Psalmów 132:9 Kabała: Pardes Rimmonim & Ohr Ne'erav

Tif’eret further harmonizes between Gedolah[/Chesed] and Hod, and between Gevurah and Netsach, and the reason is that Gedolah and Netsach are the right side [which is] Chesed/Mercy, and Gevurah and Hod they are Din/Judgement, the left, and they need harmonizing. And there is some proof to this in the words of Rashbi of blessed memory in the book of the Faithful Shepherd [Raya Mehemna, Zohar Parasha Pinchas, III.244a], this is what it says: ‘And in the first redaction: “I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam…”[Song of Songs 5:1], right arm with left thigh. “my honeycomb with my honey”[ibidem], Jacob and Rachel. “my wine with my milk” [ibidem], left arm with right thigh. Chesed with Hod, these are the right arm with the left thigh. Jacob and Rachel, the Pillar of the Center with Malkut. Gevurah with Netsach, these are left arm with right thigh. And why are there two of his attributes here? Because it is a secret which he will thus express. David said here: “Your priests will be clothed in righteousness and your devout ones will rejoice [Psalms 132:9]. It is written there, [but] ‘and your Levites will rejoice’ it should have said. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘it is not customary to change my attributes, but after you have invited me, I must do after your wish.’ From this we are taught that the master of the house, when he invites even the king, the king must do after his [= the master of the house’s] wish. And because of this we have been taught: “all what the master of the house will say, do” [Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 86b]. And this being so, it is a fitting secret, etc.’ End of citation.

And further we understand that in the expression of the first recension [Zohar III.241a/b] he says: ‘right arm in/with (ב) left thigh’ and similarly ‘left arm in/with (ב) right thigh’, and he does not say ‘with’ (עם), ‘with’ (עם), but [he speaks] in brief. And in this saying [here, Zohar III.244a] in his explanation he clarifies ‘Chesed with (עם) Hod’ etc., and he [now] says ‘with’ ‘with’. ‘And why are two of his attributes here?’ Explanation: it is right if it is this what they are clarifying, as there is only a modification of the attributes concerning the influx and the sucking only, which we would have thought in the explanation ‘right arm in/with (ב) left leg’, that its intention is on the influx only which Chesed influences in Hod, and similarly which Gevurah influences in Netsach, there is no difficulty for us at all that thus [is] the way of the attributes that the ones suck from the others. But according to what he explains in this saying ‘right arm in/with (ב) left thigh’, explanation: ‘with’ (עם) really [they are really together], which is that Chesed unifies itself downwards into Hod, and Gevurah downwards into Netsach. If this is so, it is [still] difficult ‘why the two attributes [are] here’. As according to the way of the real unification, this is not the way of unification of the Sefirot, as Netsach connects itself with Chesed, and Hod with Gevurah, as we will explain in the Gate of the Thigh of Jacob [Gate XVII], with assistance and help of HaShem, in the chapters 3 and 4. And the meaning according to the influx, even if it is that Chesed can influence in/with Hod, yet Hod will perform its [natural] action which is an action of Din/Judgement, even if it will not perform [it] with the strength as it would be when it would suck from Gevurah, and there is in this no [need for] fear, since there is [here] no modification of the attributes [the way the attributes act remains the same, although the intensity may differ]. Truly [however] in real union there is doubt because the activity of Judgement/Din is abolished from everything. Since when Gevurah wishes to act with Judgement/Din, Netsach will conquer that Judgement/Din and will not allow it to act, in the mystery of the unity. And therefore it is difficult ‘why the two attributes [are] thus’, as it is a modification of the attributes and a restraint of Judgement/Din, and this is not convenient. And this is not the natural order, that which was told to David: “On account of David, your servant etc.” [Psalm 132:10] he changed and extended the power of Compassion/Rachamim. As even if the joy [רינה, referring to the previous verse (Psalm 132:9) mentioned in the beginning of the current chapter] is from the side of Judgement/Din as is known, he [= David] wanted that it would be from the side of Chesed/Mercy, and this will be explained further in the Gate of the What-ness and the Conduct [Gate VIII], with help of HaShem, in chapter 6. And thus concerning Tif’eret, since it came to the house of Malkut, as it says: "I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride” [Song of Songs 5:1]. When this is so, it is that it behaves itself according to her [= Malkut’s] will, even with modification of the attributes, to extend the power of Compassion/Rachamim further. And this is what is called ‘Chesed in/with Hod, Gevurah in/with Netsach and Jacob in/with Rachel, because they [are] three upper ones in/with three lower ones by means of Jacob the bridegroom who has come to the house of his bride Rachel as we have explained. But if it would have been so that the bride would go up to the house of the bridegroom, it would not have been convenient to change, as it is not the natural order to change [in those circumstances].

After this introduction, how much sweeter than honey is [the passage] found in some midrashim that Michael, the angel of Mercy, was the one to touch the thigh of Jacob,⁹Cf. Bereshit Rabbah 78:1. In the Zohar, Michael symbolizes the sefirah Gedulah/Ḥesed (I, 98b-99a). for [both] this and that come after Ḥesed agreed to push away the quality of Hod from beside it so that its [characteristic of] Judgment would not commingle. Then, when Ḥesed was grasped very well and it was tied up on the right [side],¹⁰I.e., its “proper” side. Hod also was tied to the left [side] in order to reprove with equity the kings of Judah and all the people of the land so as to put an end to sin and to stop transgression. At that time, which was one of [divine] will, King David, peace upon him, merited that His will be done to arrange the [sefirotic] qualities as in olden days in the mystery of Your priests will garb themselves with righteousness, and Your pious ones will rejoice (Ps. 132:9), which is explained in the Zohar.¹¹Zohar I, 148a. Thus it is destined to renew itself permanently in the days of the Messiah.