Kabbalah Library

271. How praiseworthy is one hall that stands at the top of the east side of its court, since the four phases are in the court, to the four directions of the world, HG, on the right and on the left, south and north, TM in the east and in the west. However, the hall on the east side increases its lights more than everyone.

272. One day, a big whale goes out to the great sea, and the whole sea shakes, and all the fish go here and here. When the whale reaches the door, the door of the abyss, it begins to rejoice, and the abysses there grow quiet.

However, it is like a spring, and the lights are covered, and all those lights are not seen, except for that light in that hall on the east side.

273. The gem that the whale brings out from the abyss is called Sagdon. What is it made of? That day when the whale took out the gem, when the sea shook was the day when the Temple was ruined, the nineth of Av. That gem, when the Creator remembers His children and sheds two tears into the great sea, one tear falls into that abyss called Sagdon, and one drop falls into another abyss called Gilba.

274. Because five other abysses are in the great sea but are not as important as those other ones, which are Sagdon and Gilba, and because those tears fall, they freeze inside one abyss, and one tear drowns inside the abyss called Gilba.

The court is VAK of Malchut, and the halls, which are ten complete Sefirot, are clothed inside the court. For this reason, they are 365 halls, since three-hundred are GAR, as each Sefira contains one-hundred, as they are from Bina, whose numbers are hundreds. Sixty is VAK, as each one contains ten, as they are from ZA, whose numbers are tens. Malchut, her Sefirot are units. There should be ten, but because Malchut lacks half of a Partzuf from her own phase, she is regarded as only five. This is how they are 365. Inside that court there are 365 halls, ten complete Sefirot. In order not to be mistaken and say that they are in the count of from-the-Chazeh-and-below, as with the 365 pillars, it was said, “As the number of the days in the year,” for the days of the year are ten Sefirot of Partzuf Malchut.

In each door in each hall, it is written, “May there be peace in your walls, tranquility in your palaces.” This indicates the control of the middle line, which makes peace between the right and left of all the Sefirot. It is not known what is in those halls since they are GAR, and what is attained from them is seven orders of gems, surrounding one inside the other in each and every one, in each and every hall. They are called “gems” because they are the phases of from-the-Chazeh-and-below, where there is the phase of Raglayim [legs], and Margalit [gem] comes from the word Raglayim.

They are seven orders since they have seven Sefirot in them HGT NHYM. From the Chazeh and below of each of the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM, they are seven orders of gems. They are in each and every hall, and there is attainment in them. The halls are divided into four directions—south, north, east, and west—which, in the court, are HGT and Malchut. The east, Tifferet, is the middle line. The hall on the east side increases its lights more than everyone since it contains south and north, HG, which it bestows upon the west, Malchut.

During the control of the left line in the great sea, a division happens there between right and left, as it is written, “Will rise to heaven, descend to the abysses.” Also, Malchut, called “courthouse,” is separated from ZA and is ruined. This continues until the middle line, the whale, diminishes the left line and unites it with the right, and then the sea subsides and joy returns to the worlds.

One day, a whale comes out in the great sea. On the day when the kingship was ruined, the Temple, due to the intensification of the left, the middle line, called whale, comes out, since the whole sea is shaken and all the fish go here and here because of the division between right and left. When the whale comes to make peace between right and left, by this, an opening is made in the great abyss and the lights open. It begins to rejoice, and the abysses calm from the vexation and anger in the division because the whale has made peace between them.

That peace which the whale makes between left and right in the sea, which unites them with each other, reveals by this the illumination of Hochma in the left, since after the left unites with the right, the Hochma in the left dresses in the Hassadim in the right, and then the Hochma can be revealed. Conversely, before he makes peace, the Hochma was without Hassadim and was full of judgments and could not shine. The revealing of that Hochma through the whale is called a “gem,” which is revealed only from the Chazeh and below, which is called Raglayim.

How is the gem taken out from the abyss Sagdon by the whale? That day when the whale comes to take out the gem, at which time the sea shook because of the division between right and left, is the day when the Temple, Malchut, was ruined, since she was separated from ZA, and it is called the “nineth of Av,” the day of the ruin of the Temple below.

That gem which the whale took out at that time is so, when the Creator remembers His children to redeem them, to return Malchut to Him, which is the building of the Temple and the redemption of Israel. He sheds two tears into the great sea, two Malchuts. One is red because Malchut is united with Bina, and one is black, Malchut of the quality of judgment.

The judgments of the right that there are in the abysses are called Gilba and from there, the Yod does not come out from the air. The judgments of the left that there are in the abysses are called Sagdon, and from there, the Yod comes out from the air, and the left controls. By this, the water freezes.

The red tear, which is sweetened and thoroughly united with Bina, falls into the abyss called Sagdon. The black tear, in which there is from Malchut of the quality of judgment, which is not sweetened in Bina, falls into another abyss called Gilba. It falls into the abyss called Gilba, judgments of the right, from which the Yod does not come out from the air, and hence, the black tear is incorporated in those judgments. This is its entire correction, and nothing more.

There are seven abysses in the sea, corresponding to seven Sefirot, since in each one there are ten Sefirot, and the screen between Keter and Hochma and between Bina and TM in each one is called an “abyss.” For this reason, there are seven abysses, one abyss in each Sefira. Those two abysses, Gilba and Sagdon, are in HG of the seven Sefirot. Because the five other abysses are in the great sea, namely the abysses in the five Sefirot TNHYM, but they are not as important as Gilba and Sagdon, since they are in the two top Sefirot HG.

When those tears fall, they freeze inside one abyss, in Sagdon, where the Yod goes out from the air and the left controls, and because of it, the water freezes. One tear drowns in the abyss called Gilba, since the black tear, in which the actual Malchut of the quality of judgment is revealed, cannot receive her correction in the abyss called Sagdon. Rather, it exits there and drowns in Gilba, which are judgments of the right, from the dot of Holam. This is its entire correction since it mingles there with the judgments of the right, which are from Bina.

Afterwards, when the whale makes peace between right and left and the sea opens, and the illumination of Hochma on the left receives its corrections and shines, which is called a “gem,” it takes it out from that red tear, when it fell into Sagdon and froze. By uniting the left with the right, the whale opens Sagdon from its freezing and the tear receives illumination of Hochma.

That gem contains seven Sefirot, which are seven orders of gems. The judgments of the right are called Gilba, from the letters Gil Ba [merriment comes], the dot of Holam, which draws Hassadim to the right. For this reason, merriment comes with them. The judgments of the left are called Sagdon, which means bowing, since its correction is only by lowering the head, diminution of the GAR of GAR, for then it unites with the right.