והבן ושנן היטב אלו השלשה יסודות הם ונימוקיהם כפי שנתבארו לפניך, כי זולתם אין הבנה אף במלה אחת בחכמה הזו.
You should understand and thoroughly review these three principles, as well as their explanations as described above, for without them there is no comprehending even a single word of this wisdom.
2
יח) ועתה נבאר חמש בחינות שיש בהמסך, שעל פיהם משתנה שיעורי הקומה בעת הזווג דהכאה שעושה עם אור העליון. ויש להבין תחלה היטב, כי אף על פי שלאחר הצמצום נפסלה הבחינה ד' מלהיות כלי קבלה על העשר ספירות, והאור חוזר העולה מהמסך על ידי זווג דהכאה נעשה לכלי קבלה בתמורתה, עם כל זה היא מוכרחת להתלוות עם כח הקבלה שבה אל האור חוזר, וזולת זה לא היה האור חוזר מוכשר כלל להיות כלי קבלה.
Now we will clarify five levels that are in thepartition, on the basis of which theshiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) change during thefusion through collisionbetween thepartitionand the supernal light.22As the author of the Sulam will go on to describe, there are actually multiple rejections of the supernal light as it impacts, or beats, against the partition, which results in multiple fusions through collision. The partition changes after each fusion, so the measure of returning light that is refracted from it as a result is also different each time. Each measure of returning light is able to enclothe up to a certain “height” or level of light (defined by the author in previous sections), resulting in structures made up of vessels and lights of different “heights.” These are referred to as shiurei koma, or “dimensions of height,” referring to the “height” of the structure of receiving vessels that are formed as a result of the rebuffing of the returning light off the partition.One must first thoroughly understand that although after theconstriction (tzimtzum) the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the tensefirot of the supernal light, and thereturning lightthat rises from thepartitionby means of thefusion through collisionbecame a receiving vessel in order to receive the supernal light in its stead, the fourth level must nevertheless, with its power of receiving, accompany thereturning light. Otherwise, the returning light would not be fit to serve as a receiving vessel.23The returning light changes the form of the receiving vessel by adding an element of giving, so that the receiving vessel resembles the supernal light, which is wholly giving. This allows the returning light to serve as a receiving vessel for the supernal light. Despite this added element, the original receiving capacity of the unconstructed vessel of the fourth level remains and is combined with the giving capacity of the returning light. Recall the analogy of the guest who accepts a meal at his friend’s house captures this. Though he accepts the meal only after he understands that by accepting the meal, he is doing his friend a favor, adding an element of giving to the receiving, he still eats with the same original receiving vessel, which is his hunger.
3
ותבין זה גם כן מהמשל הנזכר לעיל באות ט"ו. כי הוכחנו שם אשר כח הדחיה והסירוב לקבל הסעודה נעשה לכלי קבלה במקום הרעב והתאבון, כי הרעב והתאבון שהם כלי קבלה הרגילים, נפסלו כאן מלהיות כלי קבלה מחמת הבושה והבזיון להיות מקבל מתנה מחברו, ורק כחות הדחיה והסירוב נעשו במקומם לכלי קבלה, כי מתוך הדחיה והסירוב נתהפכה הקבלה להיות השפעה, והשיג על ידם כלי קבלה מוכשרים לקבל סעודת חברו. ועם כל זה אי אפשר לומר שעתה כבר אינו צריך לכלי הקבלה הרגילים שהם הרעב והתאבון, כי זה ברור שבלי תאבון לאכילה לא יוכל למלאות רצון חברו ולעשות לו נחת רוח עם אכילתו אצלו. אלא הענין הוא, כי הרעב והתאבון שנפסלו בצורתם הרגילה, נתגלגלו עתה מחמת כח הדחיה והסירוב, וקבלו צורה חדשה, שהיא קבלה על מנת להשפיע, ועל ידי זה נהפך הבזיון להיות כבוד. הרי, אשר הכלי קבלה הרגילים עדיין פועלים עתה כמו תמיד, אלא שקבלו צורה חדשה.
You can understand this, too, through the aforementioned parable in section #15#. We proved there that the force of the guest’s rejection and refusal to accept a meal became a receiving vessel instead of the hunger and appetite. The hunger and appetite, which are the usual receiving vessel for eating, were disqualified here from being a receiving vessel on account of the shame and degradation the person felt at receiving a gift from his friend, and only the powers of rejection and refusal became receiving vessels in their place, because as a result of the rejection and refusal, the receiving was transformed into giving once the guest realized that he would be doing the host a favor by accepting the meal, and through them the person attained appropriate receiving vessels for accepting his friend’s meal.However, it cannot be said that now he no longer needs the usual receiving vessels, which are hunger and appetite, as it is clear that without an appetite for eating, he will be unable to fulfill his friend’s wishes and give him the satisfaction of eating with him. Rather, what happens is that the hunger and appetite, which were disqualified in their normative form, have now been altered, due to the force of the rejection and refusal, and have received a new form: receiving in order to give.
4
וכן תקיש בענינינו כאן. כי אמת הוא שבחינה ד' נפסלה מלהיות כלי קבלה על העשר ספירות, שהוא מחמת העביות שבה, שפירושו שינוי הצורה כלפי המשפיע, המפריד מהמשפיע, כנזכר לעיל. אמנם על ידי תיקון המסך בהבחינה ד', המכה על אור העליון ומחזירו לאחוריו, הנה נתגלגלה צורתה הקודמת הפסולה וקבלה צורה חדשה הנקראת אור חוזר, בדומה לגלגול צורת הקבלה בצורת השפעה הנזכר לעיל במשל, אשר התוכן של צורה הראשונה לא נשתנה שם, כי גם עתה אינו אוכל בלי תאבון. כן גם כאן, כל העביות, שהיא כח הקבלה, שהיה בבחינה ד', נתגלגל ובא תוך האור חוזר, ועל כן נעשה האור חוזר מוכשר להיות כלי קבלה, ותשכיל זה היטב.
Through this, the degradation is transformed into honor. Thus, the usual receiving vessels still function now as they always did, only they have received a new form. You can apply the same idea to the matter at hand. It is true that the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the tensefirot of the supernal light due to theopacity (ovyut) within it, meaning the contrast in form as a receiver in comparison to the Giver, which separates it from the Giver, as stated above. However, through the establishment of thepartitionin the fourth level, which collides with the supernal light and rebuffs it, the fourth level’s previous, disqualified form was altered, and it received a new form, which is called “returning light,” similar to the alteration of the receiving form into the giving form in the aforementioned parable. The contents of the first form did not change there; also now the person will not eat without an appetite. Here too all theopacity, which is the power to receive, that was in the fourth level was altered and entered thereturning light, and thus thereturning lightwas made fit to be a receiving vessel. Understand this well.24Thus the fourth level called Malkhut, which solely comprises the will to receive, is replaced with the returning light, which contains the element of giving, but the fourth level – the original receiving vessel – is still required in order for the supernal light to be received. When the opacity, or the will to receive, of the fourth level enters the returning light, the new receiving vessel is formed, which is receiving in order to give.
5
ולפיכך יש להבחין תמיד בהמסך שני כחות:
Accordingly, one must always distinguish between two forces in thepartition:
6
הא' – קשיות, שהוא כח הדחיה שבו כלפי האור העליון.
The first ishardness (kashyut), which constitutes the force of rejection inherent to it to be able to rebuff the supernal light.
7
הב' – עביות, שהוא שיעור הרצון לקבל מבחינה ד' הנכלל בהמסך, אשר על ידי זווג דהכאה מכח הקשיות שבו, נתהפכה העביות שבו להיות זכות, דהיינו התהפכות הקבלה להשפעה.
The second isopacity (ovyut), which is the measure of the will to receive that is incorporated within thepartitionfrom the fourth level. By means of thefusion through collisionas a result of the force ofhardnessthat the partition contains, theopacityis purified.25The opacity refers to the will to receive, which separates the fourth level from the Creator, who is wholly giving. After the supernal light was rejected and returned, this refusal allowed the fourth to ultimately receive the supernal light, because that receiving actually constitutes a gift to the Creator by providing Him with a receiver. This is called a “purification” of the initial separation, or opacity.That is, there is the transformation of receiving into giving.
8
ואלו שני הכחות שבמסך פועלים בחמש בחינות, שהם ארבע הבחינות חכמה ובינה תפארת ומלכות הנזכרות לעיל, ושורשם הנקרא כתר.
These two forces in the partition operate at five levels, which are the four aforementioned levels ofḤokhma,Bina,Tiferet, and Malkhutand their root, which is calledKeter, each level representing a different measure of will to receive.
