It is written: “For a sun and a shield is Havaya Elokim.”1Psalms 84:12. The explanation of this verse [is as follows]: “Shield” is a covering for the sun, to protect the creatures so that they should be able to bear [its heat]. As our Sages, of blessed memory, have said, “In the Time to Come,2I.e., the Messianic Era. the Holy One, blessed is He, will take out the sun from its sheath, the wicked will be punished by it….”3Nedarim 8b. Now, just as the covering shields [i.e., conceals] the sun, so does the name Elokim shield [i.e., conceal] the name Havaya, blessed is He.
The meaning of the name Havaya is “That which brings everything into existence ex nihilo.” The prefix י [added to the stem הוה] modifies the verb, indicating that the action is present and continuous—as Rashi4Acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the most famous biblical and Talmudic commentator. comments on the verse, “In this manner does Job do יעשה all the days”5Job 1:5.—i.e., the life-force which flows at every instant into all things created, from “that which proceeds out of the mouth of G–d” and “His breath,” and brings them into existence ex nihilo at every moment. For the fact that they were created during the Six Days of Creation is not sufficient for their continued existence, as explained above.6Ch. 2.
In the enumeration of the praises of the Holy One, blessed is He, it is written, “Hagadol” (the Great), “Hagibor”7Deuteronomy 10:17; Liturgy, Amidah Prayer. (the Mighty), and the like. “Hagadol” refers to the attribute of chesed (kindness) and the spreading forth of the life-force into all the worlds and created things without end or limit8The characteristic of chesed is to bestow boundlessly. so that they shall be created ex nihilo and exist through chesed chinom (gratuitous kindness). And [the attribute of chesed] is called gedulah (greatness) for it comes from the greatness of the Holy One, blessed is He, in His Glory and Essence, for “G–d is great and His greatness is unsearchable,”9See Psalms 145:3. and therefore, He also causes life-force and existence ex nihilo to issue forth for an unlimited number of worlds and creatures, for “It is the nature of the beneficient to do good.”10See Chacham Tzvi (Responsa) 18, by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch ben Yaakov Ashkenazi; Shomer Emunim 2, 14, by Rabbi Yosef Irgas, quoting the Kabbalists.
Now, this attribute [of chesed] is the praise of the Holy One, blessed is He, alone, for no created thing can create a being out of naught and give it life.11“Even if all mankind were to gather, they could not create even a small mosquito and vivify it” (Bereishit Rabbah 39:14). This attribute is also beyond the cognition of all creatures and their understanding. For it is not within the power of the intellect of any creature to understand and comprehend this quality and its ability to create a being out of nothing and vivify it. For creatio ex nihilo is a matter which transcends the intellect of the creatures inasmuch as it stems from the Divine attribute of gedulah. And the Holy One, blessed is He, and His attributes are a perfect unity, as the Holy Zohar states, “He and His attributes are One,”12Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction. Cf. Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 20. and just as it is not possible for any creature’s mind to comprehend his Creator, so it is impossible for him to comprehend His attributes.
And just as it is impossible for any creature’s mind to apprehend His attribute of gedulah, which is the ability to create a being out of nothing and give it life, as it is written, “The world is built by kindness,”13Psalms 89:3. exactly so it is not possible for him to apprehend the Divine attribute of gevurah (might, restraint), which is the quality of tzimtzum (condensation, contraction, concentration) and restraint of the spreading forth of the life-force from His [attribute of] gedulah preventing it from descending upon and manifesting itself to the creatures, to give them life and existence in a revealed manner, but rather with His Countenance concealed.14See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 22. For the life-force conceals itself in the body of the created being and [it appears] as though the body of the created being has independent existence and is not [merely] a spreading forth of the life-force and spirituality—as the diffusion of the radiation and light from the sun—but an independently existing entity.
Although, in reality, it has no independent existence, and is only like the diffusion of the light from the sun, nevertheless, this [concealment] is the very restraining power of the Holy One, blessed is He, Who is Omnipotent, to condense the life-force and spirituality which issues from the “breath of His mouth” and to conceal it, so that the body of the created being shall not become nullified.15The vitality emanating from chesed is too abundant and powerful for finite creatures to exist without its concealment and contraction.
