{
"language": "en",
"title": "Petichah LeChokhmat HaKabbalah",
"versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org/",
"versionTitle": "The Sefaria Sulam, 2023",
"status": "locked",
"license": "CC-BY",
"versionNotes": "Managing Editor: Jason Rappoport
Translator: Joshua Schreier
Editor: Michael Siev
Editor: Yaacov Francus
Copy-editor: Deborah Meghnagi Bailey
Copy-editor: Ilana Sobel]",
"actualLanguage": "en",
"languageFamilyName": "english",
"isBaseText": false,
"isSource": false,
"direction": "ltr",
"heTitle": "פתיחה לחכמת הקבלה",
"categories": [
"Kabbalah",
"Baal HaSulam"
],
"text": [
[
"The Talmud states: “Rabbi Ḥananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to confer merit upon the Jewish people. Therefore, He increased for them Torah and commandments, as the verse states, ‘It pleased the Lord for the sake of His righteousness to make the Torah great and glorious.’” It is known that the word for merit, zekhut, connotes hizdakekhut, purification, and this aligns with the Sages’ statement that the commandments of the Torah were given only in order to refine the Jewish people through them. This purification that we attain by means of the Torah and commandments needs to be understood. What opacity (ovyut) is there in us that we must purify it through the Torah and commandments?",
"I have addressed this topic in my books Panim Masbirot and Talmud Eser HaSefirot. I will review the ideas here in brief.",
"The Creator’s initial intent for the Creation was to bestow benefit on the created beings commensurate with His generosity, may He be blessed and exalted. Therefore, souls were imprinted with the great will and desire to receive His shefa (divine bounty). The will to receive is the vessel that contains the measure of pleasure that is in the shefa, because the measure of greatness and strength of the will to receive the shefa is commensurate with the measure of pleasure and delight in the shefa, no more, no less. They are bound together to such an extent that they cannot be distinguished from one another except in terms of that to which they relate: The pleasure is related to the shefa, while the great will to receive the shefa is related to the created being who receives it. Both of these are necessarily drawn from the Creator, only they must be distinguished in the aforementioned manner: The shefa is drawn from His essence, that is, its existence emanates from His essence yesh miyesh. The will to receive, which is incorporated there, in the shefa, is the root of all created beings, that is, it is the root of any new creation, which constitutes the emergence of existence ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin), since the Creator’s essence certainly does not contain any trace of the will to receive, God forbid.",
"We can therefore discern that the aforementioned will to receive constitutes all creative material from beginning to end, to such an extent that the myriad species of creations, their innumerable incarnations, and their manners of behavior, both those that have manifest and those that will manifest in the future, constitute nothing more than quantities and differences in the measure of the will to receive. Anything contained within the vessel that constitutes those creations, that is, anything received through their imprinted will to receive, emanates from the Creator’s essence yesh miyesh. It is not in any way a new creation that came into existence ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin) , since it is not truly new at all but emanates from the Creator’s eternal essence yesh miyesh."
],
[
"As stated, the will to receive was necessarily encompassed in the Creator’s initial intent for the Creation, in all its various forms, together with the great shefa with which He thought to benefit them and to grant to them. Know that this is the mystical meaning of light and vessel that we discern in the higher worlds, because of necessity they come bound as one, and they devolve together from one level to the next, descending further and further from their divine source. The measure by which the levels descend from the light of His countenance and become distant from Him is commensurate with the materialization of the will to receive that is subsumed in the shefa.",
"One can likewise say the reverse, that commensurate with the measure of the materialization of the will to receive in the shefa, the combined will to receive and the shefa increasingly descends from one level to the next, as will be explained below. This continues until it reaches the lowest place of them all, at which point the will to receive becomes materialized to its fullest potential measure. That place is termed the world of Asiya (Actualization), and there the will to receive is manifest as a human body, while the shefa the created entity receives is the amount of vitality that is contained in that body. The same applies to the other creations in this world.",
"Thus, the whole difference between the higher worlds and this world is that as long as the will to receive that is subsumed in His shefa has not materialized into its final form, it is still found in the spiritual worlds, which are loftier than this world, whereas once the will to receive has materialized into its final form, it is regarded as being found in this world."
],
[
"The aforementioned devolvement in which the will to receive is brought into its final form in this world follows the order of the four levels that correspond to the four letters of the four-letter name of God (the Tetragrammaton). For the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, yod-heh-vav-heh, encompass all of reality without excluding even the most minute particle.",
"In general, the letters are expressed as the ten divine attributes known as sefirot, the letters being synonymous with them: Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, Malkhut, and their root, Keter. They are ten sefirot because the sefira of Tiferet encompasses six sefirot: Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, and the root is called Keter . However, they are mainly referenced as Ḥokhma and Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. Keep this in mind.",
"Additionally, the four letters of the divine name correspond to the four worlds, which are Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization). The world of Asiya includes this world within it. Thus there is no creature in this world that is not engendered from Ein Sof, blessed be He, meaning it is rooted in the initial intent for the Creation, which is to give His creations pleasure, as stated above. This initial intent is necessarily comprised of light and vessel, that is, a certain measure of shefa together with the will to receive that shefa. The measure of shefa emanates from His essence yesh miyesh , while the will to receive the shefa comes into existence anew ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin), as stated above. In order that the will to receive may reach its final form, it must devolve, together with the shefa it contains, through the four worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. At that point, the created being is complete, composed of both light and vessel, which is referred to as body and the light of vitality it contains."
],
[
"The reason that the will to receive devolves by means of the aforementioned four levels, Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization), is due to an important principle that applies to the vessels: It is the expansion of the light and its subsequent removal that renders the vessel suitable for its function. This means that as long as the vessel has not been separated in any way from its light, it is encompassed in the light and subsumed within it like a candle in the presence of a torch. This subsummation occurs because the vessels and light are complete opposites from one extreme to the other. The light is shefa that emanates from His essence yesh miyesh. From the perspective of the intent to create that stems from Ein Sof, blessed be He, the light is intended purely to grant shefa and contains nothing of the will to receive. The vessel is the opposite, as it is composed of the ultimate desire to receive that shefa, a desire that is the entire root of the created being, containing no ability to give whatsoever.",
"Therefore, when they are bound together, the will to receive is negated by the light within, and a created being is unable to achieve a final form until the light has been removed from it at least once. For after the light is removed from it, the will to receive begins to yearn very much for the light, and this yearning determines and finalizes the appropriate form that the will to receive will take. Subsequently, when the light returns and is enclothed in the form that the will to receive has taken, from that point the entity is categorized as possessing two separate elements: vessel and light, or body and vitality. Consider this carefully, as it is the most profound of ideas."
],
[
"Therefore, the four levels that correspond to the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God, which are Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, are necessary. The first level, called Ḥokhma, actually contains the entirety of the emanated being, both light and vessel. It incorporates the full will to receive together with the entirety of the light within it, which is called the “light of wisdom,” also called the “light of vitality,” as it comprises all the light of the life force that is in the emanated being enclothed in its vessel. Yet this first level is categorized as entirely light and its vessel is barely recognizable, since the vessel is mingled with the light and subsumed in it like a candle in the presence of a torch.",
"Then follows the second level. At the end of the first level, the vessel of Ḥokhma prevails by equating its form to that of the supernal light it contains. In other words, a will to give to the Emanator is awakened within the vessel, resembling the nature of the light it contains, which is entirely to give. Then, by means of this will to give that has been awakened in the vessel, a new light is drawn to it from the Emanator, which is called the “light of giving.” As a result, it is disassociated almost completely from the light of wisdom that the Emanator bestowed on it, since the light of wisdom can be received only in its own vessel, which is the ultimate will to receive in its fullest measure, as stated.",
"Accordingly, the light and vessel in the second level are completely different from those of the first level, as the vessel of the second level has the will to give, while the light within it differentiates into the light of giving, a light that emanates from the power of the cleaving of the emanated being to the Emanator. That is, the will to give that is awakened within the vessel brings about the equating of its form with that of the Emanator, and the equating of form is the way an entity cleaves to another in the spiritual realm, as stated below.",
"Next comes the third level, which comes after the light in the emanated being has been reduced to the light of giving and there is no light of wisdom at all. Yet it is known that the light of wisdom is the essential life force of the emanated being. Therefore, at the end of the second level, the emanated being awakened and drew into it a measure of the light of wisdom to shine into the light of giving within it. This awakening thus draws once more a certain measure of the will to receive, which forms a new vessel referred to as the third level, or Tiferet. The light within it is called “the light of giving illuminated by the light of wisdom,” since the light is primarily comprised of the light of giving but a little of it is the light of wisdom.",
"After that comes the fourth level. At the end of the third level, the vessel was also awakened to draw the full measure of the light of wisdom, as in the first level. This awakening constitutes a state of yearning that is similar to the will to receive that was present in the first level and in a way exceeds it, for at this point the will to receive has already been separated from that light because in this level the light of wisdom is no longer enclothed in the vessel of the will to receive, but rather the vessel yearns for it, to receive the light of wisdom. Thus, the form of the will to receive has been fully established, since the vessel is completed after the expansion of the light and its subsequent removal from the vessel, as stated above. When the materialized vessel subsequently returns to receive the light once again, the vessel will precede the light. Therefore, this fourth level constitutes the completion of the vessel, which is called Malkhut."
],
[
"The four levels described above are the mystical meaning of the ten sefirot that can be discerned in every emanated being and each creation, both in the overall system of existence comprised of the four worlds and in the smallest minutiae of existence. The first level is called Ḥokhma, or the world of Atzilut (Emanation). The second level is called Bina, or the world of Beria (Creation). The third level is called Tiferet, or the world of Yetzira (Formation). The fourth level is called Malkhut, or the world of Asiya (Actualization).",
"We will now elucidate the four levels as they apply to every soul.",
"When a soul is drawn from Ein Sof, blessed be He, and enters the world of Atzilut, it is in the soul’s first level. There it is not yet called neshama , as the term neshama indicates that there is some divergence from the Emanator, blessed be He. This state of divergence reflects how the soul has left the level of Ein Sof and has reached a state in which it is revealed as a separate entity unto itself. Prior to this separation, when the soul does not yet possess the form of a vessel, there is nothing to identify it as distinct from His essence so that it may merit its own name. It has already been established that in the first level of development of a vessel, it is not recognized as a vessel at all but rather is entirely subsumed by the light.",
"This is the mystical meaning of the statement regarding the world of Atzilut, that it is entirely divinity, in the mystical statement “He, His life, and His attributes are one.” Even the souls of other living creatures, when they pass through the world of Atzilut, are categorized as still cleaving to His essence."
],
[
"In the world of Beria (Creation), the aforementioned second level is dominant, which is the level of the vessel that constitutes the will to give. Therefore, when the soul descends and enters the world of Beria, acquiring the type of vessel that exists there, then it is called neshama. At that point, it has already emerged and separated from His essence and has merited its own name: neshama. Nevertheless, this vessel is extremely pure, since it equates its form with that of the Emanator by acquiring the will to give, and therefore it is categorized as wholly spiritual."
],
[
"In the world of Yetzira (Formation), the aforementioned third level is dominant, which includes the incorporation of a small amount of the form of the will to receive. Therefore, when the soul descends and enters the world of Yetzira, acquiring that vessel, it leaves the spiritual level of neshama and is then called ruaḥ. On this level, its vessel is intermingled with a slight degree of opacity (ovyut) because of the small amount of will to receive that it contains. Nevertheless, it is still considered spiritual, as this amount of opacity is insufficient to separate it entirely from His essence to the extent that it can be called a body that exists in its own right."
],
[
"In the world of Asiya (Actualization), the fourth level is dominant, which is the completion of the vessel that constitutes the ultimate will to receive, as stated above. Accordingly, it acquires a body distinct and separate from His essence, one that exists in its own right. The light and vitality that it contains is called nefesh, which is indicative of light without movement of its own.",
"Know that there is no minutia of existence that is not comprised of all the levels of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya."
],
[
"One thus discovers how this soul level called nefesh, which is the light of vitality enclothed in the body, emanates from the Creator’s essence yesh miyesh. As it passes through the four worlds of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya, it becomes increasingly distant from the light of His countenance, until it enters its designated vessel, which is called body. At this stage, the vessel has acquired its proper, final form.",
"Admittedly, the light it contains has also greatly diminished until the root of its origin is no longer discernible. Even so, by engaging in Torah study and the performance of the commandments in order to give one’s Creator satisfaction, one continuously purifies one’s vessel that is called body until it merits receiving the ultimate shefa in the fullest measure that was encompassed in the Creator’s initial intent for the Creation when He created the world. This is the meaning of Rabbi Ḥananya ben Akashya’s statement that “the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to purify [lezakot] the Jewish people. Therefore, He increased for them Torah and commandments.”"
],
[
"With this in mind, you will understand the true basis for delineating the distinction between spirituality and corporeality: Anything that contains a fully formed will to receive, with all its aspects, which constitutes the fourth level, is considered corporeal. This level exists in all facets of the reality that is visible to us in this world. Anything beyond this ultimate measure of will to receive can be categorized as spirituality. This constitutes the worlds of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization) – they and all of reality that they contain – which are loftier than this world.",
"With this understanding, you can grasp that all the ascents and descents mentioned with regard to the higher worlds do not refer to an imaginary place, God forbid, but rather to the concept of the four levels of will to receive. Anything that is distant from the fourth level is described as being in a higher place, while anything that is closer to the fourth level is described as being in a lower place."
],
[
"However, one must understand that since the central element of a created being, and of all of creation in general, is solely the will to receive, anything beyond this is not actually in the category of a creation but rather emanates from the Creator’s essence yesh miyesh; that is, it constitutes the light of vitality found within the creation. If that is the case, why do we describe this desire to receive with negative appellations such as opacity (ovyut) and murkiness, and why is it that we are commanded to purify it by means of Torah study and commandments to the extent that without this purification we would not achieve the lofty goal of the Creator’s intent for the Creation?"
],
[
"The explanation is that just as corporeal beings are separated from one another by spatial distance, so too spiritual beings are separated from one another by their difference of form. You can find comparable cases in this world as well. For example, two people who are similar to one another in their perspectives love each other, and physical distance does not cause them to grow apart. By contrast, when they are far apart from one another in their perspectives, they hate each other and physical proximity will not bring them one iota closer. The difference in the form of two people’s perspectives distances them from one another, while the similarity of form in their perspectives draws them closer to each other. If, for example, the nature of one of them is the opposite, in all aspects, from the nature of the other, they will be as far apart from each other as east is from west.",
"In the same way, you can understand this concept in the realm of spirituality. All the dynamics of distancing and drawing close, or fusion and unification, that are applied to it, are just measures of changes of form. They are separated from one another commensurate with the extent of the difference of form, and they are attached to one another commensurate with the equating of form.",
"With this in mind, you will understand that although the will to receive is an indispensable quality in a created being, since the will to receive defines an entity as a created being and is the appropriate vessel for receiving the purpose of the Creator’s intent in the creation of the world, nevertheless this quality separates the created being completely from the Emanator. This is because there is a change of form that leads to opposing states between the created being and the Emanator. The Emanator is entirely about giving and lacks even a trace of receiving, God forbid. By contrast, the created being is entirely about receiving and lacks even a trace of giving. There is no difference of form more opposite and distant than this, and therefore this difference of form necessarily separates the created being from the Emanator."
