佐哈尔·诺克 4

1It is written: “Drink water out of thine own cistern, and running water out of thine own well” (Prov. 5, 15). Why speak first of a cistern (bor), which is naturally waterless, and then of a well (beer), which is a fountain bubbling with water? In truth, both are one: this first refers to a certain region which is beset by poverty, and is thus called “cistern”, as not possessing anything of its own save what is given to it: that region is called daleth (poverty, also the fourth letter of the alphabet).

2In time, however, it becomes a well, filled on all sides with bubbling water; it then typifies the letter he, being filled from on high and bubbling up from below. It is filled from above in the way already explained, while its bubbling from below is from the souls of the righteous.

3(According to another interpretation, “drink water out of thine own cistern” refers to King David, who said, “Oh that one would give me water to drink of the cistern of Bethlehem” (II Sam. 23, 15); and “running waters” refers to Abraham; “out of the midst” refers to Jacob, he representing the centre; “thine own well” signifies Isaac, who is called “well of living waters”. Thus in this verse is a reference to the sacred and honoured team of the three patriarchs with King David associated with them.)

4As the desire of the female towards the male only awakes when a certain spirit enters into her and the flow ascends to meet that of the male, so the congregation of Israel only conceives a longing for the Holy One, blessed be He, when it is permeated with the spirit of the righteous. It is then that its energy rises from below to meet the energy from above so as to form a perfect union. There flows from this a universal content, and it is then that the Holy One, blessed be He, walks familiarly among the souls of the righteous.

5See now, all the offspring of the Garden of Eden did not issue from the Righteous one until he entered into that ark of which we have spoken and became one with it-that ark which contained all in embryo. Similarly Noah the righteous man did not beget offspring to populate the world until he entered the ark in which all (life) was gathered and safely stored and from which it afterwards emerged to multiply in the world and to have an abiding existence on earth. Had not these creatures been through the ark they would not have endured in the world.

6And all this was planned after the supernal pattern. As they emerged from the Ark there on high, so they emerged from the ark here below. And thus the world then obtained the character of permanency which it had not possessed before. Hence the expression “And running waters out of the midst of thy well”, which is echoed by the verse “And Noah begat three sons.”