Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

BaN and MaH were bound up under Malchut and Yesod of Adam Kadmon, and then coupled together to bring about the repair.

After the emergence of the lights of the Eyes of Adam Kadmon – these being BaN – they were bound under the rule of Malchut of Adam Kadmon. And when the radiation of the Forehead – MaH – emerged, it was bound under the rule of Yesod of Adam Kadmon. Yesod and Malchut of Adam Kadmon then coupled together, and thus the stern judgments were sweetened and the government operated in a mode of repair and love.

This answers an apparent difficulty regarding the Primordial Kings and their repair. For in one place the Primordial Kings (=BaN) are said to have come from the Eyes and MaH from the Forehead (Etz Chayim, Shaar Derushey Nekudot ch.1). Elsewhere, however, the Primordial Kings are said to be bound up with the mystery of Malchut of Adam Kadmon while MaH is the drop of male waters of Adam Kadmon’s Yesod (Etz Chayim, Seder Atzilut ch. 2; see Opening 96 below).

This proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: After the emergence... This explains the places where these lights were bound. Part 2: Yesod and Malchut of Adam Kadmon then coupled together... This explains the resulting path taken by the repair.

Part 1: After the emergence of the lights of the Eyes of Adam Kadmon – these being BaN – they were bound under the rule of Malchut of Adam Kadmon. For the nature of the lights is such that, besides the original sources from which they emerged, we must also take into account the sources to which they are bound and from which they take their power and rule in the governmental order. In accordance with this principle, these lights emerged from the Eyes and were afterwards bound to Malchut of Adam Kadmon and received their governmental power from there.

And when the radiation of the Forehead – MaH – emerged, it was bound under the rule of Yesod of Adam Kadmon. In other words, since the purpose of this radiation was to repair the first lights, it was bound up under Yesod, which is the power that repairs Malchut.

Part 2: Yesod and Malchut of Adam Kadmon then coupled together... After these lights emerged from the Eyes and Forehead and had been bound under Yesod and Malchut, Yesod and Malchut of Adam Kadmon then coupled for the sake of the lights bound up with them.

MaH went through the process of joining up to Him all the levels that were being selected from BaN, out of which He produced the entire Tree of Holiness, namely Atzilut-Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah. However, there remained further levels of BaN that were not attached to MaH. Accordingly the creation was not yet complete, because it contains certain deficiencies. This is steadily repaired little by little until eventually everything will be repaired and everything will be in a state of complete perfection.

We have already explained the overall repair – that the government operated in a mode of repair. We must now explain things in greater detail. The first thing that must be explained is the interconnection between MaH and BaN.

The proposition consists of three parts. Part 1: MaH went through the process of joining... Part 2: However, there remained... Part 3: This is steadily repaired...

Part 1: MaH went through the process of joining up to Him all the levels that were being selected from BaN... We explained earlier (Opening 54) that the Sefirot of BaN, which were the first to emerge, were awaiting another radiation that would repair them. For as already explained, the Primordial Kings (the Sefirot of BaN) were merely one aspect of the Likeness of Man which the divine Mind rejected. Now, however, came the true completion of the Likeness of Man which emerged from the Supreme Mind. And then even those aspects which had originally been producing evil started turning back to good.

The repair was not brought about in the vessels in order to bring them to return to a state of repair by themselves. (The repair did not operate on the vessels themselves. Rather, it came about through the construction of the Partzufim out of the lights of MaH and BaN combined, and the vessels were then repaired as a matter of course as each entered its proper place in the structure of the Partzufim.

The vessels – from BaN – thus could not be repaired by themselves but only through being connected with the lights of MaH.) For the Sefirot of BaN – which were in a state of breakage – were aspects that took control only at the time when the Likeness of Man had not yet been revealed. (Their existence was temporary from the very outset.) But with the emergence of the essential Likeness of Man – MaH – the repair of these initial aspects also followed as a matter of course.

The way this root is seen in the people of Israel is as it is written: “The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise” (Amos 5:2). Yet it is also written: “I will raise up David’s fallen tabernacle” (ibid. 9:11). In other words, when the Assembly of Israel fell, it was because the Supreme King had not yet properly revealed His glory, which is the root of the governmental order. As long as it still waits to be revealed, all that has happened happened.

The Holy One, blessed be He, did not merely want to restore them to what they were on their own so that they would rise from their fall by themselves. He wanted to bring them to a new state of being through which they would be repaired. (The Zohar Pekudey 239b states that the raising up is accomplished only through the Holy One, blessed be He.)

This new state is the mystery of “new heavens and a new land” (Isaiah 65:17). “I will raise up David’s fallen tabernacle” – through the mystery of MaH, which enables BaN to stand. BaN cannot stand by itself and can only be lifted up with the emergence of the new light of MaH, which is the main root of the governmental order. (If they had rectified themselves, they would only have returned to their initial state of repair, but He wanted to bring them to a greater state of repair – one of complete repair.)

It then retrospectively becomes apparent that everything that took place even from the outset was for good. (When the vessels enter into the structure, it is revealed that even the bad part was for good because of the function it plays in the world.) All the bad then reverts to good, this being BaN as repaired through MaH. The root of what was to come about in the world is found here in this process that took place in the Sefirot.

...out of which He produced the entire Tree of Holiness. It was necessary for the governmental order to consist of two things joined together: deficiency on the one hand and the complete perfection that repairs it on the other. For all this successively makes known God’s unity. (Without the preceding deficiency, there would be no revelation of the unity.)

Thus the Supreme Mind set to work making all that it made through this repair, until all the different levels and Partzufim were produced, all constructed out of parts damaged in the earlier destruction together with the repair that came to fix them (the parts of MaH and BaN from which the Partzufim were made). It is in this mode that the world is now governed, and now the completion of this repair in all its details is in the hands of man.

...namely Atzilut-Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah. As explained earlier (in Opening 35), Atzilut-Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah are one whole (and are therefore jointly referred to as the “Tree”).

Part 2: However, there remained further levels of BaN that were not attached to MaH. As explained earlier (in Opening 35) regarding the Primordial Kings, there remained certain levels that had yet to be sifted out, and these are the parts that bring perfection.

Accordingly the creation was not yet complete... In the light of what I have said, this should be clear – because certain pathways were lacking in the governmental order and certain parts of the creations were also lacking. It is therefore obvious that the original creation still needed to be completed. This is the meaning of “...which God created to do” (Genesis 2:3). He started in order that the work should be completed by mankind.

...because it contains certain deficiencies. This is the clear proof of the above assertion that the creation was not complete – because there are deficiencies in the creation, and it is therefore not in a state of complete perfection. For when it is complete, there will be no more deficiency left, just as in the case of an artefact whose manufacture is complete.

Part 3: This is steadily repaired little by little... As explained earlier (Opening 53 Part 1), the process of repair proceeds in stages, power after power, until the end.

...until eventually everything will be repaired and everything will be in a state of complete perfection. This too is as I have written above, that all this is a continuous progressive cycle until everything is altogether perfect.

The Sefirot of BaN are the root of defects and punishments, while facing them are the Sefirot of MaH, which repair them.

In the Sefirot of BaN are rooted all the different aspects of damage – i.e. everything that provides a place for the existence of defects and the ensuing punishments. In the Sefirot of MaH are rooted all aspects of the repair – to repair these defects. For the sake of the required governmental order, it is necessary for every level to be constructed out of both of them. Then all aspects of evil will exist in that level through the side of BaN within it and all aspects of good through the side of MaH.

Having introduced the subject of the joining of MaH and BaN, we must now specify the different effects of each one.

This proposition has two parts: Part 1: In the Sefirot of BaN... This explains the separate functions of MaH and BaN. Part 2: For the sake of the required governmental order... This explains how they are joined together.

Part 1: In the Sefirot of BaN are rooted all the different aspects of damage... The Sefirot of BaN are the roots of the various kinds of damage, as already explained earlier, while the Sefirot of MaH bring them back to good, as stated above. But because things were not permanently fixed to perfection, the Sefirot of MaH may hold sway over those of BaN, producing only good. On the other hand, it is also possible, heaven forbid, for BaN’s intrinsic nature to be reawakened since this has still not been completely changed. This can prevent MaH from holding sway over the Sefirot of BaN, out of which come forth the various kinds of damage.

…i.e. everything that provides a place for the existence of defects... For the phenomenon of damage and destruction is ordered in such a way that if pathways had not been prepared whereby the lights can be darkened and flawed, this phenomenon of damage would simply not exist in the world. However, the pathways have already been prepared with exact precision and measure, neither less nor more than what is required. This is the cause of the flaws in the lights above and the punishments in the world below, as it goes on to say. Overall these pathways are in accordance with the rule of BaN.

