Let Us Make a Human in Our Image by Our Likeness
by tillerofthesoil
“I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God (Isaiah 44:6). I am the first—I do not have a father; I am the last—I do not have a brother; and besides Me there is no God—I do not have a son” (Shemot Rabbah 29:4).
“And אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) said, ‘Let us make a human’ (Genesis 1:26). It is not written הַאָדָם (ha-adam), the human, but rather אָדָם (adam), a human, indefinite—excluding the one above [i.e., the אָדָם קַדְמוֹן (adam qadmon), Primordial Human], who was made with a complete name [יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (YHWH Elohim) (Genesis 2:7)]” (Zohar 2:178a, cf. ibid., 2:70a-b).
“And אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) said, ‘Let us make a human’ (Genesis 1:26). The secret of יְהוָה (YHWH) is for those who fear Him (Psalms 25:14).
The Elder of Elders opened, saying, ‘Shim’on, Shim’on, who is He who said, ‘Let us make a human’—who is this אֱלֹהִים (Elohim)? Meanwhile, the Elder of Elders vanished. When Rabbi Shim’on heard that he called him Shim’on and not Rabbi Shim’on, he said to the Companions: This is indeed the blessed Holy One of whom is said, And the עַתִּיק יוֹמִין (attiq yomin), Ancient of Days, took His seat (Daniel 7:9). Now is the time to reveal this secret which was previously forbidden, and permission has now been given to reveal it.
This is like a king who had many buildings to build and he had an אוּמָן (uman), artisan. That artisan did not do anything without the permission of the king, as is written, I was by Him, an אָמוֹן (amon), intimate (Proverbs 8:30) [cf. Guide of the Perplexed 2:4]. The king is most certainly supernal חָכְמָה (ḥokhmah), Wisdom, above and the middle pillar [תִפאֶרֶת (tif’eret), Beauty; זְעֵיר אַנפִּין (ze’eir anpin), Small Countenance] is the king below. אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), the artisan above, is supernal Mother [בִּינָה (binah), Understanding]. אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), the artisan below, is the שְׁכִינָה (shekhinah), Divine Presence [מַלְכוּת (malkhut), Kingdom].
A wife is not permitted to do anything without the permission of her husband. Of all the structures that were in the way of אֲצִילוּת (atsilut), Emanation, Father would say to Mother, ‘Let there be’ such and such and it was done immediately. It is written: And said, ‘אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), Let there be light’ and there was light (Genesis 1:3). And said—spoken to אֱלֹהִים (Elohim)—‘Let there be light.’ So Father, uttered the words and the artisan, Mother, completed the task immediately. And this was the same with every structure in the way of אֲצִילוּת (atsilut), Emanation—Father, would say, ‘Let there be a firmament’ or ‘Let there be lights’ and Mother, would complete everything in an instant.
When the עָלְמָא דִפְרוּדָא (alma di-feruda), world of separation, came, which is the world of those divided [see Zohar 1:158a], the artisan said to the architect, ‘Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness’ (Genesis 1:26). The architect said: It is indeed good that man is made, but he will offend before you, because he is foolish, as is written, A wise son gladdens his father, but a foolish son is his mother’s sorrow (Proverbs 10:1).
She said: Because his crimes depend on Mother, and not Father, I wish to create him in My own image, as is written, And אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) created the human in His image (Genesis 1:27)—She did not want Father, to have any share [although often depicted as the Divine Mother, Binah is also described as ‘World of the Male,’ encompassing the entire configuration of the sefirot from Ḥesed through Yesod. Together they constitute a masculine entity ready to join Shekhinah, see Zohar 1:147a, 149a, 96a, 160b, 246a-247a, 248b; 2:127b; ZḤ 72b (ShS)].
What is written at the time of the squandering? For your crimes, your mother was sent away (Isaiah 50:1). The king said to the mother, ‘Did I not tell you that he was destined to sin?’ In that instant, he exiled him and his mother. Therefore, it is written: A wise son gladdens his father, but a foolish son is his mother’s sorrow. A wise son—man of אֲצִילוּת (atsilut), Emanation [זְעֵיר אַנפִּין (ze’eir anpin), Small Countenance]. A foolish son—man of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation.
