שער היחוד והאמונה

However, since “the Torah speaks the language of man”1Berachot 31b. in order “to enable the ear to hear what it can understand,”2Mechilta, Yitro 19:18; Tanchuma, Yitro 13. I.e., to make it intelligible to man’s mind. therefore, permission has been granted to Scholars of Truth3I.e., the scholars of Kabbalah. to speak allegorically of the sefirot. And they called them “lights,” so that by means of this illustration, the nature of the unity of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His attributes, will be somewhat understood by us. It is, by way of illustration, as the unity of the light of the sun within its orb, with the solar globe, which is called “luminary,” as it is written, “The greater luminary….”4Genesis 1:16. And the radiation and the beam which spreads forth and shines from it is called “light,” as it is written, “And G–d called the light—day.”5Ibid. 1:5. When the light is in its source in the orb of the sun, it is united with it in absolute unity, for there is only one entity, namely, the body of the luminary which emits light, for there the radiation and light is absolutely one being with the body of the luminary which illuminates, and it has no existence by itself at all.

Precisely in this manner, and even more so, [is the unity of] the attributes of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His will and wisdom in the world of Atzilut, with His Essence and Being, as it were, Who becomes clothed in them and unites with them in perfect unity, since they were derived and emanated from Him, blessed be He, as for example, the spreading of the light from the sun. However, [His unity with His attributes] is not exactly in this manner, but in a manner which is remote and concealed from our comprehension, for His ways are higher than our ways.6Cf. Isaiah 55:9.

Nevertheless, from the illustration which is given in order “to enable the ear to hear what it can understand,” we can perceive and comprehend that just as the light of the sun which is united with and nullified in its source has no name by itself at all, only the name of the source, so all the attributes of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His will and wisdom are not designated and called by these names at all [relative to Him], only in relation to the higher and lower creatures who are brought into existence and given life and guided in their conduct by the Holy One, blessed is He, through His will and wisdom and understanding and knowledge which clothe themselves in His holy attributes. As it is stated in the Midrash,7Talmud, Chagigah 12a. See note in Likkutei Sichot, vol. 4, p. 1236. “By means of ten things was the world created: by wisdom, by understanding and by knowledge…as it is written, ‘The L–rd has founded the earth with wisom, He established the heavens with understanding, the depths were split with His Knowledge…,’”8Proverbs 3:19-20. and as expressed by Elijah, “You have brought forth ten tikkunim (“garments”), and we call them ten sefirot,9The sefirot are called “garments” for they clothe and hide G–d’s essence. through which to direct hidden worlds which are not revealed, and revealed worlds, and through them You conceal Yourself….”10Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction.

For example, on the first day of the Six Days of Creation, the attribute of kindness—comprised of all His holy attributes,11Each attribute includes all the others. The specific designation denotes the dominant quality of the attribute. with His will and wisdom and understanding and knowledge clothed in it—was revealed, and He created with it the light, through the Utterance, “Let there be light,”12Genesis 1:3. which is the spreading forth and flow of the light from above into the world, and its diffusion in the world from one end to the other. This [creation of light] is the quality of kindness, yet, because it also includes the attribute of might, therefore, it [the light] was not spiritual as the actual Supernal Light, and also became clothed in this world, which is finite and limited, for it is a distance of 500 years from the earth to the heaven and from east to west.13Chagigah 13a; ibid. 12a.

In like manner, on the second day, the attribute of might, which is composed of the other attributes and His will, and so on, was revealed and He created with it the firmament through the Utterance, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.”14Genesis 1:6. This [separation of the waters] is the quality of tzimtzum and restraints, to conceal the upper spiritual waters from the lower waters. Through this separation from the upper waters, the lower waters became material. And the attribute of kindness is included in it [might] as “The world is built with Kindness,”15Psalms 89:3. for all this [the division of the waters] is in order that dry land appear and man upon it to worship G–d. And similarly, each [of the other attributes of the Holy One, blessed is He, was revealed on each subsequent day of creation].

And it is this thought that Elijah expressed in Tikkunim, loc. cit., “To show how the world is conducted with righteousness and justice…righteousness is law, justice is mercy…all [the revelation of the attributes] is to show how the world is conducted, but not that You possess a knowable righteousness—which is law, nor a knowable justice—which is mercy, nor any of these other attributes at all.”