Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

...in exactly the same way as images in a dream may change in a single moment. In the case of a dream, it is not the actual object represented in the dream that is seen but rather, an image or likeness of the object manufactured by the image-making faculty of the mind – the imagination. It is this image that the dreamer sees in his mind, and through it, he gains the knowledge which the dream was sent to reveal, be it true or false. The person’s image-making faculty creates a picture in his mind consisting of dream images and symbols corresponding to the knowledge revealed through the dream. The picture is such that the dreamer thinks he is actually seeing the objects themselves.

However, what the person sees in the dream is nothing but the product of his imagination, and accordingly, the laws that would apply to the actual objects if they were seen by the physical eye in waking life do not apply to the images seen in the dream. The dreamer may dream that he sees a certain thing, yet that very thing may turn into something else in the same dream. These changes do not occur in such a way that the person can actually see the transition from one to another in the way the physical eye would see the transition if it took place in front of the person. In the dream, the person sees what he sees in one way, then afterwards he sees it in a different way. You cannot object that it was not that way a moment ago, for this is simply the way the imagination works.

Similarly in the case of the prophetic vision, it is possible to see contradictory images. The person may see one thing, but when he looks at it again in order to understand it, it changes into something else. Thus in Ezekiel’s vision, “the living creatures were running and returning” (Ezekiel 1:14).

When one looks at the totality of all the worlds with the line (Kav) within them, the circles appear one inside the other and the line goes down through the middle, continuing all the way to the end (i.e. down to the lower half of the circles of Atik). In this view Asiyah appears to be in the middle. However, when one goes on to examine the line, Asiyah appears to be at the end of the line (as if the line does not continue past the center, down to the lower half of the circle of Atik). If one attempts to view Asiyah in the circular and linear view simultaneously, it appears to be above and below at one and the same time – “above”, in the sense of being in the center of the circles, “below” in the sense of being at the end of the line.

A similar example from this world would be what the rabbis said about Moses’ burial place: to those standing below, it would appear as if it were above, but to those above, it would appear as if it were below (Sotah 14a).

The same principle applies in all the exalted visions of prophecy. They may take all kinds of different forms and change literally from moment to moment, as in a dream – for all these phenomena are found in dreams. Similarly, many other apparent contradictions in the writings of the ARI are not really contradictions at all. For in truth, what the prophet sees appears in both ways even at one and the same time, as in the case of a dream.

Part 2: Each likeness seen in the prophetic vision provides knowledge about one power... Not for nothing do the images change. On the contrary, when two different visions of one and the same subject are seen, it is understood that both provide knowledge about the subject in question, and the prophet who sees the vision understands its meaning. From each image the prophet attains knowledge of a separate aspect of the general power that he sees...and one attribute, i.e., he comes to understand things in detail.

When there are many different aspects, one likeness will provide knowledge about one attribute and everything dependent upon it and deriving from it in the overall scheme of government. Another likeness will provide knowledge about a different attribute and all that depends on it and derives from it.

Part 3: The attributes and powers become known according to the true, proper order in which they are arranged and function... The difference between the vision seen by the prophet and the meaning of the vision, namely the underlying reality understood from it, is that the vision is in accordance with what the soul can receive. The Emanator, blessed be His Name, laid down the law that the prophets or the souls can receive only through this vision. Accordingly, the understanding that they need of all the different aspects of God’s attributes and His government comes to them through their visions, which follow the established laws governing the prophetic vision.

The vision changes according to the subject so as to make it possible for the souls to attain knowledge of each aspect in turn. Even though different visions may not be consistent with one another, this is of no import. On the contrary, the soul sees both visions, gaining knowledge of the two different aspects just as they are. The soul attains knowledge of God’s powers and attributes according to their true essence and their place in the scheme of government. Yet the soul attains this knowledge in a way commensurate with its ability to receive. This is the meaning of the concluding words of the proposition: …while the likenesses are in accordance with the soul’s ability to receive. For only in this way and no other is it possible for the soul to attain knowledge.

The form in which the Sefirot appear is spiritual, yet even this is not part of their intrinsic essence but only the form in which they appear when seen through the “looking glass” of Malchut.

