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.”
אַךְ מִכָּל מָקוֹם, הוֹאִיל ״וְדִבְּרָה תוֹרָה כִּלְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם״, ״לְשַׁכֵּךְ אֶת הָאֹזֶן מַה שֶּׁהִיא יְכוֹלָה לִשְׁמוֹעַ״, לְכָךְ נִיתַּן רְשׁוּת לְחַכְמֵי הָאֱמֶת לְדַבֵּר בִּסְפִירוֹת בְּדֶרֶךְ מָשָׁל, וְקָרְאוּ אוֹתָן ״אוֹרוֹת״, כְּדֵי שֶׁעַל יְדֵי הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה יוּבַן לָנוּ קְצָת עִנְיַן הַיִּחוּד שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וּמִדּוֹתָיו, שֶׁהוּא בְּדֶרֶךְ מָשָׁל, כְּעֵין יִחוּד אוֹר הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שֶׁבְּתוֹךְ גּוּף כַּדּוּר הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ עִם גּוּף הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ – שֶׁנִּקְרָא ״מָאוֹר״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״אֶת הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדוֹל וְגוֹ׳״, וְהַזִּיו וְהַנִּיצוֹץ הַמִּתְפַּשֵּׁט וּמֵאִיר מִמֶּנּוּ – נִקְרָא ״אוֹר״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם״, וּכְשֶׁהָאוֹר הוּא בִּמְקוֹרוֹ בְּגוּף הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ – הוּא מְיוּחָד עִמּוֹ בְּתַכְלִית הַיִּחוּד, כִּי אֵין שָׁם, רַק עֶצֶם אֶחָד שֶׁהוּא גּוּף הַמָּאוֹר הַמֵּאִיר, כִּי הַזִּיו וְהָאוֹר שָׁם – עֶצֶם אֶחָד מַמָּשׁ עִם גּוּף הַמָּאוֹר הַמֵּאִיר, וְאֵין לוֹ שׁוּם מְצִיאוּת כְּלָל בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ.
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.
וְכַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה מַמָּשׁ, וְיוֹתֵר מִזֶּה, הֵן מִדּוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ בְּעוֹלַם הָאֲצִילוּת עִם מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל, הַמִּתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּתוֹכָם וּמִתְיַיחֵד עִמָּהֶם בְּתַכְלִית הַיִּחוּד, מֵאַחַר שֶׁנִּמְשְׁכוּ וְנֶאֶצְלוּ מֵאִתּוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּדֶרֶךְ הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הָאוֹר מֵהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. אַךְ לֹא מַמָּשׁ בְּדֶרֶךְ זֶה, רַק בְּדֶרֶךְ רְחוֹקָה וְנִפְלָאָה מֵהַשָּׂגָתֵינוּ, כִּי גָּבְהוּ דְרָכָיו מִדְּרָכֵינוּ.
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.
וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם, לְשַׁכֵּךְ הָאֹזֶן, נִשְׁמַע וְנִתְבּוֹנֵן מִמְּשַׁל אוֹר הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, הַמְיוּחָד וּבָטֵל בִּמְקוֹרוֹ וְאֵינוֹ עוֹלֶה בְּשֵׁם כְּלָל בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, רַק שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹר לְבַדּוֹ – כָּךְ כָּל מִדּוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ, אֵינָן עוֹלוֹת וְנִקְרָאוֹת בְּשֵׁמוֹת אֵלּוּ כְּלָל, אֶלָּא לְגַבֵּי הַנִּבְרָאִים עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים, שֶׁהֲוָויָיתָם וְחַיּוּתָם וְהַנְהָגָתָם, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מְהַוֶּה וּמְחַיֶּה אוֹתָם וּמַנְהִיגָם, הוּא בִּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ וּבִינָתוֹ וְדַעְתּוֹ הַמִּתְלַבְּשׁוֹת בְּמִדּוֹתָיו הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת, כִּדְאִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ: ״בַּעֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם: בְּחָכְמָה, בִּתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת וְכוּ׳, דִּכְתִיב, ׳ה׳ בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ, כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה, בְּדַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמוֹת נִבְקָעוּ וְגוֹ׳״. וּכְמַאֲמַר אֵלִיָּהוּ: ״דְּאַפִּיקַת עֲשַׂר תִּיקּוּנִין, וְקָרִינָן לְהוֹן עֲשַׂר סְפִירָן, לְאַנְהָגָא בְהוֹן עָלְמִין סְתִימִין דְּלָא אִתְגַּלְיָין וְעָלְמִין דְּאִתְגַּלְיָין, וּבְהוֹן אִתְכְּסִיאַת כוּ׳״.
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.
עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן מִשֵּׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית – נִגְלֵית מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד, כְּלוּלָה מִכָּל מִדּוֹתָיו הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת, וּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ וּבִינָתוֹ וְדַעְתּוֹ מְלוּבָּשִׁין בָּהּ, וּבָרָא בָהּ אֶת הָאוֹר – בְּמַאֲמַר ״יְהִי אוֹר״, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת וְהַמְשָׁכַת הָאוֹר לָעוֹלָם מִלְמַעְלָה, וְהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּתוֹ בָּעוֹלָם מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם עַד סוֹפוֹ, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת מִדַּת חֶסֶד; רַק מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכְּלוּלָה גַּם מִמִּדַּת גְּבוּרָה, לָכֵן לֹא הָיָה רוּחָנִי כְּאוֹר שֶׁל מַעְלָה מַמָּשׁ, וְגַם נִתְלַבֵּשׁ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה שֶׁהוּא בִּבְחִינַת גְּבוּל וְתַכְלִית, שֶׁהוּא מַהֲלַךְ תּ״ק שָׁנָה מֵהָאָרֶץ לָרָקִיעַ וּמִמִּזְרָח לְמַעֲרָב.
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.
וְכֵן בְּיוֹם שֵׁנִי – נִגְלֵית מִדַּת גְּבוּרָה, כְּלוּלָה מִשְּׁאָר מִדּוֹת, וּרְצוֹנוֹ כוּ׳, וּבָרָא בָהּ הָרָקִיעַ – בְּמַאֲמַר ״יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם, וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם״, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת צִמְצוּם וּגְבוּרוֹת לְהַעֲלִים מַיִם הָעֶלְיוֹנִים הָרוּחָנִיים מִמַּיִם הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה, נִתְגַּשְּׁמוּ הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים בְּהִבָּדְלָם מֵהָעֶלְיוֹנִים; וּמִדַּת חֶסֶד כְּלוּלָה בָּהּ, כִּי ״עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה״ שֶׁהַכֹּל כְּדֵי שֶׁתֵּרָאֶה הַיַּבָּשָׁה וְאָדָם עָלֶיהָ לַעֲבוֹד ה׳. וְכֵן כּוּלָּן.
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].
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּתִּיקּוּנִים שָׁם: ״לְאַחֲזָאָה אֵיךְ אִתְנַהֵיג עָלְמָא בְּצֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט כוּ׳, צֶדֶק אִיהוּ דִין, מִשְׁפָּט אִיהוּ רַחֲמֵי כוּ׳, כּוֹלָּא לְאַחֲזָאָה אֵיךְ אִתְנַהֵיג עָלְמָא, אֲבָל לָאו דְּאִית לָךְ צֶדֶק יְדִיעָא דְּאִיהוּ דִין, וְלָא מִשְׁפָּט יְדִיעָא דְּאִיהוּ רַחֲמֵי, וְלָאו מִכָּל אִינּוּן מִדּוֹת כְּלָל״:
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.”