Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

The Pregnancy is the process of purification in which the Sefirot of Zeir Anpin are sorted out from literal desolation so as to stand in proper order. Zeir Anpin’s Mental Powers in this period are at their lowest possible degree of strength. This is called Netzach-Hod-Yesod of the Mental Powers and is termed Nefesh. During Suckling there is growth in all the lights as they expand to their fullest dominion, and his Mental Powers are stronger than at first. This is called Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet of the Mental Powers and is termed Ruach. In Maturity the Mental Powers extend in all their different aspects to govern Zeir Anpin and Nukva through the power of Chochmah-Binah-Daat. They are then at full power, and this is termed Neshamah.

Having discussed the first repair received by Zeir Anpin after the breaking of the vessels, we will now examine the process of gradual repair that followed.

The Pregnancy is the process of purification in which the Sefirot of Zeir Anpin are sorted out from literal desolation… First there was the destruction – the breaking of the vessels – but now the different levels are sorted out and the laws of orderly government are laid down. Whereas initially the Sefirot were not arranged in columns but were merely levels one beneath the other – which is why the destruction took place – the repair required that they now be given this arrangement of columns … so as to stand in proper order. Accordingly everything that has to be in the rectified Partzuf must be produced during the period of Pregnancy so as to be arranged in columns – Netzach-Hod-Yesod – as mentioned earlier.

Zeir Anpin’s Mental Powers… i.e. his inner soul – Heb. pnimiyut – because it is impossible to have neither interiority nor externality. Thus even during Pregnancy there are Mental Powers.

…in this period are at their lowest possible degree of strength. As discussed earlier, the strength of the body is according to the strength of the Mental Powers. Accordingly, when the Mental Powers are at minimum strength, the body also remains concealed and powerless. (Thus in Pregnancy, only Netzach-Hod-Yesod of the body are revealed, while the head – Chochmah-Binah-Daat – and chest – Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet—are folded up behind them “three within three”.)

This is called Netzach-Hod-Yesod of the Mental Powers… This is because everything is measured in terms of the Ten Sefirot, and thus the Mental Powers of Chochmah-Binah-Daat as a whole are likewise measured in these terms. Accordingly the stages in which the Mental Powers develop follow the steps on the ladder of the Ten Sefirot: Netzach-Hod-Yesod, Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet, Chochmah-Binah-Daat. Netzach-Hod-Yesod of the Mental Powers – their lowest possible degree of strength – is one single level of the Mental Powers as a whole.

…as they expand to their fullest dominion… When we speak of expansion, we mean that the governmental power included in the intrinsic law of each light becomes complete – all the different parts of the governmental order intensify the power with which they operate. Initially they were closed up in themselves, concealing their full power and dominion, but afterwards they expand and reveal this dominion.

…and his Mental Powers are stronger than at first. This is because, as we said above, the strength of the body corresponds to the Mental Powers.

…to govern Zeir Anpin and Nukva through the power of Chochmah-Binah-Daat. For the specific intention here in Maturity is to bring Abba and Imma to complete rule over Zeir Anpin by providing him with his Chochmah-Binah-Daat.

They are then at full power… i.e. there is no further period of growth after Maturity: the periods of growth are completed at twenty years of age.

…and this is termed Neshamah. This is the end of the scale of the inner soul, the pnimiyut, as stated above.

Completion of Zeir Anpin during Pregnancy, Suckling and Maturity

From the outset Zeir Anpin was built as Ten Sefirot through the binding together of the Mental Powers over the Six Directions – for they did not radiate in this way in the World of Desolation. Zeir Anpin is then described as being in fixed possession of Netzach-Hod-Yesod, while the others still need to be revealed in actuality. The entire period of Pregnancy is a process of gradual preparation to enable Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet to be revealed. Immediately on coming forth from Imma, Zeir Anpin is in fixed possession of Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet, and we say that Chochmah-Binah-Daat are in the process of coming.

To repair Netzach-Hod-Yesod so that Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet can be revealed over them requires the entire period of Pregnancy. And to repair Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet so that Chochmah-Binah-Daat may be revealed over them requires the entire period of Suckling, for they are thus steadily drawn down in stages in the necessary way. Yet even so, the initial purification is not truly complete until the first twenty-four months of Suckling, because only then is the purification of Hod-Yesod-Malchut complete.

We will now embark on a fuller discussion of the three periods of Pregnancy, Suckling and Mental Maturity.

The proposition divides into three parts. Part 1: From the outset… This presents the concepts of Pregnancy, Suckling and Mental Maturity. Part 2: To repair… This explains the duration of the periods of Pregnancy and Suckling. Part 3: Yet even so the initial purification… Significance of the twenty-four months of Suckling.

