Chapter Two
(The Study of the Ten Sefirot)
Part 4
Explains the Reshimot that remain after the departure of the Orot and the Ohr Hozer that descends during the Histalkut. Contains ten issues:
1. When the Orot ascend and depart they extend Ohr Hozer from above, by Zivugim de Hakaa.
2. The departing Ohr leaves a Reshima in its place.
3. Every Ohr Elyon to its Tachton is like father to son.
4. When Ohr Keter departs, it leaves a Reshimo in its place to shine for Hochma.
5. When Ohr Hochma departs, it leaves a Reshima in its place to shine for Bina.
6. Malchut does not leave a Reshima.
7. All the Sefirot leave Reshimot in their place after they depart except Malchut.
8. Malchut is called poor since it does not leave a Reshima, for she has nothing of herself.
9. Two kinds of Ohr remain in the Kli after the departure: a – Ohr Hozer, which is Din; b – the Reshimot, which are Ohr Yashar and Rachamim.
10. The Av Ohr that does not leave becomes a Kli and the Reshimot remain in it.
When the Orot ascend and depart they extend Ohr Hozer from above, by Zivugim de Hakaa
1. We must now let you know by a different approach, containing all the Olamot, regarding the return of the Orot to the Maatzil. Besides what we have explained elsewhere, although they rise and depart, they extend Behinat Ohr from above downward (1), from the Maatzil, called Ohr Hozer.
Ohr Pnimi
1. During the Histalkut Ohr Keter because of the ascent of Malchut to ZA, to Behina Gimel, there was a Zivug de Ohr Elyon on Masach de Behina Gimel and Eser Sefirot de Ohr Yashar and Ohr Hozer on the level of Hochma extended. Similarly, there were Zivugim in all the degrees as the Masach ascended toward its Hizdakchut (see Histaklut Pnimit Part 2). The Rav writes, “although they rise and depart, they extend Behinat Ohr from above downward, from the Maatzil, called Ohr Hozer.” It is so because every Zivug de Hakaa extends Ohr Hozer from the Ohr Elyon, as that part of the Ohr that is rejected from Malchut is called Ohr Hozer.
The departing Ohr leaves a Reshima in its place
2. There is yet another great and most beneficial Behina: never, even though they leave, do they leave all their Behinot entirely and ascend. Instead, they leave some of their strength and of their own Behina, a little He’arah below, where they first stood. This He’arah is never uprooted from there, even when they ascend upward. This He’arah is called Reshimo (2), as it is written, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart,” mentioned at the end of Parashat Mishpatim in Saba (114, 71).
Ohr Pnimi
2. The Reshima is like a Hotam. After the Hotam leaves the place it was once adhered to, it leaves its entire form there, nothing missing. Likewise, if Ohr Elyon expands to a certain place, it leaves its entire form there, not a single imprint missing, even though it’s left there. In the end, it shall return and manifest in the full measure, as in the beginning.
Every Ohr Elyon to its Tachton is like father to son
3. The reason is that the Upper Orot are to the lower Orot like a father to his children; he always wants to bestow upon them, as is explained regarding honoring the father and the mother. A single Nitzotz extends from father to son and never moves from there. Similarly, here in the Eser Sefirot, the Elyonim leave some He’arah in the first place, called Reshimo, so that some He’arah would be drawn from there to the Tachtonim (3).
Ohr Pnimi
3. It is the conduct both in the Ohr and in the Kli, in general and in particular. The Rosh, Toch, Sof of Hitpashtut Bet de AK, called Partzuf AB de AK, came from the Reshimot that were included in Tabur of the first Hitpashtut of Adam Kadmon that rose to His Peh (see Table of Topics, item 210).
It is the same in the particular. A Reshima that remains in Kli de Keter de Hitpashtut Aleph becomes a Zachar in Kli de Keter de Hitpashtut Bet. Kli de Hochma de Hitpashtut Bet is made of the Reshima that remains in Kli de Hochma de Hitpashtut Aleph, and the males in the other Sefirot extended from the Zivug.
The females of Hitpashtut Bet are made of the Reshimot that remain of the four degrees that extended during Histalkut Aleph, called Nitzotzin, or Otiot. Hitkalelut Malchut in ZA is made of the Nitzotzin that fell from the level of Behina Gimel, namely ZA, into Kli Malchut, namely Behina Dalet. Afterwards, in Hitpashtut Bet, when Ohr Malchut clothes Kli de ZA, it finds the Kli of Malchut that belongs to it there.
