by Aryeh

Writings of The Rabash

PART TWO OF FOUR

The Line and the Zivug de Hakaa

Thus far, we have discussed three states:

The will to receive that was created in the world of Ein Sof, and which received all the Light.
In the world of Tzimtzum, it became apparent that the will to receive must be corrected for the purpose of decoration.
In the line, it is apparent that the Kli must be corrected due to the deficiency. Otherwise, the Light does not expand to it.

And now we shall speak of the line. We have already learned that the line has Above and below in importance, since Malchut of the line was forbidden to receive because she is regarded as receiving in order to receive. The rule is that in all the degrees, Malchut’s name was not changed, which is “receiving in order to receive.” And her Light is Ohr Hozer, meaning she wishes to bestow upon the Upper One.

And when the Light extends to Malchut, she made a Zivug de Hakaa, a Masach, which implies ending the Light and making calculations. For example, she assumed that she could receive only twenty percent of the Light in order to bestow. Hence, she decided to clothe only that much Light.

However, she felt that there was too much pleasure in the remaining eighty percent, and if she were to receive it, it would be in order to receive. Hence, she decided to not receive that part of the Light. So what is the difference between a Tzimtzum and a Masach (screen)?

A Tzimtzum occurs through choice, as we learned that Malchut had all the Light and she chose to not receive it.
A Masach is the domination of the Upper One on it. Thus, even if the lower one wished to receive, the Upper One would not let it.

The meaning of the term Zivug de Hakaa (coupling of striking) is as follows: In corporeality, it sometimes happens that when people disagree, they strike each other. In spirituality, when two things contradict each other, it is considered that they strike each other.

And what is the dispute? The Upper One, who wishes to benefit His creations, evokes in the lower ones a desire to receive all the Light. But the lower one wishes the contrary, to equalize its form, and hence does not wish to receive at all. This is the striking that unfolds between the Upper One and the lower one.

In the end, they equalize with one another and create a union and Zivug between them. In other words, the lower one receives the Light as the Upper One wishes, but only as much of it as it can receive in order to bestow, as the lower one wishes. Thus, there are two things here: 1) equivalence of form, and 2) reception of the Light.

However, the Zivug is possible only if a striking preceded it, since without the striking, and with the lower one’s desire to receive the Light, this would be oppositeness and separation from the Creator. This process of Zivug de Hakaa is called Rosh (head). A Rosh means root, a potential, which needs a process of realization. The Rosh exists because of the existence of the Sof, the prohibition on reception. Hence, Malchut is compelled to calculate, and this is called a Rosh, preceding the actual reception.

Accordingly, we can understand the Ari’s words in the beginning of Talmud Eser Sefirot(The Study of the Ten Sefirot): “Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, etc., and there was no such part as head, or end,” etc. This is so because in Ein Sof, there was still no prohibition on receiving; hence, it immediately received it. But now that there was an end, we should distinguish between the Rosh, which is the potential, and the Guf (body), which is the realization.

And afterwards it actually receives, meaning the twenty percent that it receives in order to bestow are called the Toch (interior) of the degree, and the place of the expansion of the Light is called from Peh (mouth) to Tabur (navel). And Malchut de (of) Toch stands at the Tabur, saying, “What I receive from here on, meaning the eighty percent, will be in order to receive. Hence, I do not want to receive, so I will not be separated.” Thus, the Light departs, and this discernment is called the Sof of the degree.

The Bitush between Internal and Surrounding in the Partzuf

Everything discussed here concerning the RTS(Rosh, Toch, Sof) concerns the first Partzuf, called Galgalta, which uses the Aviut of Behina Dalet. And we learned that Galgalta received the maximum it could receive in order to bestow. It could not receive more. Yet, we learned that in the Thought of Creation, the Kli received everything. This is so because the Kli of reception in order to receive was created by the Creator, while in the Kli that the lower one makes, called “in order to bestow,” there is a limit to the amount it can receive. It follows that there is no Kli that can receive the eighty percent of Light that remained outside the Partzuf.

So what shall become of them? To correct that, a Bitush of Internal and External was created. These are the Ari’s words concerning this issue (Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 4, Chapter 1, Item 4): “When the Inner Lights connect to the Surrounding Lights,they connect inside the Peh. Hence, when they emerge together outside the Peh, tied together, they strike and beat on each other, and their beatings beget the Kelim.” Thus, it is through the beatings that the Kelim are made.

And we need to understand why 1) the Ohr Pnimi (Inner Light) and Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) beat on each other, and 2) why this beating creates the Kelim.

Answer: We have already said that in spirituality, a beating occurs when two things are in opposition to one another. But we also need to understand why the beating occurs “when they emerge together outside the Peh.”

