The Lord Called unto Moses

He Shall Restore That Which He Took

263) It is written, “If a soul should sin.” It is written that the Torah and the Creator wonder about her and say, “If a soul should sin.” It is also written, “If a soul commits a trespass,” or “If a soul swears clearly.” It writes, “soul [Nefesh],” and not Ruach or Neshama, since the Ruach and the Neshama do not sin. Rather, they are flawed by the sinning Nefesh.

And here in the robbery there are body and soul [Guf and Nefesh respectively], as it is written, “If he has sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took,” relating to one who comes to correct his deeds, for it was said, “That he shall restore.” It is as one who corrects his actions so that the fountains of waters, which are the upper abundance, will return to their place to water the plantations—which are the Sefirot—for by his sins he deprived them of the abundance. It is said about that, “He shall restore that which he took.”

The Righteous Shall Flourish Like the Palm-Tree

265) But “The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree” is said about the exile in Babylon, when Divinity returned to her place only after seventy years, as it is written, “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you.’” This is “The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree,” that male and female rise over seventy years. The righteous is the Creator, who returned to Babylon after seventy years, as it is written, “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness,” and it is written, “The Lord is righteous,” and, “Say to the righteous that it will be good.” Thus, the Creator is called “righteous.”

266) “He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” A cedar is the Creator, as it is written, “Excellent as the cedars.” “Shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon,” and Lebanon means upper Eden, Hochma, of which it is written, “Neither has an eye seen a God but You.” And a cedar, which is ZA, will grow in that high place, when it rises there.

267) In the last exile, the Creator is as a cedar whose blooming and growing is detained. From the time He rises until He is established in His persistence, to the time when redemption occurs, it is a day, and a day of the Creator is a thousand years. And the beginning of the second day, until it casts a shade in the light of the day—after midday, when the sun begins to set in the day of the Creator—it is five hundred years later. Thus, redemption will come after one thousand five hundred years.

And a cedar rises only when the water is refined, as it is written, “As cedars beside the waters.” Similarly, the cedar will grow in Lebanon, since from there—from Lebanon, which is Hochma—a fountain, a river comes out, meaning Bina, to water the cedar. And this cedar is the Creator, who is ZA, who receives the watering, as it is written, “Excellent as the cedars.”

268) Planted in the house of God is for the time of the Messiah King. In the courtyards, our God will cause him to flourish, in the revival of the dead. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age,” on the day when the world is ruined, in the seventh millennium. “They shall be full of sap and fresh,” after the world is rebuilt in the new heaven and new earth. Then, “The Lord will rejoice in His works,” and all that, “To declare that the Lord is upright, my Rock, in whom there is no unrighteousness.”

And a Slanderer Separates the Champion

270) “A perverse man spreads strife” means that he sends strife to those plantations, ZON, which causes them to be nourished from the side of Din, the left of Bina. Strife implies Din, “And a slanderer separates the champion” are the wicked ones that inflict a flaw above. He separates because there is no unification between ZON, for he separates the queen from the King. For this reason, he is not regarded as one, meaning ZA and Malchut are not in unity. Woe unto those wicked who cause separation above, and happy are the righteous who keep the sustenance above, the unification of ZON, and happy are those who repent, for they restore everything to its place.

271) For this reason, in a place where they who repent dwell, complete righteous do not dwell. Rather, they who repent are established in a high place, the place of the watering of the garden, Bina, who waters the garden, which is Malchut. This is the repentance that brings Malchut back to Bina, and this is why they are called “they who repent” [Hebrew: return]. And the complete righteous are corrected elsewhere, for they are called Tzadik [righteous], which is Yesod de ZA.

272) Hence, they who repent dwell in a high place, Bina, and the complete righteous dwell in a small place—Yesod de ZA—since they who repent bring back the water, the abundance, from the high place of the deep river, Bina, to the place called Tzadik, Yesod de ZA. And complete righteous extend the abundance from their dwelling place—Yesod de ZA—to this world. This is why they who repent are superior and the complete righteous are below. Happy are they who repent, for they extend the abundance from Bina to Yesod de ZA, and happy are the righteous, since the world exists for them, for they extend the abundance from Yesod de ZA to this world.

273) “Then it shall be, if he has sinned and is guilty.” It is also written, “Or has found what was lost and lied about it.” The sinner makes a flaw above, hence the Creator departs from everything. It is as though the Creator is nonexistent because the assembly of Israel, Malchut, was separated from her place, as it is written, “Faith has been lost.” Faith is the assembly of Israel, as it is written, “Your faith in the nights,” where night is Malchut.

“Faith has been lost,” as in, “Why is the land ruined?” It is all one, since Malchut is called “faith” and she is called “land.” And we already said that when it writes that she is lost, it means that Malchut has lost her mate, Yesod. It does not say, “Is being lost” or “lost,” which would mean that she herself has been lost. Similarly, it is written, “The righteous is lost.” It does not say, “Is lost” or “Was lost,” but “lost,” meaning that he has lost his mate, Malchut, as it was written, “Faith has been lost.” This is why it is written, “That he shall restore that which he took by robbery ... or the lost thing,” since Malchut that was flawed by his sin is called “lost,” and the loss must be returned to the righteous, Yesod, who lost it.