Chapter Two

Explains the four worlds ABYA and the differences between them, and contains six matters:

1. All the elements in the world of Atzilut are evaluated by the above four phases of coarseness. 2. The light of Ein Sof expands in the world of Atzilut without any screen. 3. The light of Ein Sof does not expand below Atzilut, except in an illumination that comes out of it through a screen. 4. The ten Sefirot of the world of Beria emerge from the coupling by striking of the upper light with the screen between Atzilut and Beria, and the ten Sefirot of the world of Yetzira emerge from the coupling by striking between Beria and Yetzira, and likewise from Yetzira to Assiya. 5. The difference between the four worlds is that in Atzilut, there is no screen at all, in Beria, there is one screen, in Yetzira, two screens, and in Assiya, three screens. 6. In the four phases of coarseness, there is no difference whatsoever between the worlds; as they are in Atzilut, so they are in BYA.

There is no screen in the world of Atzilut.

1. They are four phases in which all the elements of Atzilut are distinguished from it and from within it, but they are all without a screen at all ₍₁₎. It is called the world of Atzilut because the light of Ein Sof itself expanded throughout it without a screen.

Inner Light

1. They are all without a screen at all: It is a rule that the coarseness and the screen cannot diminish or blemish above the place where they appear, not even a bit. Although the reflected light ascends because of the screen in the vessel of Malchut, and clothes all nine Sefirot from itself and above, the force of the coarseness in the screen does not rise upward whatsoever.

For this reason, the nine Sefirot of Atzilut are regarded as having no screen at all. Although we discern many screens in the world of Atzilut, as well, such as the screen of the Peh and of the Chazeh, etc., which applies to each and every Partzuf in Atzilut, these are not actual screens, but are from the incorporation of the lower one with the upper one. Only the screen of the Sium Raglaim of Atzilut is an actual screen that stops the upper light (Inner Observation, Chapter 14).

Ein Sof does not expand below Atzilut except through a coupling by striking in the screen at the Sium of the world of Atzilut, and the ten Sefirot pass through the screen to the world of Beria. Also, ten Sefirot pass to the world of Yetzira through the coupling by striking in the screen at the Sium of Beria, and so it is from Yetzira to Assiya.

2. Indeed, Ein Sof itself does not expand from there and below, but only in an illumination that emerges from it through a screen ₍₂₎. There is a screen and curtain that separates between Atzilut and Beria. Because of that striking of the upper light that reaches there ₍₃₎, it struck that curtain, and by the power of those ten Sefirot of Atzilut that reached there, and it struck their light there, lights glittered from them _(4), went through that screen, and became the ten Sefirot of Beria below from the glittering of the ten Sefirot of Atzilut atop them by the force of the screen.

By the force of the ten Sefirot of vessels, ten Sefirot of other vessels were made, and by the force of the ten Sefirot of the self, other ten Sefirot of the self of Beria were made. Also, another screen was established there at the end of Beria ₍₅₎, and the ten Sefirot of Yetzira were made because of the striking of the ten Sefirot of Beria ₍₆₎ in the self and vessels in the screen. So it was from Yetzira to Assiya through that screen.

Now you can understand why one is called Atzilut, one is Beria, one is Yetzira, and one is Assiya, since there is a separating screen between them, and one is not at all similar to the other ₍₇₎.

Inner Light

2. Illumination that emerges from it through a screen: The light that is in the world of Beria necessarily is extended from the light of Ein Sof, for there is no illumination in the worlds that is not extended from Ein Sof. Yet, because the light of Ein Sof that expands into Beria passes through the screen, its illumination is greatly diminished, to the point that the light of Ein Sof is regarded has having stopped above the screen. The ARI will explain below how light passes through a screen.

3. That striking of the upper light that reaches there: It means that there is a law in the upper worlds, that any lower degree that causes additions of light to a degree above it, that entire amount of additional light is bestowed back to the lower one that caused it. It is the same with our matter: The screen on Malchut of Atzilut caused that reflected light to rise and clothe all nine Sefirot of Atzilut and become vessels for them, in a way that without it, the light of Ein Sof would not be grasped and clothed in Atzilut, for a light cannot be attained without a vessel, and since the screen caused all those additions, meaning the above-mentioned reflected light and ten Sefirot, the screen and vessel in Malchut expanded because of the descending reflected light that came back to it from the place of the screen downward, and drew to itself all those ten Sefirot of Atzilut above in their exact likeness.

