The Holy Idra Zuta

The Metzah of ZA

131. The Metzah of the skull is a Metzah to visit the wicked for their actions. When this Metzah is revealed, the accusers awaken to those who are not ashamed of their actions. That Metzah is as red as a rose. When the Metzah of Atik is revealed, in that Metzah he returns to being as white as snow, and that time is called a “time of good will for all.”

Although no Se’arot are set on the Metzah and in the Panim [face] of ZA, since the root of the Se’arot is from the judgments of the dot of Holam, which is the ascent of Yod to the light and it becomes Avir [air], and the permanence of the Yod in the Avir is only in Galgalta, nevertheless, in Katnut, before the Yod exits the Avir, the Se’arot cover the ears and the forehead since the light is VAK without a Rosh. In Gadlut, when the Yod exits the Avir, the Se’arot are cleared and the Metzah is revealed. At that time, the Hochma is revealed once more, after having been concealed by the force of the entry of the Yod to the Avir.

At that time, the Metzah of the Ratzon [desire] is revealed in AA, whose Metzah repels the Hochma and chooses Hassadim. At that time, the Hassadim are in the desire of all the desires. Conversely, in ZA, when the Metzah is cleared of Se’arot, when the Yod exits the Avir and Bina and TM of the lower one return to the degree, the left line emerges and is made from them, and a dispute between right and left awakens, as it is written, “will rise to heaven and go down to the depths.”

A Metzah to visit the wicked for their actions. When the Metzah is revealed, when the Yod exits the Avir and the Se’arot are cleared from the Metzah, the accusers awaken toward those who are not ashamed of their actions. At that time, the dispute between right and left awakens and judgments of the right and judgments of the left are revealed on those wicked ones who do not want to take upon themselves the control of the middle line. That Metzah is as red as a rose, judgments of the left, red, which harshly punish the wicked who want to suckle from the left without right.

But when the Metzah of Atik is revealed in that Metzah, in which there is the control of Hassadim, which are more important than Hochma, since they are in it willingly, at that time, it returns to being as white as snow, since the control of the Hesed of the Metzah, the desire of Atik, the white color, overcomes the illumination of the left in the Metzah and brings it back to white. That time is called a “time of good will for all,” since the Hassadim of the Metzah of Atik shine willingly, and not because of a screen and a deficiency. Hence, the merit of Hochma is not blemished in them, and they have the merit of both of them. Therefore, they are pleasing to all.

132. If they are rewarded, then Metzah of Atik, the Metzah of the Ratzon [desire]. If they are not rewarded, the Het is cast between the two letters Mem-Tzadi, creating the combination Mem-Het-Tzadi [crushed], as it is written, “It shall crush the forehead of Moab,” as the wicked ones obtain punishments from him.

133. Metzah is called Netzah [eternity] in the consecutive letters, where by swapping one letter with its following letter, the Mem of Metzah is replaced with Nun, creating the combination Netzah. This indicates that the upper Netzah shines in the Metzah, since the NHY of the upper one clothe in the lower one. Although Netzah ascends in a different place, since the Netzah of the upper one clothes the place of Hesed of the lower one, it is not a question because there are other Netzahim [pl. of Netzah] that expand throughout the Guf.

In other words, Netzah of the upper one clothes the entirety of the right side in the lower one, in the right of the Rosh, and in the right of HGT of the Guf, which is Hesed of the lower one, and in the right of the NHY of the Guf, Netzah of the lower one. Hence, there are three Netzahim of the upper one that clothe the lower one, and Netzah on the right of the Rosh shines in the Metzah of the lower one.

The reason that Metzah is called Netzah is that it Menatzeah [defeats] the judgments, since on Shabbat [Sabbath] during the afternoon prayer, holy Atik reveals his Metzah so that judgments do not awaken, and all the judgments surrender and are quieted, and are not done.

134. Twenty-four courthouses for all those who are insolent in their actions are hanging in that Metzah, as it is written, “And they say, ‘How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?’” They are twenty courthouses and four were added to them, corresponding to the four deaths of the lower courthouse that are hanging above, leaving only twenty courthouses above. For this reason, the courthouses of above do not punish until he completes and rises to twenty-two, which correspond to twenty courthouses. Also, they correspond to the twenty-four books included in the TANACH [Old Testament].

The two ears and the forehead are HBD, and you find that the Metzah, which is Daat, is the middle line that contains five Hassadim HGT NH from the right, and five Gevurot HGT NH from the left. In each of those five Gevurot from the left, there are four phases HB TM, and they are twenty Gevurot called “twenty courthouses.” Why was it said that there are twenty-four courthouses in the Metzah? After all, there are no more than twenty, which are five Gevurot of the left, where in each there are four phases HB TM.

However, Malchut, too, called “courthouse of below” from the side of judgment in her, where the four phases HB TM in her are four deaths of the courthouse, they, too, are included and extended from the five Gevurot in Daat. For this reason, there are twenty-four courthouses with them.

The twenty-four books in the TANACH are ZA and Malchut, since the Torah is HGT of ZA, Prophets is NHY of ZA, and Writings [Hagiographa] are Malchut. There are twelve combinations in ZA, which are three lines with HG TM in each. Similarly, there are twelve phases in Malchut, which are three lines, each consisting of HG TM. They are incorporated with each other, and there are twenty-four phases in ZA and twenty-four phases in Malchut. They correspond to twenty-four books in ZA and in Malchut, twelve of ZA and twelve of Malchut, which are incorporated in the Torah, which is ZA.

These twenty-four phases emerge from the middle line, called Torah, which is a judge. The right will shine from above downward, and the left from below upward. With the judgments of the screen of Hirik, it punishes all the wicked who want to draw Hochma from the left from above downward. For this reason, the twenty-four phases that come out from the three lines in ZA and Malchut are discerned by the name twenty-four courthouses.

Twenty-four courthouses are hanging on that Metzah for all those who are insolent in their actions. The Metzah, Daat, ZA, punishes them, since the insolent wicked ones do not wish to adhere to the ways of the middle line, the Daat in Metzah, and say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Since they are insolent and dispute the decision of Daat, they are punished harshly by the twenty-four courthouses in Daat.