Rabbi
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("RaMChaL"):
138 Openings
of Wisdom
Opening 92
Zeir Anpin - Justice - comes from Arich Anpin - beneficence - and is therefore entirely for good.
The ultimate intention behind the entire order of the Sefirot and the way they govern is to bestow complete and perfect good in the very end. It is just that in order to reach this ultimate goal it is necessary to go through the cycle until we reach the end. The world must be governed with justice and the sinners punished in order that afterwards the goodness bestowed will be complete. It is thus from the ultimate purpose itself that the justice which is required prior to the end derives - even though they seem opposite to one another. Thus the nature of Arich and Zeir Anpin is that Arich Anpin is rooted in the mystery of complete beneficence, for Arich Anpin only bestows good. Yet even so, out of Arich emerges Zeir Anpin, which is rooted in the mystery of Justice, for Zeir Anpin is born out of the intrinsic purpose of Arich Anpin itself.
Having explained the intrinsic nature of Arich Anpin, we will now discuss the reason for the emergence of Zeir Anpin out of Arich Anpin.
This proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The ultimate intention. This explains how Justice itself derives from the intention to bestow good. Part 2: Thus the nature. This explains the purpose of Arich and Zeir Anpin accordingly.
Part 1: The ultimate intention behind the entire order of the Sefirot and the way they govern. In the light of all we have discussed above it is clear that the ultimate intention even in the Sefirot themselves is to bestow good. This means that even in the Residue, which provides the possibility of good and evil, the ultimate goal is to bestow good in the end.
.is to bestow complete and perfect good in the very end. Even though we see many harsh things in the present government of the world, the purpose is not only to bestow goodness but to bestow complete goodness - the very opposite of the harsh Judgment found now.
It is just that in order to reach this ultimate goal it is necessary to go through the cycle until we reach the end. The cycle (גלגול, gilgul) of things will continue until they eventually come to rest from their cycles. For they cannot reach the state of rest in a single moment but only through these cycles.
The world must be governed with justice and the sinners punished. It is through the punishment of the sinners that evil is removed from the world.
.in order that afterwards the bestowal of benefit will be complete. For afterwards all the creations will enjoy complete goodness without any shame, as discussed earlier (Opening 4).
It is thus from the ultimate purpose itself that the justice which is required prior to the end derives - even though they seem opposite to one another. This is what must be considered carefully in order to understand afterwards the various different levels and aspects of Atzilut. These are specific attributes calculated to serve the overall governmental order, as discussed earlier.
Part 2: Thus the nature of Arich and Zeir Anpin. In other words, the governmental order is essentially bound up with these two, as the proposition goes on to explain. For Abba and Imma are merely a continuation through which Zeir Anpin emerges out of Arich Anpin, as will be discussed below (Opening 111). However, the government of the worlds runs through these two, whether in the governmental mode of Kindness - Arich Anpin - or in that of Justice, which bestows good only on those who are good while punishing the wicked - Zeir Anpin.
.is that Arich Anpin is rooted in the mystery of complete beneficence, for Arich Anpin only bestows good.
Arich Anpin is as it will be in the end, when there will be only good. Thus Arich Anpin's only purpose in all aspects is to bestow good through the mystery of the unity that brings all evil back to good. The Sefirot themselves contain this aspect (of Arich Anpin clothed within Zeir Anpin) in order for the world to survive. For if the governmental order had not been built on this but instead the world had been governed only in the mode of Justice through the Sefirot, it would not have been able to endure because of the wicked.
Accordingly the Supreme Thought prepared in advance in the Sefirot themselves not only the aspect of the Line that exists everywhere but also Arich Anpin, which is the mystery of what will be at the very end. For then the Sefirot themselves will be repaired through the path of unity, which brings complete beneficence. This is the mystery of how the Line purifies the Residue. (The Line is present in each Sefirah in order to repair it in the end. In addition, there is one particular Partzuf, Arich Anpin, that functions to bring the governmental order - made up of the Sefirot - to a state of repair.) This is the "last in deed, first in thought".
Yet even so, out of Arich emerges Zeir Anpin. This is clearly how it is in the chain of development, as explained in the Idra Zuta (292a): "Zeir Anpin depends on and is unified with Atika Kadisha (=Arich)".
.Zeir Anpin, which is rooted in the mystery of Justice. Justice is the mystery of the as yet unpurified Residue, which functions and rules in the mode of Justice until the Line gains sway over it, after which Zeir Anpin will turn back and bestow only good, like Arich Anpin. Thus the Attribute of Judgment turns back into the Attribute of Mercy.
.for Zeir Anpin is born out of the intrinsic purpose of Arich Anpin itself. In other words, this is the way it has to be in order to attain true and complete beneficence. The Residue must fulfill its function - and in the very end it will be sweetened. There will then exist what is already prepared by way of foresight in Arich Anpin, for He foresaw the future and made Arich in the name of the future - already repaired, as discussed above.