The tenth commandment is to wear phylacteries and thus reproduce the celestial image, for “God created man in His image.” Rabbi Siméon continued: It is written: “Thy head is like Carmel.” This verse has already been interpreted in one way; but it has yet another meaning. “Thy head is like Carmel” designates the phylactery of the head, which presents the image of the celestial head, that is to say, of the sacred name of the celestial King: Jehovah (יהוה). Each of the letters of this sacred name is represented in the phylactery of the head by a biblical section. The four biblical sections contained in the four compartments of the phylactery of the head are the commentaries on the four letters of the sacred name, in the order in which they follow one another. That is why tradition teaches us that the words of Scripture: “All the peoples of the earth shall see that Thou bearest the name of the Lord, and they shall fear thee” designate the phylactery of the head, because the sections contained in this phylactery are the commentaries on the four letters of the divine name. The first section: “Sanctify unto Me every firstborn that openeth the womb” is the commentary on the letter Yod (י), the eldest of all the celestial holinesses. This letter opens the womb of the second letter to bring forth fruitfulness. The letter Yod has at its base a fine stroke that symbolizes the opening of the womb. It is this letter that constitutes the first of the holinesses. The second section: “And when the Lord shall have brought you in” is the commentary on the letter Hé (ה), whose womb is opened by Yod. It is through fifty openings of the celestial and mysterious palaces that the Word of Yod enters Hé, to make the voice of the horn (Schophar) heard. The Schophar (horn) is closed on every side; and Yod comes to open it, to make the sound heard, the sign of freedom, which announces the emancipation of the slaves. It was by the sound of the Schophar that the Israelites came out of Egypt; and it will also be at the sound of the Schophar that deliverance shall come at the end of days. Every deliverance is announced by the Schophar. And that is why the second section speaks of the departure from Egypt, which took place at the sound of the Schophar. Such is the interpretation of Hé, the second letter of the sacred name. The third
The section containing the mystery of Unity: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” is the commentary on the letter Vav. It proceeds from the two preceding letters, which it unites; it forms the link between them. The fourth section is: “If ye obey the commandments.” This section, containing words of two different kinds: words of consolation and words of threatening admonition, relates to the community of Israel, to whom all power in this lower world is entrusted, and who is designated by the final Hé, the fourth letter of the sacred name, which contains the preceding letters and is formed by them. Thus, the phylacteries are the commentaries on the letters that constitute the sacred name. Therefore Scripture says: “Thy head is like Carmel,” that is, the phylactery of the head. Scripture adds: “And the locks of thy head are like purple.” Now, instead of using the word “Saàr” to designate the hair, it uses the word “Dalath,” derived from “Dal” and expressing poverty. For it wishes to indicate to us the phylactery of the arm, which symbolizes poverty, whereas that of the head symbolizes wealth. Scripture then adds: “The king bound in its tresses,” that is, the sacred name of the heavenly King is displayed in the four compartments of the phylactery. Whoever wears the phylacteries is a man “made in the image of God”; for, just as the essence of God is united in the four letters of the sacred name, so does this man unite its explanation in the four compartments of the phylactery. Therefore Scripture adds: “He created them male and female.” The phylacteries of the head and the arm are likewise the symbols of male and female; and yet, since their contents are identical, they form but one.
The eleventh commandment is to take the tithe from the produce of the earth. The verse in Genesis that alludes to this commandment actually contains two: that of the tithe of the produce of the earth, and that of the tithe of the first fruits of the trees. The first commandment is summed up in the words: “I have given you all the herbs that bear seed upon the earth.” Scripture uses here the word “given”; and elsewhere it is said: “And unto the children of Levi have I given all the tithes of Israel”; and elsewhere still: “All the tithes of the land, whether of grain or of the fruit of the trees, belong to the Lord and are consecrated unto Him.”
The twelfth commandment is to bring the first fruits of the trees, as it is written: “And all the trees that have their seed within themselves, each after its kind, that they may serve you for food.” God said: Although all that is consecrated unto Me is forbidden to eat, I permit you to eat all the tithes of the produce of the earth and the first fruits of the trees; therefore Scripture says: “That they may serve you for food”: for you, and not for the generations to come.
The twelfth commandment is to bring the first fruits of the trees, as it is written: “And all the trees that have their seed within themselves, each after its kind, that they may serve you for food.” God said: Although all that is consecrated unto Me is forbidden to eat, I permit you to eat all the tithes of the produce of the earth and the first fruits of the trees; therefore Scripture says: “That they may serve you for food”: for you, and not for the generations to come.
The thirteenth commandment is to redeem the firstborn child and thus bind him to life. For there are two angels, one appointed over life and the other over death, who always stand near man. And when a man redeems his son, he withdraws him from the hands of the angel appointed over death and prevents him from exercising his power over the child. This mystery is contained in the words: “And God saw that all that He had made was very good.” The word “good” designates the angel of life; the word “very,” the angel of death. By redeeming the firstborn, a man gives preeminence to the angel of life, while the angel of death grows weaker as a result of the redemption, as we have said, and no longer attaches himself to the child.
The fourteenth commandment is to observe the rest of the Sabbath day, since God rested on that day from creation.
The fourteenth commandment is to observe the rest of the Sabbath day, since God rested on that day from creation.
