Kabbalah Library

59. “And they went up the Negev.” People go up in the Torah in the Negev, with a lazy heart, as one who is laboring in vain, dryly, thinking there is no reward in it. He sees that the wealth of this world is lost because of it, and thinks that everything is lost. In the Negev is as it is written, “the water had dried out,” and it is translated as Nagivu [wiped].

60. “And came up to Hebron.” He came to connect with the Torah; he reads and studies in it. “And there, Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of the giant.” He sees many divisions there: impure and pure, forbidden and permitted, punishment and reward. These are the ways of the Torah, the precisions of the Torah. “The children of the giant” are those who were born from the side of Gevura, since Ahiman has the letters of Ahi [my brother] Man. “Brother” means seeing; Man is like Minian [ten], and he makes a precision to find evidence for every thing. This is the precisions of the Torah. Sheshai comes from Sasson [merriment], like Sissu [be merry], the reward for the Torah. Talmai, from the words Talmei HaSadeh [furrows of the field], the divisions of the Torah: impure, pure, etc., like furrows over furrows.

61. “Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.” “Now Hebron was built seven years” is the seventy faces of the Torah. The Torah has seventy faces: ZA, who has only VAK [six edges] HGT NHY, and Malchut. These are seven Sefirot. Each of them consists of ten Sefirot, thus they are seventy. Hebron is the Torah since one who exerts in it is called Haver [friend].

“Before Zoan in Egypt.” There is Torah opposite the Torah. The written Torah is ZA, and the oral Torah is Malchut. Hebron is the oral Torah, Malchut, which emerged from the written Torah, from ZA, as it is written, “Say to wisdom, you are my sister.” She was built seven years, which are the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM, which is why she is called Bet Sheva [seven years old]. “Before Zoan in Egypt,” as it is written, “And Solomon’s wisdom,” which is Malchut, excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.”

The Zohar brings evidence that Malchut went out from ZA from the verse, “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister.’” This Hochma [wisdom] is Malchut, who is called “bottom Hochma.” Since the souls of Israel emerged from ZA, and Malchut also emerged from ZA, the text says, “Say to Hochma that she is your sister,” since Malchut came out from ZA.

It is also written, “Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt,” since Egypt is the opposite of Hochma; it is the Hochma of the shells. Hebron, Malchut, was built with seven Sefirot from ZA, corresponding to her opposite, which is Zoan in Egypt, which was emptied and has no construction, since when holiness rises, the Sitra Achra falls.

62. “And they came to the brook of Eshkol.” These are words of legend and interpretation that are hanging from the side of faith, Malchut, since interpretations and legends are hanging on the Torah and encircle it like grapes in a cluster.

“And [they] cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes.” They learned from there the chapter headings, the key points. Those who have faith are happy about the words, and the words are blessed within them, and they look that they are one root, and one core, and there is no separation between them.

Those who have no faith, and do not learn Torah Lishma [for Her sake], make faith, Malchut, separate from ZA, since they blemish the coupling of ZA and Malchut, which are the written Torah and the oral Torah, since they do not believe that they are one core and one root.

“And they carried it on a pole between two of them.” They made a separation between the written Torah and the oral Torah, and they regard them as two. A pole is as it is written, “Do not let your leg fall [“pole” and “fall” are the same word in Hebrew].

“Some pomegranates and figs.” They put these matters completely to the Sitra Achra, next to the Minim [idolaters] and next to the separation, since Rimonim [pomegranates] comes from the word Minim. Te’enim [figs] comes from the word Ina [caused to happen], as it is written, “And God caused it to happen to him,” which is by chance, that they do not believe in Providence and say about everything that it is by chance, and separate the Creator from the world.

63. It is written, “They returned from spying out the land.” “Returned” means returned to the side of evil, returned from the path of truth, saying “What did we get out of it? To this day, we have not seen good in the world. We ‎have labored in Torah and the house is empty, and we sat among the lowest of the people. Who will be rewarded with that world, and who will come into it? It would have been better had we not labored so.”

