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This series is a continuation and should be read in order. If you are not familiar with previous posts you may have trouble understanding later ones.
Chapters 1,2 and 3 were the Hisbonenus section of the series.
Where it was explained that one must have Hisbonenus (deep analytical study also called Iyun) on all of the details of the Seder Hishtalshellus (the chainlike orderly descent) of the worlds. So, now it is necessary to explain all of these details and this will be accomplished by the second half of the book, beginning with Chapter 10. However, before beginning with the specifics of the Hishtalshellus one must first have a general picture of the whole thing so as to be able to understand about which level one is talking about and where that level is in relationship to the other levels and so before beginning Chapter 10, where the Mittler Rebbe begins to explain the specifics of the Hishtalshellus we will begin with some of Chapter 7, where the Mittler Rebbe describes the basic Hishtalshellus.
And now Chapter 7.02
And now that we have explained the what Hisbonenus is, how to
perform it and what to perform it on, it is necessary that the knowledge of
all of specifics of the Hishtalshellus (chaining) first be preceded
by an introduction on the aforementioned concept (Chap. 4) of the joining of
the specific details specifically to the general concept etc. As it
is known to all of those who delve deeply into the book of the Zohar and
other authentic Kabbalistic texts in the study of the
Hishtalshellus, and the enclothement of the Partzufim (lit.
personages, faces; or characters various arrangements and formations of the
Sfiros, which come together to form a complete "face") etc. regarding
the short explanation of the order of the Hishtalshellus,
which is essential for every person to know first before one can begin
to study the Kabbalah, beginning from the highest of all levels to the
lowest of all levels ending in the end of this lowly world of ours. That
this progression literally comes as one united and bound entity, so that
though it is made of many separate parts one should not make the mistake and
think that there is any sort of interruption or interference in the light, but
rather it is one unit literally from the beginning to the end, like a
chain etc. that descends in an uninterrupted chain-reaction from cause to
effect etc. And the first light of the simple unity that is called ‘the
cause of all causes’ is what is called "first" or "preceding" for it
is the first source and the prime mover of all that came out in the
Hishtalshellus. For being that the Hishtalshellus is an
uninterrupted chain, therefore it is like a single unit and is totally
transparent to the first light of G-d’s simple will, and it is carried out
perfectly as it says "I am first and I am last." "I am first" is the
level of Malchus (Kingdom) of the infinite as it is after the first
Tzimtzum (contraction), which this first Tzimtzum is
referred to as the empty place etc. "and I am last" - the end of
everything, which is the level of Malchus of Malchus of the world
of Asiyah (Action) which is the source of the creation of the
lowly physical world. The word "Ani" (
) "I" represents the Sfirah of Malchus for
it is ones felt revelation of oneself. This verse is expounded to indicate that
the first revelation of divine will is also the last revelation, showing that
the entire Hishtalshellus in between did not change it in anyway. And
the beginning is wedged in the end and the end in the beginning, so that
they are literally one unit as with a chain that the uttermost bottom link
is bound to the uttermost top link. This can be understood in two ways one
that via the middle links the two ends are linked and so if on pulls on the top
the bottom immediately follows and likewise if one pulls on the bottom the top
immediately follows. This serves to indicate that even though there are a great
many levels and contractions between our lowly world and G-d’s infinite
light, yet being that these levels are totally nullified they make no
separation. So that, just like two people talking on the phone, though they may
be many miles away the phone line in the middle, never the less it is true to
say that they are talking to each other because the phone line in the middle
only serves to convey the message an it does so without any changes to what
they say. And so though the message is conveyed by way of the phone and there
are a great many stages in between the one’s mouth and the other’s
ear, yet since the phone will say only what was spoken into it, it can
therefore be considered as transparent and it is correct to say that the two
people were speaking to each other.
The analogy of the chain can also be understood on a higher level, that it is like a necklace where the last link is actually connected itself back to the first link forming a loop. This represents how our lowly physical world itself actually has a direct connection to G-d, the purpose of the intermediate levels being merely to reveal this connection in a way that it allows for us to simultaneously perceive ourselves as separate entities. Such as the analogy of the necklace, that the purpose of the middle links is to allow the neck to fit in.
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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel