Chapter II

It is written:1 "All Israel are children of Royalty," i.e., all Jewish souls come from the supernal level of Malchus, or Kingdom.

Though the soul's [deeper] root is in the supernal level of Chochmah (Wisdom), the final decision that a soul should descend into this world, and the years allotted to it here, emanate from the level of Malchus, as the Zohar states:2 "The days and years of men are dependent on the level of Malchus" the final hei of G-d's Ineffable name, Havayah.

G-d's Ineffable Name is composed of the four letters, yud, hei, vov and hei. In the realm of the Supernal Sefiros, yud is the level of Chochmah [Wisdom], hei is the level of Binah [Understanding], vov is the level of the six Supernal Sefiros of Middos [the emotive sefiros] Chesed [Kindness], Gevurah [Severity], Tiferes [Beauty/Mercy], Netzach [Victory], Hod [Majesty/Glory] and Yesod [Foundation].

They are all mentioned in the verse:3 "L-rd, Yours is the greatness, the power, the beauty, the victory and the majesty; for all in heaven and on earth [is Yours]."

"Greatness" refers to the Sefirah of Chesed [Kindness], for as is known,4 the earlier Kabbalists called this Sefirah by the name Gedulah, or Greatness.

"For all in heaven and on earth," refers to the Sefirah of Yesod [Foundation], for the word "all" indicates the level of Yesod [Foundation].

In this verse we thus have enumerated these six Sefiros of the letter vov of G-d's name Havayah. The final hei [of G-d's Ineffable Name] is the Sefirah of Malchus [Kingdom], the Sefirah which fully indicates the content of the days and years that an individual is given in this world. It is due to its special nature as the Sefirah through which G-d creates and vivifies the world that it has been singled out, as the verse states:5 "You give life to them all," upon which the Zohar comments:6 " 'You' refers to the Sefirah of Malchus."

The Midrash states:7 "Do not [merely] read 'You give life to them all,' but [also] read 'You create them all,' " for the divine life-force that vivifies the world also creates it. Thus, the Sefirah of Malchus is the vehicle for the fulfillment of the Divine purpose behind the world's continued existence.

It is written:8 "Your kingship is a kingship over all the worlds." That is, all worlds, from the highest to this, the nethermost, are all created and vivified through the Sefirah of Malchus. The Sefirah of Malchus of each successively higher world is the foundation of the world immediately below it. Thus, the lowest level of Malchus of the world immediately above our own is the highest level within this world, inasmuch as it serves as the whole foundation for this lower world, as it is stated:9 "Malchus of the supernal world of Atzilus becomes an atik, a primary source and keser, a crown, to the world of Beriah."

That the Sefirah of Malchus is the last Sefirah within every world is to be seen from the verse:10 "L-rd, Yours is the kingship," the Sefirah of Malchus. This verse is stated only after the earlier portion of the verse, [wherein the other] Sefiros [are enumerated], since Malchus is the last of all the Sefiros within every world.

This is in accordance with the statement11 that "Malchus is the final level of Atzilus." The Ten Sefiros [found in every world] begin with Chochmah [Wisdom] and conclude with Malchus [Kingdom]. Although the Sefirah of Keser [Crown] precedes Chochmah, it is not counted among the Ten Sefiros because Keser serves as an intermediary12 [and bridge] between the higher world already in existence and the world about to be created. The lowest level of Malchus in the higher world thus becomes the Sefirah of Keser for the lower world. This Sefirah of Keser [known as Malchus before it "left" its own world] is the source of all the Ten Sefiros of the lower world.

In summary: The decision regarding the descent of a soul and the length of its stay is from the Sefirah of Malchus, which is the fourth letter in G-d's Ineffable Name Havayah. Through Malchus is accomplished the intent of the creation and animation of all worlds and their creatures.