Chapter Fifteen

Explains the clothing of the lights in the vessels, some inside the vessels, and some surrounding. Contains six issues:

1. There aren’t five vessels of the five phases to NRNHY. 2. There are only three vessels to Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, but there are no vessels to Haya and Yechida and they became surrounding lights. 3. The three vessels of NRN are regarded as external, medial and internal. 4. The direct light expands from above downward and is almost separated from its place in order to descend to the lower ones. For this reason, it is in complete HaVaYot [pl. for HaVaYaH] and the letters are all separated. 5. The reflected light that departs from Malchut and rises upward is Elokim in a square. The letters rise and connect with each other until they come to their root. 6. There is anterior and posterior in the vessels, but there is no anterior and posterior in the lights, but only expansion and departure, direct light and reflected light, because they are all internality.

There aren’t five vessels of the five phases to NRNHY.

1. After you have learned all that in general, your eyes should be opened so that you do not err in what is written above, and think that just as there are five phases of NRNHY in each and every Partzuf in each and every world, called internality, so there are five corresponding phases of vessels. This is not the case.

There are only three vessels to Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, but there are no vessels to Haya and Yechida and they became surrounding lights.

2. The thing is that the vessels are externality and coarseness, and could not clothe all five kinds of Neshama, only the bottom three, which are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama. Only these had corresponding vessels and bodies. However, Haya and Yechida in each Partzuf ₍₁₎ do not have corresponding vessels in that Partzuf itself to clothe in, so they remain outside without vessels, as surrounding light.

Inner Light

1. This matter was formed in the world of Nekudim by the force of the important correction of the association of the quality of mercy with judgment (see Inner Light, Chap 10, item 1). The point of Malchut, which is phase four, rose with the screen in her to the edges of Bina, and phase two was established as a screen and the point of Sium.

Because of this new Sium, the general phase four and phase three came out and were separated from the ten Sefirot of the general phase four. It is so because they were under the above new restriction and could not receive the upper light into them.

Thus, they had to receive the upper light from afar, as surrounding lights. Phase three was separated from the Partzuf and became the phase of the vessel for surrounding light, called garment, which is a vessel for the surrounding light of the light of Hochma, called Haya. The phase four that was separated from the Partzuf became the phase of the hall, which is a vessel for the surrounding light of the light of Keter, called Yechida. This is brought above in the ARI’s words (Chap 10, item 1).

The ARI writes here, “and could not clothe all five kinds of Neshama, only the lower three, which are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama. Only these had corresponding vessels and bodies. However, Haya and Yechida in each Partzuf do not have corresponding vessels in that Partzuf itself to clothe in, so they remain outside without vessels, as surrounding light.” It means that when he writes that “they remain outside without vessels,” he wishes to say, without inner vessels, because they have become vessels for surrounding light, called garment and hall.

We might ask: Since only the lower vessels were separated, which are phase three, namely ZA, and phase four, namely Malchut, the lights of Ruach and Nefesh should have remained without vessels and become surrounding lights. These are the lights that relate to phase three and phase four. Why then did Haya and Yechida remain without vessels? After all, their vessels are Keter and Hochma, which remained in the Partzuf.

You already know the inverse relation between bestowal, which is extension of light to the Partzuf, and the vessel for reception of the light in the Partzuf. As the ARI wrote for us, every giver gives in the coarser thing, and every receiver must receive in the more refined thing, and this has already been explained above (Inner Light, Chap 11, item 3 and Inner Observation, Part 2, Chap 8).

It has been explained there that the expansion of Ein Sof to make vessels is called bestowal upon the Partzuf. For example, it is known that for illumination of Yechida, the expansion of the light of Ein Sof, must encounter the screen of phase four, meaning the coarser thing. By the striking of the light, reflected light rises and clothes up to Keter, which is the light of Yechida.

If the degree does not have the above coarseness of phase four, but only coarseness of phase three, then the expansion of the light of Ein Sof that strikes the screen raises reflected light to a level that reaches and clothes only the level of Haya. Thus, the bestowal of the light must be at the coarsest degree.

