Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi The Alter Rebbe Parshat Ki-Teze 5565-1805 (1) first version
Indented text by the translator
Expanding Time
Sequential Time
No comparison is possible between the Essence of the Infinite Light and emanated entities. Consequently, it is impossible for effluence to branch out directly from God; only by means of an intermediary can life force descend below. The nature of the go-between—called Primordial Man—can be grasped by first under-standing the origin of time.
The source of time—termed the “order of time”—lies in the world of Emanation (atzilut). Ezra the scribe wrote, “Yours, God, is the Greatness, the Strength, the Beauty, the Victory, and the Splendor; for all in heaven and on earth is Yours.” These are the six emotive and action attributes (sefirot) of the world of Emanation.
At first glance, the verse only lists five sefirot. Kabbalah points out that the words “for all” allude to Foundation, the sixth sefira. That’s because Foundation joins heaven to earth.
Afterwards Ezra concludes, “Yours is the Kingship,” a reference to Emanation’s last sefira, Kingship. Why did Ezra use a compound verse to imply that Kingship was detached from the earlier sefirot? He meant to teach that time had already been created there. It was brought “from nothing to something” inside Kingship of the world of Emanation. Kingship itself acts as an empowering agent within created entities.
First Time
Inside Kingship, the 6,000-year history of the physical world already exists. King David alluded to this when he wrote, “For even 1,000 years in Your eyes are but a day gone by.”
What does this verse prove? The “1,000 years” which descended into Kingship of Emanation is regarded as a mere “day.” The 1,000 years had originally been but a single day in one of the six emotive attributes of Emanation. Each of Emanation’s emotive sefirot serves as a source for each of the six, 1,000-year “days.”
The Six Days of Creation correspond to the six emotive attributes of the world of Emanation. Each one of the six attributes corresponds to 1,000 years.
Emanation’s six emotive attributes are called the order of time, since the further their influence descends into the system of worlds, the more subdivided time becomes. Ultimately, six days become 6,000 years.
Earth Time
This time template imposes its order all the way down into our lowly physical world, with its multiplicity of temporal subdivisions: months, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds. “Above” our physical world, time exists in a more generalized fashion. There, all the specific sub-components of Earth-time are interincluded. Six years of Earth-time are considered but six days in this higher world.
The generalization of time progresses as one ascends to even higher worlds. The more elevated a realm, the greater the number of particulars which are integrated within its comprehensive state. Thus, relative to the world directly above ours, one Earth year equals one higher-world day.
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