קבלה אויף משלי 3:20

After we in the previous chapter made an effort to establish with necessity that En Sof is not Keter, but each of them is a subject by itself, meaning to say: one is emanator and the other is emanated entity, we shall consider in the present chapter to suspend another opinion that is close to the idea of previous kabbalists [= those discussed in the previous chapter], and it is the opinion of Rabbi Shem Tov in Sefer HaEmunot, Gate IV chapter 1, that first he enumerated the Sefirot and said that Keter is the first Sefira. After that he said that Keter is not in the number of the Sefirot, and this is a copy of his expression in short: ‘All kabbalists have agreed on enumerating these ten Sefirot: first upper Keter, second Chochma, etc., but those superior and profound in knowledge have agreed that one should not count upper Keter according to the way of the truth among the total of the ten, as it [= Keter] is as En Sof, and just as one does not enumerate the ‘Reason of all the reasons’ at all, similarly it is not proper to enumerate upper Keter, as there is no beginning nor end nor conclusion in it, and it [= Keter] is everything. And Rashbi warned against this in many places, and on this there is [also] a direction in Sefer Yetzirah: “Ten and not eleven” [Sefer Yetzirah 1:4]. And you already know that it is agreed among the sages of the Mishna that Eliyahu the Prophet reveals himself to all that are worthy. And there is a tradition to some of the first generation [of kabbalists] of blessed memory, that he [= Eliyahu] revealed himself to the great master Rabbi Avraham, presiding officer of rabbinical court, the pious one, blessed be he, and from him the great master the Rabad, his son-in-law and the pious rabbi Isaac received [the tradition], as his tradition is refined flour for a great depth in the wisdom of the Kabbalah. And he also explained “ten and not eleven” [Sefer Yetzirah 1:4], that one should not bring Keter into the number [of the Sefirot]. And the one completing the number is upper Da’at, to which Scripture hints [Proverbs 3:20]: “With His knowledge/Da’at the depths were split”. And on this it says in Sefer HaBahir that it is the ‘holy palace’ [Sefer HaBahir 154]. And the essence of the particular name that is written in the books of the Prophets, its intention [is] in the letters of the name with Tif’eret being intermediary to it, as it [= Tif’eret] is a palace¹“Palace” designates a place of residence for the king. for the upper root [which is Da’at]. End of citation.

And see, he is hinting at Chochmah/Wisdom, which is called “beginning”/Reshit, and the large [letter] Bet/ ב[the first letter Bet of Bereshit/בראשית is written large in the Torah, and it precedes the word Reshit/ראשית] hints at it [= Chochmah]. If this is so, even though ‘“In the beginning” is also an utterance’, still they are nine [because In the beginning refers to Chochmah, and when one starts to count the Sefirot downwards from Chochmah and leaves Keter out, one arrives at nine], and it is thus difficult. If this is so, what difficulty is there for him to object when the objection is that Chochmah was not [counted] in the number [of ten]? If this is so, there are eight, [which] he should have objected. And if the objection is that Keter was not [counted] in the number, if this is so, why was it accepted when he added Bereshit [to the number of utterances] etc., as he had to object although ‘Bereshit is also an utterance’, nevertheless, yet despite Bereshit [is added] there are nine, because Bereshit is Chochmah. Now this is a general question on the subject of the mentioned utterances in this [Talmudic] saying. And similarly, out of this objection we will force the view of Rabbi Shem Tov ben Shem Tov, the writer of the Book of Beliefs, whose expression we will copy in the Gate “Is En-Sof Keter?” [Gate III], chapter three. And it is the view of Da’at/Knowledge, as he thinks that Keter is not [counted] in the number of the Sefirot, but [that] the ten Sefirot are those from Chochmah downwards, and because they impelled the number [ten] he said that ‘we will innovate to it another Sefirah, and it is called Da’at/Knowledge, and it is below Chochmah and Bina, and above Chesed and Gevurah’. And we will extend [on this] there [in Gate III] on the subject. And now, according to his words it is found that the utterances only begin from Chochmah, and nevertheless they are nine without Bereshit, which is Chochmah, and they are ten with Bereshit which is Chochma. And because of the destruction that extends from this [Talmudic] saying, before we shall raise further remarks on it and shall explain it at all, it is necessary that we closely observe on the reparation of this subject, and we will say that this subject is impossible. As after Rabbi Shem Tov confesses by mouth that Da’at is the one that is mentioned in the verse (Proverbs 3:20) “With his Da’at the depths were split”, and similarly from what our sages of blessed memory said (Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah 12a, and there it is: ‘With ten matters the world was created, and the three from them are Wisdom/Chochmah etc.’[the Talmudic text slightly differs from what the author here cites]) ‘with three matters the world was created, with Wisdom/Chochmah and with Understanding/Tevunah and with Knowledge/Da’at’, this is forced out of the words of Rashbi of blessed memory [in the Zohar], that Da’at is the reality of Tif’eret that is hidden between Father [= Chochmah] and Mother [= Binah], and this is what is called ‘son of י"ה/Yah [Yod = Chochmah, He = Binah]’, as by means of it [= Da’at] [occurs] the unification of Chochmah and Binah, as we will extend on these subjects in this Gate [further].

After we in the previous chapter made efforts in the explanation of the mishna from the Sefer Yetzirah and to refute the proofs of Rabbi Shem Tov and the other commentators who said that Keter is not counted in the number of the Sefirot, we will now come in the present chapter to refute his proofs from the words of the Rashbi of blessed memory (in the Idra Ha’azinu 289b), and this is what it says [Idra Zuta 289b]:
The place where commencement [= Chochma] is found, [comes] from the Ancient Holy One [= Keter], who is illuminated by the Mazal¹ The beard of the Ancient One, and thus the influx from the Ancient Holy One which descends , it is a light of Chochma/Wisdom which is being stretched forth into 32 side[s] ² the 32 paths of wisdom that lead from Chochma to Bina; these correspond to 32 times the name Elohim is mentioned in the Account of Creation, and they [= the 32 directions] go out from that concealed brain, from the light that is in him.
And what the Ancient Holy One is illuminating at first (other reading: with Chochma/Wisdom), that is it [= Chochma], and [it is] being the commencement of what has been revealed, and it became three heads.
And one head encompasses them all. And these three [heads] are being stretched forth to the Small Countenance³The configuration of Atsilut from Chochma to Malkut. And from these all shine.
This Chochma/Wisdom is engraved, and [it] brings out one river that spreads and goes out to water the garden. And it [= the river] enters the head of the Small Countenance, and one brain is formed. And from there it flows and it spreads in the whole body, and it waters all these plants. This is what is written: “And a river goes out from Eden [to water the garden] etc.” [Genesis 2:10].
Further: this Chochma/wisdom is engraved and it flows, and it enters the head of the Small Countenance, and another brain is formed. This light that flows from it, these two extensions are engraved and are joined into one by means of [one] extension of the depth of the well, as is written: “by His knowledge/Da’at the depths were split open” [Proverbs 3:20].
And it enters the head of the Small Countenance and another brain is formed, and from there it flows and enters into the body [of the Small Countenance] and filling all those chambers and patios of the body. This is what is written: “And with knowledge/Da’at chambers are filled” [Proverbs 24:4].
And these shine from the light of that upper concealed brain that is enlightened by the Mazal, the Ancient Holy One. And they all depend on one another. And they are all connected to one another. Until it is known that everything is one, and everything is the Ancient One [= Keter] and nothing is separated from it.
These three lights shine to three others which are called Fathers, and these [Fathers] shine to the Sons, and everything shines from one place. End of citation.