Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

All the different kinds of interconnections that could possibly exist between MaH and BaN were indeed made, and the essential concealed governmental order follows them all. There are ways of connecting that are opposite in nature yet even so, both connections exist – because this is the way the Partzufim are compounded, and both give rise to certain qualities in the Partzufim. The way these combinations rule above governs what happens in the Partzufim. However, this is not fathomable or visible in the least. Except that when we observe the differences found in the Partzufim in various different states and certain other changes that take place in them, we know that these derive from the way MaH and BaN are joined. However, no one sees them for what they truly are.

We could try to answer this by saying that this one is the first in the sense that it is in this Head that the uncertainties are first born, and only thereafter are they drawn into the other Partzufim of Atzilut. However, this does not seem consistent with the clear intent of the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai of blessed memory. For in the Idra Zuta (288a) it is evident that he calls this Head by this name because of its tremendous greatness and glory, and this is why it is concealed. (The implication is not as we tried to answer, that this Head is the first and the root with respect to the uncertainties.

Rather, it is that the Head is unknown because of its very greatness and glory, and this is why it cannot be grasped.) For he says: “The Head that does not know and is not known... that is not attached to Wisdom and not to Understanding...” If so, all of Atzilut is the same – so what special reason is there to call this Head by this name? (The same greatness and glory are also in the other Partzufim as well as uncertainties as to their composition.)

The answer is that the Unknown Head stands as a single governmental order which requires it to be this way with these uncertainties. And because of its power and control, these uncertainties are also found in the other Partzufim as aspects that develop as a result. The uncertainties we are talking about are not the normal kind of uncertainties where we are in doubt about whether something is or is not the case.

With regard to the uncertainties discussed in relation to the Unknown Head, the truth is that all the different combinations of MaH and BaN do indeed exist (even though they appear contradictory). Bearing this in mind will help you to understand why it is that the uncertainties we are discussing arise, especially all the details discussed by the ARI of blessed memory, which we could not have conceived at all.

Granted, there may be matters of doubt relating to the lights and vessels of BaN and all that depends on this. But as for all the other uncertainties relating to the detailed interconnections between MaH and BaN in the Unknown Head (Etz Chayim, Shaar Atik ch. 3) – what is the reason for the uncertainty?

The reason is that it is this very Head itself – as far as we can have any knowledge of it at all – that causes these uncertainties. One moment it seems one way and another moment it seems different. If this Head were completely concealed, we could simply say in one word that its function is hidden from us without going into detail about what it is that is uncertain. However, as I have said, the fact is that all these different and contradictory aspects can be discerned. (They can only appear one after another but they exist simultaneously.) However, it is simply impossible to come to a definite conclusion and determine any one facet with absolute certainty.

For as you have already heard (Openings 6-7), each governmental order is one light through seeing which it is possible to understand the governmental order or aspect in question. Now this Unknown Head is one kind of light traveling in the mode of “running and returning” (Idra, ibid.) in which all these different aspects can be seen but it is impossible to gain a definite grasp of any one of them. What one sees is uncertain and without any stability, because one moment it appears one way, but on further examination it looks different.

...were indeed made... For these combinations of MaH and BaN are all the different ways in which goodness can spread in order to bring evil back to good. Clearly if a single interconnection had been missing, one repair would have been lacking, whereas everything must be repaired. On the contrary, it is the power to create different combinations that joins one thing to another detail by detail until all the different parts are joined to each other in every possible way....and the essential concealed governmental order follows them all. These combinations of MaH and BaN constitute the laws of the concealed governmental order we are discussing. Just as the revealed governmental order is made up of detailed laws – the laws of the Partzufim and all that depends on them, these being orders sufficient to govern all that exists in every aspect of their government – similarly, this concealed governmental order consists of detailed individual laws sufficient to govern everything within it. These laws are the combinations of MaH and BaN.

