68. The third criterion is that since Ze’er Anpin ascends to Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna and unites and completes the lights182This refers to the rectification of lines described and referred to in many of the preceding sections, from section 20 until this section. of the right and left of Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna – and without Ze’er Anpin ascending as feminine waters183The ascent of feminine waters is a term referring to the “yearning” from below for the light of Ḥokhma represented by the ascent of Ze'er Anpin to the higher levels as the middle line.
In Kabbala and Torah thought in general, the concept of female denotes the dynamic of receiving, while male denotes giving. The flow of direct light of Ḥokhma from above to below is described as the “masculine waters.” the right and left of Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna would be unable to illuminate184As was explained in the extensive discussion of the rectification of lines, without a “middle line” formed by the ascent of Ze'er Anpin as feminine waters, there would be no mediation of the right and left lines (the columns of light of giving and Ḥokhma, respectively).
As a result, there could be no illumination from Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna to the levels below, since the right and left lines essentially negate each other. – it turns out that the ascent of Ze’er Anpin to Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna has caused the emergence of three lines: the right, the left, and the middle, which are the Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da’at of Yisrael Sabba and Tevuna.185The emergence referred to here is that by the ascent of the middle line (Ze'er Anpin, which is also the pseudo-sefira of Da’at mentioned here, the three lines are able to work together, instead of negating one another. Through this complementary dynamic, they are able to illuminate to the levels below.