Pardes Rimmonim 2

After God has merited us in the previous chapters and we have explained a befitting and received matter on the reason of the emanation, and we had it stand with the words of our sages of blessed memory, our reason in this chapter is to extend the subject and to enlarge it with this with help of HaShem in a way in which the eyes of the one who looks carefully into this subject will light up. But before we come with the explanation of this subject, we shall ask one question with which those looking for wisdom were perplexed a bit. And it [is] if there is the possibility in En Sof, the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, to cause to emanate ten [further] Sefirot besides these [Sefirot which are known to us] or not, Heaven forbid?

And see, it is suitable that we shall investigate if He could, since the degree of His goodness is to cause to extend to what is beside Him, [then] why did He not cause to emanate even many thousands, when He was in the possibility with His ability, and so He would cause to emanate many times ten Sefirot and many worlds as He invented this world? And apparently this question will terrify the eyes of the wise one, and he would be amazed by it. But the truth [is] that this question is a question of great foolishness, and out of much folly the questioner has asked this question. And the reason that we shall say [this] to the questioner of this question, as he did not withhold his question, [is] because of three matters: Or that he asks that the second [set of] Sefirot equal to the authentic emanated Sefirot, meaning to say: Keter is equal to Keter, Chochma is equal to Chochma, Bina is equal to Bina and similarly for all. Or that they [= the second set of Sefirot] are greater than them [= the original set of Sefirot], meaning to say: more subtle than them. Or that they are smaller than them and revealed. And now these three aspects cannot possibly be. Because the Sefirot are the most subtle ones as is possible, meaning to say the most spiritual ones as is possible, stripped off from body and corporeality, and one perceives it as we have explained and as we will [further] explain in the Gate of the Gates [Gate XIII]1 referring to the fifty gates of Bina . And since the truth of this subject [is] that they do not possess bodies, if this is so, it is not possible for them to be separated from the Emanator and to be gathered in the number of the ten, except by way of cause and effect, meaning to say: the Emanator is cause to the emanated entities, behold, [this is] a difference between Him and between His emanated entities. And besides [there are] other differences, in whose explanation we are not engaged at the moment.

And see, Keter has been separated from Chochma, in that Chochma has been caused by Keter, and Keter is the cause for Chochma, and thus this is their difference, this one from this one [for all the Sefirot] until the lowest rung, as besides this subject [of cause and effect] there is no difference for them to be counted among the number of ten, as that which does not possess body will not be divided in parts, as we will extend on this subject in the Gate of the Order of their Position [Gate VI] with help of heaven. And now, as the questioner says that there would be ten other Sefirot equal to these, we will answer him that this is not possible. As, since Keter is equal to Keter, it is not possible that there would be two Keters, as if it was so, in what would they differ so that there would be two? If so, it is not possible that there has been emanated from the one and united Emanator, except one emanated entity. Because two is not possible because there is nothing between them to be distinguished, because the two of them [would be] caused by the first cause, as if not, they would not be spiritual; and if they are [indeed] spiritual, it is not possible that they are two. If thus, it is necessary that there is no entity emanated from the emanator except one emanated entity. And similarly, we answer for Chochma with Chochma and similarly for all the Sefirot, until we are forced [to establish] that it is impossible to be [other Sefirot] besides these ten Sefirot. And this question does not apply, because if thus, heaven forbid, there would be no force in the Emanator to cause to emanate two equal Keters caused by Him, and which would be distinguished from each other when they would be two. As this is folly. Because this subject is not due to a deficiency or weakness of ability, heaven forbid, not in the Emanator nor in the emanated entities! But on the contrary, He [is] their improvement. As in order that they [= the Sefirot] would be divided, they would need to descend to the diminishment of the body which is divided in parts, and this is not suitable. As from the greatness of the servant the greatness of the master is known, and out of His perfection He is to perfect what is beside Him. And there is no asking, as to the contrary, we know and model His grandness, that without body He could realize it, and from being simple and without possessing corporeality, as is known, He could cause to attain the body and the corporeality, and He could cause to emanate two Keters and they could be corporeal. As to this we will answer that, see, He did create many of this class, and these are [not the Sefirot but] the angels, which are corporeal according to the truth, although their corporeality is subtle as the corporeality of Fire and [even] more subtle than that, as we will explain in the Gate of Palaces [Gate XXIV]. And also one should not ask, since He imprinted in spirituality, that when He is subtle and spiritual, He would be divided into parts. As this subject would be the deficit in spirituality, as the principle of His perfection [is] in His oneness and His being without division. And the comparison in this [is] that the questioner would not [bother to] ask if there would be force [= potential] in the king to be a servant, and, since there is in him not the ability of the servant, we would find that the servant would be more praised than him [= the king]. As to the contrary, there is more than plenty [of the ability and potential in him], but if he would do this [= becoming a servant], there would be decrease and defect in the crown of kingship; but the glory of the king is to move himself away from all sorts of service of the servants. And the matter is similarly with the Emanator and with the emanated entities. As this is the praise of the Emanator to imprint in the emanated entities [= the Sefirot] the force of His seal so that they are simple, without being compounded, and deprived of the corporeality and of all its accidentals.

And see that we are forced [to assume] that [they] are equal is not possible. And now we will say that, similarly, to ask that they [= the second set of Sefirot] are greater than they [= the original Sefirot], its question is not right, and there is no truth in its matters. As see, the only distinction between the Emanator and the emanated entity is the distinction [that there is] between cause and effect, and the only possibility for the emanated entity to be close to the Emanator, is that Keter comes close until there is no place left to say that [another] emanated entity could be between Keter and the Emanator, except that this one is the cause and the other the effect, and this is an obligation of its descent from the high degree of the Emanator, although it is great up to no limit, as it is dark in front of its Emanator, as the Rashbi of blessed memory has explained in the Tikkunim [Tikkunei Zohar]. And there is no place to ask why the En Sof did not cause to emanate Keter equal to itself when there is no lack of force. As the truth [is] that it is not possible for the emanated entity to be equal to the Emanator. And this is not so because of a deficiency of the Emanator, but because of the character of the emanated entity. Because as it is an emanated entity, it is the effect of its cause, and its cause is above it, prior to what is in many subjects, as it is not possible for one effect to comprehend its cause, and if this is so, it is necessary out of this that it is emanated entity and effect to descend from in front of its Lord, as [is] the difference that is between cause and effect, and this caused for it its deficiency, as it is emanated entity and effect of the first cause that is prior to it. And if this is so, we will similarly reject the question saying that that Keter [of the second series] would be greater than this Keter [of the first series], since this Keter [of the first series] is greater than is possible in the custom of the emanated entities. And similarly, saying that it [= Keter of the second series] would be smaller than this [= Keter of the first series] is not possible, as see, there is already something smaller than it, which is Chochma, and what is above Chochma is Keter, meaning to say: since Chochma has been caused by Keter, and there is no descending [entity] from Keter except what [there] is between cause and effect, see, it is impossible to ask that there is [yet] another emanated entity between Chochma and Keter. As see, this [supposed] emanated entity, it is impossible for it to be equal to Keter, and [it is] impossible [for it] to be equal to Chochma, for the reason that we have explained. Between Keter and Chochma it is not possible, because Keter and Chochma are cause and effect, and there is between them no division that could carry an effect prior to Chochma and posterior to Keter, unless Chochma would descend to the place of Bina which is the third effect, and if so, they would be Chochma and Bina. And with this all questions are removed completely.

And see, now we will explain to what we are awakened on the subject of the three aspects that are in each Sefirah, on which we will extend in the Gates that come, with help of HaShem, and they are these: As for each and every Sefirah, they are three aspects: The first [is] its aspect about what has been emanated from it. The second [aspect is] about itself. The third [aspect is] about its emanator. And the subject is that in Keter itself, in being that it is emanated from the Emanator who is [only] emanator and not an emanated entity, that lengthiness of speech on it is surely forbidden, and may God forgive [us] for what we have extended on it until now. And if this is so, in Chochma, which is being emanated from Keter, in it there must be an aspect of equivalence, meaning to say: a nearness uniting itself with its emanator which is Keter, as there is no separation between them at all, and afterwards it [= Chochma] descends itself and it separates from itself to itself, until it reaches [the stage of] being cause of Bina, [which is] its effect.

And see, in it [= the Sefirah Chochma], in itself, there needs to be in it an aspect from cause to effect as it ascends from aspect to aspect up to above. And the example in this [is] the aspect [of Chochmah] that equals Keter, it is the cause for the aspect of its [=Chochma’s] essence, and the aspect of its essence is the cause for that which equals Binah [and similarly in each and every aspect will be these same aspects [, this remark is taken] from the [commentary to Pardes Rimmonim entitled] Asis Rimmonim], and between each two aspects there need further be three aspects and they are: -the aspect that equals the first aspect Keter, and -the aspect itself, and -the aspect that equals it to [what it is] its [= Chochma’s] essence2This passage is, at first reading, somewhat difficult to understand. In each Sefirah the Ramak locates three aspects: -an aspect that equals/approaches the Sefirah above it, -an aspect of the Sefirah itself (Atsmut), and -an aspect that equals/approaches the Sefirah below it. Now the Ramak distinguishes in each of these primary aspects three further, secondary, aspects, and he takes as an example the upper (primary) aspect of Chochma (that equals/approaches Keter). Its three secondary aspects are here: -the aspect of it (=the primary aspect) that equals/approaches Keter, -the secondary aspect itself, and -the aspect of it (=the primary aspect) that equals/approaches the primary aspect that is below it (which is the aspect of Chochma itself (Atsmut)). This can be worked out for each of the ten Sefirot, although for Keter and Malkut it will be slightly different. My interpretation here is, as often, indebted to the explanation of Michael Sebban of Beit HaZohar, Paris, France. And we describe [now] a corporeal form, with which the intellect shall ascend to [comprehend] spirituality, as if we would describe the top turned, and it is the triangle drawn here:

And see, this triangle is oblique and downwards from its upper side it broadens, [and] it resembles the emanated entities; the more they are approaching their source, they ascend and expand themselves. This is not a spatial corporeal expansion, but an enlargement in subtility and spirituality.

And see when he who considers closely observes [the triangle] properly, he will find that the upper part that is in Keter is wide and oblique, and [it] narrows while going until its width reaches equivalence to the width of Chochma. But even at the place of equivalence of Keter and Chochma there is [still] a big difference, because, from the side of the influencer there needs to be the descending oblique, as there is no [other] possibility for its descent, because everything that removes itself from the superior countenances, [being] the emanated entity, reveals itself and is surrounded by what is surrounding it [and] what is superior to it, and this is cause and effect for the one who possesses eyes of intellect, and whom HaShem has granted wisdom. And this is the mystery of each one [of the Sefirot] being comprised of ten [Sefirot], and the mystery of the descent of the degrees in the essence of the Sefirot in itself. As Keter which is in Keter is the side approaching the Emanator, and Malkut which is in Keter is the side approaching Chochma. And Keter which is in Chochmah is caused by Malkut which is in Keter. And all this has become known from the shape which we have drawn. As the small side that is in Keter is the cause of the large side that is in Keter, and thus Keter that is in Chochmah is the side approaching Keter. And Malkut that is in Chochma is the side approaching Binah, and Keter which is in Bina is caused by Malkut that is in Chochma. And in this resemblance, one similarly should say that each and every part is comprised of [the] ten Sefirot in the same way, because there is no possibility for the light except distancing itself and descending, and each and every point and each and every part is cause to the point that is below it, and [is] caused by the point that is above it. And He [= the Emanator] has seen in His wisdom that if Keter would not be descending in itself ten steps, it would not have been possible for Chochma to be emanated from it at all. And similarly, if Chochmah would not be descending ten steps, it would not be possible for Binah to be emanated from it. And similarly for all the Sefirot and similarly for all the parts and for all the points. And this is the deduction and this the reason for Atsilut, Beriah, Yetsirah, Asiyah [the four worlds], as in [the world of] Atsilut/Emanation there are these four worlds and in [the world of] Beriah/Creation there are [these] four worlds and in [the world of] Yetsirah/Formation [there are these] four worlds and in [the world of] Asiyah/Action [there are these] four world, as the subject of the four worlds they are the totality of all distinctions from the first necessity En Sof, King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, from Keter until the middle point that is in the centre of the earth [= Jerusalem], and these are the species of their descent in four steps. And similarly each one of them, when we come to divide them, we divide them into four steps, and similarly each and every step [again divided into four steps, except that the four of Atsilut are all subtle, until Asiyah that is in Atsilut is reason and cause to Atsilut that is in Beriah, and similarly Asiyah that is in Beriah is reason and cause to Atsilut that is in Yetsirah, and similarly in this order all the steps and all the divisions, until the reality is found as a candlestick of unifying parts uniting, and [as] brothers embracing each other as has been explained. And after we have raised this in this matter, I want to raise in this matter the question of the number of the ten [Sefirot] which we asked in the previous chapters. It is known that every effect is surrounded by its cause, and the cause is surrounding the effect, as we will extend on [further] in the Gate of the Order of their Position [Gate VI]. And now we will draw a material drawing, and it is circle inside circle as this:

until there is no space between these wheels. And now, would the questioner not ask why this drawer did not draw further other circles between these circles? Is it not for sure we shall blunt his teeth3 an allusion to biblical verses (Jeremiah 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:2) and say to him that he has gathered the wind in the palms of his hands4 an allusion to Proverbs 30:4? As it is not possible that there would be further additions to the account of circles after they are descending, each one away from its fellow, as a point, and it is not possible in reality that there is a further circle inside the great circle that surrounds them all inside it.