Thus, Malchut of Atzilut alone descends and expands into ten Sefirot from her and within her, like the ten Sefirot of Atzilut, meaning from Keter to Malchut. They are called the ten Sefirot of the world of Beria. This is the meaning of the words of the ARI, “Because of that striking of the upper light that reaches there, it struck that curtain, and by the power of the ten Sefirot of Atzilut that reached there, it struck their light there and lights sparkled and went through that screen and became the ten Sefirot of Beria below.” That is, there are two things understand here: The first discernment caused the reflected light that rises by the striking of the upper light in the screen. That reflected light descends back to the degree that caused its appearance. The second discernment caused the clothing of the light of Ein Sof itself in the ten vessels of the reflected light that rose and became the ten Sefirot of Atzilut above. They, too, descend back to the degree that caused their appearance.

The ARI says about the first discernment, “Because of the striking of the upper light in the curtain,” meaning that that reflected light returns and descends from above downward to the world of Beria. The ARI says about the second discernment, “by the power of the ten Sefirot of Atzilut,” etc., from these two causes, the ten Sefirot of the world of Beria were formed.

4. Lights glittered from them, went through that screen: Any place where reflected light appears is called “sparkling.”

5. Another screen was established there at the end of Beria: All ten Sefirot of Atzilut were copied and sealed in the world of Beria. Hence, the screen and Malchut were also sealed in the world of Beria, and the same coupling by striking of the upper light with the screen applies there, and the ascents of reflected light that rises and clothes from the screen and above, all nine Sefirot of the world of Beria. That reflected light became ten vessels of the world of Beria, where the self of the light of the world of Beria is clothed.

6. Because of the striking of the ten Sefirot of Beria: The reflected light of the screen of Atzilut expanded once more from the screen and below, and imprinted the ten Sefirot of Beria, as was explained in item 3 above. By the same manner, the reflected light that rose from the screen of Malchut of Beria, also returned, expanded downward, and imprinted the ten Sefirot of the world of Yetzira. The same also applies from Yetzira to Assiya.

7. One is not at all similar to the other: As is written above, phase four, which is called Malchut, in which the screen was made, she herself is divided into four phases of a screen, where all the changes and differences between the worlds appear. The screen of phase three operates in Atzilut, the screen of phase two operates in Beria, and the screen of phase one in Yetzira.

The difference between Atzilut and BYA is that in Atzilut, there is no screen at all. In Beria, the light is diminished by a single screen, in Yetzira, by two screens, and in Assiya, by three screens. But in the four phases of coarseness of the upper light, there is no difference whatsoever between the worlds.

3. The difference between Atzilut and the three worlds is that in Atzilut, the light of Ein Sof punctures it and passes through it to the end of Atzilut without any screen at all, but, from there downward, there is a screen. The difference between Beria and Yetzira is that Beria has one separating screen, Yetzira has two screens, and Assiya, three screens. However, within each world, just as there are four inner phases in Atzilut ₍₈₎, so there are four phases Beria itself, and in Yetzira itself ₍₉₎.

Inner Light

8. As there are four inner phases in Atzilut: This refers to the four phases of coarseness, namely HB TM, previously referred to as the expansion of the light of Ein Sof to make vessels. They are also called the ten Sefirot of direct light because Tifferet contains six Sefirot HGT NHY. Through the coupling by striking in the screen in the Sefira of Malchut of direct light, the light rises once more as reflected light, clothes all ten inner Sefirot of direct light, and turns them into one, general degree, according to the level of the reflected light.

9. So there are four phases Beria itself, and in Yetzira itself: By this, he tells us that these four phases of direct light apply to every world and every Partzuf, without any difference between a high degree and a low degree. All the differences in the Partzufim and in the worlds are because of the screens and the reflected light in them. In that, the screen in one is not like the screen in another.