Running Commentary on Torah 15 — Who Wants to Taste the Flavor of the Hidden Light

Beginner: This Torah is recorded in **Rabbeinu's own voice** — written in the first person by Rebbe Nachman himself, not edited and paraphrased by Reb Nosson. What follows is Rabbeinu's direct, unmediated teaching. Intermediate: [*Leshon Rabbeinu z"l*] — This Torah is in Rabbeinu's own hand, not Reb Nosson's redaction.

Beginner: The Torah opens and closes with a verse from Exodus 19:6: **"And you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."** Rabbeinu decodes this verse word by word in sections 7–8 near the end. The three components — **kingdom, priests, holy nation** — map to the three spiritual levels this entire Torah is about: **revealed Torah, prayer, and the hidden secrets of Torah**. Intermediate: [Shem 19:6] *mamleches* = Torah she'be'nigleh; *kohanim* = *tefillah*; *goy kadosh* = *sisrei oraysa*. Decoded in sections 7 (seg 15) and 8 (seg 17).

Beginner: The Torah opens with a sweeping declaration: **Whoever wants to taste the flavor of the Hidden Light** — the mystical secrets of Torah [sod ha'Torah] that will only be fully revealed in the Messianic future — **must elevate the quality of awe [yirah] to its root and source.** This is the overarching thesis of the entire Torah: the path to the deepest, most concealed dimension of Divine wisdom begins with one's inner capacity for awe and fear of Heaven. Yirah in its crude form is scattered and diffused — people fear all sorts of worldly things. The spiritual work is to gather all that awe and elevate it to its highest source. Intermediate: **א.** To taste the *or ha'ganuz* (Hidden Light = secrets of Torah revealed *l'atid*) → must raise *midas ha'yirah* to its *shoresh*.

Beginner: **Section Two: How is yirah elevated?** In this section the Rebbe will explain the mechanism: **self-judgment [mishpat]**. By honestly judging and evaluating your own conduct and character, you strip away all the worldly fears that have clothed themselves in your life, and are left with pure, undiluted awe of Heaven alone. Intermediate: **ב.** *Yirah* elevated through *mishpat* (self-judgment): Mishlei 29:4 "melech b'mishpat ya'amid aretz" (*aretz*=*yirah*); Teh 76:9 "eretz yarah"; Teh 112:5 "y'chalkel devarav b'mishpat". Self-judgment prevents external *din*; cf. DR 5:4 "im ein din l'matah yesh din l'ma'alah".

Beginner: **How does one elevate yirah? Through self-judgment [mishpat].** The Rebbe brings the verse (Proverbs 29:4): **"A king, through judgment, establishes the land."** And the land [aretz] is the quality of yirah — as the verse says (Psalms 76:9): **"The earth was filled with awe [aretz yarah]."** So: judgment establishes the land, and the land represents awe. Specifically, the Rebbe says: judge all your affairs yourself (Psalms 112:5: **"He will order his affairs with judgment"**) — examine and evaluate your own behavior. Through this, **all external fears fall away from you**, and your yirah rises clean and pure, and only fear of God remains — not fear of anything else. **Why?** Because when a person does not judge himself, God judges him from Above. This is the principle: **"If there is no judgment below, there is judgment above"** (Devarim Rabbah 5:4). When heavenly judgment descends, it clothes itself in everything around a person — everything becomes God's messenger to execute judgment upon him, as the Sages taught (Nedarim 41a, on Psalms 119:91): **"By Your judgments they stand — for all are Your servants"** — meaning, when there is judgment above, all things become agents to bring that judgment. But when he judges himself — **when there is judgment below, there is no judgment above** — and yirah does not need to clothe itself in any external thing to arouse him, because he himself is already aroused from within. This is the meaning of the verse (Psalms 50:23): **"One who places his ways"** — as the Sages expound (Sotah 5b): one who carefully orders his path = one who judges his own ways. As the verse says (Exodus 21:1): **"And these are the judgments which you shall place"** (Bereishit Rabbah, Mishpatim 30). Through this — **"I will show him the salvation of God"** (Psalms 50:23) — this is the quality of yirah, as the verse says (Kohelet 12:13): **"Fear God."** Meaning: yirah rises up from the husks [kelipah] and from the other nations through self-judgment, because previously it had been clothed in the kelipah. This explains why a person is afraid of some worldly thing — an official, thieves, or other fears. That is because **yirah has become clothed in that thing.** Were the yirah not to have become clothed in that thing, it would have no power to frighten the person. Intermediate: **ב.** *Yirah* raised through **mishpat** (Mishlei 29:4 "melech b'mishpat ya'amid aretz"; aretz=*yirah*, Teh 76:9 "eretz yarah"; Teh 112:5 "y'chalkel devarav b'mishpat"). Self-judgment → *din* doesn't clothe externally. **"im ein din l'matah, yesh din l'ma'alah"** (DR 5:4; Ned 41a "l'mishpatecha amdu... ha'kol avadecha"). **"v'sam derech"** (Teh 50:23; Sotah 5b) = "v'eileh ha'mishpatim asher tasim" (Shem 21:1; BR Mishpatim 30) → "ar'enu b'yesha Elokim" = *yirah* (Koh 12:13). *Yirah* rises from *kelipah*/nations. Fears = *yirah* clothed in objects.

