Part 16 · Chapter 178

The Ari's Text

It is found, then, that the essentiality, although it is divided into two, is nevertheless not in the internality as one part only — the inner within the two aspects of the vessels, and the second part surrounding above the two aspects of the vessels, outside them all. Indeed, within the vessels there is only one light alone, and it is within the inner vessel — not one within the outer and one within the inner. Rather, there is only a single inner light (Or Pnimi) within the inner vessels, and the inner vessels are within the outer vessels.

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 self, although it is divided into two, is nevertheless not in the internality except one part, internality within the two vessels, and the second part surrounds the two discernments of the vessels etc. A great rule the ARI teaches us here. For although the external vessels are always called by the name surrounding ones, since just as the self is divided into inner and surrounding, so the vessels are divided into inner and external, as above, and if so, one might err in thinking that the inner light of the self clothes in the inner vessels and the surrounding light of the self clothes in the external vessels — therefore the ARI teaches us here that it is not so, but only the inner light of the self alone clothes in the two vessels, namely both in inner vessels and in external vessels only the inner light of the self clothes, as written above, that there are IYM [Ibur, nursing, and Mochin] in inner vessels and IYM in external vessels, and both are only inner light alone. And the second part of the self, which is the two surrounding lights of Haya and Yechida, called the surrounding light of circles and the surrounding light of straightness, surrounds the two discernments of the vessels, namely around the external and the inner vessels together, as he goes on to explain. And this is a great principle that you must remember throughout the continuation of the discourses on BYA, for from the flow of the language, in all the places it implies that the surrounding light of Haya and Yechida clothes in the external vessels themselves, and likewise in garments and palaces and firmaments that are drawn from the coupling of the external vessels; and from here you will know with complete clarity that it is not so, but only inner light clothes in them, and not at all any of the surrounding light, rather they receive illumination from the surrounding light from afar, because the surrounding light surrounds them from afar. And remember this well.