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75) “And a new king arose over Egypt.” All the nations in the world and all the kings in the world were strengthened in their government only because of Israel. Egypt did not rule the whole world until Israel came and entered there in the exile. Then they overcame all the peoples in the world. Babel was stronger than all the peoples in the world only because of Israel, when they were in exile among them. Edom were stronger than all the people in the world only because of Israel, when they were in exile among them. Those peoples were in lowliness among the rest of the nations, and were lower than all of them but grew strong because of Israel.
76) Egyptians were lower than all the peoples; they were actually called, “slaves” because the Egyptians were the lowest of all peoples. Babylonians were low, as it is written, “Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people that was not.” Edomites were lowly, as it is written, “Behold, I make you small among the nations, and greatly despised.”
77) They all receive strength only because of Israel, since when Israel are in exile with them, they immediately become stronger than all other nations in the world, since Israel alone are equal to all the nations in the world.
When Israel went into the exile in Egypt, Egypt immediately rose and their government strengthened above all the nations, as it is written, “And a new king arose over Egypt.” “Arose” means that they had rising, meaning that the angel appointed over the government of Egypt was strengthened and rose and was given strength and rule over all the appointees of all the other nations.
In the beginning, that appointee above was given governance, and subsequently, his people below. And because of that the writing says, “And a new king arose over Egypt.” This was their appointee, who was new because until this day he had no governance over all the other nations, and now he was raised to rule over all the peoples in the world. And then the words, “Under three things the earth quakes … Under a slave when he becomes king” come true, since the Egyptians were slaves.
78) Thirty days before strength comes to the people on the earth or before a crisis comes to the people on the earth, this thing is declared in the world. At times, it is given to a child, and at times, to those people who are mindless. And sometimes it is given to the fowl, and they declare in the world and there is no one to heed them. When people are righteous, that thing is given to the heads of the righteous of the world, so they will alert the people and they will return to their Master. But if the people are not righteous, it is as we said.
79) In the morning, in the light of day, I saw a bird, a flying angel. He lifted himself up three times and lowered himself down once, and he was saying high and low. On this day, the firmaments fly. That is, the degrees obtain their GAR through the flying of the firmament, as in a tower that is flying in the air. Three upright appointees govern the earth. One sits and does not sit, for he, too, wishes to stand and to not sit. He was taken through burning fire, revoked his existence and revoked his rule, and three high, ruling pillars stand over the world.
The bird is an angel that serves for the Zivug of ZON, as it is written, “For a bird of the air shall carry the voice.” And the level of the Zivug that extends from ZON is in three lines, called HGT de ZA, “right.” The Nukva, too, receives these HGT from ZA in a Zivug, but her own essence is left, whose conduct is to shine from above downwards, and it is dark and does not shine at all. This is the meaning of the Nukva having nothing of her own except what her husband, ZA, gives her.
The reception of light from ZA is called “morning” and “light of day.” The angel that serves for the Zivug of ZA and Nukva implies that only three lines of ZA, HGT, shine in illumination of Hochma, since ZA is right. But the left line in Nukva, whose way is to shine from above downwards, is low and does not shine. And he said, “upper ones, upper ones on this day,” meaning in the light of ZA, who is called “day.” The firmaments fly means that the firmaments reveal illumination of Hochma, as in flying in the air, and not in the Nukva, left. Hence, only the three appointees that extend from HGT rule over the earth.
And one appointee, who extends from the essence of Nukva, from the left, needs to sit, to diminish his level. It is like a person who sits and thus lowers his height by a third, meaning the GAR, so he will not extend them from above downwards. And because he does not wish to sit, but to raise his own level of GAR, which extends from above downwards, he was taken through burning fire, his existence was revoked, and his government was revoked. Thus, only three high, ruling pillars stand over the world—those that extend only from HGT.
80) I tossed a lump of dust unto that bird and told it, “Bird, bird, do tell me, there are three appointees and one who was removed from his reign. Who are they?” It threw three arrows at me from the right wing, from ZA, and one from the left, from Nukva, and I do not know what it meant. In other words, I do not know the innovation it was trying to teach me.
