“Vihi No'am” (May the pleasantness of the Lord be upon us), “Hashem Elokeinu aleinu uma'aseh yadeinu konenah aleinu uma'aseh yadeinu konenehu,” and Da'at uTevunah (knowledge and understanding). We are on the 53rd chapter, daf taf-resh-chaf-alef (folio 621). Thank you, Rabbi Yosef: ya'avducha amim (Peoples will serve you).
Veyesh shinui echad be'olamot ha'elyonim lishloshah olamot hatachtonim ha'elu shehem Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. There is one difference between the upper worlds and these three lower worlds. What is it? Ki chol ha'olamot ha'elyonim—I guess, Atzilut and above—hakol hem kedushah (holiness) achat ve'elohut (divinity) echad, ve'ein bahem peirud (separation), chas veshalom. It is all considered one; there is no division.
Ach sheloshah olamot elu bivchinat haneshamot shebahem hem nikra'im elohut. Ach meruach ve'eilach, therefore, from ruach (spirit) and on—from ruach, nefesh (soul), guf (body), and levush (garment) in these three worlds—they are not divinity; rather, they are called serafim (seraphim), chayot (living beings), ofanim (wheels), kisei (throne), and the like, whether in Beriah, Yetzirah, or Asiyah. Understand this well.
Atzilut itself and above is considered elohut. In the other worlds there are different things; there is no unity. There are angels and other things that occupy that territory besides the oneness of Hashem. Ve'ayein sham behichalot Parashat Bereishit uParashat Pekudei vetimtza shemot haruchin vehachayot shebechol heichal. Every heichal has different names for different angels. The ruchin are the secret of the ruach in that heichal, and the chayot refer to the nefesh. The rest are the kelim (vessels) and garments, called serafim, mal'achim (angels), appointed beings, and the like. Each level has a different name.
These heichalin mentioned above are in Beriah; the same applies to the heichalin of Yetzirah. Remember this principle: wherever you find heichalin of BY'A (Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah), the mal'achim are the limbs of the body or the garment of that heichal.
Know that in every heichal there are several aspects, because each sefirah is included in ten, and ten in ten, without end. The same applies to all the aspects, whether in the essence, the kelim, or the garments. That is why there is an innumerable multitude of mal'achim. Each one is represented at its particular level. The Torah as a whole is the names of Hakadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed is He), and it also breaks down into the shemot (names).
There is another difference in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, apart from their being called Olam HaPeirud (world of separation). They are called that because separation begins with the ruchin in them: as mentioned above, they are not divinity. There is also another difference: in Atzilut, even the garments are called divinity and kedushah. But in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, there is a distinction between the kelim and the garments. Some kelim and garments are from the sitra dikdusha (side of holiness), and some garments are from the sitra demesa'avuta (side of impurity).
So a levush from the side of tum'ah (impurity) can already be found in the lower worlds, clothing everything. Therefore, these three worlds are called Etz HaDa'at Tov VaRa (Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). It's mixed; it has a mixture. When the malchut (kingship) of Atzilut descends to become clothed in them, it is called Etz HaDa'at Tov VaRa. Understand this: it is when its feet descend to the place of death—“ragleyha yoredot mavet” (her feet descend to death). That is where it goes down at night, into the lower worlds.
The impure garments of Beriah surround all the pure garments of Beriah. The impurity is on the outside. The same applies to the garments of Yetzirah and Asiyah. The difference is that in Beriah the kelipah (husk) is slight in comparison with the kedushah—not too much because it is a higher world. It is separate and does not cling. In Yetzirah, the kelipah and kedushah are equal in measure, 50/50, and they do not mix. In Asiyah, the kelipah is actually greater than the kedushah; good and evil are mixed. This is in the garments, not in the kelim or the essence, chas veshalom. It is in the outer part, not the inner part. Understand this well and do not make a mistake.
Therefore, Asiyah is basically the hardest world to navigate, because the kelipot are attached to and fixed on its outer levels. Now, we need to know another principle: corresponding to every aspect of the garments of kedushah, there is a corresponding aspect of impurity surrounding it on the outside in every aspect of BY'A. Wherever there is taharah (purity), there is equal time on the side of tum'ah.
Therefore, the seven heichalot of impurity in Parashat Pekudei are in Beriah, surrounding the heichalot of kedushah. As the pasuk (verse) says, saviv resha'im yithalechun (The wicked walk all around). The resha'im hover around the kedushah. Based on what we learned earlier, there is a reason: that is where they get their yenikah (nourishment), so they need to be close. Rabbi Amar once said that this is why the goyim (nations)—the Arabs took Friday, and the Christians took Sunday—need yenikah from Shabbat. They need to be on its sides in order to be yonek, to draw nourishment: saviv resha'im yithalechun.
The same applies to Yetzirah and Asiyah. The essential truth is that everywhere, the kelipot sit or surround, and they interrupt between the inner yosher (straight configuration) of the nukba (feminine aspect) of each world of BY'A and its or makif (surrounding light). Their backs are toward the or makif, because they cannot look at it; it is too bright. Their faces are toward the or penimi (inner light) of the nukba, to draw nourishment from there.
Therefore, all the garments are on the outside, and through them the kelipot draw nourishment from all the lights of the nukba, and also from the lights of Ze'eir Anpin that are clothed within the nukba. But they do not draw nourishment in this way from the lights of Imma within Ze'eir Anpin. What did the Creator do? He placed the chashmal (electrical radiance), which is the outermost garment of Binah (understanding), so that it is not clothed inside but remains outside, surrounding ZO”N along their full extent. That is what Hakadosh Baruch Hu did to protect us: He took the makif of Binah to surround Z”A. The kelipot cannot draw nourishment from there.
When Imma withdraws, the chashmal withdraws too. When Imma goes away, the makif goes away, and then they can draw yenikah from ZO”N. That is what is written: “kenesher ya'ir kino al gozalav yerachef”—the mother hovers over the children in order to protect them. Once the mother goes away, they can draw nourishment. Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects us through this, as we learned about Pesach: first the gadlut (expanded state) comes, so there cannot be achizah (grasp), and afterward comes the katnut (constricted state).
“Baruch attah Hashem, Elokeinu melech ha'olam, shehakol nihyah bidvaro.” Amen. This is basically all the Berachot HaShachar (morning blessings): malbish arumim (Who clothes the naked), hanoten laya'ef ko'ach (Who gives strength to the weary). That is the secret of the chashmal. We have the kavanah (intention), the yud, the chet, “chevrati,” the eight letters. That is also the secret of not putting on two garments at the same time, because you are damaging the makifim (surrounding lights) by taking them off at the same time.
Now we will explain each world in detail, first in general. The text says, “Let us discuss it in detail,” but before that, let us discuss it in general. Asiyah includes ten sefirot. That is if you look at it on its own. But if you consider it in relation to the worlds above it—as in the theory of relativity—it is the malchut of those worlds, or the nefesh of the worlds above it. Thus it is called the malchut of those worlds. Still, it is divided into ten sefirot: Atik, Arich Anpin, and so on. The first nine sefirot are above, in the aspect of Shamayim (heavens). Malchut is called eretz (earth), the secret of this lower earth.
Whenever you see the word eretz, we say that eretz is malchut, the nukba, and so on. As we know, “Esther karka olam” (Esther was passive ground): karka means ground; the girl, the woman, is ground. Since each sefirah is included in ten, it too is divided into seven lands. How do we get the seven lands? As mentioned in the Zohar, they correspond to the seven reki'im (firmaments). The uppermost firmament and the uppermost earth each include the first three.
Malchut of Asiyah is divided into ten sefirot. They are seven lands, one above the other, with Shamayim and a rakia (firmament) between each one, as is known. These are the secret of the surrounding lights in each world. In our uppermost land, the first three are the first three of malchut of Asiyah. The land is included in ten and has the form of one person. Therefore, the land has a mouth. In the Torah, you sometimes hear expressions such as “the navel of the land” or “the nakedness of the land,” and other human characteristics.
The yesod (foundation) in it—the point that receives the shefa (abundance) from the heavens above it—is Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). It is in the middle of the settled area. Sometimes it is called the navel of the land. He calls it the yesod. The secret of the nakedness attached to it is Eretz Mitzrayim (land of Egypt). That is the nakedness of the world, right next to Eretz Yisrael. This is the secret of “ki ervat ha'aretz batem lirot” (You have come to see the nakedness of the land), as he explains it.
Therefore, the earlier exile was to Egypt, and from there they entered Eretz Yisrael. Understand this: they went into the nakedness and then back into the yesod. They came by way of the midbar (wilderness) between Mitzrayim and Eretz Yisrael. What is the midbar? It is like a buffer between Eretz Yisrael and Mitzrayim. They went through the wilderness behind Eretz Yisrael, corresponding to the point at the back. From there the external forces receive their flow. There is the yesod of the sitra achara, the central point of ruin. This is the secret of “nazoru achor,” as it says in Yeshayahu (Isaiah).
This is also the secret of Pe'or, opposite which Moshe Rabbeinu had to be buried for the future. I guess the kelipah is right there in the wilderness, so Moshe Rabbeinu had to suppress it and was buried across from it. The sitra achara clothes Asiyah in the aspect of garments, because the land is in the aspect of the outer garments of malchut of Asiyah, and the sitra achara surrounds them.
Let us go back to the nukba. This goes against what we understood previously. We always understood it to be the malchut of malchut, the bottom of the bottom. Now we are saying that we are the top three of malchut, and that is the eretz we are in. He says, “delefi sheyadata shekol sefirah kelulah me'eser”—since each sefirah is included in ten, malchut is also ten. Therefore, it is divided into seven lands, corresponding to the seven reki'im.
Malchut of Asiyah is also divided into ten sefirot, and they are seven lands. Somehow, these become seven lands, with a Shamayim between each one. There is a makif around each one, the secret of the makifim of each world. Our eretz is the highest part, the first three of malchut of Asiyah. I guess you have the seven lands, and our eretz is the highest part of malchut, corresponding to its first three. The eretz is made up of ten and therefore has the form of a person. Our eretz is the nukba; it is somewhere in malchut, at the top of malchut, however you want to describe it.
