31. This gap between the right line and the left line is also considered a dispute between the right and the left (as explained in Bereshit I, page 57, s.v. “vezeh”; Idra Rabba 214). The right line, which holds on to the light of giving, wants to negate the light of Ḥokhma in the left line and to give control solely to the light of giving, while the left line, which holds on to the light of Ḥokhma, wants to negate the light of giving in the right line and to give control to the light of Ḥokhma.46The conceptual conflict operating here can be thought of as a contest between the two kinds of light.
The light of Ḥokhma is the essence of the Creator, serving as the animating lifeforce of the created beings. These attributes indicate a certain superiority to this light. However, the light of giving (ḥassadim) reflects the desire of the created beings to “give back” to the Creator, reflecting His capacity for giving. Thus, the light of Ḥokhma represents the receiving of life force by the created being, while the light of giving represents the desire of the created being to emulate the Creator and reciprocate toward Him.
These opposing dynamics require the mediating dynamic of the middle line to unite the two sides into a synergy. On account of this dispute, neither of them illuminate. The light of giving in the right line lacks the light of Ḥokhma and is like a body without a head,47The lack of the light of Ḥokhma represents a lack of animating lifeforce from the Creator, which is the light of Ḥokhma. Conversely, the lack of the light of giving means that the light of Ḥokhma cannot be received by Malkhut, because of the first constriction, leaving the vessel dark. while the light of Ḥokhma in the left line is entirely dark, as the light of Ḥokhma cannot illuminate without the light of giving (as explained in Bereshit I, page 47, s.v. “nafak”).