"Then I will give you rain in due season." (Lev. 26:4) Each and every one will bestow of their strength [illumination] upon you. Who are they? The very result of the rectification you made of the Holy Name. [Through uniting Zeir Anpin with Nukva, you caused them to give a flow of abundance and they in turn flow that to you.] It is similarly written: "and they shall keep the way of G‑d, to do justice and law." (Gen. 18:19) Since it is written: "and they shall keep the way of G‑d," why [does it need to also write], "to do justice and law?" [It is to show that] he who keeps the ways of the Torah is as if he makes [the unification between] charity and law. What are charity and law? They are G‑d [aspects of the name Havayah represented by the last two letters in the name – Vav and Hei]. Rabbi Shimon wept and said: Woe to the people who do not know or care for the glory of their Master, for he who daily unifies the Holy Name is he who gives charity to the poor. [This is also in a metaphor in the physical sense – the Sages teach that the first letter – “yud” is the charity coin that is given by the hand, represented by the first “hei”. The “vav” represents the outstreached arm giving the coin to the poor man who takes it in his hand, represented by the last letter “hei” in the Holy name.]
Come and see. It has been explained this way: judgment is attached to the poor man [representing the sefira of malchut], and all that he eats is in judgment [i.e. in a limited amount and with careful budgeting], in the place called 'justice,' as is written, "A prayer [in Hebrew, 'tefilah', meaning also phylactery] of the poor, when he faints." (Ps. 102:1) This phylactery is the hand Tefilin [which relates to malchut]. This is as we have explained [that at the time malchut is not united with Zeir Anpin , she represents the aspect of “poor” and seeks “justice”]. He who gives charity to the poor unites the Holy Name Above properly, since charity represents the Tree of Life [Zeir Anpin], and charity gives and bestows to malchut, called righteousness/tzedek. When it [tiferet/ Zeir Anpin] bestows upon righteousness, they are united with each other and the Holy Name is made whole. He who affects an awakening below [by giving charity] is surely as if he made whole the Holy Name. There is parallelism: according to one's actions below, so is the awakening above. Hence, it is written: "Happy are they who maintain justice, and do righteousness at all times." (Ps. 106:3) "Do righteousness," refers to G‑d, whom one made so to speak [by giving charity, which rectifies Zeir Anpin, giving flow to malchut to join with her].
Come and see, we learned: What is the reason thereof? It is that the poor man has nothing of his own, save that which he is given by others. So too, the moon [that also represents malchut] has no light of her own, save what the sun [Zeir Anpin] gives her.
Come and see: why is the poor man considered to be as a dead man?
This is caused by that place to which he is connected [malchut/the physical world where death occurs], as he is in a place of death. [Malchut is considered the Tree of Death, for the external forces suckle from it and it is full of judgment, until Zeir Anpin sweetens them.] He is therefore called 'a dead man'. He who pities him and gives him charity [and thereby helps keep him alive] causes the Tree of Life [Zeir Anpin] to come to rest upon himself, as it is written, "but charity delivers from death." (Prov. 10:2)
And, as man does below, so exactly does he cause to happen above [in a spiritual sense]. Happy is the portion of he who is worthy of making the unification of the Holy Name above. For that reason charity surpasses everything.
BeRahamim LeHayyim: What does this mean to you? Why is it revealed to you now?
We pick up a coin. That coin — a tiny circle — stands for the letter yud of G‑d's Name Havayah. We pick it up with our hand of five fingers, five standing for the first hei of that Name. Our straight arm that looks like the letter vav of that Name as it extends to give the coin held in our hand. The poor man receives the coin in his hand, a hand of five fingers, representing the final hei of that Name.
When we give charity to the solicitor on the street, we are doing a mitzvah, and uniting G‑d's Name and making it whole. Period.
Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
Copyright 2003 by KabbalaOnline.org, a project of Ascent of Safed (//ascentofsafed.com). All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof, in any form, unless with permission, in writing, from Kabbala Online.
Join the Discussion