On
My
Bed
at
Night
Article
23,
1985
The
Zohar
(Tazria,
item
1)
asks
about
the
verse,
“On
my
bed”:
“Rabbi
Elazar
started,
‘On
my
bed
at
night
I
sought
him
whom
my
soul
loves.’
He
asks,
‘It
says,
‘On
my
bed.’
It
should
have
said,
‘In
my
bed.’’
What
is
‘On
my
bed’?
He
answers,
‘The
assembly
of
Israel
spoke
before
the
Creator
and
asked
Him
about
the
exile,
since
she
is
seated
among
the
rest
of
the
nations
with
her
children
and
lies
in
the
dust.
And
because
she
is
lying
in
another
land,
an
impure
one,
she
said,
‘I
ask
on
my
bed,
for
I
am
lying
in
exile,’
and
exile
is
called
‘nights.’
Hence,
‘I
sought
him
whom
my
soul
loves,’
to
deliver
me
from
it.’”
It
is
known
that
the
assembly
of
Israel
is
Malchut,
who
contains
all
the
souls.
It
is
also
known
that
every
man
is
considered
a
small
world,
as
it
is
written
in
the
holy
Zohar,
that
man
consists
of
the
seventy
nations
of
the
world.
This
corresponds
to
the
seven
Sefirot,
where
each
Sefira
[singular
of
Sefirot]
consists
of
ten,
thus
they
are
seventy
discernments.
They
are
the
opposite
of
Kedusha
[holiness],
for
there
are
seven
Sefirot
of
Kedusha
and
the
seventy
nations
of
which
man
consists.
This
means
that
each
nation
has
a
special
lust
that
pertains
to
it.
Man
consists
of
all
seventy
lusts
that
exist
in
general
in
the
seventy
nations.
Within
man
there
is
also
Israel,
which
is
his
self.
However,
it
is
called
a
“point
in
the
heart,”
meaning
a
point
of
darkness.
This
means
that
the
Israel
in
her
does
not
illuminate
and
she
is
regarded
as
Achoraim
[posterior].
The
reason
is
that
she
is
in
exile
under
the
rule
of
the
seventy
nations
in
a
person.
They
have
the
strength
to
rule
over
the
Israel
in
her
by
questions
that
they
ask
Israel
when
he
wants
to
do
something
for
the
Creator,
which
is
called
Yashar-El
[straight
to
the
Creator].
At
that
time
they
make
one
understand
that
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
work
(but)
only
for
self-love.
But
concerning
in
order
to
bestow,
they
ask
“What,”
“What
is
this
work
for
you,”
which
we
learned
is
the
question
of
the
wicked.
And
if
one
wants
to
overcome
his
argument,
then
Pharaoh’s
question
comes,
who
said,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
If
these
questions
do
not
work
on
a
person
the
first
time,
they
repeat
themselves
all
day,
as
it
is
written
(Psalms,
42:11),
“With
the
murder
of
my
bones
my
adversaries
revile
me
while
they
say
to
me
all
day
long,
‘Where
is
your
God?’”
and
one
cannot
come
out
of
their
rule.
They
degrade
the
Israel
in
man
to
the
dust,
as
it
is
written
(Psalms
44),
“For
our
soul
has
bowed
down
to
the
dust;
Our
belly
clings
to
the
ground.”
We
should
interpret
that
our
soul’s
bowing
down
to
the
dust
causes
our
belly
to
be
attached
to
the
ground.
The
“belly”
is
one’s
vessels
of
reception.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
point
in
the
heart
being
in
the
dust,
which
causes
our
Kelim
[vessels]
to
have
Dvekut
[adhesion]
only
with
worldliness,
which
is
self-love.
But
if
the
kingdom
of
heaven
were
honored,
then
we
would
certainly
be
honored
if
we
had
the
chance
to
serve
the
Creator
with
anything.
We
would
regard
even
the
smallest
service
as
a
fortune.
For
such
an
honor,
it
would
be
worthwhile
to
relinquish
all
the
pleasures
that
come
to
us
through
self-love.
This
is
the
meaning
of
what
we
say
in
the
supplementary
prayer
of
Shalosh
Regalim
[Three
Pilgrimages],
“Our
Father,
our
King,
show
the
glory
of
Your
kingship
upon
us
soon.”
That
is,
we
ask
of
the
Creator
that
since
the
kingdom
of
heaven
is
degraded
and
in
a
state
of
Shechina
[Divinity]
in
the
dust,
we
want
the
Creator
to
show
us
the
importance
and
glory
of
the
kingdom
of
heaven,
and
then
it
will
be
our
great
honor
to
be
awarded
by
it
with
exiting
self-love
and
to
be
granted
with
love
of
the
Creator.
This
is
the
meaning
of
what
The
Zohar
interprets,
“Hence,
‘I
sought
him
whom
my
soul
loves,’
to
deliver
me
from
it.”
It
is
known
that
man
consists
of
three
souls:
1)
a
soul
of
Kedusha;
2)
a
soul
of
Klipat
[Klipa
of]
Noga;
3)
a
soul
of
the
three
impure
Klipot
[plural
of
Klipa].
The
soul
of
Kedusha
illuminates
only
as
a
point.
Therefore,
the
soul
of
Klipat
Noga
should
connect
to
the
soul
of
Kedusha,
as
we
explained
in
previous
articles
in
the
name
of
Baal
HaSulam.
But
since
the
main
operator
is
the
soul
of
Klipat
Noga—since
the
soul
of
the
three
impure
Klipot
cannot
be
corrected,
and
the
soul
of
Kedusha
does
not
need
to
be
corrected
because
it
is
holy—then
all
the
work
is
with
the
soul
of
Klipat
Noga.
When
(one)
performs
Mitzvot
[good
deeds/corrections],
Klipat
Noga
joins
the
Kedusha.
When
he
commits
transgressions,
the
soul
of
Klipat
Noga
joins
the
soul
of
the
three
impure
Klipot.
However,
the
soul
of
Kedusha
is
in
Achoraim
[posterior],
meaning
it
does
not
illuminate,
and
is
in
lowliness.
This
is
why
we
do
not
want
to
exert
to
do
good
deeds
so
that
Klipat
Noga
will
join
the
Kedusha.
Therefore,
“On
my
bed
at
night
I
sought
him
whom
my
soul
loves,”
to
bring
him
out
of
her,
for
the
soul
of
Kedusha
belongs
to
the
assembly
of
Israel
but
is
in
another,
impure
land,
asking
from
the
one
whom
my
soul
loves
to
get
me
out
of
the
impure
land.
That
is,
since
the
soul
of
Kedusha
is
in
lowliness,
the
soul
of
Noga
does
things
that
the
three
impure
Klipot
want.
It
follows
that
at
that
time,
when
the
soul
of
Kedusha
must
suffer
the
rule
of
the
impure
Klipot
that
govern
at
that
time,
the
soul
of
Kedusha
asks
to
be
delivered
from
this
exile,
called
“nights.”
It
is
written
there
in
The
Zohar
(item
9
in
the
Sulam
[commentary]):
“Rabbi
Aha
says,
‘We
learned
that
the
Creator
sentences
whether
a
drop
is
male
or
female,
and
you
say,
‘A
woman
who
inseminates
first,
delivers
a
male.’
Thus,
the
Creator’s
sentence
is
redundant.’
Rabbi
Yosi
said,
‘Indeed,
the
Creator
decides
between
a
drop
of
male
and
a
drop
of
female.
And
because
He
has
discerned
it,
He
sentences
whether
it
is
to
be
a
male
or
a
female.’”
This
explanation
is
unclear.
Because
“He
has
discerned
it,
He
sentences
whether
it
is
to
be
a
male.”
Why
does
He
need
to
sentence?
It
will
obviously
be
either
male
or
female?
He
interprets
there
in
the
Sulam:
“There
are
three
partners
in
a
man:
the
Creator,
his
father,
and
his
mother.
His
father
gives
the
white
in
him;
his
mother—the
red
in
him;
and
the
Creator
gives
the
soul.
If
the
drop
is
a
male,
the
Creator
gives
the
soul
of
a
male.
If
it
is
a
female,
the
Creator
gives
the
soul
of
a
female.
It
turns
out
that
when
the
woman
inseminates
first,
the
drop
has
not
become
a
male
yet,
if
the
Creator
had
not
sent
within
her
a
soul
of
a
male.
This
discernment
that
the
Creator
discerns
in
a
drop—that
it
is
fit
for
a
soul
of
a
male
or
a
female—is
considered
‘the
sentencing
of
the
Creator.’
Had
He
not
discerned
it
and
did
not
send
a
soul
of
a
male,
the
drop
would
not
have
become
a
male.
Thus,
the
two
statements
do
not
contradict
one
another.”
To
understand
all
the
above
in
the
work
we
should
interpret
that
all
three
partners
are
in
one
person.
“His
father
and
mother”
are
the
causes
of
the
birth
of
a
son.
His
“father”
is
the
male,
called
“man,”
and
“wholeness”
because
male
is
regarded
as
wholeness.
His
father
gives
the
white
because
“white”
is
called
“wholeness,”
where
there
is
no
dirt.
His
mother
is
called
Nekeva
[female]
and
“woman,”
and
she
is
called
a
“deficiency,”
since
Nekev
[hole]
means
deficiency
[lack]
and
is
called
“redness.”
It
is
as
we
say
that
when
there
is
red
light,
you
cannot
cross,
which
is
called
a
“barrier,”
when
you
cannot
go
forward.
The
Creator
gives
the
soul,
since
man
can
do
anything,
but
the
spirit
of
life
belongs
to
the
Creator.
The
order
of
the
work
is
that
man
should
divide
the
workday
into
day
and
night.
“Day”
means
wholeness,
and
“night”
means
deficiency.
In
order
for
a
son
to
be
born
and
have
a
long
life,
that
son
needs
to
be
born
by
his
father
and
mother,
since
his
father
gives
the
whiteness,
meaning
the
wholeness,
regarded
as
“a
male
man,”
and
his
mother
gives
him
the
lack,
called
a
“female
woman.”
The
wholeness
and
deficiency
should
be
because
a
person
needs
to
receive
nourishment
for
sustenance,
and
then
he
can
work.
Likewise,
here
in
the
work
of
the
Creator,
a
person
must
receive
spiritual
nourishment,
and
then
he
can
see
what
needs
to
be
corrected.
Otherwise,
without
nourishment,
he
does
not
have
the
strength
for
work,
and
we
receive
nourishment
only
from
wholeness.
Therefore,
we
can
elicit
wholeness
while
engaging
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments],
for
then
we
do
not
examine
how
much
we
are
exerting
in
keeping
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
to
do
them
perfectly
and
flawlessly,
meaning
examining
ourselves
to
see
if
we
are
fine
or
not.
Rather,
at
that
time
we
examine
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
themselves,
meaning
whose
Torah
and
Mitzvot
we
are
keeping.
We
must
think
about
the
giver
of
the
Torah,
as
we
bless,
“Blessed
are
you
the
Lord,
Giver
of
the
Torah.”
With
the
Mitzvot
we
say,
“Who
has
sanctified
us
with
His
Mitzvot,”
meaning
to
know
that
we
are
keeping
the
Mitzvot
of
the
Creator.
Therefore,
we
need
to
consider
the
importance
of
the
giver,
and
derive
from
this
vitality
and
joy
from
meriting
observing
what
He
has
commanded
us,
to
some
extent.
At
that
time
we
should
say
that
although
the
work
is
still
not
“actual
observing,”
in
order
to
bestow
in
every
way,
we
should
still
believe
that
there
are
people
to
whom
it
did
not
occur
in
mind
or
will
to
keep
Torah
and
Mitzvot
even
in
the
slightest
bit.
But
to
us
the
Creator
has
given
a
desire
and
will
to
keep
a
little,
meaning
with
little
understanding,
but
after
all
we
are
doing
something,
while
people
do
not
even
have
that
something.
When
we
pay
attention
to
this,
we
receive
vitality
and
nourishment.
This
is
called
“his
father
gives
the
white,”
as
we
said
that
wholeness
is
called
“whiteness,”
where
there
is
no
dirt.
There
is
a
twofold
gain
here:
1)
In
this
way
he
receives
elation
from
being
adhered
to
the
Whole,
meaning
to
the
Creator,
and
we
must
believe
that
what
He
gives
is
wholeness.
Wholeness
makes
a
man
whole,
making
him
feel
whole,
too.
Naturally,
he
derives
nourishment
from
this,
so
he
can
live
and
persist
and
then
have
strength
to
do
the
holy
work.
2)
According
to
the
importance
he
acquires
during
the
work
of
wholeness,
he
will
later
have
room
to
feel
the
deficiency
with
regard
to
his
work,
which
is
not
truly
pure.
