Rabbi
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("RaMChaL"):
138 Openings
of Wisdom
Opening 125
Interrelation of Zeir Anpin and Nukva in the developmental chain and the governmental order
According to the order of the Sefirot as built through Chochmah and Binah, Zeir Anpin consists of nine Sefirot while Nukva is the tenth. However in the governmental order of Daat they stand parallel to one another, one to the right and one to the left. This is the mystery of the Five Kindnesses and Five Strengths through which Daat divides up between them equally.
Having discussed Daat in general terms, we will now examine its Five Kindnesses and Five Strengths.
The proposition has two parts. Part 1: According to the order. Part 2: This is the mystery.
Part 1: According to the order of the Sefirot. i.e. in terms of the number of levels that make up the developmental chain. .as built through Chochmah and Binah. For the building of Zeir Anpin is through Chochmah and Binah - the Pregnancy and birth of Zeir Anpin come about through Abba and Imma. Even when Abba and Imma enter and become engrafted in Zeir Anpin, this does not change anything in regard to Nukva being the tenth Sefirah of Zeir Anpin.
Zeir Anpin consists of nine Sefirot while Nukva is the tenth. For Zeir Anpin is considered as ten when we reckon Keter-Chochmah-Binah. It can likewise be said that Zeir Anpin is Six Directions while Nukva ranks as seventh after them. This is during immaturity, when Zeir Anpin has only six Sefirot and Nukva is considered the seventh - just as she is considered tenth to Zeir Anpin when he attains his maturity: Nukva is always considered the last Sefirah of Zeir Anpin and is thus only one Sefirah after all those of Zeir Anpin.
However in the governmental order of Daat. i.e. when it comes to the way things are actually governed, which depends on Daat, .they stand parallel to one another, one to the right and one to the left. The root from which influence descends to the world is ordered in such a way that Zeir Anpin with his MaH stands on the foundation of Kindness while Nukva with her BaN stands on the foundation of Judgment. This is alluded to in the rabbinic saying that "the man secretes the white substance and the woman the red" (Niddah 31a). Likewise it says: "My hand has laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand has spanned the heavens: when I call to them they stand up together" (Isaiah 48:13). Our Rabbis commented on this that they are balanced one against the other (Bereishit Rabbah 1:15).
(Although in the chain of development Nukva, as the receiver, is tenth after the other nine, when it comes to the government of the world God gave man, the receiver, equal partnership - in that man's service, the "female waters", are instrumental in eliciting God's influence, the "male waters". Thus in the actual order of government Zeir and Nukva are parallel.)
Part 2: This is the mystery of the Five Kindnesses and Five Strengths. This balance of male and female is attributed to Daat and not to any other Sefirah, for only through Daat does the governmental order extend evenly. In the actual functioning of the governmental order - through Daat - all the nine Sefirot of Zeir Anpin have the same weight as Malchut by itself - i.e. five against five.
.through which Daat divides up between them. As already explained, the Kindnesses spread in Zeir Anpin and the Strengths in Nukva, and from this point of view they are equal and parallel. .equally. For the intention is to make them equal and divide the government between them on an equal basis.