Know! merely exchanging gazes with the true tzaddik is also a great thing. Certainly, it is even better when one merits hearing Torah from his mouth. But even when one does not hear Torah, just the seeing—that one merits exchanging gazes with the tzaddik—is also very good.

By exchanging gazes with the true tzaddik one receives greatness. And the essence of greatness is lowliness, as we find of God: Wherever you find the Blessed Holy One’s greatness, there you find His humility (Megillah 31a). This is because the essence of greatness is lowliness. And in the Resurrection destined for the future, when people will be resurrected and live eternally, it will essentially be each person’s lowliness that is restored to life and resurrected. For each person’s lowliness will be restored to life in the future and be resurrected, as in “Awake and sing out, you who dwell in the dust” (Isaiah 26:19), and as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: someone who became a dweller in the dust in his lifetime (Sotah 5a). Essentially, it will be nothing other than the lowliness which will be resurrected—that each person’s lowliness will in the future be restored to life and resurrected.

At present, it is impossible for people to attain the delight of the World to Come. This is because presently we are finite, and anything which is subject to limitation cannot attain the spiritual delight of the World to Come. Thus, also [of] Shabbat delight, which is a foretaste of the World to Come, our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: Whoever delights in the Shabbat is granted a boundless inheritance (Shabbat 118a)—i.e., without limit. This is because Shabbat delight, which is a foretaste of the World to Come, is the concept of boundlessness.

Therefore, the eternal life destined for the future, the concept of the delight of the World to Come, will primarily be only for each person’s lowliness. This is because lowliness and humility are boundless, the concept of nothingness, literally. One [who acquires these traits] is not subject to limitation, because he is at the ultimate level of humility, and the eternal life of the World to Come is only [for one] with this type of boundlessness. This is why it is said of Shabbat, which is a foretaste of the World to Come: “those who taste her merit life” (Shabbat Mussaf Prayer). For whoever tastes the delight of Shabbat merits life, the concept of eternal life, as mentioned above.

2. And know! every single person merits receiving greatness commensurate with the shining of his mentalities, as in “a Melekh (King) bound in the ReHaTim (tresses)” (Song of Songs 7:6)—inside the RaHaTei (rafters of) the mind (Tikkuney Zohar #6, p.21b). In other words, the concept of Malkhut (Kinship)—i.e., greatness—is bound and tied in the compartments of the mind, so that he receives greatness commensurate with the shining of the mentalities.

Now, the mentalities and daat (unitive knowledge and awareness of God) are the concept of building the Holy Temple, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: For someone with daat, it is as if the Holy Temple was built in his day. For daat and the Holy Temple are each positioned between two Divine Names… (Berakhot 33a). Therefore, each person, commensurate with his mind and daat, and to the extent he immerses himself in daat—the more he occupies himself with expanding his mind and daat—he likewise occupies himself with construction of the Holy Temple. This is because, conceptually, the Holy Temple is constructed primarily with daat .

There is one whose mind is quick and sharp, who is constantly occupied with expanding his mind and daat. Conceptually, this is engaging in the Holy Temple’s construction. And to the extent that his daat and mind become greater, he merits greatness. This is the concept of “If you see a man quick in his work—he will attend upon kings” (Proverbs 22:29). “A man quick in his work” alludes to one whose mind is quick and sharp. He is “quick in his work”—i.e., in the construction work of the Holy Temple. For the work of constructing the Holy Temple is commensurate with his mind, as mentioned above, and as a result “he will attend upon M’LaKhim”—i.e., he merits greatness, the concept of MaLKhut. This is because the greatness is commensurate with the shining of the mind, as in “a melekh bound in the compartments,” as mentioned above.

3. Now, there is a universal mind and there are individual minds. All the individual minds receive from the all-inclusive mind, namely, the [leading] sage of the generation. This is the benefit of meriting exchanging gazes with the true tzaddik, who is the sage of the generation, the concept of the all-inclusive sage. As a result of that all-inclusive sage seeing and gazing at him, a person’s mind shines. And on account of his mind shining he receives greatness, because greatness is primarily produced by the mind’s shining, as mentioned above. This is because “eyes” refers to wisdom, as it is written (Genesis 3:7), “Then the eyes of both of them were opened”—and Rashi comments: This was said with respect to wisdom.

Therefore, when this sage, who is the all-inclusive mind, gazes at a person, he shines into him wisdom and intellect, so that his mind shines and he receives greatness. For each person has some measure of mind and daat, commensurate with his level. However, each person’s mind and daat are mired in constriction and fail to shine. But when the generation’s sage, who is the all-inclusive mind, gazes at him, this causes each person’s mind to shine commensurate with his mind’s level. And as a result of the mind’s shining, each person receives greatness commensurate with the level of his mind, because greatness is primarily a product of the mind’s shining, as mentioned above.

4. Moshe Rabbeinu, may peace be upon him, was the all-inclusive daat of all of Israel. Therefore, merely through his seeing, through gazing into each person, he could apportion greatness and authority to each one as was appropriate for the level of [that person’s] mind.

This is the concept of “As for you, you shall see from among all the people… and you shall appoint over them captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds…” (Exodus 18:21). Specifically “As for you, you shall see,” because through Moshe Rabbeinu’s seeing alone—that he would see and gaze at each and every person—each one’s mind would shine. And through this, each one received greatness and authority commensurate with his worthiness, as was appropriate for the level of his mind—i.e., the concept of “captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds….”

Thus, this is “As for you, you shall see… and you shall appoint over them captains of thousands….” As a result of Moshe seeing and gazing at the people, through this itself he appoints them “captains of thousands….” This is because as a result of his gazing at them, each one receives his greatness through the shining of his mind, which shines on account of the sage of the generation, the concept of Moshe, gazing at him, as mentioned above.

And Moshe could also dictate that this one would be a captain of a thousand, and that one a captain of a hundred, and so on. Through his gazing at them, he knew the greatness which each one deserved, because through his gazing he knew the shining of each one’s mind—since the greatness which he deserves is commensurate with the mind’s shining, as mentioned above.

5. And so, each person receives the greatness which is genuinely appropriate for him, according to the level of his mind, on account of there being a true leader, a “Moshe,” who merely by gazing is able to apportion to each one the greatness befitting him. Thus, each of Israel’s captains and leaders knows how to originate Torah insights which are genuinely appropriate for him, in concert with the level of his mind—not lower and not higher. Now that each person has the standing genuinely befitting him—i.e., his authority and greatness are genuinely appropriate for him, as mentioned above—therefore, based on his greatness and appointment, each one knows how and how much he has to originate in Torah, and to how many people he should address [his] Torah lesson. The one appointed over a thousand Jews, namely, a captain of a thousand, must address Torah to a thousand people; and in a similar manner, all of them.

6. Now, every person possesses the element of spirit. And the true leader of all the Jews, i.e., the concept of Moshe, is the all-inclusive spirit, as in (Numbers 27:18), “a man in whom there is spirit”—and Rashi expounds: who knows how to deal with the spirit of each individual. For the true leader is the concept of the all-inclusive spirit. He knows how to deal with each and every spirit because they all receive from him. For he is the all-inclusive ruach (spirit), the concept of “Thus says God: Come from the four ruchot (winds), O ruach !” (Ezekiel 37:9).

And this spirit is “the spirit of the Lord,” which is itself the concept of mentalities, as in “And I have filled him with the spirit of the Lord in wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge and in every work” (Exodus 31:3)—i.e., the mentalities, which conceptually are the construction work of the Holy Temple, as mentioned above.

And according to “the spirit of the Lord”—which is Divine inspiration, the spirit of prophecy—that each person possesses, he merits originating in Torah. This is because this spirit of the Lord resides upon the face of the Torah, as in “and the spirit of the Lord hovering over the water’s surface” (Genesis 1:2)—i.e., on the face of the Torah, which is called “water,” as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded. Therefore, through this spirit of the Lord one merits originating in Torah, because the spirit of the Lord resides upon the face of the Torah.

And so, on account of the true leader—who conceptually is Moshe/all-inclusive daat /all inclusive-spirit—the mind of every person shines. This is itself the spirit of the Lord which he draws down for each one, because the spirit of the Lord is itself the mentalities, as mentioned above. Therefore, through this, original Torah insights are drawn to each person. For original Torah insights come about via the spirit of the Lord that resides upon the face of the Torah, which is itself the concept of mentalities—all of which stems from the leader, a “Moshe”/all-inclusive daat /all inclusive-spirit, as mentioned above.

7 . However, this leader must be a great ascetic, with great holiness, since only then is he able to be a leader of the Jewish people. For it is his great abstinence and holiness which enables him to see and gaze at every Jew and apportion greatness to each one merely by gazing at him, as in “As for you, you shall see,” as mentioned above. For this gazing is dependent upon holiness and great abstinence. Therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu, who was holy, and exceedingly abstinent by Divine fiat, as it is written (Deuteronomy 5:28), “As for you, you shall remain here with Me,” was able to see and gaze at Israel and apportion greatness to them through this.

