The Essence

The latter half of this week’s Torah portion contains the basic laws of kashrut, detailing which animals may and may not be eaten. Kosher animals include domesticated animals (cattle, sheep, and goats), seven species of wild beasts, four types of locusts, plus various species of fowl and fish.

Man derives in general from Z’eir Anpin, while the beasts and cattle derive from Nukva [of Z’eir Anpin] and fish, locusts, and fowl derive from yesod of Z’eir Anpin. For this reason, the numerical value of the word for “fish” [dag] is 7, for yesod is the seventh sefirah. Furthermore, yesod “gives to the poor” [gomel dalim], and the initials of this phrase in Hebrew are the same letters used to spell the word for “fish.”

Yesod is actually the sixth sefirah of the midot, but since yesod couples with malchut, the seventh sefirah, it may be considered in this context the seventh sefirah as well. Malchut is considered “the poor” since it possesses no intrinsic content of its own, as we have explained previously. Since the content of the preceding sefirot is funneled through yesod to malchut, yesod may be spoken of as “giving to the poor.”

Specifically, [fish] derive from the states of chesed given to yesod for its own purposes; this is why they live in the water.

Certain aspects of chesed are merely channeled through yesod, while others yesod become part of yesod itself (since yesod is principally a sefirah of transmission, it reflects the giving aspect of chesed). In the imagery of Kabbalah, water is a metaphor for chesed (and therefore a manifestation of chesed), since water always flows downward and is the source of life.

Locusts derive from the states of gevurah [within yesod] as they return upward. This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “Extend your hand over…the locusts and they will ascend…,”(Exodus 10:12), for they manifest the principle of ascent.

In order to transmit properly, yesod must evince gevurah as well as chesed, since unmitigated and unrestricted giving is never effective. This element of withdrawal or restraint within yesod is embodied in the locusts.

The numerical value of the Hebrew word for “fowl” [oaf] is equal to that of the word “Joseph” [yosef]. Joseph personified the sefirah of yesod. Therefore, birds fly, for they, too, manifest the principle of ascent, as the states of gevurah return and fly upward.

The seven shepherds of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David, in this order) correspond to and personify the seven emotional sefirot from chesed to malchut. Joseph personifies yesod chiefly because he (1) sustained and provided for the entire kingdom (malchut) of Egypt during the years of famine, and (2) preserved his sexual integrity (sexuality being associated with yesod, the sefirah of coupling) even while immersed in the depraved culture of Egypt.

Since fish and locusts derive from the sefirah of yesod, which is referred to as being “alive,” they do not require ritual slaughter [as do beasts and cattle], but rather only “gathering up.”

Man, being created in “the image of G-d,” reflects both in his body and soul the structure the sefirot assume when they form a partzuf. The correspondence between the limbs of the body and the sefirot is as follows:

Keter	skull
Chochmah	right lobe of brain
Binah	Left lobe of brain
da’at	rear (occipital) lobe of brain
Chesed	right arm
Gevurah	Left arm
Tiferet	torso
Netzach	right leg, right kidney, right testicle/ovary
Hod	Left leg, left kidney, left testicle/ovary
Yesod	reproductive organs
Malchut	mouth

Yesod thus corresponds to the reproductive organ, and yesod of Z’eir Anpin specifically to the male reproductive organ. Again, this is because yesod is the sefirah of transference between one partzuf and the next.

In order for yesod to transfer the content of the preceding sefirot, it must properly focused on its goal. We see this in day to day life: a person cannot communicate effectively with another person if he is distracted and his mind is elsewhere. Physically, the male reproductive organ cannot transfer the semen within it, nor can the female reproductive organ receive the semen from the male, unless they are properly focused on each other. This focus is termed in Kabbalah “being alive,” just as in halachah, the erect male reproductive organ is called “alive” (and in its flaccid form, it is called “dead”). Similarly, effective communication is characterized by animation and excitement, as opposed to a “deadpan” style that does not excite the listener. Yesod, then, at least when acting effectively, is called the “live” sefirah.

Thus, the animals (fish and locusts) that derive from this sefirah are considered to possess intrinsic life-force, and therefore do not have to undergo any ritual process to prepare them for Jewish consumption.

(Note that the Arizal does not yet explain why fowl, even though deriving from the same sefirah, do require ritual slaughter.)

This is not the case with beasts and cattle; they derive from the Nukva [of Z’eir Anpin] and therefore require ritual slaughter.

Beasts and cattle are considered a lower level of life than fowl and locusts. In order for their life force to be properly assimilated, it must undergo the additional rectification process of ritual slaughter. Through this process the life force inherent in the animal flesh is rendered capable of being absorbed into spirituality through being eaten by the Jew.

Now, it is the angels that issue from the yesod of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilut. These [angels] are the [spiritual] birds that derive from this level. As it is said of [the angel] Gabriel, “and the bird will fly in heaven” (Genesis 1:20). In contrast, physical birds derive from yesod of Z’eir Anpin of [the three lower worlds,] Beirah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.

