Order of Hishtalshelus with Analogies
We will go on a step-by-step journey of the process of Hashem’s Light ultimately ending up having the “unlimited” aspect “hidden,” and a “limited” aspect of that Light coming into our world. Important to Remember: All the levels that “precede” the worlds of Beriah, Yetzira, and Asiya, from Atzilus and higher, exist before any “actual time,” beyond the limitations of any type of time and space, therefore, they all exist eternally and always existed, from our perspective. This sequence is only in the context of the relationship of these levels to each other, but in terms of physical time, they always existed and still exist.
For the first four stages of this process, we will use the analogy of the teacher and student. From stages five and onwards we will use the analogy of the soul powers of a person.
Consider it this way: Imagine that the new “teaching” that the teacher develops for his student is through a story. This story takes on a life of its own, as though it became its own sentient being.
In the case of Hashem, after the Tzimtzum, He puts Himself into the role of “the author of the story” of our Hishtalshelus – order of spiritual worlds, and of the story of our time-space continuum. At that level where Hashem has become “the author” of our story, He puts Himself in the framework of that “story” of the Ten Sefiros and Hishtalshelus. We will use the analogy of how the various soul powers are derived from the simple essence of the soul, to explain how the entire story of Hishtalshelus and time and space derive from “Hashem as the author of the story,” which will be called how Hashem puts Himself into the role of “Adam Kadmon-the beginning of the source of Man.”
1- Or Ein Sof-Infinite Light of Hashem: Originally, Hashem’s Infinite Light filled all of reality. This left no “room” for finite existence, such as worlds.
Analogy: The teacher has a tremendously deep idea in his mind that is too profound for the student to grasp directly.
2- Tzimtzum that creates a “Chalal umakom panuy-empty space devoid of Light”: Hashem “retracted” His Infinite Light back into His Essence, through a process called Tzimtzum, creating a “hollow and empty space,” where the infinitude of His Light would not be perceived (even though it would still exist there in a “hidden state”). This would allow finite revelation to be expressed, which can create finite creations.
Analogy: The teacher retracts his original way of thinking into the back of his mind to allow himself to understand the idea on a more simple level.
3- Shi’eir Be’atzmo BeKoach-He “estimated” in Himself the revelation He would use: After He retracted His Infinite Light, He picked out the idea of Ten Sefiros from infinite possibilities of Sefiros. These Ten Sefiros (also called Ten Hidden Sefiros) would serve as the basis of the “finite Light” that could be used to create the Seder Hishtalshelus.
Analogy: The teacher finds in himself the essential point of the new level of understanding the concept, that he can use to develop into something the student can grasp.
4- Chazar Ve’Hei’ir Kav-He went back to reveal His Light in a limited Kav: Hashem “returned to shine His Light” into the “empty space” in the way of a limited “Kav veChut-Line and String” of Light that will bring into existence every level of Hishtalshelus, the chainlike levels of the spiritual worlds of Divine Revelation.
Analogy: The teacher takes this essential point of the new level of understanding, and develops it into the theme of a story that runs throughout the development of this story/explanation for the student.
5- Igulim Ve’Yosher of Adam Kadmon: The first level of existence that comes into being from the Kav (veChut) is called “Adam Kadmon-the beginning of the source of Man.” At this level, the Ten Sefiros and everything that will be expressed in Seder Hishtalshelus exists all at once as one essential point, one essential state of being.
There are two modes of how the level of Adam Kadmon is expressed, called “Igulim-Circles,” and “Yosher-straight line.”
A- The term “Igulim-Circles” refers to an encompassing Light, how the level of Adam Kadmon equally encompasses all the following levels of Seder Hishtalshelus, including our physical world. For example,
encompasses physicality, equally.
B- The term “Yosher-straight line” refers to how Adam Kadmon contains the potential for the orderly progression of spiritual worlds, one level at a time. Each level is a lower level of revelation of Hashem, where the Infinite Light of Hashem shining in the Kav is less revealed. In “Yosher” each level receives differently from Adam Kadmon, with each descending world receiving less Light.
Analogy: The simple essence of the soul contains possible potential for all the soul powers that are derived from it.
However, in the essence of the soul, they all exist simultaneously as one singularity, not as a conglomerate of different aspects merged. In the essence there is only one
it
“encompasses”
Atzilus
just
as
it
essence that can be expressed in the encompassing and internalized soul powers.
The relationship of the essence to the revealed soul powers is expressed in two ways:
A- It encompasses all the revealed soul powers equally. It is found in the power of action and in the physical body just as it is found in the intellect and the subconscious and will power etc. The “I” of the person, is the same “I” that says “I enjoy, I want,” and “I am moving my foot.”
