"When Jethro...heard"

1. "When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that Hashem had done for Moses..." (Shemot 18:1). Rabbi Chizkiyah opened the discussion, saying: "And Aaron lifted up his hands" (Vayikra 9:22). "His hands" is spelled without Yud, thus meaning one hand only. And this is the reason, one should lift up his right hand above his left hand. And we have already explained this secret.

2. I found this in the book of King Solomon, anyone who desires to raise his hands upwards, without any prayer or request in them, will be cursed by ten potentates. These are "ten rulers who are in a city" (Kohelet 7:19). These ten potentates are designated for those who spread their hands upwards, to receive this prayer or that blessing and to bestow upon them powers through which the Holy Name is exalted and blessed from below. When the Name is blessed from below, through the spreading of the hands upwards, it then receives blessings from above. Thus, it is exalted from all sides.

3. These ten appointed potentates are there to receive the blessings from above and propel them below, to bless those who are deserving of these blessings. As it is written, "And I will bless them" (Bemidbar 6:27).

4. Consequently, man must be careful that, at the time when he raises his hands upwards, they are raised in prayer, in blessing, or in entreaty. And he must not raise his hands idly, since those ten potentates are ready and are roused towards the spreading of the hands, and if it is in vain, these ten will curse it with two hundred and forty-eight curses. This is what is written, "For he loved cursing, and it came to him" (Tehilim 109:17).

5. And thus, an impure spirit rests on these hands for its way is to rest in empty places. But blessings do not rest in empty places. Therefore, it is written, "I have raised my hand to Hashem, the most high El" (Beresheet 14:22), which is translated into Aramaic as 'with prayer.'

6. This lifting of the hands has supreme secrets. At the time that one spreads out his hands and lifts them upwards, man glorifies the Holy One, blessed be He, with many supernal secrets, and is worthy of uniting the ten sayings in order to unify the whole and bless the Holy Name properly. He also unites the inner Chariots OF ATZILUT and the outer Chariots OUTSIDE ATZILUT so that the Holy Name may be blessed from all sides, and all becomes one above and below.

7. He opened the discussion, saying, "And none shall appear before Me empty" (Shemot 23:15). This is the secret of the raising of the fingers. For when man spreads his fingers upwards, he should not do so in vain, but only with prayer, supplications and blessings. This is the secret of: "and none shall appear before Me (lit. 'My face') empty." It does not say, 'and none shall appear before Me,' but rather (lit.) "My face," which refers to the secret of the raising of the fingers - that it should not be done without an intention, as we said.

8. The ten rulers of which we spoke are the lower ten sayings, according to the secret of the inscribed letters correlating to those above; and at first, they have control of the raising of the fingers. And through this, the whole side of Holiness is united above; thus, the Other Side yields all and acknowledges the Holy King.

9. Come and behold, in the secret doctrine of Holiness, there is a king and a priest who serves under him, both above and below. The King above is the secret of the Holy of Holies, NAMELY BINAH. He is the King above; and under him there is a priest, the secret of primeval light who ministers before him, WHICH IS THE SFIRAH OF CHESED. He is the priest who is called 'great,' at the right side.

10. There is a king below, NAMELY MALCHUT, in the likeness of the King above, and he is the king over all that is below, NAMELY THE WORLDS OF BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH. And under him there is a priest who ministers to him, whom we signify as Michael, the High Priest at his right hand, NAMELY CHESED. This is the true secret of Faith, the side of Holiness.

11. On the Other Side, meaning the side which is not Holy, there is a secret, which is a king, and we have established that he is called "an old and foolish king" (Kohelet 4:13). THIS IS THE EVIL INCLINATION. And under him there is the priest of On, as it is written in the verse, "And Ephraim said, 'Yet I am become rich, I have found wealth (Heb. ON) for myself'" (Hoshea 12:9). THIS IS THE PRIEST OF THE OTHER SIDE, because this power, On, ruled over an act of idolatry committed by Jeroboam. And if there had not been such power, he would not have been able to succeed in his act.

12. The essence of this matter is as follows. When this king and this priest OF THE OTHER SIDE yield, and their power is broken, then all the other sides yield and acknowledge the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, alone rules both above and below, as it is written, "And Hashem alone shall be exalted on that day" (Yeshayah 2:11).

