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We may now try to understand the
quotation from The Book of The Zohar referring to that divine
attribute of the Endless (EinSof) which is called Malchut.
This radical and astonishing concept, when first produced, shook the
foundations of Kabbalistic circles and caused a huge commotion.
If it is possible to name "Malchut",
even in such an exalted place as the "Endless", we must
assume that the nine other divine attributes must also be there
since there are ten attributes to the first emanation following the
occurrence of the restriction, and the Endless World is the origin
of all the worlds, and is an absolute, simple unity
From our previous discussion we have
acquired thorough knowledge regarding the purpose of the will to
receive, which must also be comprised in the Endless Light. This
will is called the "Malchut" of the Endless, but the
Malchut did not execute any end or restriction upon the Endless
Light, because no diversity of phase of the will to receive was as
yet revealed. For this reason it is called the Malchut of the
Endless, as this Malchut did not limit the Light or create any
boundary in it. But this was not so following the restriction, at
which time a limit and boundary was made by the power of Kingdom in
each and every sefira or "luminous emanation" and phase.
In order to better understand the
matter of the end or boundary made by this Malchut, we will
elaborate more fully on this topic. First we must be acquainted with
the decree established by the Kabbalists as well as by the Zohar
treatises.
That it is prerequisite for any Light,
whether abundant or meager, which is extended or drawn either in the
upper or the lower worlds to be arranged according to the order of
the name of the Creator, which is Constituted of the four symbolic
letters: "yood" "Hay" "Vav"
"Hay", the Y-H-V-H.
This statement agrees with that which
stated in the "Etz Hachaim" ,The Tree of Life, that
every Light in the worlds must be clothed in a vessel. We have
already outlined that the will to receive which is comprised in the
Light makes for the only difference that exists between the
Creator's substance and the Light which is extended from Him, as it
is that will which constitutes a phase diverse from His Substance.
Since He has no such Will, it is by means of this diversity that
Light was extended and defined as "emanated being". The
diversity of phase causes the Light to be drawn away from the
Emanator.
It is also explained that because of
this diversity of phase which causes the Light to depart from its
source within the Emanator into the frame of a particular, emanated
being, the will to receive, comprised in this extended Light,
creates the capacity of that Light; and it is called "makom",
the "Place" of that Light or receptacle which houses the
Light. In other words, it receives His abundance according to the
precise measure of the will to receive, according to the intensity
of its desire, no more no less.
It is further established that this
will to receive is the only new revelation in the entire creation.
An existent being, which is the will to receive, has been derived
from a non-existent being, as this phase alone is not comprised in
His Substance. Only now, as it were, has the Creator invented it for
the benefit of entire Creation.
This is the reason for the expression
that "He creates the obscurity", (darkness) because this
will to receive is the origin or the root of all darkness, owing to
its phase being diverse from the Creator. For this reason it is
dimmer or feebler than the Light which is drawn into it by its own
desire.
From this you will understand that
each Light extended from the Creator is immediately distinguished as
two different entities. First to be discriminated as the substance
of the Light extended, even before there is revealed in It the phase
of the will to receive. The second discrimination appears later when
the will to receive is revealed. Then the Light becomes a little
dimmer and fainter, because of the diversity of phase. Behold, then,
the first discrimination is the Light, and the second discrimination
is the vessel.
In each and every extended Light are
discernible four discriminations all of them serving the purpose of
completing the vessel. The phase of receiving, which is the vessel
for the extended Light, is not completed at once in all its
efficiency, for it evolves only gradually through a causative
process. There are two phases in the cause and two in the effect.
They are called the potential and active power of the maker of that
vessel and the potential and active power of the thing made the
vessel itself.
The reason for this is because the
vessel or will to receive is the root of the darkness. It is
inverted from the Light, and is therefore obliged to undergo gradual
development in the manner of an evolutionary process developed by
the inevitable law of cause and effect.
The meaning of the verse "The
water had conceived and brought darkness to birth", is that
darkness is the offspring of Light Itself. The Light acts, upon the
vessel, as if It were influenced by it, in the manner of conceiving
and bearing. This illustrates the idea of potential power and active
power ,and is the meaning of the assertion "as a matter of
necessity". Every extended Light immediately co~rapr1ses the
trait of the will to receive, but this cannot be considered as a
diverse phase until the will to receive is prominently established
in the Light.
Hence it is not enough to possess the
will to receive, which is comprised in the Light and is caused by
the Creator Himself but the emanated being must, by its own active
efforts, reveal in itself the will to receive. It is supposed to
draw abundance by its own arousal of will and endeavor, and this to
a greater degree and measure of will than in the originally extended
Light bestowed by the Emanator Himself. Following the individual
attempt of the emanated being, through the exertion of the utmost
intensity of its will to draw Light there is established in it the
desire and will to receive. Only then is it possible for the Light
to be clad permanently in that vessel.
It is true, also, that the, Endless
Light extended, figuratively speaking, onto four consecutive phases,
until it reached the extreme measure or intensity of the will
exerted by the emanated being in the fourth grade of recipiency. If
it were not for that individual exertion of will to draw Light, the
Light would never have abandoned its origin, the Creator's
Substance, to acquire an individual name: i.e. the name of
"Endless Light". Because of the wondrous and absolute
unity of the Creator there was no reaction of diversity of phase,
whatsoever, between the Light and Its vessel which is the will to
receive, for they are in exact unity or affinity.
This is the meaning of the quotation
in treatise called "Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer the Great",
to the effect that before the world was created all was in a form of
"He was One and His Name was One". Verily, the expression
of "He" and 'His Name" which refers to the Infinite
world, as explained above is rather difficult to understand, as
Rabbi Eliezer's assertion concerns the period before the world was
ever created. Then by what means do we stipulate an infinite world?
The extract speaks of the Infinite
light, which is before the restriction, and tells us that although
there is an existent "place" or "vessel" there,
which is discriminated as its will to receive abundance from the
Creator, yet it is truly without any diversity or discrimination
from the Light. "He in One", that is, the Infinite Light,
and "His Name" which is the will to receive comprised
there, are without any diversity whatsoever.
The reader should note well the
author's statement that the numerical value of "His Name"
(shmoh is equivalent to the numerical value of "Will", (ratzon)
which means the "will to receive."
In the preceding pages we have given
the reader the meaning of the goal of the Creator's plan, or act of
creation as it was first contained in the Thought of Creation which
extended from Him, in order to delight His creatures. It is
explained that the Creator, the Thought and the Light are one and
the same thing. By this you will understand that the Endless Light
which extended from the Creator's Substance comprised the entire
existence, of the abundance and the word Malchut of the Endless
Light comprises all the recipients of this abundance. Up to the
point of its destined future of absolute completion and
perfection.
But within the Creator all creatures
with their destined completion and all their joy and bliss were
realized immediately
By the extension of that Thought of
Creation. In other words, all the worlds and the creatures which the
Creator brought into being, with their destined goal of perfection
and happiness were established to perfection immediately by the
extension of that Light, called the Thought of Creation. The nature
of the Creator is not that of a limited conscious being who must
wait for time, and utilize all devices, and manifold procedures to
bring his plans and schemes to final completion; the Creator's
Thought alone is sufficient to complete all creation in one
immediate thought. This is aptly expressed by the prophet, who
speaks for God, saying: 'My thoughts are not like your thoughts, and
my ways are different from your ways...'
As has been declared above, the Middle
Point, which is the will to receive in the Endless Light, wanted to
be enhanced so as to attain a still more exalted stage of unity and
affinity with the Creator. From the Creator's standpoint all was
unity and there was not even a trace of separation or diversity of
phase between the Point and the Endless Light. But the Middle Point
itself felt lack of affinity, as did the recipient in the example of
the rich person and the poor person upon whom he bestowed abundance,
and who felt shame because of his lack.
This feeling troubled the Middle
Point, causing so much dissatisfaction as to lead finally to the
unprecedented phenomenon of restriction which the Middle Point
exerted upon the fourth stage of its vessel (that stage which has
the greatest intensity of will to receive). This last grade has the
greatest capacity of all as it is the complete vessel of recipiency.
Restraint of the will to receive caused the inversion of its phase
as recipient to that of Bestower, as is the Creator Himself, Then
the extension of Light to the emanated being would come from the
Creator unaccompanied by embarrassment on the part of the recipient.
When the restriction was made, the
Light evacuated the entire place It has filled. This means that the
Light departed from all four grades of that place, although it was
the fourth grade alone which sought to deprive itself. Since we know
however that it is not within the nature of Spirit to be divided
into parts, the Light abandoned all four departments of that Middle
Point. Then came the Light of the infinite again to the emptied
place; but it did not fill that point in all its four grades. It
filled only the three consecutive upper grades, as this was the will
and the desire of the Middle Point, which had executed the
restriction.
The Middle Point, which is the fourth
grade and which restricted itself, remained "hollowed" and
empty, for the Light did not shine into this grade; it shone only
into the three preliminary ones. Thus was the infinite Light
restrained from entering the fourth grade of the Middle Point.