...and the ensuing punishments. This is obvious, because when the lights are darkened above (through sin), the person who caused this suffers a corresponding interruption in the flow of goodness, and this is how the governmental levels of the Other Side gain sway over him. For the Other Side has the opportunity to attack through this flaw (in the lights caused by the sin), and as long as some trace of that flaw remains above, the Other Side deals out evil to the perpertrator commensurate to his deeds. The flaw steadily disappears in accordance with the punishment suffered by the sinner.

In the Sefirot of MaH are rooted all aspects of the repair – to repair these defects. They are parallel: the repairs of MaH come to repair the damage of BaN. It was through this arrangement that the joining of MaH and BaN was brought about. For the above-mentioned defects require precisely those repairs that have the power to rectify these very defects.

For the sake of the required governmental order... In other words, in order to produce a governmental order based on the required principle of reward and punishment to make a place for free will...it is necessary for every level to be constructed out of both of them. For every level has a corresponding level of service on the part of man, and man’s whole service is based on free will. Wherever there is choice, there is the possibility of damage and repair, reward and punishment. This is why every level must be constructed out of both of them. Then all aspects of evil will exist in that level through the side of BaN within it and all aspects of good through the side of MaH.

For every function and for each effect there are two generators through the coupling of male and female – Kindness and Judgment coming from MaH and BaN – and likewise in the soul and body.

Since the government operates in this way on the foundation of Kindness and Justice, a root of good and a root of evil, accordingly for every function two generators are required. Therefore any given light will only emerge through two lights that draw it forth. Of these two lights, one will be male from the side of MaH and one female from the side of BaN. They will then produce the light that needs to be produced – built out of MaH and also BaN.

Having discussed the overall functions of MaH and BaN in the governmental order, let us now explain the effects of their joint functioning.

There are two parts to this proposition: Part 1: Since the government... This is a prefatory statement about the offspring or effects of the functioning of the Sefirot. Part 2: Therefore any given light... The developmental chain through which the lights emerge is founded on the mystery of Male and Female.

Part 1: Since the government operates in this way on the foundation of Kindness and Justice... – namely for the sake of reward and punishment –...a root of good and a root of evil... All these things are aspects of one process – Kindness and Justice for the sake of reward and punishment. And so too man’s service involves the possibility of both damage and repair.

Of these two lights, one will be male from the side of MaH and one female from the side of BaN. The Supreme Will wanted to display the developmental sequence in stages, power after power, until the creation attains perfection, as explained earlier (Opening 10). This is the concept of His creating “in partnership with the letters” as explained in the Tikkuney Zohar (Tikkun 69, p.115b), for many powers must exist in order to produce one thing. It is necessary to know which is the first power and what derives from it afterwards in order to understand the way in which the particular creation in question was produced. Accordingly, He displayed the powers as developing one out of the other, as stated above.

This works in the same way as the human mind, which contains various powers. The functioning of the mind is marked by ever-renewed excitement in the form of the new thoughts or new levels of understanding that enter the mind. (The new thought comes in the wake of the excitement produced by the previous thought, although the new thought is not actually caused by it. So too in the case of the overall developmental chain: the Source of all the lights is indeed in the Supreme Will, but they are revealed in stages, one after the other, because the eternal Will continually creates everything.)

The way in which the effect is produced is not through flashing excitement alone, but rather through the functioning of the different individual aspects of the Partzufim involved – by means of actual coupling. The roots begin in the mind and brain of each of the powers involved and continue down by way of their organs of procreation – the Yesod in each case. Two causal factors underlie every level in the developmental sequence. One provides the overall root, and one provides the specific preparations and repairs for that entire generality.

Thus we find that when the Supreme Will wanted to display His powers in this way, He adopted the way of the human mind, even though He did not need to. Humans go through a series of thoughts, one after the other, in accordance with a certain pattern, stage by stage, even though God could have created everything with a single utterance. But He wanted to show how each power develops, from where it emerges, what is its overall cause and what it is that produces its various specific details and everything else that can possibly be discerned in it.

Accordingly He so ordered His powers – i.e. those that relate to the creation of the worlds – in such a way that they should function in this way we call the way of male and female, just as the powers of the soul function in the soul itself (through Chochmah and Binah, which are in the category of male and female). The Partzuf is the way in which the causal agent must stand in order to be fit to draw forth and reveal its effect.

In this way the various powers of the soul themselves become differentiated into their particular components, and then they have the power to produce new effects. If not, they would not have this power.

