פתיחה לחכמת הקבלה 20

כ) ומה שחמש בחינות הקבלה שבבחינה ד' נקראות בשם הספירות כתר חכמה בינה תפארת ומלכות, הוא, כי הבחינה ד' מטרם הצמצום, דהיינו בעוד שהבחינה ד' היתה הכלי קבלה על העשר ספירות הכלולות באור העליון בסוד "הוא אחד ושמו אחד" – כי כל העולמות נכללים שם כמו שכתבנו בתלמוד עשר ספירות חלק א' – נבחן שם הלבשתה להעשר ספירות על פי אותן חמש הבחינות הנזכרות לעיל.

The reason the five levels of receiving that are within the fourth level are called by the names of the sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, is because prior to the constriction (tzimtzum) – that is, when the fourth level was the receiving vessel for the ten sefirot that are encompassed in the supernal light, which is the mystical meaning of “He is one and His name is one,” for all the worlds are incorporated there within the supernal light,²⁷In the initial phase or level, the vessels and lights are not differentiated at all, so all the worlds are incorporated within the supernal light. This is the mystical idea of “He is one and His name is one,” because it reflects the reality that the Creator’s essence (the light, referred to here as “He”) and His manifestation (the vessels, referred to as “His name”), were initially one, and still remain one, as neither of these aspects are outside the Creator, even after the process of differentiation. as we wrote in Talmud Eser Sefirot, part 1 – the enclothing of the ten sefirot by the fourth level was structured according to those aforementioned five levels.²⁸The fourth level, Malkhut, is the final receiver in the series of vessels. While the sefirot are often described in a vertical, linear structure (from top to bottom), they are also referred to as garments, with the lower “bottom” ones also described as “outer.” This is the meaning of the concept of enclothing used here: The lowest, or outermost, vessel of Malkhut contains the aspects of receiving, or opacity, found in each of the preceding vessels, because it is the “garment” for all the vessels that precede it. As the author of the Sulam goes on to explain, each of the vessels contains a particular capacity for receiving the supernal light. For example, the light that fills Keter is a different level from that which fills Bina. Malkhut contains elements of receiving for each of these levels, allowing it to receive all the different levels of light that the previous vessels contain.

שכל בחינה מחמש הבחינות שבה הלבישה הבחינה שכנגדה בהעשר ספירות שבאור העליון. כי בחינת השורש שבבחינה ד' הלבישה לאור הכתר שבעשר ספירות, ובחינה א' שבבחינה ד' הלבישה לאור החכמה שבעשר ספירות, ובחינה ב' שבה הלבישה לאור הבינה, ובחינה ג' שבה הלבישה לאור התפארת, ובחינתה עצמה הלבישה לאור המלכות. ולפיכך גם עתה, אחר הצמצום א', אחר שהבחינה ד' נפסלה מלהיות עוד כלי קבלה, נקראות גם כן חמש בחינות העביות שבה על שם חמש הספירות כתר חכמה בינה תפארת ומלכות.

Each one of the five levels within the fourth level enclothed the corresponding level in the ten sefirot that are encompassed in the supernal light: The root level aspect of the fourth level enclothed the light of Keter of the ten sefirot. The first level aspect within the fourth level enclothed the light of Ḥokhma of the ten sefirot, the second level aspect within the fourth level enclothed the light of Bina, the third level aspect within it enclothed the light of Tiferet, and the fourth level aspect within the fourth level itself enclothed the light of Malkhut. Therefore, now too, after the first constriction (tzimtzum), when the fourth level has been disqualified from being a receiving vessel any longer, the five levels of opacity (ovyut) within it are still called by the name of the five sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut.