From The Palm-Tree of Deborah
For Keter, see:
Tomer Devorah, part I
Chapter III: Attaining the Qualities of Chokmah
How should a man train himself to possess the quality of Wisdom? Behold, Supernal Wisdom, though it is hidden and exceedingly exalted, is spread over all creatures. Concerning this it is said: 'How manifold[1] are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom Thou has made them all.' So, too, it is proper for man that his wisdom be ready to benefit all. He should be an effective teacher of men, to each according to his powers, influencing each as much as he possibly can without in any way preventing him. Behold, Wisdom has two faces. The higher face turns toward the Crown, it does not gaze downwards but recieves from above. The second face, the lower one, turns downwards to control the Sephiroth, emanating of its wisdom to them. So, too, man should have two faces: the one, his solitude with his Creator in order to add to his wisdom which the Holy One, Blessed is He, has poured upon him.
Tomer Devorah, part I
Chapter III: Attaining the Qualities of Chokmah
How should a man train himself to possess the quality of Wisdom? Behold, Supernal Wisdom, though it is hidden and exceedingly exalted, is spread over all creatures. Concerning this it is said: 'How manifold[1] are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom Thou has made them all.' So, too, it is proper for man that his wisdom be ready to benefit all. He should be an effective teacher of men, to each according to his powers, influencing each as much as he possibly can without in any way preventing him. Behold, Wisdom has two faces. The higher face turns toward the Crown, it does not gaze downwards but recieves from above. The second face, the lower one, turns downwards to control the Sephiroth, emanating of its wisdom to them. So, too, man should have two faces: the one, his solitude with his Creator in order to add to his wisdom which the Holy One, Blessed is He, has poured upon him.
Chapter
IV: Attaining the Qualities of Binah
How shall a man train himself to acquire the quality
of Understanding? It is to be acquired by returning in perfect repentance[1], than
which nothing is more important, for it rectifies every flaw. Just as it is
the function of Understanding to sweeten all judgments and to neutralize
their bitterness so man should repent and rectify every flaw. He who
thinks of repentance all his days causes the Supernal Understanding
to illumine all his days so that all his days are in repentance, that is
to be included in Understanding which is Repentance, and the days of his
life will be crowned according to the secret of the Supernal Repentance.
Chapter
V: Attaining the Qualities of Chesed
How shall a man train himself to acquire the quality
of Lovingkindness? The main way in which man can enter into the secret of
Lovingkindness is to love God with perfect love so as not to forsake His
service for any reason whatsoever for nothing has any value at all for him
compared with the Blessed One's love. Therefore, he should primarily
attend to the requirements of God's service and the rest of his time may be
for other needs. This love should be firmly fixed in his heart
whether he recieves good at the hands of the Holy One, Blessed is He, or
whether he recieves sufferings and rebukes. These latter, too, he should look
upon as tokens of God's love. As it is written: 'Faithful are the wounds
of a friend[1] .'
Chapter
VI: Attaining the Qualities of Gevurah
How should man train himself to acquire the quality of
Power? Know that all actions which excite the evil inclination actually
stir up the strong Powers. Therefore, man should not excite the evil
inclination, so as not to awaken the Powers. The reason is that man is
created with two inclinations, good and bad: the one belongs to
Lovingkindness, the other to Power. However in the Zohar to the first section
of Genesis[1] it is stated that the good
inclination was created from the sake of man himself, the evil inclination for
the sake of his wife. See how sweet are his words. Behold Beauty, the
merciful quality[2], turns to the Right and all its conduct
is with the Right, the good inclination. But the Female[3] is of
the Left and Her conduct is with Power. It is, therefore, proper not to
bestir the evil inclination for man's own sake because this bestirs the Power
in Supernal Man and so destroys the world. Hence, every excitement of man
towards Power and the evil inclination makes a flaw in Supernal Man.
