Glossary of Terms Used in the Balak Weekly Torah Portion

King

The force that governs a degree is a “king.”

Messengers

The forces by which actions are performed on a certain degree, a certain state of a person. A person’s state is called a “degree.” The one who governs each degree is called the “king of the degree,” which is usually the Sefira (singular of Sefirot) we call Keter (crown). The messengers are forces acting within that degree. By and large, it is the eight Sefirot from Hochma to Yesod.

Curse

The egoistic force that works in order to receive, which governs us, and for whom it acts as a curse.

Mare

The mare is our substance, the donkey’s female. It is the actual will to receive that feels and distinguishes between the forces within us.

Angel

An angel is the force that acts in a degree and is directed by the ruler, the Keter, the king.

Blocked Road

It is the way by which one is going to correct one’s will to receive, with the intention to reach the next degree, greater Dvekut (adhesion), greater clarity of vision in spirituality, but which he cannot reach. That is, in this manner, it is impossible to advance. One finds that to reach the next degree, a new substance is needed..

Deviating from the Way

“Deviation” happens when we advance on the path toward bestowal when suddenly something goes awry and we discover we have strayed from the path. However, this discovery is already a correction in itself.

How is the discovery of the deviation a correction?

By discovering the deviation, we know how to continue. Our effort toward the goal is like a guided missile. The missile must constantly detect its deviations and correct them. If it moves in a straight line, it cannot hit its target. It is the same for us: we cannot move in one straight line toward our goal. Rather, we must constantly examine our deviations, as only through them do we advance toward the goal.

Oath

An “oath” is when the will to receive, Malchut, connects to Keter on a single axis and is ready to follow Keter’s will above reason.

From The Zohar: The Creator Plays with the Righteous in the Garden of Eden

“Once the Creator smelled and played with them, and with all their secrets of wisdom, He appears before them and they see that pleasantness of the Creator. Then they all rejoice in great joy until their brightness and light spread. From that spreading, their brightness and light of their joy bear fruit and buds in the world, which are the souls, and those fruits come under the wings of Divinity until the proper time.”

Zohar for All, New Zohar, Balak, item 6

We are the broken souls in the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya in this world. We must rise to the state of Malchut of Atzilut, to that Divinity—that correction—by connecting our souls in unity, in mutual guarantee. Along the way, we will conquer the Sinai Desert and the Land of Israel.