Two Camels

120) Since the day Rabbi Shimon came out of the cave, nothing was hidden from the friends. They looked at the high secrets and were revealed in them as though they were given at that time at Mount Sinai. After Rabbi Shimon died, it is written, “the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed.” The fountains of wisdom were stopped. The friends were contemplating matters, but they did not stand in them, to know their meaning.

121) One day, Rabbi Yehuda sat by the gate of Tiberias and saw two camels throwing a bundle of precious wool garments off their shoulders. The load of wool garments fell and birds came to the place where the load was to fall. And before the garments reached them, the birds were split [broken].

122) Afterwards, a few birds came and walked on the birds that were split, and stayed on the rock but did not split. They shrieked to the birds, to drive them away from the split birds, and they did not move from them. They heard a voice, the crown over the crowns is in the dark and her master is outside.

123) The order of expansion of the Mochin is in the three dots—Holam, Shuruk, Hirik. In Holam, the lights of VAK without a Rosh remain after the splitting of the degree by the force of the ascent of Malchut to Bina, which are lights of Hassadim and right line. Shuruk is the return of half of the degree to its place, and the lights of GAR come in it once more but are regarded as posterior GAR, since they are Hochma without Hassadim, which cannot shine. Hence, at the appearance of these GAR, all the lights in the degree freeze and it becomes dark. This is the left line.

Hirik comes to correct the left line so it will mingle and unite with the right line. Hence, it elevates the screen of phase one, which draws VAK without a Rosh once more. At that time, the left line surrenders and unites with the right, and Hochma dresses in the Hassadim on the right. By that, anterior GAR emerge.

The dot of Hirik, the middle line, comes out in three orders—Holam, Shuruk, Hirik—as well. First, the root of the screen of Hirik appears, the screen of the lock, from the first restriction, which is the only one to which the left line surrenders. At that time, the posterior GAR immediately disappear from the left line.

However, the disclosure of this screen still does not make it fit for reception of GAR in the world. Hence, it must be sweetened once more, through the ascent of Malchut to Bina. At that time, the dot of Holam of the middle line appears, the sweetened Malchut. And even though she is VAK without GAR, too, these VAK are already suitable for reception of GAR because they are in the screen of the key.

After that, the dot of Shuruk appears, meaning posterior GAR and the freezing of the lights, since they are Hochma without Hassadim. Finally, the coupling on the screen of Hirik in phase one occurs once more, through raising of MAN, and then the right and left lines unite in each other, Hochma dresses in Hassadim, and anterior GAR emerge. Thus, the dot of Hirik, the middle line, must come out on the three dots—Holam, Shuruk, Hirik—as well.

Those two camels that Rabbi Yehuda saw are souls that were immersed under the domination of the left line, the dot of Shuruk, received the form of camels. They are called “A camel that is carrying a heavy load” because all the sublime degrees that these souls had have been frozen and have grown dark, and they could not enjoy them. Finally, they became a heavy load on them until their only wish was to be rid of them. This is why they are like camels, since a camel, even if it carries all the treasures and fortunes, it will loathe them and they will be a burden to it since it takes no interest in enjoying them.

It was said that Rabbi Yehuda saw two camels throwing a bundle of precious wool garments off their shoulders, since he saw those souls—on which the screen of Hirik appeared—to save them from the domination of the left and to unite them with the right. He saw the souls while they were removing and throwing off themselves the precious wool garments, meaning the degrees that have frozen on them and have become a burden to them. And through the appearance of the screen of Hirik as a root, meaning the screen of the first restriction that brings the left line back to VAK, the precious wool garments fell off them, meaning the degrees of GAR, which have become a burden.

“Birds came to the place” refers to degrees of GAR, which are extended from the vessels of Ima, Bina, which the flaw of the falling of the load does not reach. And before the clothes reached them, the birds were split. Although the flaw of the falling of the load does not reach them, still, they were split, meaning that the mitigation of the ascent to Bina appeared on them, and this ascent splits the degrees into two halves: KH with lights of NR remain in the degree, and Bina, Tifferet, and Malchut fall below the degree. This is the disclosure of the dot of Holam once more in the middle line, by which they are made suitable for reception of GAR once more.

Afterwards, when they received the Katnut of Holam, they became fit for reception of the posterior GAR, as well, meaning the dot of Shuruk of the middle line. This is why it was said, “Afterwards, a few birds came,” new ones, “and walked on the first birds that were split,” meaning that the GAR of the new birds was relying on the splitting that occurred in the previous birds, for without their splitting, there would not be disclosure of these GAR of the dot of Shuruk. “And stayed on the rock,” for their lights froze once more and they became like a rock, like the nature of the dot of Shuruk.

They were shrieking to the birds in order to drive them away from the splitting birds, to drive away the Mochin of Shuruk from the souls, yet the Mochin did not want to retire from the souls They heard a voice, the crown over the crowns, the Nukva, who is present in the dark, and her master, ZA, who is outside. That state of the souls caused ZA and his Nukva to be in a state of posterior, where the Nukva was in the dark and ZA is on the externality of the degree.

To bring the ZON back from the posterior, the dot of Hirik of the middle line is required, which brings the anterior GAR back to the souls. It is also a correction that brings to ZA Hassadim in anterior and in posterior. For this reason, at that time, all the Se’arot [hairs] depart from it, from before and from behind. Se’arot are judgments, from the word Se’arot [“storms,” it is spelled a little differently here]. This means that the storms and the judgments must be moved from Rosh ZA from before and from behind, since all the judgments must be moved from ZA and be given to the Nukva.

Afterwards, ZA and Nukva make a coupling and the Se’arot depart from the Nukva, too, but only from anterior GAR, the place of the coupling with the anterior ZA. But in her posterior GAR, all the judgments remain, to punish the wicked who wish to suck from these posterior GAR.