Upper Unification and Lower Unification

61. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” is a commandment to unify the name of the Creator each day. As one unifies the name of the Creator below, so is His name unified above, and the Creator is found to be unique above and below.

One who unifies the name of the Creator should set one’s heart and will to unification, to unify His name below and connect all His organs, the Sefirot, in that unification, so they will all be one. This is so because as He places all the organs of the name to be one below, so he connects all the upper organs in that unification above, so they will all be one.

62. When a person comes to unify the name of the Creator, all the hosts of heaven stand in rows to be corrected, and to all be incorporated in that unification, to stand as one in one unification. They are all corrected in their unification through this unification as it should be.

At that time, one attendant appointee stands under 248 worlds, which are called the “organs of the body.” That attendant is called Halanu, and he stands and waits for the unification. He collects roses, as it is written, “And to collect roses,” which are the organs of the body.

63. The upper name collects the upper organs in the unification that he unifies in forty-two names. He collects all those upper roses, and that attendant collects all those lower ones, which are all appointees, included in the seventy-two names. They are all collected through that unification, and they all become one body.

That unification rises and unites everything in two sides in one unification. At that time, all the organs are collected and connect in one connection, so they will all be one, above and below, as it is written, “The Lord is one and His name one.”

64. This is why two letters, Het and Dalet, are prolonged in the [pronunciation of] EHaD [one], to collect roses to unite in the One, in one unification. When all the organs are united in one unification, everything is called “complete offering.” It is about this matter that the Creator admitted Adam HaRishon into the Garden of Eden, as it is written, “to tend to it and keep it.” These are the two offerings in the verse, “The Lord is one and His name one.” It is about these offerings that it is written, “And to collect roses,” they are the organs of two sides that are one.

65. When all the organs unite together, for everyone to be in one unification, concerning the offering, then the Creator is crowned in His head with a crown of the finest gold, to be crowned in His glory. Roses are all those organs of above and of below. Gold is the crown that is crowned and ascends from among them, and it is all in the roses.

66. There are 613 commandments in these roses, which are the organs of the two sides, “the Lord is one and His name one.” There is the ascent of that gold in them, which ascends from among them, and wherever they are, meaning the unification of the two sides, the upper ascent of the crown of gold rises from among them.

This is as it is written, “As an apple among the trees of the forest,” and as it is written, “As a rose among the thorns,” and both need to rise as one in the complete unification. Happy is he who offers these sacrifices, who unites these unifications, which are pleasing in this world and in the next world.

There are six words in “Hear O Israel” that imply the six Sefirot HGT NHY of ZA, which must be united into being one. Since ZA is divided at the Chazeh, where from the Chazeh and above, it is regarded as its own phase, and from the Chazeh and below is regarded as the phase of Malchut, there are two unifications to make: one unification of HGT of ZA from the Chazeh and above, ZA himself, and one unification for the NHY of ZA from the Chazeh and below, the phase of Malchut.

The reason that from the Chazeh and below belongs to Malchut is that ZA is the middle line, which diminishes the GAR of the left with the screen of Hirik in it, and unites it with the right. That screen is the force of judgment, which stands at the point of Chazeh of ZA. Thus, from the Chazeh and below, where the judgment already rules, the phase of ZA is already canceled. This is why ZA is divided at the Chazeh.

The unification is to connect and unite the right with the left so they become one. By this, all six Sefirot are tied into being one, for although the screen of Hirik stands permanently at the Chazeh of ZA, nevertheless, there is no permanent unification of right and left in it for two reasons which are one: 1) The iniquities of the lower ones gradually intensify the power of the left and separate it from the right, by which the connection of the determining of the left line in the screen of Hirik is canceled. 2) The screen of Hirik does not unite the right and the left unless a coupling of the upper light is done on it, on the screen that draws the level of Hassadim. At that time, Abraham, from the side of the Hassadim of the right line, and Jacob, from the side of the Hassadim of the middle line, subdue the judgments of Isaac, who is the left line, and he unites with the right.

However, because of the iniquities of the lower ones during the exile, the coupling of Hassadim stopped from the screen of Hirik and is done only during the raising of MAN through the prayer and good deeds, and then stops. When the light of Hassadim stops, the left intensifies once more and parts from the right. For this reason, each day, it is necessary to raise MAN anew, to awaken the screen of Hirik so it can subdue the left and unite it with the right.

This is what we do in the Shema reading: We awaken the screen of Hirik in the middle line and draw on it the illumination of Hassadim. At that time, it unites the right line and the left line so they become incorporated with each other like one line. By this, all three lines are tied and unite into one light that shines only when they are united together.

This is so because the right line without the left lacks GAR because the exit of the Yod from the Avir is done only in the left line. Hence, the right cannot shine to the fullest except through its incorporation into one with the left line. And the left line cannot shine at all without the right since Hochma cannot shine at all except by incorporating with the Hassadim of the right.

Thus, the left line cannot shine until it becomes one with the right, and the left is unfit to connect with the right unless through the power of the screen of Hirik in the middle line.

