Mixed Multitude
The Mixed Multitude Detain Israel in Exile More than All the Nations
Pinhas
377) The mixed multitude are like the leaven in the dough, for they are mingled in Israel like leaven in dough. The nations of the world are similar to chaff. The mixed multitude detain Israel in exile more than the idol-worshipping nations, as the sages said, “Who detains? The leaven in the dough detains.” This is so because the mixed multitude cling to Israel like leaven in dough, but the nations of the world are only like the chaff, which the wind carries.
Straying from the Internality of the Torah
Nasso [Take]
101) Elijah said to the loyal shepherd, “It is time to rise up and bring the complete redemption; speak of me in oath,” meaning adjure me to hurry the redemption. “It is for you that I wish to rise, since the Creator has given me permission to appear to you in your prison, in your grave, and to do good to you, for you are desecrated by the sins of the people,” since he is like a prisoner among them, as it is written, “And he is desecrated by our transgressions.”
102) The loyal shepherd replied, “I swear upon you in the name of the Lord that you will not delay the redemption with all your capability, for I am afflicted. It is written about me, And he looked this way and that way, and saw that there was no man, to help me out of this affliction, this burial. It is said about me, ‘And they made his grave with the wicked.’ But they do not know me; in their eyes I am considered among the mixed multitude and the wicked, like a dead dog that has reeked among them, for the wisdom of authors reeks among them in every city and in every place where Israel are scattered among them, among the kingdoms. And the mixed multitude have become the shepherds of Israel, who are the Creator’s flock, of whom it was said, ‘And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men.’ And they are unable to do good with the disciples of the wise.”
Moses, called “the loyal shepherd,” is the Torah and the inner Daat [the Sefira but also knowledge], which will appear only in the complete redemption. Until then, it is said about him, “And he is desecrated by our transgressions,” since the Torah, which is the loyal shepherd, has been desecrated and was emptied, for its internality has disappeared and we are left with only the externality. And I am regarded in their eyes as being among the wicked mixed multitude, like a dead dog that has reeked. They turn away from the internality of the Torah as one turns away from stench, of which it was said, “And the wisdom of the wise shall reek.”
103) Men of valor and who fear sin wander from city to city and will not be pardoned, the mixed multitudeostracize them and in many places they are given only rations, so there will be no resurrection to their fall, not even temporary. And all the wise men, the brave, and them that fear sin are afflicted, poor, miserable, and are regarded as dogs. How are precious sons that are comparable to fine gold, valued as clay jars in public, and cannot find a place among them?
104) At the same time, the mixed multitude are wealthy, tranquil, joyous, sorrow-free, and without any grief at all. Thieves and bribers are judges and the heads of the people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them, and it is said about them, “Her adversaries have become her masters.” The Loyal shepherd said to Elijah, “I adjure you a second time, in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who dwells with the cherubim, that all these words will not fall out of your mouth, and you will say them before the Creator with all your might, to show their urgency.”
Beast and Man
Nasso [Take]
95) …Since the mixed multitude are the ignorant, which are darkness. And they are not called, “Israel,” but slaves who are sold to Israel because they are as beasts.
96) And Israel are called, “men.” But how do we know that there are beasts and men in Israel? It is written, “And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men.” “And you, My sheep” are the ignorant who are good from the side of good. “You are men” are the disciples of the wise.
97) This text implies it, too, for it is written, “If My people heeded Me, Israel.” Why does it say, “Israel,” after it says, “My people”? It is that “My people” are the ignorant, and Israel are the disciples of the wise. And for them, it is said, “And the children of Israel were going out boldly.”
98) As the Creator divided them at Mount Sinai, He will divide them in the last redemption. This is so because it is said about Israel, “And the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.” “Armed,” from the side of the tree of life, ZA, which are fifty [spelled like “arms” in Hebrew] years of the Yovel [fifty years’ anniversary], Bina, which ZA receives from Bina. It is said about them, “They shall come up to the mount.” And among them was “the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel.” Also, it is they who were told, “And how I bore you on the wings of eagles,” which are clouds of glory, “And brought you unto Myself,” “And the children of Israel were going out boldly.” Thus, He will bring the disciples of the wise out with all this glory.
