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Beriah

בריאה

The World of Beriah (Creation)

The first created world, below the partition (parsa) under Atzilus: something new from nothing (yesh me’ayin), corresponding to thought, where Binah of Atzilus dwells; world of the seraphim, souls and Gan Eden HaElyon.

The word בריאה also means creation in general (בריאת העולם), and is used relatively: within Atzilus, Binah (or Chochmah) is “Beriah of Atzilus,” and Adam Kadmon is “Adam of Beriah” relative to the Emanator (Behar 3:10). The world is meant in עולם הבריאה, דבריאה, בבריאה and the abbreviation בי״ע.

Where it’s explained

  1. Torah Ohr, Vayeira 1, ¶20Beriah is called something from nothing because its light comes through the partition (parsa): a derived, newly born light, as a student’s grasp of his teacher’s idea is born anew through a parable about something else.ולכן נק׳ בריאה ג״כ יש מאין לפי שהיא מבחי׳ פרסא שהי׳ אור של תולדה
  2. Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 9, ¶1Within Atzilus one level comes from another as cause and effect, the hidden becoming revealed; Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah come from Malchus of Atzilus at a far greater distance, a change from one essence to another, so the creations are not of Atzilus at all. Gan Eden HaElyon is in Malchus of Beriah.משא״כ אופן התהוות בי״ע מבחי׳ מל׳ דאצילות הוא בריחוק יותר גדול עד שהנבראים אינם ממהות אצילות כלל
  3. Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 2, ¶11Of the three garments, thought, speech and action, thought and intellect are Beriah, something from nothing; speech, Yetzirah, only reveals what was already there, as form reveals matter.מחשבה ושכל נקרא בריאה שהוא יש מאין וכמ״ש והחכמה מאין תמצא
  4. Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 33, ¶7Imma (Binah) dwells in Beriah and His Chochmah shines there, but limited vessels cannot receive Chochmah openly, so Beriah is called “darkness” (“Who creates darkness”); Yetzirah, where the six of Atzilus come down to be grasped, is called “light.”ובורא חושך עולם הבריאה נקרא חושך
  5. Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3, ¶43The seraphim are in Beriah, the beginning of creation from nothing, where Binah shines, and grasp that He is holy and apart; the ofanim, which this paragraph puts in Asiyah, and even the chayos, which it puts in Yetzirah, receive from Beriah only something from something. The Throne is the head of Beriah.השרפים שהם בעולם הבריאה שהוא ראשית בריאת היש מאין ומאיר שם בינה

Stated differently

Whether the chayos are in Beriah or in Yetzirah

Torah Ohr, Vayeishev 5, ¶19מזיעתן של חיות שהם בבריא׳ ומשם יורד ליצירה ועשיה

The river of fire comes from the sweat of the chayos, who are in Beriah, and descends from there to Yetzirah and Asiyah.

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27, ¶2והנה בבריאה הם שרפים וביצירה חיות ובעשיי׳ אופנים

In Beriah are the seraphim, in Yetzirah the chayos, in Asiyah the ofanim.

Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3, ¶43אבל האופנים שהם בעשייה ואפילו החיות שהם ביצירה

The ofanim in Asiyah, and even the chayos in Yetzirah, receive from Beriah only something from something.

Which Sefirah within Atzilus is called “Beriah of Atzilus”: Binah, or Chochmah

Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 2, ¶2שבינה היא בריאה שבאצילות משא״כ חכמה ובפרטות בחי׳ חכמה שנקרא מים חיים היא בחי׳ אצילות שבאצילות

As Atzilus is above Beriah, so Chochmah is above Binah within Atzilus: Binah is Beriah of Atzilus, and Chochmah is Atzilus of Atzilus.

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 5, ¶4שהכתר או גם החכמה עילאה נק׳ אצילות שבאצילות. ובינה נק׳ בריאה שבאצילות

Within Atzilus there are also Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: Keser, or also supernal Chochmah, is Atzilus of Atzilus; Binah is Beriah of Atzilus; Z”A and Nukva are its Yetzirah and Asiyah.

Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶10שהרי החכמה נק׳ אשר ברא בריאה יש מאין והחכמה מאין תמצא ועלייתה בבחי׳ כתר שהוא אצילות שבאצי׳

Chochmah is called “which He created,” Beriah, something from nothing, and its ascent is into Keser, which is Atzilus of Atzilus.

Likkutei Torah, Balak 2, ¶29וממקום שמתחיל להתעבות הכלי והוא או״א נקרא בריאה

Citing the Arizal: the first Keser that clothes Ein Sof is called Atzilus; where the vessel begins to thicken, Abba and Imma, is called Beriah; Z”A is Yetzirah and Malchus Asiyah. Chochmah is called Beriah, thought.

Whether all of Beriah is created and not G‑dliness

Torah Ohr, Bo 1, ¶11ואינן אלהות כלל כמו אצילות שהוא בחי׳ אלהות ממש

The hosts of souls and angels of Beriah are created from nothing and are not G‑dliness at all, unlike Atzilus, which is G‑dliness itself.

Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶10משא״כ בי״ע הם נפרדים ממש ובעלי גבול

Atzilus is G‑dliness itself; Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are truly separate and limited, able to choose against His will, and bear no comparison to Atzilus.

Likkutei Torah, Reeh 7, ¶36כלים דאצילות ונשמה חיה יחידה דבריאה שהם בחי׳ אלקות

The vessels of Atzilus and the neshamah, chayah and yechidah of Beriah are G‑dliness (“My vessels”); only the ruach and nefesh of Beriah are created and not G‑dliness. Malchus is the head of Beriah.

Main sources

Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 9, ¶1Torah Ohr, Vayeira 1, ¶20Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 33, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 5, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3, ¶43Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶10Torah Ohr, Bo 1, ¶11

Where it appears

In 758 paragraphs of 240 maamarim.

Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.

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