"And Elohim spoke"

331. "And Elohim spoke all these words, saying" (Shemot 20:1). Rabbi Yehuda opened the discussion with that verse and said, "Who can utter the mighty acts of Hashem? Who can declare all His praise?" (Tehilim 106:2). In how many ways does the Torah admonish man not to sin before his Master. In how many ways does it counsel him not to turn from the way, either to the right or to the left, and in how many forms it shows him how to return to his Master so that He may forgive him.

332. We have learned that the Torah has given a man 613 counsels in order that he may be perfect with his Master, for his Master desires only his good, both in this world and in the World to Come, but especially in the World to Come, since whatever good the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows upon man in this world is taken from the sum of good which he is entitled to receive in the World to Come. Why is that? Because the World to Come is the possession of the Holy One, blessed be He.

333. We have learned that the comparison between this world and the World to Come is as an antechamber compared with the hall itself. The reward of the righteous is His very own, as it is written of the tribe of Levi: "Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren." Why? Because "Hashem is their inheritance" (Devarim 18:2). Happy is the man who is entitled to receive such a supernal heritage, for he merits it in this world and in the house of this world, as well as in the World to Come and the heavenly, holy House, as it is written, "And to them will I give in My house and within My walls a memorial" (Yeshayah 56:5). Happy is the portion of the righteous for being worthy to dwell with the King in His own House.

334. Rabbi Shimon said, Happy is the portion of the righteous who is worthy of this, as it is written, "Then shall you delight yourself in (lit. 'above') Hashem" (Yeshayah 58:14). It is not written 'in Hashem,' but "above Hashem," namely in the place from which the upper and the lower worlds are derived and for which they yearn, of which it is written, "From where (Heb. ayin) comes my help?" (Tehilim 121:1) REFERS TO KETER WHICH IS CALLED NOTHINGNESS (Heb. AYIN). And it is also written, "And came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him" (Daniel 7:13) NAMELY KETER WHICH IS CALLED 'THE ANCIENT OF DAYS.' The desire and the delight of the righteous is to look at that splendor whence all lights issue and all celestial crowns, WHICH ARE THE SFIROT, are drawn.

335. Rabbi Shimon continued, We learned of the verse, "Then shall you delight yourself in Hashem," that it ends with, "and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth" (Yeshayah 58:14). This refers to the place called 'the high places of the earth,' which is above "the earth," WHICH IS MALCHUT AND IS CALLED 'EARTH,' and "heaven," NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, as it is written, "The high places of the earth," FOR HEAVEN IS ABOVE THE EARTH.

336. Rabbi Aba continued with more explanations, It is not written, 'shall you sit' but rather, "shall you delight yourself in (lit. 'above') Hashem," namely "heaven," WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, for it is written, "Be You exalted, O Elohim, above the heavens" (Tehilim 57:12) THAT IS, ZEIR ANPIN. "And I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth," refers to the Land of the Living, WHICH IS MALCHUT CALLED 'EARTH.' The meaning of "upon the high places" is that it includes Zion and Jerusalem, FOR THEY ARE THE INSIDE AND THE OUTSIDE OF YESOD OF MALCHUT - meaning THAT THE VERSE SPEAKS OF the heaven above, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, and the earth above, WHICH IS MALCHUT. And that which Rabbi Shimon spoke is thus, AS I SAID, and it is all one, as written, "And came to the Ancient of Days," and all amounts to the same.

337. Rabbi Aba asked Rabbi Shimon, May my master explain the verse, "And I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father." RABBI SHIMON answered him, It was already explained that the delight and pleasure are, as written, "Above Hashem," which is above, NAMELY KETER. And it is written, "And came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him." "Upon the high places of the earth" is as we said, THE LAND OF THE LIVING, NAMELY MALCHUT.

338. "And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father," has the same meaning as the verse, "Therefore the Elohim give you of the dew of heaven" (Beresheet 27:28). "THE DEW OF HEAVEN" means the heritage of Jacob, and when Isaac blessed Jacob he alluded to heaven, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, and he gave him the blessing that all the descendants of Jacob in the future will be revived by that dew, as it is written, "Therefore the Elohim give you." Only "you," and not to someone else. "The dew of heaven" is that by which the dead will be revived in the days to come, FOR THAT DEW ISSUES from Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One) to Zeir Anpin, WHICH IS CALLED 'HEAVEN' and resides in heaven. Rabbi Aba thought OF THE VERSE and said, Now everything is clear, and I see that there is even more significance in Isaac's blessing than I had thought.

