All the Rivers Flow Into the Sea

104

Pekudei [Accounts]

Pekudei [Accounts]

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea

1) “These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony.” It is written, “All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full.” All the rivers are rivers and holy springs, the Sefirot de ZA, which have been filled and came out to illuminate upon the great sea, which is Malchut. And when the great sea is filled by those rivers, it emits water and waters all the animals of the field, as it is written, “They water every beast of the field,” which are the degrees of BYA.

2) First it is written, “He sends forth springs in the rivers,” and then it is written, “They water every beast of the field, the wild donkeys quench their thirst.” These are the Merkavot [pl. of Merkava (chariot/assembly)] below, in BYA, which are called “beasts of the field” and “wild donkeys.” And when the sea, Malchut, receives those springs, the lights of ZA, it receives all of them and sucks them into it. Subsequently, it emits water to the other side—which is the holy Merkavot below, in BYA—waters them, and all are accounted for and counted by name, for Malchut names all the degrees that she waters, as it is written, “He calls them all by name.” This is why it is written, “These are the accounts of the tabernacle,” for the tabernacle is Malchut, and the degrees that she waters—the Kelim of the tabernacle—are her accounts, which are called by name.

How Great Is Your Goodness, which You Have Concealed for Those Who Fear You

3) It is written, “How great is Your goodness, which You have concealed for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men.” How much should people look into, and know the ways of the Creator, for each day, a voice comes out, declares, and says, “Beware, of the world, O people, close the doors of iniquity, move away from the net that hunts people before your legs are caught in that net.” The wheel always turns; the Din of above ascends and descends, raising people and bringing people down. Woe to those whose legs have been rejected by the wheel, for they fall into the depth that is kept for the wicked of the world.

4) Woe to those who fall into the depth and will not rise or illuminate in the light that is hidden for the righteous for the next world. Happy are the righteous for the next world, for several lights are hidden and kept for them, several refinements from that world are hidden for them, as it is written, “How great is Your goodness, which You have concealed for those who fear You.” “How great is Your goodness” is a light that is hidden for the righteous for the next world, as it is written, “And God saw the light that it was good.” It is also written, “Light is sawn for the righteous.” “Sawn” means that it was hidden. This is why it is written, “How great is Your goodness.”

5) Here it is written, “How great is Your goodness,” and there is it written, “And God saw the light, that it was good.” As there it is said, “Good,” about the light, here too, “Your greatness” means “Your light.” “Which you have concealed,” since the Creator looked in the light and in those wicked that are destined to sin in the world. He hid that light for the righteous to be rewarded with it for the next world.

6) Why does it first write “Concealed,” and then writes, “Wrought”? “Concealed,” since He hid it for the righteous. “Wrought,” for the Creator worked the craftsmanship of the world in that hidden light. It is so because it is written, “These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were created. It is written, “In Abraham,” since “When they were created” has the letters of “In Abraham” [in Hebrew]. That is, that light of Abraham, Hesed, the Creator hid it, as well as operating the craftsmanship of the world with it, as it is written, “Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,” meaning those who sit under the shade of the Creator, who take refuge by His shade.

7) “You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men.” The craftsmanship that was done in that light sustains people in the world, and it is their sustenance. And although the light is hidden, the people in this world live by it. “You have wrought” the craftsmanship of this world, in which all is done by calculation. The craftsmanship of the world is like the craftsmanship of the tabernacle, which is a craftsmanship like the world.

8) It is written here, “These are the accounts of the tabernacle,” and there it is written, “These are the generations of the heaven and the earth.” This teaches that their works are equal, for all those generations that the heaven and the earth made and brought forth were done and came out by the force of the hidden light. Likewise, the accounts of the tabernacle came out by the force of the hidden light, for it is written, “And Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.” This is from the right side, Abraham, the hidden light. “And with him was Oholiab,” from the left side, while the tabernacle, Malchut, was established and made from the right and left sides. Moses, who was the between them—the middle line—established it.

And a Throne Is Established Through Mercy

9) “And a throne is established through mercy and a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of David.” When the thought, Hochma, upper AVI, rose to be corrected by the will of joy from the most hidden of all that are hidden, who is unknown and unattainable, being Atik, the joy of Atik came and illuminated inside the thought, which is Aba. At that time it entered where it entered, mating with upper Ima in the light of Hesed in a never ending Zivug, as it is written, “Because He desires mercy.”

He explains that preparation that was done in Hesed by correcting the Partzuf of upper AVI in the light of Hesed in a Zivug PBP [face-to-face], “Because He desires mercy,” meaning that that great Zivug never stops. It is so because that desiring mercy in AVI extends to them from Atik, for when Atik corrected Partzuf AVI, the joy of the light of Hesed in Atik illuminated to Aba until this joy clung to Aba so much that he no longer receives Hochma. Rather, he mates with upper Ima in a never ending Zivug, only in illumination of Hassadim. It is written about that correction of upper AVI, “And a throne is established through mercy.”

10) Until AVI were hidden—meaning corrected and clothed in the upper palace, Bina, YESHSUT, the hidden palace where Hochma is not revealed up in his place, but from which all the lights pour out and extend, the light of Hassadim from the right line, and the light of Hochma from the left line, and the light of Daat in the middle line—the light of Hassadim first traveled from the right, and then the light of Hochma and the light of Daat traveled.

The throne below, Malchut, is established from the right side because the Creator, ZA, established a throne in Hesed, which extends from the right line of YESHSUT and from upper AVI, and does not sit on the throne, Malchut, but in a seal, which is called “truth.” This is the correction of the middle line, as it is written, “Will sit on it in truth,” in the correction of the seal over everything. In the tent of David, Malchut, the throne is below.

11) “Judging and seeking sentence, and prompt in justice” is the end of the verse. “Judging,” from the side of Din, left line. “Seeking sentence,” from the side of Rachamim [mercy], the middle line. “And Prompt in justice” is the chair of Din, the courthouse of below, Malchut. Likewise, the tabernacle was established from the right, Hesed, by which all the generations that extend from Malchut were counted and established below.

These Are the Accounts of the Tabernacle

12) “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” When the Creator created the world, He created it such as above, so that this world would be in the form of the upper world, Malchut. He established all those colors of above below, in this world, to attach and connect a world to a world, this world to Malchut.

13) When the Creator wished to create the world, He looked in the Torah and created it. He looked in the holy name, HaVaYaH, the whole of the Torah, and made the world be. The world was created by three sides—Hochma, Tevuna, and Daat. By Hochma, as it is written, “The Lord established the earth with wisdom.” By Tevuna, as it is written, “He established the heaven with intelligence.” By Daat, as it is written, “By His knowledge the deeps were broken up.” Thus, all of them are present in the existence of the world. By those three was the tabernacle built, as it is written, “I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge.”

14) All three, Hochma, Tevuna, and Daat, are implied in the verse. “In the beginning” is Hochma, “God created” is Tevuna, since Tevuna is called Elokim [God]. “The heaven” is in Daat because ZA is called heaven and Daat. Also, all are written in the work of the tabernacle, as it is written, “These are the accounts of the tabernacle,” the Hochma, since accounts and number extend from Hochma. “The tabernacle of the testimony” is Tevuna because the illumination of Hochma that appears in YESHSUT is called “testimony.” “Which were counted according to Moses” is Daat because Moses is Daat. All is done one opposite the other because everything that the Creator created in this world, He created it such as above, and all is registered in the work of the tabernacle.

15) When the Creator said to Moses, “Make the Tabernacle,” Moses was bewildered. He did not know what to do until the Creator vividly showed him, as it is written, “And see and make them after their pattern, which is being shown to you in the mountain.” “In their pattern” means that the Creator showed Moses everything in its higher, spiritual form, and each of the spiritual forms above was making its form similar to the fictitious form that was made below, on earth. This is how Moses knew.

16) “Which is being shown to you in the mountain.” The mirror that does not shine, Malchut, was showing him within her all the manners and forms that are being done below.

17) “Which is being shown to you.” “You” is the mirror that does not shine, Malchut, which showed him within her all those forms. And Moses saw each of them in its corrected form, as one who sees within a crystal lamp, within a mirror that shows all the forms. And when Moses looked into them, he found them perplexing, since there, in Malchut, everything stood in its spiritual form, but each form equalized its form to the imaginary form in this world, in the Tabernacle.

It follows that two forms were apparent in everything: the spiritual one and the imaginary one. This is why Moses was bewildered; he did not know which of them to grasp. The Creator told him, “You with your signs, and I with Mine,” that Moses would perceive the imaginary signs in everything, and the Creator perceives the spiritual signs of everything, and then the spiritual form is placed over the imaginary form. Then Moses was reconciled in all the work of the Tabernacle.

18) When all the work was done, Moses had to count everything so that Israel would not say that there were leftover silver and gold that he was going to take. Therefore, he had to count the accounts before Israel, since it is written, “And you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel.”

19) This is why it is written, “These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony,” since the spirit of holiness, Malchut, called “a tabernacle,” was showing to everyone the account of all the gold and silver that Israel donated. The spirit of holiness said, “And the silver of those of the congregation who were numbered.” And he said, “All the gold that is made for work in all the work of holiness,” since the Creator desired those craftsmen and wished to show their loyalty to all.

20) “These are the accounts of the tabernacle.” When the work of the tabernacle was being done, the Sitra Achra would go and roam to slander. He did not find a reason with the faith of the craftsmen until the Creator surrendered him before Moses, and the Sitra Achra made the calculation of the loyalty against his will, showing their loyalty before all, as it is written, These are the accounts of the tabernacle.” “These are the Sitra Achra.” It is also written, “Which were counted according to Moses.”

21) “These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony.” It writes “tabernacle” twice: once above, in Bina, “The tabernacle of the testimony,” and once below, in Malchut, only “tabernacle.” A tabernacle is called “the tabernacle of the testimony,” as it is written, “The tribes of the Lord, a testimony to Israel,” since the name Yod-Hey, HB, is a testimony to Israel.

22) Likewise, it is written, “A testimony in Jehoseph is his name.” It is called “a testimony” because the name Yod-Hey in Jehoseph is HB, testimony. In every place, Yod-Hey testify to a testimony, meaning illuminate illumination of Hochma, which is called Eden or Edut [testimony]. This is why it is written, “The tabernacle of the testimony,” a tabernacle of the testimony of Yod-Hey, Bina. This is why the tabernacle is named after the holy name Yod-Hey, as it is written, “And I will teach them this testimony of Mine,” since this place, Yod-Hey, is hidden and concealed. This is why it is written, “I will teach them.”

23) “Which were counted according to Moses.” Does the tabernacle count the testimony, for it is written, “Accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony”? Indeed, it counts the testimony, Yod-Hey, since on the day when the patriarchs departed from the world, as well as all the tribes of the children of Jacob, and Israel were left in exile, in those troubles, they forgot the knowledge of the high and holy name, “testimony,” which is the existence of heaven and earth, Mochin de ZON. It is so because the upper and lower ones, and all the sides of the world established those two letters Yod-Hey by giving them Mochin.