The secrets of Shabbat

239. It is written: "let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Shemot 16:30). HE ASKS: What is his place, AND ANSWERS: We learned that 'from his place' MEANS from within the place it is fit to walk in. THAT IS OUT OF MORE THAN TWO THOUSANDS CUBITS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. The secret of this matter is written in the verses, "blessed be the glory of Hashem from His place" (Yechezkel 3:12), which refers to a specified place, and "for the place on which you stand" (Shemot 3:5). For there is a known place above, MALCHUT, by the name of 'place', in which the high glory of above is made known, WHICH IS MALCHUT. Therefore a man who is adorned with the holy crown of above is warned, not to leave the place, for if he does, that is profanation of the Shabbat. NEITHER should he work with his hands, NOR walk with his feet over two thousand cubits out of city limits, for all these are profanation of the Shabbat.

240. "let no man go out of his place" refers to the holy place of glory, WHICH IS MALCHUT; for beyond it, lies the place of other Elohim. "Blessed be the glory of Hashem from His place": 'the glory of Hashem' is the glory above, BINAH; His place' is the lower glory, MALCHUT. This is the secret of the crown of Shabbat, and therefore "let no man go out of his place." Blessed be He for ever and ever.

241. It is written, "There is a place by me" (Shemot 33:21). The 'place by me' assuredly refers to a hidden and concealed place that is utterly unknown, BINAH. 'by me' INDICATES that this place which is not revealed and remains hidden, is the most high place, viz. the supernal hidden and concealed chamber, SUPERNAL BINAH. But this PLACE HERE is the lower place, MALCHUT, as we said. This place is extended above IN BINAH, and below IN MALCHUT. Therefore "let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

242. It is written: "And you shall measure from outside the city limits on the east side two thousand cubits..." (Bemidbar 35:5). We already expounded on these high secrets. But two thousand cubits ARE MEASURED BECAUSE MALCHUT, THAT IS CALLED 'CITY', inherited two sides, RIGHT AND LEFT. FOR CHOCHMAH CLOTHED IN CHASSADIM AND CHASSADIM CLOTHED IN CHOCHMAH AMOUNT TO TWO THOUSANDS, BECAUSE THE SFIROT OF CHOCHMAH ARE BY THE THOUSANDS. AND MALCHUT is always adorned on both sides both above and below. You can tell that from the Shechinah that does not hover outside the boundary proper to Her, WHICH IS OUTSIDE THE TWO COLUMNS.

243. When Shabbat withdraws, it behooves Yisrael below to delay it, THAT IS, TO TAKE FROM THE WEEK DAYS AND ADD TO THE HOLY, because this is a great and high day, and on that day a great and precious visitor stays with it, THE ADDITIONAL SOUL. For that reason one should detain the guest and show that there is no hurry to press the holy guest BY ESCORTING HIM OUT. Then Yisrael commence with the hymn "And He being merciful, will forgive iniquity..." which is fit to be said on that night, since Judgment returns to its place, not like on Shabbat eve, when Judgment is gone and is not present.

244. While Yisrael start TO RECITE the prayer "and let the pleasantness" and the holy prayer, NAMELY "AND YOU ARE HOLY..." all the wicked in Gehenom open and say 'happy are you, holy nation of Yisrael, and you righteous, that keep the precepts of the Torah. Woe to the evil who were not worthy of observing the Torah'. Then Dumah makes haste, and a crier resounds: "the wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, all the nations that forget Elohim" (Tehilim 9:18). Then all those troops of demons torture them in Gehenom, and no one has pity for them. Happy are those who observe Shabbat in this world, and please the delight that hovers above, NAMELY, THE SUPERNAL SPIRIT, as mentioned.

245. Whoever fasts on Shabbat, two are stirred against him before the Holy One, blessed be He. One is the holy Supernal Spirit, that should have been pleased but was not. The other is a chief in charge of those who fast, by the name of Sangaryah. They rise to discuss him before the Holy King.

246. The spirit was gone since there was lack OF PLEASURE and delight, down below, and when that spirit is not perfected below, another upper spirit is not perfected. Since there is no perfection above and below, this man deserves to be cursed and punished. But if there was perfection at a different time, BY THAT SAME MAN, and the chief in charge of fasting is perfected among other chiefs in the upper pleasure, the verdict is remitted, that was sentenced by seventy high years, CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT.

247. In the same manner, a king, rejoicing in his banquet with all the people rejoicing about him, when he saw a man sitting chained, he ordered that he would be set free, so that all shall be in gladness.

248. Afterwards, the same officers return who punish the men, and exact their due from the man that was the cause of diminution above and below, FOR HE DID NOT HAVE PLEASURE ON SHABBAT. How can he amend: by fasting on another day against his fast ON SHABBAT. What is the sense? For he who stopped pleasure on Shabbat, shall stop FOR THAT REASON pleasure on a weekday.

249. And if he stops pleasure on Shabbat but has pleasure on a weekday, he is considered as if he values other things more than the Holy One, blessed be He. For he did not give pleasure to the Supernal Spirit, the Holy of Holies, that rested on him, and neglected it; but to another weekday spirit that will remain afterwards in the world he pays attention and gives it pleasure. They then return to exact punishment in this world and in the World to Come.