And see, from the material drawing we will raise our intellect to the spirituality in the explanation of which we are [involved]. It is known that the Sefirot are descending each one from its kinsman with the difference that is between cause and effect, and therefore they are [arranged] one inside the other, effect surrounded by its cause, as the likeness of these circles: that the large one surrounds the smaller one which is the effect, and therefore Keter is surrounding Chochma, and it [= Keter] is its cause, and Chochma is descending from Keter according to the order of what is between cause and effect, and Chochma is the cause of Bina, and see, Bina is descending from Chochma one degree, and is descending from Keter two degrees, as it [=Bina] is effect from the effect [= Chochma] from it [= Keter], and in this way [is] the descent of the degrees until Malkut.

And see, Malkut is the end of Atsilut/Emanation and the beginning of Beriah/Creation, and it is to Beriah as the En Sof [is] to Atsilut, and the last degree that is in Beriah [is] to Yetsirah/Formation as Malkut is to Beriah, and this is their order until their coming to the celestial spheres/planets by way of the steps concealed and hidden for us, but revealed5 an allusion to Deuteronomy 29:28 to the experts on the Work of Creation and the Work of the Chariot6See Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 11a/b.

And see, there is no difference between Malkut [of Atsilut] and Beriah except as the difference that exists between cause and effect, and with descending from the last degree that is in Atsilut, it is necessary that it is the beginning of Beriah which is the degree that is unifying with Atsilut as the unification of the effect to its cause, and similarly from Beriah to Yetsira and similarly from Yetsirah to Asiya until the celestial spheres/planets.

And see the order of the celestial spheres, the astronomers, those of dark vision, imagined that the celestial sphere is [so] close to its neighbour that there is no space between them. But this is not the opinion of the masters of Torah and of those who see with the light of the world, but [they hold] that between firmament and firmament there is a (diurnal) distance of five hundred years7Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 13a, and even when this space is between them, yet the subject teaches the equivalence of Creation and its necessity, and that it is not possible that there is less between planet and planet. From this to the descent of the subject towards the element of Fire, and the element of Fire is unifying itself with the element of Air, and the element of Air is unifying itself with the element of Water and the element of Water is unifying itself with the element of Earth, this [one] is above this [one], and there is no space between them. And now, who will ‘place a mouth to man’8Allusion to Exodus 4:11 to ask that there will be more such and such degrees, or less than they, such and such, or why did He not create the world bigger than this, or smaller than this? As all this is a big foolishness for those who know the order of the degrees. And the disposition of the world is in the most excellent reality as is possible in the order of the degrees, from the highest [degree] possible in reality until the lowest [degree] possible in reality, whether with limit or with end or with materiality. And see, if there would not be between Him [= the Creator] and the world the order of the Sefirot, it would not be possible for the world, because of its decrease, to be conducted by means of the En Sof, if it is not that the ascends with the spiritual degrees which are the Sefirot, and for this subject He already caused to emanate the Sefirot. And this is not the intention [of emanation], but [the intention is] to reveal the Emanation and the Godhead, and not to conceal Him. And His revelation is by means of the descents of the degrees to the lowest aspect, which are [as they are] now. As see, even this earth, the thick one, the mixing one until its navel, it has degree after degree until seven earths, as we will explain a bit on this in the [Gate of the] Order of their Position [Gate VI] with help of HaShem. Opposite [is] the opinion of the simple measurers who thought they could give the size of the earth and [who] said that a line of twenty-two thousand miles would encircle it around, whereas [if] the earth would be obscured, it [= the line] would be passing in the direction of its [= the earth] face, the lower regions with a thickness of seven thousand three-hundred-thirty-three and one-third miles, and they [= the measurers] ‘go about in darkness’9An allusion to Psalms 82:6 themselves10This passage is not entirely clear to me, so its translation must be partly incorrect. Note that 7333 1/3 is exactly one third of 22000.

See, on this subject there is for us received teaching and superior application when we will write in name of the Zohar in the mentioned Gate. And we will return to our subject that if the world had been created without mediation. Besides that [it] is not possible from the reason which we have explained.

See, this would be the disappearance of the Divinity when we come to know His greatness through His conduct, would we [then] not believe that He would lift Himself up from His world [after creating it and have no interest in it afterwards] which is, according to the truth, [linked] between the cause and its cause. And therefore, so as not to conceal His divinity, He caused to emanate the degrees in the way I have explained, as just as now we will look at blessed and exalted Keter, and its cause is exalted above it, the En Sof, King of Kings, how much shall be enlarged His name in the eyes of all His creatures.

And see, the adorned chapter is ended and this Gate is completed. And since up to here HaShem has blessed us and helped us on all the way we went, we are travelling to the place which is known to us [= Gate III], and it is to examine if En Sof is Keter, with help of Heaven.