1) “And the enlightened will glow as the radiance of the firmament.” The enlightened are those who gaze at the wisdom they have attained, since wisdom is called “the light of the eyes” and attaining it is called “looking.” Why does it not say, “Will shine”? It means that they shine and sparkle in the brightness of the upper Hochma [wisdom]. They cannot attain the actual upper Hochma, but only from Bina that returned to being Hochma through her return to the Rosh of AA. This is considered only the glow of the upper Hochma, which is considered as mere glow and not as the actual light of Hochma.
This is why it is written, “Will glow,” and it is not written “Will shine.” “As the radiance” means the illumination and sparkling of the river that stretches out of Eden, Bina, that emerged from Rosh of AA, which is Hochma, called “Eden,” who became Hochma when she returned to Rosh of AA. And the Hochma in her is considered as only the glow of the Hochma. This is why it is written about her, “As the radiance,” as in brightness.
This this the meaning of the firmament, the screen of the second restriction, which takes Bina out of the Rosh of AA through its ascent to her place. It also brings her back to Rosh of AA through his return below to the place of Malchut of Rosh of AA. “Like the radiance of the firmament” are the vessels and the Mochin that appear through the firmament, since the stars are in it, meaning GAR of Mochin, as well as the signs, which is VAK of Mochin, the sun, which is ZA, and the moon, which is Nukva. And all these candles that shine are all the lights in BYA, since all the lights in the four worlds ABYA emerge on the screen of the second restriction, called “firmament.”
2) The radiance of this firmament shines in its illumination on the garden, Malchut. The tree of life, Tifferet, stands in the middle of the garden, in the middle line, with its branches—Sefirot—covering all the forms, which are the Nefashot [souls], and the trees, which are the Ruchot [spirits], and the perfumes, which are the Neshamot [souls (again)] in the garden, in upright vessels, corrected in the three lines. And all the animals of the field—the outer angels—gather in its shade, and all the fowl of the sky—the inner angels—sit under its branches.
3) The radiance of the fruits on the tree is the souls that are born from it. It gives life to all and its existence is for all eternity. The other side, of impurity, is not present in it, since the Sitra Achra has no nourishment in the tree of life, which is ZA in Gadlut [greatness], but only the side of holiness. Happy are those who taste from it for they live forever and ever, as it is written, “And take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” They are called “wise” and they are rewarded with life in this world and in the next world.
4) The radiance of that tree, ZA, rises to YESHSUT, and when it rises to YESHSUT, it rises above to AVI, which are Bina. His march is 500 parasangs [a distance measurement] because he receives HGT NH from Bina, whose numerals are hundreds. However, she has no Yesod because Ima expands only through Hod. And when he rises to AVI, where illumination of Atik shines, his expansion is 600,000, for Yesod spreads in him and he receives HGT NHY from the illumination of Atik, whose digits are 100,000 each, hence he is 600,000.
There is one illumination in that tree: Malchut in his Guf [body]. All the colors, white, red, and green, which are lights of HGT, are in her. These colors rise in direct light and descend in reflected light, and do not settle in any place except for that tree, for it is the middle line.
5) When the lights come out of the tree to be seen inside the radiance that does not shine—the general Malchut from Chazeh of ZA downward, who has ZON within herself, which are the small ZON, called Jacob and Rachel—the lights intermittently settle and do not settle within her. They are present and absent because they settle nowhere except in that tree, from Chazeh of ZA, upwards and is called “Israel.”
Twelve tribes emerge from that tree, and their zones are in it. These are twelve lights, called “twelve boundaries of the diagonal.” They descended in this radiance, which does not shine, into the exile in Egypt in several high camps, as it is written, “These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, they came each man with his household.”
The verse begins with Israel, as it is written, “These are the names of the children of Israel,” since the root of the lights of the twelve tribes come from the tree, which is called Israel, from Chazeh of ZA upward. It concludes with Jacob, as it is written, “Who came to Egypt with Jacob,” since they have shifted from being Israel into being Jacob, from Chazeh of ZA and below, where the twelve lights of the tribes cannot settle. In the words, “Who come to Egypt,” Mitzrayim [Egypt] is from the word Metzer [oppressing/pressing]. This is why the Egyptians ruled over them.