Some repairs come to prepare the flow of blessing, others to channel it.

The purpose of the various repairs is in some cases to channel the flow of blessing while in others it is to prepare and rectify the actual flow itself.

This is a general rule that applies to all the different repairs found in the Partzufim. Our purpose here is to understand how it applies to the Repairs of the Beard. (The 13 “Repairs” of the Beard of Arich Anpin – the 13 Attributes of Mercy, as signified by differing arrangements of the hairs in different locations of the beard – are elaborated in theIdra Rabba*.)*

The purpose of the various repairs… All the different kinds of repairs found in all places fall under one of the following two categories.

…is in some cases to channel the flow of blessing… In the case of the Beard, the repairs that channel the flow of blessing are the Two Mazalot – Notzer, the eighth, and Venakeh, the thirteenth attribute. (“Why is this noble thread – the Beard – called Mazal? Because from it hang constellations and constellations – higher and lower…” – Idra Rabba 134a.) The specific purpose of the Two Mazalot is to draw down and reveal the light of Arich Anpin in Zeir Anpin.

…while in others it is to prepare and rectify the actual flow itself. In the case of the Beard this applies to all the other repairs besides those of Notzer and Venakeh.