הַלְלוּיָהּ הַלְלוּ עַבְדֵי ה Hallelujah! The matter of Hallel HaMitzri²⁸³ are referred to as the Egyptian Hallel since they have reference to the Exodus and the splitting of the sea. is an exalted matter, as is stated in the Zohar, Parshat Vayechi P. 232b.²⁸⁴ It is impossible to explain this according to its plain-sense meaning of the words. Rather, we need to part from the literal meaning of the verses in order to understand their intent (kavanah), since they are all difficult. One must do so in order to enlarge the Torah.²⁸⁵ Here he adds to reasons we do so: First, when the text raises so many questions that we can only understand its intent (kavanah) in light of its broader interpretation. Second we use Midrash, a parting from the plain sense of the text in order to “enlarge the meaning of Torah.” (1)²⁸⁶ It is fitting to raise questions about the repetition of praises in Psalm 113: “Halleluyah! Praise (hallelu), servants of HaShem, praise (hallelu) the name of HaShem.” (2) And with whom is it speaking when it says, “Halleluyah?” (3) If it is with the servants of HaShem, it has already said so, that they should “praise HaShem,” and not “praise the name of HaShem.” (4) Further the psalm states, “from now and forever,” instead of “from the beginning and forever.” (5) Also, why does the psalm state, “From the rising of the sun in the East to its setting…” instead of “from the east to the west?” (6) And what is even more difficult is that it is known that the sun moves toward the south (in the daytime) and then toward the north (at night), as Rashi explains.²⁸⁷ If one praises God “from the place of its rising,'' which is the east, to “the place of its setting” in the west, then God is praised in the south but not in the north, and those who dwell in the North will not praise God. (7) What’s more, the psalmist states, “Above all nations is HaShem;” is this really a sign of God’s greatness? Shouldn’t God be described as “above all those above?” (8) What is the purpose of the additional letters, Yud, at the end of the words: “Who is like the Lord, our God, Who sits on high הַמַּגְבִּיהִי; Who looks down הַמַּשְׁפִּילִי upon the heavens and the earth? He brings up מְקִימִי the poor out of the dirt; from the refuse piles, He raises לְהוֹשִׁיבִי the destitute. To seat himמוֹשִׁיבִי with the nobles, with the nobles of his people.” (Ps. 113) We have already explained above in the teaching of Kama Maalot (Dayyenu) that Israel was freed through the aspect of the Jubilee.²⁸⁸ , the third sephirah in the first triad. It is also associated with the fiftieth gate of purity. Because exists above the other sephirot before separation and differentiation takes place it is a space of complete freedom and possibility. That is why the exodus is mentioned in the Torah fifty times, an allusion to the fifty gates of purity in which freedom resides. It is because of this that slaves that have had their ear pierced and now go free in the fiftieth year, and redemption is given to all of the land.²⁸⁹ It is well known that the first letter hei in the Divine name²⁹⁰i refers to this Sephirah (of ). It includes the five ‘tens' which are 50 in the lettersYud and Hei. This is because there is no separation found between the Yud which alludes to the sephirah of Chokhma, and Hei, which alludes to the sephirah of /Understanding since they are always attached to one another. From this we may conclude that redemption comes from the divine aspect of which has Chokhma mixed with it. That is why King David, begins his praise and thanksgiving with Halleluyah (Hallelu Yud Hei) and he does not say “Who is this who will praise the name Yud Hei.” He is referring to the complete foundation which also includes the final two letters of the Divine name (vav hei). For the gematria of the word Hallel is 65 like the value of the name HaShem אדני referring to the final hei of the tetragrammaton. And the vav stands for Tiferet in all places.²⁹¹ contains all of the Sefirot It begins with Hallel (Sefirat Malkhut) or the divine name HaShem; Vav is for Tiferet, the central Sefirah, Yud hey is Chokhma and .This is the same as the Divine name Yud (Chokhma) Hei () Vav (Tiferet) Hey (Malchut Shechinah) It is as if to say that Hei andVav are praising Yud Hei for they are the source of redemption - this is Halleluyah. Afterwards the psalmist states “Praise the Servants,” this is Israel. It is their obligation to praise the name of God, that is the Shechinah because it was for Her that we were redeemed from Egypt so that She could be there with them, as is stated, “and God sent a messenger (malakh) and God freed us from Egypt.” (Nu. 20:16)²⁹² out of Egypt and then redeemed us to be with her! as we have written above. Since the redemption came to us for her sake we must praise the one who is Master of Everything!

footnotes: ²⁸³ The first two passages of Hallel ²⁸⁴ While Zohar Volume 1 Parshat Vayechi P. 232b does discuss the opening verses of Psalm 113, It does not appear to contain these comments or others referred to in this commentary. It seems unlikely that Rabbi Foa had a different text - he may have simply come to different conclusions based on the discussion here. ²⁸⁵ I believe this is a key passage understanding Rabbi Foa’s approach to text. Earlier he said that one should not part from P’shat. ²⁸⁶ Note that the numbering of the questions is my addition. ²⁸⁷ See Rashi on Ecc. 1:5-6 - “The sun rises, and the sun sets, And glides back to where it rises. Southward blowing, Turning northward, Ever turning blows the wind; On its rounds the wind returns.” Rashi explains that the sun “always turns to the South in the daytime, and to the north in the nighttime. ²⁸⁸ In the Zohar, Jubilee almost always refers to the Sephira of ²⁸⁹ A slave may choose to forgo freedom in the seventh year of servitude in order to stay with his family or his master, but he still must go free when the Jubilee year arrives just as land must be returned to its original owners. ²⁹⁰ Yud Hei Vav He ²⁹¹ Thus the name Halleluyah ²⁹² Possibly Rabbi Foa reads this verse, “God sent a malakh

מִמִּזְרַח שֶׁמֶשׁ עַד מְבוֹאוֹ מְהֻלָּל שֵׁם “From the rising of the sun in the East to its setting.” It is well known that there are two opposing boundaries to be drawn. One is in space; for example, from east to west, and the other is height and depth. And for both of them one can say, “from end to end.” (Ex. 26:28, 36:33) For spatial boundaries one says, “Anywhere from one end of the earth to the other.” (Deut 13:8) And for heights and depths one would say, “Since God created man on earth, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Deut. 4:32)²⁹³ Here the Psalmist says that God will be praised from the ends of the heavens until the ends of the earth. This means from the eastern place where the sun rises, which is the highest extreme of heaven, to its other extreme where it sets. In this way God will be praised in all of the worlds. (עיין) Consider what is written in theZohar Parshat Vayechi, P. 232b.²⁹⁴r Vol. 1 Parshat Vayechi P. 232b does discuss the opening verses of Ps. 113, It does not appear to contain these comments or others referred to in this commentary. It seems unlikely that Rabbi Foa had a different text - he may have simply come to different conclusions based on the discussion here. “HaShem is above all the nations.” The celestial princes of the nations are called goyim (nations) since they are the princes appointed over each nation and called by their names. The nations cannot be compared with them and those who dwell on earth are not like them. Even though it is not known on earth, God’s glory in heaven is known to the princes where they dwell. When God took us out of Egypt it was necessary for God’s power to be seen by them when they accused us, therefore they were brought here.

footnotes: ²⁹³ Note that the text does not quite match Rabbi Foa here. There is no text in the Bible that says “From the ends of the earth to the end of Heaven,” as far as I can tell. ²⁹⁴ While Zoha

מִי כַּיי אֱלֹהֵינוּ הַמַּגְבִּיהִי לָשָׁבֶת, “‘Who’ is like HaShem, our God, Who dwells on high.” The psalmist is asking, “From where does redemption come to us?” First, one must understand the Zohar, about the verse, “Lift high your eyes and see: “‘Who’ (mi) created these.” (Is. 40:26)²⁹⁵ is like HaShem, our God. is also associated with redemption. So it is from Mi that redemption comes. The word mi, “Who” alludes to . She is called, “The mother of children*(em habanim).” “The children” are called eleh, “These.”²⁹⁶ is the “Mother of children,” called eleh the rest of the Sephirot who are birthed by or possibly the Shechinah.. See Zohar Volume 1, Introduction 3:7, 5:19, Vayechi 22:179 and Volume 2, Yitro 20:356 Regarding this, Scripture states, “Let the mother go, and take only the young…” (Deut. 22:7) In other words, since this Sephirah²⁹⁷ here and for the Sephirot possibly because the Sephirot often embody divine qualities or attributes: wisdom, understanding compassion, strength….. It might also be translated as “Attributes.” (the mother) is the most hidden, you must surely send aways your thoughts and not engage in matters hidden from you. Therefore this attribute (Sephirat ) is also calledMi,* “Who” is like a person who asks about someone who he doesn’t recognize. But the children of Mi are the lower Sephirot/attributes, through which one may explore and contemplate nature. That is why they are called eleh, “These,” as has been stated. When combined mi and eleh spell Elohim. (עוד) The sages²⁹⁸ explain the difference between Hashem Elohekha and Hashem Elohainu.²⁹⁹ your God vs HaShem our God Hashem Elohekha and also Hashem Elohekhem refers to Tiferet Yisrael and its Shekhinah of might. Moses ascended to (theSephirah of) . In the Mishnah Torah (Deuteronomy) Moses often says Hashem Elohekha or Hashem Elohekhem because he is referring to the aspect of God of the people. HaShem Eloheinu alludes to Chochma and . From this we may conclude that our redemption from Egypt came from the side of the Jubilee, as has been stated, a place higher than heaven (shamayim/tiferet) or the heavens of the heavens, as is known. Therefore, the psalmist states, “Who is like HaShem our God;” in other words, “nothing can be compared to God.

