Chasidut su Cantico dei cantici 7:78

When you finish setting the tenth part etc (Deuteronomy 17:12) - we see to explain this according to what is read in the Gemara: “one should always separate in thirds one’s years a third for text (Mikra) etc” (Kiddushin 30a, Avodah Zarah 19b) the explanation is like this: Mikra is an expression for happenstance, that is, in the beginning of a person’s service to the Creator, Praised Be, is only happenstance, that sometimes one controls one’s impulse and sometimes the impulse control one, and the service is not a constant thing (discipline). And a person needs to conquer the level of purifying their thoughts until they are completely pure, since the central piece are the thoughts, and this is what the Sages of Blessed Memory explain: “your rounded thighs [are like jewels] (Song of Songs 7:2) - why are the words of Torah compared to thighs? Just as thighs are hidden, so too words of Torah are hidden” (Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 992:29) the explanation is that just as the hidden thigh is a hint to the sin of nocturnal emission, that comes to a man due to extraneous thoughts, G!d forbid, and the thoughts are hidden, to [correct] this one needs a constant/disciplined teshuvah to fix through words of Torah in hiding, that is, one needs to occupy oneself with Torah with a pure heart and for Torah’s sake alone, and it is impossible to cleanse one’s thoughts in one moment, one needs to attain that level every time until from heaven they will help the person. And that is why the beginning of the service to the Holy One of Blessing is in text, from the expression happenstance, as we explained above.

An alternate interpretation of the unusual line: ‎אלה פקודי ‏המשכן משכן העדות אשר פקד משה על פי ה' וגו'‏‎. According to a ‎statement in Taanit 8 blessings do not take hold on matters ‎that are subject to being weighed measured or counted. This ‎poses a problem with respect to the Tabernacle, as its ‎components were subject to being numbered, weighed and ‎measured. In spite of this principle, blessings most certainly were ‎manifest in the process of the construction of the Tabernacle, and ‎its operation without known mishaps for hundreds of years. ‎Scriptural proof for the fact that the Tabernacle was indeed ‎blessed is furnished by Song of Songs 7,5 where we read: ‎עיניך ‏ברכות בחשבון‎ ,”your eyes are like the pools in Cheshbon,” which, ‎according to Rashi, is to be understood as “your wise men ‎are preoccupied with the calendar and how to adjust it to allow ‎for seasonal factors.” The root of the word ‎עין‎, “eye,” is the evil ‎use that can be made by one’s eyes, the prime example being the ‎prophet Bileam who would ruin anything that he set his eye on. ‎‎(Compare Zohar I 68) The reason that this is so is that an ‎evil person tries constantly to disrupt other people’s connection ‎to their divine roots which are the source of their being alive. The ‎harm befalling items subject to measuring, weighing or counting, ‎is the result of the evil person’s overpowering desire to acquire ‎for his personal advantage anything that his eye desires. The ‎above quoted verse from Song of Songs teaches that the leaders ‎of the Jewish people, the “eyes” of the community, as well as ‎their undertakings, were blessed, ‎ברכות‎, even in matters involving ‎counting, weighing and measuring, ‎בחשבון‎. The reason why this ‎is so, is that the average Jew, whenever he contemplates a new ‎phenomenon that he sees with his eyes, automatically relates it ‎to its source, the Creator. When a Jew encounters phenomena he ‎was not aware of, his respect and awe for the Creator of such ‎phenomena is enhanced beyond what it had been previously. The ‎word ‎ברכות‎ in Song of Songs can have two meanings, one of ‎which is “fountains,” sources of water, “life.” The message of our ‎verse is that seeing that the materials for the Tabernacle were ‎counted not once but repeatedly and still clearly the blessing ‎continued to rest on it, it is proof that this was due to Moses ‎having done the counting, i.e. having given the instructions. His ‎constant close attachment to the Divine prevented any negative ‎vibes normally associated with counting, measuring and weighing ‎from harming the Tabernacle.‎‎ ‎

