"Hevruta" - following Lesson 12. 4 Phases of Direct Light - Fundamentals of Kabbalah 2025/2026

4 phases of Direct Light

Review the material of the lesson directly (best from the slide 6 (intention of the study) and from Slide 8 (the point 5 of the Preface to the widom of Kabbalah).

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Extra Materials

Explanation of the 4 phases by Rav Dr. Michael Laitman

The light comes out of the Creator, the Ohr - pleasure. This emanation of the light from the Creator is called the zero phase (0), or the root (Shoresh).

The light creates the Kli, which is able to feel, absorb all pleasure contained in the light. Let us assume that the Creator wanted to give the creation 1 kg of pleasure. In that case, He should have created the "desire to receive" that pleasure (Kli) with the capacity of 1 kg, which could absorb the entire delight.

Such a state of the Kli's being completely filled with the Creator’s light is called phase Alef (1). This phase is characterized by the desire to receive pleasure. The light, carrying the pleasure is called “Ohr Hochma”. The Kli in this phase receives the Ohr Hochma; hence, the phase itself is called “Hochma”.

The Kli receives the Creator’s light, feels absolute pleasure and acquires its property - the "desire to give", to please. As a result, instead of receiving, the Kli now desires to give, and stops receiving the light. Since a new desire, contrary to the initial one appears in the Kli, it passes to a new state, which is called phase Bet (2), the "desire to give", or Bina.

The Kli has stopped receiving the light. The light continues to interact with the Kli and says to it, that by refusing to receive the light, it neither fulfils the Purpose of the creation, nor the Creator’s desire. The Kli analyses this information and comes to a conclusion that it really does not fulfill the Creator’s desire.

What is more, the Kli feels the light is a vital force, and that it cannot do without it. Hence, the Kli, still willing to give, decides to start receiving an essential portion of the light. It turns out that the Kli agrees to receive the light for two reasons: first, because it wants to fulfill the Creator’s desire, this reason being the main one; and secondly, it feels that it really cannot exist without the light.

The appearance of a new, though, a tiny "desire to receive" the light in the Kli, creates a new phase that is called Behina Gimel (3), or Zeir Anpin.

While simultaneously giving and receiving a little in phase Gimel, the Kli begins to realize that the Creator’s desire is to fill completely the Kli with the light so it might be able to enjoy it infinitely. Since the Kli has already acquired a little bit of the light of Hochma necessary for its existence, it now decides to receive the rest of the light. This is the Creator’s desire, and the Kli resumes receiving the Creator’s light the way it did in phase 1.

The new phase is called Behina Dalet (4). It differs from phase 1, in that it independently expressed its "desire to receive".

The first phase was unconsciously filled with the light by the Creator’s desire. It had no desire of its own. The 4th phase is called “the kingdom of desires”, or Malchut. This state, Malchut, is called “the world of Infinity" (the Olam Ein Sof) - infinite, unlimited desire to receive pleasure, to be filled with the light.

Behinat Shoresh (0) is the Creator’s desire to create the creation and give it maximum pleasure. In this phase, as in a seed, or embryo, all subsequent creation is included from its beginning to the end, encompassing the Creator’s attitude to the future creation.

Behinat Shoresh (0) is the Thought of the entire creation. All subsequent processes are only the realization of this Thought. Each subsequent phase is the logical consequence of the previous one. The development goes on from above and each preceding phase is “higher” than the following one, i.e., the preceding phase includes all the subsequent ones.

In the course of this development from the Creator down to our world, new levels come into being; everything evolving from perfect to imperfect. The Creator created the light, the pleasure, out of Himself, out of his Essence. Hence, it is said that the light is created “Yesh mi Yesh” (existent out of existent), i.e., that the light has existed forever. However, with the appearance of phase 1 of the desire to receive pleasure, the vessel, the Kli, is called “Yesh mi Ayn” (existent out of non-existent), i.e., the Creator made it out of nothing; because there cannot be even the slightest "desire to receive" in the Creator.

The creation’s first independent desire occurs in phase two. In this phase, the 'desire to bestow' appears for the first time. This desire appeared under the influence of the light, which was received from the Creator, and had already been included in the Thought of Creation. However, the Kli feels it as its own, independent desire. The same is true of our desires: all of them are sent from above, from the Creator; but we consider them to be our own.

By feeling the "desire to give" in phase two, contrary to the "desire to receive", the Kli ceases to feel pleasure from receiving, stops sensing the light as pleasure. The light filters out and leaves it remaining empty.

In phase one, the desire to receive pleasure was created. It is the only desire that is absent in the Creator. This very desire is the creation. Subsequently, there are only variations of this desire of phase 1 in the entire Universe; the desire to receive pleasure either from receiving or from giving, or from the combination of these two desires. Apart from the Creator there is only one thing – the desire to receive pleasure.

The vessel (the Kli) always wants to receive. The material it is made of does not change. Man can understand it only when he realizes the evil and comprehends his egoistic nature. All that is incorporated into our nature; in every cell of our body, there is no more than the desire to receive pleasure.

Phase two, now empty, stops feeling that it exists; it is created by the light and being without it, feels like dying. Hence, it desires to receive at least a little bit of the Creator’s light. The pleasure from receiving the light is called “Ohr Hochma”, while the pleasure from giving is called “Ohr Hassadim”.

Phase two (Bina) wants to give, but it finds out it has nothing to give, that it “is dying” without Ohr Hochma. That is why it decides to receive a little bit of the Ohr Hochma.

This is what constitutes the third phase, Behina Gimel (3). In this phase, there are two different desires in the vessel: the "desire to receive" and the "desire to bestow". But the "desire to give" prevails. In spite of the fact that it has nothing to bestow upon the Creator, the "desire to give" still exists in it. This desire is filled with the light of hassadim. It has in it also a little bit of the light of Hochma, which fills the "desire to receive".

The fourth phase, Malchut, is being gradually born from the third one. The "desire to receive" grows stronger, pushing out the "desire to give", and after awhile the "desire to receive" remains as the sole one. Therefore, this phase is called “Malchut”, i.e., the kingdom of desire, the desire to absorb everything, the entire pleasure (Ohr Hochma).

This phase is a completion of the creation, and since it receives everything infinitely, endlessly, it is called “the world of Infinity”.

These are the four phases of the Direct Light coming from the Creator. The rest of the creation, all the worlds, angels, Sefirot, souls - everything is only a part of Malchut. Since Malchut desires to be like the phases preceding it, the entire creation is a reflection of these 4 phases.

To understand it, to explain how these four phases are reflected in each of the worlds, how this affects our world; how we, by working actively with the help of feedback from above, can affect them and join in the general process of the Universe; this is the purpose of the science called Kabbalah. Our goal is to comprehend it all.

What is the difference between the "desire to receive" and the soul?

The "desire to receive" is called Behina Dalet. It is the heart of everything; it feels and attains all levels. As a rule, “the light” is named "soul". The light without the one who comprehends it is called “light”. The light together with the one who attains it is called “the soul”.

For example, five people are watching an airplane through binoculars, and each one has better binoculars than another does. Now, the first one says that the size of the plane is 20 cm. The second claims it to be 1 m. Each of them speaks the truth because they base their speculations on what they see, but their opinions in no way affect the plane.

The reason for the difference of opinions consists in the difference of quality of the binoculars’ lenses. The same occurs with us; there is no change in the light, all the changes are in those who attain it, and whatever we grasp is called “the soul”. In our example the binoculars are the equivalence of properties, and in this sense there are differences between those who attain, and all the more so in that which is attained, the soul.