746. Concerning the Fetus

When a newborn emerges into the world, he must acquire two forces: 1) the power of the will to receive, 2) the power of the desire to bestow.

For this purpose, the newborn was given two cuts:

1) The cutting of the connection from the infant’s navel to the mother, by which the mouth opens and the navel closes.

When the mouth is closed, he still has no authority of his own. Rather, he eats what his mother eats, since eating means scrutinies, and through the scrutinies one buys vitality. There is vitality of Kedusha [holiness], and there is the opposite. This is called “the upper force.” Hence, by cutting the connection with the mother, he acquires the will to receive. However, he does not acquire the will to receive at once, but over thirteen years.

2) The second cutting is done on the eighth day after his birth. Through this cutting, which is the removal of the foreskin, he acquires the desire to bestow. The time of acquiring this possession begins from thirteen years of age onward.

The difference between acquiring the will to receive and acquiring the desire to bestow is that the will to receive is regarded as an act of the Creator, from the perspective of the purpose of creation, namely to do good to His creations. Hence, a person must first acquire this possession, since this is the primary goal.

Acquiring the desire to bestow is called “the work of flesh and blood,” since this is only corrections on the part of the lower ones, since the lower ones do not want the bread of shame, called separation from Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

For this reason, a person must correct himself to have a Kli [vessel] ready to receive the purpose of creation, to do good to His creations. As long as one does not reach the benefit called “happy are you in this world,” as it is written, “You will see your world in your life,” it is a sign that he still has not qualified himself not to be separated when receiving the pleasure. Therefore, this is still not regarded as “happy are you in this world.”

For this reason, the acquisition of the desire to bestow is called acts of flesh and blood, which is an act on the part of the lower one, as it is written, “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven.” It is as Baal HaSulam interpreted, the Creator can only give, and the giving of the Creator adds only love.

But not receiving is man’s work. This is as in “The Tannas, ‘What is given from heaven is not taken back.’” That is, the Creator only gives and does not receive. Hence, the act of bestowal of the lower one is called “the work of flesh and blood.” This is what Turnus Rufus the Evil asked, Which deeds were finer, those of the Creator or those of flesh and blood?