And this is the meaning of “As for you, you shall see.” Specifically “you,” since only Moshe, who was a very great ascetic, with great holiness, merits this [power of] gazing. For this gazing, the concept of “As for you, you shall see (techezeh),” depends solely on holiness and abstinence from this desire.

This is the concept of “and they washed HaZoNoT (the harlots)” (1 Kings 22:38)—and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: to clarify two CheZyoNoT (visions) (Sanhedrin 39b). That is, to the extent that a person washes himself of this desire, the concept of “and they washed hazonot”—i.e., they washed themselves of this desire—he likewise clarifies and burnishes two chezyonot: the concepts of “As for you, techezeh,” [and] “Chazita (If you see) a man quick in his work…”—i.e., the aforementioned concept of gazing. For the aforementioned gazing primarily comes about through holiness and abstinence from this desire. This is because this desire is a blemish of the eyes, as it is written (Numbers 15:39), “You shall not stray… or after your eyes, after which you go whoring.”

Therefore, [a true leader] must sanctify himself to a very high degree, with great abstinence from this desire, as then he will have the pure eyes with which to see and gaze and to apportion appropriate greatness to each one merely by gazing at him, as mentioned above. And specifically then he will be able to be a leader of the Jewish people, as mentioned above.

But when the Jews lack such a leader and guide, everyone is genuinely mixed up and confused. Whoever wants notoriety takes it, as is presently the case on account of our numerous transgressions. For the Jewish people must have a guide to supervise and ensure that each one has the standing genuinely appropriate for him. And this guide must be an ascetic and very holy, analogous to the holiness and abstinence of Moshe. He will then be able to lead the Jews and, merely by gazing, give each one the greatness appropriate for him, as mentioned above.

8. And this leads to returning to God, because repentance is mainly generated by embarrassment. Thus, on account of the leader who is a “Moshe,” who gazes into each person and causes his mind to shine, so that he merits Torah interpretations, i.e., original Torah insights—through this, embarrassment is drawn to each person.

Each person then perceives his own shame and humiliation, for transgression is certainly very embarrassing. This is because sin is totally inappropriate for a Jew, and it is certainly entirely unbecoming for a Jew to transgress, God forbid.

But also a mitzvah—when a person wants to perform some mitzvah, he ought to also feel greatly embarrassed. What right does he have to perform the mitzvah? How does he dare to enter the Chamber of the King to perform the mitzvah? He should reflect on the greatness of the One before Whom he performs the mitzvah, and also the significance of the mitzvah itself. For the mitzvah itself is very precious, incomprehensibly so. And so certainly a person ought to be flooded with great embarrassment when he is about to perform a mitzvah, when he looks at himself and sees that he is very distant from God and has no merit that would make him worthy of performing it.

A person who felt embarrassment would be ashamed even to take the food to put into his mouth, because whoever eats what belongs to another is embarrassed to look him in the face (Yerushalmi, Orlah 1, p.6a). And now that he hasn’t any merit to have food, he consequently eats what is not his and is embarrassed to look into another’s face. Thus, he should certainly be ashamed to even put the food into his mouth.

Yet, mainly, the embarrassment is drawn through the aforementioned leader, the concept of Moshe, who draws Torah interpretations to each one. Through this he draws embarrassment upon each one, as during the Giving of the Torah, when Moshe drew the Torah to the Jews. It is stated there: “and in order that His fear be upon your face, so that you do not sin” (Exodus 20:17)—and as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: this is embarrassment (Nedarim 20a). And this is “so that you do not sin”—i.e., they should feel shame so as not to commit an unintentional- or an intentional-sin, God forbid.

And also even “so that you do not sin,” when not committing a transgression, His fear must be on one’s face—i.e., shame. For even when a person performs a mitzvah, he must also feel great embarrassment, as mentioned above. How can he come and snatch the tefilin, the very crowns of the King, and suddenly put them on his head? He certainly ought to feel great embarrassment when about to perform some mitzvah. This embarrassment is drawn through the Torah interpretations, by means of the aforementioned leader, as it was during the Giving of the Torah, as mentioned above.

Therefore, when the Torah was given, the entire Jewish people merited holiness and abstinence, as it is written (Exodus 19:15), “Ready yourselves for three days. Do not go near a woman.” They all sanctified themselves by means of abstinence, through Moshe, who was holy and exceedingly abstinent. He drew the Torah to them through this, and so holiness and abstinence, too, were drawn over them.

And when people merit feeling embarrassment, each person then perceives his distance from God—how he is very far from Him. He is flooded with great shame, and as a result of the shame, repents. For repentance is mainly generated by embarrassment. And, conceptually, repentance is life, the concept of “Return, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32). This is the concept of the eternal life of the World to Come/Shabbat, the concept of “those who taste her merit life.”

This is also BeReIShiYT—YaReI BoSheT (fear, embarrassment), YaReI ShaBbaT (fear, Shabbat) (Tikkuney Zohar #7, p.24a; ibid. #9, p.24b). Fear and embarrassment—i.e., the concept of repentance—correspond to Shabbat, the eternal life of the World to Come. And essentially, what will live is each person’s lowliness, because it is that lowliness which will be restored to life and resurrected, as mentioned above. Therefore, by virtue of the repentance/eternal life of the World to Come, the lowliness of Moshe Rabbeinu, which is in every Jew, within each and every limb, returns to life and is resurrected.

Know! each and every limb of every single Jew has Moshe Rabbeinu’s lowliness within it. The Jews merited this at the revelation at Mount Sinai, as then Moshe drew his lowliness into each and every limb of every single Jew. But that Moshe-lowliness which is rooted in every single Jew lies dormant in each one, in the aspect of sleep and death. This is because for each person this lowliness is concealed. It does not rouse or reveal itself in him.

However, through repentance, which is the eternal life of the World to Come, each person’s lowliness will be restored to life. This is because the Resurrection will essentially be of the lowliness; the lowliness will be restored to life and resurrected, as mentioned above. Through this, Moshe’s lowliness, which is rooted in every limb of every single Jew, is restored to life. Previously, this lowliness lay dormant, concealed and covered in him, in the aspect of death. But now, through repentance, which is the eternal life of the World to Come, that lowliness reawakens and returns to life, as mentioned above.

For eternal life, the resurrection that will take place in the future, will in essence be of nothing other than the lowliness—each person’s lowliness will be restored to life and resurrected. And when his lowliness—that Moshe-lowliness which is within each and every limb—is restored to life, each person then perceives and feels his lowliness, now that the Moshe-lowliness within each and every one of his limbs has returned to life and been revealed.

9. This is the explanation of: “The b’er (well) which captains chafaruha (dug), which n’divei (the nobles) of the people excavated, with a m’chokek (scepter), with their staff. And from the wilderness, a gift” (Numbers 21:18).

B’ER— This alludes to Bei’URei (the interpretations of) Torah which the “captains” of the Jewish people merit on account of a “Moshe” gazing at them. As a result of this, each one receives the greatness appropriate for him, through which they merit Torah interpretations, the concept of original Torah insights, as mentioned above. As a result of the Torah interpretations they are worthy of shame and repentance, as mentioned above.

And this is: The well which captains chafaruha.

ChaFaRuha— This alludes to shame, as it is written (Isaiah 24:23), “The moon ChaFRah (will be ashamed), the sun will be embarrassed.” By virtue of the aforementioned Bei’URei Torah, the concept of B’ER, one merits embarrassment, as mentioned above. And this is:

which captains dug— That is, the aforementioned captains, the concept of “captains of thousands, [and] captains of hundreds…,” as mentioned above. And this is:

which n’divei of the people excavated— “N’DiVei of the people” alludes to repentance, as Rashi expounds the verse “when the people hitNaDeiV (offered)” (Judges 5:2)—when they offered their heart to repentance. And this is:

with a m’chokek, with their st aff— “M’chokek” is Moshe, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (see Bava Batra 15a). In addition, M ’ChoKeK has a numerical value of 248—alluding to Moshe’s lowliness which is in every single Jew, in his 248 limbs, within each and every limb, as mentioned above. “With their staff” alludes to resurrection, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded the verse “each man his staff in his hand” (Zechariah 8:4)—the tzaddikim are destined to resurrect the dead… (Pesachim 68a). Thus, this is “with a m’chokek, with their staff”—i.e., Moshe’s lowliness, which is within all the 248 limbs of each and every person, will be restored to life as a result of repentance. And this is:

And from the wilderness, a gift— “Wilderness” alludes to lowliness; that a person trains himself to be a wilderness, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (Eruvin 54a). As a result of this “a gift”—i.e., Shabbat, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: I have a precious gift in My treasure-vault. Shabbat is her name (Shabbat 10b). This is because the delight of the World to Come—the concept of Shabbat/eternal life—will primarily be only for each individual’s lowliness, as mentioned above.

