The Seventh Commandment
223) The seventh commandment is to circumcise after eight days and remove the filth of the foreskin. It is so because that animal, Malchut, is the eighth among all the degrees, when beginning from Bina, and that Nefesh, which flies away from her, must be seen before her for eight days, as she is the eighth degree.
Nukva of ZA is called “an animal” only through her ascent and clothing of Bina, who is the eighth degree of ten Sefirot from below upwards. Malchut, Nukva of ZA, is also called “eighth” because she rose by eight degrees from her to Bina, and only then is she called Haya [animal], like Bina.
Thus, man’s soul, born out of the Nukva of ZA, who is called “animal” and “eighth,” must be seen before the Nukva with corrections of circumcision and exposing on the eighth day after her birth. Then it is apparent and evident that she is a soul from that holy animal and not from another side because then—by the power of the circumcision and exposing—the Sitra Achra is completely repelled from man’s soul, and she can receive all the lights of that animal. This is the meaning of “Let the waters swarm,” and thus she receives the upper MAD from ZON, and is completed with these waters.
224) At that time, it is evident that she is a living soul, a soul of that holy animal, Malchut, and not from the other side. This is the meaning of “Let the waters swarm,” meaning the waters of the holy seed will be imprinted in the impression of the living soul. This is the imprint of the letter Yod, inscribed in the flesh of holiness more than all the other inscriptions in the world.
Commentary: The writing explains “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures” as inscription and depiction. Through the circumcision and exposing, the upper MAD are depicted and inscribed, and are given to man’s soul in an inscription and depiction of the Nukva, who is called “living soul.”
The upper world, Bina, is inscribed and sealed with the letter Yod. The lower world, Malchut, is inscribed and sealed with the letter Hey. When Malchut, Nukva, rises and clothes the upper world, Bina, the Hey comes out of her from the MA, and Yod enters in her stead, such as Bina, MI.
This is the inscription of the letter Yod, inscribed in the flesh of holiness more than all other inscriptions in the world. It is so because through circumcision and exposing, all the records of this world—from the letter Hey—come out of man, too, and the imprint of the letter Yod comes in its stead, as was done in the Nukva that rose to Bina. And since the flesh of holiness of Yesod is sealed with the letter Yod, the man can receive a complete living soul from the holy Nukva, too.
225) “And let birds fly above the earth.” This is Elijah, who flies the entire world in four flights to be there in that covenant of holy circumcision. And a chair must be set up for him, and to mention before him, “This is the chair of Elijah.” If not, he will not be present there.
Here the text explains “And let birds fly above the earth,” over Elijah, who flies the entire world in four flights. Below, he explains the verse and “Every winged bird after its kind” as angels that fly and sail in the world in six flights. Here, at the end of the verse, he explains that when it writes “Above the earth,” it should not be interpreted as high angels, for they are not in the earth. Hence, it is necessarily Elijah.
“Fly above the earth” is Elijah, who is always in the earth, since Elijah is extended from the Nukva of ZA and is always with her. Also, Elijah is not from the side of AVI, for he flies in four flights, indicating that he is from the Nukva from the Chazeh and below, where there are only four Sefirot.
The angels are from the side of AVI, hence they are present only in heaven and have VAK, HGT NHY. Thus, when they come to the earth to carry out their mission, they fly in six flights, for they clothe in six Sefirot. But Elijah is not from the side of AVI, but from the side of Malchut, and is always in the earth.
Since Malchut has four Sefirot from ZA, TNHY, from his Chazeh and down, he flies throughout the earth by only four flights, in clothing of four Sefirot TNHY. And since the writing says “And let birds fly above the earth,” it does not apply to the angels, only to Elijah, who is in the earth. But the verse “And every winged bird after its kind,” where “Above the earth” is not mentioned, applies to the angels who are from the side of AVI, who fly throughout the world in six flights.