In the following pages we will
describe the matter of inclusiveness and mutuality which exists in
each of the four grades functioning in the upper worlds. We learn
that the first grade is included in all the grades, and all grades
are comprised in the first one, and so is the second grade included
in the first, and the third and fourth grades as well; it is so with
all the grades. From this you may understand that since the four
grades are all-inclusive, it is inevitable that the fourth grade or
stage also comprise all the rest. Consequently it is understood that
the infinite Light, after the restriction, returned (as a line of
Light) to all the grades, including the fourth, but the latter
expelled it voluntarily. That is to say, the infinite Light was
extended to the three, upper grades of the fourth stage. But the
fourth grade of the inclusive fourth stage remained empty and
obscure - without Light. Remember this.
Once we know the foregoing, it is
appropriate that we learn of the progressive development, or the
manner of causation of all the four grades. By causation, or cause
and effect we mean that the performer is the cause of the thing
done, and the thing itself is the effect.
As we have previously stated, the four
stages of potential power and active power; "Koach"
and "Poal" are the necessary stages for achieving a
complete vessel of reception; this will to receive is obliged to
undergo four stages of evolution in order to attain its completion.
The meaning is portrayed in the words: "the waters were
pregnant and they gave Birth to darkness and obscurity".
Bear in mind that in the World of
Atzilut there exist two Lights, one differing from the other. The
first is called Light, and the second is called MAN, because the
first is extended from above downwards without any endeavor or
initiative from those entities which are beneath. The second Light
is drawn by the exertion of those below and is therefore called
" MAN ".
It is the nature of Light to tend
upward. Therefore since the primate cause for its extension is in
the upper spheres, one is named Light whereas since the nature of
water, the second Light whose primate cause for extension originates
below is to go downwards is named "water". The reader may
draw the proper inference from these words.
In the water itself there are two
distinct parts: one called the upper waters" which are revealed
by means of the second of the four grades; the other called
"the lower waters" which are caused by the fourth or last
of the grades.
In each extension of Light are ten
divine attributes or 'Sefirot' 'also called "Luminous
Emanations". The infinite Light, which is the Root, and the
Emanator Himself, is called "Crown." The first extended
Light is called "Wisdom", and it is the entire extension
of Light from above, the infinite Light. It is the basic Substance
of all subsequent creation.
We have already learned that each
extension of Light from above comprises in itself the will to
receive, but the will to receive is only in a potential, embryonic
stage. It is not active until the time when the emanated being
arouses by its own efforts a desire to draw more Light than the
measure, or dimension of the extended Light. Hence, since the will
to receive is comprised in potential form in the Light
simultaneously with its extension, it is inevitable that the will
should stimulate its potential, passive power to actual, dynamic
power.
Thus the will exerted itself and
operated to draw more abundance. It drew a more ample extension than
the first Light which came from the infinite. In this manner the
active will to receive in the Light was revealed causing a new
phase, of considerable inferiority and diversity to the Light. It
became a little fainter and denser than the original Light.
That part which became denser or
fainter is called Bina, and that is the meaning of the Scripture
which says:
"I am Intelligence, but Judicial
Power (that is, effort and exertion for more Light) belongs to
me". It means that the second sefira; called Intelligence,
exerted the first effort to bring the vessel nearer to completion.
This part which called Binah is a part
of wisdom, that is, of the very Essential Light extended from the
Endless Light (Light of EinSof). Due to the effort exerted
by its will to receive, it drew more abundance than the original
extension to it from the infinite Light, and consequently acquired a
diverse phase. It became a little thicker or fainter than the Light
of Wisdom. For this reason also it assumed and individual name, that
of the sefira "Bina".
And behold, the nature of that extra
abundance which it drew from the infinite by means of its own
exertion, is called the Light of Mercy, or Grace. This Light also
partakes of the quality of the upper waters mentioned above because
the Light was not extended directly from the infinite Light, as is
the case with the Light of Chochmah (wisdom). This light is drawn by
means of the emanated being itself by its efforts and exercise of
will, and this particular Light also assumes an individual name,
that of the Light of Mercy, or "Water".
You will now realize that the sefira
"Bina" is composed of three different Lights. The first is
the Essential Light of Intelligence Itself, which is a part of the'
Light of Wisdom, The second is the kind of density and diversity of
phase which is acquired by means of its exertion of will, and the
third is the Light of Mercy which it drew from the Infinite, thanks
to its own effort and endeavor.
