The Book of Splendor

And These Are The Names

"Come with me from Lebanon, my bride" Song of Songs 4:8—this refers to the Torah. "Look from the top of Amana"—look upon all this and look upon those who will receive the offering for your children. "From the top of Amana" Amana means 'faith' refers to the beginning, when they entered into the supreme faith and said, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will obey" Exodus 24:7. At that moment, they were weighed in the same scale as the high angels, for it is written of them: "Bless the Lord, O His angels, mighty in strength, who do His word, obeying the voice of His word" Psalms 103:20. Then the Community of Israel Knesset Yisrael; the mystical personification of the Jewish people received the Torah.

"From the peaks of Senir and Hermon"—this is Mount Sinai, which they approached and stood beneath, as it is written: "And they stood at the foot of the mountain" Exodus 19:17. "From the lions' dens"—these are the children of Seir Edom/Rome, whom the Holy One invited to accept the Torah, but they did not want to receive it. "From the mountains of the leopards"—these are the children of Ishmael. For it is written: "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of holy ones" Deuteronomy 33:2.

What is the meaning of "He came with ten thousands of holy ones"? We have learned that when the Holy One, Blessed be He, desired to give the Torah to Israel, groups of high angels came and opened by saying: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have set Your glory above the heavens!" Psalms 8:2. They wanted the Torah to be given to them.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: "Is there death among you? For it is written: 'When a man dies in a tent...' Numbers 19:14. 'And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death...' Deuteronomy 21:22. Are there legal cases among you? Is there theft or kidnapping among you? For it is written: 'You shall not steal.' Is there falsehood among you? For it is written: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' Is there coveting among you? For it is written: 'You shall not covet' Exodus 20:13. What use have you for the Torah?"

Immediately they opened and said: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"—but the phrase "You who have set Your glory above the heavens" is no longer written there. Regarding this, it says "He came with ten thousands of holy ones," and then "from His right hand went a fiery law for them."

Rabbi Yose established this verse as referring to when the Divine Presence Shekhinah entered the exile of Egypt. He hinted that this verse was stated regarding the Secret of the Unity of Faith. "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride"—the Voice says to the Speech, "Come," because the Voice comes to the Speech and leads it as one, without any separation at all. For the Voice is the general principle and Speech is called the particular detail. Therefore, the general needs the particular and the particular needs the general. For there is no Voice without Speech, and no Speech without Voice. Therefore, "Come from Lebanon"—this is the language of the "root" original: 'ikra'; a play on Lebanon/Lavan (white/root), for both of them come from Lebanon.

"Look from the top of Amana"—this is the throat, from which the breath goes out to the whole world, from the secret of the hidden and concealed Lebanon. "From the peaks of Senir and Hermon"—this is the tongue that articulates and shapes the Speech. "From the lions' dens"—these are the righteous. "From the mountains of the leopards"—these are the many nations who inherited the malevolent side.

And these are the names of the children of Israel... Exodus 1:1

Rabbi Hiyya opened: "Do not eat the bread of one who has an evil eye, and do not crave his delicacies" Proverbs 23:6. "Do not eat the bread of one who has an evil eye," because the bread of a person who possesses an evil eye is not worthy to be eaten or enjoyed. For when Israel was in Egypt, they did not taste anything from them, so that they would not be found in exile and be oppressed by them.

Rabbi Yitzhak said to him: "But was it not a decree that was decreed?" He replied: "Everything is as it should be. For it was not decreed specifically for Egypt, as it is not written 'your offspring shall be strangers in the land of Egypt,' but rather 'in a land that is not theirs' Genesis 15:13, even in another land."

Rabbi Yitzhak said: "We see that one who is a 'master of soul' a glutton eats more than other people. Furthermore, we see that one who looks after the life-force of the 'Evil One' Sitra Achra; the 'Other Side' or source of impurity, which contains the 'Evil Eye,' should cut his own throat rather than eat before him. For there is nothing as evil in the world as that Evil Eye. What is written? 'Because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians' Genesis 43:32. Here you have the 'Evil Eye.'"

There are three things that push the Divine Presence Shekhinah away from the world and cause the dwelling of the Holy One, Blessed be He, not to be in the world, and then when people cry out, their voice is not heard. And these are: One who...