Kabbalah Library

416. They came before Rabbi Shimon. He said to them, “What is man, that You should remember him?” This verse has been said since ancient times, when the Creator wished to create the man. At that time, He summoned the factions over factions of ministering angels and had them sit before Him. He said to them, “I want to create a man.” They replied to him, “And man, in his glory, will not remain.” The Creator stretched out His finger and burned them.

He had other factions sit before Him and said to them, “I want to create a man.” They said to Him, “What is man that You should remember him? What are the actions of this man?” He said to them, “I want to create a man who will be in our image, and whose wisdom will be above your wisdom.”

417. Since He created the man, and he sinned and was sentenced before Him, Aza and Azael came. They said to Him, “We have a complaint against You. This man that You have made sinned before You.” He said to them, “If you were with them, you would be worse than him,” and He dropped them from their holy degree, from heaven.

418. Rabbi Shimon said, “Now I will return to your question, that Balaam said, “Falls down with eyes wide open.” If we say that it was not so, but that he was praising himself, how would the Creator write a lie in the Torah? If it is true, how can that wicked one boast in a degree that is above all the prophets of faith? Moreover, the holiness above is present only in a place worthy of it, and not in this impure one.

419. “Now I will return to the first matter: After the Creator dropped Aza and Azael from their holy place, they pursued the women of the world and misled the world. Here we should look, since it is written, “Makes His angels into spirits,” since these were angels, how could they exist in the earth? However, all those angels of above do not stand and cannot stand unless in the upper light that shines for them and sustains them. If that light above stops from them, they cannot endure. It is much more so with those angels whom the Creator dropped and from whom He stopped that light of above; their brightness has changed. Hence, when they came down and the air of the world ruled over them, they changed into a different degree.”

420. The manna that came down for Israel in the desert, that same manna was from the dew above, which was descending from the Atik that is more hidden than all that are hidden, Keter. When it came down, its light would shine in all the worlds, and a field of apples was nourished by it, Malchut, and the upper angels. When the manna came down and the air of the world controlled it, it was crusted and its radiance had changed, and its radiance was as it is written, “the manna was like coriander seed,” and not more. It is much more so with the angels that the Creator dropped. When they came down and the air of the world controlled them, they changed from that first degree they were in.

421. What did the Creator do? He saw that Aza and Azael were misleading the world; He tied them with iron chains in the mountains of darkness. In what place are they dwelling? In the valley of the mountains. He had Aza sit and He cast darkness in his face, since at the time when the Creator was tying them, he attacked and angered above. Hence, the Creator dropped him neck deep, and threw darkness in his face. Azael, who did not attack, He had him sit with Aza and He illuminated the darkness for him.

422. The people of the world who know the place of Aza and Azael come to them, and they teach people spells and divination and charms. Those mountains of darkness are called “mountains of the east,” since the darkness preceded the light. This is why the mountains of darkness are called “mountains of the east” [Kedem means both “east” and “before”]. Lavan and Balaam learned spells from them. This is why Balaam said, “From Aram Balak, King of Moab, has led me from the mountains of the east.”

The slandering of Aza and Azael against Adam HaRishon was more than all the angels. Aza and Azael are from the posterior of AVI, GAR of Hochma, which operated in Nekudim. Since they prevented the man from repentance, He dropped them to the mountains of darkness and tied them with iron chains, a shell called “iron.”

Aza and Azael are male and female. Aza, the male, attacked when he was tied, for he wanted to draw the Hochma from above downward and cancel that shell which tied him. Since he attacked, the Creator threw darkness in his face, and two shells controlled him: 1) the iron chains, 2) the darkness.

But Azael, the female, did not take any action at that time, since the female is the ground of the world and has no action in her. For this reason, he did not attack, and the Creator illuminated the darkness for him.

423. Balaam was praising himself from that place and said, “The oracle of him who hears the words of God,” since Aza and Azael said to the people of the world of those high matters that they knew in the beginning, at the time when they were above, in heaven. They would speak of the holy world they were in, as it is written, “who hears the words of God.” It is not written, “who hears the word of God,” but “who hears the words of God,” which were saying that Aza and Azael said from God. It is as one who comes from hearing a lesson in the seminary, and he is asked, “From where are you coming?” And he says, “From hearing the words of the holy King.” So is “the oracle of him who hears the words of God,” and who knows the knowledge of the upper one, for he knew the time when judgment was hanging in the world, and would direct the time with his charms.

424. “Who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open.” The vision of the Almighty is “falls down with eyes wide open”; it is Aza and Azael. Falling is Aza, who is called “falling” because the Creator put him deep, in the depth of the darkness, and he is sitting in a depth up to his neck, and darkness was thrown in his face. This is why he is called “falling,” since once, he fell from heaven, and another time he fell into the depth of the darkness. Azael is with eyes wide open since darkness was not thrown at him, since he did not attack and did not anger, such as the one above, Aza. Balaam called them “the vision of the Almighty,” who are falling down with eyes wide open.

425. At that time, there was no one left in the world to be with Aza and Azael besides Balaam. Each day, he would be hidden with them in those mountains, as it is written, “Balak, King of Moab, has led me from the mountains of the east.” From the mountains of the east indeed, and not from the land of the people of the east, meaning from the mountains of darkness.

426. Rabbi Shimon said, “I have said this matter several times, but the friends are not looking. The Creator places His Shechina [Divinity] only in a holy place, a place worthy of being in. Also, the Creator declares and says, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination.” And he, Balaam, came to mingle with them. Rather, happy are Israel, whom the Creator consecrated to be among them, as it is written, “For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp.”

And because He walks in the midst of your camp, it is written, “your camp shall be holy,” and it is written, “and you will be holy.” It is also written, “Do not defile yourself in all these,” and it is written, “I will loath them,’ for I cannot come near them, and they leave Me out. Happy are Israel, and happy are the faithful, holy prophets, who are holy, and who have a portion to use in upper holiness.