Our first concern of course is the makeup of the Tikkun<\/i> process: what was involved, and what it brought about. So Ramchal starts off by saying that the Tikkun<\/i> process consisted of the binding together of two emanations — that of Adam<\/i> Kadmon<\/i>\u2019s \u201cforehead\u201d and \u201ceyes\u201d, which are MaH<\/i> and BaN<\/i>. <\/b>We\u2019ll explain those specifics, of course.<\/p>\n
Once that came about, there came to be an immediate awakening of love between the lights, which were then no longer in the state of \u201csadness\u201d they had been in<\/b>, in the course of the Shevira<\/i>, when the lights stood in perpendicular relationship to each other. Instead, each one turned to face the other, and they became bound to one another in the mystical sense of<\/b>, i.e., like a, \u201cfather\u201d, \u201cmother\u201d, \u201cson\u201d and \u201cdaughter\u201d, where each <\/b>light manifests kinship to the other in an appropriate manner <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 59). We\u2019ll discuss the joy of love versus the sadness of opposition, and the idea of familial relationships among things.<\/b><\/p>\n
We then concern ourselves with some of the more esoteric details, as in the fact that after the lights of Adam Kadmon<\/i>\u2019s \u201ceyes\u201d, which are BaN<\/i>, emerged, they were tied to the governance of Malchut<\/i> of Adam Kadmon<\/i>, whereas when the radiation of the \u201cforehead\u201d, which is MaH<\/i>, emerged, it was tied to the governance of Yesod<\/i> of Adam Kadmon<\/i>. Yesod<\/i> and Malchut<\/i> of Adam Kadmon<\/i> then conjoined, <\/b>and as a consequence all judgments were mitigated, and governance functioned along the lines of Tikkun<\/i> and love<\/b> instead (Petach<\/i> 60).<\/b><\/p>\n
The esoteric factors continue with the fact that MaH<\/i><\/b>, <\/b>which is to say, the lights of the \u201cforehead\u201d, <\/b>which represent eventual perfection, had all the levels that were selected from BaN<\/i><\/b>, which came about as a result of the Shevira<\/i> process and represents imperfection, connected to it, and out of it were produced the \u201cTree of Holiness\u201d, which is to say, <\/b>the various of Partzufim<\/i> of Atzilut<\/i><\/b>, <\/b>and the worlds of Briah<\/i><\/b>, Yetzirah<\/i>, and Assiyah<\/i>. But other levels of BaN<\/i> that weren\u2019t attached to MaH<\/i> remained behind <\/b>in Atzilut<\/i>, Briah<\/i>, Yetzirah<\/i>, and Assiyah<\/i>, so creation wasn\u2019t complete given there were still a number of deficiencies. Nonetheless this <\/b>connection of MaH<\/i> and Ban<\/i> will <\/b>eventually be rectified step by step to the point where everything will be repaired and in a state of perfection <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 61).<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll then touch upon the differences between MaH<\/i> and BaN <\/i>and their interplay, concerning which we\u2019re told that all things concerning damage, i.e. everything that allows for defects and their ensuing punishments, are rooted in the Sephirot<\/i> of BaN<\/i>, whereas all things concerning repair, <\/b>that come to repair these defects, are rooted in the Sephirot<\/i> of MaH<\/i>. But each level needs to be comprised of both MaH<\/i> and Ban<\/i> for the sake of the sort of governance needed. As a consequence, all aspects of rah<\/i> exist there under the auspices of BaN<\/i> within it, while all aspects of good exist there under the auspices of MaH <\/i><\/b>(Petach<\/i> 62).<\/b><\/p>\n
And that analysis will continue with the statement that since <\/b>Divine governance is based on the mystical principle of <\/b>a combination of Chessed<\/i><\/b> and Din<\/i>, <\/b>which serve as a source of right and of wrong, it follows then that<\/b> two progenitors are needed for every action. Thus, a light <\/b>that\u2019s to govern will only emerge through <\/b>the agency of two lights that draw it forth<\/b>, i.e., that will produce it. Of these two <\/b>producing lights, one will be male and from the side of MaH<\/i>, and one will be female and from the side of BaN<\/i>. They will then produce the light that needs to be produced <\/b>by their conjunction, which will <\/b>thus be constructed out of both MaH<\/i> and BaN<\/i><\/b> (Petach<\/i> 63).<\/b><\/p>\n
More on the Tikkun<\/i> process with the statement that out of all of the Sephirot<\/i> <\/b>in BaN<\/i> that were broken and that descended<\/b> down to Briah<\/i> in the Shevira<\/i> process, those parts that were to be clarified were <\/b>indeed clarified, and they<\/b>, i.e., their vessels, ascended to receive their lights <\/b>that remained in Atzilut <\/i>by means of Nukveh<\/i>, which elevated them that way. Alternatively, all the levels of MaH<\/i>, <\/b>both the vessels and lights that joined with them descended by means of the male<\/b>, i.e., the Yesod<\/i> of Adam<\/i> Kadmon<\/i>, that drew them downward this way and placed them in Nukveh<\/i>. Nevertheless, the male also took part in the repair of the vessels that ascended through the female: the male repaired the right side, while the female repaired their left side. The parts then joined together <\/b>in Nukveh<\/i>, and MaH<\/i> joined with every one of them, as a result of which the resulting offspring was complete <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 64).<\/b><\/p>\n