All the Companions rose and said ‘Rabbi, Rabbi, could there be such separation between Father and Mother, [so much so that] from the side of Father he is in the way of אֲצִילוּת (atsilut), Emanation, but from the side of Mother in [the way of] בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation?! He said to them, ‘Companions, Companions, it is not so, because man of אֲצִילוּת (Atsilut), Emanation, is male and female, from the aspect of Father and from Mother. This is why אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. ‘Let there be light’—from the side of Father. And there was light—from the side of Mother. So man had דוּ פַּרְצוּפִין (du partsufin), two faces [see BT Eruvin 18a].
But to him [of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation] there is neither image nor likeness [of Father or Mother]. The supernal Mother has but one appellation: Light and… Darkness (Isaiah 45:7), which amounts to eighty-six: אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) [כִּנּוּי (kinnui), appellation, אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), and הַטֶבַע (ha-teva), nature, are each numerically equivalent to eighty-six, cf. Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, Get ha-Shemot, 101b (Ms Oxford, 1682)]. And that appellation is Light and Darkness [אוֹר וּחֹשֶׁךְ (or u-ḥoshek), Light and… Darkness, is numerically equivalent to יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el), Israel]. And because of that appellation of darkness, Father said that man of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation [אָדָם רִאשׁוֹן (adam rishon), First Man], was destined to offend because he is light of the supernal garment.
Light—light that the blessed Holy One created on the first day, hiding it away for the righteous alone [see BT Ḥagigah 12a]. Darkness—created on the first day for the wicked: And the wicked in darkness turn dumb (1 Samuel 2:9). On account of that darkness, which would cause that light to sin, Father did not wish to partake in his creation. Therefore, Mother said, ‘Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness. In our image—in that light. By our likeness—in that darkness which is a garment for light, just as the body is a garment for the soul, as is written: With skin and flesh You clothed me (Job 10:11). They all rejoiced, saying, ‘How happy is our share that we had the privilege to hear words that were not to be heard until now.’
Rabbi Shim’on delved further, saying, ‘See now that I, I am He, and no אֱלֹהִים (elohim), god, is by My side’ (Deuteronomy 32:39). Companions, listen to ancient words I wish to reveal since permission from above has been granted. Who is He who said, ‘See now that I, I am He’? He replied: The עִלַּת עַל כָּל עִלָּאִין (illat al kal illa’in), Cause above all Causes. He that is called עִלַּת הָעִלּוֹת (illat ha-illot), the Cause of Causes, is not high above all the supernal beings, but rather, is a cause among all the rest. Accordingly, every single one of these causes will not act unless permission comes down from the cause above him, as I said before with, Let us make a human.
Let us make—two rungs, and each lower rung said to the one above him, Let us make a human. The lower rung cannot act without permission from the one over him and the one over him cannot act until direction comes down from his companion. But He that is called עִלַּת עַל כָּל עִלּוֹת (illat al kal illot), Cause above all Causes, has no equal above nor below, as is written: To whom then will you liken Me, or shall I be equal? says the Holy One (Isaiah 40:25). He said, ‘See now that I, I am He, and no אֱלֹהִים (elohim), god, is by My side’—from whom to take counsel, unlike him of whom is written: And אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) said, ‘Let us make a human.’
All the Companions rose and said, ‘Rabbi grant us permission to speak. Did you not already say that the Cause of Causes, said to Keter, ‘Let us make a human.’ He said to them: ‘Let your ears hear what your mouth speaks. Have I not just told you that he that is called the Cause of Causes is not He that is called the Cause above all Causes, for the Cause above all Causes has no second from whom He can take direction. He is יָחִיד (yaḥid), Singular, prior to all, and He has no partner [see Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith].
Accordingly, He said, ‘See now that I, I am He, and no god is by My side’ (Deuteronomy 32:39), from whom He should take counsel [cf. BT Sanhedrin 38b; Bereshit Rabbah 8:8]; for He has no second, no partner, and no reckoning. [However,] there is a oneness in partnership in the manner of male and female, of whom it is said, [Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you:] for one I called him [and blessed him, and increased him] (Isaiah 51:2). But He is one without reckoning and without partnership, thus, He says, no god is by My side.’ They all rose, bowed before him and said, ‘Happy is the man whose Master gives him consent to reveal hidden mysteries that were not even revealed to the holy angels.’
