Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

In other words, the purpose of those lights (i.e. of Nekudim) was to bring forth evil, for the concealment had already reached the level from which it was possible for evil to emerge. The intention here was not that the lights of the Likeness of Man should produce evil. On the contrary, the whole intention was that they should be purified and rectified, as will be discussed in due course. It was then that what stood ready to produce evil became separated from the essential body of the Likeness of Man, which stood ready to arrange things in the the proper way.

It was then that He brought forth and separated this function (evil) from the Likeness of Man, and it came forth and was seen in itself, these being the “sparks” that “flashed… and were then immediately extinguished”. Thus they performed their allotted task. For initially they emerged with a flash, as if they too had control, and indeed it was from their rule that evil emerged. Had they had no place or function at all in the governmental order, they would not have amounted to anything.

Rather, they flashed and appeared and ruled... and because of the evil, they were destroyed. This is the function of the Other Side: to cause destruction to this root. The Zohar accordingly states (loc. cit.) that “the Mind scattered sparks on three hundred and twenty sides”, these being the entirety of all these kings (the shattered vessels).

We may sum up by saying that Atzilut was steadily taking shape, and initially it took on a certain form that had the purpose of producing evil. This is its incomplete, imperfect form, inasmuch as it contains forces standing in an imperfect state suited to the production of evil. This is the state seen afterwards in the kings themselves: i.e. the first three (Keter, Chochmah and Binah) were insufficiently prepared to provide the needs of the seven lower Sefirot, while the lower Sefirot themselves were altogether unable to endure.

Thus, when this function existed in the Likeness of Man, it was ready to produce evil. What did the Supreme Mind do? He brought this function forth and removed it from the Likeness of Man. It was a power contained within the Likeness to produce this function, and He brought it forth and made it separate, by itself. (This is the “serpent”, the evil side, which stands outside of man.

Initially, it was mixed up within him in order to allow it to enter if man sins.) It is not the main essence but a small power that is part of the overall Likeness, whereas the essence of the Likeness is to bring things to a state of repair.

And this small power divides in turn into many particulars, and the Supreme Mind then brought forth all these particulars by themselves and gave them a certain power, as will be discussed further below. However, if the Supreme Will had so desired, He could have produced the Likeness already prepared from the very outset, without including evil at all. But He wanted it to contain this deficiency, and that it should depart from it in such a way that it should attain permanent repair only at the end. This is the perfect form after the removal of all that limits it. And what this perfect form is, you will see below, with the help of Heaven.

All the damage and repairs in the world are rooted in the breaking of the vessels and their repair.

The root of the existence of damage and repair lies in the process of the breaking of the vessels and their repair. For if there had been no damage in them, there would have been no destruction in the world. And if their repair had been fully completed, that would have been the end of everything. However, the way it happened is that the damage came, and afterwards the repair. And the repair was not completed except to the degree that would provide a root for the cycle of destruction and repair to continue in the world. And at the end of everything there will be a complete repair, after which there will be no more damage at all.

Having introduced the general subject of the Nekudim, we will now enter into the details.

The proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The root of the existence... This is a general statement of the first principle relating to the Nekudim and their repair. Part 2: For if there had been no damage... This specifies the implications of this principle.

Part 1: The root of the existence of damage and repair... For the Sefirot are the calculations and measures devised by the Supreme Mind to cover the needs of the entire governmental order, and if creation and destruction exist in the world, this must be rooted in the Sefirot.

...lies in the breaking of the vessels and their repair. For at first sight it might appear that the root of creation should be in the lights of Kindness (chessed) while the root of destruction should be in the lights of Judgment (din), but not that there should be lights which destroy and negate other lights. For it would seem that the concepts of both creation and destruction should apply only to the creations. But the power of destruction does not negate the power of creation – and yet we say that the Sefirot (of Nekudim) existed, and that they were negated and broken. Likewise it seems problematical to say that the Other Side (Sitra Achra) emerged from these very Sefirot – surely destruction does not come out of creation.

The root of this whole matter lies in what has already been explained earlier (in Opening 4) about how the entire governmental order of the Supreme Mind is directed only to revealing the perfect light of God, so that ultimately general beneficence will extend to all. Man and all the other created beings are nothing but the revelation of this order of government. For besides ruling the world in this way, He wanted to reveal His government in and through the creation of man.

He made man, and so too all the other creatures after him, in such a way that man in all his different parts alludes to all the different kinds of ways in which the Holy One, blessed be He, governs His creations. Included in this is everything that can possibly be said about this government. In other words, the fact that the government itself is alluded to and revealed in man’s body also depends on the underlying Likeness of Man itself, and so too in the case of the orders of nature and its laws.

Thus the existence of the governmental order above, its being drawn down to be revealed in this way in man, its actualization in the making of man and man’s existence from it – all depend on the Likeness of Man itself. All this came about through the way the Supreme Mind designed this Likeness, i.e. this is how He designed the governmental order in all its laws. We must accordingly infer that all the calculations and measures (i.e. the Sefirot) seen to have been devised by the Supreme Mind correlate to the creations in all their parts.

For the roots of the creations are those very laws of government and its ways. To provide a root for any one division of creatures requires a separate law in the order of government. All levels of the lights are this way. For the upper worlds are themselves the creations rooted in a great root, while the worlds below them are those same creations rooted in a smaller root than the first.

However, there is something else that you must understand: just as when destruction held sway, it completely destroyed what existed, so too it was necessary to institute a repair that would be the very opposite of destruction. The power of creation must hold complete sway so that destruction will no longer have any existence at all. Included among the laws of government, there is indeed this law that everything should reach such a level of perfection. So far, however, this has not come about. Everything that gives the creations existence did indeed come forth, but not what gives them endurance forever. On the contrary, the power of destruction still holds sway so as not to allow this perfection to exist.

This power of destruction prevents what exists from enduring in a state of complete perfection, causing it to go through cycles of creation and destruction. Sometimes the power of creation gains strength and endures for a long period, sometimes the opposite is the case, and the power of destruction attacks and destroys what exists. But when the time comes for complete perfection to emerge and for the giving of this law that will cause what exists to attain complete perfection, this will totally negate evil. The creations themselves will then also include components that are not present in them now, corresponding to and revealing this perfection.

We have here two things. There is the Other Side (Sitra Achra), which is the opposite of what is rectified – this is what was rejected and expelled from the Sefirot. Then there is what remains of the kings that has not yet been purified. The Other Side is something that was allowed to exist but was nevertheless rejected and cast aside so as not to destroy the rest of existence. However, it did not pass from the world. It just does not destroy everything now as it did at the time of the initial destruction. Nevertheless, it stands ready and waiting to be aroused at its ordained time and within its ordained limit.

As to what remains of the kings that was not purified: this means that the damaged parts prevent certain laws contained within the governmental order from operating now, and the same applies to certain parts contained within the independent realms and beings that are ruled by it. These laws are the laws of perfection, under which there will be no more evil at all. The emergence of these laws comes about through the constant process of sifting and purification that is going on with steadily increasing gain each and every day, as will be explained in its appropriate place.

And when they complete their process of purification and come to full existence, they will do what is within their power so that there will be no more evil in the world, leading to a state of repair that cannot possibly be followed by any damage whatsoever.

Part 2: For if there had been no damage in them, there would have been no destruction in the world. As I have already explained to you, the “kings” that were negated (the Sefirot that were “broken”) are themselves the measure and calculation of the way things were to be in their state of destruction. And if their repair had been fully completed, that would have been the end of everything. This refers to the complete perfection that must emerge in the creations in order for them to endure, as mentioned above.

However, the way it happened is that the damage came, and afterwards the repair. And the repair was not completed... Thus we have the two beginnings – the creation and the destruction – that we discussed above....except to the degree that would provide a root for the cycle of destruction and repair... For it is already clear that everything was brought about with exact measurement.

Thus without the repair on all those levels on which it was brought about, it would not have been possible for man’s service to add further repair. But had the repair been greater, there would have been no further need for any kind of service....that would provide a root for the cycle of destruction and repair to continue in the world. Since they are both in one balance, sometimes one increases and sometimes the other.

And at the end of everything there will be a complete repair, after which there will be no more damage at all. In other words, from the outset, the intention was to fix and rectify, but the Supreme Will wanted to start the process Himself while leaving the completion in the hands of man. And when man’s work is at last completed, that will be the end of the work, and a state of repair will reign with no destruction at all after it.

The connection of Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah with Atzilut

Taken as a whole, Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are one world with three garments. This is because Atzilut itself is not complete except with its garments. However, when we examine these garments individually, each one is called a world in itself. And in truth, each one has a function of its own. Accordingly, when we look at Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah with Atzilut, they can be considered only as the garments of Atzilut. However, when they are considered according to their functions, they are called worlds in themselves.

We must now examine the subject of the Nekudim in detail, However, since the details comprise the entire system of Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah and how they emerge, this is what must be explained first.

The proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: Taken as a whole, Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah... This explains their overall arrangement. Part 2: Accordingly... This explains two aspects they contain because of this.

