The Ascent of the Prayer

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121) “And He said unto me, ‘You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’” This concerns the prayer that one should pray before the Creator, which is one great work, more honored than the work of his Master. There is the work of the Creator that is in the work of the body, meaning the Mitzvot that depend on an act, and there is the work of the Creator that is more internal work—which is the most important—meaning Mitzvot that depend on speech and on the will of the heart.

122) There are 12 organs in the body that stand in the work of the body. These are the two hands, the two legs, in each of which are three joints, and four times three are 12. These are the organs of the body. The work of the Creator—the Mitzvot that depend on an act—is in them, since the work of the Creator is in two Behinot [discernments]: 1) The external organs of the body. These are the 12 organs in the hands and the legs. 2) 12 other—internal organs—in the insides of the body are the brain, heart, liver, mouth, tongue, five lobes of the lungs, and two kidneys. These are corrections within the body, in which to establish the correction of Ruach [spirit], which is the glorified inner work of the Creator, meaning Mitzvot that depend on the speech, such as praying, blessings, and giving thanks.

123) A man’s prayer is the work of the Ruach [spirit], work from Behina Bet, which depends on the speech. It is in high secrets and people do not know that a man’s prayer breaches airs and breaches firmaments, opens doors and rises up.

124) When the morning light rises and the light departs from the darkness, a herald walks through all the firmaments and calls, “Set yourselves up, rulers of the doors, rulers of the palaces, each on his watch,” since those who govern during the day are not those who govern at night. When the night comes, the rulers of the day depart and other rulers, which govern in the night, are appointed. They replace one another.

125) It is written, “The greater light for the governance of the day, and the lesser light for the governance of the night.” The governance of the day and the governance of the night are appointed rulers in the day and appointed rulers in the night.

126) When the night arrives, a herald comes out: “Set yourselves up, rulers of the night, each on his watch.” And when the day rises, a herald comes out, “Set yourselves up, rulers of the day, each on his watch.” And when the herald announces, each is appointed his place. At that time Divinity rushes and comes down, and Israel come into the house of assembly to praise their Master. They begin with songs and praises.

127) Once a man has set himself up in the work of actions, meaning the first discernment in the correction of Mitzva and Kedusha, which are Tzitzit and Tefillin, he should unite his heart in a correction of the inner work of his Master—the second discernment—and place his heart and will on that work of those words in the praises, since the speech ascends.

128) Those appointees who stand in the air are appointed to the four directions of the world. One appointee is appointed to the east. He stands in the air on that side and his name is Gzardia. There are 20 other appointed ministers with them, awaiting the saying of the prayer, which rises in the air on that side, and that appointee takes it.

129) If it is a worthy speech, all those ministers kiss that speech and rise with it to the air of the firmament above, where there are other appointed ministers. When they kiss that speech, they start and say, “Happy are you, Israel, for you know how to crown your Master with holy crowns. Happy is the mouth from which the words of this crown has come out.”

130) At that time the letters that stand in the air—in the holy name of 12 letters—fly and this name governs the air. This is the name in which Elijah would fly when he went up to heaven. Obadiah said to Elijah, “And the spirit of the Lord shall carry you,” since Elijah would fly in the air in that name, and this is the name that rules in the air.

131) All those letters fly and rise along with that word. And that appointee, in whose hands are the keys to the air, as well as all the other appointees rise with her up to the firmament. There it is given into the hand of another appointee, to raise it up.

This is so because after the sowing off, ZA was established as entirely Hassadim, on the right line, and Malchut as all Gevurot, on the left line. Hence, they are disputed as in the two lines—right and left of Bina—until ZA ascends in the middle line and establishes peace between them, uniting them with each other, so ZA and Malchut, which are also two lines—right and left—need a middle line to establish peace between them and unite them with each other. Through the MAN that the righteous raise by their prayer—as they are from this world—they carry the Masach de Hirik of the middle line, which causes the left line to unite with the right, and the Nukva to unite with ZA.

It was said that in that order of praises that Israel say below, Malchut adorns herself and corrects in her corrections as a woman adorns herself before her husband. This is because the prayer becomes MAN and middle line, establishing peace and uniting Malchut with ZA, her husband, for as Yesod above is the middle line, establishing peace and uniting the Creator with His Divinity, the prayer that one raises corrects the middle line and establishes peace between the Creator and His Divinity to unite them in one unification. This is why the man is called “peace,” like Yesod above. Moreover, the peace of below precedes the peace of above, Yesod, since the awakening below precedes the awakening of above, as there is no awakening above before the awakening toward it rises from the lower ones.