Part 1: From the outset Zeir Anpin was built as Ten Sefirot… Two apparently contradictory teachings are found in the writings of the ARI of blessed memory. In one place it states that during Pregnancy Netzach-Hod-Yesod are repaired, while Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet are repaired during Suckling (Etz Chayim, Shaar Pirkey HaTzelem chs 1-3). Elsewhere, however, it states that during the Pregnancy it is Chochmah-Binah-Daat, Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet and Netzach that are repaired – leaving Hod-Yesod-Malchut still to be cleansed (Etz Chayim, Shaar RaPaCh chs 5-6).

Thus having initially in the World of Desolation consisted of only the Six Directions, Zeir Anpin was now from the very outset of the repair – the beginning of the Pregnancy – built as Ten Sefirot …through the binding together of the Mental Powers over the Six Directions – for they did not radiate in this way in the World of Desolation. It is now that Zeir Anpin becomes complete with the full complement of Ten Sefirot, because the Mental Powers are bound up with the body, which was not the case at first.

Nevertheless, what is revealed of his Sefirot during the Pregnancy is not what has been repaired. All the Ten Sefirot are repaired from the effects of the desolation, although Hod, Yesod and Malchut still remain to be repaired completely. However, what is revealed in Zeir Anpin during the Pregnancy is only Netzach-Hod-Yesod.

This is clearly the case, because it must be that all the Sefirot are sorted and purified during the Pregnancy. We cannot resolve the contradiction by saying that although Hod-Yesod-Malchut of the overall Netzach-Hod-Yesod still remain to be purified, it is the rest of the Sefirot of the overall Netzach-Hod-Yesod that were purified during the nine months of Pregnancy. For if so, when does the purification of the other Sefirot – i.e. the overall Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet and Chochmah-Binah-Daat of Zeir Anpin – take place? And indeed we see with our own eyes here in the world below that the entire building of the human body is completed during pregnancy.

Rather, as we have said, the sifting and selection of all the Ten Sefirot of Zeir Anpin takes place during the Pregnancy, but what is revealed in that period is a different matter. For Netzach-Hod-Yesod are revealed during the Pregnancy, while the rest still remain to be revealed. (Summary: The sorting and purification of all the Ten Sefirot is carried out during the Pregnancy, even though the repair of Hod-Yesod-Malchut is deficient. Nevertheless, only Netzach-Hod-Yesod are revealed during Pregnancy – for the embryo is “like a folded tablet, with only his legs visible” – Niddah 30b, “three within three”.)

Zeir Anpin is then described as being in fixed possession of Netzach-Hod-Yesod, while the others still need to be revealed in actuality. This should be clear in the light of what I have written.

The entire period of Pregnancy is a process of gradual preparation little by little to enable Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet to be revealed. Zeir Anpin possesses Netzach-Hod-Yesod immediately but this is not to say that they are complete, for to be complete they must have Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet revealed over them. The entire period of the Pregnancy is a process of preparation towards this. The reason is because it is impossible for there to be any less than Netzach-Hod-Yesod, and we must therefore say that Netzach-Hod-Yesod are present from the start of the Pregnancy, even though they are not complete until its end. During the Pregnancy, Netzach-Hod-Yesod are steadily prepared to receive Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet at the time of birth.

However we cannot say that this is the correct order – that “Pregnancy” applies to the entire period from the beginning of Netzach-Hod-Yesod until their completion while “Suckling” lasts only from the start of Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet until their completion (i.e. from birth until the conclusion of the first twenty-four months of Suckling), with “Maturity” being from the start of Chochmah-Binah-Daat – at twenty-four months – until their completion at thirteen years.

We cannot define Suckling and Maturity in this way for three reasons: (1) If Maturity is defined as beginning at the conclusion of twenty-four months of Suckling, which is when Chochmah-Binah-Daat start to enter, there would have to be a fourth period after thirteen years, when Chochmah-Binah-Daat are complete. The period of Suckling would then be defined as lasting only for the first twenty-four months and Maturity until thirteen years, while the ensuing period would have to be called by a different name.

(2) This is not what we find in the teachings of the ARI of blessed memory. Rather the term Suckling applies until thirteen years and one day.

(3) If we were to define Suckling and Maturity as above, we would have to say that Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet begin to enter from birth and only complete their entry at twenty-four months, just as Chochmah-Binah-Daat start to enter at twenty-four months and complete their entry at thirteen years. However, here in the world below we see with our own eyes that this is not so. For the embryo is released from the bonds in which he was bent up in his mother’s belly “three within three” immediately on emergence from the womb. The baby spreads his arms and legs at once, and thus we see that Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet are already complete at birth without needing the first twenty-four months of Suckling.

Part 2: To repair Netzach-Hod-Yesod so that Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet can be revealed over them requires the entire period of Pregnancy. Just as the thirteen years and one day are explained as the time needed for Chochmah-Binah-Daat to enter over Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet, similarly the nine months of Pregnancy are the time of preparation for Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet to enter over Netzach-Hod-Yesod. The two periods do not need to be of equal lengths, because in each case the time involved depends on the needs of the process.

