The Sea Monsters

36) “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Come unto Pharaoh.’” Should it not have said, “Go unto Pharaoh”? But He allowed Moses into rooms within rooms, to one high sea monster, from which several degrees descend, and this is the great sea monster.

37) And Moses feared and did not approach, except to those Niles that are his degrees. But he feared the monster itself and did not come near because he saw it rooted in the upper roots.

38) Since the Creator saw that Moses was afraid and no other appointed emissaries above could approach it, the Creator said, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers.” The Creator needed to wage war against him, and no other, as it is written, “I, and no emissary.” And they explained the wisdom of the monster that lies in the midst of his Niles to those “who travel on the road,” who know the secret of their Master.

39) “And God created the great sea-monsters,” which is the whale and its female partner. The word “monster” [in Hebrew] is written without a Yod, since he killed the female, and the Creator elevated her to the righteous. Hence, only one great monster remained. Also, know that a whale is a pure fish.

The whale and his female partner are of a very high root. This is because the sea is Malchut from the discernment of Hochma, and the most important of all sea creatures is the whale. Thus, he is the whole of the Hochma in the sea, although he does not extend from Hochma herself, but from Bina that returned to Hochma, the left line in her, called, “the dot of Shuruk.” This is why it is written about them, “And God created the great sea-monsters,” since Bina is called Beria.

And yet, his place was not determined as the sea itself, which is Malchut of Atzilut. Rather, a place was prepared in the world of Beria, outside of Atzilut, below Malchut of Atzilut, which are the ten Niles. But if they are from degrees of holiness, why were they killed? The female was killed instantly and the male was killed later, too, as it is written, “And He will slay the monster that is in the sea”? It is so because killing is annulment of his degree and return to Atzilut. And at the end of correction, all three worlds BYA will be cancelled and will return to Atzilut.

But if it were necessary to kill the female so the world would not be ruined, why did He create her to begin with? After all, this killing is only to her service of the whale, but she was not altogether revoked, as the souls of the righteous feed off her.

40) The great sea-monster, which is the male whale, survived and was laying within the nine Niles, which correspond to the nine Sefirot HBD, HGT, NHY. And one Nile, whose waters are still, is Keter. The blessings of the waters of the garden, which is Malchut of Atzilut, fall in it three times a year. Those are the three lines, of which it is written, “Three times a year all your males shall appear.” And if only twice occur—only two lines, right and left—the Nile is blessed but not as much because the middle line is missing. And if only one occurs, either right or left, it is not blessed by it. And the nine Niles that are the bottom nine Sefirot receive from the Nile that is Keter.

41) And this monster which comes in the Keter of the Niles gradually strengthens in it, and swims and enters the sea—Malchut of Atzilut—where it swallows several species of fish, which are degrees within the sea that are inferior to it. It swallows them, they are completed within him, and he rules and returns to the still Nile.

And these nine Niles come up toward him to receive their abundance, since they receive their abundance from the still Nile, their Keter. And around the Nile are several types of trees and grass. And this is the first among the Niles, Keter.

42) The order of emergence of the ten Niles is that three drops, from the three lines included in the left line, emerge from the left side, from one tube, which is Yesod of ZA, which is extended and comes out. And each drop expands into three drops, making it nine drops, and each drop becomes one Nile. These are the nine Niles that gradually intensify, and swim and surround all the firmaments, which are the boundaries of the second restriction.

43) After these drops complete their emergence, what remains of them—all the phases of Keter and Hochma above Bina—which are not extended with the three lines, is a single drop that remains, and quietly emerges, and drops between the Niles and becomes a Nile. This is the silent Nile, the still Nile.

44) When the river, Yesod of ZA, which is extended and emerges, it produces other drops of blessings from the right side. When it bestows upon Malchut from the three lines included in the right line, what remains of these drops and did not come out with them, from the Sefirot above Bina, too, which do not extend with the three lines, is one drop that remains of these blessings, which emerges quietly and falls in the still Nile. Thus, the still Nile has illumination of the right and is the most important Nile.

45) When these four rivers that emerge from the Garden of Eden exit and become separated, that river, called Pishon, falls into the still Nile and is included in it. Hence, the kingdom of Babel, Pishon, is included in that river, for is the first Rosh [head] of the four rivers, and Babel is the Rosh of the four Malchuts; hence, Pishon is Babel. And all other Niles are nourished and filled by the still Nile.

