הקדמה

209. “This is the secret of the verse, etc.”This is the secret of the verse: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven […] to give light upon the earth” [Genesis 1:14, 15]. This means that the two names, Havaya Elohim, should be one without any separation at all. The “lights” [me’orot] without [the letter] vav, which is the Malkhut that is called Elohim, will be incorporated in the name “heaven,” which is Ze’er Anpin, called Havaya, for they are one and there is no separation in them. A black light, which is Malkhut, in white light, which is Ze’er Anpin: There is no separation between them and it is all one. This is the white cloud of the day and the cloud of fire of the night. That is, the attribute of day, Ze’er Anpin, and the attribute of night, Malkhut, will be rectified in one another in one unification, to illuminate, as it is stated: “To give light upon the earth.”

Explanation: The Nukba is called me’orot without a vav, which represents the diminution of the moon, in accordance with the statement of the Sages that initially the two great lights were on an equal level but the moon complained that two kings cannot use the same crown, and the Holy One, blessed be He, instructed her: “Go and diminish yourself” (Ḥullin 60b). Then her lower nine descended to the world of Beria and she was diminished to a point under Yesod of Ze’er Anpin. [The Zohar] is saying that after she was diminished, the Malkhut needs to be incorporated in the name “heaven,” which is Ze’er Anpin. That is, [the Malkhut] must be enlarged once again so that it is a height equal with Ze’er Anpin, face-to-face. The Nukba must be raised back from the world of Beria to Atzilut, and the separation that occurred between the Ze’er Anpin and the Nukba at the time of the diminution of the moon is to be rectified.

The meaning of the diminution of the moon is that the harsh judgment in the heels of Leah ruled over [the Malkhut], on account of which [the Malkhut] diminished into a point and its lower nine [sefirot] fell into Beria. Now, by means of the unification of the reading of Shema (as stated above, in the third commandment) the Nukba was constructed into [a level of] the six extremities, in the mystical meaning of the lower unification of “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.” The reason is that through the power of judgment in [the Malkhut], the dalet in eḥad which was dry land and desolate, was rectified into a land that bears fruits and offspring (as stated above [in section #207#]; see there thoroughly).

It now becomes clear that the black in the Nukba, which is the force of judgment in her, and which had [caused the Nukba] to fall to [the level of] a point, is now considered to have ascended to a manifestation of actual light. [The black becomes the light because] it is specifically by the power of the judgment that the dalet in eḥad was constructed into an inhabited, fruit-bearing land. Were it not for the force of judgment in the Nukba, the dalet in eḥad, which is the Tevuna [aspect of Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna], would remain dry and desolate. Thus, the force of judgment in [the Nukba] becomes actual light. It is called black light because the blackness was the cause of this light. It is also regarded as the light of six extremities, which is the light of giving.

Therefore, [after the manifestation of the black light] it is now possible to extend white light to the six extremities of Nukba as well, meaning the light of Ḥokhma, which is the [light of the] first three [sefirot], since white means Ḥokhma. This is achieved by raising the [Ze’er Anpin] and Nukba to the palace of Abba and Imma Ila’in. Now the Nukba of Ze’er Anpin can be incorporated with [Abba and Imma Ila’in] like the Ze’er Anpin, since the force of judgment in [the Nukba] has transformed into actual light. Even though it is black light, [this light] does not act as a barrier at all to prevent the [Nukba] from being incorporated in Abba and Imma Ila’in, because “a black light in white light: There is no separation between them and it is all one.” Since [this black light] is of the aspect of light, [the Nukba] can be incorporated in the light of [Abba and Imma Ila’in], since light in light are a mixture of two [things] of the same kind and are regarded as one. As for the blackness, which is the cause of [this black] light, it does not act as a barrier or lower [the Nukba] now at all, because it is the cause of the elevation [of the Nukba, for without it [the Nukba] would not be of the aspect of light.

[The Zohar] thus states: “This is the white cloud of the day and the cloud of fire of the night; the attribute of day, and the attribute of night.” In other words, through this unification of the incorporation of [Ze’er Anpin] and Nukba in [Abba and Imma Ila’in] – as Ze’er Anpin is incorporated there in Abba Ila’ah and the Nukba in Imma Ila’ah – Ze’er Anpin becomes a white cloud for the light of day, and the Nukba a cloud of fire for the light of the night. This is the attribute of day and the attribute of night that are unified in one another, in the mystical meaning of: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” [Genesis 1:5]. This is the meaning of: “Will be rectified in one another in one unification, to illuminate, as it is stated: ‘To give light upon the earth. ’” The attribute of day is incorporated in the attribute of the night, which is the Nukba, in the mystical meaning of “one day,” and they are rectified in each other to give light upon the earth, to the crowds of the Nukba that are in the three worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya.