Daily Zohar # 4943 – Beresheet – Unity and separation for unity

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Beresheet
Continued from previous DZ
#327
Beresheet, etc. This is the secret of ‘רֵאשִׁית עֲרִיסֹתֵיכֶם’—’ The first of your dough’ (Numbers 15:20), which is supernal Chokhmah, called רֵאשִׁית (Reshit). For it derives a גזירה שוה (gezerah shavah*, analogous term): just as the Reshit mentioned in ‘the first of your dough’ is supernal Chokhmah, so too the Reshit mentioned here [in Genesis 1:1] is supernal Chokhmah. This is Binah that returns to being Chokhmah, as is known.
The Bet (ב) of Bereshit indicates the house of the world (בית של עולם), meaning the Nukva of Zeir Anpin (Z” A), which, when receiving the Mochin of Chokhmah, becomes a house for the settlement of the world, to water it, meaning she receives the Mochin from that river that enters her. This is in the secret of the verse, ‘וְנָהָר יֹצֵא מֵעֵדֶן לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת־הַגָּן’—’ And a river went out from Eden to water the garden’ (Genesis 2:10). This means: And a river, which gathers everything from the supernal depth, whose waters never cease, to water the garden. This means: And a river, which is the secret of Yisrael Sava and Tevunah. It goes out from Eden, for Arich Anpin (A” A), called Eden, brought it forth outside the head. It did this to water the garden, so that Yisrael Sava and Tevunah waters the garden, which is the Nukva of Z” A. For without the emergence of Yisrael Sava and Tevunah, the Nukva would have no Mochin. It says that Yisrael Sava and Tevunah do not receive the Mochin directly from Arich Anpin, but instead receive them through Abba and Imma supernal (ila’in), called the supernal depth (umka ila’ah), whose zivug (union) never ceases. This is what is meant by ‘And a river that gathers everything,’ etc.

Notes:
This Zohar passage interprets Genesis 1:1, “Bereshit,” and Genesis 2:10, “And a river went out from Eden,” connecting Reshit to Chokhmah, the Bet to the Nukva (Malchut), and the river to Yisrael Sava and Tevunah. It uses a gezerah shavah from Numbers 15:20 to establish Reshit as Chokhmah.
The Bet (ב) of Bereshit (spelled בית, meaning ‘house’) symbolizes the Nukva of Z” A (Malchut), the “house of the world.” When she receives Mochin of Chokhmah from the river (Yisrael Sava and Tevunah), she becomes a vessel to settle and water the world, as in Genesis 2:10. This reflects Malchut’s rectification from tohu va’vohu (Genesis 1:2) to a conduit for the supernal light.
Yisrael Sava and Tevunah deliver Mochin from Abba and Imma to the Nukva.
*- A gezerah shavah (גזירה שוה) is a Jewish principle used in Torah interpretation, particularly in Halakha and Kabbalah, where two different verses or contexts are connected based on a shared word or phrase, implying they share a similar meaning or law. In the Zohar passage, gezerah shavah links “רֵאשִׁית” (Reshit) in Genesis 1:1 with “רֵאשִׁית עֲרִיסֹתֵיכֶם” (Numbers 15:20), equating both to supernal Chokhmah (via Binah), as the shared term Reshit indicates a common spiritual essence. This method reveals deeper connections between texts, uncovering hidden meanings or principles.

