Middle Line
Maase Merkava [The Act of Assembling]
Pekudei [Accounts], 777
777) One who assembles a kind in its kind and knows how to connect what is connected, a palace in its palace, a degree in its degree, has a share in the next world. This is the wholeness of everything. And when the left is completed with the right, and the male in the female, as well as the palaces, all becomes one deed, a kind in its kind. What emerges from that perfection is called Maase Merkava [the act of assembling]. The word Merkava comes from the words Markiv [assembling] and Murkav [assembled].
Light that Appeared Out of the Darkness
Tetzaveh [Command]
145) The Creator “Reveals the deep and secret things.” He reveals all the deep, upper secrets. The middle line reveals the depths in the two lines of Bina. It reveals them because it knows what is in the darkness of the left, where the light of Hochma sinks for absence of Hassadim. And were it not for the darkness, the light would not appear later through the middle line.
Bread and Wine
VaEra [And I Appeared]
138) “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.” What did Solomon see that he said this verse?
139) All his words were with wisdom. “Go then, eat your bread in happiness” means that when a person goes in the ways of the Creator, the Creator brings him closer and gives him peace and tranquility. Then the bread and wine that a man eats and drinks are with joy in the heart since the Creator desires his works.
140) Where is the wisdom in this verse?
141) Solomon warned people to crown the assembly of Israel, Malchut, with joy on the right side, meaning with light of Hassadim, which is bread. This is so because bread implies to the light of Hassadim. Afterwards he will be crowned with wine, left side, illumination of Hochma in the left of Bina, so that the faith of all, meaning Malchut, would be in complete joy on the right and on the left. And when she is between the two of them, all the blessings will be in the world, since this is the complete perfection of Malchut, that the illumination of the left, Hochma, will clothe in the light of Hassadim on the right, at which time both shine in her, which are bread and wine. And this is the meaning of the Creator wanting people’s actions.
Importance of Salt
VaYechi [Jacob Lived]
666) “Neither shall you lack the salt of the covenant of your God.” Why is salt so important? It is because it cleanses and perfumes the bitter, and makes it tasty. The salt of judgments in the Masach de [of] Hirik—on which the middle line emerges, which unites the right with the left—cleanses and perfumes the judgments of the left, which are bitter, with the Hassadim on the right. Had there not been salt, the middle line would not have been extended, and the world would not have been able to tolerate the bitterness, as it is written, “For when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” It is the law of Tifferet—the middle line from the Chazeh upwards—that the judgments in the Masach in it are called “salt.” Justice is the harsh judgments in Malchut, and when the law, which is salt, is to the earth, which is Nukva, then they “learn righteousness,” and can tolerate the bitterness of justice. It is also written, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne,” where righteousness is complemented through the justice, the salt.
667) Salt is a covenant, Yesod, middle line, from the Chazeh down, on which the world ( Nukva) persists. It is written, “If My covenant for day and night stands not, I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” For this reason, because the middle line, which is Yesod, emerges on it, the salt is called “the covenant of your God.” Yesod is called “covenant,” and we call it the Sea of Salt [known in English as The Dead Sea], where the sea, which is the Nukva, is named after it, after the salt that sweetens it.
668) “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness.” This is the salt, which is Yesod, at sea, which is Malchut. Righteous is Yesod; righteousness is Malchut. And one who separates them brings death upon himself. This is why it is written, “Neither shall you lack the salt… from your meal-offering,” so you will not separate the Yesod, which is salt, from the offering, which is the Nukva. One does not go without the other.
Waves of the Sea
Noah
217) “You rule the swelling of the sea.” When the sea jumps with its waves and the deep rise and fall, the Creator sends a thread of grace from the right side and pulls back its wheels, its anger subsides, and there is no one to attain it.
When the Nukva receives Hochma, she is called “sea.” When the Nukva receives only from the left line, which is abundance of Hochma without Hassadim, the waves of the sea rise. This indicates disclosure, since it implies that the waters of Hochma rise, appear, and are attainable. However, the sea cannot receive Hochma without Hassadim, hence the waves fall down again, for they rise to be disclosed and promptly descend and vanish from attainment for lack of Hassadim.