13. The Holy One, blessed be He, acted in a similar manner and with this exact secret here on earth in breaking the old and foolish king, namely Pharaoh. In the hour that Moses came to Pharaoh and said to him, "The Elohim of the Hebrews had met with us" (Shemot 5:3), he replied, "I know not Hashem" (Ibid. 2). The Holy One, blessed be He, desired that His name be glorified on earth as it is glorified above AND HE STRUCK HIM WITH TEN PLAGUES. After He struck him and his nation, Pharaoh came and acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He.

14. Afterwards, He broke and humbled the priest of On, Jethro, that served under him, until he came and acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He, saying "Blessed be Hashem, who has delivered you... Now I know that Hashem is great" (Shemot 18:10-11). And this is the priest of On, from the Other Side, which is the left side. And this is the secret Rachel communicated when she saw death. She said, "Ben-Oni (lit. 'son of my sorrow')" (Beresheet 35:18), and because of this Jacob hastened to say, "Benjamin (lit. 'son of the right')" the right side and not the left side.

15. When the king and that priest acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He, and were humbled before Him, the Holy One, blessed be He, was then above everyone in glory, above and below. And before the Holy One, blessed be He, rose in glory before these acknowledged, the Torah was not yet given. It was only after Jethro came and acknowledged Him by saying, "I now know that Hashem is supreme over all other Elohim." "Blessed be Hashem, who has delivered you." Then the Holy One, blessed be He, rose in glory above and below. And only afterwards was the Torah given in full, expressing His sovereignty over all.

16. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion with the following verse, "Let the peoples praise You, Elohim, let all the peoples give thanks to You" (Tehilim 67:3). Come and behold, King David rose and praised and thanked the Holy King. He was studying the Torah at that moment when the north wind rose and struck the strings of his harp, and the harp made music. HE ASKS, Now what was the song of the harp?

17. AND HE RESPONDS, Come and behold. In the hour that the Holy One, blessed be He, is roused towards the Chariots to give them nourishment, as it is written, "She rises while it is night and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidens" (Mishlei 31:15), then everyone opens joyfully: "Elohim be gracious to us and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us Selah" (Tehilim 67:2). And when the north wind is awakened and descends upon the world, it blows, saying: "That Your way may be known upon earth, Your salvation among all nations" (Ibid. 3). And the harp, at the hour that it is played by that wind, opens and says, "Let all the peoples give thanks to you." When he was awakened and roused by the Holy Spirit, David said, "The earth has yielded her increase; and Elohim, even our Elohim shall bless us. Elohim shall bless us; and let all the ends of the earth fear Him" (Ibid. 8), so as to draw down the goodness of the Holy One, blessed be He, from above downwards. Later, David, roused by the Holy Spirit, arranged all the songs into one, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "ELOHIM WILL BLESS US..." He observed this scriptural verse of the harp, "LET ALL THE PEOPLES GIVE THANKS TO YOU" (IBID. 5), for the glorification of the Holy One, blessed be He, is above and below, NAMELY "AND LET ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH FEAR HIM."

18. The hour when the other nations yielded came, and they acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He. Once they yielded and acknowledged Him, the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, became complete above and below. In the hour that Moses came to Pharaoh and said to him, "the Elohim of the Hebrews had met with us," Pharaoh replied, "I know not Hashem..."

19. When the Holy One, blessed be He, desired that His name be glorified on earth as it is above, after He struck him and his nation, he came and acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "Hashem is righteous" (Shemot 9:27). The instant he, who was the most important king in the world, acknowledged Him, all the other kings acknowledged, as it is written, "Then the chiefs of Edom shall be amazed" (Shemot 15:15).

20. Jethro came, the great and supreme priest, appointed ruler over the whole pagan world, and acknowledged the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: "I now know that Hashem is supreme over all Elohim." Then the Holy One, blessed be He, was exalted in His glory from above and below, and afterwards He gave the Torah in the completeness of His dominion.

21. Rabbi Shimon said to his son, Rabbi Elazar, Regarding this it is written, "Let all peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples give thanks to You." Then Rabbi Elazar came and kissed the hand of his father. Rabbi Aba wept and said, "As a father pities his children" (Tehilim 103:13). Who will have pity on Rabbi Elazar and bring his words to completion, except by the love of my master? How happy can we consider ourselves that we were privileged to hear these words so that we shall not be ashamed through them in the World to Come!

