Kabbalah Library

46. It is written, “And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him.” The Creator is hidden in three worlds. The first world, the upper world, is the most hidden. None look in it and none know in it except for the one who is concealed within it. This is the world of ZA of Atzilut.

47. The second world, which is connected to that world of above, the Creator is known from it, as it is written, “Open to me the gates of justice… this is the gate to the Lord.” This is the world of Malchut of Atzilut, which is the gate to ZA.

48. The third world, the lowest among them, and in which there is separation, is BYA. It is written about them, “And from there it parted and became four heads.” High angels are in it, and the Creator is in it, but is not in it. He is in it now, and when we want to look and to know Him, He departs and is unseen, until everyone asks, “Where is the place of His glory,” as it is written, “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place.” This is a world that is not always there.

49. Similarly, it is written, “in the image of God He made man.” At that time, He has three worlds. The first world is that world called the “world of separation,” this world, where man is present but is not present, since when we want to look at a person, he departs from them and is unseen. Before his friends look at him, he passes from the world and is gone.

50. The second world, connected to the upper world, is the Garden of Eden of the earth. Another world is known and attained from this world.

51. The third world, the upper world, is concealed, hidden, and blocked. There is no one who knows it, as it is written, “The eye has not seen a God besides You, who acts for those who wait for Him.” It is all as the upper one: As there are three worlds above, as it is written, “For in the image of God He created man.”

There are three worlds above: 1) ZA of Atzilut, GAR, from the Chazeh and above, covered Hassadim, and the Hochma is not revealed. There is no attainment in it since the Hochma is concealed and covered in it. 2) Malchut of Atzilut, whose illumination is VAK. Hence, the Hochma is revealed in it. 3) Below Malchut, of which it is written, “and from there it parted,” since the worlds BYA below Malchut are of separation.

Similarly, three worlds are likewise discerned with regard to man. When he is in them, he receives from the three upper ones. The three worlds of man from below upward are 1) This world, which is a world of separation. It is similar and corresponds to the third upper world, BYA. In this world, it receives NRN from the separated BYA. 2) The second world corresponds to the second upper world, Malchut of Atzilut, in which there is attainment since she is in a state of VAK. This is the Garden of Eden of the earth, from which one attains the second upper world, Malchut. 3) The world of attaining the hidden GAR, which comes after the Garden of Eden. It is concealed and hidden; no one knows it, and it corresponds to ZA of Atzilut, which is GAR. In the future [at the end of correction], ZA will ascend to Hochma, and then there will be attainment in GAR, as it is written, “who acts for those who wait for Him.”

It follows that then he will attain ZON of Atzilut. It is written about that, “He has made man in the image God,” since attainment of ZA is called Tzelem [image], and attainment of Malchut is called similitude.

52. Because they are rewarded with three worlds, it is written, “You are the children of the Lord your God,” and they are “in the image of God.” They inherit the upper inheritance, such as His, three worlds, and this is why the Torah warns, “You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead,” since he is not lost after he dies, and he is in good, sublime, and honorable worlds; they are to be in gladness when a righteous departs from this world.

53. Had Adam not sinned, he would not have tasted the taste of death in this world when he entered the other worlds. But because he sinned, he tastes the taste of death before he enters these worlds, and the spirit expands from this body and leaves it in this world, and the spirit bathes in the river of fire to receive its punishment.

Afterwards, he enters the Garden of Eden of the earth, and another vessel of light is ready for him, which is exactly similar to the Partzuf of the Guf that he had in this world. He dresses and becomes corrected in it, and there, in the Garden of Eden, is always his dwelling place.

On beginnings of months and on Shabbats [Sabbaths], the spirit connects to the soul, and rises and becomes decorated high above, in the upper Garden of Eden, as it is written, “And it shall come to pass that from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to bow before Me.”

This reconciles the question that was asked about the Torah that preceded the sin of the tree of knowledge. It is written about it, “If a man dies in a tent,” since one who walks from world to world, death is read about him. However, had he not sinned with the tree of knowledge, he would not have had a filthy body. Rather, he would have the first body that is in the Garden of Eden, with which he could go from world to world as with today’s spirit. Hence, he did not suffer the sorrow of death and punishments. But now that he has sinned, he must leave the filthy body in this world, and the spirit receives a punishment and purification in that world, as all that comes because of the sin of the tree of knowledge.

54. “From new moon to new moon.” Why specifically in the beginning of the month? It is because of the rejuvenation of the moon, which is decorated to shine from the sun at that time. At that time is the upper coupling of ZA and Nukva, called sun and moon. Also, “from Shabbat to Shabbat.” Every Shabbat is the moon, Malchut. When He sits, it is the sun, ZA, and the light comes to her from him.

For this reason, month and Shabbat are the same thing, for then is the time of the coupling of ZA and Malchut. However, there is a difference in the measure, where on the beginning of the month they are at the level of YESHSUT, and on Shabbat, at the level of AVI. It is written about the wicked, death to all the worlds, cut off from all the worlds, and lost from everything, unless they have repented.