on the day of the ‘Rejoicing of the Torah’¹.

footnotes: ¹ Simḥat Torah

(Lev. 23:40) And you shall take for yourselves, on the first day, the fruit of a ‘hadar’ tree, date palm fronds... etc. – the ‘citron’¹ is the Lower Shekhinah, and it is like the heart,² which is to the left, which is Gevurah.

footnotes: ¹ etrog ² Vayiqra Rabbah 30:14

And therefore, a person should take the etrog¹ in the left hand. And it needs to be an etrog that is like the heart, complete, with its ‘tyomet’ because of him of whom is stated: (Gen. 25:27) ... and Jacob was a complete¹ *man *– to be perfect with Him. And just as there is no defect in Jacob above, so there must be no defect in the etrog, to fulfill the verse: (Song. 4:7) You are completely beautiful my beloved, there is no blemish in you.

footnotes: ¹ citron ¹ tam

And if it is ‘yellow’, it is even more praiseworthy, like the image of Esther, who was ‘greenish’,¹ of whom it is stated: (Esth. 5:1) ... and Esther clothed herself regally² *... *And She is called Hadassah, after the hadass². And of the myrtle, it has three ‘myrtle-branches’,³ so as to be perfected through the three Patriarchs. And She is called ‘willow’² from the aspect of the two lips,⁴ which are: (Is. 54:13) ... the ‘disciples’ of Y”Y...

footnotes: ¹ BT Megillah 13a ² malkhut ² myrtle ³ Mishnah Sukkah 3:4 ² ’aravah ⁴ See Midrash Tanḥuma, Emor Ch.19

And She is called lulav¹, from the aspect of ‘the life-force¹ of the worlds’, which includes the 18¹ blessings of prayer, and corresponding to them we perform 18 ‘shakings’ of the lulav, in six directions – three to each-and-every side, six directions that are included in the body, which is the Middle Pillar, because the lulav is called after it: ‘lo² *lev’*¹.

footnotes: ¹ palm-shoot ¹ ḥaiy ¹ ḥaiy ² 36 ¹ to him, a heart

And there are 18 shakings, 4 times, which amount to 72, and they are: 18 shakings upon taking the lulav, 18 and 18– twice in: (Ps. 118:1) *Give thanks to Y”Y *– at the beginning and end of Psalm 118, 18 at (Ps. 118:25) *Please Y”Y, please save! *– there are 72.

And they are suspended from the letter Dalet¹², which is the Shekhinah, and the Righteous-One³⁴ is called, through Her, 4 times – ḥaiy², *ḥaiy, ḥaiy, ḥaiy *– which amounts to 72, from the aspect of the three Patriarchs, and the Shekhinah who partners with them, which are 18³ [parts] of the right arm, and 18 of the left, and 18 of the body in relation to the spine, and 18 in the covenant of circumcision.

footnotes: ¹ ד ² 4 ³ tzadiq ⁴ Yesod ² 18 ³ ḥaiy

And they are 6 sides: two arms of the King, and two thighs of the King – which are ‘the two Prophets of Truth’¹, and the body, and the covenant – there are six.

footnotes: ¹ Netzaḥ-Hod

18 shakings correspond to the 18 vertebrae of the spine, from the aspect of the body, and all of this is from the aspect of ‘the Tree of Life’. And from the aspect of ‘the Tree of good and evil’: the etrog is likened to the righteous, and the myrtle to the ordinary-ones, and the willow to the wicked.¹

footnotes: ¹ See Vayiqra Rabbah 30:12

And of the Shekhinah it is stated: (Ps. 103:19) *... and His Kingdom rules over all, *Even though it is stated of Her: (Prov. 3:18) *It is a tree of life to them that grasp it, *– She rules over the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, but from His aspect She is close to King. [Var. and from those aspects, She is at times the female, near to the King]

It is this that is written: (Lev. 16:3) *With ‘this’*¹ *shall Aaron come to the sacred... *– from the right-hand side. And sometimes She is distant from Him – from the left-hand side: (Lev. 16:2) ... and he shall not come at just any time to the holy...

footnotes: ¹ zot

From the right-hand side, She does not receive any impurity, the right-hand side is good, but in Her place, even the good receives impurity from evil and death, it is a place that has no ‘nearness’. [Var.... to the holy – She does not receive impurity, but in Her place, ‘good’ receives impurity from evil, and from that place that has no nearness.]

And it is there that one requires an offering to ‘bring near’, and incense, to distance the spirit of impurity from that place, and to offer merit to the left-side, ‘the mistress’, and to distance the maidservant from there. And because of that, all names are in applicable to Her.

And it¹ is called ‘the spine’, the ‘rear’², from the aspect of the moon, and from the aspect of the Middle Pillar it is called ‘front’². And the mystery of the matter: (Ps. 139:5) Back and front You have created me...

footnotes: ¹ Malkhut ² aḥor ² qedem

And in exile: (Lam. 2:3) ... He has brought withdrawn back¹ His right-hand, from before the enemy.

footnotes: ¹ aḥor

What is the enemy? It is Samael, for all ‘other gods’ are at the rear. And so that they cannot look upon the Shekhinah, Who is to the West,¹ which is the rear, He placed Her on the right-hand side.

footnotes: ¹ BT Baba Batra 25a

And therefore, it is forbidden to pray towards the West, which is the rear, because ‘other gods’ are there. And the ‘poison of death’ is there – ‘Saturn’¹.

footnotes: ¹ shabtai

And because She the Shekhinah was originally to the West, and returned to the right-side, the ‘other gods’ – ‘shabtai’ – ask of Her: ‘Where is Sabbath¹ ?’ – the letters of shabtai are ei shabat¹.

footnotes: ¹ ei shabat ¹ ‘Where is Sabbath?’

And Israel needs to change Her place, name and deed, and this is: ‘Change of place, and change of name, and change of deed’,¹ so that the enemy – who is Samael – will not recognise Her. And this is:... He has brought back His right-hand... etc.

footnotes: ¹ See BT Rosh HaShanah 16b

If they merit