Kabbalah Library

137. Among all the towers, there is one tower of a gem in the middle. It rises to the height of the firmament and is unseen now, until the time when it becomes revealed. The head of the seminary saw it and was writing above that verse about it, “A tower of strength is the name of the Lord; the righteous one will run into it and be safe.” The tower of strength is the assembly of Israel, Malchut. “The righteous one will run into it,” since the will of the righteous one, Yesod, is always in him. Yarutz [will run] comes from the word Ratzon [desire]. “And be safe,” that tower of strength, which will never fall again, as it did.

138. A tower of strength is the box, to place in it the book of Torah, which is strength, to take it out of the hall, which is the shape of the inner hall, Ima, from which the Torah, ZA, comes out. The tower, the box, is the name of the Lord, and its shape is Malchut, and he must be in six degrees corresponding to HGT NHY in Malchut.

139. “The righteous one will run into it.” Will run to the tower or to the book of Torah? To the tower and to the book of Torah. In the tower, the righteous one must be a true righteous and the shape of the upper righteous, Yesod. In the book of Torah, a righteous one is one who rose to the sixth of those seven who are called to the book of Torah, since the sixth portion implies Yesod, who is called “righteous.” “The righteous one will run into it,” the words of that righteous one will run into the book of Torah. “And be saved” from the fear of the angel of death, since he will live long. “And be saved,” meaning he will never be harmed.

140. In that tower, which rises between the towers, stands one light in the shape of a book of Torah. When that bird comes, it takes the tower from its place and places it in the middle of the court, inside the wings of the Cherubim, and its stature, which was to the top of the sky, has been lowered and entered under the Cherubim, and the walls of the tower are between the heads of the Cherubim.

Reading the Torah is a revelation of illumination of Hochma in the middle line, which is called Torah. Hence, there are three phases here: 1) the hall, the Holy Ark (where books of Torah are kept in a synagogue), from which the book of Torah is taken out, 2) the book of Torah, in which we read, 3) the tower, the pulpit on which the book of Torah is placed.

The hall is Bina, from which the book of Torah is emanated and receives all the Mochin from it. The book of Torah is ZA, which comes out and is emanated from Bina, and the tower is Malchut, the place of revealing of the reading of the Torah, which is illumination of Hochma. Thus, the Torah, ZA, receives illumination of Hochma from Bina, from the hall, and reveals it in the tower, in Malchut.

We should not compare this illumination of Hochma to the illumination of Hochma that is revealed at midnight, since there the illumination of Hochma is revealed from the left, as it is written, “His left under my head.” Hence, there is no light of day there. Conversely, here, the illumination of Hochma is revealed specifically from the middle line, which contains Hochma and Hassadim together, especially that everything is under the control of the Hassadim, which is the light of day.

Among all the towers, there is one tower of a gem in the middle, Malchut, whose entirety is called a “tower” and a “gem.” Hence, her particular degrees are also called “towers.”

The tower of the gem in the middle is the middle line of Malchut, who receives from the middle line of ZA. She rises to the height of the firmament, meaning makes a coupling with GAR of ZA, and her own quality, Hochma, is invisible in her then, until that time when she is revealed, where through the reading of the Torah, the illumination of Hochma is revealed in her.

The tower of strength is the box in which to place the book of Torah, which is strength, illumination of Hochma, called “strength.” To place in it, to place illumination of Hochma in the tower, in Malchut, and to take it out from the hall from which the Torah comes out. ZA, who is called Torah, comes out and receives his lights from the hall, which is Bina.

The tower, the box, is the name of the Lord, Malchut, who is called the name of the Lord. It must be in six degrees, in the VAK of Malchut, since Hochma is not revealed in the GAR of Malchut, but only in her VAK. “The righteous will run into it,” meaning the bestowal of illumination of Hochma is through Yesod of ZA, which is possible in a book of Torah, which rises to the sixth, and is possible in the tower, which receives from Yesod of ZA.