#328
And the supernal depth (עומק עליון) was the first house (בית ראשון), which is Abba and Imma (או” א, A” I), for the letters, which are the vessels (כלים), were completed in a single concealed pathway within them. This means: There are two screens (מסכים), the lock (מנעולא, man’ula) and the key (מפתחא, maftecha). The completion of Abba and Imma is with the screen of the lock (man’ula), and this screen is not known (לא אתידע, lo atyada), and therefore Abba and Imma are called the supernal depth (עומק עליון). But Yisrael Sava and Tevunah, which are the seven lower sefirot (ז” ת) of Binah, are completed with the screen of the key (maftecha), and therefore they are known (אתידע, atyada). From this depth, two powers emerge, meaning the great Zeir Anpin and Nukva (זו” ן הגדולים) and the small Zeir Anpin and Nukva (זו” ן הקטנים). As it is written, ‘אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ’—’ The heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1). ‘The heavens’ (השמים, ha’shamayim) are the great Z” N (זו” ן הגדולים), completed with the lock (man’ula), and ‘the earth’ is the small Z” N (זו” ן הקטנים), completed with the key (maftecha). It does not say ‘shamayim’ (heavens) but ha’shamayim (the heavens), with the Hei (ה), and this Hei indicates that the heavens emerge from that concealed depth (umka satoum) of all, meaning from the aspect of the fine pathway (שביל דק) in Abba and Imma, called the lock (man’ula). The Vav (ו) of ‘and the earth’ (ואת הארץ) indicates that this river, meaning Yisrael Sava and Tevunah, brought forth this earth, which is the small Z” N (זו” ן הקטנים). This means that Abba and Imma brought forth the heavens, which are the great Z” N, and Yisrael Sava and Tevunah brought forth the earth, which are the small Z”N (זו” ן הקטנים).
Notes:
This Zohar passage interprets Genesis 1:1, “The heavens and the earth,” in the context of the supernal depth (עומק עליוןן, Abba and Imma), the screens of man’ula (lock) and maftecha (key), and the emergence of two levels of Zeir Anpin and Nukva (זו” ן הקטנים and זו” ן הגדולים).
Abba and Imma (Chokhmah and Binah) are the “first house” (בית ראשון, bayit rishon), the supernal depth (עומק עליון), whose vessels (letters) are completed through a concealed pathway (שביל דק, Job 28:7, earlier section), governed by the man’ula (lock) screen. The man’ula’s concealment (לא אתידע, lo atyada) signifies tzimtzum, restricting light, making Abba and Imma unknowable.
#329
But initially, within the generality of the heavens, the earth was included, and the heavens and the earth, which are Zeir Anpin and Nukva (Z” N), emerged as one, united back-to-back (אחוריים, achoraim) with each other. When Reshit of all, meaning when the Nukva received the Mochin of Chokhmah, called Reshit of all, then the heavens, which are Z”A, took the Nukva and placed her in her own place.
This means: At the beginning of the emergence of the Nukva, she was united with Z”A, meaning that they both shone with one light, which is the light of Chessed. Since they were in equality of form (השואת הצורה) without any difference between them, they are considered united with each other. For the unity of spiritual entities is the equality of form, as is known. The place of their unity was in the back (אחור) of Z” A, meaning from the chest (חזה) downward of Z” A, where his back vessels (כלים ד’אחוריים) are located. From the chest upward of every Partzuf is considered the vessels of the front (כלים ד’פנים), and from the chest downward of every Partzuf is considered the vessels of the back (כלים ד’אחוריים). Afterward, when Reshit of all shone, meaning when the Nukva received the Mochin of Chokhmah, called Reshit of all, then it is considered that the Nukva was separated (נתנסרה) from Z” A, meaning they were divided from each other. For now, there is a difference in form (שינוי צורה) between Z” A and the Nukva, as Z” A shines with the light of Chessed and the Nukva shines with the light of Chokhmah. For spiritual separation is only a difference in form (שינוי צורה). This is what is meant by ‘the heavens took her and placed her in her place’, for she was separated from him, and Z” A gave her a place of her own. As it is written, ‘וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ’—’ and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1). The Vav-Aleph-Tav (וְאֵת) indicates the inclusion of all twenty-two letters from Alef to Tav, which are the initials of the word Aleph-Tav (אֵת). This means it indicates that she separated from Z” A and attained separate vessels of her own. For the twenty-two letters are all the vessels of the Partzuf. Indeed, all of Chokhmah is explained through the twenty-two letters, and no more are needed.
Notes:
Z” A and Nukva: The Zohar (previous section) states that initially, the Nukva (ארץ, earth) was included within Z” A (שמים, shamayim, heavens), united back-to-back (אחוריים) in a shared form (הישתוות צורה, hishtavut tzura), shining with the light of Chesed (Genesis 1:1). This unity occurs in the chest-downward vessels of Z” A, reflecting a state of undifferentiated oneness before receiving Chokhmah’s Mochin.
Adam and Eve: Similarly, Genesis 1:27 states, “זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בְּרָאָם”—”Male and female He created them,” suggesting that Adam and Eve were initially created as a single entity (צלע, tzela, often translated as “rib” or “side,” but implying a side-by-side unity). The Talmud (Berachot) and Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 8:1) describe Adam as a dual being, with male and female aspects united back-to-back, sharing a single form before separation (נסירה, nesira). In Genesis 2:21-22, God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and takes one of his sides (tzela, צֵלָע), forming Eve as a separate being: “וַיִּקַּח אַחַת מִצַּלְעֹתָיו… וַיִּבֶן יְהוָה אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הַצֵּלָע… לְאִשָּׁה”—”And He took one of his sides… and the YHVH God built the side… into a woman.” This separation creates Eve as an independent entity, distinct from Adam, mirroring the Nukva’s attainment of her own kelim. The tzela (side) parallels the achoraim (back vessels) of Z” A, from which the Nukva is drawn. The separation enables the Nukva to become the “house of the world” (בית של עולם). This prepares Z” N for a face-to-face zivug (union), achieving divine unity in the final correction (g’mar ha-tikkun).
Adam and Eve: Similarly, Eve’s separation from Adam’s side (tzela) allows her to become his partner (עזר כנגדו, Genesis 2:18), enabling their face-to-face union for procreation and fulfilling God’s purpose in creation. This mirrors the Kabbalistic ideal of Z” A and Nukva’s eventual zivug, reflecting harmony and completion in the human and supernal realms.

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