There are many details necessary to understand the mystery of faith. The basic idea is to see how God’s light and providence exists in every detail of His creation. All of the details of creation are hinted at in the name, “Elo-him,”⁵¹The name of God, “Elo-him,” is numerically equivalent to the word for nature, “הטבע”. as it is said in the Zohar (Mishpatim 108b), whereas the source of God’s light comes from the name “Havaye” (the Tetragrammaton). One needs to unite the light in the details with the light from the Source, so that both are united in man’s heart and understanding. The more one succeeds in understanding and internalizing, the more he will see how God’s light reaches even the furthermost “garments,”⁵²A term commonly used in Izhbitzer chasidism (particularly, the writings of the Beit Yaakov). It refers to those aspects of reality that conceal the Divine Presence. the places that seem most distant from Godliness. Even these distant places express the Glory of God, as He created them for his Glory. It is written in the Sefer HaBahir (v. “Rav Rahumai’s students asked him”): When discussing God, why do we use the expression, “it ascended in His thought,” and not, “it descended?” This is as we say, “one who glimpses the Merkava (the Chariot of Divine mysteries) first descends, and then ascends.” What is, “Ma’aseh Merkava,” or the study of the secret of God’s conduct of the creation? It is the ability to see how God created everything for His glory, even those “garments” which appear the furthest away from Godliness. This relates to the Zohar’s statement (Shemot, 15b): Rabbi Akiva said to him, what is the meaning of the verse (Shir HaShirim, 7:11), “I descended to the egoz (nut) garden to see the fruits of the brook”? Why does this verse say, “I descended”? It is just like the way we say, “he descended to the Merkava.” (When our sages describe one who is involved with Ma’aseh Merkava ⁵³Or, one who speaking in a prophetic experience (רוח הקודש) (Rav Moshe Cordevero). they refer to it as “descending.” This Zohar compares the Merkava to a nut in a number of ways, one of which is that they both have a kelipa (outer shell or peel). The chariot of Yehezkel was surrounded by the kelipot of the storm wind, cloud, and fire.⁵⁴Yehezkel described the Divine chariot as being surrounded by concentric circles. The outer layers correspond to the four “kelipot,” or “forces of evil.” Three of them – the storm wind, cloud, and fire – are pure evil and can not be rehabilitated for the good. One of them, however, called nogah (or, “brilliant light,”) has the capability of being rehabilitated. Within these four circles of kelipah, are holy, divine entities - the angels. In the center, God Himself resides in His hidden Glory. The meaning is, when one descends, and sees God’s glory even in the lowest of places, this it Ma’aseh Merkava. In this there are different levels. The knowledge one receives the garden of Torah knowledge depends on his ability to receive. Concerning the knowledge that is beyond man’s ability to receive, the Talmud says (Chagiga, 13a), “Do not seek that which is too wondrous for you, and that which is hidden from you do not investigate. These mysteries are not for you,” and other verses that imply his knowledge of lack.