Whereas the physical fish and locusts derive from yesod of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilut, the fowl derive only from the projection of this level onto the lower spiritual worlds. The difference between Atzilut and the three subsequent worlds is that the pervading consciousness in the world of Atzilut is that of total submersion in the Divine presence. “Denizens” of this world do not conceive of themselves as independent beings, but rather as aspects of Divinity. In the lower worlds, the pervading consciousness is that of selfhood; the “denizens” of these worlds are aware of themselves as independent entities, albeit subject to Divine rule. This is indicated by the fact that fish must remain in the water to live, that is, their existence is dependent on being almost always submerged within the ocean, just as the “denizens” of the world of Atzilut live totally immersed in Divine consciousness.

This is the mystical meaning of [our sages’ statement that the fowl] were created from the mire [i.e., a mixture of water and earth] (Chulin 27b). Z’eir Anpin of Beriah, which is male, exists in the female world, for all the lower worlds are the legions of the Nukva of Z’eir Anpin [of Atzilut].

Every world is created out of the Nukva [female partner] of Z’eir Anpin of the world preceding it, just a physical child is born of its parents. And just as the parents (and particularly the mother) must rear and educate the new child, Nukva of Z’eir Anpin of any particular world is entrusted with the task of disseminating the light, or consciousness, of its world into the worlds below it. Inasmuch as all three lower worlds (Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah) share the common denominator of being worlds of independent consciousness, they may be grouped together and be considered to have emerged as a group from the “womb” of Nukva of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilut. Since the three lower worlds then assume the role of the recipient vis-?-vis Atzilut—in that they are intended to absorb as much as possible of the consciousness pertaining in the world of Atzilut—they are considered feminine and it masculine relative to each other.

While water is a mystical referent to the sefirah of chesed, earth refers to the sefirah of malchut, the lowest of the ten sefirot and the allegorical “floor” of the world it belongs to.

It thus follows [the lower worlds] are the extracted states of chesed after they have been “processed” by Nukva of [Z’eir Anpin of] Atzilut. This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “And the birds will multiply on earth,” (Genesis 1:22), implying that they are created from the earth. [But since it is also stated: “Let the water swarm with…birds,” (Ibid, 1:20), it means that the birds were created as well] from the water on the earth, i.e., the states of chesed within yesod of Z’eir Anpin. Therefore they have scales on their feet like fish, on the one hand, yet they fly like locusts, on the other.

The fowl were thus created from both the chesed and gevurah elements and therefore possess fishlike and locust-like characteristics. Since they derive not directly from the world of Atzilut but rather from Atzilut as it has been “processed,” diminished and diluted into the lower worlds, they require ritual slaughtering in order to be eaten.

Now, man is a mammal [i.e., he produces and suckles milk]. This is because Z’eir Anpin and Nukva [of Atzilut] suckle from Ima.

Man derives directly from Z’eir Anpin of Atzilut and its female partner, Nukva. These two partzufim, which together comprise the emotions of the world of Atzilut and its capacity for self-expression, emerge from the “womb” of Ima, the partzuf of binah, just as an emotion or means of expression is derived from an intellectual idea that gives rise to it. Here again, once Ima has produced the emotional reaction (Z’eir Anpin) and its expression (Nukva), it “nurtures” them, ensuring that they indeed properly emotionalize and express the idea and concept they derive from. The physical manifestation of this principle in man is the nourishment the infant derives from its mother’s milk.

Beasts and cattle are also mammals, for they, too, derive from Nukva. In contrast, fish, locusts, and birds produce no milk and they do not suckle, for they derive from the yesod of Ima, and Ima therefore does not suckle them, for [as is said in the Zohar,] Ima extends only so far as hod.

Although beasts and cattle are not created “in the image” of G-d, and therefore do not reflect completely the phenomenology of Atzilut, the fact that they originate in Nukva and Nukva suckles from Ima is enough to make them milk-producing and milk-suckling animals, i.e., mammals. Fish, locusts, and birds, in contrast, are not “processed” by Nukva the same way beasts and cattle are, as we explained. Therefore, they do not possess this quality. They are derived directly from the sefirah of yesod, whether it be yesod of Z’eir Anpin, as stated above, or yesod of Ima, as stated here.

The intellect (binah) “extends only as far as hod.” This means that even after a person has progressed from the intellectual development of an idea into the emotional response-phase (chesed, gevurah, tiferet), he can still “recharge the batteries” of this emotional response from the residual memory of the original idea. The same is true once he has passed from the emotional response-phase into the initial stage of the active transmission phase (netzach, hod) and is involved in overcoming obstacles to the transmission of his new idea (netzach) and making it relevant to its target audience (hod). Once he has passed from this phase, however, into the stage of transmission in which he must focus entirely on the goal, that is, become totally resonant with the target audience (yesod), he must give up any memory he still has of the original inspiration that accompanied his experience of the original idea. Were he to retain this memory, it would derail and distract his attention from its now crucial object, the recipient. As we said, before, this focus in necessary in order for yesod to be “alive.” Therefore, binah is said to extend only as far as hod, but not as far as yesod.

In this sense, yesod may be considered an “orphan,” since it does not suckle from the milk of Ima. This is alluded to in the fact that in the verse describing Joseph, he is said to be “of good appearance and good form” [yefeh toar vifeh mareh], (Ibid, 39:6). The initials of this phrase spell the Hebrew word for “orphan” [yatom].

Therefore fowl requires ritual slaughter, since it has an element of earth in it, as our sages said, that it was created from the mire.

Parashat “Shemini” in the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria

Parashat “Shemini”
in the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria