We are beginning with Gavriel (Gabriel): vayelech ish (a man went), mibeit Levi (from the house of Levi), da Gavriel. He is called ish (man), kema de'at amar, as it says, veha'ish Gavriel asher ra'iti bachazon (the man Gabriel whom I saw in the vision). Mibeit Levi: he had the strength, the koach, from reshuta debeit Levi, which is Knesset Yisrael (the Assembly of Israel), which comes from the side of the left. Vayikach et bat Levi (he took the daughter of Levi), which is the nishmata (soul). So Gabriel takes the neshamah, which is the daughter of Malchut (Kingship).
We learned: Detaninan, besha'ata detilid gufa detzadik behai alma—when a tzadik is born in this world, Kudsha Berich Hu karei leih le-Gavriel: God calls Gabriel. Venatil hahi nishmata dehi begineta: he takes the special soul that is in Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), venachit lah lehahu gufa detzadika de'itilid behai alma. He places the soul in the body of the tzadik. Ve'ihu etpakad alah venatir lah: he protects the neshamah of the tzadik.
Ve'i teima hahu mal'acha de'itmana al ruchahon detzidkaya, Laylah shemeh—you might say that the angel appointed over the spirits of the righteous is called Laylah, as we saw in Iyov (Job): ve-laylah amar hora gaver (and night said, a man is conceived). Ve'at amart de'ihu Gavriel—and now you say it is Gabriel? Hachi hu vadai. Since he comes from the left side, anyone who comes from the side of gevurah (strength) is from Gabriel. Gabriel is gevurah, and anyone who comes from the left side is called that.
Vayelech ish, da Amram. According to the first pshat (plain meaning) in the Zohar (Radiance), Gabriel came and placed the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) into Moshe. Vayelech ish, da Amram; vayikach et bat Levi, da Yocheved. A bat kol came down and told Amram to marry Yocheved, because the time of the geulah (redemption) of Israel is coming through their son who is going to be born. The Holy One, blessed be He, wants to help the process.
Yocheved was 130 years old. It was a miracle that she had a child. Detaninan, Shechinta sharya al arsayehu: the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rested by the bed of Amram and Yocheved. Ure'uta deilhon kad etdabku kachda hava bah biShechinta: their kavanah was to make a yichud (unification). Therefore, the Shechinah did not leave their son, Moshe Rabbeinu, when he was young. As it says, vehitkadishtem viheyitem kedoshim (Sanctify yourselves and be holy). They had a kedushah (holiness) of zivug (union), and so the kedushah of the zivug went into the child.
Bar nash demekadesh garmeh mileletah, Kudsha Berich Hu mekadesh leih mile'eila. If you sanctify yourself from below, the Creator of the World sanctifies you from above. Kema dire'uta deilhon hava be'itdavkuta deShechinta, hachi etdabkat Shechinta behahu ovada mamash de'avdu. The Shechinah was in their act.
Rabbi Yitzchak said, zakai ninhu tzadikaya dire'uta deilhon be'itdavkuta de-Kudsha Berich Hu tadir. The righteous are always attached to the Shechinah. Uchema de'inun medabkin beh tadir, hachi nami ihu etdabak behu vela shavik lehu: the Shechinah also attaches to them and never leaves them. Woe to the wicked, whose intention and attachment are distant from Him. Not only are they distant from Hashem, but they attach themselves to the sitra achara (other side).
Ta chazi, Amram de'etdabak be-Kudsha Berich Hu nafak mineih Moshe. God never left Moshe. Shechinta etdabkat bahadeh tadir. Fortunate is his portion. This is about the parents. “Vatahar ha'isha vateled ben vatere oto ki tov hu.” What does “ki tov hu” mean? Rabbi Chiyya said, de'itilid mahul: he was born circumcised. Begin deraza devrit tov ikrei: the brit (covenant) is called tov. As it says, imru tzadik ki tov (Say of the righteous one: it is good).
Rabbi Yosei said, nehiru deShechinta denahir bah: they saw the light of the Shechinah. When he was born, the whole room filled with light. It says here, “vatere oto ki tov hu,” and elsewhere, vayar Elohim et ha'or ki tov (God saw that the light was good). Therefore, it says, “ki tov hu.”
“Vatitzpenehu sheloshah yerachim.” What is meant by three months? Rabbi Yehudah said, remez hu deka ramiz: it is a hint that Moshe Rabbeinu was not recognized as having this nevuah (prophecy) until the third month, which is the month of Nisan? It says, “bachodesh hashelishi,” the month when we received the Torah, because then the Torah was given through him. The Shechinah was revealed and rested upon him, visible to everyone.