Words of prayer are parts of a man’s soul, his actual soul that is clothed in the body, as it is written, “My soul went out when he spoke.” Accordingly, we should be wondering, for since the prayer is man’s soul in this world, VAK de Nefesh from Malchut de Malchut in the Malchut of the world of Assiya, how can it rise through all the degrees in the three worlds BYA and reach Malchut de Atzilut, serving there as MAN and middle line, uniting it with ZA de Atzilut? After all, it is known that no degree can rise above its level, all the more so such a great leap from the bottom of all the degrees through the world of Atzilut.

It was said that a man’s prayer breaches airs and breaches firmaments, opens doors and rises up. First we should understand what are airs, firmaments, and doors, and how they open. The thing is that through Malchut’s ascent to Bina at the point of Holam, the ten Sefirot in all the degrees break into two. The KH in the ten Sefirot of each degree remain in the degree, and Bina and TM in the ten Sefirot of each degree fall to the degree below it. This is so because Malchut that rose to Bina made a new Sium [end] there in the degree due to the Tzimtzum [restriction] on the Malchut from receiving light. And since Bina and TM are below that new Sium of the degree, they are regarded as a degree below it.

Afterwards, through MAN that the lower ones raise, illumination spreads from Zivug AB SAG de AK, and this illumination brings out the Malchut from the place of Bina, returning it to its place as before, at the Sium of the ten Sefirot of each degree. Then the fallen Bina and TM of each degree rise to their level as prior to their fall, since the new Sium that was in the place of Bina has already been cancelled. It follows that all the degrees were completed in ten complete Sefirot as before.

However, although the Malchut—the new Sium that was made in each degree due to her ascent to Bina—descends to her place at the Sium of the ten Sefirot once more, the new Sium that she made is still not completely cancelled from the place of Bina. Therefore, Bina and TM do not join in their degree when they are below the new Sium, but need to go above the new Sium, where they become the left line, to KH, which are the right line that never fell from the degree.

Therefore, the new Sium, which remains consistent and existing in each degree, even after the descent of Malchut from there, is called “a firmament.” And those Bina and TM that fell from each degree during the ascent of Malchut to Bina—and returned and rose to their degree after the descent of Malchut to her place—are called “air” or “wind.” This is so because each lower degree is regarded as the level of VAK, which is called “wind” with respect to the degree above it. Accordingly, Bina and TM that fell from each degree to the degree below it became the level of Ruach by that, like the lower degree to which they fell. And after the descent of Malchut from the place of Bina, it is considered that the wind, the air, Bina and TM that were below the firmament, has now risen and rose above the firmament, where they became the left line.

It has also been clarified that while Bina and TM ascend and rise to their degree from the firmament and above, they take with them the lower degree that clothed them while they were fallen in her, and raise her above the firmament, as well. It is so because Bina and TM of the upper one that were equalized with the lower one during the fall no longer part from them during the ascent, as well. Thus, by Malchut’s ascent to Bina, an opening is made for the lower degree so it can rise to the upper one. As a result, later—during Malchut’s descent from Bina—each lower degree will be able to rise to the upper one with Bina and TM of the upper one, which were fallen and clothed in her.

Thus, because of Malchut’s ascent to the place of Bina and her return to her place, during the illumination of AB SAG, three discernments were made in each degree: 1) Airs, which are Bina and TM of each degree that fell into the lower one. 2) Firmaments, which are the new Sium that was made in each degree, due to the ascent of Malchut to Bina, which is never cancelled and is fixed and existing even after the descent of Malchut from Bina. 3) Doors, which are a renewal of the door for the lower degree that was made in each degree with the ascent of Malchut to her Bina. Were it not for that, it would be impossible for a lower degree to ever rise to its superior, since a degree cannot rise above its level whatsoever.

The breaching of the airs does not mean that the air was broken, but rather that the boundary over the air, Bina and TM of the upper one, which was made out of Malchut’s ascent to the place of Bina, was broken through Malchut’s descent from there to her place. It is so because then the air rises above the firmament and obtains GAR there.

At that time, the breaching of the firmament was also made, since the firmament, the boundary from the new Sium, which repelled Bina and TM, the air, into a lower degree, and detained them from returning to their degree, was breached by Malchut’s descent to her place and no longer detains Bina and TM from rising and connecting to their degree.

At that time, the opening of the doors was made for the lower degree because through Malchut’s descent to her place and the breaching of the firmament, Bina and TM rise to their degree above the firmament, receiving the lower degree with them. It follows that a door was opened for the lower degree to rise to the upper one.

This illumination, which lowers Malchut from the place of Bina and returns her to her place at the Sium of the ten Sefirot, comes from Zivug AB SAG de AK, which are HB de AK, since the ascent of Malchut to Bina begins in Bina de AK, and the ten Sefirot de Hochma de AK were not blemished at all, and Malchut is there in her place. Hence, when this Hochma mates with Bina de AK, Malchut is repelled from Bina’s place to her place, as well, and the illumination extends to Bina de Atzilut—called EKYEH—from Bina de AK. From Bina de Atzilut, the illumination extends to all the degrees of ABYA, and they lower the Malchut from Bina in them to her place. This is why it is considered that the name EKYEH governs the air, meaning that that name removes the boundary from the air by lowering the Malchut from Bina to her place.

