Kabbalah Keluaran 26:24: Sha'arei Orah

Know that since HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, is perfect, crowned, and bears all qualities, in that all the Sefirot are unified, perfected and completed in Him, along with all creatures, as we have informed you, therefore during the act of creation (Ma’aseh Bereishit) itself, there was no need for Torah to mention HaShem-יהו"ה. This is because at that point, the world and its creatures had not yet been perfected, nor had the act of creation been completed, in that the world was not yet whole. Rather, all things were still in the process of being made and coming forth. However, once the creation of the world was complete, in that everything was included and in a state of perfection, the Torah mentions HaShem God-HaShem Elohi”m-יהו״ה אלהי״ם, these being two names that unify one with the other. This is because oftentimes, His name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם manifests in His name of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י, and then His name of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י is also called God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, as you already know.³From the First Gate. Then, when HaShem Lord-HaShem Adona”y-יהו״ה אדנ״י [pronounced Elohi”m Adona”y-אלהי"ם אדנ"י] is unified, this being the matter of HaShem God-HaShem Elohi”m-יהו״ה אלהי״ם, all things come to a state of total perfection.⁴When reading scripture, if HaShem-יהו"ה and Lord-Adona”y-אדנ"י are juxtaposed, HaShem-יהו"ה is pronounced as Elohi”m-אלהי"ם.

About this principle Torah states,²²Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock, His action is perfect, all His ways are justice.” This verse means as follows: The Rock-HaTzur-הצור,²³This refers to the quality of judgment-Din. that is, He who [forms-יוצר and] decrees the judgment, does not do so by force, nor is the sentence decreed with cruelty. Rather, “His action is perfect-Tamim-תמים.” In other words, before the sentence is decreed, He consults His qualities of kindness-Chessed and judgment-Din. This is the meaning of “His action is perfect-Tamim-תמים.” This is because the word “Perfect-Tamim-תמים” hints at two matters, as if it is saying, “Twins-Te’umim-תאומים,” only that in reference to these two matters as they are Above, the more honorable term, “Perfect-Tamim-תמים,” is used, whereas below, the term would be “Twins-Te’umim-תאומים,” as indicated by the verse,²⁴Exodus 26:24 “They shall be matching-To’amim-תואמים at the bottom, and matching-Tamim-תמים on top.” We thus find that in reference to below, the word “twins-To’amim-תואמים” is used, and in reference to Above, the word “perfect-Tamim-תמים” is used. This is because from below, [kindness and judgement] appear to be two distinct matters, a thing and its opposite, a defender and a prosecutor. However, Above, they have but one intention. That is, whether it is the defender or the prosecutor, they both have a single intention, for there is neither hatred nor love there, nor is there bias nor favoritism, but true justice alone. The verse therefore states, “His action is perfect-Tamim-תמים,” in that He consults both judgment-Din and mercy-Rachamim and only then issues the decree, this being the matter of,²⁵Ezekiel 18:8 “True Justice-Mishpat Emet-משפט אמת.”