Torah Ohr, Bereshit 2

“For as the new heavens and the new earth…” Now, it is written: “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” Our Sages, of blessed memory, said that Bereishit — “In the beginning” — means “for the sake of Israel,” who are called reishit, “beginning.” They also said that it means “for the sake of the Torah,” which is called reishit. Therefore, since the heavens and the earth were created for the sake of Torah and Israel, it must be said that there is an aspect of “heavens” and “earth” within the Torah and within the divine service of Israel. Through these spiritual dimensions, and by means of them, the physical heavens and earth are sustained.

The explanation is as follows: Our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Why is it called eretz — earth? Because it ratzta, desired, to do the will of its Creator.” The meaning of ratzta is twofold: it is related both to the word ratz, “to run,” and to ratzon, “will” or “desire.” This is similar to the verse, “With You I run against a troop,” where the word “run” also has the sense of movement, and also contains the idea of desire and will, as will be explained.

The explanation is that it is written: “And the living creatures ran and returned” — veha-chayot ratzo va-shov. This aspect of ratzo, “running,” refers to a longing in the heart to cleave to Him, blessed be He. It also has the meaning of movement or running, like one who runs away from his place. So too, this longing of the supernal living creatures is their desire to go out and rise beyond their place, to become nullified and included within the blessed Infinite Light, Ein Sof Baruch Hu. This is similar to what is written: “Seraphim stand above Him.” The meaning of “above Him” is: above the Shechinah.

That is, their longing is to be included there. So too, the collective souls of Israel — neshamot Yisrael — in their source and root, possess the aspect of ratzo: a will and longing to cleave to Him, to the blessed Infinite Light, Ein Sof Baruch Hu. As it is written: “And your desire shall be toward your husband. This is because the soul perceives itself as being in the aspect of “earth,” meaning the lower level, where it exists as a people and as a seemingly separate entity. The same applies to the human soul below. When the intellectual soul reflects and contemplates the unity of G-d — how He, blessed be He, constantly renews creation in His goodness and brings all worlds into existence from absolute nothingness into real being — then the soul too becomes an aspect of “earth,” in a state of ratzo, running and yearning, with a will to cleave to Him, blessed be He, and to love G-d, “for He is your life.”

Now, this aspect of ratzo occurs in the recitation of the Shema, and the aspect of shov occurs in the Amidah prayer and in Torah study, for these are the revelation of G-dliness from above to below, as is known. The Pesukei de-Zimra — the verses of praise that precede the Shema — are the act of recounting the praise of the Omnipresent, as it is written: “The exaltations of G-d are in their throat.” Through this, something like a “double-edged sword” is formed “to execute vengeance,” meaning to tear away the screens that separate and obstruct the revelation of G-dliness. All of this is only preparation for the Amidah. For in the Amidah there is the drawing down of Divine revelation, when one says: “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G-d.” This represents the revelation of sovev kol almin — the transcendent Divine light that surrounds all worlds — within memale kol almin — the immanent Divine light that fills all worlds. But in order to come to this level, one must first arrange the praise of the Omnipresent in Pesukei de-Zimra, such as in the prayer: “Blessed is He who spoke and the world came into being.” For although the Divine soul is an aspect of “earth,” which is the aspect of ratzo, this is true from the perspective of its root. In its root, the soul constantly possesses longing to cleave to Him, blessed be He. But when it descends below to become enclothed in the body and the animal soul, these conceal its light and draw it after themselves, causing it to be pulled into the dark obscurity of worldly matters. Then the soul’s longing and ratzo toward G-dliness become hidden and concealed. This follows the known principle: “One nation shall be stronger than the other,” and when this one rises, the other falls. Therefore, in order for the soul to reach the aspect of ratzo during the Shema, it requires great preparation. This is the purpose of Pesukei de-Zimra: arranging the praises of the Omnipresent. And all of this is preparation for the shov of the Amidah, because even ratzo exists for the sake of shov, as is known. This is similar to the Levites, who were secondary to the priests. In a more specific sense, Pesukei de-Zimra is also a preparation for the Amidah, because the Amidah is the drawing and revelation of G-dliness below. First, the separating screens must be torn away through Pesukei de-Zimra, so that the revelation can occur below. This preparation involves contemplating how, through one utterance alone, the heavens, the earth, and all their hosts came into being. This is why this blessing concludes in Yishtabach: “King, Unique One, Life of the worlds.” And in Baruch She’amar we also say: “Unique One, Life of the worlds, King.” The meaning is that He, blessed be He, is utterly unique and one, just as He was before the creation of the world. The fact that He is “Life of the worlds” derives only from the aspect of “King,” for kingship is merely a ray from Him, blessed be He. This ray is drawn from Him, blessed be He, to become the vitality of all the worlds, upper and lower.