Where is the yesod? In Eretz Yisrael. Where is the nakedness? In Egypt. What is the wilderness? The achorayim (rear aspect), where the kelipot receive yenikah. That may be why all these things happen in the wilderness: perhaps there is yenikah there. Perhaps that is why there are the meraglim (spies), the complaints, and the lack of safety. “Nachash, saraf, ve'akrav” (snake, serpent, and scorpion): on a spiritual level, the snakes, serafim, and scorpions mean the kelipot. They were able to suppress them by having Moshe Rabbeinu buried opposite Beit Pe'or.
The essential secret of this land is that it is Binah of malchut of Asiyah. Sorry to go back: in that passage he said that Asiyah is composed of ten, and that the first nine sefirot are above, in the aspect of Shamayim, while malchut is the secret of this lower land. So the malchut of Asiyah is the land. Which part of malchut is the land? He says the essential secret of this land is Binah of malchut of Asiyah. Binah is height, and is also called eretz relative to Chochmah (wisdom), because there is always something above it, so it is considered eretz.
The malchut within it—the malchut of Binah—is Eretz Yisrael. Opposite it is the point of the sitra achara, as mentioned. Opposite the navel point, which is exactly the middle of the whole world, not merely of the settled area as in the case of Eretz Yisrael, is Binah within Binah of malchut of Asiyah. That is Gan Eden ha'aretz (Garden of Eden on Earth). The Eden is the Chochmah (wisdom) within it, and the river is the da'at (knowledge).
You already know that Binah is associated with the right. But we know that Binah is on the left. As mentioned in the Tosefta, “Binah lahat hacherev hamithapechet.” It turns from judgment to mercy, because it is the root of the dinim, to give the righteous their reward in the World to Come. Malchut is “lahat hacherev hamithapechet merachamei ledina,” turning mercy into judgment for the wicked in this world.
The secret is that this land has a partzuf (configuration), as mentioned, and it has arms. Binah gives all its mercy to the World to Come, in Gan Eden ha'aretz. That is the right arm. Therefore, Gan Eden ha'aretz (Garden of Eden) is to the south of the settled area. That is why it is on the right. It is below the equator; it lies to the south. So when they tell you that one of the islands is Gan Eden, you see that they are not wrong. That is why—south of here. The southern regions of the world are warm and comfortable; they have nice—
He says that Gan Eden ha'aretz is to the south of the settled area, but it is divided into seven regions, corresponding to the seven lands, as is known. In the lower land, which is malchut of Asiyah, there is the flaming sword for the wicked. You then get to the higher parts. From this you will understand that Geihinam (Gehenna) is the left arm. It is the north: “mitzafon tipatach hara'ah” (from the north the evil will be unleashed). It is Malchut. Gan Eden is in the south, the right; it is the right arm and Binah of Malchut.
Binah is on the right relative to Malchut; it is not intrinsically on the right. It is not actually on the right side. It is on the right relative to Malchut. What is Malchut on the left? Geihinam is on the left. So it is not a physical right; it is a relative right.
Just as there are veins and arteries, sources for the womb, and all these things in a woman, and in all the limbs, the land also has veins that go to the right arm. It is amazing. You can divide the Earth up like a human being. There are veins that enter the right side. I guess these are access points to Gan Eden. We said the right side of the world, the south, is where Gan Eden is, corresponding to the right arm, and the right arm has veins. These are the open paths in the land to Gan Eden ha'aretz.
One path is through Chevron (Hebron). There you go, as we said yesterday. Chevron is one of the access points to Gan Eden, Me'arat Ha'avot (Cave of the Patriarchs), Me'arat HaMachpelah. Chevron is south of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), in its southern part, and so it is a main access point. Opposite them is an entrance to Geihinam (Gehenna), as it says, “vetannur lo biYerushalayim” (and its furnace is in Jerusalem). That is why there are 5 500,000 Arabs over there. It is also the entrance to Geihinam. They are surrounding the sanctified area, and the surrounding area is associated with destruction.
When the right arm is to the south and the left arm to the north, its face is certainly toward the east, its back toward the west, and its head toward Shamayim, corresponding to the nine sefirot mentioned. Therefore, Adam HaRishon (Adam the First), the male, was created facing east, and behind him was the female, facing west. This is the secret of “Shechinah bama'arav” (the Divine Presence is in the west). The woman was facing west, and the woman corresponds to the Shechinah. That is what “Shechinah bama'arav” means. All this has to do with the way they were facing when they were created.
Now that we have explained these three inner aspects in general—the land, Gan Eden, and Geihinam—we will also explain them in detail, beginning with the land. We have explained that this land is Malchut de-Malchut de-Asiyah, the bottom of the bottom of Asiyah. It has seven lands, like the seven continents. In each land there is one sefirah out of the ten sefirot of Malchut de-Asiyah. Each one has nefesh, ruach, neshamah (soul), and guf of Asiyah. The garments, and the outermost garments, are the four elements: fire, ruach, water, and earth. They are called the achorayim of every aspect of Asiyah, and the kelipot cling to these achorayim. This is called elohim acherim (other gods), from the word achorayim: elohim acherim grasp the achorayim.
All the shedim (demons) and all the accusers are here. They are the ultimate impurity, just as the land is the ultimate materiality of kedushah. Likewise, the sitra achara within it is the ultimate tum'ah.
In this upper land are the three upper sefirot of the Malchut mentioned, like the seventh heichal, which is called Kodesh Kodashim (Holy of Holies). Opposite them are the three upper kelipot of Malchut of Asiyah. Therefore, the air of the world is divided into three airs, as is known from Shimusha de-Heichalin. Look at the tefillin shel rosh (head tefillin), with their different airspaces. See Parashat Balak: they are three kinds of air. In each of their outer aspects, one above the other, the or makif of Malchut of Asiyah is clothed within these airs and is called avira kadisha (holy air).
There is an essence and there are kelim. The essence consists of explicit names placed there in the air, and the angels are in the kelim. All this corresponds to the straight holy air that surrounds, and to the air of impurity that surrounds. Even in the land itself, where the inner light is within the Beit Hamikdash (Temple), there is also inner tum'ah opposite it. These are the shedim found in bathrooms and rivers.
The land itself, which is the garment, is not uniform, as it says, “kalvush tachlifem veya'alofu” (like a garment they will change, and they will pass away). In the outer limbs are the lands of the seventy nations. Opposite that skin is the surrounding ocean, Yam Okyanus—the Atlantic Ocean. The inner limbs are already Eretz Yisrael; that is the inside. Within the Beit Hamikdash, the Kodesh Kodashim is the point of the yesod. The inner sanctities are there, where the Ark and the cover are; that is the yesod of the masculine aspect, which enters and serves there.
The Beit Hamikdash itself is also a yesod, included in ten sefirot. It has courtyards and chambers. If you look at the structure of the Beit Hamikdash, you will see that it has the structure of a human being. The head is the Kodesh Kodashim. The body is the Heichal, where the table, menorah, and golden altar are; that is Chagat (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet). North, south, east: right, left, center. The ulam (entrance hall) is nehi (Netzach, Hod, Yesod): Yachin uVoaz (Jachin and Boaz), the two pillars, and the golden vine that bears fruit, as is known. It is the yesod of yesod. The courtyards are the aspect of Malchut, as is known. In this way you can recognize every aspect, without end.
It is an amazing thing. The Ramchal goes through the whole structure of the Beit Hamikdash in one of his books and explains exactly how it is structured.
The secret of the holy airs of the land is that the airs are or makif and also include ten sefirot. They are divided into four: east, west, north, and south. There the names of the lights and the names of the appointed beings are explained. The appointed beings are the kelim of the lights, and each appointed mal'ach is in charge of tens of thousands of troops. Every thing is divided into many sparks, and they are all one thing. From this you can understand and apply the matter of the appointed beings and how many troops are under them everywhere. Corresponding to them are the shedim, which also have four elements corresponding to the four winds. Some shedim come from earth, some from water, some from fire, and some from ruach. They are all—
Now we will explain the Shamayim of Asiyah. There are ten reki'im, as explained in Parashat Vayakhel. They are the secret of the first nine sefirot of Asiyah. Added to them is Vilon (curtain), corresponding to the crown of the yesod, which brings in and takes out. Understand this: Vilon serves no purpose other than entry and exit. The rakia is the yesod of Asiyah. The sun, moon, stars, and constellations are fixed in it, as it says, “yehi me'orot birkia hashamayim” (Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven). The Vilon mentioned above covers this yesod.
The yesod is called boker (morning), and the crown of the yesod, which is the aspect of David, hovers in the secret of “boker e'eroch lecha va'atzapeh” (In the morning I will arrange my prayer before You and look out). As mentioned in Parashat Balak, Vilon covers the rakia. Therefore David had no life, because Vilon has nothing of its own; it only covers the rakia above it. Understand this. That is why it enters in the morning and goes out in the evening, in the secret of “vatiten teref leveitah vechok lena'aroteha” (She gives food to her household and a portion to her maidens). It is hidden by day and revealed at night. Vilon is hidden during the day, because I guess it opens and you see the rakia. At night, when the rakia closes because the sun goes down, Vilon appears and closes it. Vilon is like a curtain. It opens during the day so you do not see it, and closes at night, something like that. This is a great secret. “Vatiten teref leveitah vechok lena'aroteha” gives some kind of sustenance that we need to understand. At night you can see all the stars; you cannot see them during the day.
This rakia contains all nine galgalim (celestial spheres), the ones that surround the world, which the philosophers mention in their books. The seven lower ones are the seven planets, Shatzam Chanakal (acronym for the seven planets). There are seven planets, the remaining stars and twelve constellations in the eighth, and the daily sphere in the ninth, which surrounds them all in twenty-four hours. All nine galgalim are fixed in the rakia. “Vayiten otam birkia hashamayim” (He placed them in the firmament of heaven), as it says in Bereshit (Genesis). It does not say “in the firmaments.” They are all in one, in the permanent one.
This explains the Baraita deShemu'el Hakatan (Baraita of Shmuel the Small), which says the rakia is made like a tent, as it says, “lashemesh sam ohel bahem” (He placed a tent for the sun in them). It then says that the galgalim revolve within it. In this way, the words of the Sages fit with those of the astronomers. He is trying to calculate this because there is a major argument between our account and the way they describe the planets. If you learn Kabbalah (Kabbalah), he says, it works out; we are not arguing.
These galgalim are ten. How many galgalim are there? Ten. They are ten aspects of the Yesod of Asiyah. Above that are Shechakim, then Aravot, and so on, up to Aravot. All of this is in Asiyah. As we said yesterday, all that Moshe was talking about is still in Asiyah. It is simply a higher part of it, but it is still here. Even Aravot, the highest level in the sky, is still here.
