If you reflect on the above parable, you will discover how the three modes of one who plans to build a house are intertwined in the manner of cause and effect. The root of them all is the initial thought, since no detail of his planned design will come into being other than by the “last in deed” that emerged from him “first in thought.” Likewise, he will execute something at the time of construction only in accordance with the details he prearranged from the planned design.
The Cosmic Blueprint and How Creation Unfolds
Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar 26:1