If you do the math, Moshe Rabbeinu was born on Zayin Adar (the seventh of Adar), and three months later would be Sivan. Zayin Adar, Nisan, Iyyar, Sivan. So he was put in the water on the sixth of Sivan, which is Yom Matan Torah (the Day of the Giving of the Torah), and he was taken out of the water and saved that day.
Dechtiv o zeh shlishi de'atgalya Torah al yado: Moshe Rabbeinu would give the Torah, and the Shechinah would be revealed and rest upon him, visible to everyone. It says, “Moshe alah el HaElokim,” and, “alah el Hashem.” “Velo yachlah od hatzpino”: the Shechinah could not hide Moshe’s voice. At that time, his speech with the Holy One, blessed be He, was not yet known. It says, “Moshe yedaber veHaElokim ya'anenu vekol.”
“Vatikach lo tevat gome.” She took a basket. It is a hint to the Ark, which held the Tablets. Moshe Rabbeinu is like the Torah, and the basket is like the Ark that held the Tablets. Tevat gome aron beriti. “Vatachmerah vachamar uvazafet”; the Ark was plated with gold inside and out. Rabbi Yehudah said, da hi Oraita dechameira Kudsha Berich Hu bemitzvot aseh uvemitzvot lo ta'aseh. The Torah has positive and negative commandments. Chamar is remach, 248, the positive commandments; the zefet, the black, represents the attribute of judgment, the negative commandments. The Ark has chamar vazefet: the 248 limbs correspond to the 248 commandments, and the zefet corresponds to the negative commandments.
“Vatasem bah et hayeled”—this refers to Israel, as it says, “ki na'ar Yisrael ve'ohevehu.” “Vatasem basuf”: the commandments of the Torah are difficult, obviously, or were not difficult to observe until the end of the forty years, when Israel entered the Land of Israel. The commandments were difficult because there were many commandments dependent on the land. In the wilderness, it was easy to keep the Torah; when they came to the Land of Israel, everyone had all these difficult commandments.
“Al sefat haye'or,” meaning the word of those who teach Torah and law to Israel, refers to the Oral Torah.
Another interpretation: “Vayelech ish” refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it says, “Hashem ish milchamah.” “Mibeit Levi” refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, the place of supernal wisdom, where the place of understanding and the worlds join together. Souls emerge from the house of Levi, where Livyatan rests for the joy of the world, as it says, “Livyatan zeh yatzarta lesachek bo.” “Vayikach et bat Levi” refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, the place where the light of the moon shines.
“Vatahar ha'ishah vayeled ben.” “The woman,” indeed, means the first rishonah, Chavah. Chavah was pregnant within Yocheved in order to give Moshe, who is the gilgul (transmigration) of Hevel. Therefore, “vatahar ha'ishah” refers to Chavah. Chavah became pregnant within Yocheved because Moshe is Hevel; therefore, the mother has to be Chavah. As it says, “lezot yikareh ishah.” She is called “ishah,” Chavah.
At first it said “bat Levi,” and now she is called “ishah.” What does that mean? She had a pregnancy. “Vehashta ishah.” Here we learn that a woman before the zivug is called “bat peloni,” the daughter of so-and-so. After the zivug, she is called “ishah.” Here, “daughter” and “woman” are the same level. It is saying that the first woman, Chavah, became pregnant within Yocheved, the daughter of Levi.
“Vatitzpenehu sheloshah yerachim”: these are the three months when harsh judgment rests in the world. What are they? Tammuz, Av, and Tevet, the month we are in now. This hints that the three months in “vatitzpenehu” are hidden months of the Shechinah, of divine providence. It does not mean that he was hidden during those three months; those months are not even consecutive. They are three months considered difficult.
What does this teach us? Before Moshe descended to the world, he was above, in Gan Eden. The Shechinah was with him from the day he was born. The Shechinah protected his soul in Gan Eden, so that he was not born in those three months. That is the pshat: he was not born in those three months. Hashem saved him from the months of “vatitzpenehu,” the months when the Shechinah is not revealed.
From here, Rabbi Shimon said, ruchahon detzadikaya shechichin inun le'eila ad la yechtun le'alma: the spirits of the righteous are already protected above before they come down to the world. Moshe Rabbeinu was not born in Av, Tammuz, or Tevet. He was born in Adar, which is not one of the three difficult months.