10. And this is as it is written: {“Does the eagle soar by your command, building its nest up high, dwelling on the rock and lodging there, upon the crag and fortress? From there chafar (it searches) for food; its eyes look out to the distance” (Job 39:27-29).} dwelling on the rock and lodging— “Rock” is the B’ER, the concept of Bei’URei Torah, the concept of “The b’er which captains chafaruha” as mentioned above. And this is:

From there chafar for food— This is the aforementioned concept of embarrassment, for through Torah interpretations one merits embarrassment, as mentioned above. This is the meaning of “From there chafar for food,” because he is ashamed to put the food into his mouth on account of the feeling of embarrassment which comes over him, as mentioned above. And this is:

its eyes look out to the di st ance— In other words, he perceives and looks at how distant he is from God, as mentioned above.

11. Therefore, it was Yitro in particular who said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see.” Moshe was his son-in-law, so Yitro was aware of his great holiness and abstinence, and so it was specifically he who said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see.” Specifically “As for you,” because Yitro was aware of his great holiness; that he could see and gaze at each one, and apportion to them the greatness and authority with a mere gaze, as mentioned above.

Moreover, Yitro was a convert. Converts come from the sanctified marital relations of the tzaddikim, as it is written (Genesis 12:5), “and the souls which they made in Charan.” And it is brought (Zohar III, 168a) : During the time that Avraham and Sarah were barren, their marital relations bore the souls of converts. Therefore, Yitro, who was a convert and so came from the sanctity of the marital relations of tzaddikim, knew the great value of their holiness—that by virtue of their great holiness their marital relations produce the souls of converts, [and] all the more so the holiness of their abstinence. He therefore knew that by virtue of Moshe’s great holiness and abstinence he was able to gaze at the people and, through his gazing alone, give them the greatness, as mentioned above. Therefore, Yitro in particular said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see…,” as mentioned above.

Thus, the letters YiTRO are the final letters of “V’rabim me’y’sheineY admaT ahfaR yakitzU (Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake)” (Daniel 12:2). For Yitro in particular said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see.” And through the concept of “As for you, you shall see” people merit greatness and Torah interpretations, and via this attain embarrassment and repentance. And through repentance, which is the concept of eternal life, each person’s lowliness returns to life. For the Resurrection will essentially be of the lowliness, as in “awake and sing out, you who dwell in the dust,” as mentioned above.

And all this comes about particularly through Yitro, because Yitro in particular said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see,” due to which all the aforementioned concepts come about. It is therefore hinted at in the letters of YiTRO—“V’rabim me’y’sheineY admaT ahfaR yakitzU,” the last letters of which spell Yitro. For through Yitro, who said, “As for you, you shall see,” is drawn the concept of life/resurrection/“awake and sing out, you who dwell in the dust”/“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.” Specifically “those who sleep in the dust of the earth”—i.e., the concept of lowliness.

And this is “Of those who remain in Zion and notar (are left) in Jerusalem, ‘Holy,’ will be said of him” (Isaiah 4:3). “And nOTaR in Jerusalem” alludes to yiTRO, through whom in particular “‘Holy,’ will be said of him”—of the tzaddik. For Yitro, a convert, was aware the holiness of the tzaddik, as mentioned above. He therefore said to Moshe, “As for you, you shall see,” because [Yitro] was aware of his holiness, the concept of “‘Holy,’ will be said of him.”

12. The principle which emerges from all that has been mentioned above is that whoever comes to a true tzaddik and hears Torah from his mouth ought to be infused with very great embarrassment and lowliness. This is a sign that he was with a true tzaddik, when embarrassment and lowliness come over him as a result of his having heard some Torah teaching from his mouth. For on account of the Torah which a true tzaddik draws, embarrassment is drawn, as was the case during the Giving of the Torah, as mentioned above.

And as a result of the embarrassment, which is repentance, the lowliness of Moshe in every single person, within each and every limb, returns to life. Of necessity, each person then genuinely feels his lowliness. However, whoever comes to some false leader and hears Torah from his mouth, and as a result becomes haughty… {the reverse is automatically understood}.

Nevertheless, we have no idea at all what true lowliness is. For the goal is certainly not to be of low self-esteem, contemptuous and pathetic, someone whom people call “an unfortunate” {in Yiddish, a schlimazel}. For lowliness is the essential life within each and every limb, and it is the entire delight of the World to Come, as mentioned above. And it is certainly not the purpose of the World to Come that one should be contemptuous and pathetic…, God forbid. Therefore, the only thing one has to do is ask God to help him merit genuine humility and lowliness, which is the essence of life and the primary delight of the World to Come, as mentioned above.