These are the seven reki'im explained in the secret books in the secret of the garment. Know that all these reki'im are in the secret of the igulim (circles) of Asiyah. You go around and around because the world is round. So Shamayim surrounds us on all sides. There is yosher and Shamayim is igulim. Within them are ten reki'im, surrounding the world in yosher, each one within the next. Around each one there is also the sitra achara. They are the achorayim. These are not called shedim or mazikim (damaging spirits), but mekatregim (accusers), from the sitra demesa'avuta.
By their power, the generation of Enosh became confused and worshipped the sun, the moon, and the constellations, because there are spiritual entities in that area. We have already explained that all of Asiyah is mixed with good and evil in the garments alone. Therefore, there are mal'achim in the aspect of garments that are good and evil. That is why it is forbidden to use Kabbalah ma'asit (Kabbalah), as mentioned in the Tikunim. You could become confused by the sitra achara.
All of this is called the world of Asiyah, the world of the ofanim. It is Sandal, because it is the sandal of the Shechinah. The Shechinah is inside, and this is a sandal because the Shechinah is called a foot, in the secret of “veha'aretz hadom raglai” (The earth is My footstool). This is its sandal. Understand this.
The light of yosher is in the middle of all the reki'im, at the central point of each rakia—which we call the equator—extending from above to below. In the middle are the seven holy heichalin of Asiyah, and opposite them are the seven heichalin of impurity, all in the aspect of yosher. The reki'im are igulim, and the heichalin are in yosher.
Just as it is below on the land, so it is above. Everything corresponding to Eretz Yisrael is kedushah, and around the lands of the nations—likewise, opposite Gan Eden ha'aretz, there is something above in the rakia in the secret of the right arm. “Shehu machon leshivtecha pa'alta Hashem” (It is the place You made for Your dwelling, Hashem). Opposite Geihinam is the left arm, where the harsh kelipot are and where there are regions for ilon. Opposite Eretz Yisrael are the entrances of the reki'im, as mentioned in Parashat Vayechi. At the end of that passageway is an entrance called Magdon. But in the middle of that passageway, opposite Eretz Yisrael, there is a large entrance.
Around that entrance are seven gates, from which the seven nations—the seventy nations—receive nourishment. They receive it from the residue of that entrance, not from the entrance itself. At that entrance there is a holy parochet (curtain) that does not let the sitra achara through, as mentioned in Parashat Terumah. It is also a garment, but it is holy. Therefore, the kedushah is not revealed in this time, because it is covered at that spot. This entrance is also in the middle of the rakia, and its flow then reaches the lower land through the entrance. There is also another parochet to prevent the sitra achara from entering Eretz Yisrael.
All these things are in heaven. If you look there, you will see different kinds of interference and shields protecting Eretz Yisrael from the sitra achara. Everything is drawn to the light, and that is where all the sustenance of the world comes through. This entrance is aligned with the middle of all the reki'im, because that is Eretz Yisrael, right in the middle. It reaches the center of Eretz HaYesod, the holy point of malchut of all the worlds, all the way to the holy throne, the Kiseh HaKavod (Throne of Glory). From there all the tefilot (prayers) ascend. That is the pipeline. That is why they say you have to pray toward Eretz Yisrael, to reach that pipe, and then the prayers go straight up. The neshamot ascend at night through that pipe. It is a very busy thoroughfare.
Even though they said in Parashat Vayikra that prayers ascend from east to west, that is their ascent through the airs. After that, they all enter through that central entrance. Basically, all the tefilot end up in the middle pipe, which is toward Eretz Yisrael, and go straight up. So, wow, our tefilot really make a long journey to that—it's like—. It is like a gravitational pull: the tefilot are drawn to that central pipe coming straight down from above. If you had eyes, you would see all the tefilot flying from every shul, making their way toward—. It is something when you pray in Tzfat (Safed). I guess you are closer, so it is a local call and you do not have to pay long-distance charges. That is why tefilah be-tzibur (communal prayer) can make its way there. Stronger, stronger. Another proof that a beit knesset (synagogue) is like Eretz Yisrael—so maybe you have to get a pipe in the beit knesset, direct access, inside access.
These reki'im do not rotate; they are fixed. Therefore, the entrance is always aligned with Eretz Yisrael, unlike the bodies of the planets, which move and are in different positions. The galgalim fixed in the rakia revolve. When we say the rakia is fixed, we mean these reki'im. When we say a galgal revolves, we mean the galgal, not the rakia. Exactly: the galgal revolves, but not the rakia. The rakia stays where it is.
Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua in Bava Batra, daf chaf heh, do not make the galgal primary, but the star. They focus on the star, the constellation in which it is, and say that each constellation revolves while the rakia is fixed. That is the truth: the galgal and the star within it are both called by the star's name, because the star is the point of the galgal and its neshamah. The galgal is its guf, in the secret of the igulim that all the worlds have, as mentioned above. That is why our Sages do not agree on the movement of the galgal as distinct from the movement of the star, which is the neshamah, while the rakia is fixed in one place like a tent.
