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Section 6.  Also, the wicked Haman wished to overpower Israel, G‑d forbid, through the bechina of the corruption of justice [pegam hamishpat] that is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar — see there well the matter of the corruption of justice that comes about through evil tefillin [i.e., through the drawing up of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael into the brain]. For this [rectification] one requires the binding of the Chariot [kishur haMerkavah], which is the bechina of the thrones of justice [kis'os lamishpat], etc. [See there well.] Now, Haman the wicked — may his name be erased — was of the seed of Agag, and he gained power over Israel through the blemish of Shaul [the King], who had blemished [the commandment] in the war against Amalek — in that he left Agag alive and showed mercy on the best of the sheep, etc. And this is the bechina of the corruption of justice that comes through evil tefillin — through drawing the drop of Eisav and Yishmael up to the brain, [as is explained there]. For "Amalek is the first of the nations" [Bamidbar 24:20] — for he is composed of Eisav and Yishmael, who together represent all the nations — for he is the first of the nations and is composed of all of them, and he is the essential contamination of the serpent [zuhamas hanachash] — the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification whatsoever. Therefore Shaul was commanded to utterly destroy them — from ox to lamb, from camel to donkey [Shmuel I 15:3] — to eradicate all trace of them from the world entirely. For all things in the world require rectification, since all of them were blemished through the sin of Adam harishon, who blemished the drops of the brain [tipei hamoyach] — which is the bechinas "he sealed his flesh, etc." [an allusion in the sources to the blemish of the bris]. And through this, all things fell into the klipah [husk of impurity], and we are constantly engaged in rectifying all things in the world — to elevate them and sort them out from the klipah — [elevating them] from the bechinas "he sealed his flesh" to the brain [moyach], where all the sparks [nitzotzos] are rectified, for they are all rectified within thought [machashavah]. For this is the essential rectification — to raise up all the nitzotzos that fell into the klipah and spread throughout all things in the world — in the [categories of] inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human [domem, tzomayach, chai, medaber] — through the sin of Adam harishon, as stated — to elevate them to the moyach, which is the bechinas raising them from "he sealed his flesh" to the bechinas mochin tefillin, as is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar. However, there are things that we are forbidden to rectify — for they are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification whatsoever. And this is the bechinas all the prohibitions [isurim] of the Torah — for they are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, the bechina of the contamination of the serpent, which has no rectification — and moreover, when one raises them up, G‑d forbid, to the moyach, the moyach is blemished and the corruption of justice results — from which the aforementioned impurity is further strengthened, G‑d forbid. Therefore Amalek, who is the contamination of the serpent — the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael mentioned above — therefore it is forbidden to leave any trace of him in the world. And therefore [Shaul] was commanded to kill even the animals — from ox to lamb, etc. — for all of them are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification, and it is forbidden to engage with them to rectify them and raise them to the moyach — for the moyach is blemished by them when they are raised, as stated. And King Shaul, peace be upon him, blemished in this by leaving Agag the king of Amalek alive and showing mercy on him and on the best of the sheep, etc., to sacrifice to Hashem. And this is a very grave blemish — the bechina of the blemish of the tefillin mentioned above — for he wished to raise the animals of Amalek as offerings. For the essential nature of an offering is the aforementioned bechinas raising and rectifying the animal force [ko'ach habehamiyus] — which is the imaginative faculty [ko'ach hamedameh] — and rectifying it in the bechinas [the level of] man, as it is written: "Adam ki yakriv mikem korban l'Hashem min habehaimah... takrivu es korbanechem — When a person from among you brings an offering to Hashem from the animals... you shall bring your offering" [Vayikra 1:2]. For the essential nature of the offering is to raise [what is] from the level of animal to the level of man — which is the bechinas raising from "he sealed his flesh" to the bechinas mochin tefillin, [as is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar, see there well]. And Shaul who wished to raise the animals of Amalek — which are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael — as offerings, thereby blemished the tefillin. For when the drop of Eisav and Yishmael is raised [to the moyach], the mochin and the tefillin are thereby blemished, and the corruption of justice results, G‑d forbid, as stated. And likewise he blemished in the fact that he showed mercy on Agag — for it is forbidden to have mercy on them. For mercy is da'as, [as is cited in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory]. It follows: when one has mercy on someone, one draws da'as down upon him. Therefore when [Shaul] had mercy on Agag the king of Amalek, he blemished the tefillin — for he raised up, G‑d forbid, Amalek, who is the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, to [the level of] mercy and da'as. And through this the corruption of justice came about. Therefore he erred in several matters, for he judged Dovid and the city of Nov, the Kohanim's city, as rebels against the monarchy, and he judged and ruled against them with a death sentence against the law. And similarly our Sages of blessed memory said that Shaul did not merit "lasukay shemasʾtesa aliba dehilchesa" — to bring the legal ruling to its definitive conclusion in accord with the halacha [Yevamos 77a] — namely, the bechina of the corruption of justice through the aforementioned blemish, as stated. And therefore he was deposed from the kingship — for the essential [quality of] sacred kingship [malchus dikedushah] depends on this: on the obliteration of Amalek, which is the bechina of the rectification of the bris, as stated. For sacred kingship is the bechinas "a woman who fears Hashem" [Mishlei 31:30], whose essential sustenance is through the rectification of the bris, which depends on the obliteration of Amalek, as stated. And this is what Shmuel said to Shaul: "Hashem sent me to anoint you as king over Israel, and now go and smite, etc." [Shmuel I 15:1–3]. For the rectification of his kingship — which is sacred kingship — depended on this, as stated. And therefore when he blemished in this, he was deposed from the kingship, as it is written: "Because you have despised the word of Hashem, He has despised you from being king, etc." [Shmuel I 15:23], as stated.

