Last updated 8.28.24
Let’s review the flow of the verses to this point.
- The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
- Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
- Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils, your name is ‘oil poured forth.’ Therefore, the maidens loved you.
- Draw me, we will run after you; the king brought me to his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you. We will recall your love more fragrant than wine; they have loved you sincerely.
- I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem! Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
- Do not look upon me [disdainfully] because I am swarthy, for the sun has gazed upon me; my mother’s sons were incensed against me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards; my own vineyard I did not keep.
- Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you feed, where do you rest [the flocks] at noon, for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
8. “If you do not know, O fairest of women, go your way in the footsteps of the flocks and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ dwellings.
9. At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh’s chariots have I silenced you, my beloved.
10. Your cheeks are comely with rows, your neck with necklaces.
11. We will make you rows of gold with studs of silver.”
Me’or Einayim, Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl
Agency of the Male
- (link back to previous Yesod concepts and emphasis — expand more from shaare orah?
Partzufim (intro the concept) connect to temple etc …
A Partzuf is a person’s “face” or “appearance” with his or her distinctive features, head, body, arms and legs. The human form reflects that of the Tree of Life, which is one of perfect balance. In the human body, the right and left sides meet and are balanced in the center column. The human form thus expresses the alignment and balance of right and left, giver and receiver. Another expression of this alignment and balance is when Male and Female interact and join together in mutual cooperation, stimulation, giving and receiving. In the terminology of the Kabbalah, this mutual interaction takes the form of Chibur, connecting, and Zivug, pairing and mating. All these concepts of giver/receiver, right/left, male/female, mutual interaction, cooperation and stimulation are aspects of the array of Partzufim through which the ten Sefirot function in different ways on different levels to bring creation to its ultimate purpose …
… The ultimate goal of creation is the complete revelation of God on all levels. In this rectified state, Giver and Receiver are perfectly aligned. The movement of creation towards this rectified state is characterized by various kinds of “joining” and “pairing” of the various Partzufim, some of which are more involved in “giving”, while others are more associated with “receiving”. The supreme example of creative interaction, giving and receiving, is when Man and Wife align and join together in holy union – Yichud – to parent a child who will unite in one being essential qualities of both. They accomplish this through Chibur, joining together, and Zivug, cooperative interaction. …
In a person’s inner spiritual life, the Giver is God and the person or soul, the Receiver, is the “Wife”, while the “children” are the person’s spiritual achievements and good deeds. Yichud, holy union, comes about when the receiver “joins” him or herself to God. One makes oneself the vessel for Godly light by binding all one’s limbs and faculties to His service and filling one’s mind and soul with the words of prayer coming from one’s mouth into one’s ears. When a person makes him or herself a vessel for Godly light on the level of thought, word and action, Shechinah, the Indwelling Presence, is aligned to receive from Melech, the King.
When this unification (Yichud) comes about, the receiving Partzuf of Nukva, the female, is aligned to receive from Zeir Anpin, the male. On the level of the Names of the two Partzufim involved, this union is expressed through the “joining” of the two Divine Names YHVH and ADNY to form new power-combinations. One of the better known examples of how these two names may be “joined together” is through Shiluv, “interweaving” the letters of the two names as in YAHDVNHY or AYDHNVYH, as printed in certain prayer-books. Those who know the meaning of these Shiluvim may visualize and contemplate them at appropriate points in their prayers, thereby unifying the Giver, the Holy One blessed-be-He, and the Receiver, the Shechinah.
Mishkney Elyon, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:2
Revisiting the question from verse 6 … connect to ‘the great good’ in text just above ^.
Ani Lipitz, “Helping Each Other Through the Home Stretch” (Stream of 1.16.24)
Kol Hator, Chapter 2, Aspect #56
“Moshiach and His Effect on the World,” Yitzi Hurwitz
“The Secret Doctrine of the Gaon of Vilna,” Joel David Bakst
Parts of the soul of the Tzaddik are to be found in the whole creation, especially in God’s People, and especially in all the true Tzaddikim.
