We're going to explore a passage from Petichah LeChokhmat HaKabbalah, specifically section 33. Now, this might sound a little intimidating, but trust me, it's worth the journey. It deals with the concept of Adam Kadmon, a primordial spiritual being, and how light interacts within it.
The text tells us that within Adam Kadmon, there are two kinds of lights that are opposites. Because they are both connected to the Malkhut (Kingdom) of the head of Adam Kadmon, they "beat and collide with one another."
What does that mean, "beat and collide?" Well, the Kabbalists are describing a dynamic process. This "fusion through collision" takes place in the "mouth of the head" of Adam Kadmon. The "mouth," in this context, refers to the partition of the Malkhut of the head. As was explained in previous sections, there is a process through which the vessels are modified in order to be able to receive and enclothe the supernal light. The partition that is placed above the fourth level called Malkhut initially creates returning light that transforms the vessels from receiving vessels into vessels that can receive in order to give. In this way, they have the potential to be able to absorb the supernal light, which is entirely giving. At first, the vessels exist only in their initial “root,” or potential, form. This root form can be thought of as purely theoretical, like a blueprint for the fully formed vessel. This theoretical form is called the "head” of the partzuf, because the head is associated with the theoretical world of thought. Subsequently, the vessel of Malkhut expands to fully form the lower part of the partzuf, the body, in which the sefirot vessels are now fully formed and no longer theoretical. During this phase, Malkhut can be thought of as a mouth because it lies at the bottom of the head. Additionally, in kabbalistic thought, a mouth represents the part of the body that translates one’s thoughts, which exist in the realm of the theoretical, into actualized, expressed words. The Malkhut of the head serves as the vehicle that allows the supernal light to be contained in the body of the partzuf, the completed form of the vessels of the returning light. It serves to actualize the containment of the supernal light, bringing it from the theoretical stage of the head to the actualized form of the body. Thus, it is called the "mouth of the head."
This collision, this fusion, is what allows the inner light to be enclothed within Adam Kadmon. This happens through the returning light, which the partition raises. Remember from section #14, the returning light that the partition raised is also the cause of the emergence of the surrounding light of Adam Kadmon.
Think of it like this: Ein Sof (the Infinite) wants to pour its light into creation, but that light needs to be contained and channeled. The partition in the mouth prevents the full light of Ein Sof from being enclothed in the fourth level.
So, what happens to the part of the light that cannot be enclothed? It emerges outward, becoming the surrounding light. The text is quite clear: the entire part of the light that the returning light cannot enclothe, that the fourth level itself was meant to enclothe, emerges and becomes surrounding light.
This is key: the partition in the mouth is equally the cause of both the surrounding light and the inner light. They are two sides of the same coin, both born from the same process of limitation and channeling.
Why is this important? Because it shows us that even limitations can be a source of creation. The very act of restricting the light of Ein Sof allows for the emergence of both the inner light that sustains creation and the surrounding light that protects and encompasses it. It's a delicate balance, a dance between opposing forces.
So, the next time you encounter opposing forces in your own life, remember this Kabbalistic concept. Remember the collision in the mouth of the head of Adam Kadmon. Perhaps, within that tension, lies the potential for something truly new and beautiful to emerge.