Rabotai (gentlemen), we’re still in the hakdamah (introduction) of Etz Chaim (Tree of Life), on page yud. Today we’ll talk a little about something called partzufim (configurations). Hapartzufim hem kavyachol guf shalem, so it’s a full body, hakolel remach evarim veshasah gidim. So it is made up like the human body. Actually, the human body is made up like the partzufim; we’re just a model of the original. There are remach evarim, shasah gidim, sheyesh bo or elyon me’od. And the or elyon is the light that goes through it.
Vehata’am shenikre’u partzufim: the reason they are called partzufim is shehu hachelek ha’elyon shebaguf, hu machamat she’echad malbish et hasheni. Everything is layered on top of each other, and you only see the top partzuf; everything else is covered. Verak partzuf partzuf shel ha’elyon meguleh velo gufo. The partzuf, let’s say, is on top, and it goes all the way down; then the next one covers it, layers over it, so its partzuf is seen—the top of, let’s say, Atik (Ancient One). Then you have another layer and another layer. Again, you’re only seeing the partzufim, the tops of the faces, because everything else is covered up with the levush (garment). As opposed to sefirot (emanations)—that’s correct. Verak partzuf shel ha’elyon meguleh velo gufo.
Uvechol olam yesh chamishah partzufim. In every world, you have five partzufim, hanikra’im Arich (Long Countenance), Abba (father), Imma (mother), Za (Small Countenance), veNuk deZa (female aspect). Arich Anpin hu Keter (crown). Abba hu Chochmah (wisdom), Imma hi Binah (understanding), Za is called Chagat Nehy (the six lower sefirot), and the Nukba deZa is the Malchut (kingship). They are divided according to the name Havayah, so break it down in the shem Havayah. Al derech zeh, Arich, shehu Keter, is the kutzo shel yud of Havayah. Avayah, shehu Chochmah, Abba, shehu Chochmah, hu yud deHavayah. Imma, shehi Binah, hi heh rishonah deHavayah, veZa, shehu Vak. Za is the Vak, the vav of Havayah, and Malchut is the Nukba, which is the heh acharonah.
Kol partzuf yesh bo yud sefirot. Each partzuf is made up of 10 sefirot, pratiyot—separate, individual—which are also called heh partzufim pratiyim shebo. So you could call the 10 sefirot five partzufim pratiyim, as we break it down. Da ki chol partzuf yesh bo shem Havayah bemilui prat leKeter, ki hu ne’elam ve’ein bo rak Havayah peshutah. So what are the different shemot of Hashem’s name with regard to the partzufim? Partzuf Abba is Havayah bemilui yudin, ha’oleh gematria Av, kezeh. Partzuf Imma is milui Sag, kezeh. Partzuf Za yesh bo Havayah bemilui alfin, which is Mah, like that. And partzuf Nuk deZa is shem Ban, like the milui over there with the hehin.
Kol chodesh tzarich letaken heh partzufim asher shayachim le’oto chodesh. Partzuf Arich beyom Rosh Chodesh (new month), uvdaled shavu’ot shetoch hachodesh. In the first week, metaknim Chagat Nahim deAbba; in the second week, deImma; in the third week, deZa; and in the fourth week, Nuk deZa. That’s a chidush. Basically, every month you’re making a tikkun (rectification) on the five partzufim of that month. Partzuf Arich is on Rosh Chodesh, and then in the four other weeks, every week you’re being metaken another one. In the first week, it’s metaknim Chagat Nahim of Abba; the next week it’s Imma, then Za, and then Nukba. So basically, every week there’s another tikkun to be made.
He says over here, actually, on the calendar that you have—this is an amazing calendar. Let’s go to the days of the week. Sunday is Chesed (kindness), Monday is Gevurah (severity), Tuesday is Tiferet (beauty), Wednesday is Netzach (victory), Thursday is Hod (splendor), Friday is Yesod (foundation), and Shabbat is Malchut. Those are the days of the week. Now let’s go to the days of the month. So you go from down, bet, gimmel, daled: the first, bet, bet, gimmel, daled, heh, vav, zayin, chet. That’s going to be the first week, which is all in Abba. The next week is in Imma, the next in Za, and the next in Nuk deZa. Rosh Chodesh is in Arich.
So today, what’s the date? Shevat (the Hebrew month of Shevat). That’s the eighth day? Friday is the 10th. Friday is the 10th, right? So today is the eighth. We’re on Thursday, so we’re already at Hod, and we’re on the eighth; therefore, we’re still in the last day of Abba. Then you go to the months. If you go to the months, Shevat is Hod. So you keep adding more coordinates: Hod de-Hod, de... de... de-Abba. Then you have the years. Let’s say we’re at 5785. The shanah, which is five, right? So that’s Gevurah. And the tenth, which is the asor, which is 80—that’s Yesod. Then the me’ah, which is 700—that’s Hod. And the elef is Yesod. So if you wanted to write the year exactly in Sefirot language, you’d put the Yesod of the Hod of the Yesod of Gevurah. It’s unbelievable. Then you have to do the shemitah (sabbatical cycle), what cycle of shemitah you’re in. We know exactly the cycles.
According to this, like we said in the last lesson, there are no two days that are really the same, because every day has a different coordinate. Correct. He’s not going to give you the other ones.
So now, dalet olamot hem, venikra’im beroshei teivot Avi’a (Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah): there are four olamot, called by the initials Avi’a. Atzilut (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation), Asiyah (Action). Dalet olamot eleh hem gam ken neged shem Havayah. Break down the four olamot and then the shem Havayah baruch Hu: Ak (Primordial Man) is called the kotzo shel yud; Atzilut is called yud de-Havayah; Beriah is called heh rishonah de-Havayah; Yetzirah is called vav de-Havayah; and Asiyah is called heh acharonah. Those are the four olamot—or actually five if you include Ak.
Olam ha-Atzilut kulo Elahut ve’ein bo ra, lo yegurcha ra. There’s no bad. Vehu nikra keguf shel Ak. It’s like the body of Ak: she-hamachashavah vehatenu’ot ba’im ke’echad; it’s all the same. Olam ha-Beriah is the world of the kise, sham kise hakavod venikra olam hakise, verubo tov, umiyuto ra. It’s called the levush of Ak. Atzilut is already considered part of Ak; it’s an extension of Ak, the guf of Ak, and Beriah is already a levush of Ak. Olam ha-Yetzirah is the olam hamalachim, vesham hu me’orav tov vara, mechtzah al mechtzah, 50/50. Then you have olam ha-Asiyah haruchani, rubo ra umiyuto tov. So the spiritual world is mostly bad and a minority good.
Olam ha-Asiyah hagashmi was created from the four elements, which are arma: esh, ruach, mayim, ve’afar. They also correspond to the four letters of Havayah. Everything basically always goes back to the four letters of Havayah. It represents so many things.
Ka’et avi lefanecha tavlah chashuvah hanikret tavlat ha’arachim, vegam hi tovah lihyot kehaktamah lematchilim. Let’s look at this table. The first thing he tells me is shoresh hakol, shem Havayah baruch Hu. You have kotz ha-yud, and then yud-heh-vav-heh. The kotz ha-yud would be Ak, and the subsequent letters are Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. If you go by partzufim, we’ll do Arich, Abba, Imma, Za ve-Nuk. He says ach yoter nachon, because you want to do, I guess, Nukba, Atik venukbeh, Arich venukbeh, Abba ve-Imma ila’in. That would correspond to the yud. YisSUT would mean Abba ve-Imma detachtonim, and then the vav would be Za de-Nuk, and then would be Ya’akov ve-Rachel, which would be heh.
Vechol partzuf kolel komah sheleimah shel yud sefirot be’orech, shekol sefirah kelulah mikol tzama. What is kol tzama? Kol tzama is kelim (vessels), levushim, tzelamim, mochin, and orot (lights). Each one of these sefirot—the orot are the highest part of it, corresponding to the kotz; then you have mochin, then tzelamim, then levushim, and then kelim. Shehakelim shelahem, dehainu haguf kavyachol, are generally called Keter, Chochmah, Binah, and then you have Chagat Nehi and Malchut. Those are the kelim of the sefirot. Vechen nir’im hakelim besiddur ha-Rashash.
When you talk about gimel kly keter de... de-Za, you’re going to see Ehyeh beyudin and Havayah beyudin, so you’ll see Ab and Kasa, right? Then you’ll see gimel kelim of Chochmah, so you’re going to have Sag. Why is it Sag? We thought that would be in Binah. But he has a Sag in Chochmah, and then he has the ribua: Yud, Yud-Heh, Yud-Heh-Vav, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh. Which one? In Chochmah he’s giving you a—so he’s giving you not a Sag, I’m sorry, because it would have been, yeah. Right, it would have been a yud. So Yud-Keh is what? That’s 35, and then 13, and then 6, 54. That’s the way the Rashash puts it in; we have to see what that number is. Then you see the ribua. The next one is keli Binah, so it comes into the ribua bemilui of shem Ehyeh. That’s the way we see it. When we get to the sidur, we’ll have to look at that again.