And to repair Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet so that Chochmah-Binah-Daat may be revealed over them requires the entire period of Suckling… This is clear from the teachings of the ARI of blessed memory about the mystery of the thirteen years and one day. (The term Suckling here refers to the entire period of thirteen years until Maturity.)

…for they are thus steadily drawn down in stages in the necessary way. It is the gradual, stage-by-stage developmental process that determines the time period. The stages in any given case depend on factors intrinsic to that case and the time involved is measured according to that specific gradation. As a general rule, wherever we find a time period specified for some given process, we know that this is the gradation required because of the intrinsic nature of the aspect involved.

Part 3: Yet even so, the initial purification is not truly complete… This refers to the actual sorting out and purification of the Sefirot of Zeir Anpin from the World of Desolation. However there is a difference between the process of purification in the Pregnancy and that during Suckling. Initially, in the World of Desolation, destruction held sway and did not allow the levels – the Sefirot – to endure. All the levels of Zeir Anpin emerged from this during the time of the Pregnancy, when he was built as Ten Sefirot, except that Hod-Yesod-Malchut did not emerge completely from ruin. Not that they remained in a literal state of ruin, but they did not complete their exit. For this reason they exist but they cannot carry out their function properly.

This mode of government must be understood as one in which all the rest of the Partzuf is complete except for the supports that give it the ability to stand. For Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferet are the body of the Partzuf while Netzach and Hod give it support and Yesod and Malchut channel the influence to the lower worlds. Of the two supports, one is complete but the other is not. This is so that the world, while having a place for flaws, will not be destroyed. (For this reason Hod is still not completely repaired and as a result Netzach is also subject to flaws, because when one leg is flawed the second leg also cannot function properly.)

This is also bound up with the various exiles – the main period of exile was in the fifth millennium corresponding to Hod. The flaw in Hod affects Yesod and Malchut, through which the influence is channeled. Netzach and Hod are the secret of the two Messiahs, as stated in the Zohar (Pinchas 252a). This requires a separate process of purification in addition to the first.

Thus indeed …the initial purification is not truly complete… Although at first sight it would appear that the entire purification was complete, nevertheless this is not so – because a faint trace of the desolation still exists: Hod-Yesod-Malchut have still not emerged completely from the desolation.

…until the elapse of twenty-four months of the period of Suckling… The fact that the child still suckles from his mother shows clearly that he is still in need of the flow of outside influence and still requires repair and purification. And thus in the world below the newborn baby has to develop his innate powers, and this he does during suckling.

…because only then is the purification of Hod-Yesod-Malchut complete.

Action of Zeir Anpin during Pregnancy, Suckling and Maturity

During the time of the Pregnancy action is not applicable to Zeir Anpin; rather, his lights are in the process of being built. As soon as he comes forth, his lights begin to act. However their actions are not complete but undergo a process of repair through Imma until they become complete at the time of complete Maturity.

Having examined these three periods in connection with the building of Zeir Anpin, we will now consider them in terms of his functioning.

During the time of the Pregnancy action is not applicable to Zeir Anpin… Here below too we see the same: the child in his mother’s womb does not willfully act. …rather, his lights are in the process of being built. It is quite proper that he should not act, because this is the period in which he is built and not his time to act. This is also why he is hidden – he is inside Imma and is not visible, because he has no function at all but continues to be built.

As soon as he comes forth, his lights begin to act. However their actions are not complete… We see the same below: the newborn baby is active immediately after coming out, but his actions are incomplete and without full intention. Likewise above, the actions of the lights of Zeir Anpin are incomplete without the repairs they are to receive from the supernal lights.

…but undergo a steady process of repair through Imma… For all the repairs to Zeir Anpin come from Imma. The further each light extends, the greater the repair it brings. …until they become complete at the time of complete Maturity. For complete maturity is when the Mental Powers are fully functional, and so it is down below. By the time of maturity man has already reached his full mental powers.

The rule of Judgment is the cause of immaturity; its removal brings maturity.

Expanding Judgment causes darkness by preventing the lights from radiating widely with their full force. This must be made to subside and the Kindness fortified, and it continues to subside little by little, while the lights continue growing accordingly.

Having discussed immaturity and maturity, in which the lights are initially closed up and afterwards widen, we will now examine what causes the closure or opening.

This proposition has two parts. Part 1: Expanding Judgment… This is what causes closure in the lights. Part 2: This must be made to subside… This is its repair.

Part 2: This must be made to subside… We are taught that Judgment is like fire, which as we see either takes hold and flares up or subsides, as in “the fire subsided” (Numbers 11:2). See how all this is found in man down below: the fire of young people burns very strongly and they do not have much mercy. The older they become, the more this fire subsides and they become filled with mercy. Thus the elder is full of mercy, because the anger has already calmed down. When Judgment subsides, it does not cease altogether but is diminished.

