Part 14 · Chapter 163

The Ari's Text

And as we said that there is an upper surrounding light over the head of ZA, which is the second aspect in his Mochin, so this knot of the Tefillin of the head, called Leah, is the aspect of the essential and principal surrounding light of the Nukva of ZA, called Rachel. Therefore this knot stands here above, and she is below; and from here is made the essential surrounding light for her. And understand this.

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 second discernment that is in his Mochin; so this knot of the Tefillin etc., the essential and principal surrounding light of the Nukva of ZA, who is called Rachel. This has already been explained above (page 1578, the passage beginning “When you examine closely”): that there are three divisions of six discernments — those of AVI, those of ZA, and those of the Nukva. Study the reason there well. And the matter of the six discernments is that they are three degrees of inner light and surrounding light; for at the time of the coupling, when the Partzufim [pl. of Partzuf] were included one in another, each one was included in his upper of the upper: AVI in the Rosh [head] of Atik, ZA in AVI, and the Nukva in the Rosh of ZA. And this is because each one ascended to his upper one, and the upper one to the upper of the upper; and thus the upper one is found serving, as it were, in two places at once, for he himself, although he ascended above, left his records below in his former place. And therefore the lower one receives also from the upper of the upper, as above, page 1559, the passage beginning “They were made,” study it there well.
And therefore each one has two roots: one root in the upper of the upper, and one root in his own upper one, and his own discernment; hence there are three degrees, and in each one an inner and a surrounding light — thus six degrees. And it turns out that the essential root of AVI is in their upper of the upper, that is, in the Rosh of Atik, since they were included up to there at the time of the coupling; and there are the first and the second discernments of their Mochin. However, they cannot receive the Mochin from there, for according to the degree they were included, at the time of the coupling, only in their own upper one, who is AA. And therefore they receive only from the fourth discernment of the Mochin, which is the surrounding light that they left in AA. And likewise for ZA: his essential root is reckoned in the surrounding light of his upper of the upper, who are AVI, which is reckoned as the second discernment of the Mochin. However, he cannot receive from there, for by way of the degree he was included only in the NHY of AVI, that is, in YESHSUT, who clothe the NHY of AVI; and therefore he receives only from the surrounding light that he left in the NHY of AVI, which is the fourth discernment of his Mochin. And in this way the Nukva of ZA, Rachel: behold, her essential surrounding light, that is, the second discernment of her Mochin, is in the Rosh of ZA, in the knot of the Tefillin. However, she cannot receive from there, since that place is reckoned as her upper of the upper, for her root is only in the NHY of ZA. And therefore she receives only from the fourth discernment of the Mochin, that is, in the surrounding light of the NHY of ZA. And we have already elaborated on this.
And this is what he says, that the knot of the Tefillin is reckoned as the second discernment of the Mochin of Rachel: for the first discernment is the four Mochin that came out in the internality of the Mochin of ZA, as above; and the second discernment is the surrounding light that went out upon the nape, in the secret of the knot of the Tefillin. And from there they were drawn through the two straps and were clothed in the NHY of ZA as well, in two discernments: in inner light and in surrounding light. And from the fourth discernment, which is the surrounding light of the NHY of ZA, from there the Nukva receives, in the manner that was explained regarding AVI and regarding ZA.