“Velo yachlah od hatzpino”: she could no longer hide him. What does “vatikach lo tevat gome” mean? She placed him in a special basket to protect him from the fish swimming in the water. It is really protecting him from different angels, a protection from jealous accusers. As it says, “Sham remes ve'en mispar.” The Shechinah covered Moshe to protect him from them, with a covering from the side of the yovala dechila. She placed him among two colors, white and black, and Moshe was placed among them and recognized through them. This was because he was destined to ascend among them another time, to receive the Torah. She placed him in a system where he was connected to the angels.
“Vatered bat Par'oh lirchotz al haye'or” refers to one who comes from the left side of harsh judgment. As it says, “lirchotz al haye'or”—the river in particular, not the sea. You might ask: it says, “bematcha asher hikita bo et haye'or,” but Moshe did not strike the river; he struck the sea, which is called the river. But the river was certainly struck by Aharon through Moshe. The seventh verse says, “Vayimale shiv'at yamim acharei hakot Hashem et haye'or,” and Aharon struck it. Since this came from the side of the Holy One, blessed be He, the verse says that Hashem struck it; afterward, it is called by Moshe’s name.
“Vena'aroteha holchot al yad haye'or” refers to the other groups that come from this side. “Vatiftach vatir'ehu et hayeled.” Why does it say “vatir'ehu” instead of “vatere”? Rabbi Shimon said, “There is no word in the Torah that does not contain chidushim and supernal secrets.” We have learned that the name, the mark of the King and Queen, is found in it, and that it is marked with Vav-He. That is the Vav-He in “vatir'ehu.” Immediately, “umiyad vatachmol alav.” Up to this point, from above to below.
She saw that the Vav was connected to the Shechinah. “Vatetatzav achoto merachok.” Whose sister? The sister of the one who calls Knesset Yisrael “my sister,” as it says, “pitchi li achoti ra'yati.” “From afar,” as it says, “merachok Hashem nir'ah li.” What does this imply? Those who exist before descending to the world are known above to everyone, and all the more so Moshe. It also implies that the souls of the righteous come from a supernal place.
As we explained in the secret of what is above, the form implies that there is a father and mother in the soul, just as there are a father and mother in the body on earth. Their lineage depends on what is above and what is below, from two levels. The rabbis established this from the verse, “totze ha'aretz nefesh chayah”: “the earth” is Knesset Yisrael, and “a living soul” is the soul of supernal Adam Kadmon. Rabbi Abba came and kissed him. He said, “You have spoken well. It is certainly so. Fortunate is the portion of Moshe the prophet, above all the other prophets of the world.”
Another interpretation of “vatetatzav achoto”: this is wisdom, as it says, “emor lachochmah achoti at.” Rabbi Yitzchak said that the decree of judgment never left the people. Whenever the other inclination brought judgment to accuse them, therefore it says, “vatetatzav achoto merachok.” This means the sister is the Shechinah. The Shechinah watched over the Children of Israel from afar because they were in exile, as it says, “merachok Hashem nir'ah li.”
“Vatered bat Par'oh lirchotz al haye'or”: when Israel stopped learning Torah, Pharaoh’s daughter came down. That is Malchut, the attribute of judgment. “Lirchotz al haye'or”—the attribute of judgment came down to the world to bathe in the blood of Israel because of the disgrace of the Torah. “Al haye'or” is an expression of Torah, because “hi or”—it is light—is the Torah. She came to the river because the Torah was being neglected, and therefore came to take revenge.
“Vena'aroteha holchot al yad haye'or” refers to the other nations that follow and pursue them. The other nations are chasing the Children of Israel. The attribute of judgment was active because of the river, because of the Torah. They were lax. Everything in the world depends on repentance and prayer. All the more so, if a person cries during prayer, that is very good. Every gate is closed, but the gates of tears are always open. The Shechinah stands like a mother over her child.
That is what “vatiftach” means. Not only did Batyah open the basket, but the Shechinah began to speak in defense of all Israel. The Shechinah opened its mouth to protect the Children of Israel. The Children of Israel pleaded before the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in repentance, and cried. They repented, and then they were in good standing again.
“Na'ar” refers to Israel: “Vehineh na'ar,” Israel. They cry, “na'ar bocheh,” and the decrees go away; then mercy comes. The story of Moshe is a hint to the troubles the Jewish people go through, their crying and repentance, and then the results. “Vatomer”: they are soft-hearted, the Jewish people. The nations have a hard heart. The Jewish people have a root in the forefathers and foremothers that enables them to return and repent. That is Rachel our mother. “Vatikra et em hayeled” is Rachel. The baby is crying, and the mother of the child is crying; everyone is crying.
Rabbi Yehudah gives another interpretation. What does it say? “Bivchi yavo'u”: they will come with weeping. The Messiah will come; they will come in tears. The weeping of Rachel our mother will bring us the redemption. The redemption of Israel will be entirely through crying, because we have to repair the tears that Esav cried. All the exile is because of those tears Esav cried. It looked as though Yaakov stole the blessings and caused Esav to cry. To repair that, you need to go into exile and cry, to nullify Esav’s great crocodile tears.
“Vayifen koh vachoh.” Koh is twenty-five. He saw the twenty-five letters of the Shema that we say twice: “koh vachoh.” We say the Shema in the morning and the Shema in the evening. “Vayifen koh vachoh” means the Shema of Israel twice. But he did not see that this person would convert. He looked around, perhaps someone in this person would say the Shema—not the Shema in the morning, not the Shema in the afternoon. He is expounding on koh.
Rashi says, “Vayar ki ein ish”: there was nobody who would convert from him. He looked to see whether he would do good deeds, or whether a child would come from him. No one was going to come from him. Yet how many wicked people produce good people? We know that. It comes out “tahor mitamei,” pure from impure, light from darkness, a wise person from a fool. That is a real thing. “Vayar”—the seeing here was seeing and killing him. That was the holy spirit that saw it.
The Arizal said that “vayehi bayamim hahem vayar ish Mitzri makeh ish Ivri” means that this Egyptian who struck the Hebrew man was a gilgul from the evil side of Kayin. Therefore, he is Hevel, and he killed Kayin, because “shofech adam damo yishafech”: he ended up killing him in return. That is the connection between Kayin and Hevel.
The Holy One, blessed be He, went around and led him to that well. He went to get married. You see, Hashem makes zivugim. How does He make the zivugim? He causes him to kill the man, so he has to run to Yitro and ends up getting married. As Yaakov went to that well, it says, “vayeshev al habe'er.” Of Yaakov it says, “vayar vehineh be'er”; of Moshe it says, “vayeshev be'eretz Midyan,” and “vayeshev al habe'er.” It is the same place.
Moshe and Yaakov were on the same level, but Moshe was higher in this respect. They are both Tiferet. Moshe was higher, Yaakov is the external aspect of Tiferet, and Moshe is the inner aspect of the secret of knowledge.
Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Yitzchak were traveling on the road. Rabbi Yosei asked, “That well that Yaakov saw and Moshe saw—do you know whether it is the same well that Avraham and Yitzchak dug?” He replied, “No. This is the well that was created when the world was created, during the six days of Creation.” Its mouth was created on Friday at twilight. This is the well that Yaakov and Moshe saw. It is the mouth of the abyss.
Inun terin ila'in demitparshin lekeshot, inun detafsin arza dimeheimanuta, inun de'itdabaku bekishura dimeheimna, inun deyad'in orchoi demalka ila'ah kibetzu shemahahu. One is righteous. Two are joined below, and they are Nun. One of them is the orchard of holy apples. At this well the source of the waters will be called by the Holy One, blessed be He. One is the breaking that encompasses everything; it takes everything. That holy well is like your portion, the orchard of apples. The flocks drank from this well. “Moshe, have you heard that the flocks of the children of Yaakov drank from this well? They are those who love the body, whose portion it is, and who sustain all those with wings. For three years and a quarter, they drank from this well.” It says of it, “Hashem Elokai atah aromimcha, odeh shimcha.”
“Ki asita fele etzot merachok emunah omen.” The Master of all the earth said this, as it says, “Hineh aron haberit Adon kol ha'aretz.” Because of it, the holy soul that flows continually is established and filled. It is called Hashem Tzeva'ot. “Baruch Hashem le'olam amen ve'amen.”
We learned, “sheva banot vatavonah vatidlenah.” Rabbi Yehudah said, “Is this not the well of Yaakov? It says that the well was gathered around by all the flocks and they rolled the stone away. Here, were Yitro’s daughters unable to draw water? Rather, ‘vatavonah vatidlenah’ means they came and drew in another way.”
Rabbi Chiyya said that Yaakov moved the stone from the well, because all the flocks were to gather there and put the stone in place. Here it says, “vayigash et ha'even.” The stone had not been removed from it, and in such a case they would lift it. When Yaakov came, he lifted it as if it were close to him. Moshe did the same, lifting it as if it were close to him. The stone remained there, at the mouth of the well. Therefore, “vatavonah vatidlenah.”
Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Abba were traveling from Tiberias to Tzippori. As they traveled, they met a Jewish man who joined them. Rabbi Elazar said, “Let each of us say words of Torah.” Everyone, open with words of Torah. He began and said. One thing you see is when they travel on the road... Torah. That's it, the conversation was all in learning. “Vayomer elai hinavei el haruach, hinavei ven adam ve'amarta el haruach.” From this verse I know that the spirit departed from him. How did Ezekiel prophesy about the spirit that would come to the dry bones? This is the famous prophecy of the dry bones: the spirit will come to the bones, and there will be resurrection of the dead.
But it says, “Ein adam shalit baruach lichlo et haruach.” No person rules over his spirit or can control it in any way or place, or command the spirit within him, or tell the angel not to take it. How, then, could he bring about the resurrection of the dead? A person cannot rule over the spirit, but the Holy One, blessed be He, rules over everything. Hashem was going to perform the miracle.
And further: the spirit that was in a body in this world, and that is now being sought, was a spirit from the four winds: “Bo'i haruach.” It came from the place where the four sides of the world were joined. The Jew suddenly jumped. Rabbi Elazar asked him, “What did you see?” He said, “I saw something difficult in what you said.” Rabbi Elazar asked, “What is it?” He replied, “The spirit of a human being goes up to Gan Eden dressed in a garment fashioned like the body of this world, after he has merited it through his deeds.”
It is possible for a person’s spirit to go up to Gan Eden and dress like a body. But we learn from the text: “poh amar Hashem: Me'arba ruchot bo'i haruach.” “From the four winds”? It does not sound as if this spirit came from Gan Eden; it sounds as if it came from the earth. He replied that the spirit descended to this world and was formed in this world, where the living spirit stands on four supports. When it is removed from the place where it descended to this world, the body is clothed in the four supports of the world, and the spirit flies there, carried by the four lines of the throne that is prepared upon them.
The man said, “Tehei gezita dekayyema uma'ichu? Mila chamina mehai sitra. I was walking in the wilderness one day, and I saw a tree, very beautiful, and wanted to see it. There was a cave beneath it. I went close and saw underneath it that a great fragrance, all the fragrances in the world, was coming out. I strengthened myself and entered that place. I came to a certain place in the cave. There were many trees there and fragrances of spices beyond counting. The fragrances were overpowering. There I saw a man with a staff in his hand, and he seemed to be in charge of Gan Eden. He was standing at an entrance.”
When he saw me, he was astonished and came over. He said, “What are you doing here? How did you get here?” I was very afraid. I told him, “My master, I am one of the company. I saw this and that in the wilderness, entered this place, and came here.” He said, “Since you are one of the company, take this sefer and give it to the company. Give them a manuscript; these guys know all the secrets, so let them read the book.” He hit me with his staff, and I fell asleep.
While I slept, I saw angels and souls passing before me in that place. The man struck his staff and said, “Go by this path of trees.” These were groups of souls of the righteous, coming out to greet a righteous person who was coming toward them. The appointed one showed them the way according to the level of the righteous person. As they traveled on that road, they disappeared. I did not know where. I heard many voices of holy groups but did not know what they were. I woke up and saw nothing. I was afraid to be there.
Then I saw the man again. He asked, “Did you see anything?” I said, “I saw this and that in my sleep: the camps and the souls.” He said, “They were going on that path; they stand in Gan Eden, on the earth there.” That was the path by which I saw them enter Gan Eden. “What did you hear from them?” The sound was the song of the spirits of the righteous in Gan Eden, dressed in garments fashioned like bodies of this world. That is why they sounded like ordinary people.
Just as the body in this world is made from the mixture of the four elements, so the spirits of the righteous in Gan Eden are made from the mixture of the four spirits that are there. From the spirit that spreads out there, a form is made like the body of this world. Then the four spirits join together in Gan Eden; one spirit rises in the proper way and is clothed in them. The four spirits are included within that spirit and clothed in it, like the body made from the mixture of the four elements of the world. Therefore, the four spirits are within that spirit, and the four spirits of Gan Eden are clothed in them. “Now, that mixture… Go on your way and give it to the company.”
He told him, “Take the book and give it to the company studying Kabbalah.” Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Abba stood up and kissed him on the head. Rabbi Elazar said, “Blessed is the Merciful One, who sent you here. That is certainly the clear meaning. The Holy One, blessed be He, arranged these verses for you here. Hashem gave me this pasuk so I can hear your interpretation.” They gave him the written document. When Rabbi Elazar received it and opened it, a fire came out and surrounded them. He saw what he saw, and the book flew from his hands. It was a very spiritual book that belonged in Gan Eden.
Rabbi Elazar wept and said, “Who can read the books that are in the genizah of the holy King? Who knows how many secrets there are?” “Hashem, mi yagur be'aholecha? Mi yishkon behar kodshecha?” The man wept. At the time the cloud was stirred, the teaching that Rabbi Elazar had opened was not told to the company. He had seen some chiddushim in the book, but he never told the company what he saw.
