תורה 4

9. This applies each time a Torah scholar. The Talmid Chakham is an aspect of Moshe, who is an aspect of Ayin, as is written, “Wisdom comes from Ayin .” And in this way, you become encompassed in Ein Sof (Infinite One).

This is the concept of zarka: it is thrown back to the place from which it was taken (Tikkuney Zohar #21). This is returning Malkhut to Ein Sof, which is the will in all the wills. For Malkhut corresponds to the letters of speech, with the will of God clothed in each and every letter. It was God’s will that one letter have such and such a shape, and another letter have a different shape. We find, then, that [God’s] wills—i.e., the forms of the letters—serve to reveal His Malkhut. And all these wills, the forms, stem from the will of Ein Sof —which has no form .

And all the objects and material existence in the world originate from the letters, i.e., from Malkhut. This is because material existence is a consequence of Malkhut, of the Holy One’s desire that His Malkhut be revealed in the world. Through this He created the world ex nihilo. All the wills—the forms and all material existence, corresponding to Malkhut —receive their vitality from the will of Ein Sof. As is taught (Megillah 31a): “In every place that you find the greatness of the Holy One”—i.e., His Malkhut /wills—“there, you find His humility”—i.e., the will of Ein Sof.

And this is an aspect of stripping oneself of corporeality. For when a person wants to be encompassed in the will of Ein Sof, he must negate his material being.

This is what is written in the Zohar (II, 88b), that Moshe passed away on Shabbat, at the time of Minchah. For that is when raava d’raaven (Will of Wills) is revealed. This is the will of Ein Sof, from whom all wills receive their vitality. This was because Moshe had totally negated his material being, as is written, “After all, nachnu mah (what are we)?” (Exodus 16:7).

{“So Moshe the servant of God died there, in the land of Moav, by the kiss of God. [God] buried him in the valley in the land of Moav, opposite Beit Pe’or. No man knows his burial place to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:5-7).} This is the meaning of “[God] buried him in the valley”—it alludes to < Ein Sof,> as is written (Isaiah 40:4), “Every valley shall be elevated.” “In the land of Moav”—this alludes to Malkhut, for King David descended from Moav. Moshe ascended into Ein Sof, into Will of Wills, raava d’raaven. This corresponds to the will of Ein Sof, which is clothed in the wills/forms of the letters, the aspect of Malkhut. As explained, “In every place that you find His greatness”—i.e., Malkhut, the aspect of —“there, you find ”—i.e., the will of Ein Sof.

This is: “opposite Beit Pe’or.” As the Sages taught: Why was [the idol] called Pe’or? Because it opens its mouth wide. For when one blemishes Malkhut, [Pe’or] then has the power to open its mouth wide with negative letter-combinations. But Moshe rectified the aspect of Malkhut, and as a result Pe’or could not open its mouth wide (Sotah 14a). This is: “No man knows [his burial place]”—even Moshe did not know (ibid.). For he was negated in Ein Sof.

All this was at his death. However, also during his lifetime [Moshe] certainly stripped away all corporeality and attached himself to the Light of Ein Sof. But then, this stripping was in an aspect of “the living creatures ran and returned” (Ezekiel 1:14). This is because the Holy One desires our service, as is written (Yom Kippur Liturgy), “You desire praise from mounds of dust, from lumps of clay.” Therefore, it is imperative not to remain [in this state of negation], until such a time that the Holy One Himself comes and takes one’s soul.

This is why we see that now and then a person becomes inspired while praying and he recites several words with tremendous fervor. This is due to God’s compassion for him; the Light of Ein Sof has been opened to him and shines for him. When a person sees this radiance—and even though he might not see, his mazal sees (Megillah 3a) —his soul is instantly ignited in great devotion, so that he attaches himself to the Light of Ein Sof. And, to the degree that Ein Sof is revealed—commensurate with the number of words that have been opened and begun to radiate—he recites all these words with great devotion, with a surrender of self, and with a negation of all his senses. Then, during the time he is negated in Ein Sof, he is in a state of “and no man knows,” so that he himself is unaware of his own existence. But this must be in the aspect of “running and returning,” in order to preserve .

We find, then, that when he is in a state of “returning,” he must also disclose to his daat. For at the beginning, at the time of devotion, his daat was nullified, as in, “and no man knows.” But when he is in a state of “returning,” returning to his material being, then he returns to his daat. And when he returns to his daat, he knows the oneness and beneficence of Ein Sof. Then, there is no difference between YHVH and Elohim, between the divine attribute of judgment and the divine attribute of compassion.

For a change of will is not applicable to Ein Sof, Heaven forbid. Changes only occur in the changing of the forms. Nevertheless, by virtue of a person’s attachment to Ein Sof —where there is no change of will, for there the will is uniform—afterwards, an imprint of this oneness remains within him. Then, later, when he is in a state of “returning,” this imprint illuminates , so that he knows that all is good and all is one.

This is what Moshe said to his generation: “It has been clearly demonstrated to your daat that YHVH (God) is the Elohim (Lord)” (Deuteronomy 4:35). For Moshe corresponds to < daat, as is known.> Thus it was fitting for his generation, who were attached to him, to [have] daat —i.e., to illuminate the daat [with an awareness of] Ein Sof / raava d’raaven, the aspect of “YHVH is the Elohim .”