Part 11 · Chapter 145

The Ari's Text

And behold, when ZA is in the pregnancy, in his mother's womb and complete in his limbs, then Aba and Ima couple in their external vessels, with the phase of their internal and surrounding Nefesh, as above, and beget the phase of Mochin for ZA, for the days of the pregnancy, and they are the secret of his Nefesh, and they become a first Tzelem, as mentioned, and they clothe in ZA, after the completion of the formation of the said Tzelem there, within the externality of the vessels of the said Tevuna, and enter within the vessels of ZA to give him life during the time of the pregnancy.

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

1Their external vessels, with the phase of their internal and surrounding Nefesh: This clarifies the matter of what causes the changes of the Mochin and the Tzelem of Mochin between Ibur and nursing, and greatness, and likewise for the second greatness and Yechida. For since in all the couplings of ZON, AVI and YESHSUT are bound to return and become one Partzuf, until even AVI shine with the illumination of Hochma like YESHSUT, as above in Part 10 at length — if so, what then do the differences of the degrees of ZA depend on? And to this he answers: that the difference of the degrees depends on the measure of the MAN of ZA, for AVI always couple in accordance with the MAN of ZON that rose and were included in them. And if the MAN of ZA is in the phase of the Ibur, then AVI couple in the phase of their external vessels, which are from the phase of the Nefesh within them, for the phase of the smallness of Nefesh is aroused in them, and they measure the level of the ten Sefirot of ZA of the Ibur according to this smallness of theirs of Nefesh. And likewise, if the MAN is of Ruach, AVI couple from the phase of their external vessels of the phase of Ruach. And so too with Neshama, they couple from the phase of their internal vessels, in accordance with the MAN of the Neshama of ZA that is included in them, and so on in this manner. And the reason for this has already been well explained in the previous parts.