Part 16 · Chapter 141

The Ari's Text

And after Adam HaRishon came and corrected the worlds through his prayer, in the secret of "to work it and to keep it" (le-ovdah u-leshomrah) — behold, until Adam HaRishon came, the six days of action were in the secret of the thirty-nine labors mentioned above, as they were back to back. And then he caused the upper separation (Nesira), and ZON returned face to face, and it was the Sabbath day. Therefore all the thirty-nine labors were forbidden on the Sabbath, for it causes the worlds to return back to back, as at first.

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

1Adam HaRishon and corrected the worlds through his prayer, in the secret of “to work it and to keep it” etc. And ZON returned face to face. For at the time he was created, only his head and throat were in the Garden of Eden, and then it was said, “and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it,” that is, that he would raise MAN [Mayin Nukvin], and all of BYA would rise to Atzilut, as was done on the eve of Shabbat, between the evenings, when ZON returned face to face, and also Yetzira and Assiya, which clothed ZON from below, returned face to face as well. As above in the words of the ARI (page 1938, item 87).
And one should not object, according to this, how the ARI says immediately below, in item 144, that he corrected only the world of Yetzira, but the world of Assiya remained back to back. And the matter is that the ascent of face to face in the third discernment, both for Yetzira and Assiya and for the upper ZON, was sufficient only for the part from the Chazeh [chest] upward of the world of Assiya, and likewise of the upper Nukva; but the part from the Chazeh downward was still guarded in the correction of back to back, for Malchut was hidden in Radla [the unknown head], and there is no coupling upon her, and there is no sorting for the heart of stone, which is regarded as the MAN of Malchut; and therefore the part from the Chazeh downward of Assiya must remain in the discernment of back to back, for there the roots of the shells that are attributed to the heart of stone are attached. And this is what he says below, “Adam HaRishon could correct only the upper worlds, but Assiya remains back to back.”