As they traveled, they came to a well of water, stood by it, and drank. Rabbi Elazar said, “I saw this in the book: Yaakov fled from his brother. Where did he go? To that well. When he appeared there, the waters recognized him and rose toward him, and they recognized one another. There he met his destined partner. Moshe fled from Pharaoh, and when the waters of that well saw him, they rose toward him. There he also met his destined partner.”
But of Yaakov it says, “Vayehi ka'asher ra'ah Ya'akov et Rachel,” and “vayagel et ha'even.” What does it say of Moshe? “Vayavo'u haro'im vayegareshum, vayakom Moshe vayoshian.” Moshe knew, when he saw the waters rise toward him, that his destined partner was there. The holy spirit never left him. He knew everything, Moshe. He had the holy spirit; he knew everything that was going on. He knew immediately that Tzipporah was going to be his destined partner.
Moshe said, “When Yaakov came here and the waters rose toward him, a man appeared who brought him into his house and gave him everything he needed.” He knew he would be invited too. Sure enough, the man who brought him into his house was Yitro, a priest of idolatry. When Yitro saw that idolatry had no substance, he abandoned himself and his worship. The people excommunicated him and took away his livelihood. He could not get workers, so his daughters had to shepherd the flocks. In the beginning, they were shepherds and servants. People regularly drove the female shepherds and their flocks away.
Moshe knew through the holy spirit that this happened because Yitro had abandoned idolatry. Immediately, “Vayakom Moshe vayoshian.” Moshe knew everything. He looked at the situation and immediately understood why they had been driven away. He defended Hashem; it was a religious war. He says, “Hold it. You went also over here, we don't even know your name.” Okay, that's the name, Yitzchak. They kissed him. They said, “We don't even heard about you over there.” So I don't know, whatever. Yitzchak ben Yaakov, we never heard of you. After that, they walked with him three mil, and then he went on his way.
A parable: A man was in the wilderness and had not eaten meat for several days. A bear came and took one of the sheep. The sheep ran away, and the bear chased it until they reached the man in the wilderness. Then he got his meat, slaughtered the animal, and ate, from Heaven. What is the lesson? It was the Egyptian who saved them. If not for the Egyptian, Moshe would not have been there. What is the bear? Tell us the parable. “Verak shehayah echad.”
Another interpretation: We are black from exile, but black is also beautiful. We are beautiful through keeping the commandments and learning. A person merits inheriting the Jerusalem above. Although they are darkened in exile, through their good deeds they are like the curtains of Shlomo’s Temple.
Rabbi Chiyya Rabbah was going to study Mishnayot. He had finished the Mishnah and wanted to learn Torah from them. He went to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai to learn Torah and saw a partition of fire separating Rabbi Shimon and the students from everyone else. Rabbi Shimon was learning with the students, and there was a wall of fire between them. He was astonished and said, “I will not go into the fire; I will sit outside and listen.”
“Berach dodi.” All the longing of Israel should be only that Hashem not leave them, as we learned today. All the desires a person should have should be for the Shechinah, for closeness. Rabbi Shimon said: Why? If we caused You to withdraw, when a deer runs, it always turns back and looks back. Even if You are running away from us, at least turn Your head and look at us. As it says, “Af gam zot bihyotam be'eretz oyveihem lo me'astim velo ge'altim lechalotam.” When a deer sleeps, it sleeps with one eye open. “eineinu, einei Hashem Elokecha bah”—keep Your eye open on us.
Rabbi Chiyya heard and said, “Woe is me, that the holy ones above are engaged in Torah and I am outside.” He wept. The Shechinah was outside. Rabbi Shimon saw that the Shechinah rested with Rabbi Chiyya, so he told them, “Welcome.” Someone had to go out and bring him in. Rabbi Elazar, his son, said, “If I go, I will not feel anything. Don't worry, I'll go.” The Shechinah is outside with Rabbi Chiyya, so I am going out to greet the Shechinah. Nothing can happen to me; one who is engaged in a commandment is protected. Let me bring Rabbi Chiyya in, so the fire will be complete.
But they said that Rabbi Chiyya had not yet been ordained and was not worthy to enter. They announced, “No, you cannot let him in. He is not worthy yet.” The gates and the curtain of fire had not been prepared to open. He was still among the lower ones, one of the small students of the secrets of the Torah, and he had not yet entered the orchard. They did not want him to make a mistake if he came up to the lesson, because he might not understand it yet. So Rabbi Elazar sat back.
