Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah Reader

The Residue is the root of the body, while the Unlimited is the root of the soul. The Unlimited is self-governing, while the movement of the Residue is through the Unlimited. This is what is implied by the words …without the Unlimited Himself governing it. This means that while the Residue contains all the laws and principles by which the lower realms and beings are governed, the source of this government is not there but in the Unlimited. Everything in the Residue is under His control, like an axe in the hand of the hewer.

Two corollaries emerge from this. The first is that the work of the Residue exists only through the Unlimited. The second is that it is the Unlimited that governs the Residue. The word “governs” implies more than mere movement. For if the Unlimited did no more than set the Residue in motion, we could have said only that it could not exist except through the Unlimited. But we are saying that He governs it: that He actually governs and orders what happens in the Residue itself. Let us explain these two corollaries more fully:

(1) The work of the Residue exists only through the Unlimited. This means that even though what Eyn Sof brings about is, as far as the lower realms and creatures are concerned, within limits, this does not mean that He executes what He does in a limited manner like a human being. The way in which He acts is beyond our ability to grasp, because He acts without limits. However, His Will decreed that even though He continues acting in His way, we receive only what reaches us, which is within limits.

It is therefore true that the results of His action are within limits but not His actual performance of that action. For the lower creatures can receive only what they are ready and able to receive. Accordingly, in all our discussions, we are speaking only about the results of His action, which are within bounds and limits. But the way in which Eyn Sof actually executes that action is far beyond us.

We cannot understand it, and we should not inquire into it, for the boundaries of our knowledge include only what is done and what it means. How it is done, we cannot know.

For example: We know that contracted Sefirot are made from His light, but how He acted to conceal and contract His light we cannot say. This is not the case from the Tzimtzum and downwards, where we can say this. For we can specify the different parts of the Partzufim according to when they hold sway, how their desired effects are produced, and what happens to them when they produce new effects. This is not so in the case of Eyn Sof, to Whom we cannot attribute different “parts” or anything of the kind. Accordingly it is impossible to say how He acted or how these Sefirot radiate from Him now, for the way He acts is without limits.

Let me prove to you that all the ways in which He acts must be without limits. For in Eyn Sof by necessity there can be no change. To act at one time in one way and at another time in a different way would be a change. If so, Eyn Sof, blessed be He, does not act at one time in one way and at another time in a different way.

We are obliged to say that the way in which Eyn Sof acts is the same, and that the very act which comes to us within limits is executed by Him in His way, without limits, while we receive what relates to us. That there can be no difference in the way Eyn Sof acts is obvious, for we cannot in any way ascribe physical occurences to Eyn Sof, and change is certainly a physical occurrence, which therefore cannot exist in Him.

This is quite clear from the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who said: “He does not change in any place” (Zohar, Ki Tetze 281a. See also Zohar III, 257b, as discussed in Opening 29).

In sum, we have two things: (a) The results of Eyn Sof’s action; (b) His execution of that action. It is the results that reach us, and these are within limits. However, the way in which He executes the action is concealed from us, and this is without limits. The limited result of His work is the Residue. But the work has to be executed, and His execution of it is without limits, for it is performed by Eyn Sof, blessed be He, Who acts without limits. Thus we see that what is rooted in the Residue exists only through the Unlimited, but if the execution of the action had also been within limits, the Residue would have functioned by itself without need of the Unlimited.

(2) The Unlimited actually governs and orders the Residue directly at one and the same time as He executes His work in His aspect of limitlessness. For in this way, even though the accomplished work follows a different path – the way of bounds and limits – its entire destiny is laid down by Him and its government is under His control. Let me explain: The Unlimited possesses the unique property of ultimate perfection, and in His perfection He is entirely good, as we explained earlier when speaking about His unity. Before Him, there is no evil. It is only when His perfection is concealed that evil can exist, but as soon as His perfection is revealed, evil does not exist any more, as it says, “He will consume death for ever” (Isaiah 25:8).

In order to reveal His unity in the clearest way, He concealed His perfection and instituted a way of imperfection in order to create and govern imperfect creatures. This is the Residue. For even if God’s creatures could attain the ultimate perfection, they still could not attain His perfection, for since they are created beings, they could never attain the level of the Creator. Indeed, inasmuch as this Residue came into being through the concealment of perfection, many deficiencies and imperfections are rooted in it.

The truth is that these deficiencies are intended to make it possible for His creatures to exist on different, graded levels and to draw closer to perfection gradually, level by level. This would not be possible if there were no bounds and limits, for the Unlimited contains no levels, and accordingly He is perfect from the very outset.