Nevertheless, the perfect vessel was
still not completed by all this. Due to the fact that the sefira
Intelligence is a part of Wisdom Itself (which is most exalted since
it is the direct extension from the infinite Light) it revealed
still only a sort of root of a receptacle. At this point only the
process of making a proper vessel was seen. The Light of Mercy,
which Intelligence drew by exertion of its will, afterwards went out
from Intelligence and made its own exertion for more Light. This
extension of Mercy is called "Zeir Anpin", as will be
outlined below.
Again this extended Light exerted
itself and made an effort of will to draw greater abundance than its
own extension, which had flowed forth from Intelligence. Therefore
this extension is said to have two phases: the extended Light
Itself, which is called "Zeir Anpin", and that of its
self-initiated exertion of will which is called the sefira "Malchut".
Following is an explanation of the ten
Sefirot, or "Luminous Emanations":
1. Keter, refers to the Infinite.
2. Chochma, Wisdom is the Extended
Light from the Infinite.
3. Bina, is the self-same Light of
Wisdom that exerted itself so as to draw additional abundance, and
due to that effort became denser and fainter than the Light of
Wisdom.
4. The Zeir Anpin, which comprise two
triads of emanation, as "Hagat Nehi" is defined as the
Light of Mercy which is extended from the emanation Bina.
5. The sefira Malchut, Malchut is the
above-mentioned exertion which was made by the extension of the
Light of Mercy.
This also explains the four symbolic
letters of the Creator: "Y-H-V-H".
1. The uppermost point of the yood is
defined as the "Infinite", or the "potential power of
the doer" which is comprised in the Thought of Creation, of
Which the essential intention was to bestow to mankind: it is also
designated as the vessel Keter, Crown.
2. The iota or Yood itself bears the
meaning of Chochma, Wisdom. It is the first phase which is defined
as the "potential power of the doer" that is the cause of
the vessel's evolution, which is immediately comprised in the
Extended Light of the Ein Sof, Infinite.
3. The first Hey which is Binah,
represents the second phase, which is the emergence from the
potential will to the actual will; it is the Light which became
denser and fainter than the Light of Wisdom.
4.The Vav , stands for the Zeir Anpin,
or the last six Sefirot. H, G, T, N, H, I. It is the extension of
the Light of Mercy which was revealed by means of Intelligence, and
constitutes the third phase. This Light of Mercy was still only
potential and inactive as far as revelation of the finished product
is concerned, that is the vessel.
5. The last or lower Hey, is defined
as Malchut, and is the fourth phase, which is the revelation of the
fished product, the actual vessel. This final effect is the complete
will to receive which came into being in response to the Light of
Mercy which strained its efforts to draw more abundance than that
original Light of Mercy which extended from the Light of
Intelligence. By this exertion the final and complete phase of the
will to receive was established and then The light entered its own
vessel, which is the will to receive. This was only achieved in the
fourth phase, and not earlier.
From this explanation you will
comprehend the simple rule that there is no Light in all the upper
and lower worlds which is not arranged according to the order of the
name of the Creator, constituted of the four symbolic letters. This
means that there must be four Specific grades or phases before a
receptacle can be completed. The will to receive must be comprised
in every Light, in order for that Light to be established, because
this will to receive, or the fourth phase, is the only container and
measure of each Light.
It behooves us to say here that we
need not question the relative size of the letters of the name of
the Creator in their symbolization of the four phases Since the
first letter, the Yood, relates to Wisdom, and the second letter
Hey, which is a full-sized square, is the second grade, or
Intelligence, and since the entire substance of Light existing in
all the ten Sefirot is contained in the Sefira Wisdom; and the
Sefira Intelligence and the Zeir Anpin together with the Sefira
Malchut, are only as garments to Wisdom, it would seem that Wisdom
should have been represented symbolically by the largest character
or letter of the Y-H-V-H Name, that is, the Hey and not the Yood,
which is the smallest of all.
The fact of the matter is that the
letters of the name of the Creator Y-H-V-H do not symbolize the
measure or quantity of the Light which is contained in the ten
Sefirot, but only hint at the evolutionary process of the gradual
forming of the vessel. It is as with the white parchment of the
Torah, which represents the Light, and the black, written letters
inscribed in the Torah, which stand for the vessels which contain
the Light.
Therefore Keter, since it is but the
seed of the actual root of the vessels, is represented only by the
upper point of the Yood; and Wisdom, which is the potency of the
vessel before it is revealed in active form, is represented by the
smallest letter, the Yood. The Sefira Bina in which the potentiality
is revealed as active power, is designated by the second letter,
Hey. And the Zeir-Anpin, which is as yet only the potential vessel,
is represented by the third, long, thin letter Vav. Its thinness is
symbolic of the fact that the vessel is still in a potential and
hidden form.
