11. Meditation over a blessing We learn that it is a commandment to bless God, and that these blessings draw down the blessings from the supernal world – they draw life from the source of life. The blessing is like a gift to God that was sent by the person who prayed to Him. We learn about the secret meaning of Amen, that adorns the blessing, and about how the prayers and blessings ascend from below upwards through many levels. When the blessings descend all the patriarchs and the children are blessed. Baruch is the secret meaning of the highest source there is, and its flow is uninterrupted. We are also told of the secret meaning of the words “Atah” and “Melech” in the blessing. An explanation is given of the bowing and bending of the knee during the prayer service. Ra’aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd)1. “Wherefore it shall come to pass, if you hearken to these judgments…” (Devarim 7:12). “When you have eaten, and are replete, then you shall bless Hashem your Elohim” (Devarim 8:10). We are commanded to bless the Holy One, blessed be He, for everything we eat and drink and enjoy in this world. He who does not bless is considered as stealing from the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: “he who robs his father or his mother” (Mishlei 28:24), and the friends explained THAT IT APPLIES TO THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE. The blessings that a person gives the Holy One, blessed be He, are meant to draw life from the source of life, WHICH IS BINAH, to the Holy Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And these blessings are to pour on top of Him from that supernal oil THAT IS THE ABUNDANCE OF CHOCHMAH. From there, it is then drawn upon the whole world.2. It is also written: “when you have eaten, and are replete, then you shall bless Hashem your Elohim” (Ibid.). By these blessings, a person pours out through his words ABUNDANCE from the highest source, THAT IS BINAH. All the levels and sources OF ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT are blessed and filled with abundance to pour upon all the worlds, and everything is blessed together.3. Therefore, a person needs to meditate on the secret of the blessings, so that the Patriarchs, WHO ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, and the children, WHO ARE NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, shall all be blessed together. Whoever blesses the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed and receives his part from these blessings before the rest of the lower world. As soon as the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed from there, the initial portion of those blessings comes down and rests on the head OF THE ONE WHO SAID THE BLESSING. We have already provided an explanation for this, as it is written: “in all places where I cause My Name to be pronounced, I will come to you, and I will bless you” (Shemot 20:21). After that particular blessing comes and rests on the head OF HE WHO BLESSED, it spreads from there to the rest of the world.4. When these blessings descend, they are adorned within the field of holy apple trees, THAT IS MALCHUT. Many levels of the those nominated over the world meet them there and come down together with them, announcing and proclaiming that it is the gift that this person sent to the Holy One, blessed be He. HE ASKS: From which place do the blessings descend? HE REPLIES: THE BLESSINGS descend afterward from the place of the head of the Righteous, THAT IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN. THE BLESSINGS first go up and cause other BLESSINGS from above to go down, and it is filled from THOSE THAT DESCEND from above and from THOSE THAT ASCEND from below. This is the meaning of: “blessings are upon the head of the just” (Mishlei 10:6). Once that level is filled up, it pours upon the bride, WHICH IS MALCHUT, whence they flow and spread downward.15. When these blessings rise from below, there is no single opening above and there is no appointee from up high that does not open these openings, and declare throughout the firmaments: ‘This is the gift to the King that so-and-so sent. That is a wholly proper gift.’ What is A FULL blessing: IT IS A BLESSING to which Amen was said. For every blessing to which Amen was said is a properly full BLESSING.6. When this blessing ascends, all the grades above summon the non-shining, NAMELY MALCHUT, to shine on it. Even more so, if it is a blessing said by many, it is adorned with holy crowns by means of SAYING Amen. Amen is the secret of the connections within each unification and sanctification in accordance with the secret of his Master. It properly adorns that blessing with sublime crowns.7. The Holy One, blessed be He, favors those that bless Him, and His passion is for the blessing that is below. That blessing rises and lights up the non-shining candle, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and strengthens it with a strong force to rise above, TO UNITE WITH ZEIR ANPIN. About this secret, it is written: “those who give Me honor, I will honor” (I Shmuel 1:30). This verse refers to those who give blessings to the Holy One, blessed be He. “..and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” (Ibid.) refers to those who do not bless the Holy One, blessed be He, and withhold any blessings from their mouths.8. The secret of secrets is for those who have knowledge in the Wisdom of their Master, to know the secret meanings of the blessings recited over the commandments of the Torah and over all the enjoyments and pleasures in this world, to pour out blessings from above downward.9. HE EXPLAINS: The exception is the blessings in the prayer service, which are the correction of their Master. THEY BOTH RISE from below upwards and from above downwards, while the blessings that are not over the prayer rise from below upwards until they reach the non-shining light, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and awaken it with force by that blessing. This awakening rises high up until it reaches the highest Throne, WHICH IS BINAH, the source of all life, MEANING THAT ALL LIGHTS EMANATE FROM IT. Other blessings then flow out from that higher source and they meet and kiss one another. They approach and rest on the head of the Righteous THAT IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN to pour down. When they descend, the Patriarchs, WHICH ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, and the children, WHICH ARE NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, are blessed and all their candles, WHICH ARE THE SFIROT OF MALCHUT.110. The secret of these blessings that awaken from above to below pertains to this secret. ‘Blessed’ is the secret of the highest source, WHICH IS SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA, WHICH ARE CALLED CHOCHMAH. ONE NEEDS TO MEDITATE to pour, draw and kindle from there all the candles, MEANING THE LOWER GRADES. It is always blessed because its water never ceases flowing, MEANING THEY ARE IN A NEVER ENDING UNION AND THEIR ABUNDANCE TO THE LOWER BEINGS NEVER CEASES FLOWING. From there, the beginning that is called the World to Come, MEANING BINAH, RECEIVES. It is CALLED the end of heaven, because that end is the upper end OF ZEIR ANPIN CALLED HEAVEN. For there is a similar end below, which is the lower world, MALCHUT, which is also called ‘blessed’, in correspondence to the lower beings, MEANING to pour BLESSINGS downward and awaken from below upward by the blessing of the prayer. But here, REGARDING THE OTHER BLESSINGS, is called ‘blessed’, after the secret of Chochmah, DENOTING SUPERNAL ABA AND IMA, that which fills that place, BINAH CALLED THE WORLD TO COME, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, by means of a narrow path, MEANING YESOD OF CHOCHMAH, through which it enters it.11. THE WORD ‘you’ IN THE BLESSING then begins to be revealed, because ‘blessed’ is hidden, WHICH ARE CHOCHMAH AND BINAH THAT ARE INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO THE LOWER BEINGS. Therefore, it is called ‘blessed’ vaguely, IT BEING a higher unexposed source. HOWEVER, THE WORD ‘you’ is the start of the revelation outside. This is why it is called ‘you’, IN THE SECOND PERSON, WHO IS REVEALED. And who is it? It is the secret of the right, WHICH IS CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN, called a priest to that place, BINAH. That is the meaning of: “you shall be a priest forever (lit. ‘to a world’)” (Tehilim 110:4), MEANING, who is “a priest” to that