Essence of Pomegranates

A triangular diagram pointing downwards, divided into three horizontal sections. Hebrew letters representing divine names and attributes are inscribed within the sections and around the perimeter of the triangle. Lines extend from the vertices, suggesting the flow of divine emanation.

And behold, as He the Infinite Creator emanates and shines within these Ten Sefirot Sefirot: the ten divine attributes or channels through which God interacts with the universe mentioned previously—which are like vessels containing the soul that clothes itself within them—He spreads out through them, clothes Himself in them, and unites with them. Through them, He performs His actions and supervises His world.

In this aspect, He is called by different names according to the changes in His actions and the changes in the "vessels" the Sefirot. For behold, in the aspect of Kindness original: Chesed, He is called by the name El; in the aspect of Strength original: Gevurah—often associated with judgment, He is called Elohim; and in the aspect of Compassion original: Rachamim, He is called YHVH. The same applies to the rest of the Sefirot, as is known.

In this aspect, He is called by the name Adam Man, following the analogy of the soul that clothes itself in the limbs of the body and acts through them. Just as the soul’s functions change according to the organs—seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear, and acting through the hand—so too is the Emanator, Blessed be He, called "Adam" in this context. This is the secret behind the verse, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" Genesis 1:26. Just as the lower human being possesses 248 limbs and 365 sinews a traditional Rabbinic count of the body's structure which all serve as vessels for the soul to act through, so too Above there are Ten Sefirot which serve as vessels for the Emanator, Blessed be He; He clothes Himself in them and performs His works through them.

Behold, these Ten Sefirot are divided into five Partzufim Partzufim: "Personas" or "Divine Faces," which are complex configurations of the Sefirot, which are: The Long Face original: Arich Anpin, Father original: Abba, Mother original: Imma, The Small Face original: Zeir Anpin, and His Female original: Nukvah. These correspond to the five parts of the Divine Name the four letters of the Tetragrammaton plus the "tip" of the first letter and to the five levels of the soul, which are: Nefesh Life-force, Ruach Spirit, Neshama Breath/Soul, Chaya Living Essence, and Yechida Singular Essence. Each of these five "Faces" contains its own ten Sefirot, and each Sefirah within them is composed of another ten, infinitely. All of this refers to the aspect of the "vessels" and the "soul" the Divine light that clothes itself in them, as mentioned.

This is the secret of what our Sages of blessed memory said in the Midrash Genesis Rabbah regarding the verse: "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him." Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Chama bar Chanina: "As it were, He created him in His own likeness, as it is written: 'In the image of God He created him.'"

The matter is this: just as the Emanator, Blessed be He, created the lower man in His image and likeness, it means He did so in the aspect of the Ten Sefirot, which are the aspect of the Supernal Man original: Adam HaElyon mentioned before. This is the secret of "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." In this aspect, the Emanator, Blessed be He, is called by the name Adam, and this is the secret of the verse: "And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" Ezekiel 1:26. This is the secret of the Man of Emanation original: Adam d'Atzilut, which is the Emanator, Blessed be He, clothing Himself in the Ten Sefirot of the world of Emanation.

In this aspect, He is called by the Name YHVH in its "filled" form a Kabbalistic method of spelling out the names of the letters using the vowel Aleph, which equals the numerical value Gematria of 45 the letters Yud-He-Vav-He spelled out as Y-V-D, H-A, V-A-V, H-A equal 45. This is the same numerical value as the word Adam A=1, D=4, M=40. This is the secret of what is said in the Tikunim Tikunei Zohar on page 107b, which states: "The Man of Emanation Atzilut is not like the Man of Creation Briyah, who is the angel Metatron; rather, the Man of Emanation is the Name YHVH, which is the form of all things," and so on; see there.

Now, you must know that these Ten Sefirot of Emanation, which are the aspect of the Supernal Man, were emanated in two aspects: Circles and Uprightness original: Igulim and Yosher. The matter is thus: at first, the Emanator, Blessed be He, emanated the Ten Sefirot in the aspect of Circles, one inside the other like the layers of an onion. These are ten spheres, one within the other, and they are called the "Ten Sefirot of Circles."

Afterward, He emanated them in the aspect of Uprightness, which consists of three lines: right, left, and middle. These are called the "Ten Sefirot of Uprightness," and they clothe themselves within the Circles. This aspect of Uprightness is the aspect of the Supernal Man mentioned previously, who possesses 248 limbs and 365 sinews, exactly in the likeness of the lower human being.