[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 NRNChYof 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...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 Yochanan's 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" [Enoch], 84, and "Meta‑tron", 314 = 398, for Meta‑tron'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 "shenot 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 connected to the names mentioned above, whose value is equal to the word "shenot". Therefore they are called "shenot 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 "shenot chaim", together with the kolel's of each of the four Havayahs and the four Eh-yehs equal 832 - "Eretz Yisrael" [= 832].
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