Chapter 1
אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם
אתה הוא משנברא העולם
“You were [the same] before the world was created; You are [the same] since the world has been created.”1
When a person has just arisen in the morning, his soul is still in his “nostrils,”2 i.e., his soul powers of intellect and emotion are not yet fully alert. While man is asleep, his more refined soul powers of intellect and emotion are in a state of withdrawal. There then exists but a faint echo of these powers. From moment to moment after the person awakens, the soul powers become more firmly ensconced in their bodily organs, the intellect in the mind, and the emotions in the heart.
Therefore, when a Jew first rises in the morning he says: “I offer thanks [to You, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me.” The person is not yet fully awake, and has not [yet] attained a comprehension of G‑dliness; he merely thankfully acknowledges [G‑d’s kindness, though he has yet to understand it].
Even after the Morning Blessings and the “small recitation of Shema,” a person’s soul is still in his “nostrils;” he still does not fully comprehend G‑dliness. However, he is [alert enough to be] aware that with regard to creation, “You were [the same] before the world was created; You are [the same] since the world has been created,” i.e., G‑d does not change because of creation, and His unity remains the same.
The whole of creation causes no change Heaven forbid in G‑dliness, as the verse says:3 “For I, G‑d, have not changed.”4 The various levels of revelation and the multitude of worlds bring about no change in G‑dliness, for before G‑dliness there is no concealment, and in His own eyes, G‑d illuminates the lowest world and highest world equally.
It is similar to a teacher who, while simplifying an intellectual matter in order for it to be intelligible to his weakest student, will perceive the whole depth of the concept in the constricted version for before the teacher himself there is no concealment. The same is true with regard to G‑dliness all constrictions are only for [the sake of] created beings [that they may be able to grasp some minute degree of G‑dliness]; regarding G‑d Himself, however, “I have not changed.”
Truly, this matter must be pondered further. Although it is indeed true that the revelation of G‑dliness in the various worlds affect no change in Him, still, the very fact that He created the worlds seems to mark change. Prior to their creation the worlds did not exist [and now they do]; this itself seems to be a change. How then can we explain that creation caused no change?
However, it is true that “You were [the same] before the world was created; You are [the same] since the world has been created.” The matter is as follows.5
The question of how there can have been no change, when prior to creation worlds did not exist and now they do, would only be pertinent if the worlds were to exist Heaven forbid independently of Him. It would then be possible to argue that the creation of the worlds caused a change G‑d forbid in the Creator. However, the fact that we see the world as existing in an independent state is an error on our part.
Truly, each and every created being is nullified before G‑dliness, and does not exist independently. The question of why creation does not make a change in the Creator is therefore groundless.
G‑d created the world in such a way that the material yesh, being, came about from the spiritual ayin, non-being. This is in accord with the well-known saying:6 “There is no greater creation ex nihilo than material yesh coming from the spiritual ayin.”
The ayin is wholly spiritual, while the yesh is entirely material. The7 Divine ayin which creates the physical yesh must constantly be found in the yesh so as to ensure its continued existence. Although the ayin must constantly be found in the yesh, it must conceal itself from it, in line with the well-known saying:\super 9 “Concealment of the Creator from the created.” Thus, creation of the yesh ( and its continued existence) is entirely dependent on the ayin creating and vivifying it, while at the same time concealing itself from it.
In summary: Upon first awakening, when one’s powers of intellect and emotion are still in an inferior state, [Divine] service involves only thankful acknowledgment. However, after the Morning Blessings, when the powers of intellect and emotions gather strength, the service [of G‑d] entails a cognitive understanding that “I, G‑d, have not changed.” It appears that the creation of the worlds, which previously had not existed and now do, necessitate a change, G‑d forbid. The creation, however, has no existence apart from the Creator. The ayin must constantly be found within the yesh, though concealed fit.
Chapter 2
The very fact that the creation of the yesh from the ayin must occur in such a manner that the ayin is constantly vested in the yesh and at the same time remain concealed from it proves that the yesh is in and of itself a non-entity. The yesh neither creates itself for there is no such thing as a created being creating itself nor does it provide itself with life. All this comes from the G‑dly ayin which brings it into existence and sustains it.
The matter will be better understood by considering the verse: “By the word of the L-rd the heavens were made.”8 The verse tells us that it was the Divine utterance, “Let there be a firmament”9 that was responsible for creation of the heavens. It is also written: “Forever, O G‑d, Your word stands firm in the heavens.”10 The Divine utterance with which the heavens were created must constantly be found therein for the heavens to continually exist.
Even after G‑d created the heavens with the utterance, “Let there be a firmament,” if the utterance ceased the heavens would return to nothingness, for their very existence is entirely dependent upon the Divine utterance, the G‑dly ayin.
Just as this is so with regard to the creation of the heavens, so too with regard to the creation and vivification of all created beings. All of them, large and small, are dependent on the G‑dly ayin the Divine utterance which creates each creature. The entire world was created by the “Ten Utterances,” for these encompass all categories of existence inanimate, vegetative, animal and man.
The Divine utterance is the ayin which creates and sustains the yesh of the created being, and this ayin must constantly be found within the yesh. In other words, it is not simply a matter of the G‑dly ayin creating the yesh, with the yesh then continuing to exist independently. Rather the ayin must be ever-present in the yesh. It is present in a concealed manner.
The reason the ayin must be constantly in the yesh is rooted in the fact11 that the manner whereby G‑d created the world is unlike that of an artisan creating a vessel. When an artisan makes a vessel, once the vessel is complete it is able to exist on its own. The reason for this is that the artisan has but to create it, he does not need to provide it with life.
This, however, is not the case with regard to the creation of the world and all its inhabitants. After the G‑dly ayin , the Divine power of creation, creates the material yesh, it must enclothe itself within it in order to provide it with life.
Why, indeed, does Divine creation differ from an artisan creating a vessel? At first glance, the two forms of creation bear a resemblance. Prior to G‑d’s creation of the world, the world did not exist. Similarly, before the artisan created the vessel it, too, did not exist. Why then do the manners of creation differ, so that the vessel created by the artisan does not need him once it has been finished, while even after the Divine power of creation brought the world into existence, that power must continue to remain therein?
The difference is as follows: The artisan who creates a vessel does not create the raw material; he only changes the raw material’s shape. [Thus, as a point of fact, the artisan does not really create, he only changes the shape of previously existing material.]
However, Divine creation entails creating something entirely new, [something that prior to its creation did not exist at all.] For this reason, the Divine creative force must constantly be found within the created being, for the created being in and of itself is a not-entity all that truly exists is the Divine force.
This is why “You were [the same] before the world was created; You are [the same] since the world has been created.” Creation causes no change at all in the Creator.
In summary: The Divine creative force of the “Ten Utterances” through which G‑d created the universe and all its creatures is the G‑dly ayin that gives life to every created being. Even after the creation, the Divine force must remain in it in order to provide it with life. Were the Divine force to depart, creation would cease to be. When an artisan makes a vessel, he only changes the appearance of the raw material, while Divine creation entails the calling into being of something totally new.
