Chapter 33

אFrom all the above we understand the matter of a single Hitbonenut-contemplation of the many particulars that come together as one general [overarching principle] which includes them all.

בThis is similar to [the matter of] “Whatever HaShem-יהו״ה desires He has done in the heavens and the earth etc.”¹ The root of this “desire of HaShem-יהו״ה” is rooted in the first source (which is called Yachid – Singular etc).

גThis is the aspect of the essential Heyulie desire for kindness in the Essential Self of the limitless light of the Unlimited One, HaShem-יהו״ה Himself, blessed is He, who is [an] absolutely simple [singularity]. This [desire for kindness] is similar to the essentially good and kind nature embedded in the essence of the human soul (as explained above in chapter ten).

דOnce it arose in HaShem’s-יהו״ה will and desire to bestow goodness in a particular way from this general heyulie light, [this desire] descended with a great chaining down. [Nonetheless], all [this was] still within Himself [and was still] in the aspect of Limitlessness (Ein Sof), until this desire reached the aspects of Netzach and Hod of the externality of the vessel of the “Heart.”

הIn other words, [it reached] the external emotions (Midot) of Malchut of the Unlimited One (Ein Sof), even though, as it is there, [in Malchut of Ein Sof] it completely transcends the aspect of limitations of lights within vessels.

וRather, it all is literally in the aspect of the Unlimited One (Ein Sof), as “He estimated it within Himself.”²

זAfterwards, there was a Tzimtzum [withdrawal] and it descended by means of the aspect of the Line (Kav) into the ten sefirot of Circles (Igullim) etc., until the aspect of Keter of Adam Kadmon. [Now, Keter of Adam Kadmon] is the source of the concealed desire (Ratzon HaNe’elam) which becomes revealed as the “desire for the desire” within Keter of Atik Yomin etc.

ח[This desire then continued to descend] until the aspects of the desire and pleasure within Abba and Imma, and became limited within the [revealed] desire, intellect, and comprehension, which are the three upper sefirot of Chochmah and Binah etc.

ט[It then continued to descend] until the aspect of the seven lower sefirot of Binah.

י[Then it continued] until the aspect of the “immature brains – Katnoot HaMochin” of NeHi”Y of Abba and Imma [as they vest] within Zeir Anpin, as explained before.

יאFrom there it underwent further restraint (Tzimtzum) on the three levels of ChaBa”D and ChaGa”T of Zeir Anpin etc., until the aspect of the externality of the vessels of Netzach and Hod [of Zeir Anpin], which is the aspect of the “Breath of the Chest.”

יבThere, [the descent of] the light of the simple desire, which was included in the concealed Essence of the Heyulie desire for kindness, concludes.

יגMoreover, this entire chaining down (Hishtalshelut), from the [essential] desire that arose hidden in the Essential Self of the Singular Preexistent Intrinsic and Unlimited Being of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, until it came to be felt in the breath of the heart, happened and was drawn down instantaneously, since “He and His life force and organs are one.”

ידThis means that, “He” literally refers to the aspect of the Essential Self of the limitless light of the Unlimited One, HaShem-יהו״ה Himself, blessed is He, whereas “His life force” refers to [both] the concealed and revealed aspects of the ten Sefirot, [which are] “like a flame [that is bound to the coal] etc.”³

טו[This continued] until the aspect of the ten sefirot of Zeir Anpin.

טז“And His organs” refers to the aspect of the vessels of Zeir Anpin.

יז“Are one” means that all this is still in the aspect of His Unlimited Being (Ein Sof).

יחThis is because although the aspect of the vessels, which limit the external emotions of the heart of Zeir Anpin, are [in the aspect of] ultimate “smallness” compared to the exaltedness of the essential emotions of the aspect of Malchut of the Unlimited One – Ein Sof, they nevertheless are considered to be the aspect of the end of the beginning, as scripture states, “He calls out the generations from the beginning etc.”⁴

יטTheir final conclusion is the aspect of the “immature” [or “tiny”] emotions of Zeir Anpin.

כBecause of this, Zeir Anpin is called “The Small Face,”⁵ [since] it is similar to the small face of a little child compared to the “Large Face”⁶ of “an elder who has acquired wisdom.”⁷

כאThe one is completely intellectually immature, whereas the other is completely mature.

כבNonetheless, they are equally within the category of man, except that one is considered to be an “immature person,” while the other is considered to be a “mature person.” However, the form of how they are is the same.

כגThis is because the emotions of a child are also according to intellect and concealed desire etc., except that it comes [revealed] with total immaturity.

כד[However] in a mature adult, his emotions are mature, according to the breadth of his intellect and his very lofty and exalted desire.

כהThis is likewise the comparison between the immature emotions of Zeir Anpin, which are emotions that are limited according to the immature intellect of Netzach and Hod, compared to the aspect of Arich Anpin, which is called the “Large Face.”

כו[This is to say that Arich Anpin represents] the mature countenance and brains of “an elder who has acquired wisdom” from the source of the concealed wisdom [itself], which is higher than the “[Airy] Membrane (Krooma D’Avira).”

כזThis is the aspect of the hidden intellect (Sechel HaNe’elam) which is in the concealed desire (Ratzon HaNe’elam) that is the root of the Emanated etc.