Tikunei Zohar 69:112a
They walk the same less-travelled path that the ‘One’ does:
A man can travel on a narrow path, or he can travel on a broad, smooth road. How do the two paths differ? In the number of people who have been that way. The path that only few have gone remains narrow and bumpy, whereas the feet of the multitude tread out a broad and smooth roadway. The righteous (those who remain faithful to man’s spiritual goals) travel on a ‘path’, the wicked (who have self-indulgently allowed themselves to stray after material goals) travel on a ‘road.’ The road of the wicked is well-troden; many others have traveled it before. Tzaddikim, on the other hand, walk a way that only a select few have passed.
“The Juggler and the King,” Aharon Feldman
Why he is needed
Because of the physical restraints imposed upon him by this world, man – almost without exception – finds it nearly impossible to perceive this spiritualism. The Tzaddik is the exception. He does have a grasp of the spiritual. He can discover the level and the route – and not only his own, but those of others as well … A Tzaddik knows on what to concentrate his energies and how to focus on it, and he knows how then to bring his understanding down to a level that even ordinary people can comprehend.” … “The bond which we seek to create with the Tzaddik is a spiritual one.
Crossing the Narrow Bridge, Chaim Kramer, p. 320,328
Male – female ..
Receiving counsel from the tzaddik creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. In a sense, this is like a marriage. Through the transmission of his advice, a union occurs between the tzaddik and the person receiving from him.
Likutey Moharan I, 7:4
Arousal …
In freeing the captive secrets from dominion of the husks (that which conceals the truth) they would also liberate the soul of the Mashiach and help him to complete the Redemption, ‘for the Mashiach is called tzadik (‘righteous one’), as in the allusion in Scripture: “he is righteous and saved” (Zechariah 9:9), and those who hold fast to his strength are called tzadikim (‘righteous ones’).
“Messianic Mysticism,” Isaiah Tishby
Conversely, the righteous one (i.e., messiah) helps himself by being willing to help others:
Whats in it for him? …
The Tzaddik is … “one who gives freely and generously. By lifting up his brethren, he himself is raised.”
“On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah,” Gershom Scholem
Compare to guarantee (on yaala page)
The main guarantor is the soul of Mashiach, which is the collective soul of all tzaddikim (righteous ones) throughout the generations. Mashiach will complete all rectifications and fix all the damage that was incurred throughout history … he serves as guarantor for them all.
“Likutey Halakhos,” Rabbi Nosson of Breslov
“As he (the tzaddik) is the comprehensive soul of his generation, he can elevate all and everything that is rooted in his soul … he can elevate even the souls of the wicked.”
“Chassidic Dimensions, Vol. 3,” Jacob Immanuel Schochet
What is the Meaning of Neo’s Return?
As for Neo’s ‘death’ in The Matrix Revolutions and how he is returning for The Matrix Resurrections:
Within the hands of Yesod/Tzaddik are the souls of all living things. Because of this it is also called Hei ha-olamim – the “eternally living one.”
Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics, Elliot R. Wolfson
“… that fundamental experience of liberation, when suddenly there comes a time when you are free to fulfill your potential because the whole environment, the climate, changes. At that time, a messianic process is unfolding around you; there is growth of spirituality and now you can develop into a profoundly holy person. Mashiach liberates you, providing an environment where you can really grow, flourish and thrive. If you are not so inclined, you don’t have to, but you can if you want. Your spiritual potential can now be actualized. That’s the essential idea of the mashiach; he removes the physical constraints and allows for, and brings, a spiritual environment.”
Rabbi Mendel Kessin
8. “If you do not know, O fairest of women, go your way in the footsteps of the flocks and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ dwellings.
9. At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh’s chariots have I silenced you, my beloved.
10. Your cheeks are comely with rows, your neck with necklaces.
11. We will make you rows of gold with studs of silver.”
Notess
(1) Concepts evolve out of the exchanges — chibur!
This is a “collective commentary” that anyone can contribute citations and ideas to. See our Home Page for contact info.
HELPFUL KEYWORDS TO SEARCH WITH FOR THIS SECTION: fr