Chasidut zu Bereschit 1:21

It is written in the Midrash Rabbah (Kohelet, Parsha 1), “‘I wounded, and I will heal.’ (Devarim, 32:39) … Rabbi Yohanan said, ‘I struck’ is not written, but rather ‘I wounded.’ I created a wound²⁷⁵The word for wound – mahatsti – is similar to the word mehitsah, “divider.” in that I made a division between the upper and lower realms whereby the upper realms exist forever, and the lower realms are subject to death. Yet in the time to come, there will no longer be death, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 25:8), ‘He will destroy death forever.’ Rabbi Abba said, furthermore, in the time to come I will return and heal the wound. It is precisely through the division that I bring healing.” The matter of division hints at the positive aspect of separation, which necessitates the existence of free choice, as mentioned above. The result of choosing the good, despite the concealment of God’s presence, is the revelation of the God’s glory in the world. This is as the Gemara says (Rosh Hashanah, 31a), “[What psalm did the Levites recite] on the second day of the week? ‘God is great and greatly praised,’ (Tehillim, 145:3) because He divided His works and ruled over them.” The division of God’s attributes led to the birth of the attribute of Malkhut – G-d’s Kingship – by means of human beings using their power of choice. Before the division, God could not be called, “King.”²⁷⁶Before the division of heaven and earth, God ruled alone. R. Gershon Hanokh uses the term moshel - – a ruler – to define G-d’s reign at that stage. This is unlike a king, who rules through the consent of the people. Thus, it was only on the second day, after the division in creation was formed and something “other” than G-d existed, could the creation willfully crown Him as its King. Thus, on the first day of the week [the Levites recited]; “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof” (Tehillim, 24:1).²⁷⁷The song that the Levites sung each day of the week corresponded to the six primordial days in which G-d created the world. Since, on the first day of creation, there was not yet a division between heaven and earth, nor was there an independent creation to coronate G-d as King, so, the Levites, on Sunday, sang “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof.” At that point, the creation belonged solely to G-d. It was then that He acquired, gave over acquisition, and ruled in His world. What does it mean that God, “ruled,” on the first day? He ruled against the will of the creation, without having His sovereignty built upon the free choice of the creation. But since concealment is a prerequisite for choice, it also leads to absence, darkness, and the need for healing. This is hinted at in the Zohar (Bo, 35a), with the secret of the great sea creature:²⁷⁸See Bereshit, 1:21 Then, when the light was hidden above from the gardener,²⁷⁹The Zohar is revealing the secrets of the mystery of creation, which begins on the first day, where God “divided between the light and the darkness.” Before this passage, the Zohar introduced the concept of the Tsaddik (Holy Man, also, alluding to the sefirah of Yesod) who is described as a gardener, who tends, cultivates, and facilitates growth. It also represents Divine providence, which “cultivates,” humankind in particular and the creation as a whole. as mentioned, the first darkness emerged, hitting [the sea creature] on the hole that had been made in its head. And a single thread emerged from between the light that had been hidden and the emerging darkness. This is as it is written, “And God divided between the light and the darkness.” This sea creature,²⁸⁰The sea creature is the Leviathan (see Bereshit 1), representing the highest levels of Hokhmah - Wisdom (ChaBaD of Hokhmah), which are the concealed forces in the upper waters. The Midrash teaches us that there were two Leviathans, the largest creatures of the sea, a male and a female. The female was killed after being created, and its meat was salted and preserved for the Righteous in the time to come. with the separation of the thread, was then divided into the rivers that flow within the darkness.²⁸¹The thread of light that that the Zohar tells us is emerging from the darkness provides the power of choice and the ability for man in the lower world to choose the good, thereby revealing God’s glory in the world. God created the lower world purely out of His kindness. This is as it is written (Tehillim, 89:3), “For I have said, the world will be built on kindness.” God divided space into six directions.²⁸²North, south, east, west, up, down. Each direction representing one of the six lower attributes (Sefirot), and from the division of these six attributes comes the power of choice, which brings forth the seventh and final attribute of Malkhut – Kingship.²⁸³Malkhut is the ability to receive God’s light and thereby crown Him as King of the world. This is related to the statement in the Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, that Kingship only comes about through choice and will. Now, the attributes are divided into Hesed - Lovingkindness, Gevurah - Strength, Tiferet - Beauty, etc.²⁸⁴The revelation of God’s sovereignty is achieved through man actively choosing through which of the six lower attributes that Sovereignty will be revealed. To reveal the aspect of Sovereignty in any one of the attributes, one must draw the light of ChaBaD into that attribute. We have mentioned above that each of the attributes on its own is not intrinsically good. Thus, when any one of the attributes is used without Da’at – Consciousness²⁸⁵Da’at, or Divine consciousness, originates in the intellect, or the upper three sefirot, and is ideally drawn down and infused into the lower revealed sefirot, the attributes of action. The drawing of divine consciousness allows for spiritual growth, much as water and nutrients that flows through the tree allows for the tree to grow. one could make grave blunders, such as showing mercy to cruel people.