Rabbi Chiyya felt bad. Suddenly the gates opened. He wept a little and prayed, and he entered—but he had not entered. Rabbi Shimon looked up and saw what was happening. The doors had opened, which meant he had permission to come in. “Are we not going to let him in?” Rabbi Shimon got up and went to Rabbi Chiyya. He said, “There is a spark of light outside with permission to enter. I am inside, so you come to me.”
Rabbi Chiyya’s mouth was silenced. When he came in, he kept his eyes down and did not lift his head because of the awe of the Shechinah. Rabbi Elazar put his hand on Rabbi Chiyya’s mouth so that he could be healed and speak. He did not know how to protect himself from this fire; he was not used to these matters. He was frightened and petrified.
Rabbi Chiyya opened his mouth and said, “I see an image of the Shechinah that I have never seen before. It is better for me to die in this holy fire.” “Mimakom kedushato shel zeh, Torah shel Rabbi Shimon mitpashtin lechol tzad ve'olim bema'alot rabot.” This is a good place to die. Around each seat are 370 righteous people. Each opening spreads to thousands and tens of thousands, until they reach the Ancient of Days, who sits on a throne. The throne trembles, and sixty nations are thrown down until they reach the righteous below.
All the supernal and lower beings, and all those who praise their Master, hide themselves and say, “This far reaches the strength of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who shakes everything.” We say Rabbi Shimon shakes the worlds; his Torah shakes up the worlds. Who can stand before him? He is Rashbi. When he opens his mouth to begin speaking about the Master of the world, all the thrones and all the sefirot listen to him, all the heavens and all the hosts, and all those who praise their Master are silent.
Those who were singing do not finish their song. Everyone becomes silent when Rabbi Shimon opens his mouth, until nothing is heard in any heaven above or below except his voice studying Torah. When Rabbi Shimon finishes, who has seen the joy of those praising their Master? Then everyone breaks into music in Heaven, and praise begins to flow. Who has seen the great ones spread through all the heavens, come to Rabbi Shimon’s place, and bow and prostrate themselves before their Master? They all rise and pass through that place up to the Ancient of Days. All this is through the merit and power of Rabbi Shimon’s learning.
Rabbi Shimon began in a loud voice: “Seventy went down with Yaakov to Egypt,” corresponding to the seventy names of the Holy One, blessed be He, the seventy that surround it, and the seventy thrones above. There are seventy thrones, three lower levels, three names, and three names engraved from which the flow emerges. Seventy sparks of strength. Come and see: the power of the stone of sapphire made seventy stones above and below, three supports, from the exile. They all went down with him into exile, above and below.
Rabbi Chiyya said, “Blessed is He, for I heard beautiful words from you.” Rabbi Shimon said, “By your life, if you had understood that the tribes went down with him, seventy souls went down.” While he was sitting, Rabbi Elazar said to Rabbi Shimon, his father, “Father, why did the Holy One, blessed be He, bring Israel down into exile?”
Rabbi Shimon asked him, “Are you asking one question or two?” He said, “Two.” “Why exile, and why Egypt?” Rabbi Shimon said, “They are two, but they are one.” He told him to stand, so that this teaching would be established above in his name. You are going to have a new Torah insight, and it will be established above in your name. When someone innovates something in Torah, they write it in his name.
He said, “My son, speak.” He began: “Shishim hemah melachot ushemonim pilagshim.” The sixty queens are the gevurah above, which comes from gevurah and joins with judgments. Below, in the same way, Israel inherits eighty concubines. Eight are designated for marriage, referring to Babylon, and maidens without number, as it says, “ish vese'aro avdu.” If it is written “im kulah,” “one is my dove, my perfect one; she is one to her mother”—this is the Shechinah.
The holy one descended to him from the radiance of radiances, which is the supernal Shechinah. At that time, when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave power and dominion to all those who worship idols and appointed them over the 70 nations, as it says, “Asher chalak Hashem Elohecha otam l'chol ha'amim,” He took Israel for His portion, in the lottery, as it says, “Ki chelek Hashem amo Ya'akov chevel nachalato.” He called her “my sister, my dove, my perfect one, the one to her mother.” What does “to her mother” mean? We find that her children are one and unique to the Jewish people.
“Ra'uha vanot vay'ashruha,” as it says, “Rabot banot asu chayil v'at alit al kulana.” “Melachot u'filagshim v'yihaleluha” refers to the great ones of the nations appointed over them.
Another secret of the matter: we learned that the world was created with ten utterances. When you consider it, there are three, and the world was created through them: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. The world was created for the sake of Israel. When He wanted the world to endure, He made Avraham through the secret of wisdom, Yitzchak through the secret of understanding, and Yaakov through the secret of knowledge. These are the three minds of the world: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. It is called, “Uv'da'at chadarim yimale'u.” At that time the whole world was completed with the forefathers.
