This incorporation is called the incorporation of the female in the male, for the trace of opacity of the third level is called “female,” since it bears the opacity that remains in that level after the purification of the fourth level, while the trace of enclothing of the fourth level is called “male,” since it comes from a higher structural height and because it is more refined than the opacity.62In kabbalistic thought, the concept of male is associated with the greater refinement and prominence of the realm of ideas, while the concept of female represents the practical reality of the implementation of those ideas.
Since implementation inherently draws from the ideas that precede it, or are “above” it, female as a concept is considered lower than the male. Accordingly, when the female is incorporated in the male, that is termed “higher fusion,” and when the male is incorporated in the female, that is termed “lower fusion.” Thus, the male is often described as the mashpia, meaning the one that directs or influences, and the female is described as the mekabel, the receiver that receives the instructions from “above” and actualizes them in implementation.
It should be noted that these are abstract concepts that should not be confused with today’s modern usage of gender terminologies. Consequently, although the trace of the male alone is insufficient for a fusion through collision, even it becomes fit for fusion through collision by means of the incorporation of the female within it.