Part 1: Taken as a whole, Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah... This means that Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are not a hierarchy of four worlds on a scale, each literally separate from the other, as in the case of the lights of the Ears, Nose and Mouth. Rather, they are all one system. The proof of this is that when we speak about worlds arranged as separate levels on a scale, each must be a complete world in itself. Every lower world is then actually like the world above it, and all the powers of the higher world are contained in the lower world except on a different level of the scale. In a scale of this nature, we could not say that any one of these worlds has a particular function that another does not have. For if this were the case, just as if a lower world were to function alone, its function would be lacking the unique aspect possessed by the world above it, so too, if the higher world were to function alone, it would be lacking the unique aspect possessed by the lower one. If so, it is not that the entire system itself as contained in the higher world descends down from level to level. Rather, they are many levels, all of them causal factors in one system that requires them all.

This is because Atzilut itself is not complete except with its garments. What this means is that since it is proper that man should be clothed in his garments, if so, when we speak about the supreme Likeness of Man, we understand this as being clothed in garments. Accordingly, when we speak of Atzilut, we must undertand that it has three garments – i.e. Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah in the category of garments, as discussed further below. Atzilut is unable to carry out even what specifically relates to it except if it is clothed in Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as garments, which become the “wings” of the Shechinah, as stated in the Zohar.

...each one is called a world in itself... For in every case where a function is drawn down complete in all its necessary levels, those levels are collectively called a complete world, as stated earlier (Opening 31). And in truth, each one has a function of its own. These are the functions explained above and in the continuation:

Accordingly, when we look at Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah with Atzilut, they can be considered only as the garments of Atzilut. This is as we said above: the functions themselves are executed only in Atzilut, and Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are subsidiary to them, for they are merely influenced by and drawn after Atzilut but they do not act independently, and in this aspect they are called garments. However, when they are considered according to their functions, they are called worlds in themselves… to the extent to which they act, this being the revelation of the function carried out in Atzilut.

The world of Nekudim is the material out of which all the details divide up.

The world of Nekudim was like one material out of which all the details must afterwards divide up. This is because all that exists, both above and below, is all only one system built of many details. It is not comprehensive unless all its details stand in it equally. For in this way, everything in creation exists only for the glory of the Creator. This is the intent of the verse, “God has made everything for His own purpose” (Proverbs 16:4). In this are included all the creations, the good and the bad, for everything is only one system and one single existence of a creation that completes the revelation of the unity and glory of Eyn Sof, blessed be He.

Having discussed Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as an overall whole in order to explain what relates to the world of Nekudim, we now come to discuss the world of Nekudim in this light.

The proposition has two parts. Part 1: The world of Nekudim was... This presents the first principle regarding the world of Nekudim, which is the entirety of all that exists afterwards. Part 2: This is because... This explains how this is so.

Part 1: The world of Nekudim was like one material... The world of Nekudim is therefore not called a level on a scale, since it is only the totality of all that exists, level by level, after the world of Akudim (the latter being the light emerging from the mouth of Adam Kadmon. This light extends to the navel, while Nekudim extends from the navel to the feet of Adam Kadmon). However, everything was still like material that had not received any form. (It was like a formless general substance out of which Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah were later formed. Accordingly, Nekudim is not in itself a level in the order of the worlds.) Nekudim is a single general law which simply institutes the existence of all that is destined to exist. For as you have already heard, this world of Nekudim is nothing but the particular power in the Likeness of Man that stands to produce evil. However, the end goal is not to produce evil but that it should revert to good. Except that it would be impossible for evil to revert to good in actuality unless evil first exists in actuality.

When we examine what is involved in this in detail, we see that in order for all evil to revert to good, it requires everything that exists from the head of Atzilut to the end of Asiyah. This purpose is fulfilled neither by the Sefirot on their own nor by the separate creations on their own, but both are required in order to complete this purpose. Moreover, in this aspect there is no difference between the highest of all the Sefirot and the lowest of all the separate creations: both exist only to reveal the unity of Eyn Sof, blessed be He and blessed be His Name for ever and to all eternity.

This is the intent of the verse quoted later in the proposition: “God has made everything for His own purpose”. Accordingly this was the first thing revealed now in the lights of the Eyes (from which the Nekudim emerged), where the Supreme Mind designed all the supreme laws of government (the Sefirot of Atzilut) and likewise all the separate creations (Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah) around this one common aspect: that they exist to reveal the supreme unity through bringing evil back to good.

And indeed, this power does not exist as an intrinsic aspect of the Sefirot. (The Sefirot themselves are on the level of Godly light, whereas the separate realms which derive from this power are creations.) That is to say, it cannot simply be equated with the last level of the lights of the Sefirot (Malchut). This is because it comes forth according to the principle of being out of nothingness, which is not a gradual process but a radical leap. (Thus Tzur Tak, the power to produce being out of nothingness, is not simply a level on the scale.