It is written in the Zohar (Yayehi, 223b): Since Shlomo HaMelech inherited the moon in its state of completeness, he needed to inherit it in its state of deficiency. He strove to understand spirits and demons (i.e. the forces of evil) in order to inherit the moon in all its aspects. For this reason, in the days of Shlomo HaMelech the moon shone in all its aspects. And in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 26, p. 71b): Clearly The Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shekhina have not changed. Yet from an outside perspective, they do change. That is to say, (in this world) they are concealed in layers of garments and shells. This is why Shlomo HaMelech said (Shir HaShirim, 7:11), “I descended to the egoz⁵⁵Egoz means “nut,” in Hebrew. garden.” He had a complete knowledge of the kelipot (impure shells), which gave him a thorough knowledge of all forms of sorcery. The faithful shepherd⁵⁶The faithful shepherd, here, is the Messiah. The Zohar also refers to Moshe Rabeynu as Raya Mehemna which means, “the Faithful Shepherd.” One of the books that is included in the Zohar corpus is also called the “Raya Mehemna.” will break all of the kelipot, bringing forth the essence which the shell conceals, meaning the Tetragrammaton (YHVH).” And in the Zohar (Ta’azria, 47b): “And I saw the superiority of wisdom from folly.” (Kohelet, 2:13) From folly itself emerges something of benefit to wisdom. If it were not for the existence of folly, wisdom and all its extensions would not be known. We have learned that together with wisdom, it is incumbent upon man to learn something of folly, for in knowing it, it serves to benefit his wisdom. In fact, the knowledge of folly or evil is a component of none other than the mystery of faith. It is written in the Zohar (Bo, 34a): It is proper for man to know good and to know evil, and to return himself to the good.⁵⁷Here the Zohar is speaking about King Shlomo, whose great wisdom certainly allowed him to know the good. But how did he “know evil?” Referring to a king, the Torah commands (Devarim, 17:17), “he shall not have too many wives, and his heart shall not turn away.” Yet, of King Solomon, the verse states: “…” The queens of King Solomon encouraged him to study and practice idolatry. When King Shlomo wrote, “I descended into the nut garden,” he was telling us how he had become intimately acquainted with the force of evil in the world. This is the mystery of faith. The more one can find the good hidden in evil, the more he will understand how, “God created one over against the other.” (Kohelet, 7:14)⁵⁸The verse reads, “On a good day, be in the good, and on a bad day, see that also God made one over against the other.” The Biblical commentor, Rashi, explains: “This is the good and its reward, versus the evil and its punishment.” The commentary Metsudat David explains, “Know that the evil itself was sent from God. The degree of evil has a corresponding punishment.” In Kabbalistic writings, the verse generally means that for every force of good, God created a parallel force in the realm of evil. In view of the quote from the Zohar, Parshat Bo, “see” could mean to recognize the evil, but realize that “God made one over against the other” – that we must choose the good in response. Hasidic teachings take an even further, unified approach. They seek to find the good within the evil itself. This is the Baal Shem Tov’s idea that evil actually provides a setting, or “throne,” for the good (רע כסא לטוב). For without a knowledge of evil, it would be impossible to recognize the good. Thus, evil actually plays a role in revealing God’s goodness, and is thus a part of the Divine unity itself. “See that also God made one over against the other,” would mean to see the good within the evil itself. This is as it said in the Zohar (Shemot, 15b): Rabbi Akiva said, why did Shlomo HaMelech say, ‘I descended to the egoz garden.’? This is just as we say, “he descended to the Merkava (Divine chariot).’ Rabbi Akiva asked, what does the dirt that is found in the shell of the egoz represent?”

Our sages (on Numbers 6,23 where the priests are ‎commanded to bless the people), used this parable ‎when commenting on the word ‎להם‎, “to them,” i.e. that ‎the priests are not to include the gentiles in their ‎blessings. [Having already said that they ‎should bless the Children of Israel, the extra words ‎אמור להם‎ would otherwise appear to have been ‎superfluous. Ed.] When G’d tells Moses in our ‎verse here: ‎אל הארץ אשר נשאתי את ידי לתת להם לאברהם וגו'‏‎, “to ‎the land that I have sworn to give to Avraham, etc.;” He ‎had to explain that although up to now this land had ‎enjoyed G’d’s generosity as the people on it had found ‎it a good land to dwell in, from now on, this land ‎would be “good” only for the Jewish people. The term: ‎‎“Jewish people,” presupposes that these Jews keep the ‎commandments they will undertake to observe at ‎Mount Sinai, less than a year later.‎
