The earth was (tohu va-vohu), chaos and void...
The earth was (tohu va-vohu), chaos and void... (Genesis 1:2).
Was, precisely: previously. Snow in water. Through the potency of snow in water emerged slime. Blazing fire struck it, refuse came to be, and tohu, chaos, was produced--abode of slime, nest of refuse. Va-vohu, And void--sifting sifted from refuse, settling upon it.
Hoshekh, Darkness--mystery of blazing fire. That darkness covers tohu, over the refuse, and thereby it is empowered.
Ve-ruah Elohim, And a wind of God--Ruah Qudsha, Holy Spirit, emerging from the living God, hovering over the face of the waters. Once this wind blew, one fine film clarified from the refuse, like filthy froth flying off, clarified, refined again and again, till that filth is left lacking any filth at all. So was tohu clarified and refined, from it emerging a great, mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks, the one seen by Elijah. Bohu was clarified and refined, from it emerged an earthquake, as it is written: After the wind--an earthquake. Darkness clarified, embracing fire within its mystery, as is written: After the earthquake--fire. Wind clarified, and embraced in its mystery was the sound of sheer silence.
Tohu--a colorless, formless realm, not embraced by the mystery of form. Now within form--as one contemplates it, no form at all. Everything has a garment in which it is clothed, except for this: though appearing upon it, it does not exist at all, never did.
Bohu--this has shape and form: stones sunk within the shell of tohu, emerging from the shell in which they sunk, conveying benefit to the world. Through the form of a garment they convey benefit from above to below, ascending from below to above. So they are hollow and moist, suspended in the air--sometimes suspended in the air, sometimes concealed on a cloudy day, generating water from the abyss to nourish tohu, for then frivolity and folly prevail as tohu spreads through the world.
Darkness is black fire, potent in color; red fire, potent in appearance; green fire, potent in shape; white fire, embracing all. Darkness, most powerful fire, empowers tohu. Darkness is fire but not dark fire until it empowers tohu. This is the mystery of: His eyes were too dim to see, and he called Esau... Darkness--face of evil, for he greeted evil with a friendly face. Then it is called darkness, for it settles upon it, empowering it. This is the mystery of: Darkness over the face of the abyss.
Ruach, Wind, is a voice hovering over bohu, empowering and conducting it with whatever is needed. This is the mystery of: The voice of YHVH is upon the waters, and similarily: The wind of God hovering over the face of the waters--stone sunk in the abyss, from which water issues. So it is called face, face of the abyss. The wind conducts and empowers that face, face of the waters, each one receiving what it needs.
Tohu--upon it rests the name Shaddai. Bohu--upon it rests the name Tseva'ot, Hosts. Darkness--upon it rests the name Elohim. Wind--upon it rests the name YHVH. A [great], mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks...YHVH was not in the wind. This name was not in it, for Shaddai controls it through the mystery of tohu. After the wind, and earthquake; YHVH was not in the earthquake--for the name Tseva'ot controls it through the mystery of bohu. So bohu is called earthquake, for it does not exist without quaking. After the earthquake, fire; YHVH was not in the fire--for the name Elohim controls it, from the side of darkness. After the fire, the sound of sheer silence--here is found the name YHVH.
Here are four sections, constituting well-known sections of the limbs of the body, numbering four, numbering twelve. Here is the engraved name of twelve letters, transmitted to Elijah in the cave.
~Zohar 1:16a (Pritzker Edition of the Zohar, Volume I, 118-121)
Snow in water. Have you ever seen snow it water? It is slush with water around it, slowly melting. Water is Chesed, Mercy. Snow is Geburah, and Din, Judgement. The two mingle in Shekhinah, producing slime. The fire of Geburah strikes Shekhinah, turning the slime into refuse, then into tohu, chaos. Bohu, void, settles on it. The tohu is earth, bohu is water.
Hoshekh, Darkness is over the face of the abyss. Darkness is a blazing fire, the Fire of Inspiration. In many traditions, Darkness is the Mother of all, the Source of all things.
Third Letter to Norman Giles:In the beginning there was only Night, and She was alone. Being was absolute, movement was there none. Being force without form, She desired form, and since She desired, that form was created .. Woman. Being Woman, She desired union, and created Man from Her North side.
Darkness is the Fire of Geburah. It gives no illumination, but does burn.
The Wind of G-d, air, hovers over the waters of bohu. It gives form to the chaos, the tohu.
Next, the author compares there four forces or substances to the four things Elijah encounters in 1 Kings 19:11-12. Each of these has a name of G-d corresponding to them. Shaddai is associated with the Sephirah of Yesod. This is the tohu and the mighty wind. Tseva'of is associated with the Sephiroth of Netzach and Hod. It signifies the host of forms coming out of the bohu. It is the bohu and the earthquake. Elohim is associated with the Sephirah of Geburah, and is the Darkness, which is the fire. YHVH is associated with Tipherah, and is the Wind of G-d and the sound of sheer silence. YHVH is only found in the silence, in Tipherah, in the Wind of G-d. Tipherah is also Qol, voice or sound.
The talk of twelve letters makes me think of the twelve single letters. The notes to this edition talk about the name YHVH used three times, and a twelve letter name of G-d.