והבן ושנן היטב אלו השלשה יסודות הם ונימוקיהם כפי שנתבארו לפניך, כי זולתם אין הבנה אף במלה אחת בחכמה הזו.
You should understand and thoroughly review these three principles, as well as their explanations as described above, for without them there is no comprehending even a single word of this wisdom.
יח) ועתה נבאר חמש בחינות שיש בהמסך, שעל פיהם משתנה שיעורי הקומה בעת הזווג דהכאה שעושה עם אור העליון. ויש להבין תחלה היטב, כי אף על פי שלאחר הצמצום נפסלה הבחינה ד' מלהיות כלי קבלה על העשר ספירות, והאור חוזר העולה מהמסך על ידי זווג דהכאה נעשה לכלי קבלה בתמורתה, עם כל זה היא מוכרחת להתלוות עם כח הקבלה שבה אל האור חוזר, וזולת זה לא היה האור חוזר מוכשר כלל להיות כלי קבלה.
Now we will clarify five levels that are in the partition, on the basis of which the shiurei koma (literally, “dimensions of height”) change during the fusion through collision between the partition and the supernal light.22As the author of the Sulam will go on to describe, there are actually multiple rejections of the supernal light as it impacts, or beats, against the partition, which results in multiple fusions through collision. The partition changes after each fusion, so the measure of returning light that is refracted from it as a result is also different each time. Each measure of returning light is able to enclothe up to a certain “height” or level of light (defined by the author in previous sections), resulting in structures made up of vessels and lights of different “heights.” These are referred to as shiurei koma, or “dimensions of height,” referring to the “height” of the structure of receiving vessels that are formed as a result of the rebuffing of the returning light off the partition. One must first thoroughly understand that although after the constriction (tzimtzum) the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the ten sefirot of the supernal light, and the returning light that rises from the partition by means of the fusion through collision became a receiving vessel in order to receive the supernal light in its stead, the fourth level must nevertheless, with its power of receiving, accompany the returning light. Otherwise, the returning light would not be fit to serve as a receiving vessel.23The returning light changes the form of the receiving vessel by adding an element of giving, so that the receiving vessel resembles the supernal light, which is wholly giving. This allows the returning light to serve as a receiving vessel for the supernal light. Despite this added element, the original receiving capacity of the unconstructed vessel of the fourth level remains and is combined with the giving capacity of the returning light. Recall the analogy of the guest who accepts a meal at his friend’s house captures this. Though he accepts the meal only after he understands that by accepting the meal, he is doing his friend a favor, adding an element of giving to the receiving, he still eats with the same original receiving vessel, which is his hunger.
ותבין זה גם כן מהמשל הנזכר לעיל באות ט"ו. כי הוכחנו שם אשר כח הדחיה והסירוב לקבל הסעודה נעשה לכלי קבלה במקום הרעב והתאבון, כי הרעב והתאבון שהם כלי קבלה הרגילים, נפסלו כאן מלהיות כלי קבלה מחמת הבושה והבזיון להיות מקבל מתנה מחברו, ורק כחות הדחיה והסירוב נעשו במקומם לכלי קבלה, כי מתוך הדחיה והסירוב נתהפכה הקבלה להיות השפעה, והשיג על ידם כלי קבלה מוכשרים לקבל סעודת חברו. ועם כל זה אי אפשר לומר שעתה כבר אינו צריך לכלי הקבלה הרגילים שהם הרעב והתאבון, כי זה ברור שבלי תאבון לאכילה לא יוכל למלאות רצון חברו ולעשות לו נחת רוח עם אכילתו אצלו. אלא הענין הוא, כי הרעב והתאבון שנפסלו בצורתם הרגילה, נתגלגלו עתה מחמת כח הדחיה והסירוב, וקבלו צורה חדשה, שהיא קבלה על מנת להשפיע, ועל ידי זה נהפך הבזיון להיות כבוד. הרי, אשר הכלי קבלה הרגילים עדיין פועלים עתה כמו תמיד, אלא שקבלו צורה חדשה.