46) Within each Nile there walks and swims one monster. There are nine monsters, and each punctures a hole in its head, as it is written, “You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.” Even this great monster is so because they all blow wind upward and not downward.

They receive from the middle line, which determines that the illumination of the right will spread from above downwards and the illumination of the left will shine only from below upwards, and the monsters are all from the illumination of the left. Hence, they blow wind only upwards and not downwards. This is why they have a hole in their heads, an orifice that came to them from the screen of Hirik of the middle line, which diminished the GAR of GAR in them, as it is written, “You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.”

And even at the time of Gadlut [adulthood], when the screen descends from Bina to its place, the hole remains in their heads, since the Gadlut does not shine from above downwards, since it lacks GAR of GAR, since they all blow wind upward and not downward. This is why the hole remains in their heads, even in the great sea monster.

47) It is written, “In the beginning God created,” and it is written, “And God created the great sea-monsters.” Both use the term “creation,” since opposite each act in the ten utterances in the work of creation stand these ten Niles, where one monster from each Nile flutters in its spirit opposite its corresponding act.

48) This is why the world is shocked once every seventy years, since when this great monster shakes and brings up its fins, all those who are in the Niles shake with it. Also, the whole world shakes, and the land is shocked, for all are included in this great monster.

The degree of a whale, which is the great monster, is the Hochma that stretches from the left line. This Hochma appears only on the Sefira of Malchut in each degree, called “the fin” in the whale. Also, it is implied in the number, once-every-seventy-years, that seventy years are the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM, one of which is Malchut.

The extension of Hochma comes in judgments, as it is said, “The world is shocked once every seventy years,” in the illumination of Malchut, since when that great sea monster flutters its fins, namely its Malchut, elevating them in order to draw Hochma, and it is shocked since it is the way of Hochma to be drawn through judgments; hence, it is shaken when drawing them. And because all are included in it and receive their abundance from it, they are all shaken with it.

49) “And the earth was unformed and void.” Few are the ones who know how to imply the work of creation in the great sea monster. And since the whole world is extended and cascades from the fin of that great monster, we should understand how it is implied in the whole act of creation. Since the whole of the act of creation is in Hochma [wisdom], as it is written, “In wisdom have You made them all,” and the great monster is the whole of the Hochma, it is therefore necessary that everything is extended from it. Moreover, it is specifically from the fins, which are his Malchut, since the illumination of Hochma is revealed only from the Malchut.

50) “And the earth was unformed and void.” “Was,” previously, means that it was unformed before the correction began. This is so because in that first, still Nile, when the great monster entered it, it was filled with illumination of Hochma, and it swims and puts out the sparks that were gathered from the worlds that were ruined in the beginning, during the breaking of the vessels. At that time, sparks, which are judgments, came out to all sides. But now, the great monster puts out and revokes these judgments, since Hochma quenches all the judgments.

51) Those other monsters were and were not. Because their illumination is not apparent in them, it is as though they did not exist. Their strength is weakened so they will not destroy the world, except once every seventy years when they intensify by the strength of that great monster, and he alone intensifies. But if his Nukva had been living with him, the world would not be able to withstand them.

Hochma is revealed only in the Sefira Malchut. This is so because once the two lines—right and left—emerge, a dispute occurs between them, hell came out of this dispute, and the world was ruined, until the middle line came out and diminished the left line so it would shine only from below upwards. And the illumination from below upwards is regarded as light of Malchut, female light. Hence, Hochma that comes from the left cannot shine in the first nine, in the male light, which imparts from above downwards, but only in Malchut, which imparts from below upwards, considered VAK of GAR. And Malchut is implied in the once every seventy years.

Those other sea monsters were, and were not. Although they were created, it is as though they never were. This is so because their illumination, Hochma, never appears in them because Hochma does not appear in the first nine, since their strength had been weakened by the middle line, which reduced the male light from the illumination of Hochma to stop the dispute and to subdue the left before the right so the world would not be ruined by the dispute.

But once every seventy years, meaning only in their Malchut, they grow stronger since the light is revealed in their Malchut, which receives from the great monster and shines from below upwards. But he alone grows stronger. However, the great monster—the whole of the light of Hochma—shines only in its Malchut, from below upward, since they all blow win upward, regarded as VAK of GAR.