250. To correct it he should fast on the first day of the week, when a weekday spirit abides in the world. By that he may make good his offense, by not considering the weekday spirit MORE THAN THE SHABBAT SPIRIT. It is learned from the verse "he shall restore that which he took violently away..." (Vayikra 5:23). A robber has no consideration either for the Holy One, blessed be He, or for people, therefore his punishment is not as great as that of a thief, who has consideration for people more than for the Holy One, blessed be He. He is punished in this world and in the World to Come. Happy is he who properly perfects down below the high delight.

251. That day is bedecked with seventy crowns, FOR IT IS THE SEVENTH DAY IN WHICH THE SEVEN SFIROT CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT WERE PERFECTED AND DECORATED, EACH CONTAINING TEN, ALTOGETHER THERE ARE SEVENTY CROWNS. And the highly Holy Name, BINAH, is perfected on all sides, FROM THE THREE COLUMNS, WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF THE PATRIARCHS, and all the grades shine all in the gladness of the benedictions, with sanctity upon sanctity, and the additional sanctity (Heb. Kedusha of Musaf). THE BENEDICTIONS COME FROM BINAH AND THE SANCTIFICATIONS FROM CHOCHMAH.

252. The sanctity of the commencement of Shabbat, MALCHUT, is the same sanctity of Shabbat of Creation, WHICH IS IN THE SECRET OF BINAH, THE SECRET OF 32 TIMES ELOHIM IS MENTIONED IN THE ACTS OF CREATION, SANCTIFIED BY THE 32 PATHS OF CHOCHMAH. ALSO MALCHUT was sanctified by the 32 paths OF CHOCHMAH and the three grades of holy apple trees. THE APPLES REPRESENT THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THREE COLUMNS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE THREE COLORS OF THE APPLE: WHITE, RED AND GREEN THAT DRAW CHOCHMAH THAT IS THE SECRET OF SANCTITY. THEREFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED HOLY APPLES, AND MALCHUT THAT RECEIVES THEM IS CALLED A FIELD OF HOLY APPLE TREES. And the entire act of creation and the rest ON THE SEVENTH DAY must be mentioned in this sanctification according to the principle of the 32 paths of Chochmah and the three grades OF APPLE TREES incorporated in them, that is the secret of the testimony regarding the acts of Creation, namely, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host. And by the seventh day Elohim ended..." (Beresheet 2:1-2). This testimony contains 35 words IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH the 32 paths and three grades of the holy apples.

253. The three grades that are the three times 'seventh' IN "THUS THE HEAVENS...WERE FINISHED," contain the mystery of the upper world, BINAH, THAT IS CALLED 'SEVENTH' FROM BELOW UP, STARTING FROM YESOD; and the secret of the lower world, MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED 'SEVENTH', WHEN YOU COUNT FROM CHESED; and the secret of all the Faith, WHICH IS THE CROWN OF YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, THAT IS CONSIDERED AS MALCHUT OF ZEIR ANPIN AND NAMED 'SEVENTH'. IN THE TEXT "THUS THE HEAVENS...WERE FINISHED" the word Elohim is mentioned three times. One stands for the lower world, MALCHUT BY THE NAME OF ELOHIM, another one stands for the "fear of Isaac," THAT IS GVURAH OF ZEIR ANPIN AND IS CALLED ELOHIM, and one stands for the holy upper world, the Holy of Holies, THAT IS BINAH BY THE NAME OF ELOHIM. A man should give this testimony gladly and willingly, and to testify before the Master of the Faith. And whoever gives this testimony and puts his heart and mind to it, his sins are thereby atoned.

254. The kiddush (lit. 'sanctification') of the day - "Blessed are You, Hashem our Elohim, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments and has taken pleasure in us..." - is the kiddush that balances the testimony of Faith "THUS THE HEAVENS...WERE FINISHED," and likewise it contains thirty five other words, as in "thus the heavens..." TOGETHER there are seventy words, with which to adorn Shabbat in its beginning, NAMELY MALCHUT. Happy is the portion of whoever meditates upon these things to the glory of his Master.

255. The kiddush in the morning consists, as we said, of the blessing over the cup of wine, and no more, because the day, ZEIR ANPIN, sanctifies MALCHUT, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE CUP OF WINE. FOR BY DAY, MALE AND FEMALE ASCEND TO ABA AND IMA, THE SECRET OF HOLINESS, AND ARE SANCTIFIED THROUGH THEM. But at night, we should sanctify MALCHUT by the recital we mentioned, THE SEVENTY WORDS. The night, MALCHUT is sanctified only by the holy nation down below, at the time when the higher spirit, THE ADDITIONAL SOUL, rests upon them. And we should sanctify it with a willing heart and meditate upon it.

256. And the day, SHABBAT, THE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT ASCENDED TO THE SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA AND BECAME SANCTIFIED LIKE THEM, IT sanctifies MALCHUT THAT IS CALLED CUP, NOT WE. and Yisrael sanctify by prayers and supplications, AS THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF THE MORNING, THE MUSAF PRAYER AND THE REPETITION OF THE AMIDAH BY THE CANTOR, WE RAISE MALE AND FEMALE TO ABA AND IMA, AND THEY NEED NO KIDUSH TO SANCTIFY THEM FURTHER, for they are sanctified by the sanctity OF ZEIR ANPIN IN ABA AND IMA on that day. Happy are Yisrael, the holy nation, that inherited this day as an everlasting heritage.