And it is known that there is a multitude of worlds above, without end, and below, without limit. This is the meaning of Baruch shem kevod malchuto le’olam va’ed — “Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever” — because va’ed, “and ever,” has no interruption or end. That is, the aspect of the glory of His kingship extends forth to give life to worlds and created beings without end, as it is written: “Is there any number to His troops?” And it is also written: “A thousand thousands minister to Him, and myriad myriads stand before Him.” Yet this is only the number of one troop, and so on.

Yet despite all this multiplicity, they are all drawn only from the aspect of “King,” which is merely the aspect of His Name, as in the phrase: “For the sake of His Name, with love — King,” and so on. This is the aspect of memale kol almin — the Divine light that fills all worlds. From this contemplation, an arousal of love is born in one’s heart when one says: “And you shall love Havayah your G-d.” The meaning of “Havayah your G-d” is as explained above regarding “Hear, O Israel, Havayah is our G-d.” It refers to the special superiority made known to us above all the heavenly hosts: that He has brought us close to His great Name, which is the aspect of sovev kol almin — the Divine light that surrounds and transcends all worlds. But His essential G-dliness, blessed be He, is the aspect of “Unique One,” which is far, far above the level of “Life of the worlds,” for “Life of the worlds” derives only from the aspect of “King.” This is why the Congregation of Israel is called “one,” as it is written: “She is one, My dove,” for she receives from the actual level of “Havayah is One.”

This occurs when she becomes, in the sense of the verse, “She is one to her mother.” Through contemplation, she comes to the level of “one,” meaning that she has only one will: to cleave to Him, blessed be He. This is the above-mentioned aspect of ratzo, directed toward sovev kol almin — the transcendent Divine light that surrounds all worlds — in order to cleave to the very Essence of G-dliness. This is as in the verse: “Whom have I in heaven?” and so forth. This is the meaning of “And you shall love” in the Shema. The explanation and meaning of ratzo is as written: “With You I run against a troop.” Specifically “with You” means: with Your very Essence. “I run against a troop” refers to the level of “a thousand thousands minister to Him, and myriad myriads stand before Him.” And as explained elsewhere on the verse, “Great is His power; His understanding has no number,” the root of every troop is in the six emotional attributes of Atzilut. See there. Yet the soul desires none of these levels. It desires only G-d alone. “And I leap over a wall” refers also to all the supernal encompassing lights, for shur means “wall,” as in the verse: “The daughters marched upon the wall.” By way of analogy, just as a wall surrounds a city, so too these encompassing lights surround from above. Yet the soul leaps over them as well, because its longing is only for His very Essence and Being, blessed be He. For even all the encompassing lights are considered as nothing before Him, blessed be He, as explained elsewhere regarding the phrase “Master of wonders.” Therefore they are called a “wall.” Just as a wall is made from stones, which are only the level of the inanimate, so too it is written, “He performs wonders”: the level of “wonder” and the supernal encompassing lights are only like the level of action in relation to Him, blessed be He. This is the meaning of the verse: “Whom have I in heaven? And besides You I desire nothing on earth.” “Heaven” refers to the encompassing lights, and “earth” refers to the inner lights. These correspond to the “wall” and the “troop” mentioned above. The soul says: I run past and leap over them through the power of my longing — “with You,” meaning with Your very Essence.

Now, from the above-mentioned aspect of ratzo in the Shema, there afterward comes shov in prayer. Therefore, at the end of the Shema, one concludes: “I am Havayah your G-d.” The meaning is: “your G-d” literally — that there should be a revelation of G-dliness within each and every person, from above to below, so that one becomes “one within One.”

Afterward, in the Amidah, through the eighteen blessings, this revelation of light is drawn down in an actual aspect of shov, “return.” In the eighteen blessings, when one says, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” the light is drawn from the level of “blessed” into the level of “You” — into direct, revealed presence before the person — as is known. After the Amidah, through Torah study, this revelation is drawn into the Torah, as it is written: “And Torah is light.” For “spirit brings spirit.” Through the above-mentioned aspect of ratzo, a spirit of drawing-down from above to below is elicited, as it is written: “If He sets His heart upon him, He will gather his spirit and his soul to Himself.” Afterward, through the performance of the commandments, this aspect of shov is drawn down even further. As is known regarding the root of the commandments, their purpose is specifically to draw the light into a vessel, as it is written: “For a commandment is a lamp.”

