"And all the people saw the voices"

296. Rabbi Aba said, It is written, "And all the people perceived the thunderings (lit. 'saw the voices')" (Shemot 20:15). HE ASKS, WHY IS IT WRITTEN "see," rather than 'hear?' AND HE ANSWERS that we have already learned that those voices were carved upon the darkness, cloud and the fog, visible as a body is. And they saw whatever it was they saw, and heard what they heard from within the darkness, cloud and fog. And because they saw that sight they were illuminated with a supernal illumination and knew things beyond the understanding of all other generations to come.

297. All of them saw face to face, as it is written, "Hashem talked with you face to face" (Devarim 5:4). And what did they see? Rabbi Yosi explains, From the illumination of those voices, as there was not a voice that did not shine, they could see all things hidden and veiled which will never be revealed to succeeding generations until the days of King Messiah. Therefore it is written, "And all the people see the voices," for they actually saw.

298. Rabbi Elazar said, "And all the people see" means, as we have said, that they saw all those wonderful things that no generation after will ever see, by means of the illumination of those voices. "...The voices..." has the same meaning as in the verse, "I saw Hashem" (Yeshayah 6:1). It is written, "Hashem" preceded by the particle Et, WHICH MEANS THAT HE SAW THE SHECHINAH WHICH IS CALLED 'ET.' In this verse too it is written, "And all the people see the voices," with the particle Et (lit. 'the'), TO INDICATE THAT THEY SAW THE SHECHINAH.

299. In the same manner we can explain the verse, "the heaven and the earth" (Beresheet 1:1), for all the "Et (lit. 'the')" particles mentioned in the Torah enable us to have the perception of wisdom - as in the verse, "Honor (et) your father and (et) your mother" (Shemot 20:12) and the verse, "Honor (et) Hashem with your substance" (Mishlei 3:8). These verses ARE EXPLAINED as including something in addition. Here too, "the voices" include that other voice below, WHICH IS MALCHUT, which gathers into itself the other voices and that which emerges from them. In it, IN MALCHUT, the people saw and beheld, through sublime Wisdom, all the celestial treasures and all the hidden mysteries which were never revealed to succeeding generations or to any far away generations, and will not be revealed until the days of King Messiah. As it is written, "For they shall see eye to eye Hashem returning to Zion" (Yeshayah 52:8). HE ASKS, Why is "the lightning" called first "lightning (Heb. berakim)," (Shemot 19:16) and afterwards "lightning (Heb. lapidim)?" AND HE ANSWERS that both of them have one meaning, for when THE BERAKIM are quite formed and ready to appear, they are called LAPIDIM.

300. "...The sound in the Shofar..." (Shemot 20:15). Rabbi Yitzchak says, It is written, "Elohim has spoken once, twice have I heard this" (Tehilim 62:12). This is similar to: "I am Hashem your Elohim," and, "You shall not make for yourself" (Shemot 20:2). "I AM" SIGNIFIES THE SECRET OF BINAH, AND "YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF" SIGNIFIES THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN, AND BOTH OF THEM WERE UTTERED AT ONCE. IN THIS VERSE, TOO, THE SOUND IS ZEIR ANPIN AND THE SHOFAR IS BINAH, AND BOTH WERE UTTERED AT THE SAME TIME.

301. Rabbi Yehuda said, It should have said 'the sound in the Shofar;' why DOES IT SAY "of the Shofar?" AND HE ANSWERS, That voice was called 'Shofar,' as in the verse, "Then shall you cause the Shofar to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the Day of Atonement" (Vayikra 25:9). On that YOM KIPPUR (DAY OF ATONEMENT) it is called 'Shofar,' MEANING THAT WHEN THE SOUND ISSUES FROM BINAH, THE SOUND IS CALLED 'SHOFAR.'

302. Rabbi Yosi said, As the PHYSICAL Shofar makes a sound WHICH INCLUDES fire, air and water, here too everything is included in it, FOR HERE IN THE SOUND THAT COMES OUT FROM THE SHOFAR, FIRE, WIND AND WATER ARE INCLUDED - WHICH ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET, THE SECRET OF THE THREE COLUMNS. And from this sound other sounds emerge.

303. Rabbi Elazar said that "THE SOUND OF THE SHOFAR" MEANS the sound which comes out from a Shofar, which means that there is one Shofar and a solitary sound comes out from it, FOR THE SOUND IS THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN AND THE SHOFAR IS THE SECRET OF BINAH. The Shofar stands by itself SEPARATE FROM THE SOUND WHICH COMES OUT OF IT, therefore it is written, "the sound of the Shofar," AND NOT, 'THE SOUND IN THE SHOFAR.'

304. Rabbi Yehuda said, In "the sound of the Shofar," the word "Shofar" is spelled without THE LETTER VAV, FOR IT HAS THE SAME MEANING AS IN THE VERSE, "It pleased (Heb. shafar) Daryavesh" (Daniel 6:1) and in the verse, "O king, let my counsel be acceptable (Heb. yishpar) to you" (Daniel 4:24) and the verse, "I thought it good (Heb. shefar) to report the signs and wonders" (Daniel 3:32) - MEANING THAT THESE ARE EXPRESSIONS WHICH SPEAK OF GLORY AND BEAUTY, WHICH ALLUDES TO ZEIR ANPIN, THE SECRET OF TIFERET.

305. Rabbi Shimon said that "the sound of the Shofar" MEANS THAT the place from which the sound comes out is called 'Shofar,' FOR THE SOUND IS ZEIR ANPIN AND THE SHOFAR IS BINAH, AND ZEIR ANPIN ISSUES FROM BINAH, AS IS KNOWN. Rabbi Shimon continued and said, Come and behold, "the sound of the Shofar" refers to where the voice is, for it is written, "By every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Hashem does man live" (Devarim 7:3). What comes "out of the mouth of Hashem?" "...The sound of the Shofar..." which is greater than any other lower voices, and stronger than them all, as it is written, "the sound of a Shofar exceedingly loud" (Shemot 19:16). Of other voices it is not said "exceedingly loud (lit. 'very strong')." Everything depends on this sound of the Shofar, and it is called 'a great voice,' as written, "a great voice which was not heard again" (Devarim 5:19), and it called "a still small voice" (I Melachim 19:12), which is the light of the luminaries, which is pure and subtle, and purifies and illuminates all things.

306. IT IS WRITTEN, "Still." What does "still" mean? Rabbi Shimon said that one must be silent WITH AWE and shut his mouth, as it is written, "I said, 'I will take heed of my ways that I sin not with my tongue, I will keep a curb on my mouth" (Tehilim 39:2). The word "still" means silence in which no voice is heard outside. "When the people saw it, they were shaken and stood afar off," for what they saw FRIGHTENED THEM. The word "shaken (also: 'moved')" (Shemot 20:15), has the same meaning as in, "And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him" (Yeshayah 6:4).

307. We have learned that Ezekiel saw the might of the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "And I looked and behold, a storm wind came out..." (Yechezkel 1:4) What is the storm wind for? Rabbi Yosi explained, To break the four kingdoms. Rabbi Yehuda said, We have learned that it is a great wind that was aroused through the mighty deeds above. And it "came out from the north." It is not written 'from north' but "the north," WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE, which indicates that specific wind which is hidden and kept above.

308. "...A great cloud and a fire flaring up..." (Ibid.) "...FLARING UP..." MEANS THAT it held yet held not to it, gripping its sides to arouse Judgment. We learned that three times a day Severe Judgment sucks from the supernal inscriptions that come from the side of Gvurah. Therefore it says, "and a fire flaring up," so that it would be roused in the world.

309. What mitigates this "FLARING UP FIRE" OF BINAH? "A brightness was about it" (Ibid.), for that splendor, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH, surrounds it and encircles it and mitigates it, so that the Judgment is not too hard for men to bear.

310. "..And out of the midst of it, as it were the color of electrum" MEANS from its interior part. What is "electrum (Heb. chashmal)?" RABBI YEHUDA SAID, It is the speaking of fiery animals (Heb. CHAYOT ESH - memalelot), WHICH ARE FROM THE ASPECT OF THE MALE AND FEMALE, WHEN FACE TO FACE, WHICH ARE THEN CALLED 'VOICE' AND 'SPEECH.'" HENCE, THEY TALK.

311. Rabbi Yosi said, We have learned that Chashmal MEANS the heart (Heb. lev, Lamed-Bet) of the fire, MEANING THE SECRET OF THE LAMED-BET (=32) PATHS OF CHOCHMAH - WHICH ARE THE LIVING CREATURES OF BINAH, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE "FIRE FLARING UP," as it is written, "Out of the midst of it, as it were the color of electrum." It is written this way instead of JUST "the electrum," FOR "AS IT WERE (LIT. 'LIKE THE EYE')" ALLUDES TO THE LIGHT OF THE CHOCHMAH WHICH IS CALLED 'AN EYE.' ."Out of the midst of the fire..." means from the inner part of the fire. "As it were the color of electrum" means that ELECTRUM is behind the four grades, for it is written, "a storm wind," "a great cloud," "a fire flaring up," and "a brightness was about it." "...Out of the midst of the fire" refers to that "fire flaring up," WHICH IS BINAH, AND IT DOES NOT MEAN OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE BRIGHTNESS.

312. Rabbi Yosi, the son of Rabbi Yehuda, said that Yisrael at Mount Sinai saw what the prophet Ezekiel never saw, and they were all united with the divine, precious Wisdom. Yisrael saw five grades of voices on Mount Sinai, by which the Torah was given. The fifth grade was "the sound of the Shofar." Ezekiel saw but five lower grades outside THOSE FIVE VOICES, which were, "a storm wind," "a great cloud," "a fire flaring up," "a brightness was about it," and "as it were the color of electrum."

313. Rabbi Elazar said, Of Yisrael, it is written, "Hashem talked with you face to face" (Devarim 5:4), and of Ezekiel it is written, "as it were," and "likeness," - like one who looks from behind many walls, like a man looking from behind a wall. Rabbi Yehuda said that what Yisrael saw on Mount Sinai no prophet ever saw, and much more so, what Moses saw no other prophet saw. Happy is his share, of whom it is written, "And he was there with Hashem" (Shemot 34:28), FOR THIS IS THE SECRET OF THE SHINING MIRROR, instead of a different mirror WHICH DOES NOT SHINE, as it is written, "manifestly and not in dark speeches" (Bemidbar 12:8) - NOT LIKE THE OTHER MIRRORS WHICH DO NOT ILLUMINATE AND SPEAK IN RIDDLES.

314. Rabbi Yosi said, Come and behold. When the scripture said, "The word of Hashem came (Heb. hayoh-hayah)" (Yechezkel 1:3) it indicated that the prophecy was for that time alone. THEREFORE, IT IS WRITTEN THERE, "HAYOH-HAYAH." Rabbi Yehuda said that this was for support, for Yisrael to know that the Holy One, blessed be He, had not forsaken them and to prove to them that wherever they are spread in exile, He is with them.

315. Rabbi Elazar remarked that the expression "hayoh-haya (lit. 'was being')" MEANS that he both saw and did not see, understood and did not understand, as it is written, "I saw something like the color of electrum" (Yechezkel 1:27). IT IS not WRITTEN, 'I SAW electrum,' but of Yisrael, it is written, "And all the people see the voices," MEANING that each one of them saw according to what he was worthy of seeing.

316. We have learned that they stood in rows and in groups and divisions, and each one saw as befitted him. Rabbi Shimon said that the chiefs of the tribes STOOD by themselves and all the women by themselves. And five grades STOOD at the right and five grades at the left, as it is written, "You stand this day all of you before Hashem your Elohim, your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Yisrael" (Devarim 29:9). These are the five grades to the right. And what are the five grades to the left? It is written, "Your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water" (Ibid. 10). These are the five grades to the left.