At the Rosh of the degree, 100 percent of the Light expands without a distinction of Internal and Surrounding. This is because His desire to benefit His creations is complete. But the lower one, who is limited, calculates and decides, for example, that it can only receive twenty percent in order to bestow. This occurs in the Rosh, in potential. “When they emerge together outside the Peh”: Emergence, in spirituality, is called “revelation,” when what was in potential is revealed in actuality. At that time, it receives a part and repels a part, to become Ohr Makif.

This Ohr Makif seemingly comes to the Masach and argues, “Your conduct, meaning the fact that you have erected the Masach, is not good, since how will the purpose of Creation of benefiting His creations be implemented? Who will receive the Light?”

On the other hand, the Ohr Pnimi agrees with the Masach, since the very expansion of the Light within is through the Masach and the Ohr Hozer (Reflected Light). This dispute is called Bitush of Ohr Makif and Ohr Pnimi, or Bitush of Ohr Makif in the Masach.

In truth, the Ohr Makif is on the right; hence, the Masach agrees with it. And since it agrees, it can no longer repel and raise Ohr Hozer, and hence can no longer receive in order to bestow. Thus, the Light departs and the Masach is purified, meaning stops receiving. This state is called Din (judgment) and Achoraim (posterior).

And since each Behina (discernment) consists of four Behinot, the Masach departs gradually, beginning with Behina Dalet in Behina Dalet, then from Behina Gimel in Behina Dalet, etc., until it rises to Peh de Rosh, the source from which the Masach de Guf arrived. In other words, it stops receiving altogether.

As it rises, it uses a smaller Aviut each time, and thus receives smaller Lights in order to bestow. For example, when it ascends to Behina Aleph, it can only receive the Light of Ruach. When it rises to Behinat Shoresh (root), it can only receive the Light of Nefesh in order to bestow. Finally, it cannot receive anything in order to bestow and thus stops receiving altogether.

Question: What is the benefit of the Ohr Makif, which wants to shine because of the purpose of Creation, and therefore wishes for the Masach to receive more? After all, things are unfolding in contrast to its will, meaning the Masach loses even what it had!

Answer: All the degrees that appeared during the departure are not residue of what it had in the beginning, since there is a rule: “There is no generation of Light that does not extend from Ein Sof.” This means that each discernment that appears is a new discernment. Thus, in the beginning, it could not receive anything more. But now that Behina Dalet has departed, it can receive more from Behina Gimel.

This is the meaning of the Kelim were made through the Bitush, that is, prior to the Bitush, it did not have any more Kelim for reception, since it received all it could with the aim to bestow. But after the Bitush, when the Masach of Behina Dalet was purified, there was room to receive on Behina Gimel, since it departed from Behina Dalet and had nothing. And when it departed Behina Gimel, it could receive on Behina Bet.

But this still leaves the question: What is the benefit, if it receives less each time?

Answer: There is no absence in spirituality. This means that anything that appears remains, except he does not see it, and cannot currently enjoy it, but only from the present. But when the work is done, all the Lights will appear at once. Thus, in the end, it is benefitting.

Baal HaSulam once said an allegory about it: Two people who were childhood friends separated as adults. One of them became a king, and the other, indigent. After many years, the poor one heard that his friend became a king and decided to go to his friend’s country and ask for help. He packed his few belongings and went.

When they met, he told the king that he was destitute, and this touched the king’s heart. The king said to his friend: “I will give you a letter to my treasurer to allow you into the treasury for two hours. In those two hours, whatever you manage to collect is yours.” The poor man went to the treasurer, armed with his letter, and received the longed for permit. He walked into the treasury with the box he was used to using for his beggary, and within five minutes, he filled his box to the rim and merrily stepped out of the treasury.

But the treasurer took his box from him and spilled its entire contents. Then the treasurer told the sobbing indigent, “Take your box and fill it up again.” The poor man walked into the treasury once more and filled his box. But when he stepped outside, the treasurer spilled its contents as before.

This cycle repeated itself, until the two hours were through. The last time the beggar came out, he told the treasurer: “I beg you, leave me what I have collected. My time is through and I can no longer enter the treasury.” Then the treasurer told him: “The contents of this box is yours, and so is everything that I have spilled out of your box for the past two hours. I have been spilling your money every time because I wanted to benefit you, since each time, you were coming with your tiny box full and you had no room for anything more.”

Lesson: Each reception of Light in order to bestow remains. But if the Light remained, we would not want to receive anymore, since we would not be able to receive in order to bestow on more than we had received. Hence, each degree must depart, and each time we correct a Kli of will to receive with the aim to bestow, until all is corrected. Then, all the Lights will shine at once.

