פתיחה לחכמת הקבלה 43

מג) וההשארה של הרשימו דהתלבשות מהבחינה אחרונה שנשארה בכל מסך, גרם ליציאת שתי קומות, זכר ונקבה, בראשים דכל הפרצופים, החל מע"ב דאדם קדמון, וכן בס"ג דאדם קדמון, וכן במ"ה וב"ן דאדם קדמון, ובכל פרצופי אצילות.

The remaining trace of enclothing from the last level that is left in each partition caused the emergence of two structures, male and female, in the heads of each of the partzufim, starting from Ab of Adam Kadmon, and likewise in Sag of Adam Kadmon, and similarly in Mah and Ban of Adam Kadmon, and in all the partzufim of Atzilut.

כי בפרצוף ע"ב דאדם קדמון, שאין שם במסך אלא רשימו דעביות דבחינה ג', המוציא עשר ספירות בקומת חכמה, הנה הרשימו דהתלבשות מבחינה ד' הנשארת שם במסך, שאינה ראויה כלל לזווג עם אור העליון, משום זכותה כנזכר לעיל, הנה היא נכללת עם העביות דבחינה ג' ונעשת לרשימו אחת, ואז קנתה הרשימו דהתלבשות כח להזדווגות עם אור העליון. ועל כן יצא עליה זווג דהכאה עם אור העליון, המוציא עשר ספירות בקירוב לקומת כתר, והוא מטעם היות בה בחינת התלבשות דבחינה ד'.

In the Ab partzuf of Adam Kadmon, the result of a partition that has only the trace of opacity of the third level, producing ten sefirot at the structural height of Ḥokhma, the trace of enclothing from the fourth level remained there in the partition. This trace is not fit at all for fusion with the supernal light on account of its purity, as stated above.⁶¹The trace of opacity retains trace amounts of the opacity of the will to receive, allowing it to create a fusion through collision on the partition. By contrast, the trace of enclothing is far less tangible: It is like a memory or imprint of the enclothing of the supernal light that took place. Such a trace lacks sufficient will to receive to participate in a fusion through collision on its own. By becoming incorporated in the trace of opacity, this trace of enclothing is able to participate in such a fusion, and its presence in the fusion through collision yields a partzuf. This trace is therefore incorporated with the opacity (ovyut) of the third level, becoming one trace. Then the trace of enclothing acquires the force for a fusion with the supernal light, and accordingly a fusion through collision with the supernal light takes place. This collision produces ten sefirot nearly at the structural height of Keter, because the partition contains an aspect of the enclothing of the fourth level.

והתכללות זה נקרא 'התכללות הנקבה בזכר', כי הרשימו דעביות מבחינה ג' נקרא 'נקבה', להיותה הנושא לבחינת העביות, והרשימו דהתלבשות דבחינה ד' נקרא 'זכר', משום שבא מקומה גבוה ממנה, ומשום שהוא זך מעביות. ולפיכך, הגם שהרשימו דזכר בלבד אינו מספיק לזווג דהכאה, אמנם על ידי התכללות הנקבה בו, נעשה גם הוא ראוי לזווג דהכאה.

This incorporation is called the incorporation of the female in the male, for the trace of opacity of the third level is called “female,” since it bears the opacity that remains in that level after the purification of the fourth level, while the trace of enclothing of the fourth level is called “male,” since it comes from a higher structural height and because it is more refined than the opacity.⁶²In kabbalistic thought, the concept of male is associated with the greater refinement and prominence of the realm of ideas, while the concept of female represents the practical reality of the implementation of those ideas. Since implementation inherently draws from the ideas that precede it, or are “above” it, female as a concept is considered lower than the male. Accordingly, when the female is incorporated in the male, that is termed “higher fusion,” and when the male is incorporated in the female, that is termed “lower fusion.” Thus, the male is often described as the mashpia, meaning the one that directs or influences, and the female is described as the mekabel, the receiver that receives the instructions from “above” and actualizes them in implementation. It should be noted that these are abstract concepts that should not be confused with today’s modern usage of gender terminologies. Consequently, although the trace of the male alone is insufficient for a fusion through collision, even it becomes fit for fusion through collision by means of the incorporation of the female within it.