There are four general Behinot [discernments], HB TM, or HG TM, in each world, where each Behina comprises ten Sefirot, and through the ascent of Malchut to the Bina of each Behina, Bina and TM of each Behina fell to the degree below it. Hence, there are four airs in each world, in which the three names EKYEH govern: EKYEH in the Avir [air] of Hesed, EKYEH in the Avir of Gevura, and EKYEH in the Avir of Tifferet. In the Malchut that receives them, all of these three EKYEH rule her Avir together. Also, three times EKYEH [Aleph–Hey–Yod–Hey] are 12 letters, the twelve-letter name that governs the Avir.

It was said, “At that time the letters that stand in the air—in the holy name of 12 letters—fly,” meaning in the three names EKYEH. The name EKYEH governs the Avir, to lower Malchut from Bina to her place and return the fallen Bina and TM, which are called Avir, to their degree above the firmament. This is the name that Elijah would fly until he rose to heaven. Through Malchut’s ascent to Bina, an opening for the lower one was made, so it could rise to the upper one while the door was open, at the time of Malchut’s return to her place.

Therefore, when Elijah wished to fly to heaven, Malchut of each degree rose to Bina of that degree, and Bina and TM fell to the degree below it, and a firmament had been spread between them.

It follows that each degree was doubled: 1) the degree itself; 2) Bina and TM of the upper one, which fell and clothed in it.

This was done in each degree of ABYA until Bina and TM de Malchut de Assiya fell and went out from Malchut into this world, and Malchut de Assiya ended on her firmament, which is the new Sium in the place of Bina. It was also doubled because Bina and TM de Yesod de Assiya fell and clothed in her degree. Similarly, Yesod de Assiya end in his firmament, and there is also Bina and TM de Hod de Assiya in it. Likewise, Netzah de Assiya was doubled through Bina de Atzilut.

For this reason, Elijah rose and clung to Bina and TM that fell from Malchut de Assiya into this world, and equalized with them, clothing them until they became as his degree. Then the twelve-letter name acted, lowering Malchut once more from the place of Bina de Malchut de Assiya to her place at the Sium of her ten Sefirot, and Bina and TM rising to their degree as in the beginning, above the firmament of Malchut. And since Elijah was clinging to that Avir—Bina and TM that rose—it follows that he raised Elijah with him, above the firmament of Malchut, because of the equivalence.

And since he rose above the firmament of Malchut de Assiya, he met there the Avir of Yesod de Assiya—Bina and TM of Yesod that fell there—and then he clung to that Avir and clothed it, as it was with him on a single degree. Afterwards the twelve-letter name acted, lowering the Malchut from Bina de Yesod de Assiya to her place at the Sium of the ten Sefirot de Yesod de Assiya, and then Bina and TM—the Avir de Yesod—rose above the firmament of Yesod. And since Elijah had already clung to that Avir, it follows that Elijah rose with him above the firmament of Yesod de Assiya, because of the equivalence.

And because he rose above the firmament of Yesod de Assiya, he met there the Avir de Hod de Assiya, which are Bina and TM de Hod de Assiya that fell there. At that time he clung to that Avir and clothed in it, as it was with him in the same place. For this reason, afterwards, when the twelve-letter name operated and returned Malchut at the Sium of the ten Sefirot de Hod de Assiya, and the Avir—his Bina and TM—returned to above the firmament of Hod de Assiya, also taking Elijah with them, who was clung to them, they raised him to the firmament of Hod de Assiya because of the equivalence.

And once he was already in the firmament of Hod de Assiya, he met there the Avir of Netzah de Assiya and clung to it. And when the twelve-letter name operated and returned Malchut to her place, the Avir de Netzah rose above the firmament, raising Elijah with it, too, who clung to it. Once he was already in the firmament of Netzah, he met there the Avir of Tifferet, and so on until he rose with the Avir above the firmament of Tifferet de Assiya.

Likewise, that Avir of each degree raised him to the degree above it, until the end of the degrees of Assiya, from there to Malchut de Yetzira, and from there to all the degrees of Yetzira and Beria, until he rose to heaven, which is ZA de Atzilut. Obadiah said to Elijah, “And the spirit of the Lord will carry you,” since the spirit [Ruach] of the Creator is Bina and TM of the upper one, which are called Ruach or Avir that have fallen into the degree of the lower one. That Ruach actually carried him from degree to degree through all the degrees within the degrees from the bottom of Assiya through Atzilut.