However, this Residue could have come into being in two ways. Either it could have been subject to a single imperfect law governing imperfect creatures in such a way that they could never overcome their imperfections. Alternatively, it could come into being subject to a single law through which its very deficiencies are gradually corrected until they attain the perfection that was concealed at the outset.

Let me illustrate this with an example. Reward and punishment indicate a lack of perfection, for in a state of complete perfection, everything must be good. With the concealment of perfection, the government hangs in the balance whether to confer goodness or the opposite, depending on men’s deeds in the lower world. This is rooted in the Residue, which contains everything connected with reward on the one hand and punishment on the other: everything is prepared and ready, waiting for the arousal from below – men’s initiatives in the lower world. But things could have gone on this way forever, with the righteous receiving their reward and the wicked being punished. This would have been the case were it not for the fact that the Residue is governed by the Unlimited. However, since everything in the Residue is governed by the Unlimited, it must be that the pathways of the Residue do not remain as they are but continue until they reach perfection. For this reason, there is a limit to the period of choice, reward and punishment: “The world will exist for six thousand years” (Sanhedrin 97a). The Residue is thus like a wheel that turns through just so many degrees until it completes the entire cycle, and at the very end there will be perfect rest.

Thus we see that it is Eyn Sof, blessed be He, Who acts in His intrinsic perfection on His plane of limitlessness. It is Eyn Sof Who executes every action within limits. And just as the execution of the action is carried out to perfection, so too the intention of the action is to bring everything to perfection. It is in order to accomplish this purpose that the action is executed within limits and without perfection. And what is the benefit of this? That even though the intermediary is imperfect – for the work is deficient – nevertheless, the result is that everything is brought to complete perfection at the end of all the cycles.

Part 3: Nevertheless, the Unlimited acts only in accordance with what is rooted in the Residue. Even though we have said that the source of the government is Eyn Sof, blessed be He, in His intrinsic perfection, He has already decreed that this action should reach the lower realms and creatures only within the limited order constituted by the Residue. The goal is to attain perfection, and the truth is that the action itself is perfect, for all is good, as it says, “All that the Merciful One does is for good” (Berachot 60b) and “I will give thanks to You, O God, for You were angry with me” (Isaiah 12:1).

But in the lower realms the perfection is concealed, and nothing reaches them except as permitted by the law of concealment. However, the law of concealment was brought about by His perfection, and thus it goes in one direction in such a way that it certainly comes to complete perfection, as discussed above.

This is like the soul, which governs the body solely according to the nature of the body. This means two things. Firstly, the entry of the Unlimited to govern the Residue does not add any new power to the Residue but rather moves and rearranges what was already rooted in it. This is like the soul in the body. The soul does not add anything new to the body but simply animates what is already naturally present in the body. Secondly, the presence of the Line of Eyn Sof in the Residue is itself the root of the soul in the body in this world, and accordingly what happens to them is parallel.

Part 4: The action of the Unlimited within the Residue is called one Line… In other words, the entry of Eyn Sof into the government of the Residue is called a Line from Him that enters inside the cavity. In speaking of a Line, we mean that a single Line was drawn down from the encompassing Eyn Sof, blessed be He, like a channel or pipe, into the cavity. Through this Channel, light descended from Eyn Sof to what is inside the cavity, and by this means the Emanator is attached to that which emanated.

Let me explain: Included among the powers of the All-Powerful is the power to watch over the action of another who exists within limits, separate from Himself. Even though the truth is that “There is none besides Him” and Eyn Sof, Who has no limits, negates any other existence, nevertheless, included in His comprehensive power is the ability to see the limited creation from above and govern it. And since the way of bounds and limits came into being as a new creation, Eyn Sof, Who is All-Powerful, surely watches over it.

Thus we have here three aspects: (1) Eyn Sof’s action in His intrinsic perfection – executing the very things that we receive within limits. (2) What we receive, as we receive it, within limits. (3) The way the All-Powerful looks down to the level of limits and boundaries whereby we receive. The way the All-Powerful looks down to the level of limitations is through this Channel, which is also a Line from Eyn Sof, blessed be He. Through it He looks down into the Residue and watches over it in accordance with the nature of the Residue, which is within limits. What we receive (#2) is the totality of the Residue. The very thing that Eyn Sof, blessed be He, executes in His perfection (#1) is drawn down from Eyn Sof, blessed be He, into the cavity by way of (#3) the Channel or Pipe.