],
[
"In order to save the created beings from the enormity of this distant separation, the mystical first constriction (tzimtzum) was implemented, separating the aforementioned fourth level from all the holy partzufim in such a manner that the ultimate capacity for receiving was left as an empty space, devoid of any light. For all the holy partzufim emerged with a partition placed upon their respective vessels of Malkhut so that they would not receive light in their fourth level.",
"Thus, when the supernal light is drawn down and expands toward the emanated being, this partition rebuffs the light backward, and there is a kind of collision between the supernal light and the partition. This collision gives rise to the returning light, which returns the light from below to above and enclothes the ten sefirot of the supernal light. That part of the light that is rebuffed upward is called the returning light. When it enclothes the supernal light, it becomes a vessel that serves as a receptacle for the supernal light instead of the fourth level. Subsequently the vessel of Malkhut expands commensurate with the amount of returning light that was rebuffed by the partition, which is the rebuffed light that ascended and enclothed the supernal light from below to above, which then expanded from above to below. In this manner, the lights are enclothed in the vessels, meaning in that returning light.",
"This is the mystical meaning of head and body in each level, since the fusion through the collision of the supernal light against the partition gives rise to the returning light from below to above and enclothes the ten sefirot of the supernal light in the form of the ten sefirot of the head, which refers to the roots of the vessels, as there, in the head, there cannot yet be actual enclothing in order to form complete vessels. Subsequently, when the Malkhut expands with the returning light from above to below, the returning light ceases to exist as light and now acts as vessels for the supernal light. Then the supernal light is enclothed in the vessels, and it is called the body of that level, meaning it becomes complete vessels."
],
[
"Thus, new vessels were made in the holy partzufim, instead of the fourth level serving in that capacity, after the first constriction (tzimtzum). They were fashioned through the rebuffing of the returning light by means of the fusion through collision of the supernal light against the partition. It is necessary to understand this returning light, how it became a receiving vessel. Initially it was merely light that was rebuffed from being received, and now it subsequently serves a function that is the opposite of its own type.",
"I will explain this to you by means of a parable that relates to the affairs of this world: It is human nature to like and respect the attribute of giving, while the attribute of receiving from another person is viewed as repulsive and degrading. Accordingly, if one visits the house of a friend, and the friend invites him to dine with him, he will decline to eat even if he is very hungry because he considers it demeaning and degrading to receive a gift from his friend. However, if his friend implores him sufficiently, so that it becomes abundantly clear to him that he would be doing his friend a great favor by eating, he will agree to dine with him. He no longer feels that he is the one receiving the gift and that his friend is being the giver, but rather the converse: He is the giver, the one doing his friend a favor, by accepting this favor from him.",
"You thus find that although hunger and appetite are the specific receiving vessels for eating, and this person had sufficient hunger and appetite to accept his friend’s meal, he was nevertheless unable to taste even a morsel of his friend’s food out of embarrassment. However, when his friend began to implore him, and he repeatedly declined his offer, a new receiving vessel for eating began to be formed within him. As the force of his friend’s entreaties and the force of his own repudiations increase and grow, they will ultimately combine and grow large enough that his attribute of receiving is transformed into an attribute of giving to the extent that he can imagine he is doing his friend a favor and providing him with immense gratification by eating. At that point, receiving vessels for his friend’s meal are generated within him.",
"We can now see how the force of his rejection became the central element of his receiving vessel with regard to the meal, and not hunger and appetite, even though in truth they are the usual receiving vessels."
],
[
"From the aforementioned parable, which involves an interpersonal relationship, one can understand the aforementioned concept of fusion through collision and the returning light that rises by means of it, which becomes a new receiving vessel for the supernal light instead of the fourth level that was initially meant to serve as the receiving vessel. The collision of the supernal light against the partition and how the light desires to expand into the fourth level, can be compared to a person imploring someone to dine with him. Just as he very much wants his friend to accept his meal, so too the supernal light wants to expand into the receiver. The partition impacting the light and rebuffing it can be compared to the rejection and refusal of his friend to accept his meal because he rebuffed his offer. Just as you find in this case that it is the refusal and the rejection themselves that are transformed and turned into proper receiving vessels for accepting his friend’s meal, you can likewise imagine that the returning light, which arises by means of the impact of the supernal light against the partition and the partition’s repudiation of the supernal light, transforms into a new receiving vessel for the supernal light instead of the fourth level, which served as the receiving vessel before the first constriction (tzimtzum).",
"However, this occurs only in the holy partzufim of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization), but not in the partzufim of the kelippot nor in this world, in which the fourth level itself serves as the receiving vessel. Therefore, they are separated from the supernal light, as the difference in form of the fourth level from that of the Emanator, which is the attribute of giving, separates them from each other. Consequently, the kelippot, and similarly the wicked, are regarded as dead, for they are separated from the Source of Life, who bestows life, by the will to receive within them, as mentioned in section #13# above. See the description there in detail, as it cannot be explained any further."
],
[
"Five Levels in the Partition",
"Up to this point, we have clarified the first three principles of the wisdom of Kabbala. The first is the concept of light and vessel, how the light is drawn directly from the Creator’s essence, while the vessel is comprised of the will to receive that is necessarily encompassed by that light. Commensurate with the measure of this will to receive that was created ex nihilo, an entity emerges from the Emanator as an emanated entity. This will to receive is the Malkhut that is discerned in the supernal light. This is why Malkhut is called shemo, His name, in accordance with the mystical meaning of “He is one and His name is one,” as shemo has the same numerical value as the word for “will,” ratzon.",
"The second principle is the explanation of the ten sefirot and the four worlds of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization), which are four levels, one below the other, through which the will to receive must devolve until the vessel is established properly as an entity in itself.",
"The third principle is the constriction (tzimtzum) and the partition that was formed upon this receiving vessel, which is the fourth level. This fourth level was then replaced by new receiving vessels in the form of ten sefirot called the returning light.",
"You should understand and thoroughly review these three principles, as well as their explanations as described above, for without them there is no comprehending even a single word of this wisdom."
],
[
"Now we will clarify five levels that are in the partition, on the basis of which the shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) change during the fusion through collision between the partition and the supernal light. One must first thoroughly understand that although after the constriction (tzimtzum) the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the ten sefirot of the supernal light, and the returning light that rises from the partition by means of the fusion through collision became a receiving vessel in order to receive the supernal light in its stead, the fourth level must nevertheless, with its power of receiving, accompany the returning light. Otherwise, the returning light would not be fit to serve as a receiving vessel.",
"You can understand this, too, through the aforementioned parable in section #15#. We proved there that the force of the guest’s rejection and refusal to accept a meal became a receiving vessel instead of the hunger and appetite. The hunger and appetite, which are the usual receiving vessel for eating, were disqualified here from being a receiving vessel on account of the shame and degradation the person felt at receiving a gift from his friend, and only the powers of rejection and refusal became receiving vessels in their place, because as a result of the rejection and refusal, the receiving was transformed into giving once the guest realized that he would be doing the host a favor by accepting the meal, and through them the person attained appropriate receiving vessels for accepting his friend’s meal.",
"However, it cannot be said that now he no longer needs the usual receiving vessels, which are hunger and appetite, as it is clear that without an appetite for eating, he will be unable to fulfill his friend’s wishes and give him the satisfaction of eating with him. Rather, what happens is that the hunger and appetite, which were disqualified in their normative form, have now been altered, due to the force of the rejection and refusal, and have received a new form: receiving in order to give. Through this, the degradation is transformed into honor. Thus, the usual receiving vessels still function now as they always did, only they have received a new form.",
"You can apply the same idea to the matter at hand. It is true that the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the ten sefirot of the supernal light due to the opacity (ovyut) within it, meaning the contrast in form as a receiver in comparison to the Giver, which separates it from the Giver, as stated above. However, through the establishment of the partition in the fourth level, which collides with the supernal light and rebuffs it, the fourth level’s previous, disqualified form was altered, and it received a new form, which is called “returning light,” similar to the alteration of the receiving form into the giving form in the aforementioned parable. The contents of the first form did not change there; also now the person will not eat without an appetite. Here too all the opacity, which is the power to receive, that was in the fourth level was altered and entered the returning light, and thus the returning light was made fit to be a receiving vessel. Understand this well.",
"Accordingly, one must always distinguish between two forces in the partition:",
"The first is hardness (kashyut), which constitutes the force of rejection inherent to it to be able to rebuff the supernal light.",
"The second is opacity (ovyut), which is the measure of the will to receive that is incorporated within the partition from the fourth level. By means of the fusion through collision as a result of the force of hardness that the partition contains, the opacity is purified. That is, there is the transformation of receiving into giving.",
"These two forces in the partition operate at five levels, which are the four aforementioned levels of Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut and their root, which is called Keter, each level representing a different measure of will to receive."