When the twelve tribes were born to Yaakov, the whole world was completed in the pattern of what is above. When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the great joy of this lower world, completed in the pattern of what is above, He said: Perhaps, God forbid, they will mix with the other nations, and there will be a flaw in all the worlds. What did He do? He moved them from here to there. He took them out of Canaan and brought them to Egypt, to live there in seclusion.
They were among a hard people who despised them and despised their customs. They were despised as marriage partners, so there was no concern that they would intermarry. The Egyptians considered the Jewish people slaves. The men and women were disgusting to them. The holy seed was completed, and meanwhile the debt of the other nations was completed, as it says, “Ki lo shalem avon ha'Emori ad henah.” When they went out, they went out righteous and holy, as it says, “Shivtei Yah edut l'Yisrael.” They remained loyal.
Rabbi Shimon kissed him on the head and said that this was how he answered the questions: “Why were Israel exiled, and why were they afflicted in Egypt?” The children of Yaakov were in Canaan, and there was concern that the Canaanites would want to marry them. Therefore, they went to Egypt specifically, where there was no concern about assimilation: the Egyptians hated them and despised them. That is why they went specifically to Egypt, where a safeguard was built into the exile so they would not assimilate.
Rabbi Shimon came and kissed him on the head. He loved that answer and said, “Stand up and give a teaching on this.” Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Elazar, his son, sat down, and he began to explain a secret teaching. Rabbi Elazar’s face shone like the sun, and words spread and flew through the heavens. They sat for two days without eating or drinking. They did not know whether it was day or night. When they came out, they realized that two days had passed without their tasting food.
Rabbi Shimon quoted: “Vay'hi sham im Hashem arba'im yom v'arba'im laylah lechem lo achal.” “We were there for two days. We are not even considered with Hashem as Moshe Rabbeinu was. How much more so Moshe, about whom the verse testifies, ‘vay'hi sham im Hashem arba'im yom.’”
Rabbi Chiyya came before Rabbi and told him the incident that had happened to him. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, his father, said, “My son, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, is a lion, and Rabbi Elazar, his son, is a lion. Rabbi Shimon is not like the other lions, for it says, ‘Aryeh sha'ag mi lo yira.’ The worlds above tremble before him. How much more so should we?”
He no longer decrees fasts for what he asks and seeks; rather, he decrees and the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills it, and the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees and he nullifies it. Where did he get this thing that he controls, so nobody has to make fasts anymore, he just told Rabbi Shimon the problem and he makes a decree and it comes true? That's the thirteen years that they sat and learned Kabbalah. This is what we learned: “Moshel ba'adam tzadik, moshel yir'at Elohim.” The righteous person rules over God. The Holy One, blessed be He, rules over people, and who rules over the Holy One, blessed be He? The righteous person. He decrees a decree, and the righteous person nullifies it. When you go to the righteous, they have the power to break decrees.
We learned: Rabbi Yehudah said, “Nothing is as beloved to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the prayer of the righteous.” Even though He loves their prayer, sometimes He fulfills their request and sometimes He does not.
The rabbis taught: One time the world needed rain. Rabbi Eliezer came and decreed forty fasts, but rain did not come. He prayed, but rain still did not come. Rabbi Akiva came, stood, and prayed. He said, “Mashiv haruach,” and the wind blew. He said, “Morid hageshem,” and rain came. That was it: “Mashiv haruach umorid hageshem,” not forty days of fasting and all of that.
Rabbi Eliezer was distressed, concerned that this would be a desecration of God’s name and that people would say he was not righteous. Rabbi Akiva looked at his face, stood before him, and said, “I will give you a parable. To what is Rabbi Eliezer comparable? To a beloved of the king, whom the king loves very much and has mercy on. When he comes before the king, the king is pleased with him and does not want to grant his request immediately, so that he will not leave. The king enjoys speaking with him.
“But I am a servant of the king. I come in, make my request, and the king does not want me to enter the palace courtyard, let alone speak with him. The king says, ‘Give him what he asks for quickly and do not let him come here.’ So Rabbi Eliezer is the king’s beloved, and I am a servant. The king wants to speak with him every day and does not want him to leave. But He does not want me to enter the palace courtyard. The king does not want to see me at the gate, because I serve out of fear. Therefore, He answers me right away, so I will leave.”
Rabbi Eliezer said, “Akiva, you have comforted me; you have comforted me.” Rabbi Eliezer’s mind was appeased.
Vihi noam Adonai Eloheinu aleinu uma'aseh...