99) As it was said about the ignorant from the side of the good, “And they stood at the foot of the mountain,” so they will be in the last redemption—under the disciples of the wise, as a servant who walks by the feet of his master’s horse. At the foot of the mountain they were told, “If you accept the law, good. If not, there will be your burial place.” Similarly, they will be told in the last redemption, “If you take upon yourselves a disciple of the wise at the end of the exile, like a man who is riding a horse and his servant serves him, good. If not, there—in the exile—will be your burial.”
Five Kinds of Mixed Multitude
Beresheet [Genesis]
224) There are five kinds of mixed multitude: Nephillim [fallen], Mighty, Anakim [giants], Rephaim [ghosts], and Amaleks. Because of them, the small Hey fell from her place, from Bina, since “God has made one corresponding the other.” Thus, as there are five Behinot [discernments] KHB TM in holiness, they have their counterparts in the Klipot. And they are the five above-mentioned in the mixed multitude, whose acronym is Nega Ra [Hebrew: affliction or disease] or Oneg Ra [Hebrew: evil pleasure], since through the evil, pleasure is turned into affliction, and affliction becomes pleasure. And these are the five kinds of mixed multitude. They are mingled with Israel and cause them to sin. And for this reason, the small Hey falls from her place, from her mitigation place in the Bina.
Balaam and Balak were of the form of Amalek. This is because if you take the letters Ayin and Mem from the name, Balaam, and the letters Lamed and Kof from the name, Balak, the letters Bet, Bet, Lamed [which spell Babel in Hebrew] will remain, that is, Bet and Lamed from Balaam and Bet from Balak. It turns out that the two Klipot, Amalek and Babel, are implied in the names Balaam and Balak. By that, he tells us that Amalek is considered the Keterand Rosh [head] of the Klipot, like the Klipa of Babel, of which it was said, “Its head is made of fine gold,” for had they not come from equal discernments, they would not have been able to cling to Balaam and Balak in a single bonding.
225) And they are the ones that remained of those of whom it was said concerning the flood, “And He blotted out every living thing.” And those that remained from the Klipa of Amalek in the fourth exile, the exile in Edom, are heads in the world, with great force, since this Klipa is considered Rosh and Keter of the Klipot, and they become tools of destruction for Israel. It is said about them, in relation to the flood, “For the earth is filled with violence.” These are the Amaleks. And this clarifies the first of the five kinds of mixed multitude, the Amaleks, which are the Keterde [of] Klipot.
226) It is said about the Nephillim [fallen]of the mixed multitude, “And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful.” These are the second kind of mixed multitude, meaning the discernment of Hochma deKlipot. And they are from the Nephillim above, meaning those who extend from Uza and Aza’el, who were angels above, and the Creator dropped them from the heaven, hence their name, Nephillim. And the Nephillim of the mixture extend from them.
When the Creator wished to make man, He told the angels, “Let us make man in our image.” The Creator wished to make him head of all the angels above, appointed over all the angels, and they would be subordinate to his governance, as it is said concerning Joseph, “Let him appoint overseers over the land.”
227) For this reason, the angels wished to complain about him and said, “What is man, that You are mindful of him?” After all, he is destined to sin before You; hence, why do You degrade us to be under him? The Creator told them, “If you were below in the earth, like man, you would sin more than him.” Promptly, “And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful”; they lusted after them and the Creator dropped them down in chains.
228) And these sons of God are Uza and Aza’el, from which the souls of the second kind of mixed multitude extend. These are the Nephillim, since they had dropped themselves from holiness to lust after beautiful women. And this is also why the Creator dropped the mixed multitude from the next world, so they would have no share there, and gave them their reward in this world, as it is written, “And repays them that hate Him to their face.” This explains the second kind of mixed multitude, called Nephillim, which are considered Hochma de Klipot.
