אמנם נודע מזהר הקדוש והאריז״ל, סוד הקרבנות שעל גבי המזבח

Now,12 the mystical principle of the sacrifices offered on the altar is known from the sacred Zohar13 and from R. Isaac Luria,14 of blessed memory:

הן בחינת העלאת מיין נוקבין, מנפש הבהמית שבנוגה

They are an instance of the elevation of mayin nukvin (lit., “feminine waters”; i.e., a mortally-initiated spiritual arousal) deriving from the animal soul, [which receives its life-force from] kelipat nogah,

אל שרשן ומקורן

[this elevation ascending] to their root and source,

הן בחינת ד׳ חיות שבמרכבה, הנושאות את הכסא

i.e., the forms of the four Animals of the Celestial Chariot which bear the Throne,15 as described in Ezekiel, ch. 1:

פני שור ופני נשר וכו׳

the Face of the Ox, and the Face of the Eagle, and so on.

The former level of Divinity is the source of the souls of all animals, the latter is the source of the souls of all birds, these being the two categories of creatures from which offerings are brought. (The other two categories, the Face of the Lion and the Face of Man, are alluded to in the closing phrase, “and so on.”)

Offerings thus constitute an elevation and an “arousal from below” from a willing recipient toward the level of Divinity (here called the four Animals of the Chariot) which is the Source of all things within the finite world and which hence has a connection with it.

ועל ידי זה, נמשכים ויורדים מיין דוכרין מבחינת אדם שעל הכסא, הנקרא מלכא וזעיר אנפין

As a result, reciprocating this arousal, the mayin duchrin (the “male waters” from the benefactor Above) are elicited and descend from the level of Divinity called (in Ezekiel) “the Man upon the Throne,” Who is [also] referred to as Malka (“King”) and Z’eir Anpin (i.e., the bracket of six “masculine” attributes preceding the recipient or “feminine” Sefirah of Malchut).

The resultant illumination flows down to the world and becomes vested and integrated within it. Hence, as mentioned above, offerings are termed “food for the altar,” for they draw down a level of Divine light which can be spiritually ingested.

אכן בשריפת הפרה אדומה, הנה על ידי השלכת עץ ארז ואזוב וכו׳

As for the burning of the Red Heifer, however, it is on account of the throwing in of the cedar wood and the hyssop, and so on, the function of both of which is hamshachah, i.e., drawing down sanctity from Above,16

ונתינת מים חיים אל האפר

and [moreover] the placing of running water into the ashes,

נקרא בשם קידוש מי חטאת במשנה

that in the Mishnah17 [this process] is called the “sanctification (Kiddush) of the purifying waters.”

והיא בחינת קדש העליון, הנקרא בשם טלא דבדולחא

This relates — not only etymologically — to Kodesh HaElyon (“the supreme sanctity”), referred to as Tala DiBedulcha (lit., “the Dew of Bdellium”; cf. the Torah’s descriptions of the manna18).

Unlike the heavenly benefactions that are termed “rain”, for rain results from an “arousal from below” (as it is written,19 “And a vapor rose from the ground and watered…”), the above-described “dew” is a spontaneous “arousal from Above” that transcends dependence on any antecedent “arousal from below.”

כמו שכתוב בזהר הקדוש, שהיא בחינת חכמה עילאה ומוחא סתימאה דאריך אנפין

As stated in the sacred Zohar,20 this [Tala DiBedulcha] is an expression of the Supreme Chochmah and the Mocha Setimaah of Arich Anpin; i.e., it is the level of Chochmah within Keter which entirely transcends the world.

ועלה איתמר בדוכתי טובא בזהר הקדוש: בחכמה איתברירו

Of this [level of Chochmah and Mocha Setimaah] it is said in many places in the sacred Zohar that “through Chochmah they are refined” and rectified;21

ואתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא, דהיינו: עולם התיקון

and then, when by means of the “sanctification of the purifying waters” Divine light is drawn down from this level, darkness is converted to light, that is, [to] the World of Tikkun,

שנתברר ונתתקן על ידי מוחא סתימאה דאריך אנפין

which becomes refined and rectified by means of the Mocha Setimaah of Arich Anpin;

מעולם התהו ושבירת הכלים שנפלו בבריאה, יצירה ועשיה וכו׳

[i.e., the World of Tikkun is refined and rectified] from the World of Tohu and the Breaking of the Vessels [whose sparks] fell into [the Worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and so on,

כנודע

as is known.

The spiritual task of the Jew is to extract, refine and elevate these sparks.

ולזאת מטהרת טומאת המת

This is why [the Red Heifer] purifies one from defilement [contracted by contact] with a corpse,

אף שהוא אבי אבות וכו׳, ולמטה מטה מנוגה

even though this [corpse] is the ultimate degree [of impurity], and far, far lower than Nogah.

For the “sanctification of the purifying waters” is drawn down from the supreme Chochmah and the Mocha Setimaah of Arich Anpin, an illumination that transcends the world so utterly that it is able to transform the world’s darkness into light.

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