Although the Sefirot appear in the form of likenesses, even so, the form seen is not like a physical form. What is seen is something that is understood as if one saw that form in the lower world. This is called the vision of the soul, whose vision is not like the vision of the body. Accordingly, the subjects of the prophetic vision do not necessarily appear in the same way as the corresponding physical objects would appear to the physical eye.

What is seen by the soul is a shining light that is understood as a circle (igul) if what is seen is “circular”, or as a straight line (yosher) if what is seen in the vision is “straight”. The same applies to all the other forms or images seen by the soul: it is not that the actual physical form is seen. Even the spiritual form that is seen is not of the intrinsic essence of the Sefirot themselves, but only the way they appear through Malchut, which shows these powers in this way.

Having explained the forms in which the Sefirot appear, we will now explain how even this vision is not a vision of a physical form.

The proposition has two parts: Part 1: Although the Sefirot... The forms in which the Sefirot appear are not like physical forms. Part 2: Even the spiritual form that is seen... Even this subtle form is not intrinsic to the Sefirot but was purposely chosen.

Part 1: Although the Sefirot appear as forms and likenesses, even so, the form that appears is not like a physical form. Thus Moses said to the Children of Israel, “For you did not see any form” (Deuteronomy 4:15). For it is certainly impossible that the Supreme Glory could appear even symbolically in any physical form or likeness whatever. For even the soul has no physical form whatever, let alone the Supreme Glory. It is therefore not possible that the physical form of a lion or an ox or a man or a circle or a straight line would appear in the upper realm. Thus it is written: “But you saw no form, only a voice” (ibid. 4:12). The vision we are talking about is the vision of the soul, which means understanding rather than vision in the physical sense. The soul does not see what it sees as external physical forms. Rather, the prophet’s soul gains insight into the true spiritual essence of what he “sees”, after which his intellect forms a mental picture or image of it. If one could see into the prophet’s soul, one would see that subtle mental or spiritual picture there.

If you say that the intellect forms a mental picture of something seen by the soul in some physical form (e.g. an actual circle), it is not so. What the soul sees are the powers of the spiritual realm arranged in a certain order that is expressed in the form in which the soul sees them. (For example, the soul may have a perception of God’s overall, general providence – as opposed to His individual providence over the details of creation – and “translate” this perception into the form of a “circle”.)

Thus the Sefirot are seen as lights arranged in a spiritual order which is understood as having the form of circles (igulim) or as having a straight, upright form (yosher). The Sefirot may “break through” or “ascend” or “descend” in various ways. Not that this is the actual form it takes, but this is how we can understand it.

Thus – What is seen is something that is understood as if one could see that form in the lower world. This is called the vision of the soul, whose vision is not like the vision of the body. In other words, the soul itself understands what it sees. The vision of the soul itself is not like the vision of the physical eyes – for God’s glory cannot be seen by the physical eye. Accordingly it need not be pictured other than in forms appropriate and relevant to the vision of the soul that beholds it, and the soul sees things as they actually are, not some external physical form.

Accordingly the subjects of the prophetic vision do not necessarily appear in the same way as the corresponding physical objects would appear to the physical eye. What is seen by the soul is a shining light that is understood as a circle (igul) if what is seen is “circular”, or as a straight line (yosher) if what is seen in the vision is “straight”. The same applies to all the other forms or images seen by the soul: it is not that the physical form itself is seen.

Part 2: Even the spiritual form that is seen is not of the intrinsic essence of the Sefirot themselves... For the creations are of two kinds, physical and spiritual, and each have their own respective forms. But the Supreme Glory does not intrinsically possess either of these two kinds of forms. It may, however, appear through such forms, though not in a physical form, which is gross, but in a spiritual form, which is fine and subtle. It “appears” or is “seen” in the same way that thoughts “appear” or are “seen” in the mind.

Even what is seen is not the actual divine powers themselves. This is obvious. For whoever wants to know these powers in their intrinsic essence would have to know Godliness in its intrinsic essence, because the Sefirot are pure Godliness. Since the essence of Godliness cannot be known at all, it is also impossible to know the essence of the Sefirot. Whatever is known of the Sefirot is only because it is permitted to see them in this way, not because they are this way intrinsically. What is known of them is this spiritual form. This spiritual form is not their intrinsic essence but only the form in which they are permitted to be seen.