Beginner: **Section Three: The root of yirah is da'as** — deep, intimate knowing and connection with God. This section explains what yirah is ultimately rooted in, and how reaching that root unlocks the attainment of Torah. Intermediate: **ג.** Root of *yirah* = *da'as*: Etz Chaim — manzp"k letters in *da'as* of *Ze'ir Anpin*; Mishlei 2:5 "az tavin yiras Hashem v'da'as Elokim"; *da'as* in *lev* (Dev 29:3); *yirah* also davar ha'masur la'lev (Kid 32b).

Beginner: What is the root of yirah? The Rebbe teaches that it is **da'as** — deep knowledge and intimate connection with God. He brings proof from the **Etz Chaim** (the Ari's Kabbalistic system): the five **final-form letters of the Hebrew alphabet** [manzp"k, written as מנצפ"ך in their final forms] reside in the **da'as** [Knowledge] of Ze'ir Anpin [the primary Divine configuration]. And the verse confirms this connection (Proverbs 2:5): **"Then you will understand the awe of God, and the knowledge [da'at] of God you will find"** — da'as and yirah are inseparable. Furthermore: da'as resides primarily in the **heart** — as the verse says (Deuteronomy 29:3): **"And God did not give you a heart to know [la'da'at]."** And yirah too is rooted in the heart — the Sages teach (Kiddushin 32b): for **matters left to the heart** [things that only you can know and monitor inwardly], the Torah uses the expression **"you shall fear your God"** — meaning, only the heart truly knows whether the fear is genuine. The ultimate goal is **yirat ha'romemus** — awe of God's transcendent majesty and exaltedness [see Torah 154 for elaboration]. This is not fearful terror but the elevated awe of standing before infinite greatness. Intermediate: Root of *yirah* = **da'as** (Etz Chaim: manzp"k in *da'as* of *Ze'ir Anpin*; Mishlei 2:5 "az tavin yiras Hashem v'da'as"). *Da'as* in **lev** (Dev 29:3); *yirah* too (Kid 32b: *davar ha'masur la'lev*) — *yiras ha'romemus* (see Torah 154).

Beginner: When one reaches the level of **da'as** — that deep knowing — one merits the **attainment of Torah** [hasagat ha'Torah]. As the verse says (Proverbs 8:12): **"I, Wisdom, dwell together with insight"** — Torah dwells with a person who has da'as. And (Daniel 2:21): **"The Holy Blessed One gives wisdom to the wise."** But the Rebbe teaches that there are **two dimensions of Torah**: **1. Revealed Torah [nigleh]** — the Torah as studied and transmitted in the open: Talmud, halacha, Midrash. **2. Hidden Torah [nistar]** — the inner, mystical dimension. This will only be completely attained in the **World to Come [l'atid la'vo]**. But even now, in this world, one can access a taste of the hidden Torah through **prayer with complete self-surrender [tefillah b'mesirat nefesh]**. The chain is: **revealed Torah → prayer → hidden Torah**. Here is why: The revealed Torah corresponds to **Sinai** — humble and low. When the Sages debated (Berachot 64a) whether a great scholar of breadth ["Sinai"] or a brilliantly sharp analytical mind ["oker harim" — one who uproots mountains] is preferable, the answer was: **Sinai is preferable — because everyone needs the master of the wheat** [the one who provides the basic sustenance of Torah]. Revealed Torah is what everyone needs; hidden Torah is only for the few. And Sinai = **humility [shiflut]** — God passed over all the tall proud mountains and gave the Torah specifically on the small, humble Mount Sinai (Sotah 5a). The Sages also say (Sotah 5b): **"The prayer of the humble is never despised"** — as the verse says (Psalms 51:19): **"A broken heart"** — the humility cultivated through revealed Torah naturally leads to heartfelt prayer. And when one prays with complete self-surrender — nullifying all one's physicality and ego, transcending all limits — one can access the **Torah of the future**, which itself is limitless and cannot be grasped within any bounded vessel. Intermediate: **ד.** *Da'as* → **attainment of Torah** (Mishlei 8:12; Dan 2:21). **2 Torahs**: *nigleh* + *nistar*. *Nistar*: only *l'atid la'vo*; in this world via **tefillah b'mesirat nefesh**. *Nigleh* = **Sinai = shiflut** (Ber 64a "Sinai adif, ha'kol tzrichin l'mari chitaya"; Sotah 5a mountains; 5b "tefilas ha'shafel einah nim'eset"; Teh 51:19). *Mesirat nefesh* = no *gvul* → attain Torah of *l'atid*.

