Attik (5)

Ramchal makes the point elsewhere that the various arcane phenomena that came about before the world of Atzilut — which are the world of Adam Kadmon and everything connected with it — are all relevant to the World to Come, which will manifest itself after the world as we know it will no longer exist. That’s to say that they’re all quite literally unearthly and Divine.

In fact, so utterly unearthly are those higher worlds that they don’t even touch upon the Afterworld, which is a product of reward and punishment and is thus relevant to this world (while obviously functioning on a different plane). The utterly transcendent World to Come on the other hand is beyond the world of Atzilut and our spiritual efforts in this world that determine reward and punishment.

But he then states that there’s nonetheless a point that acts as a bridge between the otherworldly Adam Kadmon and the more-worldly Atzilut, which is Partzuf Attik [1].

That’s to say that Attik straddles the utterly transcendent and the more mundane; and as such, it serves as a bridge that allows for the creation of the more mundane out of the transcendent, and it’s conversely the one that one would have to cross to go from the more-mundane to the utterly transcendent [2].

Ramchal will now return to the specifics of Attik.

Notes:

[1]       Klallei Milchamot Moshe 5.

[2]       Also see Adir Bamarom p. 390 where Attik is depicted as being an essential element of the Tikkun process and likewise allowing for a return to a more transcendent state.

(c) 2014 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”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *