Part 14 · Chapter 145

The Ari's Text

And although in the Idra it appears to speak only of the aspect of Daat, this will be explained below: that the main going out of the surrounding light is at the forehead, opposite the Daat, for there is the place of the rupture for the light to come out from within, by the striking of the lock of the hairs of Arich Anpin from the back, as stated.

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

1At the forehead, which is opposite the Daat, for there is the place of the breaching for the light to go out from within, through the striking of the locks of hair. As written in the adjacent item: that this whole revelation of the flashing, by way of the illumination of the surrounding lights, which bring the surrounding light of the Tefillin outside upon the forehead, is not in the discernment of the Mem of Tzelem [image] of the Mochin, which are the GAR of the Mochin, but in the Lamed of Tzelem, which is the discernment of the Daat of the Mochin, which in AA is called the brain of the air. And this is what he says: that the place of the breaching is opposite the Daat, where the locks of hair shine and draw the illumination of the surrounding lights. However, the discernment of the Mem of Tzelem, which are the GAR of the Mochin, do not receive this illumination of theirs within them, since the Yod never comes out of their air, and they are always in covered Hassadim, as written in Part 13.
2The hairs of Arich are pipes and springs that draw abundance and a great light from the Mocha Stimaa [the concealed brain] within him downward to ZA, etc., at the place of their ending. It has already been explained above at length, the order of the drawing of the illumination of the surrounding lights: that the discernment of the Yesod that is in the Daat of the Mochin goes outside, to the Bina that is in his upper surrounding light, and couples there the HB of the surrounding lights in the discernment of a striking of the one against the other, as above in the words of the ARI (page 1339, item 97; and see above in the Inner Light, page 1574, the passage beginning “And this is what he says”). However, what is it that causes the Yesod that is in the Mochin to breach the forehead and to go outside to the upper surrounding light, and to couple there the HB of the surrounding lights? And behold, the ARI explained this above (page 1368, item 156), and these are his words: “And when it is a time of favor, then the thirteen Chivaret [bright strands] shine within the thirteen Nimin [strands], and then the Nimin depart from upon the forehead and the face, etc.; for the Mitzcha DeRaava [the forehead of the will] of AA is born, where the Yesod of Atik is, and then the light of the Bina, which did not clothe in AA at all, shines, etc., and illumination is added to the Yesod of Atik that is within, and its light too goes outside.” Thus this coupling of the Yesod of Atik with the Bina that is outside is not made until after the Chivaret shine within the thirteen Nimin of the hairs of the Rosh [head], which breach at the nape opposite the Daat, where the Yesod is; and through their illumination it too is able to breach at the forehead, by way of the face, and to couple with the Bina of the surrounding lights.
And see there in the words of the ARI, and you will find that he brings there two kinds of couplings in the secret of a time of favor. The first is in item 156, where he says: “And then its lights will be drawn into the thirteen corrections of the Dikna [beard] literally, not in the face, but in the beard itself a wondrous light will shine in the thirteen corrections of the Dikna of AA.” And the second is in item 157, where he says: “Another benefit still: for the Mitzcha DeRaava of AA is born, where the Yesod of Atik is, etc., and then AA looks at the forehead of AVI and at the forehead of ZA, and wondrous lights shine in the eyes of ZA,” study it there well. Thus he explains there two couplings that differ from one another. For in the first coupling the illuminations of the Chivaret and of the hairs come into the thirteen corrections of the Dikna, and he emphasises “not in the face,” which means to exclude the illumination of the surrounding lights, which shine only in the place of the face, at the forehead and the Einayim, as above; rather they shine in the whole Rosh, that is, also in the discernment of the Galgalta and the Mem of Tzelem [image], which is by way of the coupling upon the Mazalin, as is known. However, in the second coupling, which he brings in item 157, he emphasises explicitly that the illumination of the coupling reaches the discernment of the Einayim of ZA and the forehead, which is the illumination of the face alone; and he names that illumination “for the forehead of the will is born,” that is, the discernment of the face alone. And this must be understood: how do these two couplings come about through the illumination of the time of favor, and what is it that causes this difference between them?
And it has already been explained above (page 1573, the passage beginning “And this”) that at the time of the coupling for the revelation of the level of the Hochma of the thirty-two paths, which comes through the raising of MAN [Mayin Nukvin] by ZA, AVI ascend to the place of the GAR of AA, and the discernment of the Dikna enters in the secret of MAN; and then the illumination of the revealed AB goes out — which means that the Parsaot were nullified, together with the garments of the Tzelem that came about because of the ascent of the bottom Hey to the Einayim; and also the Mem of Tzelem, that is to say, even the GAR of the Mochin, receive Hochma without any covering. And behold, it is of this coupling that the ARI speaks there in item 156. And therefore he emphasises: “and then their lights will be drawn into the thirteen corrections of the Dikna literally, not in the face” — meaning that the thirteen corrections of the Dikna become there the discernment of the Daat of this level; for the Mazal Notzer Hesed is the discernment of Tifferet, which is the principal bearer that reveals the illumination of Hochma in the GAR of the level, that is, that it returns the Bina of the GAR to be Hochma again, as above. And the Mazal VeNakeh is the discernment of the Yesod that is in the Daat, upon which the coupling by striking is made upon the two screens that are in it, which are called narrow and short, as above. And it turns out that the illumination of this coupling is in the whole Rosh, that is, in the Galgalta as well and not specifically in the face; and this is what he emphasises there, “and not in the face” — for then the Galgalta is not clothed in its Izka [ring], and it receives Hochma just like the Lamed of Tzelem.