It is said that if his Nukva lived with him, the world would not be able to tolerate them, since the male can impart from above downward only if it is in unity of male and female. But without a Nukva [female], it is VAK without a GAR. Hence, since the middle line diminished the GAR of GAR of the left line through the screen of Hirik, it killed the Nukva of the whale, which is the great monster. Thus, the male whale remained without a female, which is VAK of GAR that shines only from below upwards.

This diminution is necessary because by that, the middle line made peace between the right and the left, as was said, “the world would not be able to tolerate them,” and it would be necessary to kill her. It follows that the nine sea monsters receive from the great sea monster, which is a female light. Thus, the Nukva of the whale was killed by the screen of Hirik of the middle line, called “the Creator.”

52) Until the Creator killed the whale’s Nukva, the land was unformed. After He killed her, the land was void, meaning the earth began to exist. “And darkness was upon the face of the deep,” since the act He had done had not yet shone.

Four actions unfold in the middle line when it comes to make peace between the two lines and to connect them to one another: 1. The first restriction; 2. The screen of the first restriction; 3. The second restriction; 4. The screen of the second restriction, where the level of Hassadim emerges to unite the two lines in one another.

Therefore, two matters are said here about the great sea monster: 1) He killed his Nukva. 2) He also crushed the head of the male himself and punctured a hole in his head, as it is written, “You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.”

This is so because there are two kinds of screens: of the first restriction, and of the second restriction, which come with the screen of Hirik in the middle line. With the screen of the first restriction, He killed the Nukva of the great monster; and with the screen of the second restriction, He crushed the head of the male.

Until the Creator revoked the Nukva, the land was unformed, when the force of the first restriction was extended upon her, which is the preparation to the coming of the screen of the first restriction through the middle line. After He killed her, the earth was void, meaning after the middle line exposed the screen of the first restriction, which kills the sea monster’s Nukva, and the level of coupling emerged on it, which is the level of Ruach, the earth was sweetened by this screen, and it is called, “void.” The earth began to exist through this level of Ruach that emerged on the screen of the first restriction.

“And darkness over the face of the deep,” since the action He took still did not shine, since the light disappeared again and did not shine, and it became dark. Then this darkness moved to the second restriction, meaning reached up to Bina, by which the preparation for the screen of the second restriction was made.

53) What did the Creator do? He crushed the head of the male great monster through the screen of the second restriction, which is the ascension of the screen of Malchut to the place of Bina. Thus, GAR of Bina disappeared, as well as all the degrees below Bina, among which are the great monster. The concealment of the monster’s GAR through Bina’s judgments made a hole in his head, which is his GAR, and the monster surrendered.

Because the deep below, which is Malchut in her place, did not shine, now, through Malchut’s ascension to Bina, the illuminating level of Ruach emerged on it, as it is written, “And the spirit of God hovered.” Hence, the serpent surrendered and received the screen of the second restriction, which is the hole that was punctured in his head.

Why did the screen of the first restriction not shine? It is because this great monster was blowing wind [Ruach] on the deep and darkened it. Also, it was not hovering below because the level of Ruach that emerges over the screen of the first restriction is unfit to receive GAR, ever.

The great sea monster was blowing the level of wind [Ruach] of the first restriction on the deep and darkened it so it would never be fit for reception of light. When the Ruach is below in the Malchut that is not sweetened in Bina, he does not hover. This is so because hovering means that the wind [Ruach] blows to and fro, meaning there is no consistency of level in it, and it is still worthy of a higher level. And this Ruach of the first restriction was not hovering, but was permanently set at this level of Ruach, since the Ruach of the first restriction is unfit to rise any higher.

54) And another Ruach passed, of above, meaning Ruach that emerges over a screen of the second restriction. It struck and blew on that wind [Ruach], which emerged on the screen of the first restriction, and quieted it, that is, annulled it, as it is written, “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.” This is so because this level of Ruach of the screen of the second restriction is never still, but hovers to and fro. This is the meaning of the Creator striking wind against wind [Ruach against Ruach] and creating the world, for as long as the Ruach of the first restriction ruled, He could not create the world. Hence, the Ruach of the second restriction struck it and created the world.

55) “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” since the light of above, the GAR, had shone. This is so because the Yod departed the Avir [air] and became Ohr [light], since He struck the blowing wind and departed from over the deep and did not cover it. By cancelling the level of Ruach, He covered the deep from receiving the illumination of GAR. And since the deep illuminated and the Ruach departed, there was light, as it is written, “Let there be light.”

56) This light shone upon the head of the great monster, since after Bina had attained his GAR, the monster, too, regained his GAR. Thus, water came out of its nostrils to bestow upon the rest of the degrees, and the wind was blowing upwards.

To bestow upon the rest of the degrees, the light descended into water because his GAR of GAR diminished and remained only in VAK of GAR, called “water.” This happened by the decision of the middle line. It was said that water was coming out of its nostrils, from the screen of phase three, called Hotem, which serves the level of Hochma, the level of AB. It follows that with respect to GAR of GAR, it has only the level of Ruach, as was said, “And the wind was blowing upward.”

It is known that even though it shines only in VAK of GAR, it must still receive complete GAR first, and subsequently the GAR of GAR depart it and it remains with VAK of GAR, which are VAK of the level of AB. This is why it is first said, “This light shone on its head,” that it shines in the form of light, but afterwards, when the GAR of GAR disappear and the light returns to the phase of water, it is said that water were coming out of its nostrils.

Previously, this perfect light had shone until the light descended from Bina and it sparkled the lights of the sun to AB. This refers to ZA that obtained the level of AB, seventy-two lights, which is the level of Hochma. Since these lights were written in the sun below, the wicked in the world knew them and worshipped the sun. They worked to extend the light from it from above downwards.

When the Creator looked at those wicked ones who wanted to draw the light from above downwards, He raised the light and concealed it from the acts of the wicked ones. And since this monster was rising and falling, and he, too, extended the light from above downwards, due to the deeds of the wicked ones, He struck these Niles and destroyed them by the force of the judgments that extend with the illumination from above downwards, until He concealed the light and it did not appear.

57) And He planted that seed in one righteous, which is Yesod of ZA, the garden’s gardener. And the seed in the garden, in Malchut, is the concealment and hiding of that light. This means that the concealment is not absence, on the contrary, it is a seed of blessing, that the concealment itself will become light once more, like a plant that buds from the seed.

58) When this great monster saw that the seed of this light grew in the garden, in Malchut, meaning that the sea monster received once more the light of Hochma that grew in Malchut, it awakened to bestow upon the other side, the other river from among the four rivers, whose name was Gihon. At that time, the waters of the Gihon were divided through one trail of the monster. The monster went to the seed that grew and became light within the garden, Malchut, received it, and illuminated in the river with this seed’s light of Gadlut, and it was called Gihon.

59) King Solomon rose to greatness from the Gadlut of that seed, when he rose to kingship, as it is written, “And bring him down to Gihon.” It is also written, “Anoint him there.” There, and nowhere else, since King David knew that other waters rise to another Malchut, and this Malchut, from Gihon, was a strong Malchut.

60) And that great monster was awakened to bestow upon the river of Gihon, and the fins of that whale—his Malchut—rose up in the river Gihon to strengthen in it. And all the other Niles rise and fall by the force of this great monster. And once the river Gihon illuminated, it reentered that quiet Nile and was stilled in it, meaning it did not actively impart Hochma.

61) Then, when that light was concealed above, to that gardener, the first darkness came out, prior to the emission of the light. It struck the monster’s head in that hole that was made in it, and a thread was spread between the illumination that remained of that hidden light and that darkness of this dark, as it is written, “and God separated the light from the darkness.”

Now The Zohar explains the order of concealment that was made by Malchut’s return to Bina. Malchut’s ascent to Bina causes the division of each degree into two. Yet, there are two actions here: first, Malchut’s restriction rises to Bina, as it is written, “And darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Then, the screen of Malchut rose and was corrected in Bina, as it is written, “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.”

After the screen in Bina was erected, too, and completed the degree there, the Keter and Hochma that remained in the degree are regarded as light, meaning the light of Katnut [smallness] of Nefesh-Ruach that clothes in the two vessels, Keter and Hochma, which is the illumination that remained after the light was hidden. And Bina and TM below the ending screen are considered to have departed that degree, and are considered darkness.

Two actions took place when the light was concealed: 1) The first darkness emerged through the ascent of the restriction in Malchut to Bina, as it is written, “And darkness was upon the face of the deep.” 2) And struck the head of the sea monster in that hole that was made in it. The darkness struck, meaning connected to the orifice that was stretched in his head through the ascent of Malchut’s screen to Bina, as it is written, “And the spirit of God hovered.”

Then, one string was stretched, the screen that ends the degree below Keter and Hochma, between the illumination that remained of the light that was concealed—Keter and Hochma that remained in the degree—and the darkness of that dark, Bina and TM that departed the degree because they were below the screen that ends the degree.

62) By the separation of the string that separated, this sea monster separated those Niles from the darkness, too. In other words, in them, too, Malchut rose to their Bina in a restriction and screen in her. And the screen in Bina’s place separated their Keter and Hochma, which remained in the degree, from their Bina and TM, which departed the degree and were in the dark. And the fish were separated to their kinds, those from these, with the separation that was made in the Niles.

63) And the holy, upper water were separated, meaning during the Gadlut, Malchut departed Bina once more and Bina and TM returned to the degree. And since she already had five vessels, KHB TM, the GAR returned to them and she had five lights, NRNHY. At that time, the upper water is called “holy.” This is when all the Niles were separated and rose into the still Nile that was separated from them all.

Also, they enter and exit it three times a day, since during the Katnut—when the ending Malchut is in Bina and Bina and TM departed the degree—all of Bina and TM of the upper degree fell into Keter and Hochma of the one below it. And at the time of Gadlut—when Bina and TM of the degree return to it—they elevate Keter and Hochma of the lower degree with them, too. Thus, Keter and Hochma of the bottom degree receive the GAR in the upper one, since the lower that rises to the upper becomes like it.

Accordingly, Bina and TM of the still Nile, too, fell into Keter and Hochma of the Niles during the Katnut. During Gadlut, the still Nile, too, elevates its Bina and TM to it, and with them rise the Keter and Hochma of the Niles, which receive GAR from him.

It was said, “All the Niles were separated, their Keter and Hochma were separated, to remain in the degree and rise during the Gadlut into the quiet Nile, since when he brings his Bina and TM back, the Keter and Hochma of the Niles rise along with them and receive GAR, called “three times a day,” as it is said, “exit and enter it three times a day,” since the lower that rises to the upper becomes like it.

64) And all those fish, which are the degrees and the souls that grow inside these Niles, are separated from one another, since the ending screen separates the Keter and Hochma in each one from the Bina and TM in each. And they are called, “nights,” since the degrees of the left are called, “night.”

Those from the degrees of Keter and Hochma in them are the heads of all those from the degrees of Bina and TM in them, which departed the degree. And those from within rule over all of them, and they are called, “the firstborn of Egypt.” From here, the firstborn spread outside, from the degrees that belong to Bina and TM. And all are fed by the waters of these Niles, and this great monster rules over all of them.

65) It is all by separation of upper and lower water, as it is written, “and let it separate the waters from the waters.” The holy, upper waters, Keter and Hochma, excelled and were separated to be above. And the lower waters, Bina and TM, were all separated from one another to be below. And the holy were separated from the unholy; hence, the angels above are called “separated,” since they are separated from one another—the Keter and Hochma in them from the Bina and TM in them, according to their kinds.

66) “And God said: ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed.’” The earth is Malchut. And the “herb yielding seeds” are the light that grows out of the sowing of the hidden light. When the great monster was blowing wind through that orifice in his head, and hovered upwards, when he wanted to draw the GAR from there from above downwards, he dried all these herbs.

Finally, another wind [Ruach], which comes from Malchut’s ascent to Bina, blows in the wind of that sea monster and quiets it below, that is, diminishes his GAR, from which emerges a new sowing. Then, in Gadlut, a new budding emerges and the grass grows as before, and they rule and praise and thank the Creator.

67) From the left side, and out of the still Nile, emerge various beasts and approach these herbs. But they cannot, and they return to their place. All these Niles walk and swim with that monster that governs them, and surround those herbs, but cannot enjoy them except in times when the high wind does not blow and the monster blows wind in that hole in his head. At that time, that wind governs those herbs and dries them.

68) It has another way of approaching the herbs: When the quiet Nile returns from Malchut to its place, when it rises and falls. Since its waters are still, it walks quietly and the great monster climbs unto those Niles and is not there in the still Nile. And all the herbs grow around that still Nile on either side. Then, that monster climbs unto the herbs and grows among them, and then returns to all these Niles.

The herbs are the light that grew out of the dark. And each time the lower ones wish to extend Hochma from above downwards, these herbs in Malchut dry out. And although they themselves are Hochma, they still reject Hochma and shine only to the right side, to the illumination of Hassadim.

