חלק ב — תורה 8

3. And then, when prayer is in the category of judgment, a master of great strength who can pray a judgment-prayer is needed; someone like Pinchas when he acted zealously in the Zimri affair, as it is written (Psalms 106:30), “Pinchas stood up vayePhaLeL (and disputed),” and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: He engaged in P’LiLot (judicial dispute) with his Creator (Sanhedrin 44a)—i.e., a judgment-prayer.

[Pinchas] acted zealously in the Zimri affair, which is the concept of “For that is licentiousness; that is a sin for p’lilim (judicial sentencing)” (Job 31:11). In other words, it is a sin that necessitates a judgment-prayer, namely, P’LiLim, the concept of “Pinchas stood vayePhaLeL.” Wherever there is the flaw of immoral desire, God forbid, so that prayer is in the category of judgment and the Other Side swallows it, God forbid, a master of great strength is needed to pray a judgment-prayer, as at the time of the Zimri affair, when Pinchas was obliged to offer a judgment-prayer.

When this master of strength offers a judgment-prayer, the Other Side attempts to swallow it, because it always swallows the prayers in the category of judgment. But when it attempts to swallow the master of strength’s judgment-prayer, this prayer sticks in its throat, as in “Strength resides in its neck” (Job 41:14). In other words, the aforementioned prayer of the master of strength, which is the concept of a “staff of strength,” sticks “in its neck,” the throat, forcing it to vomit. The Other Side is compelled to vomit out all the holy elements of the daat, compassion and prayers which it swallowed, as in “He swallowed wealth and vomits it out” (ibid. 20:15).

And not only does it vomit out all the holiness which it swallowed, but it is also compelled to vomit out its very life-essence. This is as in “God flushes it out of his innards” (ibid.)—i.e., it vomits out its very life-essence. This corresponds to those who convert. They were previously part of the very substance of the Other Side. But now they revert to holiness, because the Other Side is compelled to vomit out its very life-essence. This is the concept of converts.

And this is the concept of “God will send forth from Zion the staff of your strength; R’Dei (rule) within your enemies” (Psalms 110:2). Specifically “within,” corresponding to “God flushes it out of his innards.” The staff of strength, i.e., the aforementioned prayer of the master of strength, literally yoReDet (descends) within it and causes it to vomit out its very life-essence from within its innards, the concept of “God flushes it out of his innards.”

This is also the concept of “With Your might You drove back the sea; You smashed the heads of the sea-serpents upon the water” (Psalms 74:13). By means of the aforementioned staff of strength he smashes “the heads of the sea-serpents upon the water.” This refers to the Other Side, the Serpent, which would feed on the compassion and daat, the concept of “as water covers the seabed,” and “Now the Serpent was cunning,” as mentioned above. By means of the aforementioned staff of strength—i.e., the prayer of the master of strength, the concept of Pinchas—he extracts the holy elements of the daat and the prayers which [the Other Side] swallowed, and he smashes “the heads of the sea-serpents upon the water.” For the master of strength’s prayer—which is a judgment-prayer, as in “Pinchas stood vayephalel”—sticks in the Serpent’s throat and compels it to vomit out everything.

Thus the letters that spell VaYePhaLeL are an acronym for V’hashlekh Lifnei Pharoh Yehi L’tanin (“and fling it down in front of Pharaoh; it will be a sea-serpent”) (Exodus 7:9). It is necessary to fling down the staff of strength, i.e., the aforementioned prayer, for the sea-serpent, as in “and fling it down in front of Pharaoh; it will be a sea-serpent.” One should intentionally fling down the staff of strength in front of the Other Side in order that it will be for the sea-serpent—i.e., in order that the sea-serpent should swallow this prayer. Through this, one extracts from it all the holy elements it swallowed, because [the staff/prayer] sticks in its throat, as mentioned above.

This is also “Then Yitro heard”—What news did he hear on account of which he came? The splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek (Zevachim 116a). Amalek had defiled Israel through the flaw of immoral desire, as it is written (Deuteronomy 25:18), “that he polluted you on the way.” This refers to nocturnal emissions, God forbid, which are brought about by the concept of Amalek. For Amalek feeds on daat, as in “Head among the nations is Amalek” (Numbers 24:20), which corresponds to “Now the Serpent was cunning.” It is this that leads to the defilement associated with this desire, God forbid, as mentioned above—i.e., “the war with Amalek.”

The rectification for this is “the splitting of the Red Sea,” the concept of “With Your might You drove back the sea; You smashed the heads of the sea-serpents upon the water.” This alludes to the aforementioned staff of strength, through which one extracts from [the Other Side] the waters of daat which it swallowed from the realm of holiness.

And as a result, “Then Yitro heard”—this alludes to converts. The staff of strength is the concept of “the splitting of the Red Sea,” and of “With Your might You drove back the sea…,” which rectifies and triumphs in “the war with Amalek.” This leads to people converting, the concept of “Then Yitro heard,” because it extracts also its life-essence, which is the concept of converts, as mentioned above.