This is why it is considered that the sea is angry, for it strains to raise its waters with great strength, and descends with great strength, as well, and so on and so forth incessantly. This continues until the middle line comes and extends the right line, which is Hesed, and clothes the Hochma on the left with Hassadim on the right. At that time the waves return to their place and the anger of the sea subsides, for now the Hochma and the Hassadim shine together in all their correction in the desired wholeness.
Many Waters Cannot Quench the Love
VaYechi [Jacob Lived]
735) “Its flashes are flashes of fire, the flame of the Lord.” “The flame of the Lord” is a burning flame that emerges from the Shofar [a special horn], Yesod Ima, called Yod-Hey, which has awakened and burns. It is the left line of Ima, as it is written, “Let his left hand be under my head.” This burns the flame of love of the assembly of Israel, Divinity, for the Creator.
736) For this reason, much water will not be able to quench the love, since when the right—water, Hesed—comes, it adds to the burning of the love and does not quench the flame of the left, as it is written, “And his right hand embrace me.” This is so because during the illumination of Hochma in the left line of Ima to the Nukva, it is burning fire, as it is without Hassadim. And when the right line comes with its Hassadim, called “water,” to quench the fire, it does not quench the illumination of Hochma by that. On the contrary, it adds and complements her illumination because it clothes the Hochma with Hassadim, and the Hochma shines in complete perfection.
739) In all the places, the male chases the Nukva and awakens the love toward her. But here it turns out that she awakens the love and chases him, as it is written, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart.” Usually, however, it is not praised when the Nukva chases the male. Indeed, this must be an unclear matter, and a sublime thing, hidden in the treasures of the King.
A Prayer that Includes Three Lines
VaYishlach [Jacob Sent]
45) A prayer of many rises before the Creator and the Creator crowns Himself with that prayer, since it rises in several ways. This is because one asks for Hassadim, the other for Gevurot, and a third for Rachamim. And it consists of several sides: the right side, the left, and the middle. This is so because Hassadim extend from the right side, Gevurot from the left side, and Rachamim from the middle side. And because it consists of several ways and sides, it becomes a crown over the head of the Righteous One That Lives Forever, Yesod, which imparts all the salvations to the Nukva, and from her to the whole public.
But a prayer of one does not comprise all the sides; it is only on one way. Either one asks for Hassadim or Gevurot or Rachamim. Hence, a prayer of one is not erected to be received like the prayer of many, as it does not include all three lines like the prayer of many.
David and Bat-Sheba
Noah
315) Bat-Sheba belonged to King David since the day the world was created. Thus, why did the Creator first give her to Uriah the Hittite?
316) Such are the ways of the Creator. Although a woman is destined for a man to become his, another precedes him and marries her before it is the time of the first. When his time came, the one who married her was rejected before the other one, who came later, and he departs from the world. And it is hard for the Creator to remove him from the world because of the other one before his time.
317) Why was Bat-Sheba first given to Uriah the Hittite? Go and see why the holy land was given to Canaan before Israel came, and then you will find all is one. Both Bat-Sheba and the land of Israel are the Nukva. The beginning of the construction of the Nukva is in Mochin of illumination of the left, and then she is built with Mochin de Panim [anterior Mochin] from all three lines.
Uriah is the Mochin of Hochma without Hassadim, which is the illumination of the left, and King David is the Mochin dePanim from the three lines. Hence, even though Bat-Sheba was David’s mate, to be able to receive the Mochin dePanim from David, she had to first marry Uriah, to receive from him the Mochin de Achoraim [posterior Mochin] from the illumination of the left, since she cannot receive Mochin de Panim before she receives the Mochin de Achoraim, which are the Mochin of the illumination of the left.
When a Woman Inseminates and Bears a Male Child
Ki Tazria [When a Woman Inseminates]
25) Everyone comes as male and female, included together, and then divide and come separately into the male and separately into the female. But “She delivers a male child” means that the male and female are included together from the right side, which is considered male.
