78. “And all the actions of all of them, etc.” And all the actions of all of them, whether the first three days, which are Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet, or the last three days,Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, were dependent on the day of Shabbat, which is Malkhut of the level of the first three [sefirot] and the whole completion [of that level]. This is the meaning of that which is stated: “And on the seventh day God finished His work” (Genesis 2:2). This is Shabbat, and this is the fourth leg of the throne. This means to say that Shabbat and the fourth day are both the aspect of Malkhut. [The difference is that] the fourth day is the Malkhut that is incorporated in Ze’er Anpin, in the Tiferet [of Ze’er Anpin] from the chest and above, whereas the day of Shabbat is the mystical meaning of Malkhut in a [state of] fusion with Ze’er Anpin, face-to-face.

Explanation: “And all the actions of all of them etc.” That is, even though the first three days were completed through the fourth day, they were still not entirely completed through [the fourth day], as they “were dependent on the day of Shabbat.” Thus, on the day of Shabbat they were completed, “whether the first three days,” Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet, “or the last three days,” Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod. This is the meaning of the verse: “And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made,” that is, all six days, including the first three days.

[The Zohar] continues: “This is Shabbat, and this is the fourth leg of the throne.” In other words, the seventh day is Shabbat, that is, seventh of the children. It is also “the fourth leg of the throne,” meaning that it also completes the patriarchs, and Shabbat is their fourth. The reason why the three days Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet were not fully completed on the fourth day, but require the day of Shabbat to complete them, is that there was a diminution in Malkhut on the fourth day, which is called “the diminution of the moon.” As a result, [the Malkhut] returned for a second gestation and its completeness was revealed on the day of Shabbat. Consequently, the day of Shabbat completed the first three days as well.