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The Arizal on the Torah
The large-size colored text is the direct translation of the Ari teachings.
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Parashat Toldot In the beginning of the portion of the Torah read this week, Isaac and Rebecca pray for children: “Isaac entreated G-d opposite his wife, because she was barren.”[1] When G-d’s infinite light descends, it becomes manifest in Atika, that is, in Arich Anpin. [Arich Anpin extends throughout] the entire measure of Atzilut; the other [partzufim] enclothe Arich Anpin [to various extents]. Atika means “the ancient one” or “primordial one.” The partzuf that develops from the inner dimension of keter is called Atik Yomin, but the term Atika Kadisha (“Holy ancient one”) or just Atika (“the ancient one”) refers to the partzuf that develops from the outer dimension of keter, Arich Anpin. Arich Anpin is synonymous with the will. G-d’s will to manifest at any particular level is what is responsible for the existence of that level of revelation, i.e., that world. Thus, the will permeates the entire world that develops out of it, and is the inner force driving all the other manifestations of His powers (i.e., partzufim) at that level. It follows that when this light wishes to extend into Beriah, [we would imagine that it would issue from] the feet of Arich Anpin, since they reach this far. But this is impossible, for his feet are blocked there, and the light cannot issue forth. The “feet”—or malchut—are the lowest level of the partzuf of Arich Anpin, so we would assume that they embody the lowest intensity of will in the world of Atzilut, which would be appropriate to create the world of Beriah. We see, however, that there is no orifice in the feet for any type of “light” to issue through. This basically because the feet, existing as they do at the lowest level, must be insulated in order to prevent any unwarranted flow of Divine light to the powers of evil. Rather, the light issues forth from yesod [of Arich Anpin], which is situated above, between the thighs. From there it issues to Z’eir Anpin, which enclothes it. When the light issues from the yesod of Arich Anpin, it is opposite the da’at of Z’eir Anpin. The light that issues from Arich Anpin in order to eventually create the next world, that of Beriah, issues from its yesod. As we have explained previously, yesod is the drive toward actualization of any particular partzuf. The other partzufim of Atzilut are smaller than Arich Anpin and enclothe only various segments of it. For example, Abba and Ima enclothe the chesed-gevurah-tiferet of Arich Anpin; Z’eir Anpin enclothes Arich Anpin from the lower third of its tiferet down to its malchut, and so on. Here we see that the da’at of Z’eir Anpin enclothes Arich Anpin opposite its yesod. This simply means that the drive within Arich Anpin for self-actualization becomes the da’at—or subjective knowledge—of the partzuf of emotion. The light that issues from yesod is called “morning,” as it is written, “the morning was light.”[2] [Yesod] is synonymous with Joseph, who is [also] called “morning,” for light issues from him. The phrase “the morning was light” occurs in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Due to his sexual purity, Joseph is associated with the sefirah of yesod. Now, the light that issues from the beard, via the hairs, is called mazal, because it “flows” drop by drop. The word mazal in Hebrew is derived from the root nun-zayin-lamed, which means “to flow.” A mazal is a spiritual conduit of Divine life force, which flows from it to some other level. To explain: The light of the Infinite One [first] becomes manifest in the head of Arich Anpin, in which are situated the brains. When it then seeks to be manifest [further, down] through the throat, which is narrow, the light bursts forth [through the skin] as hair. This is the origin of the beard. The transformation of Divine consciousness from the mental to the emotional state is a drastic change, and involves a tzimtzum, or contraction of the light. This is the spiritual mechanics behind the anatomical phenomenon of the neck being such a narrow connection between the head and the torso. Despite this contraction, the light descending from the mental faculties is still too intense to be completely funneled through the passageway of the neck/throat, and therefore, the residual aspects of it exude through the pores of the skin as the beard. This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “[the sound of] the mighty [adirim] [waters] that break the sea.”[3] These [waters] are from the hairs, as in the expression “he was entirely [covered] with a cloak [aderet] of hair.”[4] When the vessel is pierced and the light issues forth as a hair, this is the cloak. The word adir carries both the meaning of “mighty” and that of a magnificent “cloak” or “mantle,” as a symbol of royalty and power. Hair is like the letter vav, and the light within it is like the letter yud, which depicts the point of light within it. The form of the letter vav represents an elongated channel, similar to a hair. The form of the letter yud symbolizes the particle of light (photon?) that issues via the hair. The beard of Arich Anpin extends down to its navel, which is opposite the head of Z’eir Anpin. The navel demarcates the division of the torso into its upper two thirds and its lower third. The topmost part of the head of Z’eir Anpin enclothes Arich Anpin from this point, the lower third of tiferet of Arich Anpin. [The lights of the beard issue] in thirteen parts. This is because the light that manifests and pierces via the beard originates in the three brains. These [states of mentality] are three Names Havayah, which together possess 12 letters. These together with the 13th level that encompasses them all are 13 states of rectification. Therefore, all these 13 states [are channeled] through the beard of this male. Each of the three “brains” or mentalities (chochmah, binah, and da’at) is a different manifestation of G-d’s creative energy, which is expressed in the Name Havayah. Arich Anpin is considered a male partzuf, and there is no corresponding female partzuf that shares its mental states. These can therefore be entirely channeled through its own beard. But below, there are only nine parts of the beard of Z’eir Anpin. For above, in Arich Anpin, there is no feminine principle. The three final letters hei in the three Names Havayah are for the female, and what is left [for the male] is the three letters yud-hei-vav in each Name. This is why there are nine parts of the beard of Z’eir Anpin and 13 parts of the beard of Arich Anpin. When the three Names Havayah in the three brains of Arich Anpin descend into its torso, there is no feminine principle to absorb the residual light from the final hei’s of these Names that pierces through the skin of the jaw and neck. Therefore, all this light can be manifest as a beard. When the similar process occurs in Z’eir Anpin, however, there is the partzuf of Nukva to absorb the feminine energy from these letters. Thus, there are only 9 letters left to manifest in the beard. There is no kollel here (as there is in Arich Anpin) since the full array is not present. Of these thirteen [parts of the beard of Arich Anpin], two are referred to as a mazal, in that Divine beneficence flows downward through them. These are the attributes of “storing kindness” and “and acquits.” As we have mentioned previously, the thirteen tufts of the beard of Arich Anpin are synonymous with the thirteen attributes, or aspects, of Divine mercy:
It will be noted that these two (#8 and #13) are the upper and lower layers of the beard proper. As opposed to all the other parts of the beard in this table, these two extend downward. These two mazalot couple and bestow beneficence on Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. This is why it is said that these hairs reach the level of the navel [of Arich Anpin], for they impart beneficence to Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which exist from the level of the navel and downward. The word for “storing [kindness]” [notzer, nun-tzadik-reish] may be permuted to spell the word for “will” [ratzon, reish-tzadik-vav-nun]. There is an implied vav in between the nun and the tzadik of notzer. This affords an association between this attribute of mercy and Arich Anpin, the partzuf of will. This is because binah is termed “will,” and it is the attribute of chesed. For this reason the high priest was robed in eight vestments. In general, the beard of the high priest is associated with binah, the eighth sefirah. The eighth attribute is “storing chesed,” and we have just noted that “storing” is a permutation of “will.” There must, therefore, be a connection between “will” and chesed. The connecting link is binah. In the verse, “like the beard of Aaron, cascading down over his garments,”[5] we see that the beard is associated with Aaron, the first high priest. The word for “his garments” in this verse [midotav] also can mean “his midot” or “his emotions.” Thus, we have the image of Aaron the high priest with his beard flowing into the midot. In light of what we have seen above, this makes us identify Aaron with Arich Anpin, whose beard flows into Z’eir Anpin, the partzuf of the midot. As we said, midot can mean both emotions and garments. However, the high priest wore eight garments, while we usually speak of only seven midot. The eighth midah, then, is the next sefirah in the series, which, if we begin with malchut and count upwards, is binah. In Aaron, or Arich Anpin, we may thus consider binah together with the midot. The priest in his service elicits Divine goodwill, as is seen in many verses throughout the Torah. As we have also explained previously, the priest (kohen) expressed the Divine attribute of chesed, while the Levite (levi) expressed the attribute of gevurah. The beard moreover is a garment, as it is written, “His robe was like white snow, [and the hair of his head was like pure wool]”[6] and the beard is the attribute of “and acquits.” The verse quoted is a description of “the Ancient of Days,” which, although usually as a term refers to the partzuf of Atik Yomin, is evidently taken here to refer to Arich Anpin (which, after all, enclothes Atik Yomin just as the other partzufim of Atzilut enclothe it). The “robe” in this verse is understood to be a white, flowing beard. The second half of the verse speaks of the hair of the head being like “pure wool.” The word for used for “pure” or “clean” here is naka, Aramaic for nakeh (the whole verse, like most of the book of Daniel, is in Aramaic), the word for “acquits” in the list of the 13 attributes of mercy. These two mazalot couple as one, [as mentioned above]. Now, these two mazalot are the two drops [of anointing oil] that hung at the end of Aaron’s beard, as our sages have said.