81) He took those arrows and lowered them to his nostrils. Blood came out of his nostrils, implying Dinim in red color. He said, “There must be three rulers of peoples who are standing in the city of Rome in the land, since they extend from HGT de ZA, and they are destined to declare bad decrees over Israel by the Romans. In other words, the flaw that Israel blemished in HGT gave the Romans strength to destroy the Temple and declare bad decrees.
He took that arrow that the bird had thrown from the left wing and smelled it. Then black fire came out of it, which is the color of the left, designated to Nukva, and is not included in the three colors of the rainbow—white, red, and green—which come from the three lines HGT, and there is no black in them. He said that they revoked the government of the Egyptians, who extend the light of left from above downwards, and that a Roman king would traverse the whole of the land of Egypt and appoint ministers and warmongers in Egypt. Also, he will destroy buildings that were built and extended from the left side and build the ruins that were ruined because they were from the right, for which the Egyptians have no desire.
He threw those arrows to the ground, meaning extended their illumination from above downwards. The three arrows fell on the one that was on the left side. The one that was on the left side was burned and the three arrows on the right side persisted. This is so because the illumination of the right can be extended from above downwards, and he did that so they would realize the truthfulness of the intimations of the bird.
82) While they were seated, a child passed through and was calling the vision of Egypt, “Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt.” His second friend passed by and said, “But the land of Egypt shall be desolate.” His third friend passed by and said, “The wisdom of Egypt shall perish.” They saw that the arrow from the left wing was burnt and the three other arrows that were on it were not burnt.
83) That arrow of the bird and that of the children are all one thing. In their verses, the children, too, were saying that Egypt, the left line that shines from above downwards, is destined to be desolate and lost. It is all high prophecy that was given to birds and to children, and the Creator wished to show us those high secrets that He does; hence, He sent them to us, as it is written, “For the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His counsel unto His servants the prophets.”
84) Sages are more important than prophets at any time, since prophets are sometimes imbued with the spirit of holiness and sometimes not. But the spirit of holiness is not removed from sages for even a moment; they know what is above and below, and do not need to reveal. Everything is wisdom, and the wisdom of Rabbi Elazar is higher than everyone else’s. Were it not for sages, people would not know what is Torah and what are the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Creator, and there would be no difference between man’s spirit and the spirit of a beast.
85) When the Creator executes Din [judgment] on a people, He first executes it with the appointee that is appointed over them above, as it is written, “The Lord will punish the host of the high heaven on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.” “The host of the high heaven” first, meaning the appointed angel, and then “The kings of the earth.”
86) By which Din was the appointee above sentenced? He is taken through the river of fire, which extends and comes out from before the Lord, and then his rule is revoked. And it is immediately declared in the firmament, “The rule of appointee so and so has been removed from him,” until that voice reaches all the firmaments and until it reaches those who rule in this world, who are dependent upon that appointee. Then that voice comes out and declares throughout the world until it reaches birds and children, and the most foolish of people, who do not know what they are saying.
87) “And a new king arose.” A new king means really new. He innovated decrees that no other king had innovated previously. It is written, “Who did not know Joseph,” meaning he did not know all that good that Joseph had done in the land of Egypt, as it is written, “And Joseph brought [all] the money into Pharaoh’s house,” and he revived them in the years of the famine. He did not remember all that and pretended not to know all that.
88) “And a new king arose over Egypt.” He rose by himself. Those who were low rose to rule, even though he was not worthy of kingship, but rose by the power of wealth. Everything is so, like Ahasuerus, who was not worthy of kingship but rose to rule by himself and rose by the power of wealth, and wished to destroy Israel. It is the same with Pharaoh here. He was not worthy of being a king but he rose to reign by himself and wished to destroy Israel from the world, as it is written, “And he said unto his people.” And when a king rises below, meaning the appointed angel, a king rises below.
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