Having explained in general terms why the creation of a substantial yesh from spirituality can only come about in a manner of ex nihilo (and not in a manner of ilah and alul), the Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain that the first stage of the created yesh is the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
For though they are considered Sefirot, and as such they constitute the Divinity in these three worlds, the kelim of these Sefirot already comprise an element of yesh. This is true even within the World of Atzilut, except that there the kelim are emanated (as a yesh hane’etzal, implying connectedness to their Source), rather than created (as a yesh hanivra, implying separateness from their Source).
As the Alter Rebbe will soon state, the creation of yesh as a distinct entity derives primarily from the Sefirah of Malchut in the World of Atzilut: it is specifically through this Sefirah that G‑d’s infinite ability to create yesh me’ayin is revealed.
והנה ראשית היש הנברא ותחילתו, הן הכלים דיו״ד ספירות דבריאה יצירה עשיה, וגם האורות נפש רוח
Now, the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and also the orot — Nefesh and Ruach, are the first stage and the beginning of created substantiality (yesh).
The orot (“lights”) that vest themselves in the kelim and thereby animate them consist of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, which are simultaneously three levels in the soul, and three levels in the life-force (“light”) that animates the worlds at large.
The lower two of these, Nefesh and Ruach, also comprise an element of yesh.
ונבראו מבחינת הנשמה די״ס דבי״ע, שהוא אלקות
[The kelim] were created from the category of Neshamah of the Ten Sefirot of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, this [Neshamah of the Ten Sefirot] being Divinity.
I.e., the G‑dliness of the Sefirot creates the yesh of the kelim of the Sefirot and also their Nefesh and Ruach.
והן הלמ״ד כלים דמלכות דאצילות
And these [orot of the Sefirot] are the thirty kelim of [the Sefirah of] Malchut of [the World of] Atzilut.
In the World of Atzilut, even the external aspect of the kelim of Malchut is G‑dliness. It is this external aspect of the kelim of Malchut that vests itself in the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah and becomes their soul and life-force. These external kelim are composed of three tenfold levels — the innermost kelim, the intermediary kelim, and the outermost kelim — thirty in all.
וכן באצילות
It is likewise in Atzilut, that the emanated yesh derives from the external aspect of the kelim of Atzilut.
מחיצוניות הכלים דיו״ד ספירות דאצילות, שהן אלוקות, נבראו ההיכלות דאצילות
From the chitzoniyut (the external aspect) of the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Atzilut, which are G‑dliness, were created the Heichalot (the Celestial Chambers) of Atzilut,
Unlike the kelim and Sefirot in which there is vested the internal level of the orot, these Heichalot are an external aspect of the World of Atzilut.
שמתלבש בהן בחינת העיגולים דיו״ד ספירות
in which the category of the Iggulim of the Ten Sefirot vests itself,
The term Iggulim (lit., “circles”) refers to the “encompassing” mode of influence (or makkif) of the Sefirot, which does not permeate the created beings which it illuminates. A penetrating mode of influence (or pnimi) would make the animated object resemble the life-force that animates it. The exterior or encompassing mode of influence called Iggulim, by contrast, allows the animated object to perceive itself as a yesh, albeit an emanated form of yesh.
וגם גופות המלאכים דאצילות, שהן בחינת יש
and also the bodies of the angels of Atzilut, which are a form of yesh, are created from the external kelim of the Sefirot of Atzilut,
וכמו שכתוב: ובמלאכיו ישים תהלה
as it is written,29 “And His angels He charges with deficiency,”30
The phrase “His angels” implies those nearest to G‑d, viz., the angels of the World of Atzilut. Yet even these are deficient in that they are yesh and not Divinity.
שאינן בבחינת ביטול לגמרי, כעלול לגבי עילתו
because they are not wholly in a state of nullification as the alul is in relation to its ilah, for they are created in a manner of yesh from ayin.
אך נשמות המלאכים, שיצאו מזיווג הנשיקין
By contrast, the souls of the angels that emerged by the zivug neshikin (lit., “the union of kissing”), i.e., by the more ethereal manner of union of the Sefirot, whence spiritual entities emanate such as the souls of angels,
וכן נשמות האדם, שיצאו מזיווג דזו״נ דאצילות
and also the souls of man that emerged by the union of zu’n31 of Atzilut — the union of Z’eir Anpin and Malchut of Atzilut,
This form of union is termed zivug gufani (lit., “a ‘physical’ union”), relative to zivug neshikin. From this form of union there derives the birth of souls that become enclothed in actual physical bodies. In the state in which they exist in Atzilut, however, these souls, —
קודם שירדו לבריאה, יצירה, עשיה
before their descent to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah,
אינן בכלל יש ודבר נפרד בפני עצמו
are not counted as created substantiality (yesh) and as [instances of] a distinct and independent entity.
אלא הן מעין בחינת אלקות, בצמצום עצום
Rather, they resemble the category of G‑dliness in intense contraction, to the point of being on the level of a Neshamah.
וכעין הכלים דיו״ד ספירות דאצילות, שהן בבחינת גבול
They are like the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Atzilut which (though they are Divinity) are by nature finite,
על ידי צמצום אור האין סוף, הוא הקו המלובש בנפש רוח ונשמה שלהם
on account of the contraction of the [infinite] Ein Sof-light, viz., the Kav that is vested in their Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah,
The restricted diffusion of the Kav that descends into the kelim lacks the infinite degree of Ein Sof illumination that constitutes the essence of the Kav. It is this contraction that makes it possible for the kelim of the Sefirot to exist in a mode of limitation, even though their union with the orot and their nullification to the orot lends them the characteristics of Divinity, as mentioned above. And in a similar state are the souls of Atzilut as still found within Atzilut.
However, with regard to the contraction of the Kav that is vested within them, the Alter Rebbe goes on to state that this is not merely a tzimtzum, a contraction involving a diminishment of the G‑dly illumination. Rather, —
וכמו צמצום הראשון, להיות חלל וכו׳
just like the original tzimtzum that occurred in the [infinite] Ein Sof-light, a tzimtzum of such intensity that it was able to bring about a void — a “space” — for the existence of worlds, and so on.
This original tzimtzum, unlike all subsequent tzimtzumim, involved much more than a mere diminishment of the intensity of Divine illumination: it involved the removal of the light. The tzimtzum of the Kav which enables it to be vested within the Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah of the Sefirot is similar to this original tzimtzum.
What has been said above refers to souls of Atzilut as they still find themselves within Atzilut, before they are vested within bodies. While in that lofty world they share the characteristics of Divinity, and are not detached entities.
The Alter Rebbe now says that even after their descent into this lowly world, the souls of the early tzaddikim did not undergo a change: they did not become sundered from G‑dliness.
(ואף גם לאחר שירדו הנפש רוח ונשמה דאצילות לעולם הזה לצדיקים הראשונים, אפשר שלא נשתנה מהותן, להיות דבר נפרד מאלקות
(32And even after the Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah of Atzilut descended to this world to the first tzaddikim, it is possible that their essence did not change to become entities distinct from Divinity: they remained on the same level as they had been while still in Atzilut.
ולכן היו מסתלקות כשרצו לחטוא, בטרם יחטאו
That is why they withdrew [from their bodies] (i.e., they died) when they sought to sin, before they sinned.
This follows the teaching in Tikkunei Zohar,33 that a soul of the level of Atzilut departs from the body before the person sins. In this spirit, too, that source interprets the verse,34 “Your sins have separated between yourselves and your G‑d”: Sins cause a cleavage between a soul and its G‑dliness (i.e., the soul’s level of Atzilut which is an aspect of G‑dliness), for sin causes the soul-level that derives from Atzilut to withdraw.