339. "Who can utter (Heb. yemalel) the mighty acts of Hashem?" (Tehilim 106:2). HE ASKS, Why does it say "utter" instead of 'tell.' Rabbi Chiya explained the answer by citing the verse, "then you may pluck the ears (Heb. melilot) with your hand" (Devarim 23:26). THEY ARE SO CALLED, FOR ONE HAS TO SEPARATE THE GRAINS FROM THE EAR BY PLUCKING (HEB. MELILAH) WITH THE HANDS, AND WHEN IT SAYS "UTTER" IT MEANS THAT ONE SHOULD SEPARATE AND CANCEL THE JUDGMENTS OF HASHEM. The word "Gvurot (lit. 'mighty acts')" of Hashem IS SPELLED WITHOUT THE LETTER VAV - THE INDICATION OF THE PLURAL FORM - AND implies that there are many Gvurot but all of them are coming from one Gvurah. We have learned that there is one supernal Gvurah, the crown of the crowns, WHICH IS BINAH FROM WHICH JUDGMENTS ARE AROUSED and from which come fifty gates, some to the right and some to the left. And each one of them is called 'Gvurah,' and each one of them is crowned with the lights of the supernal carvings, and all of them are called "the mighty acts of Hashem."

340. Rabbi Chiya said, THEREFORE, the word Gvurot is written without THE LETTER VAV, for all THE GVUROT are included within THE SUPERNAL GVURAH, WHICH IS BINAH. The closing part of the verse is, "Who can declare all His praise?" This indicates the Shechinah, which is the most precious glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is expressed in the verse, "His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise" (Chavakuk 3:3).

341. Rabbi Shimon cited a verse, "And a river went out of Eden to water the Garden and from thence it was parted and branched into four streams, the name of the first is Pishon..." (Beresheet 2:10). Those RIVERS which came from that river which comes forth from Eden have names; but what is the name of the one which comes out OF EDEN? Rabbi Shimon says that its name is Yuval, for it is written, "And that spreads out its roots by the river (Heb. yuval)" (Yirmeyah 17:8), and, "Nor shall it cease from yielding fruit" (Ibid.). The reason that it shall not "cease from yielding fruit" is that it spreads "its roots by the river," WHICH IS BINAH. Therefore it is written, "Like a spring of water whose waters fail not" (Yeshayah 58:11), FOR THE PLENTY WHICH COMES FORTH FROM THE BINAH NEVER CEASES. Therefore, it is written, "A river went OUT OF EDEN;" it comes out of it and never ceases.

342. Rabbi Shimon cited the verse, "And Elohim spoke all these words" (Shemot 20:1). IT SAYS "SPOKE" AND NOT 'SAID,' BECAUSE "spoke" denotes announcing IN A LOUD VOICE, for we have learned that at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself and began to speak, the celestial and the terrestrial beings began to tremble, and the souls of Yisrael left them.

343. We have learned that that word soared from above downwards, being engraved upon the four winds of the universe on its way, and then rose once more and again descended. When it rose up it was filled from the mountains of pure balsam and was watered with the heavenly dew. Then it encircled Yisrael and brought back their souls. Then it turned back and was engraved upon the tablets of stone. And so it was with each and every word.

344. Rabbi Shimon said that every word contained all manner of legal implications and derivations, all the laws concerning reward and punishment, as well as all mysteries and hidden aspects, for each word was like a treasure house full of precious things.

345. When one word was uttered it seemed as one, but when it was engraved in its place UPON THE TABLETS OF STONES, seventy branches were revealed in it, fifty crowns less one on one side, and fifty less one upon the other, like the hammer which breaks the rocks in a mountain, as it is written, "Like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces" (Yirmeyah 23:29). And all of Yisrael saw eye to eye and rejoiced.

346. The souls of all the generations to come were present there and all of them received the Torah on Mount Sinai, as it is written, "but with those that stands here with us this day...and also with those that are not here with us this day" (Devarim 29:14). They were all there, each according to his merit, and saw and received the words.