22. Rabbi Aba said, It was not written that Jethro was a priest of On, but rather of Midian. He said to him, It is all one. At first the father-in-law of Joseph was called a priest of On; afterwards, the father-in-law of Moses was called a priest of Midian. For all are of the same secret. THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN IS SIMILAR TO THE PRIEST OF ON. For these two, Moses and Joseph, are at the same grade of secret, the secret of the letter Vav THAT IS FULLY SPELLED WITH two Vav's together; THE FIRST VAV REFERS TO MOSES, TIFERET; THE SECOND VAV IS JOSEPH, YESOD. And what is said of the priest of Midian is the secret of a contentious (Heb. Midianim) woman.

23. Rabbi Aba raised his hands to his head and cried, saying: The light of the Torah now reaches the highest throne in heaven. When the master passes away from earth, who will light the lamp of the Torah? Woe to the world which will be orphaned from you. However, the words of the master will shine in the world until the King Messiah comes, and then it is written, "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem" (Yeshayah 11:9).

24. "When Jethro..." Rabbi Chiya said, We should look further into this verse. In the first instance it is written, "Everything that Elohim did for Moses" (Shemot 18:1). Later it is written, "And that Hashem has brought Yisrael out" (Ibid.). HE ANSWERS, This is the secret. "Everything that Elohim did," WHICH IS MALCHUT, is the Name that protected Moses and Yisrael, and did not move from them in exile. Later it was the Supreme Name which brought them out of Egypt, for the Name that brought them forth FROM EGYPT is the principle of Jubilee, WHICH IS BINAH.

25. Another interpretation: "Everything that Elohim did for Moses" refers to when he was thrown into the river and was saved from the sword of Pharaoh. And "for Yisrael, His people," is as it is written, "And Elohim heard their groaning" (Shemot 2:24), and, "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew" (Shemot 1:12).

26. "When Jethro, the priest of Midian..." Rabbi Yosi began the discussion, saying: "He sent redemption to His people. He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and revered is His Name" (Tehilim 111:9). HE ASKS, Why is there a difference? In all other verses, each verse has two letters in alphabetical order, SUCH AS THE VERSE BEFORE, WHICH IS SPELLED WITH TWO LETTERS, SAMECH AND AYIN. HOWEVER, in this verse, and the verse following it, there are three each. IN THIS VERSE, THERE ARE THREE LETTERS AND THE VERSE FOLLOWING HAS THREE LETTERS. THE REPLY: This is in order to complete six aspects by the alphabet, WHICH ARE THE THREE REDEMPTIONS OF YISRAEL AND THE THREE DIVISIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES - THE TORAH, THE PROPHETS AND THE WRITINGS. THIS VERSE corresponds to the three redemptions of Yisrael, BABYLON, GREECE AND EDOM, apart from the first redemption FROM EGYPT, WHICH HAD ALREADY TAKEN PLACE. The last verse corresponds to the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. And everything is dependent upon this wisdom. SINCE THE TORAH, THE PROPHETS AND THE WRITINGS DEPEND AND COME FROM WISDOM, THE FOLLOWING VERSE THEREFORE BEGINS WITH: "THE BEGINNING OF CHOCHMAH."

27. Another interpretation of, "He sent redemption to His people," is when the Holy One, blessed be He, brought forth Yisrael from the land of Egypt and caused mighty deeds and miracles. "He had commanded His covenant forever." This is when Jethro came and was received by the Holy One, blessed be He, who brought him closer to His worship, and so all proselytes were brought near under the wings of the Shechinah. From then onward, "holy and revered is His name." For then the Holy Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, became hallowed. The Holy Name becomes further hallowed when the Other Side becomes broken and yielding, as it was with Jethro.

28. "When Jethro..." HE ASKS, Only Jethro heard, while the rest of the world did not hear? Is it not written, "The people shall hear, and be afraid" (Shemot 15:14)? HE ANSWERS, Indeed, the whole world did hear, but they were not broken. THEREFORE, IT WAS AS IF THEY DID NOT HEAR. But he heard, and was broken and yielded before the Holy One, blessed be He, and was brought near to fearing Him. THEREFORE HIS IS INDEED A HEARING.

29. Rabbi Aba said, In many places we have learned that whatever the Holy One, blessed be He, does above or below, is all true and His works are true. And there is nothing in the world that man needs to reject or find despicable, for all are works of truth, and are all needed in the world.