Section 7.  For in truth Shaul was chosen as the first king over Israel, because he was the bechina of the binding of the Chariot [kishur haMerkavah], which is the bechina of the rectification of justice — for Shaul was from the tribe of Binyamin, and the essential binding of the Chariot is the bechinas Binyamin. For Yaakov our forefather's "bed was whole" [mitas shleimah] — since the drop of Eisav and Yishmael had already been sorted out [separated] to the outside — [and see all of this in the Laws of Chelev and Blood, where we explained it there]. And therefore Yaakov was the bechina of the rectification of justice, as it is written: "Justice and righteousness in Yaakov — You have performed them" [Tehillim 99:4]. And as it is written: "Justice to the G‑d of Yaakov" [Tehillim 81:2]. And therefore he merited the complete rectification of the bris and was entirely guarded from the bechinas "he sealed his flesh," as it is written: "My strength and the first of my vigor" [Bereishis 49:3]. And therefore he merited a whole bed and fathered the twelve tribes of G‑d [shneim asar shivtei Kah], who are the bechina of the rectification and binding of the sacred Chariot — for the twelve tribes are four banners [arba'ah degalim], corresponding to the four sacred camps [arba'ah machanot dikedushah], which are the bechinas "his chariot woven of purple" [merkavo argaman], as is cited. And the essential binding of the Chariot is Binyamin — for he is the one who completes Yaakov's whole bed. And as it is written in the holy Zohar, that for this reason Binyamin was born in the Land of Israel and not near Lavan — so that the bed [of Yaakov], which is the bechina of the sacred Chariot, should not be completed while at Lavan's — in the Diaspora — see there. It follows: the essential wholeness of the sacred bed is Binyamin, who was born last and completed the sacred bed. And when Binyamin was born, the bed was perfectly completed — which is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot. And therefore Binyamin merited that the Bais HaMikdash [Holy Temple] should be built in his portion — for the Bais HaMikdash is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, for there the sacred Chariot was rectified and bound. For there was the Shechinah's [Divine Presence's] dwelling and the entire matter of the Chariot spoken of in Shir HaShirim, as it is written: "A litter did King Shlomo make for himself... its pillars... his chariot [was woven of] purple, its interior, etc." [Shir HaShirim 3:9–10] — all of this referring to the Mishkan and the Bais HaMikdash, as Rashi explained there. And therefore the essential rectification of justice was in the Bais HaMikdash — for in the Bais HaMikdash was the Lishkas HaGazis [Chamber of Hewn Stone], where halachic rulings were decided, and from there the essential true judgment went forth to all Israel, for the Great Sanhedrin sat there, etc. And therefore Binyamin, who is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, merited that the Bais HaMikdash should be built in his portion — which is the bechina of the sacred Chariot, the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And therefore he merited that the first king should come from his descendants — for the essential sacred kingship is through the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, the bechina of the rectification of the bris, as stated. And therefore it was fitting that his descendants should carry out the cherem [utter destruction] of Amalek — who is the complete opposite of the bechina of the binding of the Chariot and the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And therefore Shaul, who blemished in this, was deposed from the kingship — for the essential sacred kingship depends on the obliteration of Amalek, as stated. And through this blemish — namely, the corruption of justice, as stated, which Shaul caused by sparing Agag and the best of the sheep, etc. — through this came Haman-Amalek, who wished to overpower Israel, G‑d forbid. It follows: Amalek is both the beginning and the end of the corruption — for even the beginning of the corruption — namely, the corruption of justice — came about through Amalek: through Shaul the King's mercy on him. And through that very same blemish came Haman-Amalek — for through the mercy he showed [Agag], the corruption of justice came about, as stated, through which Haman-Amalek had, G‑d forbid, the power to overpower [Israel] with the known impurity, [as is explained there].

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