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The Arizal on the Torah |
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Parashat Emor The portion of the Torah read this week includes the commandment of raising the four plants on Sukkot. We are taught "And you will take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkot] the fruit of the goodly tree [i.e., an etrog], palm branches [i.e., a lulav], a branch of the myrtle and willows…." (Leviticus 23:40) We will now see how the process of resurrection is alluded to in this verse. The mystery of resurrection [is as follows]: [Resurrection] will occur by means of holy [spiritual] droplets that manifest the Name of G-d whose numerical value is that of the word for "dew" [tal, 39]. [This Name is formed by spelling out the first three letters of the Name Havayah,] yud-hei-vav. yud: yud-vav-dalet 10 + 6 + 4 = 20 According to the sages, G-d will in the future resurrect the dead with dew. "Whence do we know that the dead will come to life only by means of dew? It is written: 'Your dead will come to life, my corpses will arise; awake and shout for joy, O you who rest in the dirt. For Your dew is the dew the brings vegetation to life….' (Isaiah 26:19; Y. Berachot 5 (9b)). When the Jewish people expired in ecstasy from hearing the first commandment at Mt. Sinai, "G-d revived them using the dew with which He will in the future resurrect the dead." (Shabbat 88b). Here it is explained that this "dew" is in fact a physical manifestation of the Name of G-d whose numerical value when spelled out is the same as that of the word for "dew." We see here that this "Name" is actually the Name Havayah without the final hei. As we will see presently, the final hei is manifest as the dead that these three letters are meant to revive. The resurrection of the dead is thus the (re-)joining of the first three letters of the Name Havayah with its last letter. These [droplets] descend from the brain of Z'eir Anpin to its yesod, and from there to "the land of the living" and malchut. The Jewish souls there receive [these droplets] and come to life. Although generally we say that the four letters of the Name Havayah are manifest in the four partzufim of Abba, Ima, Z'eir Anpin and Nukva, respectively, if we narrow our focus onto Z'eir Anpin and Nukva, these four letters are manifest in them also, as a unit. The first three letters are the intellect and emotions, i.e., the bulk of Z'eir Anpin, while the final hei continues to signify Nukva (malchut). Thus, the resurrection of the dead, the (re-)union of the first three letters with the hei, is synonymous with the coupling of Z'eir Anpin with Nukva. This accords nicely with what we have said previously about the divergent psychologies of man (manifesting Z'eir Anpin) and woman (manifesting Nukva): the male is a priori oriented upward, seeking to abstract himself from reality and reunite with his source, while the female is driven to manifest Divinity in reality below. Nonetheless, their mutual success is dependent upon their "cross-fertilization" of orientation. If the female detaches herself from the male in order to pursue her ideal of concretizing the Divine reality down below, she will eventually run dry of inspiration, i.e., wither and die, while if the male detaches himself from the female in order to pursue his ideal of abstraction and return to source, he will eventually become frustrated over his lack of ability to manifest his inspiration. The earth is a common metaphor or appellate for malchut. (Yesod is the "foundation" of the "building" of the sefirot, and thus malchut, which is below yesod, is the earth below and supporting the foundation.) When malchut receives influx from yesod (i.e., the yesod of Z'eir Anpin) it is called "the land of life" or "the living land." Specifically, what is transferred to Nukva when it couples with Z'eir Anpin is its inspiration, or a "drop" of its consciousness, which resides in its brain. We see here, again, that true coupling of male and female is a "cross-fertilization" of attitudes and orientations of consciousness. The procreative organ receives its true ability to be "fruitful" and couple when it manifests and is in tune with the spiritual dimension of individual's mind. This is the meaning of what is written in the Zohar (In the section of the Zohar titled Idra Rabba, 3:128a), that "dew that is shaken off its head…." This "head" is the "head" discussed there, i.e., the head of the procreative organ, its "crown."
What has been said so far is by way of introduction.
Now, I [i.e., Rabbi Chaim Vital] made efforts to find [a Scriptural allusion to] this, since everything is alluded to in the [Biblical] text.
It is known that the etrog is the manifestation of the "crown" of [the yesod of Z'eir Anpin]. I therefore concluded that the future resurrection-that is, the dew referred to above, which [yesod of Z'eir Anpin] receives from its [i.e., Z'eir Anpin's] brain, and transfers to malchut-should certainly be alluded to in it.
And indeed, I found that the numerical value of the words for "fruit of the goodly tree" [peri etz hadar] is 659. This turns out to be exactly the numerical value of the phrase "it [i.e., Z'eir Anpin] contains the dew of resurrection, [which flows] from its brain to her [i.e., malchut]" [plus the kolel]. This idea is that expounded on in the above "introduction."
In Hebrew, this phrase reads bo tal d'techiah min ha-mo'ach lah: bo: beit-vav = 2 + 6 = 8 The meaning is that the "crown" of [yesod of] Z'eir Anpin, which is "the fruit of the goodly tree," receives the dew of resurrection from the brain of Z'eir Anpin, and then gives it to malchut. Those who dwell in it, that is, in the land of Israel, receive it and thus live forever.
Thus, we see that all the mysteries of the Torah are alluded to and concealed deep within Scripture.
Furthermore, it is explained in the Zohar (I.e., in the Idra Rabba) that the origin of this dew is in Atika [i.e., in Arich Anpin]. Arich Anpin is the partzuf of super-rational will. The ultimate origin of Z'eir Anpin's mentality and consciousness is its super-rational will. This will drives Z'eir Anpin toward self-expression and motivates it to couple with Nukva. If this will is not manifest, there will be no coupling; Z'eir Anpin will be "cold," "sterile," or "impotent." I discovered that this is alluded to [as well] in the words [of Scripture] themselves. The numerical value of the words "fruit of the goodly tree" is 659 [as above]. This is also the numerical value of the phrase "dew from Atika" with the kolel. In Hebrew, "dew from Atika" is tal mei-Atika.
tal: tet-lamed = 9 + 30 = 39 We thus see how the origin [of the dew] is alluded to [in the words of Scripture as well]. translated from Sefer HaLikutim by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky Disclaimer: the above translation, as the previous installments in this series, has not yet been checked over for accuracy by any authority on the teachings of Kabbalah. Therefore, although I have rendered and explained the Arizal's teachings as best I can based on my knowledge and research, there may be passages that I misunderstood and rendered incorrectly. Before publishing these translations in book form they will, please G-d, be examined for accuracy by a competent authority, and any necessary changes will be made then. |
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Ascent of Safed
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