"Nor have we been false to Your covenant"

215. "Nor have we been false to Your covenant" (Tehilim 44:18). Whoever is false to the sign of the Holy Covenant imprinted on him, it is as if he is false to the name of the King, as the King's name is imprinted on man THROUGH CIRCUMCISION. There is another verse which teaches this, saying, "If we had forgotten the name of our Elohim, or stretched out our hands to a strange El" (Ibid. 21). "If we had forgotten the name of our Elohim" is parallel to "yet we have not forgotten You" (Ibid. 18). AND THE WORDS: "or stretched out our hands to a strange El" correlate to "nor have we been false to Your covenant." This all amounts to the same thing. What is falsity here? Stretching out the hands to a strange El and being false to the sign of the covenant. The Torah therefore adheres to this COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION. Whoever keeps this covenant, it is as if he keeps the whole Torah. And he who is false to it, it is as if he is false to the whole Torah.

216. Come and see: Before Abraham was circumcised, it did not say that he kept the Torah. Once he was circumcised, it is written, "Because Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (Beresheet 26:5). All this is said of him for the reason that he was circumcised and the holy impression was imprinted on him, which he kept properly. It is written of him as if he kept the whole Torah. Of Isaac, it is also written, "But My covenant will I establish with Isaac" (Beresheet 17:21). The Torah therefore is called a covenant.

217. Come and see: It is because Joseph kept this covenant of circumcision and refused to be false to it that he attained honor in this world and honor in the World to Come. Moreover, the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His name to dwell inside him, as written, "He designated it in Jehosef for a testimony" (Tehilim 81:6) BY ADDING THE NAME YUD HEI VAV TO JOSEPH. He was thus worthy of the blessings of this world and the blessings of the World to Come.

218. Rabbi Yitzchak said that it is written, "The firstling of hisherd (ox), grandeur is his" (Devarim 33:17). It is because Joseph kept this covenant that he deserved the ox, the first among the offerings. Rabbi Yehuda said to him: Why was he blessed by something which pertains to the left, A SIGN OF JUDGMENT? He should have been blessed from the right. Indeed it is written, "The face of an ox on the left side" (Yechezkel 1:10). He said to him: So that he will be protected from the sin of Jeroboam, WHOSE SIN WAS CAUSING THE LEFT TO OVERCOME THE RIGHT THROUGH HIS IDOL WORSHIP.

219. He said to him: I have learned a mystery from this verse. This is because Joseph kept this covenant, which is attached to two grades, YESOD AND MALCHUT, BOTH BEING CALLED A COVENANT, and these two upper grades are called by names. We learned in the portion of the red heifer that this heifer, MALCHUT, is one of these two supernal grades OF THE COVENANT, and the spouse of the heifer is called an ox. NAMELY, SINCE MALCHUT OF THE COVENANT IS CALLED A HEIFER, THEN YESOD, WHICH IS ATTACHED TO HER, IS CALLED BY THE NAME OF OX. This is the meaning of THE VERSE: "The firstling of his herd, grandeur is his, and his horns are like the horns of a wild ox." Surely he has grandeur, AS IT IS FROM THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LEFT CALLED OX THAT BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR COME. This is not A COMMON OX like other oxen of the world, but "his horns are like the horns of a wild ox," for his horns are superior to all others. Therefore, "with both of them he shall push the peoples altogether to the ends of the earth" (Devarim 33:17).

220. Rabbi Aba said, From this, it is understood that these two supernal grades are attached to whoever keeps the sign of the holy imprint, to keep him in everything and adorn him with supernal glory. JOSEPH therefore attained two kingdoms, one for himself and one for his descendant, NAMELY JEROBOAM. Since King Solomon adhered to foreign women, the kingdom was given to Jeroboam, for the covenant is more precious than everything.

221. Rabbi Shimon said, Therefore, a man who begets a son is attached to the Shechinah, which is an opening to every supernal opening, an opening which is attached to the Holy Name YUD HEI VAV HEI, AS EVERY SFIRAH IS AN OPENING TO A HIGHER ONE. The blood which flows from the child DURING CIRCUMCISION is kept before the Holy One, blessed be He. When Judgments are awakened in the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, sees that blood and saves the world. Hence, it is written, "And any male son that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you..." (Beresheet 17:12), FOR THE EIGHTH DAY ALLUDES TO BINAH, WHICH IS EIGHTH FROM BELOW UPWARD, FROM WHICH FLOWS THE ILLUMINATION OF THE FACE OF AN OX, NAMELY FROM THE LEFT COLUMN OF BINAH. THEREFORE, IT BEHOOVES US TO WAIT FOR THE EIGHTH DAY. It is also written, "Or if by reason of special strength, eighty years" (Tehilim 90:10); NAMELY, IF HE DRAWS LIFE FROM BINAH, THE EIGHTH SFIRAH. All is deduced from the same argument.

222. We have learned that through the blood OF CIRCUMCISION, the world merits to be scented by Chesed and all worlds endure, as written, "If My covenant be not day and night, it were as if I had not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth" (Yirmeyah 33:25). HE ASKS, "If My covenant be not" is well, so why DOES THE VERSE ALSO NEED TO SAY "day and night?"

