The Lord Called unto Moses
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O God, You Are My God; I Shall Seek You Earnestly364) “A Psalm of David, when he was in the Judah desert.” David sang when he fled from his father-in-law to the desert. Why did he say, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly ... in a dry and weary land”? “You are my God” means that I always cling to the name of God, Gevura, since He is in the desert. “I will seek You earnestly.” How could David seek the Creator in a far off land while he was expelled from the land where Divinity is present, which is Jerusalem? 365) However, even though David was expelled from there, he did not leave his own, meaning seeking the Creator. “I will seek You” is as though one says, “I would go and appear before You, but I cannot.” Thus, “I will seek You, but I am outside the place where Divinity is present and I cannot seek you. “My soul longs for You,” since my soul and my body yearn for You, to be seen before You. And I cannot because I am in a dry and weary land, without water, since outside the place where Divinity is present it is called “A dry and weary land, for there is no living water here.” Living water is Divinity, “A well of living water.” This is why it writes, “A dry and weary land,” without water. The Morning Doe367) “For the Leader upon the morning doe [“deer” or “the morning star”], a psalm of David.” The morning doe is the assembly of Israel, called “A lovely hind and a graceful doe.” But is the doe of the dawn, meaning Malchut, not through the whole day? A doe is from that place which is called “A lovely hind and a graceful doe.” She comes from a place called “dawn,” as it is written, “Is sure as the morning,” meaning Hesed. King David said that about the assembly of Israel, which means that what is written about the morning doe, Malchut, is when she clothes in Hesed. 368) When the night falls, the upper and lower doors shut, and all the outer ones awaken and roam throughout the world, turning people’s bodies and surrounding their places and beds. They see the shape of the holy King who watches over them, and they are afraid to do harm because the people strengthen themselves in their beds with the words of the holy Name and they are kept. And the souls of people rise each as it should. Happy are the righteous, whose souls rise while they sleep and do not detain in a place where they needn’t. 369) At half the night, a herald stands and declares and the doors are opened. At that time, a spirit of the north side awakens, meaning illumination of Hochma in the left line, and strikes the harp of David, meaning Malchut. It plays by itself and praises the King, ZA, and the Creator entertains Himself with the righteous in the garden. 370) Happy is he who awakens from his sleep at that time and engages in Torah. Also, anyone who rises at that time and exerts in Torah is called “a friend of the Creator and of the assembly of Israel.” Moreover, they are called “His brothers and friends,” as it is written, “For the sake of my brothers and friends I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’” They are considered friends of the upper angels and upper camps, as it is written, “The friends listen to your voice.” 371) When the day rises, a herald stands and declares, and the doors on the south side open. Then the stars and signs awaken and the doors of Rachamim [mercy] open, and the King sits and receives praises from the friends who rose at night. At that time, the assembly of Israel takes these words of praise and rises to the King, ZA, and all the friends who rose at night grip to the wings of Malchut. Their words of praise come and reside in the King’s bosom, and then the King commands to write down all those words. 372) In the book, all the sons of His palace who rise at night are written down, and a thread of grace extends over them during the day, and from that thread of grace, the man is crowned with the crown of the King, which is GAR. Then upper and lower fear him, he enters all the King’s gates and there is no one to protest against him. Even when the litigants are poised to sentence the world, they do not sentence him because he was registered in the King’s list, and it is known that he is from the King’s palace. For this reason, they do not pass judgment on him. Happy are the righteous who engage in Torah, especially when the Creator longs for words of Torah, at midnight. 373) The assembly of Israel does not stand before the King, ZA, unless in the Torah. As long as Israel that are in the land engage in Torah, the assembly of Israel is with them. When they are idle from words of Torah, the assembly of Israel cannot be with them for even an hour. For this reason, when the assembly of Israel awakens to the King in the Torah of the lower ones, her strength grows and the holy King is delighted to greet her. 374) And as long as the assembly of Israel comes before the King and the Torah is not with her, her strength withers. Woe unto those who weaken the force of above. And for this reason, happy are those who engage in Torah. It is even more so at the time when they need to partake with the assembly of Israel at midnight. Then the Creator calls upon him and says, “You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Watchman, What of the Night375) “The burden of Dumah. One calls unto me from Seir, ‘Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?’” “The burden of Dumah.” As long as Israel are in exile, their own time and end, and the time and end of that exile are known. However, the exile of Edom is a burden of Duma—its end is unrevealed and unknown. 376) The Creator said, “One calls unto me from Seir.” “I heard a voice in the exile of Seir, from those who are pressured among them, from those who lay in the dust. They say, ‘Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?’ They ask me about My queen, who is called, “night,” and say, ‘What have You done of My queen?’” 377) Then the Creator gathered His company, the high angels who are close to Him, and said, “See My beloved sons, who are pressured in exile, leaving their own affliction and asking about the queen. They tell Me, ‘Watchman! You, who is called ‘Watchman,’ where is your keeping? Where is the keeping of Your home? What of the night? What have You done with the night,’ meaning with Malchut, who is called, ‘night.’ ‘Is this how You have been keeping her? What of the night?’” Before Malchut bonds with ZA, she is called “night.” When she bonds with ZA, she is called “night” [with a Hey at the end, in Hebrew], as it is written, “It was a night of watching,” and it is written, “This same night.” 378) Then the Creator replied unto Israel: “My keeping is present, for I am destined to receive her and to be with her, as it is written, ‘The watchman said.’” This means that the watchman of the house, the Creator, comes in the morning, as well as at night. This is so because first, the Creator departed high above and raised the morning—Yesod, which is always with Him. And now comes the morning, which is ready to bond with the night, Malchut, and the night, too, is ready for unification with Yesod, but they are delayed because of you. “If you wish it, why do you delay? Return, return and repent. Then, ‘return, come unto Me,’ and we will all be in one place. We will all return to our places, as it is written, ‘Then the Lord your God will turn your captivity.’ It did not say, ‘turn,’ but ‘will turn,’ since it says ‘turn’ twice here [in the Hebrew]: for the assembly of Israel to return to the Creator and for the Creator to return to the assembly of Israel. It is written about that, ‘Then the Lord your God will turn your captivity ... and will return and gather you from all the peoples.’”
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