Salmi 18:12 Cabala: Sefer HaBahir, Or Neerav & Tikkunei Zohar

Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana said: One verse (Job 37:21) states, "...one cannot see the sun, Though it be bright in the heavens,..." Another verse, however, (Ps. 18:12), states, "He made darkness His screen..." It is also written (Psalms.97.2), "Dense clouds are around Him..." This is an apparent contradiction. A third verse comes and reconciles the two. It is written (Ps. 139:12), "darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same."

Why does the Torah begin with the letter Bet? In order that it begin with a berachah (blessing). How do we know that the Torah is called a blessing? Because it is written (Deut. 33:23), "And full of the LORD’s blessing, Take possession on the west and south." The Sea is nothing other than the Torah, as it is written (Job 11:9), "Its measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea." What is the meaning of the verse, "full of the LORD’s blessing"? This means that wherever we find the letter bet it indicates a blessing. It is thus written (Gen. 1:1), "Bereshit..." ("In the beginning") The word reshit ("beginning") is nothing other than Wisdom. It is thus written (Ps. 111:10), "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD;" Wisdom is a blessing. It is thus written, that, the LORD blessed Solomon. It is furthermore written (I Kings 5:26), "The LORD had given Solomon wisdom". This resembles a king who marries his daughter to his son. He gives her to him at the wedding and says to him, "Do with her as you desire."

Moreover, there are three shades of the color of darkness. The first is absolute darkness with no [admixture of] light. This is found many times in the Zohar. Secondly, [darkness] comes to indicate the removal of light and is not to be perceived like the [former] darkness, as [Scripture] states: He made darkness His hiding place (Ps. 18:12). Thus they have [merely] not yet seen the clear light of the heavens. Thirdly, [it] teaches concerning the aspect of the Female which is black, [and] pale. These three aspects exist in Keter. The first is the disappearance of its light. The second is the absence of its light in relation to its Emanator. The third contains an aspect of femininity, as will be explained.