R. Isaac said- It is written, “A river issues from Eden to water the garden” (Gen. 2-10). This is the pillar upon which the world stands, and it waters the garden and the garden is irrigated by it. By means of it she produces fruits and all the fruits disseminate in the world, and they are the pillar of the world, the pillar of Torah. Who are they? The souls of the righteous for they are the fruit of the actions of the Holy One, blessed be he. Thus every night the souls of the righteous ascend and at midnight the Holy One, blessed be he comes to the Garden of Eden to take delight in them. In which ones? R. Yose said- In all of them, those whose dwelling is in that world and those who reside in their dwelling in this world. At midnight the Holy One, blessed be he, takes delight in all of them.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Eunuchs who Keep the Sabbath- Becoming Male and the Ascetic Ideal in Thirteenth Century Jewish Mysticism,” in Becoming Male in the Middle Ages, 151-185. Edited by J. J. Cohen and B. Wheeler. New York- Garland, 1997.