Veha’orot hanikra’im Naran-chai (soul's five levels). So you have yechidah, chayah, neshamah, ruach, venefesh. Vechen hem nir’im besidur haRashash. Yechidah will be Ehyeh-s on top with the kamatz-es; then chayah will correspond to Abba, which is patach-s; then neshamah with Binah, you’ll have a tzere; then ruach, which is Chagat Nehi, you’ll have all those nekudot; and then nefesh, which corresponds to hamalchut, you’ll have the nekudah nekudot of Tzva’ot, at least in the Havayah.
Vehamochin nikra’im Asmab. Again, that’s Ab, Sag, Mah, Ben; that’s Yud-Keh-Vav-Keh, the same thing again. Then you have te’amim, nekudot, tagin, otiyot, also the level of four. Uvegufa de’adam, you’ll have gulgalta—that’s the skull—and then moach yamin, moach semol, the right and left brain; yad yamin, yad semol; regel yamin, regel semol; berit, which is Chagat Nehi; and then ateret haberit, which is Malchut, ateret hayesod.
Gam be’ovyam: now when you go into the thickness of it, which is the width—we’ve been going up and down, and now we’re going into the thickness—you have moach, ve’atzamot, atzamot, gidin, basar, va’or. These are all different layers, either going vertical or horizontal. These are all, obviously, terminologies that are very important for this limud.
Hor’eta lada’at. What did you learn? Haketer nikra yechidah be’orot, venikra Arich bepartzufim, venikra Ak be’olamot. Chochmah is called chayah be’orot, venikra Abba bepartzufim, venikra Atzilut be’olamot. That would be Chochmah. Binah would be called neshamah be’orot, and is nikrat Binah bepartzufim, which we know, and is called Beriah be’olamot. Chagat Nehi would be the ruach in the orot, and it’s called Za bepartzufim and Yetzirah be’olamot. Malchut is nefesh be’orot, and it’s Nuk de-Za bepartzufim, and is called Asiyah be’olamot. Those are also the corresponding terms.
What is a person’s avodah? He says, letaken olam bemalchut Sha-dai. Our purpose is to make a tikkun of the world al yedei haTorah and hamitzvot vehatefilot. Number two: leva’er hakotzim min hakerem. You want to get rid of the thorns from the kerem, which is the vine, the vineyard, shehi Nukba de’Atzilut, shehi nikra’at Shechinah (Divine Presence) kedoshah, vehi or gadol deMalchut de’Atzilut sheshochen toch hatachtonim umegaleh kevodo yitbarach. Therefore, you want to move the kotzim from the Shechinah, to keep the Shechinah protected from the chitzonim (external forces).
Al yedei she’osim mitzvot umevarer la’asot tov umevarer nitzotzot (sparks) hakedushah mitoch hakelipot (husks), you move the nitzotzot from the kelipot, like we always say, uma’aleh otam besod man, and you lift them up, ulenukba shehi shem Adanut. Then she lifts it up to the Za, which is Havayah, and then shem Havayah man letzorech hayichud (unification). Then there’s a yichud of Kudsha Berich Hu ushechinteih, which is Havayah and Adanut, and then we have a zivug (union). Ve’al yedei yichud zeh yoredim mad, what he says on the shefa—shefa ve’or gadol lechol ha’olamot, lechol Yisrael, uvifrat legorem hayichud hahu. That’s very important. Especially the one who is gorem the yichud gets a special—he’s on the receiving end of it. It comes down. “Since he made the yichud, so he gets.” “Yes, yes. That’s right.”