Thus, the force of the Nitzotzin that fell from Ohr Hozer of the level of Behina Bet, which is Bina, caused the Hitkalelut ZA in Kli de Bina. Later on in Hitpashtut Bet, when OhrZA came and clothed Kli de Bina, it found its Kli there, and so on similarly (see Ohr Pnimi, Chap 3, item 80).
Thus, all the Behinot in the lower Partzuf extend only from the Reshimot that its Upper Partzuf left. The Rav writes, “the Upper Orot are to the lower Orot like a father to his children.” It means that a lower Partzuf extends from an Upper Partzuf as a son from a father. In other words, it extends from the Atzmut of the Orot in its Upper Partzuf by the Reshimot that remain in the Kelim de Partzuf Elyon from its Orot.
The Rav writes, “the Elyonim leave some He’arah in the first place, called Reshimo, so that some He’arah would be drawn from there to the Tachtonim.” Remember that in all the places for this is the key to the concatenation of the degrees by cause and effect from the Rosh of the Kav to the end of Assiya.
When Ohr Keter departs, it leaves a Reshimo in its place to shine for Hochma
4. It turns out that when Keter rises and departs, He leaves one Reshimo in His place, in that Kli of His (4), to shine for Hochma below Him after He ascends and departs. After He rose and departed there extends a He’arah to the Ohr Hochma from that Reshimo (5) that the Keter left in His Kli. Although afterwards the Ohr Hochma will also rise and leave to the Maatzil, still the Reshimo that remained in Kli Keter does not move from it even after Ohr Hochma rose to the Maatzil.
Ohr Pnimi
4. We might ask: In item 9 he says that the existence of the Kli is generated by the Reshima, and here he says that there is a Kli even before the Reshima and before the departure of the Ohr! The thing is that there are two kinds of Kelim in each Partzuf, which are:
1. Kelim that extend from the first Histaklut in Malchut de Rosh, when this Malchut expands by the force of the Ohr Hozer in her, which she raised from above downward and expanded from her and within her into Eser Sefirot from above downward. These are considered the vessels of reception for the first Hitpashtut.
2. There is yet another Behinat Kelim in the Partzuf, which extend by the second Histaklut in Malchut de Guf of the Partzuf that causes Histalkut and the return of that Ohr to the Maatzil. The Reshimot that remain after that Histalkut become complete Kelim (see Part 3, Chap 12, Ohr Pnimi).
All these Reshimot de Histaklut Bet extend to all the Behinot, meaning to its lower Partzuf. It is said, “the Upper Orot are to the lower Orot like a father to his children.” It means that the inferior Partzuf extends from the Superior Partzuf like a son from a father, meaning by the Reshimot of the Orot that remain inside the Kelim of the Superior Partzuf.
The Rav writs, “the Elyonim leave some He’arah in the first place, called Reshimo, so that some He’arah would be drawn from there to the Tachtonim.” Remember that thoroughly for it is the key for the concatenation of the degrees by cause and consequence from the Rosh of the Kav to the end of Assiya, where each Tachton is generated by the Reshimot of its Upper Partzuf.
5. Afterwards, when Malchut rose to Behina Gimel, where Eser Sefirot on the level of Hochma extend, it is impossible for this Ohr to begin in Sefirat Hochma. It is so because any Hitpashtut of Ohr must begin from the Keter. It therefore needs a He’arah of Reshima de Keter, by which the Ohr becomes tied and adhesive with the Shoresh.
Also, when Malchut rose to Bina, Eser Sefirot on the level of Bina extended and He’arah of Reshimot de Keter and Hochma necessarily remained there, and so on likewise for the above reason. Remember that in every place for it is impossible for any degree to lack the Upper Sefirot altogether. Only when the Upper Sefirot are regarded as mere He’arah of Reshima do we say that they are absent there for they do not shine there.
When Ohr Hochma departs, it leaves a Reshima in its place to shine for Bina
5. Afterwards, when Hochma rises to the Maatzil, she leaves a Reshimo in His Kli, to shine from Him to Bina, after He Himself leaves. Even after Bina rises to the Maatzil the Reshimo of Hochma does not leave the Kli of Hochma, and likewise all of them until the Yesod.
Malchut does not leave a Reshima
6. However, when Ohr Malchut leaves, she does not leave a Reshimo in her Kli for there is no Sefira beneath her to receive from her (6). Though there are other Olamot destined to be under her, receiving from her, it is not their kind and she has no Dvekut with them (7), as there is Dvekut with the Eser Sefirot of each and every Olam in and of itself.