The difference between the concealed and revealed orders is that in the case of the latter, all its different aspects are visible individually and we are certain that they all exist. But the different aspects of the concealed order are not known with the same certainty. Rather, its laws are known only as uncertainties. (The laws, which are all the different possibilities of repair and damage, derive from all the possible combinations of MaH and BaN.

What is unknown is which of the possible combinations functions and when. See Etz Chayim, Shaar Atik ch. 5: “...there are uncertainties without end”.) Seeing various kinds of pathways, we know that all these pathways exist. However, it is impossible to determine anything with certainty when looking at this Head because things keep turning into the opposite. (It is impossible to formulate an all-encompassing law to explain the entire governmental order because it depends on which roots of the creation need to be repaired, and they are unknown to us.)

There are ways of connecting that are opposite in nature... i.e. in the way they are combined, for every element is joined with all the others. Their interconnections are thus literally the opposite of one another. (Simple elements can be combined in opposite ways.)...yet even so, both connections exist... i.e. both of the contrary and opposite combinations. And this is not problematic, because both exist in order for each to rule over one aspect by itself. The Partzufim also have qualities deriving from one combination of MaH and BaN and qualities from the other.

...because this is the way the Partzufim are compounded, and both give rise to certain qualities in the Partzufim. However, sometimes one power and quality rules, and sometimes another.

Part 2: The way these combinations rule above governs what happens in the Partzufim. As we have said, the Partzufim are bound up with these interconnections between MaH and BaN, which give rise to certain qualities in them. It follows that a change in the ruling combinations will lead to change in the qualities ruling in the Partzufim. However, this is not fathomable or visible in the least. In other words, this root is not known, because it is not revealed.

Except that when we observe the differences found in the Partzufim... For the differences are visible in the Partzufim....in various different states and certain other changes that take place in them... For sometimes lights and repairs are seen to hold sway in the Partzufim and sometimes deficiencies. These are the changes in the states and functioning of the Partzufim as discussed in the teachings of the ARI of blessed memory in connection with these uncertainties....we know that these derive from the way MaH and BaN are joined. The Unknown Head is the root of all this – i.e. these changes derive from there.

However, no one sees them for what they truly are. Because this root is not visible, it is impossible to grasp and understand their true nature.

The different combinations in the Unknown Head rule as one all the time and are unfathomable.

All the deeds that have been and are being done in the world are subject to these interconnections. For anything that was not rooted here, be it a repair or damage of some kind, will not come about. All things are governed in accordance with all these combinations, depending on the deeds of the lower creations. And everything is going to be fixed in eternity, every single thing in accordance with everything that has already been done, whether they be equivalent, contrary or opposite to one another.

Therefore all these combinations have control all the time, and the government turns from one to the other in each thing, shifting from one aspect to another that may be similar, contrary or opposite to the first, because the entire governmental order exists in each part. And the states of the Partzufim shift correspondingly in the mode of “running and returning”. And no one can understand or grasp anything except what is revealed through the order and law visible in the Partzufim. But the source of the matter lies in these combinations, and this is not revealed or known at all.

Following our discussion of these interconnections in the Unknown Head, we must now explain their significance.

This proposition consists of three parts. Part 1: All the deeds... All deeds are subject to these interconnections. Part 2: All things are governed... The entire governmental order follows accordingly. Part 3: Therefore... All these different combinations hold sway continually.

Part 1: All the deeds that have been and are being done in the world are subject to these interconnections. The mystery of God’s knowledge is that it contains everything that is going to happen in the very way it will happen. For anything that was not rooted here, be it a repair or damage of some kind, will not come into being. For what is not included in this knowledge (i.e. in the possibilities already prepared in the Unknown Head) will never come about.

Part 2: All things are governed in accordance with all these combinations, depending on the deeds of the lower creations. For the governmental order always takes into account the overall totality (see Opening 78). Thus every new deed has an effect on all the past, all the present and all the future. The result of that deed will never cease to exist, as I have already discussed, but is registered to exist for ever and to all eternity.

