Daleth

1. 1

   I AM the Door of Life,The passage from the world of ideasInto the world of form.Expressing myself, I take form in substance,But the power which worketh in that substanceIs the sovereign force of mine outflowing ideas.

2. 2

   Consider well, O Israel,The knowledge of me which thou hastIn the sacred letters.For with them, even as it is written,Hath the universe been created.

3. 3

   In ALEPHI present myself as the source of Life Eternal,Self-dedicated to bearing the heavy burden of creation.

   In BETHThou seest me as the Primal Will,Which, fixing beforehandThe boundaries of the universe,Maketh mine own BeingThe dwelling-place of all creatures.

   As it is written:

   "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-placeIn all generations.

   Before the mountains were brought forth,Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world."

   In GIMEL

   Appeareth my perfect Wisdom,Which uniteth all seeming contraries,And establisheth throughout creationThe balance of warring forces.

4. 4

   Now, as DALETH,I present myself as the PortalThrough which Life, Eternal and Unbounded,Entereth the realm of temporal and limited creation.

   That great Door is BINAH,And BINAH is AIMA,The fruitful Mother of all living.She is the "desirable one," the "precious thing,"More to be sought after than rubies and fine gold.

   She is both "Father" and "Mother,"For her fruitfulness.Cometh from the YOD of the Supernal Wisdom.

5. 5

   She is the Thought,Which spinneth the plan of existence,That web of manifestationWhich entangleth the minds of fools,And giveth understanding to the wiseWho know the secret of its mystery.

   In her is concealed the plentitude of Tetragrammaton,And hidden in that Door of PerplexityIs the Son, who is from all and among all.

6. 6

   This is the Gateway of life and form.Yet through it come also death and conflict,Even as it is shown in the numbering of DALETH.For D L Th, being 434, is also 11,And 11 is the half, or division, of 22,Which represented: the whole circle of creation.Therefore is the Door a cause of separation,And of the setting of one part against another;And for this is it written that the Lord is a "manof war,"For in this saying is D L Th, DALETH, concealed.

7. 7

   I am the knowledge of the wise,And in me the ignorance of the foolish hath its rootFrom me come forth all conditionsThe evil as well as the good.Without the setting of metes and boundsThere is no bringing forth,And thus there can be no creation without seemingevil.

8. 8

   Creation hath its origin in life unlimited,Yet for the sake of manifestationDoth that life descend into the appearanceOf Time and Place,And that which hath neither end nor beginningAppeareth to be born,And to be brought at last to death.

   Deluded by this appearance are those ignorant onesIn whom the light of my wisdom hath not yet dawned.From their delusion springeth a false desire,And from that false desire is generated unrighteous action.

   Yet nothing is performed save by my power,And I am the real Actor in these deluded ones,As truly as in any sage.From the fires of pain and sufferingKindled by their ignorance,In my good time shall they come forth.Cleansed from the dross of illusion,Resplendent images of my golden self.

9. 9

   My creative power is the projection of myself,And produceth the semblance of another;But know, O Israel,That besides me there is none other.I only am the Knower and the Actor,The one I AM,Whether alone and unmanifest,Or appearing in the multiplicity of created things.

10. 10

    The primal force of mine ideasDwelleth continually in ATZILUTH.Thence it floweth forth into the three lower worldsThrough the Door of Understanding.As it is written:' By understanding hath he established the heavens.'

    I am the fruitful wombWhence all creatures have their birth.I am the Mother of mothers.Hence it is commanded:' Honour thy father and thy mother;That thy days may be longUpon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.'

    For I, who am thy Father, am thy Mother also;And if thou honourest me, the Giver of Life,Then shalt thou triumph at the last,Even over death.