Regarding the fulfillment of the commandments, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Against your will you live.” The meaning is that after the love and longing expressed through self-sacrifice, in the above-mentioned aspect of ratzo, there must afterward come the aspect of shov — “return.” That is, “against your will you live” in the body, in order that the Divine light be revealed from above to below through the practical performance of the commandments. This is the meaning of “with all your heart”: first, self-sacrifice in the aspect of ratzo. Afterward comes “with all your soul,” which is the aspect of shov: to bind one’s thought, speech, and action — machshavah, dibbur, u-ma‘aseh — to the thought, speech, and action of Torah and commandments.

Now, the aspect of shov is called “heaven.” For through this aspect of shov in Torah and commandments, the light is drawn above in the form of an encompassing light, a makif. As is known, the commandments are aspects of encompassing lights. Therefore, the commandments become garments for the soul in the Garden of Eden, because garments and encompassing lights are one concept. This is the meaning of the phrase, “bound in the bond of life.” This “bond” refers to the commandments, as is known. And although Torah is called “food,” nevertheless it is also an aspect of garment, as it is written: “He wraps Himself in light as with a garment.” See this matter explained elsewhere on the verse, “For on this day He shall atone,” in connection with the teaching, “Such is the way of Torah… fortunate are you, and good is it for you”; and on the verse, “You shall see it and remember”; and on the verse, “You shall keep My Sabbaths.” Therefore, this aspect of shov that comes through Torah and commandments is called “heaven.” For just as the heavens surround the earth, so too this aspect of shov is an encompassing level surrounding the above-mentioned aspect of ratzo, which is called “earth.” Furthermore, by way of analogy from the physical earth and heavens: we see that the earth is only like a mustard seed compared to the vast sphere of the heavens, which surrounds it equally from all sides. So too, the value of this aspect of ratzo, which is called “earth,” compared to the aspect of shov that comes through Torah and commandments — which are called His will and His wisdom, blessed be He — is only like a mustard seed compared to the great expanse of the heavens.

This is the meaning of the verse: “The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.” The meaning of “My footstool” is like a small stool placed before a chair, which raises the feet. So too, the souls — which are called “the son is the leg of the father” — are elevated through the aspect of “earth,” which is the aspect of ratzo, upward yearning and ascent. More specifically, whenever there is an elevation of the supernal “earth,” meaning Knesset Yisrael, the Congregation of Israel, this is expressed as an elevation of the “feet.” This occurs on Shabbat and festivals, as it is written: “If you turn back your foot because of Shabbat.” Likewise, the three festivals are called the “three feet,” meaning the three pilgrimage festivals.

“And the heavens are My throne” refers to the aspect of shov — return, descent, and drawing downward. This is like a person who sits upon a chair, thereby lowering his stature. So too, the Divine light descends and is drawn downward. This is the meaning of the verse: “And You are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” That is, He, blessed be He, is holy and separate from all worlds. Yet through the praises of Israel, He is drawn down to be “enthroned,” meaning to descend and become revealed below. This is also like the saying of the Sages that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and occupies Himself with Torah.

This is why prayer is called “a ladder set upon the earth, whose top reaches the heavens.” The meaning is that the ladder represents the ascent in the aspect of ratzo, upward yearning and movement. Yet “its top reaches the heavens,” because in the Amidah the aspect of shov begins, as explained above. Its main expression then comes afterward through Torah and commandments. This explains what our Sages said, according to one opinion, that “earth preceded heaven” in creation. For it was explained above regarding the Shema, the Amidah, and Torah, that the aspect of ratzo must precede the aspect of shov. This is the spiritual order: specifically through an awakening from below, itaruta de-letata, an awakening from above, itaruta de-le’ela, is produced. As it is written: “If He sets His heart upon him,” and only afterward, “His spirit and His soul He gathers to Himself.” Therefore, “earth,” which is the language of ratzo, preceded “heaven,” which is the aspect of shov.