world, Binah, it is ‘you’. This is the supernal right, CHESED OF ZEIR ANPIN, that is there to be revealed.12. THE WORD ‘Hashem’ IN THE BLESSINGS is the secret of the Central Column IN ZEIR ANPIN, the secret meaning of the Faith in all directions. The WORD ‘our Elohim’ IN THE BLESSINGS is the left side OF ZEIR ANPIN. It is included in his right; the right is included in it, and one is included in the other into one. Up to this point, MEANING UP TO CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, the blessings are connected TO ZEIR ANPIN. Once these CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN are blessed, everyone below is blessed.13. After CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN are blessed and receive blessings for themselves, all return included into one to that source, WHICH IS BINAH, because they cannot return to that place before they are blessed. Once they are blessed first, they again enter that place THAT IS BINAH, to receive other additional blessings to bestow down. Before they are blessed, they do not enter or return TO BINAH. That is the secret meaning of the verse: “and none shall appear before Me empty” (Shemot 23:15).114. When they return to that place, BINAH, and enter there, that place is called ‘king’, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE WORD ‘KING’ IN THE BLESSING. BINAH is considered a king only when these – CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN, draw near it to be blessed. A king is considered a king when his chief ministers come to him when they are rich and have everything they need, without lacking anything. Then he is king. A king below, WHO IS MALCHUT, IS SO CONSIDERED when these, THE SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN, adorn her (Malchut) adequately with holy crowns. Here IN THE BLESSING, where a king is mentioned, who is THE KING? It is “The world, who has sanctified us and commanded us,” WHICH IS BINAH. Since it is a world that is not revealed externally and is hidden, it is recited in a hidden manner, MEANING IN THE THIRD PERSON, ‘WHO HAS SANCTIFIED US AND COMMANDED US’, INSTEAD OF THE SECOND PERSON, NAMELY, “YOU WHO HAVE SANCTIFIED AND COMMANDED US.” Therefore, it is recited in an undisclosed manner.15. As we learned, the right, WHICH IS CHESED, is always called ‘you’. Therefore, the priest bows HIS HEAD towards that place, ‘YOU’, AT EACH AND EVERY BLESSING OF THE AMIDAH PRAYER, WHERE HE BOWS at the beginning OF THE BLESSING and at the end OF THE BLESSING. The lower world, THAT IS MALCHUT, when it is connected to the right, WHICH IS CHESED, and attached to it, is called from below upward ‘blessed’, and is not considered blessed except by means of the source to which it was attached, which entered it and filled it, WHICH IS CHESED. ONLY THEN IS MALCHUT CONSIDERED BLESSED. ‘You’ IN THE BLESSING is the secret of the priest, MEANING CHESED, to be attached to him. Therefore, in the prayer, one bends his knees at ‘blessed’, THAT IS MALCHUT, because it is a world bent at the top. That is the difference between ‘blessed’ in the prayer and ‘blessed’ in the other blessings; ‘BLESSED’ IN THE OTHER BLESSINGS IS IN CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, WHILE ‘BLESSED’ IN THE PRAYER IS IN MALCHUT. Everything follows a higher meaning to pour blessings to all the worlds.16. AT THE WORD ‘blessed’ in the AMIDAH prayer, one bends his knees, and bows his head at ‘you’, because ‘you’ is called ‘head (or: ‘first’)’. Therefore, the priest receives his portion first and is always first in line. That is why the knee bending is at ‘blessed’, and lowering of the head is at ‘you’. Wherever the priest reads ‘you’, he bows down when praying. After a king lowers down his head AT THE BEGINNING OF THE AMIDAH PRAYER, he does not raise it again UNTIL HE FINISHES THE PRAYER. What is the reason? IT IS BECAUSE the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the moon: ‘Go and diminish yourself’, and THE MOON, WHICH IS MALCHUT, has not yet straightened herself FROM THIS DIMINISHING. A KING IS THE ASPECT OF MALCHUT; THEREFORE, HE LOWERS HIS HEAD AND DOES NOT RAISE IT UP. Hence, a blessing with which a person blesses the Holy One, blessed be He, is aroused to pour down blessings from above to all the worlds, as