Head, Interior, End; Mouth, Navel, Endpoint of the Legs of the partzuf 6. On account of the new vessels formed from the returning light, we can discern three aspects in each partzuf. These are called head, interior, and end. The end of section 5 above explained that the resistive force of the partition preventing the arrival of the light in the vessel of Malkhut led to a fusion through collision with the light against the partition.
As a result, the ten sefirot of the returning light emerged and enclothed the ten sefirot of the direct light that is the supernal light.7“Direct light” and “supernal light” refer to the same divine light. The discussion here is analogous to a discussion of water, and the molecules of H2O that are “within” the water. Those molecules actually are the water, but sometimes we speak of water in its unity (calling it, simply, “water”), while at other times, we speak of water in terms of its more granular structure.
When the author of the Sulam seeks to emphasize the unity of the divine light, he refers to it as “supernal light.” Yet, there is a structure of sefirot vessels undergirding that supernal light. When describing this more discrete perspective of the divine light, the author of the Sulam uses the term “direct light.” These ten sefirot of the returning light and the direct light are called the “ten sefirot of the head.”