The above-cited polarity of Male-Female is expanded upon with remarks that the themes of male and female<\/b>, i.e., the theme of the conjunction of male and female, are also found<\/b> in higher <\/b>realms than this<\/b>, namely in the world of Adam<\/i> Kadmon<\/i>, since the system of governance had already been set in the mystical sphere of Chessed<\/i> and Din<\/i><\/b> which are themselves male and female respectively. It\u2019s just that there was a difference when it came to Nikkudim<\/i>, in that male and female weren\u2019t rectified at first <\/b>in that instance, since BaN<\/i> <\/b>which is female emerged on its own. Only afterwards when MaH<\/i> <\/b>which is male came to play a part in them<\/b>, i.e., in the Sephirot<\/i> of Nikkudim<\/i>, through the rectification process did the sources of male and female from Atzilut<\/i> and downwards depend upon a \u201cbalance\u201d<\/b> of male and female, which is the mystical conjunction of MaH<\/i> with BaN<\/i><\/b> (Petach<\/i> 65).<\/b><\/p>\n
And the implications of the Male-Female polarity are enunciated in the idea that rectification comes about through the interactions of male and female under the rubric of the mystical notions of \u201ccoupling\u201d, \u201cpregnancy\u201d and \u201cbirth\u201d. \u201cCoupling\u201d comes about when the subdivisions of MaH<\/i> and BaN<\/i> are drawn downward so as to set everything in the female. Everything that needs to exist in the light in question in total is contained there, and there\u2019d be no need to add or subtract anything. This totality must then to be subdivided into its various parts, but it, i.e., the \u201coffspring\u201d, isn\u2019t made manifest until all of its parts are fully manifested. So, until that time, it, i.e., the Partzuf<\/i> as \u201coffspring\u201d, is concealed within the light it depends on in order to be completed by it. This is because the lights of the one\u00b8 i.e., of the \u201coffspring\u201d can only be completed through the lights of the other, i.e., of the female from which it was formed. Once it, i.e., the Partzuf<\/i>, reaches the stage where all its details are manifest, even though each contains only the barest amount of illumination, the \u201coffspring\u201d is then made manifest, since there\u2019s no longer a need to differentiate the light any further, and it can only gain further ability and illumination during the \u201csuckling\u201d process. And \u201cbirth\u201d occurs when it, i.e., the Partzuf<\/i>, is made manifest from the higher light outward <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 66).<\/b><\/p>\n
We then focus upon the ascendancy implied by a Tikkun<\/i> with the insight that It was the \u201cfolding\u201d of Erich Anpin<\/i>\u2019s \u201clegs\u201d<\/b>, i.e., of its Netzach<\/i>, Hod<\/i>, and Yesod<\/i>, that was the first impetus for the broken vessels<\/b> to ascend<\/b> from Briah<\/i>, Yetzirah<\/i>, and Assiyah<\/i> to Atzilut<\/i>, and thanks to which all their subsequent ascents could come about. In truth, these vessels depended on those \u201clegs\u201d and they were initially sustained by them below<\/b>, i.e., in Briah<\/i>, Yetzirah<\/i>, and Assiyah<\/i>. But when the \u201clegs\u201d were then \u201cfolded\u201d the vessels then had the ability to return upward. It\u2019s in this sense that Erich Anpin<\/i> is the source of everything, and they<\/b>, i.e., the \u201clegs\u201d, that<\/b> were the part of Erich Anpin<\/i> could serve as the source of the vessels when they descended. But afterwards<\/b>, as a result of the \u201cfolding of the <\/b>legs\u201d, Chessed<\/i><\/b>, Gevurah<\/i>, and Tipheret<\/i> <\/b>of Erich Anpin<\/i> also served as their source when the rectification got greater <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 67).<\/b><\/p>\n
Discussion of an ascent is expanded upon with the remark that the parts <\/b>of the vessels that ascend <\/b>upward from Beria<\/i>, Yetzirah<\/i>, and Assiyah<\/i>, their orders <\/b>of ascent, and their ways of interconnecting <\/b>within each and every Partzuf<\/i> are exactly what\u2019s needed to make this world the way it needs to be made <\/b>in the course of the Tikkun<\/i> process — with just the right number of reparations, of deficiencies, and of processes necessary to complete the cycle of <\/b>Divine governance <\/b>and to lead to the revelation of God\u2019s Yichud <\/i>(Petach<\/i> 68).<\/b><\/p>\n
And we conclude the subject with the statement that the Tikkun<\/i> is structured like a balance-scale<\/b> in which all the lights are repaired in correspondence with the others, with just enough \u201copenness\u201d <\/b>when it comes to the Tikkun<\/i> of MaH<\/i>, and just enough \u201cclosure\u201d <\/b>when it comes to the Tikkun<\/i> of BaN<\/i>, so that all produces a rectified form of <\/b>Divine governance with all the great orders <\/b>in place that <\/b>will enable it all to bring about one cycle of creation in the course of which everything will achieve a state of goodness and utter perfection <\/b>(Petach<\/i> 69).<\/b><\/p>\n
We\u2019ll delve into all of this after an initial discussion of the idea of Tikkun<\/i> in the tradition.<\/p>\n
(c) 2013 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our first concern of course is the makeup of the Tikkun process: what was involved, and what it brought about. So Ramchal starts off by saying that the Tikkun process consisted of the binding together of two emanations — that … Continue reading