Kabbalah Library

391. Rabbi Azaria and Rabbi Hizkiya descended from the donkeys. They said to him, “Did you hear what is written?” He said, “I heard; when the Creator wanted to give the Torah to Israel, the tablets were written face and back, as it is written, “On the one side and on the other they were written.”

392. One tablet was written face and back, and the other tablet left and right, as it is written, “And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.” Two. Why is it written twice: “and the writing was the writing”?

393. Before Israel made the calf, and the Creator wanted to give these two Torot [pl. of Torah], the written Torah, Vav, and the oral Torah, Hey, through Moses to Israel, it is written, “And the tablets were the work of God,” and the tablets were similar to Vav-Hey tablets.

The tablets are actually Yod-Hey, and the text implies the “And the tablets,” similar to the Vav-Hey in the Yod-Hey, which are HG in the Yod-Hey, which are similar to ZA and Malchut, Vav-Hey. And the words, “And the writing” is the actual Vav-Hey, ZA and Malchut.

394. The tablets are Yod-Hey. They are the work of God, upper Bina. Vav-Hey are the tablets, two arms, HG in Yod-Hey. Vav-Hey are the writing; they are Jacob and Rachel. ZA is Jacob, and Rachel is Malchut, the sun and the moon, two breasts, and they are called “one.” This is why it is written, “and the writing was the writing of God.”

He called them Vav-Hey, and he calls them writing, writing, which are two. But they are one. This is why it is written “God,” who is one. “‘Engraved on the tablets,’ do not pronounce it Harut [engraved] but Herut [freedom], freedom from the angel of death and from enslavement of Malchuts, and from all the evil illnesses in the world.

One tablet was written face and back, Vav-Hey, writing, indicating ZA and Malchut, face and back. And the other tablet left and right, Vav-Hey, tablets, indicating right and left.

395. When they made the calf, the letters fled from two phases, from the face, and from the right, and the letters of the back and of the left remained. And I will open for you the straight path, so you will understand. Elimelech and Naomi, who are Yod-Hey, and Machlon and Ruth, who are Vav-Hey, are like the two tablets.

Elimelech and Naomi are one tablet, right and left, since Yod is south and right, and the first Hey is north and left. Machlon and Ruth, ZA and Malchut, east and west, face and back, are the other tablet. When they made the calf, Elimelech, right, and Machlon, face, departed, and two females, Ruth, back, and Naomi, left, remained.

396. “And they two walked,” Ruth and Naomi, back and left, until they heard as it is written, “For the Lord has visited His people to give them bread, the bread of Torah, since another time, He gave the Torah, the second tablets.

397. “And they two walked until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass that when they came to Bethlehem, the whole city was excited because of them.” “The whole” is righteous, Yesod, ZA. The city is Zion, the City of David, Yesod of Malchut. “And they [women] said, ‘Is this Naomi,’” for when the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, it is written, “And the whole people were seeing the sounds and the torches,” which was not so in the second tablets.

398. At that time, the Torah cried out and said, “Do not call me Naomi. I went full,” in the first tablets, with every joy and abundance, and with all the freedom in the world, and even from enslavement of Malchuts. “And then she said, ‘Why do you call me Naomi [from the word Noam (pleasantness)]?’”

399. This is the meaning of the Creator saying through Moses, “You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen,” since the face, ZA, departed and only the posterior, Malchut, remained. That is, when I wanted to give the Torah to Israel right and left, face and back, they did not want and they made the calf. And here, when they do want, I will want them only to be working with My back.