הקדמה

37. “Bet entered etc.”The letter bet entered [and] said before Him: Master of the world! It is good for You to create the world with me, for with me they bless You above and below, as bet stands for berakha, blessing. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: I will certainly create the world with you, and you will be the start, [in order] to create the world with you.

Explanation: The letter bet is the mystical meaning of Ḥokhma, meaning Ḥesed of Ḥokhma, in the mystical meaning of a point in its palace, since the light of giving is a palace for the light of Ḥokhma. This [combination of lights] is blessing, in the mystical meaning of the verse: “And pour you out a blessing etc.” (Malachi 3:10). This light does not diminish at all as it passes and descends through the levels [of creation]. Just as it is [in its fullness] at the highest of the levels, receiving from Ein Sof, blessed be He, so it remains in all its greatness and praise worthiness in the world of Atzilut, and similarly until the end of [the world of] Asiya. It does not attain any more opacity as a result of all the partitions through which it passes. This is the meaning of the claim of the letter bet: “It is good for You to create the world with me, for with me they bless You above and below.” This means to say, the light of my blessing is equivalent above and below, without any difference whatsoever, and no partition or opacity can damage my illuminations in any way. Therefore, my attribute is suitable for the creation of the world, as there will be no purchase for the kelippot in me, because the kelippot can only attach in a context where there is some deficiency. Since there are no deficiencies in me, there will be no purchase [for them] in me.

“The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: I will certainly create the world with you, and you will be the start, [in order] to create the world with you.” He concurred with [the bet] that her attribute was suitable for the creation of the world, and this is the mystical meaning of the verse: “For I said, the world is built [yibaneh] through kindness (Ḥesed)” (Psalms 89:3). The word yibaneh denotes building [binyan] and understanding [havana], and He established [the bet] as a sufficient differentiator, 1This means to say that the attribute of the bet was seen by God as sufficient for differentiating between those who follow the path of holiness and those who stray. to distinguish between those who cleave to holiness and those who stray from the Holy One, blessed be He, to cleave to another god, in 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). But when [people] turn toward another god, they are devoid of blessing, for another god is infertile and does not bear fruit. This is the meaning of the prophet’s conclusion there: “You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:18). Accordingly, “the world is built through kindness (Ḥesed).”2As the first part of the paragraph explains, the word "built" is the key word here, since the Hebrew form of the word has nuances of "building" and "understanding" within it. The bet reflects God's ability to differentiate (understanding) between those who follow the path of holiness, leading to their continuity (the building), and those who stray.

He thus says: “You will be the start [sheruta], [in order] to create the world with you.” Sheruta means start, and He thereby indicates that He did not establish the light of blessing for [an immediate] perfection of the world, but as a good and sufficient start to bring the world to a state of perfection. The reason is that this light of giving is of the aspect of six extremities without a head. [This light] is still not enough to generate new souls to be fruitful and multiply, as there is no producing of offspring for any partzuf before it attains the first three [sefirot], which are called head. Therefore, [the partzuf] still lacks perfection. As for His decision to create the world with the established bet and blessing (berakha), this [method creates] the main aspect of each partzuf, meaning that [this main aspect] will not be absent from any partzuf of holiness. [However, ] the completion of the first three [sefirot of the partzuf] that is required for the brains of producing offspring is not the main aspect of the partzuf but rather is considered merely an addition. [This aspect of the head and brains] is dependent on the good deeds of the lower [beings]. By contrast, the aspect of the six extremities will never be absent.3The main idea in this paragraph is to explain how the light of the bet is only a "start" in the process of Creation, not a finished, perfected product. This light (the light of giving) can only give rise to a partzuf structure of six extremities, the "main aspect" of the partzuf. This structure provides the "start" of the process of existence, but this process can only transition to completion with the involvement of the lower beings and their actions toward holiness. These actions allow for the addition of the first three sefirot necessary to complete the partzuf structure, allowing the light of Ḥokhma to flow in the partzuf as well, and bringing existence forward toward perfection.