Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai

“ For there is no end or limit to the true unity, and in this way, all the worlds will be balanced and the intention will be fulfilled in their creation. And when one deviates and seeks another knowledge, it brings death upon himself and sees that his eternity and existence are lost. He strives to rectify this as much as possible and leaves behind offspring so that the ultimate goal can be fulfilled through them, and the thread of service and yearning will not be broken. ”

“ Thus, the ultimate purpose of existence is to bring about the union of thought and action in accordance with the sublime thought, which serves as the beginning of the action. And this serves as a representation and symbol of the good and evil, which were intertwined in the original thought, and which must be separated and determined in their proper places, so that the good can be brought to the forefront and the evil can be relegated to its proper place. ”

“ To cause good to prevail before the Almighty, one must toil and magnify it. This embodies the concept of true justice, encompassing a profound intention. Thus, engaging in wisdom and knowledge is the cause of all happiness and success. It is worthwhile, as one should not prioritize momentary pursuits over eternal life. For a great result is achieved even when one does not consciously seek it. The sinner, however, fails to recognize this and does not complete it, resulting in the inscription of futility upon him. ”

“ For this reason, all different types of times are mentioned, the positive and negative aspects of each of them, covering a total of 28 different times within the Tree of Knowledge, good and evil. The good times stem from its goodness, and the bad times stem from its evil. Everything follows the seal that is set upon all times in peace, as it is said, "A time of peace, which is the seal of everything. A unique time set in peace." And this is the complete unity, where everything is included in the realm of the good and completeness. ”

“ The proof is that wisdom and knowledge are themselves the source of joy and security when one stands true to them. And that joy and security, which can only be obtained through the work that aligns with the intended thought, allows for the great and glorious Divine name to be united with the person. This is the true love, the true unity, as will be explained in this book, with God's help. ”

“ And in this, the worlds are balanced and united to testify to the one unique Master and Creator. For the service of the Divine Presence in the lower realms is the reason for the unity of all the worlds, and they are all balanced and united as one to bear witness to the one unique Lord and Creator, for when the worlds are on this level, due to the service of the Divine Presence in the lower realms, the rejoicing of children adorns the king, and the peace of the king is a crown of glory, like the bridegroom who adorned himself for the bride on his wedding day. ”

“ Now Solomon, in his wisdom, carefully studied this matter that we intend to delve into in this introduction, and he said, "For to the person who is pleasing before Him, He has given wisdom, knowledge, and joy," meaning that the person who is the essence of creation, the ultimate intended thought, has been given wisdom, knowledge, and joy. The purpose of the person is to manifest the good and completeness that are included within it when being present before the Lord, in the treasure of His glory. And after he emerges from the womb, he is abundantly nourished by it. ”

“ This is the secret of purity, which they brought with the power of their souls and they exerted in these lives until they brought it to completion. And the intention in their creation is not the knowledge of the glorious and awesome name in its entirety, but rather knowing God the Creator and serving Him with complete service out of love, doing good and right in the eyes of the Lord according to His will. ”

“ This means that true wisdom is knowledge of the Name and understanding it, and of His unity, that brings about happiness in the higher heart. And this is the ultimate reward that is included in it, and it is his payment.
However, in contrast, the sinner finds satisfaction in amassing wealth and indulging in worldly pleasures, leading him astray from the path towards true goodness that he once observed and recognized. Instead, he embraces the inclination towards evil, which ultimately becomes his reward. ”

“ Therefore, the intention of the devoted servant should be to return all things to the goodness and completeness that was present in them initially, in their original thought, before their manifestation in order to be united as one in perfection without any reversal. And these are the authentic and meaningful lives one aspires to, encompassing both good and evil until everything is transformed into goodness. ”

“ As Solomon proclaimed, "He who loves wine and oil shall not gain riches," indicating that those who pursue true, higher happiness, and hold on to their connection with the ultimate and lasting source of happiness, God Himself, should not seek false material riches, which belong to this deceptive world. Instead, they should pursue righteousness and seek closeness to God through wisdom and knowledge, as these encompass all aspects of the world. ”

“ Behold, one who appoints a son or a student has substitutions, and the purpose of everything is to fix some of the damage caused by a person's sin, as mentioned. And since there is no certainty in this either, the real complete scholars saw fit to fix this and to mention the Name in the book they will write, from what they debated in their wisdom or from what they innovated from the depths of the Torah and the interpretations of the Talmud, because they knew for certain that this is good for them and a greater completion than sons and daughters. ”

“ This advantage seeks to explore the action and labor that a person undergoes beyond the sun, the ultimate goal, and the advantage and perfection that the labor must aim towards. Thus, it remains unspecified. I have observed the matter which God has placed before human beings to answer. This is the answer to the question that has been posited. It is the secret of the spread of thought that God has given to human beings, entrusting them with the power of awakening and uniting from below to awaken it in response from above with the powers of the Great Name. ”

“ The good and the complete naturally align themselves with the appropriate time for the righteous, which is the foundation of the eternal world, and it represents the good and the reality. The sinner, on the other hand, aligns himself with an unfavorable time, as a result of the consequences of his actions. ”

