Шмот 33:13 Каббала: The Beginning & Sha'arei Orah

137. Revelation begins with Chochmah and therefore all subsequent conducts are potentially included within it. These are the thirty-two general paths (or ways) alluded to in the verse,¹⁸²Exodus 33:13 “Please make Your ways known to me.”¹⁸³See GRA, commentary on Zohar Chadash p. 89, end of Anaf 4. Sefer Yetzirah therefore states that,¹⁸⁴Sefer Yetzirah, Mishnah 1. “He engraved thirty-two wondrous paths of Chochmah,” which correspond to the 10 sefirot and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which indicates a separate conduct.¹⁸⁵GR’A, commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, Mishna 1.

Now, the Kabbalists called this Sefirah Desire-Ratzon-רצון. That is, upon the drawing forth of the desire for the emanation of the Sefirot and their revelation from the Supernal Crown-Keter Elyon, this is a place that none have the power to contemplate whatsoever. For, there is no created being, neither above or below, that is capable of knowing how the desire-Ratzon-רצון spreads forth to emanate the Sefirot. Even our teacher Moshe, peace be upon him, asked HaShem-יהו"ה,¹³³Exodus 33:13 “please inform me of Your way.” HaShem’s-יהו"ה response was,¹³⁴Exodus 33:19 “I shall call out in the Name HaShem-יהו״ה before you.” In other words, there indeed is a way, but it is the innermost sanctum and beyond your own grasp, and there is no way for you to enter it by yourself. This is the secret of, “I shall call out in the Name HaShem-יהו״ה before you.” The verse therefore continues, “I will favor whomever I will favor and I will have mercy upon whomever I will have mercy.”¹³⁵That is, the bestowal from this Sefirah is solely by way of a freely given gift of kindness and mercy from HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He and blessed is His Name. This will be further explained in the Tenth Gate, regarding the name Eheye”h-אהי״ה, which is the quality of absolute mercy-Rachamim Gemurim. That is, there is no way by which any novel created being can contemplate the spreading forth of HaShem’s-יהו"ה Supernal desire, neither a little or a lot. It therefore is called Limitless Desire-Ratzon b’Ain Gvul-רצון באין גבול. That is, just as we can have no grasp of the ways of the first Sefirah, being that it has no end or limit, this likewise is so of the Desire-Ratzon-רצון that adheres to it. It too is unlimited. It is with this quality of Desire-Ratzon-רצון that the Holy One, blessed is He, is merciful to those who adhere to fear-Yirah-יראה of HaShem-יהו״ה, meaning, to the chief desire and thought (Machshavah).¹³⁶That is, Wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה, is also called Fear-Yirah-יראה of HaShem-יהו״ה, as the verse states, (Psalm 111:10) “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of HaShem-יהו"ה,” as will soon be explained. Happy is he who merits this. About this the verse states,¹³⁷Psalms 147:11 “HaShem-יהו״ה desires (Rotzeh-רוצה) those who fear Him-Yerei’av-יראיו,” and it states,¹³⁸Psalms 145:19 “He fulfills the desire-Retzon-רצון of those who fear Him-Yerei’av-יראיו, He hears their cry and saves them.”

What does “the hunted-Tzayid-ציד was in his mouth” mean? In means that he beheld the children of Yaakov trapped-Nitzodim-נצודים in the judgments of purgatory (Gehinom) and when he saw this, he became very anguished. However, when he saw the exile of Edom, and saw that the hunted-Tzayid-ציד of purgatory would be put into the mouth of Esav, he rejoiced and said, “Exile atones for sin.” This is the meaning of the verse,³⁴³Jeremiah 2:3 “Israel is holy to HaShem-יהו״ה, the first of His crop; all who devour it will be held guilty; evil shall come upon them – the word of HaShem-יהו״ה.” For, through the exile of Esav, HaShem-יהו״ה, may He be blessed and elevated, refines and brings merit to the Jewish people.