²⁸⁶This would be a misuse of the trait of Hesed - lovingkindness. See above, Part 2, chapter 2, for a discussion of the misuse or “unclarified” used of the attributes. However, when the six lower attributes²⁸⁷The six lower “revealed” Sefirot are Hesed – Lovingkindness, Gevurah – Strength, Tiferet – Beauty, Netzah –Eternity, Hod – Majesty, and Yesod – Foundation. Each of these corresponds, as well, to elements of the human personality. are illuminated with the light of HaBaD,²⁸⁸HaBaD is the initials of the three upper “intellectual” or “hidden” Sefirot, Hokhmah – Wisdom, Binah – Understanding, and Da’at – Consciousness. HaBaD is the spiritual root of man’s intellectual faculties. and as a result, the sum total of the attributes are used in their proper time and place, then the structure is complete. Then the attribute of Malkhut comes forth as the true completion and perfection of all the attributes, and the light of the Kingship of Heaven shines in its full completeness. Indeed, when a man reaches the point where he is drawing HaBaD into the lower attributes, which is possible only through his concerted efforts in Divine service and striving to know God, it must occur in the same way that Shabbat follows the six days of the week.²⁸⁹The six work days correspond to the six attributes (sefirot), from Hesed to Yesod, with Shabbat corresponding to the Sefirah of Malkhut. Just as free will needs the engagement of all six of these attributes (without which, a person would be emotionally imbalanced, and fall into idolatry, as explained above), which leads to the creation of Malkhut – the willing acceptance of G-d’s kingship – so too, does Shabbat follow the six days of the week. Similarly, with man, this is only possible through efforts at the service of God, crowning God over him as his King, and accepting upon himself the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven. In the world, this idea is hinted at in the place of the Holy Temple, which is a place of lucid Divine service, for it is at that place that God shines His light in its fullness.

From the moment Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai passed on, the wellsprings of wisdom were closed. As it says in the Zohar (Vayehi, 217a), “From the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, wisdom departed from the land.” It was even known during the Rashb”i’s⁹³RaShBI is the common acronym for Rabbi Shimon Bar Yokhai. life that the wellsprings of wisdom would close from the time of his passing. As it says (Terumah, 149a), “In the generation in which Rabbi Shimon lived, God’s desired to reveal the hidden knowledge of the Torah through him … Woe to the generation in which he departs! The wise will be few, and wisdom will be forgotten from the land.” Elsewhere in the Zohar it is stated (Vayakhel, 201a): “Woe is the generation when the lower light departs and joins the upper light!” This is said in several places in the Zohar. So too do we find several statements in the Gemara telling us that the mysteries are hidden among the select few of the generation. Granted that all of the sages of the Gemara possessed knowledge of the mysteries of the Torah, yet each one knew according to his own level. It is said in the Gemara (Hagiga, 13a), “Rabbi Ami said, the secrets of the Torah are only imparted to an individual who possesses five qualities, ‘The captain of the fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.’ (Yeshayahu, 3:3)” We find that the masters of the Talmud would teach the Torah’s mysteries only with great trepidation. On this same page of Gemara it the following story is related: “Rabbi Yohanan said to Rabbi Elazar, ‘come and I will teach you the mysteries of the Divine chariot.’ Rabbi Elazar replied, ‘I am not yet old enough’⁹⁴To learn the mysteries of the Torah one’s mind must be settled, fully matured. When he felt he was ready, Rabbi Yohanan had already passed away. Later, Rabbi Assi said to Rabbi Elazar, ‘come and I will teach you the mysteries of the Divine chariot.’ He replied, ‘If I had been worthy, I would have learned this from your master Rabbi Yohanan!’ “ Truly, it was said of Rabbi Elazar that he was love-sick for the knowledge of the Torah! For one the Gemara (Eruvin, 54b) honors with the title, “Mara D’Ara D’Yisrael – the master of the land of Israel,” it is inconceivable that he did not know the secrets of the Torah. Yet there are different levels in the knowledge of the mysteries. As it is said in the Zohar (Bo, 34b): Rabbi Shimon said, “there are many in our fellowship who know Ma’aseh Bereshit, the mysteries of creation. Yet there are very few who understand the hints of the mystery of the Tanin HaGadol – the great Sea Creature.”⁹⁵See Bereshit, 1:21. Variously classified as whales, dragons, or the Leviathan and its mate. It is mentioned in the Pri Etz Hayyim (Sha’ar Kriyat Shema) that the Arizal wanted to explain to his students the mystery of the recitation of the Shema according to the mystery of the Kav HaMidda (the measuring line),⁹⁶See Zohar, Parshat Pekudei, 233a. The “measuring line” refers to the way God measures His infinite effluence into the finite vessels of creation. yet they were not worthy to receive this knowledge from him. The Zohar Hadash (Parshat Va’etchanan) lays down the fundamental that there are various “faces” of interpretation in the mysteries of the Torah. With the passage of time until the end of the Talmudic era, the knowledge of the mysteries declined, until at the end it was reserved for the select few of the generation and sealed with an iron seal.