It was said that these appointees who stand in the air were appointed to the four directions of the world. To the east, an appointee was appointed, standing in the air on that side, and his name is Gzardia. There are appointees in each Avir in the four directions of the world, in HG TM, in whose hands are the keys to evoke the twelve-letter name to act and lower the Malchut from Bina to her place. The Zohar does not count the four directions in order, but mixes the order because its way is to conceal the matters. However, the order of the four airs is from below upwards: west, east, north, and south, which are Malchut, Tifferet (including NHY), Gevura, and Hesed.

The appointees do not raise the prayer from Avir to Avir and then from firmament to firmament as is seemingly arranged in The Zohar. Rather, the airs raise the prayer to the firmaments, each Avir to its firmament. It was said that that appointee in whose hands are the keys of the Avir, and all the other appointees, rise with her through the firmament, and there he is given into the hands of another appointee, to raise her up.

In this way, first the prayer of the Avir rises to Malchut de Assiya, to Bina and TM that fell from Malchut de Assiya into this world. She is like the prayer itself. And since this Avir is equal with the prayer, they clung to one another as a single degree, and then the appointee, Zvuliel, who is there, evokes the twelve-letter name, lowering the Malchut from Bina de Assiya to her place. At that time the Avir returns to its degree and ascends above the firmament of Assiya. And since the Avir has already equalized with the degree of the prayer, it takes with it the prayer above the firmament of Malchut de Assiya.

And when the prayer has already come to the firmament of Assiya, it meets there the Avir de Yesod de Assiya that fell there. She also meets there the appointee Gzardia, who governs the Avir of the east, Tifferet, which includes the Yesod, as well, because it includes NHY. The twelve-letter name evokes that appointee and lowers the Malchut from Bina de Yesod to its Sium, and then the Avir de Yesod rises to its degree, to the firmament of Yesod. And because it has already equalized with the prayer in the same degree, it takes the prayer, as well, and raises her with it together above the firmament of Yesod. It is likewise in the Avir, in the firmament of NH, and in the Avir and firmament of Tifferet.

And when the prayer rose to the firmament of Tifferet, it meets there the Avir of the north, Bina and TM de Gevura de Assiya that fell there, and equalizes with that Avir on the same degree. At that time the appointee, Petahiah, who governs the north, evokes the twelve-letter name and lowers Malchut from Bina to her place, and the Avir rises again to the firmament of Gevura, taking with it the prayer with which it equalized in degree during the fall.

And when the prayer is in the firmament of Gevura, it meets there the Avir of the south, Bina and TM of Hesed de Assiya, which fell into there, and clings to that Avir. At that time the appointee, Psagniah, who rules the Avir of the south, Hesed de Assiya, evokes the twelve-letter name and lowers Malchut from Bina de Hesed de Assiya to her place, and the Avir of the south returns and rises to its degree, to the sixth firmament, Hesed de Assiya, which is called “south.”

And when the prayer is in the sixth firmament, it meets there the Avir that fell from the seventh firmament, which is Bina that includes GAR, and clings to that Avir. And when the twelve-letter name lowers the Malchut from Bina of the seventh firmament to her place, the Avir returns to its degree—the seventh firmament—taking with it the prayer, which is clung to it from the time of the falling.

And when it is in the seventh firmament, it meets and clings to the Avir that fell from Malchut de Yetzira. At that time, Sandalfon, the appointee over the whole of Assiya, takes it and evokes the twelve-letter name, lowering Malchut from Malchut de Yetzira to its place. Then the Avir rises and returns to its place—the firmament of Malchut de Yetzira—taking the prayer with him and raising it to the firmament of Malchut de Yetzira. It is likewise in all seven palaces of Yetzira and of Beria up to Atzilut.

This explains the question, “How can a prayer rise from the bottom of Assiya to Atzilut if no degree can rise above its level?” It is so because since it clung to the first Avir, which fell from Malchut de Assiya to this world, that Avir carries it to the firmament of Malchut, and the Avir of Yesod de Assiya to the firmament of Yesod, etc.. Thus, the airs [pl. of air, Avir] to which the prayer rose and clung carried it and raised it to Malchut de Atzilut, as it is written, “And the spirit of the Lord will carry you.”

132) To the south, Hesed, there is an appointee, Psagniah, who governs the Avir on that side, and several other appointees and ministers are there with him. The keys of the Avir on that side were given to him, and all who are in trouble pray a prayer to their master out of their plight, out of the shattering of the heart. If the utterance is as it should be, it rises to the Avir on that side and that appointee accepts it and kisses it. When he kisses it, he starts and says, “The Creator will have mercy on you and will be filled with mercy for you.”

133) All the holy appointees and all the ministers that are on that side rise with him. The letters of the holy name EKYEH fly, meaning the twelve-letter name, which are four letters Aleph–Hey–Yod–Hey to each side, which crown and govern that side of the Avir. They rise on that side of the Avir up to the firmament of the south, Hesed, the sixth firmament, up to the appointee of the firmament that governs the south side, since there is another appointee in the firmament of the south, and his name is Anpiel.

