Rabbi
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("RaMChaL"):
138 Openings
of Wisdom
Opening 136
When Zeir Anpin and Nukva are complete they are ready for Interior and Exterior coupling.
The mystery of Coupling depends on the reign of unity so that the vessels of Zeir Anpin and the Nukva actually become attached in such a way as to be considered as literally one - just like the interior, which is already one. This is the meaning of the verse, "And they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It begins with Kissing, which is the joining together of the Ruachs - i.e. the interior, which becomes so powerfully unified that it even causes the exteriors to become attached together. However this comes about only when both Zeir Anpin and Nukva are complete. Zeir Anpin must be complete with all his Mental Powers and all of the higher Partzufim bound to him to adorn him. Nukva must be complete with all the repairs she receives through the lower creations, which are bound up with her. The completeness of the preparations determines the completeness of the Coupling, which may be through the mystery of Israel and Rachel or through their other branches, male and female.
Having explained the repairs necessary in order to reach the stage of Coupling, let us now examine the concept of Coupling itself.
This proposition consists of two parts. Part 1: The mystery of Coupling. This explains the concept of Coupling. Part 2: However this comes about. This explains the preparations required in order to reach this stage.
Part 1: The mystery of Coupling depends on the reign of unity. Coupling is alluded to in the verse: "And he placed his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes." (Kings II, 4:34). Coupling is the complete joining of all the limbs of Zeir Anpin with all the limbs of Nukva. This in truth is the secret of the Supreme Unity, which brings Kindness and Judgment back to one root through the mystery of "HaShem - He is God" (Kings I, 18:13). It is through this repair that the different influences go forth.
.so that the vessels of Zeir Anpin and the Nukva actually become attached. This is the mystery of the repair of the Residue as discussed earlier (Opening 30, end). The Line must rule over the Residue and the Line itself must repair it by removing the evil from it and bringing it back to the underlying unity.
.in such a way as to be considered as literally one - just like the interior, which is already one. For it is evil that separates the receiver of influence from the giver, as discussed earlier in connection with the different degrees of closeness of the Male and Female aspects on different levels (see Opening 73). This separation is what has to be rectified.
This is the meaning of the verse, "And they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). The ultimate goal of Coupling is that the flesh, which is the exterior, should become one. While the Ruach, the interior, actually is one - because the Ruach is rooted in unity - the flesh does not actually become literally one. Nevertheless, under the influence of the Mental Powers, the "flesh" of the two Partzufim becomes attached together to the greatest possible degree - but only so as to be considered as one.
It begins with Kissing. For the Kisses come first and afterwards the Coupling of the Yesods.
.which is the joining together of the Ruachs - i.e. the interior. On the level of the Ruach the connection is a double one: the Ruach of the Male is in the Nukva and that of the Nukva is in the Male (see Pitchey Chochmah Vadaat ch. 95, Klalut HaIlan 6:6). This is because the purpose of the Coupling of Kisses is to arouse the power of the Supreme Unity so as to forge an actual connection. This is not so in the case of the Coupling of the Yesods, whose purpose is only to send influence. Before the influence flows, they must be attached together with proximity of the flesh. However influence is sent only from the Male to the Female (unlike in the Coupling of Kisses, where the giving is mutual and each becomes included in the other).
.which becomes so powerfully unified that it even causes the exteriors to become attached together. It is the joining of the Ruachs that causes the exteriors to become attached as well.
Part 2: However this comes about only when both Zeir Anpin and Nukva are complete. The concealment of the unity was brought about to show the deficiencies that exist without it, while the revelation of the unity is the repair of the deficiencies. Before it is possible to reach the ultimate revelation of the unity, all the previous deficiencies must be repaired. This can be accomplished either through the efforts of the lower creations or - if they fail - through the hand of the Supreme Will. In either case the order is that first the more serious of the remaining deficiencies will be repaired through Maturity and Mental Powers until little by little things will reach this ultimate perfection. It is the removal of all the deficiencies that facilitates Coupling, which is the revelation of the unity.
Zeir Anpin must be complete with all his Mental Powers. The repairs must fit the deficiencies they come to rectify, while the deficiencies in any given light correspond to its unique functions. Since Zeir Anpin is the ruler and giver of influence, it is precisely the power of government and influence - the Mental Powers - that must be complete in him.
.and all of the higher Partzufim bound to him to adorn him. In essence the service of the lower creations reaches only to Zeir Anpin, but its effects reach even to the Partzufim above him - Abba and Imma and Arich Anpin. This is because they repair and adorn Zeir Anpin with Mental Powers in order to perfect his function of sending influence. This they can only do to the extent that the lower creations are fit to receive the influence.
Nukva must be complete with all the repairs she receives through the lower creations, which are bound up with her. Since Nukva is the root of the receiver, it is necessary that she should include within her all of the lower creations - the receivers - since they are her branches, and this is her repair. This repair must be present in Nukva in all its detailed aspects.
The completeness of the preparations determines the completeness of the Coupling. The level of preparedness of both the sources and receivers of influence differs at different times. (Certain times are conducive to higher levels of preparation for coupling, such as when the Temple is standing.) The lower creations are not always bound together in the same way, and Zeir Anpin's Mental Powers are not always renewed with the same strength. But when the conditions for Coupling are ripe - when all the lower creations are included in Nukva - there will be Coupling on a level matching that of the preparations.
.which may be through the mystery of Israel and Rachel. These are the essential Male and Female, while the others (such as Jacob and Leah) serve only to complete them, and the other Couplings are certainly on a lower level.
.or through their other branches, male and female. This is the mystery of Jacob and Leah, which are branches of the essential Male and Female.