Now, this is something we talked about, if you remember, when we learned Da’at u-Tevunah for the first 100 pages: the yesod of hagshamah (materialization), that you’re not allowed to materialize anything that you’re learning. When you say partzufim, orot, and all these things, they’re all spiritual terms. So al harchakat ha-gashmiyut min ha-dvarim ve-ha-meshalim (analogy) she-ba’u be-sifrei Kabbalah u-vifrat be-sifrei ha-Ari, ha-Rav Gaon Rav Chaim Vital katav be-sefer Sha’ar Ha-Hakdamot, ve-zeh leshono: “Ve-omnam davar galui hu ki ein le-ma’lah guf ve-lo ko’ach be-guf chalilah, ve-chol ha-dimyonot ve-ha-tziyurim elu lo mipnei she-hem kach, chas ve-shalom.” It’s not because they’re like that. Ve-omnam le-shakech et ha-ozen: it’s just to make it palatable to the ear, kedei she-yuchal ha-adam le-havin ha-dvarim ha-elyonim ha-ruchaniyim bilti nitpasim ve-nirshamim be-sechel enoshi. So permission was given to speak in terms of images and analogies, ke-ilu pashut.
Kemo she-amar ha-katuv: “Ki lo re’item kol temunah”—you don’t see any picture—and so on. Ve-omnam yesh od derech acheret kedei le-hamshil sechel kol ha-dvarim ha-elyonim, ve-hem bi-vchinat ketivat tzurat ha-otiyot. That’s another way: we draw the letters, and the letters represent whatever they represent. Ki chol ot ve-ot moreh al or perati elyon. Ve-gam temunah zo davar pashut hu ki ein le-ma’lah lo ot. Even when you say the word or, in your brain you’re thinking of light, sunlight. That’s just a word, a spiritual word, an intangible item that we use to say—but it’s not. We have to say something, just so we can give a mashal.
Ve-sham daf lamed amud dalet katav ha-Rav Chaim Vital, ve-zeh leshono: “Kevar yada’ta ki ein lanu reshut la’asok kodem ha-Atzilut eser sefirot.” So we cannot go above Atzilut, ve-she-lo le-damot shum tzurah ve-dimyon klal. You cannot make any dimyonot to these concepts, chas—perush. Even in a mashal, when you’re talking, you really have to be careful. Aval me-eser sefirot u-le-matah, from the eser sefirot of Atzilut and downward, you can already speak be-derech mashal. That’s the whole concept: above Atzilut, you can’t even speak be-derech mashal; from Atzilut and below, you can speak derech mashal, knowing that it’s only a mashal. Ad kan leshon ha-Rav Chaim Vital: from there and below, it’s possible to speak only be-derech mashal.
Ve-chen be-sefer Shomer Emunim, be-viku’ach sheni, be-shem ha-Ari zal. Ve-ayen sham od be-Shomer Emunim, she-sham he’erich le-hochi’ach she-inyan ha-tzimtzum (contraction) she-katav ha-Ari zal hu mashal. Even the tzimtzum—we have pictures of the tzimtzum, the circle and the line—all of that is just to get a concept in your brain of what it is.
Ve-ha-Gaon Moharach mi-Volozhin be-sifro Nefesh Ha-Chaim (Soul of Life), Sha’ar Gimmel, Perek Zayin, katav: “Ha-lashon moda’at she-kol divrei ha-Ari zal ba-nistarot mashal hem.” Obviously Rav Chaim Volozhin learned that from the Gaon. Ve-ayen be-Tikkunei Zohar (Zohar Supplements), and he says over here, “le-eila leit guf ve-lo geviyah.” Maggid Mesharim (Preacher of Righteousness), Parashat Miketz, katav: “Ve-lo de-ika le-eila evarim, chas ve-shalom.” Don’t say He has remach evarim; there are no, chas ve-shalom, evarim. Ela ha-kol dugmah ka-asher yada’ta. Ve-ayen be-Zohar Bo, be-Ra’aya Mehemna, Parashat Pinchas, and so on.
Be-sefer Kanfei Yonah me-ha-Rema mi-Fano zal, ba-hatchalah be-hatchalato katav: “Nitan lanu reshut la’asot mashal be-evrei gufenu.” We’re just giving a mashal with our limbs. “Aval atah chacham, taher ra’yonecha,” or “taher ra’yonecha”: purify your thoughts, u-machshevotecha, and know she-le-ma’lah ein shum ever gashmi, chas ve-shalom. Hishamer ve-hizaher be-nafshecha me’od. They give us a lot of warnings about this, even though we use a mashal.
