In Torah-based Kabbalah, there are said to be "Four Worlds of Existence."

The "lower" three of these Worlds consist of everything in Creation:

• The physical world (called the world of "making" - Asiyyah in Hebrew) is the one our bodies live in
• The world beyond this is called the world of Formation (Hebrew: Yetzirah) and is the world of our souls, angels and most prophecy
• The next world is the world of Creation (Hebrew: Beriah) and is the place of the "Heavens," the Throne Room of God and the archangels

Beyond the above three worlds of Creation, is the world of Emanation, called Atzilut in Hebrew.

The above "four worlds" are present in this Scripture:

Isaiah 43:7 - Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.

The "lower three" of the Four Worlds are also said to be present in the Creation accounts in Genesis:

• Prior to Eden, Adam "exists" in Beriah. Here God in Scripture is called Elohim.
• In Eden, prior to the Fall, man exists in Yetzirah. Here God is called YHVH-Elohim.
• After the Fall, man is cast out to exist in Asiyyah. Here God is called YHVH.

Although each of the Four Worlds of Existence maintains certain particular aspects to itself, they are not totally exclusive of one another. The best example of this being our souls:

• Our souls are said to be "within each of us" in the Physical Realm
• Our souls are not physical however, and truly "exist" in the next world (Yetzirah)
• Our souls connect us to the world of the "Heavens," (Beriah -- where God "resides" within creation)
• This third world (Beriah) in turn is linked to Atzilut -- Divinity "outside" of Creation

More information on these concepts is found in the Yashanet Revelation Study Background Notes.

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