And now let us return the purification of the Masach. The first expansion that emerged from the Peh down is called Taamim (flavors), from the verse, “as the palate tastes its food.” After the Bitush of Ohr Makif, the Masach began to purify, and on its way, produced a new degree each time. These degrees are called Nekudot (points).

I have already explained the Ari’s words, that the Kelim were made through the Bitush, since now it has the ability to receive more Light. But Baal HaSulam interprets the making of the Kelim(plural for Kli) differently: While the Light was in the Kli, the Light and the Kli were mingled in each other. Through the Bitush, the Light departed, and then the Kli became apparent.

Interpretation: While the Light shines in the Kli the deficiency of the Kli is indistinguishable; hence, it does not merit the name Kli. This is because without the Kli, the Light cannot shine. Hence, they are of equal importance. But once the Light departs, the Kli is distinguished as a Kli, and the Light, as Light.

The Nekuda (point) of Tzimtzum is the reason why the degrees emerging during the purification are called Nekudot.

And what is the Nekuda of the Tzimtzum? TheHoly Zohar says that Malchut is called “a black point without any white in it.” This means that during the darkness, Malchut is called “a point.” And when there is Tzimtzum, and it is forbidden to receive in order to receive, it becomes dark. In other words, the point ofTzimtzum is present wherever it is impossible to receive in order to bestow and there is a desire to receive in order to receive.

To return to our subject, when the Masach was purified from Behina Dalet, Behina Dalet was forbidden to receive. This is the meaning of the point of Tzimtzum being over her. But Behina Gimel could still receive, and when the Masach was purified from Behina Gimel, too, this became the point of Tzimtzum.

We should also explain the difference between Rosh, Toch, and Sof: Rosh is considered “potential,” meaning there is no reception there. Two parts spread from the Rosh:

One part can receive the Light, and it is called ten Sefirot de Toch. The Light is the abundance that enters the Kelim, and it is called Ohr Pnimi, which is Ohr Hochma—the Light of His desire to benefit His creations.
The second part that spreads from the Rosh is the part of the desire to receive in order to receive, which it does not want to use. It says that it does not want to receive there, meaning it ends it. Hence, this part is called ten Sefirot de Sof.

Question: We learned that the word Sefirot comes from the word ‘sapphire,’ meaning it shines. But if Malchut de Guf, called Malchut de Tabur, does not want to receive and puts a Sof over the Light, why is this part called Sefirot?

Answer: They are called ten Sefirot because, in truth, the Light did shine for them. An explanation of that can be found in Part 4, Chapter 5, Item 1, where he explains the difference between Toch and Sof: “From Peh de AK emerged ten internal Sefirot and ten surrounding Sefirot. They extend from opposite the Panim through opposite the Tabur de AK. This is the essential Light, but it also shines through the sides and all around that Adam,” meaning not necessarily opposite the Panim,but also from the sides.

In Item 2, he interprets the Ari’s words as follows: “In short, we will explain that from Tabur up it is called Panim. This is because the Light of Hochma, considered the essential Light,spreads there, and from Tabur down it is called Achor (posterior), since it is considered receiving in order to receive. Hence, the Light of Hochma does not spread there, but comes through the sides.”

Further down that page, it continues, “…because through the Ohr Hozer that Behina Dalet brings to the Partzuf, which is Ohr Hassadim.” This means that Malchut de Tabur does not want to receive there, since there it is a will to receive in order to receive. Instead, it wants equivalence of form, called Hassadim. “Thus, she receives illumination of Hochma, as well, though in the form of ‘female Light,’ meaning only receiving and not bestowing.” “Receiving and not bestowing” means that she does not want to bestow the Light upon herself, but, to the contrary, she says that she does not want to receive.

And through this Dvekut (adhesion), an illumination of the Light of Hochma shines upon her, and this is called “illumination of Hochma.” Accordingly, the difference between Toch and Sof is that the Ohr Hochma shines in the Toch and in the Sof as long as she does not want to receive, for the purpose of equivalence of form, the Light that shines is Ohr Hassadim in illumination of Hochma.

And we still need to explain why the names in Ohr Hassadim are “right” and “left,” and in the Ohr Hochma they are called “long” and “short.” When the Light shines, in Hassadim,it is called “right,” and in Hochma, “long.” And when it does not shine, in Hassadim,it is called “left,” and in Hochma, “short.” What do these names mean?

Answer: We learned that Ohr Hochma shines in the vessels of reception in order to bestow, of course. Hence, the measure of illumination depends on its measure of Aviut. This is called “Above” and “below,” and this is why the names in Ohr Hochma are “long” and “short.” But Ohr Hassadim is not extended through Aviut and is not dependent on it. Hence, the names in Ohr Hassadim relate to width: “right” and “left,” implying that they shine in the same level, and it does not matter to them if there is more Aviut or less Aviut.