Kabbalah Library

54. It is written, “Lord, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens poured.” Happy are Israel in this world and in the next world, for the Creator has chosen them and they adhere to Him and are called holy, a holy nation, which is Bina. Also, until He elevated them to a high degree, called holiness, which is Hochma, for one who receives from holiness, Bina, is called holy, as it is written, “Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest,” since Israel from eight days adhere to Him in His name and are registered in His name and are His. It is written, “Who, like Your people Israel, are one nation on the earth.” The nations do not adhere to Him and do not follow His laws, and the holy imprint is absent from them until they adhere to the Sitra Achra, who is not holy.

55. When the Creator wanted to give the Torah [law] to Israel, He summoned the children of Esau and told them, “Do you want to receive the Torah?” At that time, the earth, meaning Malchut, quaked and wanted to enter the hole of the great abyss. She said to Him, “Lord of the world, the delight of Your joy, from two-thousand years before the world was created—the Torah—as it is written, ‘and [I was] His delight day by day,’ would uncircumcised ones come before me, who are not registered in Your covenant?”

56. The Creator said to her, “Throne, throne,” Malchut is called a “throne,” “a thousand nations like them will be lost, but the covenant of the Torah will not come before them, as it is written, ‘Lord, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled.’”

Certainly, for the Torah is given only to one in whom there is the covenant of holiness, and one who teaches Torah to one who was not circumcised lies in two covenants: 1) He lies in the covenant of the Torah, since the Torah is called “covenant,” as it is written, “If not for My covenant day and night, I have not placed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” 2) He lies in the covenant of the righteous and the assembly of Israel, since the Torah was given for the place of the covenant, and not for another place, the foreskin.

57. One who teaches Torah to one who is uncircumcised lies in three high places: in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings [Hagiographa]. He lies in the Torah, as it is written, “This is the law [Torah] which Moses placed before the children of Israel.” And not to the uncircumcised. He lies in the Prophets, as it is written, “All your children shall be taught by the Lord.” They are taught by the Creator, and not others. It is also written, “Seal the law [Torah] among my disciples,” they, and not others.

He lies in the Writings, as it is written, “For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,” and it is written, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name.” Who are the righteous? They are the righteous, who is Yesod of ZA, and the assembly of Israel, Malchut, who is called “justice,” so one who is uncircumcised and did not enter their covenant will not thank His holy name, which is the learning of the Torah.

Since the Creator was revealed on Mount Sinai to give the Torah to Israel, the earth subsided from her anger and rested, as it is written, “The earth feared and was still.”