Hashem’s Unity and Ours

And you should know that that which the world was created with ten utterances, and not one, indicates that this world has a supreme value; and that the Divine Presence of God, may He be blessed, is in this world. And the number ten indicates this, for the Divine Presence is always [present] with ten, and never less than ten - as we explained earlier (Derekh Chayim 3:6) regarding, "when ten sit together and occupy themselves with Torah," that the Divine Presence is [present] with ten. As from this, you know that the number ten receives the glory of the Divine Presence, for ten contains holiness. And therefore if the world had been created with one utterance, the world would not have had this supreme value. But now that the world was created with ten utterances, the world has a supreme holy value. For we have already explained (Derekh Chayim 3:6) that ten contains holiness, since every thing that is a matter of holiness (in prayer) requires ten.

And you should know that that which the world was created with ten utterances, and not one, indicates that this world has a supreme value; and that the Divine Presence of God, may He be blessed, is in this world. And the number ten indicates this, for the Divine Presence is always [present] with ten, and never less than ten - as we explained earlier (Derekh Chayim 3:6) regarding, "when ten sit together and occupy themselves with Torah," that the Divine Presence is [present] with ten. As from this, you know that the number ten receives the glory of the Divine Presence, for ten contains holiness. And therefore if the world had been created with one utterance, the world would not have had this supreme value. But now that the world was created with ten utterances, the world has a supreme holy value. For we have already explained (Derekh Chayim 3:6) that ten contains holiness, since every thing that is a matter of holiness (in prayer) requires ten.

And it is all hinted to in that which is written (Isaiah 26:4), "for in Yod-hey, the Lord, you have an everlasting Rock": The world to come was created with a yod, since the numerical equivalent of yod is ten. As the number ten is applicable to everything that has holy value. Hence the Divine Presence is with this number. However this world was created with a hey. For the hey is built from two parts, to hint that this world has two qualities: It is a physical world, but a supreme holy value nevertheless cleaves to it. As the hey is a dalet; but within the dalet, there is a yod.

And one should know that the dalet indicates width and length, in that the form of the dalet is a line that extends horizontally and a line that extends vertically - and that is width and length. And this thing indicates the expansion of a surface horizontally and vertically. And we have explained this thing in several places in the book, Gevurot Hashem - that the dalet indicates the expansion of a surface horizontally and vertically, which is the beginning of this physical world, as it is explained adjacently (in the next paragraph) regarding the expansion of this world. And there is a dot that is within the dalet, from which it becomes the letter hey. But the dot, which is the yod, is separated from the dalet, to the point that the hey has two parts, a dalet as well as a yod. [The dalet] indicates the beginning of physical expansion, whereas the yod indicates that this world receives supreme transcendent value, such that this world in not completely and totally physical. |And that is why the yod is within the dalet and the dalet takes in the yod. However the yod is not touching, since something transcendent cannot be mixed with the physical. And so the yod is separated from the dalet, and does not touch [it]. And, accordingly, the world to come was created with a yod. And this explanation is choice. And that is why the world was created specifically with ten utterances. For if it were not to have been created with ten utterances, it would have been on a lower level. But now that it has been created with ten utterances, it indicates the supreme holy value possessed by the world. And that is why it says that from that which the world was created with ten utterances - therefore the wicked, who destroy the world that possesses a level of holiness, will have to give an accounting for it. And that is why the reward of the righteous for sustaining the world that was created with ten utterances - indicating that there is supreme holy level to the world - will be very great.

It is necessary to extend [the pronunciation of] the [letter] chet of [the word] echad (one) in order to declare the Holy One, blessed be He's, sovereignty in the Heavens and the Earth (i.e. seven heavens + Earth = chet (8)), for this is alluded to by the humps in the middle of the roof of the chet. One should [also] extend [the pronunciation of] the letter dalet of [the word] echad (one) the amount [of time it takes] to contemplate that the Holy One, blessed be He, is One in His world and rules in the four directions of the world. But he should not extend more than this amount. There are those who have the custom to turn the head in accordance with the thought: up, down, and to the four directions.