134) To the north, Gevura, there is an appointee, Petahiah, who governs the Avir, and with him are several appointed ministers who govern the Avir, and all those who pray prayers for enemies, who are sorry for them. When the uttering of a prayer rises to the Avir, if he is righteous, the appointee accepts it and kisses it.

135) At that time, a spirit awakens, coming out of the deep on the north, that spirit calls upon all the airs, and they all take that utterance and raise it up to the firmament of the north, the fifth firmament, kiss it, and start and say, “Your lord will make your enemy fall before you.”

After the appointee over the Avir accepts the prayer and kisses it—meaning that it clung to the degree of the Avir and the appointee—the Avir awakens out of the deep in the north. The Sium [end] that Malchut made in Bina is called “deep,” from the word Tohu [void, chaos]. Through the twelve-letter name, Malchut descended from Bina de Gevura de Assiya to her place, and then the Avir that fell into the Dinim of that deep awakens to rise to the firmament of Gevura, raising with it all the degrees that were clung to it during the fall to the firmament of Gevura because of the equivalence.

This is why it was said that that spirit calls upon all the airs, meaning all the degrees that were clung to this Avir, and who had the level of Avir. They all take that utterance and raise it up to the firmament, meaning that all the degrees clung to the Avir of the north that rises to the firmament of the north, taking with them the prayer, as well, which was clung to them, and raising it to the fifth firmament.

136) Here begins the order of the ascent of the prayer. The prayer goes and rises, breaching the Avir that fell from Malchut de Assiya into this world until they rise with it to the first firmament, the firmament of Malchut de Assiya. The prayer ascends and reaches the appointee of the west, Malchut, where there are nine doors, in which several appointed ministers stand, and over them the appointee, Zvuliel.

There are nine doors in the ten Sefirot of Malchut, and not ten, for because Malchut de Malchut is Midat ha Din [quality of judgment], she is included in Yesod de Malchut. Therefore, Yesod and Malchut have only one door, and they are nine doors. Yet, on all the sides, there is a special appointee over the Avir, and a special appointee over the firmament:

1. On the east, the appointee over the Avir is Gzardia, and the name of the appointee over the firmament—Tifferet, the fourth one—is Shamshiel.
2. On the south, the appointee over the Avir is Psagniah, and the appointee over the firmament is Anpiel.
3. On the north, the appointee over the Avir is Petahiah, and the appointee over the firmament is Gadriel.
4. In Malchut there is one appointee over the Avir and the firmament together—Zvuliel.

Because of Malchut’s ascent to Bina, Bina and TM departed from all the degrees and fell to the degree below it, descending to the level of Avir. But not the whole of Bina fell, only half of it, her ZAT, so that KH and half of Bina remained in the degree, and half of Bina and TM fell from her and became Avir. This is why two appointees were appointed, one in the upper half of the degree, which remained in the degree above the firmament, and one appointee in the lower half of the degree, which departed from the degree and became Avir.

But the degree of Malchut, from which all bottom nine fell to the degree below her at the time of Malchut’s ascent to Bina, only the Keter remained in her degree, remaining as a point under the Yesod. Even that point which remained is ascribed more to Yesod than to Malchut, hence there is only Avir in her, and she is all Avir, except for her Keter. This is why there is only one appointee in her for both.

137) Zvuliel wishes to operate in the firmament in the daytime, but he was not given permission until the light of the moon rises at night. At that time he brings out all those armies and appointees, and when the day rises, they all rise through a single door out of those nine doors—the uppermost door, at the point of Keter that remained in the degree, under which the firmament stands.

And when the prayer rises, it enters the uppermost door and all the ministers and all the appointees come out through that door, with Zvuliel—the high appointee—over them. There is no other appointee there. Rather, Zvuliel, the appointee over the Avir, is the appointee also over the upper door, above the firmament of Malchut de Assiya, and they all come out, kiss her, and reach the second firmament, Yesod de Assiya, along with her.

Malchut is the left line, Hochma without Hassadim. For this reason, when she rules, there is no light, but darkness, since Hochma does not shine without Hassadim. It is written, “She rises while it is still night,” meaning that the time of her rising, meaning ruling, is at night. It was said that Zvuliel wishes to operate in the firmament in the daytime, but he was not given permission because when Malchut rules it is night and not day, until the light of the moon rises, until the night. This is so because at night, all bottom nine of Malchut govern, and armies and appointees that govern by the power of the left extend from them.

And when the day rises, Malchut descends from Bina to her place, although the bottom nine are unblemished. This is so because Malchut had already descended from the firmament that restricted them into Avir, yet they have no governance in their place, but they rather need to rise from the firmament and above, to the uppermost door, Keter, where they are included in the right, in Hassadim. And the prayer goes and rises with them due to the equivalence with them that it has obtained while they were below the firmament.

And when the prayer rises above the firmament of Malchut, it meets the Avir of the second firmament there, which fell into there. Afterwards, after Malchut’s descent from Bina de Yesod de Assiya to her place, the Avir rises and climbs to the firmament of Yesod, taking with it all the armies and appointees, and the prayer that became attached to it during the fall, raising them to the firmament of Yesod. It was said that they all come out and kiss her, reaching the second firmament—Yesod de Assiya—along with her.

138) When the prayer rises to the firmament of Yesod, the twelve gates of the firmament open, and on the 12^th gate stands Anael, the appointee over several armies and several camps. When the prayer rises, this appointee stands and declares over all those doors saying, “Open the gates!” Then all the gates open and the prayer enters through all those gates. This is so because there are 12 boundaries of the diagonal in Tifferet—HG TM, in each of which are three lines, HGT, which are 12. Also, all that there is in Tifferet, is also in Yesod, and they are called “twelve gates.”

139) At that time, an old appointee awakens, Azriel Saba [grandfather], standing on the south side. Sometimes he is called Mahaniel because he was appointed over 600,000 camps. All of them are winged, having camps filled with eyes. And with them are those camps that are with ears. They are called “ears” because they listen to all those who pray their prayer in secret, with the will of the heart, when none other hears the prayer. This prayer rises and all those who are called “with ears” listen to it.

There is a special disclosure from the upper Hesed in Yesod, extending from the right line in Bina. This is why the appointee over this Hesed is called Azriel Saba, since HB are called “old.” He is appointed over 600,000 camps because 600 extend to him from HGT NHY de Bina, whose digits are hundreds, and the thousand is illumination of Hochma that each consists of it. This is why they are 600,000. GAR de Tevuna are called “ears,” in which Hassadim illuminate, and not Hochma. VAK de Tevuna are called “eyes,” in which the Hochma illuminates, and this is why it draws these two Behinot [discernments] from Bina.

It is known that a twisted degree was established in the ears, to hear good and bad. A twisted degree means a diagonal, where Malchut and Bina, the two spirits, west and north, were included in one another and became a diagonal. This is a mixture and a mitigation of Midat ha Din with Midat ha Rachamim [quality of mercy]. This is why those who are rewarded are heard well, meaning that their prayer is accepted in Midat ha Rachamim in the diagonal, while those who were not rewarded are heard poorly, meaning that his prayer is accepted in Midat ha Din.

140) If a prayer is heard by a person’s ears, there is no one who will accept it above, and others will no longer accept it from the one who heard it first. This is why one needs to keep from people hearing the prayer, since the uttering of the prayer unites with ZA in the upper world, and the utterance of the upper world need not be heard.

141) One who is reading in the book of Torah—one reads and the other is silent. If two read in the Torah, they diminish the faith above because with one voice and speech, everything is one. But two voices and two speeches are a deficiency and a flaw in the faith, Malchut. Rather, it should be one voice and speech as it should be, so that the voice, ZA, and the speech, Malchut, will be one.

The prayer should be in speaking without a sound, so that a man’s ear will not hear it:

1. This is because the Malchut, from which people are extended, consists of two points—Malchut of Midat ha Din, which is unfit to receive light, and Malchut that is corrected in Bina, Midat ha Rachamim, which is fit for receiving light. So is the man who is mingled with these two points. If he is rewarded, then Midat ha Din is concealed and Midat ha Rachamim is revealed, and he is fit to receive the upper light. If he is not rewarded, Midat ha Din appears in him and all the lights depart from him. For this reason, the upper ear was established in a twisted degree, to receive the prayer of a righteous person, who was rewarded with his Midat ha Din being concealed so that the ear of the listener would not evoke Midat ha Din that is hidden in the words of the prayer. Therefore, if another person hears the prayer before it rises up, then that person evokes Midat ha Din that is hidden in the words of the prayer, and then it can no longer be heard above, for it is not worthy of receiving abundance.
2. The speaking of the prayer is Malchut. One who prays should be a Merkava [chariot/assembly] for Malchut. Hence, the prayer should rise and be included in the upper Malchut, which is called “speech.” At that time Malchut unites with ZA, who is called “voice,” and the prayer is accepted, receiving the abundance from ZA. Therefore, it is forbidden to kindle a man’s voice during prayer, so that the upper voice, ZA, will be in it, since the speech rises to Malchut and unites with ZA through the Malchut, receiving a voice that is mitigated from ZA. Then the prayer is fit for reception of the abundance, and the speech of the upper world need not be heard through a man’s voice.

