Lesson 39. Man and Woman in the Wisdom of Kabbalah

Part 1: Man and Woman in the Wisdom of Kabbalah

Selected Excerpts from the Sources

**1. From - Zohar For All, Portion "Lech Lecha", 204**

The souls of the world, which are the fruits of the actions of the Creator, are all one. Above, it is still not apparent that they are male and female until all the souls descend in the form of male and female, and each soul is male and female connected as one.

2. From: Zohar For All, Bereshit -2, 369

"Wherever you do not find a male and a female together, the Creator does not make His abode there. There are blessings only in a place where there are male and female, as it is written, “And He blessed them and called their name ‘man’ on the day when they were created.” It is not written, “And He blessed him and called his name ‘man,’” teaching you that he is not called even by the name “man” unless a male and a female are together".

**3. From - Sefat Emet, Portion Pinhas**

"It is written about Adam, “He created two creations.” This means that man has the power to extend illumination from the next world. He is the power that draws the soul from the upper world, while the power of the woman is to complete the correction of the action in this world."

4. From - R. Eliyahu Desler, “A Letter from Eliyahu”

"All of Sarah’s days were complete with the work of the Creator. She enslaved every moment of her life and every spark of her strength to serving the Creator and did not leave a thing for the governance of the evil inclination. This is the true quality of Malchut."

**5. From - Yalkut Shimoni, about Psalms**

"Rabbi Akiva asserted, “By the merit of righteous women, Israel came out of Egypt."

– Interpretation by Rav Laitman from the lesson on 13.11.22:

Question: It is said, "In the merit of righteous women" — what does this addition, "in the merit," mean?

Rav: The word merit (zchut) comes from the Hebrew word for purity (zachut). It means that they become purified through correcting their ego. And through this merit, they are able to come out of the ego, to rise above it — and that is called the "Exodus from Egypt."

6. From - Midrash Zuta, Ruth 4:11:

"The generations are redeemed only through the merit of the righteous women of the generation."

7. From **Baal HaSulam, Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 8, Table of Answers to the Meaning of the Words, Section 3:**

"Zeir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilut are considered as one in partnership. Although the Nukva is entirely Gevurot , nonetheless, all the completeness of Zeir Anpin depends on his connection with her. The Light of Ein Sof does not dwell upon Zeir Anpin except at the time of his unification with Nukva. Thus, they are considered one in partnership, and the Light of His Oneness rests only upon their unity together."

Part 2. The Structure of the Upper Worlds

Items 57-64 from the "Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah" >>

57) Know that in these three Partzufim, Galgalta, AB, and SAG of AK, there is not even a root for the four worlds ABYA, since there is not even a place for the three worlds BYA here. This is because the inner Partzuf of AK extended down to the point of this world, and the root of the desirable correction, which was the cause for the restriction, has not been revealed. This is so because the purpose of the restriction that occurred in phase four was to correct it, so there would be no disparity of form in it as it receives the upper light (see Item 10).

In other words, to create Adam’s Guf from that phase four, and with his engagement in Torah and Mitzvot in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker, he will turn the force of reception in phase four to work in order to bestow. By this he will equalize the form of reception with complete bestowal, and that would be the end of correction, since this would bring phase four back to being a vessel of reception for the upper light, while also being in complete adhesion with the light, without any disparity of form.

Yet, thus far, the root of this correction has not been revealed, as this requires Adam to be incorporated also with the higher phases, above phase four, so as to be able to perform good deeds of bestowal. Had Adam emerged from the state of the Partzufim of AK, he would have been completely in the state of vacant space since then all of phase four, which should be the root of Adam’s Guf, would have been below the Raglaim [feet] of AK, in the form of a vacant and empty space, devoid of light, as it would be of opposite form from the upper light. Thus, it would be considered separated and dead.

Had Adam been created from it, he would not have been able to correct his actions whatsoever, since there would be no sparks of bestowal in him at all. He would be deemed a beast that has none of the form of bestowal, and whose lives are only for themselves, like the wicked who are immersed in the lust of self-reception, and “even the grace that they do, they do for themselves.” It is said about them, “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead,’” since they are in oppositeness of form from the Life of Lives.

58) This is the meaning of our sages’ words (Beresheet Rabbah, end of Portion 12): “In the beginning, He contemplated creating the world with the quality of judgment [Din]. He saw that the world could not exist and brought forward the quality of mercy [Rachamim] and associated it with the quality of judgment.”

Explanation: Every “first” and “next” in spirituality refers to cause and consequence. This is why it is written that the first cause for the worlds, meaning the Partzufim of AK that were emanated before all the worlds, were emanated in the quality of judgment, that is, in Malchut alone, called the quality of judgment. This refers to phase four, which has been restricted and departed as a vacant and empty space and the Sium of the Raglaim of AK. This is the point of this world, below the Sium Raglaim of AK’s, in the form of a vacant and empty space, devoid of any light.

“He saw that the world does not exist” means that in this way, it was impossible for Adam, who should be created from this phase four, to acquire acts of bestowal, so that through him the world would exist in the desired measure of correction. This is why he “associated the quality of mercy with the quality of judgment.”

Explanation: The Sefira of Bina is called the quality of mercy, and the Sefira Malchut is called the quality of judgment, since the restriction was made on her. The Emanator raised the quality of judgment, which is the force of Sium made in the Sefira of Malchut, and raised it to Bina— the quality of mercy. He associated them with one another, and through this association, phase four— the quality of judgment —was incorporated with the sparks of bestowal in the vessel of Bina (see Item 5).