Ohr Pnimi
6. Because it is Ohr Nekeva, receiving for herself and not bestowing. For that reason her Eser Sefirot end the degree, as it is only Ohr Hozer. It is also why she does not leave a Reshima, as Reshima is only the remains of the Hitpashtut of Ohr Yashar that remains there, as the Rav says. Also, there is no cessation in the Ohr Elyon here, for the Tachton is completely dependent on the Elyon, but the Elyon is not dependent on the Tachton.
7. Because they come in a renewed form of Aviut, she has no Dvekut with them, as Dvekut means Hishtavut Tzura, while separation and difference mean Shinui Tzura (see Part 3, Table of Questions, item 210)
.
All the Sefirot leave Reshimot in their place after they depart except Malchut
7. It turns out that all those Sefirot leave a Reshimo in their place and in their Kli when they want to leave and ascend. However, Ohr Malchut does not leave a Reshimo in its Kli, only the Reshimo that Ohr Yesod left in its Kli. The He’arah to the Kli of Malchut extends from there after the departure of her Ohr.
Malchut is called poor since it does not leave a Reshima, for she has nothing of herself
8. There is another reason why Malchut is called “poor for she has nothing of her own”, and also, “Aspaklaria de Lo Nahara” (8). It is because her Kli does not shine at all when she ascends and the Ohr leaves her, as no Ohr remains in her, even as a Reshimo. Even the sustenance of that Kli does not come from her Ohr, but from the Reshimo that remains in Kli de Yesod. From there it sustains and shines in Kli Malchut. That is why it is said, “She has nothing of her own.”
Ohr Pnimi
8. The Rav has already written why Malchut is called “de Lo Nahara” (of no Light). It is because Eser Sefirot extended only in the level of Hochma in Hitpashtut Bet, and Ohr Keter remained concealed in the Peh.
It turns out that Ohr Hochma comes in Kli de Keter, Ohr Bina in Kli de Hochma, Ohr ZA in Kli de Bina and Malchut in Kli de ZA. Thus, Kli Malchut is left without Ohr, hence the name “Aspaklaria de Lo Nahara”. He adds another reason here, being that Malchut did not leave a Reshima behind her in Hitpashtut Aleph.
We might ask: “If Ohr Keter vanishes from Hitpashtut Bet, Kli de keter should have been left there without Ohr. Why did the Orot switch, and Ohr Hochma came in Kli de Keter until Kli Malchut remained without Ohr?” It has already been explained in Histaklut Pnimit (Part 2, Chap 8) that the Orot have a conduct of dressing only the purer Kelim in the Partzuf. Thus, even if there is only Ohr Nefesh there, it clothes only the highest Kli, namely Keter, while the lower nine remain without Ohr.
Two kinds of Ohr remain in the Kli after the departure: a – Ohr Hozer, which is Din; b – the Reshimot, which are Ohr Yashar and Rachamim
9. We have now learned by these two introductions how the Kelim of the Sefirot, even when their Orot return and depart to the Maatzil, still have two kinds of Orot (9): The first is called Ohr Hozer, being Din, and the second is the Ohr that remains in the Kli, called Reshimo. This is Ohr Yashar and Rachamim because it remains there from the Behina of the Orot that departed from above downward as Ohr Yashar.
Ohr Pnimi
9. The first Hitpashtut that extends by the expansion of Malchut from her and within her to Eser Sefirot down to Malchut de Guf, extending from above downward to Behinat Hitlabshut, is called Ohr Yashar and Rachamim. Also, all the Reshimot that remain of the Eser Sefirot after the departure of that Ohr are also Ohr Yashar Rachamim, but as a small He’arah, called Reshima.
However, these levels generated by the Zivug de Hakaa as Malchut ascends and purifies from below upward degree-by-degree until all the Ohr departs, all these levels are called Ohr Hozer Din. It is so because the levels gradually diminish until they are entirely gone.
The Av Ohr that does not leave becomes a Kli and the Reshimot remain in it
10. The work of the Kelim has not been completed in this Olam of the Akudim at that time, but the Behinot and the reality that they were made of, being Ohr Av connected with Ohr Zach had already been there (10). When the Ohr Zach returned upward, the Ohr Av had been left below, and this is the Behina of the Kelim themselves. There, in that Ohr Av (20), which is Behinat Kelim, the Zach Orot left the above two Behinot: 1 - Ohr Yashar, Reshimo; 2 – Ohr Hozer.
