Parashat Beresheet (Genesis) - Selected Excerpts from the Sources
1. Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
2. RABASH, Article No. 33 (1990), "What Is “The Earth Feared and Was Still,” in the Work?"
“The work of creation” pertains to the beginning of the thought. This means that the beginning of the thought of the work of the creation of the world is as it is written, “The purpose of creation was because of His desire to do good to His creations. This is the meaning of ‘the work of creation.’” In other words, this is the purpose of the act, that the created beings will receive delight and pleasure.
However, in order for the pleasure that they receive to be complete, meaning that they will not feel shame upon the reception of the pleasures, there was a correction called Tzimtzum [restriction], where the light does not shine where there is a desire to receive for one’s own sake, meaning that the light of pleasure does not reach there, but rather after the created beings correct themselves so as to have the intention to bestow.
It follows that if there is no intention to bestow, they will have no abundance. Naturally, the whole of the work of creation, meaning the purpose of creation to do good, there will be no one to receive it, and naturally, the whole purpose of the work of creation will be cancelled. We therefore understand that if there is no one with the aim to bestow, this is called “the return of the work of creation to Tohu ve Bohu.”
3. RABASH, Article No. 33 (1990), "What Is “The Earth Feared and Was Still,” in the Work?"
Why is the work of creation called specifically “earth”? After all, it is written, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” The answer is that “earth” is called Malchut, and our sages said, “Why was her name ‘earth’? Because she wanted to do her Maker’s will.”
Generally, we speak of only two discernments: light and Kli. The abundance and all the lights are called “heaven,” and all that receives them is called “earth.”
4. RABASH, Article No. 45 (1991), "What Does It Mean that a Judge Must Judge Absolutely Truthfully, in the Work?"
It is known that the work of creation, which is the creation of the world and all that is in it, was with the aim to do good to His creations. In that sense, the world emerged with both the lack and the satisfaction of the lack. This is called “the world of Ein Sof [infinity/no end].” At that time, the upper light filled the whole of reality of creation.
However, in order to prevent the matter of shame, there was a correction called Tzimtzum [restriction], which is a concealment and hiding so the delight and pleasure that the Creator wants to impart upon the creatures will not be apparent in the world before they can aim to bestow contentment upon the Maker.
For this reason, it is upon creation to correct the matter of shame, namely that they must aim in order to bestow.
5. RABASH, Article No. 5 (1989), "What Does It Mean that the Creation of the World Was by Largess?"
The first ones explained that the creation of the world was not because of lack, for it cannot be said about the Creator that He is deficient. Rather, the creation of the world was out of largess. That is, as it is said (in Midrash Rabbah, Beresheet), “The Creator said to the angels when He wanted to create Adam HaRishon, and they said, ‘What is man that You should remember him?’”
The Creator replied to them, “What is this like? It is like a king who has a tower filled abundantly but he has no guests.” This is not a lack; it is simply that He wants to give with largess so the created beings will enjoy. A lack is what a person must receive, but cannot receive it. This is regarded as a lack. But to bestow is not considered a lack. Therefore, we learn that the creation of the world because of His desire to do good to His creations was out of largess and not out of a lack.
6. RABASH, Article No. 5 (1990), "What It Means that the Land Did Not Bear Fruit before Man Was Created, in the Work"
Our sages said about the verse, “In the beginning God created,” that it is for Israel, who were called Resheet [beginning], as it is written, “The sanctity of Israel, the Resheet [beginning] of its crop.” This means as it is written, that the purpose of the creation of the world was to do good to His creations. That is, He created in the creatures a desire to receive delight and pleasure, and in this desire, meaning that this desire causes him to yearn to receive the delight and pleasure. By this the delight and pleasure that a person can derive from there is measured.
This is called “the work of the Creator,” meaning that He created a desire to enjoy for the pleasure that He wants to give them. It turns out that nothing is missing in the world; there is abundance that belongs to the will to receive. That is, to the extent that He wanted to give delight and pleasure, to that extent He created a Kli [vessel] for this. This means that the will to receive is not greater than the Creator created it, so he can receive what the Creator wants to give. It follows that the delight and pleasure are present, the Kli to receive is present, so what else is missing?
7. RABASH, Article No. 33 (1990) "What Is “The Earth Feared and Was Still,” in the Work?"
If Israel receives the Torah, the work of creation will persist, and if they do not, it will be cancelled. According to the above-said, that the Creator wants to give them delight and pleasure, and they also need to correct their will to receive so as to work in order to bestow, what is the connection between the correction to work in order to bestow, that because of this they must receive the Torah?
The answer is as our sages said, “The Creator said, ‘I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.’ Through the Torah, its light reforms him,” and he will achieve the intention to bestow. It follows that without Torah, there are Tzimtzum and concealment on creation, which is called “existence from absence,” namely the vessels of reception, and the light of the Creator cannot come into the vessels of reception.
