It is written: “For a sun and a shield is Hava'ye Elokim.” The explanation of this verse (is as follows]: “Shield” is a covering for the sun, to protect the creatures so that they should be able to bear (its heat]. As our Sages, of blessed memory, have said, “In Time to Come, the Holy One, blessed be He, will take out the sun from its sheath, the wicked will be punished by it . ...” Now, just as the covering shields (i.e., conceals] the sun, so does the name Elokim shield (i.e., conceal] the name Hava'ye, blessed be He.

The meaning of the name Hava'ye is “That which brings everything into existence ex nihilo.” The prefix י [added to the stem הוה], modifies the verb, indicating that the action is present and continuous - as Rashi comments on the verse, “In this manner does Job do יעשה all the days” - i.e., the life-force which flows at every instant into all things created, from “that which proceeds out of the mouth of “G‑d” and “His bread,” and brings them into existence ex nihilo at every moment. For the fact that they were created during the Six Days of Creation is not sufficient for their continued existence, as explained above.

In the enumeration of the praises of the Holy One, blessed be He, it is written, “Hagadol” (the Great), “Hagibor” (the Mighty), etc. “Hagadol” refers to the attribute of Chesed (Kindness) and the spreading forth of the life-force into all the worlds and created things without end or limits so that they shall be created ex nihilo and exist through Chesed Chinom (gratuitous kindness). And [the attribute of Chesed] is called Gedulah (Greatness) for it comes from the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His Glory and Essence, for “G‑d is great and His greatness is unsearchable, “ and therefore, He also causes life-force and existence ex nihilo to issue forth for an unlimited number of worlds and creatures, for “It is the nature of the beneficent to do good:”

Now, this attribute [of Chesed] is the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, alone, for no created thing can create a being out of naught and give it life. This attribute is also beyond the cognition of all creatures and their understanding. For it is not within the power of the intellect of any creature to understand and comprehend this quality and its ability to create a being out of nothing and vivify it. For creatio ex nihilo is a matter which transcends the intellect of the creatures inasmuch as it stems from the Divine attribute of Gedulah. And the Holy One, blessed be He, and His attributes are a perfect unity, as the Holy Zohar states, "He and His attributes are One," and just as it is not possible for any creature's mind to comprehend his Creator, so it is impossible for him to comprehend His attributes.

And just as it is impossible for any creature's mind to apprehend His attribute of Gedulah, which is the ability to create a being out of nothing and give it life, as it is written, "The world is built by kindness," exactly so it is not possible for him to apprehend the Divine attribute of Gevurah (Might, Restraint), which is the quality of Tzimtzum (condensation, contraction, concentration) and restraint of the spreading forth of the life-force from His [attribute of] Gedulah preventing it from descending upon and manifesting itself to the creatures, to give them life and existence in a revealed manner, but rather with His Countenance concealed. For the life-force conceals itself in the body of the created being and [it appears] as though the body of the created being has independent existence and is not [merely] a spreading forth of the life-force and spirituality— as the diffusion of the radiation and light from the sun— but an independently existing entity. Although, in reality, it has no independent existence, and is only like the diffusion of the light from the sun, nevertheless, this [concealment] is the very Restraining Power of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is Omnipotent, to condense the life-force and spirituality which issues from the "Breath of His mouth" and to conceal it, so that the body of the created being shall not become nullified.

And it is not within the scope of the intellect of any creature to comprehend the essential nature of the Tzimtzum and concealment [of the life-force] and that nonetheless the body of the creature be created ex nihilo— just as it is not within the capacity of any creature's intellect to comprehend the essential nature of the creation of being out of nothing.

[The Tzimtzum and concealing of the life-force is called Kelim ("vessels") and the life-force itself is called "Light." For just as a vessel covers that which is within it, so does the Tzimtzum cover and conceal the light and the flowing life-force. And the Kelim are the [Divine] letters whose roots are the five [terminal] letters מנצפ"ך , which are the five restraining forces that divide and separate the breath and voice in the five organs of speech, in order that the twenty-two letters shall be formed. The source of the five restraining forces is Botzinah D'kardunita ("Light from Dark") which is the Supernal Gevurah of Atik Yomin ("Ancient of Days"); and the source of the kindnesses is also Chesed of Atik Yomin, as is known to those well-versed in the Esoteric Wisdom. ]