Article No. 13, 1990
It is written in The Zohar (Vayigash, Item 23), “Rabbi Yehuda started and said, ‘For behold, the kings assembled’ refers to Judah and Joseph, for both were kings.” (In Item 27) “Rabbi Yehuda says, ‘When the desire and the unification are revealed, the two worlds, ZON, connect together and are assembled together. One is ZA, to open the treasure and bestow, and one is Malchut, to gather and collect the abundance into her. And then, ‘For behold, the kings assembled.’’” (And in Item 28) He says, “‘Passed by together,’ since all the iniquities in the world do not pass away and are not pardoned until ZON connect together, as it is written, ‘And passes by the transgression.’ Similarly, ‘Passed by together’ means the iniquities have passed away, were pardoned.” (And in Item 30) He says, “As they saw, so they were puzzled. When both kings are assembled in a single desire, they saw that desire of the two worlds, ZON. ‘They were puzzled, terrified, and hasted,’ since all the litigants were silenced and were removed from the world, and cannot govern. Then their existence was revoked and their governance rescinded.”
We should understand why the atonement of iniquities depends on the connection of two worlds, called ZA and Malchut, for he says that the kings “assembled, passed by together.” We should also understand why they are not always connected, but there is a time when the judgments govern, as it is written, “As they saw, so they were puzzled, terrified, and hasted” through the atonement of iniquities, for atonement of iniquities comes by connecting ZA and Malchut. Thus, they are not always connected. Why is this so? Who is detaining them from always being connected and not letting the judgments rule?
It is known that all the iniquities come through the will to receive for oneself. That is, since all creations come from Malchut, called “will to receive,” which is the core of creation, called “creation existence from absence,” this lack, where the creatures yearn to receive delight and pleasure in order to satisfy their deficiency, comes from the desire in Malchut.
As we learn, since the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, and pleasure and delight are measured by the intensity of the deficiency and yearning for the matter, to that extent they can enjoy when attaining the matter. For this reason, Malchut was created, who contains the full measure of the deficiency for the light and the abundance that the Creator wants to impart upon the creatures.
This Malchut is the general will to receive. That is, we must say that to the extent of the delight and pleasure that He wanted to impart upon the creatures, to that extent He created the desire for that light. In the words of the ARI, this is called Ein Sof [no end/infinity]. In order not to have the matter of the bread of shame while receiving the pleasure, there was a correction called “Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment,” where the delight and pleasure shine only to the extent that they can aim in order to bestow, for by this, the matter of shame will be corrected. And so was the order in Kedusha [holiness], that they will never receive more than the amount they can aim in order to bestow.
However, after that correction come more things. That is, something new took place, namely the breaking of the vessels, when there was a mingling of the will to receive for oneself with Kedusha, because of which the vessels broke. Also, there was the matter of the sin of the tree of knowledge, which caused holy sparks to fall into the Klipot [shells/peels]. It follows that the breaking of the vessels and the sin of the tree of knowledge caused the creatures that come after, that the will to receive receives its sustenance from ABYA of Klipa [singular of Klipot].
This is as it is written (“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Items 10-11), “And in order to mend that separation, which lies on the Kli [vessel] of the souls, He created all the worlds and separated them into two systems, which are the four worlds ABYA of Kedusha, and opposite them the four worlds ABYA of Tuma’a [impurity]. And He imprinted the desire to bestow in the system of ABYA of Kedusha, removed the will to receive for themselves from them, and placed it in the system of the worlds, ABYA of Tuma’a. Because of this, they have become separated from the Creator and from all the worlds of Kedusha.”
It therefore follows that as long as one has not emerged from the governance of the will to receive for himself, it makes him sin, meaning be separated from the Kedusha. That is, through the iniquities, a person grows farther from the Kedusha and is drawn into the Klipot. Hence, it extends from this that each of the created beings causes, through his sin, separation at the root of his soul in Malchut of Atzilut—who is the collection of all the souls, which is why Malchut is called “the assembly of Israel,” who is the Malchut of Kedusha—to be separated from the Kedusha. This is regarded as a person causing through his sin, the descent of Kedusha into the Klipa.