And it is not within the scope of the intellect of any creature to comprehend the essential nature of the tzimtzum and concealment [of the life-force] and that nonetheless the body of the creature be created ex nihilo—just as it is not within the capacity of any creature’s intellect to comprehend the essential nature of the creation of being out of nothing.
[The tzimtzum and concealing of the life-force is called kelim (“vessels”) and the life-force itself is called “light.”16Kelim and light together comprise the sefirot. They are, respectively, the finite and infinite aspects of the sefirot. The kelim limit the infinite light, causing it to be revealed in proportion to the capacity of the finite beings. The kelim, then, perform the function of concealing and at the same time revealing the Divine light. For just as a vessel covers that which is within it, so does the tzimtzum cover and conceal the light and the flowing life-force. And the kelim are the [Divine] letters17In the same way, letters serve to reveal thought, yet at the same time limit it. For speech cannot convey all that is in the mind of the thinker. whose roots are the five [terminal] letters מנצפ"ך, which are the five restraining forces18These five letters terminate a word, and no other letters may follow them. Inasmuch as this is an act of limitation, it is an act of gevurah. that divide and separate the breath and voice in the five organs of speech, in order that the twenty-two letters shall be formed. The source of the five restraining forces is botzinah d’kardunita “(light from dark”)19I.e., light which has been condensed and concealed through tzimtzum. It is the supernal limiting force which determines the quantity and quality of light and life-force in each world, sefirah and being—thereby imposing all the limitations and differentiations inherent in Creation. which is the supernal gevurah of atik yomin (“ancient of days”);20The realm which transcends all worlds, including Atzilut. and the source of the kindnesses is also chesed of atik yomin, as is known to the students of Kabbalah.]21Brackets are the author’s.
כִּי הִנֵּה כְּתִיב: ״כִּי שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמָגֵן ה׳ אֱלֹהִים״, פֵּירוּשׁ, ״מָגֵן״ – הוּא נַרְתֵּק לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, לְהָגֵן שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ הַבְּרִיּוֹת לְסָבְלוֹ, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: ״לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מוֹצִיא חַמָּה מִנַּרְתֵּקָהּ, רְשָׁעִים נִידּוֹנִין בָּהּ כוּ׳״. וּכְמוֹ שֶׁהַנַּרְתֵּק מֵגִין בְּעַד הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, כָּךְ שֵׁם ״אֱלֹהִים״ מֵגִין לְשֵׁם הֲוָיָ״ה בָּרוּךְ־הוּא.
It is written: “For a sun and a shield is Havaya Elokim.”1Psalms 84:12. The explanation of this verse [is as follows]: “Shield” is a covering for the sun, to protect the creatures so that they should be able to bear [its heat]. As our Sages, of blessed memory, have said, “In the Time to Come,2I.e., the Messianic Era. the Holy One, blessed is He, will take out the sun from its sheath, the wicked will be punished by it….”3Nedarim 8b. Now, just as the covering shields [i.e., conceals] the sun, so does the name Elokim shield [i.e., conceal] the name Havaya, blessed is He.
דְּשֵׁם הֲוָיָ״ה, פֵּירוּשׁוֹ – שֶׁמְּהַוֶּה אֶת הַכֹּל מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ, וְהַיּוּ״ד מְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת עַל הַפְּעוּלָּה שֶׁהִיא בִּלְשׁוֹן הֹוֶה וְתָמִיד, כִּדְפֵירֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י עַל פָּסוּק: ״כָּכָה יַעֲשֶׂה אִיּוֹב כָּל הַיָּמִים״, וְהַיְינוּ – הַחַיּוּת הַנִּשְׁפָּע בְּכָל רֶגַע מַמָּשׁ בְּכָל הַבְּרוּאִים מִמּוֹצָא פִי ה׳ וְרוּחוֹ, וּמְהַוֶּה אוֹתָם מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ בְּכָל רֶגַע, כִּי לֹא דַי לָהֶם בְּמַה שֶּׁנִּבְרְאוּ בְּשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית לִהְיוֹת קַיָּימִים בָּזֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר לְעֵיל.