347. "AND ELOHIM SPOKE ALL THESE (HEB. 'ET') WORDS, SAYING" (SHEMOT 20:1). THE NAME Elohim indicates Gvurah; 'Et' INDICATES that it was joined to the right. As we have learned, "the (Et) heaven" is the right and "and the earth" is the left, as written, "My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand has spanned the heavens" (Yeshayah 48:13). The right side IS CHESED AND is called "Et (the)." The word "all" is IN ORDER to include all the other Sfirot. "These words" INDICATE that everything is included, one within the other. "These" INDICATES all the meanings, the secrets, the mysteries, decrees and penalties.

348. The word "saying" INDICATES THAT all that was said was an inheritance for everyone, as it is written, "Moses commanded us a Torah, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Devarim 33:4). You may say that IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD LITERALLY, TO REVEAL TO EVERYONE AND to reveal what must not be revealed to anyone. However, it says, "I am Hashem your Elohim" (Shemot 20:1) WHICH INDICATES THAT as I am hidden and concealed, so should these words be covered and concealed in your heart.

349. There is another interpretation of this verse. "And Elohim spoke" is one GRADE. "All (et) these words saying," are five more grades, FOR EACH WORD IS A GRADE. Rabbi Yehuda said that "And Elohim spoke" is Gvurah, "Et" is the right side, WHICH IS CHESED, and "all" INCLUDES both GVURAH AND CHESED. Rabbi Yitzchak said that "ALL" includes Abraham, for it is written, "And Hashem had blessed Abraham in all things" (Beresheet 24:1).

350. The function of "words" is to include all the covered crowns. The word "these" includes all those which were revealed, as it is written, "And all the people see the voices," NAMELY THE REVEALED VISIONS INCLUDED IN "THESE." "Saying," REFERS TO THE SHECHINAH, as it is written, "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" (Mishlei 12:4), and, "It was said, 'If a man put away his wife'" (Yirmeyah 3:1). THE WORD "SAYING" IS CLOSE TO HER MAN, WHICH INDICATES THAT IT REFERS TO THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH.

351. Rabbi Yitzchak asked, Why was the Torah given in fire and darkness, as it is written, "And the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness clouds and thick darkness" (Devarim 4:11). AND HE ANSWERED THAT THE REASON IS that he who is occupied with the study of the Torah will be saved from the other fire of Gehenom, and from the darkness that the other nations bring upon Yisrael. It was the merit of Abraham which saved Yisrael from the fire of Gehenom.

352. As we have learned, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, 'As long as your children shall study the Torah they will be saved FROM FIRE AND DARKNESS, but if they should turn from her and forget her paths, the fire of Gehenom will have dominion over them and they will be subjected to the nations.' Then ABRAHAM said to Him, 'May things not come to pass, THE FIRE OF GEHENOM AND EXILE, with these two knots. If it pleases You, let them escape from the fire of Gehenom and go into exile and become enslaved to other nations until they return to You.' THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, answered him, 'So be it then,' and so it was as it is written, "Unless their Rock had sold them" (Devarim 32:30). Who is "their Rock?" Abraham, as it is written, "Look to the rock whence you are hewn" (Yeshayah 51:1). "And Hashem had shut them up" (Ibid.), refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who agreed with him.

353. Rabbi Yehuda said, Fifty days elapsed between the day Yisrael were led out from Egypt and the day the Torah was given to them. What was the reason? Rabbi Yehuda said, In order that the number of days should correspond to the number of years of Jubilee, WHICH IS BINAH, as it is written, "And you shall hallow the fiftieth year" (Vayikra 25:10), NAMELY, THE FIFTIETH GATE IN BINAH.

354. Rabbi Shimon said, We have learned that it was the Jubilee which led Yisrael out from Egypt. If you believe that it is Jubilee itself, NAMELY BINAH ITSELF, IT IS NOT SO. THE EXODUS occurred through the aspect of Jubilee and from the aspect of the same Judgment was stirred up against the Egyptians. Therefore, those fifty years are THE FIFTY GATES OF Jubilee, WHICH IS BINAH.

355. We have learned that the deeds in Egypt are mentioned fifty times in the Torah, and in all of those times words of praise are said. For example, "who have brought you out of the land of Egypt" (Shemot 20:2), and, "And brought you out" (Devarim 4:37), and, "For by strength of hand Hashem brought you out from this place..." (Shemot 13:3): fifty times exactly and no more, since all is adorned with Jubilee, WHICH IS BINAH, and from the side of Jubilee everything comes. AND THERE ARE FIFTY GATES TO BINAH. Therefore, the Torah, which comes from Gvurah, is crowned in the right, as it is written, "From His right hand went a fiery law for them" (Devarim 33:2). We have also learned that WHEN THE TORAH WAS GIVEN, there were five voices, CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH AND HOD IN BINAH, and all of these were seen in them, included in them, and crowned IN BINAH.