317. All these grades were established in the likeness of above. Against them, Yisrael inherited an eternal possession, the Ten Utterances, from which are suspended all the precepts and merits, and all the inheritance of their portion, being the good portion of Yisrael.

318. We have learned that at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, all of Yisrael looked as one who sees a light streaming through the glass of an oil-lamp. By means of that light each one of them saw more than the prophet Ezekiel.

319. How is this so? Because all the supernal voices were revealed at once, as it is written, "And all the people see the voices." But to Ezekiel the Shechinah alone was revealed through Her Chariots, and he caught but glimpses of it as though through many walls.

320. Rabbi Yehuda said, Happy is the portion of Moses. Of him, it is written, "And Hashem came down upon Mount Sinai...and Hashem called Moses" (Shemot 19:20). And happy are the generation of whom it is written, "Hashem will came down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai."

321. Come and behold, whatever was revealed came from the right side, as it is written, "From His right hand went a fiery law for them" (Devarim 33:2). AND HE ASKS, What is the difference between this and the one WHICH EZEKIEL SAW? Rabbi Yosi answered that here, on Mount Sinai, the head and the body of the King were revealed, as it is written, "He bowed the heavens also and came down" (II Shmuel 22:10), FOR BEFORE THIS IT IS WRITTEN, "THERE WENT UP A SMOKE OUT OF HIS NOSTRILS AND FIRE OUT OF HIS MOUTH" (IBID. 9), MEANING THAT THERE WAS ONLY A HEAD OF WHICH NOSTRILS AND MOUTH ARE MENTIONED, and wherever there is a head, there is also a body. But of Ezekiel it is written, "And the hand of Hashem was there upon him" (Yechezkel 1:3). Only the hand was revealed, not the body, and we have learned that even the hand has two aspects, the supernal hand, WHICH IS THE HAND OF ZEIR ANPIN, and the lower hand, WHICH IS MALCHUT AND IS CALLED 'A HAND.' AND TO EZEKIEL THE LOWER HAND WAS REVEALED.

322. Come and behold, in the verse, "The heavens were opened and I saw visions of Elohim" (Yechezkel 1:1), the word "visions" (Heb. MAR'OT) is written without THE LETTER VAV, AN INDICATION OF one mirror, which is the Shechinah. Rabbi Yesa asked, Is not the Shechinah all inclusive? Rabbi Yosi answered, The head of the King is not to be likened with His feet, WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH THAT CLOTHES HIM FROM THE CHEST DOWNWARDS, CALLED HIS 'FEET' - although everything is part of the body of the King.

323. Come and behold, It is said of Isaiah, "and I saw Hashem" (Yeshayah 6:1), WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH, CALLED "ET (LIT. 'THE')." And of Ezekiel it is written, "And I saw visions of Elohim." Here "Et" IS THE SHECHINAH, and there "visions" IS THE SHECHINAH, for what one saw, so did the other, NAMELY ONLY THE SHECHINAH. Happy is the portion of Moses. There was no prophet as perfect as he, FOR HE SAW THE ILLUMINATING MIRROR, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN.

324. "...And I saw (et) Hashem." Et precisely REFERS TO THE SHECHINAH. "And I saw visions of Elohim," "vision" being precisely THE SHECHINAH. ISAIAH AND EZEKIEL were BOTH in the same grade. AND HE ASKS, Why then did Isaiah not give a detailed description AS EZEKIEL DID? Rabbi Yosi answers, The one spoke in general, NAMELY ISAIAH, and the other in details, NAMELY EZEKIEL. Why did Ezekiel give such a detailed description? HE ANSWERS, EZEKIEL SPOKE IN A DETAILED MANNER in consideration of Yisrael, so that they would know that the Holy One, blessed be He, loved them and that the Shechinah with Her Chariots had gone down into exile to dwell with them.