“ Behold, I explain thusly, that the Torah and the commandments awaken the unity, and for this reason, they are brought forth in terms of eating and drinking. For the unity above and the rectification of the great name through perfect intention is eating and drinking, which is the uplifting of the supernal light to improve and illuminate the upper countenance. ”

“ For it is through knowledge of God and His service that one truly lives, and in this, one fulfills His commandment and merits to see the beauty of God and to enter His sanctuary, from which his soul is carved. ”

“ This side pulls individuals towards pursuing material desires, preventing them from attaining true goodness. It transforms them into disbelievers, as it says, "They cast away the Lord and said, 'He does not exist.'" Ultimately, their pursuit of material wealth leads them away from true wealth, which is the attachment to the Divine light that descends upon the head, comparable to the anointing oil, and the joy-inducing beverage, symbolizing God's preservation of the grapes, as known to those who have merited connection to Him. ”

“ These changes are dependent on the capacity and understanding of the individual who receives them. If one prepares himself for goodness, he will awaken and be directed towards it. In the same manner, if one prepares himself towards evil, the changing times shall cause the awakening to evil below, which lacks any root or basis above, but it awakens according to its similarities and opposites, as do all changes necessary under the sky, as known to the Masters of Divine Wisdom. ”

“ Conversely, the text states that the sinner causes himself to gather and accumulate unnecessary possessions, deceiving and luring others into pursuing them as well. This blinds them to the true purpose of life and prevents them from considering the ultimate consequences.
Wisemen understand that these are the extremities of this known world, as expressed by the verse "The God of eternity, the Lord, formed the extremities of the earth." The individual is either drawn to the extremity of righteousness or the extremity of material wealth and honor. ”

“ While engaging in righteous pursuits, one obtains the true completion and perfection. However, when one follows the negative inclination, he falls far from what is good and complete, and he remains empty. Consequently, that vanity encompasses him and, as our sages described, he returns to his folly. But, when one toils and magnifies, he obtains true, lasting completion, and it is a spiritual elevation. ”

“ Since the name of the Almighty has the attribute of silver in the nature of creation, a person should engrave his name on his offspring in order to ensure his remembrance, whether in a book or in a building or in any other way, so that his name will not be lost. ”

“ Therefore, he said, "I know that there is no good in them in all their deeds, except to rejoice and to act with them in the highest level of happiness." As mentioned, "eternal happiness rests upon their heads" to establish the intention and to promote and combine the goodness. ”

“ This shows that David, who left a worthy son after him, it says about him that he "slept," but Joab, who did not leave a worthy son after him, it says about him that he "died."
Thus, if one does not leave a worthy son, he is called dead, and even if his name remains externally, it will be called bad and shameful, for people will say, "Cursed is the one who begot this child, cursed is the one who raised him." Therefore, a person is not assured by having a son, for who knows if the wise one will be born or the fool? ”

“ This is the way of true life, which the faithful servants live all their days while residing on earth until they return to the land of the living, their birthplace. For they have already put forth complete effort and brought with them the impression and the image from there. ”

“ However, I live, and the glory of the Lord shall fill the entire earth." Everything is rectified and clear to the wise of heart, and our sages said, "As You spoke, saying,' to make it known that He shows the way to find forgiveness through the secret of prayer and supplication in which one pleads. ”

“ And he said without this, "Man cannot find the work that God has done from beginning to end," meaning that man does not know and cannot find the reason. This reason occurs through the intention of the heart in worship, the connection to the Great Name in its honor. However, there is no doubt that the services and the performance of the commandments surround this unity when they are performed with perfect intention, without completely understanding the reason. ”

“ So does this man, the Holy One, wander from his place with her to keep her from the power of a foreign ruler, as it is written, "I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory I will not give to another, etc." ”

“ The third benefit I share with others, for whoever dedicates his heart to emerge from the darkness of time and rise above the vanities and desires, and wants to contemplate what this book contains, will then know his creator and will serve him with complete true service. ”

“ For when a bird wanders from its nest, behold, it longs for him and moves to return there, with regard to that saying, like the secret of the soul, so does the person in whom this soul resides, and he wanders from his place and his level, he must constantly move to return to him. ”

“ The sinner, on the other hand, succumbs to temptation and gathers stolen possessions. The consequences of these illicit actions will cause him to experience great loss, as he will not possess them genuinely. ”

“ Moses said to Him, "You should have helped me before!" He said to him, "Now let My might be increased, as you have said, 'May they desire,' to make known that this matter is very difficult, and it shall not fall under any understanding. For even if a person has great understanding, if the higher rectification is not delivered in the hands of the lower, and if the prayers and services are not for a higher purpose, the Holy One, blessed be He, has no place to dwell. ”

“ And concerning this longing, they said that the perfection will be achieved through the remnants of the Name, and it was mentioned when a student was appointed to him because the students are the true children, and he said in Tractate Yevamot, Rabbi Akiva says, 'Learn Torah in your youth, study Torah in your old age; if you had students in your youth, you will have students in your old age,' as it is stated, 'Sow the seeds of your offspring in the morning, and so on.' And in Tractate Yesh Nochalim, it is said, 'Those who have no substitutions for them,' and so on. ”