437. "You shall not take the Name..." (Shemot 20:7). Rabbi Shimon cited the verse, "And Elisha said to her, 'What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house?'" (II Melachim 4:2). He explained, What Elisha meant was, Have you aught upon which the blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He, could rest? For one should not say the blessing after the meal over an empty table. Why? Because the supernal blessing cannot rest on an empty place.
438. Therefore, it is necessary to put a loaf or more on the table before one says his grace, and in case one has not MUCH TO PUT ON the table, he must put at least the remnants of his meal, IN ORDER THAT THERE WILL BE SOMETHING to bless, so that he will not say a blessing over an empty TABLE.
439. When she said, "Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil" (Ibid.), he said, "This is fit to receive a perfect blessing," as it is written, "A good name is better than (lit. 'from') precious ointment" (Kohelet 7:1), for the Holy Name comes forth from oil, to bless and to kindle the Holy Lights. HE ASKED, What is this oil? and Rabbi Yitzchak said, It represents the same oil as described in the scripture, "It is like the precious ointment upon the head" (Tehilim 133:2), MEANING THE SUPERNAL PLENTY. Rabbi Elazar said, It represents the supernal mountains of pure balsam, MEANING THE PLENTY OF THE SUPERNAL BINAH.
440. Rabbi Shimon interpreted the verse, "A good name is better." How good is the Supernal Name of the Supernal Holy Lights, for they radiate "precious ointment," and a man must not mention the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in vain, for he who does so would have been better not to have been born.
441. Rabbi Elazar said, One should utter the Holy Name only after a preceding word, as in the Torah it is mentioned for the first time after two words, "In the beginning Elohim created (Heb. Beresheet-bara-Elohim)."
442. Rabbi Shimon said, The Holy Name is mentioned only in connection with a completed world, NAMELY, YUD HEI VAV HEI, as it is written, "In the day that Hashem Elohim made the earth and the heavens" (Beresheet 2:4). From this it follows that one should not mention the Holy Name in vain, as it is written, "You shall not take the Name of Hashem your Elohim in vain" (Shemot 20:7).
443. Rabbi Yosi said, What is the blessing? It is the Holy Name, being the source of blessing for the whole universe. A blessing does not dwell in an empty place, nor rests upon it, and therefore it is written, "You shall not take the Name of Hashem your Elohim in vain."