[7] This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “It is like the precious oil upon the head, cascading down upon the beard.”[8] The oil is the light of chochmah, as the sages say, “whoever is accustomed to use oil merits chochmah.”[9] And as we have explained previously, chochmah is the seminal drop of insight that enters the conscious mind as a concentrated essence from the super-conscious. This is similar to oil, which is the concentrated essence of the olive. All the brains are receptacles for chochmah, and are called by its name. This is the mystical meaning of [the phrase from the above-quoted verse,] “like the precious oil.” The meaning is as follows: The order in which the partzufim enclothe Arich Anpin is that Abba enclothes his right arm and [the right] half of his torso, while Ima enclothes his left arm and [the left] half of his torso. [Both extend downward and enclothe him] as far as his navel. This is the mystical significance of the tefilin that we put on our left hand, for we elevate thereby the Nukva into Ima, which enclothes the left hand of Arich Anpin. Z’eir Anpin enclothes the right thigh [of Arich Anpin] up to his navel, while Nukva d’Z’eir Anpin enclothes his left thigh up to his navel. This is the meaning of [the statement in the Zohar:] “he is with netzach and she is with hod.” Netzach and hod correspond to the right and left legs, respectively. The beard of Arich Anpin extends down to his navel, where is found the head of Z’eir Anpin. This is the mystical meaning of the expression “upon the head” [in the verse quoted above], for the Divine beneficence flows onto the head of Z’eir Anpin. The verse thus reads, mystically: “Like the precious oil—i.e., chochmah, suspended as drops on the end of the beard of Arich Anpin, that is on top of the head of Z’eir Anpin.” But before it reaches the head of Z’eir Anpin it “cascades down the beard,” meaning that it ascends to [the eighth part of the beard,] “storing [chesed].” For this attribute of Divine mercy corresponds to the upper layer of the beard proper. This is the mystical meaning of the [continuation of the verse quoted above:] “running down over his garments.” The word for “his garments” [midotav] can be read as “the midot of vav-yud,” meaning the hairs, as mentioned above. That is why the word “over” [al] is used here, for it refers to the hairs themselves. The yud signifies the hollow channel of the hair and the yud signifies the light pulsing through it. Thus, the verse describes the light of chochmah flowing down the beard. [Once it has received the influx of chochmah from Arich Anpin via its beard,] Z’eir Anpin then gives it in turn to Nukva. This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “Open for me, my bride…, for my head is full of dew.”[10] The dew refers to the light which flows from the hair of his head, whose numerical value is the same as that of the word for “dew” [tal, 39]. [This verse continues:] “my locks with the drops of the night.” These [locks] are the hair on the back of the head [of Z’eir Anpin], which hang down until they reach the head of Nukva, behind him. This is the mystical meaning of “the drops of the night,” i.e., the drops [of chochmah] that reach “night,” i.e., malchut. Day and night are masculine and feminine images, and therefore correspond to the male and female archetypes of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. Now, when Isaac and Rebecca were praying [to G-d for children], they were addressing these two attributes [of Divine mercy]. This is why the expression “entreated” is used [instead of the more usual “prayed”]. As our sages say: “Why are the prayers of the righteous compared to a pitchfork? To indicate that just as a pitchfork turns the grain from place to place in the barn, so do the prayers of the righteous turn the mind of the Holy One, blessed be He, from the attribute of judgement to the attribute of mercy.”[11] The root of the word for “entreat” [ayin-tav-reish] also means “pitchfork.” Isaac was directing his prayers [to G-d] via the [thirteenth] mazal, “and He acquits,” for from there he [emulating Z’eir Anpin] had to direct Divine beneficence [in this case, fertility] to his wife. Rebecca, on the other hand, directed her prayers [to G-d] via the [eighth] mazal, “storing [chesed],” which is the male of the two. This was in order to elicit Divine mercy upon her husband. Each one prayed opposite to the other. This is why it says “opposite his wife.” —translated from Likutei Torah by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky Disclaimer: the above translation, as
the previous installments in this series, has not yet been checked over for
accuracy by any authority on the teachings of Kabbalah. Therefore, although I
have rendered and explained the Arizal’s teachings as best I can based on my knowledge
and research, there may be passages that I misunderstood and rendered
incorrectly. Before publishing these translations in book form they will,
please G-d, be examined for accuracy by a competent authority, and any
necessary changes will be made then. |
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Ascent of Safed
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