229) The Mighty are the third kind of the mixed multitude that was mingled with Israel. It was said about them, “Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown,” and they are drawn from the side of whom it was said, “Come, let us build us a city… and make us a name,” meaning from the side of the generation of Babel.
This kind of mixed multitude build synagogues and seminaries and place within them a book of Torah with a crown on its head, corresponding to the verse, “A city, and a tower, with its top in heaven.” They build synagogues and seminaries corresponding to, “A city,” and place a book of Torah there corresponding to, “A tower,” and a crown on its head corresponding to, “Its top in heaven.” And they do not intend it for the Creator, but to make a name for themselves, as it is written, “And let us make us a name.”
And the sons of the Sitra Achra overcome Israel, who were blessed with being like the dust of the earth, and rob them, and the work is ruined and destroyed, meaning the synagogues and seminaries that they made. It is said about them, “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth.” In other words, the Klipot and the Sitra Achra, called “water,” destroyed the land as they intensified. This explains the third kind of mixed multitude, the mighty, which correspond to Bina de Klipa.
230) Rephaim [ghosts] are the fourth kind of mixed multitude that was mingled with Israel. If they see a troubled time in Israel, they leave them and depart from them. And even if they have the strength to save them, they do not wish to save them; they neglect the Torah, and depart from it and from all who engage in the Torah. This means that they depart from the Torah and from Israel to do good to idol worshippers. And they will not rise at the revival of the dead. When the calling comes to Israel and they are salvaged from their affliction, it is said about them, “And You have wiped out all memory of them,” since being an offspring of the darkness, they will necessarily be lost at the coming of the light to Israel. This explains the fourth kind of mixed multitude, the Rephaim, which correspond to ZA de Klipa.
231) Anakim [giants] are the fifth kind of mixed multitude. They disparage those of whom it was said, “And Anakim [Hebrew: necklaces, as well as giants] about your neck,” meaning the Israel who keep the Torah. It is said about them, “Rephaim are regarded as Anakim, as well,” since Rephaim and Anakim are equal to one another. They are the ones who revert the world back to being unformed and void.
And this is the meaning of the ruin of the Temple. It is said about it, “And the land was unformed and void,” since the Temple is the essence of the world and the settlement of the world. This is why it is considered that the whole earth was unformed and void. And the two kinds of mixed multitude that were mingled with Israel caused the ruin of the Temple. And as soon as the light—the Creator—comes to Israel, they will be obliterated and lost from the world. But Israel’s redemption does not depend on their obliteration, but only on the obliteration of Amalek, until they blot them out, for in it is the oath, meaning the words, “The hand upon the throne of the Lord.”
Idolatry
Ki Tetze [If You Go Out]
39) These foreign maidservants are from the side of the potion of death, for they are opposite Divinity, Sam’el’s Nukva, when the maidservant has become the queen, inheriting her mistress. Sam’el—who is another god—and his Nukva, were servants of the Creator, and then made themselves godliness. The Creator will remove them from the world and obliterate them
40) If people made them godliness, and not of their own will, why were they punished with removal from the world? But when the generation of the flood and the generation of Babel made charms in them, offered them incense and bowed to them, by that power, that they were offering them incense and bowing to them, they would come down to them and do their wish. And they would speak in those forms that they had made, and thus became godliness and idol worship. And this is why the Creator was about to remove them and obliterate them from the world, meaning their statutes, which they worshipped, and from which they absorbed spirits and images.
41) And when there is the mixed multitude in the world, Sam’el and Nukva come down through these images to be materialized in them. Hence, the Creator will remove them from the world, as it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land.” And should you say that there is no idolatry at the time of the last exile because people do not make charms in them, those who make charms there, in the mixed multitude, anger the Creator and His Divinity, and the Israel among them. And the mixed multitude succeed in them to keep what is written, “But repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them.”