The waters conceived and gave birth to darkness

370. Rabbi Aba opened THE DISCOURSE WITH AN EXPLANATION OF THE VERSE: "Who lays the beams of His chambers in the waters..." (Tehilim 104:3). "...the waters" refers to waters above all, NAMELY ABA AND IMA, with which he established the house THAT IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN. About this, it is written: "Through wisdom a house is built; and by understanding it is established" (Mishlei 24:3).

371. "Who makes the clouds (Heb. avim) His chariot" (Tehilim 104:3). Rabbi Yesa divides avim INTO Av and Yam. THIS MEANS THAT Av (cloud), which is darkness FROM THE left, rests on this Yam (sea). In the phrase: "Who walks upon the wings of the wind" (Ibid.), the wind (or spirit) belongs to the supernal Temple. This is the secret of the verse: "And you shall make two Cherubs of gold" (Shemot 25:18). It is written: "And He rode upon a Cherub, and did fly; yea, He soared on the wings of the wind" (Tehilim 18:11). AT FIRST, "and He rode upon a Cherub" REFERS TO THE FEMALE CHERUB, but later He was revealed on "the wings of the wind," THE SECRET REFERS TO THE MALE CHERUB. Until one is stimulated, it is not revealed within the other.

372. Rabbi Yosi said, It is written: "And He weighs the waters by measure" (Iyov 28:25). THIS MEANS that by actual measure did He weigh and fixed them, as THE WATERS flowed into the measure. They are meant for the construction of the world when they REACH THE MEASURE from the side of Gvurah. Rabbi Aba said: The sages of old used to say that when the wise reached this place, REFERRING TO THE SECRET OF THE MEASURE THAT FIXES THE WATER, their lips moved but they uttered no sound because they WERE AFRAID THEY might be punished.

373. Rabbi Elazar continued: The first letter, which was floating over the pure knot, was crowned from below and above. It goes up and comes down, SO THAT NOW THE RIGHT IS STRONGER, AND NOW THE LEFT COLUMN. After the waters, WHICH ARE THE MOCHIN, are engraved into their shapes and THE MOCHIN settle in place, THE TWO COLUMNS are included one within the other, AND THIS IS THE SECRET OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN. So all the letters ROSE UP TO ABA AND IMA, AND FIRST RECEIVED THE MOCHIN OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT COLUMNS. THEN, THEY RECEIVED THE MOCHIN OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN, were combined with one another, and crowned by one another until a building OF THE PARTZUF OF ZEIR ANPIN AND HIS FEMALE PRINCIPLE and its Yesod was built upon them.

374. When all THE LETTERS were constructed and crowned WITH THE MOCHIN OF THE UPPER THREE SFIROT BY THEIR INCLUSION IN ABA AND IMA, the upper waters mixed with the lower waters and produced the house of the world. THE FEMALE IS CALLED THE HOUSE (HEB. BAYIT) OF THE WORLD WHEN SHE RECEIVES THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH. And so the letter Bet, WHICH ALLUDES TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, was first seen as the waters ascended and descended in it, until this firmament was formed and separated them. The dispute BETWEEN THE TWO COLUMNS occurred on the second day OF CREATION, the day on which Gehenom was created, which is a burning fire, BECAUSE OF THE DISCORD, as it is written: "For Hashem your Elohim is a consuming fire" (Devarim 4:24). And it will rest on the heads of the wicked.