A different way of understanding G’d’s oath to give ‎the land of the Canaanites to His people, the Jewish ‎people: The author again turns to a parable to ‎illustrate his point. We must analyze the expression ‎נשאתי את ידי‎, “I raised My hand (in an oath).” A prince was ‎engaged in a war against the enemies of his father, the ‎King’s kingdom. When the prince was victorious there ‎was great joy in the King’s palace. As a result of the ‎great joy, the King, who was normally not overly ‎generous, now displayed great generosity to everyone ‎who turned to him with a request. Suddenly, while all ‎these festivities were in progress, an enemy of the ‎king’s son shows up with a request to his father, the ‎king. The king is now faced with a dilemma. If the king ‎ignores the root cause of the joy and the festivities he ‎may G’d forbid also fulfill a request of his son’s arch ‎enemy; on the other hand, if the king keeps the source ‎of all the festivities in mind, i.e. his son’s victory in a ‎life and death struggle, i.e. that his son had just ‎vanquished this arch enemy of his, he will most ‎certainly not pay any heed to the request made by his ‎son’s enemy.‎It is written in Song of Songs 6,3 ‎אני לדודי ודודי לי‎, “I ‎am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;” in other ‎words: “my beloved yearns for me.” According to ‎‎Bereshit Rabbah ‎1,4 one of the 6 things that ‎G’d contemplated before beginning to create the ‎universe was the concept of a Jewish people and all ‎that this entails. When the Jewish people perform His ‎wishes He takes great delight in this. The joy G’d ‎experiences when the Jewish people live up to His ‎expectations results in His feeling justified in having ‎created the universe, i.e. all the various universes. He ‎therefore dispenses some of His largesse to all other ‎parts of the universe also. In order to dispense some of ‎His largesse to the gentile nations He limits the ‎outpourings of His largesse to the Jewish people. When ‎the sinful creatures in the universe take note of G’d’s ‎being so generous, they line up, so that they too will ‎become beneficiaries of G’d’s “good mood.” At such a ‎time G’d reminds Himself that originally He had only ‎created the universe on account of wishing to see His ‎‎“dream” of a Jewish nation performing all its tasks ‎being realized. As soon as He reminds Himself of this, ‎He will turn off the “taps” i.e. the attribute of largesse ‎that had been allowed to flow to the gentile nations ‎also, and will concentrate all of His largesse on the ‎Jewish people.‎
The “attribute” dispensing this “largesse” is known ‎as ‎יד‎, “hand;” the reason for this is that in our ‎terrestrial world largesse is “handed” out. This explains ‎why G’d used the expression ‎ידי‎, “My hand,” when ‎referring to His oath to “hand over” the land of Canaan ‎to Avraham’s descendants.‎ ‎

The Prayer Leader replied to him saying, "I passed by all their places, and by your place as well. For, I was passing by a certain place and I saw the King's crown standing there and I understood that the King is certainly here, however I was unable to seek and find him. And so I went further and passed by a sea of blood and I understood that this sea is certainly made from the tears of the Queen who weeps over all this and the Queen is certainly here, however I could not seek and find her. And so I passed by a sea of milk and I understood that the sea is certainly made from the milk of the Queen's Daughter whose son was lost, and the milk pressured her and from this the sea of milk came to be; and the Queen's Daughter is certainly here, however I was unable to seek and find her. And so I went further and saw the golden hairs of the Child laid out, and I did not take from them whatsoever, and I knew that the Child is certainly here, however it was not possible to seek and find him. And so I went further and was passing by a sea of wine and I knew that this sea is certainly made from the speech of the Orator, who stands and speaks consolations before the King and the Queen, and then turns his face and speaks consolations to the Queen's Daughter, and from his speech the sea of wine comes to be (as written, Vechikekh keyayin hatov/ And the roof of your mouth is like best wine' [Song 7:10]), however I could not find him. And so I went further, and I saw a stone standing there upon which was etched out just like the Hand' with its ruts (that is, just like the Hand with all the furrows etc. which had been at the King's, as mentioned), and I understood that the Sage (of the King) is certainly here and the Sage has engraved for himself the shape of the Hand on the stone, but it was not possible to find him. And so I went further and I saw arranged on a mountain the golden tables, the credenzas [display cupboards] and the rest of the King's treasures, and I understood that the King's Treasurer [lit. Warden Over the Treasures] is certainly here, however it was impossible to find him." (All this the Prayer Leader told over to the Warrior.)

