הקדמה

54. “Which of you etc.”Which of you has transformed darkness into light, and the bitter tastes sweet to him, even before he comes here, i.e., while he is still alive in this world. Who among you awaits the light each day, which shines when the King visits the doe, at which point the glory of the King is magnified and He is called the King over all the kings of the world. One who does not await this each day while he is still in that world, i.e., in this world, has no portion here.

Explanation: The declaration underscores for each group the main desired quality for each of them: Regarding the quality of the first class, he says: “Which of you has transformed darkness into light, and the bitter tastes sweet to him?” These are the souls of Atzilut. In Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, “God made one thing corresponding to the other” [Ecclesiastes 7:14] – darkness opposite light, and bitter opposite sweet. Consequently, in the Torah of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, there [are categories of] kosher and disqualified, ritually impure and pure, forbidden and permitted, holy and secular. That is not the case in the Torah of Atzilut; there, the entire Torah is the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, and there is nothing secular there, God forbid. There, [the words] Laban the Aramean are considered a holy name, as is Pharaoh. All the names, that are kelippot and impurity in Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya are only holy, sublime, names [in the world of Atzilut]. Thus, these souls that have merited the light of Atzilut transform every darkness to light and every bitter into sweet.

With regard to the quality of the second group, he says: “Who among you awaits the light each day, which shines when the King visits the doe, etc. One who does not await this each day in that world has no portion here.” This is referring to those who seek after the Divine Presence that sits alone, and who always await for the Holy One, blessed be He, to raise the Divine Presence from the dust. But others, apart from them, have “no portion here.”