פתיחה לפירוש הסולם 77

עז. ועתה נבאר פרצוף המוחין. כי אחר שקבל הפרצוף שתי הבחינות, עיבור ויניקה, הוא עולה למ"ן לעליון, ומחזיר את החכמה ובינה דעליון פנים בפנים. ואז הם משפיעים לתחתון את ההארה, המורידה את המלכות מנקבי עינים למקומה עצמה, דהיינו לפה. ואז אלו שלשה הכלים, בינה ותפארת ומלכות, שנפלו מחמת עלית המלכות לבינה, הנה הם חוזרים ועולים למדרגתם, ונשלם הפרצוף בחמשה כלים כח"ב תו"מ, ובחמש אורות נרנח"י.

77. We will now explain the partzuf of the brains. After the partzuf receives the two aspects, gestation and infancy, it ascends as feminine waters²³⁸As explained previously, “feminine waters” refers to the “yearning” of lower levels for the light of higher levels. These lower levels are said to ascend to higher levels as “feminine waters,” flowing from below to above. In contrast, “masculine waters” refers to the flow of the supernal light from above to below. to the upper partzuf and brings Ḥokhma and Bina of the upper partzuf back to the state of “face-to-face.”²³⁹The ascent of feminine waters drives Bina to “turn toward” Ḥokhma. This means that Bina can now receive the light of Ḥokhma through itself and pass that light to the level of Ze'er Anpin, the partzuf that was developed through the gestation and infancy phases here. This change in Bina, allowing it to transmit the light of Ḥokhma was discussed in many previous sections of this work. Ḥokhma and Bina then give the illumination to the lower partzuf, which lowers the Malkhut from the apertures of the eyes to its own place, i.e., to the mouth.²⁴⁰This descent of Malkhut effectively “undoes” the effects of the second constriction, allowing the lower vessels to ascend and return to their place. Since all five vessels are then in the level, all five lights are able to be enclothed in the level as well. The addition of the higher lights of neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida means the partzuf now has “brains,” as the author of the Sulam proceeds to explain. At this point, the three vessels, Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut, which fell due to the ascent of Malkhut to Bina, once again ascend to their level, and the partzuf is completed with the five vessels Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut, and with the five lights, nefesh, ruaḥ, neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida.

וזהו שנקרא 'פרצוף המוחין'. כי שלשה האורות הראשונים, נשמה חיה יחידה, נקראים 'מוחין'. למשל, אחר שקבל עתיק שתי הבחינות עיבור יניקה בשלמות, שהן קומות נפש רוח, אז חוזר ועולה לראש הס"ג למ"ן, ומחזיר חכמה ובינה אשר שם פנים בפנים. ומתוך שפרצוף החכמה דא"ק אין הבינה שבו מעורבת עם המלכות, על כן, כשעתיק מקבל הארתו, מוריד גם הוא את המלכות מבינה שלו, ואז מעלה לדרגתו את שלשה הכלים בינה ותפארת ומלכות שלו, שנפלו מחמת עירוב המלכות בבינה. ויש לו עתה כח"ב תו"מ דכלים, ויכולים להתלבש בו נרנח"י דאורות.

This is called the partzuf of the brains, for the first three lights, neshama, ḥaya and yeḥida, are called brains. For example, after Atik receives in a complete manner the two aspects of gestation and infancy, which are the heights of nefesh and ruaḥ, Atik returns and ascends as feminine waters to the head of Sag, and returns the Ḥokhma and Bina that are there to the state of face-to-face. Since the Bina that is in the partzuf of the Ḥokhma of Adam Kadmon is not intermingled with the Malkhut, therefore, when Atik receives this illumination it also brings down its own Malkhut from its own Bina.²⁴¹The turning of Ḥokhma and Bina of Sag toward each other causes changes in the lower levels The exposure of lower level (Atik) to the illumination of the level of Sag of Adam Kadmon causes Malkhut to descend from the position it acquired in the level of Bina through the second constriction. This is because lower levels are imprinted by and conform to higher levels. Since the second constriction only begins in the level of Nekudim, below Sag of Adam Kadmon, exposure to the illumination of that higher, unconstricted level causes the lower level to copy the higher one, undoing the constriction caused by the ascent of Malkhut to Bina. Then Atik raises the three vessels, its Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut, to its level, which fell due to the intermingling of Malkhut in Bina.²⁴²In the second constriction. It now has Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut, of the vessels, in which the nefesh, ruaḥ, neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida of the lights can be enclothed.