Nefesh HaChayim, Reb Itzele's Long Annotation

As is known, the primeval root of everything is the root of the four elements422Heb.: y’so-dote: fire, wind, water and dust. And the essential active elements are the three elements: fire, water and wind423Rav Yitzkhak (whom we will henceforth refer to as Reb Itzele) changes the order of the three elements to correspond with the order stated in the Sefer Y’tzeera., which in the Sefer Y’tzeera (3:1) are called the three “mothers”: aleph, mem and shin424Aleph corresponding to air (ah-veer), mem corresponding to water (ma-yim), and shin corresponding to fire (eish), which are the “mothers”425Meaning the female ancestor of everything. And the actions of these three occur via the element of dust, which is passive and receives from them.