Kabbalah Library

42) Happy are the righteous, since the Creator revealed to them the ways of the Torah by which to go. When the Creator created the world, meaning ZON, He made the moon, that is, He emanated the Nukva at an equal level to ZA’s. Afterwards, He waned her lights so that she has nothing of her own, except what she receives from ZA. And because she waned herself, she shines from the sun, which is ZA, by the force of the upper lights in him.

43) And when there was the Temple, Israel exerted with sacrifices and offerings and works. The priests, the Levis, and the Israelis were working to make unifications and to illuminate the lights in Nukva.

44) And after the Temple was ruined, the light has darkened and the moon, Nukva, does not shine from the sun, ZA, and the sun departed her and does not shine. And there is not a day that is not governed by curses, affliction, and pain.

45) When it is time for Nukva to shine of her own strength, at the end of correction, it is written, “Behold, My servant will be enlightened,” as was said about the moon, faith, meaning the Nukva. “…will be enlightened” is because then he is awakened from above, like one who smells a scent and comes to awaken and to see.

The word, “Behold” indicates suddenness, since at that time, an awakening from above comes upon Nukva without prior awakening from below. And since she smelled it, she comes to awaken, to see, and to be enlightened. This is why it is written, “Behold, My servant will be enlightened.”

46) “He will be exalted and elevated, and very high.” Exalted means that the Nukva will be filled with the upper light in all the lights, meaning Keter. It is written, “He will rise up to show you mercy,” referring to the light of Keter. “Elevated” is from Abraham’s side, Hesed, “high” is from Isaac’s side, Gevura, and “very” comes from Jacob’s side, Tifferet, when the Nukva is filled by all those degrees.

47) At that time, the Creator will awaken an awakening from above to properly shine unto the moon, the Nukva, as it is written, “The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days.” And for this reason, the upper light will be added within her; hence, all the dead that are buried in the dust will be revived at that time.

48) Even though it pertains to the Nukva, it is written, “My servant,” since the keys of his Master are in his hand. This is why Nukva’s perfection appears through him, and he is her emissary, as it is written, “And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder in his household, in charge over all that he has, ‘Please place your hand under my thigh.’” His servant, the moon, meaning Nukva, is revealed Matat, who is a servant, the emissary of his master.

49) “The elder in his household” is the minister of the world, which is Matat, as it is written, “I was a youth, now I am old.” “In charge over all that he has,” which are green, white, and red, the three colors of the rainbow. These are three angels—Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael—and the Shechina is seen only with them. And Matat includes them.

50) “Put your hand under my thigh” is righteous, Yesod, since he is the persistence and sustenance of the world. This is so because when he gripped the Yesod, this servant became appointed on reviving the dwellers in the dust. And he was completed with the upper spirit, to bring spirits and souls back to their places, to those bodies that withered and decayed under the dust.

51) It is written, “And I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling.” “And I will make you swear” comes from the word, “seven” [in Hebrew the words, “swear” and “seven” are spelled similarly], to be clothed in the seven upper lights, HGT NHYM, which are the wholeness of the Upper One.

“That you will not take a wife” is the body under the dust, in the grave. Now it is being revived to rise out of the dust. All those who have been rewarded with being buried in the land of Israel will be revived first, as it is written, first “…your dead shall live,” which are the dead in the land of Israel.

Afterwards, it is written, “My dead bodies shall arise.” These are the dead abroad. However, only the bodies of Israel, which were buried in the land of Israel, will arise, not the bodies of the other nations, by which the earth was defiled.

52) This is why “you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites,” for all the souls that emerge from that river which stretches out of Eden, which is Yesod, are sons to the Creator. Hence, “you will not take a wife” is the body, “for my son” is the soul, and “from the daughters of the Canaanites” are the bodies of idol worshipping nations, which the Creator is destined to shake off of the holy land, as it is written, “And the wicked be shaken off from it.”

53) “But you shall go unto my country and to my birthplace.” “…my country” is the holy land, which precedes all other lands. And “to my birthplace” is Israel.

54) It is written, “And the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and departed, and all the goods of his master were in his hand.” “The servant took” is Matat, “ten camels” are ten degrees over which that servant rules, which are like the degrees of Atzilut, “from the camels of his master,” the degrees of Nukva of Atzilut, which is his master, and over which that servant rules and by which he is corrected them.

55) “…having all the good things of his master in his hand” means all that abundance and sublime savors that emerge from these upper lights and candles. “…the good things of his master” means using the sun, ZA, extended in the moon, the Nukva, meaning that the coupling of ZON is made by it.

56) “And he rose and went to Aram-Naharaim to the city of Nahor. “And he rose and went to Aram-Naharaim, and he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when the women go out to draw water.” ““And he rose and went to Aram-Naharaim,” this is a place in the holy land, where Rachel wept when the Temple was ruined. “He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water,” to properly strengthen her powers through her Gevurot, before he came to revive the bodies.

Camels are the degrees of the servant. This is why he arranged them outside the city, for there is the place of the judgments, in order to correct the left line of the Nukva.

57) “…at evening time” is the eve of the Sabbath, Yesod, which is the time of the sixth millennium. This is so because the six working days are the six thousand years, and the sixth day, which is the eve of the Sabbath, corresponds to the sixth millennium, the time of the revival of the dead. Evening time is when the judgments appear, in the evening, in Yesod, which the servant corrected.

58) “…when the women go out to draw water” pertains to the women who draw the waters of the Torah. This is because at that time, they will be revived first from among all the other people, since they have been engaged in drawing the waters of Torah and have become strengthened by the tree of life. And they will be the first to come out to the revival of the dead, for the tree of life caused them to be revived.

The middle line is called “Torah.” It is also called, “the tree of life,” and the waters of the Torah are its bounty. And those who cling and receive the bounty from the middle line are called, “women who draw,” and they will live before all others, who draw from the two other lines.

59) “…and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.” The land is destined to eject all the corpses from within it. This is why it is written, “coming out,” referring to those corpses that the earth will eject from within it at the time of revival. “…to draw water” means to take a soul and to receive it properly, so it is properly corrected in its place.

60) “And the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’” for each of the souls in the world, which have existed in this world and tried to know their Master in the upper wisdom, rises and exists in a higher degree than all those souls that did not attain and did not know. And they will be revived first. And this is the question that that servant was about to ask and to know, “What was that soul engaged in, in this world?” to see if she is worthy of being revived first.

61) “And she says [to me], ‘Drink.’” You should drink and be watered first. And after you, “and I will also water your camels,” since the rest of these chariots, although they are watered by that degree, they are all watered primarily from the work of the righteous, who know the proper work of their Master. This is so because the righteous know how to properly provide for each degree. Hence, if she says, “I will also water your camels,” she must be the woman that the Creator had intended to my master’s son; this must be the body that is intended for that sublime soul.

Man’s life is seventy years, corresponding to the seven qualities HGT NHYM, which he gradually corrects from above downward, from Hesed to Malchut. And when he reaches Malchut, he cannot correct it due to the sin of the tree of knowledge, and then he dies. This is so because there are two points in Malchut: 1. one from itself, which is hidden, and 2. one from Bina, which is revealed.

In and of herself, she is unfit for light. Hence, her own point must be concealed. And if her point is revealed, the lights promptly depart her. This is the meaning of, “rewarded—it is good; not rewarded—it is bad.” Hence, when man reaches seventy years, the point of Malchut herself appears; and therefore, the lights of life depart a person and he dies.

For this reason, in the future—during the great coupling from Rosh of Atik, when Malchut receives her final correction in a way that she is worthy of receiving the upper light in herself, as well—all the bodies will be revived, for they died only because of the flaw in Malchut. And when she is corrected to receive the light of life, they will be revived.

There is a difference here between the dead in the land of Israel and the dead abroad. 1. Those righteous who adhere to the middle line are called, “Israel,” and their land is the land of Israel. They will be revived instantly and will receive their proper soul. 2. But those who are not attached to the middle line—the dead abroad—although Malchut has already been corrected, will need many more corrections until they are revived and receive their souls. These corrections are called, “the incarnation of pardons,” and through these corrections, they come to the land of Israel and receive their souls.

This is as it is written, “And Abraham said to his servant, the elder in his household.” “Abraham said,” meaning Hochma, “to his servant,” who is Matat. The illumination of Hochma that is drawn from the coupling of ZON of Atzilut to BYA is included in the angel Matat, the minister of the face,” since face is Hochma, as it is written, “A man’s wisdom will illuminate his face.” And this is why he is called, “the elder in his household,” for who is elder? One who has acquired wisdom.

“In charge over all that he has,” with Hochma and Hassadim together, corrected in three lines: right, left, and middle.

“Please place your hand under my thigh,” meaning include yourself in Yesod and receive the illumination of the great coupling for Malchut’s final correction. Then he will be qualified to revive the dead. “And I will make you swear by the God of heaven and the God of earth,” that he will receive the seven complete lights that correct the Nukva, called “seven,” as it is written, “and the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days.”

It is written, “You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling, but you will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” “You will not take a wife,” meaning a body. “To my son,” meaning a soul. “From the daughters of the Canaanites,” who adhere to the left line and are impure and unfit to clothe a holy soul. “But …to my country,” the land of Israel, “and to my birthplace,” Israel, meaning those who clung to the middle line in their lives are called, “Israel,” and their land is the land of Israel. And they will stand first for the revival of the dead.

“And the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and departed, and all the goods of his master were in his hand.” “Ten camels” is illumination of Hassadim, and “all the goods of his master were in his hand” is illumination of Hochma.

And this is the servant’s guess, saying, “And the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,‎’ and she says, ‘Drink,’ and I will also water your camels,’ let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac.” This is so because he has tested if the body had clung to the middle line while it lived in this world, for then he is considered “land of Israel” and is worthy of being revived. “Drink” is illumination of Hochma, which is discerned as the servant himself, and “I will also water your camel” is considered Hassadim.

And if he drew these two lights during his life, it is a sign that he was attached to the middle line, which contains these two lights. Hence, “You have appointed for Your servant, to Isaac,” that he is worthy of being revived and to receive his soul, which is Isaac.

This is why it was said that each soul from the souls in the world that had existed in this world and exerted to know their Master with the upper wisdom, meaning drew illumination of Hochma through Daat, at which time he has both lights—Hochma and Hassadim—since Daat is Hassadim; it ascends and exists in a sublime degree, above all those souls that did not attain and did not know.

They are poised to be revived first, since they are considered the dead of the land of Israel, who will be revived first. And this is the question that that servant is about to ask and know, “What was that soul engaged in, in this world?” for he had to know if that body was fit to be the first in the revival of the dead.

She said, “You must drink and be watered first, and after you, “I will also water your camels.” This is so because first, you must draw illumination of Hochma, and then illumination of Hassadim. This is so because before one draws illumination of Hochma, the Hassadim are considered VAK without a Rosh [head]. Hence, first illumination of Hochma must be drawn, and subsequently Hassadim.

And then the Hassadim are regarded as complete GAR, pure air, since they know how to adhere to the middle line and to draw Hochma first, and Hassadim next, meaning they know how to impart upon each and every degree and how to correct it properly. And then Hassadim, too, become GAR.

62) The yearning of the male for the female, by which the illumination of Hochma is extended from the Nukva, creates a soul. And the craving of the female to the male, by which Hassadim are drawn out of the male, rises and mingles with the soul above. The Hochma of the Nukva mingles with the male’s Hassadim and creates the soul, meaning completes it. This is why the servant guessed that if she said, “drink”—extension of Hochma, “and I will water your camels, too”—extension of Hassadim, then she is the woman, since this must be the body which is ready for the desire of the soul that is extended from the male, ZA, which comprises Hochma and Hassadim together.

63) These bodies are destined to be revived first, and after these are revived, all the others, which are abroad, will be revived. They will persist with wholesome persistence and will be renewed with the renewal of the moon. At that time, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun and the world will be resumed as in the beginning. It is written about that time, “the Lord will be glad in His works.”

64) “Behold, My servant will be enlightened.” The servant, Matat, will wisely bring the souls back, each to its own place, to its fitting body, as we said, exalted and elevated, and very high, from the perspective of all those high degrees.

65) It is written, “Just as many were astonished at you, so his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” When the Temple was ruined and the Shechina was exiled among strange lands, it is written, “Behold, their brave men weep in the streets; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.” Everyone was weeping over it and connected weeping with lamenting. And all this was because the Shechina had been exiled from her place.

And as she was changed in exile from the way she was, her husband, ZA, does not shine his light, as well, for then he has no one upon whom to shine. Thus, he has changed from how he was, as it is written, “The sun will be dark when it rises.”

“So his appearance was marred more than any man,” than that servant, Matat, who changed his shape and colors during the exile, and unlike what they were, they are green, white, and red.

66) Since the day the Temple was ruined, the sky, ZA, did not stand in its light. Blessings are present only where there are male and female, as it is written, “…male and female He created them. And God blessed them…” But in the exile, when there is no coupling of ZON, it is therefore written, “His appearance was marred more than any man.”

This means that the deficiency is due to the absence of the coupling at the time of exile. And the deficiency is in ZA, too, since the blessing is present only in the coupling of ZON. Moreover, the light of ZA has darkened because the Nukva was darkened in exile and does not receive from him. It follows that the deficiency is not in him, but since he has no one upon whom to bestow, he does not receive lights.

67) It is written, “The righteous is lost,” meaning lost the blessings, since blessings are present only where there are male and female together.

68) Consequently, when the male is not with her, all the souls depart her. They are different from how they were when the sun, ZA, was connected to the moon, Nukva. This is because as ZON changed during the exile from how they were before, their offspring, which are the souls, have changed from how they were, as well. It is written about it, “These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph,” meaning after Joseph settled in Jacob and the sun made a coupling with the moon. Hence, at that time, the merit of the souls increases and they change in exile.

69) “…and he was still a youth…” because their coupling never stops, meaning righteous—Yesod—and righteousness—Nukva—together. This is so because the twelve tribes are parts of the Shechina. Eight of them are sons of Leah and Rachel, the anterior of the Shechina, and four are sons of the handmaids, the posterior of the Shechina. Joseph was attached and corrected the posterior of the Shechina, as well, since at that time, the coupling of ZON was in the form of AVI, whose coupling never parts. Hence, Yesod and Malchut are together through all the parts of Nukva, even in her posterior.

Nukva is called by the name of the male: Hacham [wise, male] and Hochma [wisdom, female], Gibor [strong, male] and Gevura [strength, female], Melech [king, male] and Malchut [kingship, female]. Similarly, the male is called by the name of the Nukva—Na’ar [lad]—since the Nukva is called Na’arah [lass], and Yesod is named after her by the name, Na’ar.

70) He is present in all twelve tribes, and even in the sons of the handmaids, which are the posteriors of the Shechina, to properly renew them and to delight them with his joy. This is so because all the branches and all the leaves of the Shechina are blessed by its joy, meaning even the posterior parts of the Shechina, which are called “leaves,” are corrected with him.

71) “These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph.” The entire form of Jacob was in Joseph, and all that happened to Jacob, happened to Joseph, too, and they both walk together. This is the letter Vav, where the first Vav is Jacob, Tifferet, and the filling of Vav, which is pronounced with her, is Joseph, Yesod, and they both walk together, meaning they sound as one in the expression of the Vav because they are one carrier and one form.

As Jacob is the middle line from the Chazeh upwards—Tifferet—that determines between Hesed and Gevura, Joseph is the middle line from the Chazeh downwards, Yesod, which determines between Netzah and Hod. This is why they are similar to one another and are of one form.

72) “And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.” He said about them to his father that they were eating organs of animals while they were still alive. “And Joseph brought back a bad report about them.” But in the count of twelve tribes, these were the sons of the handmaids; thus, how were the sons of Leah disparaging them? And how did they eat an organ of a living animal, breaching the commandment of their master, since even the sons of Noah were commanded this commandment, as it is written, ‘Only you shall not eat flesh with its life.’ Thus, how could they have eaten and breached the commandment of their master?” And he replies that Joseph said so of his own mind, and hence was punished.