Rabbi Yosi said, what is the meaning of the words, "For
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living
waters to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can’t hold
water...": (Jeremiah 2:13) "they have forsaken Me the fountain of living
waters," they have forsaken Him by not wanting to sanctify G‑d's Name with
Amen [for by sayingAmenone sanctifies and unites His Name]. What
is his punishment? It is as is written, "to have hewn out for them cisterns,
broken cisterns," by going to Purgatory one level after another until they
reach Avadon that is called bottom.
If he sanctifies G‑d's Name by
deliberating properly
on Amen, he rises, level after level [in the Garden of Eden] , to have
delight in the World to Come, that ever flows and does not cease. [He
receives the flowing light and delights from bina consciousness which is
hinted at in the first of the deliberations of Amen (explained earlier this
week)] This is the meaning of, "for G‑d preserves the faithful, [who
are faithfully on watch to say Amen] and plentifully repays him
who acts haughtily" (Ps. 31:24) [who doesn't answer Amen].
We learned that shirah ('poetry') draws blessings [through G‑d]
from above downward, until there are blessings throughout the worlds.1
Rabbi Elazar said [when the Mashiach comes],
Israel will recite a poem from below upward and from above downward and bind the
bond of faith [in Arich Anpin called faith, the bond of all the
partzufim in Atzilut; through this it will extend and invest
all].
It is written, "Then Israel sang (lit. 'will sing') this
song." (Num. 21:17) It speaks in the future tense rather than in the past.
And so everything is the same way [i.e. the elevation of Feminine Waters from
below to above]. "This song" is from Below upward [the
elevation of Feminine Waters from malchut to Zeir Anpin]: "Rise
up, O well, sing to it". "Rise up, O well" [Israel causes
malchut called well to rise through their good deeds]: rise to your
place to join your husband [malchut is now face to face with Zeir
Anpin and is called well; she was in the secret of the point below yesod,
and rose little by little until she is above, and is truly face to face to unite
with Zeir Anpin her husband]. This is from [arousal from the
world] Below upward.
Afterwards [they draw] from Above [the flow of the
mentalities build up the 3 lines in the malchut] downward.
"The well that the princes dug out"; "the princes dug out," as
Abba and Imma begot her [malchut, in the secret of "G‑d
Elokim built the side/rib"], "The nobles of the people dug" (Num.
21:18) are [chesed and gevura called] the patriarchs,
called the nobles of the people. [They descend below and make the aspect of
Feminine Waters in yesod of malchut.]
[After this] they hewed it out [and rectified
her yesod] for the King [Zeir Anpin] to unite with her
[malchut, and draw to her the flow] with blessings. With what?
Through unification [with Zeir Anpin]. "With the scepter"
refers to yesod; "with their staves" refers to netzach
and hod, from above downward [the drawing of mentalities from Zeir
Anpin to malchut].
"From the wilderness": [malchut
called Wilderness rises] to join with [yesod of Zeir
Anpin called] 'Matanah/gift' [and there is given the
chassadim and gevurot of Abba and Imma].
"And from Matanah [from yesod] it rises [malchut
elevates] to [tiferet called] Nachaliel
[where she is given chesed in the Name K-el] And from Nachaliel
[tiferet elevates] to Bamot [the
chochmah-bina-da'at of Zeir Anpin called Bamot, an elevation
above the 7 lower sefirot, corresponding to the rise of yesod]."
This is the complete bond [as malchut begins to elevate to
completion], the bond of faith [the elevation to tiferet ],
the bond that incorporates sustenance for everything [then she is face to
face with all the partzuf of Zeir Anpin].
Rabbi Yosi said, [in the time of Mashiach]
Israel will recite a complete poem [will elevate Feminine Waters from
Below to Above], a poem including all other songs [it will unite all the
partzufim and draw the flow of blessing to all the worlds]. This is
the meaning of, "O give thanks to G‑d; call upon His Name. Make known
His deeds among the people" [by drawing the blessings to below].
(Ps. 105:1) Of that time it is written, "on that day G‑d shall be
one, and His Name One" (Zachariah 14:9) [there will be a union of Zeir
Anpin and Nukvah, face to face in complete unity], and, "Then
was our mouth filled with laughter, [because of the great flow and
goodness poured on us by G‑d in the coming of Mashiach] and our
tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, G‑d has done great things
for them." [All the nations will know that Israel is the people that G‑d
chose, and all the exile will have been a preparation to fulfill all who know
and trust in us, G‑d and his prophets, then all will be fulfilled, may it come
in our days soon, Amen. (Ps. 126:2)]
Blessed be G‑d forever and ever,Amen and Amen.
BeRahamim LeHayyim: Why did the Ari and Chida include this section? What do they want us to learn?
"Sing. Sing a song. Make it simple, to last the whole day long." Simple words of infinite wisdom. The Talmud describes, "Oh, to pray all day long." To be connected in Deveikut/deep attachment.
No, not to be on some mountain top in lotus position meditating on your breathing. That is not the Jewish way, to be so heavenly-minded that you serve no earthly good. Rather, we are here for tikun olam: to fix, heal, and repair the earth plane for the kingdom of the Almighty. And to live a life of song, a life which is a song, an ever flowing, sometimes changing melody, appropriate for each moment, mindful of the precise instant it is offered. To make each moment a song, a poem to G‑d. To live fully in the present, singing G‑d's praises, chanting love for one's fellow, humming the sound of one's heartbeats.
That would be the ultimate in "elevation of Feminine
Waters" in the language of the Zohar—the offering of desire to bond with the
Eternal, to walk in His ways, and to talk His talk of love and holy words of
connection.
G‑d desires the heart. Your heart. Your focus on
His Oneness—not toward other gods of money, sensation, pride, etc. Yom
Kippur is the day of atonement. Don't read atonement. Read
AT-ONE-MENT. At the Neilah/closing prayer is the only moment of the year
when we access the Yechidah/singular part of our soul, a portion which is
truly G‑dly too. G‑dly in you.
What does the above mean to you, and why is it being revealed to you right now?
Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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