It follows that the work of creation, which is the matter of doing good to His creations, is cancelled if there are no Kelim [vessels] that can receive the purpose of creation, which is the delight and pleasure, due to the correction of the Tzimtzum. This correction comes by observing the Torah, and then instead of the Tzimtzum, the abundance appears once more.
8. RABASH, Assorted Notes. Article No. 927, "Concerning Hametz and Matza"
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Heaven is called “Torah” and earth is called “faith.”
9. RABASH, Assorted Notes. Article No. 837, "Adhere to His Attributes"
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” “Heaven” means the quality of Torah, which is regarded as sublime and high, like the heaven, which is above.
The Torah belongs to the Creator, for He should give the Torah as a gift to a person. Conversely, faith is called “earth,” since it belongs to man, who is in the earth, as our sages said, “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven.” The matter of faith pertains to man, who should make the choice to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven during the concealment.
10. RABASH, Article No. 33 (1990), "What Is “The Earth Feared and Was Still,” in the Work?"
There is fear on this, since the desire to bestow is against nature. Therefore, here the fear is because he is afraid that he might not be able to do everything in order to bestow, and the work of creation—which is the purpose of creation that must be revealed to the lower ones—will be cancelled.
11. Zohar for All. Beresheet Bet [Genesis 2],"And God Saw All that He Had Done", 174
The verse, “That He had done,” means the whole of the work of creation because in the work of creation, the foundation and root of all that would come and be innovated in the world was created. This is why the Creator saw even before it came to be, and placed everything in the work of creation
Because the work of creation is the foundation and root of all that would be, the Creator included in them seeing all the future that would come to the world throughout the generations.
The verse, “And to say unto Zion, ‘You are My people,’” means that you are in partnership with Me. I began the worlds and you finish them, since the Creator established the whole of reality in a way that people could complete the correction. And since the end of correction was left for people, they are partners in creation.
This is why there are two discernments in heaven and earth: 1) That which the Emanator has already corrected. This is called “the work of creation.” 2) The new heaven and earth, which are to appear after the end of correction, as it is written, “The new heaven and the new earth that I make.”
12. Baal HaSulam, "The Meaning of Conception and Birth", Emulating Creation.
When looking at the seal of the work of creation, we find there the words, “Which God has created to do.” This means that the work of the Creator, which is set in the creation before us, is given to us in order to do and to add to it. Otherwise, the words “to do” would have been completely redundant and meaningless, and it would have to say, “For in it He rested from all His work which God has created.” So why were the words “to do” added here? It must be that this verse teaches us that the full extent of the work that the Creator has left in creation is in the exact measure, no more and no less, but the extent that enables us to perform its development and completion by ourselves.
In truth, our entire development in creation is but emulation of it.
13. RABASH, Article No. 27 (1985), "Repentance"
It is written, ‘In the beginning God created,’ and there is no beginning but Israel, as it was said (Jeremiah, 2), ‘Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of His harvest.’’”
Therefore, everything we learn in upper worlds is only so the souls will receive the upper abundance, as it is known that the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations. In order to correct the disparity of form that governs Malchut herself, who is called “receiving in order to receive,” since disparity of form causes separation in spirituality, and this Kli, called Malchut, is the Kli of all the souls from which man was created. He must correct it so that all the vessels of reception will work in order to bestow.
14. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article 50, "Two States"
There are two forces that contradict one another, an upper force and a lower force. The upper force is, as it is written, “Every one who is called by My Name, I have created him for My glory.” This means that the whole world was created only for the glory of the Creator. The lower force is the will to receive, which claims that everything was created for it—both corporeal things and spiritual things—all is for self-love.
The will to receive claims that it deserves this world and the next world. Of course, the Creator is the winner, but this is called “the path of suffering,” and it is called “a long way.” But there is a short way called “the path of Torah,” and this should be everyone’s intention—to shorten time.
This is called “I will hasten it.” Otherwise, it will be “in its time,” as our sages said, “rewarded—I will hasten it; not rewarded—in its time,” “when I place upon them a king such as Haman, and he will force you to reform.”
The Torah begins from Beresheet [in the beginning], etc. “And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness,” etc., and ends, “before the eyes of all of Israel.”
In the beginning, we see that the land is “unformed and void, and darkness,” but then, when they correct themselves to bestow, they are rewarded with “and God said, let there be light,” until the light appears “before the eyes of all of Israel.”
15. Baal HaSulam, "You Have Made Me in Behind and Before"
In the work of creation, the Creator revealed only one part of this discernment, as it is written, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,” for He took fire and water and mixed them into a single subject. And the Creator imprinted the power of speech in man, so he would partner with Him in the work of creation, so he, too, would create worlds with his speech from this discernment, meaning two opposites in the same subject.
“Let there be light”
16. Genesis 1:3-5
And God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
17. Baal HaSulam, "Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot", No. 10
The Zohar […] writes about the verse, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” let there be light for this world and let there be light for the next world. This means that the works of creation were created in their full stature and form, as our sages said, meaning in their fullest glory and perfection. Accordingly, the light that was created on the first day emerged in all its perfection, which contains the life of this world, too, in utter pleasantness and gentleness, as expressed in the words, “Let there be light.”
