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Israel: A Step Up 11:2
Translation and commentary by Rabbi David Slavin
[The following is a continuation of the previous
section, which discusses the various ways in which the act of a Jew walking in
the Land of Israel is a tremendous tikun for both the individual and all of
Creation.]  | | " Man must make his tikun from bottom upwards..." | | |
The third fashion is in accordance to that
which Rabbi Chaim Vital quotes in the Sefer Hagilgulim chapters 15 and
16.
The bottom six sefirot of Yetzira
were, before the sin of Adam, at the level which is now the first six of
Beriya. The first four sefirot of Asiya were at the level
what is now the place of the bottom four of Beriya. The last six of
Asiya were at the place that is now the first six of Yetzira.
From that we see that the Zeir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilut
were originally at the place that is now that of Abba and Imma
of Atzilut, for the world of Beriya was originally at the
place of Zeir Anpin of Atzilut. The first four of
Yetzira were at the place of the Nukva of Atzilut.
From this we see that, that which is now the four
lowest sefirot of Yetzira as well as all the ten sefirot
of Asiya, were all previously an empty and void space; that was the
territory of the kelipot and the External Forces. We see that the
measurement of that empty space was fourteen sefirot. From that we
can understand a statement of the Sages, "He is called 'Sha-dai', for
He told the world 'dai' [Hebrew for 'enough']" (Chagiga 12).
In other words, G-d told the world, "dai ['enough']..." (the numerical
value of which is 14), "...don't spread out any further than these 14
sefirot, for that is the maximum amount of empty space need for the
kelipot and External Forces." Yet after the sin of Adam, the worlds
descended into the realm of the External Forces and kelipot. So now
joining the External Forces are the four lowest sefirot of Yetzira
and the ten of Asiya.
It is known that man must make his tikun from
bottom upwards. First, he must rectify the Nefesh, Ruach,
Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida [together
known as " NRNCh"Y"] of Malchut of Asiya. Then the
NRNCh"Y of Zeir Anpin of Asiya. Then the NRNChY
of Bina of Asiya. Then the NRNCh"Y of Chochma
of Asiya. Then the NRNCh"Y of Arich Anpin of
Asiya. In that fashion thousands and myriads of realms within Asiya
need to be fixed. All of those a man must rectify before he can be elevated
level by level to the realm of Yetzira. Once there, he must accomplish
the same for all aspects of Yetzira before he can rise up to Beriya.
And so on for each world.
So long as a person has not yet rectified himself and
the aspects of the worlds all the way up to (and including) the level of
tiferet of Yetzira, he is in grave danger of being seduced by the
External Forces and kelipot, for that is the end of the fourteen worlds,
which are the zone occupied by those negative forces. It is called "the home of
the kelipot of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil". Whilst still
entrenched in that dimension, a person can destroy all that he had worked to
fix. | | " Once he has rectified the tiferet of Yetzira, however, he no longer is susceptible to the forces of the kelipot..." | | |
Once he has rectified the tiferet of Yetzira,
however, he no longer is susceptible to the forces of the kelipot. Upon
him is written the verse "There shall not befall for a righteous man any
iniquity" (Proverbs 12:21). For directly above that is the "Tree of Life", and
then he is guaranteed entrance to the World to Come.
That is the understanding of Rabbi Yochanans'
statement, "He who walks four cubits in Eretz Yisrael is guaranteed a portion in
the World to Come". The four, refer to the four sefirot of the world of
Yetzira from the malchut until tiferet. Once there, he is
guaranteed a portion in the World to Come, for at that level G-d guards you and
prevents sin from coming your way. This is also hinted to in the verse, "Who
shall rise up to the mountain of G-d..." (Psalms 24:3), the numerical value
being 398, which is the value of "Eretz HaTzvi" [literally "Land of the
Deer", a common name for Israel].
The second part of the verse is "...and who shall
stand up in His holy place". That place refers to the
tiferet of Yetzira. For at that level one has completely left the
quarters of impurity and has entered the land of holiness, the Land of Life, for
there is the Tree of Life - no longer any [mixture of] good and evil. Therefore
the numerical value of that verse is also the value of "Chanoch" [Hanoch],
84, and "Metatron", 314, =398, for Metatron's realm is that of Yetzira.
This is the essence of the statement of the Sages about the verse, "He gave a
soul to the people in the land" (Isaiah 42:5), [Rabbi Abahu said, "Even a
maidservant in Eretz Yisrael is guaranteed to enter the World to Come." (Ketubot
111a)]. To whom is it befitting to give a special soul? To those who merited
elevating themselves to above Eretz Yisrael, (which is above the world of
Yetzira) to the level of Beriya. For Beriya is the world of
Neshama. "...And a spirit to those who walk in the Land" indicates to us that
while a person is still trying to rectify Yetzira, he can only attain the
level of Ruach, for Yetzira is the level of Ruach. | | " Eretz Yisrael is considered the Altar..." | | |
It is also known that the world of Beriya is
called "E-l Sha-dai", whereas Yetzira is called "E-l Havayah",
and the world of Asiya is called "E-l Adon-ai". "E-l
Havayah" is the numerical value of "mizbayach" [Hebrew for "altar",
=57]. For in the world of Yetzira there is an altar. And about that the
Sages taught, "Rabbi Anan said, 'He who is buried in Eretz Yisrael, is
considered to be buried underneath the Altar'". (Ketubot 111a) For one
verse says, "An altar of land make for Me" (Ex. 20:21), and the other verse
says, "And His land shall atone for His nation" (Deut. 32:43)." We see from the
above that all of Eretz Yisrael is considered the "Altar". To be buried under
the altar implies the ability to arouse divine mercy.