It follows that both the right line and the left line cannot shine except when they are united into one in the middle line. Thus, the connection of right and left that is done through the screen of Hirik connects and makes all three lines truly into one light. When one of them weakens, all of them are canceled. This is why it is called “unification.”

However, there are two manners in this unification: 1) All the lines unite into one under the control of the light of Hassadim, and the illumination of Hochma is covered with the light of Hassadim. That unification is applied in ZA—the unification of the three lines from the Chazeh and above, which are called HGT, through the Chazeh, where ZA ends. 2) All three lines unite into one under the illumination of Hochma in Hassadim. That unification is applied in Malchut in the three lines from the Chazeh of ZA and below, NHY, which are regarded as the phase of Malchut, as they are under the screen of the Chazeh.

It follows that we must awaken the screen of the middle line to make two unifications, the upper unification of ZA, the unification of HGT, and the bottom unification of NHY, of Malchut. These two unifications connect with one another, too, since the upper unification draws Hassadim for the lower unification, and the lower unification draws illumination of Hochma for the upper unification.

For this reason, HGT connect with NHY, as well, into being one light. This is the unification of the Shema reading, in which there are six words corresponding to two unifications HGT NHY, for we must first unite these two unifications each one in its place, and then connect the HGT with NHY until they all become truly one light. This is regarded as uniting the six Sefirot of ZA and making them into one body.

It follows that the main unification is only for the connection between right and left to be one. However, since the middle line is the operator, it, too, connects with them, and for this reason, there are right, left, and middle. And since there is a difference between the three lines above the Chazeh and the three lines below the Chazeh, we must unite the right and the left in two places. It follows that the unification is ultimately in six Sefirot.

As we unify the name of the Creator below the Chazeh in the three lines NHY, so His name is unified above the Chazeh in the three lines HGT. You find that the Creator, ZA, is one light, above in HGT and below in NHY, that all six Sefirot HGT NHY are one, which is the unification of the six words in the Shema reading, which are the six Sefirot of ZA, so they will be one by raising MAN to awaken the screen of the middle line.

One who unifies the name of the Creator will set his heart and will in the unification: He will unify His name below, in two places—from the Chazeh and above and from the Chazeh and below, and will connect all His organs, all six Sefirot, in that unification, so they all shine as one light. Each line must connect its own, and three lines of above the Chazeh need the three lines of below the Chazeh, in a way that they are all one wholeness. When one of them weakens, all the light is canceled. As the lower man raises MAN and unites all the Sefirot into one unification, so it is done above, in that unification, where all six Sefirot connect to become one light.

When the person comes to unify the name of the Creator in the Shema reading, all the hosts of heaven stand in rows, as the angels arrange themselves under three lines to be corrected, each in his own line. When all of them are incorporated in that unification, so as to receive the connection of the screen of the middle line from the upper unification that is done in HGT NHY of ZA in the Shema reading, to stand as one in one unification, the right and left in them, and HGT NHY in them, will connect into being one light, as in ZA, and all are corrected in that correction properly, as in HGT NHY of ZA, since all that is done above, in ZA, is extended to all the worlds.

We should know that all the screens and the judgments explained in Atzilut, their operation is not apparent at all in the world of Atzilut itself. Rather, all that is inscribed there is in order to operate in this way in the lower worlds. And that screen of Hirik, too, which stands at the Chazeh of ZA, shows its operation only below, in the world of Yetzira, which is in the phase of ZA where the angels stand, for on each phase in ZA of Atzilut there is an angel there, a special appointee.

The force of the screen of the middle line that stands at the Chazeh of Atzilut is extended in the Chazeh of the world of Yetzira, and the appointee over it there is called Halanu. The reason for that name is that that screen of Hirik that it carries, as during the unification, all the corrections and all the lights emerge through this operation, for it unites the right and left with one another. When it is not during the unification, all the judgments are extended from him, and he diminishes all the degrees into VAK without a Rosh, and the shells grip in the place of the deficiency what was made due to its diminution.

This does not mean that it changes, but rather at the time when it becomes a cause for the emergence of all the lights of holiness, the bad in it is inverted into good. When it does not cause the emergence of the lights of holiness, the bad and the judgments in it are apparent. For this reason, anyone who sees that appointee, who carries the screen of Hirik in the Chazeh of Yetzira asks, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

Because He stands at the place of holiness, it turns out that He is for us, meaning that He helps the holiness. But from the judgments and the diminutions that He diminishes all the degrees of holiness from GAR, it turns out that He is for our adversaries, that He is the enemy of holiness and helps the Sitra Achra. However, at the time of the upper unification, by which the right and the left and HGT NHY unite, and all the Mochin become revealed, everyone knows that He is for us and not for our adversaries. This is why the angel is called by the name Halanu [Are you for us?].

Prior to the unification of the Shema reading, one attendant appointee, who is appointed over the screen of the middle line in the Chazeh of Yetzira, stands under 248 worlds, the 248 organs of the body that are divided by three lines. That appointee connects all those organs by the force of the screen of Hirik, and makes them into one body, as in HGT NHY of ZA.