The commandment concerning the day of the Sabbath is divided into two: one is to observe the rest on that day and abstain from all work, and the other is to sanctify it. As for the Sabbath rest, we have already said that it was ordained in consequence of the rest that God observed on that day after the creation. All the works of creation were completed before the day of the Sabbath. When the sacred hour of the Sabbath arrived, several spirits remained unfinished, time having run out before they could be provided with bodies. These spirits form the host of demons. One might ask: Could the Holy One, blessed be He, not have delayed the sacred hour of the Sabbath, so as to have time to provide these spirits with bodies? But the truth is that the tree of good and evil incited several spirits to rebel even before they had been provided with bodies. These spirits conceived the plan of descending to earth, once provided with bodies, and taking possession of the world. God then divided the spirits into two categories: the good were placed beside the tree of life, and the evil beside the tree of good and evil. He then began by providing the spirits of the first category with bodies; and when the time came to provide those of the second with bodies, the Sabbath interrupted the work of creation. Had these spirits been provided with bodies, the world could not have existed, not even for the space of a blink of an eye. But the Holy One, blessed be He, created the remedy before the evil, by bringing forward the hour of the Sabbath; thanks to this remedy, the world endures. Contrary to the plan they had conceived of peopling the world with their offspring, the evil spirits were mortified to see the good spirits, clothed in bodies, fulfill the duty of procreation on the very night of the first Sabbath, while, lacking bodies, they were powerless to do likewise. This is why the sages, who know the fact related, confine their conjugal relations to the day of the Sabbath, in order to show the spirits of the evil side how much superior are the spirits of the holy side, who, provided with bodies, can fulfill the duty of procreation. The evil spirits go forth in crowds and roam the world, hoping to surprise someone who, naked, engages in conjugal relations by lamplight; for children born of such relations will be epileptic, because the demonic spirits attach themselves to these children from birth. Those afflicted with this infirmity eventually become possessed by the female demon, called “Lillith,” who kills them.
As soon as the sacred day of the Sabbath arrives and the heavenly holiness is spread throughout the world, the demons, seized with terror, go and hide during the night and day of the Sabbath, except for “Assimon,” who is permitted to roam the world, accompanied by his retinue, during the night of the Sabbath, to seek out those who, naked, lie together. But when the night is past, they are obliged to go and hide in the deep abyss. When the day of the Sabbath is over, many legions of demons reappear in the world, roaming it in every direction. Therefore the recitation of Psalm XCI was instituted against the demons, the psalm which the holy people recite at the end of the Sabbath, in order to be preserved from evil spirits. To what place do the demons first make their way at the end of the Sabbath, when they flee in haste and, while they had counted on ruling over the holy people in the world, they see the Israelites reciting prayers and this Psalm, and then the liturgy of “separation” which is pronounced while holding a cup of wine in the hand? They fly off in haste and go and hide in the desert. May God preserve us from the demons and from all those who emanate from the evil side.
Our masters, of blessed memory, have handed down the following teaching: By three evil deeds a man brings misfortune upon himself. First, the man who curses himself; next, he who casts upon the ground bread or crumbs as large as an olive; and lastly, he who, at the close of the Sabbath, lights a candle before the Israelites have recited the liturgy of “separation.” By lighting a candle on Saturday evening before the appointed hour, one causes the fires of hell to be kindled before the appointed time. For there is in hell a place set apart, where those who have profaned the Sabbath, like all the other damned, are sheltered from the fires of hell for the whole duration of the Sabbath. All these damned heap curses upon him who, at the close of the Sabbath, lights a candle before the appointed hour; they say: “The Lord will have thee brought here, like a cock with his feet bound, and will take thee away as easily as a cloak one puts on. He will crown thee with a crown of woes; He will cast thee as one casts a ball into a broad and spacious field.”
Thus, one should not light a candle at the end of the Sabbath before the Israelites have said their prayers and recited, over a cup of wine, the liturgy of “separation.” As long as the Sabbath lasts, the holiness of that day imposes absolute rest in heaven as well as in hell; the punishments of the guilty are suspended, and the heavenly spirits appointed to the various offices remain inactive. All activity resumes as soon as the Israelites have recited this formula: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who separatest the holy from the profane.” At that moment, heavenly holiness withdraws from this world, and the spirits each return to their appointed office. Thus the overseers of hell are not permitted to kindle its fires until they see light among the Israelites. That is why these overseers are called “the Watchers of the Fire,” because they are obliged to see whether the Israelites have already kindled their lights. This is the reason why he who lights the candle too early at the end of the Sabbath draws upon himself the curse of the damned in hell. But he, on the contrary, who delays lighting the candle on that day draws upon himself from those same damned all the blessings of the Holy One, blessed be He; they say to that man: “May God give thee abundance of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the fields, etc. Blessed is He that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the day of evil.” Why does Scripture not use the term “in the evil day,” instead of “in the day of evil”? Because Scripture speaks of the day when the demon would seize a man’s soul; then the Lord will deliver him from it. By the term “poor,” Scripture designates a soul made sick as a result of sins against the Holy One, blessed be He. According to another interpretation, the words “the Lord will deliver him in the day of evil” allude to the last judgment of the world; then the Lord will know how to deliver the man; “the day of evil” means: when the last judgment shall fall upon the world.