They told him and said, “We went to the land where you sent us; we labored and learned in order to know that part of that world as you advised us. And it is also flowing with milk and honey; the upper world is good, as we ‎know from the Torah, but who can be rewarded with it?‎”

64. “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong.” “Strong,” this is the nation that was rewarded with that world, which did not value the world at all, to engage in it, to have great wealth. Will one who can do so be rewarded with it? Certainly! Indeed, “the people who dwell in the land are strong.” One who wants to be rewarded with it must be strong in wealth, as it is written, “the rich answer roughly.”

“And the cities are fortified and very large.” He must have houses filled abundantly, where nothing is missing.

“And we also saw the descendants of the giant there.” It takes a strong body, as mighty as a lion, since the Torah exhausts man’s strength, when he engages in the forbidden and permitted, impure and pure, worthy and unworthy. Who can be rewarded with it?

65. It is also written, “Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev.” If one should say that even with all this, he will be rewarded with overcoming, Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev. After all, the evil inclination, the accuser, who slanders a person, is always in the body.

“And the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” There are several slanderers there, so that man will never be able to enter that world at all. Who can be rewarded with it and who will enter it?

With these words, they steer the hearts of the children of Israel toward not coming into the land, since they slandered it, as it is written, “And they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land.”

66. “If the Lord desires us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us.” Those with faith said this. When one exerts for the Creator with the heart’s desire, he will be rewarded with it, since the Creator wants nothing from him but the heart, and to keep that holy impression, which is the covenant of holiness, as it is written, “And Your people are all righteous; they will forever inherit the earth,” the keepers of the covenant, who are called “righteous.”

67. However, do not rebel against the Creator. We must not rebel against the Torah because the ‎Torah does not require wealth or vessels of silver and gold. “And you, do not fear the people ‎of the land,” for if a broken body engages in the Torah, it will find healing for everything, as it is written, “It will be healing to your navel and a potion to your bones.” All the slanderers against a person turn into his helpers ‎and declare, “Make way for so and so, the King’s servant!” so no one will stop ‎him from coming to the King to serve Him.

68. “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread.” They, the slanderers themselves, summon food each day for those who engage in Torah, as it is written, “And I have commanded the ravens to feed you,” and it is written, “And the ravens brought him bread and meat.” Although the ravens are impure birds, from the Sitra Achra, they nourished him.

“Their shadow is removed from them, and the Lord is with us.” Their shadow is the force of harsh judgment in them, which was removed and revoked. Removed, since “the Lord is with us, do not fear them.” All their strength was revoked because of the Torah. Happy are those who engage in Torah Lishma [for Her sake], since they truly connect to the Creator, and they are called “brothers and friends,” as it is written, “For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Let peace be in you.’”

69. “And they came to the brook of Eshkol, and cut a branch from there, and a cluster of grapes.” They cut the cluster and came to mount it on themselves, but they could not. They came to move it from its place, but they could not. Joshua and Caleb came, took it, mounted it, and it became upright by them, as it is written, “And they carried it on a pole between two of them.” Two, the only two who did not sin, who are Joshua and Caleb.

Why did they need a branch? The cluster was hanging on it, and while it was connected in its place, it was called a “branch.” Afterwards, once they cut it, it was called a “pole,” as it is written, “And they carried it on a pole,” meaning the one that was cut off from the tree.

70. Thus, when they saw that they could take the cluster and others could not, Joshua and Caleb knew that they were worthy of entering the land, and that they would have a portion and a lot in it. As the spies were walking, they all conspired against Joshua and Caleb, for they envied them for being able to take the cluster, and they conspired to kill them.

Caleb arose over the fruit and said, “Fruit, fruit, if we are killed because of you, what are we in your portion?” The cluster promptly made itself lighter so that everyone could carry it, and they gave them the cluster.

71. However, they did not give the cluster to others, for it is written, “And they carried it on a pole,” and it is written, “between two of them,” meaning the best two, and among everyone, there were no two like them. From here, Joshua learned afterwards, to send only two spies, as it is written, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies.” When Joshua and Caleb reached Israel, they gave the cluster to the spies and they remained, and initially, did not say anything to Israel, for only the spies said, “And this is its fruit,” for they made themselves leftovers.

72. When the spies reached those giants, they would place Moses’ staff before them and they were saved. They were saved thanks to the staff. It is not that the giants left them; rather, they came to catch them, and they would place the staff in front of them were saved from them.

73. They were called by three names: Nefillim [fallen], Anakim [giants], Rephaim [dead/loose], and they all lived long. First, they were called Nefillim, when they were dropped from heaven. After they connected the daughters of man and begot from them, the children were called Anakim. Afterwards, when they would walk and wander in this world, and dropped themselves from the world above, they were called Rephaim.

74. It is written, “the Rephaim will tremble.” Rephaim, too, are regarded as Anakim [giants]. Rephaim comes from the word Rifion [looseness], because the Anakim came from the angels and from the daughters of man, and they became more despaired from being in the land. Likewise, the Rephaim, who emerged and were born from the Anakim, were even more despaired, until they completely let go of above. They lived long, and when they grew weak, half their body weakened and died, and half the body remained alive, since they were half angels, who do not die, and half people, who do die.

Since half their body had died, they would take a herb from the herbs of the field, the potion of death, and put it in their mouths and die. And because they wanted to kill themselves, they were called Rephaim [dead/loose] for letting go of life. They would throw themselves in the great sea and drown and die, as it is written, “The dead will tremble under the water and its dwellers.”

75. If Israel were to enter the land under the sign of the slander of the spies, the world would not have stood for even a minute. The craftsman of slander, his root is a serpent. When the serpent came on Eve in the sin of the tree of knowledge, he cast filth in her, his filth, and all the sins of people come from this filth. The Creator forgave all of them except for slander, for it is written, “Who have said, ‘With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?’”

76. What did the spies’ slander do? The Creator sentenced our fathers not to enter the land. Those who slandered died, and weeping for posterity was decreed, for on that day, the two temples were ruined. When they uttered slander against the holy land, it is as though they uttered against the Creator. For this reason, the Creator was zealous about this, and Israel were about to be obliterated from the world, were it not for Moses’ prayer.

77. “And they told him and said, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us.’” “And they told him and said” means that each one interpreted the matter separately. Wherever it is written “and said,” it implies Hochma [wisdom]. “And said” [in singular form] is mere saying. “And said” [in plural form] means a thought of the heart. “And said” is giving a command. “And told” means an interpretation of the mattes, that each one interpreted the matters.

78. “We came to the land.” “Came,” entered that land there, which You were praising each day and would say that there is none like it. “And it is also flowing with milk and honey.” One who wants to lie begins by telling a truthful words so his lies would be believed. This is why they first said, “And it is also flowing with milk and honey.”

79. “They said, ‘We came to the land that You would praise each day, saying that there is none like it, and it is also flowing with milk and honey,’ and You raised its praise over all the lands. But it is not so, because “this is its fruit,” since they cut down one of the small clusters and showed them. They said, “If the Creator bequeaths this land to Israel, and they suffered all those troubles and labors for it, then there are twice as important clusters and fruits in the land of Egypt.

80. “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong.” They said that normally, the strong ones who wage wars dwell outside the cities to guard the roads. But here, even the city dwellers are strong, mighty. “And the cities are fortified,” so even if all the kings of the world gather on them, they will not be able to spoil anything in them.

Everything they said, they said in slander, and the harshest of them all was as it is written, “Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev.” It is like a person who was bitten by a snake. When they want to threaten him, they tell him, “There is a snake here.”

81. It is certainly the harshest of all that they said, that the one who wages war against everyone is here. In what place? In the land of the Negev, through which one enters the land. Promptly, “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night,” establishing a weeping for generations for the world on that night, which was the nineth of Av, on which both temples were ruined.

82. They resolved to slander everything, the land and the Creator. How do we know about the Creator? It is written, “Nevertheless, the people are strong,” meaning who can prevail over them? “The people are strong,” and even the Creator cannot overcome them, and they slandered the Creator. It is written, “Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev.” Then they caused all this, and the Creator wanted to obliterate them from the world, as it is written, “And He sought to destroy there,” if Moses, His chosen one, had not stood up Him.