He said to them, ‘Companions, we should complete this verse because it contains many mysteries. I put to death and give life (Deuteronomy 32:39)—I put to death and give life by the sefirot. From the right-side life, and from the left-side death. But if both do not agree by mediation of the middle pillar—unless all three settle together—judgment cannot be carried out.
At times, all three agree to execute judgement. Then an outstretched hand appears to accept those who repent: יהוה (YHWH). That יַד (yad), hand, is equivalent to י״ד (fourteen) letters: four in the simple form of יהוה (YHWH) and ten in the fully spelled Name: יוד הא ואו הא (Yod He Vav He). The four letters allude to the sefirah כֶּתֶר (keter), Crown; the other ten to the sefirah חָכְמָה (ḥokhmah), Wisdom. This is the Shekhinah, which is the right hand from the side of חֶסֶד (ḥesed), Kindness, and the left hand from the the side of גְבוּרָה (gevurah), Strength. [It is also] called the Hand of יהוה (YHWH) from the aspect of the middle pillar. When one repents, these fourteen letters save him from judgement. But when the Cause above all Causes passes judgment [I smash and I also heal] and none rescues from My hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
Furthermore, three times it has been said, אֲנִי אֲנִי אֲנִי (ani, ani, ani), I, I, I—[this verse has three] א (alef) [in its beginning and three] י (yod) [in its ending]. Here is the hint: יוד הי ואו הי (Yod He Vav He); יוד הא ואו הא (Yod He Vav He). [The verse also employs] three ווין (vavin), ands: וַאֲחַיֶּה (va-aḥayeh), and I give life... וַאֲנִי (va-ani), and I… וְאֵין (ve-ayin), and none… They are also hinted at by these [two] names.
Despite this all the Companions have explained it concerning other אֱלֹהִים (elohim), gods, as is written: See now that I, I am He—the blessed Holy One and His Shekhinah. Of His Female is said, אֲנִי (ani), I am, הוּא (hu), He. And no god is by My side—[neither] Samael nor the serpent. I put to death and give life—I kill with My Shekhinah whoever is guilty and give life with Her to whoever is righteous. And none rescues from My hand—the יָד (yad), hand, of יהוה (YHWH) which is numerically equivalent to י״ד (fourteen). יוד הא ואו הא (Yod He Vav He); and כוזו במוכסז כוזו (KWZW, BMWKSZ, KWZW) [permutations of the Name]. All these explanations are true. But what we said before is that It is the Cause of Causes—the Cause above all others. This mystery was not even revealed to all the sages and prophets [but only the select few among them, such as Rabbi Shim’on son of Yoḥai].
Come and see: How many causes, and rungs, are concealed and unknown. They are clothed and enveloped by the sefirot, which are chariots for them. These causes are hidden from the thoughts of man, as is written: For he who is high has a higher one watching him, and still higher ones over them (Ecclesiastes 5:7)—each higher light is brighter than its neighbor. So the recipients are dimmer than those above because they are the recipients, and that which is lower than its neighbor is dimmer than its neighbor. No light can bear the presence of the Cause of Causes, because all lights are darkened and diminished before It.
Another explanation of the Companions: Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness—the ministering angels spoke this. He [Rabbi Shim’on son of Yoḥai] said to them: Since the angels already know the past and future, they already knew that he was destined to sin. Why would they want to make him?
Not only that, but Aza and Azael also opposed. When the Shekhinah said to the blessed Holy One, Let us make a human, they protested: What is a human creature that You should know him, [the son of man, that You pay him mind?] (Psalms 144:3). Why do You wish to create man when You know that he is destined to offend before You, with her who is darkness, since light is male and darkness female—left, darkness of Creation [see Bahir §13]. At that moment, the Shekhinah said to them: You will fall by the same reasoning that you denounce! [cf. BT Qiddushin 70a: ‘And he who declares unfit is unfit and never speaks in praise. And Shemu’el said: With his own blemish he stigmatizes as unfit’]. As is written: The sons of הָאֱלֹהִים (Ha-Elohim), God, saw that the daughters of men were comely, and they took themselves wives whomsoever they chose (Genesis 6:2), so they went astray after them. And the Shekhinah caused them to fall from their holy state.
The Companions said, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi, Aza and Azael did not lie! For man was certainly destined to offend with the female.’ He replied: This is what the Shekhinah said, ‘You have made accusations before me that go beyond those of all the hosts above. If you were better than humans in your actions, you would have had a right to accuse him, but man will offend with only one woman, while you [are destined to offend] with many women. Therefore, your offences surpass those of man, as is written: The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were comely, and they took themselves wives whomsoever they chose (Genesis 6:2). It is not written: the daughter of men, but rather the daughters of men. If man is liable, I have prepared תְּשׁוּבָה (teshuvah), repentance, for him to repair the offence.’
The Companions asked, ‘If so, why all this?’ Rabbi Shim’on replied: If the blessed Holy One had not created [the] good and evil [impulses], which are light and darkness, there would not have been any merit or liability for the man of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation. So man was created with both, as is written: See, I have set before you today life and good and death and evil, that I charge you today to love YHWH your God, to go in His ways and to keep His commands and His statutes and His Laws (Deuteronomy 30:15). They asked him: Why all this? Better He had not created darkness. Then man would have no reward and no punishment, as opposed to being created and having to offend thereby causing much [cf. Zohar 3:159a].
He said to them: It was right to create him in this way because Torah was created for his sake, for it contains punishments for the wicked and rewards for the righteous. Thus, there can be no reward for the righteous or punishment for the wicked without the man of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation. He did not create it a wasteland. He formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). They said, ‘Indeed, now we have certainly heard what we had never heard before. It is now clear that the blessed Holy One did not create anything unnecessary’ [cf. M Avot 4:3].
Furthermore, Torah of בְּרִיָּה (beri’ah), Creation, is the garment of Shekhinah. If man had not been created, She would have remained without clothing, like a pauper. Therefore, whoever transgresses acts as if he is stripping the Shekhinah of Her garments [cf. Leviticus 18:7]. This is the punishment for man.
Whoever performs the decrees of Torah clothes the Shekhinah in Her garments. Accordingly, about the garments of tsitsit and tefillin it says, For it is his sole covering, it is his cloak for his skin—in what can he lie? (Exodus 22:26). This applies during exile when the Shekhinah is stripped of Her garments.
Come and see: Darkness is the mystery of black [ink] of Torah. Light is the white [negative space] of Torah” (Zohar 1:22a, Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, cf. Bahir §198).
“Rabbi Abba said, ‘Why does ו (vav) include ואו (vav, alef, vav) [in its complete spelling]? Well, ו (vav)—sitting on the Throne, as is said: Upon the image of a throne, an image like the appearance of a human being upon it above (Ezekiel 1:26). א (Alef)—concealed within it, unrevealed, corresponding to what is written: בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי (Bi nishba’ti), [By that which is] within Me I swear, declares YHWH (Genesis 22:16). So it is written, yet not pronounced. Last ו (vav)—entirety of first ו (vav). Last ו (vav), as we have established, is Yesod, who is consummation of the body and its entirety. Thus, letters are included with one another: ו (vav), beginning and consummation, as we have established” (Zohar 3:66b).
“It has been taught: … The name of the Ancient One is concealed from all, never expressed in the Torah except in one place, where Ze’eir Anpin swore to Abraham, as is written: בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי (Bi nishba’ti), [By that which is] within Me I swear, declares YHWH (Genesis 22:16)—declares Ze’eir Anpin. And it is written: By you shall Israel bless (ibid., 48:20)—Israel above. And it is written: Israel, in you I glory (Isaiah 49:3)—Israel spoke this. Yet we have learned: ‘The Ancient of Days spoke it.’ Both this and that are fine” (Zohar 3:130a, Idra Rabba).
“The Holy Ancient One, concealed of all concealed. Separate, separated from all, yet not separate; for all are joined to it, and it is joined to all. It itself is all! … The light of each and every spark, called Adornments of the King, Crowns of the King—each one shines into, joins onto the light within, within, no separating without. So all rises to one level, all is crowned with one word; no separating one from the other. It and Its name is one” (Zohar 3:288a, 296b Idra Zuta).