Beginner: **Section Five: The Aggadic story from Bava Batra.** The Rebbe uses Rabbah bar bar Chana's fantastic tale of a giant frog, a serpent, a raven, and a tree as the precise encoded vehicle for the entire structure of this Torah. Intermediate: **ה.** BB 73b — Rabbah bar bar Chana's parable: giant frog (*akrukta*), serpent (*tannina*), raven (*pushkantza*), tree (*ilana*) encode the full *da'as→yirah→mishpat→tefillah→sisrei* chain.

Beginner: Rabbah bar bar Chana's story (from Bava Batra 73b): **"I myself once saw a frog [akrukta], which was as large as the fort of Hagroniya. And the fort of Hagroniya — how large was it? Sixty houses [shitin batei]. A serpent [tannina] came and swallowed the frog. A raven [pushkantza] came and swallowed the serpent, and flew up and sat in a tree [ilana]. Come see how great is the strength of that tree! Said Rav Pappa bar Shmuel: Had I not been there myself, I would not have believed it."** On its surface this is a wildly fantastical tale. But the Rebbe reads every element as a precise parable for the chain of this Torah: how yirah, mishpat, prayer, and humility progressively lead upward to the hidden Torah. Intermediate: BB 73b — **akrukta** (=frog) as big as *Hagroniya* (60 houses); **tannina** swallowed; **pushkantza** (female raven) swallowed *tannina*, flew up to **ilana**. R' Pappa: "*i lav d'havei hasam lo heimani.*"

Beginner: **Rashbam's glossary** for the story's terms: **Akrukta** = a frog [tzfarde'a]. **As large as Hagroniya** = as large as that city. **Sixty houses** — this answer is supplied by the Talmud itself. **Ata tannina** ("a serpent came") — this continuation is Rabbah's own. **Pushkantza** = a female raven [orev nekevah]. **Ba'ilana** = sat on a branch, as birds do. **Lo heimani** = I would not have believed it. Intermediate: Rashbam: *akrukta*=frog; *akra d'Hagroniya*=city; 60 *batei*=Talmud's; *pushkantza*=female raven; *ilana*=branch; *lo heimani*=not believed.

Beginner: The Rebbe's complete decode of the story, element by element: **1. Akrukta (frog)** = the **elevation of yirah to its root, da'as.** The Hebrew word for frog is *tzfarde'a*, which Tana D'Bei Eliyahu (ch. 7) and the Haggadah kavanot understand as a compound: **tzippor** (bird) + **de'ah** (knowledge/da'as). A bird [tzippor] symbolizes yirah — which corresponds to aretz (land/earth) — as the verse says (Isaiah 24:16): **"From the wing of the earth, songs of praise"** and (Isaiah 60:8): **"Who are these that fly like a cloud?"** — the letters of mi-elleh spell **Elokim**, birds soaring toward the Divine. And **de'ah** is the root of yirah. So the frog = yirah raised to da'as. **2. Akra d'Hagroniya (the city of Hagroniya)** = **the revealed Torah.** The word **akra** (city/fort) evokes the verse (Isaiah 58:1): **"Cry out with your throat [kra be'garon]"** — Torah spoken aloud, Torah that emerges through the mouth — as the Sages teach (Eruvin 54a): **"For those who bring it forth with their mouth."** Through elevating yirah to da'as, one merits the revealed Torah. **3. Sixty houses** = **prayer.** When we address God using human descriptive titles — and He is present and found by us in every call — this is an expression of God's infinite kindness [chesed]. Without His chesed, it would be entirely unworthy to address the infinite God with human words and letters. **Sixty** corresponds to **chesed = Avraham** — the verse says (Song of Songs 6:8): **"Sixty are the queens"** — Rashi says this refers to the level of Avraham. And **batei** (houses) alludes to **"batei malchut"** — royal houses (Sotah 11b; Rashi on Exodus 1:19). The Rebbe adds: the verse (Song of Songs 2:5): **"Support me with the flasks [ashishos]"** — just as one places glass vessels before a brilliant light in order to gaze at it through the glass, so God decreed by His kindness to support us with these human-language names and praises as a lens for approaching Him. The word **samchuni** (support me) alludes to the letter **samech** (=60), and sixty queens = Avraham = sixty houses. **4. The serpent [tannina] swallowed the frog** = the **serpent [nachash]** that seduces a person to pray for **personal benefit** — "give us life and sustenance" or other self-serving requests. **5. The raven [pushkantza] swallowed the serpent** = prayer with **complete self-nullification and mesirat nefesh** — no self-interest whatsoever. The Sages teach (Eruvin 22a): one who **blackens his face like a raven** in Torah study, and who **acts harshly to his children like a raven** — meaning, one who prays with zero self-interest, who considers himself nothing, nullifying his entire existence as if he doesn't exist in the world — as the verse says (Psalms 44:23): **"For Your sake we are killed all day."** This is the quality of **"black as the raven"** (Song of Songs 5:11). **6. Flew up and sat in the tree [salik yasiv b'ilana]** = meriting the **hidden Torah.** The verse says (Psalms 18:12): **"He made darkness His hiding place"** — the secrets of Torah are attained through **darkness** = mesirat nefesh = blackening one's face like a raven — for they are called darkness on account of the profound **depth of comprehension** they require. The **tree** is where souls dwell — as the Zohar (Mishpatim 99a) says: **"All souls go forth from the great tree."** This tree is the dimension of the **World to Come** — as the verse says (Isaiah 65:22): **"Like the days of a tree are the days of my people."** All this is merited through prayer — because God **craves and desires** the prayers of Israel (Chullin 60b). When Israel prays and fulfills His desire, God takes on the quality of a **woman** — receiving pleasure from us — (Numbers 28:2): **"A pleasing aroma to God."** And (Jeremiah 31:21): **"A woman shall surround a man"** — what was previously hidden [nistar] is now **revealed [nigleh] through prayer**. Since **God and Torah are one** [a Zoharic principle], when Torah is revealed through prayer, this is the revelation of the **hidden Torah [sisrei oraysa]**. **"Come see how great is the strength of that tree!"** — the hidden Torah cannot clothe itself in any bounded vessel. It can only dwell within one who has **blackened his face like a raven** — totally selfless. Intermediate: **Decode**: *akrukta* = *tzippor-de'ah* (Tana d'Bei Eliyahu 7; Kavanos Hagg) = *yirah*→*da'as*. Tzippor=yirah=aretz (Isa 24:16; 60:8). *akra d'Hagroniya* = "*kra be'garon*" (Isa 58:1) = *nigleh* (Eruvin 54a). **60 batei** = *tefillah*; *chesed* = Avraham = 60 queens (SoS 6:8 Rashi); "*samchuni ba'ashishos*" (SoS 2:5) = *samech* = 60. **tannina** = serpent = selfish prayer. **pushkantza** = raven = *mesirat nefesh* (Eruvin 22a; Teh 44:23; SoS 5:11). **salik b'ilana** = *sisrei Torah* (Teh 18:12); souls-tree (Zohar Mishpatim 99a); *olam ha'ba* (Isa 65:22). God craves prayer (Chullin 60b) → woman (Num 28:2; Jer 31:21) → *oraysa* revealed. Power of tree = *sisrei* only dwell beyond *gvul*.

Beginner: **Section Six: The five acquisitions of Avot.** The Rebbe now shows that the entire five-stage structure of this Torah is encoded in the Mishnah of Avot (6:10): **"Five acquisitions did God acquire in His world."** Each of the five maps precisely to one stage. Intermediate: **ו.** 5 *kinyanim* (Avot 6:10) = structure of this Torah: **Torah**=*nigleh*; **shamayim+aretz**=*da'as*+*yirah* (Chag 12a; Teh 76:9; BR 4:6); **Avraham**=*tefillah*; **Yisrael**=*mishpat* (Teh 147:19); **Beis ha'Mikdash**=*sisrei oraysa* (Teh 78:54).

