Rabbi Yehuda said, "And they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed,"
(I Samuel 2:30) refers to he who does not know how to glorify his Master and
does not concentrate when saying Amen (when answering another's
blessing).
Amen draws blessings from the spring to the King and from the King to the Queen.
For we learned1 that he who answers Amen is more valuable than he who
makes the blessings. We have presented it before Rabbi Shimon: Amen
draws blessings from the spring [from Abba and Imma to Zeir
Anpin] to the King [Zeir Anpin] and from the King to
the Queen [malchut]. In the Engraved Letters by Rabbi
Elazar, from Aleph [of Amen], to Mem [of
Amen, meaning from Abba to Imma], and from Mem [of
Amen] to final Nun [meaning from Imma to ZuN
(Zeir Anpin and Nukvah), for a final Nun is written
initially like a Vav which represents Zeir Anpin, and then
it is lengthened until malchut/Nukvah, thus both Zeir Anpin
and Nukvah are hinted in the final Nun]. When the blessings
reach final Nun [Zeir Anpin and Nukvah],
blessings come out from there to the upper [the angels of Beriya, Yetzira,
and Asiya] and lower beings [those of this world] and
expand through everything [in all the worlds]. When the sound comes out,
they drink of the [flow of] blessings so-and-so has brought forth, [the
righteous who is] a [faithful] servant of the Holy King.
When Israel below guard themselves to answer Amen and meditate in their
heart as needs be, how many openings of blessings are open Above [drawn Below
from bina], how much goodness is present throughout the worlds
[drawn from tiferet] how much joy abounds in everything [drawn
from malchut]! What is the reward of Israel to have brought this
about? Their reward is in this world and in the World to Come.
..."open the gates" and let their
prayer about those who distress them be accepted.
In this world, when they are attacked by enemies [i.e. the
external forces, causing distress in the world, and the gates of prayer are
closed] and they [those who answer Amen] say their prayer
before their Master, the sound proclaims throughout the worlds, "Open the
gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faithfulness (in Hebrew,
'emunim') may enter." (Isaiah 26:2) Do not pronounce it
'emunim' but 'Amenim'. "Open the gates," as Israel opened
for them the gates of blessings, so now "open the gates" and let their
prayer about those who distress them be accepted.
This is in this world. What is their reward in the World to Come? It is when a
man leaves this world, where he observed answering Amen. By "observed" is
meant that he observes the blessing that is said and awaits the man who says it
so as to answer Amen as needs be. Then his soul [of he who
doesn't say a truncated or "orphaned" Amen] rises [to the Garden
of Eden] and proclaims before him, "open the gates" before him, as he used
to open gates every day, when he observed emunim. [Amen helps
to open the gates of the flow through the angels, and so it opens for him now
the gates of the Garden of Eden.]
Rabbi Yosi said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda, what is Amen [and how
does it hint to the sefirot]? Rabbi Abba said, everything has
been explained [that Amen is the source and also the flow].
Amen is called the spring [bina; not from the side of bina
itself, but rather through the side of Zeir Anpin concealed in her],
of the flowing river and is called Amen because it is written, "then I
was by him, as a nursling (in Hebrew, 'amon')." (Prov. 8:30)
Do not pronounce it amon but Amen. The sustenance of all [the 6
extremities whose source was from bina], that dew (Tal)
that emerges and flows is called Amen.
Amen is sustenance for everyone.
As we have learned, "from everlasting to everlasting ('world to world')",
(Ps. 106:48) means from the world Above [bina] to [connecting
Zeir Anpin] the world Below [malchut]. Here too,
"Amen and Amen" is Amen of above [which is bina],
Amen of below [which is malchut]. Amen is sustenance
for everyone [those who answer Amen draw the flow that sustains all
the partzufim discussed above]. We have already explained Amen
according to its [3] letters [Aleph, Mem, and
Nun].
BeRahamim LeHayyim:
"Ay-men, Ay-men, Ay-men, Ay-men
The Ba'al Shem Tov taught us that meditations causing supernal unifications are more important than Torah study, for they take sparks deeply embedded in the physical world and release them at last.
There are ways to unite energies in every place in our
lives. Saying "Amen" connects you with another's blessing. So
does saying "G‑d bless you" or "Shalom."
No one is an island, either physically or spiritually. On Yom Kippur,
unite yourself with the entire congregation, and your prayer will elevate
straight up high like the sacred incense.
Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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