Kabbalah Kejadian 1:24: Pardes Rimmonim & Sha'arei Orah

See, from all this it is seen that there is no necessity from this saying for the opinion of Rav Shem Tov of blessed memory. Truly now to us is left the duty to explain what is found different from this saying in the Zohar, parasha Wayiqra. As in this saying [of R. Shem Tov) it says that Bereshit is the tenth utterance, and in parasha Wayiqra [Zohar III.11b) Rashbi explains that these are ten utterances besides Bereshit. And this is what it says: ‘Rabbi Shimon said: It is written: “ten, ten the vessel with the holy shekel” [Numbers 7:86]. “ten, ten” why does it come [here]? But [it indicates] ten for the work of Creation, and ten for the giving of the Torah. What does it teach? That the world was not created except for the sake of the Torah, as all the time Israel is involved in the Torah, the world endures. And all the time Israel is abolishing the Torah, what is written? “If [there were] not my covenant with daytime and night, I would not have placed the ordinances of heavens and earth.” [Jeremiah 33:25]. Come and see: Ten utterances of the work of Creation, as we have learned: ‘With ten utterances the world was created.’ [Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:1]. Ten utterances of the giving of the Torah, these are the Ten Commandments. [First utterance:] It is written: “I am HaShem your God” [Exodus 20:2], and in the account of Creation it is written: “Let there be light, and there was light.” [Genesis 1:3] This is faith, as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called ‘light’, as it is written “HaShem is my light and my salvation etc.” [Psalms 27:1]. [Second utterance:] It is written: “You shall not have other gods beside me” [Exodus 20:3], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters etc.” [Genesis 1:6]. “Let there be a firmament”, these are Israel, as they are a portion of the Holy One, blessed be He, who are united with the place that is called ‘heavens’. And this is a secret, as once Rabbi Yeisa the Old asked Rabbi Ela’e; he said: Oh, all the rest of the peoples, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them to dignitaries, princes, rulers [to guide them], [but] Israel to what? He [= Rabbi Ela’e] sent to him [the answer]: “and God placed them in the firmament of the heavens” [Genesis 1:17]. And a pleasing [answer] he sent to him. “in the midst of the waters” [Genesis 1:6], between the words of the Torah. “and let it divide water from water” [Genesis 1:6], between the Holy One, blessed be He, who is called “well of living waters” [Song of Songs 4:15] and between idolatry, which is called “broken cisterns that will not hold the waters” [Jeremiah 2:13] which are bitter waters etc., stinking gathered [= stationary]. And therefore Israel, holy ones, are dividing between waters [above, clean] and waters [below, unclean]. [Third utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not take the name of HaShem your God in vain” [Exodus 20:7], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” [Genesis 1:9]. Come and see, each one who swears by the Holy Name for a lie [is] as if he has separated the Mother [= Binah] from her place above, and the holy crowns are not settled on their places, as it is said: “And a mischief-maker is separating an intimate friend” [Proverbs 16:28], and there is no “intimate friend” except the Holy One, blessed be He. And it is written: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” [Genesis 1:9], you should not place a separation because of swearing that is false. “to one place”, as is fitting, to a place of truth, and not to another place of falsehood. And what is falsehood? It is when waters go to another place which is not its own. [Fourth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “Remember the day of Shabbat to keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the earth sprout grass” [Genesis 1:11]. When is the holy earth [= Malkut] increased and is crowned with her crown? Say: on the day of Shabbat, because then the bride is associated with the King, to bring forth grasses and blessings for the world. [Fifth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “Honor your father and your mother” [Exodus 20:12], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens” [Genesis 1:14]. What does this point to except that these ‘luminaries’, it is “your father and your mother”? “Your father”, this is the sun, “your mother”, this is the moon. And there is no sun except the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: “Because a sun and shield is HaShem God” [Psalms 84:12]. And there is no moon except the assembly of Israel, as it is written: “And your moon will not perish” [Isaiah 60:20]. And therefore, all is one. [Sixth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not murder” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of the Creation: “Let the waters swarm living soul” [Genesis 1:20]. And you shall not kill a human being who is called thus, as it is written: “And the human being became a living soul” [Genesis 2:7], you will not be as these fishes, of which the big ones swallow the small ones. [Seventh utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not commit adultery” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “Let the earth bring forth living soul according to its kind” [Genesis 1:24]. From this we learn that a human being should not do falsely with another woman who is not his mate, and therefore it is written: “Let the earth bring forth living soul according to its kind”, that a woman should not give birth except from her kind. And who is its kind? Her [male] mate. [Eighth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not steal” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “And God said: ‘See, I have given you every plant producing seed’” [Genesis 1:29]. What I have given you and deposited to you will be yours, and you shall not steal what is of another. [Ninth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not testify to your fellow false witness” [Exodus 20:13], and it is written in the account of Creation: “And God said: ‘Let us make a human being in our image” [Genesis 1:26]. To him who is in the image of the King you shall not witness falsely. And he who has witnessed falsely to his neighbor [it is] as if he has witnessed falsely to above. [Tenth utterance:] It is written in the giving of the Torah: “You shall not desire the wife of your fellow” [Exodus 20:14], and it is written in the account of Creation: “It is not good that the human being is alone” [Genesis 2:18]. This is your mate in front of you, and therefore “you shall not desire the wife of your fellow”. And this is: ten utterances of the work of Creation, and ten utterances of the giving of the Torah, which is “ten, ten the vessel with the holy shekel” [Numbers 7:86], they were weighed as one, with one shekel. And because of this the world endures and peace is found in it. End of citation.

It is from the power of the quality of this name the Living God-El Chai-א"ל חי, that the quality of His name of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י draws life into all creatures in the world to their various kinds, into the angels and all the hosts of heaven and their stars and into all the hosts of the earth and its offspring. This is the meaning of the verse,²Genesis 1:24 “Let the earth bring forth living souls according to their kind.”

It is seen from it in the explanation that the actors were the artisans, which are the six days, and [that] they acted with the utterance of the first three [days] which are Ayin/אי"ן. And from what that is necessary to understand also on the subject of these utterances is that they are ten, and although they are ten, we know that there is no creation or action except by means of only six days, which are Gedolah [= Chesed] the first day, Gevurah the second day, Tif’eret the third day, Netsach the fourth day, Hod the fifth day, Yesod the sixth day, and thus explained the Rashbi of blessed memory, that the whole of the work of Creation is comprised and done by means of these [six] days in Malkut, Malkut bringing out the matters to light in perfection. And this is what he says in parasha Terumah [Zohar II.127]: “From the trees of the Lebanon” [Song of Songs 3:9], these are planted trees which the Holy One, blessed be He, uprooted and planted in another place. And these are called ‘cedars of Lebanon’, as it is written: “Cedars of Lebanon which He planted” [Psalms 104:16]. And this canopy was only built and completed with them. Furthermore “From the trees of the Lebanon”, these [are] the six days of Creation, each day arranging in this canopy the arrangement that was revealed to it. The first arrangement: From the right side [= Chesed] the first light was stretched out which had been hidden, and it was lifted from the right side, and an image as the resemblance of this light came into this canopy by means of one foundation, and it worked in it [its] service. Afterwards this canopy brought out an image as the resemblance of this light. And this is the mystery of which it is written: “Let there be light, and there was light” [Genesis 1:3], when it says: “Let there be light”, wherefore is it [also] written “and there was light”? The biblical verse has no need to write except “and it was thus”, [so] what [then is indicated by] “and there was light”? But [it indicates] that this light brought out another light which was revealed to it. And this now is the first day out of those trees of Lebanon. The second arrangement: from the left side [= Gevurah] was stretched out a separation of the waters in opposition to powerful fire, and it was lifted from the left side and came into this canopy and it worked in it [its] service, and it separated between waters that are on the right side and waters that are on the left side. Afterwards this canopy brought out an image as the resemblance of it. And this is the mystery of which it is written: “between the waters that are below the firmament and between the waters that are above the firmament, and it was thus.” [Genesis 1:7]. And this is this second day out of those trees of Lebanon. The third arrangement: stretched out from the left side and from the right side was one third day bringing peace in the world. And from there fruits were drawn. And it worked [its] service in the canopy and it brought out a species according to its species, a species for a multitude of works, the species that was fit for it. And all herbs and plants and trees with many powers. And its image remained there and that canopy brought forth a species in that concrete resemblance. And this is the third day that is totalized out of two sides from those trees of Lebanon. The fourth arrangement: stretched out and shining was the radiance of the sun to illumine this canopy inside the darkness of it, and it entered it to illumine but it did not work in it [its] service until the fifth day, when the canopy brought out this service of radiance which had entered it on the fourth day, and this canopy brought out with this concrete resemblance of this radiance. And this is the fourth day, one of those trees of Lebanon. The fifth arrangement: one stream of swarming of waters was stretched out and it worked [its] service to bring forth the radiance of the arrangement of the fourth day, and it worked in this canopy [its] service and brought forth species according to its species, those that were revealed to this concrete resemblance. And this day serviced that service more than all the other days. But everything was suspended until the sixth day, when this canopy brought forth all that was hidden in it, as it is written: “Let the earth bring forth living soul according to its species” [Genesis 1:24]. And this is this fifth day, one from those trees of Lebanon. The sixth arrangement is that day when this entire canopy was set in order. And it [= the canopy] does not have order nor power except by this day. When it came, this canopy was set in order with many spirits, with many souls, with many maidens beautiful in outlook, those who are fit to sit in the palace of the King. Also it was set in order in the beauty of all the other days that preceded [it], and it set them in order with one desire, with pleasure, with joy, Thus this canopy was made holy with upper holinesses, and crowned with its crowns until it rose in rising of the crown of tranquility, and it was given an upper name, a holy name, which is ‘Shabbat’, tranquility of everything, desire of all, devotion of all above and below together, and thus it is written: “King Solomon made a canopy for him from the trees of the Lebanon” [Song of Songs 3:9].