],
[
"Admittedly, we explained that the first three levels are not characterized as vessels, and only the fourth level is categorized as a vessel, as stated above in section #5#. Nevertheless, the first three levels are the causes that lead to the completion of the fourth level, in such a manner that the fourth level, after its completion, bears the imprints of four different measures of the attribute of receiving that it contains, starting from the first level, which contains the most dilute measure of the attribute of receiving, followed by the second level, which is somewhat more opaque than the first level in terms of its attribute of receiving, and then the third level, which is more opaque than the second level with respect to its attribute of receiving, and finally the fourth level, whose own attribute is the most opaque of them all, as its attribute of receiving is complete in all regards. In addition, one should discern that the fourth level also contains the opacity (ovyut) of the root of the four levels, that of Keter, which is the purest of them all, since it contains a minute measure of will to receive.",
"These are the five levels of the attribute of receiving that are incorporated in the fourth level, which are also known by the same names as the ten sefirot – Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, which encompasses six sefirot, and Malkhut – since the four levels are Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, as stated in section #5# above, and the fifth level is their root called Keter."
],
[
"The reason the five levels of receiving that are within the fourth level are called by the names of the sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, is because prior to the constriction (tzimtzum) – that is, when the fourth level was the receiving vessel for the ten sefirot that are encompassed in the supernal light, which is the mystical meaning of “He is one and His name is one,” for all the worlds are incorporated there within the supernal light, as we wrote in Talmud Eser Sefirot, part 1 – the enclothing of the ten sefirot by the fourth level was structured according to those aforementioned five levels.",
"Each one of the five levels within the fourth level enclothed the corresponding level in the ten sefirot that are encompassed in the supernal light: The root level aspect of the fourth level enclothed the light of Keter of the ten sefirot. The first level aspect within the fourth level enclothed the light of Ḥokhma of the ten sefirot, the second level aspect within the fourth level enclothed the light of Bina, the third level aspect within it enclothed the light of Tiferet, and the fourth level aspect within the fourth level itself enclothed the light of Malkhut. Therefore, now too, after the first constriction (tzimtzum), when the fourth level has been disqualified from being a receiving vessel any longer, the five levels of opacity (ovyut) within it are still called by the name of the five sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut."
],
[
"As you are already aware, the substance that generally constitutes the partition can be described as hardness (kashyut) , meaning something very hard that does not allow anything to penetrate its boundary at all. Likewise, the partition does not allow any trace of the supernal light to pass through it into Malkhut, which is the fourth level. It can thus be said that the total measure of light that can be enclothed in the vessels of Malkhut is blocked by the partition and rebuffed. It has also been clarified that the five levels of opacity (ovyut) that are in the fourth level are incorporated and enter the partition, fusing with its attribute of hardness.",
"Consequently, five types of fusion through collision can be discerned in the partition, corresponding to its five measures of opacity (ovyut):",
"Fusion through collision against a complete partition, which is formed with all five levels of opacity, gives rise to returning light that is sufficient to enclothe all ten sefirot – that is, until the level of Keter.",
"When there is fusion through collision against a partition that lacks the opacity of the fourth level, and has only the opacity of the third level, the returning light that it raises is sufficient to enclothe the ten sefirot only up to the level of Ḥokhma and does not include Keter.",
"If it contains only the opacity of the second level, its returning light is smaller and is only enough to enclothe the ten sefirot of the supernal light up to the level of Bina; it lacks Keter and Ḥokhma.",
"If it contains only the opacity of the first level, its returning light is diminished even further and is sufficient to enclothe only to the level of Tiferet; it lacks Keter, Ḥokhma, and Bina.",
"If it lacks even the opacity of the first level, so that only the opacity of the root level remains in it, its impact is very weak and is sufficient only to enclothe up to the level of Malkhut alone. It lacks the first nine sefirot, which are Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, and the six sefirot encompassed in Tiferet."
],
[
"You can thus see how five shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) of the ten sefirot emerge through five types of fusion through collision against the partition, which are determined by the five levels of opacity (ovyut) within the partition. I will now inform you of the reason for this.",
"As is known, light cannot be contained without a vessel, and you are also aware that these five levels of opacity in the partition come from the five levels of opacity in the fourth level. That is, before the constriction (tzimtzum) , there were five vessels in the fourth level that enclothed the ten sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, as stated in section #18# above. After the first constriction, they were incorporated into the five levels of the partition, so that through the returning light that it raises, they return to being five vessels for the ten sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, formed from the returning light, replacing the five vessels that were in the fourth level itself prior to the constriction.",
"Accordingly, it is obvious that if the partition contains all five of these levels of opacity, it yields five vessels for enclothing the ten sefirot. However, when the partition does not contain all five levels – for example, if it lacks the opacity of the fourth level – then the partition yields only four vessels. Consequently, the partition has the capacity to give rise returning light that will enclothe only four lights – Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut – and it will lack the capacity to enclothe one light, the light of Keter, as in the partition lacks one vessel, which is the opacity of the fourth level.",
"Similarly, when it also lacks the opacity of the third level, so that the partition contains only three levels of opacity, that is, only until the second level, then the partition contains only three vessels and thus it can enclothe only three lights, which are Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. The structure of lights and vessels will then lack the two lights of Keter and Ḥokhma, just as it lacks two vessels, the third level and the fourth level.",
"When the partition contains only two levels of opacity, that is, that of the root level and the first level, it contains only two vessels, and therefore it enclothes only two lights, which are the light of Tiferet and the light of Malkhut. This means that the structure of lights and vessels will lack the three lights of Keter, Ḥokhma, and Bina, just as it lacks three vessels: the second level, the third level, and the fourth level.",
"When the partition contains only one level of opacity, which is the opacity of the root level alone, it has only one vessel and can therefore enclothe only one light, which is the light of Malkhut, and this structure will lack the four lights of Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, and Tiferet, just as it lacks four vessels, which are the opacity of the fourth level, the third level, the second level, and the first level.",
"Thus, the shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) of each partzuf is precisely dependent on the measure of opacity in the partition, as the partition of the fourth level generates a structure up to the height of Keter, that of the third level generates a structure up to the height of Ḥokhma, that of the second level generates a structure up to the height of Bina, that of the first level generates a structure up to the height of Tiferet, and that of the root level generates a structure up to the height of Malkhut."
],
[
"However, it remains to be explained why the lack of the opacity of the vessel of Malkhut in the partition, which is the fourth level, leads to a lack of the light of Keter and, likewise, why the lack of the opacity of the vessel of Tiferet in the partition leads to a lack of the light of Ḥokhma, and so on. One would have thought that the opposite would be the case, that the lack of the opacity of the vessel of Malkhut in the partition, which is the fourth level, would lead only to a lack of the light of Malkhut in the structure of vessels and lights so that it should contain the four lights of Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, and Tiferet. Similarly, the lack of the two vessels of the third level and the fourth level would lead to the lack of the lights of Tiferet and Malkhut, so that the structure should contain the three lights of Keter, Ḥokhma, and Bina, and so on and so forth in this manner (see section #20# above)."
],
[
"The answer is that there is a consistent inverse relationship between the lights and the vessels. It is the nature of the vessels that the higher vessels develop first in the partzuf. Keter develops first, followed by the vessel of Ḥokhma and so on, until the vessel of Malkhut, which develops last. This is why we list the vessels in the order of Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, from above to below, as that is the order of their growth. The lights are the reverse. In the case of the lights, the lower lights enter the partzuf first, because initially the nefesh enters, which is the light of Malkhut, and then the ruaḥ, which is the light of Ze’er Anpin, or Tiferet, and so on until the light of yeḥida enters last. Consequently, we list the lights in the order of nefesh, ruaḥ, neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida, from below to above, as that is the order of their entrance, from lowest to uppermost.",
"Accordingly, when only one vessel has developed in the partzuf, which is necessarily the highest vessel of Keter, as stated above, the light of yeḥida, which is linked to that vessel, will not enter the partzuf, but only the lowest light of them all, which is the light of nefesh, and the light of nefesh is then enclothed in the vessel of Keter. When two vessels have developed in the partzuf, which are the two uppermost ones, Keter and Ḥokhma, then the light of ruaḥ also enters the partzuf, and the light of nefesh descends from the vessel of Keter to the vessel of Ḥokhma, and the light of ruaḥ is enclothed in the vessel of Keter. Similarly, when a third vessel has developed in the partzuf, which is the vessel of Bina, the light of neshama enters the partzuf, and the light of nefesh descends from the vessel of Ḥokhma to the vessel of Bina, the light of ruaḥ descends to the vessel of Ḥokhma, and the light of neshama is enclothed in the vessel of Keter. When a fourth vessel has developed in the partzuf, which is the vessel of Tiferet, the light of ḥaya enters the partzuf, and the light of nefesh descends from the vessel of Bina to the vessel of <<Tiferet, the light of ruaḥ descends to the vessel of Bina, the light of neshama descends to the vessel of Ḥokhma, and the light of ḥaya is enclothed in the vessel of Keter. And when a fifth vessel has developed in the partzuf, which is the vessel of Malkhut, the light of yeḥida enters the partzuf. Then all the lights enter the vessels to which they are linked, as the light of nefesh descends from the vessel of Tiferet to the vessel of Malkhut, the light of ruaḥ descends to the vessel of Tiferet, the light of neshama descends to the vessel of Bina, the light of ḥaya descends to the vessel of Ḥokhma, and the light of yeḥida is enclothed in the vessel of Keter."
],
[
"Thus, as long as all five vessels, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, have not developed in the partzuf, the lights are not in the places to which they are linked. What is more, they maintain an inverse relationship, so that when the vessel of Malkhut is lacking, the light of yeḥida is missing, and when the two vessels of Tiferet and Malkhut are lacking, yeḥida and ḥaya are missing, and so on. The reason is that in the case of the vessels, the highest ones grow first, whereas with regard to the lights, the last ones enter first, as stated above.",
"You will also find that every newly arriving light is enclothed only in the vessel of Keter. This is because any recipient of light must receive the light in its purest vessel, which is the vessel of Keter. For the same reason, the lights that are already enclothed in the partzuf must descend one level from their place upon the arrival of every new light. For example, when the light of ruaḥ arrives, the light of nefesh must descend from the vessel of Keter to the vessel of Ḥokhma, in order to clear the space of the vessel of Keter so that it can receive the new light, which is ruaḥ. Similarly, if the new light is neshama, then ruaḥ must also descend from the vessel of Keter to the vessel of Ḥokhma to clear the space of Keter for the new light, which is neshama. Consequently, nefesh, which is in the vessel of Ḥokhma, must descend to the vessel of Bina, and so on and so forth in this manner. This is all in order to clear out the vessel of Keter to make space for the new light.",
"If you maintain a fine grasp of this rule, you will invariably be able to tell, concerning any topic, whether we are speaking about the vessels or the lights. You will not become confused since there is always an inverse relationship between them.",
"We have thus fully clarified the topic of the five levels in the partition, how they lead to differences in the shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height” in the structure of the lights and vessels) in descending order."
],
[
"The Five Partzufim of Adam Kadmon",
"Having fully clarified the concept of the partition that was placed on the vessel of Malkhut, which is the fourth level, after its constriction (tzimtzum), and the concept of the five types of fusion through collision against the partition, which produce five structures of ten sefirot, one below the other, we will now clarify the concept of the five partzufim of Adam Kadmon, which precede the four worlds of Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization).",
"You are already aware that this returning light that rises as a result of the fusion through collision from below to above and enclothes the ten sefirot of the supernal light is sufficient only to form the roots of the vessels, which are called the “ten sefirot of the head of the partzuf.” In order to complete the vessels, the Malkhut of the head from among those ten sefirot of the returning light that enclothed the ten sefirot of the head expands and spreads itself downward from above to below, in the same shiur koma as the ten sefirot of the head. This expansion completes the vessels, which are called the “body of the partzuf,” as stated in section #14# above. Thus one should always distinguish between two levels of ten sefirot in every partzuf: head and body. Keep this in mind."
],
[
"Initially, the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon emerged, because immediately after the first constriction (tzimtzum), in which the fourth level was restricted from serving as a receiving vessel for the supernal light, and a partition was placed upon the fourth level, as stated above, the supernal light was drawn down to be enclothed in the vessel of Malkhut in its normal manner, that is, with the supernal light trying to fill any available space. But the partition that formed on the vessel of Malkhut prevented this and rebuffed the light. By means of this impact against the partition of the fourth level, the returning light was elevated to the height of Keter of the ten sefirot of the supernal light. That returning light became the garment for the ten sefirot of the supernal light and the roots of the vessels for the ten sefirot of the supernal light, which are called the ten sefirot of the head in the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon. Subsequently, that Malkhut expanded itself and spread together with the returning light, driven by the power of the ten sefirot of the head, to form ten new complete sefirot from above to below, and thus the vessels were completed, having formed the level of the body. Each shiur koma (literally, “dimension of height”) that emerged in the ten sefirot of the head was also enclothed in the ten sefirot of the body. Thus the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon was completed, containing both levels of head and body."
],
[
"Subsequently, the same fusion through collision was repeated on the partition that was placed on the vessel of Malkhut that now has only up to the opacity (ovyut) of the third level. Accordingly, only the structural height of Ḥokhma, both head and body, emerge from it. On account of the lack of the opacity of the fourth level in the partition, it contains only the opacity of four vessels: Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, and Tiferet. Consequently, there is only the capacity in the returning light to clothe four lights alone, which are ḥaya, neshama, ruaḥ, and nefesh, and the light of yeḥida is missing. This partzuf is called “Ab (or ayin-bet) of Adam Kadmon.”",
"Then that same aforementioned fusion through collision is repeated on the partition that was placed on the vessel of Malkhut that now has only up to the opacity of the second level, so that then only the ten sefirot of the structural height of Bina, consisting of both head and body, emerge from it. This structure is called the “Sag (or samekh-gimmel) partzuf of Adam Kadmon,” which lacks the two vessels of Ze’er Anpin, or Tiferet, and Malkhut and the two lights of ḥaya and yeḥida.",
"After that, the fusion through collision takes place on the partition that has only up to the opacity of the first level, and then the ten sefirot of the structural height of Tiferet, both head and body, emerge. This partzuf lacks the three vessels of Bina, Ze’er Anpin, and Malkhut and the three lights of neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida. It contains only the lights of ruaḥ and nefesh, which are enclothed in the vessels of Keter and Ḥokhma. This is called the “Mah (or mem-heh) and Ban (or bet-nun) partzuf of Adam Kadmon.” In this context, recall the inverse relationship between the vessels and the lights described in section #24# above."
],
[
"We have thus explained the manner that the five partzufim of Adam Kadmon emerge, which are referred to as gulgalta: Ab, Sag, Mah, and Ban, in that descending order, such that each lower partzuf lacks the higher level of light of the one above it. The Ab partzuf lacks the light of yeḥida, and the Sag partzuf lacks the light of ḥaya as well, which is present in the one above it, which is Ab. The Mah and Ban partzuf lacks also the light of neshama, which is present in the one above it, Sag. The reason for these differences is that this is an outcome of the amount of opacity (ovyut) in the partition upon which the fusion through collision occurs, as explained in section #18#. However, we have to understand who and what causes the amount of opacity in the partition to gradually decrease, one level after the other, so that it leads to the division into the five shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) of partzufim resulting from these five types of fusion."
