“Ani YHVH (I am God), that is My Name. My glory I shall not give to another, nor My praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)
There is an upper unification and a lower unification: Shema Yisrael and Barukh shem kvod malkhuto l’olam va’ed (Blessed be the name of His glorious Kingdom forever more) (Zohar I, 18b). Each and every Jew should make certain to bring about [these unifications]. By doing so, one can come to deep Torah understanding.
When a person is on a low spiritual level, he is still very far from Torah understanding. Only through speech will he be able to come to deep Torah understanding—i.e., by verbalizing the words of Torah. As it is written (Proverbs 4:22), “For they are life l’motzA’eihem (to those who find them)”—[and our Sages taught: Read this] l’motzI’eihem (to those who express them) verbally (Eruvin 54a).
Speech enlightens a person regarding all the areas in which he needs to repent. As our Sages taught: Open your mouth and your speech will enlighten (Berakhot 22a). And each and every time, because of each and every repentance, he moves from level to level until he emerges from his low spiritual level and comes to deep Torah understanding.
This is what Yochni and Mamrei asked Moshe: “You’re bringing teven (straw) into Apharayim?” To which he answered, “People say, ‘To the vegetable market, take vegetables [to sell]’” (Menachot 85a). TeVeN corresponds to TeVuNah (understanding) <of Torah>, as is written (Proverbs 2:11), “understanding will preserve you.” [Yochni and Mamrei] understood that Moshe wanted to bring Torah understanding into the Jewish people. This is why they asked, because when the Jews do not carry out God’s will, they are likened to aphar (dust). How could he bring them to a high level, to Torah understanding?
Thus: “Teven” connotes tevunot of Torah. “You’re bringing into Apharayim?” alludes to aphar, i.e., a low spiritual level. He answered them, “People say”—in other words, through speaking; the speech of a Jewish person directs him to all the areas in which he needs to repent. This is, “To a place of yarka (vegetables)”—the areas in which he should repent. YaRKa corresponds to repentance, as the Midrash comments: “vaYaReK (he called out) his trained servants” (Genesis 14:14) —[Avraham] enlightened them by reciting the Chapter of Shoftim (Bereishit Rabbah 43:2). In other words, he encouraged them to repent. For the Chapter of Shoftim deals with repentance, [as our Sages taught:] “Is there any among you who is afraid or faint-hearted” (Deuteronomy 20:8) —he fears because of the sins he committed (Sotah 43a).
This is the meaning of “People say, ‘To the vegetable market’”—i.e., through the reciting and speaking of a Jewish person; “to the vegetable market”—[he is directed] to the areas in which he needs to repent. Speech directs him so that he can repent. And this is “yarka Sh’KuL (take vegetables),” corresponding to teshuvat hamiShKaL (fitting repentance). Speech will enlighten him so that he will be able to repent precisely commensurate with his sins.
2 . However, it is impossible for a person to merit having his speech enlighten him except through glory. That is, he should see to it that the Holy One’s glory is complete; his own glory should be non-existent in relationship to the Holy One’s glory. [This is achieved] by means of humility and humbleness. For the essence of speech comes from glory, as is written (Psalms 24:10), “Who is this MeLeKh (king) of glory?”—i.e., “MaLKhut (Kingship) is mouth” (Tikkuney Zohar, Second Introduction).
For when the Torah comes into tarnished speech—a foul mouth—not only do the words of Torah not enlighten him, but the Torah itself becomes corporal and blackened there in his mouth. As is written (Joshua 1:8), “This Book of Torah should not YaMuSh (depart) from your mouth,” corresponding to (Exodus 10:21), “darkness YaMaSh (that was tangible).” In other words, [the words of Torah] should not become corporal and blackened by your mouth. By failing to make certain that the Holy One’s glory is complete—i.e., by being haughty—a person cannot open his mouth, as in (Psalms 17:10), “Their mouth closed up, [for] they spoke haughtily.” This resembles the story of Levi bar Sisa. He was called up to the podium, but his spirit grew haughty and he was unable to speak (Yerushalmi, Yevamot chap. 12).