30. It once happened that Rabbi Elazar was walking along the road, accompanied by Rabbi Chizkiyah. They saw a snake and Rabbi Chizkiyah rose to kill it. Rabbi Elazar said to him, Leave it alone, do not kill it. He replied to him, But this is an evil thing that kills human beings. He said to Rabbi Chizkiyah: But it is written, "If the serpent bites and cannot be charmed (lit. 'without a charm')" (Kohelet 10:11). The snake does not bite a person unless it is whispered to from above and ordered, 'Go and kill that person'!

31. At times, just as it does this, so does it save man from other things. And thus, by its hand does the Holy One perform a miracle for men. Everything is in the hands of the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is all His creation. The world needs them. For if the world did not need them, the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have created them. Therefore man must not conduct himself in a despicable manner with things of the world; how much more so with the words or the acts of the Holy One, blessed be He.

32. He opened the discussion with the verse, "And Elohim saw everything that He had made and, behold, it was very good" (Beresheet 1:31). "And Elohim saw," refers to living Elohim, WHICH IS BINAH; "And Elohim saw," MEANS He was intent upon giving them Light, and guarding them; "everything that He had made," is everything united, above and below; "very," is the left side; "good," is the right side. As it was already established, "very," is the Angel of Death; "good," is the Angel of Life. It is all one secret, a secret to those who observe the mystery of Wisdom.

33. "And Elohim saw everything that He had made." HE ASKS, Throughout the works of Creation, it is written, "And Elohim saw that it was good." But here, it is written, "And Elohim saw everything He had made." HE ANSWERS, The lower Elohim, MALCHUT, rules those below. The Elohim above, BINAH, rules those above. ELOHIM ABOVE, THAT RULES THOSE ABOVE, is an aspect of the Living Elohim, WHICH IS BINAH. HENCE, "AND ELOHIM SAW EVERYTHING HE HAD MADE," as He illuminated and lit all candles above and below, and from there all lights emerge to illuminate.

34. Tosefta (addendum). Upon the most hidden of all that is hidden, one imprint was impressed that is neither seen, nor revealed. This impression is an impression yet not an impression. Those of understanding and open eyes, GIFTED IN WISDOM, cannot understand its nature. It maintains everything. This impression is so small as to be unseen and not revealed, existing there by the will to sustain all. It receives whatever it receives from that which has no impression or will, and is not visible.

35. This impression desired to veil itself, and created for itself a chamber with which to be covered. It drew it from itself, and extended it with great expansion from all sides and adorned it with valuable attire, thereby opening up in it fifty gates.

36. In the innermost part IN THAT CHAMBER, that impression was treasured and concealed. After being concealed, it was penetrated by light. From this light there issued forth lights and sparks, and it emerged through the gates of the chamber and shone upon everything.

37. This chamber is cloaked, THAT IS TO SAY, CLOTHED with six screens. Yet these six screens are but five. In the innermost part of these screens, there prevails one embroidered screen. It is with this screen that the chamber is covered AND CLOTHED. From within, it monitors and sees everything.

38. This chamber is the opening of eyes - so that it does not sleep. It is forever attentive to shed light below, out of the light of the impression. This understanding, this concealed wisdom and the will of wills, is concealed and cloaked, and not revealed; it exists yet does not exist. Blessed be it from the concealed of all the concealed. Blessed be it forever and eternally, Amen. (End of Tosefta).

39. Come and behold, it was Jethro who gave advice to Moses on the administration of justice. And this is how it should be. And this is the secret of acknowledging the Holy One, blessed be He, and arranging openly the administration of justice, to teach what is written, "For the Judgment is Elohim's" (Devarim 1:17), and not of the Other Side. And these laws were given to Yisrael and to none other, as it is written, "His statutes and His judgments to Yisrael" (Tehilim 147:19). Come and behold, man must not despise another, and the words from a layman are still words, as it is written of Moses, "And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law."

40. "When Jethro...heard." He opened the discussion, saying: "Therefore I will give thanks to You, Hashem, among the nations, and sing praises to Your Name" (Tehilim 18:50). King David said this, in the spirit of Holiness, when he saw that only the other nations exalted and glorified the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world. But if you say that the Holy One, blessed be He, exalts Himself in the world only for Yisrael, this is certainly so. For Yisrael is the base of the shine of the candle. Yet when the other nations come forth to acknowledge Him through worship of the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, then the base of the candle increases and is strengthened. And then the Holy One, blessed be He, rules alone, above and below.

