Provérbios 16:28 Cabalá: Pardes Rimmonim & Sha'arei Orah

See, from all this it is seen that there is no necessity from this saying for the opinion of Rav Shem Tov of blessed memory. Truly now to us is left the duty to explain what is found different from this saying in the Zohar, parasha Wayiqra. As in this saying [of R. Shem Tov) it says that Bereshit is the tenth utterance, and in parasha Wayiqra [Zohar III.11b) Rashbi explains that these are ten utterances besides Bereshit. And this is what it says: ‘Rabbi Shimon said: It is written: “ten, ten the vessel with the holy shekel” [Numbers 7:86]. “ten, ten” why does it come [here]? But [it indicates] ten for the work of Creation, and ten for the giving of the Torah. What does it teach? That the world was not created except for the sake of the Torah, as all the time Israel is involved in the Torah, the world endures. And all the time Israel is abolishing the Torah, what is written? “If [there were] not my covenant with daytime and night, I would not have placed the ordinances of heavens and earth.” [Jeremiah 33:25]. Come and see: Ten utterances of the work of Creation, as we have learned: ‘With ten utterances the world was created.’ [Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:1]. Ten utterances of the giving of the Torah, these are the Ten Commandments. [First utterance:] It is written: “I am HaShem your God” [Exodus 20:2], and in the account of Creation it is written: “Let there be light, and there was light.” [Genesis 1:3] This is faith, as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called ‘light’, as it is written “HaShem is my light and my salvation etc.” [Psalms 27:1]. [Second utterance:] It is written: “You shall not have other gods beside me” [Exodus 20:3], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters etc.” [Genesis 1:6]. “Let there be a firmament”, these are Israel, as they are a portion of the Holy One, blessed be He, who are united with the place that is called ‘heavens’. And this is a secret, as once Rabbi Yeisa the Old asked Rabbi Ela’e; he said: Oh, all the rest of the peoples, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them to dignitaries, princes, rulers [to guide them], [but] Israel to what? He [= Rabbi Ela’e] sent to him [the answer]: “and God placed them in the firmament of the heavens” [Genesis 1:17]. And a pleasing [answer] he sent to him. “in the midst of the waters” [Genesis 1:6], between the words of the Torah. “and let it divide water from water” [Genesis 1:6], between the Holy One, blessed be He, who is called “well of living waters” [Song of Songs 4:15] and between idolatry, which is called “broken cisterns that will not hold the waters” [Jeremiah 2:13] which are bitter waters etc., stinking gathered [= stationary]. And therefore Israel, holy ones, are dividing between waters [above, clean] and waters [below, unclean]. [Third utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not take the name of HaShem your God in vain” [Exodus 20:7], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” [Genesis 1:9]. Come and see, each one who swears by the Holy Name for a lie [is] as if he has separated the Mother [= Binah] from her place above, and the holy crowns are not settled on their places, as it is said: “And a mischief-maker is separating an intimate friend” [Proverbs 16:28], and there is no “intimate friend” except the Holy One, blessed be He. And it is written: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” [Genesis 1:9], you should not place a separation because of swearing that is false. “to one place”, as is fitting, to a place of truth, and not to another place of falsehood. And what is falsehood? It is when waters go to another place which is not its own. [Fourth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “Remember the day of Shabbat to keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the earth sprout grass” [Genesis 1:11]. When is the holy earth [= Malkut] increased and is crowned with her crown? Say: on the day of Shabbat, because then the bride is associated with the King, to bring forth grasses and blessings for the world. [Fifth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “Honor your father and your mother” [Exodus 20:12], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens” [Genesis 1:14]. What does this point to except that these ‘luminaries’, it is “your father and your mother”? “Your father”, this is the sun, “your mother”, this is the moon. And there is no sun except the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: “Because a sun and shield is HaShem God” [Psalms 84:12]. And there is no moon except the assembly of Israel, as it is written: “And your moon will not perish” [Isaiah 60:20]. And therefore, all is one. [Sixth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not murder” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of the Creation: “Let the waters swarm living soul” [Genesis 1:20]. And you shall not kill a human being who is called thus, as it is written: “And the human being became a living soul” [Genesis 2:7], you will not be as these fishes, of which the big ones swallow the small ones. [Seventh utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not commit adultery” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the earth bring forth living soul according to its kind” [Genesis 1:24]. From this we learn that a human being should not do falsely with another woman who is not his mate, and therefore it is written: “Let the earth bring forth living soul according to its kind”, that a woman should not give birth except from her kind. And who is its kind? Her [male] mate. [Eighth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not steal” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “And God said: ‘See, I have given you every plant producing seed’” [Genesis 1:29]. What I have given you and deposited to you will be yours, and you shall not steal what is of another. [Ninth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not testify to your fellow false witness” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “And God said: ‘Let us make a human being in our image” [Genesis 1:26]. To him who is in the image of the King you shall not witness falsely. And he who has witnessed falsely to his neighbor [it is] as if he has witnessed falsely to above. [Tenth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not desire the wife of your fellow” [Exodus 20:14], and it is written in the account of Creation: “It is not good that the human being is alone” [Genesis 2:18]. This is your mate in front of you, and therefore “you shall not desire the wife of your fellow”. And this is: ten utterances of the work of Creation, and ten utterances of the giving of the Torah, which is “ten, ten the vessel with the holy shekel” [Numbers 7:86], they were weighed as one, with one shekel. And because of this the world endures and peace is found in it. End of citation.