Thus the way things are arranged is as follows: every deed performed by man reaches its place here, because all of them are already here. (In the Unknown Head are all the deeds of the past, present and future.) Here all the different aspects, past, present and future, are affected by this deed, because all of them are included here. Through the power of the deed’s effect, the Partzufim, following the order of Atzilut, are afterwards arranged in such a way as to act in the worlds. (The influence is mutual: the deed affects the Unknown Head, which in turn affects the Partzufim.)

And everything is going to be fixed in eternity... As stated above, every deed endures for the sake of the perfection destined to be revealed afterwards for the eternal delight of the souls. (The souls will enjoy the perfection of the governmental order that will be revealed through that deed.)...every single thing in accordance with everything that has already been done... As we have said, everything is affected by everything....whether they be equivalent, contrary or opposite to one another. These are the three possible kinds.

Part 3: Therefore all these combinations have control all the time... In the case of the other lights in the other Partzufim of Atzilut, each one holds sway by itself in its own time. However those in the Unknown Head hold sway all the time, for in every deed they are all affected simultaneously....and the government turns from one to the other in each thing, shifting from one aspect to another that may be similar, contrary or opposite to the first... This is the uncertain appearance seen in the Unknown Head, for in it the government turns from aspect to aspect in all the different aspects, so that all different kinds of combinations are seen constantly.

...because the entire governmental order exists in each part. And the states of the Partzufim shift correspondingly in the mode of “running and returning”. These different states give rise to the different qualities found in the Partzufim, as mentioned in the previous Opening. And no one can understand or grasp anything except what is revealed through the order and law visible in the Partzufim.

The only grasp we have of these changes is as it is expressed in the order of the Partzufim. However, it is called the order of the Unknown Head, because it is from here that it derives, but this cannnot be known. But the source of the matter lies in these combinations, and this is not revealed or known at all. The rule is that a branch of something that is concealed may be revealed, but the root itself always remains concealed.

The Unknown Head contains all the interconnections; the uncertainty lies in trying to grasp it.

The Unknown Head is a single radiation containing all these interconnections of MaH and BaN. However, it is a radiation that is impossible to grasp or understand at all. Looking at it leaves one with various kinds of uncertainties, because it does not seem as if it would contain all kinds of interconnections – it is a kind of radiation that is impossible to understand. And in truth, what it contains is not apparent, because sometimes one interconnection appears to exist in it and sometimes a different interconnection that may even be opposite to the first.

Thus although we already know that it contains all the different interconnections, the radiation itself nevertheless stands in such a way that it is impossible to understand. First it appears one way, then differently. As a result, the way it governs is unknown. For if we were to try to follow a single thing that exists below in Atzilut and trace its root in this Head, we would not be able to find our arms and legs – we would be unable to determine anything about it. First it appears like this, then it appears like that – in such a way that it is quite impossible to understand it. This is why it is called the Unknown Head.

This answers an apparent difficulty, because according to what we are saying there should not be any uncertainties since it contains everything.

The proposition has two parts. Part 1: The Unknown Head... Part 2: Thus although...

Part 1: The Unknown Head is a single radiation containing all these interconnections of MaH and BaN. It is a light that cannot be grasped in the same way as the other lights. And this is the answer to something that may appear problematic. For it might seem as if there was no need to say that there are uncertainties about it. Should we not have said rather that it certainly contains all the interconnections? The explanation is that we are not talking about what is intrinsic in the Head itself but rather about our ability to grasp and understand it: one who attains a perception of the radiance of this Head cannot determine how to understand this light. However, it is a radiation that is impossible to grasp or understand at all. I.e. when looking at it.

The reason is that Looking at it leaves one with various kinds of uncertainties... The uncertainty is in the observer gazing at this Head and its lights....because it does not seem as if it would contain all kinds of interconnections... Even though we say that it contains everything, this is not the way it appears when one looks at it. Rather...it is a kind of radiation that is impossible to understand. In other words, this is the intrinsic nature of this radiation. And in truth, what it contains is not apparent... Even what it contains is not seen at all – even when we think we understand, we afterwards see that we have not understood it....because sometimes one interconnection appears to exist in it and sometimes a different interconnection that may even be opposite to the first.

