Rabbi
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("RaMChaL"):
138 Openings
of Wisdom
Opening 114
The path of influence from Arich Anpin to Zeir and Nukva
The order in which influence descends is from the two Mazalot of Notzer and Venakei by way of the Palate and Throat to Abba and Imma, and from Abba and Imma together to Zeir Anpin, and from Zeir Anpin to the Nukva. According to the way the influence descends, so it takes on a different form.
Following our discussion of the coupling of Abba and Imma, we must explain the order of the descent of influences from their root to the very end.
This proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The order in which. Part 2: According to the way.
Part 1: The order in which influence descends. There is truly no purpose in discussing what takes place in the Hidden Brain since it is intrinsically beyond our comprehension. It is from there that the influence streams forth, and the paths by which it travels are from there and downwards. As discussed earlier, Arich Anpin is the root while all the other Partzufim are branches of it. The Beard is an extension the purpose of which is to draw influence from the root down to the very last level in the world - for although the Beard itself does not reach there, its influence reaches there.
.is from the two Mazalot of Notzer and Venakei. These two comprise the entire governmental order, and accordingly they comprise the totality of the spreading influence.
.by way of the Palate and Throat. The flow is not channeled directly from the Mazal of Venakei to Abba and Imma but enters into the Throat. The reason is because the Throat of Arich Anpin is Keter of Abba and Imma. ("Binah of Arich, which is in the Throat, becomes two crowns for Abba and Imma" - Etz Chayim, Shaar Arich Anpin ch. 2.) The flow must enter there in order to go inside into their interior. For this reason, when the light reaches the Mazal of Venakei (the overall receiver of the 13 Repairs of the Beard), it returns to go into the Throat and from there to Abba and Imma. In entering the Throat it must pass by way of the Palate, which is the male aspect, i.e. Chochmah (of Binah), in relation to the Throat, which is Binah (of Binah).
Thus after the light spreads forth from the Two Malazot, it returns from the Mazal of Venakei and goes inside to the Palate. From the Palate it goes to the Throat and from there to Abba and Imma. This is why the Proposition says "by way of the Palate and Throat" - because this is the path that was laid down and not as may appears to the eye. (The light does not travel directly from the Beard - which extends as far as the Navel of Arich Anpin - to the Head of Zeir Anpin - which is from the Navel of Arich and below. Instead the light turns back from the Beard, traveling inside via the Palate and Throat in order to reach the Heads of Abba and Imma first.)
.to Abba and Imma. i.e. together - for the nature of Abba and Imma is to be equal in the sense that the receiver is still on the same level as the giver of influence and not on a lower level as is the case down below, where the Nukva is beneath Zeir Anpin. Abba and Imma are able to stand on the same level because here the receiver is in a state of repair. This is because any damage caused by the lower creations does not reach as far as Imma, making it possible for the receiver to stand on the same level as the giver of influence.
.and from Abba and Imma together to Zeir Anpin. This is clearly the proper order - for Zeir Anpin is Daat, the intermediary reconciliatory factor between Chochmah and Binah: Daat receives the lights of both together.
.and from Zeir Anpin to the Nukva. In this case the receiver is not on the same level of the giver of influence but below - the Nukva stands from the navel of Zeir Anpin and below - because the deeds of the lower creations are liable to impair the receiver.
Part 2: According to the way the influence descends, so it takes on a different form.
The purpose of all these many levels is to bring the influence to a level suitable for its receivers. The lower any given level, the nearer it is to the lowest creations. When the influence reaches a lower level, it is affected by and assumes the nature of that lower level. This is how the influence comes ever closer to the creatures of the lowest world, until it reaches the last level, where it is right by them.