The final point Ramchal makes in his comments to Petach 31, which is rather esoteric, is the fact that the two orderings — that of God’s four-letter name and that of His appellations — differ in yet another way which comes into effect in certain details.
When a Sephira or Partzuf phenomenon is discussed in some detail with concentration on one or more of the elements, then that phenomenon is only brought about through its details, and not through an amalgam of ten whole Sephirot. But since every phenomenon has to be comprised of a full amalgam of ten Sephirot, the rest do figure in to be sure, but in the background, so to speak. It’s just that the phenomenon under discussion assumes the nature of the predominant detail. So, for example, an instance of a phenomenon rooted in the ס”ג configuration can then turn around and express itself in the ע”ב configuration or the מ”ה or ב”ן one since the phenomena change their configurations depending on the needs at the time. It’s important to realize, though, that they all ultimately fall under the rubric of God’s four-letter name, which never varies. (Factoring in this ability of the appellation-related phenomenon to assume different characteristics at different times will clear up a lot of apparent contradictions in Ari’s writings.)
(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
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