Part 2: Thus although we already know that it contains all the different interconnections, the radiation itself nevertheless stands in such a way that it is impossible to understand. First it appears one way, then differently. The apparent problem we raised above is not really a problem – because the radiation itself is one that is intrinsically unknowable. As a result, the way it governs is unknown. If you ask what is gained from this uncertainty since we already know that this Head contains everything, the answer is that it is the mode of government ruling at any specific time that we do not know.

For if we were to try to follow a single thing that exists below in Atzilut and trace its root in this Head, we would not be able to find our arms and legs – we would be unable to determine anything about it. We might have thought that since this Head is the root of Atzilut, we should have been able to ascend from the branch (=Atzilut) to the root (=the Unknown Head) and thereby grasp it. However, because our perception of the root is uncertain, we are unable to grasp it.

If we try to trace anything to the root, we are always left uncertain as to whether it lies on one side or another – i.e. in one given interconnection or another. This is impossible to determine, because it looks as if both combinations rule, yet this is certainly not the case. For everything surely has its own particular place – the entire governmental order runs through one particular aspect at any given time.

It is the place in the source, the ruling combination in which any given aspect of Atzilut is rooted, that is uncertain – because it looks as if it could be all of them. At first it looks like one thing, but on further examination it looks like something else, and it is impossible to come to a definite conclusion.

First it appears like this, then it appears like that – in such a way that it is quite impossible to understand it. This is why it is called the Unknown Head. If nothing at all were visible in it, we would have said it is concealed. However, it is seen – but first it seems one way, and then immediately afterwards it seems different, so that no one can understand it.

The difference between the Dew of Bedolach and the Unknown Head

There is a difference between the nature of the Dew of Bedolach “in which all colors are seen” and the Unknown Head. For the Dew of Bedolach is seen to contain all the colors together. However this Head appears to be one thing and then immediately afterwards it seems to be not this but the very opposite of what we saw. It remains in this state of constant transmutation in which the yes and the no appear at one and the same moment – yet we cannot even grasp how the yes and the no can both apply. It is simply impossible to attain any certainty about it, because sometimes it appears as if it contains the yes and then immediately afterwards it looks as if that is not the case at all.

NOTE The bedolach stone – a gleaming crystal – is mentioned in Genesis 2:12, while in Numbers 11:7 the color of the manna is compared to that of the bedolach. The Idra Rabba (128b) describes the appearance of the dew descending from the Head of Arich Anpin as being “white like the color of the bedolach stone, in which all colors are seen”.There is a difference between the nature of the Dew of Bedolach “in which all colors are seen” and the Unknown Head. Why this Head is said to be a matter of doubt and uncertainty may still seem problematic. Why is it not like the Dew of Bedolach, which contains all the colors – for the same is said about this Head. The answer is as follows.

For the Dew of Bedolach is seen to contain all the colors together. As explained in the Zohar, it clearly contains both Kindness and Judgment: “It is white, but a red color is visible in the white...” (Idra Rabba 128b and see 132b). Thus all the colors are visible in the bedolach stone: no one color rules out another. However here in the Unknown Head, one thing rules out another.

However this Head appears to be one thing and then immediately afterwards it seems to be not this but the very opposite of what we saw. It seems as if we were mistaken in how we saw it at first, and that it is different from the way we saw it. It remains in this state of constant transmutation... This is clear as discussed in the previous Opening in connection with the impossibility of determining the source of the mode of government.

...and is built of MaH and BaN. For all of Atzilut is built of MaH and BaN. In the case of Arich Anpin, this MaH and BaN are its male and female aspects.

Arich Anpin is the root of all the rest of Atzilut... The difference between Arich Anpin and the other Partzufim is that each of the other Partzufim is a separate branch. Even though in terms of their development they emerge from one another, the truth is that they are not branches of one another. Rather, they are all branches of Arich Anpin. Accordingly Arich Anpin cannot be considered in the same category as the other Partzufim of Atzilut since Arich Anpin is the root while the others are branches of Arich. However, when speaking of Atzilut as a whole with its root and branches, we also include Arich Anpin. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai alludes to this mystery in his words in the Idra Zuta (288a): “Only the Lamp exists”.

...for all the other Partzufim are literally branches of Arich Anpin... They are not branches of Arich Anpin merely in the way in which they seem to be branches of one another inasmuch as they emerge from one another in the developmental chain. In relation to Arich Anpin, the other Partzufim are actual branches....which executes its functions through them. For the entire governmental order is rooted in Arich Anpin, except that in order for it to be revealed, it divides into the four Partzufim that clothe Arich. These are called “the Name of Atik” (Idra Zuta, ibid.). For this reason Arich Anpin extends the length of the entire world, while all the other four Partzufim clothe Arich – Abba and Imma to the navel, Zeir Anpin and the Nukva from the navel and below. Accordingly, all of them are only garments on Arich Anpin. Each garment clothes only one part, but together all of them clothe Arich Anpin completely.

Arich Anpin in itself functions with complete Kindness, its branches with Justice.

One is the way it governs with complete Kindness… For Zeir Anpin also contains Kindness, but includes Judgment as well. However, Arich Anpin’s intrinsic mode of government is all complete Kindness with no Judgment at all. (“This Eye is entirely right and contains no left” – Idra Zuta 289a).

…through its own intrinsic essence. As stated above, this mode of government derives from Arich Anpin in itself not acting through its branches.

The other is the way it governs through its branches… i.e. through their functioning. …in the mode of Judgment… This is the whole difference: when Arich Anpin acts by itself, it is with complete kindness. However, when it acts through its branches, Kindness is mixed with Judgment depending on man’s behavior in the lower world.

…until in the very end everything will return to the essential nature of Arich Anpin. Since Arich Anpin is complete Kindness, why should it execute Justice? The intention is that since Arich Anpin is complete Kindness, it will not execute Justice, but its branches have the power to do so. Arich Anpin therefore uses this intermediary in order that something will exist that can execute justice, since this is not Arich’s own intrinsic attribute. However the intention is not that things should stay this way. On the contrary, since it is really Arich Anpin acting, even though at first it may appear that Arich is willing for Justice to be done, the intention is that in the very end Arich Anpin alone will rule and govern everything with Kindness.

Zeir Anpin – Justice – comes from Arich Anpin – beneficence – and is therefore entirely for good.

The ultimate intention behind the entire order of the Sefirot and the way they govern is to bestow complete and perfect good in the very end. It is just that in order to reach this ultimate goal it is necessary to go through the entire cycle until the end. The world must be governed with justice and the sinners punished in order that afterwards the goodness bestowed will be complete. The justice which is required prior to the end thus derives from the ultimate purpose itself – even though they seem contradictory.

Thus the nature of Arich and Zeir Anpin is that Arich Anpin is rooted in the mystery of complete beneficence, for Arich Anpin only bestows good. Yet even so, out of Arich emerges Zeir Anpin, which is rooted in the mystery of Justice, for Zeir Anpin is born out of the intrinsic purpose of Arich Anpin itself.

Having explained the intrinsic nature of Arich Anpin, we will now discuss the reason for the emergence of Zeir Anpin out of Arich Anpin.

This proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The ultimate intention… This explains how Justice itself derives from the intention to bestow good. Part 2: Thus the nature… This explains the purpose of Arich and Zeir Anpin accordingly.

Part 1: The ultimate intention behind the entire order of the Sefirot and the way they govern… In the light of all we have discussed above it is clear that the ultimate intention, even in the Sefirot themselves, is to bestow good. This means that even in the Residue, which provides the possibility of good and evil, the ultimate goal is to bestow good in the end.