## Introduction to Sulam Commentary Chapter 6

###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:1
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/6:1)

**ראש תוך סוף. פה טבור סיום רגלין**
ו. ומפאת הכלים החדשים דאור חוזר, נבחן בכל פרצוף שלשה חלקים, המכונים 'ראש' 'תוך' 'סוף'. כי נתבאר, שמכח המסך המעכב את ביאת האור אל המלכות נעשה זווג דהכאה עם האור, ויצאו עשר ספירות דאור חוזר והלבישו את עשר ספירות דאור ישר שבאור העליון. ואלו עשר ספירות דאור ישר ואור חוזר, נקראות 'עשר ספירות דראש'.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**Head, Interior, End ; Mouth, Navel, Endpoint of the Legs** of the *partzuf*
6. **On account of the new vessels** formed **from the** **returning light****, we can discern three aspects in each** ***partzuf*****. These are called** **head****, interior, and end.** The end of section 5 above **explained that the resistive force of the** **partition** **preventing the arrival of the light** in the vessel **of** ***Malkhut*** **led to a** **fusion through collision** **with the light** against the partition. As a result, **the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light** **emerged and** **enclothed** **the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the direct light that is the** **supernal light****.**⁷ the water, but sometimes we speak of water in its unity (calling it, simply, “water”), while at other times, we speak of water in terms of its more granular structure. When the author of the *Sulam* seeks to emphasize the unity of the divine light, he refers to it as “supernal light.” Yet, there is a structure of *sefirot* vessels undergirding that supernal light. When describing this more discrete perspective of the divine light, the author of the *Sulam* uses the term “direct light.” **These ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light** **and the direct light are called the “ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **head****.”**

footnotes:
⁷ “Direct light” and “supernal light” refer to the same divine light. The discussion here is analogous to a discussion of water, and the molecules of H2O that are “within” the water. Those molecules actually are


###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:2
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/6:2)

אמנם עשר ספירות דאור חוזר אלה היוצאות מן המסך ולמעלה ומלבישות לעשר ספירות דאור ישר, אינן עוד כלים אמיתיים, כי השם כלי מורה על בחינת עובי שבו, דהיינו כח הדין שיש במסך, המעכב על התלבשות האור במלכות. ויש כלל, שאין כח הדין פועל אלא ממקום מציאות הדין ולמטה, ולא ממקום מציאות הדין ולמעלה. ומתוך שעשר ספירות דאור חוזר יצאו ממסך ולמעלה, כנזכר לעיל, על כן אין כח הדין ניכר באור חוזר, ואינו ראוי להיות כלי. ולפיכך מכונות עשר ספירות דאור חוזר בשם '**ראש**', שפירושו שורש לכלים, ולא כלים ממש.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**However, these ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light****, which emerge from the** **partition** and rise **upward and which** **enclothe** **the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the direct light, are not yet genuine vessels, because the term “vessel” is indicative of** **opacity****, namely, the force of judgment that the** **partition** **contains, which prevents the** **enclothing** **of the light in** ***Malkhut*****. There is a principle that the force of judgment is active only from the place where the judgment is located and below** it, **not from the place where the judgment is located and above** it.⁸ **Since the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light** **emerged from the** **partition** **and** rose **upward, as stated above, the force of judgment is therefore not discernible in the** **returning light****,** and the returning light **is not fit to be a** genuine **vessel.**⁹ explains, in order to be a true vessel, opacity is required. Thus, the returning light cannot serve as a true vessel, since it is “above” the partition. However, the returning light and its vessels serve as roots, theoretical forms of the fully formed vessels that manifest below the partition as the body. As the author of the *Sulam* elucidates, the theoretical vessel structure above the partition is called the head. **Consequently, the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light** **are called** **head****, which means the root of the vessels but not actual vessels.**

footnotes:
⁸ The force of judgment in a level derives from the particular amount of will to receive found within that level. This will to receive cannot operate above its own level. In kabbalistic thought, “lower level“ denotes an increase in limitations and finitude, as the concepts of barriers and containment are increasingly manifested. These concepts are expressive of the force of judgment, as judgment is the dynamic of delineation, selectivity, standards, and evaluations. Accordingly, the “amount” of judgment that exists in a particular level derives from the “amount” of the will to receive that is unique to that level. As a result, the force of judgment in a level cannot operate above that level, since the will to receive of the level is unique to the level and would be reduced in the higher level above.
⁹ As the author of the Sulam


###### Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:3
[Introduction to Sulam Commentary 6:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Introduction%20to%20Sulam%20Commentary/r/6:3)

והמלכות שבה נתתקן המסך לזווג דהכאה, נקראת משום זה '**פה'**. ונרמז בזה, כמו שבפה גשמי יוצאות האותיות בדרך זווג דהכאה של חמש מוצאות הפה, אף הפה הרוחני, יש בו זווג דהכאה להוציא עשר ספירות דאור חוזר, שהן חמש בחינות כח"ב תו"מ. כנזכר לעיל, שהם הכלים לעשר ספירות דאור ישר, וכלים נקראים אותיות. והנה נתבארו עשר ספירות דראש.

**The Sefaria Sulam, 2023:**
**In addition, the** ***Malkhut*** **upon which the** **partition** **was placed for the** **fusion through collision** **is called** **mouth****. This alludes to the fact that just as in a corporeal mouth the letters emerge by means of a fusion through collision of the five** kinds of **utterances of the mouth, so too there is a** **fusion through collision** **in the spiritual mouth through which the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **returning light** **emerge, which are the aforementioned five** **levels****,** ***Keter*****,** ***Ḥokhma*****,** ***Bina*****,** ***Tiferet*****, and** ***Malkhut*****.**¹⁰ employs an analogy to explain why the *Malkhut* of the head of the *partzuf* is called the mouth. The mouth of the body operates to convey the intangible world of a person’s thoughts into the more tangible form of audible words. Words are compiled out of combinations of letters, which serve as “vessels” to carry our thoughts into the world, where they can be received by others. Letters serve as containers, which are inherently limiting, hence why we often misunderstand each other in verbal communication. Additionally, the formation of letters with our mouths involves the shaping of the sounds emanating from our throats through the impacting of the different parts of the mouth with each other. This is the meaning of the “fusion through collision” that we have in our mouths, analogous to the fusion through collision in the mouth of the *partzuf*. The fusion through collision in the mouth of the *partzuf* gives rise to the fully formed vessels of the body of the *partzuf*, which can then contain the supernal light. It is this containment that allows the supernal light to be experienced by finite beings like us, just like the containment power of letters allows our own inner worlds to be experienced by those around us. **These** emerging *sefirot* of the returning light **are the vessels of the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the direct light, and the vessels are** therefore **referred to as letters.**¹¹ are analogous to the five parts of the mouth used for verbal articulation. They are the throat, palate, teeth, tongue, and lips. The flow of sound travels through these five “levels” and collides with them, forming the letters. **This is the explanation of the ten** ***sefirot*** **of the** **head****.**

footnotes:
¹⁰ Here, the author of the Sulam
¹¹ The five vessels of the sefirot