Gan Eden ha'aretz has already been explained. Where is Gan Eden on earth? It is the central point of the equator of the whole world, south of Eretz Yisrael; we said it was in Chevron, somewhere around there. It is opposite Binah of Malchut de-Asiyah, as mentioned above. It is north for the righteous, and is hidden from the righteous until the future. It is known that the sitra achara has no achizah in Binah. Therefore, there is no sitra achara in Gan Eden.
That is not the case with the Beit Hamikdash, which is yesod. It may be that they have achizah there, since, although it is the point of the yesod, it is the yesod of Malchut. Perhaps that is why there were those gangster kohanim (priests), and why there is achizah there. Gan Eden is Binah of Malchut, which cannot be touched. It is known that the external forces have no achizah in Binah, and also not in Chesed (kindness), the right arm.
But sometimes they have a hold in the yesod of the nukba: there is dam nidut (menstrual blood). That is the blood of impurity, the days of destruction. The sitra achara ruled over it. When the blood runs out, it immediately goes away. Likewise, when a dead person is left overnight in Yerushalayim, there is tum'ah in Yerushalayim. But not at its essence. In Gan Eden there is no achizah at all. There is some grasp, some tum'ah, in Yerushalayim, but in Gan Eden there is no achizah at all. It is too high.
Chevron is a holy place, by the way. Maybe that is why everybody is attracted to Chevron; we have an attraction to it and want to be there. The name means connection: chibur (connection), a connection between heaven and earth. Avraham (Abraham) was attracted to it. He was drawn to the lower Gan Eden. That is where he went into the cave, where Gan Eden is. We are not saying Chevron is Gan Eden. It is underneath the ground, whatever that means; there is an entrance somewhere there through which you can get into another—. The Cave of Adam? You have to knock on the door, and they open the gates. Isn't that where Mashiach (Messiah) is going to reveal himself? They say Tzfat. It could be in the north. No, in Chevron.
The ground of the garden, which is its land, is Binah of Malchut. It touches and does not touch our land. It is very refined, like the yesod relative to Binah. Its reki'im are its first nine sefirot, until it remains in this world of ours. It has its own rakia and its own river—or its yesod. Etz Chayim (Tree of Life) is Tiferet (beauty), and Etz HaDa'at (Tree of Knowledge) is the crown of the yesod. The river comes out from under the Tree of Knowledge, close to being an earthly Gan Eden. It has some measure of achizah for the external forces, and it is good and evil; they enter inside it. He just said there is no achizah, but now he is telling you that since it is, at the end of the day, a Gan Eden on Earth, there is some achizah for the external forces there.
Through the sin of Adam HaRishon (Adam the First), he caused the snake to enter as far as the Tree of Knowledge and touch it. It is funny: he said that because of the sin the snake got in, but I thought he sinned because the snake was there. No, I think he is saying the snake was there, which caused him to sin. Apparently, the snake was at the end of the garden, and now it was able to penetrate toward the Tree of Knowledge. Apparently it was far away, until it reached the tree and touched it. The tree began to cry out and said, “Rasha, al tiga bi” (Wicked one, do not touch me!).
It was an etrog (citron) tree, according to the Zohar, corresponding to the atarah (crown). This is hinted at in the secret of the lulav (palm branch), which is the Tree of Life. The lulav corresponds to the Tree of Life. Seventy palms, seventy branches, twelve springs, twelve tribes, and the other sefirot there are the other trees in the garden, as it says, “mikol etz hagan achol tochel” (You may surely eat from every tree of the garden). You can eat from them, the lower ones.
The Heichal Kan Tzipor is also there, where Mashiach ben Leah is, the upper one, which is Binah within Binah, and the spring of the Malchut within it, in the secret of “vehem lo be'ezer” (and they will be a help to him). Its reki'im are its first nine sefirot, and in the middle of those reki'im is a single point that includes Eden, which is Chochmah. Keter is included within it, and in this way it contains all the sefirot of Malchut de-Asiyah.
Since the rakia of the garden mentioned is the aspect of Da'at, and its central point is Chochmah, that is Eden. It is in the secret of the right arm and has no kelipah. Therefore, this rakia is more elevated than the rakia of this world. As mentioned in Parashat Vayakhel, it was made from supernal fire and water. This rakia is within the rakia of this world of Asiyah. It is a rakia that hovers over the garden, and no further; it is beneath the rakia of Asiyah, attached to it within it. This is what it says there: “avid minayhu metichu dirki'a chada, umitchaber go reki'a achara.” It does not say “in another rakia,” but “within the rakia”; that is, it is actually inside it, connected to it.
This is what it says: when the Holy One, blessed be He, made the rakia, He brought fire and water until it reached the place that holds Eden and dried. The explanation is that He took fire and water from the aspect of the Kisei of Beriah. From there alone the progression unfolded, and from them the heavens of this world were made, ten curtains. This is the secret of their spreading out: one inside the other. It reached that place, and He knew no more.
It must be that here He brought supernal fire and water, flowing from Chesed and Gevurah of Atzilut, and from them made a rakia over the garden. That is the other rakia mentioned within it. Through the rotation of the rakia over this land, which is the world of the rakia, the rakia of the garden also rotates, twice each day. The extent of this rakia is aligned with the extent of the garden, and no further. It moves only in relation to the garden, and its movement depends on the movement of our rakia.
