יחודא עילאה ויחודא תתאהThe Upper and Lower Unity

yichuda ila'ah veyichuda tata'ahIn Gamatria ↗

Nothing besides Him; and He is in every corner.

The Zohar calls 'Shema Yisrael' the upper unity and 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom' the lower; the last word of each, va'ed and echad, are linked by letter exchange. Upper unity: from God's side, the world is nothing at all, like sunlight in the sun. Lower unity: through His attribute of kingship, which brings space and time into being, the Infinite fills every place equally, earth as much as heaven. Kingship also veils the light so space and time can exist. The text rejects reading tzimtzum (contraction) literally, as if God withdrew.

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