If she delivered a female it would mean that the female and male are included together from the left side, which is considered a female. Then the left side would be ruling over the right side, and the male on the right would yield and not dominate. In that state, such a male, who emerged from the Nukva, Malchut, from her left side, all his ways are as a female, hence he would be called “female.” But a male that emerges from the right side of Malchut is the dominant, and the female that emerges with it surrenders, since the left side is not dominant. Hence, it is written about it, “She delivers a male child.”
The Sound of the Rolling Wheel
VaYechi [Jacob Lived]
507) The sound of the rolling wheel rolls from below upwards. Hidden Merkavot [structures/chariots] go and roll. The sound of melodies rises and falls, wanders and roams the world; the sound of the Shofar [ram’s horn] stretches through the depth of the degrees and orbits around the wheel.
The Mochin come out in three places one at a time. They are called “the three points —Holam, Shuruk, Hirik,” and they are the three lines—right, left, and middle. Also, they shine by rolling in three places, in which they walk and roll one at a time. Hence, their mode of illumination is called “rolling.”
These three points are included in one another, hence there are three points in the Holam—the right line, three points in the Shuruk—the left line, and three points in the Hirik—the middle line. It follows that there is rolling in each of the three lines. Here The Zohar speaks of the three lines in Hirik, the middle line, which is ZA, which is called “Voice.” This is why it refers to them as “three voices.”
The sound of the wheel rolls from below upwards. This means that the rolling is from the right line to the left line. Yet, the illumination of the left is only from below upwards, which is why it was said, “Rolling from below upwards.” However, before the left line connects with the right, its illuminations are shut, for it cannot shine without Hassadim. Afterwards, the left line rolls to the right line and the sound of melodies rises and falls, meaning the abundance of pleasantness and Hassadim that appears from the right line and shines from above downwards, too. This is why it was said, “Walks and wanders in the world.”
Subsequently, it rolls from the right line to the middle line. ZA is the middle line, called “the voice of the Shofar.” It extends and comes out on the Masach de Hirik, which is Dinim, at the depth of the Dinim, and it is the essence that completes and discloses the illumination of the three lines, and mainly what orbits around the wheel, uniting the three lines in one another.
The Morning Deer
Pinhas
691) “As the deer longs for the water brooks, so my soul longs for You, O God.” Although there are masculine and feminine forms [in the Hebrew], it is all one, since “Deer” is read in masculine form and it is read in feminine form. It is written, “As the deer longs,” where “longs” is in feminine form. It does not say “long” in masculine form, since it is all one—the Malchut. However, in the first state, when she is with Zeir Anpin, the two great lights, she is called “a deer,” and in the second state, after she has been diminished, she is called “a deer.”
692) The morning deer is one merciful animal, the Malchut, of which there are none so merciful among all the animals in the world. When she is in a hurry and needs food for herself and for all the animals, which are all the hosts, BYA (Beria,Yetzira, Assiya), she goes far away to a far away road, and comes carrying food. She does not wish to eat until she comes and returns to her place, so that the rest of the animals will gather to her and she will dispense to them from that food. And when she comes, all the other animals gather to her and she stands in the middle, giving to each and everyone. And the sign is, “She rises while it is still night and gives prey to her household.” And from what she gives to them, she is satiated as if she has eaten more than all of them.
693) And when the morning comes, which is called “dawn,” the pangs of exile shall come to her, and this is why she is called “the morning deer,” after the darkness in the morning. At that time she suffers pangs as one who is in labor, as it is written, “As the expectant approaches the time of labor, she writhes and cries out in her pangs.”
694) She dispenses to them when the morning should come, while it is still night, and the darkness departs before the light, as it is written, “She rises while it is still night and gives prey to her household.” When the morning has risen, they are all satiated with her food.
695) At that time, a voice in the middle of the firmament awakens, calls out loud and says, “Those who are near, go into your places. Those who are far, go out. Each will gather unto his proper place.” When the sun shines, each gathers to his place, and she goes by the day, appears by night, and dispenses food in the morning. This is why she is called “the morning deer.”