However, this applies only at the time of the coupling alone, that is, at the time when the Partzufim [pl. of Partzuf] are included in one another, when AVI are in the place of the GAR of AA and AA is in the place of the GAR of Atik, as above. But after the birth of the Mochin the Parsaot return to their place, and each Partzuf descends to its place, and the Mochin return to clothe in the Mem-Lamed-Tzadi of Tzelem; and the GAR of the Mochin are found returning to the discernment of covered Hassadim, and the discernment of the GAR of AB that were there in the Galgalta of AA must depart and go out from there in the secret of surrounding light, as above. And now the second coupling begins, which the ARI brings there in item 157, whose illumination does not reach the Galgalta and the GAR of the Mochin, but only the ZAT of the Mochin, which are the Daat, from which only the illumination of the face is drawn, from the forehead downward alone, because the Galgalta is clothed in the Mem of Tzelem.
And the matter of this coupling is that those GAR of the revealed AB, which are ascribed to the Galgalta of AA — which was unable to receive them because of its being clothed in the Mem of Tzelem — behold, they remained in its upper one, that is, in Radla [the unknown head] itself, since it did not receive them at the time of its going out to its own place. Therefore this surrounding light of the GAR of the revealed AB is reckoned as standing always in the place of the upper one. And understand well, that this surrounding light is in truth the discernment of the GAR of the lower one and not of the upper one; only, since the lower degree did not take them, it therefore remained in its upper one. And this applies to all the surrounding lights of the AB that returns.
It was also explained above, in Part 13, concerning the Chivaret of the Galgalta, that it is the discernment of the remainders of the illumination of the revealed AB that remained in the Galgalta of AA even after its descent to its place and after its clothing in the Mem of Tzelem. See there. And therefore that Chivaret shines the discernment of the GAR of the surrounding lights that remained in it to the hairs of the Rosh, and the hairs of the Rosh shine this illumination to the Daat of AA; and it is reckoned that this illumination of the Chivaret breached the nape of AA and entered within the Daat, to the Yesod of Atik that stands there, that is, the discernment of the Yesod, which is the bearer of the screens. And then the Yesod acquires the power to breach the forehead and to ascend to the Bina of the surrounding lights that remained in Radla, and it couples her with the Hochma of the surrounding lights. And with this it is understood how it is possible for the Yesod of the Daat that is in AA to ascend to the surrounding lights that are in the place of Radla, above its own place and its own degree. Indeed, it attained this because it received a portion of that same illumination of the GAR of the revealed AB, through the illumination of the Chivaret by way of the hairs. For the Chivaret is literally that very discernment of the GAR of the revealed AB, only a scant illumination that remained of it after its departure; yet it suffices to awaken the Yesod of the Daat to return and renew this coupling, which it had already made at the time of its inclusion in the upper one. And understand well.
However, there is still a great difference between this coupling of the Yesod of the Mochin with the surrounding lights and the coupling that is made in the internality of the upper one through the inclusion of the lower one in the upper one. For this illumination does not reach the discernment of the GAR of the Mochin at all, but only the discernment of the Daat, which is the secret of the illumination of the Einayim and the forehead, as written there in the words of the ARI, item 157. And the reason of the matter was explained above in the Inner Light, page 1575, the passage beginning “And there is not,” study it there well.
And with what has been explained, the matter of the striking of the locks of hair of AA at the nape of ZA is also well understood, through which it brings out there the surrounding light upon the forehead, which is called Tefillin. For it is literally according to that same order that was explained above regarding the Chivaret and the hairs of AA himself, which shine to his Yesod of the Daat; for through this illumination it has the power to ascend to the place of the upper one and to couple there the HB of the surrounding lights, and the illumination of Hochma reaches from them to the internality of the Daat of AA, and an illumination goes outside upon the forehead of AA, as above. Behold, that same matter and that same order apply in ZA as well: for the Chivaret bestow their illumination, which is the remainders of the revealed AB, as above, upon the hairs of the Rosh of AA; and the ending of the hairs of the Rosh bestow and breach the nape of ZA, until they bring this illumination of theirs within the Yesod that is in the Mochin of ZA. And he attains the power to ascend and to couple the surrounding lights that are above, upon the NHY of AVI, for there the GAR of his portion in the revealed AB remained; and through the illumination of the Chivaret within the hairs he receives the power to ascend to them, as above in AA. And then the HB of the surrounding lights shine their illumination back within the Daat of ZA; and since they cannot be within, because of the Izka of his GAR, they go outside in the secret of the four Mochin, HB HG, upon the forehead, in the secret of Tefillin. See there in the Inner Light, on page 1575, throughout the whole continuation, for there is no need to repeat things.