Beginner: From Avot 6:10: **"Five acquisitions did God acquire in His world."** The Rebbe maps each: **1. Torah — one acquisition** = the **revealed Torah** [Torah she'be'nigleh]. **2. Heaven and earth — one acquisition** = the **elevation of yirah to da'as.** Earth [aretz] = yirah, as established above. Heaven [shamayim] = da'as — because da'as means union and connection, as the verse says (Genesis 4:1): **"And the man knew [yada]"** — intimate joining. Shamayim is understood as fire [esh] + water [mayim] joined together (Chagigah 12a; Bereishit Rabbah 4:6) — opposites fused = da'as. **3. Avraham — one acquisition** = **prayer** — the aspect of the sixty houses, the sixty queens, the chesed of Avraham. **4. Israel — one acquisition** = **mishpat** [self-judgment that elevates yirah] — as the verse says (Psalms 147:19): **"His statutes and His judgments to Israel."** **5. The Holy Temple — one acquisition** = the **hidden secrets of Torah** [sisrei oraysa] — attained through prayer, which is the aspect of Avraham. The verse says (Psalms 78:54): **"This mountain that His right hand acquired"** — the right hand represents prayer = Avraham. It is called **har** (mountain) because of the **depth of comprehension** required. And it is called the **Holy Temple** — with the dimension of **kodesh** (holiness) = **reishit** (first/beginning) — as the verse says (Leviticus 22:10): **"No stranger shall eat of the holy things"** — only those consecrated to it may partake. The Holy Temple = the hidden Torah. Intermediate: 5 *kinyanim* (Avot 6:10): **Torah** = *nigleh*; **heaven+earth** = *da'as+yirah* (aretz=*yirah*; *shamayim*=fire+water=*da'as*, Chag 12a; BR 4:6; Gen 4:1 "yada"); **Avraham** = *tefillah* = 60 houses/queens; **Israel** = *mishpat* (Teh 147:19); **Holy Temple** = *sisrei oraysa* (Teh 78:54 "har zeh kansah yemino"; har=depth; Lev 22:10 "v'chol zar").

Beginner: **Section Seven** decodes the verse that opens and closes this Torah (Exodus 19:6): **"You shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."** • **Mamleches (kingdom)** = the **revealed Torah.** The verse says (Proverbs 8:15): **"Through me, kings reign."** A king cannot rule without a people — just as revealed Torah is what everyone requires. This is the aspect of **"master of the wheat"** — the essential sustenance that all must have. • **Kohanim (priests)** = **prayer = Avraham.** The Sages taught (Nedarim 32b) that God told Avraham: **"You are a priest forever."** Avraham embodied chesed and prayer. • **Goy kadosh (holy nation)** = the **Holy Temple = the hidden Torah**, called kodesh. The Rebbe then adds the verse that follows (Exodus 19:6): **"These are the words [ha'devarim] which you shall speak to the children of Israel."** • **Davar (word)** = **yirah** — the Sages teach (Berachot 6b): one who has awe of Heaven [yirat shamayim] — his **words are heard** [devarav nishma'im]. And (Malachi 3:16): **"Then those who feared God spoke together [nidbaru]"** — yirah and speech are intrinsically linked. • **Tedaber (you shall speak)** — specifically Moses — **Moses = da'as.** Through Moses's speaking, the yirah-to-da'as dimension is transmitted. • **El bnei Yisrael (to the children of Israel)** — specifically Israel, because **Israel = mishpat** ("His judgments to Israel," Psalms 147:19). The full chain: mishpat (Israel) → elevates and binds yirah to da'as (Moses) → merits revealed Torah (mamleches) → merits prayer (kohanim/Avraham) → merits hidden Torah (goy kadosh/Holy Temple). Intermediate: **ז.** Verse: **mamleches** = *nigleh* (Mishlei 8:15 "bi melachim yimlochu"); **kohanim** = *tefillah* = Avraham (Ned 32b); **goy kadosh** = Holy Temple = *sisrei*. **eileh ha'devarim**: *davar* = *yirah* (Ber 6b; Mal 3:16); **tedaber** = Moshe = *da'as*; **Israel** = *mishpat* (Teh 147:19). Chain: *mishpat*→*yirah+da'as*→*nigleh*→*tefillah*→*sisrei*.

Beginner: **Section Eight: A second verse** encodes the same five-stage chain — this time in Tehillim 101:6: *"My eyes are upon the faithful of the land to dwell with me; one who walks in a perfect way — he shall serve me."* Each phrase maps to one of the five stages discovered throughout this Torah: *einai* (my eyes) = *da'as*; *b'ne'emnei aretz* (faithful of the land) = Aaron = *mishpat*; *la'shevet imadi* (to dwell with me) = Sinai/*shiflut*; *holech b'derech tamim* (walks a perfect way) = Avraham = *tefillah*; *hu y'sharseni* (he shall serve me) = *sisrei Torah*/Olam Ha'Ba. The Rebbe demonstrates that this single Psalm verse encodes the entire Torah from beginning to end. Intermediate: **ח.** Teh 101:6 encodes same five-stage chain: *einai*=*da'as*; *b'ne'emnei aretz*=Aaron=*mishpat*; *la'shevet imadi*=Sinai/*shiflut*; *holech b'derech tamim*=Avraham=*tefillah*; *hu y'sharseni*=*sisrei*/Olam Ha'Ba.

Beginner: The same five-stage chain is encoded in Psalms 101:6: **"My eyes are upon the faithful of the land to dwell with me; one who walks in a perfect way — he shall serve me."** • **Einai (my eyes)** = **da'as.** When Adam's eyes opened (Genesis 3:7: **"And the eyes of both of them were opened"**) this represents awakened da'as. Furthermore, two eyes = 2 × ayin (70) = 140 = ten times the Divine Name of Havayah (as is known in Kabbalah). • **B'ne'emnei aretz (the faithful of the land)** = **Aaron = mishpat.** The Midrash (Shocher Tov) associates Aaron with the faithful. And Aaron bore the **mishpat** [judgment] of Israel — **"Aaron shall carry the judgment of the children of Israel"** (Exodus 28:30). Aretz = yirah, as above. • **La'shevet imadi (to dwell with me)** = **Sinai = humility [shiflut]** — as the verse says (Isaiah 57:15): **"I dwell with the crushed and lowly of spirit."** • **Holech b'derech tamim (one who walks in a wholehearted way)** = **prayer = Avraham** — God told Avraham (Genesis 17:1): **"Walk before Me and be wholehearted [tamim]."** • **Hu y'sharseni (he shall serve me)** = the **hidden Torah = the World to Come [Olam Ha'Ba]** — referred to with the word **hu** (he/it), the pronoun of concealment (Zohar, Vayetze 154b, 158b). Thus: Aaron/mishpat raises yirah (aretz) to da'as (einai) → Sinai/humility leads to prayer (Avraham) → prayer leads to hidden Torah and Olam Ha'Ba. Intermediate: Teh 101:6: **einai** = *da'as* (Gen 3:7; gematria 2 ayin=140=10×Havayah); **b'ne'emnei** = Aaron = *mishpat* (Shocher Tov; Exo 28:30); aretz=*yirah*; **la'shevet imadi** = Sinai/*shiflut* (Isa 57:15); **holech b'derech tamim** = Avraham/*tefillah* (Gen 17:1); **hu y'sharseni** = *sisrei*/Olam Ha'Ba (Zohar Vayetze 154b, 158b).

Beginner: The Torah closes with a lyrical benediction, from Reb Nosson or the editor, addressed to the reader: **"Blessed is He who chose the congregation of 'Who has counted?' [the uncountable nation of Israel] — He who has helped us until now to hear such wonders upon the sayings of Rabbah bar bar Chana. Come, see how great is the strength of that tree!"** The editor then introduces further teachings in similar mystical-Talmudic vein, calling them **imrei ya'ei** — "pleasing, beautiful words" — drawn from the *matzdei chakla*, the "reapers of the field" (a term from the Zohar for great Kabbalists who harvest divine wisdom), flowing from *Oraysa d'Atika Stima'a* — the Torah of the Hidden Ancient One, the deepest Kabbalistic stratum. The benediction concludes with an invitation: **"Go see the works of God — wondrous is His way. Great is the tree and mighty; its height reaches the hosts of heaven; its fruit is abundant and its appearance beautiful. Hear, and your souls shall live! And you shall draw water with joy from the wellsprings of salvation."** (cf. Isaiah 55:3; 12:3) Intermediate: Closing doxology: gratitude for hearing wonders on Rabbah b.b. Chana; further teachings as *matzdei chakla* from *Oraysa d'Atika Stima'a*. Tree's greatness; "*shim'u u'techi nafshechem, u'she'avtem mayim b'sason*" (cf. Isa 55:3; 12:3).