Kabbalah Library

212. “Even the bird has found a home, and the sparrow, a nest for herself, where she places her chicks—Your altars, Lord.” Would King David say such a thing about a simple, corporeal bird?

213. How loved are the souls by the Creator? Not all the souls in the world, but the souls of the righteous, whose abode is there with Him. Their abode above, their abode below. “Even the bird has found a home” are those spirits of the righteous.

214. There are three walls to the Garden of Eden, and between each one, several spirits and souls are roaming, enjoying the smell of the delight of the righteous inside the Garden of Eden, although they have not been rewarded with coming inside. But the delight of the righteous inside, as it is written, “The eye has not seen a God besides You.”

215. There are certain days in the year, the days of Nissan and the days of Tishrei, when those spirits roam and visit the place that they should. Although they roam in many of the times, in these days, these registered ones, they are seen on the walls in the garden, each one seen as birds tweeting each morning.

216. That tweet is a praise to the Creator and a prayer for the life of people in this world, since in those days, all of Israel engage in good deeds and commandments of the master of the world. At that time, the birds are seen, tweeting joyfully, and they tweet on the walls in the garden, praising and thanking, and praying for the life of this world.

217. Those spirits are certainly there. “The sparrow, a nest for herself” is the holy soul, who is called a “sparrow,” since she is the light of Bina, freedom, which rises up to a concealed and hidden place, where “the eye has not seen a God besides You.”

218. But all this is in the Garden of Eden of below. “Even the bird has found a home” are those holy spirits that are later rewarded with entering and exiting, after having roamed without a place, and they appear as birds. Those spirits have found a home. Certainly, each one has a certain abode inside.

219. And yet, all those spirits are burned by their friend’s canopy, by those who have freedom and liberty from all. The Creator shows them a concealed and hidden hall where “the eye has not seen a God besides You.” That hall is called a “bird’s nest,” and from there, crowns are made for the Messiah in the future [end of correction]. On registered days, three times a year, the Creator wants to entertain Himself with those righteous, and He shows them that concealed and hidden hall, which all the righteous who are there do not know or recognize.

220. “Where she places her chicks—Your altars, Lord.” These are the righteous who have been bettered through holy sons, who have been rewarded with the written Torah and the oral Torah in this world. Those written Torah and oral Torah are called “two altars,” and these righteous are decorated before the holy king since the merit of their sons in this world protects them and they are decorated there. Which spirit is rewarded with all this? The one who places her chicks to teach Your altars, the two laws [Torahs].

221. “Even the bird has found a home” is Jethro, “and the sparrow, a nest for herself” is his sons, who were in the Hall of Hewn Stones [in the Temple] learning Torah and cutting words of Torah with their mouths.

“Has found a home,” since in the beginning, they journeyed and encamped in the desert. They journeyed from the delight of Midian and from the sweetness that was there, and they encamped in the desert. When the Creator saw that their passion was for the Torah, He pulled them from there and admitted them into the Hall of Hewn Stones.

“And the sparrow, a nest for herself.” The bird and the sparrow are all one. The nest is as it is written, “Heber the Kenite” [Ken means “nest” in Hebrew], “And Saul said to the Kenites.”

222. “And Balak son of Tzipor [bird] saw.” What is the difference that the name of his father is mentioned, unlike the rest of the kings of Midian, whose fathers’ names were not mentioned? Jethro was drawn and shifted from idol-worship and came to adhere to Israel, he and his sons, and the whole world boycotted him and persecuted him.

223. Balak was among the sons of Jethro, but veered off from his father’s way. Since the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, who were together in their brotherhood in idol-worship, in their portion, they saw that Jethro and his sons adhered to the Shechina [Divinity], and that one veered off from them. They came and enthroned him over them at that time, as it is written, “And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.” At that time, he was king, which was not so before. This is why it is written, “son of Zippor [bird],” referring to Jethro, who was called Zippor, indicating that it was inappropriate to do so, since he was from the sons of Jethro’s sons, who was called Zippor.

“And Balak saw.” Should it not have written “heard”? However, he saw a sight and knew that he was destined to fall by Israel, and Israel would fall by his hands first, and then he will fall by Israel. This is the meaning of what is written, “And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done.”