Part 2: And the truth is that this comes from Arich Anpin, from which Abba and Imma, Zeir and Nukva emerge. This is bound up with the underlying mystery contained in the teaching in the Idra Zuta (p. 288a) that “only the Torch is found by itself”. It is impossible to compare the relationship that Abba, Imma, Zeir and Nukva have with Arich Anpin to the relationship that Zeir and Nukva have with Abba and Imma.
Abba and Imma, Zeir and Nukva are all levels that clothe Arich Anpin, for Abba and Imma clothe Arich from the throat to the navel, just as Zeir and Nukva clothe Arich from the navel and below. However, Arich Anpin cannot be said to clothe a particular level, since it is one Partzuf that encompasses the entire universe from the top all the way to the bottom, while Abba and Imma, Zeir and Nukva are all branches of it and clothe it.