In this rakia there are four colors: white in the south, red in the north, green in the east, and black in the west. This makes sense: the south is Chesed, so it is white, and the north is judgment, so it is red. In these four colors, in the four directions of the rakia, there are four entrances. In each are lights corresponding to those colors, and all four lights extend to the central entrance. In the middle of each light there is a hidden letter. They are in the aspect of the four holy chayot of that rakia.
Chochmah, Binah, Tiferet, and Malchut within Da'at: the letter bet is in the east, and sometimes the letter alef appears; the letter mem is in the south, gimel in the north, and nun in the west. They are the roots of the four chayot that grasp Da'at. This rakia is called raza de'oraita (the secret of the Torah). Since the east includes north and south, when Chesed prevails in it, it is called Refa'el. When it draws nourishment from judgment, it is called Bo'el. In the south is Micha'el, in the north Gavri'el, and in the west Nuri'el. Interesting. This is all in Pekudei of the Zohar. “Something like piece of cake.” Oh, really? Yeah.
Black in the west. Yes, because he said that was the back, if you are facing the world. So the light is in the east, in the back? When we said it is facing east, the back was west. Chabad was facing west. Yes, that is why. But that was the back of the person. It is fascinating. Nuri'el. What an interesting name.
In this rakia, since it is the secret of Da'at, the twenty-two letters of the Torah are—rooted there. Sorry: all twenty-two letters of the Torah are rooted there. This is like the lower yesod and the upper dew that flows from the three mochin (intellective aspects) of Atik to the head of Ze'eir Anpin. From there these twenty-two letters flow to this Da'at. The three mochin are the yesod, yud-keh-vav, filled with alefin; that is tal (dew). The thread of Ze'eir Anpin is in the aspect of alefin, and their numerical value is tal, as we say in Patach Eliyahu (Elijah Opened).
From there, food descends to the neshamot in Gan Eden ha'aretz. The Torah is the food, and the mitzvot are the garments. “Im ein kemach ein Torah, im ein Torah ein kemach” (Without flour there is no Torah; without Torah there is no flour). The Torah is the food of the worlds. Therefore, that is the food: the twenty-two letters bring the shefa down into Gan Eden ha'aretz.
From this rakia, which is the secret of Da'at, a single pillar extends. It is the secret of the spinal cord, descending from Da'at, from the aspect of the yesod within it, which is the central entrance, and extending down to the ground of the garden. It is the Malchut, and from there neshamot continually ascend and descend. It has three colors of the rainbow, because the yesod is called a rainbow. These are the three upper colors of Chagat. Depending on the root of the neshamah, it ascends in one of those colors. I guess it depends on the person's kavanah; it will come down in one of the colors of the rainbow of the yesod. What does it depend on? The root of the neshamah determines which of those colors it ascends in.
At the zivug (union), which is on Rosh Chodesh (new month) and Shabbat, three lights from Chagat within Da'at are repaired. They become revealed and shine in the three colors of the rainbow, which is the pillar. Then neshamot ascend through it, in the secret of mayin nukvin (feminine waters), to this rakia of the Da'at of the nukba. From there they receive a drop of mayin dechurin (masculine waters), shine, and delight there.
This is the true delight mentioned constantly in the Zohar, where it says that Hashem delights with the righteous and the neshamot of the righteous. This is what is written in Parashat Vayakhel: “kama dehai nehora etparish venafik, hachi nami migo pitcha.” That is, just as the river, which is the aspect of the lower yesod, includes all four aspects and therefore divides into four rivers that emerge from it, so too this central entrance, which is the yesod of the upper Da'at, the rakia, is one light located in the middle, from which it divides into four lights in the other four entrances, as mentioned above.
This pillar is the center and descends to the Tree of Life, which is also in the middle of the garden. It is the aspect of Tiferet. Under the Tree of Life comes out the river, which is the yesod. Thus the neshamot enter through this river and from there enter the Tree of Life. From there they ascend through the pillar to the central entrance, up to Eden, which is Chochmah of the nukba of Asiyah. They engage there in mayin nukvin, in the secret of that thought. Afterward, the supernal tzadik of Yetzirah draws mayin dechurin into it, and this is the delight of the neshamot. It seems that the neshamot go through that area at night and reach the higher levels. That is what it means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu delights with them. It could be that the neshamot make their way there at night.
This is what it says: “kedinn ihi etlabashat kena'ah minehorin dechad tzaddik ila'ah.” The yesod of Yetzirah is the supernal light of Atzilut. As is known, the six sefirot dwell in Yetzirah. That light of the supernal tzadik clothes itself in a covering and comes to unite with her. End of passage.
Rabbeinu wrote in Etz Chayim (Tree of Life), as follows: “We will speak briefly about the worlds, since we have already discussed them at length above. Know that the four worlds of ABY'A are nine. The nine reki'im are the first nine aspects of Asiyah. But Vilon and the rest of this land are the aspect of Malchut of Asiyah.
“The Creator, blessed be His name, wanted all the entirety of ABY'A to be in this lower land. This is through His people Israel, whom He chose, so that they would connect all four worlds together. The reason is so that they would have the power to clarify all the clarifications that come from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, from the four aspects of ABY'A.
