(א) בשלשים ושתים נתיבות פליאות חכמה חקק יה יהוה צבאות אלהי ישראל אלהים חיים ומלך עולם אל שדי רחום וחנון רם ונשא שוכן עד וקדוש שמו מרום וקדוש הוא וברא את עולמו בשלשה ספרים בספר וספר וספור:
(1) With 32 mystical paths of Wisdom/ engraved Yah/ the Lord of Hosts/ the God of Israel/the living God/ King of the universe/ El Shaddai/ Merciful and Gracious/ High and Exalted/ Dwelling in eternity/ Whose name is Holy -/ He is lofty and holy -/ And He created His universe/ with three books (Sepharim),/ with text (Sepher)/ with numbers (Sephar)/ and with communication (Sippur)....
(א) אמר ר' נחוניא בן הקנה: כתוב אחד אומר (איוב ל"ז כא) ועתה לא ראו אור בהיר הוא בשחקים, וכתוב אחד אומר (תהלים י"ח י"ב) ישת חושך סתרו ואומר (תהלים צ"ז ב) ענן וערפל סביביו קשיא, בא הכתוב השלישי והכריע ביניהם (שם קל"ט יב) גם חשך לא יחשיך ממך ולילה כיום יאיר כחשיכה כאורה:
(1) Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana said: One verse (Job 37:21) states, "And now they do not see light, it is brilliant in the skies..." Another verse, however, (Psalm 18:12), states, "He made darkness His hiding place." It is also written (Psalm 97:2), "Cloud and gloom surround Him." This is an apparent contradiction. A third verse comes and reconciles the two. It is written (Psalm 139:12), "Even darkness is not dark to You. Night shines like day — light and darkness are the same."
Know, before the emanation of the emanations or creation of the created, there was only the Divine light that filled all of reality, and there was no place empty or empty vacuous place. Rather all was filled with the undifferentiated light of Ein Sof. There was no aspect of beginning nor an aspect of end, rather all was the simple, undifferentiated light called the “light of Ein Sof.”
When [Ein Sof] decided to create the worlds and to emanate emanation, to bring to light the fullness of His actions, names, and qualities, this was the reason for the creation of the worlds,… and so Ein Sof contracted itself from its central point, the most central point of its light, and contracted its light [from that point] to all sides of that central point, and so there remained a free space, an empty vacuum.
בראשית (Be-reshit) In the beginning (Genesis 1:1)
At the head of potency o the King, He engraved engravings in luster on high. A spark of impenetrable darkness flashed within the concealed of the concealed, from the head of Infinity – a cluster of vapor forming in formlessness, thrust in a rind, not white, not black, not red, not green, no color at all. As a cord surveyed, it yielded radiant colors. Deep within the spark gushed a flow, splaying colors below, concealed within the concealed of the mystery of Ein Sof. It split and did not split its aura, was not known at all, until under the impact of splitting, a single, concealed, supernal point shone. Beyond that point, nothing is known, so it is called ראשית (Reshit), “Beginning”, first command of all.
The enlightened will shine like the זהר (zohar), radiance, of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3)
זהר (zohar), Radiance! Concealed of concealed struck its aura, which touched and did ot touch this point. Then this beginning expanded, building itself a palace worthy of glorious praise. There it sowed seed to give birth, availing worlds. The secret is :Her stock is seed of holiness (Isaiah 6:13).
זהר (zohar), Radiance! Sowing seed for its glory, like the seed of fine purple silk wrapping itself within, weaving itself a palace, constituting its praise, availing all.
Within this beginning, the unknown concealed one created the palace. This palace is called אלהים (Elohim), God. The secret is: בראשית ברא אלהים (Be-reshit bara Elohim), “With beginning, ___________ created God” (Genesis 1:1).”
זהר (zohar), Radiance! From here all commands were created throught he mysterious expansion of this point of concealed rediance. If “created” is written here, no wonder it is written: “God created the human being in His image” (Genesis 1:27).
זהר (zohar), Radiance! Mystery! בראשית (Be-reshit) “In the beginning”, first of all. אהיה (Ehyeh), “I will be” (Exodus 3:14), a sacred name engraved in its sides, אלהים (Elohim), “God” engraved in the crown. אשר (Asher), “Who” (ibid.) – a hidden, treasured palace, beginning of the mystery of ראשית (Reshit). אשר (Asher) - ראש (rosh), head, emerging from ראשית (Reshit). When afterward point and palace were arrayed as one, then בראשית (Be-reshit) comprised supernal ראשית (Reshit) in wisdom. Afterward the color of the palace transformed and it was called בית (bayit), “house”, while the supernal pint was called ראש (rosh), merging in one another in the mystery of בראשית (Be-reshit), when all was as one in one entirety, before the house was inhabited. Once it was sown, arraying habitation, it was called אלהים (Elohim), - hidden, concealed.