It is the same essential person in every part of himself.
B- It contains the potential to be expressed in the orderly progression of soul powers, from pleasure, to will power, to intellect, to emotion, to thought-speech-action. Each level is farther removed from the simple essence of the soul, and each level receives its power differently from the soul, with each descending soul power receiving less “light” and revelation from the essence.
6- Parsa of Adam Kadmon: In Adam Kadmon, there is a “Parsa-curtain,” that separates between the essential aspect of Adam Kadmon as one singularity, and how it “carries” the potential for Ten Sefiros. This allows the potential for Ten Sefiros to begin to develop in the next stage of Hishtalshelus.
Analogy: In the essence of the soul, there are two aspects, as it were: The singular essence that is completely indivisible, and the fact that the essence “carries” the potential for the different encompassing and internalizing soul powers. There must be a “divide,” as it were, in the essence to allow potential for division and plurality to come out from a simple indivisible singularity.
7- World of Akudim: The next level that comes into existence from the Kav is called the World of “Akudim-bound together,” where the Lights of the Sefiros are “Ten Lights bound together into one Kli-vessel.” This means that in a certain sense there are Ten Sefiros, at least in the level of Light, however, they all function simultaneously since they are all equally bound together in the Infinite Light that shines through the Kav. The reason that these Ten different and sometimes opposite Sefiros (such as Kindness and Severity) are not contradictory, is because their proximity to their source in Adam Kadmon and the Light of the Kav does not allow them to have their own individual expression.
Analogy: The soul powers as they exist as individual separate powers and capabilities, exist on many levels. The deepest level of how they exist is called “essential soul powers that are included in the essence of the soul.” At that point, there “exist” ten separate soul powers of intellect and emotion, but because they are bound up to the essence of the soul, they function simultaneously as though they were one entity. They are not contradictory to each other because their proximity to the essence of the soul “binds” them together and does not allow them to have their own individual (and contradictory) expressions.
8- World of Nekudim/Tohu: After the Sefiros come into being as “Ten (separate) Lights that are bound together” by their proximity to their Source, they “leave” that proximity by having the intensity of their Source concealed from them, so that they can develop into Ten Sefiros with their own individual (and contradictory) expressions. This process happened in two stages, the first called “Tohu-wild” or “Nekudim-separate points,” and the second called “Tikunestablishment/correction” or “Berudim-merging of colors.” Here we will focus on the first stage, Tohu: The Sefiros became expressed from the world of Akudim as Ten completely separate “Nekudim-points,” not merging together to form one cohesive coalition, as it were. Instead, each Sefira wanted to reveal Hashem in its mode infinitely. For example, Chesed-Kindness wanted to reveal Hashem only in Chesed, in an infinite capacity, leaving no room for revealing Hashem in the mode of Gevurah-Severity. Similarly, Gevurah wanted to reveal Hashem in the way of Gevurah infinitely, leaving no room for revealing Hashem in the way of Chesed. Because these modes of revealing Hashem could not work together, each one was “Tohuwildly” adamant in its own particular approach to revealing Hashem, this system could not be sustained. This system crash/breakdown called “Sheviras HaKeilim-shattering of the vessels” resulted in the “falling” of the “broken pieces” of this system into the realm of unholiness, where each mode of expression of Hashem became so distant from its source that it fuels expressions and concepts that are opposed to Hashem and holiness. For example, the mode of kindness and love for Hashem “broke down” and turned into love for physical pleasure that has nothing to do with serving Hashem at all. The same is true of all the other Sefiros of Tohu that “broke down” and “fell” into unholiness. So, what started off as an unlimited love for Hashem in the world of Tohu that is so intense it leaves no room for anything else, ended up, after a long fall, being the source of love for unholiness.
Analogy: The “essential soul powers that are bound up in the essence of the soul” are intensely powerful. For example, the essential soul power for wisdom is so strong that if it would be fully revealed in the conscious wisdom, the person would be as wise as King Shlomo, with (relatively) unlimited capacity to understand ideas on unlimited levels. The reason we do not have that type of wisdom is because the essential power for wisdom in the essence of the soul is not revealed as it exists in the essential state. Rather, some of that capacity becomes expressed in a limited version and becomes filtered down from its intensity until it reaches our consciousness as regular wisdom. The same is true with the other soul powers, that are not directly expressed in our conscious intellect and emotions from their essential state of being in the soul’s essence, rather they filter down through various stages. However, imagine what would happen if all the soul powers were expressed in the conscious intellect and emotion directly from their essential state of being in the soul’s essence. What would happen is that the person’s mind and heart would overload from the intensity of the different modes of intellect and opposite emotions of love and hate, all with incredible burning intensity. The person would simply go insane and be totally unable to handle himself at all. So, instead of being the wisest and most passionate person in the world, he would just end up being the craziest person in the world, unable to function in any way.