],
[
"The Purification of the Partition for the Emanation of a Partzuf",
"To understand the development of the levels in these five shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”), the structures consisting of levels of lights and vessels that form the partzufim, one below the other, described with regard to the aforementioned five partzufim of Adam Kadmon, and likewise all the levels of the five partzufim of each of the four worlds – Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation) , Yetzira (Formation) , and Asiya (Actualization) – until the Malkhut of Asiya, which have been described, we must fully comprehend the matter of the purification of the partition of the body that occurs in each partzuf of the partzufim of Adam Kadmon and the world of nekudim (points) and in the world of tikkun (rectification)."
],
[
"The concept that we need to understand is that there is no partzuf or level of any kind that does not contain two lights, which are called surrounding light and inner light. We will clarify these two types of lights as they apply to Adam Kadmon:",
"The surrounding light of the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon is the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, that fills all of reality. After the first constriction (tzimtzum) and the placement of the partition on the vessel of Malkhut, the fusion through collision of the supernal light of Ein Sof on this partition occurred. By means of the returning light that the partition raised, the supernal light was drawn into the constricted world in the context of the ten sefirot of the head and the ten sefirot of the body, as stated in section #25# above. However, this drawing forth of the supernal light that occurred in the partzuf of Adam Kadmon>> from Ein Sof, blessed be He, does not fill all of reality with the light as the light filled all of reality before the constriction. Instead, a beginning and an end can now be discerned regarding the light, which contain two different aspects. The first aspect is the quality of above and below, in that this light is arrested at the entry point of this world, which is the mystical concept of the terminating Malkhut, as implied by the mystical meaning of the verse “He will set His feet…on the Mount of Olives.”",
"Likewise, the second aspect, similar to the qualities of above and below, is the quality of from within to without. Just as there are ten sefirot from above to below, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, the six sefirot encompassed in Tiferet, and Malkhut, and Malkhut is the end of the world of Adam Kadmon from below, so too there are ten sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut from within to without. These are called brain, bones, sinews, flesh, and skin, with skin being Malkhut, completing the partzuf from without.",
"In this respect, the partzuf of Adam Kadmon is like a mere thin line in relation to Ein Sof, blessed be He, who fills all of reality. This is because the partzuf formed of skin encloses the light and limits it all the way around from without so that it cannot expand to fill all the space from which it was constricted, and only a thin line is left positioned in the middle of the space. The measure of light that was received in Adam Kadmon, which is the thin line, is called inner light. The vast difference between the amount of inner light contained in Adam Kadmon and the amount of light that remains beyond Adam Kadmon, which is the remainder of the total amount of supernal light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, before the constriction, is called surrounding light. It remains a surrounding light around the partzuf of Adam Kadmon, since it cannot be enclothed within the partzuf."
],
[
"We have thoroughly explained the mystical meaning of the surrounding light of Adam Kadmon, which is endless and unlimited in its enormity. This does not mean that Ein Sof, blessed be He, who fills all of reality, is Himself the surrounding light of Adam Kadmon. Rather, the meaning is that when the fusion through collision occurred with the partition that was placed on the Malkhut of the head of Adam Kadmon, the supernal light of Ein Sof struck the partition that was there. This means that Ein Sof wanted His supernal light to be enclothed in the fourth level of Adam Kadmon, as before the constriction (tzimtzum) , but the partition of the Malkhut of the head of Adam Kadmon impacted against His light, meaning that it prevented His light from spreading into the fourth level and so rebuffed it, as stated above in section #14#, so that in truth this returning light that emerged through the rebuffing of the supernal light also became vessels for enclothing the supernal light, as stated above.",
"However, there is a vast difference between the receiving capacity of the fourth level before the constriction and the receiving capacity of the returning light after the constriction. The returning light enclothes only a thin line of the supernal light, containing a beginning and end, as stated. All this was wrought by the partition, due to its impact against the supernal light. Thus, this entire amount of light that was rebuffed from Adam Kadmon on account of the partition, meaning, the entire amount of the supernal light from Ein Sof, blessed be He, that wanted to be enclothed in the fourth level were it not for the partition that prevented it, becomes the surrounding light around Adam Kadmon.",
"The reason that the uncontained supernal light became surrounding light is that there is no change or loss in the spiritual realm. Since the light of Ein Sof was drawn to Adam Kadmon to be enclothed in the fourth level, it must achieve this, and therefore, although the partition has now prevented it from entering the fourth level and rebuffed it, nevertheless this does not nullify the process of the drawing forth of the supernal light of Ein Sof, God forbid. On the contrary, it sustains it, only in a different manner. That is, it is achieved by the multiple fusions in the five worlds of Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, until the rectification is completed so that the fourth level is rectified through all these fusions, in all its perfection, able to receive the supernal light, at which point the supernal light of Ein Sof will be enclothed in it as before.",
"Thus, the impact of the partition on the supernal light does not lead to any change or loss. This is the mystical meaning of the Zohar’s statement “The unification of Ein Sof is not actualized until it receives its female half.” In the meantime, that is, until that time, this light of Ein Sof becomes surrounding light, which means that it is ready to be enclothed in the fourth level subsequently, but for now it surrounds and shines on the fourth level only from the outside with a partial illumination. This illumination drives the fourth level to incrementally expand according to the system of rules that will lead it to receive this surrounding light in the full and original measure that Ein Sof, blessed be He, extended to it at the outset."
],
[
"We will now clarify the matter of the beating of the inner light and the surrounding light against one another, which leads to the purification of the partition and the loss of the final level of opacity (ovyut).",
"Since these two lights are the opposites of one another, and they are both connected to each other in the partition of Malkhut of the head of Adam Kadmon, they therefore beat and collide with one another. Meaning, the fusion through collision that takes place in the mouth of the head of Adam Kadmon – that is, in the partition of the Malkhut of the head called mouth, which caused the enclothing of the inner light within Adam Kadmon by means of the returning light that the partition raised (as stated in section #14# above) – is also the cause of the emergence of the surrounding light of Adam Kadmon. Through the partition preventing the light of Ein Sof from being enclothed in the fourth level, the light emerged outward in the form of surrounding light. That is, that entire part of the light that the returning light cannot enclothe, that the fourth level itself was meant to enclothe, emerges and becomes surrounding light, as stated in the previous section. Thus, the partition in the mouth is equally the cause of both the surrounding light and the inner light."
],
[
"It has thus been clarified that the inner light and the surrounding light are both tethered to the partition, but with opposite dynamics. At the same time that the partition draws down part of the supernal light into the inner region of the partzuf through the returning light that enclothes that supernal light, so too the partition also prevents the remaining supernal light, which is called surrounding light, from being enclothed within the partzuf. Since the part of the light that remains outside as surrounding light is very large, on account of the partition preventing it from being enclothed in Adam Kadmon, as stated in section #32# above, it is regarded as impacting against the partition that repudiates it, since it wants to be enclothed inside the partzuf.",
"By contrast, the forces of opacity (ovyut) and hardness (kashyut) in the partition are regarded as impacting against the surrounding light, which wants to be enclothed within the partzuf, and prevent it from being enclothed in the same way that the partition impacts on the supernal light at the moment of the fusion through collision. These impacts that the surrounding light and the opacity of the partition strike against one another are called the beating of the surrounding light on the inner light. However, this beating is carried out between them only in the body of the partzuf, since it is only there that the enclothing of the light in the vessels, which leaves the surrounding light outside the vessel, is discernible. This is not the case for the ten sefirot of the head. This beating does not occur there, since there the returning light is not categorized as true vessels at all, but only as thin roots, that is, as potential for forming vessels. Consequently, the light within the vessels of the head is not categorized as circumscribed inner light to the extent that the light remaining outside can comparatively be regarded as surrounding light.",
"Since there is no clear demarcation between the inner light and surrounding light within the head of the partzuf, the idea of an impact between the inner light and the surrounding light in the ten sefirot of the head is irrelevant. It is only after the lights spread from the mouth downward to the ten sefirot of the body of the partzuf, where the lights are enclothed in the vessels, which are the ten sefirot of the returning light from the mouth downward, that the impact occurs there between the inner light within the vessels and the surrounding light that remains outside, as stated above."
],
[
"This beating continues until the surrounding light purifies the partition of all its opacity (ovyut) and elevates it to its root above, which is the mouth of the head. In other words, the surrounding light purifies the partition of the Malkhut of the body of all the opacity, that is, the opacity of above to below, which is referred to as the partition and opacity of the body. This purification leaves the partition of the body with only the root of the body, which is the same as the partition of the Malkhut of the head, called “mouth .” That is, the partition is purified of all the opacity that is of above to below, which separates the inner light from the surrounding light, and only the opacity from below to above remains, where this separation between the inner light and the surrounding light has not yet been achieved, as stated in the previous section.",
"As is known, the equating of form merges spiritual entities, unifying them into one. Therefore, once the partition of the body has been purified of the opacity of the body, and all that remains in it is the same measure of opacity found in the partition of the mouth of the head, its form is equal to the partition of the head. As a result, it is incorporated within the partition of the head, literally becoming one, as there is nothing between them that would divide them into two. This is referred as the partition of the body rising to the mouth of the head. Since the partition of the body is thus incorporated in the partition of the head, it is included again in the fusion through collision of the partition of the mouth of the head, and a new fusion through collision is performed upon it. A new structure of ten sefirot emerges from it, which is called “Ab (or ayin-bet), of Adam Kadmon,” or the partzuf of “Ḥokhma of Adam Kadmon.” This is considered a son and an offspring of the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon."
],
[
"After the Ab partzuf of Adam Kadmon emerges and is made complete with a head and body, the beating of the surrounding light on the inner light is repeated within this partzuf as well, in the manner described above regarding the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon. The partition of the body of the Ab partzuf is likewise purified of all the opacity (ovyut) of the body until the form of the partition of the body is equated with the partition of the head. The partition of the body is then incorporated in the fusion through collision that occurs in the mouth of its head, and a new fusion through collision is performed on it, which produces a new structure of ten sefirot with the shiur koma, or height dimension, of Bina, called the “Sag (or samekh-gimmel) partzuf of Adam Kadmon.” This too is considered a son and offspring of the Ab partzuf of Adam Kadmon, as it emerged from the fusion through collision in the mouth of the head of the Ab partzuf. The partzufim from Sag of Adam Kadmon and below emerge in the same way."
],
[
"We have thus clarified the emergence of the partzufim, one below the other, which are formed through the force of the beating of the surrounding light against the inner light, which purifies the partition of the body until it restores it to the state of the partition of the mouth of the head. At this stage, the partition of the body is included in the fusion through collision that occurs in the mouth of the head, and it emits, by means of its fusion, a new structure of ten sefirot. This new structure is categorized as a son of the previous partzuf.",
"In this manner, Ab emerges from the partzuf of Keter, Sag from the partzuf of Ab, Mah from the partzuf of Sag, and likewise the other levels in the worlds of Nekudim and Atzilut (Emanation), Beria (Creation), Yetzira (Formation), and Asiya (Actualization). However, it still remains to be understood why the ten sefirot of Ab emerge only from the third level of opacity (ovyut) within the partition rather than from the fourth level, and likewise Sag emerges only from the second level. In other words, each subsequently emerging lower partzuf is one level lower, in terms of the levels of lights it contains, than the one higher than it and preceding it. Why don’t they all emerge one from another at the same height, with the same number of vessels and lights?"
],
[
"First, one must understand why the ten sefirot of Ab are categorized as offspring of the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon. After all, the partzuf of Ab emerged from the fusion through collision that took place in the mouth of the head of the first partzuf, just as the ten sefirot of the body of the first partzuf itself also emerged from there. Why, then, is the partzuf of Ab removed from the category of the first partzuf so that is should be considered like a second partzuf and offspring of the first partzuf?",
"In this context, you must understand that there is a great difference between the partition of the head and the partition of the body. For there are two types of Malkhut in the partzuf:",
"The first is the fusing Malkhut, which fuses with the supernal light through the force of the partition placed upon it, as stated above. The second is the terminating Malkhut, which arrests the flow of the supernal light into the ten sefirot of the body through the force of the partition placed upon it.",
"The difference between them is like the distance of an emanator from an emanated being. The Malkhut of the head that fuses, by means of a fusion through collision, with the supernal light, is regarded as an emanator relative to the body because the partition placed on the Malkhut of the head did not repel the supernal light when the light impacted against the partition. On the contrary, by means of the returning light that rose from the partition, the partition enclothed and drew in the supernal light of the ten sefirot of the head. The Malkhut then expanded from above to below so that the ten sefirot of the supernal light were enclothed in the vessel of the returning light, which is called body. Consequently, the partition and Malkhut of the head are regarded as the emanator of the ten sefirot of the body, and no dynamics of limitation or rejection are as yet discernible in this partition and Malkhut of the head.",
"This lack of dynamics of limitation in the partition of the head is not the case with regard to the partition and Malkhut of the body. Meaning, after the ten sefirot expand from the mouth of the head, from above to below, they expand only until the Malkhut in those ten sefirot. The supernal light cannot expand into the Malkhut of the body because the partition established there prevents it from expanding into the Malkhut. Therefore, the partzuf stops there, and the end of the partzuf is reached. Accordingly, the full force of constriction and limitation is revealed only in this partition and the Malkhut of the body.",
"Consequently, the entire beating of the surrounding light on the inner light that was discussed above occurs only on the partition of the body, as only this partition limits and repels the surrounding light, preventing it from shining into the interior of the partzuf, and not the partition of the Malkhut of the head. The partition of the head only draws in and enclothes the light, but no trace of the force of limitation manifests itself within it."
],
[
"Now it can be explained how, by means of the force of the beating of the surrounding light against the inner light, the partition of the terminating Malkhut reverts to the status of fusing Malkhut (see section #35# above). The beating of the surrounding light against the inner light purified the partition of the terminating Malkhut of all the opacity (ovyut) of the body that it contained. Only slight remnants of that opacity remain in it, which are equal to the amounts of opacity found within the partition of the head. As is known, the equating of form attaches and unites spiritual entities together. Therefore, after the partition of the body has equated the form of its opacity to the opacity found in the partition of the head, the partition of the body is immediately incorporated within the partition of the head, joining it as though they were a single partition. Then the partition of the body receives the power for a fusion through collision to the same extent as the partition of the head, and the new structure of ten sefirot of the next partzuf emerge from the impact against the partition, as stated above.",
"However, together with this fusion, the remnants of the opacity of the body, which were within the partition of the body at the outset, are manifest anew within the partition of the body. The difference in form between the partition of the body that was purified and then unified with the partition of the head and the partition of the head is then discernible once again within the partition of the body to some extent. This detectable difference of form between the two partitions separates the partition of the body and expels it from the mouth of the head of the upper partzuf. Once the original source of the partition of the body is again discernible, from the mouth of the upper partzuf and below, the partition of the body can no longer remain above the mouth of the upper partzuf, unified with the partition of the head, since the difference in form separates spiritual entities from one another. Instead of remaining on the level of the head of the upper partzuf, it must descend from there to the place that is from the mouth of the upper partzuf and below. Consequently, it is necessarily categorized as a second body in relation to the upper partzuf, as even the head of the new emergent structure is categorized relative to the upper partzuf as merely its body, since it is drawn from the partition of the body of the upper partzuf. Therefore, this difference in form divides them into two separate bodies. Since this new structure is entirely an offshoot of the partition of the body of the previous upper partzuf, it is categorized as a son in relation to it and like a branch that extends from it."