“The Ancient of Days has three heads. He reveals himself in three countenances, all three forming but one. He is thus symbolized by the number three. They are revealed in one another. First, secret, hidden Wisdom; above that the Holy Ancient One; and above Him the Unknowable One. None knows what He contains; He is above all conception He is therefore called for man אַיִן (ayin), Non-Existing” (Zohar 3:288b, Idra Zuta).
“People have thought that in the Hebrew language image denotes the shape and configuration of a thing. This supposition led them to the pure doctrine of the corporeality of God, on account of His saying: ‘Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness.’ For they thought that God has a man’s form, I mean his shape and configuration. The pure doctrine of the corporeality of God was a necessary consequence to be accepted by them. They accordingly believed in it and deemed that if they abandoned this belief, they would give the lie to the biblical text; that they would even make the deity to be nothing at all unless they thought that God was a body provided with a face and a hand, like them in shape and configuration. However, He is, in their view, bigger and more resplendent than they themselves, and the matter of which He is composed is not flesh and blood. As they see it this is as far as one can go in establishing the separateness of God from other things” (Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed 1:13a).
תְמוּנָה (Temunah), image, likeness, form, is numerically equivalent to פַּרצוּף אָדָם (partsuf adam), human configuration (Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, Hassagot 26c).
“Rabbi Yirmeyahu son of El’azar said: The first man had דוּ פַּרְצוּפִין (du partsufin), two faces, for it is said: From behind and in front you have shaped me (Psalms 139:5)” (BT Eruvin 18a).
“Now, was the Torah an artisan? Yes. This may be compared to a king who wishes to build palaces. If he does not appoint an artisan, he cannot build the palaces. Once the palaces are built, the king’s name alone is esteemed: ‘These are palaces built by the king! The king conceived those palaces!’ [cf. BT Sotah 13b: ‘Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: Whoever performs a task without finishing it and another comes and completes it, Scripture ascribes it to the one who completed it as though he had performed it’].
Similarly, the blessed Holy One wished to create the world, and He gazed upon the artisan. Although the artisan built the palaces, the King’s name alone is esteemed. Surely the King built the palaces! Torah exclaims, ‘I was beside Him as an artisan! By me, the blessed Holy One created the world!
Now, did the blessed Holy One create the world by her? Well, before the world was created, Torah preceded the world by two-thousand years. And when the blessed Holy One wished to create the world, He gazed upon Torah, upon every single word, and formed correspondingly the artistry of the world; for all things and actions of all worlds are in Torah. Therefore the blessed Holy One gazed upon her and created the world. Not that Torah created the world, but rather the blessed Holy One, by gazing into Torah, created the world” (Zohar 2:161a-b).
“בְּרֵאשִׁית (Bereshit), In the beginning, is numerically equivalent to בְּתוֹרָה יָצַר (be-Torah yatsar), with Torah He formed” (Ba’al ha-Turim to Genesis 1:1).
Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning. I YHWH, the first, and with the last; I am He… They helped everyone his neighbor… So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smoothes with the hammer him that struck the anvil (Isaiah 41:4-7).
“A carpenter does not build a storehouse qua a maker, but because there subsists in his mind the form of the storehouse. For it is the form of the storehouse subsisting in the mind of the carpenter that caused the form of the storehouse to pass into actuality and to be realized in timber. In this way the giver of a form is indubitably a separate form, and that which brings intellect into existence is an intellect, namely, the Active Intellect” (Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed 2:4).
“Rabbi Yehudah said, ‘Concerning this is written: Should the axe boast over him who hews with it?’ (Isaiah 10:15). To whom does praise belong—not to the craftsman?” (Zohar 1:31b).
“By Torah, the human being was created, as is written: God said, ‘Let us make a human’ (Genesis 1:26). She replied, ‘This human is destined to provoke You. Unless You are patient with him, how will he endure in the world?’ He said to her, ‘You and I will sustain him in the world, for I am not called slow to anger for no reason” (Zohar 3:36a).
