1. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion with the verse: "Ask a sign (or: 'letter') of Hashem your Elohim; ask it either in the depths, or in the height above" (Yeshayah 7:11). I looked at the earlier generations and the later generations. What is the difference between the earlier generations and the later generations? The earlier generations knew and perceived the supernal wisdom and knew to permutate the letters, which were given to Moses at Sinai. Even the wicked people among Yisrael, SUCH AS ACHAZ, were familiar with letters of supernal wisdom, FOR THE PROPHET SAID TO HIM, "ASK A SIGN (HEB. OT)." IF ACHAZ WAS UNVERSED IN SUPERNAL WISDOM, THE PROPHET WOULD NOT HAVE SPOKEN TO HIM THUS. And through higher letters DRAWN FROM BINAH, and lower letters DRAWN FROM MALCHUT, they gained wisdom that helped them manage their lives.