The form in which they are seen is...only the way they appear through Malchut, which shows these powers in this way. These powers constitute the order through which the creation is governed. The Supreme Will not only wanted that should this be the order governing the lower creations – these being the governed – but also that the order of government should be able to be seen in and through the lower creations themselves.

The created realms and their inhabitants were designed in such a way as to show and illustrate God’s system of government in the very form they take. There are just as many creations as there are parts of the system of government. Thus each of the individual powers which constitute the overall system of government produces a creation that emerges from it and which provides a visual cognate of that power in its very form and structure, qualities and attributes.

There must be something in between that channels the laws of government in such a way that they are visible and manifest in the created realms themselves, causing different powers to appear in the form of an “ear”, a “mouth”, an “apple”, “water”, “silver” and so on. There certainly must be a light that has the power to translate and express the system of government through imagery in this way.

All this comes about through the attribute of Malchut, to which allusion is made in the verse: “And he beholds the likeness of God” (Numbers 12:8). Malchut is called “the likeness of God” because this is the attribute that produces the spiritual forms or likenesses in which the Sefirot appear. The attribute of Malchut is the root of all the lower realms and the source of their whole existence, and it is through the attribute of Malchut that the laws of God’s government are seen in the forms taken by the bodies of the creations in the lower realms. But there on the level of Malchut itself, the form is spiritual, because everything descends gradually, level by level. The spiritual form is inscribed in the attribute of Malchut, and it is from there the material form later emerges.

How the Emanator operates through the Sefirot – through chains of cause and effect, and by clothing one power in another. How these appear in prophecy.

The works of the Emanator, blessed be His Name, which He brings about through the Sefirot in accordance with the law He chose for them, are interdependent. Things emerge as consequences of one another. One thing is concealed within another, in the sense that one power may be acting in a hidden manner while outwardly it appears as if a different power is acting, yet the truth is that the manifest power acts only in accordance with the power concealed within it.

Therefore the Sefirot are seen taking all these forms and likenesses, appearing in the form of lights clothed within lights, or as lights emerging from other lights. All these forms and likenesses are what the soul sees when looking at the Sefirot. From seeing them, the soul gains an understanding of these phenomena on the spiritual plane, just as we gain knowledge of physical phenomena through the vision of the physical eye.

Having discussed in general terms the subject of the forms and likenesses in which the Sefirot appear, we will now enter into further details.

The propostion has two parts. Part 1: The works of the Emanator... This discusses how the lights governing the creation are interconnected. Part 2: Therefore the Sefirot are seen... This explains the way this interconnectivity appears in the prophetic vision.

Part 1: The works of the Emanator, blessed be His Name... Clearly, the Sefirot are not to be identified with the works of the Emanator, blessed be His Name, in creating and governing the worlds. Rather, the Sefirot are the thoughts that underlie these works, while the creations and the way they are governed are the works arising out of these thoughts.

…which He brings about through the Sefirot in accordance with the law He chose for them... When God acts through the Sefirot, it is not in accordance with His intrinsic omnipotence, whereby He can do everything in one command without the need to separate and differentiate between the various stages. When He chose to act through the Sefirot, He organized His powers in an orderly system, as stated in Brit Menuchah (a 15th century Kabbalistic text by Rabbi Abraham of Grenada). In other words, He chose to act little by little and to think about each thing individually. Not that He Himself has any need of this. He chose to act in this way because this is the way in which man can gain a modicum of understanding of God’s ways and His works.

The Sefirot of which we speak are parts of the interconnected order in which the Supreme Will organized His creative activity, similar to the way in which a person thinks his thoughts little by little and carries them out stage by stage. This being the case, it is possible for us to understand how many powers are involved in each individual act: which was first, which came afterwards, how it acted, and so on. It would have been completely impossible to talk in such terms if Eyn Sof, blessed be He, had wanted to act in His omnipotence. His acting little by little is like a person who knows how to read a complete word all at once yet chooses to read each letter individually in the way that children do.

