הקדמה

4. “In the beginning. Rabbi Shimon etc.”“In the beginning.” Rabbi Shimon began [his discourse with the following exposition]: “The sprouts appeared on the earth; [the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land” [Song of Songs 2:12]]. “The flowers” – this is the act of creation – “appeared on the earth.” When? It is on the third day, as it is stated: “And the earth brought forth” [Genesis 1:12] then they appeared on the earth. “The time of singing [zamir] has come” – this is the fourth day, when there was the pruning [zamir] of tyrants, as this is why it is written on [that day]: “Let there be lights” [“me’orot”; Genesis 1:14], without a vav, which implies a curse [me’ora]. “And the voice of the turtledove” – this is the fifth day, regarding which it is stated: “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven” [Genesis 1:20], to produce offspring. “Is heard” – this is the sixth day, regarding which it is stated: “Let us make man” [Genesis 1:26], who in the future will make “doing” precede “hearing,” as it is written here “let us make man,” and it is written there: “We will do and we will hear” [“na’aseh ve-nishma”; Exodus 24:7]. “In our land” – this is the day of Shabbat, which is like the land of the living, the World-to-Come.

The explanation of this: “The sprouts – this is the act of creation.” That is, the six days of creation, which are the six extremities, Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, of Ze’er Anpin, from which the ten sefirot of the partzuf of Nukba of Ze’er Anpin are constructed. For the Nukba has nothing of its own and its entire construction is from that which Ze’er Anpin gives it. [Rabbi Shimon] proceeds to explain here how the Nukba was gradually constructed from the six extremities of Ze’er Anpin. He states: “appeared on the earth – when? On the third day,” for the Nukba is called “earth,” and he says that the sprouts, which are the sefirot of Ze’er Anpin, were received and appeared in the Nukba, which is called “earth,” on the third day of the act of creation. Now, [the past tense of] “appeared” implies that [the sprouts] once appeared in that fashion and now they appear differently. This is why [Rabbi Shimon] asks, “when was this?” and he answers that it was on the third day, which is Tiferet.1Given that the seven days of creation correspond to the seven lower sefirot, the third day corresponds to Tiferet. The meaning is that [the Nukba] was initially emanated in the mystical meaning of “the two great lights” [Genesis 1:16], at which stage [the Nukba] was equivalent to Tiferet of Ze’er Anpin. Thus, she was emanated on the third day, together with Tiferet of Ze’er Anpin, which is called the third day of the act of creation. He then states: “it is like [the phrase] 'they appeared on the earth,'” i.e., since this state [of equivalency] would not remain in the Nukba, as [Rabbi Shimon] explains below, the verse therefore says “appeared on the earth,” meaning [the past tense], that they appeared once in that form, after which “the time of pruning has come.”

“This is the fourth day, when there was the pruning of tyrants” – for on the fourth day the moon, which is the Nukba of Ze’er Anpin, was diminished, as the Sages said that the moon complained, saying that it is impossible for two kings to use a single crown, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to her: “Go and diminish yourself” [Ḥullin 60b]. [Nukba] then descended into a point under the Yesod of Ze’er Anpin,2This is in reference to the Nukba of Atzilut. and her lower nine [sefirot] fell into Beria, such that [Nukba] was left with nothing in Atzilut other than the point of her Keter, while she was positioned under the Yesod. From here onward, she is gradually constructed by Netzaḥ and Hod of Ze’er Anpin, as Rabbi Shimon proceeds to explain. This is called “the pruning of tyrants,” because the diminishing becomes a preparation and a receptacle for receiving the brains3Generally, "brains" refers to a particular level of supernal light of Ḥokhma. Nukba's access to this light "prunes" the destructive lower forces that are blocked off from that higher supernal light. of ḥaya, as these brains cut off all of the kelippot that hold onto the Nukba. Zamir [“pruning”] is an expression of cutting off, while “tyrants” are the externalities and the kelippot that surround the rose.

He then states: “And the voice of the turtledove – this is the fifth day.” The turtledove is Netzaḥ of Ze’er Anpin, while “the voice of the turtledove” is Hod of Ze’er Anpin, and that is the fifth day of the act of creation. Since Nukba receives from the Hod which is incorporated in Netzaḥ of Ze’er Anpin, this reception is therefore called “the voice of the turtledove.”

[Rabbi Shimon] proceeds: “Is heard – this is the sixth day.” In other words, the voice of the turtledove is received into the Nukba only by means of the sixth day, which is Yesod of Ze’er Anpin that incorporates Netzaḥ and Hod together and gives them to Nukba. Accordingly, [Rabbi Shimon] states that it is heard by the Nukba only on the sixth day. This is the rule: The Nukba receives only from the middle line of Ze’er Anpin, which is Da'at, Tiferet, and Yesod [together], or [individually] from either Da'at, Tiferet, or Yesod.