Ohr Pnimi
10. When the Ohr expands from Malchut de Rosh down to the Guf, that Ohr consists of Ohr Yashar and Ohr Hozer. It is as though they clothe one another in the Rosh. This Ohr Yashar is called Ohr Zach, and Ohr Hozer is called Ohr Av, as it extends by the force of the Aviut and the Tzimtzum in the Masach on Malchut de Rosh.
There is no discernment of Aviut up in the Rosh, as it rises and clothes the Upper nine from the Masach upward, and the force of the Aviut cannot operate above the place of its manifestation and existence even a bit. However, afterwards, this Ohr Hozer expands and descends once more with its Ohr Yashar from Malchut de Rosh downward. Then the Aviut in the Masach is certainly in it, though it is not at all regarded as a drawback, for its entire merit is connected with the Aviut, as there wouldn’t have been any Ohr in the Partzuf without it.
Indeed, when the Ohr finally leaves the Partzuf and the Aviut is emptied of that Ohr Yashar that is clothed in it, then the full ignobility and demerit of that Aviut, compared to the Ohr Yashar appears.
The Rav writes, “had been left below.” It means that after the Ohr Zach had been emptied of the Ohr Av, meaning once the Ohr Yashar had left and been pulled out of the Ohr Hozer that clothed it, the Ohr Av remained below. In other words, the demerit of the Ohr Hozer compared to the Ohr Yashar surfaced. That is why it is said that after the return of the Ohr Zach upwards, the Ohr Av that remained below “is the Behina of the Kelim themselves.”
In other words, this Ohr Hozer that had been emptied of Ohr Yashar after its first Hitpashtut is the entire substance of the Kelim in that Partzuf, called Hitpashtut Aleph de AK, or Partzuf Galgalta de AK. The Reshima and the Nitzotzin of the descending Ohr Hozer clothed inside it. We shall now see that these Reshima and the Nitzotzin of Ohr Hozer became and were corrected as the Kelim of the following Partzuf, called Hitpashtut Bet, or AB.
20. Meaning the Ohr Hozer that remains after the departure of the Ohr Yashar from inside it. We have yet to thoroughly understand the above matter of the ascent of the Orot, and know precisely what rose, what purified and what remained below as Kelim.
You already know that the Masach means a “detaining force over the Ohr Elyon so that it does not expand into the four Behinot of the Aviut in Behina Dalet, called Malchut.”
The matter of the ascent of Malchut to ZA in the Rav’s words as follows mean that you should know that they revolve only around the Masach and the Ohr Hozer in her. These two are called Ohr Malchut. They are called Ohr in the Rav’s words, as there is no other Ohr in Malchut from the Tzimtzum onwards.
However, Kli Malchut herself cannot rise to ZA, since ascent means Hizdakchut, and that can only be in the Masach, but not in the Kelim. This matter of the Hizdakchut is not operative whatsoever in the Kelim. Only that amount of Aviut that exists in the Behina of the Kelim in each and every Partzuf remains permanent and fixed forever until they receive their correction. This has already been explained (Part 2, Table of Questions, item 43).
The matter of the Hizdakchut of the Masach from Behina Dalet to Behina Gimel means that because of the Bitush de Ohr Pnimi with Ohr Makif in the Masach, the last Behina of the Aviut that is contained in its force of detainment disappeared and was lost. From now on it is found to be detaining the Ohr Elyon from expanding further than Behina Gimel of the Aviut, which remains in it. It is so because Behina Dalet in Behina Dalet is no longer contained in it, so it only detains and returns the Ohr Elyon from the three Behinot Aviut that remained incorporated in it from Behina Dalet.
The returned Ohr Hozer from these three Behinot is only sufficient to clothe the Ohr Yashar up to Hochma, and its clothing does not reach Keter. It therefore naturally turns out that Ohr Keter disappears from the Partzuf because the Ohr is not caught in the Partzuf without Levush and Kli (see Histaklut Pnimit, Part 2, Chap 7).
It has been thoroughly explained that the ascent and the Hizdakchut relate to the Masach and not at all to the Kelim. The Kelim that remain in their location after the Histalkut de Ohr Yashar (which the Rav calls Ohr Av) are the four Behinot Aviut contained in that Ohr Hozer that has been clothed. They clothe the Eser Sefirot de Guf, which have now been emptied of their Orot.