That
is,
at
that
time
he
can
depict
to
himself
how
much
he
is
losing
by
his
negligence
in
the
work,
for
he
can
compare
between
the
importance
of
the
Creator
and
his
own
lowliness,
and
this
will
give
him
energy
to
work.
However,
one
should
also
correct
oneself,
or
he
will
remain
in
the
dark
and
will
not
see
the
true
light
that
shines
on
the
Kelim
[vessels]
that
are
suitable
for
it,
called
“vessels
of
bestowal.”
The
correction
of
the
Kelim
is
called
Nukva,
deficiency,
when
he
works
on
correcting
his
deficiencies.
This
is
regarded
as
“His
mother
gives
the
red.”
That
is,
at
that
time
he
sees
the
red
light,
which
are
the
barriers
on
his
way,
which
prevent
him
from
reaching
the
goal.
Then
comes
the
time
of
prayer,
since
the
man
sees
the
measures
of
the
work
that
he
has
in
matters
of
“mind
and
heart,”
and
how
he
has
not
progressed
in
the
work
of
bestowal.
He
also
sees
how
his
body
is
weak,
that
he
does
not
have
great
powers
to
be
able
to
overcome
his
nature.
For
this
reason,
he
sees
that
if
the
Creator
does
not
help
him,
he
is
lost,
as
it
is
written
(Psalms
127),
“If
the
Lord
does
not
build
the
house,
they
who
build
it
labor
in
it
in
vain.”
From
those
two,
meaning
from
wholeness
and
deficiency,
which
are
the
“father
and
mother,”
it
turns
out
that
the
Creator
is
the
one
who
helps
him,
giving
him
a
soul,
which
is
the
spirit
of
life.
And
then
the
newborn
is
born.
This
is
why
our
sages
said,
“There
are
three
partners
in
man.”
The
newborn
that
was
born
is
regarded
as
a
sustainable
descendant,
meaning
that
he
has
a
long
life.
Otherwise,
if
it
does
not
have
the
soul
that
the
Creator
gives
it,
that
newborn
is
called
a
“stillborn,”
meaning
it
is
unsustainable
and
“falls
from
its
degree.”
We
should
know
that
the
Creator
wants
to
give,
as
explained
in
several
places
that
“the
upper
light
does
not
stop
illuminating,”
but
we
need
Kelim
that
are
fit
to
receive.
Therefore,
there
are
two
discernments
we
need
to
make
in
what
depends
on
man’s
preparation,
since
there
are
two
forces
in
man:
1)
forces
of
reception,
2)
forces
of
bestowal.
We
need
to
correct
these
two
forces
so
they
work
in
order
to
bestow.
The
force
of
bestowal
in
a
person
is
called
“man,”
and
the
force
of
reception
in
a
person
is
called
“woman,”
“female.”
Inseminating
means
that
a
person
makes
an
effort
in
order
to
obtain
something.
For
example,
when
a
person
needs
wheat,
he
sows
wheat.
This
means
that
his
work
will
yield
wheat.
If
he
needs
potatoes
he
will
sow
potatoes.
That
is,
one
exerts
according
to
the
kind
that
one
wants,
and
this
is
what
he
gets.
It
is
similar
in
the
work
of
the
Creator.
If
one
wants
to
correct
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
called
“male,”
“man,”
which
is
called
“If
the
man
inseminates
first,”
meaning
that
his
initial
thought
is
to
correct
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
then
she
“delivers
a
female,”
as
it
is
known
that
there
is
an
inverse
relation
between
Kelim
and
lights,
since
“female
light”
is
called
Katnut
[smallness/infancy].
“If
the
woman
inseminates
first,”
meaning
that
he
wants
to
correct
the
vessels
of
reception
so
they
work
in
order
to
bestow,
then
“she
delivers
a
son,”
meaning
male
light,
which
is
the
light
of
Gadlut
[adulthood/greatness].
“And
the
Creator
gives
the
soul.”
The
Creator
distinguishes
about
the
drop,
meaning
about
man’s
work,
of
which
type
was
his
“sowing,”
meaning
preparation.
That
is,
if
he
wants
his
vessels
of
reception
to
work
in
order
to
bestow
then
the
Creator
gives
him
a
soul
of
a
male,
called
“Neshama
[soul]
of
Gadlut.”
If
he
is
regarded
as
a
“man,”
meaning
wants
only
his
vessels
of
bestowal
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
he
receives
from
the
Creator
the
light
of
Katnut,
called
“female.”