In other words, clothed and concealed within Eyn Sof’s observation of the pathway of limits in His intrinsic all-powerfulness (#3, the Channel) is His all-powerful execution of what takes place in the Residue (#1, the Light in the Channel). Accordingly, we will call the one a Channel or Pipe and the other a Line drawn down within it. Through this light drawn in through the Channel or Pipe, the Residue receives its light from Eyn Sof, blessed be He, and this is how the Emanator is attached to that which emanated.

It is precisely this light that governs the Residue as the soul governs the body. For as you have already heard, the way the All-Powerful looks down into the Residue, through the Channel, is not a radiation different from the Residue: He looks upon it as what it is. However, this Light within the Channel is something different from the Residue, for it is on the level of the supreme perfection of Eyn Sof, blessed be He.

Whereas in the Residue there are successive levels of concealment and deficiency, as will be discussed later on, in the soul all is in accordance with goodness and perfection. Thus Eyn Sof’s powers are without limits and we have no connection with His limitlessness except through this one aspect: His power to actually produce a work outside of and separate from Himself. With this we have a connection, for this too is His work, and even with us, He does it with perfection and limitlessness.

Nevertheless, we only receive within limits, like the voice that spoke with Moses, which was heard by none except him, even though it was a great voice that did not cease. We therefore say that this is how the Emanator is connected with that which emanated.

You must understand that the Channel or Pipe is not a particular aspect of His creative act. The two operative aspects are the Light drawn in – the Line – and the Residue. The Channel or Pipe simply transfers the action of the Light, which is without limits, to the resulting work, which comes to us within limits – namely the Residue. The Channel itself does not act.

The Residue contains all the laws of reward and punishment, because this way we can see clearly the damage to the worlds through the flaws caused by the sinners. The Light within – the Line – is on the level of Unity, where everything is good and there is no evil at all and no flaw, as it says: “Is corruption His? No: His children’s is the blemish...!” (Deuteronomy 32:5). And it is He who governs the Residue, as we have said above, so that in the end there will only be good and perfection.

…one Line from Eyn Sof, blessed be He... For although the Residue has many parts, they are not separate but constitute a complete structure. Only in relation to us are they many, for we can only apprehend each thing by itself. However, the entire new creation brought into being by Eyn Sof, blessed be He, is a complete whole, and the All-Powerful looks down in all His power over this totality as one complete whole. Thus Eyn Sof in His intrinsic perfection executes a single act, and accordingly we say that it is a single Line.

You must understand that we are not saying one part but one line. This is because in Eyn Sof, blessed be He, there is no such thing as different parts. In His very perfection and complete limitlessness, He looks down upon the creation. This overall looking down is called a line, namely a ray, like a sunray emerging from the overall radiance of the sun.

...that enters into the hollow cavity... This is obvious in accordance with the image in the prophetic vision, as we have stated above. [From this point on until the end of the Opening, Ramchal’s commentary diverges from the phrasing of the initial proposition.]

…within which was afterwards created... That is, after the Line entered the Residue and ordered it into its various divisions, the Residue became worlds, as will be discussed later. The Line itself became concealed within the Residue, and accordingly the Line governs the Residue.

As we have said above, through the Line, Eyn Sof, blessed be He, executes this limited act in accordance with His intrinsic perfection. The Channel or Pipe is like a garment for the Line itself, so that we may say that overall, the descent of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, into the cavity is a single Line constituted by the Channel and the Light drawn down within it. For the Line is comprised of these two, and together they are called one Line in the teachings of the ARI.

This appears in the prophetic image as a single line descending from the encompassing Eyn Sof and filling the Residue. This is the Channel or Pipe by which Eyn Sof is connected with what is inside the hollow cavity.

The Line divides into the Inner and Encompassing Light of the Sefirot.

The Line of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, that entered into the Residue is concealed within it on the inside on all its levels, and is thus said to govern it. Yet it stands outside and encompasses it, and it must be said to include its power and to look down upon it on every side. Even so, all this occurs in such a way that the Line accommodates itself to the Residue. This is the Inner and Encompassing Light of the Sefirot, which is the underlying foundation of the Vessel.

Having discussed the entry of the Line into the empty Space, we must now explain the manner in which it spread out within it.

The proposition consists of four parts. Part 1: The Line of Eyn Sof... This explains how the Line extends within the Residue. Part 2: Yet it stands outside… This explains the Encompassing Light. Part 3: Even so... This explains how the Line accommodates itself to match the Residue into which it enters. Part 4: This is the Inner and Encompassing Light... This explains the different aspects of the spreading light and their names.