“The body of this world is earth. The earth is domem (inanimate). It is the outer vessel that surrounds all the inner lights, like the upper heichalot, as we will discuss with God's help. From within them is the tzome'ach (growing), which is the vessel of ruach. The animal is the vessel of neshamah, and the human speaker is chayah.” This is the secret of “vayehi ha'adam lenefesh chayah” (The human became a living being). We are ascending this ladder: nefesh, ru'ach, neshamah, chayah (soul, spirit, soul, living essence).
“These are the four elements. You should know that water corresponds to chayah, which is neshamah of the neshamah. As is known, the sign of the four chayot is water.” So it is water, fire, ruach, and earth. The editor says: “This is the order above, not like the order below, which is fire, ruach, water, and earth.” Normally we put them in that order. In Sha'ar Ma'amarei Chazal (Gate of the Sayings of the Sages), he puts them that way. But here he puts water first, I guess from the top down to earth, which is at the bottom.
“These waters are composite, not simple. But the element of simple water is in the pool of the upper waters above the rakia. Know that these four elements are the lower nefesh, Malchut de-Malchut de-Asiyah. But the nefesh of the ten rotations of the rakia, from this Vilon upward, is called the nefesh of the ofanim. It is the true nefesh.”
Let us return to the subject. Living creatures come from the element of fire, and therefore they eat, in the secret of “esh ochelet” (consuming fire). The human speakers come from water, in the secret of “ki lo himtir ve'adam ayin” (He had not caused rain, and there was no man)—so there was no water. When He wanted to create Adam, He caused rain and watered the ground. Then “vayyitzer” (He formed him), and he was from the upper waters. These are the four kinds of nefesh mentioned by the natural philosophers: the growing nefesh, the sensing one, and the speaking one. There is the nefesh that grows, the plants, the nefesh that feels, the animals, and the speaking one, human beings. The growing one is the lowest level, the rock; then the plants, the animals, and the human being.
It has been explained that the essence of the land, which is Malchut de-Malchut de-Asiyah, is Malchut itself, which is in Vilon. The earth itself is the body, the fundamental body of them all. The growing, living, and speaking things correspond to the inner body of the land, which contains the secret of the tzelem (form) mentioned. The shedim and mazikim in the lands are also divided into fire, ruach, water, and earth. They are the outer kelipot.
The more accurate and accepted explanation is this: the externality is the world itself—Shamayim, reki'im, and lands, the entire universe. That is without dividing it up: the whole thing is externality, including houses, settlements, and trees. So too the animals, living creatures, and birds. The nefesh of each and every one is its inner aspect.
Let us return to our subject. This world has been explained as the outer body, and the living creature is the inner body. The lights, which are the essence, include ten sefirot and five partzufim. Rachel is Yerushalayim, the central point in all the worlds, and it is her yesod. This is the secret of “shalosh pe'amim bashanah yera'eh kol zechurcha” (all your males shall appear three times a year), and not the women, to bring about a supernal zivug. The other aspects of her spread throughout the whole world, because “miTziyon” (from Zion). The point of Tziyon is in Yerushalayim, as mentioned in the Zohar.
The kelipot attached to it also spread throughout all the worlds. There are all the churches, mosques, tum'ah, and everything else. Those kelipot spread from Yerushalayim throughout the rest of the world. That is why the whole world fights over Yerushalayim. What does a guy from Zambia care about Yerushalayim? You have some guy at the UN shouting about Israel. What do you care? They do not know it, but their mazal (constellation) knows that all the life-force comes from there. That is why all the goyim are always fighting.
The yesod of the kelipah is on Har Se'ir (Mount Seir), in the wilderness. “Ve'alu moshi'im behar Se'ir” (saviors will ascend Mount Seir)—that is for Esav. It is known that Ima ila'ah (the supernal Mother) has her nehi clothed within the six extremities of Ze'eir Anpin. Corresponding to her is Gan Eden, a hidden point, the navel of Ze'eir Anpin, where the yesod of Ima is clothed, as is known. Therefore, Gan Eden is the navel of the world.
All the settled area is Rachel, one-sixtieth of the garden. The Gemara says in Ta'anit that this world is one-sixtieth of the garden, because the garden is sixty. Binah is a closed mem sofit (final mem) over the six sides of Tiferet. What is the closed mem? Is Binah the four sides of the mem, surrounding the six sides of Tiferet? So it surrounds it. But how do you get sixty? He says the garden is sixty. How do we know? Continue reading: Binah is a closed mem over the six sides of Tiferet. It surrounds it. Yes, it holds the six inside. Six times ten, you mean? That is how you get it? Everything is made of ten, you say. So Binah contains the lower six of Tiferet.
Opposite it, opposite the kelipah of Ima, is the secret of Geihinam, which is also closed and not revealed. Eden is the Abba (Father) of this world. Eden is above, Chochmah, and it is hidden within the garden. The pillar in the middle of the garden is the point of the yesod of Ima. Therefore, it has three colors, the three colors of the rainbow of the yesod. The inner neshamot ascend through it in the secret of—whatever goes up at night.
The rakia of the garden is Ze'eir Anpin, and the nest of the bird is the root of the root of the garden. The nest is Binah; the bird is Abba. Therefore, it is hidden and concealed. The rakia over this world is Ze'eir Anpin and Rachel. End of his words. Okay, something.