It follows that this is regarded as causing at the root of his soul, separation between the Creator and the Shechina [Divinity]. This means that Malchut is not in equivalence of form with ZA. ZA is called the “giver,” the Creator, and Malchut is the receiver, the opposite of the giver. That is, all the sins come only from a person wanting to satisfy his will to receive for himself. It follows that he causes separation above, at the root of his soul, which is in Malchut.
When a person repents, what is the repentance that a person takes upon himself? It is when a person says that from now on he will do everything for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake, meaning that all his actions will be in order to bestow, which is called “equivalence of form.” It follows that through repentance, he causes the root of his soul, Malchut, to also be only in bestowal, like ZA, who is the giver, called the Creator.
This is called “the unification of the Creator and the Shechina.” That is, as the Creator is the giver, likewise, Malchut, who is called “the Shechina,” works in order to bestow. Naturally, the Creator can bestow upon Malchut, and then the abundance extends downward. It follows that through the sin, a flaw was made above, which caused separation. Now, through the repentance, the separation has been corrected and unification was made. This is considered that through the unification, the iniquities, meaning the corruptions he caused by his actions, were corrected.
By this we can interpret what is written, “Return, O Israel, unto the Lord your God.” What does “unto the Lord your God” mean? It is known that “the Lord” is called ZA, which is the quality of mercy, namely a giver. “Your God” is judgment, meaning Malchut, who is the will to receive on whom there was a Tzimtzum and judgment that it is forbidden to use the will to receive without a correction of the Masach [screen] called “in order to bestow.”
Since Israel’s sin caused Malchut to move away from ZA, who is called “the giver,” since all the sins come only from the will to receive for himself, it follows that there is judgment on Malchut. Hence, we must repent to the extent that Malchut will draw near to ZA, which is called “equivalence of form” and Dvekut [adhesion].
In other words, as ZA gives, so will Malchut acquire such a correction, where by repenting, when we say that henceforth, all the actions will be in order to bestow, which is called Rachamim [mercy], like ZA, it follows that repentance causes Malchut, who is called “the quality of judgment” prior to the correction, to become Rachamim [mercy] after the correction, like ZA.
By this we can interpret “Return, O Israel,” meaning that the repentance that a person should make is to make Malchut—who is called “your God,” the quality of judgment—become “the Lord,” which is mercy. This unification corrects all the corruptions that the iniquities caused, creating remoteness between the Creator and the Shechina. It follows that through this unification, all the iniquities have been atoned.
According to the above, we should interpret what we asked, Why does the atonement of iniquities depend on the connection of two worlds, called ZA and Malchut? As said above, by repenting, to the extent that “the Lord will be your God,” meaning by causing unification, meaning equivalence of form between Malchut and ZA, the corruption that is done through the iniquities—which caused separation between Malchut and ZA by committing iniquities with the will to receive—will be corrected.
Because we must believe the words of our sages, who said that each one, through his iniquities, causes separation at the root of his soul, in Malchut, that the separation that is done means that he brings the Kedusha down to the Klipot, it follows that by correcting and repenting, and saying that henceforth everything will be in order to bestow and not to receive for oneself, now this causes what he had corrupted at his root to reconnect with the Kedusha, meaning it becomes a giver like ZA. It follows that through the iniquities there was a departure of the abundance, since there was a separation between the receiver and the giver, meaning between ZA and Malchut, and now it has reunited.
This is the meaning of the words, “When the desire and the unification are revealed, the two worlds, ZON, connect together and are assembled together. One is ZA, to open the treasure and bestow, and one is Malchut, to gather and collect the abundance into her. And then, ‘For behold, the kings assembled.’” The meaning is that once the unification between the giver and the receiver has been done through the repentance, for the receiver to receive everything in order to bestow, it follows that through equivalence of form, the giver can give to the receiver.
