Today, we're diving into a particularly fascinating concept from the Introduction to the Sulam Commentary, specifically section 79. We’re going to explore how this "beating of left and right" – a concept representing opposing forces – sets off a chain reaction that allows for renewal and rectification.
Imagine a partzuf. Now, a partzuf (plural: partzufim) in Kabbalah is like a divine configuration, a spiritual face or persona. It’s not a physical thing, of course, but a structure of divine attributes. The Sulam Commentary tells us that this beating of left and right forces the partzuf to essentially "return," raising what's called "feminine waters" (mayin nukvin) to a higher level. This concept of feminine waters refers to a kind of spiritual need or lack that ascends to prompt a response from above. Think of it like a request, a yearning for something more complete.
Why does this happen? Well, the conflict between the left and right lines – lines we’ve discussed previously in earlier sections – signifies that the lower level isn’t receiving illumination from the upper level. It's a blockage, a disconnect. And as a result, it ascends again as feminine waters, triggering another change in the upper level, ultimately leading to the rectification of the lines necessary for illumination.
Now, the illumination of the left side, which is associated with Ḥokhma (wisdom), strikes and purifies all the "opacity" within the partzuf. This opacity represents imperfections, blockages, things that hinder the flow of divine light. This purification process continues until the partition – a kind of spiritual barrier or filter – returns to its purest state, almost like it was when it first ascended to the head of the upper level. Only the opacity of the root remains, along with a remnant of the enclothed first level.
This equating allows it to become attached to the head of the upper partzuf. Think of it like a recalibration, a reconnection to the source.
Then, after the partition is incorporated in the fusion through the collision of the upper head, it receives a renewed fusion from the supernal light. This fusion acts upon the remaining opacity of the root and the first level of enclothing that were renewed in the partition. This is where it gets interesting. The height of “three within three” emerges upon the partition. This refers to Ḥesed (loving-kindness), Gevura (strength/judgment), and Tiferet (beauty/harmony) enclothed within Netzaḥ (endurance), Hod (splendor), and Yesod (foundation), which, as mentioned in section 75, is called the "height of gestation."
So, what does this all mean? According to the Sulam Commentary, this entire process, involving the beating of the left upon the right (which occurs in the "brains of the back," a term we explored earlier), causes the lower partzuf to return to the upper partzuf. This return allows it to receive a renewed aspect of gestation from the upper partzuf, repeating a cycle of gestation, infancy, and the development of what's called "brains" – a metaphor for intellectual and spiritual maturity.
It’s a complex, layered process, isn’t it? But at its heart, it speaks to a fundamental truth: that growth and renewal often require tension, conflict, and a constant striving for something higher. It is through this dynamic interplay of opposing forces that we, and perhaps even the cosmos itself, evolve and reach new levels of understanding. Perhaps this cosmic tug-of-war is something to be embraced, rather than feared.