We have thus found two aspects that involve the principle of male and female. The effect comes about only through the operation of the two factors of male and female (1) in the aspect of the preparations (the male provides the overall generality while the female divides it into particulars) and also (2) in the aspect of the parts of the actual effect itself. (Some of the characteristics of the resultant effect derive from the side of the male – Kindness – while some of its characteristics derive from the female – Judgment.)

Accordingly they divide up in such a way that the male draws down the white (=Kindness) and the female the red (=Judgment). The first aspect, that of the preparations, whereby the male sends a general influence while the female delineates the details, will be explained below, with the help of Heaven (Opening 64). At this point it will suffice if we discern the principle of male and female in the interaction of MaH and BaN, for both are required as a generating cause, the one contributing one part – i.e. MaH – and the other a different part – i.e. BaN.

They will then produce the light that needs to be produced – built out of MaH and also BaN. This is because the intention is that the resultant effect should also be joined together in the same way. Accordingly two generators are required so that each one can provide that part in the resultant effect.

The role of the Male and Female in the channeling and repair of MaH and BaN

Out of the totality of the Sefirot that broke and descended, those parts that are to be selected undergo the process of sorting and selection, and the vessels ascend to receive their lights in Atzilut – and this is through the Female aspect, which lifts them up in this way. Descending towards them are levels of MaH, vessel and light, and they join with them – and this is through the Male aspect, which channels them in this way and puts them in the Female.

Nevertheless, the Male also enters into the repair of the vessels that ascend through the Female: the Male repairs the right side of all the vessels and Partzufim, while the Female repairs their left side. And afterwards the parts join up together, and thus MaH is joined together with every one of them, and the resulting offspring is complete.

There are two parts to this proposition: Part 1: Out of the totality... This explains the process of channeling by the Male and Female aspects, so as to produce or “give birth” to the light that has to be born from them. Part 2: Nevertheless, the Male also enters into the repair... The Male aspect even enters into what is channeled by the Female aspect in order to complete the repair.

Part 1: Out of the totality of the Sefirot that broke and descended... We now come to discuss the process of selection that took place in the totality of the Primordial Kings (the Nekudim), as discussed earlier (see Opening 47, Part 1).

...those parts that are to be selected undergo the process of sorting and selection... In other words, in order to establish the laws of the governmental order, there is a process of selection which takes place out of the totality of all the different aspects contained in the Primordial Kings, so as to choose whatever is fit to be in this law that the Supreme Mind wants to establish.

...and the vessels ascend to receive their lights... It is obvious that the vessels must receive the lights in order to govern properly....in Atzilut... That is, in the Atzilut of the second Atzilut-Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah, which were made out of the original Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah (see above, Opening 46). For by now the levels had already been changed around, and four places were already prepared: Atzilut-Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah. The vessels had hitherto been in the mode of descent and decline. Thus for them, this is considered an ascent (even though they ascend only to the second Atzilut, which is in the place of the original Beriyah), inasmuch as they come to serve as the government of Atzilut, the root of the present governmental order, the place of the emanation of all the lights.

…and this is through the Female aspect... All the different aspects of the cleansing and selection of these vessels, including both the aspects that are connected with their ascent and those connected with how they receive their lights, in short, everything that comes into the category of BaN – depends on the arousal of the Female aspect, which lifts them up....which lifts them up in this way – in all the different details that can be discerned in them (for the nature of the Female is to differentiate all the details).

Descending towards them are levels of MaH... The term “descending” applies to the mystery of the Male Waters, which are channeled down from above towards the Female, which is the place of the ingathering of the lights (the pregnancy is in the Female) so that they can be perfected through the mystery of the cause that brings things to completion, as discussed earlier.

...vessel and light... Clearly, this is in accordance with the nature of the governmental order....and they join with them... For the intention is to produce MaH and BaN joined in one – to make literally one body, not two separate bodies.

…and this is through the Male aspect, which channels them in this way... in all their particulars – just as the Female makes the selection in BaN, so the Male selects the particulars of MaH.

...and puts them in the Female. As discussed earlier (Opening 63 Part 2), besides the Female’s providing part of the actual resultant offspring itself, the Female also delineates the form of everything, including the part contributed by the Male. The reason is that MaH and BaN exhibit aspects of the Line and the Residue which we discussed earlier (Opening 27). A fundamental principle relating to the Sefirot is that certain lights are the primary roots in some given function, and it is through them that what is required for that function is actually produced, while other lights merely display what is actually produced at root by the primary lights, and these secondary lights undergo processes corresponding to those taking place in the lights which they display. (The secondary lights are in the same category as the primary lights but in an inferior mode.)