That appointee is called Halanu because he doubts whether they are for us or for our adversaries. He stands and waits for the unification in the Shema reading, for HGT NHY of ZA to unite, and from there he, too, receives the strength to unite all the organs into one body. He collects roses, meaning that the screen of Hirik collects all the organs that are divided into right and left, as though collecting roses and making them into one body. He collects the organs of the body and unites them.

It is known that there are two names opposite the two unifications: Mem-Bet and AB [Ayin-Bet (72)]: The name Mem-Bet indicates the upper unification from the Chazeh and above. From the incorporation of HGT NHY with one another, it is discerned that there are HGT NHY in HGT above the Chazeh, and there are HGT NHY in NHY, below the Chazeh. Since the upper unification is in Hassadim that are covered from Hochma, it is discerned that there are only seven Sefirot in each Sefira in VAK above the Chazeh, and six times seven is Mem-Bet in Gematria [42].

The name AB indicates the bottom unification from the Chazeh and below, which are NHY. Because of the incorporation, there are HGT NHY there, too. Since the bottom unification reveals illumination of Hochma, there are twelve faces in each Sefira in it, which are HB TM in with three lines in each, and six times twelve are AB [72 in Gematria].

From the Chazeh and above of the world of Yetzira, he receives from the illumination of the name Mem-Bet, covered Hassadim. From the Chazeh and below of the world of Yetzira, he receives from the illumination of the name AB, illumination of Hochma. This does not mean that the names themselves shine there, since they shine only in the world of Atzilut. Rather, each world receives from them according to its ability.

The upper organs, the organs above the Chazeh of Yetzira, the upper name collects them in the unification that it makes in the forty-two names. The name Mem-Bet [42] controls the upper organs, the control of Hassadim, and collects all those upper roses, the organs that are above the Chazeh of Yetzira.

That attendant collects all those lower organs from the Chazeh and below, where each organ is a special appointee, included in the seventy-two names, since from the Chazeh and below, he receives from the illumination of AB, and they are all collected by that unification, both the ones above the Chazeh, and the ones below the Chazeh, and they all become one body.

The unification of Hear O Israel ascends and unites the two sides in them, the right line and the left line, in all the worlds, in one unification. This is the essence of the unification. At that time, when the unification of right and left is done by the screen of the Chazeh, all the organs are collected, both above the Chazeh and below the Chazeh, and connect in one connection, so they all become one. Thus, HGT NHY, too, unite into being one above and below, above the Chazeh and below the Chazeh, as it is written, “The Lord is one and His name one.”

This is so because above the Chazeh of ZA, the Lord [HaVaYaH] is one, since ZA is called HaVaYaH. From the Chazeh of ZA and above already belongs to Malchut, who is called “name,” as it is written, “and His name one.”

This is why two letters in the word EHaD [one] are prolonged, the Het and the Dalet. We prolong the Dalet as long as we do not pronounce Hataf [punctuation mark] in the Het. The Het implies ZA who is “the Lord is one,” and Dalet implies Malchut, who is “and His name one.” Collecting roses is to unite with the one, which is the complete unification. When all the organs are united in one unification, everything is called “complete offering,” which means complete unification.

It is for this matter that the Creator admitted Adam HaRishon into the Garden of Eden, as it is written, “to tend to it and keep it.” “To tend to it” is the upper unification, and “to keep it” is the bottom unification. These two unifications are “The Lord is one and His name one.” It is written about these two offerings, “and to collect roses.” These are the organs of two sides that are one; they are organs of two phases. The organs from the Chazeh and above are Hassadim, and the organs from the Chazeh and below are illumination of Hochma, and these two phases unite into being one light.

When connecting all the organs together, so they are all in one unification, concerning the offering, the Creator is crowned in His head with a crown of the finest gold. The organs are called “roses” when the organs above the Chazeh connect with the organs below the Chazeh, for then ZA is incorporated with the Hochma in Malchut and receives from this a crown of the finest gold, illumination of Hochma.

At that time, the organs are called “roses,” since “rose” is the name of Malchut, whose unification is below the Chazeh. However, after ZA above the Chazeh is incorporated together with the below-the-Chazeh, the organs above the Chazeh are named after Malchut, too.

There are twelve commandments in these roses, the organs of the two sides, since there are right and left in the 613 commandments—248 to the right, and 365 to the left—and they are “The Lord is one and His name one.” The 248 commandments to-do are “the Lord is one”; the 365 not-to-do are “and His name one.”

Wherever HGT NHY are incorporated in each other, the upper ascent of the crown of gold rises from among them. ZA receives that crown because of the unification of HGT NHY in one another.

This is as it is written, “As an apple in the trees of the forest,” which is the upper unification, “the Lord is one.” It is written, “As a rose among the thorns.” The bottom unification below the Chazeh, Malchut, is called a “rose.” The bottom unification should be incorporated as one in the upper unification, and the upper unification in the bottom one, and then the unification is complete.