325. Rabbi Chiya asked, Why did the Shechinah reveal Herself in "the land of Chaldeans," FOR IT IS WRITTEN, "Behold the land of Chaldeans, this people was not" (Yeshayah 23:13). If it was for Yisrael's sake, surely She could have been present among them without being revealed? AND HE ANSWERS, We have learned that if She had not revealed Herself, they would not have known THAT SHE WAS WITH THEM.

326. She revealed Herself, as written, "by the river K'var" (Yechezkel 1:1), meaning by the water, in a place where impurity cannot dwell. That river was one of the four rivers which issued from the Garden of Eden, as written, "by the river K'var." What does "K'var" (lit. 'already') mean? That it already existed from a place upon which the Shechinah dwelt, as it is written, "And the hand of Hashem was there" (Ibid.), that is, there and not elsewhere.

327. Rabbi Chiya said, It is written, "Also out of the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man" (Yechezkel 1:5). And we have learned, according to the esoteric teaching, that there are four living creatures in the holy chamber, WHICH IS BINAH. They are the most ancient celestial beings WHICH ARE DERIVED from Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One), and which include the Supernal Name, YUD HEI VAV HEI, FOR YUD IS A LION, HEI IS AN OX, VAV IS AN EAGLE, AND THE LAST HEI IS A MAN. AND THEY ARE THE SECRET OF THE THREE COLUMNS AND MALCHUT WHICH RECEIVES THEM. Ezekiel saw only the likeness of the supernal Chariots, because he saw them from a region which was not very bright, MEANING FROM THE WORLD OF YETZIRAH. As we have already learned, as there is above IN BINAH so it is below IN MALE AND FEMALE, and so in all the worlds, BRIYAH, YETZIRAH AND ASIYAH. And all of them are linked one with another, AND WHATEVER THERE IS IN THE UPPER WORLD, THERE IS ALSO IN THE LOWER ONE, AND HE SAW THEM IN THE WORLD OF YETZIRAH.

328. And you may think that he beheld them further above THE WORLD OF YETZIRAH. Yet we learned that Moses saw the vision from a bright mirror, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, while other prophets derived their visions from a dull mirror, as written, "And I saw visions (Heb. mar'ot) of Elohim." The word "MAR'OT" is written WITHOUT THE LETTER VAV, WHICH INDICATES MALCHUT, and, "If there be a prophet among you, I, Hashem make Myself known to him in a vision... My servant Moses is not so...With him I speak mouth to mouth" (Bemidbar 12:6-7).

329. Rabbi Yosi said, Come and behold. All the prophets are IN COMPARISON WITH MOSES, like a female to a male, as written, "With him I speak mouth to mouth, manifestly (Heb. u'mar'eh, lit: 'and a mirror')," WHICH IS MOST CERTAINLY THE BRIGHT MIRROR (HEB. MAR'AH), AS IT IS WRITTEN, WITH HIM I SPEAK "MOUTH TO MOUTH." Of all other prophets it is said, "If there be a prophet among you, I, Hashem make Myself known to him in a vision (Heb. bemar'ah)," MEANING THAT THEY DERIVED THEIR VISION FROM A DULL MIRROR. AND IT IS WRITTEN, "bemar'ah," (lit. 'a vision') and not 'mar'ot,' WITHOUT THE LETTER VAV. All the more so of Ezekiel, as it is not written in relation to him 'mar'eh' but rather "mar'ot," without THE LETTER VAV, FOR HE SAW THE VISION FROM THE WORLD OF YETZIRAH. This is all the more so for Moses, of whom it is written, "and not in dark speeches," but showed him everything clearly. Blessed, indeed, was the generation among whom this prophet lived.

330. Rabbi Yosi said, In the name of Rabbi Yehuda, that Yisrael saw the precious glory of their King face to face, and there were neither blind nor lame, nor deaf, nor any without hands among them. No blind, as it is written, "And all the people perceived;" no lame, as it is written, "And they stood at the foot of the mountain" (Shemot 19:17). There were no lame and none without hands, as written, "And they said, 'All that Hashem has said will we do and obey" (Shemot 24:7); and of the days to come it says, "Then shall the lame man leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Yeshayah 35:6).