…and the Kindness fortified… As the force of Judgment subsides, so the Partzuf increasingly shines out with Kindness. If Judgment had been made to subside all at once, all the lights would have immediately brought forth all their powers at once, leading to instant maturity. However, this is not the way it is, because the gradual order is preserved throughout everything. Accordingly the Judgment subsides gradually, as the proposition goes on to state.

…and it continues to subside little by little… This is also the mystery of how the Mental Powers of immaturity are pushed down from the head of Zeir Anpin into his body, and with each successive stage in their descent mature Mental Powers enter in their place, as discussed in the teachings of the ARI (Etz Chayim, Shaar HaMochin deKatnut ch. 3).

…while the lights continue growing accordingly. For maturity comes about through the limbs growing, and this they do only to the extent that the Judgment subsides within – allowing them to expand their rule accordingly.

Daat expands through the whole of Zeir Anpin, while Chochmah and Binah do not.

The essence of the entire governmental order of Zeir Anpin lies in Daat, which is the offspring that emerges through the power of all the repairs instituted through Chochmah and Binah. Accordingly Daat can spread further than all the other Mental Powers. For the other Mental Powers remain within their vessels since it is enough that they exist in Zeir Anpin and stand in their respective columns, whereas Daat can spread even in the other columns on all the different levels.

Following our general explanation of the repair of Zeir Anpin and how his lights expand, we will now go into further detail about one light that has to expand more than the others.

The proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The essence… This presents the concept of Daat. Part 2: Accordingly Daat can spread… This explains why Daat spreads further than the others.

Part 1: The essence of the entire governmental order of Zeir Anpin lies in Daat… As discussed earlier, the governmental order is arranged in such a way that Zeir Anpin – the Six Directions – is the root of all the creations (see Opening 115). Zeir Anpin includes all the proper attributes with which to govern all the different creations. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient for the governmental order to be complete. For Zeir Anpin to fulfill his purpose, Abba and Imma must be engrafted in him. This is accomplished through the two Mental Powers of Chochmah and Binah, each of which makes preparations for the repairs required in Zeir Anpin in order to bring the governmental order to perfection. Chochmah and Binah make the preparations, while Daat carries them out. Indeed the true gain accruing to Zeir Anpin from this engrafting in him of Abba and Imma is his Daat.

…which is the offspring that emerges through the power of all the repairs instituted through Chochmah and Binah. For this engrafting is surely carried out in order to produce some result. First it must be carried out, and afterwards comes the fruit – the gain it brings. The purpose of Abba and Imma becoming engrafted in Zeir Anpin is to give him his Chochmah and Binah. Thus the very presence of Chochmah and Binah in Zeir Anpin signifies that Abba and Imma are engrafted in Zeir Anpin and are part of the intrinsic law of that Chochmah and Binah.

The functions they later perform are subject to Zeir Anpin’s intrinsic nature, which is determined by Daat – his inner soul or pnimiyut. For the functions of Zeir Anpin are not the direct outcome of his Chochmah and Binah, which contain what Abba and Imma give him closed up in their vessels. It is only through Daat, which is the offspring of Chochmah and Binah, that Zeir Anpin carries out his own intrinsic functions. Zeir Anpin’s Chochmah signifies and includes everything that Abba does, his Binah signifies and includes everything that Imma does, while the offspring that comes forth from all that Abba and Imma do is Daat.

Thus all the Mental Powers conferred by Abba in all their aspects are seen only in Zeir Anpin’s Chochmah and all those conferred by Imma in all aspects are seen only in Binah, while Zeir Anpin’s own aspects as acquired through the repairs received from Abba and Imma are seen in his Daat. For this reason the Idra Zuta (291a) states that Zeir Anpin is Daat, because Daat is the inner soul – pnimiyut – of Zeir Anpin.

Indeed these three Sefirot of Chochmah, Binah and Daat that we see in Zeir Anpin are the foundation of the entire governmental order, which depends upon the repair carried out by Abba and that carried out by Imma as well as upon Zeir Anpin as repaired through the two of them, this being Daat. When one of these three Sefirot prevails and shines with particular strength, Zeir Anpin is drawn accordingly. If the prevailing Sefirah is Chochmah, Abba’s repairs hold sway and Zeir Anpin is drawn after Abba. If it is Binah, Imma’s repairs hold sway and Zeir Anpin is drawn after Imma, whereas if Daat rules, Zeir Anpin in his own intrinsic aspects holds sway. Likewise the arrangements whereby these three Sefirot spread follow the same principle: Abba repairs Zeir Anpin’s right column and Imma the left, while the overall functioning of Zeir Anpin is through Daat.