Kabbalah Library

40. It is written, “Your neck is like the tower of David, splendidly built; a thousand shields hang on it, all shields of mighty men.” Rabbi said, “All things perish, and the Torah will not perish. There is nothing as favored by the Creator as the Torah and its learners. Anyone who engages in Torah each day, secrets of above will be innovated for him. The Torah tells him, “I will have you drink of the spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.” This is the wine of Torah, and it is the wine kept in its grapes from the six days of creation. These are things that will be revealed to the righteous in the latter days.

41. If the kept wine is the secrets of the Torah, it should have said, “wine kept in its grapes from Mount Sinai.” What is “from the six days of creation”? These are the deep secrets of the orders of creation that were not revealed to man, and which the righteous will know. Similarly, those who always engage in Torah will know.

42. The secrets of the Torah were given to the sages, to those who always engage in Torah. Anyone who engages in the Torah sufficiently, his soul is raised up when he sleeps his sleep, and he is taught from the depths of the Torah. And from it, his lips whisper and murmur, as it is written, “makes the lips of those who are asleep speak.”

43. Anyone who engages in Torah for Her sake, when he sleeps at night, his soul rises up and is shown those things that are destined to be in the world.

44. Rabbi Aba and Rabbi Yosi sat and engaged in Torah until midnight.

45. Rabbi Aba fell asleep, and Rabbi Yosi was sitting. He saw Rabbi Aba’s face turning red, and he was laughing, and he saw a great light in the house.

Rabbi Yosi said, “This means that the Shechina is here.” He lowered his eyes, sat there until the dawn broke, and the light was shining in the house. While he raised his eyes, he saw the dawn, and the house went dark.

46. Rabbi Aba woke up, and his face shone and his eyes laughed. Rabbi Yosi held him. Rabbi Aba said, “I know what you want. As you live, I saw high secrets. When Matat, minister of the face, was holding my soul, he raised her to great and high chambers.

47. “And I saw the souls of the rest of the righteous ascending to there, and the minister of the face told them, ‘Happy are you, righteous, for thanks to you, I am built in the holy construction of the honorable name, for whom the lights of the holy name are drawn—to answer, to bestow upon the armies of the High King.’

“And I saw the Torah that I had learned placed there, mound over mound like a big tower. This is why I was content with my portion and my eyes laughed.”

48. We need not be surprised about what happened to Rabbi Aba, since the text testifies so—that the Creator did to the one appointed under Him, who is Matat, minister of the face, and hung from him all the other armies like a neck from which the whole body hangs.

When the righteous engage in Torah, the Creator builds His world and places His name within it, in Matat, to reach everyone, meaning that Matat will bestow upon everyone and provide the world with the goodness of the Creator.

49. When the righteous do not engage in Torah, the Creator takes His name from within him, from Matat. At that time, the world is lacking and Matat cannot satisfy their deficiency, as it is written, “Your neck is like the tower of David, splendidly built.” If the righteous multiply and increase the Torah like that tower, promptly, your neck is splendidly built.

That is, the neck of the world, Matat, is built in a holy building from the Hey that dresses in it, until all the mouths are hung, meaning have grown weary of knowing His guidance. This is Talpiot [splendid], with the letters of Tel-Piot [a mound of mouths], meaning that the mouths have grown weary, as it is written, “the land of Egypt languished.” “Languished” means became exhausted.

50. Then “a thousand shields hang on it, all shields of mighty men,” who are those angels who are called a “thousand thousands,” as it is written in Daniel, “A thousand thousands will serve him,” and all the other angels hang on him, and all the rulers and all the worlds are filled with the abundance of the Creator.

51. “And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth.” When the righteous do not engage in Torah, the ladder, Matat, is set up on the earth, meaning it has no merit. When the righteous are rewarded with engaging in the Torah, “and its top reaches heaven,” then he has merit and will not lack abundance. Promptly, “And behold, God’s angels ascending and descending in it.” “In it,” in the name of the Creator, as it is written, “We will rejoice and be glad in Him.”

52. “In him,” in the appointee, Matat. Why are angels of God ascending and descending in it? It is because the Creator dresses and stands on that appointee who is called “ladder.” This is why the angels are ascending and descending for him, because of the name of the place on which he stands.

The name of Matat is called “complete king,” more than all the other armies because you have no carrier of the name of the place within him like Matat.

53. It is a hint to Jacob that if his children are rewarded with engaging in Torah and commandments, there is merit to Matat, and merit to his children. If they are not rewarded with engaging in Torah and commandments, there is no merit to this one, and no merit to his children, as it is written, “And behold, God’s angels ascending and descending in it.” God’s angels are Jacob’s children. They ascend in it when they are rewarded. If they are not rewarded, they descend in it. “In it” means for it, for Matat. “In it,” when there is merit in it, they also have it.

54. All the ministers of the nations above were ascending and descending for Matat. When he has merit, the ministers of the nations descend. When he has a descent, they rise. It all depends on Jacob’s descendants: If they engage in Torah or not. No good and no bad comes to the world except because Jacob’s descendants.

55. A minister came to Rabbi Abbahu and said, “The whole world should assemble against you, like that locust, to obliterate you from the world in one hour. That nation, if it does not worship its Lord, it is written, ‘He will shut the heavens and there will be no rain, and the land will not yield its crop.’ If it deviates, the whole world will be lost because of it.” He said to him, “But you make it deviate and not walk on the straight path.” He said to him, “Your sins evoke us to afflict you.”

56. “And behold, a latter is set on the earth”; this is a cemetery. “And its top reaches heaven” is as it is written, “the place, Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling.” Thus, the Temple reaches heaven. What is its top? It is Zion, where there are the Shechina and the Cherubim and the Holy of Holies. The ladder is Sinai, in which the Torah was given and where the Merkavot [chariots/structures] of the Creator were revealed. This is why it is written, “and God’s angels ascending and descending in it.”

57. As long as Israel engaged in Torah, the Temple existed, as it is written, “Your neck is built like the tower of David.” If we nurture Torah like the tower of David, then “your neck is built,” where “your neck” is the Temple, as it is written, “and he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept,” teaching that he was crying over the First Temple and over the Second Temple.

58. What is a tower? Like the tower of David, which is a strong tower, those who engage in Torah need strengthening and a strong structure. The tower of David means that as David was greater in Torah than all his contemporaries, likewise, those who engage in Torah must not idle away from it.

59. Like David, who engaged in Torah day and night, so should a person engage in Torah day and night. And while they engage in it and grow in it like the tower of David, the neck is built, a strong and big construction.

60. If not, “A thousand shields hang on it,” these thousand years when they were in exile. The matter depends on whether they are redeemed in it or not. If they merit the Torah, they will be redeemed in a thousand years. If they do not merit, all the mighty rulers will be enslaved in them, and afterwards, they will be redeemed.

61. “And behold, a ladder was set up on the earth” is a cemetery, which stands in its construction for those who engage in Torah in the earth. “And its top reaches heaven” means that the Temple is in greater merit than the whole world. “And behold, God’s angels ascending and descending in it” are the priests of the charge.

62. Because he aims corresponding to Jerusalem of above. Those who guard Jerusalem of above, guard the Jerusalem of below, meaning ascending and descending.

63. What is the additional merit in it? It is as it is written, “And behold, the Lord stood above it,” and it is written, “And My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.” In the latter days, the Creator will return to Jerusalem to be a wall and guard it, as it is written, “‘And I will be for it,’ declares the Lord, ‘a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”