we have learned. Blessed are the children of Yisrael in this world and the World to Come.17. It is written: “You are our Father, though Abraham is ignorant of us…” (Yeshayah 63:16). We have learned that in the World to Come Isaac shall be told: ‘YOU ARE OUR FATHER’. THUS ISAAC, WHO IS THE LEFT COLUMN, IS CALLED A FATHER. That is because the left is included in the right. HOWEVER, BEFORE IT WAS INCLUDED IN THE RIGHT IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED A FATHER, BECAUSE HARSH JUDGMENTS WERE FLOWING FROM HIM. But how do we know that the right too is considered a father? HE RESPONDS: It is written, “and be to me a father and a priest” (Shoftim 17:10). WE UNDERSTAND FROM THIS THAT THE PRIEST, WHO IS RIGHT AND CHESED, IS CONSIDERED A FATHER. Although above, even the non- shining light WHICH IS MALCHUT, is considered a father, when it is here attached to the right, it is called ‘you’, as it is written: “You, Hashem, are our Father, our Redeemer” (Yeshayah 63:16).12. The owner of the house breaks the bread and the guest recites the blessing The Faithful Shepherd explains the secret of the twelve letters of the blessings of the Kohen. The importance that the owner of the house making the blessing over the bread first.18. Meanwhile, an old person came to him and said: Faithful Shepherd, prepare a table for your Master, for Him and His Queen, with all kinds of delicacies, to fulfill in it: “this is the table that is before Hashem”‘ (Yechezkel 41:22). For until now, everyone was enjoying from the King’s table, as it says: “Come, eat of my bread” (Mishlei 9:5). Bread is the Written Law, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, and the wine of the Torah is the Oral Law, WHICH IS MALCHUT. IN MALCHUT, there are many dainties from the various sweet meanings of the Torah, and from all the victuals and delicacies in the world and of the King.19. The Faithful Shepherd rose and began to speak: ‘Aaron the priest, rise from your sleep to slaughter oxen and sheep and goats and lambs and fowl, and all the varieties needed for the King’s feast. The shew-bread (lit. ‘the bread of faces’), that is TWELVE, corresponding to the two tablets of Torah, “written on both their sides (lit. ‘from this and this’ (Heb. zeh))” (Shemot 32:15). Zeh IN NUMERICAL VALUE is the twelve faces, which are THE TWELVE LETTERS IN THREE TIMES YUD HEI VAV HEI IN THE VERSES: “Hashem bless you, and keep you; Hashem make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; Hashem lift up His countenance to you, and give you peace” (Bemidbar 6:24-25). The second zeh CORRESPONDS TO THE THREE TIMES ADONAI, WHICH CONTAIN IN THEM TWELVE LETTERS. They are the twelve living creatures about which it says, “and they four had the face of a lion, on the right side; and the four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle” (Yechezkel 1:10). THESE ARE THREE LIVING CREATURES, LION, OX, AND EAGLE, and it says about them: “And every one had four faces” (Ibid. 6). THAT IS, IN EACH CREATURE OF THE THREE, THERE ARE FOUR FACES OF THE LION, OX, EAGLE, AND MAN, AND THREE TIMES FOUR AMOUNTS TO TWELVE LIVING CREATURES. That is the meaning of, “And one (Heb. zeh) cried to another (Heb. zeh), and said” (Yeshayah 6:3), THAT IS, THE TWELVE FACES OF YUD HEI VAV HEI TO THE TWELVE CREATURES OF ADONAI. They also correspond to the 24 books in the Torah, THAT IS, THE 24 BOOKS IN THE BIBLE. This is the meaning of: “this (Heb. zeh) is the table that is before Hashem” (Yechezkel 41:22), BECAUSE A TABLE IS MALCHUT. “Zeh” IS THE TWELVE CREATURES THAT ARE IN ADONAI, WHICH IS MALCHUT. “THAT IS BEFORE HASHEM” REFERS TO THE TWELVE FACES IN YUD HEI VAV HEI. The vessels on the King’s table are the sages of Mishnah, versed in prayer, which THE SAGES composed to correspond to the sacrifices.20. He opened the discussion with the verse: “and you shall make a table of acacia wood” (Shemot 25:23). Come and behold: those present at the King’s feast had goodly and comely customs to show they were members of the King’s table. One was that the eldest would wash his hands FIRST. When they entered to sit for the meal, the oldest would sit at the head of the table. The second would be below him, and the third below the second. These are called the ‘three beds’, BECAUSE THEIR CUSTOM WAS EACH TO RECLINE ON A BED, to correspond to the three Patriarchs, and to the priests, the Levites and Yisrael THAT ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET. From here on, they had no special order, rather whoever came first was seated.121. The second CUSTOM is that the house owner breaks the bread so that he may apportion it generously. He first completes THE BLESSING OVER THE BREAD, and then breaks it. The sages of the Mishnah have set it so that none of those reclining at the feast table are permitted to taste until the giver of the blessing has tasted first. The one who apportions is not permitted to taste until all present have finished saying Amen. And if he wishes to delegate honor BY GIVING TO ANOTHER TO BREAK THE BREAD, he may do so. In addition, it had been stated that the guest blessed THE BLESSING AFTER THE MEAL so he will bless the landlord.22. In an esoteric interpretation, the landlord who breaks the bread is the central pillar, which is the Central Column, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN. On Shabbat, he needs to apportion from two loaves of challah bread, which are Hei-Hei OF YUD HEI VAV HEI. The house owner is Vav OF YUD HEI VAV HEI between THE TWO HEI’S. In order not appear a glutton, he may apportion to each one a piece the size of an egg. What is the size of an egg? It is Yud OF YUD HEI VAV HEI and Yud OF ADONAI, which are the dots of the Holy Name called crumbs the size of an olive, THAT IS, YUD OF YUD HEI VAV HEI IS THE SIZE OF AN EGG AND YUD OF ADONAI IS THE SIZE OF AN OLIVE. These CRUMBS correspond to drops of sperm. THEREFORE, poverty chases whoever belittles and disposes these crumbs in an inappropriate place, and he will constantly wander around. This is what is written: “he wanders abroad for bread, saying, where is it” (Iyov 15:23). Bread means Torah, and this verse implies that he cries out, looking for someone who will have mercy on him, but will find no one TO PITY HIM.23. Crumbs the size of an olive belong to the Righteous YESOD, who presses these olives, WHICH ARE THE SFIROT, EXTRACTING OIL FROM THEM, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF ABUNDANCE. The guest (Heb. ore’ach) blesses, NAMELY THE RIGHTEOUS, as is written: “but the path (Heb. orach) of just men is like the gleam of sunlight” (Mishlei 4:18), AND, “blessings are upon the head of the just” (Mishlei 10:6), the life of the world. Therefore, the guest, WHO IS THE RIGHTEOUS, NAMELY YESOD, makes the blessing.24. As he was speaking, the holy luminary came to him, TO THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD and said: Faithful Shepherd, one day I went along with the friends to an inn. There was a child there who rose and by himself prepared for us a lamplight and a table, as if he were twenty years old. Yet he was approximately five years old. He set that table up with different dishes and drinks and said, The sages have decreed that the house owner breaks the bread and the guest makes the blessing. Yet, “I am young and you are very old; therefore, I was afraid and dared not declare my opinion to you” (Iyov 32:6), until I obtain permission from you. They said to him: Speak up my son, angel of Hashem.161. Leaving it with the right hand, because the upper Hei IS Chesed, and the second Hei IS Gvurah. THEREFORE, HE SHOULD GIVE IT WITH THE RIGHT HAND, WITH THE FIRST HEI. 8) Lifting it off the surface a handbreadth. THE HANDBREATH INDICATES the secret of the letter Yud, because Hei is raised by Yud, MEANING THAT ONE SHOULD RAISE THE FIVE SFIROT OF MALCHUT FROM HER PLACE, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE SURFACE, MULTIPLY HER BY YUD, AND MEDITATE ON HER RECEIVING THE FIFTY GATES OF BINAH. 9) Looking at it with the eyes, which are the secret OF THE UNIFICATION of Yud-Aleph-Hei-Dalet-Vav-Nun-Hei-Yud, NAMELY, THE COMBINATION OF YUD HEI VAV HEI AND ADONAI. ONE SHOULD MEDITATE THAT Yud Hei Vav Hei, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, shines in the pupil of the eye, WHICH IS ADONAI. Yud Hei Vav Hei SHINES IN THE THREE COLORS OF THE EYES, WHITE, RED AND GREEN, WHICH ARE CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN. Adonai shines in the two eyelids, as well as the two pupils OF THE EYE AND THE HAIR OF THE EYELASHES. 