The meaning of the name Havaya is “That which brings everything into existence ex nihilo.” The prefix י [added to the stem הוה] modifies the verb, indicating that the action is present and continuous—as Rashi4Acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the most famous biblical and Talmudic commentator. comments on the verse, “In this manner does Job do יעשה all the days”5Job 1:5.—i.e., the life-force which flows at every instant into all things created, from “that which proceeds out of the mouth of G–d” and “His breath,” and brings them into existence ex nihilo at every moment. For the fact that they were created during the Six Days of Creation is not sufficient for their continued existence, as explained above.6Ch. 2.
וְהִנֵּה, בְּסִידּוּר שְׁבָחָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא כְּתִיב: ״הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר כוּ׳״, וּפֵירוּשׁ ״הַגָּדוֹל״ – הִיא מִדַּת חֶסֶד וְהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַחַיּוּת בְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת וּבְרוּאִים לְאֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית, לִהְיוֹת בְּרוּאִים מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ וְקַיָּימִים בְּחֶסֶד חִנָּם, וְנִקְרֵאת ״גְּדוּלָּה״, כִּי בָּאָה מִגְּדוּלָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא בִּכְבוֹדוֹ וּבְעַצְמוֹ, ״כִּי גָדוֹל ה׳ וְלִגְדוּלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר״, וְלָכֵן מַשְׁפִּיעַ גַּם כֵּן חַיּוּת וְהִתְהַוּוּת מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ לְעוֹלָמוֹת וּבְרוּאִים אֵין קֵץ, שֶׁטֶּבַע הַטּוֹב לְהֵטִיב.
In the enumeration of the praises of the Holy One, blessed is He, it is written, “Hagadol” (the Great), “Hagibor”7Deuteronomy 10:17; Liturgy, Amidah Prayer. (the Mighty), and the like. “Hagadol” refers to the attribute of chesed (kindness) and the spreading forth of the life-force into all the worlds and created things without end or limit8The characteristic of chesed is to bestow boundlessly. so that they shall be created ex nihilo and exist through chesed chinom (gratuitous kindness). And [the attribute of chesed] is called gedulah (greatness) for it comes from the greatness of the Holy One, blessed is He, in His Glory and Essence, for “G–d is great and His greatness is unsearchable,”9See Psalms 145:3. and therefore, He also causes life-force and existence ex nihilo to issue forth for an unlimited number of worlds and creatures, for “It is the nature of the beneficient to do good.”10See Chacham Tzvi (Responsa) 18, by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch ben Yaakov Ashkenazi; Shomer Emunim 2, 14, by Rabbi Yosef Irgas, quoting the Kabbalists.
וְהִנֵּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמִּדָּה זוֹ הִיא שְׁבְָחוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא לְבַדּוֹ, שֶׁאֵין בִּיכוֹלֶת שׁוּם נִבְרָא לִבְרוֹא יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן וּלְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ, וְגַם, מִדָּה זוֹ הִיא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַשְׂכָּלַת כָּל הַבְּרוּאִים וְהַשָּׂגָתָם, שֶׁאֵין כֹּחַ בְּשֵׂכֶל שׁוּם נִבְרָא לְהַשְׂכִּיל וּלְהַשִּׂיג מִדָּה זוֹ וִיכָלְתָּהּ לִבְרוֹא יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן וּלְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ, כִּי הַבְּרִיאָה יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן הוּא דָּבָר שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה מִשֵּׂכֶל הַנִּבְרָאִים, כִּי הִיא מִמִּדַּת גְּדוּלָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וּמִדּוֹתָיו – אַחְדּוּת פָּשׁוּט, כִּדְאִיתָא בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ דְּ״אִיהוּ וְגַרְמוֹהִי חַד״, וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין בִּיכוֹלֶת שׁוּם שֵׂכֶל נִבְרָא לְהַשִּׂיג בּוֹרְאוֹ, כָּךְ אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַשִּׂיג מִדּוֹתָיו.
