“B’ni Lann Beita (Build us a house) in the sky.” He uttered a Holy Name and stood suspended between heaven and earth. He said to them, “Bring me bricks and tina (cement) from hatam (there).” They said, “Can anybody get up there?” He said, “Is there anyone who can build a house between heaven and earth?” (Bekhorot 8b)
[Fallen Alephs]
editThere are mitnagdim (oppositionists) who disgrace and vilify <the tzaddikim and> those who fear God. This stems from their receiving Torah from Jewish scholar-demons. For the Jewish scholar-demons receive their Torah from demons who have fallen Torah from the fallen alephs.
In connection to these ALePhs it is written about Shlomo (1 Kings 5:12), “He spoke three ALaPhim (thousand) proverbs, and his songs were five and ALePh.” For Shlomo had achieved them <through an abundance of holiness>.
But the Jewish scholar-demons receive <them> by way of the evil forces. As a result, all their words <are> by way of allegory, rhetoric and profound logic. This is because <their root> is from these alephs.
And of these Torah scholars it is said (Isaiah 7:13), “Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you would also weary [my] God?” For <they> exhaust the people who come to hear their expositions and teachings. People think that they will come to some betterment through them—that they will come to know how to serve God. But they, the people, do not achieve any betterment. This is because the teachings of these Torah scholars lack the power to guide a person in the right way, for “from bad there is no good.” And what’s more, “that you would also weary God”—as though <they tired out> the Holy One from helping those who serve Him.
It comes out that because of this, these people fall into great heresy. They think, Heaven forfend, that God “neither sees nor understands” the deeds of man (cf. Psalms 94:7). As a result, they do not honor those who fear God, but vilify and shame them. This is why “shame” is called idolatry, as in (Hoshea 9:10), “They consecrated themselves to shame.” For shame and vilification stem from heresy.
[Lovingkindness]
editNow, when those who fear God are vilified and shamed by these heretics, the solution for this is (Psalms 22:7): “But I am a worm, and not a man; vilified of men, <and the disgraced of the nation.” That is,> the concept of “worm” is a remedy for vilification and disgrace. By virtue of this concept one defeats his enemies. This is because a tola (worm) corresponds to EMUNah (faith), as in (Lamentations 4:5), “those who were EMUNim (reared) on tola (scarlet).”
This is the aspect of Avraham. <He was> the first of the faithful, as is written (Genesis 15:6), “He had faith in God.”
With the aspect of Avraham, which is the aspect of faith, one breaks and eliminates idolatry, heresy and disgrace. And one overcomes the heretics, corresponding to (Psalms 20:7), “with strength, the salvation of His right hand.” For Avraham is the personification of lovingkindness, the concept of faith, as in (ibid. 89:34), “My lovingkindness I will not remove from him, and I will not be false to My faithfulness.” With this right hand he overcomes his enemies. He takes on the aspect of (Nachum 2:4), “The warriors are mTuLA’im (dressed in scarlet).”
And with this lovingkindness he rectifies the fallen alephs mentioned above. This is as in (Exodus 20:6), “He performs lovingkindness to the alaphim (thousands).”
[Offerings]
editBut it is only possible to come to <this> lovingkindness by hosting righteous <visitors> in one’s home. This is because someone who hosts <righteous> visitors in his home is as if he offered TaMIDin (regular daily offerings); as in the teaching of the Sages (Berakhot 10b): “A holy man passes by us TaMID (regularly)” (2 Kings 4:9).
And with this service, that he stands over them and waits on them, he merits the abovementioned lovingkindness. As in the teaching: Whoever prevents his student from serving him, it is as if he denied him lovingkindness (Ketuvot 96a).
This is the reason the regular-offering was a lamb, for from it the <fallen> ALePhs are rectified; corresponding to (Jeremiah 11:19), “I am like a keves ALuPh (a domesticated lamb).” This is also the connotation of KeVeS: it is KaVuSh (suppressed) under the hand of its master and serves <him>. And so TaMiD is numerically equivalent to four times aleph, which is the rectification of the alephs.
And this is the meaning of (Proverbs 23:29), “The one who quarrels, the one who has senseless words.” That is, because of SYaCh (senseless words)—because of the Chakham Sheid Yehuda’iy (Jewish scholar-demon)—he causes quarrels, he causes opposition to develop.
[Between Heaven and Earth]
editThis is the explanation of what the Wise Men of Athens said:
Build us a house in the sky — For [this refers to] all those people who want to structure their service of God based on the Torah they hear from Jewish scholar-demons, who in truth have nothing upon which they can rely. It is like their wanting to build a house in the sky. For the Jewish scholar-demons fly in the air. They do not have upon what to rely, like the demons that fly in the air.
He uttered a Holy Name and stood between heaven and earth — That is, the true Torah scholar is between heaven and earth; as in the Aramaic translation of (1 Chronicles 29:11): “for all that is in heaven and on the earth”— {he joins heaven and earth}.
He said to them, Bring me bricks and tina (cement) from hatam (there) — This is because tina (grievance) has entered the hearts of these [people], as above, and their heart has become a heart of stone. Now, when a true Torah scholar sees their evil intentions, he tells them to remove the grievance from their hearts—they should remove the grievance that is in the heart of stone and not commit heresy against the Holy One.
This is because the grievance and the heart of stone <stem from the concept of hatam>—i.e., from the concept of the abovementioned fallen alephs, which are numerically equivalent to HaTaM {because four times ALePh plus one for the principle itself totals HTM (445)}.