Chapter
VII: Attaining the Qualities of Tiferet
How should a man train himself to acquire the quality
of Beauty? There is no doubt that the quality of Beauty is to be found in
the study of the Torah[1]. However, great
care must be taken that man does not exalt himself in pride because of the
words of the Torah, in order that he does not cause great evil. For just as he
elevates himself in pride he causes the quality of Beauty, which is the
Torah, to elevate itself and remove itself upwards, God forend. But he who
abases himself over words of Torah causes Beauty to descend and
lower itself to pour out its influence upon those beneath. Now
behold, there are four Sephiroth[2], embracing three
qualities, below Beauty. First, he who proudly exalts himself over his
pupils causes Beauty to raise itself and be exalted over Endurance and Majesty,
for they are those learned of the Lord[3], the
pupils of Beauty. But he who lowers himself to teach in love causes Beauty
to lower itself to the Pupils and give of its influence to them. Therefore, a
man should be pleasantly disposed towards his pupils, to teach them as
much as they can absorb and, in his merit, Beauty will pour its flow into
the Pupils according their capacities, in fit measure.
Chapter
VIII: Attaining the Qualities of Netzach, Hod, and Yesod
How should a man train himself to acquire the
qualities of Endurance, Majesty, and Foundation? With regard to the
Tikkunim of Endurance and Majesty some of the qualities apply to both of them
together, others to each one distinctively. Behold, first of all it
is necessary to help students of the Torah and to support them either with
money or deeds, so as to provide them with the things they require for
their work, to prepare their food, and to fulfill all their desires, so
that they do not cease in the study of the Torah. He should take care not to
disparage their learning so that they do not weaken in their study of the
Torah, but should honor them and praise their good deeds in order to
encourage them in their work. And he should provide them with books with which
to work and with a house of study. All such aid and support to those who
study the Torah depends on these qualites; each person should do all he
can, whether little or much. In short, whatever he does to honor the Torah and
to strengthen it with speech, which his bodily actions and with his
wealth, and to arouse people's hearts to the torah that they engage in its
study, all this is firmly held and rooted in these two Sephiroth for they are
known as 'them that lay hold upon her' and 'that holdeth her fast'[1].
However, how should man train himself to acquire the
quality of Foundation? A man must be on his guard against the kind of
speech which brings to thoughts of sin, so that he should not be visited by a
seminal emission. Needless to say, he should not speak obscenities but he
should take care not to utter even clean words if they give rise to sexual
thoughts. And this is contained in a careful examination of the verse: 'Suffer not[6] thy
mouth to bring thy flesh unto guilt,' this is, take care not to suffer the
mouth to give speech which can bring sin to the holy flesh, the sign of
the covenant[7], with seminal emission.
Chapter
IX: Attaining the Qualities of Malkuth
How should a man train himself to acquire the quality
of Sovereignty? First and foremost he should not be proud in his heart[1]
because of all that is his, but he should behave constantly like a beggar,
standing before his Creator as a poor man begging and offering supplication.
Even if he is wealthy he can train himself to behave in this way by
considering that none of his possesions are attached to him and that he is
forsaken requiring the mercies of Heaven at all times, for all he has is
the bread he eats, and he should humble his heart and afflict himself.
Especially at the time of prayer[2], for this is a
wonderful aid. Of the opposite it is said: "Then thy heart[3] be
lifted up, and thou forget..' For the forgetting belonging to the Outside Ones[4]
is found there. David behaved in this way to great extent when he said:
"For I am solitary[5] and
afflicted." For all the people of his household have themselves to
consider. What are they all to him? What can even his wife and children do
for him when he is judged before the Creator or when his soul departs? Can
they accompany him beyond the grave? Of what use are they to him from the
entrance of the grave and onwards? He should therefore humble himself and
perfect himself according to the secret of this quality. A second method
is explained in the Zohar[6] and it is very
important. He should exile himself from place to place for the sake of
Heaven and in this way he will become a chariot to the Exiled Shekinah. He
should imagine: 'Behold I have gone into exile but, behold, my utensils go
with me. What shall be with the honor of the Most High seeing that the
Shekinah is in exile without Her utensils which are lacking as a result of
the Exile?' Because of this he should be satisfied with as little as
possible, as it is written 'Prepare thee stuff for exile'[7] and
he should humble his heart in exile and bind himself to the Torah and then the
Shekinah will be with him.
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