Hence, all who extend from the left side, who lean toward Hochma, will not be able to approach these herbs, as was said, from the left side, and from the quiet Nile, various kinds of beasts come out, and they go to approach those herbs. However, they cannot because they take after Hochma, and the herbs reject illumination of Hochma from the left and shine only to the right with illumination of Hassadim.

Also, all those Niles go and swim with that sea monster that governs them, and surround those herbs. They cannot enjoy them except when the quiet Nile rises to Malchut, receives the illumination of the herbs, and returns to its place. At that time, those who extend from the left can enjoy their illumination, too, for because it is the phase of Keter, there is no fear from the judgments in the herbs and they do not reject Hochma, as there is no judgment in them.

Also, the herbs around it shine for each side, even to the left, for they do not reject Hochma. At that time, the sea monster can grow among the herbs, since they shine there to the left side, too. Afterwards, it returns and bestows of them to all the Niles.

69) “And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven.’” This is the Bariach [Boa] serpent. It is called Bariach [bar] because it bars both sides, both lines, right and left, and does not let the third line that decides between them extend. It never goes out to harm the world, but only once every fifty years.

This is so because the shell opposite the Tifferet of Kedusha, which is the middle line, of which it is written, “and the middle bar in the midst of the boards, which shall pass through from end to end”—from the right to the left, is called a “Boa [Bariach] serpent.” This means that it blemishes the middle line and does not let it determine between the two lines since it closes the two lines. Hence, it is the opposite of the middle line, called Bariach. This is why it, too, is called Bariach.

The Zohar interprets how it harms the middle line and does not go out to harm the world except once every fifty years. The Mochin of Bina are called, “Yovel” [fifty years]. The three lines within them are called, “three times.” It is said that he does not go out to harm, except by clinging onto the left line of the fifty years, called, “once,” not letting it connect with the right side.

70) “Let there be light” is the Slant Serpent, which always moves in curves and brings curses to the world because he seduced Eve with the tree of knowledge. When he rises, the power of the great monster breaks, for it cannot rise until it loses its body. This is so because the Creator bent him into the sea when he approached it, since he was stepping on the power of the sea, which is the great monster, as it is written, “And tramples down the waves of the sea.”

71) And when this serpent rises, it is written, “and He will slay the sea monster that is in the sea,” which is the great sea monster. This is why it is written, “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great sea monster that lies in the midst of his Niles.” And this serpent is lights without Vav, which indicates curse, as it is written, “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked, which curses everything.” And he overcomes the sea monster with the strength of the great river, called Euphrates.

The four rivers correspond to the three lines and the Malchut that receives them: The river Pishon is the right, the river Gihon is the left, and the river Euphrates is from the middle line. It is known that hidden in the screen of Hirik in the middle line is the discernment of Malchut of the lock, that wherever she touches, the lights disappear. And this judgment of the lock is included in the primordial serpent, as well, and with it, it puts every living thing to death. It is said, “he overcomes the sea monster with the strength of the great river, called Euphrates,” which is mixed with that Gevura that is hidden in the river Euphrates, and in this lies its power to put every living thing to death.

72) That serpent is on land. When they go out to fight each other, the one on land always prevails because all his ways and strength are on land, the Malchut, where there are all the judgments. And it always eats earth and dust, as it is written, “And dust will you eat all the days of your life.” One grew in the dust and one grew in the water. A serpent that grows in the water is not as strong as one that grows on land. This is why it is written about the serpent without the letter Vav, that its strength is great enough to kill all.

73) That serpent was intended for that monster in the water. And although it was intended for it, it did not fight it, but only the Creator, who killed it in the sea, because of the coarseness of its spirit, as it is written, “My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.”

The great sea monster is the left line. In the beginning of the emergence of the left line, it emerged only to serve the right, to bring it closer to the Egyptians. But later, he dared to dispute with the right and wanted to revoke it. Therefore, although it later surrendered to the right by the force of the middle line, it still maintained the coarseness over the right line, since it surrendered only by force. This is why the Creator killed it, meaning revoked it and reestablished it completely subdued to the right, willingly and voluntarily, as it was with nearing Egypt.

It is written, “That said, ‘My Nile is mine.’” This means that the light of Hochma belongs to me and not to the right, since in, “my Nile,” there is the word, “light” [in Hebrew]. “And I myself have made it” means I have made myself for unique governance.