It is written in The Zohar, Pinhas (Item 317 in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar]): “‘And their leg was a straight leg,’ for the legs of the harm-doers are crooked. And their leg, meaning the legs of the holy animals, it was said about them, ‘and their leg was a straight leg,’ on the part of Haya, which is Israel. Israel comprises three animals, of which it was said, ‘the patriarchs, they are the Merkava [chariot/assembly/structure].’”

He interprets there in the Sulam, that “The straightness extends from the middle line, which is straight and leans neither to the right nor to the left, but squarely in the middle. But the Sitra Achra [other side] and the harm-doers lean to the left.”

To interpret the above, we must remember the fundamental principles of the work, which is the quality of “mind” and “heart,” as it is written in the book Matan Torah, namely that there is law, and there is judgment. “Law” means that a person must walk in it as a law, with no room for arguments, but to accept it as it was given to us from books and from authors. This is the quality of faith above reason, called “mind,” and the quality of bestowal, called “heart.” Those two are called “fear,” and the quality of judgment is called “wisdom.”

It was said about this, “Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah says, ‘If there is no wisdom, there is no fear. If there is no fear, there is no wisdom’” (Avot, Chapter 2). In other words, we need both law and judgment, and when the two are merged, it is called the “middle line,” and this is in Kedusha [holiness]. It is written about this, “And their leg was a straight leg.” That is, they do not lean to the left, called “wisdom,” but keep the two equal.

However, if one cannot keep them equal, he must try to make the right bigger than the left. At that time, “his wisdom persists,” as they said, “He would say that anyone whose deeds are more numerous than his wisdom, his wisdom persists; and anyone whose wisdom is more than his deeds, his wisdom does not persist” (Avot, Chapter 3:12).

“Law” means action, since there is no room there to understand and to intellectualize. Rather, it is all above reason. Hence, it is regarded as an action, meaning mind and heart, faith and bestowal, fear, action, all are considered “right,” and there is nothing to argue about this. Rather, we must accept this as it is and try to seek advice to be able to take upon ourselves “as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.”

“Judgment” is regarded as the Torah, which we do need to understand. It is called “wisdom,” meaning that one must be ready to be rewarded with the Torah, where it is actually to the contrary—the more he wants to understand, the better it is.

However, there are many discernments in the Torah. There is the revealed Torah, which is the practice, meaning that although he learns the rules, he is not obligated to follow them. That is, he learns the rules of judging although does not think that he will ever be a judge. Nevertheless, he learns the Torah [law] of the Creator, which is called “His wisdom,” and this is called the “revealed Torah,” since there are things that others need to do, and by learning the Torah of the Creator, he helps the Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator because the whole Torah is His names, as it is written in The Zohar.

There is also the hidden Torah, which does not speak at all about actions, but about things that belong to the heart and to the mind, and a person must try as much as he can to have some attainment of what he is learning. This desire that yearns to achieve attainment causes the nearing of the lights, which is regarded as a prayer, where he yearns for the Creator to open his eyes in His Torah.

However, he must always see that his wisdom is not more than his deeds, as said above. This is called “And their leg was a straight leg,” as explained in the Sulam, that the right line always leans toward Hesed [mercy/grace].

However, according to what is explained in the Sulam, “It is a commandment to give half a Shekel in the Shekel of holiness. It asks, ‘What is half a Shekel?’ It replies, ‘It is like half of the Heys, namely the Vav between the two Heys. A stone to weigh with is the Yod, twenty Gerah a Shekel is Yod.’ ‘The rich shall not give more’ is the middle pillar… What is half a Shekel? It is like half of the Heys, meaning half a measure. He interprets that this Vav is the middle between the two Heys, since the Vav is the middle line, which is called Mitkalah, weighing the two lights, right and left, which are the two Heys, so the left is not bigger than the right” (Ki Tissa, Item 4).

This means that the right, too, should not be greater than the left, but rather equal, as it is written, “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a Shekel.” However, there is a rule that the matter is always interpreted according to the language, yet the reality is always the same reality, except there are different languages.