This corresponds to the 4 cups of wine at the Passover Seder. Wine has two parts, as our Rabbis Z"L said, "if a person is worthy it makes him a head and if he is not worthy it makes him a poor person". Yoma 76b. This means that a person's knowledge is elevated by the wine, and being that the essence of knowledge is the revelation of providence, knowledge of providence is enhanced by drinking wine and one becomes a 'head'. But when a person is not worthy, the opposite happens and one becomes poor, for the true pauper is he who lacks knowledge, which is the main cause of material poverty. When a person lacks knowledge of providence, which is the essence of knowledge, this causes poverty, as in, "you shall eat it with despair" (Genesis 3:17), representing oppression and poverty that come on account of the blemish of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which corresponds to natural sciences. Furthermore, nature corresponds to darkness and night, corresponding to the blemish of the moon, which is the root source of poverty, as is known. Wine is therefore comprised of both elements: it brings on sleep, which corresponds to nature, which corresponds to night and sleep, and when one is worthy, it arouses from sleep, as in, "your pallet is like good wine which makes the lips of the sleeping speak". Song of songs 7:10. Good wine, which comes from the realm of holiness, arouses a person from sleep, represented by speech. During sleep, speech disappears, while good wine arouses from sleep and evokes speech, which comes from knowledge, as in 'makes the lips of the sleeping speak', which corresponds to providence, corresponding to the arousal from sleep. And since wine is comprised of both elements, when a person is worthy it represents knowledge, Providence, as in, "wine that makes glad", corresponding to the world of the future, as in "wine makes glad" (Psalms 104:15). And when one is not worthy it is an intoxicating wine, which confuses knowledge and errs with natural sciences, which corresponds to sleep. Therefore wine must be carefully guarded from the touch of a non-Jew, more than anything else. Nothing else in the world besides wine becomes forbidden by the touch of a non-Jew. As soon as a non-Jew touches wine, and touch is with the hands, the wine is drawn into the realm of nature, which corresponds to the non-Jew, since the wine itself is comprised of both aspects. Therefore a non-Jew, who corresponds to nature, makes the wine impure with the touch of his hand, for the wine is immediately drawn into the realm of nature, and is therefore unsuitable for a Jew, who is above nature, and whose food and drink should be holy, since the knowledge of providence is drawn through food and drink. Therefore, the blemish of the wine is specifically by their touch with the hands, for the blemish of the knowledge of providence is mainly through a blemish of the hands, of the 28 phalanges of the hands, which correspond to the 28 letters of creation. The hands of the non-Jews though, are the opposite of this, and are in the category of "the hands are the hands of Esau" (Genesis 27:22), corresponding to the mistaken belief in nature, corresponding to "my power and the might of my hand", and therefore wine is blemished by the hand of a non-Jew. This forbidden wine is then in the category of the mistaken belief in natural sciences, which corresponds to sleep. This is alluded to in the word Nesekh, נֶסֶךְ, the term for forbidden wine, as in, "For G-d Nasakh נָסַךְ (poured) a spirit of slumber" (Isaiah 29:10), which refers to stargazers who have a mistaken belief in the constellations. Therefore at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, when Providence was revealed, it is a commandment to drink 4 cups of wine, for wine is then in the category of 'if one is worthy the one becomes a head', for now at the Passover Seder, knowledge is elevated and providence is greatly revealed through the wine, for G-d drew Providence and broke the night, the sleep, as in "around midnight I will go out within Egypt". Wine is then in the category of 'wine makes glad' and a person is able to speak and tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on this night, by means of the wine as in 'wine makes the lips of the sleeping speak'. This corresponds to "song is only recited on wine". Berachot 35b. For all songs are drawn from the world of the future, when song will be aroused in the world, as stated in the holy Zohar III 286b, as in, "Then Moses will sing". Exodus 15:1. It does not say 'sang', in the past tense, but 'will sing' in the future, teaching us that he will sing in the world of the future. Sanhedrin 91b. This is because the essence of song comes from the world of the future, when Moses will sing, for song will then be aroused in the world. This is the source of all songs - song in this world over miracles, for all miracles come about by G-d drawing providence from the end of the world, from the world of the future, into this world. And when a miracle takes place, we draw song from the world of the future into this world, which is all the songs for the miracles that we sing. Therefore, song is only recited over wine, for wine will then be absorbed into holiness, corresponding to knowledge of providence, for the essence of song is drawing providence, which is the song for the miracle, into this world, which is why song should be over wine. This is represented by the 4 cups of wine at the Passover Seder, corresponding to the Four Kingdoms. When wine is absorbed into holiness, corresponding to Providence, all exiles of the Four Kingdoms are subdued, for their main power is through nature, and by means of the Providence that is revealed by the knowledge that is drawn by the 4 cups of wine, they are all eliminated.

