From the above, we may understand why in the account of creation in the Torah, the name Elokim is used, such as “And Elokim said, let there be light”, “And Elokim said, let there be a firmament”, etc. It is because of the five Gevurot , which have their source in the name Elokim, which limit the “holistic whole” thus bringing out specific utterances and combinations of letters.
As is known, everything is made up of letters. Everything in existence has its specific combinations of letters. The source of combinations of letters in all of existence, are the ten utterances of Elokim during the six days of creation. The letters of every creature, be it mineral, vegetable, animal or human, give it its form and properties, and make it what it is. For example, the combination of the DNA code of a cat is what makes it a cat. No matter what the cat eats, it will turn it into a cat. If a dog eats the same food, it will turn into a dog. The combinations of these letters come from Malchut of Atzilut. This will now be explained.
The combinations of each of the six days of creation correspond to the six emotional sefirot of Malchut of Atzilut. For example, the combinations of the first day, “Yehi Ohr” (Let there be light), correspond to the aspect of influencing Kindness (Chesed) to the worlds of Briyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah (Creation, Formation and Action). In contrast, the combinations of the second day, “Yehi Rakiya” (Let there be a firmament) correspond to an influence of Gevurah etc. (Each of these qualities is the source for a millennium of influence to the created worlds of Briyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as stated, “one thousand years is like a day etc.” The six thousand years of this world are drawn from the six emotional attributes of Malchut.) The combinations of the speech of Malchut change from Chesed to Gevurah etc. according to the effect of the intellectual sefirot (Chochmah and Binah) on the emotions. When such a change takes place there is likewise, automatically, a change in the combinations of the speech, from Chesed to Gevurah.
Furthermore, everything follows the intent of Chochmah, which is the source of the combinations, and is actually higher than the light of the intellect which is revealed in speech, as explained above that “the father founded the daughter”. (The power to combine is higher than the combination itself or even the concept being revealed, as explained before.) This may be understood from the following incident related in the Talmud. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa was a very poor man. One Friday his daughter told him she did not have any oil to light the Shabbat lights. All they had in their possession was some vinegar. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said “May he who told oil to burn, tell the vinegar to burn”. His daughter used vinegar in the lamp and it burned.
However, the vinegar remained vinegar. The combination of its letters stayed the same. What changed was G-d’s intent. The thought behind the combination of letters changed. In other words, the meaning of the combination changed, while its actual letters remained the same. Had the actual combinations changed, the vinegar would have turned to oil, but it remained vinegar. For example, if I arrange with you that when I say “yes” I mean “no” and when I say “no” I mean “yes”, you know that my “yes” is a “no”. The letters, however, stay the same. Only the meaning of the combination changes (i.e. the intellect of Malchut). This means that the vinegar remained vinegar but now G-d intended that it should burn like oil. G-d listened to Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa because he was a righteous man (A Tzaddik), as it says, “The righteous rules with his fear of Elokim”, i.e. with the 120 combinations of the name Elokim. However, the primary change takes place in the intellect of Malchut, in other words, in the intention behind the combination. G-d listened to Rabbi Chanina be Dosa and changed his intention of what the nature of the vinegar should be. In speech the vinegar remained the same, but in thought, its nature was changed. This is the meaning of the verse, “Everything that G-d desired he did”. Being that He created nature and is infinitely above it, he is not bound by any of its rules and can change them at will, all the way from the essential desire before the Tzimtzum, to Malchut of Malchut of Atzilut, and even lower, all the way down until the final physical actualization in this physical and lowest world.
