"And the earth was without form"

17. "And the earth was without form and void..." (Beresheet 1:2) THE TERM "was" is exact IN THAT IT IMPLIES the earth's previous state, during which snow was mixed inside water. The act of the snow forming inside the water resulted in a foul substance. And AFTERWARD, a mighty fire beat upon it and refuse was formed inside it. It then conceived and became without form. The place, where at first there was only filth, has become now a nest of refuse THAT IS DESCRIBED AS WITHOUT FORM. IT WENT THROUGH FOUR STAGES UNTIL IT BECAME TOHU: (1) LIGHT TURNED INTO WATER; (2) WATER TURNED INTO SNOW; (3) SNOW TURNED INTO REFUSE WITH THE INFLICTION OF THE FIRE; AND (4) THE REFUSE, OVER TIME, BECAME SUFFICIENTLY DISTINGUISHABLE TO BE CALLED WITHOUT FORM. THE WORDS "and void" REFER TO the refined matter that emerged from the refuse and was set there. Darkness is the secret of the powerful fire and this darkness hovers above the formlessness, over that refuse, and is structured from it. IN OTHER WORDS, DARKNESS DOES NOT MEAN ONLY THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT - THAT IS, EMPTINESS - BUT RATHER THE ASPECT THAT PRODUCES EMPTINESS, LIKE A STRONG FIRE THAT BURNS AND CONSUMES EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES AND LEAVES EMPTINESS IN ITS PLACE. THE REASON WHY IT IS CALLED DARKNESS AND NOT FIRE IS THAT THE BURNING FORCE IS NOT FROM THE FIRE ITSELF, BUT FROM THE REFUSE, WHICH IS WITHOUT FORM, OVER WHICH IT HOVERS, AND FROM WHICH IT RECEIVES.

18. "And wind (also: 'spirit') from Elohim" (Ibid.) ALLUDES TO the spirit of holiness that proceeded from living Elohim and "moved over the surface of the waters" (Ibid.). THIS MEANS THAT after this wind blew, a thin layer from the refuse was refined, just as the filth flies off and away. In this manner, it was refined, covered and purified over and over again until the foulness was left without any filth.

19. When this formlessness was refined and purified, "a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks..." (I Melachim 19:11) Then it emerged like the wind that Elijah saw. The void was refined and purified and noise came from it, as it is written: "And after the wind an earthquake (also: 'noise')" (Ibid.). When the darkness was refined, fire was then included in its secret, as it is written: "And after the earthquake a fire" (Ibid. 12). The wind was refined and a "still small voice" was included within it.

20. Formlessness has neither color nor shape and is not included within the secret of shape at all. Although it may appear to have form, when we look closely it loses all form. Everything has a garment to wear except FORMLESSNESS.

21. Void ALREADY has an image and a shape, the stones immersed inside the engraving of formlessness. When the stones emerge from within the engraving in which they were immersed, they draw down benefit to this world in the form of a garment. They draw goodness down to the world - THAT IS, PURE ? LIGHT - and force THE RETURNING LIGHT up, SO THAT THE PURE ? LIGHT IS ENCLOTHED. THIS IS KNOWN AS SHAPING.

22. These STONES are hollow and viscous because they are suspended in the air. At times, they are suspended in the air because they rise up and out of there, FROM WITHIN THE ENGRAVING OF FORMLESSNESS. At other times, such as cloudy days, they hide and raise water from the abyss to replenish formlessness. This is when there is joy and folly, because formlessness has expanded all over the world.

23. Darkness is a black fire that is strong in color, BECAUSE NO OTHER COLOR CAN CHANGE BLACK. It is also a red fire that is strong in its appearance, AS RED IS THE MOST NOTICEABLE COLOR. It is a green fire, which is solid in form, AS ALL FORMS REACH PERFECTION BY THE GREEN COLOR. And it is a white fire, which is the basis of all other colors. Darkness is strong, because it contains all kinds of fires and it attacks the formlessness. Darkness is a fire THAT CONSISTS OF FOUR COLORS, and it is usually not a dark fire except when it attacks the formlessness. This is the secret of the verse: "his eyes were dim, so that he could not see; he called Esau..." (Beresheet 27:1). The face of evil is darkness, so Isaac, who was kind to evil - TO ESAU - was then called 'darkness,' as he rested upon it so that it may attack it.

24. The wind THAT IS MENTIONED IN THE VERSE: "AND A WIND FROM ELOHIM," is a voice that rests upon the void and guides it in all its needs. This is the secret of the verses: "The voice of Hashem is upon the waters" (Tehilim 29:3) and "And a wind from Elohim moved over the surface of the waters." The stones are immersed deep inside the abyss from which waters flow. This is why they are called "the surface of the waters." The wind guided and strengthened the faces, called the surface of the deep, each according to its requirements.

25. The name Shadai dwells upon formlessness, the name Tzva'ot dwells upon the void and the name Elohim dwells upon darkness. The name Yud Hei Vav Hei dwells upon wind.

26. "And a great and strong wind rent the mountains...but Hashem was not in the wind..." (I Melachim 19:11). The name YUD HEI VAV HEI was not in the wind BECAUSE THIS STRONG WIND COMES FROM formlessness, upon which the name Shadai rests. HENCE IT READS, "BUT HASHEM WAS NOT IN THE WIND." AND IT EXPLAINS THAT THE EARTHQUAKE CAME FROM VOID, AS THE VERSE CONTINUES: "And after the wind an earthquake; but Hashem was not in the earthquake," because only the name Tzva'ot rests upon it in the secret of the Void. Hence, it is called Void. AS FOR THE FIRE THAT COMES OUT OF DARKNESS, THE SCRIPTURE READS, "And after the earthquake a fire; but Hashem was not in the fire" (Ibid. 12), because the name Elohim rests upon it from the aspect of darkness. "And after the fire a still small voice," WHICH COMES FROM THE ASPECT OF A WIND FROM ELOHIM, upon which the name Yud Hei Vav Hei rests. THE VERSE READS "AND WHEN ELIJAH HEARD IT...AND WENT OUT, AND STOOD IN THE ENTRANCE OF THE CAVE. AND, BEHOLD, THERE CAME A VOICE TO HIM, AND SAID, 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ELIJAH?" (IBID. 13). HE DID NOT LEAVE THE CAVE AT THE FIRST THREE ASPECTS, ONLY WHEN HE HEARD A STILL SMALL VOICE, because the name Yud Hei Vav Hei was there. AND HE KNEW THAT YUD HEI VAV HEI WAS TALKING TO HIM.

27. THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI has four segments, NAMELY FOUR LETTERS, that signify the parts of the human body and certain members - namely, the limbs which are four that can become twelve. Here is THE SECRET OF the name that consists of twelve letters, which was given to Elijah while inside the cave. THIS ALLUDES TO THE THREE NAMES OF YUD HEI VAV HEI. EACH CONSISTS OF FOUR LETTERS, WHICH TOGETHER ADD UP TO TWELVE. AND THIS NAME, WITH ITS TWELVE LETTERS, APPEARS IN THE HUMAN BODY. THE FIRST APPEARS IN THE HEAD: CHOCHMAH, BINAH AND DA'AT; THE SECOND IN THE BODY FROM THE TOP TO THE NAVEL: CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET; THE THIRD FROM THE NAVEL DOWNWARD: NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD. EACH PART OF THE BODY IS DIVIDED INTO FOUR OTHER PARTS, WHICH ADD UP TO TWELVE.