Elijah flew through the whole world in four flights to be there at that holy circumcision. Because Elijah said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord ... for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant,” the Creator said to Elijah, “Wherever my sons inscribe this holy inscription in their flesh, there you will be. And the mouth that testified that Israel had left the covenant will testify that Israel are keeping the covenant.” Elijah was punished by the Creator because he accused His sons, as it is written, “For the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant.”
Of course, we should not take the matters literally—that Elijah was obligated to be present in each and every circumcision of the sons of Israel because of a punishment for accusing Israel. Also, why is it said here that he must be invited and mentioned verbally, “This is the chair of Elijah,” or he will not be present there? And if he must be present in each circumcision because of a punishment, then he must be there. Why does it require Elijah’s testimony, that he will testify before Him that the sons of Israel are keeping the circumcision? Is everything not revealed before the Creator? Indeed, a great and terrible secret is concealed here under their soft words, as they always do.
You will understand the matter with what is presented in The Zohar. Rabbi Ilai opened and said, “‘Be whole with the Lord your God.’ What is the difference between Tam [whole] and Tamim [another way for writing ‘whole’]? It is written about Abraham, ‘Walk before me and be whole [Tamim],’ and it is written about Jacob, who was more complete, ‘Jacob was a whole [Tam] man.’ This is because there was no waste left in him at all because he was circumcised.”
With what did he perform the exposing and purify from that waste? That place that attacks the waste within, which is present in the place of the exposing, is an ox, which is the form of the left of His throne.
In the Merkava [chariot/structure] of the throne, the face of a lion is in the right, and the face of the ox is on the left. The ox is called “a whole [Tam] ox,” since in the Merkava of the throne there is an inscription of the covenant. For this reason, this ox is called “a whole ox,” and Jacob is gripped in it.
And in this ox, he made the exposing and completely removed the filth of the waste, since there is a prone ox on the part of the foreskin and exposing, and several litigants come out of him through the bottom degree, called “ruins,” and they all come out of that prone ox, in conjunction with the evil donkey, the harsh judgment of the Man’ula. “And Jacob was a whole man” means the husband of that whole one.
Explanation: There are four shells—Stormy Wind, Great Cloud, Blazing Fire, and Noga around it. The first three are all impure shells, but the Noga shell is half good half bad. When the three shells are attached to it, it becomes entirely bad. When it is separated from them and adheres to holiness, it becomes entirely good.
These four shells are at the Sium [end] of the Partzuf, at the Sium of Yesod, where there are two skins one atop the other. The first skin is called “foreskin,” and the three impure shells are included in it—Stormy Wind, Great Cloud, and Blazing Fire. The second skin is called the “exposing skin,” the Noga shell, which is half good half bad.
Adam HaRishon was born circumcised because the three impure shells had no grip on him, and only the Noga shell was in him, the skin of exposing. It was all good, for it was separated from the three impure shells, and adhered to the Kedusha [holiness]. However, by the sin of the tree of knowledge, through the seduction of the serpent—which consists of the three impure shells—he pulled the other skin over him, the foreskin, as we learn that “Adam HaRishon was pulling his foreskin.”
It is also written, “If its owner is warned yet he does not confine it ... the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.” This is so because when the foreskin jumped on him and connected to his Yesod, his Neshama of Atzilut promptly departed from him, he fell to Assiya, and was sentenced to death.
It was said that there is a prone ox on the part of the foreskin and exposing. Because he was destined not to eat from the tree of knowledge but was not careful and ate, the foreskin jumped on him and the two skins were defiled together, since the skin of exposing, which is Noga, was also defiled by its joining and adhesion with the foreskin, which is the three impure shells.
However, there is a difference between them because the skin of exposing is called “a whole ox,” and not a prone one, since it was in complete Kedusha prior to the sin of the tree of knowledge. It is defiled only by the foreskin that was attached to it.
