חלק ב — תורה 7

10. By meshing together son and disciple it is possible for a person to experience the revelation of Desire which comes at the time of eating—provided he is a stalwart, and not the opposite {a shlimazel}. The light of Desire shines into him while eating, so that he greatly yearns and longs for God with a boundless desire, knowing not at all what it is that he desires!

This is the concept of “and You give them their sustenance in its time” (Psalms 145:15). “In its time” alludes to the aforementioned revelation of Desire, as in “at that time it will be said to Yaakov and to Israel, ‘What has God wrought?’” (Numbers 23:23). This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: The partition of the righteous will in the future be inward of that of the ministering angels (Yerushalmi, Shabbat 6:9). “Partition” corresponds to makifim, which are the partitions of the intellect. In the Future, the partitions of the makifim of the righteous will be higher than the makifim of the ministering angels. Their insight will then be on the level of mah— “Mah (What) has God wrought?”

This revelation of mah is the revelation of Desire, which is higher than all else. It manifests at the time of eating, as in “and You give them their sustenance in its time.” Specifically “in its time,” which corresponds to the revelation of Desire, which is mah, as in “at that time it will be said to Yaakov and to Israel, ‘ Mah (What)….’” This corresponds to the aforementioned makifim, as they [too] are the concept of mah, i.e., the revelation of Desire.

As for why one experiences the revelation of Desire particularly at the time of eating—know! anyone who would gird his loins to assume the role of provider, to supply livelihood for those dependent upon him, must be a stalwart, not the opposite {a shlimazel}, because he needs to have a certain amount of authority. This is because all livelihood is drawn from Malkhut (Kingship), as it is written of the king: “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong… in which there was sustenance for all… It is you, O king” (Daniel 4:17-19).

Consequently, anyone wanting to obtain livelihood must have a measure of authority, in order to have some connection with Malkhut. This is the meaning of “at mealtime, ‘Come over halom (here)’” (Ruth 2:14). Halom refers to nothing other than malkhut. A person must have authority/ Malkhut “at mealtime,” as this is the means for drawing livelihood.

Therefore, when a husband girds himself to take responsibility for his wife and obligates himself to provide for her—as stated in the marriage contract: I will cherish, honor and support…—he is granted a measure of authority, as it is written, “and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). This authority is what enables him to draw livelihood.

The same is true of all officials; anyone who needs to provide greater livelihood for the many dependent upon him. He must have greater authority in order to be able to draw down livelihood through Malkhut.

Now, Malkhut receives the livelihood from the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom. This refers to the hints, which correspond to the hands, as it is written (Proverbs 1:24), “I extended my hand and no one paid heed”—and Rashi explains: this refers to hints. For there are times when, in revealing his wisdom, the sage says something through which he hints to his students—i.e., that which cannot be explained explicitly. Only through the hints in the words are they able to understand his intention. These hints are the concept of hands, of “I extended my hand.” This is also the concept of the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, as in “This is the sea, vast and broad-handed” (Psalms 104:25).

And from these hands Malkhut receives the livelihood, as in “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalms 145:16)—i.e., the livelihood is drawn from the aforementioned concept of the hands. This is the meaning of “and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” It alludes to the revelation of Desire, which manifests within the livelihood, as in “and You give them their sustenance in its time.” As a result of Malkhut receiving the livelihood from these hands in the Sea of Wisdom, the light of the makifim is revealed within the food and the livelihood. This is the revelation of Desire, because the makifim shine into the Sea of Wisdom that the sage reveals. {“This is the sea, vast and broad-handed ; crawling things are there beyond number, creatures small and great. There go the ships, and this Leviathan that You formed l’sachek (to sport) with. All of them look to You to give them their food in its time” (Psalms 104:25-27) .}

And this is: “This is the sea, vast and broad-handed… this Leviathan that You formed to sport with.” “Leviathan” alludes to Malkhut, as it is written, “Leviathan, the bolt serpent… Leviathan, the twisting serpent” (Isaiah 27:1)—and Rashi explains: this refers to Malkhut.

This is the meaning of “l’SaCheK with.” It alludes to SheChaKim (“Mills”), since that is where they mill the manna (Chagigah 12b)—i.e., livelihood. In other words, Malkhut /Leviathan receives the livelihood from the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, the concept of “This is the sea, vast and broad-handed,” as discussed above. And when the livelihood reaches Malkhut, it is milled and ground there so that each person can be given a befitting ration of livelihood.

And this is “l’sachek with”—the concept of Shechakim, where they mill the manna. For the livelihood, the manna, is milled and ground up in Malkhut /Leviathan, which receives the livelihood from the concept of “This is the sea, vast and broad-handed”—i.e., from thehands in the Sea of Wisdom, namely, the concept of hints, as discussed above.

This is also “All of them look to You to give them their food in its time.” This is because everyone looks and hopes for livelihood. Malkhut collects and gathers all the trust of all the people in the world—their looking and hoping for livelihood—and with this trust Malkhut ascends to receive livelihood from the aforementioned hands. This is “All of them look to You.” As a result of the trust, that everyone looks to Him, hoping and looking for livelihood, the livelihood is drawn through Malkhut.

And this is “to give them their food in its time.” Specifically “in its time,” which corresponds to the revelation of Desire that manifests within the livelihood—the concept of “at that time it will be said to Yaakov and to Israel, ‘What has God wrought?’”/“and You give them their sustenance in its time”/“You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing,” as discussed above.

And this is “but Your right hand and Your arm, and the light of Your face—for You favored them” (Psalms 44:4). “Your right hand and Your arm” alludes to the aforementioned hands, through which the light of the makifim, namely, the revelation of Desire, becomes manifest. And this is “and the light of Your face—for r’tzitam (You favored them).” The makifim are the Light of the Face. This is “for R’TZitam,” because [the makifim] are the revelation of RaTZon (Desire/Favor).

This is also “Happy are you, O land whose king is a free man and whose ministers dine at the proper time” (Ecclesiastes 10:17). Freedom corresponds to yovel (jubilee), which signifies the meshing together of son and disciple, because [the letters of the word] YOVeL are the [initial] letters of V ’chol Banayikh Limudei YHVH (“And all your sons shall be students of God”) (Isaiah 54:13)— i.e., the meshing together of son and disciple. “Your sons” refers to son; “students of God” refers to disciples. Malkhut receives the livelihood from the meshing together of son and disciple, the concept of yovel /freedom.

And this is “Happy are you, O land whose king is a free man”—that Malkhut receives the livelihood from the concept of freedom/ yovel , etc. And this is “and whose ministers dine at the proper time.” “At the proper time” alludes to the revelation of Desire that manifests at the time of eating, the concept of “at that time it will be said…,” as discussed above.

This is also the principle: One should not talk during a meal (Taanit 5b). For it is then, during a meal, that the revelation of Desire manifests. This is synonymous with the light of the makifim, which are the concept of silence: “Be silent! Thus has it arisen in thought,” as discussed above.