10) Sending it as a gift to the members of the household. ONE’S HOUSE is Binah, regarding which it is written: ‘Let Moses rejoice in the gift of his portion’. This is BECAUSE MOSES MERITED BINAH AND ONE NEEDS TO ATTACH THE CUP, WHICH IS MALCHUT, TO THE LIGHTS OF BINAH.62. The tenth SETTING OF THE SHABBAT TABLE is the blessing after the meal. It was explained by the sages that three, WHO EAT TOGETHER, need a cup. The secret meaning of this is that THREE are THE ASPECT OF: “your love as a bride (Heb. kelulotayich)” (Yirmeyah 2:2), NAMELY, THE LOVE OF ALL THREE ‘KOL’, who are the patriarchs, regarding whom it is written: ‘in all, of all, all (Heb. bakol mikol kol)’, SINCE KELULOTAYICH IS DERIVED FROM KOL; IN RESPECT TO ABRAHAM, IT SAYS, “HASHEM BLESSED ABRAHAM IN ALL THINGS (HEB. BAKOL)” (BERESHEET 24:1); IN RESPECT TO ISAAC, IT SAYS, “AND I HAVE EATEN OF ALL (HEB. MIKOL),” AND IN RESPECT TO JACOB, IT SAYS, “I HAVE ENOUGH (ALL) (HEB. KOL)” (BERESHEET 33:11). We should not speak at length about it, BECAUSE IT IS A HIDDEN MYSTERY.63. How do we know that the blessing after the meal is prescribed by the Torah? Because it is written: “When you have eaten, and are replete, then you shall bless Hashem your Elohim FOR THE GOOD LAND WHICH HE HAS GIVEN YOU” (Devarim 8:10). We have studied in the Baraita that “you shall bless” refers to the blessing ‘Who sustains (Heb. hazan) EVERYTHING’. “Hashem your Elohim” REFERS TO THE BLESSING FOR THE LAND AND FOR SUSTENANCE (HEB. AL HA’ARETZ VE’AL HAMAZON), IN WHICH “HASHEM YOUR ELOHIM” refers to blessing for the food, and “for the land” refers to the blessing, ‘Who builds Jerusalem (Heb. boneh Yerushalaim)’. It also says, “that goodly mountain region and the Lebanon” (Devarim 3:25). This explains only THE BLESSINGS after THE MEAL. YET where is THE BLESSING before THE MEAL indicated? It is indicated in the words: “which He has given you,” WHICH MEANS THAT from the time He has given you, EVEN BEFORE EATING, you must bless Him.64. The sages of blessed memory have interpreted that Moses instituted for the children of Yisrael the blessing ‘Who sustains (Heb. hazan)’ when manna descended on them. Joshua instituted for them the blessing over the land when he entered them into the Holy Land. David and Solomon instituted the blessing for the building of Jerusalem. In addition, there is an indication of the blessing after the meal in the passage relating to the manna, as it is written: “in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am Hashem your Elohim” (Shemot 16:12).165. Rabbi Shimon said: The secret of these seven Zayins – THE THREE ZAYINS IN THE THREE HEADED SHIN AND THE FOUR ZAYINS IN THE FOUR HEADED SHIN – that are inscribed on the Tefilin, is that the Zayins in the Shins INSCRIBED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE TEFILIN allude to the seven lobes in man’s lung, by which he draws air and exhales with it a fiery spark from his mouth – BECAUSE AIR IS COMPOSED OF FIRE, WATER AND AIR. They also allude to the seven days OF THE WEEK and the SEVEN weeks from Pesach to Shavuot. Also, they indicate the seven branches of the candelabra, on which there are seven holy lamps. They also indicate the seven planets that shine in the firmament and they indicate the seven grades – CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT – by which the world is maintained, which are the foundation, root and essence of everything. The friends said about these SEVEN ZAYINS that whoever wishes to put on the head Tefilin has to examine these two Shins hinted in the seven Zayins, for there are an allusion in them to hidden mysteries and deep allusions.4. “As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man” Rabbi Shimon draws a correspondence between the seven letters inscribed on the Tefilin, the seven lobes of the lungs, the seven days of the week, the seven weeks from Pesach to Shavuot, the seven candles of the candelabra, the seven planets, and the seven levels or Sfirot upon which the universe endures. He talks about the four countenances of the Holy Beasts. He emphasizes that Adam is male and female. We learn that there is a correspondence between the four countenances and the four enshrined Names of God as read in ‘the Great, Mighty, and Awesome El’. The human face observes all the creatures, and all ascend and observe him. Rabbi Shimon talks about the secret of the throne, ascending and descending, and how the four countenances of the creatures are depicted – engraved, illuminating, shining, sparkling and glowing – and how they sow seeds upon the world.66. “Hashem, your Elohim, is the Elohim of Elohim, Lord of lords, a great El…” (Devarim 10:17). We have learned that “As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man” (Yechezkel 1:10). These are unlike the Cherubs. These are large faces, while Cherubs are small faces like those of children. All images are comprised in “the face of a man,” because they are large faces. Engraved shapes are formed in them by the engraving of the Name explicitly pronounced to the four directions of the world – east, west, north and south.67. Michael made a mark to the south side and all three faces – the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle – look toward the face of a man. A man is male and female, and is not called a man without them. From it, FROM THE FACE OF A MAN, all shapes were formed IN THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: “The chariots of Elohim are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands (Heb. shin’an)” (Tehilim 68:18).68. Shin’an IN THE VERSE contains all the shapes, BECAUSE IT IS THE INITIALS of shor (Eng. ‘ox), aryeh (Eng. ‘lion’), nesher (Eng. ‘eagle’), and final Nun is Adam (Eng. ‘man’), which is the expansion of the meaning of male and female that are included together. All the thousands and tens of thousands come out of these LIVING CREATURES that are in the secret of shin’an, and from these shapes, each parts to its aspect as befits it.169. All these are integrated into each other and are comprised of each other, so that one should be included in the other. THESE, the ox, eagle, lion, and man are maintained by the secret of the four engraved names, WHICH ARE ‘THE GREAT AND MIGHTY AND AWFUL EL’, which rise to maintain and observe.70. The ox rose to be maintained by and observe the face of a man. Another name is adorned and inscribed by two colors. It is the name ‘El’. It then goes back, and the Throne engraves and carves it, and it is marked BY IT to be maintained by the secret of this name.71. The eagle rose to be maintained by and observe the face of a man. A name rises, and is adorned and inscribed by two faces and colors, to observe in rising the wreath, which is THE NAME ‘Great’. It then goes back, and the Throne engraves and carves it, and it is marked so as to be maintained by the secret of this name.72. The lion rose to be maintained by and observe the face of a man. A name rises, and is adorned and inscribed by two faces and colors, to be strengthened and connected to Gvurah (might); it is the name ‘Mighty’. It then goes back, and the Throne engraves and carves it, and it is marked so as to be maintained by the secret of this name.73. The FACE OF a man observes all the living creatures, and all rise and observe it. They all take form, by their engravings, in this form in the secret by means of a name called ‘Awful’. It is then written about them that: “As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man.” They are all included in this form, and this form encompasses them.74. Because of this secret meaning, the Holy One, blessed be He, is called ‘the great, mighty and awful El’, because these names are high corrections by the supernal Chariot, and it is included in the four letters of Yud Hei Vav Hei, which is the Name encompassing all forms. These forms are engraved and carved into the Throne and the Throne is engraved and embroidered with them, one to the right and one to the left and one to the front and one to the rear, assigned to the four directions of the world.175. When the Throne ascends, it is marked in these four shapes. These four lofty names bear this Throne, and the Throne is composed of them until the Throne receives and collects these pleasures and delights. AFTERWARDS THE THRONE descends fully laden, like a tree full with branches in every direction and loaded with fruits. After THE THRONE descends, the four forms OF THE LIVING CREATURES come out formed, engraved, illuminating, glittering and glowing, and they sow seeds over the world.