## Introduction to Sulam Commentary Chapter 39

###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:1
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/39:1)

**חולם שורק חירק**
לט. ושלשה קוין אלו מכונים גם כן שלש נקודות: חולם, שורק, חירק. שקו ימין הוא סוד נקודת החולם. וקו שמאל הוא סוד נקודת השורק, דהיינו מלאפום, שהוא **ו'** ובתוכה נקודה. והקו האמצעי, הוא סוד נקודת החירק.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
***Ḥolam*, *Shuruk*, *Ḥirik***
39. **These three lines are also called by** the names of **three vowels: *ḥolam*, *shuruk*, and*ḥirik*. The right line is the mystical meaning of the*ḥolam*vowel. The left line is the mystical meaning of the*shuruk* vowel, that is, the *melafum*, which is a *vav* with a dot inside it. The middle line is the mystical meaning of the *ḥirik* vowel.**


###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:2
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/39:2)

וטעם הדברים: כי נקודות רומזות על הארת החכמה, שהם מחיים ומנענעים את האותיות, שהם הכלים. ולפיכך קו הימין שנתתקן בעת עלית המלכות לבינה, שהוא חסר חכמה (כנזכר לעיל באות ל), רמוז בנקודת החולם שדרכה לעמוד ממעל לאותיות, שזה מורה, שהנקודה שהיא החכמה, אינה מתלבשת בכלים שהם האותיות, אלא נמצאת ממעל לכלים.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**The explanation** for this **is as follows: The vowels allude to the illumination of** ***Ḥokhma*** **since the** vowels **give life and movement to the letters, which are** like **the vessels. Therefore, the right line, which was established when** ***Malkhut*** **ascended to** ***Bina*** **and lacks** ***Ḥokhma*** **(as stated in section 30 above), is alluded to by the *ḥolam*vowel, which is generally positioned above the letters. This indicates that the vowel, which is** ***Ḥokhma*****, is not** **enclothed** **in the vessels, which are the letters, but is located above the vessels.**


###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:3
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/39:3)

וקו השמאל, הנתקן מבינה ותפארת ומלכות אחר שחזרו למדרגתם, שהם מחזיקים באור החכמה (כנזכר לעיל באות ל'), על כן רמוז בנקודת השורק, שהוא ו' שבתוכה נקודה, שזה מורה שהנקודה שהיא חכמה, מלובשת בתוך הכלים המכונים אותיות.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**The left line, which is established from** ***Bina*****,** ***Tiferet*****, and** ***Malkhut*** **after their return to their** **level****,** and **which hold on to the light of** ***Ḥokhma*** **(as stated there), is therefore alluded to by the *shuruk* vowel, which is a *vav* with a dot inside it. This indicates that the vowel, which is** ***Ḥokhma*****, is** **enclothed** **within the vessels, which are called letters.**


###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:4
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 39:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/39:4)

והקו האמצעי, הנתקן ממדרגה שמתחתיה שעלה למדרגה העליונה והכריע והשלים שני הקוין שלה (כנזכר לעיל באות ל"ב ובאות ל"ה), שלולא הקו האמצעי לא היתה החכמה יכולה להאיר (כמו שנתבאר שם), ומתוך שהתקון הזה מגיע ממדרגה שמתחתיה, הוא רמוז בנקודת החירק העומדת מתחת האותיות שהם הכלים, להיותה מדרגה שמתחתיה. ומשום זה אנו מכנים תמיד המסך דקו האמצעי בשם 'מסך דחירק' (ועיין כל זה בסולם בראשית א' אות ט').

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**The middle line is manifest from the** **level** **below** and **rises to the higher** **level** **and balances and completes the two lines** of the higher level **(as stated in sections 32 and 35 above). If not for the middle line,** ***Ḥokhma*** **would be unable to illuminate (as explained there). Since this rectification comes from the** **level** **below, it is alluded to by the *ḥirik* vowel, which is positioned under the letters, which are the vessels, since** the middle line comes from **the** **level** **below. For this reason, we always refer to the** **partition** **of the middle line as the “partition of the *ḥirik*” (for more on all this, see the *Sulam*, *Bereshit* I, 9).**⁵⁹ refers to three different vowel symbols as analogies for the three lines. In the Hebrew language, vowel symbols tell a reader how to pronounce a particular letter. Thus, vowels are viewed in Kabbalistic thought as the animation of the letter, conveying how a vowelized letter is pronounced. This animation dynamic is associated with the light of *Ḥokhma*, which is the main life force of all things, in contrast to the light of giving. It is this parallelism between the vowels and the animating power of light of *Ḥokhma* that leads to the connection between the light of *Ḥokhma* and the vowels.
In the second constriction, the *sefira* of *Malkhut* ascends to the level of *Bina*, as mentioned previously. The partition that rests on *Malkhut* serves to stop the flow of the light of *Ḥokhma* and causes the upper *sefirot* of *Bina*, *Tiferet* and *Malkhut* to descend to the level below. Only *Keter* and *Ḥokhma* remain in the level, and they form the right column of light. In this phase, the light of *Ḥokhma* is blocked (as the right line is wholly the light of giving) and thus is said to be floating above them. This position is symbolically indicated with the vowel of the *ḥolam* which is a dot that rests above a letter.
In the next phase, when *Malkhut* descends from *Bina*, *Bina*, *Tiferet* and *Malkhut* are able to return to their original level. These *sefirot* now form the left column of light, and then the left side (the lower, returned *sefirot*) has the appropriate vessels for receiving the light of *Ḥokhma*. This state of the light is reflected in the vowel called *shuruk*, which is a dot that is in the middle of the letter, symbolizing the capacity of the vessels for the light of *Ḥokhma*.
However, in this state, the left side has an abundance of the attribute of judgment, stemming from the vessel of *Malkhut* stopping the light of *Ḥokhma* from illuminating. This brings the left side (filled with the limiting force of judgment) into conflict with the right side (filled with the unbounded force of giving). This is solved through the middle line, which mediates the left and right lines, making the light of *Ḥokhma* illuminate inside the vessel. The middle line is a new level produced through the fusion through collision of the partition after it returned to its original place, at the lower end of the level. Because this light of *Ḥokhma* originates from an action that took place below the level, it is symbolized by the *ḥirik* vowel which rests below the letter.

footnotes:
⁵⁹ Here the author of the Sulam