Malkhut is the first Sefirah in the mystical Tree of Life diagram “from below,” the closest to human beings and the first gate through which creation can enter before God

Malkhut is identified with the title Adona”y, the Divine Name that stands at the interface between the Infinite, utterly unknowable Name of Havayah and the worlds of separation (Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah). Through this gate alone prayers, requests, and all connections to the higher Names can pass and reach Hashem.

Malkhut is thus both last in the chain of emanation and first in the path of ascent: the place where all higher lights arrive, and the place from which every human approach must begin.

Malkhut as the Gate to the King

R’ Yosef Gikatilla in his Sha’arei Orah (Gates of Light) opens the gate of Malkhut with practical spiritual instruction: before approaching this Sefirah in prayer, a person must “guard his foot” and examine the path to the King. Malkhut/Adona”y is not simply an abstract principle; it is a palace with many inner gates, guarded by forces that can obstruct a person’s requests when they arise from confusion, impurity, or lack of inner alignment.

Between earth and heaven the “space” is filled with multitudes of forces, some nurturing, some accusatory, and prayer has to pass through them. If the person is in a proper spiritual level, their prayer ascends undeflected; if not, destructive forces cling to and drain it. This is why Tehillim (zemirot, rinah) are framed as spiritual “machetes,” clearing away those obstructions so prayer can rise through Malkhut unhindered.

This article is part of the Tree of Life series. Check out the other articles below:

General information on Malkhut:

Associated Divine Names: Adonai
Associated Names: Lower mother, well, blessing, this (זאת), Rachel, eagle, rock
Associated Nikud: no nikkud
Associated Member: crown of the sexual organ
Function: Receiver and revealer of all lights
Color: purple or violet

“Leit Lah Migarmah” – She Has Nothing of Her Own

One of the most striking ideas about Malkhut in the Zohar is expressed in the Aramaic phrase “לית לה מגרמה כלום” – “She has nothing of her own.” This teaching compares Malkhut to the moon, which possesses no inherent light but reflects what it receives from the sun:

“This is also the concept of the moon. For the moon has no light of her own, only that which she receives from the sun (Zohar I, 238a)“

And this corresponds to Malkhut. It has nothing of its own other than what it receives. The Zohar in Parshat Vayechi elaborates that “the moon never shines but from the sun. When the sun reigns, the moon does not; when the sun is gathered, the moon rules.

“The moon is of no account, save when the sun is gathered” (Zohar Vayechi 564). This spiritual arrangement reflects the reality that Malkhut, as the vessel of manifestation, functions entirely through what it receives from the higher Sefirot. The Arizal states explicitly in Etz Chaim: “אין לה מעצמה כלום, אלא מקבלת מתפארת דזעיר אנפין” – “She has nothing of her own, but receives entirely from the Tiferet of Ze’ir Anpin.”

This principle carries more implications than meets the eye. Rather than viewing Malkhut’s receptivity as a deficiency, Kabbalah understands it as the very mechanism through which Divine light becomes actualized and also as a way of enabling Creation to rise and go down. The receiving vessel is itself the purpose of creation, it was for Malkhut that all the Sefirot were emanated.

The Dual Nature: Source of Both Judgment and Blessing

The Zohar reveals that Malkhut operates through a unique duality, she is simultaneously the source of judgment and the channel through which all blessings flow (mostly depending on the level of the generation).

Malkhut as the Source of Judgment

The Zohar in Parshat Naso teaches that Malkhut is called “Koh” (כה), a term associated with judgment. Rabbi Aba explains: “This righteousness, which is Malkhut, is called Koh, since all the Judgments come from Koh, since Koh is derived from keheh (dark), namely when Malkhut is in the Left Aspect, when she is dim and doesn’t shine and all the judgments flow from her” (Zohar Naso 145).

R’ Yosef Gikatilla adds that this teaching sheds some light on why the blessing of the Kohanim begins with “Koh tevarachu” – the priests must first address Malkhut with mercy to “perfume her” so that “no judgments will exist in her” for the sake of the children of Israel. Without connection to the upper Sefirot, particularly Yesod, Malkhut becomes a vessel of strict judgment.

The Zohar states plainly: “Malkhut without connection to Yesod is full of judgments and aspects of death. We should be afraid of doing anything without connection to Yesod.”

Malkhut as the Cup of Blessing

Yet the same Malkhut that can manifest judgment is also called “Kos shel Berachah” (i.e. the Cup of Blessing).

“All the supernal blessings were given to this grade, Malkhut, so it would bless everything. And though it has not its own light, yet all the blessings, joy and goodness are in it, and issue from it. It is therefore called ‘a cup of blessing,’ an actual blessing, as it says (from Proverbs), ‘The blessing of Hashem, it makes rich’” (Zohar Vayechi 504).

The Zohar continues: “Hence Malkhut has a residue of all the Sefirot, since they are all included within her, and she is filled by them all and has something from them all. She is blessed from supernal blessings, which were handed to her to confer” (Zohar Vayechi 505).

This paradox of having nothing of her own yet containing everything is the mystery of Malkhut’s role as the interface between the Divine and creation which, if we think about it, is very perplexing.

The Diminution of the Moon and the Exiled Presence

Many people know the famous Midrash in the Talmud (Chullin 60b) that records that the sun and moon were originally created equal, but when the moon complained that “two kings cannot share one crown,” Hashem told her to diminish herself. This diminution reflects Malkhut’s current state in the worlds of separation.

However, the prophetic promise remains: “The light of the moon shall become like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall become sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). This restoration of Malkhut to her original glory is the ultimate goal of all spiritual work. As the prayer after Kiddush Levanah states: “May it be Your will… to fill in the darkness of the moon that she not be diminished at all.”

In many places in Kabbalah we find that Malkhut of Atzilut is identified with the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence that accompanies Israel in exile. The explicit theme of the seventy Tikkunim is “to rectify and support the Shekhinah or Malkhut, hence its name, ‘Rectifications of the Zohar’, and to bring on the Redemption and conclude the Exile.”

The Zohar teaches that “in every place where Israel was exiled, the Shekhinah was exiled with them.” This means that Malkhut, the lowest Sefirah, descends with her children into the darkest places, awaiting repair through human action. The Tikunei Zohar opens with Rabbi Shimon’s adjuration to Eliyahu: “I adjure you by the holy kingdom, Malkhut, She Who has fallen in exile!”

This exile of Malkhut is not merely political but metaphysical, a fragmentation of the Divine order itself that demands tikkun (repair) through mitzvot, intention (kavanah), and prayer. Every act of holiness liberates sparks of the Shekhinah trapped in the kelipot (husks), reuniting Malkhut with the Holy One (i.e. Zeir Anpin), blessed be He.

Malkhut Contains All: The Treasury of the King

Returning to Shaarei Orah, R’ Yosef Gikatilla explains that Malkhut is called “Kol” (כל – All) because everything is present within it and nothing is lacking. All types of influence, emanation, and blessing flow into Malkhut as into a great storehouse. This is why the patriarchs transmitted blessing through the language of “Kol”: Avraham was blessed “baKol” (בכל), Yitzchak ate “miKol” (מכל), and Yaakov declared “yesh li Kol” (יש לי כל), each phrase pointing to mastery of this treasury of Malkhut.

The Zohar elaborates: “Whatever in the world a person needs should not be requested from any other godliness or place, since everything is included in this title of Hashem… Rather, from this place, whoever asks receives, each person according to his desire and will, if he calls Hashem in truth” (Psalms 145:18).

This Sephira called Adonai is then likened to a great royal treasury and to the heichal (same Gematria, 65), the Sanctuary within which the ineffable Name dwells. All shefa from the Ein Sof is stepped down through Ehyeh (Keter), then Havayah (Zeir Anpin), and finally is gathered into Adonai (the Shekhinah) as into a warehouse or vast reservoir. From here it is distributed to all creatures.

This is why in almost all places in Torah we pronounce Havayah as Adonai: whoever seeks YHVH will, in practice, encounter Him through this Name of Malkhut. For this reason the classical opening of the Amidah: “Adonai, open my lips…” is not stylistic. The prayer cannot even begin to ascend until the gate of Malkhut is consciously addressed and opened.

And this is another powerful lesson: in order to ascend the Sephirot of holiness, one begins by Malkhut, meaning, first he must accept Hashem’s kingship through the Torah and Mitzvot (whether he be a Jew or non-Jew).

Practical Application: Malkhut in Business and Manifestation

The principle that Malkhut is the “vessel of manifestation” (for lack of a better term) has many practical applications, particularly in the realm of work and business.

The Final Stage of Revelation

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches: “Everything we do, praying, Torah study, performing mitzvot, eating, earning a livelihood and much more, has one fundamental aim: to reveal the kingship of God” (Likutey Moharan I, 77). This means that all human effort finds its purpose in Malkhut, namely the stage where intention becomes reality.

In business terms, this Sephira also represents the moment of manifestation: when all planning, strategizing, and effort finally produce tangible results. Just as Malkhut has nothing of its own but reveals what the higher Sefirot pour into it, so too in business: the final product or outcome is the “revelation” of all the invisible work that preceded it.

The Vessel That Completes the Process

Conceptually, this Sephira also represents the mouth, it is the mouth that issues the king’s edicts and makes His will known. Furthermore, just as a person reveals his innermost thoughts when he speaks them aloud, Malkhut represents the revelation of God and His Kingdom.

For the entrepreneur or leader, this means that articulation is a form manifestation. The business plan in one’s mind (Chochmah/Binah), the emotional drive to succeed (the six emotive Sefirot), and the foundational systems in place (Yesod) all remain potential until they are expressed through Malkhut, through speech, action, and tangible output.

The Paradox of Receiving

The business application of “leit lah migarmah” is counterintuitive but powerful. This Sephira’s “emptiness” is precisely what allows it to receive and manifest. A vessel already full cannot receive anything new. In practical terms, this suggests that the posture of receptivity, humility, and openness is essential for manifestation. The leader who thinks they already “have it all” cannot receive new insight; the business that believes it has nothing to learn cannot adapt.

In business terms, this translates to the discipline of daily practice. Manifestation in Malkhut is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of channeling energy from above through repeated, intentional action. The entrepreneur who maintains consistent daily practices, whether in mindset, outreach, production, or service, keeps the channels of Malkhut open.

Knowing the Right Name

A core principle of Shaarei Orah is that all the Divine Names are contained in YHVH, like trunk and branches, yet each Name is a specific “treasury” or chamber.

Not knowing which Divine “chamber” governs a given need is compared to a starving person standing in front of a palace full of food but not knowing which room contains it. The tragedy is not lack of abundance but lack of da’at of the Names and their inner kavvanot.

In Malkhut this ignorance is most acute: one can speak words and even mention holy Names, yet if one’s awareness does not align with the specific channel of Adona”y that is appropriate to the need, the prayer may return seemingly unanswered.

Malkhut as Pool, Well, and Sea

R’ Yosef Gikatilla also unfolds a series of images to describe how this Sephira holds and distributes Divine flow by its many appelations:

Pool/breichah and berachah: it is like a pool into which a river pours and from which water flows to irrigate a garden. This is the basis of the word berachah, which is etymologically related to breichah. The patriarchal blessings are explained as Avraham receiving control over this “pool of blessing” in Adonai, passing it to Yitzchak, and then to Yaakov and his descendants.
Well/be’er: it’s also a well of “living waters.” When Israel is doing its spiritual work, this well fills with supernal vitality. When they turn away, they instead draw from “foreign wells,” broken cisterns filled with harm (the sitra achra version of this Sephira) rather than from the “Well of Seven,” (Bat Sheva) filled from the seven higher midot.
Sea/yam: Finally, it is also called “sea,” the receptacle into which all “rivers” of shefa flow. Within this sea are countless spiritual beings and “ships” (orders of souls, angels, and processes), and at its “edge” is the Yam Suf, the boundary where Divine judgment can overturn oppressive structures, as in the drowning of Egypt. The “Sea of Wisdom” is Malkhut when filled by Chokhmah; those who enter this sea of Malkhut‑wisdom can understand the structures of upper and lower worlds and govern in alignment with Divine justice, as in the case of Shlomo HaMelech.

