שער א - דרוש עגולים ויושר

The first palace of seven palaces is the hall of Adam Kadmon, and in this palace there are seven gates:

The first gate:

Explanation of the round [lights] and direct [lights] including five branches5. The inquiry in question is closely related to the question of what is above and what is below, what is in front and what is behind, in Tractate Chagiga, where it states that this question is very deep and that a person almost risks getting lost in it if they delve too deeply into this inquiry. And the matter is as mentioned by our Sages in the aforementioned Mishnah, "Anyone who looks into these four things, it would have been better for him had he never come into the world: [what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is behind]; and whoever does not have respect for his Creator's honor, it would have been better for him had he never come into the world." Therefore, we will not be able to expand and delve deeper into their investigation. However, God willing, we will explain the main points of the chapters like a person peering through a crack, without delving into the deep matters. And the one who understands our words will find a good taste and understanding if he comprehends them. And the matter of this investigation, which is asked why the creation of this world was at a certain time and not before or after, is such that you need to know what is explained in our writings. It is known that the uppermost light, infinitely beyond, called Ein Sof, demonstrates that it cannot be grasped in any way, neither by thought nor by reflection, in essence. And it is abstracted and separated from all thoughts, and it precedes all created beings, formations, and actions, and it did not have a beginning or a starting point, for it always exists and endures forever, without any beginning or end. From Ein Sof, the existence of the great light called Arikh Anpin then emanated, which is known to all the ancient ones as mentioned in Branch Three. And after that, the lights which depend on it, are emanated from the great light called Adam Kadmon, to all the ancient ones, as it is mentioned in Branch III. Then, the lights which depend on it, are emanated from Adam Kadmon, these are many lights that come out from within it and shine outside of it. Some of them depend on his brain, some on his skull, some on his eyes, some on his ears, some on his nose, some on his mouth, some on his forehead, shining outside of it, and some around his body, which are the seven lower levels of him, and around them, many lights shine and depend on them, called the world of points. After that, four known and famous worlds were emanated from him, as mentioned in the Zohar and Tikkunim. And indeed, this Atzilut of the AK and the other worlds beneath it had a beginning and an end, and there was a time when they came into existence, unlike the Ein Sof mentioned above, which is abstracted and separated from all thoughts and precedes all that is created and made, and has no beginning or end whatsoever. And behold, from the time and moment that the spreading and unfolding of the lights and worlds mentioned above began, the existence of all creatures came into being until it reached the present reality. According to the order of spreading and unfolding in the order of time, it was done accordingly and it was impossible to anticipate or delay the creation of this world because every world was created after the creation of the world above it, and all the worlds were created and spread out and descended one after the other at different times until the time for the creation of this world arrived, and it was created at the appropriate time after the creation of the higher worlds above it. Suffice it to say that we cannot expand or deepen the explanation of this matter as needed, including how, how much, and when.

4. The purpose and intention behind the creation of the worlds is now explained in two inquiries that have been dealt with by scholars throughout history. The first inquiry is what early and later scholars have explored in order to understand the reason for the creation of the worlds, to what end it was made. They concluded that the reason for this was because it was necessary for God, may He be blessed, to be complete in all His actions, powers, and names of greatness and glory. If His actions and powers were not actualized through action and deed, He would not be considered complete in His actions, powers, and names, so to speak. The great Name that He is called, the four-letter name of YHVH , is thus named because it expresses His eternal existence and existence before creation, during the existence of creation, and after it was transformed into what it is. If the worlds and all that is in them had not been created, the true nature of His eternal existence would not be seen, in the past, present, and future, and He would not be called by the name of YHVH as mentioned above. Likewise, the name ADNO”T is called upon the fact of Him having servants and He being their Lord. If He did not have creations, He could not be called Lord, and likewise with all His other names and titles, including the nicknames such as “merciful” and “gracious”. He could not be called by these names except for when there are creations in the world that call Him by those names, and the same applies to all other nicknames. However, once the worlds were created, His actions and powers came into being and were attributed to Him, and He can be called complete in all of His actions and powers, as well as in all His names and titles, without any deficiency, God forbid. The meaning of this is explained in great detail in Sefer HaChinuch, Parshat Pinchas, #187 and other places. It is known that He is called wise in all types of wisdom and understanding in all types of intellect. However, before the creation of the world, He was called by all these names and titles, in reference to all the ranks and levels that were destined to be created. For if they had not existed, why would He be called merciful, for example, except in reference to the creations that would be made? This is also discussed in Parshat Bo, #42 and elsewhere, that if His radiance had not spread over all the creations, how would they be aware of Him and how would His glory fill the entire earth?

5. The inquiry in question is closely related to the question of what is above and what is below, what is in front and what is behind, in Tractate Chagiga, where it states that this question is very deep and that a person almost risks getting lost in it if they delve too deeply into this inquiry. And the matter is as mentioned by our Sages in the aforementioned Mishnah, "Anyone who looks into these four things, it would have been better for him had he never come into the world: [what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is behind]; and whoever does not have respect for his Creator's honor, it would have been better for him had he never come into the world." Therefore, we will not be able to expand and delve deeper into their investigation. However, God willing, we will explain the main points of the chapters like a person peering through a crack, without delving into the deep matters. And the one who understands our words will find a good taste and understanding if he comprehends them. And the matter of this inquiry, which asks why the creation of this world was at a certain time and not before or after, is such that you need to know what is explained in our writings. It is known that the uppermost light, infinitely beyond, called Ein Sof, demonstrates that it cannot be grasped in any way, neither by thought nor by reflection, in essence. And it is abstracted and separated from all thoughts, and it precedes all created beings, formations, and actions, and it did not have a beginning or a starting point, for it always exists and endures forever, without any beginning or end. From Ein Sof, the existence of the great light called Arikh Anpin then emanated, which is known to all the ancient ones as mentioned in Branch Three. And after that, the lights which depend on it, are emanated from the great light called Adam Kadmon, to all the ancient ones, as it is mentioned in Branch III. Then, the lights which depend on it, are emanated from Adam Kadmon, these are many lights that come out from within it and shine outside of it. Some of them depend on his brain, some on his skull, some on his eyes, some on his ears, some on his nose, some on his mouth, some on his forehead, shining outside of it, and some around his body, which are the seven lower levels of him, and around them, many lights shine and depend on them, called the world of points. After that, four known and famous worlds were emanated from him, as mentioned in the Zohar and Tikkunim. And indeed, this Atzilut of the Adam Kadmon and the other worlds beneath it had a beginning and an end, and there was a time when they came into existence, unlike the Ein Sof mentioned above, which is abstracted and separated from all thoughts and precedes all that is created and made, and has no beginning or end whatsoever. And behold, from the time and moment that the spreading and unfolding of the lights and worlds mentioned above began, the existence of all creatures came into being until it reached the present reality. According to the order of spreading and unfolding in the order of time, it was done accordingly and it was impossible to anticipate or delay the creation of this world because every world was created after the creation of the world above it, and all the worlds were created and spread out and descended one after the other at different times until the time for the creation of this world arrived, and it was created at the appropriate time after the creation of the higher worlds above it. Suffice it to say that we cannot expand or deepen the explanation of this matter as needed, including how, how much, and when.