U-ve-sefer Mikdash Melech (King’s Sanctuary)—that’s Rabbi Buzaglo—katav be-shem ha-Ari zal: “Al yefatucha ra’yonim.” Don’t be seduced by your thoughts, lomar she-yesh ba-makom ha-elyon mar’ot u-gevanim. Colors—there are no colors, either. So we think Gevurah is black, Chesed is white, Tiferet is green; it’s all a mashal. “Ki ha-sovrim ken hineh yir’u She’ol”—they’re going to end up in She’ol, in Gehinnom (Gehenna), “u-vahem nidonim ad ki yahafchu devarim al Adonei Ha-Adonim.” It’s really a big crime: hagshamah, because there is no color or appearance there. Now we have these books now; they make these new Kabbalah books, they put everything in colors—red, yellow. It helps you with the kavanah, but you can’t really take it to the highest level.
Uvehakdamat haGaon Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto be-Kin’at Hashem Tzeva’ot (Zeal of the Lord of Hosts), katav al kat hara’ah. There was a group of guys who made hagshamah; he calls them the kat hara’ah, the bad group, hato’im beferush divrei Rashbi. This is the wording: “Kin’at Hashem Tzeva’ot ta’aseh zot.” “Semel hakin’ah, ha’egel hazeh yatza rishonah lecha’as mashal lenimshal veladun betocho kevaro.” Just like the egel, now they’re making hagshamah, and permission was given to the public to imagine a form for its creator; it became a trap for them, to destroy them.
“Ve’imrei yosher ozvei divrei tzaddikim ki lo yachpotz kesil bitvunah, he’emiku sichatenu lachshov al hamachashavah lomar hitiru perushim et hadavar asher tzivah Hashem Elokeinu oto: lo ta’aseh lecha fesel vechol temunah, ki naton natnu guf umikreh, guf alei yotzer ha’adam chalilah.” He later wrote about this error: “Ki sheker hamefursam nakal lehimalet mimenah.” It’s easy to keep away from it. “Hakol yod’im ki echad Elokeinu ve’ein od. Achen betzaddik be’emunato yichyeh lehasir mimenu tavnit kol guf vechol mikreh, vecha’asher lo yed’u devarav asher befi nevi’av hizkir shemo bemikrei haguf ha’eleh ki yad’u yada’nu mah shehemah lemashal.” All those nevi’im who gave these physical attributes knew they were only a mashal. The problem is that later generations took it seriously, and the hagshamah of the prophets became a stumbling block to later generations. Therefore, you have to be careful.
Ve-zeh leshon haRamchal Luzzatto besifro Kalach Pitchei Chochmah: “Zeh vadai shekol kach devarim she’anu mazkirim bisfirot divrei tzurah vegashmit i efshar lihyotam ken bahem beshum panim, ki zeh hayah kefirah chas veshalom.” It’s kefirah. “Mikra malei: ‘Ki lo re’item kol temunah.’” If we put this foundation in its proper place, look there at length and you’ll see that, in truth, they are essentially mashalim, and the mashal itself is holy to Hashem. Through it, Hashem Yitbarach made an appearance known to the prophets, expressing the idea being represented, as the Rambam wrote.
So even HaKadosh Baruch Hu used a mashal to explain these things, but that doesn’t mean that it’s something that’s there. Ve’iyun sham be-perek chet, shehu rak ker’ot haneshamah; ve’ye’uyan od bazeh besifro Choker uMekubal. Okay, fine.
Uveve’ur haGra on the Aderet, on what’s written, “Arur ha’ish asher ya’aseh fesel”—who is that arur? Katav haGra: “Hayah yareh shelo yagshimu chas veshalom bemachshevotam.” It seems to him that he wanted to make known that this wasn’t for those standing before him then; it was for this purpose. The Gaon of Vilna wasn’t talking to his generation; they knew the law. Ki vadai hem lo hayu to’im bazeh, rak bishvil hadevarim nichtevu, vegam yada sheyagi’u devarav letalmideihem. The Gaon of Vilna knew that they would read the book, and the students of the students of the students would come to hagshamah. So he had to put the warning in not for the present company, but for the future. Ve’atid lehitgalot basof, lachen hikdim lehasir michshol kederech she’amru chachamim: “Hizaheru vedivreichem.”
Uv’Yalkut haGra shenidpas besof sefer Magen VeTzinah venidpas gam ken besof Sifra Detzni’uta, katav haGra: “Da ki Ein Sof (Infinite One) Baruch Hu ein lachshov bo klal vechlal, vechol sheken be’Ein Sof Baruch Hu yitbarach shemo she’asur lachshov klal, ve’afilu Ein Sof asur lekoroto.” Whatever we speak about, or the sefirot, is all mirtzono. Hashem gave us these terms to use, so if He hadn’t given us these terms, we couldn’t even say them. Vehashgachato, sheyeda mitzad pe’ulotav, so we could know how He operates. This is the rule for all the ways of Kabbalah. Viyadu’a, keshem shehu bilti tachlit ken retzono, vezeh Ein Sof retzono hapashut, ve’ein bazeh isur lachshov klal. That is the wording of the Gaon.
Ve’ye’uyan beve’ur haGra: she’asur lachshov bemahuto. You’re not allowed to think of the essence of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, what that essence looks like; only mitzad gevurotav. You’re only allowed to study that He is called Rachum, He is called Chanun. You can study Him through His behavior, through His ways. Vechen katav besefer Adir Bamarom, which is also from Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. Incidentally, when the Gaon of Vilna got the copy of Adir Bamarom, he was so happy that he put on his Shabbat clothes. He said he would go all the way to wherever the Ramchal was to get it. I mean, he was so impressed.
Vehineh mah she’anu medabrim baMa’atzil Baruch Hu, hineh kvar pashut she’ein anu medabrim rak bivchinat pe’ulotav—the behavior, the middot—and not bivchinat mahuto ve’atzmuto. Know that even when we mention Him by the name Ein Sof Baruch Hu, the intention is not His essence at all, but His actions. Again, it’s His pe’ulot, the behavior, the actions. That’s why it’s interesting: even Ein Sof, you would think, defines—so, no. You can’t get to the definition of the mahut.
“Ein Sof” is just another manifestation of His—
“Like footprints.”
“Exactly, exactly. You can only—”
“Exact, that’s a good way of saying it.”
You can only understand what it is from the prints, but you’re not going to understand the giant itself. We don’t even go close to that. It’s a great mashal. I like that.
Ve-ayen od be-ferush ha-Gra zal al hashmatot she-be-sof me-ha-Zohar. He has an abbreviation on that one. What is the Ra’aya Meheimna? What is it?
“Ra’aya Meheimna, Moshe.”
“Oh, Ra’aya Meheimna—ah, ba-Zohar.”
So therefore, be-ferush ha-Gra al Ra’aya Meheimna, hashmatot she-be-sof chelek alef me-ha-Zohar, yud-chet amud bet, be-dibur ha-matchil ve-hayah chalom, it is known that His essence is such that no created being in the world, whether above or in all the worlds, ever was or ever will be, can attain any hasagah. Nobody can understand that level of hasagah. What has been explained is only a mashal in Olam ha-Atzilut, which is also called a world only by way of mashal.
Aval be-olam ha-beri’ah ve-ha-yetzirah ve-ha-asiyah, bi-vchinat ru’ach va-nefesh she-lahem, sham yesh harbeh devarim she-einam mashal. Once you get to the lower worlds, certain things are not meshalim. I guess there are angels there; there are actually things there. Ki sham medubar gam ken bi-nivra’im. There are creatures in those worlds, ve-ruchim u-devarim, all according to the matter, as explained at length in the Heichalot in the Zohar of Bereshit and Vekudei. Only the neshamah aspect of them is also being discussed. It goes back to the prohibition of hagshamah. You can speak about the physical if there is a physical side, meaning the physical side of the malachim. Once you talk about the spiritual essence of the malachim, then you’re back to the mashal.
Next paragraph. Ve-zeh leshon ha-Gra bi-likutim she-lifnei sof Sifra di-Tzni’uta: “Ve-ha-nevi’im lo hisigu ela be-yetzirah.” The nevi’im only attained Yetzirah. “Ve-Daniyeil be-rosh olam ha-asiyah.” That’s as far as Daniyeil got, to the top of Asiyah, tachtit olam ha-yetzirah ve-holech u-mitma’et. Today we have nothing. “Ad she-be-doroteinu ein masigim ela be-ekev asiyah.” That’s all; they understand the ekev of Asiyah.
Ve-chol mah she’anu medabrim be-Ak va-Aviyah, hakol ba-olamot ha-tachtonim me’od, she-be-chol olam yesh Avi’a ve-chol ha-bechinot eleh. Therefore, we speak derech mashal, and they don’t understand at all that Yechezkel spoke by way of chidah, because he was outside the land, in Bavel, and their descriptions are hidden; we don’t know what they are. Yechezkel kept it close, so of course, we’re not going to know it. Ve-ayen sham. Fine.
Next paragraph. Ve-ayen be-Choker U-mekubal she-nidpas me-chadash, be-asarah perakim shalom sham, nidpas al kamah devarim mar’eh mekomot ha-mekomot, and so on, fine. U-ve-sof Sifra di-Tzni’uta mesayem: “zaka’ah man de-al ve-yada shevilohi ve-orchohi.” What does that mean? Perush ha-Gra: shevilo setimu, His roads are sealed and closed, ve-orcho geluya kemo mashal u-melitzah. Everything is only a mashal. The Gaon has an explanation of the mashal of wisdom and the intended meaning of wisdom, leshon ha-katuv le-havin mashal u-melitzah, as it says in Mishlei.
Okay, now let’s get some more terminology, rabotai, until we finish this hakdamah. Ein Sof. What is this Or Ein Sof that we refer to? That is Or Ha-Rishon, whose name indicates that ein bo shum tefisah. As we said, we have no concept of it, lo be-machashavah lo be-hirhur kelal ve-ikar. There was no time when the Or Ein Sof started or ended, ki tamid hu nimtza—it was always there—and it exists forever; it has no beginning or end. Ve-hu he’etzil et kol ha-olamot. It is from the Or Ein Sof that all the olamot and the partzufim began, and it is mechayeh them—the energy that sustains all of them at every moment. Without the Or Ein Sof going through all the olamot, the world would go back to tzimtzum.
Or Ein Sof she-nitztamtzem la-tzdadim: the Or Ein Sof moved over to the sides to allow a world to appear, la-tzdadim kedei she-yihyeh chalal, so He created, as it were, an empty space, panui ki-vyachol me-oro ki-vyachol, panui me-oro yitbarach, ve-sham yuchal le-ha’atzil et kol ha-olamot partzufim. Where the Or Ein Sof is, you can’t put anything. The olam is from the language of he’elem, because HaKadosh Baruch Hu conceals Himself, and therefore put the tzinor ve-kav Or Ein Sof. So we have a tzinor and a kav.
Zeh ha-or ha-rishon she-nichnas be-tzurah yesharah min ha-Or Ein Sof, so it came into the pipe: ha-Or Ein Sof ha-sovev et ha-chalal le-toch ha-chalal. It came into this very, very thin, ke-chut ha-sa’arah, inside a keli called tzinor, so that they could tolerate the light of Or Ein Sof. The tzimtzumim, just so we could tolerate the— And this whole world over there, what we have in front of us, which is so amazing, is just a zillionth of a zillionth of the Or Ein Sof’s God. It’s filtered down through so many levushot and so many olamot, and it keeps getting more and more diluted until it comes down to us. It’s amazing.
Orot: a term for the upper lights, even though there is no light there. There is no or. We call it or, but that’s just a reference to the energies. Vechayotze, mikol makom, ein efsharut leta’er et hasefirot ha’elyonot lanu betzurah acheret, ela be’or, keivan shehu hadavar haruchani. That’s the most spiritual item that we have in our world, so we refer to it as or.
Sefirot: orot elyonim shehem yud hanhagot, these different ways that God runs the world. That’s how the Or Ein Sof comes down. Sometimes the Or Ein Sof comes down through Chesed hanhagah, through Gevurah hanhagah. The sefirot are basically like the steering of the world.
Adam Kadmon, hapartzuf hu ha’olam harishon. That was the first world, called Ak, which was above Atzilut. Then igulim veyosher: orot hayotze’im betzurat igulim kekadur hachalal, ve’achar kach yotze’im betzurat adam, hakol al derech remez le’ofanim shonim. We have the igulim, where the or goes around in circles, and then you also have the kav, which comes down.
Then we have Achap, the orot that we’ll learn about early on, that come out of the ozen of Ak down to the shibolet hazakan de-Ak, down to the beard of Ak. Here we go: the beard of Ak. There is no beard, but here we already start with a mashal. Orot hayotze’im min hachotem de-Ak, umagi’im ad sof shelish elyon detif’eret de-Ak. And then the orot that come out from the peh come to the tibura de-Ak. That is Olam Akudim. We talk about orot hayotze’im min hapeh de-Ak, umagi’im ad tiburo.
Then you have Nekudim. That’s orot shemekoram meraglei Ak, viytzi’atam hu me’einayim shebo. Nekudim is the da’at that come from the eyes, ve’overim derech orot Achap shebo, and it picks up all the orot of Achap. Vehu Olam Ha’atzilut. That is before Olam Ha’atzilut is fixed. Basically, Nekudim is the pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-Atzilut, kodem tikuno. That’s where the melachim happened in Nekudim. There was the shevirat hakelim and all that, and then Olam Ha’atzilut is the yeridat hakelim me’Olam Ha’atzilut le-Biya.