],
[
"There is another element to the difference between the lower and upper partzufim. It is that each lower partzuf emerges from a different shiur koma, literally, “dimension of height,” in the five levels of the partition, as described in sections #22# and #24# above. Each lower partzuf lacks the highest level of the lights of the previous, upper partzuf and the lowest level of the vessels of that upper one. The reason for this is that it is the nature of the surrounding light to destroy the last level of opacity (ovyut) in the partition when beating upon the partition.",
"For example, in the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon, whose partition has all five levels of its opacity, that is, up to and including the fourth level, the beating of the surrounding light on the partition of the body purifies the opacity of the fourth level entirely without leaving even a trace of that opacity. Only the traces of the opacity of the third level and upward remain in the partition. Therefore, when that partition is incorporated into the head, where it undergoes the fusion through collision where the supernal light impacts against the opacity that remains in trace amounts from the body, the fusion through collision takes place only through the light beating against the third level of the opacity in the partition, as the traces of opacity of the fourth level are gone and are no longer there.",
"Therefore, the structure that emerges from this partition is at the shiur koma, at the structural height, of Ḥokhma alone, which is called “Havaya of Ab of Adam Kadmon,” or the “partzuf of Ab of Adam Kadmon.” As explained in section #22# above, the structural height of Ḥokhma that emerges from the partition of the third level lacks the vessel of Malkhut among the vessels and the light of yeḥida from among the lights, which is the light of Keter; see there. Thus, the partzuf of Ab lacks the last level of the vessels of the previous, upper partzuf, and the highest level of the lights of that upper partzuf. Due to this great difference in form, the lower partzuf is regarded as distinct from the upper partzuf."
],
[
"Likewise, after the partzuf of Ab has expanded into a head and body, and the beating of the surrounding light on the partition of the body of Ab, which is the partition containing opacity (ovyut) up to and including the third level, has been performed, this beating erodes and obliterates from it the traces of opacity of the last level in the partition, which is the third level. Thus, when the partition rises to the mouth of the head and is incorporated into it to engage in a fusion through collision, the collision is performed only against the opacity of the second level, which remains in this partition. The third level is lost from the partition and is no more, and therefore the partition produces only ten sefirot of the structural height of Bina, which is called “Havaya of Sag of Adam Kadmon,” or the “partzuf of Sag,” and the vessels of Ze’er Anpin, or Tiferet, and Malkhut among the vessels, as well as ḥaya and yeḥida from among the lights, are lacking, as stated above.",
"Similarly, when this partzuf of Sag expands into a head and body, and the beating of the surrounding light against the partition of its body, which is the partition containing opacity up to and including the second level, has been performed, this beating erodes and obliterates from it the current last level of opacity in the partition, which is the second level. Only traces of opacity of the first level and upward remain in the partition. Therefore, when the partition rises to the mouth of the head and is incorporated there to engage in the fusion through collision there, the impact is performed only against the opacity of the first level, which remains in this partition. The second level is already gone from the partition, and therefore the partition produces only ten sefirot of the structural height of Tiferet, which is called “the structural height of Ze’er Anpin,” and it lacks the vessels of Bina, Ze’er Anpin, and Malkhut among the vessels and neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida among the lights, and so on and so forth in this manner are the partzufim formed."
],
[
"We have thus fully clarified the reason for the diminishment of the structural heights, one below the other, in the course of the development of the partzufim, each lower partzuf forming from the other preceding, upper partzuf. This formation occurs because the beating of the surrounding light on the inner light, which occurs in every partzuf, always obliterates the traces of opacity (ovyut) of the last level that are within the partition.",
"One should know, however, that there are two aspects to those traces that remain in the partition after its purification of the last level: The first is called “trace of opacity,” and the second is called “trace of enclothing.”",
"For example, after the purification of the partition of the body of the first partzuf of Adam Kadmon, we said that the last level of the traces of opacity, which is the trace of opacity from the fourth level, was lost from it, and only the trace of opacity from the third level remains in the partition. However, the trace of the fourth level includes the two aforementioned aspects – enclothing and opacity – and that purification caused the partition to lose only the trace of opacity of the fourth level, whereas the trace of enclothing of the fourth level remains in that partition and has not been lost from it.",
"The trace of enclothing refers to a very refined aspect of the trace of opacity of the fourth level, which does not contain enough opacity for a fusion through collision with the supernal light. This trace remains from the last level in each partzuf when it was purified. Our statement that the last level is lost from every partzuf when it is purified refers solely to the loss of the trace of opacity."
],
[
"The remaining trace of enclothing from the last level that is left in each partition caused the emergence of two structures, male and female, in the heads of each of the partzufim, starting from Ab of Adam Kadmon, and likewise in Sag of Adam Kadmon, and similarly in Mah and Ban of Adam Kadmon, and in all the partzufim of Atzilut.",
"In the Ab partzuf of Adam Kadmon, the result of a partition that has only the trace of opacity of the third level, producing ten sefirot at the structural height of Ḥokhma, the trace of enclothing from the fourth level remained there in the partition. This trace is not fit at all for fusion with the supernal light on account of its purity, as stated above. This trace is therefore incorporated with the opacity (ovyut) of the third level, becoming one trace. Then the trace of enclothing acquires the force for a fusion with the supernal light, and accordingly a fusion through collision with the supernal light takes place. This collision produces ten sefirot nearly at the structural height of Keter, because the partition contains an aspect of the enclothing of the fourth level.",
"This incorporation is called the incorporation of the female in the male, for the trace of opacity of the third level is called “female,” since it bears the opacity that remains in that level after the purification of the fourth level, while the trace of enclothing of the fourth level is called “male,” since it comes from a higher structural height and because it is more refined than the opacity. Consequently, although the trace of the male alone is insufficient for a fusion through collision, even it becomes fit for fusion through collision by means of the incorporation of the female within it."
],
[
"Subsequently, there is also an incorporation of the male within the female; that is, the trace of enclothing is incorporated in the trace of opacity. Then a fusion through collision takes place against the partition of the structure of the female alone, which is the structure of only the third level, and that is the structural height of Ḥokhma called “Havaya of Ab,” as stated above.",
"The higher fusion, where the female is incorporated in the male, is regarded as the structure of the male, which is nearly the structural height of Keter. The lower fusion, in which the male is incorporated in the female, is regarded as the structure of the female, which is the structural height of Ḥokhma alone. However, since the structure of the male does not contain opacity (ovyut) in and of itself but only as a result of its incorporation within the female, and although that is enough for the aforementioned emergence of the ten sefirot from below to above called head, nevertheless this structure cannot expand downward from above to below to form the level of the body, meaning the enclothing of the lights in the vessels. This is because fusion through collision against the opacity in the partition that results only from the incorporation of the female within the male is insufficient for the expansion of the vessels to form the body of a partzuf since the measure of opacity is insufficient. Therefore, the structure of the male contains only a head without a body, and the body of the partzuf is formed only from the structure of the female, which has its own opacity. For this reason, we name only the structure of the female by the name of the partzuf, that is, the name of the partzuf called Ab, since the main part of the partzuf is its body, which is the enclothing of the lights in the vessels, and this body emerges only from the structure of the female, as explained. Therefore, the name of the partzuf is attributed to it."
],
[
"In the same manner that we explained the two structures of male and female in the head of the partzuf called Ab, these two structures emerge also as the head of Sag, in exactly the same way, only in that case the structure of the male is nearly at the level of Ḥokhma. This is because it is formed from the trace of enclothing of the third level, incorporating the opacity (ovyut) of the second level, while the structure of the female is at the structural height of Bina, that is, formed from the opacity of the second level. Here too the name of the partzuf is attributed only to the structure of the female, because the male is a head without a body.",
"The same applies to the partzuf of Mah of Adam Kadmon. There, the structure of the male is nearly at the structural height of Bina, which is called “the structural height of Yisrael Saba and Tevuna,” since it is formed from the trace of enclothing of the second level of, incorporating the opacity from the first level. The structure of the female constitutes the structural height of Ze’er Anpin, or Tiferet, alone, as it contains only the first level of opacity. Here too the name of the partzuf is attributed only to the female, that is, the Mah partzuf or the partzuf of the six extremities, because the male is a head without a body. In this manner, you can understand the dynamics in all the partzufim."
]
],
"sectionNames": [
"Chapter",
"Paragraph"
]
}