356. Rabbi Shimon said, At the time that Yisrael received the Torah, that Jubilee, WHICH IS BINAH, crowned the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, as a king is crowned in the midst of his hosts, as it is written, "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him" (Shir Hashirim 3:11). Who is "his mother?" It is Yovel, FOR BINAH IS CALLED 'JUBILEE' (HEB. YOVEL) AND SHE IS THE MOTHER OF ZEIR ANPIN, CALLED 'SOLOMON.' The Jubilee was crowned with joy, love and perfection, as it is written, "Be a joyful mother of children" (Tehilim 113:9). Who is the "mother of children?" Rabbi Shimon said, This is Jubilee.

357. Rabbi Yehuda said, Concerning this it is written, "Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice" (Mishlei 23:24). Who are "your father and your mother?" They are as explained in Safra deTz'niuta (lit. 'the Concealed Book'), relating to the verse, "The nakedness of your father, or the nakedness of your mother, shall you not uncover" (Vayikra 17:7). Woe to one who uncovers their nakedness, FOR THE SECRET OF CHOCHMAH AND BINAH ARE CALLED 'FATHER' AND 'MOTHER.'

358. Rabbi Yitzchak said, We have learned that at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, the mountain began to shake and all the mountains on earth trembled and quaked, and they rose and fell until the Holy One, blessed be He, stretched out His hand and calmed them. And a voice was heard proclaiming: "What ails you, O you sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you are driven back? You mountains, that you skip like rams..." (Tehilim 114:4-5).

359. And they answered Him, "Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Master." Rabbi Yitzchak said, "At the presence of the Master," refers to Ima, WHO IS BINAH, as it is written, "a joyful mother of children." "Tremble, you earth," refers to the lower Ima, WHO IS MALCHUT. "At the presence of the Eloha of Jacob," is Aba, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, LOWER ABA, as it is written, "Yisrael is My son, My firstborn" (Shemot 4:22), MEANING ZEIR ANPIN WHICH IS CALLED 'YISRAEL.' And of that it is written, "the crown with which his mother crowned him," "HIS MOTHER" BEING BINAH.

360. HE ASKS, What is "the crown WITH WHICH HIS MOTHER CROWNED HIM?" and Rabbi Yitzchak replies, This resembles the verse, "For Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about" (I Shmuel 23:26), WHICH IS LIKE ENCIRCLING, for ZEIR ANPIN is crowned AND SURROUNDED BY IMA with white, red and green, all colors - THE SECRET OF THE THREE COLUMNS - all of which are included and encircled in it. Rabbi Yehuda asked, In the verse, "the crown with which his mother crowned him," what is the crown? It has the same meaning as in "Yisrael, in whom I will be glorified" (Yeshayah 49:3), and, "And I will glorify the house of My glory" (Yeshayah 60:7), NAMELY, THE FIRST THREE SFIROT WHICH ARE THE GLORY OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS CALLED 'YISRAEL' AND ALSO 'TIFERET.'

361. Rabbi Yitzchak said that the Torah was given in a black fire engraved upon a white fire, in order to include the right in the left. And the left was returned to the right, as it is written, "From His right hand went a fiery law for them."

362. Rabbi Aba said, When the smoke came out of Mount Sinai, a fire ascended and was crowned with it openly, AND LOOKED like a cluster. And it flared high and dwindled again, and all the aromas of the Garden of Eden were blended in that smoke, having the colors white, red and black, as it is written, "Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant" (Shir Hashirim 3:6).

363. Rabbi Yitzchak said that the smoke was the Shechinah who manifested Herself there, as it is written in the verse, "Who is this coming out of the wilderness like columns of smoke?" (Ibid.) WHICH ALLUDES TO THE SHECHINAH. Rabbi Yehuda said, Surely you do not have to go to great lengths to learn of it, for there is a whole description, "And Mount Sinai smoked in every part, because Hashem descended upon it in fire, and the smoke of it ascended like the smoke of a furnace" (Shemot 19:18). Blessed are the people who saw it and knew it.