כחIn the same way, even the aspect of the emotions of the concealed desire and intellect of Arich Anpin are in the aspect of immaturity compared to the aspect of the even greater “man,” That is, the aspect of Adam Kadmon, who is called “The Man of Creation.”

כט(As known, Zeir Anpin is called “The Man of Action,” Arich Anpin is called “The Man of Formation” and Adam Kadmon is called “The Man of Creation.”

לIn each of these there are ten Sefirot in a concealed and revealed [manner], as scripture states,⁸ [“For My glory, I have created, formed, and even actualized”]. “For My glory” refers to Malchut of the Unlimited One (Ein Sof), “I have created” refers to Adam Kadmon, “formed” refers to Atik Yomin and Arich Anpin, and “actualized” refers to the aspect of Zeir Anpin, about whom it states,⁹ “Let us make man in our image [and in our likeness].”)

לאThis is analogous to the formation of lines that are made small [representing] something [much] bigger, such as how a map is patterned after planet earth.

לבNonetheless, this image contains everything in it.

לגNothing is missing, not even the amount of “the thorn of the letter Yod,” except that it is a very tiny [scale model] in which the form of a tiny line may be a five hundred Parsa long river on planet earth, and the like.

לדLikewise, by way of analogy, are the immature emotions of an infant, compared to the emotions of an elder of seventy years.

להThis is similar to the ability [of an adult] to give birth to [offspring] who are like him etc.

לו(This is in accordance with what is explained elsewhere regarding the matter of “Bootzin Bootzin [Mikeetphay Yediya] – “Small pumpkins [are discernable when they burst forth from their sap] etc.”¹⁰)

לזThis is similarly the case in regard to the aspect of the emotions of the “Man” of [the world of] Atzilut. Even though they become [revealed] in a most diminished fashion (Tzimtzum) in comparison to the aspect of the emotions of Adam Kadmon and Arich Anpin, nonetheless, it all is one, except that it comes from the aspect of a most incredible length to a most incredible brevity.

לח(This is the meaning of [the verse],¹¹ “What is his name, what is his son’s name-Mah Shmo, Mah Shem Bno-מה שמו מה שם בנו.” “What is his name-Mah Shmo-מה שמו” [refers to the aspect of] Ma”H-מ״ה-45 [יו״ד ה״א וא״ו ה״א] of Adam Kadmon, and “What is his son’s name-Mah Shem Bno-מ״ה שם בנו” is the aspect of Zeir Anpin, as explained in several places.)

לטThis then, is the general Hitbonenut-contemplation [of the verse, “Whatever HaShem-יהו״ה desires He has done in the heavens and the earth etc.”] “Whatever HaShem-יהו״ה desires” in the Essential Self of the limitless light of the Unlimited One, blessed is He, literally, “He has done in the heavens-Shamayim-שמים,” which is the aspect of Zeir Anpin.¹²

מ[The word “Heavens-Shamayim-שמים” is a composite of the two words] “Fire-Aish-אש” and “Water-Mayim-מים,”¹³ [that is,] Chessed-Kindness and Gevurah-Judgment of the immaturity of [the world of] Atzilut.

מא([This matter is true even down] to the aspect of the “Heavens-Shamayim-שמים” of [the world of] Asiyah-Action.)

מבThis is because, “Their beginning is imbedded with their end,”¹⁴ from the Chochmah at the “top” of Adam Kadmon [all the way] to the Chochmah at the end, in the emotions of Zeir Anpin.

מג(This [also is the meaning of] the verse,¹⁵ “Blessed is HaShem-יהו״ה, the God of Israel.” [This refers to Yisroel] Sabba which is the aspect of Adam Kadmon, about which it states, “I have created etc.”

מדSimilarly, [the verse,¹⁶] “Shema Yisroel-Listen Israel etc.,” refers to the worlds of Briyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah in a general manner (Klallut).)

מה(More particularly, “Whatever HaShem-יהו״ה desires” in the emotions of [the world of] Atzilut, “He has done in the heavens and the earth” of [the worlds] Briyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, [all the way] to the aspect of the physical constellations and planets, which are the root of influence for the [four categories of] inanimate (Domem), vegetative (Tzome’ach), animal (Chai), and speaker (Medaber) within the physical [world], [all of] which will be explained with the help of HaShem-יהו״ה.)

מו1 Psalms 135:6

מז2 See Mikdash Melech to Zohar 16a

מח3 Sefer Yetzirah 1:7

מט4 Isaiah 41:4

נ5 The literal translation of “Zeir Anpin” is “The Small Face.”

נא6 See Talmud Bavli, Chagigah 13b

נב7 See Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 32b

נג8 Isaiah 43:7

נד9 Genesis 1:26

נה10 See Talmud Bavli, Brachot 48a; Also see Siddur Im Divrei Elokim Chayim, Erev Shabbat, 164d; Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Kuntreisim pg. 207.

נו11 Proverbs 30:4

נז12 See Zohar II 62b, and Zohar III (Idra Zuta) 288a.

נח13 See Talmud Bavli, Chagigah 12a; Sefer Yetzirah 1:11-12, and the commentaries there; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Vayikra, Vol. 2, pg. 498; Devarim Vol. 4, pg. 1,392.

נט14 Sefer Yetzirah 1:6 – “Their end is bound with their beginning and their beginning with their end.”

ס15 Samuel I 25:32; Kings I 1:48, 8:15

סא16 Deuteronomy 6:4