141. What are the ten utterances? The first is the
highest crown (keter 'elyon). Blessed and praised be its name and
its people. Who are its people? They are Israel. It is thus written, "Know
that the Lord is God, He made us, and not (lo') we, His people"
(Ps. 100:3). The verse then reads, "to aleph are we." It is our
duty to recognize the Unity of Unities, who is unified in all his names.
142. The second one is wisdom (hokhmah). It is
thus written, "God procured me, the beginning of His way, before His works, of old
(me-az)"(Pr. 8:22). "Beginning" is none other than wisdom,
as it is written: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God" (Ps. 111:10).
143. The third one is the quarry of the Torah, the treasury
of wisdom, the quarry of the "spirit of God." This teaches us that God
carved out all the letters of the Torah, engraved it with spirit, and with
it made all Forms. This is the meaning of the verse: "There is no Rock
(tzur) like our God" (I Sam. 2:2) -- there is no Former (tzayyar)
like our God.
144. These are three. What is the fourth? The fourth is
"the charity of God" (Deut. 33:21), his merit, and his lovingkindness to
all the world. This is the right side of the Holy Blessed One.
145. What is the fifth? The fifth is the fire of the Holy
Blessed One. Regarding this it is written, "Let me see the great fire no
more, lest I die" (Deut. 18:16). This is the left of the Holy Blessed One. 146. The sixth one is the Holy Throne of Glory, crowned,
included, praised and hailed. It is the house of the World to Come, and
its place is in Wisdom, It is thus written: "And God said, 'Let there be
light' and there was light" (Gen. 1:3)...
155.The seventh is the east of the world. It is from where
the Seed of Israel comes. The spinal cord originates in man’s brain and
extends to the sexual organ, where the seed is. It is therefore written,
"From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather
you" (Isa. 43:5). When Israel is good, then this is the place from which
I will bring your seed, and new seed will be granted you. But when Israel
is wicked, then I will bring seed that has already been in the world. It
is thus written: "A generation goes and a generation comes" (Eccl. 1:4),
teaching us that it has already come...
157. What is the eighth one? The Holy Blessed One has
a single Righteous One (tzaddiq) in His world, and it is dear to
Him because it supports all the world. It is the foundation (yesod).
169. What is the ninth? He said to them: the ninth and
tenth are together, one opposite the other. One is higher than the other
by 500 years. The are like two wheels. One inclines towards the north,
the other towards the west. They reach down to the lowest earth...
Who are they? They are the holy beasts and the holy Seraphim,
to their right and to their left. They are the "pleasant ones" which ascend
higher and higher, as it is written, "And ones higher than they" (Eccl.
5:7)...
This is what sustains it and makes it grow, increasing
and watching it. It is beloved and dear on high, and beloved and dear below;
fearsome and mighty on high, and fearsome and mighty below; rectified and
accepted on high, and rectified and accepted below. It is the foundation
of all souls...