Rabbi
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("RaMChaL"):
138 Openings
of Wisdom
Opening 87
The different combinations in the Head that is Unknown rule as one all the time and are ungraspable.
All the deeds that have been and are being done in the world are subject to these interconnections. For anything that was not rooted here, be it a repair or damage of some kind, will not come about. All things are governed in accordance with all these combinations, depending on the deeds of the lower creations. And everything is going to be fixed in eternity, every single thing in accordance with everything that has already been done, whether they be equivalent, contrary or opposite to one another. Therefore all these combinations have control all the time, and the government turns from one to the other in each thing, shifting from one aspect to another that may be similar, contrary or opposite to the first, because the entire governmental order exists in each part. And the states of the Partzufim shift correspondingly in the mode of "running and returning". And no-one can understand or grasp anything except what is revealed through the order and law visible in the Partzufim. But the source of the matter lies in these combinations, and this is not revealed or known at all.
Following our discussion of these interconnections in the Head that is Unknown, we must now explain their significance.
This proposition consists of three parts. Part 1: All the deeds... All deeds are subject to these interconnections. Part 2: All things are governed... The entire governmental order follows accordingly. Part 3: Therefore... All these different combinations hold sway continually.
Part 1: All the deeds that have been and are being done in the world are subject to these interconnections. The mystery of God's knowledge is that it contains everything that is going to happen in the very way it will happen. For anything that was not rooted here, be it a repair or damage of some kind, will not come into being. For what is not included in this knowledge (i.e. in the possibilities already prepared in the Head that is Unknown) will never come about.
Part 2: All things are governed in accordance with all these combinations, depending on the deeds of the lower creations. For the governmental order always takes into account the overall totality (see Opening 78). Thus every new deed has an effect on all of the past, all of the present and all of the future. The result of that deed will never cease to exist, as I have already discussed, but is registered to exist for ever and to all eternity. Thus the way things are arranged is as follows: every deed performed by men reaches its place here, because all of them are already here. (In the Head that is Unknown are all the deeds of the past, present and future). Here all the different aspects, past, present and future, are affected by this deed, because all of them are included here. Through the power of this affect caused by the deed, the Partzufim, following the order of Atzilut, are afterwards arranged in such a way as to act in the worlds. (The influence is mutual: the deed affects the Head that is Unknown, which in turn affects the Partzufim.)
And everything is going to be fixed in eternity... As stated above, every deed endures for the sake of the perfection destined to be revealed afterwards for the eternal delight of the souls. (The souls will enjoy the perfection of the governmental order that will be revealed through that deed). ...every single thing in accordance with everything that has already been done... As we have said, everything is affected by everything. ...whether they be equivalent, contrary or opposite to one another. These are the three possible kinds.
Part 3: Therefore all these combinations have control all the time... In the case of the other lights in the other Partzufim of Atzilut, each one holds sway by itself in its own time. However those in the Head that is Unknown hold sway all the time, for in every deed they are all affected simultaneously. ...and the government turns from one to the other in each thing, shifting from one aspect to another that may be similar, contrary or opposite to the first... This is the uncertain appearance seen in the Head that is Unknown, for in it the government turns from aspect to aspect in all the different aspects, so that all different kinds of combinations are seen constantly.
...because the entire governmental order exists in each part. And the states of the Partzufim shift correspondingly in the mode of "running and returning". These different states give rise to the different qualities found in the Partzufim, as mentioned in the previous Opening. And no-one can understand or grasp anything except what is revealed through the order and law visible in the Partzufim. The only grasp we have of this changing around is as it is expressed in the order of the Partzufim. However, it is called the order of the Head that is Unknown, because it is from here that it derives and this cannnot be known. But the source of the matter lies in these combinations, and this is not revealed or known at all. The rule is that a branch of something that is concealed is revealed, but the root itself always remains concealed.