Like an Apple Tree among the Trees of the Forest

195) Rabbi Elazar happened into a motel in Lod, and Rabbi Hizkiya was there with him. Rabbi Elazar rose at night to study Torah, and Rabbi Hizkiya stood by him because the place was narrow to them. Rabbi Elazar said, “The friends are in a narrow place,” meaning they were doing much Torah and little work, “This is why they are always encountered in narrow and small motels, for they have no money to rent spacious houses.”

196) He said further, “The Creator is like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, lovely and crowns in His colors,” in the three lines, HGT, which are considered the three colors—white, red, and green. “There is none like Him among all the other trees,” which are the seventy ministers, who resemble Kedusha [holiness] like a monkey before a man. “He is finer than all,” meaning He excels and there is none other like Him.

Because of the sin of the tree of knowledge, the Shechina was drawn to the side of the seventy ministers, which are the externality of ZA. Hence, after she was corrected and clung once more to ZA, who is called the Creator, the Shechina said, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the sons. In his shade I took great delight and sat, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” This means that there is none other like Him among the seventy ministers to which she clung before, and now the merit of the Creator over them is as apparent as far as light excels over darkness.

197) Prior to her correction, the Shechina was under the shade of another, the shade of fig-leaves, the shade of the seventy ministers. It is written, “In his shade, I took great delight and sat.” Since when did she take delight? It cannot be said that she always took delight because due to the sin, she leaned toward the seventy ministers. But he says that it is from the day when Abraham came to the world and loved the Creator with love, as it is written, “Abraham, who loves Me.” Then he corrected the Shechina and she reunited with ZA.

“And his fruit was sweet to my taste” is Isaac, who is Abraham's holy fruit. This is so because while she leaned toward the seventy ministers, which are the illumination of the left, she was empty from both Hochma and Hassadim. And after Abraham corrected her to a coupling with ZA and she received the right line from him, the covered Hassadim, which are considered a shade, the left line illuminated in her once more, too, meaning illumination of Hochma that is clothed in Hassadim of the right. Thus, the illumination of Hochma is considered a fruit and an offshoot of the right line because she could not shine before, as it is written, “Abraham begot Isaac.”

198) “In his shade, I took great delight and sat” is Jacob, the middle line. Because he decides in the screen of Hirik, which diminishes the level, it is considered shade and sitting. “And his fruit was sweet to my taste” is Joseph, Yesod, who made holy fruits in the world, meaning the souls. This is why it is written, “These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph, for all those generations of Jacob stand in the righteous Joseph, who is considered the Yesod of Jacob, and this is why Israel are named after Ephraim, as it is written, “Ephraim my darling son.”

199) “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest” is Abraham, who is like a fragrant apple. He excelled in whole faith more than all his contemporaries, and he excelled, as in, one above and one below, as it is written, “Abraham was one.”

200) He was one because there was none other in the world who excelled in faith in the Creator besides him. However, it is written, “And the souls that they had made in Haran.” This means that Abraham was converting the men and Sarah the women. Thus, there were others with faith in the Creator besides him, yet, they were not at the high degrees with which Abraham was crowned.

201) Abraham was not called “one” until he was incorporated in Isaac and Jacob. When he was mingled with Isaac and Jacob and all three together became the patriarchs of the world, Abraham was called “one.” In other words, after he was mingled as one with all three lines, he was called “one,” and not before. This is when he was called “an apple” in the world, meaning that he has three colors—white, red, and green—like an apple, which implies to the three lines, and he excelled above all his contemporaries.

202) “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest” is the Creator, the right line. “My beloved” is the Creator, the left line. “In his shade” is the Creator, the middle line. “I took great delight and sat,” on the day when the Creator appeared on Mount Sinai and Israel received the Torah and said, “We will do and we will hear.” Then the Shechina said, “I took great delight and sat.”

203) “And his fruit was sweet to my taste” are the words of the Torah, which are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. “And his fruit was sweet to my taste” are the souls of the righteous, all of whom are the fruits of the produce of the actions of the Creator, and stand with Him above.

204) The souls of the world, which are the produce of the actions of the Creator, are all one. Above, it is still not apparent that they are male and female until all the souls descend in the form of male and female, and each soul is male and female connected as one.

205) The female’s craving for the male makes a soul. And also, the male’s craving for the female and his adhesion with her produces a soul, which includes the soul from the craving of the female and takes it. Thus, the craving of the lower one, the female, is included in the craving of the upper one, the male, and the two souls become one, without separation.

206) And then the female contains everything, taking both souls and becoming impregnated by the male in them. The craving of the both of them becomes attached and they become as one. Hence, everything is mingled with each other and when the souls come out, male and female are mingled in them as one.

207) Afterwards, when they descend to the world, the male and female separate from one another; one turns this way and the other turns that way, and later, the Creator makes a coupling between them. But the key for the coupling is given to none other than the Creator, for only He knows their coupling, to unite them properly so they become male and female of the same soul.

208) Happy is the man who is rewarded with his actions and walks on the path of truth, to unite a soul with a soul for him, male and female, as they were before they descended into the world. But if he is not rewarded, he will not be given his mate. This is why it is written about him, “And his fruit was sweet to my taste,” since that man has been blessed with a proper correction of male and female. Also, the world will be blessed with sweet fruits from him, meaning handsome offspring, since everything depends on man’s actions, on whether or not he was rewarded.

209) The Creator said to the assembly of Israel, the Shechina, “From Me is your fruit found.” It does not say, “Is My fruit found,” but “Your fruit,” indicating to that craving of the female, who makes the female of the soul, which is included in the strength of the male. Also, the soul of the female is included in the soul of the male and they become one, mingled in one another. Afterwards, they are separated in the world.

Indeed, by the force of the male is the fruit of the female present in the world. “Your fruit,” the fruits of the female, the soul that is extended by her yearning. The text tells us that even the soul of the female is not from her own self, but from her incorporation with the soul of the male. This is why he said, “From Me is your fruit found.”

210) “From Me is your fruit found.” This is so because by the craving of the female herself, from which the female of the soul comes, the fruit of the male is found. Had it not been for the craving of the female for the male, there would be no fruits in the world, meaning there would be no offspring.