shall be darkened in his going forth" (Yeshayah 13:10). Everyone high and low wept for Her and mourned, because the Other Side reigned over Her, on the Holy Land.
109. He opened the discussion with the verse, "You son of man, thus says Hashem Elohim to the land of Yisrael: An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land" (Yechezkel 7:2). This verse contains a deep mystery. What does "to the land of Yisrael: An end" mean? Does it mean an end to the land of Yisrael? HE ANSWERS, Surely this is true, as we have learned. There is an end on the right and an end on the left. HE EXPLAINED, An end on the right, as it is written, "at the end of days (lit. 'right')" (Daniel 12:13), and an end on the left, as it is written, "He puts an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection" (Iyov 28:3). This is the end of all flesh, as we have learned.
110. The end on the right is written of in the verse, "to the land of Yisrael: an end." " ...The end is come UPON THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE LAND" refers to the end on the left. The end on the right is the end through the Good Inclination, and the end on the left is the end through the Evil Inclination, which happened when, through the increase in sins, it was decreed that the evil kingdom would be given permission to rule and destroy His house and Temple, as it is written, "Thus says Hashem Elohim! An evil, a singular evil, behold, is come" (Yechezkel 7:5).
111. Therefore, there was mourning above and below, for reign was given to the end of the left. Thus, because the Kingdom of Holiness, the kingdom of heaven, was humbled and the kingdom of evil prevailed, it behooves any man to mourn with it, THE HOLY KINGDOM, and be abased with it. Also, when the Holy Kingdom rises, and the world rejoices, he shall also rejoice with her, as it is written, "Rejoice for joy with it, all you that did mourn for her" (Yeshayah 66:10).
112. Come and behold, It is written of Egypt "a very fair heifer" (Yirmeyah 46:20), and it is because of the secret of this heifer that Yisrael were under its rule for many years - THAT IS, FOR THE 210 YEARS THEY LIVED IN EGYPT. Because Yisrael would eventually rule over it in the future, they were now given a hint of this IN THE VERSE, "TAKE wagons (also: 'heifers') OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT FOR YOUR LITTLE ONES ..." (BERESHEET 45:19).
113. Rabbi Elazar said, Joseph reminded Jacob about breaking the heifer's neck, because he went away from him when they were studying this text. It has been explained that the ritual of the heifer was carried out when a man was found slain, but the killer was not known. The heifer is then offered to pacify the evil spirits, so they would not recognize him or rule over THE LAND.
114. Come and behold, All men die by the Angel of Death, except someone who is killed by other men before the time has arrived FOR THE ANGEL OF DEATH to take hold of him and receive permission TO TAKE HIS SOUL, for the Angel of Death does not have dominion over man until he is given permission FROM ABOVE.
115. Therefore the Angel of Death has the right to rule over him, as it is written, "and it be not known who has slain him" (Devarim 21:1). He also has permission, since it is unknown WHO HAS SLAIN THE VICTIM, to accuse that place, THE NUKVA. Therefore "the elders of that city shall take a heifer" (Ibid. 3), in order to remove judgment from that place and to fortify it against the Accuser's power, so it shall be saved from him.