Kabbalah Library

112) “My beloved is to me as a cluster of henna.” A cluster is upper Ima, Bina. As a cluster is decorated for Israel—who eat it—with several leaves and twigs, upper the Shechina, Bina, decorates herself, meaning raises MAN to Hochma with several ornaments of eight vessels—the four letters HaVaYaH and the four letters ADNI—which are ZON.

Israel sacrifice from several offerings, from several types of decorations that she atoned for her sons, and she stands in them before the king, Hochma, as it is written, “And I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant,” meaning He makes a coupling with her. And Bina gives us of her requests—which she borrows from Hochma for us by those blessings that our sages established in prayer—to ask before the king.

113) During the coupling of HB, all the judgments of the lower the Shechina, Malchut, Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod ADNI, turn to mercy, Yod–Hey Vav–Hey, to keep the verse, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” meaning Yod–Hey Vav–Hey. It is written, “Though they be red like crimson,” which is Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod, “They shall be as wool,” which is Yod–Hey Vav–Hey. All of Malchut’s judgments are whitened by the upper Shechina, from Bina.

114) It is written, “The flaming sword that turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.” The Shechina, which is Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod, is called “The flaming sword that turned every way” because at times she turns to mercy and at times to judgment; at times she is men and at times she is women; at times she is judgment, Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod, and at times mercy, Yod–Hey Vav–Hey, since she is from the side of the tree of life. This means that if the Shechina conjoins with the tree of life, ZA, which rose to Bina, all the judgments in her turn into mercy. And with respect to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which is the Shechina that is not conjoined with the tree of life, all the mercy in her turn into judgment, to judge those who breach the words of Torah.

When Malchut is in Katnut [smallness], in judgment, her coupling with ZA is regarded as Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod ADNI, since Hey–Vav–Hey–Yod is reversed HaVaYaH, which shines from below upwards—Yod is in the beginning, below, above it is the first Hey, above it is the Vav, and at the top stands the bottom Hey. This indicates that ZA is VAK without a Rosh and imparts judgments for the name ADNI, Malchut. Also, the light of VAK of ZA, which imparts from below upwards, is called “female light,” meaning women.

When she makes a coupling with ZA of Gadlut that rose to Bina, the coupling is considered Yod–Hey Vav–Hey ADNI, since direct HaVaYaH indicates bestowing directly from above downwards, at which time ZA is called “the tree of life.” This means that it receives GAR and life from Bina, and this light of ZA is also called “male light,” “men.”

This is why Malchut is called, “The flaming sword that turned every way,” since with the sin of the lower ones, ZON descend from Bina downwards and then there is the coupling Yod–Hey Vav–Hey ADNI. And when they repent, ZON rise to Bina once more and all the judgments in her turn into mercy, and the coupling is HaVaYaH ADNI.

115) This tree of life stands in the next world, Bina, in which all the names of the judgment are inverted into mercy. This is why the next world, Bina, is not like this world, meaning Malchut. This world says about good news, “Blessed is the Good who does good,” and says about bad news, “Blessed is the judge of truth.” The next world is entirely the Good who does good; there is no judgment there. For this reason, Bina is “The flaming sword that turned every way,” from judgment to mercy, to give the righteous their reward in the next world. Malchut is “The flaming sword that turned every way,” from mercy to judgment, to judge with it the wicked in this world.

116) The tree of knowledge of good and evil is like the rod that turns into a snake, into real evil, and not from mercy to judgment. At times, women turn into female demons and men into male demons. This is why it is written, “And Jacob told Rachel,” and this is why a man should not be with his wife before he speaks with her, lest his wife has turned into a demon, since the flame turns from good to actual evil in the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

It is written, “And the magicians did in like manner with their secret arts,” meaning that Pharaoh’s magicians turned their rods into snakes with their flames. How did they do this? They could turn because of these turns in the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Male demons and female demons are the creatures that were created on the eve of the Sabbath, in the twilight, and were not completed. Hence, the unmitigated measure of judgment in them is revealed, and they are devoid of the correction of the concealment, as in the degrees of holiness. This is why they are damaging in the world because wherever they cling, they corrupt the correction of the concealment. And the point of unmitigated Malchut of the quality of judgment appears there, hence the lights must depart, since the force of restriction lies on her.

As long as the Mochin of Katnut govern a person, he is always in a state of overturning. And there are two kinds of overturning: from mercy to judgment or from judgment to mercy, from good to bad or from bad to good. In the beginning, they turn on a person from the mercy of Bina into the judgment of the left, the freezing of all the lights, to judge the wicked, who are drawn to these Mochin. Then the upper coupling is in Yod–Hey Vav–Hey ADNI.

And if they prolong their sin and do not repent, they turn further from good to bad, meaning the Malchut of the quality of judgment appears in them, which was hidden in them and is bad. Then the lights depart them because if he is not rewarded, he is bad. This is considered that these men and women, in whom there was the correction of the concealment, has now been turned into male demons and female demons, meaning they lack the correction of the concealment, since the Malchut of the unmitigated quality of judgment appears in them, as in the male demons and female demons.

It is said, “At times, women turn into female demons and men into male demons.” This is why it is written, “And Jacob told Rachel,” since telling is extension of Mochin of Gadlut, meaning that Jacob, ZA, extended Mochin of Gadlut to Rachel, Malchut, so she would not turn into a demon. As long as she was in Mochin of Katnut there was fear that she would turn into a demon, that the correction of concealment would be spoiled in her. This is why a man must not be with his wife before he speaks with her, lest she has been turned into a demon.

This implies ZA, which does not bestow to the Malchut in a coupling before it draws Mochin of Gadlut to her, which are called “telling,” as it is written, “The heavens tell.” It is also called “speaking,” since as long as Malchut is in Mochin of Katnut she might be turned into a demon, that the correction of the concealing might spoil in her as in a demon.

Thus, how could the magicians turn their rods into snakes? After all, because the correction of the concealment is corrupted in them and the quality of judgment is revealed. Hence, they are not worthy even of receiving the life of a snake? They could turn in these turns of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That is, in regard to the turning from good to bad and from bad to good, the magicians could temporarily turn their rods into snakes, meaning extend lights of the shell of the snake. This is so because they could temporarily conceal their quality of judgment and make themselves similar to men and women, but not for long. In the end, it is destined to reappear, and then the spirit of life that they drew from the serpent of shell leaves and their snake returns below.