Then berudim: that’s called Olam Ha’atzilut le’achar tikuno, tikkun kol haperudim, al yedei Shem Mah chadash. That’s the Mah, the new Mah that was created, hayotze min hametzach de-Ak, vena’asim al yado kol partzufei hazacharim sheba’Atzilut. Ve’al yedei Shem Ban bishlemut, having been cleansed, hayotze min ha’einayim, shemimenu na’aseh kol partzufei hanekevot sheba’Atzilut.
And then botzina dekardinuta, which we saw, nitzotz hakasheh hachazak, kemo chittim haba’im me’Eretz Kardu, vehu romez leshoresh hadin. That’s the shoresh of the din. In other places, it seems from the words of the Rav that Chochmah de’Arich, all the way up there, is called that because it is mitlabesh betochah Gevurah de’Atik. What are the chittim? He’s giving an example of something strong. They say wheat that comes from the land of Kardu, so they call it botzina dekardinuta. It’s the dinim that come from Kardu, and it hints at the source of the dinim.
Why is that? In other places, it seems from the words of the Rav that Chochmah de’Arich is called that because it is mitlabesh betochah Gevurah de’Atik. I nami zeh Imma, which is the shushvina dechochmah de’Arich shemitlabesh betochah Gevurah de’Atik, ve’al shum shedinim mit’orerim bah.
Then we have Hadar Hamelech, that’s the eighth king. That’s called Hadar. He’s the eighth king. Shem Mah chadash: the eighth king brought us the new Mah, hayotze min hametzach de-Ak, umtaken kol partzufo. The seven kings broke, and then the eighth king brought us the new Shem Mah.
Chalal, avir panui, makom hanish’ar reik min or ha’Ein Sof: that’s where the chalal was; that’s the reshimu; that’s where the world is. Tzachtzachot: very merciful upper orot. Nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah, yechidah; orot shel sefirot hanikra’im Keter, Chochmah, Binah, Vak, and Netzach and Hod, Yesod—that’s the Vak—and Malchut. Ayin is a remez to Keter.
Now let’s quickly look at some of these rashei tevot and see if we can figure them out. Arich Anpin, okay; there is Ein Sof, Adam Kadmon, achor be’achor, ABYA—we know—Abba ve’Imma. Or makif is a good one; or penimi; Achap, which we saw; ozen, chotem, peh; bar nash; beged would be begin da; bechinat; bi’ah, we know; gas is gimel sefirot; gar is gimel rishonot; heh gevurot, heh gevurot, heh chasadim, heh partzufim; Vak; dal is dai lamevin; vecham is vechen mevo’ar; and Za, Ze’eir Anpin. Then we have veza, vezeh sod, zas is zeh sod, or zayin sefirot; Chabad is Chochmah Binah vada’at; Chesed Gevurah—fine. Chof is chitzoniyut ufenimiyut; that’s a good one. Tov vara; yud sefirot. Yashas: Yisrael Sava; YisSUT: Yisrael Sava uTevunah; ki im; mal is Malchut; nar is nefesh ruach; nai is Netzach Hod Yesod; naran is nefesh ruach neshamah; Narancha is nefesh ruach neshamah chayah yechidah; sa is Sefer HaZohar; ayin yud is Atik Yomin; ak is Atika Kadisha; ibbur yenikah mochin is iim; kali is kelipot; Radla is Reisha Delo Etyada; tach is ta chazei; tach is—tat is Tiferet.
Then we have sefarim. We have the Ohr Zaru’a, Omer Naki, that’s Rabbi Papirash; Eifah Sheleimah; Bati Legani; Beit Lechem Yehudah; Divrei Shalom; Hagahot Uve’urim; HaShemesh is Shalom Mizrachi Sharabi, the Rashash; Chesed is Chasdei David; Yafeh Sha’ah; Kerem Shelomoh; Moreinu HaRav Chaim Vital; Maskil LeShalom; Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach; Remez, Rabbi Moshe Zacuto; Rabbi Natan Shapira; Shemen Sason; and Torat Chacham.
Okay, so there you have it, rabotai. Now, be’ezrat Hashem, in our next session, besiyata dishmaya, we’ll be able to start the holy sefer Etz Chaim.