Musar su Salmi 84:4

The Torah writes: (4,33-5,20) הקול מתוך החשך וההר בוער באש." Seeing that fire and darkness are almost exact opposites, how do we explain that the Israelites heard the voice of G–d both from out of darkness and from out of fire? Clearly there is a mystical dimension to this. Another word for fire is שלהבת. This word divides into הבל and שת, the names of the two people reincarnated in Moses. The word חשך, darkness, on the other hand, refers to Cain who ended up in darkness. The Arizal explains the relationship between אדם, חוה, קין, והבל still better. אדם is perceived as having emerged from the second highest emanation חכמה which in turn is equivalent to כח מ"ה. This means the combination of the soul, נשמה plus the "junior" power symbolized by the number 45, the numerical value of אדם, the concept of Man. חוה emerged from the next lower emanation בינה. She was אם כל חי, "the mother" of all subsequent human beings. קין והבל originated in the domain of דעת, [an emanation in the center line of the diagram, below כתר but above תפארת. Ed.] הבל had received input from the emanation חסד, as suggested by his name (as we demonstrated before) whereas קין had received 5 units of input from the emanation גבורה, which is fed by the emanation בינה. This גבורה is sort of a קן, i.e. nest, receptacle for the חכמה. The combined units of input from the emanations בינה and חכמה are 10; they account for the letter י in the middle of his name. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 84,4: ודרור קל לה, where the letter ק is written larger and which separates between דרוד and the letter ן. This is to alert us to the fact that דרור, freedom is equated with בינה, i.e. יובל =50. קין was predominantly part of חוה, who represented בינה; this is why she said קניתי איש את ה' when she bore him. By this she meant to say: "I have acquired a man with G–d, i.e. as distinct from "with Adam." Having said that קין was the "receptacle" of input from both חכמה and בינה, and in view of the letter ן at the end of his name alluding to the fifty gates of בינה, we can understand what G–d meant when He asked Cain אי הבל אחיך, "Where is your brother Abel?" G–d criticized Cain who should have remembered that he was the שומר, the receptacle for his brother. Cain represented the female, Abel the male. The female is the receptacle for the male. The word אי may be understood as an acronym of אינך יודע "Don't you know?" Furthermore, the letter א alludes to בינה, whereas the letter י alludes to חכמה. When G–d's name is spelled א-ה-י-ה, this symbolizes His manifestation in the emanation בינה, whereas when it is spelled י-ה-ו-ה it symbolizes His being manifest in the emanation חכמה. Seeing that the reference to אחיך most definitely refers to someone male, G–d made it clear that Cain represented the female in that pair, i.e. the sister, אחות. When G–d had told Cain previously -when the latter was upset that his offering had been rejected- (Genesis 4,5-7), הלא אם תיטיב שאת, "Surely if you do right there is uplift (forgiveness)!" the word שאת could be read as אשת, "wife of." In the future the אשת חיל, woman of valor, will be described as the crown of her husband, and at that time G–d will govern the world using the emanation גבורה i.e. דין, seeing that mankind will be on such a high level that G–d does not have to make allowances for man's weakness and employ the attribute of רחמים as He does in this present world.

King Dovid said, “Even the bird has found a house, and the swallow, a nest for itself” (Tehillim 84:4). Surely Dovid did not write these words in vain, nor was he referring to an ordinary bird. For what would be novel in the fact that a bird found a home and a swallow, a nest? Rather, the true meaning of this verse is explained in the Zohar, Parashas Balak (196b): The worlds and chambers On High in Gan Eden where the righteous dwell are arranged in three rows. In these rows are numerous chambers and palaces filled with the souls of righteous and concerning them it is stated, “No eye has beheld it, O God, other than You” (Yeshayahu 64:3). The righteous dwell there in honor and distinction, their crowns upon their heads. Between the rows stroll those righteous souls with less merit than the ones who dwell in a fixed place. But strolling among the rows is also a delight from which they derive great satisfaction. Concerning them was it stated, “Even the bird has found a home.” That is, although they remain between the rows, even there they are able to find a home and a place of rest in which to enjoy the delight they are experiencing. Dovid refers to them as “birds” because in the month of Nissan the birds begin chirping. Similarly, in the month of Nissan the souls in Gan Eden don the form of birds and each and each morning they chirp like birds. This chirping consists of the praises of the Holy One Blessed is He and prayers for the living, because at this time of year all Israel are engaged in mitzvos and the fulfillment of the instructions of the Master of the Universe. Those righteous souls who dwell within hidden palaces, concerning which it is stated, “No eye has beheld it,” are called dror [which means a “swallow” but also “freedom”] because they have attained freedom and liberty from everything. It is also said of them that they have “a nest,” that is, a unique dwelling place, resembling a well fashioned and well prepared nest.

You may ask, In what way were those who dwell within the concealed palaces more deserving than those between the rows? The answer is that it states, “Where she places her fledglings on the ruins of Your altars, Hashem of Hosts” (Tehillim 84:4). That is to say, those dwelling in the concealed palaces merited this because they raised their sons to be Torah scholars, toiling in both the Written and the Oral Torah, corresponding to the two altars in the Beis HaMikdosh. Three times a year the Holy One Blessed is He desires to take delight in these righteous ones. Therefore He opens for them a certain palace in which crowns are fashioned, and they will be placed upon the head of our righteous Moshiach in the time to come.