Part 16 · Chapter 188

The Ari's Text

*And behold, the internality of the worlds is the Essence that is in that world. For example, the Essence of Assiyah, in which there are NRNHY, all of them called the Nefashot of Assiyah. And from this coupling of the Essence, a Nefesh is made for the five above-mentioned aspects for human beings.

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 internality of the worlds is the self that is in that world etc. Seemingly this contradicts what is written above, item 186, that the matter of internality and externality is discerned only in the vessels and not at all in the self, whereas here he says that the vessels are called externality and the self is called internality. And it is possible to reconcile this: that he wishes to distinguish here with regard to the internality and externality that exist in the ten Sefirot themselves, as above in item 177, as written above in the adjacent item; and therefore he calls the three inner vessels by the name self, and the two external vessels by the name vessels. For the relation of the inner vessels to the external ones is like the relation of the self to vessels and bodies. And in any case it is impossible to explain that his intention is the lights NRNHY [Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, Yechida] alone, which are called everywhere by the name self, for it is not possible at all to say that from their coupling come out the souls of human beings, as written below, since there is no coupling in lights without vessels. Thus he necessarily calls the vessels, together with the lights within them, by the name self, and understand this.