Part 1: The Line of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, that entered into the Residue is concealed within it on the inside on all its levels... The concealment of the light of the Line of Eyn Sof within the Residue is the source of the two modes of government discussed earlier: the rule of good and evil and the rule of unity, corresponding respectively to the Form of Address and the Name. The rule of unity is concealed within the manifest rule of good and evil. Accordingly, we say that the Line is concealed. And this is what was gained through having the Line clothe itself within the Residue.

...and is thus said to govern it. As stated earlier, the Residue is governed by the rule of unity. This explains what we mean when we say that the Residue gains from the fact that the Line is concealed within it.

Part 2: Yet it stands outside... The reason why it stands outside is that when the light came to enter into the vessel, not all of it entered. Half of it stands outside, and thus it accomplishes its function while standing in its appointed place – what is within just like that which is outside. These matters are explained further in Part 4 of this proposition.

...and encompasses it... This indicates that it does not stand far off, for if so, it would have no connection with what it produces, namely the Residue. Rather, it surrounds it....and it is said to include its power... This means that it is the cause of and “includes” it in the way that a cause includes its effect. The Encompassing Light is the cause of the Vessel – namely, the Residue. The Encompassing Light is the ultimate revelation. The Vessel and the Residue contain the roots of man’s service, whereby we are able to attain the revelation, which is the reward. The Encompassing Light is thus the cause and goal of man’s service, the latter being the means, the Vessel.

Part 3: Even so, all this occurs in such a way that the Line accommodates itself to the Residue. Even though the light is encompassing light and is not limited by the vessel, it is not like Eyn Sof, Who encompasses everything yet is beyond all limitations. In the case of the Line, everything that enters into the Space accommodates itself entirely to the Residue. The Encompassing Light thus has a relationship with the Vessel. In other words, the Encompassing Light is also within the Space, unlike Eyn Sof, Who surrounds and encompasses the Vacated Space or Place from outside.

Part 4: This is the Inner and Encompassing Light... These are the names of two levels of the Light …of the Sefirot, which is the underlying foundation of the Vessel. Here we have the explanation of the Inner and Encompassing Light. Thus the Zohar (Raya Meheimna, Emor 109b) states that “He is inside every Sefirah and outside every Sefirah”.

As discussed earlier, the action of the Line in governing the Residue through all the pathways discussed is itself in the mode of limitlessness – which is the mode of perfection. Thus every single level within the Residue is under the supervision of Eyn Sof in His intrinsic perfection, and these different parts exist only because it was His Will that they should exist. This is expressed by saying that Eyn Sof is found in every single Sefirah on every side, and the entire existence and functioning of the Sefirah is only through Him.

Thus the entire essence is Eyn Sof, blessed be He. Nevertheless, in every action that He executes for the sake of the created realms and beings, even those that are on their level, nothing is revealed of Him except the very smallest part – the Inner Light. However the Encompassing Light, while serving the created realms and entering into the Place created by the Tzimtzum, is not revealed. Anything man may understand about the works of the Creator is only a drop in the ocean.

Thus even though Eyn Sof looks down providentially and supervises the level of limitation, on which the lower realms and creatures receive, the greater part of His providence is too exalted for us. This is the Encompassing Light. The last part of the action is that aspect of His perfection that clothes itself in the executed work itself. However, even the level of perfection that we are able to understand as contained in the action executed by the Line within the Residue is nothing but the smallest part of that action. This is what stands to govern the visible Residue, whose measure corresponds to that small part.

Now this providence exists in several ways in each Sefirah – within it on all its different levels, these being called the Exterior, Interior and Intermediary Vessel. But the main light is the Encompassing Light outside. Both the Inner and Encompassing Light are divided into five levels, corresponding to the five levels of the soul: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah and Yechidah. The Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah are clothed respectively in the Exterior, Intermediary and Inner Vessel, while the Chayah and Yechidah encompass the Vessel from the outside as Encompassing Light.

All these are called by their own individual names according to the way in which they spread and extend. The explanation of the spread of the Inner and Encompassing Light in the writings of the ARI relates only to Eyn Sof’s “looking down” over and providential supervision of the different levels in accordance with the laws of the Residue and its ordered levels.

In the vision this appears as lights made of perfectly wrought vessels, within and around which is the Light of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, on the levels of Inner and Encompassing Light.

