There have been three areas of concentration among the earlier and later Kabbalists as we’d said: the Sephirot, the Partzufim, and the letters of the Aleph-Bet and their role in the Names of God. Ramchal has been concentrating upon the Sephirot until now and will continue to do so here in this section (which, as its title “The Essential Elements of Sephirot and their Governance” indicates, will lay out the makeup and role of the Sephirot), but he’ll also begin to discuss the Partzufim in this section’s final Petach, where he points out that there are Sephirot (to be considered) and Partzufim. He’ll then begin to concentrate upon the mystical implications of the various names of God in the next section. So let’s trace the movement from one area of concentration to the other.
As we’d indicated, the earlier Kabbalists focused on the Sephirot. They include the authors of Sefer Yetzirah who spoke of them right off the bat (along with a discussion of the letters), of Masechet Atzilut (which first displayed their names at its end, as well as the names of the Worlds at its beginning), of Sefer Bahir (who cited their names in 141-146), as well as the earlier masters such as Ramban, Ra’avad, R’ Yitzchak Sagi Nahor, R’ Azriel, R’ Meir Ibn Gabbai, R’ Yoseph Gikitilia, Rabbeinu Bacahai, R’ Racanti, the author of Ma’arechet Elohut, and the bulk of the Zohar. And Ramak spent the preponderance of his time on an analysis of the Sephirot too (though he did touch upon the Partzufim later on, as we said in note 7 of Section Three).
It was Ari who first merited delving into the Partzufim in great detail. He drew upon some of the more esoteric sections of the Zohar for his depictions, including Iddra Rabba (“The Greater Assembly”), Iddra Zutta (“The Lesser Assembly”), and Sifre deTzeniuta (“The Book of Concealment”) [1].
As he laid them out, the Sephira of Keter is analogous to the Partzuf entitled Adam Kadmon (which we cited earlier and will discuss below, too) and to Erich Anpin (“The Greater Countenance”); the Sephirot of Chochma and Binah are analogous to the Partzufim termed Abba and Imma; the Partzuf termed Zeir Anpin (“Lesser Countenance”) is analogous to the six “extremities” or “limits” better known as the Sephirot of Chessed, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod and Yesod; and the Partzuf of Nukveh is analogous to Sephira of Malchut. There are other names for the Partzufim and other analogies which will also be discussed.
What concerns us now is the fact that all of this is very carefully and purposefully “arranged in a specific order” (Ramchal’s comment to Petach 9) as we’d cited at the end of the previous section. So we’ll now delve into Ramchal’s concern with sequence.
Note:
[1] See note 3 to section 3.
(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.
You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.
There have been three areas of concentration among the earlier and later Kabbalists as we’d said: the Sephirot, the Partzufim, and the letters of the Aleph-Bet and their role in the Names of God. Ramchal has been concentrating upon the Sephirot until now and will continue to do so here in this section (which, as its title “The Essential Elements of Sephirot and their Governance” indicates, will lay out the makeup and role of the Sephirot), but he’ll also begin to discuss the Partzufim in this section’s final Petach, where he points out that there are Sephirot (to be considered) and Partzufim. He’ll then begin to concentrate upon the mystical implications of the various names of God in the next section. So let’s trace the movement from one area of concentration to the other.
As we’d indicated, the earlier Kabbalists focused on the Sephirot. They include the authors of Sefer Yetzirah who spoke of them right off the bat (along with a discussion of the letters), of Masechet Atzilut (which first displayed their names at its end, as well as the names of the Worlds at its beginning), of Sefer Bahir (who cited their names in 141-146), as well as the earlier masters such as Ramban, Ra’avad, R’ Yitzchak Sagi Nahor, R’ Azriel, R’ Meir Ibn Gabbai, R’ Yoseph Gikitilia, Rabbeinu Bacahai, R’ Racanti, the author of Ma’arechet Elohut, and the bulk of the Zohar. And Ramak spent the preponderance of his time on an analysis of the Sephirot too (though he did touch upon the Partzufim later on, as we said in note 7 of Section Three).
It was Ari who first merited delving into the Partzufim in great detail. He drew upon some of the more esoteric sections of the Zohar for his depictions, including Iddra Rabba (“The Greater Assembly”), Iddra Zutta (“The Lesser Assembly”), and Sifre deTzeniuta (“The Book of Concealment”) [1].
As he laid them out, the Sephira of Keter is analogous to the Partzuf entitled Adam Kadmon (which we cited earlier and will discuss below, too) and to Erich Anpin (“The Greater Countenance”); the Sephirot of Chochma and Binah are analogous to the Partzufim termed Abba and Imma; the Partzuf termed Zeir Anpin (“Lesser Countenance”) is analogous to the six “extremities” or “limits” better known as the Sephirot of Chessed, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod and Yesod; and the Partzuf of Nukveh is analogous to Sephira of Malchut. There are other names for the Partzufim and other analogies which will also be discussed.
What concerns us now is the fact that all of this is very carefully and purposefully “arranged in a specific order” (Ramchal’s comment to Petach 9) as we’d cited at the end of the previous section. So we’ll now delve into Ramchal’s concern with sequence.
Note:
[1] See note 3 to section 3.
(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
———————————————————-
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.
You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.