With all this, we can understand what our Sages said: “Bereishit — ‘In the beginning’ — means for the sake of Israel, who are called reishit, ‘beginning,’ and also for the sake of the Torah, which is called reishit.” For this reason, “G-d created the physical heavens and the earth.” For in Torah and in Israel there are spiritual aspects of “heaven” and “earth.” In Torah, there is the aspect of shov, “return,” which is the aspect of heaven, as explained above. And in Israel, through their divine service with self-sacrifice, there is the aspect of ratzo, “running upward,” which is the aspect of earth. Therefore, specifically through Torah and Israel, the physical heavens and earth are sustained. That is, they are sustained through the spiritual heavens and earth — the aspects of ratzo and shov — that exist through Torah and Israel. This is the meaning of the verse: “I have placed My words in your mouth… to plant the heavens and to establish the earth.” One may also say that within Torah and commandments themselves there are the aspects of heaven and earth. The practical commandments are the aspect of earth, because “the earth is My footstool,” like a stool for the feet. Similarly, “charity exalts a nation.” Torah, by contrast, is the aspect of heaven and drawing-down. See also the discourse on the teaching “the mezuzah is on the right,” and so forth. Thus, “I have placed My words in your mouth” refers to Torah. “And in the shadow of My hand I have covered you” refers to the commandments. Through these, there is “planting the heavens and establishing the earth.” Accordingly, it is well understood that Bereishit means “for the sake of Torah,” which is called reishit, because Torah itself contains the aspects of heaven and earth — Torah and commandments. Therefore, through this, the heavens and earth are sustained. The same applies to “for the sake of Israel,” because Israel also contains the aspects of ratzo and shov. See also what is written based on the Zohar, Parashat Shoftim, on the teaching: “Heaven and earth are witnesses,” and so forth.

Now, all of this concerns the “heaven and earth” of the present order, in which there must first be the aspect of “earth,” meaning ratzo, upward yearning and running. Afterward, the earth receives from the aspect of “heaven,” meaning shov, return and downward drawing. But concerning the future era, it is written: “Behold, I make something new in the earth.” The meaning of this renewal in the aspect of earth is that in the future era, the present form of ratzo associated with earth will no longer apply. At present, ratzo means longing and desire to escape from the opposite state — from the condition in which “darkness covers the earth.” This is as explained above regarding Pesukei de-Zimra, which corresponds to “the exaltations of G-d are in their throat.” Through this, a “double-edged sword” is formed “to execute vengeance upon the nations,” referring to the animal soul and the body. That is, through ratzo, there is a nullification of the will and a transformation of darkness into light — it’hapcha chashocha le-nehora. But this applies only now, when there are kelipot that conceal, until “darkness covers the earth.” These kelipot are like garments that clothe and conceal, as it is written: “I clothe the heavens in blackness.”

Therefore, we are warned in the Shema: “Guard yourselves lest your heart be seduced, and you turn aside…” and “you bow down.” The explanation is that every kelipah — every spiritual shell or concealment — that hides Divine revelation is called “other gods” and idolatry. “Bowing down” means an act of drawing down influence. Just as in holiness, through bowing — bending at the word “Blessed” — one draws down a revelation of G-dliness, so too, in the opposite realm, there is a corresponding counterpart: “G-d made one opposite the other.”

This is the meaning of the statement of our Sages, of blessed memory: “Israel who are outside the Land are worshipers of idolatry in purity.” That is, when a person is, G-d forbid, completely outside the supernal “Land” — meaning outside the will directed toward G-d, blessed be He, the aspect of “earth” that “desired” to do the will of its Creator — and instead is drawn completely after the vanities of this world, then even if these are permitted things, deriving from the good within kelipat nogah, nevertheless through this he causes nurture and influence to be drawn to the level of nogah.

