הקדמה

2. Afterward, the name Elohim appears once more, that is, Elohim meraḥefet "[the spirit] of God hovered…”1Genesis 1:2. Why is it mentioned again? To generate the five hard leaves that surround the lily. These five leaves are called salvations, and they are five gates. It is stated with regard to this secret: “I will raise the cup of salvation.”2Psalms 116:13. This is the cup of blessing, which must rest on five fingers, no more, just as the lily rests on five hard leaves, which correspond to the five fingers. This lily is the cup of blessing. There are five words from the second name Elohim to the third name Elohim, and they are: meraḥefet, al, penei, hamayim, va’yomer (“hovered over the surface of the water. And said,”).3Genesis 1:2-3 These correspond to the five aforementioned leaves. From this point onward, when [the verse] states, “And God said: Let there be light,”4Genesis 1:3 this refers to the light that was created and hidden away, and which is included in that covenant,5This is a reference to the sefira of Yesod which corresponds to the male sexual organ. as it entered the lily and seeded it. This is what is called the “tree that makes fruit, and its seed is within it”6Genesis 1:11. [Genesis 1:11], and that seed is actually in the sign of the covenant.7As will be explained below, these "seeds" are found in the "sign of the covenant," referring to the sefira of Yesod of Ze'er Anpin. Yesod corresponds to the male reproductive organ, which the Torah requires to undergo circumcision. This procedure is the "sign of the covenant." Accordingly, the intent in the phrasing here is that these seeds are "inside the sign of the covenant," the conceptual circumcised organ of Yesod of Ze'er Anpin.

Explanation: “Five forceful leaves” – This refers to the five restraints (gevurot) of the Nukba, which are the ten sefirot of the returning light that the Nukba raises up by means of the fusion through collision with the supernal light and is called the "light of judgment." The ten sefirot of the direct light are called five givings (ḥassadim), ḤGT NH (Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ and Hod), and these are enclothed in the five restraints of the returning light ḤGT NH. These five leaves are forceful, [representing] the forces of judgment that are in the partition, which prevents the supernal light from enclothing from the partition downward.8A useful way to understand this paragraph is by contrasting “giving” and “restraint.” The Nukba, identified and largely synonymous with the sefira of Malkhut, represents the will to receive the bestowal of the Creator. Because of the first constriction and the partition that rests upon Malkhut, this vessel for God's supernal light is unable to receive the light directly. Instead, the partition gives rise to the returning light, a new vessel for the direct light. The vessel of returning light cannot receive the full amount of the direct light, however. As a result, one can think of the returning light as a pipe that can contain a limited amount of the direct light. This limitation is associated with the power of judgment that lies in Malkhut and which is manifest through the partition. Thus, the five-sefirot structure of the returning light is described as "five leaves of restraint," forceful in their rejection of the supernal light in its direct form. In contrast, the five-sefirot structure of the direct light is described as "givings" (ḥassadim), reflecting the boundless nature of the supernal light in its primal, direct manifestation.

This is why they are now called only “five forceful leaves,” since [the partition] is, as yet, unfit for fusion upon it. At the time of maturity, when the partition enters into fusion [through collision] with the supernal light, they are called five restraints, as was explained previously.

These five forceful leaves constitute the mystical meaning of the five words that appear from the second Elohim to the third Elohim: meraḥefet, al, penei, hamayim, va’yomer. This is why [Rabbi Ḥizkiya] asks “why is it mentioned again,” which implies that there is a new action here. He answers that it is in order to extract these five forceful leaves from the Nukba, which are the preparation for a fusion through collision during the phase of maturity.

The reason these ten sefirot of the returning light are called five restraints, which are Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, and Hod, and they are not called Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, is because they draw forth only the light of giving (ḥassadim). Therefore Keter, Ḥokhma and Bina descend from their status and are called Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet, while Tiferet and Malkhut are called Netzaḥ and Hod.

This is why [the Zohar] states “five gates…the cup of salvation” which is at the time of maturity, when the five forceful leaves become five restraints. At that point they are considered five gates, which are open gates to receive the five givings (ḥassadim) of the direct light. This is also the reason they are called “salvations.” Then the Nukba is called “the cup of salvation,” or “the cup of blessing,” since through the qualities [of the gates], the Nukba becomes a vessel that holds the blessing, which is those five givings (ḥassadim) mentioned previously.