...are interdependent: Thus when we speak of lights, we can distinguish which are roots and which are branches. We speak of Zeir Anpin and Nukva being “governed” by Imma, or of Abba and Imma being “crowned” or “encompassed” by Mazal. We are able to speak in such terms because the Emanator, blessed be His Name, chose to order His powers in this manner, and He instituted that one power should be dependent upon another. This is similar to man, who is made up of many different parts, all of which he needs and all of which are interdependent. For example, man’s faculty of speech depends upon his ability to think, for one who does not think does not speak.

...in the sense that one power may be acting in a hidden manner while outwardly it appears as if a different power is acting, yet the truth is that the manifest power acts only in accordance with the power concealed within it. The meaning of this should be clear in the light of what we have said above.

Part 2: Therefore the Sefirot are seen taking all these forms and likenesses... In other words, the forms and likenesses in which the prophet sees the Sefirot – interdependent, clothed one in another, and so on – appear on the spiritual plane in a way similar to the way the corresponding phenomena appear in the physical realm. This is because these very phenomena in the upper realms are the root of the corresponding phenomena in the lower worlds and are therefore automatically related to them, as will be discussed later.

...appearing in the form of lights clothed within lights, or as lights emerging from other lights. Here we have the two concepts I mentioned above: “clothing” and “the developmental chain”. A third kind of interrelationship, in which one power depends upon another (in the way that Abba and Imma are “crowned” or “encompassed” by Mazal), is more understandable after we grasp the other two.

All these forms and likenesses are what the soul sees when looking at the Sefirot. From seeing them, the soul gains an understanding of these phenomena on the spiritual plane, just as we gain knowledge of physical phenomena through the vision of the physical eye. Accordingly, we speak in terms of the soul “seeing” just as the eye sees. The soul and the physical eye each possess their own characteristic faculty of vision. (For example, there is the circle that the physical eye sees, and there is the circle “seen”, “conceived” or understood by the mind.)

The images of prophecy derive from Malchut, and only through the lens of Malchut can we understand what is above it and what is below it.

The ability of the Sefirot to be represented in the images and likenesses of prophecy derives from the Sefirah of Malchut, which is the root of the lower realms. It is through Malchut that all are made in the form in which they are made. Accordingly, the Kabbalistic sages said it is impossible to ascend or receive except through Malchut. Even the very forms of the images themselves provide knowledge of the wisdom with which the worlds are governed.

For through them, we can know how the Shechinah (God’s Indwelling Presence) needs to govern for the sake of the matter (represented in a given image) and to bring it down to the level of the lower realms. From and through Malchut, it is possible to gain knowledge of the levels above it, these being the actual powers and attributes of God’s government (i.e. the Sefirot themselves, as opposed to the images through which these powers and attributes appear when seen through the lens of Malchut).

Following our discussion of prophetic likenesses and images, we will now explain the benefit they provide.

The proposition consists of two parts: Part 1: The ability of the Sefirot... This explains where the images of prophecy are rooted. Part 2: Even the very images and likenesses themselves... This explains the benefit we gain from them.

Part 1: The ability of the Sefirot to be represented in the images and likenesses of prophecy derives from the Sefirah of Malchut... For each Sefirah has its own particular, unique power, and that unique power influences all the other Sefirot. The ability to represent the other Sefirot through the images and likenesses of prophecy is the unique power of Malchut.

...which is the root of the lower realms. And for this reason, the beginning of form and likeness is found on the level of Malchut, which contains the very root of form and likeness. Accordingly, Malchut itself appears in the prophetic vision as the general category of a likeness or image. Malchut also acts as a “lens” or “looking glass” which shows the other Sefirot in the form of images or likenesses, because they can all be apprehended only through Malchut.

It is through Malchut that all are made in the form in which they are made. This means that only through Malchut can they be revealed and seen, and this is the reason why they all appear in the way they do in the prophetic vision. Malchut is like a lens or mirror, in which the form in which the objects standing before it appear depends upon its own intrinsic fitness and quality as a lens or mirror (polished, clear or unpolished, blurred, etc.)

Accordingly, the Kabbalistic sages said it is impossible to ascend or receive except through Malchut. This indicates that it is impossible to gain any perception of the higher realms except in this way.