Now, this attribute [of chesed] is the praise of the Holy One, blessed is He, alone, for no created thing can create a being out of naught and give it life.11“Even if all mankind were to gather, they could not create even a small mosquito and vivify it” (Bereishit Rabbah 39:14). This attribute is also beyond the cognition of all creatures and their understanding. For it is not within the power of the intellect of any creature to understand and comprehend this quality and its ability to create a being out of nothing and vivify it. For creatio ex nihilo is a matter which transcends the intellect of the creatures inasmuch as it stems from the Divine attribute of gedulah. And the Holy One, blessed is He, and His attributes are a perfect unity, as the Holy Zohar states, “He and His attributes are One,”12Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction. Cf. Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 20. and just as it is not possible for any creature’s mind to comprehend his Creator, so it is impossible for him to comprehend His attributes.
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאֵין בִּיכוֹלֶת שׁוּם שֵׂכֶל נִבְרָא לְהַשִּׂיג מִדַּת גְּדוּלָּתוֹ, שֶׁהִיא הַיְכוֹלֶת לִבְרוֹא יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן וּלְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ, כְּדִכְתִיב: ״עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה״ – כָּךְ מַמָּשׁ אֵין בִּיכָלְתּוֹ לְהַשִּׂיג מִדַּת גְּבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, שֶׁהִיא מִדַּת הַצִּמְצוּם וּמְנִיעַת הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַחַיּוּת מִגְּדוּלָּתוֹ, מִלֵּירֵד וּלְהִתְגַּלּוֹת עַל הַנִּבְרָאִים לְהַחֲיוֹתָם וּלְקַיְּימָם בְּגִילּוּי, כִּי אִם בְּהֶסְתֵּר פָּנִים, שֶׁהַחַיּוּת מִסְתַּתֵּר בְּגוּף הַנִּבְרָא, וּכְאִילּוּ גּוּף הַנִּבְרָא הוּא דָבָר בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, וְאֵינוֹ הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַחַיּוּת וְהָרוּחָנִיּוּת כְּהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַזִּיו וְהָאוֹר מֵהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, אֶלָּא הוּא דָבָר בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ.
And just as it is impossible for any creature’s mind to apprehend His attribute of gedulah, which is the ability to create a being out of nothing and give it life, as it is written, “The world is built by kindness,”13Psalms 89:3. exactly so it is not possible for him to apprehend the Divine attribute of gevurah (might, restraint), which is the quality of tzimtzum (condensation, contraction, concentration) and restraint of the spreading forth of the life-force from His [attribute of] gedulah preventing it from descending upon and manifesting itself to the creatures, to give them life and existence in a revealed manner, but rather with His Countenance concealed.14See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 22. For the life-force conceals itself in the body of the created being and [it appears] as though the body of the created being has independent existence and is not [merely] a spreading forth of the life-force and spirituality—as the diffusion of the radiation and light from the sun—but an independently existing entity.
וְאַף שֶׁבֶּאֱמֶת, אֵינוֹ דָבָר בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הָאוֹר מֵהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, מִכָּל מָקוֹם, הֵן הֵן גְּבוּרוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, אֲשֶׁר כֹּל יָכוֹל, לְצַמְצֵם הַחַיּוּת וְהָרוּחָנִיּוּת הַנִּשְׁפָּע מֵרוּחַ פִּיו וּלְהַסְתִּירוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא יִבָּטֵל גּוּף הַנִּבְרָא בִּמְצִיאוּת.
Although, in reality, it has no independent existence, and is only like the diffusion of the light from the sun, nevertheless, this [concealment] is the very restraining power of the Holy One, blessed is He, Who is Omnipotent, to condense the life-force and spirituality which issues from the “breath of His mouth” and to conceal it, so that the body of the created being shall not become nullified.15The vitality emanating from chesed is too abundant and powerful for finite creatures to exist without its concealment and contraction.
