Kabbalah Library

10) When the Creator created the upper world, Bina, He established everything as it should be and elicited upper lights that shine from all sides, which are the three lines, and all are one. He created the heavens above, ZA, and the earth above, the Nukva, so they would all be established as one, Bina and ZON, in favor of the lower ones.

11) It is written, “The king establishes the land by justice.” The King, the Creator, Bina, and “By justice,” is Jacob, ZA, the sustenance of the land. Hence, Vav of HaVaYaH, ZA, is nourished by the first Hey of HaVaYaH, Bina, the bottom Hey of HaVaYaH, Nukva, is nourished by the Vav, ZA, for her sustenance of the land is “By justice,” in ZA, since He “establishes the land by justice” with all its corrections and nurtures it.

12) “The King” is the Creator, and “By justice” is Joseph. “Establishes the land,” as it is written, “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph.” And since the Creator desired Jacob, He made Joseph ruler over the land.

13) “The king” is Joseph, and “Establishes the land by justice” is Jacob, since as long as Jacob did not come to Egypt, there was no sustenance to the land due to the famine. Since Jacob came to Egypt, the famine was lifted, thanks to him, and the land was sustained.

14) “The king establishes the land by justice.” This is King David, as it is written, “And David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.” He sustained the land during his life, and owing to him, it stands after his passing from the world. “But he who exacts gifts and tribute overthrows it.” This is Rehoboam [Hebrew: Rehavam], and “He who exacts gifts” means a proud man. And Rehoboam was proud, for he said, “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Hence, his kingdom was torn.

15) Although the punishment has been given over the world, the Creator withholds Himself for the righteous and does not govern the world. Throughout the days of King David, the land had existed for him. After he died, it existed thanks to his merit, as it is written, “For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant, David.” Similarly, all through Jacob’s days and all through Joseph’s days, punishments did not rule the world because the famine had stopped because of them and the enslavement in Egypt was delayed.

16) “The king establishes the land by justice” is Joseph. “But he who exacts gifts and tribute overthrows it” is Pharaoh. Because he hardened his heart against the Creator, the land of Egypt was ruined. And previously, the land was sustained through Joseph in that dream that Pharaoh dreamed, as it is written, “And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed.”

17) “The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation.” It writes Elokey [Hebrew: the God of] with a Vav. “Lives” is a righteous, the foundation [Yesod] of the world, Yesod of ZA, called, “He that lives forever,” and “Blessed be my Rock.” It is written, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock,” which is the world, Nukva, which exists through the righteous, Yesod of ZA, who bestows upon her and she persists. Exalted is the upper world, Bina. “The God of”—with Vav—is heaven, ZA, as it is written, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord.”

This verse clarifies the wholeness of the bestowal of Yesod, called “He that lives forever,” upon the Nukva, called, “world” and “rock.” This happens when two upper degrees, Bina and ZA, unite in Yesod. Bina clothes ZA with her Mochin, they bestow upon Yesod, and he bestows upon the Nukva, from whom all the lower ones receive.

The meaning of the words, “The Lord lives,” and “Blessed be my Rock”: He that lives forever is Yesod—bestowing—and the Rock, the Nukva, is blessed by him, when “Exalted be the God of my salvation,” that is, when ZA, called “The God of” with a Vav, rises with the clothing of Bina in it. This is so because “exalted” implies Bina, since when Yesod receives from these two degrees, it has the ability to bestow upon the Nukva.

18) “Blessed be the Lord, day by day; He bears our burden.” “Blessed be the Lord [ADNY],” the Name is written with Aleph-Dalet-Nun-Yod, implying the Nukva. This verse is the essence of the wisdom. “Day by day” are two years, which are two degrees, Bina and ZA, which are the only ones through which the Nukva is blessed, as it is written, “And it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.” This is Joseph, since the Nile is the righteous Joseph.

Here he brings another evidence that the Nukva is blessed from the Yesod only when two higher degrees, Bina and ZA, unite in it. It is written, “Blessed be the Lord,” which is because of the “day by day,” when Bina and ZA, which are two years, unite in her through the Yesod.

And then, God, Nukva, “Bears our burden; our salvation, Selah.” Thus, the writing explains, “And it came to pass at the end of two full years,” after the two years—the two degrees Bina and ZA—were erected, “Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.” Then the Nile, which is Joseph, was completed and bestowed upon the Nukva, which is seven cows, as it is written, “And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows,” the Nukva.

19) “And behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.” All the degrees below are blessed from this river, which is Yesod, since that river, which stretches out of Eden—Bina—waters and nurtures all. And Joseph, Yesod, who receives from Bina through ZA, is a river by which the whole of the land of Egypt is blessed.

20) That river, Yesod, is the seven degrees of the Nukva from her HGT NHYM, which are extended from her and stand at the world of Beria. They are watered and blessed from it. And these are the seven sleek and fat-fleshed cows. “And they grazed in the marsh grass,” meaning in bonding and brotherhood, as there was no separation between them and they were all praiseworthy, for there was no suction from them to the Sitra Achra.

This is so because all those seven degrees are as it is written, the seven young maidens that are suitable to give to her, from the king’s house, which are the seven palaces of Beria, all of which are praiseworthy. And they are also seven sleek cows, all praiseworthy. Conversely, the writing says, “The seven eunuchs who served in the presence of the King.” Not all of those seven are praiseworthy, but there is a part in them for the forces of impurity, which are the seven unsightly cows.

21) The seven sightly cows are the upper degrees of other degrees, and the seven unsightly cows are other degrees, below. The upper ones are from the side of holiness, and the lower ones are from the side of impurity.

22) “And behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.” The first seven ears were good because they are from the right side, of which it says that it is good, and the seven bad ears are below them. The seven good ears are from the side of purity, and the bad ones are from the side of impurity. And all are degrees that stand one atop the other and one opposite the other, and Pharaoh saw them all in his dream.

23) Can it be that that wicked one, Pharaoh, was shown all the degrees? He did not see the degrees themselves, only their semblance, since there are several degrees over degrees, one opposite the other and one atop the other, and Pharaoh saw those degrees that are below.

24) As man is, so he is shown in his dream, and so he sees. And as a soul rises to attain, each according to his degree, as is appropriate for him. Hence, Pharaoh saw as was appropriate for him and not more.

25) “And it came to pass at the end.” It is written, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” All that the Creator has done below, He set a season and a time for it. He set a time for light and for darkness, and a time for the light of the rest of the nations. Except for Israel, for they now govern the world. And He set a time for darkness, which is the exile of Israel under their rule; the Creator set a time for everything. Hence, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose.” What is, “A time for every purpose”? It is time and purpose for every object below; there is a set time and purpose for all the good that is found below.

26) What is time? It is as the verse goes, “It is time for the Lord to work; they have broken Your law.” It is also written, “That he shall not enter at any time into the holy place.” This is the degree appointed over the governance of the world, the Nukva. Hence, “Time,” the Nukva, is appointed over every object under heaven.

“And it came to pass at the end of two years” because of that end of darkness, for He had set a fixed time for light and for darkness, Pharaoh saw in his dream, and from there was the dream known and revealed to him.