Kabbalah Library

331. Priests and Levites and Israel detain the offering. The prime part of the offering is the priest, who must aim in the holy name and arrange the high degrees, and unite everything in the complete unification, and delight the upper ones and lower ones with his will and intention.

332. It is written, “an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.” This corresponds to these three degrees: priests, Levites, Israel. “An offering made by fire,” opposite this are the Levites, who are appointed over the singing and to raise the voice. They are from the side of the offering made by fire, meaning that they are from the left side, where a fire burns the judgments. They aim with pleasantness and melodies, with joy and with a song.

333. As a result, whenever he would come up on the podium, while he was a man and there was a strong flame of fire in him, meaning when his blood was boiling, in order to raise a voice with the pleasantness of the melody, he is fit to work. When the fire of his youth grows weaker and the embers of fire, meaning the powers of the blood, decline within him, his might weakens and the voice begins to break. At that time, it is written, “And from age fifty, he shall return from the army of the work and will not work anymore. He is disqualified from work. From here on, he serves his brothers, and he will not do work.

334. The watches in the firmament, appointed on playing [music] before their master, are also called “fires.” These degrees of angels, who are called “fires,” some of them are appointed over the gates from the outside, and some of them are appointed over the gates from within.

335. The ones inside sing, and rise, and come with this singing five degrees, each consisting of ten, up to fifty, corresponding to the fifty gates of the Yovel, Bina. Once they have risen there, a spirit of blazing fire takes them and breaks their strength. Once their strength has been broken, they are rejected and descend from these degrees.

336. Outside, appointees stand by the gates on the outside and take their part from the smoke of the fire of the offerings, except for what those on the inside take. Each day, the appointees over the singing are renewed, and this is called “offering made by fire.” Thus far, the words “offering made by fire” were clarified corresponding to the degree of the Levites.

337. The word “aroma” corresponds to the degree of Israel, who pray the important prayer before the Creator, like the scent of the perfumes in the Garden of Eden. The words “sweet aroma” mean contentment to the high one; it corresponds to the degree of a priest, who makes the intention like the will of the holy name, and unites a unification in the inscribed letters of the name, and all the degrees shine and blaze and glitter in a high glittering out of the depth of the high and hidden one, Bina.

338. For this reason, the priest must be wise in wisdom, handsome in intelligence, and beautiful in the light of Torah, and more nimble and clever than the whole world. But if he is uneducated, his work is not work, and it is written about him, “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes.”