New, improved Kabbalah Series

Chapter 13 Part 2


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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.

And now Chapter 13 Part 2

The Mittler Rebbe now explains the that there are two types of encompassment, one that relates to that which it encompasses and one that does not relate to that which it encompasses.Now in the words of the Mittler Rebbe:

However, the Light of His Essence is not described as "encompassing the Hishtalshellus that is in the "empty place" etc." in a manner of an encompassment [makif], which relates to something internal [pnimi], as is the case with the general encompassment [makif] of the Kav (Line), which this makif encompasses the four worlds of ABY"A [Atzilus, Briyah, Yitzirah, Asiyah] equally etc. For, the Light before the Tzimtzum is not yet in the aspect or category of an issuance of light at all, not even an issuance of light, which is to be revealed in the manner of an encompassing [makif] light etc., but rather the Light before the Tzimtzum is only the Light of the Essence of G-d, which is the level of His revelation exactly as He is essentially.

As was explained in chapters ten and eleven that the Light before the Tzimtzum includes the Light of Hishtalshellus in a manner of an essential heyuli. This is different than a general power or light, which is limited to that which comes out from it and is affected by this revelation. For example, the general white light that comes into actual revelation out from the sun (and not the sun’s ability of producing light, which is compared to an essential heyuli), even though this is a general light, which includes all of the particular colors and hues that can be revealed out from it equally, yet at this point this light is limited to revealing only the particular rays that are included within it and only light and also the ray itself is actually affected when it hits an object, for some of its light is withheld when it is revealed as a particular color. So that, if the sun’s light is filtered through a red piece of glass, then only the potential to show the color red will remain and if this light now shines on a blue or yellow object it will appear black, because the blue and yellow light was already withheld by the red glass. On the other hand, this can not be said about the way that the light is included within the body of the sun itself, for there it is only the gaseous mass of the sun and not any particular types of rays or colors nor even light at all. Therefore, the sun’s potential is not limited to particular rays, for it would be possible to bring out a different type of ray from the mass of the sun were it to undergo a different reaction than nuclear fusion. Also the very same gas that produces this light also has the many other abilities and properties that have nothing to do with light at all, for instance the hydrogen in the sun could join up with oxygen to form water and then be used to grow plants, etc. Also the sun’s luminous potential is not affected by the particular rays that emanate from it and what occurs to them, for as soon as its electrons shoot out the photon of light, they return to there original orbit around their nucleus and can be re-excited to form another photon no less than the first time.

So too, the essence of the Infinite Light before the Tzimtzum can not be called a general light that relates to the particulars, for it has nothing to do with any of the particulars of creation or even to the particular sfiros, which are used to create the world, nor even to sfiros in general, for it is only the revelation of G-d’s Essential Self to Himself and it is far beyond the limitations of even a light for creation. Only that in its perfection it must be said that this light also contains the ability of all sfiros and all of the particulars of creation

It, therefore, says "He endures and His name endures," for both G-d and His essential light remain completely beyond creation and are not changed by the Tzimtzum and the Hishtalshellus. So too, the meaning of the verse "Blessed is He; blessed is His name" and the like (the Hebrew word for blessing can also mean to lower or draw down, a blessing being an issuance of divine vitality into creation, until it can even be enclothed in physical prosperity, health, children and all other blessings), which would seem to indicate that G-d does lower Himself and His essential revelation into creation is referring only from the level of the letters of the Glyph Glyphu [engraving of letters; lit, He engraved an engraving], which were engraved within the upper purity. This "engraving of letters" being that He estimated within Himself in a potential manner that which was to be in actuality after the Tzimtzum etc.

In addition, this estimation for how to make the world (i.e. the letters of the Glyph Glyphu [engraving of letters]) is what remains after the Tzimtzum in a manner of a slight concealment and removal, meaning that this revelation, which remains after the Tzimtzum is only a revelation that is in accordance with what will be necessary for the Hishtalshellus after this Tzimtzum and this is enough explanation for the understanding.

So that there are two aspects to this first Tzimtzum, 1) that the essence of the Infinite Light is completely hidden and 2) that even the "letters" that were estimated, meaning the finite Light, which is necessary for the Hishtalshellus is limited so as to be revealed only according to the level of creation. These two aspects of the Tzimtzum can be seen in the analogy of the mentor, who 1) completely hides within himself everything that he understands except for the concept that he wishes to teach and 2) even the explanation of this subject must be limited slightly in order to explain it in terms that the student can understand. So that even though the student receives the entire explanation of this subject, but it still remains a little hidden, for the mentor still understands this explanation in a higher way than the student.


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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel