New, improved Kabbalah Series

Chapter 15 Summary


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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 15 Summary

The kav/line contains two seemingly opposite powers - the ability to unite everything within the hishtalshellus and the ability to divide and set bounds for everything within the hishtalshellus. However, these two abilities are not really contradictory though they come from two distinct sources. The kav/line’s ability to unite everything comes from the Essential Self of the Infinite Light that precedes the tzimtzum and its ability to limit and divide comes from the limiting reshimu/impression. (Even though the kav/line is drawn out from the reshimu/impression exclusively, yet, it is still able to draw upon the original power of the Infinite Light preceding the tzimtzum, because it is all included within the reshimu/impression, albeit in a concealed manner.) What’s more these powers are actually interdependent, for, being that the divisions and limitations of the reshimu/impression where made by the power of the Essential Self of the Infinite Light, it is, therefore, within Its power to break these limitations. These two powers are the attributes of chesed [Kindness - expansion] and gevurah [Might - restriction] within the Essential Self of the Infinite Light and both powers are equally infinite. What’s more, they are actually two sides of the same ability; that G-d can reveal Himself as he desires, be it in an infinitely transcendent manner, an infinitely limited manner or something in-between. These same two powers are then lowered to be expressed within the kav/line. Only that there they are only expressed according to the limits of the recipients and not in the infinite proportions found before the tzimtzum. (Also, from our point of view we see it as being reversed - the limited revelation of G-dliness according to our limitations being to us chesed [kindness and a revelation of light]. While as the infinite and unbridled revelation of the Essential Self of the Infinite Light within the Self is a gevurah [restrictiveness] to us, for it would nullify our existence and we would be incapable of receiving such a revelation, and so would receive nothing.)

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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel