327. "In the beginning (Heb. beresheet) Elohim created..." is the secret of: "You shall offer up a cake of the first (Heb. resheet) of your dough" (Bemidbar 15:20). This is supernal Chochmah that is CALLED Resheet. THERE IS AN ANALOGY BETWEEN THE TWO VERSES. JUST AS 'RESHEET' IN THE SECOND VERSE ALLUDES TO SUPERNAL CHOCHMAH, SO IT DOES IN THE FIRST. The letter Bet OF BERESHEET, which is derived from the Hebrew word for house, is AN ALLUSION TO the house of the world - NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN - WHEN SHE RECEIVES THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH AND BECOMES A HOUSE FOR THE HABITATION OF THE WORLD. She is irrigated WHEN SHE RECEIVES THE MOCHIN from that river which flows into her, as it is written: "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden..." (Beresheet 2:10). "And a river" that gathers everything from the supernal source, whose waters never cease to flow, waters the garden.

328. This supernal source was the first house, WHICH IS ABA AND IMA, as the letters, WHICH ARE THE VESSELS, were completed through a narrow path hidden inside it (them). From this deep source, two forces emerged, as it is written: "The heaven AND THE EARTH." It is not written 'heaven,' but rather "The (Hei) heaven," WITH HEI. THIS MEANS THAT "THE HEAVEN" COMES OUT from within that deep source, which is the most hidden of all, REFERRING TO THE ASPECT OF THE NARROW PATH IN ABA AND IMA. THE PHRASE "and the earth" MEANS THAT this river - NAMELY YISRAEL-SABA AND TEVUNAH - produced this earth.

329. But AT FIRST, THE EARTH was included within heaven. And HEAVEN AND EARTH, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN AND HIS FEMALE PRINCIPLE, emerged as one, clinging to each other from their rear. When the overall beginning shone - WHEN THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE RECEIVED THE MOCHIN OF CHOCHMAH THAT ARE CALLED OVERALL BEGINNING - heaven, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, took THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE and made her settle down in her place, BECAUSE NOW SHE WAS SEPARATED FROM HIM. SO ZEIR ANPIN GAVE HER A PLACE OF HER OWN, as it is written: "And the (Heb. ve'et) earth," in which ve'et ALLUDES TO the entire TWENTY-TWO letters FROM ALEPH TO TAV that are THE INITIALS OF Et.

330. When the resettled in its place and was separated from the side of the heaven, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, THE EARTH was without form and void. It wanted to continue cleaving to the heaven as one, as before, because THE EARTH saw the heaven shining while it (she) became dark. THIS DARKNESS SURROUNDED THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE until the supernal light came AND EXPANDED TOWARD HER and shone upon her. And SHE again looked upon the heaven, ZEIR ANPIN, face to face. Then the earth was established, and flourished. THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WAS SWEETENED FROM ALL HER HARSH JUDGMENT.

331. AT THIS POINT, THE ZOHAR EXPLAINS HOW THE FEMALE RECEIVED THIS SUPERNAL LIGHT. IT SAYS THAT the light emerged from the right side BECAUSE IT IS RECEIVED BY ZEIR ANPIN, WHO IS THE SECRET OF THE RIGHT, while darkness REMAINED on the left side, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. Afterward, ZEIR ANPIN separated THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS so they may be included within each other. BECAUSE OF THIS SEPARATION, THE FEMALE RECEIVES THE LIGHT FROM ZEIR ANPIN, as it is written: "And Elohim divided the light from the darkness..." (Beresheet 1:4). BY THIS ACT OF DIVIDING, ELOHIM "CALLED THE LIGHT DAY, AND THE DARKNESS HE CALLED NIGHT," DAY AND NIGHT JOINED TO BECOME ONE DAY. You may say that THE PHRASE: "AND ELOHIM DIVIDED" means an actual division, AN ACTUAL SEPARATION BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS. HE SAID: This is not so. THE MEANING IS THAT the day comes from the side of the light, which is the right, and the night COMES from the side of darkness, which is the left. When they emerged together AND GOVERNED AS ONE, he separated them. Dividing came from his side, FROM THE SIDE OF ZEIR ANPIN, so they could look upon each other face to face, cleave to each other and become one.

332. And he, ZEIR ANPIN, is called day. THEREFORE, IT SAYS, HE "CALLED THE LIGHT DAY." And she, THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, is called night, as it is written: "And Elohim called the light day, and the darkness he called night" (Beresheet 1:5). HE ASKS: What is "the darkness" in this verse? HE REPLIED: This is the darkness that clings to the night, because it has no light of its own at all. THIS MEANS THAT THE NIGHT, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, HAS NOTHING OF ITS OWN AND EVEN THE DARKNESS THAT CLINGS ON TO IT DOES NOT BELONG TO IT, BECAUSE IT ORIGINATES IN IMA. Thus, although DARKNESS comes from the side of fire, which is dark, IT STILL DOES NOT BELONG TO THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, AS SHE HAS NOTHING OF HER OWN. Darkness prevails until it is illuminated under THE INFLUENCE OF the day, UNTIL IT RECEIVES THE CHASSADIM FROM ZEIR ANPIN, WHO IS CALLED DAY. AND THEN THE LIGHT OF CHOCHMAH IS ENCLOTHED BY THE LIGHT OF CHASSADIM. SO WE LEARN THAT THIS ASPECT, day - WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN - shines upon the night - WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. But night does not shine UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DAY until the time OF THE END OF CORRECTION, of which is written: "but the night shines as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to you" (Tehilim 139:12).