129. “The glory of God is” etc.” “The glory of God [El]” is the glory of the bride, that is, the Malkhut, who is called El, as it is stated: “God [El] is furious every day” (Psalms 7:12). On all the days of the year she is called El, but now, on the festival of Shavuot, when she has already entered the wedding canopy, she is called “glory” and she is [also] called “El.” This is indicative of honor on top of honor, light on top of light, and reign on top of reign.

Explanation: The name El is the name of the great Ḥesed. Now, the verse states that “God [El] is furious every day,” which appears to be the opposite of Ḥesed. The concept here is that this is the mystical meaning of: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). The holy Divine Presence is the mystical meaning of “the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16), and it is called “fear of heaven,” for the righteous must raise feminine waters by means of their awakening from below, and [they must] rectify [Malkhut] with the partition that raises returning light. Then the shefa will be drawn from above to below, but in no other manner, as is known.

This is the mystical meaning of: “And God has so made it, that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). There can be no awakening from below or raising of feminine waters without fear. This is the mystical meaning of [the] rule [of the attribute of judgment] over the night. [It is] through the lack of light, which is the aspect of night and which includes all judgments and suffering, which are the opposite of the aspect of day which is Ḥesed, that there is “fear before Him.” Were it not for the fear, the attribute of the day and the morning would not be revealed. ¹

footnotes: ¹ The concept of night represents the concept of our dependence upon God, since at night our limitations are more pronounced. This conceptual environment drives us to turn toward the divine Source, the “raising of feminine waters,” which gives rise to the release of greater divine light and higher brains, embodied in the concept of “day.”

This is the mystical meaning of: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” The night also infiltrates the morning, since were it not for the night there would be no morning, and it is impossible otherwise. ². This is the mystical meaning of: “God [El] is furious every day,” because the attribute of Ḥesed, which is called El, is revealed only through the night, which is the aspect of fury. This is why the fury is also considered Ḥesed, because the Ḥesed cannot be revealed in any other way [other than this contrast]. From this perspective, the holy Divine Presence is also called El.

footnotes: ² This refers to the concept of contrasts. Like all things, without its opposite (night), the concept of morning would not exist. Thus, instead of viewing night and day as two opposites that are conceptually distant, they should be thought of as dependent on each other for conceptual existence. This dynamic of contrasts is the intent underlying the next few sentences illustrating the contrast between “fury” and the attribute of Ḥesed

[The Zohar] thus states: “Glory of God [El]” is the glory of the bride, who is called El,” that is, with respect to the verse: “God [El] is furious every day,” which means that it is impossible for there to be day without the fury of the night. “On all the days of the year she is called El,” for such is the case in the six days of creation: It is written on each of them, “and there was evening and there was morning, one day” or “a second day,” and so on and so forth. Thus, the night [in each case] falls under the name of the day. Therefore [Malkhut] is called El, which is the name of Ḥesed, on the six days of creation, and also during the 6, 000 years [of this world].

[The Zohar] continues: “But now, [on the festival of Shavuot] etc.” At the great fusion of the completion of the rectification, the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun, in the mystical meaning of the verse: “But it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light” (Zechariah 14:7). Thus, the levels [of Malkhut] are doubled, because [it was even] during the 6, 000 years as well, that the light of the moon [which is Malkhut] was in the mystical meaning of: “And there was evening and there was morning.” “But now,” when [the Malkhut] itself has become as large as the sun, which is Ze’er Anpin called “glory,” [the Malkhut] has glory on top of glory, for [the Malkhut] has now become the essence of glory, since it has grown [to match] Ze’er Anpin.

“Glory” is translated as honor, which is why [the Zohar] states “honor on top of honor.” The same [applies] to “double light,” because [it was also the case] during the 6, 000 years that [the Malkhut] was incorporated in the morning light, in the mystical meaning of: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” But now that [the Malkhut] has grown [to match] the sun, it becomes the essence of the light, and [the Malkhut] then has its own light, in addition to the light it had from its incorporation from before [during the 6000 years of this world].

The same [can be said] with [regard to the] “reign on top of reign.” During the 6, 000 years [the Malkhut] had reign, which was dominion, only with respect to “the lesser light to rule the night.” Now, however, the dominion of the day has also been added to [the Malkhut], since it has grown [to match] the light of the sun, which is for the rule of the day. [The Zohar] thereby teaches us that we must not erroneously think that when [the Malkhut has grown to [match] the light of the sun, the pre-existing levels [of the Malkhut], which [the Malkhut] had during the 6, 000 years, are nullified, Heaven forbid. This is not the case; rather, there is only an addition here to the levels [of the Malkhut], in such a manner that it has glory on top of glory etc.