696) Afterwards, she prevails as a mighty one and goes, and she is called “a buck,” a masculine name. She walks 60 parsas [parasangs, approx 2.5 miles] from the place from which she left, goes into the mountain of darkness, and walks inside the mountain of darkness. One slant serpent smells after her feet and walks at her feet, and she rises from there to the mountain of light. When she has arrived there, the Creator brings her a serpent and leaves. They fight each other and she is saved, and from there she takes food and returns to her place at midnight. And from midnight onward she begins to dispense until the morning dawn rises. When the morning rises she goes and she is not seen.
697) When the world needs rains, all the other animals gather to her and she rises to the top of a high mountain and covers her head between her knees and yells one yell. The Creator hears her voice and fills with mercy over the world, and she comes down from the top of the mountain and runs, hides herself, and all the other animals run after her but cannot find her, as it is written, “As the deer longs for the water brooks,” those water brooks that have gone dry, and the world is thirsty for water, then she longs.
698) When she is impregnated, she becomes blocked. When it is time for her to deliver, she yells and raises her voices, voice after voice, up to seventy voices, as the number of the words in “The Lord will answer you on a day of plight,” which is a poem of that impregnated one. And the Creator hears her and brings her salvation to her. Then, one large serpent comes out of the mountains of darkness and comes among the mountains, his mouth licking in the dust. He reaches that buck and comes and bites her in that place two times.
699) In the first time, blood comes out of her and the serpent licks; and in the second time, water comes out, and all those animals in the mountains drink. Then she opens and delivers. Your sign is “And struck the rock twice with his rod,” and it is written, “And the congregation and their beasts drank.”
700) At that time when the Creator pities her for the deed of that serpent, it is written, “The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare.” “The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve” are the pangs and the pains to evoke those seventy voices. Promptly, “And strips the forests bare,” to evoke a serpent and to disclose that animal, to walk among them in the Creator’s hall, which is the Malchut. All those multitudes in BYA start and say, “Glory,” meaning “Blessed is the glory of the Creator from His place,” which is the Malchut, who is called “the glory of the Lord.”
Here he explains to us a profound matter in regard to Malchut...
You already know that Zeir Anpin is the governance of the day, right, the governance of Hassadim. Malchut is the governance of the night, left, the governance of Hochma on the left. Hence, during the day, when Hochma cannot govern, time is pressing for Malchut and she does not have her food—the light of Hochma on the left. Later in the day, there is no disclosure of light of Hochma—her’s and her armies’ food, which extend from it—and she must extend her food because Hochma is dispensed only with Dinim. And as long as she is not clothed in Hassadim in a Zivug of the middle line, harsh Dinim extend from her and these Dinim appear through her appearance. They are regarded as far and as a far away road.
It is written, “His sister stood at a distance.” “His sister” implies Hochma. Also, “I said, ‘I will be wise,’ but it was far from me.” This is done right at the beginning of the night, hence at that time, the darkness spreads over the land, since the illumination of Hochma on the left without right is darkness. However, then her food, which is illumination of Hochma, is extended, and then she brings and takes the food, the Hochma of the left.
But then, when she extends the Hochma, she freezes from all the Dinim in the Hochma without Hassadim. This means that she cannot give anything, since Malchut does not wish to be in a left without a right, at the place of the elicitation of Hochma, which is a far away road, until she returns to her place in the middle line of Zeir Anpin, where the left unites with the right, for this is her perpetual place, between the two arms of the king.
Why must she return to her place? It is because before she arrives at her place in the middle line, her lights freeze in her and she cannot give anything to the rest of the animals, to her armies, which extend from her. But when she comes to her place, all the animals gather to her and she bestows upon them from the light of Hochma. She stands in a Zivug with the middle line, her lights open, and she can dispense to anyone. Also, reception of illumination is called “rising,” as it is written, “She rises while it is still night,” for then she receives Hochma, called “rising,” “And gives prey to her household,” meaning she gives to all her armies.