This being so, know and have faith that the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah and the Sefirah of Kingship-Malchut, are aligned to each other. When the Sefirah of Kingship-Malchut is in a state of repair, meaning, when the Jewish people fulfill Torah and mitzvot, the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah then appears, in order to bestow all manner of beneficence and blessings by way of the Sefirot, until the Sefirah of Kingship-Malchut become blessed and filled. The people of the world are then in a state of tranquility and security, and blessing is sent in the form of all kinds of food and sustenance, and we find it to be a state in which blessing-Brachah-ברכה adheres to the land-Aretz-ארץ. This is the meaning of the verse,¹¹³Leviticus 26:3 “If you follow My statutes” and the order of all the blessings set forth there. If, however, they ruin the line and transgress the Written and Oral Torah, exchanging the laws and breaking the covenant, then the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah does not bestow blessings, and it becomes as if the Sefirot are in a state of lacking, since the source has ceased and withdrawn. In this case, the Sefirah of Foundation-Yesod returns to be gathered in and ascends to the source of its yearning, which is the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah, and the Sefirah of Kingship-Malchut is left alone and dry, lacking everything-Kol-כל. In such a case, the world is in such a state, that it is full with all kinds of curses, these being the matter of the curses mentioned in Torah. That is, because of the Jewish people, the Sefirah of Kingship-Malchut is smitten, as stated,¹¹⁴Proverbs 10:1 – The mother-Imma-אמא refers to the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah. “A foolish son is his Mother’s sorrow,” and,¹¹⁵Isaiah 50:1 “It is because of your rebellious sins that your Mother was sent away.” When this happens, the Sefirah of Splendor-Tiferet¹¹⁶Which is the Name HaShem-יהו״ה is robbed of the river above her, called Understanding-Binah, and the Jewish people are sent away and separated, as in the verse,¹¹⁷Proverbs 19:26 “He robs his father and drives out his mother – the son who shames and humiliates.” It similarly states,¹¹⁸Isaiah 57:1 “Because of the evil, the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק is gathered in.” Our intention here has already been explained in the previous Gates.¹¹⁹That is, to understand the meaning of what is being hinted here, one must have a thorough understanding of what was explained in the previous gates and contemplate them. It likewise states,¹²⁰Proverbs 16:28 “A querulous person estranges the Master.”

If, God forbid, the Jewish people sin, they cause the final Wisdom-Chochmah Acharonah-חכמה אחרונה to separate from Knowledge-Da’at, as in the verse,¹²⁹Proverbs 16:28 “A querulous person estranges the Master-Alooph-אלוף.” Thus, sometimes the final letter Hey-ה separates from the Vav-ו, and the Vav-ו then gathers up above and is unseen, being that His spouse, the lower Hey-ה, has separated from Him. This is the meaning of the verse,¹³⁰Isaiah 40:17 “I shall await HaShem-יהו״ה, who has concealed His face from the House of Yaakov.” That is, since the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, which is the final letter Hey-ה of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה has separated, therefore the letter Vav-ו is not seen, and Ya”h-י״ה remains alone, in that [it is constant and] there is no separation there. This is the meaning of the verse,¹³¹Isaiah 57:1 “Because of the evil, the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק is gathered in.” For, with the withdrawal of the letter Vav-ו of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה, which is Splendor-Tiferet, the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק, which is the lower thorn of the letter Vav-ו, is gathered in.