However, to prepare a place of choice and labor, He stood and concealed it for the righteous at the end of correction, as our sages said. Hence, they said in their pure words, “Let there be light for this world.” However, it did not remain so, but rather “let there be light for the next world.”
In other words, they who practice Torah and Mitzvot Lishma are rewarded with it only at the end of correction, the end of days, after the end of the purification of their body in the path of Torah. Then they are rewarded with that great light in this world, too, as our sages said, “You will see your world in your life.”
18. RABASH, Article No. 36 (1985), "And There Was Evening and There Was Morning"
The Zohar says about the verse, “And there was evening and there was morning” […] “‘And there was evening,’ which the text writes, means that it extends from the side of darkness, meaning Malchut. ‘And there was morning’ means that it extends from the side of the light, which is ZA.
“This is why it writes about them, ‘One day,’ indicating that the evening and morning are as one body, and both make the day. Rabbi Yehuda said, ‘What is the reason?’ He asks, ‘Since ‘And there was evening and there was morning’ points to the unification of ZON, that the light of day comes out of both of them, then after the text announces it on the first day, why does it says about each day, ‘And there was evening and there was morning’?
“And he replies, ‘It is to know that there is no day without a night and no night without a day, and they will never part from one another. This is why the text repeats and informs us each and every day, to indicate that it is impossible that there will ever be the light of day without the darkness of night. Likewise, there will never be the darkness of night that does not bring a day after it, since they will never part from one another.’”
19. RABASH, Article No. 36 (1985), "And There Was Evening and There Was Morning"
“A man is born the foal of a wild donkey” and he has no desire for spirituality. Thus, from where does the sensation of need for spirituality come to a person, to the point of saying that he feels darkness, which he calls “night,” by feeling that he is remote from the Creator? We must know that at the same time he begins to feel that he is far from the Creator, he is already beginning to believe in the existence of the Creator to some extent, or else how can he say that he is remote from something that doesn’t exist? Instead, he must say that he has some illumination from afar that shines for him to the extent that he feels that he is remote from the Creator.
It therefore follows that as soon as the darkness begins, meaning the sense of the existence of darkness, the light immediately begins to shine to some extent. And the measure of illumination of the light is recognized only through negation. That means that one feels a lack, that he does not have the light of the Creator shining for him in an affirmative manner. However, the light shines for him in the form of lack, meaning that now he begins to feel that he is missing the light of the Creator, which is called “day.”
But those for whom the light of day does not shine don’t know if there is such a reality where a person must feel the absence of the light of the Creator, which is called “day.”
20. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1985), "The Meaning of Branch and Root"
We should know that the Creator created the night, and He certainly created it for a purpose, which is to do good to His creations. Therefore, each one is asking: Why did He create darkness which is night? After all, according to the purpose of creation, He should have created only day and not night. The verse says, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” That is, specifically through both, which are night and day, comes one day.
However, the night was created deliberately as not illuminating without corrections, in order to perform the corrections that the night reveals to a person. This is so because the Kelim are founded over the sensation of darkness. These are needed in order for them to have a need for the Creator to help them. Otherwise, there is no need for the Creator’s salvation. That is, at that time there is no need for the Torah, which is regarded as “the light in it reforms him.”
21. Baal HaSulam, Ohr HaBahir, Ohr Yashar Ohr Hozer
In His almightiness, He devised a tactic by which a reality of perception of His lights would nonetheless appear to the lower ones. The sages call this tactic “darkness,” as in “and creates darkness,” from the words, “Come and see darkness.” In other words, the denial of the light and our frail perception of it, which we perceive as darkness, are the true reason for the perception of the light. This is the meaning of “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” That is, our whole perception in the light is from within the darkness.
22. RABASH, Assorted Notes. Article No. 278, "The Light that Was Created on the First Day – 2"
The light that was created on the first day, Adam HaRishon was observing in it from the end of the world to its end. We should understand why he says, “from its end to its end,” and not “from the beginning of the world to its end.”
It can be said that when the light shines brightly, the whole world is in equivalence, and there is no beginning or end, but rather the end shines as the beginning. This is similar to saying that he saw the city from afar from the first end to the last end. This is called “from end to end.” But when there is a difference of degrees, we say “beginning and end.”
23. Zohar for All, Tetzaveh [Command], "And in the Desert Where You Saw", 86
There is no light except for that which comes out of that darkness. This is so because when that side surrenders, the Creator rises above and His glory grows. Also, the work of the Creator is only out of darkness, and there is no good except from within the bad. And when one enters a bad way and leaves it, the Creator rises in his glory. Hence, the perfection of everything is good and bad together, and to later depart to the good. And there is no good except for that which comes out of the bad. And in that good, the glory of the Creator increases, and this is complete work.
24. RABASH, Article No. 28 (1990), "What Is, “Warn the Great about the Small,” in the Work?"
A person must work and pay attention to the state he was in during the descent. That is, during the ascent, he can calculate and see the difference between light and darkness, as it is written, “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.”
25. RABASH, Article No. 31 (1990), "What “There Is No Blessing in That Which Is Counted” Means in the Work"
Aviut is called “darkness.”
In other words, wanting to receive for himself is called “being Av [thick],” and wanting to bestow is called Zach [pure/clean/immaculate]. Afterwards, when he places the will to bestow over this Av, the Din is mitigated and what was previously dark becomes a place where the light shines in the Kli. This is called “mitigation of the Dinim.”
Let There Be an Expanse in the Midst of the Waters
26. Genesis 1:6-10
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
27. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1987), "The Importance of Recognition of Evil"
It is written in The Zohar, Beresheet Bet (Items 218-219 in the Sulam [Ladder] commentary): “‘Let the water under the heavens gather unto one place, and let the dry land be seen.’ ‘Let the water ... gather’ is the Torah, which is called ‘water.’ ‘Unto one place’ means Israel. It is also written, ‘Let the water … gather unto one place,’ where water means Torah, and ‘one place’ means Israel, the recipients of the Torah. Conversely, the nations of the world did not wish to receive the Torah, hence the land remained desolate and dry. The Torah is the settling of the world, and in it, it exists. The nations of the world, who did not receive it, remained desolate and dry.”
28. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1987), "The Importance of Recognition of Evil"
“Let the water … gather unto one place.” Water, which is the Torah, will gather unto one place, meaning that the two authorities that there are in the world will be one authority, which is called “the view of Torah.”
29. Zohar for All”. Introduction of The Book of Zohar, “General Explanation for All Fourteen Commandments and How They Divide into the Seven Days of Creation“, #4
When the light was concealed for the next world, the harsh Din came out on the second day of the deed of creation in the verse, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between water and water.” This is why it was said that Hell was created on the second day, for it is the harsh Din, enabling the keeping of the commandment of love on both sides—the side of harsh Din, too—even when He takes his soul, as it is written, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” That quality of love that he was awarded from the side of Hesed will not be deficient in any way even when he takes his soul and might.
30. RABASH, Article No. 23 (1990), "What Does It Mean that Moses Was Perplexed about the Birth of the Moon, in the Work?"
The “firmament” is the “separating Masach [screen],” as our sages said, “And God made the firmament, and it divided between water and water,” and the lower water cries, “We want to be before the King.”
The moon that is in the firmament at the time of the birth is in concealment of the face. The Creator said, “This measure that you see during the birth, such as this, see and sanctify. Although this is utter lowliness, which is completely above reason, since all his actions are still compulsory, still, if you attribute this work to My name, I enjoy it as though he were pointing with a finger.”
Let the Earth Sprout Vegetation
31. Genesis 1:11-13
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
32. RABASH, Assorted Notes. Article No. 28, "The Earth Feared and Was Still"
Eretz [earth/land] is called Malchut, which is a vessel of reception. Eretz comes from the word Ratzon [desire], as our sages said about the verse, “Let the Eretz [earth] put forth grass,” that she wanted to do her Maker’s will. And what is her fear? It is that she might not be able to aim in order to bestow, since Malchut is called “the assembly of Israel,” which means she includes the whole of Israel, for all the souls extend from Malchut.
By all creations being extended from reception and the judgment that was sounded from heaven—that it is forbidden to receive in order to receive, but only in order to bestow—how can the lower ones aim in order to bestow?
It follows that all the works of creation that were with the aim to do good to His creations, the creatures cannot receive from this Kelim [vessels]. This means that all the works of creation will be in the manner of Tohu ve Bohu.
The Two Great Lights
33. Genesis 1:16-19
And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
34. Baal HaSulam, "Preface to the Sulam Commentary"
It is known that in the beginning, the sun and the moon, which are the separate Nukva and ZA, were considered the two great lights. The level Nukva was equal to that of ZA, and she was as big as him. But then the moon—the Nukva that is separated from ZA—complained and said, “Two kings cannot use the same Keter (crown).” Then she was told, “Go, diminish yourself.” Thus she became the small light.
Thus, you find two states here in Nukva:
In the first state, she was with ZA, in the state of the two great lights, equal to ZA;
The second state is after the Nukva was diminished and became the small light.
In our Image, After our Likeness
35. Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
36. RABASH, Letter No. 38/1
The verse says, “And God created the man in His own image.” The term creation applies specifically to something new, meaning a reality existence from absence, where the Creator has created something new that did not exist before He has created it. Our sages interpreted that this reality is called “desire to receive pleasure.” This is a lack and emptiness that must now be filled. There was no lack before He has created it, as before this creation there was only wholeness because it cannot be said that the Creator contains a lack. Therefore, this is the only thing that is new, meaning the will to receive.
37. RABASH, Article No. 40 (1991), "What Are Truth and Falsehood in the Work?"
We need to understand the interpretation of our sages (Midrash Rabbah, Portion 6), that at the time of the creation of the world, when He said to the angels, “Let us make man in our image,” Hesed [mercy] said, “Let him be created, for he does Hassadim [mercies]; Truth said, “Let him not be created, for he is all lies”; Tzedek [justice] said, “Let him be created, for he does righteousness”; Peace said, “Let him not be created, for he is all strife.” What did the Creator do? He took Truth, and cast it to the earth.
We know the words of our sages, “One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], even if Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], since from Lo Lishma he comes to Lishma [for Her sake].” Because of his lowliness, a person cannot engage in His Mitzvot right away in order to bring contentment to his Maker. By nature, he cannot make a move if not for his own sake. Hence, first he must engage in Mitzvot Lo Lishma, meaning out of self-benefit. However, he still draws abundance of Kedusha [holiness] while performing the Mitzvot, and through the abundance that he draws, he will eventually come to engage in Mitzvot Lishma.
38. Zohar for All, Pinhas, "Let Us Make Man in Our Image, After Our Own Likeness", No. 500
It was said, “Let us make man in our image after our own likeness,” why does it say afterward, “And God created the man in His own image”? When He asked the angels about the creation of man, some of them said, “Let him be created,” and some of them said, “Let him not be created.” The Creator created him, as it is written, “And God created the man in His own image.”
Thus, He did not place in him one portion from the angels, and he was not made in their form, but in the form of the king, in His image and after His own likeness, only in the image of the likeness of His mold.
39. Zohar for All, Yitro [Jethro], "You Will Behold the Secret of the Lines in the Palms,” No. 123
When the Creator created man, He set up all the forms of the high secrets of the upper world—Bina—within him, as well as all the forms of the lower secrets of the bottom world, Malchut. They are all engraved in man, who is in the shade of God, since he is called “a creation of the hand,” a creation of the hand of the Creator.
40. Zohar for All, VaEra [And I Appeared], "Four Elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Dust", No. 32
How dense are people for not knowing and not observing why they are in the world. After all, when the Creator created the world, He made man in His image and established him with His corrections, to engage in Torah and to walk in His ways.
41. Zohar for All, Beresheet [Genesis], "Let Us Make Man", No. 167
“Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness.” “In our image” means in our light. “After our own likeness” means in our darkness, which is a clothing for the light, to separate it from that darkness that was created on the first day, of which it was said, “And the wicked will be silenced in darkness,” for it is not a clothing for the light but makes the man sin. The darkness of Ima is a clothing for the light, like the body, which is a clothing for the soul.
Male and Female He Created Them
42. Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
43. RABASH, Letter No. 54
Each birth can be only by male and female. It is so because the male is the power of bestowal in a person, and the female is the power of reception in a person, meaning one’s wish to delight himself, where his only concern is his own pleasure. Through these two forces, we have the work of choice—to choose the good, meaning for the Creator, and loathe the bad, which is to satisfy his lusts.
44. Zohar for All, Beresheet [Genesi s 2], "He Created Them Male and Female", No. 368-369
“He created them male and female.” This means that any form in which there are no male and female is not a high form as it should be.
Wherever you do not find a male and a female together, the Creator does not make His abode there. There are blessings only in a place where there are male and female, as it is written, “And He blessed them and called their name ‘man’ on the day when they were created.” It is not written, “And He blessed him and called his name ‘man,’” teaching you that he is not called even by the name “man” unless a male and a female are together.
45. Zohar for All, Beresheet [Genesis], "Let the Earth Put Forth Grass", No. 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.”
46. RABASH, Assorted Notes. Article No. 401, "Hear, O Israel" “
One always enters through two doors: mercy and fear.”
We can explain this in the above manner. The “right hand side” door is faith above reason, when he is complete. This is private Providence, and it is “for he desires mercy.” The other door is fear, meaning Gevura, “left.” On this door we must give labor and prayer. This is called “man,” since he has two discernments, male and female, complete and lacking, and then his work is considered whole.
The Creation of Man
47. Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
48. Zohar for All, Yitro [Jethro], "And Jethro Heard", No. 32
“And God saw all that He had done, and behold, it was very good.” “And God saw” is the living God, Bina.” “Saw” means that He looked, to illuminate for them and to watch over them. “All that He had done” means it is all included as one, above and below. “And behold, it was very good” is the right side. “Very” is the left side, “Good” is the angel of life. “Very” is the angel of death, and it is all one matter for those who observe the wisdom.
49. Zohar for All, Mishpatim [Ordinances], "The Grandfather", No. 165
It is written, “And God saw all that He has done, and behold, it was very good.” “Good” is the good angel. “Very” is the angel of death. The Creator provides His corrections to all until even the angel of death returns to being very good.
Rish Lakish said, “Why is it written, ‘And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day,’ What is the purpose of the additional ‘the’? This teaches that the Creator stipulated with the works of creation and said to them: ‘If Israel accept the Torah, you shall exist; but if not, I will return you to Tohu ve Bohu [emptiness and formlessness]’” (Shabbat 88a).
We should understand the judgment that says, “From the heaven You sound judgment,” what is the meaning of “judgment”? It is known that the purpose of creation is because of His desire to do good to His creations. However, in order to have Dvekut [adhesion], which is equivalence of form, there was the Tzimtzum [restriction], which is a concealment. Thus, in the place of reception, a judgment was passed that the abundance will not be drawn in full unless one can aim in order to bestow.
51. Baal HaSulam. Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot, #6
The angels made no complaint about any of the creatures created during the six days of creation, except about man. This is because he was created in God’s image and consists of the upper and lower together.
When the angels saw it, they were startled and bewildered. How would the pure, spiritual soul descend from its sublime degree, and come and dwell in the same abode with this filthy, beastly body? In other words, they wondered, “Why do You need this trouble?”
The answer that came to them is that there is already a tower filled abundantly, and empty of guests. To fill it with guests, we need the existence of this man, made of upper and lower together. For this reason, this pure soul must clothe in the dress in this filthy body. They immediately understood it and said, “Do that which seems good to You.”
52. Zohar For All. Beresheet Bet [Genesis 2], And God Saw All that He Had Done, #174
This is what The Zohar asks about the words, “and God saw all that He had done.” It means that the Creator saw only all what He had done in the work of creation, but not the heaven and the earth that were to be corrected by the good deeds of people, who are destined to do them in each generation. But does He not see before He does, even what is to be corrected in each generation through good deeds until the end of correction?
It explains that the words, “all” means all the good deeds that are to be renewed in each generation by the righteous. “That He had done” means the work of creation, which He had already done.
Since the correction of reality that was established by the Creator in the work of creation is the foundation and root of people’s corrections, it follows that the works of people are included in the work of creation. This is why seeing the future relied on seeing the work of creation that He had already done. That is, this seeing of the future, which he Had done, is the work of creation.
“Which God Created to Do”
53. Genesis 2:1-3
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
54. Rabash. Assorted Notes. Article 630 “And There Was Evening and There Was Morning
Why was it not said, “And there was evening and there was morning, the seventh day”? It is known that absence precedes presence, for there is no light without a Kli [vessel]. Hence, first there must be evening, and both together are one day, for if one does not feel a lack, he has no need to draw the filling.
This is precisely during the six workdays, when there is an awakening from below. At that time, there must be darkness first, for otherwise he will not draw the filling. This is why it is written concerning the six workdays, “And there was evening and there was morning.”
But on Shabbat [Sabbath], which is an awakening from above, he does not need to first feel the state of evening in order to draw the filling, since Shabbat is regarded as extending from above without the assistance of the lower one. This is why it was said “the seventh day,” since on Shabbat, the light and the Kli come from above.
55. Rabash. Article 35 (1989) What Is, “He Who Is Without Sons,” in the Work?
It is written, “Which God has created to do.” As Baal HaSulam said, “created” means something new, existence from absence. This refers to the will to receive, which is something new because before He created it, there was no concept of reception in reality. It follows that the Creator created the will to receive, and the creatures must turn it into a desire to bestow. This is the meaning of “do,” to make of it a desire to bestow.
Yet, we cannot change the work of creation, and if the Creator created it in such a way that the will to receive is what operates, how can it be changed? The answer is that man must seek advice how to come to the desire for it. This is called “doing.” Although we said that a person cannot do this, but the Creator Himself must do this, since we cannot change the work of creation, it is still named after the person.
56. Rabash. Article 35 (1989) What Is, “He Who Is Without Sons,” in the Work?
A person seeks advice and tactics how to obtain vessels of bestowal, this is called “doing,” as was said, “to do.”
57. Rabash. Assorted Notes. Article 23. Behold, I Am Setting Before You
A person must be rewarded with seeing, as our sages said, that when a person says, “were completed,” he testifies to the work of creation.
We should understand, 1) This testimony, for whom must he testifies, 2) Testimony is only by seeing, and not by hearing, so what evidence is it when he says “were complete”?
The testimony that one should make is that it is true that the work of creation that the Creator created was in order to do good to His creations. This is precisely when they were rewarded with seeing, meaning the light of Hochma. When this is revealed, he testifies to the work of creation, which is to do good to His creations. This is regarded as Shabbat [Sabbath], the end of the work, when the goal—to do good to His creations—is revealed. This is called “Who rested from all His work,” since the goal has been revealed.
58. Rabash. Assorted Notes. Article 535. A Cup of Kiddush
In “concluded,” he can testify to the work of creation. But since testimony is only by eyesight, how can one testify by eyesight to the work of creation? After all, one can know what happened just by hearing.
Indeed, testifying to the work of creation means testifying that the intention of creation is to do good to His creations. How does one know? If he is rewarded with the quality of Shabbat [Sabbath], he testifies by eyesight, since he sees that this is the intention of creation because this is what he tasted.