Hence, there are two special corrections—circumcision and exposing. It is written about the prone ox, “The ox shall be stoned.” Also, the foreskin should be removed and cut off from the Kedusha and be thrown to the dust. But regarding the whole ox, it is written, “They shall ... divide its price equally.”
Also, the skin of exposing should be placed in Kedusha, connected to Yesod, but it must be halved and torn to here and to here, by which the Mochin are revealed back to the Partzuf and the holy flesh is revealed.
He performed exposing in this ox and completely removed the filth of the waste, for by halving the skin to here and to here around the Yesod, all the filth that the skin of exposing received through its previous connection to the foreskin is canceled and gone, and the Mochin that departed because of the foreskin can be revealed once more.
However, this is still not enough to bring back all the Mochin that departed from Adam HaRishon because of the sin of the tree of knowledge, for it is written, “And its owner also shall be put to death,” even though the ox is stoned. It is so because of the great power of the prone ox, who is the slandering SAM, by what is written, “Its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it.”
To correct that, Elijah took upon himself that same guilt of the SAM and slandered the sons of Israel instead of the SAM, as it is written, “For the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant.” By that, he shut the mouth of SAM and SAM’s mission was canceled because Elijah took his mission upon himself, and then he had the strength to become an advocate later, when he sees that the sons of Israel were keeping the covenant.
This is why Elijah must be present at each circumcision, so that the mouth that testified that the sons of Israel had left the covenant will testify that Israel are keeping the covenant. He took upon himself SAM’s power to slander the sons of Israel, saying that Israel had left the covenant, as it is written, “And its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it,” hence he has the power to testify that they are keeping the covenant. Then the power of the prone ox is removed completely, and all the Mochin that departed because of the prone ox can reappear.
Hence, besides the chair of the godfather, on which the circumcision and exposing are performed, another chair should be set up for Elijah. And why is a single chair not enough for both? It is because in every place, the chair is the beginning of the correction, the instilling of the upper one in the lower one. Also, the Mochin that appear through the circumcision and exposing, and Elijah’s testimony about the keeping of the covenant are two distinct matters: The measure of the Mochin that appear through exposing are on the part of the whole ox, when it is not known that it is an ox that gored. This is the returning of Noga to Kedusha through dividing its price equally.
Elijah’s testimony, on the other hand, is to remove the evil of the prone ox, which is the power of the three impure shells themselves, and shut their mouths so that they cannot slander. Hence, two chairs are required: 1) The throne of the Creator, the throne of the godfather, for instilling the actual Mochin through the circumcision and exposing, and 2) For instilling the illumination of Elijah, which shuts the mouths of the shells so they cannot slander. This is the chair of Elijah.
We should understand why it is necessary to mention in words “This is the chair of Elijah.” Otherwise, even if a chair has been prepared for him he will not come there. It is written, “What are you doing here, Elijah,” which is the mouth of Elijah [in Hebrew, “mouth” and “here” are spelled the same]. Also, the holy covenant is the mouth of the Creator, hence there is a difference between the holy covenant, the Mochin that appear through circumcision and exposing, which are the mouth of the Creator, and the mouth of Elijah himself.
To understand it we should delve deeper into the matter of shutting the mouth of the prone ox, so it does not slander Israel after the return of the Mochin through circumcision and exposing. This is because besides Elijah’s testimony, another special correction is required, which is done by throwing the foreskin to the dust.
It is said in The Zohar that when a person is circumcised on the eighth day, when he has passed the seventh day, which is Malchut in Mochin of AVI, who is called “holy,” the foreskin is cut off and thrown outside. The Sitra Achra sees that she is given a part of that offering of the circumcision, and through that gift, she turns from accusing to advocating Israel before the Creator.
Explanation: It is the nature of spiritual ones that they are incorporated in one another. And since the foreskin was once attached to Yesod, when it is cut off from Yesod, it takes a part of the Kedusha with it. And when we throw the foreskin to the outer ones, they suckle through it some illumination from the Mochin that appear through circumcision and exposing. This is why they no longer wish to slander Israel and arrest these Mochin, for they will lose their share, as well, which they take from these Mochin. For this reason, they become Israel’s advocates, to keep the Mochin in them.
This is why Elijah does not tolerate this correction, for although they stop slandering Israel, they take a part of the Kedusha in return for it. To correct that, Elijah took all the slandering upon himself and did not wish to appease them whatsoever by giving a part of the offering of the Kedusha.
Hence, even though the Sitra Achra has stopped slandering and became an advocate, Elijah himself is still slandering, to completely uproot the power of the Sitra Achra and separate him from the Kedusha. This is why the mouth of Elijah is required here in addition to the mouth of the Creator, which appears through the circumcision and exposing, which leaves a part of the offering to the Sitra Achra, since Elijah’s mouth completely uproots the Sitra Achra. This is why it was said that the mouth that testified that Israel had left the covenant is the one that will testify that Israel are keeping the covenant.
This is why it is necessary to mention verbally, “This is the chair of Elijah.” It is necessary to mention and to extend the mouth of Elijah on his chair, and not settle for the mouth of the Creator, who removes the accuser and turns it into an advocate, for He remains committed to giving a part to the Sitra Achra. But through Elijah’s mouth, He removes the accuser and does not need to give him any appeasement for it.
If one does not exert to extend the mouth of Elijah with his mouth, that is, on his chair, then he is not present there, for he must be drawn in. And it is not a question, “How is it possible that the mouth of Elijah corrects more than the mouth of the Creator,” for this is what God has created to do, since the Creator began creation in a way that through one’s good deeds, he will be able to complete it.
226) “And God created the great sea monsters.” There are two sea monsters, and they are the foreskin and exposing—the cutting of the foreskin followed by exposing. Also, they are male and female. “And every living soul that moves” is the inscription of the holy covenant, a holy living soul [in Hebrew “living” means Haya and “soul” means Nefesh]. “With which the waters swarmed” refers to the upper waters that were attracted to it, to this inscribed token.
The sea monsters are a leviathan and his mate. Opposite them are the foreskin and exposing, which are the boa serpent and the slant serpent, male and female, since the foreskin is the boa serpent, a male, which must be removed and thrown to the dust, and exposing is a correction, removing the evil of the slant serpent, the female.
It is written, “And every living soul that moves,” implying to the inscription of that token of holy covenant, since through the exposing, when the skin is parted, exposing to here and to here over the Yesod, the inscription of the Yod appears, the Sium [end] of the upper world, which is called Haya. This is why it is called “an inscription of a holy living soul,” of which it is written, “And every living soul that moves.”
It was said, “upper waters,” which were drawn to it, to that inscribed token, meaning the MAD of the upper world, upper AVI, which are called Haya, extended only on the inscription of the Yod. Then the letter Hey comes out of the MA and Yod enters in its stead, and it is called MI, like Bina.
227) For this reason, Israel were imprinted in a holy and pure inscription below, like the holy inscriptions above, to distinguish between the holy side and the other side. Thus are Israel inscribed, to distinguish between the sanctity of Israel and the idol worshipping nations that come from the other side. And as He inscribed Israel, He inscribed their beasts and fowl to distinguish between them and the beasts and fowls of the idol worshipping nations, happy are Israel.
Also, their beasts and fowl were inscribed because man’s relation toward the rest of the creatures in the world is as the relation of the collective toward the individuals in it. This is so because within man’s body, he includes all the people in the world in one collective. And each is an individual creature, existing independently, apart from the form of man. Hence, as Israel are distinguished from the nations of the world by the human in them, that same division applies to the elements in them, which are beasts and fowl. The reason why he mentions beasts and fowl specifically is because the text mentions them. However, it is the same with all creations derived from Israel and from the nations of the world.