Today, we're diving into a passage from Petichah LeChokhmat HaKabbalah, a foundational text of Kabbalah, specifically section 20. Now, brace yourselves, because we're about to talk about the "attribute of receiving." Think of it as the capacity, the desire, to absorb the divine light. And within this attribute of receiving, we find five levels, mirrored within the fourth level. Stay with me!
These five levels, perhaps surprisingly, are known by the names of the ten sefirot – Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. You've probably heard of the sefirot. They're often depicted as a kind of divine blueprint, emanations of God's light that structure the cosmos. We usually talk about ten, but here, we're focusing on how five of them manifest within the fourth level, Malkhut. Think of Tiferet as encompassing six of the sefirot, acting as a bridge. So, we have Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut as the four levels. And the fifth level? That’s their root, called Keter.
Why are these levels of receiving named after the sefirot? Well, it all goes back to before the tzimtzum (צמצום), the primordial constriction. This is a critical concept. Before creation, there was only God's infinite light. The tzimtzum is the act of "self-limitation," where God contracts to create space for existence.
Before this constriction, the fourth level, Malkhut, served as the receiving vessel for the ten sefirot, all encompassed within the supernal light. This relates to the mystical idea of "He is one and His name is one." What does that mean? It’s about unity. In the initial phase, vessels and lights weren't differentiated. All the worlds were incorporated within that supernal light. As we find written in Talmud Eser Sefirot, part 1, the Creator's essence (the light) and His manifestation (the vessels) were initially one, and still remain one, because neither is outside the Creator, even after differentiation. That’s a powerful idea.
Now, how did the fourth level enclothe the ten sefirot? It was structured according to these five levels, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. Malkhut, as the final receiver, the "outermost garment," contains aspects of receiving from all the preceding vessels. It's like Malkhut has a little bit of each of the other sefirot within it, allowing it to receive the different levels of light they contain. The Sulam, a key commentary, explains that each vessel has a particular capacity for receiving the supernal light. The light that fills Keter is a different level from the light that fills Bina, for example.
So, what does this all mean for us? It's a reminder that even within limitation, within the structures and forms of our world, there's a connection to the infinite. Even the "lowest" sefirah, Malkhut, contains echoes of the highest, Keter. And perhaps, by understanding these levels of receiving, we can better understand our own capacity to connect with the divine spark within ourselves and the world around us.