41. It happened that great fear and terror of the Holy One, blessed be He, fell upon the entire world WHEN THEY HEARD OF THE MIRACLES OCCURRING DURING THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. And when Jethro came, the High Priest of the heathen deities, then the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, was strengthened and He ruled over all.

42. For when the people of the entire world heard of the wonders of the Holy One, blessed be He, they trembled. Then they looked up to Jethro, who was the wisest and was appointed over all of the heathen deities. When they saw that he came to worship the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: "Now I know that Hashem is greater than all the Elohim," they gave up their idol worship, realizing their idols were worthless. At that time, the glory of the Holy Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, was exalted on all sides. Therefore this scriptural chapter has been recorded in the Torah, with Jethro's name at its beginning.

43. Jethro was one of the advisors to Pharaoh. Pharaoh had three advisors, Jethro, Job and Bilaam. One was Jethro, and there was no worship, appointed minister, sun or star that ruled over his empire that he did not know its appropriate service. Bilaam was a sorcerer in all manner of enchantments, whether by act or by word.

44. Job had fear. This reverence was his mainstay, IT WAS THE ESSENCE OF HIS STRENGTH. For a word above, whether it be Holy or of the Other Side, man can draw down the spirit from above and unite with it below, only with fear, by concentrating his heart and mind with fear, broken-heartedly. And only then can he draw down the spirit of above, and the needed wish.

45. And if he does not direct his heart and mind in fear to that side, then his mind cannot cling to it, only with diminutive images, and not even with all of them, since they are ruled by those who require meditation of the heart and fear, and even more so in the case of those supernal objects who require much more fear, terror, and intention.

46. Jethro had to worship that side continuously, whether his worshippers needed him or not, so that that side would cleave to him when he needed it. Bilaam was connected with that sorcery, as was stated before.

47. Due to an overpowering sense of fear within him, when Job witnessed the miracles and mighty works the Holy One, blessed be He, had performed in Egypt, he returned to Egypt to worship the Holy One, blessed be He, in fear. Jethro did not convert to the worship of the Holy One, blessed be He, until the exodus from Egypt. All of the bonds and images that the Egyptians made were to no avail, for still they departed. And only when they drowned in the sea did Jethro convert to worship the Holy One, blessed be He.

48. Bilaam did not repent or convert, since the impurities of the Other Side still clung to him. And yet, he observed from a distance, and prophesied through the impurities and the clinging to the Other Side. For in the Other Side there is one small thread of light that surrounds it, as it is written, "And a brightness was about it" (Yechezkel 1:27). And he saw through this small brightness from afar, though not in all matters.

49. And when he perceived this small streak of light, it was as if from behind a wall, and he spoke, yet did not know what he said. He perceived this light as if with the white part of the eye - as when the eye rolls and one sees covered light, yet does see. And this is the secret of: "whose eyes are opened" (Bemidbar 24:15). And we learned that "opened (Heb. satum, spelled with the Hebrew letter sin)" MEANS closed (Heb. satum, with the Hebrew letter Samech). And all pertains to the same thing.

50. There can always be found a small streak of light that comes from the side of Holiness, as in most dreams, where in a pile of straw there is one grain of wheat. Except for those minor images that are most unclean. And it was in these, that Bilaam knew.

51. Happy is the lot of Moses, who is high above all other supernal sanctities. For he perceived that which no other man on earth was ever given permission to observe. And just as Bilaam saw a small light, fine and thin, as if behind a wall, from within the Other Side, so through the great supernal light of Holiness did Moses see below, as if from behind a wall, a fine streak of darkness. And he did not see it always, just as Bilaam did not always see that light.

52. Happy is the lot of Moses, the faithful prophet. For it is written about him, "And an Angel of Hashem appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Shemot 3:2). "...A bush..." REFERS TO A KLIPAH, which was in Holiness and was connected to it. For all things connect one to another, the pure and the impure. There is no purity except from within impurity.

53. And this is the principle of: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" (Iyov 14:4). The shell (Heb. klipah) and the fruit are correlated, one with the other. And this Klipah will never be broken or be gone until the dead rise from the dust. Then the Klipah will be broken and the light will shine into the world, without any covering, from the inner part. Happy are the righteous in this world and in the World to Come.