“Rabbi Shemu’el son of Nahman said in Rabbi Yonatan’s name: When Moses was engaged in writing the Torah, he had to write the work of each day. When he came to the verse, Let us make a human (Genesis 1:26) he said: Master of the Universe! Why do You furnish an excuse to heretics? ‘Write,’ replied He; ‘whoever wishes to err may err.’ ‘Moses, this man that I have created—do I not cause men both great and small to spring from him? Now if a great man comes to obtain permission from one that is less than he, he may say, ‘Why should I ask permission from my inferior!’ Then they will answer him, ‘Learn from your Creator, Who created all that is above and below, yet when He came to create man He took counsel with the ministering angels.’
Rabbi Simlai said: Wherever you find a point supporting the heretics, you find the refutation at its side. They asked him again: ‘What is meant by, Let us make a human? He said, ‘Read what follows, it is not written, And gods created man, but and God created‘ (Genesis 1:27). When they went out his disciples said to him: ‘You pushed them away with a straw, but how will you answer us? He said to them: ‘In the past Adam was created from dust and Eve was created from Adam; but henceforth it shall be in our image, by our likeness (Genesis 1:26); neither man without woman nor woman without man, and neither of them without the Holy Spirit’” (Bereshit Rabbah 8:8).
“For there are two אָדָם (adam) recorded in this verse (Genesis 5:1): one, mystery above; one, mystery below. אָדָם (Adam) who is mystery above lies in concealment, concealed by the verse as male and female in single mystery, as is written: this is the book—totality of male and female as one. Once they generated offspring together, they were called אָדָם (Adam), as is written: תּוֹלְדֹת אָדָם (toledot adam), generations of adam. After the matter was revealed from the initial secrecy of the verse, He created תּוֹלְדֹת אָדָם (toledot adam) below, as is written: On the day of God’s creating אָדָם (adam), a human, in the image of God He created him (ibid.). In the image—namely, in this visionary mirror in which forms appear [Shekhinah]; those forms do not persist in that mirror enduringly, but rather pass away. Similarly, in the image of God” (Zohar 2:70a-b).
יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (YHWH Elohim) fashioned the human, humus from the soil, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).
“In this more vividly anthropomorphic account, God, now called YHWH Elohim instead of Elohim as in the first version [of Creation], does not summon things into being from a lofty distance through mere agency of divine speech, but works as a craftsman, fashioning (yatsar instead of bara, ‘create’), blowing life-breath into nostrils, building a woman from a rib… first a harmonious cosmic overview of creation and then a plunge into the technological nitty-gritty and moral ambiguities of human origins” (Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses, p. 20).
“Rabbi Yoḥanan said: In all the passages which the מִינִים (minim), sectarians, have taken [as grounds] for their heresy, their refutation is found near at hand. Thus: Let us make a human in our image (Genesis 1:26)—And God, He created the human in his image (ibid. 27); Come, let us go down and baffle their language (ibid. 10:7)—And YHWH, He came down to see the city and the tower (ibid. 5); For there was נִגְלוּ (niglu), revealed [plural], to him הָאֱלֹהִים (ha-Elohim), God (ibid. 35:7)—there to the אֵל (El), God, who הָעֹנֶה (ha’oneh), answered [singular], me on the day of my distress (ibid. 3); For what great nation is there that has gods close to it like YHWH our God whenever we call to Him? (Deuteronomy 4:7); And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation upon earth, whom a god הָלְכוּ (halkhu), has gone out [plural], to redeem as a people to make Him a name (2 Samuel 7:23); Until thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days took His seat (Daniel 7:9).
Why were these [plural forms] necessary? As to the words of Rabbi Yoḥanan: The blessed Holy One does nothing without consulting the familia on high, as is written, By the decree of the divine emissaries is the word, and the utterance of the holy ones is the pronouncement [so that the living may know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of man…] (Daniel 4:14). Now, that is satisfactory for all [the other verses], but how to explain Until thrones were cast down? (ibid. 7:9)—one [of the thrones] was for Himself and one for David [King Messiah]. Even as it has been taught: One was for Himself and one for David: this is Rabbi Akiva’s view. Rabbi Yose protested: Akiva, how long will you profane the Shekhinah?! [by asserting that a human being sits beside Him]. Rather, one for דִין (din), Judgment, and the other for צְדָקָה (tsedaqah), Righteousness. Did he accept [this answer] from him or not? Come and hear: For it has been taught: One is for Judgment and the other for Righteousness; this is Rabbi Akiva’s view. Rabbi El’azar son of Azariyah said to him: Akiva, what have you to do with Haggadah? Confine yourself to [that at which you excel, namely, the study of] Nega’im (Plagues) and Ohalot (Tents) [treatises in Seder Tohorot, the most difficult in the whole of the Talmud]. But one was a throne, the other a footstool: a throne for a seat and a footstool in support of His feet.
Rav Naḥman said: He who is as skilled in refuting the sectarians as is Rav Idit, let him do so; but not otherwise. Once a sectarian said to Rav Idit: It is written, And to Moses He had said, ‘Go up to YHWH’ (Exodus 24:1). It should say, Come up to Me!—it was Metatron [who spoke], his name is like that of his Master [since מְטַּטְרוֹן (Metatron), and שַׁדַּי (Shaddai) are numerically equivalent], for it is written, [Watch yourself with him and heed his voice, do not defy him, for he will not pardon your trespass,] for My name is within him (Exodus 23:21). But if so, [he retorted,] we should worship him! Rav Idit replied: The same passage, however, says: do not defy him, meaning, do not exchange Me for him. But if so, why is it written: for he will not pardon your trespass? (ibid.). He answered: We hold not to accept him even as a carrier, for it is written, And he said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go, [do not take us up from here…’] (Exodus 33:16).
A sectarian once said to Rabbi Yishma’el son of Yose: It is written, And YHWH rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from YHWH from the heavens (Genesis 19:24) [cf. Amos 4:11]—it should say: from Him! A certain laundryman said, Leave him to me, I will answer him. It is written, And Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, O hearken my voice, You wives of Lamech’ (Genesis 4:23) but he should have said, my wives! Yet such is the idiom of Scripture—so here too, it is an idiom of Scripture” (BT Sanhedrin 38b).
“What you are permitted to know and to contemplate, ask; and as for what you are not permitted to know, it is written Do not let your mouth make your flesh sin (Ecclesiastes 5:5). For the ways of the blessed Holy One, and the supernal hidden secrets that He has sealed and treasured away, we should not ask about.’ … Come and see: Inhabitants of the world are not permitted to utter concealed words and expound them—except for the Holy Lamp, Rabbi Shim’on, since the blessed Holy One has authorized him, and because his generation is distinguished above and below. Therefore, words are spoken openly by him; and there will be no generation like this one, in which he dwells, until King Messiah comes” (Zohar 3:159a).
“All agree that none were created on the first day. Therefore it should not be said that Michael drew out the heavens at the south, and Gabriel drew out at the north, while the blessed Holy One arranged things in the middle. Therefore it is written, I am YHWH that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the earth מֵאִתִּי (me’itti), by Myself (Isaiah 44:24)—[read instead:] מִי אִתִי (mi ithi), who was with Me? I am the One who planted this tree in order that all the world should delight in it. And in it, I spread all. I called it כֹּל (Kol), All, because all depend upon it, all goes out from it, and all need it. To it they look, for it they wait, and from it souls fly in joy. I was alone when I made it. Let no angel rise above it saying, ‘I was before you.’ Indeed, I was alone when I spread out My earth, in which I planted and rooted this tree. I made them rejoice together, and I rejoiced in them. מִי אִתִי (Mi ithi), who was with Me?—to whom have I revealed this mystery?” (Bahir §22).
“I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God (Isaiah 44:6). I am the first—I do not have a father; I am the last—I do not have a brother; and besides Me there is no God—I do not have a son” (Shemot Rabbah 29:4).
“Cause of Causes, Lord of lords, King over all kings, above and below. He is singular and without a second, and there is no letter nor vowel that will partake with Him, and no change as with man, for He is the Master of all the keys to all the mysteries of the הַוָויות (Havayot), and names, and appellations, and all the hidden mysteries of wisdom. You open them all for us, for the sake of Your treasure, O Cause above all Causes. I beseech You to open for us Your treasure, for Your treasure is of my Father and my Mother of the Heavens. And the Father of all of Israel and their Mother, about which it is said: Do not forsake the teaching of אִמֶּךָ (immekha), your mother (Proverbs 1:8). But there is no mother in the world that is partner עִמָּךְ (immakh), with You” (Zohar 3:244b, Ra’aya Meheimna Pineḥas).