The fourth aspect is from the Masters of
Commentary. In the verse "And His land [in Hebrew, "admato"] shall atone
for His nation" (Deut. 32:43), the word "admato", contains the letters of
"D' Amot", meaning "four cubits". How befitting and pleasantly
appropriate is that comment, for the lower four sefirot of Yetzira
are called the "Four Corners of the Altar", for the Altar is the malchut
of Yetzira, which stands at the top of Asiya. The first four
sefirot of Asiya ascend to the place of the four lowest sefirot
of Yetzira, for they are called the "Four Corners of the Altar". That
explains how the four cubits bring atonement, for the lower four sefirot
of Yetzira, which are called the "Four Corners of the Altar", are the
forces that cause the atonement, for they are the root of the Altar of the earth
that brings atonement for the Jewish people. | | " Eretz Yisrael is considered to be in the middle of civilization..." | | |
Also, the statement of "He who walks four cubits in
Eretz Yisrael is guaranteed entrance to the World to Come" can be understood in
a similar fashion. For once a person has elevated himself above the "Altar", he
has essentially been pardoned for all his iniquities. Being that he no longer
carries with him any sin, logically we would conclude that he would gain
entrance to the World to Come.
The above also helps us resolve another difficulty in
understanding the statement of the Sages, "Eretz Yisrael is in the middle of
civilization". For Atzilut is called the world of the "Male" and the
world of "Standing", while Beriya, Yetzira, and Asiya are
referred to as the world[s] of the "Feminine" and the world of "Sitting". That's
why Eretz Yisrael is considered to be in the middle of civilization [in
Hebrew, "Yishuv", literally, "Sitting"), for Israel corresponds to
Yetzira which is in between Beriya and Asiya, hence the middle
of the worlds of "Sitting".
The fifth aspect is derived from the Writings
of the Arizal (Shaar Hakavanot, drush Isru Chag 3). Those four
highest sefirot of Asiya while they inhabit the place of the lower
four sefirot of Yetzira (the corners of the Altar), are the secret
of the consciousness [mochin] that is drawn forth from Atzilut
until that place. They are the secret of the four names of G-d, Ab,
Sag, Mah, and Ban. They are enclothed by the four
[spellings-out of the] names of Eh-yeh, two with yuds, another
with alefs, and another with heis. For they are the mystery of the
mochin that are enclothed within the netzach, hod, yesod,
and malchut of Imma, and subsequently are drawn down towards
Asiya. The numerical value of those equal that of the word "karnot"
[meaning "corners", i.e. of the Altar]; they are the first four sefirot
of Asiya. | " When one recites
...the Daily Offering, he should intend to elevate the internal aspects of Asiya that enclothe the four external aspects of the lower sefirot of Yetzira..." | | |
We also arrive at the numerical value of "shnot
chaim" [literally meaning "years of life"]. For the mochin are
called "the life of the king", for, together, the names Eh-yeh,
Havayah, and Eh-yeh equal "chaim". They are each attached to
the names mentioned above, whose value is equal to the word "shnot".
Therefore they are called "shnot chaim". This is the secret of the
illumination that emanates from above down to Asiya on Isru Chag,
the day after Yom Tov.
It is known that the four names of Havayah and
those of Eh-yeh, each have the numerical value of "D' Amma" ["four
cubit"]. For the numerical value of Havayah and Eh-yeh equals 47,
which is the value of "amma" ["cubit"] with the kolel. Behold,
each morning when one recites the parasha of Tzav - the Daily Offering,
he should intend to elevate the internal aspects of Asiya that enclothe
the four external aspects of the lower sefirot of Yetzira. Therefore, one
must also intend to draw forth the Four Corners of the Altar towards them, in
order to be elevated by that force. That is the understanding of the statement
"He who walks four cubits...", that he causes the walking in the way of the
drawing forth the influence of the four "Ammot" [cubits] discussed above,
which are the four Havayahs and the four Eh-yehs. "...in Eretz
Yisrael is guaranteed entrance to the World to Come" - for those are the
mochin that are enclothed in the netzach , hod, and yesod
of Imma whom is called "Olam Habba" - the World to Come.
Being that he caused the walking there, which are the
Four Cubits, he merits the level of bina, which is also referred
to as the "World to Come". For at that level he is constantly receiving the
influence from bina. For the verse says, "Blessings to the head of the
tzadik" (Proverbs 10:6). And precisely the terminology of "He who walks four
cubits in Eretz Yisrael..." indicates that "shnot chaim", together
with the kolels of each of the four Havayahs and the four Eh-yehs
equal 832 - "Eretz Yisrael" [= 832].
To return to the previous article in this series on the Land of Israel,
Footsteps in the Land, click here
To continue on to the next article in this series on the Land of Israel,
Giant Steps for Mankind, click here
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