In that tower that rises between the towers, in the tower in the middle, stands one light in the shape of a book of Torah, the illumination of Hochma in the shape of the middle line. However, it is unseen there due to the illumination of the coupling of ZA, where there is no place for the disclosure of illumination of Hochma.

The Hochma in Malchut is called a “bird.” When that bird comes, when the time of illumination of the bird comes, which is the Hochma in Malchut, it takes the tower from its place, taking the entirety of Malchut, called a “tower,” from her place, the place of the coupling of GAR of ZA, called the “height of the firmament,” and places the tower in the middle of the court.

VAK of Malchut is called a “court.” The innermost hall and the Holy of Holies are GAR of Malchut. Since Hochma is revealed only in a place of VAK, she puts the tower into the court, the place of VAK, in the middle line in it, inside the wings of the Cherubim. The Cherubim are small Panim [face], ZON in posterior Mochin. They have wings to cover the GAR of Hochma. this is why she places the tower under those wings, so that GAR of Hochma are not revealed.

This is regarded as a descent with respect to Malchut, since previously, she was in a coupling with GAR of ZA, the height of the firmament, and now she has descended to the phase of a court, VAK, and under the wings of a small face, the Cherubim, GAR of VAK. His height being to the top of the sky, which was in the coupling with GAR of ZA, called sky, was lowered and entered under the Cherubim, which descended under the small face, regarded as VAK of Mochin, posterior, since Hochma is not revealed in Malchut, but in her posterior vessels.

The walls of the tower are between the heads of the Cherubim. The walls are the judgments that are revealed with the Hochma, which guard so the external ones do not come near the GAR of Hochma, which are regarded as the walls of the tower, which guard from the external ones. These judgments are in the heads of the Cherubim, to repel the external ones from there.

141. There are three-hundred doors in the tower. In the door in the middle stands that light of the shape of a book of Torah in which the king of Israel is destined to read in the portion HakHel [gather]. This will be the Messiah king, and none other.

Three-hundred doors imply GAR, where each consist of one-hundred. The door in the middle implies the middle line. Reading the portion HakHel is disclosure of GAR of Hochma, which will be revealed only at the end of correction. At that time, the Messiah king will read in it, but not before the end of correction.

142. In the illumination of VAK of Hochma in that book of Torah, happy is he who hears from the mouth of the Messiah the sound of the pleasantness of his words, from those hidden things that he interprets in the Torah, with the light of that book of Torah in all the beginnings of months and on Sabbaths and special days and occasions. When they want to rise to the seminary of the firmament, the seminary of Matat, everyone gathers to the Messiah king, who interprets for them words of Torah. Through the sweetness of his words and the yearning, they rise to the seminary of the firmament.

143. When a tower stands in the middle of the court, and the door in the middle line in the tower is open, those Cherubim open their mouths and spread their wings to hide the GAR of Hochma, and shine on that door with the upper light. That book of Torah is open, and the Cherubim open and say, “How plentiful is Your goodness, which You have treasured for those who fear You.” Afterwards, they close the doors and the book of Torah is rolled up.

144. Who saw the shining light of that book of Torah, all of it a shining light. Its letters are flames of fire from four colors, which are from the upper world, all of them protruding and glittering. No one can stand in them besides the Messiah king.

The illumination of Hochma in Malchut is drawn in three colors—white, red, and green—three lines. However, her own color, which is black or azure, is not seen in her, since all of her is sweetened in Bina, in the point of the key, while her own point, the lock, is concealed and invisible. Conversely, in ZA, the point of the lock operates, as well, which is why there is no place for the revelation of Hochma in ZA, but in Malchut.

145. The door in the tower is closed, the Cherubim subside, and the tower flies and stands in its place among the rest of the towers, returning to its coupling of GAR with ZA. Then the quality of Malchut disappears again, as she is incorporated with ZA.