footnotes: ²⁹⁵ See Zohar, Introduction 3:7, Terumah 1:2 I am uncertain which reference Foa is referring to here in his discussion or what the primary question is. The underlying idea hee is that redemption comes from the Sephirah of , Mi. The verse in psalms is not a question but a statement Mi ²⁹⁶ Thus, the statement in Isaiah is not a question but a statement Mi () ²⁹⁷ Possibly the Sephriah of , which is most hidden. Foa uses the word Midah ²⁹⁸ Rabbi Foa does not specify who is speaking here. The text simply says, “They say.” Clearly the speaker - or sages - throughout this section are the Safed Kabbalists. ²⁹⁹ HaShem

הַמַּגְבִּיהִי לָשָׁבֶת, הַמַּשְׁפִּילִי לִרְאוֹת “Who sits on high; Who looks down…” “Who looks down” at the needs of His children in heaven and on earth. מְקִימִי מֵעָפָר דָּל “God brings up the poor out of the dirt…” The word “poor” refers to the fallen Sukkah of David who is impoverished and lacking because She does not cause anything (but is the subject of other causes)³⁰⁰ when She is in exile and rolls about in the dust and ashes, as is written, “Arise, shake off the dust…..” (Is. 52:2) מֵאַשְׁפֹּת יָרִים אֶבְיוֹן “From the refuse it raises up the needy.” This is Tzadik Chai, the living righteous³⁰¹ who is also needy and desirous of that thing (Shechinah).He lifts Her up and places Her with, “To seat Her with the nobles.” This refers to (theSephirot) of Netzach and Hod, Supporters of Truth, who are, “The nobles of His people.” (Ps. 113:8) And in particular, looking down, “setting the childless woman…” This refers to Rachel, the childless woman in her household³⁰². Now she will be the Happy mother of children and therefore (we say,) Halleluyah, as we have explained. מעתה We now can understand the five Yuds at the ends of the words in Psalm 113. They add up to fifty for the fifty gates of redemption. When King David said, “God lifts up the needy from the refuse heap…” it is because he saw with the holy spirit what the nations would eventually do to the site of the Holy Temple. But the Divine Presence will never leave the Western Wall. This is told to me in a story from the time of Sultan Suliaman.³⁰³ He did not know the location of the Holy Temple so he commanded (one of his subjects) to search Jerusalem for it. It came to pass that the person who was responsible for the search was about to give up, when he saw one woman with a basket filled with filth and garbage on her head. He asked her, “What is that on your head?” and she answered, “Filth!” (He asked,) “And where are you going?” (She answered,) “To a certain place,” . He asked her, “Where are you from?” She answered, “From Bethlehem.” He said to her, “Is there no place closer to Bethlehem to throw your garbage?” She answered, “We have a tradition that anyone who brings his garbage to a certain (in Jerusalem) place is fulfilling a commandment.” The appointee said to himself, “This is certainly the place!” He commanded the people to remove the garbage from that place which had turned into a dung heap. Beneath it, he revealed the holy place. He went and told King Suliman and the King was very happy. The King commanded his appointee to oversee the cleaning of the site and to wash the wall with rose water and there they made a place of prayer, causing God again to dwell in this site. The people came when it was built and the Divine Presence dwelled there again. See how evil has befallen us from our enemies. For the woman who spoke to Suliman’s appointee was an Aramean (a non-Jew), and her intention was to desecrate the Holy Temple and cause God’s presence to depart from it, God forbid. It was for this reason that King David said, “from the refuse piles, He raises the destitute…” It should be understood plainly: They made the place of holiness a garbage dump and from there they raised the destitute (the Divine Presence).

footnotes: ³⁰⁰ The Shechinah, like the moon, is not the source of light but only receives light from other sources. Similarly - She does not cause but is the subject of other causes. ³⁰¹ Tzaddik is another name for the Sephirah of Yesod, or foundation. The chart above does not appear in Rabbi Foa’s text but is helpful in understanding the images he is using. ³⁰² Rachel is a reference to the Shechinah. ³⁰³ Suleiman 1494 – 1566 commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Ottoman realm, was the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 until his death in 1566.  Under his administration, the Ottoman Empire ruled over at least 25 million people.