Two Tears to the Deep of the Great Sea

312) When the ministers appointed on the people see their Master sad because of the enslavement of Israel, why do they work His sons in hard labor? They only do their Master’s will, what they must.

313) When the sons of the Creator were given to the governors of the peoples, twelve courthouses gather, meaning the Malchut—who has twelve combinations of ADNI, which are the letters of DINA [Din (judgment)]. And since the coupling of HaVaYaH ADNI has been cancelled, where the twelve combinations of ADNI were receiving from the twelve combinations of HaVaYaH, twelve combinations of ADNI gathered and settled inside the great deep, Bina. The Master—Bina—cried, wept aloud, called “sobbing,” which means that because of the ascent of Malchut, Bina descended to Katnut [smallness/infancy], called “weeping.”

And two teardrops run down from the Nikvey Einayim [holes of the eyes], meaning Bina, into the deep of the great sea, which is Malchut. This means that two kinds of judgments were made in Malchut: from Bina of Malchut and from Malchut of Bina. And since they were made through Malchut’s ascent to Bina and their mingling in each other, they are called Demaot [tears], as well as because this Bina is Nikvey Einayim, and all that descends and comes out of Nikvey Einayim is called “tears.”

It is written, “Your judgments are like a great deep,” where because the judgment in Malchut rose to Bina, which is called, “the great deep,” sentences were made in her, which are judgment. The upper ones are rolled below and the lower ones are fissured and descend by 240 degrees, as it is written, “The lion has roared, who will not fear?”

Here The Zohar explains how the descent of ZON into VAK without a Rosh occurred while Israel were given into exile among the nations. It was said that when the children of the Creator were given over to the rulers of the nations, twelve courthouses assembled and sank into the great deep. At that time, Malchut rose to Bina, which is called “the great deep,” and by that, Bina came into Katnut, called sobbing and weeping, and two kinds of judgments were made in Malchut, called “tears.”

It was also said, “And upper ones roll down, meaning that YESHSUT, which was connected with AVI, have now descended because of the screen of Malchut that rose to half of Bina, because as a result, Bina was divided into two Partzufim [plural of Partzuf]: 1) The GAR in her are called AVI, and retained their merit, since they are from the half of Bina that is above the screen. 2) YESHSUT—which are from the half of Bina below the screen of Malchut—descended. It turns out that YESHSUT, who were above, have rolled down.

Afterwards, KHB TM of YESHSUT were broken, too, due to Malchut’s ascent to Bina. Thus, Keter and Hochma and half of Bina remained above the screen of Malchut, and half of Bina, Tifferet, and Malchut went below the screen of Malchut that stands at half of Bina.

This is why it was said that the lower ones were broken, that YESHSUT had already come out of AVI downwards and were broken, too, and descended 240 degrees, which are half of Bina, Tifferet, and Malchut, which are 250, since the Sefira of YESHSUT is hundreds. However, because Malchut of Malchut rose and remained above, in upper AVI, only the first ninety Sefirot through Yesod remained in Malchut of YESHSUT, which is 100. Thus, there are only ninety Sefirot in her, which is why it is considered that only 240 degrees descended and not 250.

And those two and a half degrees that came down from YESHSUT clothed ZON, and they are VAK without a Rosh. This is because the GAR, meaning Keter, Hochma, and the upper half of Bina are absent there. For this reason, ZON remained without a coupling and with VAK without a Rosh, until Israel are redeemed from exile. And although there are special times and occasions, and through prayers ZON regain the GAR even during the days of exile, it is not permanent. But at the time of redemption they will return to permanent GAR, as AVI during the exile.

314) When the Creator gave Israel to the minister of Egypt, He sentenced them with seven sentences by which the Egyptians were to enslave them, as it is written, “And they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.” Correspondingly, there were seven good ones, as it is written, “And the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.”