The extension of the line of Vav,
teaches us too that at this point of development a complete and
perfect vessel is ready to be revealed. The latter is represented by
the last letter Hey - the fourth grade, and it is a complete vessel
for the Light.
Wisdom was not prepared, by means of
its extension, for the revelation of a complete vessel Intelligence
also is still not a specific vessel, but only an actuator, or a
stage in the development of the complete vessel. In the short
extension of the Yood we get a hint of the fact that the vessel is
still short of completion; and that the Yood could not reveal by its
own brief extension and power the form of a complete vessel.
The reason for the fourth letter Hey,
which represents the large, complete vessel, being in the same form
as the second letter, Hey, is explained elsewhere. All we need quote
at this point is that as the time of the Millennium it will be
exalted to the plane of the second letter, or grade Thus it has the
same shape as the second letter.
There is another important matter
which must be studied; for if not understood, it stands as an
obstruction to the understanding of almost every word of this
Wisdom. This is the idea of "time" and motion.
You must bear in mind that spiritual
motion is not like the motion recognizable to our senses, namely the
moving about from place to place. Our one purpose is to describe the
newly revealed phases, and we describe each subsequent revelation as
motion.
The diverse phase which manifests in
spiritual matter, differing from the first extension which is
defined as the Original Phase, clothes the Latter with a new phase.
Then the diverse phase is considered as alienated and separated from
Original Spirit. The newly revealed phase assumes a separate name
and becomes an individual power. Applying such a process to tangible
matter, we would say that one part has been severed and occupies a
different place. Therefore, the concept of motion is used to
describe diverse phases.
This will lead you to an understanding
of the concept of time in spiritual matters. Our idea of time comes
to our senses from the feeling of movement. A person weaves a
definite number of consecutive motions into time and he feels the
rhythm of these actions with the fabric of a definite period. It
might be said that man originated time as a place in which to put
his actions.
If a person's surroundings and he
himself were to remain absolutely tranquil and at rest, that person
would lose the sense of time altogether.
The same condition functions in
spiritual matters, when a definite number of changing phases,
described as spiritual movements, merge successively one into the
other, in the manner of cause and effect. We call these changing
phases spiritual time.
Bear in mind, in addition to what has
already been explained about the will to receive in the emanated
being, which is its vessel, that this will alone constitutes the
entire substance of the emanated being. That is to say, any element
in the being which is extraneous to that matter is wholly related to
the Emanator.
Since this will to receive is
apparently understood as incidental and as the form of the being,
how do we assume it to constitute the substance of the being?
It is obvious that even in concrete,
tangible things we always name matter according to its appearance or
form. We cannot name matter itself because we have no conception
whatsoever of matter. We know only the form that greets the eye.
Thus whatever name we give to matter truly applies to its form and
not at all to its substance, that is matter.
Thus, if we were to analyze a physical
atom, which is one of the embryonic stages of a certain substance,
we could determine what it was by chemical process. But even those
apparent phases of the atoms display no more to us than incidental
appearances of phases, which appear to our eyes to be so formed. In
other words, we recognize and discriminate them by the
potentialities of will to receive and will to be received, positive
and negative, or the power to repel and the power to attract which
we find in them. According to the laws of those actions we are able
to distinguish, seclude and name the atomic properties, each after
its own kind. Thus, we may reach the first state or form of the
primordial quality of matter, but we still do not have the essence
of the matter, itself.
And if we should succeed in eventually
examining the matter of which these atoms are composed, we should
see only incidental appearances and phases of quality, but nothing
definite which would reveal to us the precise reality of matter. If
we were to invent extraordinary devices that would be even more
powerful than any microscope we now have, we would again find
additional and different qualities. Our final conclusion would have
to be that what we actually name is the phase and appearance of
matter and we then apply these names to the matter itself.
So, we find that even in the tangible
world, where we have access to laboratories and means of analysis,
we still have no way of disclosing the reality of matter. This is
even more so in the realm of spirit, where we have no scientific
devices for research.
Hence, we have no way of apprehending
the primordial atom save by the assumption that the first phase to
which we apply its name, bears also the name of all the rest of its
incidental and future phases, in whatever shape they may be
transformed into, and whatever phase or appearance they may present,
following the phase that now presents itself.
It is also indisputable that while
matter in the tangible world may be discerned through our sense
experiences and imagination, these means would not operate in the
spiritual realm.
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