Shabbat Ila'ah (Higher Shabbat)

There are two levels of Shabbat. Besides the Shabbat Tata'ah (Lower Shabbat) here in this world, which is created through the resting of the Jewish people, there is also Shabbat Ila'ah (Higher Shabbat).

The Six Days of Creation

It is known regarding the concept and level of the six days of creation above, that this is the concept of the descent and drawing down of divine light and influence from Atzilut to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, down to this lowly physical world to give life from nothing to something. This occurs through the letters of speech of the ten utterances and their combinations, which comes from the level of His blessed Kingship, as is known. As it is known that He renews the work of creation every day from nothing to something, like the utterance "Let there be light," "Let there be a firmament," descending and drawn down from above to below each day. Generally, they are divided into the six days of creation - on the first day the utterance "Let there be light," on the second day the utterance "Let there be a firmament," etc., which correspond to the six attributes Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, etc. Therefore, these days are specifically called the six days of creation, like one who performs work and labor, whose strength extends downward into the action he is performing and doing, for the power of the doer is drawn into his action, and when he rests from his work, his strength that was extended in his action returns to the essential strength, and is called a "resting of the spirit."

The Concept of Shabbat Ila'ah

And so it is with the work of creation, which is called the handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed be He, throughout the six days of creation as mentioned above, which is the divine active force in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. And when He rests on Shabbat, the inner divine power within the worlds returns to the Essence of the Infinite One, blessed be He, in Atzilut, and is called a "resting of the spirit," as it is written "And He rested on the seventh day," and its Aramaic translation is "v'nach," meaning rest.

According to this, it would seem that all the worlds would be nullified in their source, in the source of all supernal life. But the explanation is that this ascent is only in the inner dimension and not in the outer dimension. Therefore, He brings down rain and causes crops to grow on Shabbat just as on weekdays, and similarly for all the chain of spiritual worlds. This is the concept of the ascent of the worlds on Shabbat, from Asiyah to Yetzirah, from Yetzirah to Beriah, from Beriah to Atzilut, and so on up to the highest levels in the very Essence of the Infinite One, blessed be He, all in the inner dimension.

In the future era, the ascent of the worlds will occur in the outer dimension as well.