Rabbi Yitzhak opened [his discourse] with [King Solomon's prayer upon the Temple's dedication:] "I have surely built You a 'zevul'-house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in for ever," (I Kings 8:13) "...a zevul[-like] house to dwell in..." truly. When all the stored treasures of the King [Zeir Anpin] were assigned in the hands [of malchut] and she has authority over them, she [malchut] is called a "zevul house to dwell in," [similar to the] firmament called zevul which receives and arranges the treasures of the flow [for malchut]. That [malchut] is called "a house to dwell in."

Come and see that [the word 'zevul'is similar to Zebulun and] it is written, "and of Zebulun he said, 'Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents'" (Deut. 33:18) to teach that they participated in a mutual partnership. The one [Zebulun] went out and made war and the other [Issachar] sits and is involved in learning Torah. This one [Zebulun] gives a portion [of his booty] to that one, and that one [Issachar] gives a portion [of his Torah] to the other. In Zebulun's inheritance was the sea. The Congregation of Israel [malchut] is called the 'Sea of Kineret'. It was appropriate thus because the techelet comes from there [the sea; it also is malchut]. They have explained that below is similar to Above. There is a Sea of Kineret Above [malchut] and a Sea of Kineret below, techelet above [related to malchut], and techelet below. Everything pertains to one area [the Sea of Kineret and techelet both correspond to malchut].

Because of this [that Zebulun's portion included the sea, the source of malchut], Zebulun's portion was to go out and wage war [because malchut is the Master of battle against the external forces]. How do we know that it is so? Because it is written, "they shall call the peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness." (Ibid. 33:19) "...sacrifices of [malchut, called] righteousness..." truly. What is the reason? "...for they [Zebulun] shall be nurtured by the seas [which is malchut, the Master of battle.]..."

Issachar's lot is the Torah, and he surely gives to Zebulun [part of] his share in the Torah. Therefore, they were together in a partnership so that Zebulun should receive blessings from Issachar, since the blessing of the Torah is the source of all blessings.

Rabbi Aba said [concerning those who engage in Torah]: The heritage of the Torah is indeed in this way, and this level is the sixth [sefira, of yesod] which gives the reward of the Torah [yesod gets the flow from tiferet] and bequeaths it to the Congregation of Israel [malchut] . It [yesod] bequeaths the white [chesed], to the techelet-blue [judgment]. Thus, we have learned [one can read the Shema in the morning (Berachot 9b)] when [it is light enought to enable] one to distinguish between blue and white, then it is considered morning. Then white [chesed] comes to the world, and blue [representing judgment, is nullified and] disappears. Therefore, all the wars of the King and all the battle gear of the King were assigned to the hands [of malchut, which is then called "a zevul-like house", and to Zebulun]. We have already explained it.

BeRahamim LeHayyim: What does the above mean to you, and why is it being revealed to you now?

We are Israel. We who are Yashar-E-l, meaning straight/upright of G‑d have the role of being centered, harmonizing right and left to the middle point, that place of equanimity and balance, beauty of tiferet. We combine the white loving kindnesses with the blue judgment in our tzitzit, and we make it fly.

Ees our job, mon! Perhaps that is our chosenness, in a nutshell. We are to show the world that we can be the middlemen, distinguishing between the white and blue fringes on the tzitzit, yet bringing both together in one. Just as a Tallit covers one as an eagle hovering over her nestlings, maybe our job is to show and to demonstrate to the world what it is like to live in the light and to fly in it. An awesome responsibility. A scary reality.

Go for it. The precept of the commandment of tzitzit's white and blue tassels is written in the same portion where we as a community fell with the miss-take of the Spies. This year we need to be better. This year we will.

Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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