וכדברים האלה ממש ויותר מזה, הן מדותיו של הקב״ה ורצונו וחכמתו בעולם האצילות, עם מהותו ועצמותו, כביכול

Precisely in this manner, and even more so, is [the unity of] (on the one hand) the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Will and wisdom in the World of Atzilut, with (on the other hand) His Essence and Being, as it were,

המתלבש בתוכם ומתייחד עמהם בתכלית היחוד

Who becomes clothed in them — in the Sefirot of Atzilut — and unites with them in perfect unity,

מאחר שנמשכו ונאצלו מאתו יתברך, על דרך משל, כדרך התפשטות האור מהשמש

since they derived and emanated from Him just as (by way of analogy) light is diffused from the sun.

אך לא ממש בדרך זה, רק בדרך רחוקה ונפלאה מהשגתינו, כי גבהו דרכיו מדרכינו

However, [G‑d’s unity with His attributes] is not exactly in this manner, i.e., like the fusion of the sun with the light which is still within it, but in a manner which is remote and concealed from our comprehension, for6 His ways are higher than our ways.

ומכל מקום, לשכך האוזן

Nevertheless, despite its superior manner of unity, since one must “modulate for the ear [what it is able to hear],”

נשמע ונתבונן ממשל אור השמש המיוחד ובטל במקורו, ואינו עולה בשם בפני עצמו, רק שם המקור לבדו

we can perceive and comprehend that just as in the analogy, the light of the sun which is united with and nullified in its source has no name of its own, only the name of its source,

כך כל מדותיו של הקב״ה ורצונו וחכמתו אינן עולות ונקראות בשמות אלו כלל

so too, all the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Will and wisdom, are not designated and called by these names at all, relative to Him,

אלא לגבי הנבראים, עליונים ותחתונים

but only in relation to the creatures which are (Note of the Rebbe:) “below the World of Atzilut, i.e., in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, these [creatures] being” [both] higher and lower,

שהווייתם וחיותם והנהגתם, שהקב״ה מהוה ומחיה אותם ומנהיגם

which are brought into existence and given life and guided in their conduct by the Holy One, blessed be He,

הוא ברצונו וחכמתו ובינתו ודעתו, המתלבשות במדותיו הקדושות

through His Will and wisdom and understanding and knowledge, which garb themselves in His holy emotive attributes, such as Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferet.

Thus, the Sefirot are termed Chochmah, Binah, Daat, Chesed, and so forth, in relation to the beings which are created and vivified by G‑d through His Will and wisdom, and so forth, which clothe themselves in the emotive attributes.

כדאיתא במדרש: בעשרה דברים נברא העולם, בחכמה בתבונה ובדעת וכו׳

As it is stated in the Midrash,7 “By means of ten things was the world created: by wisdom, by understanding and by knowledge,…

דכתיב: ה׳ בחכמה יסד ארץ, כונן שמים בתבונה, בדעתו תהומות נבקעו וגו׳

as it is written,8 ‘G‑d founded the earth with wisdom; He established the heavens with understanding; with His knowledge the depths of the abyss were burst open,’…“;

We thus see from the Midrash9 that the world was created by means of “ten things”, i.e., the Ten Sefirot.

וכמאמר אליהו: דאפיקת עשר תיקונין, וקרינן להון עשר ספירן

and as expressed by Elijah, in the passage that opens with Patach Eliyahu, and forms part of the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar, “You have brought forth ten Tikkunim (‘garments’), and we call them ten Sefirot,

לאנהגא בהון עלמין סתימין דלא אתגליין, ועלמין דאתגליין

through which to direct hidden worlds unrevealed (i.e., worlds that transcend mortal comprehension) and worlds revealed (i.e., worlds that are accessible to mortal comprehension),

ובהון אתכסיאת כו׳

and through them You conceal Yourself…“ — from created beings, so that they will not be able to perceive the Divine life-force that creates and vivifies them.