Kabbalah sa Ruth 4:17: Sha'arei Orah

After having informed you about these principles of the matter of these two Sefirot, which are “Nothing-Ayin-אין” and “Something-Yesh-יש,” we now must inform you of an important principle. That is, because our forefather Yaakov, peace be upon him, is the middle line-Kav HaEmtza’ee-קו האמצעי, therefore, even though he too is subjugated with Avraham and Yitzchak, in that the ministering angels of the world have a hold on them, nevertheless, through the Sefirot of Crown-Keter and Wisdom-Chochmah, Yaakov will ultimately ascend high above and adhere to the Sefirah of Crown-Keter. This is the meaning of the verse,¹⁰⁹Genesis 28:14 “You shall burst forth-uFaratzta-ופרצת westward, eastward, northward, and southward,” and the meaning of verse,¹¹⁰Isaiah 58:14; Also see Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 118b ibid. “I will mount you astride the heights of the earth.” Now, because Yaakov merited to adhere to the first of all the Sefirot above, therefore Avraham is found to his right, Yitzchak is found to his left, and David, who is the fourth leg of the throne, is the last of the ten Sefirot, in that he adheres to the bottom thorn of the letter Vav-ו, called Foundation-Yesod. Thus, according to all the Kabbalists, there are two Yod’s-י. The upper Yod-י is Wisdom-Chochmah and the lower Yod-י is Foundation-Yesod. This is why “Yishai-ישי is the father of David.”¹¹¹Ruth 4:17 That is, there is the “Something-Yesh-יש” that Yaakov adheres to above, which David adheres to below. Therefore, “Yishai-ישי is the father of David.” That is, [in Yishai-ישי] there is a letter Yod-י above, a letter Yod-י below, and the three forefathers in the middle, as indicated by the three heads of the letter Shin-ש, these being Greatness-Gedulah, Might-Gevurah, and Splendor-Tiferet, [and the three lines] of Victory-Netzach [to the right], Majesty-Hod [to the left] and Foundation-Yesod [in the middle]. Whoever understands this will understand what our sages stated in Tractate Brachot about Yishai-ישי,¹¹²Talmud Bavli, Brachot 58a “The verse states,¹¹³Samuel I 17:12 ‘In the days of Shaul, the man was old, and would come amongst the elders.’ This refers to Yishai-ישי who went in with multitudes and went out with multitudes.”¹¹⁴That is, all the Sefirot were unified in him and he merited to be a Chariot (Merkavah) for the Holy One, blessed is He. He thus was a Minister and Rebbe over all the Jewish people, as it continues there, “and he taught Torah before the multitudes… and a multitude is no less than six-hundred thousand,” referring to the entire Jewish people. Also see Tractate Yevamot 76b and Rashi there.

Now, whoever knows this secret will know the secret of the verse,²⁰⁷Ruth 4:17 – The verse refers to the birth of Oved, the father of Yishai, the father of David, to Ruth, as stated in the continuation of the verse. “The [female] neighbors-Shecheinot-שכנות gave him a name, saying, ‘A son was born to Na’ami.’” This is because the child that was born was rooted primarily in the above-mentioned places, and therefore inherited the special inheritance between the two Shechinot-שכנות, [the upper Shechinah and the lower Shechinah]. This is the secret of the verse,²⁰⁸Psalms 48:3 “Mount Zion-Har Tziyon-הר ציון, the summit of the North-Tzafon-צפון,” and it states,²⁰⁹Psalms 133:3 “As the dew-Tal-טל of Hermon descends upon the Mountains of Zion-Harerei Tziyon-הררי ציון, for there HaShem-יהו״ה commanded the blessing-HaBrachah-הברכה – Life-Chayim-חיים is there forever,” and it states,²¹⁰Samuel II 5:7 “Zion-ציון, this is the City of David-Eer David-עיר דוד.” Understand this well.