21. “By the greatness of His might etc.” He asks: What is “by the greatness of His might” (Isaiah 40:26)? He answers: This is the head of the levels, upon which all of the desires rise and ascend through it in a concealed manner. “As He is strong in power” is the secret of the upper world, called Mi, which ascended in the name Elohim, as we said. “Not one of them is missing” from those 600,000 that He produced through the strength of that name. And since “not one of them is missing” from the number 600,000, in any place where Israel died and were punished for their sins, they were later counted and none of the 600,000 were missing, not even one, so that all will be in a single image, both above and below**. Just as “not one of them is missing”** from the number 600,000 above, so too “not one of them is missing” from this number below.

Explanation: “By the greatness of His might” alludes to Keter of Abba and Imma Ila'in, which is “the head of the levels” of these brains, the mystical meaning of Bina of Arikh Anpin, which became Keter of Abba and Imma Ila'in, as “all of the desires rise” there, i.e., all of the levels receive from [this Bina of Arikh Anpin]. And yet they “ascend through it in a concealed manner,” since it is the mystical meaning of “unknown air,” for the yod has not left the air [of Bina] [avir; alef-vav-yod-reish], as it is the mystical meaning of: “Because He delights in mercy” (Micah 7:18). Therefore, [this Bina] is in a state of ultimate completeness (as stated above, in Marot HaSulam), and this is why it is called “pure air.” He is teaching us that although the height of the [light of giving], which is called “air,” emerges upon the lower world, Ma, it is still in a state of ultimate completeness because this light draws from the first three of Bina of Arikh Anpin, which is the head of all the levels of Atzilut, i.e., Abba and Imma Ila'in, Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna, and Ze’er Anpin and Nukba. Therefore, the height of the [light of giving] within [the Nukba] is also considered pure air, as in the first three of Bina of Arikh Anpin.

He then says: “‘As He is strong in power,’ is the secret of the upper world,” i.e., the aspect of Mi in Nukba, from where the number 600,000 is drawn.¹. [The Nukba] enclothes the upper world, which is Abba and Imma Ila'in, as stated above.² explained that the Nukba enclothed the levels of Ma (the level of Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna) and Mi (the level of Abba and Imma Ila'in) within itself. This is the meaning of the statement: “Not one of them is missing, from those 600,000 that He produced through the strength of that name,” since from there [the Nukba] attains the brains of the number 600,000, as stated. He adds: “Just as not one of them is missing above, so too not one is missing below” – since the Nukba enclothed Abba and Imma Ila'in, in the mystical meaning of “the mother lends her garments to the daughter and adorns her with her ornaments” (as stated), [the Nukba] therefore became completely like Abba and Imma Ila'in. And just as the brains of Abba and Imma Ila'in are complete in the mystical meaning of the number 600,000, and “not one of them is missing,” so too the Nukba is complete in that number, and “not one of them is missing.”

footnotes: ¹ These concepts were all explained extensively in the preceding sections of the Zohar ² In the previous sections, the Sulam