Briah, Yetzirah, Asiyah

Briah, Yetzirah, Asiyah (abbreviated as בי"ע BYA) are three worlds in the downward chain of divine light, from above to below. In these three worlds, there is a mix of Divine light and concealment, and unlike the world of Atzilut above them — G-dliness is not completely reveealed in them.

Their Essence

In Chassidic teachings, these three worlds often appear without the world of Atzilut, because of the fundamental difference between these three worlds and the world of Atzilut. Atzilut is a completely divine world, whereas in the BYA worlds G-dlinesss is not as aparant. The reason being: because in these words there are already created "other" beings and these newly created entities are not completely nullified to G-d and there are also various concealments and hiddenness of the divine light. Therefore, they are "yesh" (something) - meaning a separate entity in itself, not completely nullified to the divine light, which gives place for created beings.

The Differences Between the BYA Worlds

The three BYA worlds are generally called: the World of Souls, the World of Angels, and the World of Celestial Spheres. These worlds also correspond to thought, speech, and action.

The reason they correspond to these is because:

• The world of Briah is the first "being" or "existence" which so-to-speak was generated from absolute nothing [ex nihilo], this corresponds to thought which is an aspect of creation that is something from absolute nothing: Before one thinks, there are no "letters" at all, and afterward in the aspect of thought, there are letters. Similarly, this corresponds to souls, as the verse states the "souls of Israel arose in thought."
• The world of Yetzirah is the world of angels because angels are on the same divine level as speech - "by the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth..." And like speech that is drawn from thought, for what a person thinks, he speaks, and it is not "something from nothing" but "something from something" - only that what was initially concealed and was contemplated in thought is now revealed in speech, and therefore it is called Yetzirah (formation. As when someone molds something from a preexisting entity).
• The world of Asiyah is in the aspect of action which is separate from the thought and speech. As can be seen by a person where his actions do not always reflect his thought and speech and action in itslef can be seen as void of any intens, and thus it corresponds well with the world of Asiyah where there are stars and constellations and furthermore there's life on earth, which is can be seen as truly separate from and void of G-dliness.

Matter, Form, Rectification

In different terminology, the worlds are divided into matter, form, and rectification. Meaning:

Matter - The creation of matter is the world of Briah. As in the expression "creating something from nothing," meaning, creating the existence of matter. But this matter lacks any form, and is essentially completely abstract (Hiyuli).

Form - In the world of Yetzirah, the form of created beings began to take shape, but it is still not complete (this concept is among the most difficult to conceptualize in human intellect).

Rectification - It is said "which God created to make," and our Sages interpreted "to rectify," meaning that making is like rectifying, which is the perfection of the work. In the world of Asiyah, the connection between matter and form was completed.

Their Place in the General Order of Descent

In the general order of descent, the BYA worlds correspond to the name BaN that fell from the world of Tohu, from the name SaG. The BYA worlds are rectified and elevated to the world of Atzilut, in the aspect of the name MaH.

See Also

• ABYA (Atzilut, Briah, Yetzirah, Asiyah)