However, the reception of the light that is drawn in the above manner is the opposite. Although the light of Yechida is imparted only by the coarsest thing, which is phase four, still that light of Yechida cannot clothe there, but rather in the most refined thing in the degree, meaning only the vessel of Keter. Similarly, the light of Haya, which is imparted by phase three, does not clothe there, but rather in phase one, which is the most refined in that degree, and it is likewise always.

It therefore follows that because of the separation of phase three and phase four from the Partzuf, they drew far apart and became surrounding lights. For this reason, the giver can no longer bestow upon the Partzuf neither the light of Haya nor the light of Yechida, since bestowing the light of Yechida requires phase four, and bestowing the light of Haya requires phase three, which are by now separated and gone from the Partzuf.

Thus, you evidently see that from now on, the light of Yechida and the light of Haya will be absent from the Partzuf, as phase three and phase four have parted and are gone.

We also understand that the garment, which is the surrounding vessel from phase three, is the surrounding light of the phase of Haya, for it is the light that drew far and disappeared because of its disappearance from the Partzuf. Hence, now it only shines from afar as surrounding light.

It is also clear that the hall became the surrounding light of Yechida, for this is the light that disappeared along with phase four when she disappeared from the Partzuf, and must now shine from afar as surrounding light.

The three vessels of NRN are regarded as external, medial and internal.

3. It therefore follows that in externality, there are only three phases, which are three vessels, external, medial, and internal, so that Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama will clothe within them, as they have corresponding vessels. However, Haya and Yechida do not have corresponding vessels to clothe within them and they remain as surrounding light.

The direct light expands from above downward and is almost separated from its place in order to descend to the lower ones. For this reason, it is in complete HaVaYot [pl. for HaVaYaH] and the letters are all separated.

4. Know that there is yet another difference: direct light was almost separated from its place in order to ₍₂₎ descend and bestow upon the lower ones. For this reason, their HaVaYot (pl. for HaVaYaH), simple and full‎, are all HaVaYot with letters that are separated from one another.

Inner Light

2. Because the direct light has a way of always expanding in phase four, too, were it not for the screen that detains it there. It is said, “is almost separated,” because everything that is received in phase four is regarded as separated from the Emanator because of the disparity of form in phase four.

The reflected light that departs from Malchut and rises upward is Elokim in a square. The letters rise and connect with each other until they come to their root.

5. However, the reflected light ₍₃₎ is a square such as that: Aleph (א'), Aleph Lamed (אל"), Aleph Lamed Hey (אלה"), Aleph Lamed Hey Yod (אלהי"), Aleph Lamed Hey Yod Mem (אלהים"). These letters are always connected, indicating that they rise and are connected to each other until they connect with their root and Emanator, as they wish to depart from the lower ones.

Inner Light

3. Square means that the letters of the Name, meaning the five phases in the screen of the vessel of Malchut, come and join and disappear in one another. The letters imply the five phases of the refinement of the screen. The degree of Keter appears first, being the Aleph of Elokim.

When refined from phase four to phase three, only the level of Hochma appears, which is the Lamed, and the Keter disappears, clothes inside the level of Hochma, and they become Aleph Lamed (א"ל).

When refined to phase two, only the degree of Bina appears, which is the Hey. Thus, the Lamed too, which is Hochma, clothes inside Bina, and they become Aleph, Lamed, Hey (אל"ה). When refined to phase one, and only the level of ZA appears, which is the Yod, Keter, Hochma and Bina clothe ZA. They become Aleph, Lamed, Hey, Yod (אלה"י).

When refined completely to its root, which is the final Mem (ם), Keter, Hochma, Bina and ZA disappear and join in that final Mem and become (אלהי"ם).

There is anterior and posterior in the vessels, but there is no anterior and posterior in the lights, but only expansion and departure, direct light and reflected light, because they are all internality.

6. We should thoroughly understand the truth of the matter of anterior and posterior. In the lights they are called expansion and departure, and they are called direct and reflected. In the vessels they are called anterior and posterior. Meaning in the light there is no anterior and posterior, for it is all internality.