which hang in curls upon curls, and all are strong and close, and they extend and flow down singly each in its own direction.

833. "And so many thousand thousand myriads of myriads depend from them that they are innumerable.

834. "This is that same which is written, Cant. v. 11: 'His locks are bushy, TнLTHLIM, Teltelim,' as if it were THLI THLIM, curls heaped upon curls..

835. "And all are strong and close (fit) for breaking (whatsoever is upposed to them), hard as the rock, and as hardest

stone.

836. "Until they can make openings in the skull, and the fountains can flow down beneath the locks, those strong fountains flow forth in separate directions, and in separate ways.

837. "And because those locks are black and obscure, it is written, Job xii. 22: 'He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.'

838. "Also we have learned that those hairs of the beard are so much harder than those hairs of the head, because these alone make themselves so prominent, and are easily found, and are hard in their paths.*

839. "Wherefore sayest thou that they are hard? Is it because they all symbolize Judgment? By no means; for truly in those dispositions Mercy as well as Judgment is found.

840. "When the thirteen fountains of the rivers of oil descend, all these are mercies.

841. "But yet we have learned that all those hairs of the beard are hard. Wherefore? Those which symbolize mercies necessarily must be hard in order to divert the course of Judgment.

842. "And all those which denote Judgment, are also firm; and therefore it is necessary in every instance that they should both be hard.

* See definition of term "path" in Introduction.

843- "When the Universe hath need of Mercy, mercies are strong, and prevail over Judgment; but when it requireth Judgment, Judgment is strong, and prevaileth over Mercy; and therefore is it necessary that in each instance they should be firm and strong.

844. "And whensoever Mercy is required, those hairs which symbolize Mercy stand forth, and the beard is evident in those hairs only (otherwise, is contained by those hairs only), and all are abundant mercies.

845. "But when Judgment is required the beard is evident in those hairs only (which denote judgment), and all consist in judgments.

846. "But when that holy white beard is uncovered, all these (hairs denoting Mercy) and all those (hairs denoting Judgment) are alike illuminated and made brilliant, like as when a man cleanseth himself in a deep river from his uncleanness.

847. "And all consist together in Mercy, and there is no Judgment to be found at all.

848. "And when all thoset nine forms shine together, all are made white with Mercy.

849. "And therefore Moses saith in another place, Num. xiv. 18: Tetragrammaton is ARK APIM, Arikh Aphim, long-suffering (literally long of nose), and of great mercy.' 850. "And that which he had said concerning truth,‡ * Which is of course that of Macroprosopus, the Ancient of Days. † The nine conformations into which the beard of Microprosopus is divided.

I give these two passages side by side for the reader's benefit. Exod. xxxiv. 6 and 7: "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.

"Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

Num. xiv. 18: "The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."

Exod. xxxiv. 6, he addeth not (in this passage), because the Arcanum of the matter is these nine measurements which shine down from the Ancient of Days into Microprosopus.

851. "For when Moses in the second passage rehearseth these praises of God, Num. xxiv. 18, he enumereth the nine conformations; and these are the conformations of the beard, even those which are found in Microprosopus, and descend from the Ancient of Days and shine down into Him.

852. "The word AMTH, Emeth, Truth, therefore dependeth from the Ancient One; whence in this passage Moses saith not: And in truth.'

853. "We have learned that the hairs of the head of Microprosopus are all hard and curling, and not soft.*

854. "For we see that in Him three forms of the brain are found in the three cavities (of the skull), which shine forth from the hidden and concealed brain.

855. "And because the brain of the Ancient of Days is tranquil and quiet, like good wine upon the lees, hence all His hairs are soft, and anointed with excellent oil.

856. "And therefore is it written, Dan. vii. 9: 'His head like pure wool.'

857. "But those which are in Microprosopus are partly hard, and partly not hard, because they all hang down, and are not diverted from their course.

858. "And therefore Wisdomt floweth forth and proceedeth (therefrom); but it is not the Wisdom of Wisdom, for that is quiet and tranquil.

859. "For we have learned that no one knoweth the brain of the Ancient of Days save Himself alone.

* It appears to read thus in the Chaldee and in the Latin alike, though this statement is contradicted distinctly both in § 587 and in § 857. I should think the word "LA, not," before "soft," is a mistake, or else that the passage refers to the hair of the beard, and not that of the head.

+ That is, Chokmah of the second Sephira, and not that Chokmah which is its root concealed in Kether; for in Kether are all the other Sephiroth contained.

860. "This is that very thing which is said, Job xxviii. 23: 'God understandeth the way thereof,' &c.; which (words), are spoken concerning Microprosopus."

861. Rabbi Schimeon said (unto him): "Blessed be thou, O my son! in that Holy and Blessed One, in this world and in the world to come!"

CHAPTER XXXVI.

CONCERNING THE SECOND PART OF THE BEARD OF

MICROPROSopus.

862. "THE second conformation. The hair goeth forth and ascendeth from the beginning of (the one side of) the mouth even unto the beginning of the other side of the mouth; and descendeth beneath the mouth unto the other side, hair above hair, in beautiful arrangement. Arise, Rabbi Abba!

863. Rabbi Abba arose, and commenced and said: "When the disposition of this beard is instituted in the formation of the King, then is He Himself like a bravehero, strong and beautiful in appearance, valiant and conquering.

864. "This is that same which is written, Ps. cxlvii. 5: 'Great is our Lord and great is His power.'

865. "And whilst He is mitigated by the disposition of the venerable and holy beard (of Macroprosopus), and this (beard of Microprosopus) reflected that, then through its light is He called 'God merciful,' Exod. xxxiv. 6: 'and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness. and in truth.' And thus is the second disposition instituted.

866. "When He shineth in the light of the Ancient

of Days, then is He called abundant in Mercy,' and when another of the other forms is considered, in that form is He called 'and in truth,' for this is the light of His countenance."

CHAPTER XXXVII.

CONCERNING THE THIRD PART OF THE BEARD OF

MICROPROSOPUS.

867. "ALSO we have learned. Bearing iniquity is this second conformation called, like as in the Holy Ancient One.

868. "But because that path which goeth forth in the third disposition beneath the two nostrils is filled with short and rigid hairs; hence because of that path these conformations are not called 'bearing iniquity and passing over trangression;' but these are collected together in another place.

869. "Also we have learned in Barietha that three hundred and seventy-five mercies are comprehended in the benignity of the Ancient of Days; which are all called primal benignities.

870. "Like as it is said, Psalm 1xxxix. 50: 'Where are thy former mercies?' And they are all comprehended in the benignity of the Most Holy Ancient One, the most concealed of all.

871. "But the benignity of Microprosopus is called CHSD OVLM, Chesed Olahm, the benignity of time.

872. "And in the Book of Concealed Mystery' (have we learned) that on account of the former benignity of the Ancient of Days is he called 'Abundant in Benignity.' But in Microprosopus (the word) 'mercy' is placed alone and absolutely.