Part 7 · Chapter 35

The Ari's Text

It has already been explained above that these seven kings took their illuminations because of the looking of the light of the Einayim of AK in the lights of Akudim in their expansion below in the place of the Guf of AK. This is why they broke, since they lacked the illumination of GAR in it, which are AHP in their place above; hence, they broke anterior and posterior. Also, for this reason, they were tagged with three tags on each of their letters, indicating the shortage and absence of the three above-mentioned kinds of lights, which are the letters. The light remained above the Gufim [pl. of Guf], which are the letters, and not inside them, as will be explained below regarding the tags.

Inner Light

This commentary hasn't been matched to individual seifim yet — items are shown in reading order, and the number beside each one counts the notes themselves, not the seifim of the Ari's text.

Not matched to a seif

1The seven kings took their illuminations etc. in the phase of their expansion downward in the place of the Guf: For there are four divisions in the light of the Einayim: three Reishin [heads] and a Guf [body]. For the ten Sefirot of the Rosh divide into three: the first Rosh is Galgalta and Einayim; the second Rosh is the Ozen [ear]; the third Rosh is the Hotem [nose] and Peh [mouth]; and afterwards the Guf, which is ZON. And the first Rosh is YESHSUT from the Tabur of AK and above, and it does not join with the Partzuf of Nekudim at all. And the second Rosh is the Keter of Nekudim. And the third Rosh is AVI of Nekudim. And the Guf is the ZAT of Nekudim. And it is known that every Partzuf is emanated by the Rosh in the upper Partzuf. So too the Partzuf of Nekudim, which came out from the Einayim, was emanated in the one above it, which is the Rosh of the Partzuf SAG of AK. Now, this coupling that took place in the Rosh of SAG for the sake of Nekudim, in which the four aforementioned divisions came out, is called the hairs of the Dikna [beard] of SAG: for the first three corrections of the Dikna, which hang upon the Rosh of SAG itself, are the phase of the first Rosh, which does not join the Partzuf, and they are the ones called the lights of AHP in the place of their emergence, meaning the root of the Partzuf of AHP, which is Nekudim. And the Shibolet [strand] of the beard is the phase of the second Rosh and the third Rosh, which are called the lights of AHP not in the place of their emergence, and which receive from the first Rosh. And the KHB of Nekudim receive from these AHP that are in the Shibolet of the beard: Keter receives from the phase of the Ozen in the Shibolet of the beard, and HB receive from the phase of the Hotem and Peh in the Shibolet of the beard, that is, each phase from the phase corresponding to it in the Rosh of SAG. Keter, which is the second Rosh, receives from the Ozen in the Shibolet, which is the phase of the second Rosh of the Dikna; and HB of Nekudim, which are the third Rosh, receive from the Hotem and Peh in the Shibolet, which are the third Rosh of the Dikna. And the ZAT of Nekudim, which are the phase of the Guf of Nekudim, receive from the Dikna that is below the Shibolet, which are likewise the phases of the Guf of the Dikna. (And we have already elaborated on this above, page 412, in the Inner Light, the passage beginning “Keter,” see there the whole continuation.)
And this is what he says: “The seven kings took their lights from the looking of the light of the eyes of AK at the lights of Akudim, from the phase of their expansion downward in the place of the Guf of AK.” That is, the seven kings, who are the phase of the Guf of the Partzuf of Nekudim, receive from the phase of the Guf of the Dikna below the Shibolet, as above, which is the phase corresponding to them in the Rosh of SAG. And they are called the Akudim of AK because they are above the Tabur of AK, while Nekudim begins only below the Tabur, as is known. And this is what he says: “Therefore they broke, since they lacked the illumination of GAR [first three] in it, which are AHP in their place above.” That is, they have no root in the Rosh, which is GAR, from the beginning of their emanation, and their entire illumination is only from the phase of the Gadlut [greatness/adulthood] of AVI of Nekudim. And when they could not bear the light of Gadlut, both face and posterior broke.
And this is what he says: “AVI, who took the two lights of the Hotem and Peh, and who lacked only the light of the Ozen alone, and therefore only the phase of the posteriors descended from them.” For since they are in essence the phase of a Rosh, and they also had some illumination from the light of the Ozen, as above (page 413) in the words of the ARI, they therefore have the phase of GAR from the beginning of their emanation, though in the phase of back to back, as above. And therefore all this phase that they have from the beginning of their emanation is called face, and it endured and was not annulled; only the phase of the coupling of Gadlut and of face to face that they attained afterwards, in the phase of an addition, which is called posterior, as above — that alone descended and was annulled from them.