As a result of haughtiness, a person is in an aspect of idolatry. Concerning the worship of idols [it is written] (Deuteronomy 7:5), “the images of their gods destroy by fire.” In connection to a shofar used for idolatry, the Talmud teaches: Anything about to be destroyed by fire is already considered destroyed and utterly reduced in size (Rosh HaShanah 28a). And, since his size has been utterly reduced, he no longer has a voice with which to speak.
However, when a person is careful and makes certain that God’s glory is complete—he is “lowly, and in his own eyes repulsive” (Psalms 15:4) —this enables him to speak words which enlighten. As is written (Ezekiel 43:2), “And the earth shone with His glory.” [His words] enlighten him to repentance, and he can then come to deep Torah understanding.
3. KaVoD (glory) is only complete when it has the letter vav drawn into it. Without the vav he remains “K’VaD (heavy) of tongue” (Exodus 4:10). But with the vav he is in the aspect of (Psalms 30:13), “… kavOd, and not remain silent.”
This is because wherever the letter vav is used, it comes to add (Pesachim 5a). In other words, there is an addition of holiness: guarding the brit (the Covenant). As our Sages taught: Wherever you find protective measures against immorality, there you will find holiness (Vayikra Rabbah 24:6). For one is contingent upon the other, haughtiness and immorality, as our Sages said of the verse (Proverbs 6:26), “The adulteress traps the haughty soul” (Sotah 4b).
This is why the brit is referred to by the Holy Name Shadai, as is written (Genesis 35:11), “I am the Omnipotent Shadai ; be fruitful and multiply.” For ShaDaI indicates “that yeSh DaI (there is enough) of My Godliness for every creation” (Rashi, Genesis 17:1). But when a person—because of haughtiness—fails to guard the brit, he makes a god of himself. He makes it appear as though there is not enough in His Godliness for him, so that he requires idol worship. And thus he blemishes the Name Shadai ; for there is enough of His Godliness for every creation. Whereas, by guarding the brit, he is rewarded with a light that directs him to repentance, as above.
4. And, this light [which leads him to repent] corresponds to the thirty-nine-lights which are encompassed in the vav of kavOd. This is alluded to in (Job 33:29), “God does all these things twice or three times with a man.” “<Three times>” corresponds to the thirty-nine-lights of the expanded first three letters <of the Tetragrammaton>. {To explain: The first three letters of the YHVH, when spelled out using the letter alef, have a numerical value of thirty-nine, corresponding to the thirty-nine-lights. They are thus encompassed in the VAV of God’s Name.} “With a man”—for [these lights] are included in the brit, [as in,] “For as a man is, so is his strength” (Judges 8:21). It is for this reason that the brit is referred to as Boaz: bo oz —in him, there is strength (Tikkuney Zohar #31).
But when a person does not guard the brit, he damages the thirty-nine-lights and draws upon himself the yoke of earning a living—i.e., the thirty-nine-works. As is taught in the Zohar (III, 244a): One who throws away crumbs of bread is pursued by poverty. All the more so someone who throws away the “crumbs” of the mind.
This is bo oz: Bo (in him) there are incorporated two aspects. There are the thirty-nine-lights <for> someone who guards the brit ; and there are the thirty-nine-works <for> someone who defiles it. For <the numerical value of> oz, counting the word itself, is twice thirty-nine.
And this is the reason for the repetition in (Exodus 38:21), “[These are the accounts of the] Tabernacle, the Tabernacle….” Twice thirty-nine, because the thirty-nine-works are deduced from [the construction of] the Tabernacle (Shabbat 49b). Thus, someone who guards his brit, even though he engages in the thirty-nine-works, [his works] are an aspect of the works of the Tabernacle—i.e., the Tabernacle when built up, corresponding to the thirty-nine-lights. However, someone who defiles the brit, the work he does is an aspect of the Tabernacle when destroyed. This corresponds to the thirty-nine-lashes (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction, p.12b), as in (Deuteronomy 25:3), “Forty lashes he may give him and not exceed.” This alludes to defiling the brit, which is an aspect of excesses, as explained.
5. Guarding the brit has two levels. There is the person whose marital relations are during the six days of the week. Even so, he guards his brit as the Torah requires, because he does not transgress the Torah’s laws. And there is the person who guards the brit in that his marital relations are [only] from Shabbat to Shabbat.
These [two levels] correspond to the upper unification and the lower unification. There is the aspect of Shadai of Shabbat: [When God reached the Shabbat of Creation,] He said to His world, “Dai! (Enough!)” (Chagigah 12a), restricting Himself from all works. This corresponds to the upper unification.
There is also the aspect of Shadai of the weekdays. For even on the weekdays there are restrictions, from one work to the next. This corresponds to Metat, whose rule is the six days of the week, corresponding to the six orders of the Mishnah (Tikkuney Zohar #18). For [Metat’s] name is like that of his Master’s, as is written (Exodus 23:21), “because My Name is in him.” This is the lower unification. In other words, the Holy One, blessed-be-He, clothes Himself in Metat during the six days of the week and rules the world through him.
6. This also corresponds to Halakhah (the law) and Kabbalah (the mystical tradition). As we find in the Kavanot (Shulchan Arukh HaAri, Shacharit shel Shabbat 4): Kabbalah is an aspect of Hishtachavu L’hashem B’ hadrat Kodesh (“Bow down to God in the grandeur of holiness”) (Psalms 29:2), the initial letters of which spell KaBbaLaH. Halakhah is an aspect of Hareeu L’hashem Kol Haaretz (“Sound a joyful note to God, all the earth”) (Psalms 100:1), the initial letters of which spell HaLaKhaH.
Hishtachavu l’Hashem b’hadrat kodesh corresponds to the upper unification/marital relations of Shabbat. This is the upper brit, which contains the primary [expression] of bowing down, as in (Genesis 42:6), “Yosef’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him.” [Yosef] himself is “the grandeur of holiness,” as in (Deuteronomy 33:17), “His grandeur is like a firstborn ox.”
Hareeu l’Hashem kol haaretz corresponds to the lower unification/marital relations of the weekdays. This is Metat whose rule is the six days of the week/the six orders of the Mishnah. This is hareeu {which connotes sounding a note and song}, as in (Isaiah 24:16), “From the k’naf (distant corner) of the earth we heard songs.” For Metat corresponds to KaNaF, similar to (Isaiah 30:2), “Your teacher will not yeKaNeF (distance himself) anymore.” This is because the Holy One clothes Himself in him during the six days of the week, as is known.
7. {“From the distant corner of the earth we heard songs, tzvi latzaddik (glory to the righteous). But I said, ‘Razi li (A secret to me), razi li (a secret to me)!’” (Isaiah 24:16).}
This also the aspect of secrets and deep secrets. Razin (secrets) corresponds to Halakhah. Razin d’razin (deep secrets) corresponds Kabbalah. The encompassing of the Kabbalah within the Halakhah is similar to the Holy One’s conduct during the six days of the week—the lower unification.
This is alluded to in, “… tzvi latzaddik… razi li, razi li.” The words tzvi latzaddik refers to the holiness of marital relations, of which there are two razin: the upper unification and the lower unification. These correspond to Halakhah and Kabbalah, secrets and deep secrets. And this is what our Sages taught: “May God’s glory be forever” (Psalms 104:31) —the ministering angel of the world said this. When the Holy One commanded the trees [to yield fruit] after their own kind, the grasses drew an inference with regard to themselves: If the trees—which are large and do not [reproduce] in close proximity—were commanded by the Holy One “after its own kind” (Genesis 1:11), then all the more so we—who are small and do [reproduce] in close proximity—must bring forth [only] “after its own kind.” The ministering angel of the world spoke up and said, “May God’s glory be forever; [God shall rejoice in His works]” (Chullin 60a, cf. Rashi).
For in truth, even the great ones—whose marital relations are not in close proximity, but from one Shabbat to the next—are also warned by the Torah concerning guarding the brit. They must guard themselves. As is brought in the Kavanot (Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShabbat 18): It is written (Exodus 31:16), “v’shamru B’nei Yisrael Æt Hashabbat (the Children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat)”—the first letters of which spell BYAH (sexual relations). In other words, even though his marital relations are only from Shabbat to Shabbat, he still must exercise great ShMiRah (guarding). This is “v’ShaMRu ….”
All the more so the small ones, who correspond to the grasses. Their marital relations, which also take place during the weekdays, are in close proximity. They must certainly exercise great caution in guarding their brit. They must guard themselves in accordance with the Torah, in the aspect of “after its own kind.”
As soon as the ministering angel of the world—this is Metat whose rule is the six weekdays, corresponding to the grasses/the lower unification—heard this, he spoke up and said, “May God’s glory be [forever].” Specifically “glory,” because, as explained, by guarding the brit on both levels glory is complete.
Thus, by guarding the brit on the two levels mentioned—corresponding to the upper and lower unifications/trees and grasses/great ones and small ones/marital relations of Shabbat and of weekdays/Halakhah and Kabbalah/secrets and deep secrets—glory is then complete. And through glory a person merits speech which enlightens; and through speech he can come to deep Torah understanding.
8. This is what Rabbah bar bar Chanah recounted: We were once travelling in a ship. We saw this bird which was standing up to its ankles in water, and its head was in the firmament. We concluded that there wasn’t [much] water and wanted to go down into it l’okurei nafshin (to cool ourselves). A heavenly voice called out to us, “Do not go down into here. A carpenter’s chatzina (axe) fell in here seven years ago, and it has not yet reached the ground. Not [only] because the water is abundant, but because the water runs so rapidly.” Rav Ashi said, “This bird was Ziz Sadai, as is written (Psalms 50:11) , ‘And the ziz sadai is with me’” (Bava Batra 73b).
this bird — This alludes to speech which is a bridge between man—who is formed from the masculine waters and the feminine waters—and the heavens—which corresponds to Torah understanding. As is taught concerning a leper: He must bring two birds…. Let the chatterer come and atone for the chatterer (Vayikra Rabbah 16:7; Arakhin 16b). And this is:
which was standing up to its ankles in water — Now that speech should enlighten him regarding all the areas in which he needs to repent, he is sometimes in the aspect of, “She uncovered his feet and lay down” (Ruth 3:14; Tikkuney Zohar #21, p.50a). That is, speech must show a person that he is down on a low spiritual level. This is the reason why speech is called a bird which was standing up to its ankles in water .
water — This alludes to man. He is formed from [a combination of] the masculine waters and the feminine waters, as is known. Thus, speech, which is likened to a bird, is standing up to his ankles —with the man who is on a low level. This, in order to enlighten him, as in, “She uncovered his feet….” This is, which was standing up to its ankles in water .
We concluded that there wasn’t water — That is, we understood that it is impossible to merit speech unless glory is complete. A person should view himself as absolutely nothing. This is the meaning of there wasn’t water: A man should consider himself as non-existent.
and we wanted to go down into it — [To go down] indicates lowliness, being lowly and humble. But it was: l’OKuRei nafshin (to cool ourselves) — This is similar to (Isaiah 13:12), “OKiR enosh (I will make man more prominent) than fine gold.” That is, his humbleness was egotistical—so as to gain glory and yaKaR (prominence). Because people know just how despicable haughtiness is, they act humbly, in order to acquire glory and prominence through humility. This is the concept of humility that is the ultimate degree of haughtiness.
This is the meaning of and we wanted to go down into it —to be lowly and humble. L’okurei nafshin —so that by doing this we would be prominent and important, because haughtiness is very despicable.
A heavenly voice called out, Do not go down into here — [In other words,] do not go down to act lowly for this reason—in order to okurei nafshin. The heavenly voice warned them not to be humble so as to gain prominence and glory. For this humility is actually the ultimate degree of haughtiness.
A carpenter’s axe fell in here seven years ago, and it has not yet reached the ground — The heavenly voice informed them of the root of haughtiness, so that they should distance themselves [from it] to the utmost. They should not go down into here —they should not act humbly in order to gain acclaim, as our Sages taught: Be very, very humble (Avot 4:4). That is, [the heavenly voice] informed them that haughtiness stems from a debasement of the Holy One’s splendor and majesty. These [qualities] are His garment, as is written (Psalms 93:1), “God reigns, He is clothed in majesty.” And thus:
ChaTZiNa (axe) fell — This alludes to a garment, as is written (Psalms 129:7), “[The harvester did not fill his hand, nor put] bound sheaves into ChiTZNo (his garment corner).”
a carpenter — This is the Holy One, as is written (Psalms 104:3), “Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters.” This is also [as our Sages] taught: Your God is a carpenter (Chullin 60a). The debasement of this garment produces haughtiness, which corresponds to the seven [royal] houses of idolatry. Because of this [idolatry], the Jewish people were exiled from their land, as our Sages taught: Israel was not exiled until the seven [royal] houses had worshipped idolatry (Gittin 88a). And this is the reason why idolatry is called splendor, as in (Isaiah 44:13), “… like the splendor of a man, to sit in the house.” For idolatry, which is haughtiness, comes from a debasement of His splendor. And this is:
seven years ago — This corresponds to haughtiness, the seven houses of idolatry mentioned above.
and it has not yet reached the ground — That is, because of this sin we have still not returned to our land. As a result of this sin of haughtiness—which is likened to serving idolatry/the seven [royal] houses of idolatry—we were exiled from our land. And this is why we have not yet returned to our land; all because of this sin of haughtiness, which is synonymous with idol worship. And this is:
Not only because the water is abundant — Do not say that it is because of this that it has not yet reached the ground. In other words, that we cannot approach and return to the Land of Israel because the water is abundant —because the idolatrous nations are many, as in (Deuteronomy 7:17), “Many are these nations.” They are an aspect of “many waters” (Song of Songs 8:7).
but because the water runs so rapidly — because they run after glory. For [glory] corresponds to water, as in (Psalms 29:3), “The God of glory thunders, God is upon many waters.” This is why we cannot approach and return to the Land of Israel—i.e., because of the running after glory and the haughtiness. For the main cause of this lengthy exile which prevents us from returning to our land is only the sin of haughtiness and the running after glory, as explained.
The heavenly voice informed them of all this; just how repulsive haughtiness is, so that they would distance themselves from haughtiness to the utmost. Then, God’s glory is complete and one merits speech which enlightens/the bird, as explained above. But how does one achieve this, to utterly break one’s own haughtiness and glory so that the glory of God is complete? This happens by guarding the two levels of brit: the upper unification and lower unification. And this is what Rav Ashi said:
This bird was Ziz Sadai — This implies the upper and lower unifications. Through the upper unification and the lower unification—the guarding of the brit on both levels—glory is complete. And when glory is complete, one merits to the bird/speech, which is a bridge [standing] between the water and the firmament, as above. For the Ziz corresponds to the lower unification/Metat/“from the distant corner of the earth.” As we find in the Midrash Rabbah: There is one bird which, when it spreads out K’NaFav (its wings), it blackens [or blocks out] the sun. Its name is Ziz (Bereishit 19:6; Vayikra 22:7). This corresponds to the lower unification/Metat/“from the K’Naf of the earth,” in which the upper brit /the sun is clothed. [Thus,] Sadai alludes to the upper unification, as explained.
9. And this is [the explanation of the opening verse]: {“Ani YHVH (I am God), that is My Name. My glory I shall not give to another, nor My praise to idols.”}
Ani YHVH — [“YHVH” is] the upper unification.
that is My Name — [“My Name” is] the lower unification.
My glory I shall not give to another — This corresponds to glory that is complete.
nor My praise to idols — This corresponds to speech. As is written (Psalms 145:21), “My mouth will speak God’s praise.” This has all been explained.