הקדמה

23. “When He wished to create etc.”When He wished to create the world, all the letters came before Him, from last to first. The letter tav began to enter first. She said: “Master of the worlds! It is good for You to create the world with me, as I am the seal on Your ring, which is emet [truth], i.e., the last letter of the word emet, and You are called by the name Emet. It is fitting for the King to begin with the letter of emet, and to create the world with me.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: You are beautiful and straight, but you are unfit for the world to be created with you, since in the future you will be inscribed upon the foreheads of men of faith, [as a sign] that they kept the Torah from alef to tav, and upon your inscription they will die (as is written in Shabbat 55a). Furthermore, you are the seal of death, since tav is also the last letter in the word mavet [death]. As you are such, you are unfit for the world to be created with you.” She immediately departed.

Explanation: When He began to distil the Ze’er Anpin and Nukba, which are called “world,” in order to create them, all the letters of Ze’er Anpin and Nukba came before the Holy One, blessed be He, starting with tav, the last of all the letters, and ending with alef, the first of them all. The reason why they came from last to first, rather than in their usual alphabetical order, was because they came by the mystical meaning of feminine waters, in which they are arranged in that manner, in the mystical meaning of tav-shin-resh-kof etc. The order of aleph-bet-gimmel applies only to the mystical meaning of masculine waters,1Feminine waters refers to the "yearning from below" of the created beings for the supernal light. "Masculine waters" is the counterpart, the "yearning from above" to bestow. As a result, masculine waters are said to flow "in order" from above to below, while feminine waters flow in "reverse," from below to above. which are from above to below. By contrast, the feminine waters are always in the opposite order of the male waters, from below to above (as stated in the Zohar Ḥadash, Shir HaShirim, 284).

Now, this exposition on the letters is exceedingly profound. To clarify it a little, I will give you a brief introduction into the breadth of this exposition: The creation of the world means refinement and perpetuation in such a manner that the world can exist and complete the purpose for which it was created. It is known that “God made one thing corresponding to the other” [Ecclesiastes 7:14]. This means that corresponding to each force in holiness, the Holy One, blessed be He, made an equal force in the Sitra Aḥara corresponding to the holiness. Just as there are four worlds, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, of holiness, so too there are four worlds, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, of impurity, corresponding to them. Consequently, in the world of Asiya, one who serves God is not recognizable from one who does not serve Him, i.e., there is no [visible] distinction at all between holiness and impurity (Etz Ḥayyim, section 3, introduction). Accordingly, it is very difficult to understand how the world can exist, for how can we differentiate good from evil, holiness from impurity?

However, there is one very important [method of] distinguishing [good and evil], which is that a foreign god is barren and does not bear fruit.2In Hebrew, this term is el aḥer, literally "other power." This refers to forces in existence that appear to be "other" than God, like the Sitra Aḥara. Therefore, those who stumble in [following a foreign god] and walk along the path of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya of impurity, their source dries up and they have no spiritual fruits for a blessing. They wither away until they are completely sealed up. The opposite is the case for those who adhere to holiness – their handiwork is blessed, as it is stated: “Like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does he shall prosper” (Psalms 1:3). This is the only [method of] distinguishing [good and evil] in the world of Asiya by which one can know if he is in holiness or, Heaven forfend, the opposite. And this is the mystical meaning of the verse: “And try Me now with this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency” (Malachi 3:10), and it is subsequently written: “Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between he who serves God and he who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:18). It is clearly stated that it is impossible to differentiate at all between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him, other than through the secret of the blessing alone, and not by any other means, as this is the implication of the phrase: “And try Me now with this.”

This is the key point of this exposition of the letters – every single one of the letters, without exception, came to create the world according to the theme of the level of holiness unique to that letter. For the twenty-two letters are the particulars of all the heads of the levels in the four worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. Each of the letters considered its own merit, that is, [each letter] assumed that by attaining her level, the people of the world would be able to make holiness prevail over the kelippot, in order to reach the desired state of complete rectification. But the Holy One, blessed be He, replied to each of them that corresponding to [each letter], the same force is in the kelippot as well, and therefore the people of the world will not attain any distinguishing [of good from evil] through them. Finally, the [letter] bet arrived, whose theme of her level is berakha [“blessing”], to which nothing corresponds in the kelippot at all, since a foreign god is barren and does not bear fruit, as stated. Then “the Holy One, blessed be He, told her: I will certainly create the world with you...” as distinguishing and discernment [of good from evil] is possible only through her, to distinguish between a servant of God and one who does not serve Him, since there is nothing corresponding to her in the Sitra Aḥara. Consequently, the world will certainly exist through her, to distinguish and enhance the holiness over the chariots of impurity, until death is swallowed up forever [see Isaiah 25:8] and they will achieve complete rectification.

One should also know the general division of the twenty-two letters into three levels, namely Bina, Ze’er Anpin, and Malkhut. There are no vessels – which are the letters – above Bina. The twenty-two letters in Bina are called “large letters,” the twenty-two letters in Ze’er Anpin are known simply as “letters,” while the twenty-two letters in Malkhut are “small letters.” In the same manner, they each subdivide into three levels: Bina, Ze’er Anpin, and Malkhut, since there are [levels of] Bina, Ze’er Anpin, and Malkhut, in the twenty-two letters of Bina, and the same applies to the twenty-two in Ze’er Anpin and also to the twenty-two in Malkhut. The twenty-two letters themselves divide into three levels, of units, tens, and hundreds. The units, from alef through tet, are the nine sefirot of Bina; the tens, from yod to tzadi, are the nine sefirot of Ze’er Anpin, while the hundreds are from the Nukba. This is why there are only four letters, kof-resh-shin-tav, in Malkhut, since [Malkhut] occupies only four of the sefirot of Ze’er Anpin, from the chest of [Ze'er Anpin] and below, which are Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut – kof-resh are Netzaḥ and Hod; shin-tav are Yesod, and Malkhut.

One should not raise the following difficulty: Isn’t it known that the units are in Nukba, the tens are in Ze’er Anpin, and the hundreds are in the Imma?3Imma here refers to Bina. The explanation is that there is always an inverse relationship between the lights and the vessels. In the vessels, the higher [vessels] appear first, whereas the opposite is the case in the lights, as there the lower [lights] appear first. Thus, if there are only [the level of] units of the vessels there, from alef to yod, there is only Malkhut of the lights there. If the [level of] tens of the vessels also arrive, the light of Ze’er Anpin of lights comes as well. And if [the level of] the hundreds of the vessels, kof-resh-shin-tav are also completed, the lights of Bina appear, which are [the lights of the level of] hundreds. For this reason, the hundreds are considered Bina, the tens Ze’er Anpin, and the units Malkhut. However, with respect to the vessels themselves, the reverse is the case – the units are in the Imma, the tens in Ze’er Anpin, and the hundreds in Nukba.

[Rav Hamnuna] then says: “Tav began to enter first etc.” That is, it is known that each of the letters of the alphabet has a unique level under her control. Therefore, the tav argued that she was better qualified to refine the world than all of the other letters because the truth is in her domain, and she is the seal of the King’s ring.

The meaning is as follows: It is known that the Sitra Aḥara survives only on that which the [side of] holiness illuminates for it, a very small luminescence, which is the mystical meaning of [the verse]: “Her feet go down to death” (Proverbs 5:5) and the mystical meaning of [the verse]: “And His kingdom rules over all” (Psalms 103:19). This is the mystical meaning of the leg of the kof, which extends below the line of the letters. It alludes to the very small luminescence that the Malkhut gives to the Sitra Aḥara. Accordingly, you will not find a leg extending below in any of the twenty-two letters other than the kof, as she belongs to the letters of Malkhut, for kof-resh-shin-tav are in Malkhut, as stated previously. However, the left leg of the tav initially began to extend below the line and the Holy One, blessed be He saw that the grip of the Sitra Aḥara would be too strong, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, stopped her and drew her leg back so that it would end on the same level as the line of holiness. This is why [the tav's] left leg grew thicker, for the part that extended [below the line], which He drew back, was folded over itself there. For this reason, no illumination reaches from [the tav] to the kelippot and the Sitra Aḥara. What is more, she was established as the seal of the ring, guarding the kelippot so that they would not draw near and suckle from the holiness via that path, and anyone who touches her would die. The very small luminescence that is required for the existence of the kelippot was made through the letter kof, since she is the highest letter in Malkhut and far from the kelippot and the Sitra Aḥara, and therefore there is no fear of the kelippot gripping too tightly. For this reason, she is called kof, indicating that from her comes the start of the power to the Sitra Aḥara and the kelippot, known as “wicked man,” so as to resemble the partzufim of holiness, the mystical meaning of [the verse]: “One thing corresponding to the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14). This is like the similarity of a monkey [kof] to a man, and people err with regard to the [wicked men] and they lie in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He.

This was the claim of the tav: Since “I am the seal on Your ring,” as I am positioned at the end of every partzuf, and I do not allow the kelippot to approach and suckle from the holiness and lie in Your name, it is fitting for the world to be created with me, and all the distinguishing between the Sitra Aḥara and holiness will be through me, and all the people of the world will be assured of their destiny.

This is the meaning of the statement: “And You are called Emet; it is fitting for the King to begin with the letter of emet, and to create the world with me.” In other words, since Your name is Emet [Truth], an indication that it is impossible to cleave unto You other than by obtaining the attribute of truth, it is fitting for the King to begin with the letter of emet and to create the world with me. For with my attribute, people will repel the Sitra Aḥara and the kelippot and they will cleave unto You. Then, all the people in the world will be assured of the completion of the rectification. This is as taught in the Zohar: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him” (Psalms 145:18). To whom is He near? [The verse] reiterates: “To all who call upon Him in truth.” But is there anyone who calls upon Him falsely? Rabbi Abba said: Yes – this is one who calls without knowing to whom he calls. From where do we derive this? As it is stated: “To all who call upon Him in truth.” What is “in truth”? With the seal of the King’s ring, which is complete wholeness (Ha’azinu, 210).

The Holy One, blessed be He, replied to [the tav] that she is unfit for the world to be created through her, since due to her strength, the judgments would be too harsh. Even the completely righteous – who have already been rewarded with an inscription of her seal and who have kept the Torah from alef to tav – are still punished by her harsh strength because they did not protest against the wicked, as stated in Shabbat 55a. Furthermore, [the tav] is also the seal of death, as through her strength death was created in the world, since people are rounded up for death only because the serpent falsified her seal and caused Adam to sin with the Tree of Knowledge, as stated in the Tikkunim (Tikkun 22). It is therefore impossible that the world would be able to exist through [the letter tav].