326. "ARISE, Rabbi Chisqiah, and stand in thy place, and declare the worthiness of this part of the holy beard."
327. Rabbi Chisqiah arose, and began his speech and said, Cant. vii. 10: "I am my beloved's, and his desire is towards me."
328. "Who is under consideration here, that 'I am my beloved's?' and because that, 'his desire is toward me?'
329. "I have meditated, and lo I 1 have beheld the most excellent light of the supernal lights.
330. "It shone forth, and ascended on three hundred and twenty-five sides.
331. "And in that light was a certain obscurity washed away, like as when a man batheth in a deep river, whose divided waters flow round him on every side from that part which is above.
332. "And that light ascendeth unto the shore of the deep superior sea, 1 for all good openings and dignities are disclosed in that opening.
333. "I asked of them what might be the interpretation of that which I beheld; and, commencing they replied,
334. He said: "This is the second disposition," and sat down. 335. Rabbi Schimeon said: Now is the universe united together (or mitigated). Blessed be thou, Rabbi Chisqiah, of the Ancient of the Ancient Ones! 336. Rabbi Schimeon said: All the lights are congregated together which come under this holy seal. 337. I bear witness that the highest heavens from the highest (powers) are above me, and the highest holy earth from the supernals, because now I can see what man hath not beheld from that time, when Moses for the second time ascended the mountain of Sinai. 338. For I see that my countenance shineth like, the vehement splendour of the sun, who is about to issue forth for the healing of the universe. 1 339. Like as it is written, Mal. iv. 2: "But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise, and healing in his wings." 340. Furthermore, I know that my countenance shineth; Moses, neither knew nor perceived (the fact). 341. Like as it is written, Exod. xxxiv. 29: "And Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone." 342. Furthermore, I behold before me with mine eyes those thirteen sculptured (forms of the beard of Macroprosopus), and like flaming light did they shine. 343. And when the second of those (dispositions) was explained by thy mouth, that same at once was raised, and conformed, and crowned, and concealed in the concealment of the forms of the beard, but all the others were reinstated (in outward form). 2
147:1 Binah. the third Sephira, which is called the "sea" in the "Book of Concealed Mystery." It answers to the first letter H, He, in the Tetragrammaton. (See Introduction.) 148:1 This phrase "splendour of the sun, who is," &c., evidently refers to the sixth Sephira, Tiphereth, or beauty, the splendour of the countenance of Microprosopus, while the "universe" refers to Malkuth. 148:2 While Rabbi Chisqiah was speaking Rabbi Schimeon had this vision of the conformations of the beard.
