Ki Tetze: Chapter 26

Elijah, do not tarry in coming down

Synopsis

Elijah is implored to come down quickly because God and His Shechinah are in exile and the Faithful Shepherd is buried among the wicked awaiting release. Rabbi Shimon begs Elijah to come with the celestial angels, and he speaks about the vessels of the Shechinah that are holy angels above and Yisrael below. If there are people of good qualities, Malchut spreads over them with her ten Sfirot and the Cause of Causes descends upon her. Next, Rabbi Shimon beseeches God to take note of the Faithful Shepherd who is worth 600,000 people of Yisrael and who embodies all ten attributes; he reminds God that He promised He would not destroy the world for the sake of ten righteous people. Finally Rabbi Shimon asks Elijah to swear an oath to reveal Moses to all the leaders of the Mishnah sages so they will recognize him and he will no longer have to bear the burden of the sins of Yisrael. He says that God will thank Elijah for doing this.