44. The precept following this is the dealing in household arrangements. In the secret of wisdom, a man's house is his wife. If she is a woman of good and evil and he wishes to exchange a bad WOMAN for a good one, he should redeem her from that evil one and give her her worth. However, it says about a woman of the Tree of Life, THAT IS MALCHUT: "gold and glass cannot equal it; and the exchange of it shall not be for vessels of fine gold" (Iyov 28:17). She is invaluable, as it says, "a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" (Mishlei 12:4), and it also says, "who can find a woman of worth..." (Mishlei 31:10). That is the Shechinah. Whoever does kindness by Her shall receive invaluable recompense, and whoever is sinful to Her shall receive punishment beyond measure.

45. She has many maidservants who serve her. Each and every one of them has value and each one needs a ransom, MEANING TO RANSOM HER FROM THE HOLD OF THE OTHER SIDE. However, a Neshamah or Ruach or Nefesh inherited from the Shechinah does not require redeeming, since it is said about the Shechinah, "I am Hashem, that is My Name, and My glory will I not give to another" (Yeshayah 42:8). Her redemption is dependent on the Holy One, blessed be He, which Yisrael draw to Her by the knot of the Tefilin, with the Shabbat sign, with the marking of the festival days, with the mark of circumcision, with Torah, and with many precepts. Since Her ransom is dependent on the Holy One, blessed be He, this is what it says, "but I acted for My Name's sake," (Yechezkel 20:9) and for her: "and yet for all that (Heb. zot)..." (Vayikra 26:44). In this manner, people perform many precepts in order to receive recompense. Each precept has a value in that world. However, the punishment for someone who transgresses them has no value.