כמו האותיות על הקלףLetters on the Parchment

kemo ha-otiyot al ha-klafIn Gamatria ↗

Speak the sefirot's names; turn the heart to Him.

If the names are the sefirot, Shaltiel asks, do we pray to the sefirot? The Sifre forbids it: 'to Him, not to His attributes.' Yehoyada agrees. One who aims at a sefirah alone worships idols, as the Radbaz and Cordovero write. We pray to the Infinite acting within them. The Zohar Ḥadash says the sefirot are called by the Name only through Him who unites them; when He departs, they have no name. Picture names written on white parchment. Under each ink letter is a letter of white that holds it up, though the parchment itself bears no letter. Lift the ink and it is plain white again. So the spoken words of prayer name the sefirot, while the heart's intention alone goes to the Infinite. As the Tikkunim say, of Him there is no speech, only thought.

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