וְזֶה, אֵין בְּשֵׂכֶל שׁוּם נִבְרָא לְהַשִּׂיג מַהוּת הַצִּמְצוּם וְהַהֶסְתֵּר, וְשֶׁיִּהְיֶה אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן גּוּף הַנִּבְרָא – נִבְרָא מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאֵין יְכוֹלֶת בְּשֵׂכֶל שׁוּם נִבְרָא, לְהַשִּׂיג מַהוּת הַבְּרִיאָה מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ.
And it is not within the scope of the intellect of any creature to comprehend the essential nature of the tzimtzum and concealment [of the life-force] and that nonetheless the body of the creature be created ex nihilo—just as it is not within the capacity of any creature’s intellect to comprehend the essential nature of the creation of being out of nothing.
[וְהִנֵּה, בְּחִינַת הַצִּמְצוּם וְהֶסְתֵּר הַחַיּוּת – נִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ״כֵּלִים״, וְהַחַיּוּת עַצְמוֹ – נִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ״אוֹר״, שֶׁכְּמוֹ שֶׁהַכְּלִי מְכַסֶּה עַל מַה שֶּׁבְּתוֹכוֹ, כָּךְ בְּחִינַת הַצִּמְצוּם מְכַסֶּה וּמַסְתִּיר הָאוֹר וְהַחַיּוּת הַשּׁוֹפֵעַ; וְהַכֵּלִים – הֵן הֵן הָאוֹתִיּוֹת, שֶׁשָּׁרְשָׁן ה׳ אוֹתִיּוֹת מנצפ״ך, שֶׁהֵן ה׳ גְּבוּרוֹת הַמְחַלְּקוֹת וּמַפְרִידוֹת הַהֶבֶל וְהַקּוֹל בְּה׳ מוֹצָאוֹת הַפֶּה לְהִתְהַוּוֹת כ״ב אוֹתִיּוֹת, וְשֹׁרֶשׁ הַה׳ גְּבוּרוֹת – הוּא ״בּוּצִינָא דְקַרְדּוּנִיתָא״, שֶׁהִיא גְּבוּרָה עִילָּאָה דְּ״עַתִּיק יוֹמִין״, וְשֹׁרֶשׁ הַחֲסָדִים – הוּא גַּם כֵּן חֶסֶד דְּ״עַתִּיק יוֹמִין״, כַּיָּדוּעַ לְיוֹדְעֵי חֵן]:
[The tzimtzum and concealing of the life-force is called kelim (“vessels”) and the life-force itself is called “light.”16Kelim and light together comprise the sefirot. They are, respectively, the finite and infinite aspects of the sefirot. The kelim limit the infinite light, causing it to be revealed in proportion to the capacity of the finite beings. The kelim, then, perform the function of concealing and at the same time revealing the Divine light. For just as a vessel covers that which is within it, so does the tzimtzum cover and conceal the light and the flowing life-force. And the kelim are the [Divine] letters17In the same way, letters serve to reveal thought, yet at the same time limit it. For speech cannot convey all that is in the mind of the thinker. whose roots are the five [terminal] letters מנצפ"ך, which are the five restraining forces18These five letters terminate a word, and no other letters may follow them. Inasmuch as this is an act of limitation, it is an act of gevurah. that divide and separate the breath and voice in the five organs of speech, in order that the twenty-two letters shall be formed. The source of the five restraining forces is botzinah d’kardunita “(light from dark”)19I.e., light which has been condensed and concealed through tzimtzum. It is the supernal limiting force which determines the quantity and quality of light and life-force in each world, sefirah and being—thereby imposing all the limitations and differentiations inherent in Creation. which is the supernal gevurah of atik yomin (“ancient of days”);20The realm which transcends all worlds, including Atzilut. and the source of the kindnesses is also chesed of atik yomin, as is known to the students of Kabbalah.]21Brackets are the author’s.