That’s kind of what we’re dealing with when we delve into the world of Partzufim in Atzilut, according to the Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah.
So, what are Partzufim and Atzilut? Think of Atzilut as one of the highest realms in Kabbalistic cosmology, a world of pure emanation, close to the Divine source. And the Partzufim? They’re like Divine personas or configurations within that realm, complex arrangements of Sefirot (divine attributes).
Now, here’s where the broken vessels come in. The Kabbalah often talks about a primordial catastrophe, a “breaking of the vessels” (shvirat ha-kelim), scattering divine light. The Partzufim of Atzilut, our text tells us, were constructed from the carefully sorted and selected fragments of these shattered vessels.
But here's the kicker: once these fragments are assembled into the Partzufim, their origin story, their specific composition, becomes almost…irrelevant. The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah emphasizes that the individual parts, once joined, create a unified whole. We can’t easily discern which Partzuf was built from which specific shards of MaH and BaN. (MaH and BaN are names of God used in Kabbalah, representing different aspects of divine manifestation.)
Why is this significant? Well, imagine if each Partzuf retained a clearly visible imprint of its component parts. It would make the influence of MaH and BaN too obvious, potentially undermining the principle of free will. Remember, the Kabbalah often grapples with the tension between divine order and human choice. As Opening 81 states, concealment is necessary for free will to exist.
The text stresses that Atzilut functions as "one single order." Every aspect, every Partzuf, takes its place and governs within this unified system. The only real distinction between the Partzufim, it seems, lies in their inclination toward either Kindness (Chesed) or Judgment (Din). It's not about the precise mix of fragments they were made from – more, less, or different – but about how they function within the established order of Atzilut.
Think of it like this: you might build two houses using different bricks, different amounts of wood, different nails. But once the houses are complete, their function – providing shelter – is what matters most. The specific materials used are less important than the overall purpose they serve.
The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah is pointing us to something profound. It suggests that while origins matter, the ultimate expression, the manifested order, is what truly governs. The hidden combinations of fragments may still influence things in a concealed way, but the revealed order – the way each Partzuf governs – is our primary concern. We are left to ponder the interplay between what is hidden and what is revealed, and how that tension shapes our understanding of the Divine.