Petach 58, the last one of this section, concludes it by expanding upon the detail in Petach 57 about the role of the Shechina [1]; by addressing a point made in Petach 54 about the configuration of things after the Shevira process [2]; and by harkening back to the statement in Petach 52 about the relationship between Zeir Anpin and Nukveh [3].
It makes the point that the Tikkun process itself — which is the subject of the very next section — will right what had gone wrong in the relationship between the supernal Male and Female phenomena (and more).
Ramchal remarks here that the Shechina, which is analogous to Malchut in the Sephira configuration and Nukveh in the Partzuf configuration, only becomes beautiful and delightful, i.e., fulfilled, fully balanced, and successful at its raison d’être [4], when Yesod or Zeir Anpin is with her [5], for she’s only made complete by means of Yesod or Zeir Anpin.
But when Shechina, Malchut or Nukveh is without Yesod or Zeir Anpin, she’s the source of all sorts of deficiency and “sadness” and is thus neither beautiful nor delightful, yet when Shechina, Malchut or Nukveh is with Yesod or Zeir Anpin, she’s the source of all sorts of joy for the male, or for Yesod or Zeir Anpin, himself.
Accordingly, at first, i.e., in the course of the breaking of the vessels, everything was in the mystical configuration of BaN, which is Shechina, Nukveh or Malchut without the male, i.e., without Yesod or Zeir Anpin, which resulted in “sadness”. And the “six directions” contained in Zeir Anpin: Chessed, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod, didn’t face Shechina, Malchut or Nukveh, because they weren’t yet delightful.
But when Yesod or Zeir Anpin assumes the mystical configuration of MaH in the course of the Tikkun, she, i.e., Shechina, Malchut or Nukveh, will be perfected and will herself inspire delight in the male, i.e., in Yesod or Zeir Anpin, which is the Tikkun process itself.
This completes Section Ten.
Notes:
[1] As a result of those 288 sparks, the reality of this world came to be such that a single power, i.e., the Shechina, would remain so that the world wouldn’t be destroyed ….
[2] That the ability to govern was taken away from the vessels when they were broken. They also didn’t function as the mystical configuration of a perfect form then. Instead, they functioned as various imperfect phenomena that were unfit to do things fully.
[3] That what was lacking in the primordial kings was the fact that the six Sephirot of Chessed, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod didn’t face towards the Malchut and they thus weren’t spared “sorrow” and “severity” or isolation.
[4] As Ramchal depicts it in his comments, “’beauty’ manifests itself when the repairs are properly ordered without an admixture of darkness, (and) when everything is arranged to foster perfect … governance”.
[5] “This represents the mystical notion of the moon (i.e., Malchut), which … shines and is seen to be beautiful through the power of the sun (i.e., Yesod)”, Ramchal points out in his comments as well.
(c) 2013 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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