הקדמה

118. “He said, ‘O Lord, etc.”He said: “O Lord, I have heard the report of You and am afraid” (Habakkuk 3:2). This means: I heard what had happened to me, that I tasted from that world, that is, at the time of his death, before Elisha revived him, and I became afraid. He began to request mercy for his soul, saying: “O Lord, may Your work” that You performed for me, “in the midst of the years” be “ḥaiyaihu” and ḥaiyaihu is like “his life” [ḥayav]. Whoever connects to those ancient years, which are the sefirot of Atik, life connects to him. “In the midst of the years make it known” (Habakkuk 3:2), meaning to bestow life upon that level where there is no life, which is Malkhut of Malkhut, for “make it known” means “bestow.”

Explanation: His fear is from the past, since he has already been completed from all sides and now fear does not apply to him, except for the fear he experienced in the past, when he departed from the world. This is the meaning of his statement: “I heard what had happened to me, that I tasted from that world,” that is, after his death, before Elisha revived him. From there he draws forth fear even now, to be a partition for him to raise feminine waters. This is the meaning of “he began to request mercy for his soul,” that is, through the strength of the fear from the past, he began to raise feminine waters, which is the mystical meaning of the request for mercy for himself.

This is also the mystical meaning of the partition of the future, in the mystical meaning of [the stage] after the Ban returns to being Sag. At that time, it will be the stage of “He will eliminate death forever” (Isaiah 25:8), and there will be no possible power for fear, [no need to fight to] keep himself in purity and guard from any grip [of the Sitra Aḥara]. Any aspect of fear will then be from the power of the past, since its imprints will remain in Ban even after it has become Sag. 1The level of Ban alone, as explained in the preceding sections, is open to the purchase of the Sitra Aḥara. Even after Ban ascends to Sag, the imprints of those vulnerabilities will still be accessible, as remnants of the past, even though they will not truly exist in the present of that stage. This is a necessary matter, for there is no rectification of the partition without fear. 2This phrase is the key to understanding these sections. The main concept is that although at the future period, when Ban has ascended to Sag, and death has been eliminated, there will still be a process of evolution and rectification. The choice to do evil, represented by the "fear" we currently experience in this phase, will be essentially rendered purely conceptual. Even in this theoretical form, we can still use these traces of fear from the past to allow us to continue to progress in rectifications, deepening our spiritual development. Rabbi Shimon told them this exposition on Habakkuk in connection to this mystical meaning, to teach them that they will also receive fear from this path of miracles and the lofty signs through which they passed, like Habakkuk in accordance with his level, for he made use of this fear.

[The Zohar] continues: “May Your work that You performed for me in the midst of the years be his life.” He had two types of years: Years before his death and years after his resurrection. In between, he was deceased in the world of truth. He states regarding the time when he was in that world, which was in the midst of these two aspects of years, “may Your work that You performed for me in the midst of the years be his life.” In other words, by my remembering the period of my death which was in the midst of the years, I connect to the life of the higher world, through which Elisha revived me (as stated just above). “I heard what had happened to me, that I tasted from that world, and I became afraid.”

Now, the seven lower [sefirot] of [Atik Yomin] are called “ancient years,” and this is because of the Malkhut of Adam Kadmon which is enclothed in them. 3"Ancient" here does not mean ancient in material time, but rather, preceding in the devolved chain of existence. The point here is that the level beyond death, which is “ancient” in the chain (meaning higher), is accessible at the completion of the rectification, a level accessed by Habakkuk. They are more ancient than the first constriction, like Adam Kadmon, and they do not illuminate during the 6, 000 years, but only at the completion of the rectification. The seven lower [sefirot] of [Atik Yomin] illuminate in the 6, 000 years [only] with respect to the [process of] rectifying the second constriction, in the mystical meaning of the small [letter] heh of hibare’am [“when they were created”], as is known.

However, the death of Habakkuk completely purified him, like at the completion of the rectification, and therefore he merited to connect to those earlier years of [Atik Yomin] through the strength of the embrace and the resurrection of the dead which he merited by means of Elisha. This is the meaning of: “Your work that You performed for me in the midst of the years,” that is, the purity and fear that he merited in the midst of the years, the period of his death. “Be his life,” that by the strength of this fear he will merit to connect to those earlier years of [Atik Yomin], that life which is an eternal life. [the Zohar] thus states: “Whoever connects to those earlier years, life connects to him,” for life connects to him forever.

This is the meaning of the statement: “In the midst of the years make it known, upon that level where there is no life at all.” Through the purity that he merited on account of his death, the Ban received its complete rectification, since it ascended and became Sag upon his death, as stated. Then it was in that level where there is no life at all, which is Malkhut of Malkhut, [a level] that lacks any [fusion through collision] prior to the completion of the rectification (as stated in section #43#, above, 5th paragraph). [Following this rectification of Ban], this level [of Malkhut of Malkhut] now also receives its life [and undergoes fusions].