They said, Can anybody get up there? — They said to him, “Who can elevate the fallen alephs?” And he answered them:
Is there anyone who can build a house between heaven and earth? — In other words, [this is] someone who builds his house with the help of true Torah scholars. He [and others like him] have on what to rely. This is because true Torah scholars are the foundation of everything. And the person whose house is a meeting place for <true> scholars—who builds his house <“between heaven and earth,”> corresponding to, “A holy man passes by us tamid. Let us make a partitioned loft”—[is one of] those people who elevate the <fallen> alephs, as explained.
[Rectify the Aleph]
editThis is: aleph beit gimel dalet: Gimel dalet is heaven and earth, <as is known>. BeIT is the one who builds his BayIT (house) between heaven and earth. This is the rectification of the <fallen> alephs.
zayin chet: Namely, those people who receive their Torah from the Jewish scholar-demons. They are referred to as ZayiN, as in (Leviticus 17:7), “to the demons after whom ZoNim (they stray).” <From them come> the vilification and <the disgrace>, as in (Job 31:34), “The disgrace of families y’ChiTeini (frightens me)”—corresponding to the CheT.
heh vav: Hoy vay! This denotes screams and dispute. As mentioned earlier, “The one who quarrels, the one who has senseless words”—i.e., zayin, chet.
tet yod: The good he hid within him (Zohar, Introduction, p.3a). When one hears Torah from Jewish scholar-demons, one has to eat the good that is in it. This is like Rabbi Meir: he found a pomegranate, ate the inside, <and threw away its peel> (Chagigah 15b). As it is written (Proverbs 23:26), “My son, give me your heart”; and also (ibid. 22:17), “Listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge.” And when one does this, one elevates the good that is hidden within it—i.e., the fallen alephs. This is tet: the good he hid within him. You should “apply your heart <to my knowledge>“—to the good that is hidden in his words.
And, as a result, yod. In other words, through this one rectifies the alephs. This corresponds to '(Isaiah 25:1)', “I will praise Your name, for You have done PheLA (wonder)”—this is the ALePh (Zohar III, 193b). This is: yod forms an aleph (ibid. II, 235b). And this is yOD, it is linguistically similar to ODeh (praise). YoD corresponds to (Lamentations 3:53), “vaYaDu (and they cast) stones”—similar to discarding, namely, “he threw away its peel.”
[Tamid Sacrifice]
editWe heard from his holy lips that this lesson hints to all the Kabbalistic intentions associated with the Chapter of the Tamid - Offering which we recite in the morning. He explained a bit of this to us. Study the Kavanot, and see and understand that all the intentions of the Chapter of the Regular-Offering are clarified in this lesson.
For it is explained there in the Kavanot: The regular-offering subdues the evil forces of the World of Action… which correspond to idolatry…
Also, “olat” is numerically equivalent to the Holy Name ABG YTTZ … which is in the sefirah Chesed (Lovingkindness)…. This is the hidden meaning of (Genesis 19:27), “Avraham got up early in the morning.” This is also the hidden meaning of (Isaiah 41:14), “Fear not, tolaat (worm of) Yaakov.”
Contrasting this in the evil forces is the tola which consumes and eats up everything…. Therefore, God, in His mercy, commanded that the regular-elevation-offering be offered; so that the OLAT tamid of holiness—corresponding to “TOLAat yaakov”—overcomes the TOLA of the evil forces….
And know! every elevation-offering corresponds to the aspect of Leah…. Therefore, the olat tamid comes in contrast to her, to mitigate her judgments so that the unholy tolaat does not govern and rule. TOLA is turned back to OLAT. This is why it is written olat TaMiD (Numbers 28:6), because TMD is the numerical equivalent of the four alephs which Leah takes….
All this is explained in the Pri Etz Chaim, The Gate of Offerings, Chapter 3 (Shaar Olam HaAsiyah, pp. 115-116). Study there well. Study carefully and you will see that all this is clarified in this lesson.
For it is explained there that the [existence of] oppositionists who vilify those who fear God stems from the fallen alephs. In holiness these alephs correspond to the aspect Leah. But by them [the oppositionists] this becomes the aspect of, “Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you would also weary [my] God?”—as though they tire out the Holy One from helping those who serve Him. This is because, by them, LeAH becomes the aspect of LoAH (tire out). For they draw sustenance from the harsh judgments in Leah, from where the harsh evil forces—the concept of idolatry—have a hold. This is what is explained in the lesson: they succumb to heresy, the aspect of idolatry. Study there.
Now the rectification is: “But I am a tolaat (worm), and not a man; vilified of men, and the disgraced of the nation.” This is the aspect of the tola of holiness which subdues the tola of the evil forces. This is what has been explained above in the lesson. It is the aspect of Avraham. For it is likewise explained there in the Kavanot, that the tola of holiness, corresponding to the olat tamid, is the concept of lovingkindness/Avraham, the concept of Chesed that is in Gevurah. This is what is brought in the lesson, that this is the concept of “with strength, the salvation of His right hand”—namely, the aspect of Chesed that is in Gevurah.
And this is what is brought there, that the main rectification is achieved by hosting Torah scholars in his home, which is as if he offered regular-offerings. This is because TaMiD is numerically equivalent to four alephs. For the main rectification is through the concept of the tamid sacrifice, which is equal to four times ALePh. Through this the alephs are rectified and we merit the aspect of the tola of holiness/ olat tamid /”lovingkindness to Avraham” (Micah 7:20).
Study well the above lesson and the Kavanot. Understand how all the Kabbalistic intentions of the Chapter of the Regular-Offering are encompassed in this lesson. Study well and you will understand wonders.