The slingshot

200. Rabbi Shimon opened the discussion saying: Listen, all you celestial beings. Gather, all you earthly beings, the masters of the Yeshivah above and below. Elijah, upon an oath, ask permission from the Holy One, blessed be He, to come down here because a great battle awaits you. Come down, Enoch Metatron, you and all the masters of the Yeshivot under your supervision. I did not do this for my glory, but for the glory of the Shechinah.

201. RABBI SHIMON began again EXPLAINING ZARKA, MAKAF ETC., saying: Assuredly by the cantillation mark, Zarka, the prayer should be elevated to that known place, just as one aims the stone in a slingshot. JUST AS ONE AIMS THE STONE CAREFULLY, SO AS NOT TO MISS THE TARGET, so should thought be elevated with concentration on prayer to that crown, which is the decorated and all-inclusive stone. Of this STONE, THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, it is said that one should stand upright with the mention of the Name.

202. In that place, where he elevates her to her husband, REFERRING TO THE LEVEL EQUAL TO THE CROWN OF HER HUSBAND, one should not stop praying, even if a snake is wound around his feet, even though it is written of it: "And you shall bruise his heel" (Beresheet 3:15). Nevertheless, the stone is hinted at by the letter Yud of Jacob, WHICH IS COMPOSED OF YUD AND AKEV (HEEL), as it is written: "From thence from the shepherd, the stone of Yisrael" (Beresheet 49:24). One should not stop ELEVATING HER TO THAT PLACE FROM WHERE SHE WAS TAKEN. One should elevate her from the central pillar to the Endless Light. When he brings her down FROM THE ENDLESS LIGHT, it is said of him: Whoever kneels, kneels with the mention of Baruch (blessed), because he should bring her down to the Infinite endlessly, and not cause any separation between her AND ZEIR ANPIN above or below.

203. Sometimes he is her husband ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF the letter Vav THAT ALLUDES TO YESOD, the Righteousness that ? includes six parts of the two legs, NETZACH AND HOD. Then she, THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, descends toward him FOR THE PURPOSE OF MATING ACCORDING TO THE SECRET of the two legs, NETZACH AND HOD. But at other times, he is her husband ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF the letter Vav THAT ALLUDES TO TIFERET, which includes six parts of the two arms - THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END OF CHESED AND GVURAH. Then THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE GROWS AND ascends to the two arms. At other times, ZEIR ANPIN is her husband AND STANDS between Aba and Ima. THIS IS WHEN HE IS CALLED the son of Yud-Hei, and THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE should be elevated there to him FOR MATING. At other times, HER HUSBAND IS KETER WITH the letter Vav inserted between the two letters Yud, thus: א Aleph. Then THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE should be elevated to him, AS SHE GROWS WITH HIM AND REACHES EXACTLY THE SAME LEVEL AS HE DOES, NAMELY THE LEVEL OF KETER. When THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE ascends TO KETER, it is written of her, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head stone of the corner" (Tehilim 118:22).

204. When she rises up to the Head of all Heads - NAMELY THE UNKNOWN HEAD, THE SECRET OF THE ENDLESS LIGHT - the angels ask, 'Where is the place of his Glory to admire him?' And when THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE rises TO ZEIR ANPIN, WHEN SHE IS in the form of Aleph, she becomes Keter, a crown on the head of the Aleph, thus: . When she descends FROM WHEREVER SHE WAS, NAMELY IN THE ALEPH, SHE BECOMES a point underneath THE LETTER VAV WITHIN THE ALEPH: . So when THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE rises, she is called a crown according to the secret of the intonations, and when she descends, she is called a point. When she mates with ZEIR ANPIN, she is in the form of the vowel Shuruk, thus וּ. When she is a crown on the head OF ZEIR ANPIN, she is named the letter Zayin, AS THE FORM OF VAV IS ZEIR ANPIN AND THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE IN THE CROWN ON HIS HEAD IS ZAYIN. The sign of the covenant, WHICH IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, consists of this LETTER ZAYIN, because it is the seventh letter in all.

205. Indeed, this stone - NAMELY MALCHUT, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE - is the construction for all the worlds. Because of this, IT IS WRITTEN OF HER, "But you shall have a perfect and just weight (lit. 'stone')..." (Devarim 25:15). She is a measurement between each and every Sfirah, and every Sfirah amounts with her to ten SFIROT. Her size is the letter Vav. Through her, every cubit between each and every Sfirah becomes ten cubits. This is the secret of the verse: "Ten cubits shall be the length of a board" (Shemot 26:16) and between them all, she ADDS UP TO 100 SFIROT. She is ten between every Sfirah and ten multiplied by ten totals one hundred, and when THE WORD me'ah (Eng. 'one hundred') is reversed, IT BECOMES amah (Eng. 'a cubit').

206. Each and every measurement THAT MALCHUT MEASURES is called a world; THAT IS, A GRADE OF ITS OWN. Every one is a Yud and a Vav THAT SHOWS a size and a measurement. The Vav is the weight OF THE LIGHT and the Yud is the measurement of it. The size of the measurement is five cubits long and five cubits wide. This corresponds to the size of every firmament, which is five hundred parasangs long and five hundred parasangs wide. This is THE SECRET OF the two Hei's IN THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI; THE FIRST HEI ALLUDES TO WIDTH AND THE LOWER HEI TO LENGTH, AS EXPLAINED ELSEWHERE.

207. So here you have the stature OF ZEIR ANPIN in the letters Yud Hei Vav Hei, because the letter Vav ALLUDES TO Tiferet of the heavens, NAMELY TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN. Its five firmaments - NAMELY, THE LAST HEI OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH HAS A NUMERICAL VALUE OF FIVE - are called "the (Heb. Hei) heavens." THIS IS THE ADDITIONAL HEI THAT INDICATES the five firmaments included in 'the heavens.' The upper five FIRMAMENTS are CALLED the 'heavens of the heavens'. These are Hei-Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, BECAUSE THE FIRST HEI ALLUDES TO THE UPPER FIRMAMENTS AND THE SECOND HEI ALLUDES TO THE LOWER FIRMAMENTS. The letter Vav is their sixth FIRMAMENT. VAV OF YUD HEI VAV HEI IS TIFERET, WHICH INCLUDES THE FIVE FIRMAMENTS. IT ITSELF IS CONSIDERED THE SIXTH FIRMAMENT. Yud OF YUD HEI VAV HEI IS THE SECRET OF MALCHUT, WHICH BECOMES the seventh FIRMAMENT, and seven plus seven total fourteen. Here are those lands, seven upon seven lands that cover each other like onion rings, WHICH SURROUND EACH OTHER ON ALL SIDES. They are all alluded to in the two eyes, BECAUSE THE THREE COLORS IN THE EYE - WHITE, RED AND GREEN - ARE EQUIVALENT TO CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET. ITS WHITE COLOR IS CHESED, ITS RED COLOR, THE RED STREAKS, ARE GVURAH AND ITS GREEN COLOR IS TIFERET. THE TWO EYELIDS ARE NETZACH AND HOD, THE EYE ITSELF IS YESOD AND THE BLACK POINT IS MALCHUT.

208. The Yud IN THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI is called a small, or short, world. The Vav IN YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS TIFERET, is the long world. Whomever wishes that his desires be fulfilled by the long world should pray at length, and whoever prays to the short world should pray quickly. Therefore, it has been explained that in a place where they are told to make it short, REFERRING TO THE LETTER YUD, a person should not pray at length. To pray quickly IS LIKE THE PRAYER OF MOSES, WHO RECITED THE FOLLOWING SHORT PRAYER, "Heal her now, El, I pray You" (Bemidbar 12:13), AS HE ADDRESSED the point of Yud, WHICH IS THE SMALL, OR SHORT, WORLD.

209. THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS RECOMMENDED that one should pray at length - DURING TIMES WHEN ONE IS NOT ALLOWED TO CURTAIL THE PRAYER - STEMS FROM AN ASPECT OF THE LETTER VAV, as in 'to fall down,' AS MOSES DID. THE VERSE: "And I fell down (Heb. va'etnapal) before Hashem, as at the first..." (Devarim 9:18) IS RELATED TO THE LETTER PE, BECAUSE "forty days and forty nights" ADD UP TO EIGHTY, WHICH IS THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF PE. SO ALL THIS RELATES TO THE SECRET OF THE LETTERS PE AND VAV, WHICH APPEAR IN THE HEBREW WORD 'VA'ETNAPAL'. Everything APPEARS IN THE TWO Mem's, ONE OPEN MEM AND ONE CLOSED FINAL MEM, WITH THE Yud as a point in the middle, which forms the word Mayim (Eng. 'water'). From the aspect of Chesed, one should pray at length.

210. In the Holy Name, Yud Hei Vav Hei rises by the Revi'a (lit. 'fourth') TUNE OF THE CANTLIATION MARKS. And one should prolong this intonation, WHICH IS REVI'A ONE OVER THE NAME OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, which is the secret of the T'kiah (long blowing of the Shofar). THE PLACE to make it short is at the aspect OF GVURAH, AT THE INTONATIONS of Sh'varim (short blowings of the Shofar). THIS IS CALLED THE TEVIR (ENG. 'BREAK') OF THE CANTLIATION MARKS. The middle, which is neither prolonged nor shortened, is THE SECRET OF T'ruah (a succession of notes of the Shofar). This is the central pillar and IS THE SECRET OF THE CANTLIATION MARKS CALLED Shalshelet (lit. 'chain'), which chains both THE RIGHT AND LEFT COLUMNS, AS IT INTERTWINES THEM ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF the Shekel of the sanctuary.

211. Corresponding to Revi'a INTONATION, which rises IN THE INTONATION, there is the Cholam AMONG THE VOWELS, WHICH IS ALSO CHESED. The Sh'varim, OR THE TEVIR OF THE INTONATION, is equivalent to the VOWEL Sheva. In PRONOUNCING this, REVI'A, one should raise his voice and in PRONOUNCING the other, REFERRING TO THE TEVIR, WHICH IS GVURAH, one should lower his voice. Because of this, it is CALLED Sh'varim (DERIVED FROM THE HEB. FOR 'BREAK') AS THE VOICE SHOULD BE LOWERED (LIT. 'BROKEN'). This is done in secret, as it is written of the lower Shechinah: "But her voice was not heard" (I Shmuel 1:13). T'ruah is THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN, WHICH IS CALLED Shalshelet. THIS IS ALSO THE SECRET OF THE YUD, LOCATED BETWEEN THE TWO MEM'S OF "FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS." THIS IS THE SECRET OF SEGOLTA AMONG THE INTONATIONS.

212. The Revi'i OF THE CANTILLATION MARKS is for raising the voice, the Tevir of the cantillation marks is for lowering the pitch. Shalshelet holds to the two Columns like a chain AND JOINS THEM TO EACH OTHER. It is like the Revi'i, with which one prolongs the word WITH MELODY. It is a vowel like the Cholam. There is no vowel AMONG THE POINTS that does not have a corresponding cantillation mark. For example, the vowel Segol corresponds to the Segolta intonation, the vowel Sheva corresponds to the intonation Zakef Gadol. There is always a vowel corresponding to a cantillation mark for all those who know the hidden secrets.

213. RABBI SHIMON said: Zarka, Makaf, Shofar Holech, Segolta. The vowel to the right, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE VOWEL OF CHOLAM AND CHESED, is 'Hashem reigns'. The vowel to the left, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE SHURUK OR SHEVA AND GVURAH, is 'Hashem reigned.' The vowel in the middle, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE VOWEL CHIRIK, TIFERET, is 'Hashem shall reign.' Rabbi Acha said: 'Hashem reigns' is the supernal world, 'Hashem reigned' is Tiferet and 'Hashem shall reign' is the Ark of the Covenant.