The Sefirot are what came forth from the Space brought into being at the time of the Tzimtzum. Each Sefirah is a part of the Residue. Within each Sefirah lies an inner essence that exists by virtue of the Line of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, which enters into it. The Line shines within the inner essence of each Sefirah as the soul of the souls, and in this aspect it is completely equal on all levels. However, the soul, which is the garb within which the Line is clothed, is made to match each Partzuf according to what it is, and this is what distinguishes the different Partzufim from one another. The difference is not in the Line but in its garb, which is the soul.

Having discussed the Line and the Residue in general terms, we must now examine the details and discuss how the Sefirot came into being.

The proposition consists of four parts: Part 1: The Sefirot are what came forth... This explains the external structure of the Sefirot. Part 2: Within each Sefirah… This explains the inner essence of the Sefirot. Part 3: The Line shines... This is a level of interiority that is even more concealed. Part 4:...and in this aspect it is completely equal... This explains the difference between the first and second levels of interiority.

Part 1: The Sefirot are what came forth from the Space brought into being at the time of the Tzimtzum. As explained earlier (Opening 26), it is this Space or Place that gives existence to what exists, and anything not already rooted in it cannot come into being afterwards. Accordingly, before this Place existed, nothing could exist. After this Place was produced, the Sefirot came forth, emerging in accordance with the nature of the Place. The Place is such that nothing exists except the Residue, for that was all that was left when the Place came into being. As discussed earlier (Opening 27), everything that could be revealed was already included in the Residue. If so, the Sefirot come only from the Residue.

Each Sefirah is a part of the Residue. The name Residue was applicable as long as no further action took place beyond the fact that this is what was left as a result of the Tzimtzum (see above, Opening 26, Part 1). In other words, before the Line began to activate the Residue, the latter was defined as being what remained of the light of Eyn Sof after the Tzimtzum – a Residue. Afterwards, the Line began to activate the Residue, and its various parts were structured and made into worlds and Partzufim, so that each Sefirah, wherever it may be, is one part of the Residue.

Clearly each Sefirah must be part of the Residue, because the Residue is the totality of all that is destined to exist in the Sefirot wherever they are. The Residue consists of the totality of everything as a single whole. In this aspect the Residue is therefore called only the root of what was destined to come afterwards, but the truth is that it is the totality of all that is destined to be. Everything that came afterwards is all only the details of the Residue.

Every detail is part of the overall whole. If so, everything that exists in the Sefirot on every level is part of the Residue. Even though many different levels emerge later, this does not belie the fact that ultimately everything is rooted in and derives from the Residue. The various different levels could emerge only where we find them, but this is not a reason to say that they are not part of the supreme Residue, for as explained earlier, what was not initially included in the whole cannot exist afterwards as a detail.

Part 3: The Line shines within the inner essence of each Sefirah as the soul of the souls... The shining of the Line within the inner essence corresponds to the concept of the “irrigation of the Tree” mentioned in various places in the Zohar (see Tikkuney Zohar, Second Introduction, 17, 1). The “irrigation of the Tree” is not the same as the mental powers, for these vary according to the individual structure of each Partzuf, as explained in the writings of the ARI.

Part 4:...and in this aspect it is completely equal on all levels. This is necessarily the case, as it states in the Zohar (Ki Tetze 281a): “He does not change in any place”. This fact is obvious, for the Line constitutes the perfect action of Eyn Sof, blessed be He, in executing all the bounded laws of the Residue, as explained earlier (Opening 25). We may discern the same perfection in Keter, the highest of all the laws and Sefirot, just as in Malchut, which is the last. For everything that Eyn Sof does, small or great, He does to perfection. If so, the Line is the same on all levels. It is indeed fitting that Eyn Sof does not change at all, and that only the Sefirot change. This is because the Sefirot shine according to the readiness of the created realms and beings to receive. Since there are differences between the degree of readiness of different receivers, there are differences between the Sefirot. However, the Line of Eyn Sof shines in accordance with His perfection, and change is not applicable on this level.

This difference between the Line and the Sefirot is also seen in the soul and the body. The body is divided into different limbs and organs, and the nature of one limb is not like that of another. However, the soul is all one. We cannot say that the part of the soul in the nose is not the same as the part of the soul in the arm.

The entire soul exists equally in every part of the body. It is only the actions of the soul that vary according to the bodily parts involved, but the entire body is governed by one and the same soul. This means that the soul governs all the different actions of the body without itself changing in any way. The Line is like the soul in the body, for as explained earlier, the various powers are divided up in the Residue like bodily limbs, but the Line governs it like the soul. If so, the Line must be the same on all levels.