This qualified Adam’s Guf, which emerged from phase four, to be incorporated with the quality of bestowal, too. Thus, he will be able to perform good deeds in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker until he inverts the quality of reception in him to work entirely in order to bestow. Thus, the world will achieve the desired correction for which the world was created.

59) This association of Malchut in Bina occurred in Partzuf SAG of AK, and prompted a second restriction in the worlds from it downward. This is because a new Sium on the upper light was made on it in the place of Bina. It follows that the ending Malchut, which stood at the Sium Raglaim of SAG of AK, above the point of this world, ascended and ended the upper light at the place of half of Bina of the Guf of SAG of AK, called Tifferet, since KHB of the Guf is called HGT. Thus, Tifferet is Bina of the Guf.

Also, the coupling Malchut, which stood at the Peh of the Rosh of SAG of AK, ascended to the place of Nikvey Eynaim [pupils] of AK, which is half of Bina of the Rosh. Then, a coupling for the MA of AK, called “the world of Nekudim” was made there, at the Nikvey Eynaim.

60) This is also called the restriction of NHY of AK, since SAG of AK, which ended equally with Partzuf Galgalta of AK, above the point of this world, ends above the Tabur of the inner AK through the association and the ascent of Malchut to the place of Bina, at half the Tifferet, which is half the Bina of the Guf of the inner AK. This is so because the ending Malchut ascended to that place and detained the upper light from expanding from it downward.

For this reason, a vacant and empty space was made there, devoid of light. Thus, the TNHY [Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod] of SAG became restricted and devoid of the upper light. This is why the second restriction is called “restriction of NHY of AK,” since through the new Sium at the place of Tabur, NHY of SAG of AK were emptied of their lights.

It is also considered that the AHP of the Rosh of SAG departed from the degree of the Rosh of SAG and became its Guf, since the coupling Malchut ascended to Nikvey Eynaim and the ten Sefirot of the Rosh emerged from the screen at Nikvey Eynaim and above. Also, from Nikvey Eynaim down it is considered the Guf of the Partzuf, since it can only receive illumination from Nikvey Eynaim and below, which is considered Guf.

The level of these ten Sefirot that emerged at the Nikvey Eynaim of SAG of AK are the ten Sefirot called “the world of Nekudim.” They came down from the Nikvey Eynaim of SAG to their place below the Tabur of the inner AK, where they expanded with Rosh and Guf. Know that this new Sium, made at the place of Bina of the Guf, is called Parsa. Also, there is internality and externality here, and only the external ten Sefirot are called “the world of Nekudim,” while the ten inner Sefirot are called MA and BON of AK itself.

61) Yet, we should understand that since the ten Sefirot of Nekudim and the MA of AK were emanated and emerged from the Nikvey Eynaim of the Rosh of SAG, they should have clothed the SAG from its Peh of the Rosh and below, as with the other Partzufim, where each lower one clothes its upper one from the Peh of the Rosh downward. Why was it not so? Why did they descend and clothe the place below Tabur of AK? To understand this, we must thoroughly understand how this association came about, when Bina and Malchut connected into one.

62) The thing is that during the emergence of Partzuf SAG, it ended entirely above the Tabur of the inner AK, as has been explained concerning Partzuf AB of AK. They could not expand from the Tabur down, since the governance of phase four of the inner AK begins there, in its ten Sefirot of Sium, and there is nothing of phase four whatsoever in the Partzufim AB and SAG (see Item 54).

Yet, when the Nekudot of SAG of AK began to emerge, after the screen of SAG, which is phase two of coarseness, has been refined through the clash of surrounding light in it, and came to phase two of clothing and phase one of coarseness, the Taamim of SAG departed. Then, the level of Nekudot emerged on the coarseness that remained in the screen, in VAK without a Rosh.

This is so because the ten Sefirot that emerge on phase one of coarseness are the level of ZA, lacking GAR. Also, there is no phase of Bina at the male level, which is phase two of clothing, but only nearly that, which is considered VAK of Bina.

Hence, this level of Nekudot of SAG has equalized its form with the ten Sefirot of Sium below the Tabur of AK, considered VAK without a Rosh, too (see Item 52). It is known that equivalence of form unites the spirituals into one. Hence, this level descended below the Tabur of AK and mingled there with ZON of AK, where they were as one, since they are of equal level.

63) We might wonder at the fact that there is still a great distance between them with respect to their coarseness, since Nekudot of SAG come from the coarseness of phase two and have nothing of phase four. And although they are the level of ZA, it is not like the level of ZA below the Tabur of AK, which is ZA of phase four. Thus, there is a big difference between them.

The answer is that the coarseness is not apparent in the Partzuf during the clothing of the light, but only after the departure of the light. Hence, when Partzuf Nekudot of SAG appeared at the level of ZA, descended, and clothed at the level of ZON from Tabur of AK downward, phase two and phase four were mingled together and caused the second restriction. This created a new Sium at the place of Bina of the Guf of that Partzuf, and also caused a change in the place of the coupling, making it the Peh of the Rosh instead of the Nikvey Eynaim.

64) Thus, you find that the origin of the association of Malchut in Bina, called the second restriction, occurred only below Tabur of AK, by the expansion of Partzuf Nekudot of SAG there. Hence, this level of ten Sefirot of Nekudim, which comes from the second restriction, could not expand above Tabur of AK, since no force or ruling can appear above its origin. And since the place of the forming of the second restriction began from Tabur and below, the level of Nekudim had to expand there, as well.