Now, the number of sefirot have two aspects; either they are ten in number, which are essentially five levels, as stated above, or thirteen in number, like the thirteen attributes of mercy. The difference between them is that the number ten is indicative of the sefira of Ze’er Anpin and Nukba, in which there is only light of giving (ḥassadim). The number thirteen indicates the brains of the illumination of Ḥokhma, which is received into Ze’er Anpin and Nukba. This issue is clarified in Marot HaSulam, below.9There is a different numbering of the sefirot that the author of the Sulam explains later in his commentary. This alternate structure numbers thirteen, as referred to here, and corresponds to the thirteen attributes of mercy.

[Rabbi Ḥizkiya] then states that “the cup of blessing,” which is representative of the five givings (ḥassadim) being drawn into the five restraints, as stated, “must rest on five fingers,” i.e., only in the number ten, which are Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, and Hod, as stated, and “no more,” that is, to the exclusion of the number thirteen.10This means that instead of having the extra three sefirot here that would be a structure of thirteen, there is only a structure of ten, as a result of the "five fingers" (the five restraints, and no more) that are holding the cup of blessing (the five givings). The reason [why it is only ten] is that the Nukba is fit to receive Ḥokhma from the mystical meaning of the thirteen only through the enclothing of Ḥokhma in the light of giving (ḥassadim). Therefore, it is first necessary to draw forth a blessing, which is five givings (ḥassadim) by means of specifically five fingers, which are the five restraints, and subsequently [the Nukba] can also receive from the thirteen.

The implication here is that [the five fingers] refers to the five fingers of the left hand, which [represent] five restraints, since the five fingers of the right hand constitute the mystical meaning of five givings (ḥassadim). Accordingly, the cup of blessing must be raised with both hands, i.e., with the five fingers of the left hand as well, in order to allude to the aforementioned intention of the five restraints. Afterward, however, at the start of the blessing, only the five fingers of the right hand should remain on the cup, as one should not awaken the grip of the Sitra Aḥara, which suckles from the left.11Since the overall concept here is that of the five givings becoming contained within the vessels of the five restraints, the author of the Sulam is now explaining a practical Torah custom that reflects this concept. In Torah thought, the right side of the body represents giving, while the left represents restraint. Thus, the five fingers of the right hand represent the five sefirot of giving mentioned in this section. Similarly, the five fingers of the left hand represent the five sefirot of restraint. Thus, the cup of blessing, representing the side of giving, must be held with both hands initially. At the point of blessing, however, the left side is meant to be reduced, so that only blessing is expressed, and no restraint should be exerted over the cup of blessing at that time. The final point here is the mention of the Sitra Aḥara, literally "the Other Side." This concept is the result of God's own restraint in the universe, as He allows the created beings to make their own choices, even if those choices seem to negate the reality of God. It is this restraint that allows for kelippot to exist, external forces that appear to us as outside of God. Thus, an overemphasis on restraint in the wrong context (such as a blessing context) allows the forces of "the left" (the kelippot) to be strengthened.

This is why [Rabbi Ḥizkiya] said, “from this point onward, the light [etc.].” This means to say that the third Elohim in the verse, “Let there be light etc.”12Genesis 1:3. comes to emanate the aspect of maturity of Nukba, which is five givings (ḥassadim) and the thirteen attributes of mercy, as the five givings constitute the mystical meaning of the five mentions of “light” in the passage, which are: “Let there be light,” “and there was light,”13Genesis 1:3. “that the light was good,” “between the light,”14Genesis 1:4. and “the light, day.”15Genesis 1:5. The thirteen attributes of mercy are alluded to in the verse: “And there was evening and there was morning, one [eḥad] day,”16Genesis 1:5. since eḥad is the mystical meaning of thirteen and it also has a numerical value of thirteen. These five lights constitute the mystical meaning of the statement of the Sages: “Through the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam could observe from one end of the world to the other. But when the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked upon the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion and saw their corrupt ways, He arose and concealed it from them.”17Ḥagiga 12a This is why [Rabbi Ḥizkiya] says “which was created and hidden away.”

This is why [Rabbi Ḥizkiya] said, “and was included in that covenant, which entered the lily.” Meaning, these five givings (ḥassadim) were first incorporated in the Yesod of Ze’er Anpin, and did not come directly from Bina, which is called Elohim, to the Nukba. The covenant is the Yesod of Ze’er Anpin, which entered the lily and gave them to [the Nukba]. The reason will be explained presently.

Now, these five givings (ḥassadim) that emerge upon the five restraints (gevurot), as stated, are called “seed.” Also, you should know that the main power of the judgments and restraints in the partition, through the power of which [the partition] collides with the supernal light and rebuffs it [as returning light], is found only in the coronet of Yesod of Ze’er Anpin,18The power of judgment and restraint is generally associated with Malkhut and the partition that was placed upon it after the first constriction. Every level and every sefira is made up of all ten sefirot. As a result, the bottom of Yesod is the level of Malkhut of Yesod, and thus, it possesses these forces and attributes of judgment and restraint. Additionally, the sefira of Yesod corresponds to the male reproductive organ on the human body. The "bottom" of that organ is the glans, referred to as an atara (literally, a crown, coronet or circlet). which it drew from Mazal ve-Nakeh in the dikna, whereas the Nukba receives from it only an illumination and a branch.19Every burst of shefa must flow from the Ein Sof until the level to which it belongs, passing through various levels along its way. The Zohar does not always mention the various intermediating levels in such a process. In this context, the author of the Sulam references one of these intermediating levels. Malkhut (Nukba), in order to mature, must receive an illumination from the level called “mazal ve-nakeh,” literally, “the flow and the cleansing,” through the Yesod level of Ze’er Anpin. Mazal ve-nakeh is part of a level called the dikna, literally, “the beard,” referring to the “beard” of Arikh Anpin (the partzuf associated with Keter). The beard, in this context, represents the lights that belong to the mature aspect of the level, that expansive maturity that was constricted in the first constriction. Since the level is currently immature, as was mentioned above, it cannot contain this level of light, a level of maturity. Instead, the level uses returning light as a vessel to contain the lights, and that vessel, as a dynamic of encompassing containment, is described as “the beard,” since the beard surrounds the lower part of the head, which is the source of the higher lights under discussion. On the one hand, the beard is associated with the lights of maturity. On the other hand, the beard was generated as returning light resulting from the fusion through collision against the partition containing constriction and judgment, and thus, the beard is considered a force of judgment and restraint. When the phase of maturity arrives, the beard itself is divided up into thirteen levels of rectification which correspond to the thirteen sefirot that are present in the phase of maturity, as will be explained. When the beard of Arikh Anpin is in this phase, its lowest sefira, the sefira of Malkhut is called the “mazal ve-nakeh,” the “flow and the cleansing.” The word “nakeh” stems from the thirteen attributes of mercy; nakeh is the thirteenth attribute in the Biblical text listing the thirteen attributes. The word “mazal” refers to the flow of shefa that this sefira transmits from the beard of Arikh Anpin to the coronet of Yesod of Ze’er Anpin, and ultimately, to the Nukba. Therefore, the main fusion through collision on the partition, which raises the five restraints that extend and enclothe the five givings (ḥassadim), the five aforementioned lights, is performed in the Yesod of Ze’er Anpin, and it is [Ze'er Anpin] which gives those [lights] to the Nukba. For this reason, [Rabbi Ḥizkiya] specifies that “that seed,” which refers to five givings (ḥassadim) and five restraints “exists in the actual sign of the covenant.” For it is in the sign of the covenant, which is the coronet (ateret) of Yesod of Ze’er Anpin, that the full actuality of the restraints that draw forth five givings (ḥassadim), which is called “seed,” is found. However, the [level of] Yesod of the Nukba receives only a reflection of the restraints [of Yesod of Ze'er Anpin], and therefore the Yesod of the Nukba is called only by the name "reflection of the covenant."20The Nukba receives the five givings enclothed within the five restraints from the Yesod of Ze'er Anpin. As the author of the Sulam explained above, the partition of the Nukba gives rise to the returning light that is represented here by the five restraints, serving as containers for the five givings. The section concludes with the observation that the Nukba receives from the Yesod of Ze'er Anpin, but the Yesod of the Nukba itself, used to transmit to lower levels of existence is only a reflection of the Yesod of Ze'er Anpin. This is similar to the male/female relationship of intimacy, in which the female receives from the male, then "transmits" the function of Yesod back a "reflection" of what she received (a child).