After
the contraction, the light that is drawn back from a source and there are already sphirot/qualities preceding the tzimtzum.
Light
makes a statement.
Above
the contraction it is applicable to refer to the 10 hidden sphirot.
They are the roots for the lights.
Whatever
is revealed at a functional level was not created at that level. It
is rooted above. Things have an essential source. Often, on thinks
things are based on their local circumstances – this is incorrect.
Whatever
a person does, is rooted in the essence of the human being.
For
the human being, convenience is not just a facilitator. It is a
primary human principle. Not jus to relieve a burden. He is a being
in the world, and not as a stranger – there world stand at your
beck-and-call. The world is meant for you and you work out how to
use it.
It
is part of the initial mandate given to the human being. Who gave
him this mandate? It is given from God. He has been given a
mission.
He
is mandated to use every nuance of the world and demonstrate how each
thing has human significance. He is not grabbing resources from
'no-man's-land'. It belongs to God and He's saying to the man, 'take
it and use it as per you mission'.
The
world is a creation, not a jungle.
This
is the meaning of light/ohr. The connection to the Source. I have a
table not for my personal convenience, but because I have a Godly
mandate to be a human being...!
The
vessels/keilim are exclusively on the functional level.
The
gemara says the wise man who has a stain on his garment, is insulting
God's honor.
The
gemara says, if you see a fruit and don't partake of it, you will
have to answer for it. He is offering you resources and you are
obligated to use the resources you are given.
When
we live up to His expectations we corroborate His plan, His vision.
Lights
are in a different category from vessels. They represent the reality
of this world.
The
wisdom of the soul is tranlated onto the body level, yet it remains
wisdom.
It
becomes a level of wisdom that the vessel/keili can relate to.
There
is wisdom that is not due to contrast. It is understood directly.
So too the light that is within the vessel remains intangible in
comparison to the vessel.
This
is why at the level of lights there can be an exchange, since the
light, even though it has definition, it remains limitless and simple
relative to the vessel/keili.
We
said the light or mind and the vessels or mind are on different
levels yet they are related.
This
is like when God said, 'Silence! Thus it arose in thought...' The
command to be silent, is the notification that something above your
thinking is happening.
It
answers the question by saying there is a level beyond the question.
The answer is beyond the paramaters of your question.
We
are looking at a rich principle... despite the fact that the lights
are beyond definition and definitive presence they are the lights of
the 10 sphirot – they are not 'neutral lights, without any design'.
That
is to say that in the lights there are actually the element of the
10 sphirot present.
That
is very challenging. It is simple and beyond definition and yet at
the same time there are 10 actual defined sphirot!
The
10 sphirot are possible only in the element of the line and string
(kav ve chut).
This
is what you have after the contraction, and the original light is
withdrawn... then this line and thread is drawn from the infinite
light, but it is not the infinite light itself. And since it is from
it and not it, thus there is room to speak of the 10
sphirot.
We
said the lights/ohrot do not have a definitive factor and are simple,
certainly relative to the vessels. The lights represent the infinite
light (ohr ein sof).
Ohr
means light. Ein sof mean infinite. And if you say infinite light
it sounds like an extension of light that goes on ad infinitum. But
anything that is cumulative is not infinite. Ein sof is a principle
unto itself. It is not a sum total of many things.
God
created a human being as a way to understand this. He is made in Our
Form and Our Likeness. Man is small, but he has a God-like truth and
reality.
An
examination of man's capabilities and talents would not indicate ein
sof. Infinity is not cumulative. Ein sof applies to the truth of
His presence. This means that His presence is not 'supplied' and it
cannot be depleted or withdrawn. It is truth.
This
is within the essence.
And
then there is the light.
The
human presence in the world is not measurable in any way. Not in
terms of accomplishment nor in terms of representation.
His
presence is infinite and cannot be measured in worldly terms.
This
is where we have to employ our intelligence/sechel. This is light.
It does not have definition. It cannot be grasped by hand.
You
may merit to appreciate it. But you cannot grasp it.
The
word 'infinite' is used for lack of a better world.
Who
is suited to partake of the Godly creation? The dog? The cat? No,
the human being, who has the ability to appreciate where he is and
what he is.
Our
challenge: despite the fact that daylight is an infinite quality, it
also has a functional element. Only the human being can relate to
the functional element on the infinite level. If he loses that
perspective, he's on par with the cat.
And
there's darkness. And it is on par with the light in being a Godly
creation.
There
are multiple lights – 10 sphirot – the full compliment of the
essential reality. And from a vessel perspective we can see this.
But we go beyond this and say from the light perspective they are
also definitive.
There's
a functional wisdom in a human being, whether he knows it or not. It
is not expression dependent.
When
the light comes through a line/kav then the 10 sphirot surface.
The
lights have 10 sphirot even though we say they are simple in contrast
to the keilim/vessels.
The
lights are possible only in the aspect of the kav ve chut (line and
string) that is drawn from the infinite light, blessed be He.
This
is like a narrow beam of light that comes after the contraction.
How
can there be light from infinity even after the contraction? Because
it comes in a narrow beam of light.
Ohr
ein sof (infinite light) does not mean that the light per se is
infinite. There cannot be infinite creations. It is the light of
the essence. It alludes to Him – this is the ohr ein sof.
As
soon as the owner steps into the home, his presence extends
everywhere. If he steps out of the home, it is still private
property... What remains? The reality of his presence remains. You
have the ohr, but not where it is coming from. This is the
difference between before and after the tzimtzum/contraction.
In
his absense his presence has to be 'brought' – this is hamshacha.
The
Rebbe is explaining that the root of the vessels is from the
trace/reshimu, which remains after the tzimtzum/contraction.
There
are 2 systems. The lowest of light is superior to the highest level
of keilim/vessel.
A
vessel has a means to hold onto it. A vessel has limits and
definition. You can hold it. You can grap it. But you must not
lose sight of the infinite content that is within it. You can hold
someone's hand, but you cannot grasp the infinite talent that it
contains.
The
vessels are sourced in the reshimu which is what is left after the
contraction. The orot/lights are sourced from a lower origin (from
the kav).
When
you are in the presence of the king you don't measure his greatness.
You sense the essence.
When
the king is absent, then you have the wealth, but you don't have him.
This is a trace of the greatness and this is where things start to
show their definition and limit.
Light
was created before the sun. this was so super-natural that it was
concealed. It was placed in the sun. And now you can say, 'oh
yeah, the sun has this light due to energy and combustion.' But this
is a camouflage of the real thing. If combustion was all you had you
would only have 'light', not 'daylight'.
In
every invitation is chesed/kindness and severity/gevurah.
The
host of a wedding celebration starts with the light of the event, and
then comes down to the specific invitations and arrangements. This
second level is a faculty of limitation.
The
reshimu is the concealment of the essential reality of the host and
this allows for the creation of the vessels/keilim.
Primarily,
the light points to its source. And the source is simple –
undefined. The principle of the light is not 'what it is', but
rather, 'where it comes from and what it represents.
And
it represents chessed or gevurah, but it represents the source which
is above these distinctions.
Think
of a host and his guests. At the table are many places. Each place
is primarily the hosts' even though he gives the places to various
guests.
Ownership
of property in the world is based on what? How can a man own land?
The real owner remains the Creator and by His decree is property
owned. He owns relative to Him, not independently. The Creator
Himself, gives the man the property.
We
acquire property not from no-man's land, but from the Maker.
There's
a principle that the light of kindness can be dressed in the vessel
of severity. And vice versa.
The
reference of light is its source. This gives it reality. And the
source is above the distinctions of the various qualities, thus even
when it becomes light of kindness, it still carries the higher
principle of its source.
The
light says, 'I am defines as whatever the source makes of me.' and
this is why you can have the interchange of kindness and severity.
In
a shul each person may have a distinct place, but the whole place is
for everyone. The gevurah is based on the chessed which is based on
something beyond it.
Even
after the light is dressed into a vessel, it remains light.