Likewise, one who reads in the Torah should be a Merkava for ZA, which is called “Torah.” The voice of the reader is instead of the voice of ZA, hence it is forbidden to sound another voice with it, the voice of a person who is mingled with Midat ha Din. And if two are reading in the Torah, they diminish the faith above because the man’s voice blemishes the voice of the one who is reading in the Torah, and the Malchut of above is unfit to receive abundance from ZA, since with one voice and speech, everything is one, meaning that it causes above that the voice, ZA, and the speech, Malchut, mate in a single Zivug. And if a man’s voice and speech connect to it, it blemishes this Zivug.

142) The name of that appointee is Azriel Saba. When the prayer rises secretly, all those 600,000 camps, all those with eyes, and all those with ears come out and kiss that word of the prayer that rises, as it is written, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are toward their cry.” “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous” are those with eyes below, the angels in the firmament of Yesod de Assiya. It is so because there are those with eyes above in GAR, since eyes are Hochma. But those eyes are the eyes of Yesod, which is why it is written, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,” since Yesod is called “righteous.” “And His ears are toward their cry” are those with ears.

143) The third firmament is NH de Assiya. A prayer rises and reaches that firmament. The appointee, Gdaria, is there, and with him are several ministers and several appointees. He works three times during the day: at the time of the journeying of the three lines above in Atzilut, opposite a scepter of light that comes out, rising and falling, and not standing in one place. Its aim is to extend the illumination of Hochma on the left, called “a scepter of light,” since the word consists of two, Shar Vit [scepter], where Shar is vision, and Vit is seeing, as in looking. Also, illumination of Hochma is called “seeing.” This is the scepter that travels three times and is concealed because the Hochma appears only during the journeying of three lines in three places—Holam, Shuruk, Hirik.

She is concealed as soon as the journey is through. When the prayer—the middle line that carries the Masach de Hirik—rises, the scepter, meaning illumination of the left, comes down and bows before that prayer. That is, it lowers its head, meaning that its GAR is raised. This is so because the middle line diminishes the left line from GAR through the Masach de Hirik. And the third firmament, NH de Assiya, is called “the firmament of the scepter,” since the scepter operates in it.

144) When the prayer rises, after he has bowed to the prayer, that appointee struck the strong, illuminating rock that stands in the middle of the firmament with a scepter, and out of the rock come 375 armies that were hidden there since the day the Torah came down to earth. They insisted on refusing and detaining the Torah from descending to earth, so the Creator rebuked them and they went into that rock. They do not come out of there except when the prayer rises. Then they start and say, “The Lord our God, how mighty is Your name in all the earth.” This is the prayer that is called “mighty,” because it rises above all those firmaments, and then they bow to it.

Those angels that complained about the Torah—the middle line—so it would not extend to the earth, to Malchut, and to the worlds BYA, were drawn from the left line. They wished that the dominion in Malchut and BYA would be of the left, and not of the middle line, Torah, which diminishes GAR from the illumination of the left. This is why it was said, “They insisted on refusing and detaining the Torah from descending to earth, Malchut, which also includes BYA. But the Creator, the middle line, rebuked them and forced them to receive the illumination of the middle line and disappear. Then they disappeared inside the strong, illuminating rock in the middle of the firmament, by the force of the Din in the middle line.

They do not come out from there except when the prayer rises because the prayer rises up only upon the awakening of the left line, Bina and TM, which fell to the lower one and returned above the firmament, becoming the left line, which take the prayer with them, which was clung to them during their fall. For this reason, at that time the appointee receives the scepter, which is the illumination of the left. Thus, during the ascent of the prayer, the illumination of the left comes out to his dominion.

And when he stuck with a scepter the strong, illuminating rock in the middle of the firmament, 375 armies come out of the rock, awakening and receiving the illumination of the left from the scepter. At that time they start and say, “The Lord our God, how mighty is Your name in all the earth.” The prayer that rises above all the firmaments is great because it includes within it the Masach de Hirik of the middle line, which diminishes the left line from GAR by force.

For this reason, at that time they bow to her, lowering their heads, and not extending from GAR of illumination of Hochma, but only from VAK. They are called “375 armies,” as it is written, “But for Cain and for his offering He had no regard,” since his offering was from those 375 armies that the Creator rebuked and that disappeared in the rock and their faces fell. This is why Cain’s countenance fell, as well.

145) Henceforth the prayer is crowned in the upper crowns and rises to the fourth firmament, Tifferet. Then the sun, Tifferet, comes out in his degrees, and Shamshiel, the upper appointee, comes out. Then, 365 upper camps rise with him into that firmament, and they are called “the days of the sun,” since they are degrees that extend from the sun, Tifferet, and all crown the prayer in crowns in the heaven of the Garden of Eden.

146) The prayer is delayed there in order to cling to the Avir of Gevura in the degrees that are there. It is so because in the previous firmaments, NHY, she did not need to detain so because they are included in Tifferet, until all the camps rise with her to the fifth firmament, Gevura. There is an appointee there, Gadriel, who owns the wars of the rest of the nations, since Gevura is the left line, to which the nations cling. When the prayer rises, carrying within it the Masach of the middle line, which diminishes the left line from GAR, he and all his camps shake and their power breaks. They come out, bow, lower their heads, their GAR, and crown that prayer.

147) They rise with her until they reach the sixth firmament, Hesed. Then several armies and several camps come out, receiving that prayer until they reach seventy gates, HGT NHYM, each of which consists of ten, since Hesed includes all the ZAT, where Anpiel, the upper appointee, stands and crowns the prayer in 70 crowns.

148) And when the prayer is crowned with all those crowns, all the soldiers of all the firmaments—that have accompanied the prayer from firmament to firmament thus far—join and raise the prayer to the seventh firmament, Bina, who includes GAR, and the prayer enters there. Sandalfon, the respected, high minister, in whose hands are all the keys of his Master, admits the prayer into the seven palaces of Yetzira.

149) These seven palaces are palaces of the King, meaning seven palaces of Malchut de Atzilut where the King, ZA, mates. Also, when that prayer is crowned with all those crowns, when it rises there, it connects ZA and Malchut together, to be crowned above, so that all will be one as it should be. And the name of the Creator, Malchut, will be crowned on all the sides, above and below, to be one with ZA. Then it is written, “Blessings on the head of the righteous,” for Yesod, who is called “righteous,” imparts blessings in Malchut.

150) Happy is a man who knows how to set up his prayer properly. In this prayer, in which the Creator is crowned, he waits until all the prayers of Israel have concluded ascending and are included in the complete prayer, and then all is as perfect as it should be above and below.

151) There are Mitzvot of the Torah that depend on speech, as there are others that depend on action. These are six Mitzvot that are applied here in the prayer, as well:

• To fear the honorable and terrible name;
• To love Him;
• To bless Him;
• To unify Him;
• For the priest to bless the people;
• To give one’s soul to Him.

These six Mitzvot that are done in the prayer depend on speech, besides those that depend on action, such as Tzitzit and Tefillin.

152) The Zohar interprets six Mitzvot: 1) “To fear the honorable and terrible name.” This Mitzva is done in those praises that King David said, and in the offerings in the Torah, where one should fear one’s Master, since those songs stand in a place called “fear,” Malchut. Also, all those “Halleluiah” in the text are the fear of the Creator, Malchut. One should place one’s will in these songs—in fear.

153) 2) “To bless Him.” When one has reached the blessing, “Shall be praised,” he will place his will on blessing the Creator, as in the blessing, “Maker of light,” “Maker of the lights.” 3) “To love Him.” When reaching the blessing, “Everlasting love,” and the words, “And you shall love the Lord your God,” which is love of the Creator. 4) “To unify Him.” It is written, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Here, there is the unification of the Creator, to unify His name with the will of the heart as it should be. Henceforth it is the memory of the exodus from Egypt. It is a Mitzva to mention the exodus from Egypt, as it is written, “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt.”

154) 5) “For the priest to bless the people.” This is to include Israel together when taking blessings above, for at that time the Assembly of Israel, Malchut, receives blessings. 6) “To give one’s soul to Him.” It is a good time to give one’s soul [Nefesh] to Him, and to give Him the soul [Neshama] with the will of the heart. When they fall on their faces they say, “To you, O Lord, I shall carry my soul.” Thus, he should aim his heart and will to Him, to give him the soul with a complete will.

These are the six Mitzvot that stand in the prayer, corresponding to the 600 Mitzvot of the Torah.

155) But there are 13 other Mitzvot in the Torah, since there are 613 Mitzvot, so why was it said that the six Mitzvot correspond to 600? These 13 Mitzvot are to extend the 13 qualities of Rachamim, in which all are included. The 13 qualities of Rachamim that we say correspond to them, and these six Mitzvot by which the prayer is crowned correspond to the HGT NHY that the prayer, Malchut, receives from ZA.

156) Happy is he who places his heart and will on that, complementing them each day. Also, many other things depend on these, but when a person comes to these places, he should aim his heart and will to complement a Mitzva that depends on the word. Then it is declared and said about him, “And He said unto me: ‘You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’”

157) “And Moses assembled the whole of the congregation of Israel.” He assembled them to give them the Sabbath as before, since before Israel made the calf, he gave them the Sabbath, and it is that which the mixed multitude did not keep. When they heard, “Between Me and the children of Israel,” they said, “but we were deprived of that matter.” Promptly, it is written, “The people assembled about Aaron,” to make the calf, and many were lured after them. After those who worshipped the calf died, Moses assembled only the children of Israel and gave them the Sabbath as before, as it is written, “Six days shall work be done.”

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