Chapter Fifteen

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

1. There aren’t five vessels to the five phases 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, medium, 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. of HaVaYaH] and the letters are all separated. 5. The reflected light that departs from Malchut and rises is square Elokim. The letters rise and connect with one another 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 to the five phases NRNHY‎.

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

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, but only the bottom three, which are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama. Only these had corresponding vessels and bodies, but 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.

Inner Light

1. Haya and Yechida in each Partzuf do not have corresponding vessels ‎in that Partzuf itself‎: 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 (Chapter 10, Inner Light, Item 1), that 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 that new Sium, the general phase four and phase three came out and were separated from the ten Sefirot of the general phase four, since they were under the above-mentioned 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 a vessel for surrounding light, called garment, which is a vessel for the surrounding light of the light of Hochma, which is called Haya. Phase four, which was separated from the Partzuf, became 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 (Chapter 10, Item 1).

The ARI writes here, “and could not clothe all five kinds of Neshama, but only the bottom three, which are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama. Only these had corresponding vessels and bodies, but 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.” 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, which are related 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 an extension of light to the Partzuf, and the vessel for reception for 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 (Chapter 11, Inner Light, Item 3, and Part 2, Inner Observation, Chapter 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, 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, that light of Yechida still cannot clothe there, except in the most refined thing in the degree, meaning only in the vessel of Keter. Similarly, the light of Haya, which is imparted by phase three, does not clothe there, except in phase one, which is the most refined in that degree, and this is always so.

It therefore follows that because of the separation of phase three and phase four from the Partzuf, they drew far apart and became surrounding. For this reason, the giver can no longer bestow upon the Partzuf neither light of Haya nor 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 here 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. It is also clear that the hall became the surrounding light of Yechida, for this is the light that disappeared with phase four when she disappeared from the Partzuf, and must now shine from afar as surrounding.

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

3. It therefore follows that in externality, there are only three phases, which are three vessels: external, medium, and internal, so that Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama will clothe within them, which have corresponding vessels. However, Yechida and Haya 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. of HaVaYaH] and the letters ‎are all separated‎.

4. There is yet another difference: The 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. of HaVaYaH], simple and full‎, are all HaVaYot with letters that are separated from one another.

Inner Light

2. The direct light was almost separated from its place in order to (2) descend ‎and bestow upon the lower ones‎: 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 is square Elokim. The letters rise and connect with one another until they come to their root.

5. However, the reflected light ₍₃₎ is a square such as that: Aleph (א), Aleph Lamed (א"ל), Aleph Lamed Hey (אל"ה), Aleph Lamed Hey Yod (אלה"י), Aleph Lamed Hey Yod Mem (אלהי"ם). 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. The reflected light is a square: A 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 it is refined from phase four to phase three, only the level of Hochma appears, which is the Lamed, and Keter disappears, clothes inside the level of Hochma, and they become Aleph Lamed (א"ל). When it is 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 in ZA and become Aleph, Lamed, Hey, Yod (אלה"י). When it is completely refined to its root, which is the Mem (ם), Keter, Hochma, Bina, and ZA disappear and join in that 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 that in the light, there is no anterior and posterior, for it is all internality.