This is called bowing down and drawing influence to the level of “other gods,” meaning an additional flow of nurture to the external forces. Through this, “He will restrain the heavens, and there will be no rain.” This means that there will be no holy drawing-down from the aspect of shov of the supernal heavens. Therefore, each person must arouse the aspect of ratzo: “If He sets His heart upon him,” in order to transform darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness, and “to serve Him with all your heart.” This is the aspect of “earth.” Through this, “I will give the rain of your land,” which is the aspect of shov. This is not so in the future era, for it is written: “And the spirit of impurity I will remove,” and there will no longer be any kelipah concealing the revelation of G-dliness. Likewise, it is said: “Your Teacher will no longer be hidden, and your eyes shall see.” Therefore, there will be no need at all for the nullification of the ego, which is the present form of ratzo: leaving the state of opposition and resistance. This is the meaning of: “Behold, I make something new in the earth.” It means that it will not be as it is now, where ratzo and itaruta de-letata — awakening from below — cause the Divine drawing-down. For then, since the revelation below will be like the revelation above, ratzo will no longer apply in the same way. In this way, one may explain the verse: “For the mountains shall depart.” A mountain represents the aspect of ratzo, as is known from the teaching that Abraham called the Temple Mount a “mountain.” In the future, this level will be nullified, because even below there will be actual revelation, as it says: “Eye to eye they shall see.” Therefore, the verse says that there will then be “the new heavens and the new earth which I make.” “I” specifically means that this comes from itaruta de-le’ela — awakening from above — alone, and not from itaruta de-letata, awakening from below, at all. For awakening from below is needed only to refine and transform darkness into light, as explained above. But in the future, when this refinement will no longer be necessary, there will be only awakening from above. Therefore it says: “which I make.” This is why they are called “new heavens and a new earth.” It means that they come into revelation from above to below from the Essence of the Emanator, from a level that had not yet appeared openly at the beginning of the chainlike order of spiritual worlds. This is like what is written: “On the day that Havayah Elokim made earth and heavens.” The meaning of the Divine Name Elokim here is contraction and concealment. The present heavens and earth were drawn forth through the Name Elokim, as it is written: “In the beginning Elokim created.” Through “earth,” which is the aspect of ratzo, the judgment and contraction of the Name Elokim — which conceals and hides — is sweetened.

This is the meaning of the verse: “On the day that Havayah Elokim made…” It means that this Name Elokim becomes included within Havayah. This is the explanation of the phrase “Havayah Elokim made”: it refers to the unification and integration of these two Divine Names together. All of this occurs through “earth and heavens,” meaning through the aspects of ratzo and shov. However, “earth” must specifically come first — that is, the aspect of ratzo must come first. But in the future, when there will be “new heavens and a new earth,” this will be the level of “which I make.” It will not come through the contractions of the Name Elokim. Therefore, at that time, “heavens” will come first, because there will be no need for the prior stage of ratzo. This is the meaning of: “His arrow shall go forth like lightning,” which refers to a revelation from above to below.

However, it is necessary to understand the matter of the “new heavens and the new earth.” If they come only through the aspect of itaruta de-le’ela — awakening from above — alone, which is the meaning of “which I make,” then how can there be within this an aspect of “earth,” meaning the aspect of ratzo, from the language of ratz, “running,” as explained above? After all, in the future era, the aspect of ratzo will not apply at all, even from below, as explained previously. How much more so, seemingly, should this aspect not apply to the revelation that comes from above, which is the level of “which I make.” Why, then, does the verse say, “and the new earth which I make”? It should have mentioned only the aspect of “heavens.” The explanation, however, is that even within itaruta de-le’ela alone — awakening from above alone — these two levels of ratzo and shov also exist. The difference is that there, the heavens precede the earth. “And to understand how the aspect of ratzo can exist…” This last phrase is incomplete; it begins the next explanation.