You can understand this, too, through the aforementioned parable in section #15#. We proved there that the force of the guest’s rejection and refusal to accept a meal became a receiving vessel instead of the hunger and appetite. The hunger and appetite, which are the usual receiving vessel for eating, were disqualified here from being a receiving vessel on account of the shame and degradation the person felt at receiving a gift from his friend, and only the powers of rejection and refusal became receiving vessels in their place, because as a result of the rejection and refusal, the receiving was transformed into giving once the guest realized that he would be doing the host a favor by accepting the meal, and through them the person attained appropriate receiving vessels for accepting his friend’s meal. However, it cannot be said that now he no longer needs the usual receiving vessels, which are hunger and appetite, as it is clear that without an appetite for eating, he will be unable to fulfill his friend’s wishes and give him the satisfaction of eating with him. Rather, what happens is that the hunger and appetite, which were disqualified in their normative form, have now been altered, due to the force of the rejection and refusal, and have received a new form: receiving in order to give.
וכן תקיש בענינינו כאן. כי אמת הוא שבחינה ד' נפסלה מלהיות כלי קבלה על העשר ספירות, שהוא מחמת העביות שבה, שפירושו שינוי הצורה כלפי המשפיע, המפריד מהמשפיע, כנזכר לעיל. אמנם על ידי תיקון המסך בהבחינה ד', המכה על אור העליון ומחזירו לאחוריו, הנה נתגלגלה צורתה הקודמת הפסולה וקבלה צורה חדשה הנקראת אור חוזר, בדומה לגלגול צורת הקבלה בצורת השפעה הנזכר לעיל במשל, אשר התוכן של צורה הראשונה לא נשתנה שם, כי גם עתה אינו אוכל בלי תאבון. כן גם כאן, כל העביות, שהיא כח הקבלה, שהיה בבחינה ד', נתגלגל ובא תוך האור חוזר, ועל כן נעשה האור חוזר מוכשר להיות כלי קבלה, ותשכיל זה היטב.
Through this, the degradation is transformed into honor. Thus, the usual receiving vessels still function now as they always did, only they have received a new form. You can apply the same idea to the matter at hand. It is true that the fourth level was disqualified from serving as a receiving vessel for the ten sefirot of the supernal light due to the opacity (ovyut) within it, meaning the contrast in form as a receiver in comparison to the Giver, which separates it from the Giver, as stated above. However, through the establishment of the partition in the fourth level, which collides with the supernal light and rebuffs it, the fourth level’s previous, disqualified form was altered, and it received a new form, which is called “returning light,” similar to the alteration of the receiving form into the giving form in the aforementioned parable. The contents of the first form did not change there; also now the person will not eat without an appetite. Here too all the opacity, which is the power to receive, that was in the fourth level was altered and entered the returning light, and thus the returning light was made fit to be a receiving vessel. Understand this well.24Thus the fourth level called Malkhut, which solely comprises the will to receive, is replaced with the returning light, which contains the element of giving, but the fourth level – the original receiving vessel – is still required in order for the supernal light to be received. When the opacity, or the will to receive, of the fourth level enters the returning light, the new receiving vessel is formed, which is receiving in order to give.
ולפיכך יש להבחין תמיד בהמסך שני כחות:
Accordingly, one must always distinguish between two forces in the partition:
הא' – קשיות, שהוא כח הדחיה שבו כלפי האור העליון.
The first is hardness (kashyut), which constitutes the force of rejection inherent to it to be able to rebuff the supernal light.
הב' – עביות, שהוא שיעור הרצון לקבל מבחינה ד' הנכלל בהמסך, אשר על ידי זווג דהכאה מכח הקשיות שבו, נתהפכה העביות שבו להיות זכות, דהיינו התהפכות הקבלה להשפעה.
The second is opacity (ovyut), which is the measure of the will to receive that is incorporated within the partition from the fourth level. By means of the fusion through collision as a result of the force of hardness that the partition contains, the opacity is purified.25The opacity refers to the will to receive, which separates the fourth level from the Creator, who is wholly giving. After the supernal light was rejected and returned, this refusal allowed the fourth to ultimately receive the supernal light, because that receiving actually constitutes a gift to the Creator by providing Him with a receiver. This is called a “purification” of the initial separation, or opacity. That is, there is the transformation of receiving into giving.
ואלו שני הכחות שבמסך פועלים בחמש בחינות, שהם ארבע הבחינות חכמה ובינה תפארת ומלכות הנזכרות לעיל, ושורשם הנקרא כתר.
These two forces in the partition operate at five levels, which are the four aforementioned levels of Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut and their root, which is called Keter, each level representing a different measure of will to receive.