9- New revelation of power for bitul (called שם מ"ה) from Adam Kadmon that “fixes” the shattered vessels of Tohu and creates from that the world of Tikun/Atzilus: After the world of Tohu had the “shattering of the vessels” of the Sefiros, Hashem brought out a new Light from Adam Kadmon that gives a new ability for “bitul-self transcendence” even in the Sefiros themselves, so that the Ten Sefiros can merge together into one cohesive whole.
This ability for the Sefiros to “forgo” their adamancy for infinitude for the greater good of Hashem’s plan for all the Sefiros together comes from a deeper level of “bitul” to Hashem, even as they exist as separate Sefiros. This new Light that comes from the levels of the Inner Will of Adam Kadmon is able to “put back together” the “broken pieces” of the Sefiros from Tohu. This brings into being the World of Atzilus, which is called “Berudim-merging of colors,” since in Atzilus all the Sefiros merge together to function as one harmonious unit, that contains opposite aspects that figured out how to work together effectively.
Analogy: If Hashem were to heal the crazy person from the last analogy, this is possibly how it would work: He would empower the essence of the soul to “tone down” the intensity of its soul powers so that they can function effectively in the limitations of his conscious mind and heart. The essence of the person wants to be able to function, not to be unlimited in wisdom or love etc. This essence would stop the “craziness” of each particular soul power from wanting to be unlimited, by asserting its inner will to be able to function as a healthy person with a healthy balance of soul powers.
10- Parsa between Atzilus and BY”A that creates BY”A as feeling separate from Hashem: The World of Atzilus, which has “functioning” Sefiros, can be the source of creation of finite beings. However, since the Kav is shining in Atzilus, it does not feel itself separate from Hashem at all.
Therefore, there needs to be another “Parsa-curtain” to separate between Atzilus and the created worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiya. (In particular, there was a “Parsa-curtain” dividing between each of the previous worlds as well, between Adam Kadmon and Akudim, between Akudim and Nekudim (Tohu), and between Nekudim and Berudim (Atzilus)). However, this Parsa is different from the previous types of Parsa. The previous types of Parsa were only to filter down the intensity of Hashem’s Light in the Kav, each Parsa limiting the Light to a greater degree, like adding another curtain to filter out even more light. But the Light itself is the same Kav throughout all the levels from Adam Kadmon through Atzilus.
However, the Parsa between Atzilus and Beriah changes the very nature of the Light, producing a different type of Light.
It blocks out the direct perception of Hashem’s Oneness, so that creations cannot “see” that they exist inside of Hashem and that nothing is actually separate from Him. It creates a new perception of reality, that the world seems separate from Hashem, and Hashem is only the Creator and Director of the world, but not that the world is part of Him. This is a new way to look at Hashem that did not exist in all the previous Worlds.
Once Hashem created this perception of Him as existing separate from the world, this perception can be further filtered down through the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiya, each level further obscuring the recognition of Hashem’s presence and providence over each being.
The end result of all of these concealments on the expression of Hashem’s presence is the creation of the physical world, where there are creations who deny Hashem’s existence G-d forbid.
The purpose of this is so that we will have the free will and choice to serve Hashem from our own initiative, and thereby “make a dwelling for Hashem in the lowest world.” Specifically in the place where His Light is most concealed, and where we have our own ego, our sense of independent being, we will discover the True Essence of Hashem that transcends Light, and who is the True Being, who is truly independent and has no source.
Analogy: In the conscious soul powers of intellect and emotion, the essence of the soul is still felt tangibly, and therefore they are always bound up with the essence of the soul.
However, the three garments of the soul, thought, speech, and action, are how the soul is expressed “outside of itself.” Therefore, the essence of the soul needs to create a “separation” and concealment on itself, as it were, in order to “see itself from the outside,” through the garment of thoughts.
Once it can “see itself from the outside” in thought, it can then lower itself further to communicate to someone else in speech, and even lower to interact with the physical world through action. It is specifically when the person goes “out of himself” by interacting with someone else, and through acts of Mitzvos and kindness, he actually “finds himself” on the deepest level of the essence of his soul, beyond intellect and emotions. This is because the ability to go out of oneself comes from the truly unlimited aspect of the essence, that is not even limited to being only himself, and can even “be” a part of someone else’s life and of Hashem’s plan.