223. Rabbi Shimon said, We have learned that two Sfirot join together, ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, and that they are the openings to all the other Sfirot. We learned that the one, MALCHUT, is of Judgment, and the other, ZEIR ANPIN, is of Mercy. The Male and the Female are perfumed from each other. On the side of the Male, ZEIR ANPIN, Chesed abides and on the side of the Female, MALCHUT, abides Judgment. The one is white and the other is red. In order to be perfumed by each other, they join each other and the covenant is attached to them day and night, WHICH ARE Judgment and Chesed, NAMELY ATTACHED TO MALCHUT AND ZEIR ANPIN. The covenant begins with Judgment, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: "HIS LEFT HAND IS UNDER MY HEAD" (SHIR HASHIRIM 2:6). Then Chesed dwells in it and everything is perfumed WITH BOTH CHOCHMAH AND CHASSADIM. This is the covenant called day and night, NAMELY OF THE VERSE: "IF MY COVENANT BE NOT DAY AND NIGHT," which is attached to them both, TO ZEIR ANPIN CALLED DAY AND MALCHUT CALLED NIGHT.

224. Whoever deserved to keep this covenant well and did not sin against it all his life IS A CHARIOT TO YESOD. He is attached to day and night, WHICH ARE MALE AND FEMALE, LIKE YESOD, and attains both this world and the World to Come. Abraham is therefore called complete, as written, "Walk before Me, and be perfect" (Beresheet 17:1). When is he called perfect, WHICH MEANS COMPLETE? When he attains both day and night, as written, "Hashem will command His steadfast love (lit. Chesed) in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me" (Tehilim 42:9). Abraham inherited both, but Chesed did not prevail in him completely until he was circumcised. Once he was circumcised, CHESED prevailed in him. Since he attained them both, he was considered complete.

225. We have learned that much from the verse: "As he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day" (Beresheet 18:1). The tent door is the tenth Sfirah of the King, NAMELY MALCHUT, the opening to the whole holy tabernacle of the other Sfirot. King David named it opening too, as written, "Open to me the gates of righteousness" (Tehilim 118:19), WHICH IS MALCHUT, and "This is the gate of Hashem" (Ibid. 20), AS THE TENT DOOR IS MALCHUT. "The heat of the day" prevails when the light of Chesed OF ZEIR ANPIN shines, which is ABRAHAM'S portion of inheritance. As he sits BY THE TENT DOOR, MALCHUT, so does he sit BY ZEIR ANPIN, BY ITS CHESED CALLED THE HEAT OF THE DAY. When were BOTH prevalent in him? When he was circumcised. It is therefore called the covenant of day and night. We studied the verse: "Hashem will pass over the door" (Shemot 12:23). What is the meaning of "Hashem will pass over the door?" IT MEANS that Chesed rests on the door, MALCHUT, so as to perfume the door "and will not allow the destroyer..." (Ibid.).

226. Rabbi Elazar said, We learned that when the proselyte is circumcised and brought under the wings of the Shechinah, he is called a proselyte by conviction (lit. of righteousness,) but nothing more. He is a proselyte of righteousness, BECAUSE he is worthy of entering the Sfirah CALLED righteousness, MALCHUT. Yet you say "day and night," THAT HE WHO IS CIRCUMCISED attains both, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN AS WELL.

227. Rabbi Shimon said to him: Elazar my son, he who comes from a holy root, a scion of truth, is not like he who comes of an evil stock, from the root of hard and evil dirt. It is written of Yisrael: "And I had planted you a noble vine, an entirely true seed" (Yirmeyah 2:21). Of the heathen nations, it is written, "Whose members were like those of asses, and whose issue was like that of horses" (Yechezkel 23:20).

228. Therefore, Yisrael are holy, a seed of truth, a stock which was perfumed on Mount Sinai, from which every filth was stopped. THEREFORE, they all perfume themselves and receive the holy sign of day and night, so as to be perfect in everything LIKE WE SAID. It is difficult to remove the filth from the heathen nations, even up to three generations. Hence, he is CALLED a proselyte of righteousness, SINCE HE ENTERS ONLY THE SFIRAH OF MALCHUT CALLED 'RIGHTEOUSNESS,' BUT NOT ZEIR ANPIN.

229. As Rabbi Hamnuna Saba (the elder) said, Before they are circumcised, the abode of the heathen nations is by the lower, unholy crowns, and the spirit of defilement rests on them. When they convert and circumcise themselves, they abide by the holy crown, which dwells above all the other lower crowns, NAMELY MALCHUT, and the Holy Spirit rests on them. But Yisrael, holy children to holy people by stock and root, who were perfumed on Mount Sinai and entered the complete, holy Faith, when they are circumcised, they abide everywhere, NAMELY IN ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT CALLED DAY AND NIGHT, as written, "But you that did cleave to Hashem your Elohim are alive every one of you this day" (Devarim 4:4).