375. Rabbi Yehuda said: From this WE LEARN THAT every disagreement for the sake of heaven is destined to last. Here was a disagreement for the sake of heaven, FOR THE SAKE OF ZEIR ANPIN WHO IS CALLED HEAVEN, and heaven was established. After this DISAGREEMENT, ON THE THIRD DAY, it is written: "And Elohim called the firmament Heaven" (Beresheet 1:8). HERE, 'CALLED' MEANS 'TO SUMMON.' The construction of THE HOUSE AND the attic, by means of the beams connecting them, is firm. THE BEAMS SERVE AS A FLOOR FOR THE ATTIC AND A CEILING FOR THE HOUSE. THUS, THE ENTIRE HOUSE AND ATTIC EXIST THROUGH THE BEAMS BUT DID NOT EXIST BEFORE THEY WERE PUT IN PLACE. WITHOUT BEAMS, THERE SHALL BE NO HOUSE AND ATTIC. We have learned that the verse: "And the veil shall be for you as a division between the holy place and the most holy (Holy of Holies)" (Shemot 26:33) is precise. THE HOLY AND THE HOLY OF HOLIES WERE FORMED BY THE VEIL AND ARE PRESERVED BY IT, because THE VEIL is the firmament that divides it within, in the middle, BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER WATERS.

376. Come and behold: It is written afterward "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place" (Beresheet 1:9). Note that it reads precisely "under the heaven." "To one place" MEANS to the place that is called one, which is the lower sea, NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE as she completes THE NAME one. Without her, ZEIR ANPIN is not called 'One.' Accordingly, we learn THAT THE VERSE "Let the waters...be gathered together" implies that all the waters be gathered IN THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, as is written: "All the rivers run into the sea..." (Kohelet 1:7), WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE.

377. Rabbi Yesa said, THE VERSE "To one place" refers to the place about which it is written: "Neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed" (Yeshayah 54:10). IT ALLUDES TO YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN THAT IS CALLED THE COVENANT OF PEACE AND NOT, AS RABBI YEHUDA SAID, TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. For YESOD takes all THE LIGHTS, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "LET THE WATERS...BE GATHERED" and casts them into the sea, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WHEN SHE HAS THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH. Through it, the earth is established, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WHEN SHE HAS THE COMPLETE MOCHIN - WHICH CONSISTS OF CHOCHMAH AND CHASSADIM - as it is written: "And let the dry land appear" (Beresheet 1:9). This is the earth according to the verse: "And Elohim called the dry land earth" (Ibid. 10).

378. HE ASKS: Why is THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE called "dry land"? Rabbi Yitzchak replied: This is one of which it is written, "The bread of affliction (lit. 'poverty')" (Devarim 16:3). It is written: "oni (poverty)" WITHOUT THE LETTER VAV, THEREBY ALLUDING TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WHEN SHE HAS CHOCHMAH WITHOUT CHASSADIM. AT THAT TIME, SHE IS CALLED "THE BREAD OF POVERTY," BECAUSE SHE CANNOT SHINE. Because she is CONSIDERED THEN TO HAVE THE NAME, "The bread of affliction," she is also called "dry land" AS WELL, WITHOUT THE WATERS THAT ARE THE MOCHIN. THEREFORE, THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE absorbs into herself all the waters of the world, NAMELY THE LIGHT OF CHOCHMAH THAT INCLUDES THE ENTIRE MOCHIN OF THE UPPER THREE SFIROT. NEVERTHELESS, she remains dry until this place, NAMELY YESOD THAT IS CALLED "ONE PLACE," fills her up WITH THE LIGHT OF CHASSADIM. The waters then flow throughout the sources OF ABUNDANCE FROM YESOD THROUGH THE ENCLOTHING OF CHOCHMAH WITH CHASSADIM.

379. THE VERSE: "And the gathering together of the waters He called seas" (Beresheet 1:10) refers to the reservoir (lit. 'the house of gathering') of above IN BINAH. All the waters gather there, and flow and go forth. Rabbi Chiya said, The "gathering together of the waters" is AN ALLUSION TO the Righteous - NAMELY YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN - because when YESOD reaches the gathering, it is written: "And Elohim saw that it was good" (Beresheet 1:10). It is also written: "Say of the righteous, that is shall be well with him (also: 'that it is good')..." (Yeshayah 3:10). Rabbi Yosi said: Yisrael - WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN - is CALLED 'the gathering together' (Heb. mikveh) of the waters, as it is written: "O Hashem, the hope (Heb. mikveh) of Yisrael" (Yirmeyah 17:13).

380. ACCORDING TO Rabbi Chiya, THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF THE WATERS is the Righteous, NAMELY YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, as it is written: "And the gathering together of the waters He called seas," WHICH IS THE NAME OF THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH. The streams, the springs and the rivers - WHICH ARE ALL DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH - are all taken by YESOD, who is the source of all of them. THIS IS WHY it receives them all and it is called the seas. Based on this, AS A RESULT OF YESOD ESTABLISHING THESE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH, THE VERSE READS, "And Elohim saw that it was good."

381. Because it is so marked - MEANING THAT IT INCLUDED WITHIN ITSELF THE ENTIRE MOCHIN BOTH OF CHOCHMAH AND CHASSADIM - it represents the division between the first and third day. It is not said "good" in between, REFERRING TO THE MOCHIN OF THE SECOND DAY. On the third day, the earth - NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE - produced fruit from the power of this Righteous - NAMELY YESOD - as it is written: "And Elohim said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit'" (Beresheet 1:11). HE ASKS: What is the "fruit tree," AND REPLIES: This is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, ALLUDING TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN. "Yielding fruit" means the Righteous, the fountain (Yesod) of the world THAT PRODUCES ALL THE FRUIT AND BESTOWS THEM UPON THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. AS A RESULT OF THE GREATER VALUE OF YESOD, THE SECOND DAY SEEMS TO BE OF RELATIVELY LITTLE VALUE, SO IT IS NOT SAID ABOUT IT "THAT IT WAS GOOD."

382. THE PHRASE "yielding fruit after its kind" IN THE VERSE, "AND FRUIT TREE YIELDING FRUIT AFTER ITS KIND" MEANS THAT YESOD leaves an imprint on every human being who has a spirit of holiness and who is a fruit of that tree - NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN - "after its kind." Just as YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN is a holy covenant and a covenant of peace, so are the people of Faith "after its kind," THOSE WHO HAVE MERITED THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS FROM THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. THIS MEANS THAT THEY ALSO ATTAIN THE GRADES OF THE HOLY COVENANT AND THE COVENANT OF PEACE. They enter into its kind, THEY CLEAVE TO IT, and they never separate themselves from it. The Righteous, NAMELY YESOD, yields fruit, THAT IS, BRINGS FORTH THE SPIRITS AND SOULS OF HUMAN BEINGS. That tree, NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN, becomes pregnant WITH THE FRUIT THAT SHE RECEIVES FROM YESOD, WHICH ARE THE SPIRITS AND SOULS, and produces that fruit after its kind, after the kind of that, which yields the fruit, NAMELY YESOD. WHOEVER RECEIVES ITS FRUIT becomes like it. THEN THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE GIVES THEM TO HUMAN BEINGS, WHO RESEMBLE IT WHICH YIELDS THE FRUIT.

383. Happy is the lot of he who resembles his father and mother, WHO ARE THE MALE AND FEMALE PRINCIPLES. Therefore, the sacred imprint - THE CUTTING OF THE FORESKIN on the eighth day - is for the purpose of making him resemble his mother, WHO IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN. Thus, the splitting of the membrane and exposure of the sacred imprint is done to make him resemble his father, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN. FOR BY THE PRECEPT OF CIRCUMCISION, HE MERITS THE MOCHIN OF THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE AND BY THE SPLITTING OF THE MEMBRANE, HE RECEIVES THE MOCHIN OF ZEIR ANPIN. This is why the "fruit tree" is one's mother, THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN, and "yielding fruit" is the holy covenant, WHICH IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, one's father. It is "after its kind" so that he may resemble his father, and be imprinted by him TO RECEIVE ALL HIS VIRTUES.

384. IT IS WRITTEN: "Whose seed is in itself, upon the earth" (Beresheet 1:11). HE ASKS: WHY IS IT WRITTEN, "Whose seed (Heb. zar'o, Zayin- Resh-Ayin-Vav) is in itself," when it should have been written 'a seed' WITHOUT THE LETTER VAV? HE REPLIED: Because the seed (Heb. zera, Zayin-Resh-Ayin) of Vav, WHO IS ZEIR ANPIN, is in it. IT IS WRITTEN "upon the earth." This is certainly so, because this seed has been cast BY ZEIR ANPIN upon the earth, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. Happy is the lot of The Children of Yisrael, who are holy and resemble holy beings, MEANING THAT THEY RECEIVE THE MOCHIN FROM THE MALE AND FEMALE PRINCIPLES AND RESEMBLE THEM. Because of this, it is written: "And your people shall also be all righteous" (Yeshayah 60:21). They are certainly all righteous because their souls come from righteous people, WHICH ARE THE SFIROT OF YESOD OF THE MALE AND FEMALE PRINCIPELS. This is why they resemble them. They are blessed in this world and in the World to Come.

385. Rabbi Chiya said: It is written, "He has made the earth by His power" (Yirmeyah 10:12). SO HE ASKS: What is THE MEANING OF, "He has made the earth?" HE REPLIES: This is the Holy One, blessed be He, above, and "by His power" is the Righteous, NAMELY YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN. IN THE VERSE, "He has established the world by His wisdom" (Ibid.), "the world" ALLUDES to the earth below and "his wisdom" MEANS righteousness, as it is written: "And He will judge the world in righteousness" (Tehilim 9:9). "He has made the earth" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who fully establishes the earth and prepares its ways. By what DOES HE FULLY ESTABLISH IT? "By His power," as we have stated.

386. Rabbi Yehuda said: In THE BOOK, 'the engraved letters' of Rabbi Elazar, there are knots by which all 22 LETTERS are bound together as one. THERE ARE two letters THAT BIND THE 22 LETTERS AS ONE, one ascends and the other descends. That which ascends descends, and that which descends ascends, as is noted in the verse: "Surely (lit. 'but') El is in you" (Yeshayah 45:14).

387. Rabbi Yosi said: The tip of the scales stands in the middle. Its portent may be found in the verse, "In weight, or in measure" (Vayikra 19:35), in which "in weight (Heb. mishkal)" MEANS THAT the tongue of the scales is in the middle, BECAUSE THE SCALES ARE JUST. This is the secret of WHAT IS WRITTEN: "After the shekel of the sanctuary..." (Shemot 30:13); and the scales that weigh THE MOCHIN are set upon THE POINT IN THE MIDDLE. HE ASKS: What are the scales BY WHICH, AS YOU SAY, THE MOCHIN ARE WEIGHED? HE ANSWERS, This is according to what is written: "Just balances" (Vayikra 19:36), MEANING THAT JUSTICE IS WEIGHED BY THEM. And all MOCHIN are established by this weight "after the shekel of the sanctuary." Rabbi Yehuda said that the phrase: "After the shekel of the sanctuary (lit. 'holy shekel')" is an allusion to the Spirit of holiness.

388. Rabbi Yitzchak said: It is written, "By the word of Hashem were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Tehilim 33:6). "By the word of Hashem were the heavens made" refers to the lower heavens, which were made by the word of the upper heavens. They were made "By the breath" that produces a voice until it reaches the river that comes out and flows, and whose waters never cease. AND THE PHRASE, "And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" APPLIES TO all lower beings, who exist ONLY by THE LIGHT OF the breath, which is male.

389. In discussing the verse, "He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works" (Tehilim 104:13), HE ASKS: What are "His upper chambers?" HE ANSWERS: This is consistent with "who lays the beams of His upper chambers" (Ibid.). "The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works" is the secret of the river that comes out and flows downward. THEREFORE, IT IS WRITTEN, "THE EARTH" - NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE - "IS SATISFIED," AS SHE RECEIVES THIS LIGHT OF CHOCHMAH. Thus, it is written: "And the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself," as has already been explained.