According to the above, we can understand what we asked, Why are they not always connected, but there are times when the judgments govern? The reason is that while there are iniquities, the iniquities cause the separation, and naturally, there are judgments. Judgments means that since there was a judgment on the will to receive for oneself, where the abundance cannot shine there due to disparity of form, hence, when there are iniquities below, it causes disparity of form above, at the root of Malchut.
It follows that the judgments govern. That is, the Sitra Achra [other side], which extend only from the iniquities, which is the will to receive for himself, governs. In other words, the iniquities of those who engage in the will to receive for oneself cause an addition of power to the Sitra Achra. That is, just as when we engage in order to bestow, we cause an addition of power of the desire to bestow at the root above, which causes unification, which is equivalence of form, so it is to the contrary: When engaging in the will to receive for oneself, the Klipot receive the power to control.
This is the meaning of the words, that then the judgments rule. At that time, the abundance does not extend below, since all the abundance will go to the Sitra Achra, since Malchut of Kedusha cannot receive because of the separation and remoteness between her and ZA. This is considered that the kings do not assemble together. That is, when there is equivalence of form, called “connection,” they “pass by together,” meaning that the iniquities passed away and were atoned.
This is the meaning of the words, “As they saw, so they were puzzled, terrified, and hasted, since all the litigants were silenced and were removed from the world, and cannot govern.” It follows that everything a person does, so he causes at the root of his soul, whether for better or for worse.
By this we can interpret what is written in the Neila [concluding] prayer, “You lend a hand to the transgressors, and Your right is stretched out to welcome the returning.” Also, our sages said, “Anyone who stretches out his hand is given.” Normally, each one closes his hand and does not want to give to the other unless he sees that he will get some reward, in which case he stretches out his hand. In other words, he opens his hand to receive the reward. For this reason, the other person also opens his hand and gives to the other. But to stretch out one’s hand just like that, without a reward, a person closes his hand and cannot give anything to the other.
Therefore, when we speak of the work, meaning what a person wants to receive from above, meaning that the Creator will bestow upon him into the person’s Kelim [vessels], called “hands,” the order in the act below is that in whatever way a person does, so it awakens above, at the root of his soul.
Therefore, if a person stretches out his hand, meaning opens his hand and does not close, but wants to bestow above, it follows that at the root of his soul, Malchut, becomes regarded as a giver, which is called “equivalence of form.” At that time he is given, since now there is equivalence of form, called “the kings assembled, passed by together.” In other words, the abundance pours to Malchut, and from her to those who caused the unification of the kings, who are ZA and Malchut.
This is why they said, “Anyone who stretches out his hand is given,” since he caused unification above, in his root. Hence, if a person wants to be given something from above, he must awaken in his essence, the vessels of bestowal.
However, sometimes a person wants to stretch out his hand and be a giver, but he cannot. His body disagrees with it. What can he do? His only way is prayer. Yet, he sees that he has prayed many times for the Creator to satisfy his deficiency, meaning to be able to work in order to bestow, yet the Creator did not answer him, as though He does not watch over him.
Thus, how can he pray once more? He sees that he receives no attention whatsoever. These thoughts remove him from prayer. Thus, what should he do then, when he comes to a state where these thoughts poke his mind?
The answer is as Baal HaSulam said, that a person must believe what is written, “And it came to pass that before they call, I will answer; while they speak, I will hear.” He said that it means that a person should believe that the fact that now he has come to pray is because I made him see that he is deficient and should come to pray that the Creator will satisfy his deficiency.
That is, a person should not think that he started first. Rather, the Creator started by giving him a desire to pray. Thus, he cannot say that the Creator is not watching over him by him not seeing the answer to the prayer when he prays for his lack. Rather, it is the Creator who began.
This is called “I am the first and I am the last.” That is, “I began the contact with you,” and the person should wake up from this. However, a person does not complete the work. Rather, it is as it is written, “The Lord will finish for me.” By this we should interpret, “You lend a hand to the transgressors.” It means that the Creator gives the hand, meaning the power to the transgressors to pray for their deficiency, and not the person. Also, a person must trust the Creator to help with his prayer and not give up.