To understand how the aspect of ratzo can exist within the Essence of the Emanator, since nothing conceals before Him at all, this may be understood by way of analogy. We observe an aspect of ratzo va-shov — running and returning — in the physical human body, in the life-spirit within it that pulses in the heart. This is called in the Zohar defiku de-liba, “the beating of the heart.” The vitality in the heart comes specifically through breath, in a pattern of ratzo va-shov: expansion and withdrawal, repeating continuously. It expands, then withdraws, then expands again. This is like the pulse in the hand, where the vitality is drawn forth and expands, then withdraws, then expands again. The same is literally true of the heartbeat: it is the expansion, withdrawal, and renewed expansion of the life-spirit in the heart. This is truly like the aspect of ratzo va-shov. It follows that this kind of ratzo va-shov is still entirely within the human body itself, and not something coming to it from outside. That is to say, this ratzo va-shov is like the drawing of the soul’s vitality into the body. The order of this drawing occurs through expansion and withdrawal, which is the aspect of ratzo va-shov. From this analogy of the heartbeat, another point can also be understood: in the heartbeat, ratzo does not precede shov. On the contrary, shov precedes ratzo. This is evident physically, for first there is the expansion and drawing of vitality into the heart. This is like the aspect of shov, the drawing of the light into the vessel. Immediately afterward, however, the vitality withdraws and departs. This is the aspect of ratzo, the withdrawal of the light from the vessel. Then it returns and settles again, and this cycle repeats continuously. This is also like the breath from the mouth. First the breath and spirit expand outward, and immediately afterward they return inward, and then expand again. Through this analogy, the contemplative person can understand the supernal aspect of ratzo va-shov as it exists from above to below. This is not the same as the ratzo va-shov of the created beings, as in “the living creatures run and return.” Rather, it refers to the supernal flow of the blessed Infinite Light, Ein Sof Baruch Hu, into vessels and worlds. Indeed, even at the very beginning of the initial drawing-down from the blessed Infinite Light, as it begins to clothe itself in the root of the vessels — which are the root of all upper and lower worlds — ratzo va-shov also applies. There, it means withdrawal and expansion. For immediately after the light is drawn forth and expands, there must be withdrawal. Otherwise, the vessels would become nullified and would cease to exist as vessels. The difference is that here the expansion comes first. This is like the aspect of shov. Afterward comes withdrawal, which is ratzo. Then the cycle repeats continuously. See also what is written elsewhere on the verse, “And they shall take for Me an offering,” and so forth. Thus, here too there is an aspect of ratzo. Only, the expansion of the light comes first, and afterward it immediately withdraws and then expands again. This is the meaning of the verse: “The voice of my beloved knocks.” The “voice” and the drawing-down from above to below are also like the pulse described above.

This is called in Etz Chaim by the term mati ve-lo mati — “reaching and not reaching.” The light first mati, reaches and expands, and then it withdraws and becomes lo mati, not reaching. Thus, the aspect of mati, “reaching,” is the expansion that comes before the aspect of lo mati, “not reaching.” And all of this is within the aspect of G-dliness itself. This is the meaning of the verse: “For Havayah your G-d is a consuming fire.” The reason Divine influence is compared to fire is that fire naturally has an aspect of withdrawal after expansion, similar to the beating of the heart — defiku de-liba.

This is the meaning of “the new heavens and the new earth.” It refers to the supernal drawing-down that is drawn only through itaruta de-le’ela — awakening from above. Within this level too, there are the aspects of “heaven” and “earth.” The drawing-down itself, the aspect of mati — “reaching” or “arriving” — is called “heaven.” And the withdrawal of the light from the vessel, which is called lo mati — “not reaching” — is the aspect of “earth,” from the language of ratzo, running upward.

Therefore, here “heaven” precedes “earth,” because the aspect of mati — “reaching” or “arriving” — precedes the aspect of lo mati — “not reaching.” This is unlike the ratzo va-shov of created beings, where there must first be “earth,” meaning the aspect of ratzo, upward running and yearning, and only afterward “heaven,” meaning the aspect of shov, return and drawing-down. As it is written: “And the living creatures ran and returned,” and as it is written: “On the day that He made… earth and heavens,” as explained above.

This is the meaning of the verse: “As the new heavens and the new earth… stand before Me.” “Before Me” specifically means in the aspect of innerness and Essence — a level that itaruta de-letata, awakening from below, cannot reach at all. “So shall your seed and your name stand.” The meaning is that “your seed and your name” refer to the aspect of itaruta de-letata, awakening from below, and to the Divine drawing-down that is elicited through that awakening from below. For the commandments are called “sowing,” as it is written: “He sows righteousness.” Through this sowing, salvations sprout forth as a revelation of G-dliness from the level of the shin-ayin nehorin — the 370 lights. “And your name” refers to the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, kabbalat ol malchut shamayim, as in the verse: “And David made a name.”

Now, it has already been explained that the aspect of the “new heavens and new earth” is a revelation from a level that itaruta de-letata — awakening from below — cannot reach at all. This revelation will occur in the future era. Therefore, one might have thought that the Divine drawing-down produced through itaruta de-letata — through Torah and commandments, in the aspect of our present “earth and heavens,” namely ratzo va-shov — would become completely nullified because of that immense revelation from the level of “which I make.” For this reason, the verse says: “So shall your seed and your name stand.” This means that even this level of itaruta de-letata, awakening from below, will be elevated so that it too stands “before Me,” in the very inner dimension, just like the level of the new heavens and the new earth. As it is written: “Behold, My servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted, lifted up, and very high.” “My servant” refers to the aspect of itaruta de-letata, awakening from below — the service of “to work it and to guard it.” This very level will ascend from elevation to elevation, until it becomes “very high.”