And this is the aspect of Hashem Yithbarakh's extolling Kenesseth Yisrael (Song 7), “Your navel is like a round goblet that lacks no mingled wine,” and our Rabbis z”l explained (Sanh. 37) regarding the seventy Sanhedrin who sat in a semicircle like the moon etc. “Your navel” is the aspect of the tefillin straps which descend from the head knot to the navel, which is drawn from the aspect of the kingship of David-Mashiach who is live and enduring, who is the aspect of the head knot as mentioned, as from there is drawn the strap unto the navel which is the aspect of “your navel like a round goblet,” the aspect of the seventy Sanhedrin who correspond to the seventy facets of the Torah, where David sat at the head, as our Rabbis z”l explained (brought in Rashi) on the verse, “Yoshev-Basheveth a Tachkemonite, head” etc. (2 Sam 23), for all the seventy Sanhedrin who are the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah all receive from David-Mashiach, as all his vitality is from the aspect of the aforementioned elders, who are the aspect of Tiqunei Diqna Qadisha, the aspect of honoring the face, the aspect of Stories of Ancient Times, as all the seventy faces of the Torah are drawn from them, as explained in the Torah “Pathach R' Shim`on” (LM #60), see there; as thereby one can wake up from sleep, which is the absence of the brains. And by means of these elders, the aspect of the stories, are drawn all the seventy faces of the Torah and we wake up from sleep. Which, this is is the aspect of the seventy years that David a”h lived. And therefore he minimized sleep to the utmost, as our Rabbis z”l said (Sukkah 26), that David never slept sixty breaths, so as to not taste the taste of death. For sleep is one sixtieth of death, which is drawn from Adam haRishon's mistake, by eating from the Tree of Knowledge Good-and-Bad and blemishing the Tree of Life which is the aspect of the light of the tefillin, as is brought. For tefillin are the aspect of life, the aspect of the Tree of Life, of which is said (Gen. 3), “And he eat and live forever). And by causing this damage, death was decreed on him for generations. But actually, after the mistake, death and sleep are a great benefit, for had Adam not erred he would have attained true life which is everlasting life, long life, whilst still in the body, that is, in his body he would have been able to be included in the Ein Sof forever, running and returning, and live long life, that is, renewing his vitality forever, in the aspect of renewing life of the Highest Elder, who is the Blind One, who lived long life, as he is forever old and forever infantile etc. as mentioned. But after the mistake and having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge Good-and-Bad and being driven from Gan `Eden and the Serpent's filth taking grip on his body, the aspect of the “Serpent's bite,” it is impossible for him to live long life in his body forever. And it is impossible to attain everlasting life except by death, which is a great benefit, as written (Gen 1), “And behold, good me'od” — this is death (Ber. Rab. 9), for by means of death which is sleep, his brain is renewed. And then his body and life are renewed, and then he comes back to life in a body clean and pure that is entirely cleaned and purified of the Serpent's filth. And then he will attain receiving new brains in the aspect of tefillin, the Tree of Life, which are the aspect of long life he will attain then. That is, then he will attain living such life forever, as at all times life and brains will be added to him, until the older he gets, the more he will attain beginning anew. Which this is the aspect of the Blind Elder, which this is the essence of everlasting life that whoever attains will attain in the future to come. For constant delight is no delight and is not called true life, but rather when one attains living new life at all times, and this is the aspect of long life, everlasting life, that the tzaddikim will attain in the future after revival of the dead, that is, the aforementioned aspect, as they will attain renewing their life at all times, which this is the aspect of tefillin as mentioned.