The Restoration of Malkhut Through Human Action

The Ramchal in Klach Pitchei Chochmah teaches that “God’s sovereignty is the foundation of faith and the root of wisdom.” All of Kabbalah and Jewish thought touch upon God’s disembodied wishes as they manifest through creation. Malkhut is where these wishes finally become actualized.

Every business endeavor, every creative act, every moment of speech and action is an opportunity to reveal Malkhut, to manifest the hidden into the revealed, and to participate in the ultimate tikkun of Creation

It’s interesting to see that Malkhut stands as the most paradoxical of the Sefirot: having nothing of her own yet containing everything; the source of judgment yet the cup of blessing; the lowest in descent yet the first in ascent; the exiled Shekhinah yet the revealed Presence of the King.

The ultimate restoration of Malkhut will come in the Messianic era, when “the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun”, when Malkhut will shine with her own restored glory, receiving the full radiance of the higher Sefirot without diminution. Until then, every act of prayer, Torah study, and mitzvah serves to “repair the Shekhinah” and hasten this cosmic restoration.

Other holy names and terms for Malkhut:

English – Hebrew

Lord – Adonay אדנ”י
Well – Be’er באר
Be’er Sheva באר שבע
Sea – Yam ים
The Sea of Wisdom – Yam HaChochmah ים החכמה
All – Kol כל
Stone – Even אבן
The Foundation Stone – Even HaRoshah אבן הראשה
Brilliant Stone – Even Sapir אבן ספיר
Garden – Gan גן
Sanctuary – Heichal היכל
Ark – Aron ארון
The Holy Temple – Beit HaMikdash בית המקדש
The Indwelling Presence – Shechinah שכינה
The Meeting Tent – Ohel Mo’ed אהל מועד
Righteousness – Tzedek צדק
God – Elohi”m אלהי״ם
The Sword that Avenges Breaches of the Covenant – Cherev Nokemet Nekam Brit חרב נוקמת נקם ברית
I – Ani אני
The Kingdom of the House of David – Malchut Beit David מלכות בית דוד
The Gathering of Waters – Mikveh HaMayim מקוה המים
Dry Land – Yabashah יבשה
The Phylactery of The Hand – Tefillah Shel Yad תפילה של יד
Thus – Koh כה
The Opening of the Eyes – Petach Eynayim פתח עינים
The Tree of Knowledge – Etz HaDa’at עץ הדעת
The Land of the Living – Eretz HaChayim ארץ החיים
The Book of Life – Sefer HaChayim ספר החיים
Jerusalem – Yerushalayim ירושלים
This – Zot זאת
The End – Acharit אחרית
And He Said – Vayomer ויאמר
The Oral Torah – Torah SheBa’al Peh תורה שבעל פה
The One Who is Self-Sufficient – Shada”y שד״י
The Final Hey (ה) of The Name ה׳ אחרונה של שם
The Ingathering of Israel – Knesset Yisroel כנסת ישראל
The Land of Israel – Eretz Yisroel ארץ ישראל
Bride – Kalah כלה
Rachel – Rachel רחל
Blessing – Brachah ברכה
Eagle – Nesher נשר
The Daughter of Seven – Bat Sheva בת שבע
The Altar – Mizbe’ach מזבח
Daughter – Bat בת
Woman – Ishah אשה
The Teru’ah – Teruah תרועה
The Sabbatical – Shemitah שמיטה
The Lower Indwelling Presence – Shechinah Tata’ah שכינה תתאה
The Bent Nun – Nun Kfufah נ׳ כפופה

The Treasured Sephira of Malkhut and the Link to Manifestation