From the Dust of the Ground
59. Baal HaSulam, "The Freedom"
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living [Haya] soul [Nefesh].” Here we find two creations:
A. Man himself,
B. The living soul itself.
The verse says that in the beginning, man was created as dust from the ground, a collection of molecules in which resides the essence of man, meaning his will to receive. That force, the will to receive, is present in every element of reality, as we have explained above. Also, all four types emerged from them: 1) still, 2) vegetative, 3) animate, 4) speaking.
In that respect, man has no advantage over any part of creation. This is the meaning of the verse in the words, “dust from the ground.”
However, we have already seen that this force, called “will to receive,” cannot exist without dressing and acting in a desired object, and this action is called “life.” And accordingly, we find that before man has arrived at the human forms of reception of pleasure, which differ from those of other created beings, he is still considered a lifeless, dead person, since his will to receive has no place in which to dress and manifest its actions, which are the manifestations of life.
Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil
60. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 52, "A Transgression Does Not Quench a Mitzva"
Adam HaRishon eating from the tree of life prior to the sin, and that he was in wholeness. Yet, he could not walk more than the degree he stood on, since he did not feel any lack in his state. Hence, he naturally could not discover all the holy Names.
For this reason, “He is terrible in His doing toward the sons of man” made him eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Through this sin, all the lights departed from him; hence, he was compelled to start his work anew.
The writing says about it that he was expelled from the Garden of Eden because if he had eaten from the tree of life he would have lived forever. This is the meaning of the internality of the worlds. If one enters there, one remains there forever. It means that once more he would remain without any lack. And to be able to go and reveal the holy names, which appear by the correction of good and evil, he therefore had to eat from the tree of knowledge.
61. RABASH, Article No. 165, "The Matter of Keeping"
In the tree of knowledge, there is the matter of keeping, meaning that one should know how to keep himself from foreign thoughts. Since the tree of knowledge is called “good and bad,” one must know how to keep oneself from the bad that is there. The tree of knowledge is called “Malchut of the quality of judgment,” called receiving in order to receive,” and all the corrections are that he will work in order to bestow. Prior to this, he is in a state of “in order to receive.”
The Sin of the Tree of Knowledge
62. RABASH, Article No. 22 (1989), "Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?"
Although the sin of the tree of knowledge relates to high degrees—the light of the end of correction—as explained in the “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” with regard to our work—we should interpret that one who slanders Providence, saying that he does not want to believe that His guidance over the creatures is benevolent, and that it is so to believe above reason.
However, a person says, “If there were open Providence, if I could see with my mind that the Creator bestows benevolently upon all creations, and if it were within reason, only in this way would I be able to observe Torah and Mitzvot.” This comes because of the sin of the tree of knowledge—that a man wants to go specifically within reason and not believe above reason. Hence, when he does not believe that He is good and does good, he is slandering the Creator. This is rooted in the time when the serpent slandered the Creator to Adam HaRishon.
A person wanting to go within reason is called “the sin of the tree of knowledge.”
63. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1990), What Is the Meaning of Failure in the Work?
Everything extends from the first failure, when Adam HaRishon fell into self-love. This caused the following generations to have work of simple faith, since when a person is in self-love, the Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment are on him, and the upper light cannot shine for him. For this reason, a person can believe in the Creator only above reason, since the will to receive causes him denial. Thus, the failure that Adam HaRishon had with the tree of knowledge caused us absence of faith. Naturally, from this we come into all the sins. Therefore, the only counsel is to be rewarded with faith, for man to feel Godliness personally, so he will not need the general public, to have faith from the whole of Israel. Instead, a person must repent to the extent that it is “unto the Lord your God.” That is, he should feel that “the Lord is your God” personally, and then the flaw of the tree of knowledge will be corrected.
64. Baal HaSulam, "Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot", No. 18
The severity of the punishment of the Tree of Knowledge, for which all people are put to death. This death extends from eating it, as the Creator had warned him, “in the day you eat from it you will surely die.”
The thing is that the Gadlut form of reception extends into his limbs from the vacant space, and from the Tzimtzum onward it is no longer possible for it to be under the same roof with the upper light. Hence, that eternal breath of life, expressed in the verse, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” had to leave there and depend on a slice of bread for its transient sustenance.
This life is not eternal life as before, when it was for himself. Rather, it is similar to sweat of life, a life that has been divided into tiny drops, where each drop is a fragment of his previous life. This is the meaning of the sparks of souls that were spread throughout his progeny. Thus, in all his progeny, all the people in the world in all the generations, through the last generation, which concludes the purpose of creation, are one long chain. It follows that the acts of the Creator did not change at all by the sin of the Tree of Knowledge.
65. RABASH, Article No. 852, "Two Kinds of Scrutinies"
The serpent asked: How did she know that the tree of knowledge was forbidden? Perhaps all the fruits of the garden were forbidden for you? The woman’s replied, “You shall not touch lest you die.”
1) How did she know about the touching?
2) Why the doubt, “lest you die”?