“As it is written, ‘Let us make man,” who in the future will precede ‘doing’ to ‘hearing.’” “Hearing” is the mystical meaning of Bina, as seeing and hearing are Ḥokhma and Bina, while “doing” is the mystical meaning of Malkhut. It is known, with regard to the mystical meaning of the second constriction, that the lower heh4This is a reference to the ascent of Malkhut in the second constriction. ascended to the apertures of the eyes,5The "aperture of the eyes" refers to the level of Ḥokhma of the head of a partzuf. in order for [Malkhut] to participate with the attribute of mercy which is the supernal Bina. Thus, the father removed the mother outside,6As the author of the Sulam explains, this refers to the ejection of Bina from the head of Arikh Anpin as a result of the second constriction. while the father himself was established like a male and female.7In the state of the second constriction, in the level of Atzilut, each partzuf received a female component of Nukba. Thus, the partzuf of Arikh Anpin (the Ḥokhma partzuf of Atzilut) receives a female component. For the eyes are the mystical meaning of the father,8The eyes of the head of a partzuf, referenced above, are the level of Ḥokhma of that partzuf. Ḥokhma, the flow of the animating supernal light of the Creator, represents the "masculine waters," the flow from the Creator to the created beings. Accordingly, the level of the eyes are described as "father." and by virtue of the ascent of the lower heh to him, the fusion through collision of the head was at the lower heh,9When Malkhut ascends in the second constriction, this allows Malkhut to participate in fusion through collision in the upper areas of the head meaning the apertures of the eyes. which is called the apertures of the eyes. As a consequence, the mother, which is Bina, left the head for the body.10As explained above, this refers to the ejection of Bina from the head of Arikh Anpin and its descent to the body of Arikh Anpin. This is the mystical meaning of the fact that in Arikh Anpin there is only Keter and Ḥokhma in its head, while Bina emerged to the body.

The result is that “doing,” which is the lower heh, Malkhut, precedes “hearing,” which is Bina.11Since Malkhut, representing the level of "doing," is operating in the head of Arikh Anpin, it "precedes" Bina, representing "hearing," in the chain of transmission from above to below. This is the mystical meaning of the statement in the Tikkunim [69]: “‘I am sleeping’ [yeshena, Song of Songs 5:2] is certainly second [sheniyah] to Ḥokhma”; see there. For the father is established with a Nukba which is called “I [ani],”12As explained above, the level of Ḥokhma, received a pairing Nukba as a result of the second constriction. Thus, the "father is established with a Nukba which is called 'I.'" The point from the Tikkunim is that "I," meaning this Nukba, is "second," meaning parallel to Ḥokhma in its ranking of second relative to Keter, above. and the Nukba became like the father, the second sefira after Keter. [The Tikkunim] expounds that yeshenah [sleeping] has the same letters as sheniyah [second], and “I am [ani] sleeping” is like “I am [ani] second”; see there.

On account of the ascent of the Malkhut to the apertures of the eyes, she became greatly tempered there, and she subsequently became fit to ascend and enclothe the Abba and Imma Ila'in, and to receive the brains, which are the brains13Generally, "brains" refers to a particular level of supernal light of Ḥokhma. In this context, since Malkhut ascended and became fit to enclothe Abba and Imma Ila'in, Malkhut now has access to the light of Ḥokhma to which Abba and Imma Ila'in have access. of ḥaya, like the [the partzuf] of the supernal mother. This is the mystical meaning of the moon in its fullness.14Malkhut was diminished when it was paired with Ze'er Anpin initially, but through this process, Malkhut regains access to the supernal light and returns to its "fullness." Therefore, at the giving of the Torah, Israel said “we will do” before “we will hear,” and [thus] they made “doing” precede “hearing.” They thereby merited to receive the Torah [see Shabbat 89b]. The “doing,” which is Malkhut, ascended and enclothed the Abba and Imma Ila'in, and the mystical meaning of the Jubilee was revealed, which is the fiftieth gate.15This is a reference to the fifty gates of Bina, accessed during the spiritual process at Mount Sinai during the giving of the Torah.

This is the meaning of the statement here that the hearing was therefore on the sixth day, as it was on that [day] that this rectification was performed, to make “doing” precede “hearing,” as at the Giving of the Torah. Consequently, the Malkhut on the [first] Shabbat of Creation became like “the land of the living,” which is the mystical meaning of the [partzuf of the] supernal mother, as [Rabbi Shimon] proceeds to explain. This topic is extremely profound; see the Marot HaSulam here, where we elaborate on this matter.

“In our land – this is the day of Shabbat, which is like the land of the living.” The supernal mother is called “the land of the living.” By means of that which was bestowed on the sixth day, the Nukba ascended on the Shabbat of Bereshit, [the seventh day of Creation] up to the supernal mother, and the Nukba also became like the land of the living. For this is the rule – if a lower entity ascends to a higher one, it becomes exactly like it.