Beresheet Aleph [Genesis 1]
1) “Before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, the upper simple light had filled the whole reality. And there was no vacancy” for the existence of the emanated and the created. “And there was no such part as Rosh or Sof, but all was simple light, equal in one similitude, and it is called “the light of Ein Sof.” And when upon His simple will came the desire to create the worlds and emanate the emanations,” the harsh spark came out, the force of Din that was disclosed in Malchut, emerging from Ein Sof, and carved a carving in the upper light. Thus, the light was restricted and departed from within the Kli of Malchut and around her. That departure of light is called “carving the upper light,” for a space devoid of light was made there. And in that empty space, all the worlds and all that is in them subsequently emerged.
3) And therefore, once people in this world raise MAN through Mitzvot and good deeds, they extend a new illumination from above, which lowers the Malchut and the place of the Zivug back to her place, below Tifferet, and a complete degree comes out, NRNHY, received in the Sefirot Bina and Tifferet that were previously included in Malchut, and which are fit for reception of upper light. Then the souls of the righteous, too, receive the upper Mochin from ZON de Atzilut because they are included in the upper Malchut.
Thus, all the Mochin are only because of Malchut that rose to Bina, making a new Sium there, called a “firmament.” Were it not for the firmament, ZON would not be able to receive any of the upper light. This is why the text calls those Mochin “The brightness of the firmament,” meaning the light that appears at the end of the association of Rachamim with Din. It is written, “And the educated,” meaning ZON and the souls of the righteous, “Will shine as the brightness of the firmament,” receive Mochin that illuminate like the brightness of the firmament, since all of their Mochin comes from the brightness of the firmament.
82) A man is male and female, and only they are called “man.” Malchut in and of herself, when she is not in a Zivug with ZA, is not called “man,” since she is without a male. Only when she mates with ZA are both of them called “man,” as it is written, “He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name Adam [man], on the day when they were created.” Thus, both together are called “man,” but each one for himself is like half a body, and he is not called “man.”
110) Happy are those who observe their desires, matters of the sublime secrets, to walk in the path of truth, to be rewarded in this world and to illuminate for them for the next world. It is written about them, “And the enlightened ones will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who justify the many, like the stars forever and ever” are happy in this world and in the next world.
121) Man is called “a small world” because all the details of the world are included in him.
159) In the verse, “And God said, ‘Let us make man,’” there is a secret revealed only to those who fear Him. That elder of the elders started and said, “Shimon, Shimon, who is it who said, ‘Let us make man,’ and of whom is it written, ‘And God said’? Who is that name ‘God’ here?” As Rabbi Shimon heard that he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon, he said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it is written, ‘And the ancient of days [Atik Yomin] is sitting.’ Therefore, now is the time to disclose that secret, for there is a secret here that was not permitted to be disclosed, and now it means that permission to disclose has been given.”
It is known that the secrets that were revealed to the sages of The Zohar were by attainment of the lights of the upper degrees by instilling. There are Panim and Achoraim [anterior and posterior respectively] in them, meaning concealment and disclosure. According to the extent of the Panim of the degree, so is the extent of its Achoraim. The instilling of the Achoraim is a calling and an invitation to instill the Panim. This is why by the measure of the concealment of the Achoraim that they attained, they knew the measure of disclosure that they were about to attain.
As Rabbi Shimon heard, he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon. This means that the instilling of the Achoraim, which is a calling, was so strong that he lost all his degrees and became a simple person, Shimon from the market. By that, he recognized that it was a calling and an invitation for very high attainment of Panim.
This is why he promptly said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it is written, ‘And the ancient of days [Atik Yomin] is sitting,’” of whose degree there is no higher. And he said, “And now it means that permission to disclose has been given,” meaning that now it was seen that he obtained permission to disclose that high secret.
169) The verse, “Let us make man” certainly relates to two, for each lower one said to the superior above it, “Let us make man.” The lower one does not do anything without receiving permission and saying of that Partzuf that is above it. Likewise, its superior does not do anything until it receives an advice from his friend above him, so that each and every Partzuf from the Partzufim of Atzilut said, “Let us make man” to his superior, and the superior to the superior of the superior, for every novelty and emanation comes from Ein Sof and cascades through the degrees until it comes to its place. The cascading is considered here that each lower one says, “Let us make man” to his superior when he receives from him the soul of man, to pass it on to the ones below him.
175) The words, “I, I am He” apply to the Creator and His Divinity, ZA and his Nukva. “I” is Divinity. “He” is the Creator. In the future, at the end of correction, the Nukva will say, “See that I,” Vav- Hey- Vav are one, as it is written, “And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun,” meaning that the Nukva is equal to ZA.
“And there is no God with Me” refers to other gods, SAM and the serpent, for then it will be revealed that SAM and the serpent never separated between the Creator and His Divinity, as it is written, “By the mouth of two witnesses ... shall he that is to die be put to death,” relating to SAM, who was dead from his beginning and was but a servant to hurry the redemption of our souls.
This is the meaning of “I will put to death and make alive.” I will put to death with My Divinity the one who is guilty, and I will make alive with my Divinity the one who is innocent. The Creator’s guidance from the beginning will appear throughout the world, and then, as it is written, “Sinners will cease from the earth, and the wicked shall be no more.” That is, unlike what it seems to us during the 6,000 years, that there is a governance that objects to Kedusha, which are SAM and the serpent, as it is written, “When man rules over man it is to his harm,” then it will appear to all—“I will put to death and make alive” with My Divinity, and there is none else besides Him.
180-181) The friends replied to him: “Why then is all that? Meaning, if the whole reason for the creation of man is that he can repent and correct his corruption, then what is all that for? It would have been better not to create the darkness in the Nukva, and the man would not sin to begin with.”
Rabbi Shimon replied to the friends: “Were it not so, that the Creator created the good inclination and the evil inclination, which are light and darkness, there would not be Mitzvot and transgressions for Adam de Beria. But Adam [the man] was created from both, from light and darkness, which is why the writing says, “See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil,” meaning this is why there are Mitzvot and transgressions in man, and the choice has been prepared for him, to choose between good and evil.”
They replied to him: “What is all that for? It would be better if the darkness were not created and there would not be reward or punishment for man, rather than being created, sinning, and causing all those many corruptions that he has caused by his sin.”
He said to them, “It was right to create him in light and in darkness because the Torah was created for the man, for punishment to the wicked and reward for the righteous are written in it, and there cannot be reward and punishment unless in Adam de Beria, who consists of light and darkness, as it is written, ‘He created it not a waste, He formed it to be inhabited.’ That is, the world was not created to be in chaos, in darkness, for the wicked. Rather, ‘He formed it to be inhabited,’ to give a good reward to the righteous.
“The reward is the attainment of the Torah, as it is written, ‘For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,’ since the Torah and the Creator are one. And if the man were not created in light and darkness, in which choice between good and bad and reward and punishment are possible, it would not be possible for that good reward that is received in the Torah, and for which it was created, to be revealed to the righteous.”
The friends told him: “Indeed, we heard now what we have not heard thus far. Now it is clear that the Creator did not create something that He does not need.”
198) Sons, life, and nourishments extend to the lower ones only from the middle pillar, called “My son, My firstborn, Israel.” He is called “the tree of life,” meaning that the middle pillar, Israel, bestows upon Divinity for the lower ones. Bestowals of life to Divinity are the lower children of Israel who extend their lives from Divinity, and the giving of the secrets of Torah for the lower ones is considered Divinity’s nourishments. The prayer, which is her Zivug with ZA, extends sons, who are souls, for the lower ones. It is about her that he says, “Give me sons.”
200) Rabbi Shimon started and said, “Listen, O upper ones, and gather, O lower ones, dwellers of the seminary of above and of below. Elijah, I adjure you, take permission from the Creator and come down here, for a great war has come to you. Hanoch, Matat, come down here, you and all the dwellers of the seminary under you, for it is not for my own glory that I did this, but for the glory of Divinity.”
Those righteous ones, the authors of The Zohar, and especially Rabbi Shimon, their thoughts and words were in actual deeds, for according to the quality of the innovations in the Torah that they discovered, the upper degrees were promptly set up and arranged after them in actual fact, for the righteous build worlds with their innovations in the Torah. And Rabbi Shimon prepared himself here to fight with the primordial serpent and subdue him through the unification of the sling-stone, and to open a door for the people of the world, so they too would know how to subdue the serpent.
It is known that one cannot correct in a place where he is not present. Thus, Rabbi Shimon had to be at that time in the place where the serpent was so he would be able to subdue him. To be certain that he would not be at risk in that lowly place, he asked for assistance from Elijah, Matat, dwellers of the upper seminary and the lower one.
201) The prayer should be raised to that certain place. Like a sling-stone hurled toward a certain target, and one is careful not to miss the target so he should raise his thought and aim in the prayer.
218) It is written, “Let the waters under the heavens gather.” “Let the waters ... gather” is the Torah, called “water.” “Unto one place” is Israel. It is so because the souls of Israel extend from that place, of which it was said, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.” “The glory of the Lord” means the lower Divinity, Malchut. “From His place” means the upper Divinity, Bina. Thus, Bina is called “a place,” and because their souls are from Bina, who is called “a place,” the name HaVaYaH is indeed on them. It is said about them, “For the portion of the Lord is His people,” as it is written, “Let the waters gather unto one place,” where water means Torah, and “One place” means Israel, the receivers of the Torah. To elicit the nations of the world, who did not wish to receive the Torah, and for which the land remained desolate and dry.
255) The Torah is called water, as it is written, “There is no water but the Torah.” The origin of the Torah is the two tablets of the testimony, which are Bina and Malchut. This is why they are called “Two stone tablets,” as they spring water, the Torah. Israel received the first tablets in full, as it will be at the end of correction, as it is written, “‘It is Harut [engraved] on the tablets,’ do not pronounce it Harut, but Herut [freedom], that they will be freed from the angel of death,” as it will be at the end of correction. Yet, through the sin of the calf, they corrupted the correction, and the dominion of the angel of death returned over them, the tablets broke, and they were given second tablets—of life and death.
The whole correction is only by extending the light of Torah, since through the MAN that Israel raise by keeping the Mitzvot and good deeds, they cause upper Zivugim that gradually reveal the light of Torah to Israel until they are rewarded by it with the end of correction.
255) At the end of correction, when SAM is revoked, it will appear to all that SAM never lived. Rather, unification was always the governor, as it is written, “There is none else besides Him.”
260) As with Adam HaRishon whom He elevated in Gadlut from the separated BYA to the Garden of Eden of Atzilut, so will the Creator do to a person who repents and engages in Torah.
280) It is known that the Emanator initiated creation and established it in a way that the children of Israel could finish it, as it is written, “You are in partnership with Me,” I began creation and you finish it.
The Emanator corrected Malchut only in the first nine in her, and He gave the correction of Malchut deMalchut to Israel, so that they would correct her through work and keeping of the upper nine. Therefore, the whole of the work of Israel prior to the end of correction is only in Malchut’s first nine, regarded as sorting of 288 sparks that were corrected through the Emanator.
The two Temples were built above in that respect—first Hey and bottom Hey—and likewise below. For this reason, they are considered to have been built by people, through the work of people who were appointed to complete creation. And because the last 32 sparks that belong to Malchut de Malchut were still not corrected, the Sitra Achra and the mixed multitude are among them, making Israel sin. This is why the two Temples were ruined.
However, after the children of Israel sort all 288 sparks due to the breaking of the vessels, the Creator Himself will sort the last 32 sparks from Malchut de Malchut, which are called “The stony heart,” as it is written, “And I will remove the stony heart from your flesh.” Then Malchut de Malchut, the last Temple, will be corrected, as it is written, “Unless the Lord builds the house,” meaning prior to the end of correction, when the work was given to people and by which the two Temples were built, “They who build it labor in vain,” for they were ruined. But after people complete the correction given to them, the Creator will lower the built Jerusalem, meaning Malchut deMalchut, as well as the built Temple, the internality of Malchut de Malchut, and then it will be an everlasting building for eternity.
