But the Holy One, blessed be He, makes peace between them, [so that they should not oppose one another,] through a revelation - so that an immense illumination and an intense effusion from the [infinite] Ein Sof-light is revealed within them.

For like His Name [viz., Ein Sof - "the Infinite One"), so is He.

He is not, Heaven forfend, on the [measured] plane of an attribute, but transcends exceedingly, ad infinitum, even the rank of [the intellectual faculties of] ChaBaD, which is the source of the attributes, [and surely He transcends the attributes themselves.]

And then, [when G-d's infinite light is revealed within the attributes,] the opposing attributes of Michael and Gabriel (Chesed and Gevurah) are absorbed in their source and root, and they become truly unified, and are nullified in His light, which radiates to them in a manifest way.

[Once their individuality is nullified, they no longer oppose each other. By way of analogy: The intense enmity of two high officials dissolves, in the presence of their sovereign, into friendship. It is because of their joint nullification before the king that this unity comes about. So, too, the defined bounds of the various attributes dissipate in the face of the limitless revelation of the infinite light.]

The Gevurot are thereby tempered and mellowed [lit., "sweetened"] in the Chassadim, [and are transformed into good and kindness,] by a mediary, the determining factor [between Chesed and Gevurah,] which leans towards Chesed, i.e., the attribute of Rachamim ("mercy").

[When Chesed does not insist (so to speak) on an unlimited revelation of kindness (but is satisfied to reveal the G-dly illumination in a finite manner), and Gevurah insists only on witholding the revelation from those who are unworthy of receiving it (but does not insist on blocking the revelation altogether, even from the worthy - then the mediating attribute of mercy, which leans toward kindness, declares that while a particular recipient may not be strictly worthy of the kindness to be shown , he is at least worthy of being granted it out of compassion.]

This [attribute of Rachamim] is called Tiferet ("beauty") in the terminology of the Kabbalists (lit., the scholars of truth"), because it is made up of the two colors white and red, which allude to Chesed and Gevurah, respectively. [Rachamim is therefore called Tiferet, because there is beauty in the harmony of diverse colors.]

The Divine Name Havayah [the Tetragrammaton], as it appears unqualified throughout the Torah, therefore indicates the attribute of Tiferet, as is stated in the sacred Zohar. [4]

[Each of the Divine Names indicates one of the Supernal Attributes: the Name E-l, for example, indicates Chesed; Elokim indicates Gevurah; and any unqualified appearance of the ultimate Divine Name - Havayah, which is known as Shem HaEtzem ("the Essential Name") - alludes to the attribute of Tiferet. Why is this the case?]

For here, [in Tiferet,] the [infinite] Ein Sof-light becomes manifest in an immense illumination, surpassing that of the other Divine attributes.

[This, then, is the meaning of the above quotation, that "He makes peace in His high places": The revelation of G-d's infinite light "makes peace" between Michael and Gabriel, who represent Chesed and Gevurah.]

   

Notes:

4. (Back to text) Note of the Rebbe Shlita: Vayikra 11:1.