We should interpret that the answer “lest you die” pertains to the touching, for there is none as wise as the experienced. The serpent’s reply, “You will not surely die, for God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will open and you will be as God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent’s argument was that it was foolish to think that God created something harmful in the world. Rather, all the bad comes only from the lower one, since only here the correction of bestowal is missing.
“On the day you eat of it,” meaning with the aim to bestow, “You will be as God, knowing good and evil,” meaning that just as it is sweet to the Creator, completely the same, so the good and bad will be to you, completely the same, if it is with the intention to bestow.
But the Creator did not inform you of this because He knows, meaning the Creator knows that if you pay attention and your eating is in Kedusha [holiness], your eyes will open to understand the grandeur of the matter by yourselves. “And the woman saw that the tree was good…”
66. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 84, What Is “He Drove the Man Out of the Garden of Eden so He Would Not Take from the Tree of Life”?"
He drove him out, “lest he stretched out his hand and ate from the tree of life.”
The fear was that he would repent and enter the tree of life. But what is the fear? Since he had sinned in the tree of knowledge, now he must correct the tree of knowledge.
This is the meaning of “He drove him out of the garden of Eden,” to correct the sin of the tree of knowledge. And afterward, he will be able to enter the garden of Eden.
The garden of Eden means the ascent of Malchut into Bina where she receives Hochma, as Eden means Hochma. And then Malchut, called “garden,” receives Hochma in the form of “Eden,” and this is “the garden of Eden.”
67. RABASH, Article No. 22 (1989), "Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?"
Slander is primarily from the serpent, who slandered the Creator and told him, “The Creator commanded you not to eat from the tree of knowledge, but to keep it in concealment and in hiding.” The serpent told him about that, “You shouldn’t obey what He told you, that the tree of knowledge should remain hidden from the lower ones.” Instead, his argument was that everything should be open.
That was the serpent’s slander. It follows that he spoke about Providence, that the Creator’s conduct with the creatures of undisclosed guidance was wrong. But in truth, the concealment is only so that the creatures will be able to receive the delight and pleasure without shame. This can only be when the creatures receive everything for the sake of the Creator, meaning that all the reception will be only in order to bestow.
It follows that the serpent’s slander is not a part. Rather, he spoke about the entire correction that was executed on Malchut so that the lower ones, who extend from her, would be able to achieve Dvekut [adhesion], called “equivalence of form,” by which there would be the correction that enables them to receive the delight and pleasure without any unpleasantness, called “shame.”
68. RABASH, Article No. 22 (1989), "Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?"
Even though the Creator explicitly told Adam, “But of the tree of knowledge you shall not eat.” Instead, this discernment must be covered and only at the end of correction will it be possible to illuminate this discernment.
About that, too, the serpent told him not to obey the Creator. In other words, the Creator did not do this in Adam’s favor, that the Creator’s guidance over the creatures—the Good who does good—will be undisclosed, but for other reasons. It turns out that the serpent’s slander was a general thing, meaning he said that all the corrections we should do by the power of Torah and Mitzvot are not for the man’s purpose.
This is the reason why slander is the most severe of all prohibitions, since it encompasses the whole of the Torah.
69. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1990), What Is the Meaning of Failure in the Work?
“Adam HaRishon was a thief.” RASHI interprets that he “leaned toward idolatry.” We should understand how such a thing can be said of Adam HaRishon, who spoke to the Creator, that we can say he was an idolater.
According to what we learn, faith means that he believes above reason. Therefore, although he himself heard from the Creator that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge, and it cannot be said that he had to believe in the commandment of the Creator, but it means that after the serpent came to him and made him understand within reason why the Creator told him not to eat, Adam HaRishon should have told the serpent, “Although within reason you are correct, meaning that if I eat from the tree of knowledge with the aim to bestow, the Creator will have contentment from this eating, and I see that you are one hundred percent correct, still, I am going above reason. I want to observe the commandment of the Creator without any intellect or reason, since what you add to faith is already called ‘leaning toward idol-worship.’”
But Adam HaRishon added to what the Creator had commanded him. It is about this that they said, “Adam HaRishon was an idolater.” From this sin extends to us the concealment in the work, for it is hard for us to move away from self-love.
70. Baal HaSulam, "Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot", No. 15
They were not ashamed. They did not feel their absence, as shame refers to a sensation of absence.
It is known that the sensation of absence is the first reason for the fulfillment of the deficiency. It is as one who feels one’s illness and is willing to receive the medication. However, when one does not feel that he is ill, he will certainly avoid all medications.
Indeed, this task is for the outer Kli to do. Since it is in the construction of the body and is empty of light, as it comes from the vacant space, it begets the sensation of emptiness and dearth in it, by which one becomes ashamed.
Hence, one is compelled to fill the absence once again and draw the lacking Ohr Makif, which is about to fill that Kli. This is the meaning of the verse, “And the man and his wife were both naked,” of the outer Kli. For this reason, they were not ashamed, since they did not feel their absence. In this manner, they are devoid of the purpose for which they were created.
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