294-295) Until the Creator created the world, His name was hidden in Him, and He and His hidden name within Him were one. His name is Malchut. Prior to creation, she was included and hidden in Ein Sof without any disclosure and recognition. At that time, He and His hidden name within Him were one, and nothing was revealed until He wished to create the world. He would inscribe and build worlds, but they were unsustainable and were ruined. The worlds that emerged from Malchut during Tzimtzum Aleph are called “worlds of Tohu [chaos],” and the breaking of the vessels was in them, which are the ruins of those worlds.
It was said about them, “In the beginning, the world was created in Midat ha Din,” Malchut de Tzimtzum Aleph, called Midat ha Din. “He saw that the world could not exist,” that they were ruined, “He associated Midat ha Rachamim with it,” meaning that the Creator, Bina, wrapped in a wrapping of light and created the world, raising Malchut to her, and her light was diminished because of it to VAK, called “enveloped light.” At that time Midat ha Din, Malchut, partook with Midat ha Rachamim, Bina, and by that the world existed.
He elicited the great high cedars out of that enveloped light, from that upper brightness, which afterwards extended GAR to the above mentioned enveloped light once more, and placed His Merkava on 22 inscribed letters. These are ZON, since the letters ELEH de Bina—which descend from her to ZON during Katnut, and during the Gadlut of Bina, she brings them back to her—are regarded as a Merkava [chariot/assembly] that journeys to and fro. He placed His Merkava on 22 letters, meaning ZON in Katnut, and later, in Gadlut, ZON were carved in ten utterances, which mean Mochin de GAR. Then they settled and were properly corrected.
309) The Nukva is nourished by the male, since the Nukva has nothing of her own, and receives from the male the nourishments, the abundance for her sustenance, as well as the begetting of the souls.
348) “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’” This is the light that the Creator created in the beginning, the light of the eyes, the light that the Creator showed Adam HaRishon, in which he saw from the end of the world to its end. It is the light that the Creator showed to David, which he would praise and say, “How plentiful is Your goodness, which You have hidden for those who fear You.” It is also the light that the Creator showed to Moses, and in which he saw from Gilad to Dan, the whole of the land of Israel.
424) The awakening always begins from the lower to the upper, and then everything is completed. Above, too, each lower degree raises MAN to its adjacent superior, and the superior to the super-superior, all raising MAN, first up to the highest of all, and then the abundance pours from Ein Sof from above downward, descending from degree to degree, from each superior to its inferior until they arrive at the bottom. Thus, with respect to the MAN, each lower one precedes its upper one. And with respect to MAD—the Mochin poured down from above—each upper one precedes its lower one. If the Assembly of Israel, the Nukva, were not initially awakened, ZA would not have awakened above opposite her. By the craving below, it is completed above.
424) As long as the Nukva does not raise MAN to ZA, ZA has no need to extend Mochin from AA. But after Nukva raises MAN he extends the Mochin of illumination of Hochma from AA for her and they obtain the Mochin of PBP [face-to-face].
472-473) A book was lowered to Adam HaRishon. In it, he knew and attained the supernal wisdom. The writing says about it, “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” This book comes to the children of God, the sages of the generation. Anyone who is rewarded with looking in it knows the supernal wisdom in it, and they look in it and attain in it. The one with the secrets, Angel Raziel, lowered it to Adam HaRishon in the Garden of Eden, and three appointed angels before him were guarding the book lest the outer ones grip it.
When Adam left the Garden of Eden he was still holding that book. When he went outside, the book left him. He prayed and cried before his Master and He returned it to him as before so the wisdom would not be forgotten from people and they would engage in order to know their Master.
482) The Creator is destined to correct the world and correct the spirit of life in people in a way that they live forever, as it is written, “He shall swallow up death forever.”
New Zohar, Beresheet Aleph [Genesis 1]
110) Those who cling to the Creator in truth, their desire guides them to advance in their work as it is established above, in the upper worlds, as it is written, “And Abram went as the Lord had commanded him.” Hence, later, when they observe their desire, they know the sublime secrets, for they look into the tendencies in their own desire and know how the sublime secrets are determined above.
771) Happy are the righteous, who are called “Life for the next world.” Is it because the soul remains existing that the righteous are considered living? But does the body decay in the earth even though it is complete and righteous? The soul always exists. Death and life do not apply to it. Only in the body are there death and life.