Kabbalah Library

306. “And the son of an Israelite woman went out, and he is the son of an Egyptian man among the children of Israel,” meaning he went out from the part of Israel. Went out from what? From the faith. “And the son of the Israelite woman and the Israelite man fought in the camp.” Anyone who comes from a contaminated semen finally reveals it before everyone. Who caused him? The filth of the bad part he has within him, since he has no part in the collective of Israel.

307. It is written, “The glory of God is to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings is to explore a matter.” “The glory of God is to conceal a matter,” that man has no permission to reveal concealed matters that were not given to be revealed, matters that Atik Yomin had covered, from the phase of GAR, as it is written, “to eat to satiation and to cover the ancient one [Atik].” “To eat to satiation,” to reveal up to that place where he has permission, VAK, and not more. And yet, “to cover the ancient one,” not to reveal what he has no permission to, GAR.

308. “To eat to satiation” meaning the friends who know the paths and trails to walk in them in the way of faith properly, such as the generation when Rabbi Shimon lived. “To cover the ancient one,” from other generations, for not everyone is worthy of eating to satiation, for the matters to be revealed between them, except for one who covers the ancient one, as it is written, “Do not let your mouth make your flesh sin.”

309. In the days of Rabbi Shimon, a person would say to his friend, “Open your mouth and let your words shine.” After Rabbi Shimon passed away, they would say, “Do not let your mouth make your flesh sin.” In his days, they ate to satiation; after he passed away, they covered the ancient one, meaning the friends would stutter and did not understand matters. Another interpretation: Eating to satiation in revealed matters, in the revealed, and covering the ancient one in the covered matters, in the secretes of the Torah.

310. “And the son of the Israelite woman punctured [blasphemed] the name and cursed.” Punctured is as it is written, “And he punctured a hole in his door,” puncturing what was concealed, like punctured. “And the name of his mother was Shlomit, daughter of Divri.” Thus far, the text hid the name of his mother. Since it is written, “And punctured,” he punctured the name of his mother.

311. Had Rabbi Shimon not lived in the world, there would have been no permission to reveal, since it is permitted to reveal this matter only to the friends, who are among the harvesters of the field, who have already entered the wisdom of the hidden and have emerged from it in peace. Damned be those who come to reveal to those who do not know.

312. “And the son of the Israelite woman and the Israelite man fought in the camp.” The Israelite man is the son of another woman from his father, who was Shlomit’s husband. Because that Egyptian came on Shlomit at midnight, her husband returned to his home and knew of the matter and separated from her, and no longer came on her. He took another woman and engendered this one, and he is called “the Israelite man,” and the one of the Egyptian is called “the son of the Israelite woman.” If they fought here together, what did the holy name want here, and why did he curse the holy name?

313. During the fight, the Israelite man said a word from the mother of the son of the Israelite woman. He said that she was a whore. Promptly, the son of the Israelite woman punctured [cursed], as it is written, “And he punctured a hole in his door,” taking the bottom Hey of the holy name HaVaYaH, which is Malchut, and cursing, in order to protect his mother. This is the puncturing that he punctured and interpreted the holy name. This was said to the harvesters of the field. Happy are the righteous who know the matter and cover it. This is why it is written, “Argue your case with your neighbor, and do not reveal another’s secret,” and that secret is too deep and cannot be explained.

314. The bottom Hey of HaVaYaH was a Nukva [female] that suckled from two sides, from mercy and from judgment. For this reason, she took the weapons of the king and took her revenge, as it is written, “Take outside the camp him who has cursed.” This is why it is written, “Every one of you shall fear his mother and his father,” that fear of his mother comes before that of the father. Happy are Israel in this world and in the next world.

315. “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.’” Because it is written, “his God,” plainly, therefore, he shall bear his sin, and he is not punished, since we do not know who is his God—whether it is one of the ministers, or of the stars, or of the leaders of the world.

316. If he were a complete righteous, he would not stir up their powers, to curse them. Since he stirred up the matter, we fear that heresy has been installed in him. Nevertheless, he shall not die for it, since he did not interpret who is his God.

317. He is judged favorably. If he says “my God” and cursed him, he can argue, “my God, which I had until now,” to which my heart was drawn, but now I am repenting, to accept the high faith.”

However, if he says “HaVaYaH Elokim [the Lord God]” or HaVaYaH [the Lord] and interprets it by name, he cannot argue anything about that, since this is the faith of everything, and every letter of the holy name amounts to a complete name.

318. “And the son of the Israelite woman punctured [blasphemed] the name and cursed.” But the Israeli man was Shlomit’s husband. The son of Shlomit’s husband was from another woman. They fought together, and he told him a word about his mother, that she was a whore, and that his Egyptian father was killed in the holy name by Moses, as it is written, “Do you intend to kill me?” since by saying the holy name, Moses killed him. Hence, he presented the matter against him, notifying him during the quarrel.

319. This is the meaning of the verse, “And the son of the Israelite woman punctured the name and cursed, and so they brought him to Moses.” Since Moses saw, they promptly “put him in custody,” and the father and the son fell by the hands of Moses.