Rather it is a unique power that is impossible for us to understand since being out of nothingness is intrinsically beyond our comprehension.) Yet with the coming into existence of separate realms (Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah) – an actual creation of being out of nothingness – an extension is found to exist from the Sefirot (the Godly light of Atzilut) over these separate realms so as to bring them into existence as branches of that extension.

Now there is a difference between the aspect of the Likeness of Man included in this world (of Nekudim) by way of governmental laws and the aspect of the Likeness of Man included in it by way of the design of the image or representation (the separate worlds themselves). The aspect of the governmental laws was able to exist in its entirety with all its branches, which are only lights, just as is the root.

However, the aspect manifested in the image or representation – the separate creations – could only exist in actuality through the power of Tzur Tak, its branches being contained therein in potential. (For Tzur Tak is a power and is not itself one of the separate creations, yet it produces separate creations, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as its branches, and they are said to be “in potential” in relation to Tzur Tak, for they are not in the same category but emerge from it.)

For its intrinsic nature is to produce separate branches corresponding to all the details contained in it. This is not so in the case of the other Sefirot, whose nature is not to produce anything as their branches except other lights.

To summarize: There are two kinds of roots. There is a root that produces branches of the same kind as itself, and a root that produces branches that are not of the same kind as itself. The totality of these two roots constitutes the world of Nekudim. That is to say, Nekudim is not to be identified as consisting of the roots themselves.

Rather, it is the overall category that includes these two species of roots. Nekudim is the law that establishes the existence of these two roots, together with all their necessary offshoots. Nekudim may be called the beginning of all these offshoots, which also come forth level by level, changing from state to state. The start of both roots is in Nekudim, which is like their overall substance or material, out of which afterwards all the individual roots come forth one by one, garbed in their own separate design or form, each one bringing forth its respective branches in accordance with its intrinsic nature.

It could be objected that if so, Nekudim is a level on the way to Atzilut, and we should count it between Akudim and Atzilut. Yet we said above (Opening 36 Part 2) that it cannot be counted as such, because if so, it could not be something that was afterwards negated. The answer is that this level cannot be counted together with the various levels of the lights of the branches of Adam Kadmon, because they do not come under the same category.

For the different levels of the lights are different levels of the Likeness of Man descending in a graded way from power to power – from a greater power to a lesser power. However, what we are talking about in the case of Nekudim is not a sequential development from above to below. Rather, the change of level is that of a single power that shifts from state to state (from the light of Tzur Tak, which is a Godly power, to the separate realms and beings, which exist as independent creations), and the difference between one state and another in the world of Akudim is not one of degree.

This is the same as we said above (Opening 27) regarding the Residue. It is a category in the sense that it includes the entire array of all the details into which it will divide, but it is called a single material or substance (i.e. the Residue constitutes the overall category of Tzimztum and is also the “substance” that includes the entire creation). It is a single substance in the sense that it constitutes the totality of all the individual entities that must divide into their various divisions, each one by itself, according to their appropriate form.

...out of which all the details must afterwards divide up. This is what we said above, that all that exists, including both the lights and the separate creations, are only the details of this overall, all-embracing category.

Part 2: This is because all that exists, both above and below, is all only one system built of many details. This includes both the lights and the separate creations. It is not comprehensive unless all its details stand in it equally. For the intention here is that everything connected in any way with evil must revert to good so that through this complete return, the truth of His unity will be revealed and manifest. Accordingly, if any aspect of these details is lacking, the overall intention – the revelation of this unity – remains unfulfilled.

For in this way, everything in creation exists only for the glory of the Creator. This is the intent of the verse, “God has made everything for His own purpose” (Proverbs 16:4). As I told you above, the common purpose of all the creations is for the sake of the Supreme Glory. In this are included all the creations, the good and the bad... For the unity is revealed through the good creations because the good in them is strengthened, just as it is revealed through the bad ones, because despite the fact that they are bad, they have to return to good.

...for everything is only one system and one single existence of a creation... For in accordance with the overall purpose as we have explained it, we can call everything that exists from the world of Nekudim and below one single existence such that all the different levels that we will discuss are nothing but parts of this overall existence...that completes the revelation of the unity... For all existence in all its parts is necessary in order for the Supreme Unity to be revealed to perfection....and glory of Eyn Sof blessed be He. For this is the definition of this entire matter: it is an existence made for the glory of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, whereby to reveal the glory of His unity.