Part 2: Even the very forms of the images themselves... It is not enough to understand the attribute revealed through and represented by a given prophetic image. It is also necessary to understand why it is that the attribute in question has to be represented by this image in particular.

...provide knowledge of the wisdom with which the worlds are governed. For Malchut is the root of the lower realms, and it is necessary to understand the various ways in which it is connected with them and how they are rooted in it. Afterwards, when you see the lights (i.e. the upper Sefirot) as depicted in these images, you will then understand how any particular light must be drawn down into the lower worlds precisely in this guise as a result of the unique qualities inherent in Malchut. For example, the prophetic image of the lion represents Chessed or Abba. If you understand what a lion is by contemplating the form of a lion in the lower world, you will then understand why Chessed must be channeled by the Indwelling Presence into the lower worlds precisely in this manner. And this is why the earthly lion, which emerges from Malchut, is made in this form.

...For through them we may know how the Shechinah (God’s Indwelling Presence) needs to govern for the sake of the matter (represented in a given image). Through understanding the images of prophecy in general – how the form of the creatures in the lower worlds is bound up with Malchut and its unique qualities – we can know how the levels and powers of Malchut are bound together to produce the thing in question.

...and to bring it down to the level of the lower realms. Malchut’s power to depict things through images stands in the middle, between the flow of spiritual sustenance from the higher Sefirot and the receiving of that sustenance by the lower worlds. On their own intrinsic level up above, the sustaining powers (the higher Sefirot) are simple. However, when they descend in order to send spiritual sustenance into the lower worlds, the Shechinah must forge a bond of connection between the two. This is done by “translating” the simple light of the higher Sefirot into a form in which it can be received in the lower worlds through various “contractions”, and the light can then go forth in this manner to its place in the lower worlds.

From and through Malchut, it is possible to gain knowledge of the levels above it, these being the actual powers and attributes of God’s government (i.e. the Sefirot themselves, as opposed to the images through which these powers and attributes appear when seen through the lens of Malchut). This is quite obvious, because the prophetic visions derive from Malchut, and through Malchut it is possible to gain an understanding of the powers with which God governs the world and their rules of operation.

The entire governmental order and everything that exists are all a single order arranged in the underlying Likeness of Man. Adam Kadmon (“Primordial Adam”) encompasses everything.

The proposition has two parts: Part 1: The entire government of the universe... This tells us that the entire government of the universe and all that exists constitutes a single order. Part 2: Underlying the entire order is the archetypal Likeness of Man... This tells us that the entire order takes the form of the archetypal Likeness of Man.

Part 1: The entire government of the universe in all its cycles until its completion... This means everything that has happened and everything that is destined to happen in the future until the very end of the universe... and so too, the totality of all that exists... This includes all of the lights above (the Sefirot) and all the created realms and beings below (the worlds and their inhabitants), including their substance, form and qualities....all comprise one single system and one order... This means that you should not think – because you see so many creatures of so many different kinds, this one serving one function, that one serving a different function – that they do not all enter under a single system like branches emerging from a single root. For a mere random multiplicity lacking any order or unity of purpose in its constituent parts is not commendable.

Consider the case of a person who possesses a variety of different skills. He may know how to do metalwork and painting and how to make music. We might say that the reason why he does all these different things is because this is what he knows, and if he knew more, he would do more. We are not obliged to find any connection between one field of expertise and another, or between different examples of the person’s work in various spheres. What he knew, he did.

But the Holy One, blessed be He, has made so many creatures. Should we therefore say that he made just as many creatures as the number of great skills He possesses, like the man who knows how to do metalwork, paint and make music, and who does each of the things he does because he possesses the requisite expertise? The immediate objection can be raised: “Have you then exhausted all the praises of your Master?” (Berachot 33b) Does He possess no other knowledge except that exhibited by the work we see? Why did He make just so many creations and no more? Why did He not make just one?

We must understand that it is not so: the various different things we see in the world are not totally separate, unconnected items created for all kinds of different reasons. There is one single reason for everything: everything is part of a single order that is made up of many particulars – these being its various branches. There are just as many branches as there are creatures. You cannot ask: “Why aren’t there any more?” For in order to accomplish the goal intended by the Supreme Mind, it was necessary to have precisely this number of different creatures.