Adir BaMurom — Chapter 9: The Gulgalta of Arikh — The Skull; 12,000 Myriads; Tal; Resurrection; Socher

And know: this SKULL contains the aspect of ETERNITY in the secret of AYIN [nothingness]. And it contains tikkunim for the needs of this world's governance — but they are in the secret of Chochma Stimaa [hidden/concealed Wisdom] — in the secret of: "You have made all of them with wisdom" [Psalms 104:24]. But know: the SIX THOUSAND YEARS and ONE DESTRUCTION — they all flow from the seven lower sefiros of Atika. And within them there is the division of the days — each one by itself — and all of them need to illuminate in particular within this skull at the beginning of governance.

And know a great secret: the Nukva stands opposite FOUR sefiros — Tiferes, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod — and from all of them she receives various operations. And they are FOUR THINGS found in the state of a human being: STANDING, WALKING, LEANING, and SITTING. For SITTING is in Malchus itself — LEANING is from Yesod — WALKING is from Netzach-Hod — STANDING is from Tiferes. And the matter: they are all different kinds of illuminations. SITTING is the lights being bounded in their domain — like a person sitting who has no room to spread. But STANDING is the opposite — the illumination of the lights without interruption. Therefore standing belongs to the MASCULINE which bestows; sitting belongs to the NUKVA which receives. And in the World to Come it is written: "for as the new heavens and the new earth shall stand before Me continually" [Isaiah 66:22] — this is the secret of ETERNITY — when everything will be in the secret of STANDING — in the secret of eternal bestowing without any interruption. But now the governance is in the secret of SITTING — which has a boundary and an end. And thus a human being tires from standing much — for it is not yet the time of standing. And THREE of these four are mentioned in the Idra: yitvin (= sitting), netilin (= walking/taking), semichin (= leaning).

And the 400 shekels of silver — know: SHEKEL = TAV-LAMED in gematria. And the matter: the brains in Ze'ir Anpin are THREE — which are 30 [LAMED]. But when the four whites come and combine with them — the Yesod of Imma is breached and they become FOUR. But they still do not have the power to come out in the secret of the tefilin and to complete the beard — only through the power of the light of the hairs of Arikh Anpin that strike them from the back of the neck. And this light is YUD — and then it returns these lights to 400 [TAV]. And this is the secret of "four hundred" — the four whites becoming 400, and the brains themselves which were 30 becoming 400 as well — namely SHEKEL = TAV-LAMED. And all this is from the secret of the chassadim of the skull — and this is KESEF [silver/longing]. For truly this is the spreading of the chesed of Arikh Anpin to rule over the dinim of Ze'ir Anpin. And these lights illuminate in Gan Eden — and they flow to the cave of Machpela — for it is the passage to Gan Eden. And when Avraham our father wished to take Efron away from there — for it was then subjugated under him — he gave him these 400 shekels of silver: "current money with the merchant" [Genesis 23:16]. And the crown [or: the silver] which is this skull is called SOCHER [merchant] from the language of sechur — for it is the one that encircles and surrounds. And of this it is said: "for her profit is better than the profit of silver" [Proverbs 3:14].

And know: these — the 400 shekels of silver — are truly the essential reward of Torah. For they complete the beard of Ze'ir Anpin to thirteen — and they are given to masters of Torah — as Rabbi Abbahu, who was given these thirteen as reward for his Torah-exposition that he explained and expounded (Jerusalem Talmud, Avoda Zara 3:1). And the Targum explains: "received as merchandise in every province." For know: everything found in this world needs a root in the sefiros — even the actions of human beings — for without this they would have no existence.

And the secret of SECHORA [merchandise]: for it is written: "she is like the merchant ships — from afar she brings her bread" [Proverbs 31:14]. And the Sages explained: Malchus ascends to the upper Keter. And the secret: KETER is nothing but the resting of the upper upon the lower. And in this secret: when Malchus reaches the lower being — immediately the arousal ascends to Keter — and then G‑d illuminates it and bestows new bounty according to the arousal. And the Shechinah — when the arousal reaches her — is called SECHORA [merchandise] — and the bounty arriving according to the arousal is KESEF HASECHORA [the silver of the merchandise]. And she becomes TWO ANI — in the secret of "I am first and I am last." And through this: "from afar she brings her bread."

And this inwardly is in the secret of Torah — while outwardly it is in the secret of the commerce of this world. And truly SILVER always flows from Chesed — but Torah's profit is from the inner dimension. Therefore it is said: "for her commerce is better than the commerce of silver" [Proverbs 3:14]. And so too on the left: "and her produce is from fine gold."

And know: these 400 shekels are MATEKALA — the BALANCE — and it is the combination of MaH and Be"N — the tikkun of Ze'ir Anpin. And: "twenty gerahs is the shekel" [Exodus 30:13] — the ten sefiros of MaH and the ten sefiros of Be"N. And when matters go toward the aspect of Be"N — one must strengthen oneself in half the male side — the HALF-SHEKEL — which stands to sweeten the aspect of Be"N. And BEKA [half-shekel] = 172 = two ELOHIM — for the sefiros of Be"N are sweetened by the half-shekel in the power of the male. And this is the payment of the white membrane — for it is the arousal ascending to receive the membrane that holds the tikkun.

And therefore there is danger in counting Israel without protection — for Israel is rooted in the aspect of the Breaking — and there is the danger of plague from the Breaking of the vessels. But sometimes the counting is also necessary — and therefore G‑d commanded it when He wished — with the proper protection: "a half-shekel per head." And this is the matter of the white membrane — for it protects the skulls in coming to this matter of counting — which is the return of things to the Malchin Kadma'in.

And know: the SKULL has within it the tal de-vudlacha [dew of crystal] — as explained elsewhere. And from it the bestowing also goes out through the way of the beard — and in it there are THREE ASPECTS12: TAL — in the secret of YUD-HEH-VAV — and this descends to Abba-Imma and they are nourished — and the angels are also nourished. And it descends to Ze'ir Anpin and is rectified there in his Netzach-Hod which are the SKIES — and there it is MaN — in the secret of the four Names Ayin-Beis, Sa"G, MaH, Be"N which together contain nine Yuds. And all these illuminate in the Nukva through the tikkun they are rectified with — and afterwards they descend to the Nukva where they become LECHEM [bread] — in the secret of the three HVYHs descending from Ze'ir Anpin. And thus from Arikh Anpin a TAL descends to Abba-Imma — then in the secret of MaN to Ze'ir Anpin from Abba-Imma — then in the secret of LECHEM to the Nukva from Ze'ir Anpin. And the lower beings eat bread from the earth in the secret of Malchus. But Israel in the desert ate a higher aspect: MaN — which is the aspect of Ze'ir Anpin — and the secret: "bread from heaven" — which is what the tzadikim eat in the World to Come.

And know: the SOUL and the BODY both go out from the inner and outer aspects of the luminaries. And truly the outer comes out from the end of the inner — and so the body is the end of the soul — but G‑d created them in two separate creations. And as it is written: "the Lord G‑d formed the man from the dust of the earth" [Genesis 2:7] — in this formation the body was made. And in another formation the soul was given — as it is written: "and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life." G‑d wished that the human being through his deeds would JOIN the body to the soul — so the soul would spread and cleave to it in great cleaving. And when the human sinned — the evil overpowered the body — and it was no longer fit to cleave to the soul. And the soul must separate from it — and meanwhile the body is hidden in the earth and returns to dust — and then the evil departs from it and is lost. And afterwards the body will be rebuilt in a new and good building without evil — and the soul will be able to bind itself to it in a complete, firm, and strong bond. But this building is accomplished through the power of this Tal that drips.

And understand the matter of the SHAKING — "for he shakes it from his head." For this Tal goes out from the hairs of Arikh Anpin — enters within the brains of Ze'ir Anpin and combines with them. And afterwards it goes out through the hairs of Ze'ir Anpin and drips to the Nukva — also to her brains. But it is not with the same power as the Tal reaching Ze'ir Anpin — for it has already become from the aspect of Ze'ir Anpin. But when He wishes to revive the dead — the Tal will reach the Nukva in the power it has when coming to Ze'ir Anpin. And this is: "he shakes it from his head" — for before entering his head he shakes it downward to reach the Nukva with this power. And know: just as the body of a person is buried below in the earth — so is the root of the body imprisoned above in the Nukva. And when G‑d wishes to bring the body out of its prison — this power we described will reach the Nukva. And then it is said of her: "Behold I am opening your graves, My people" [Ezekiel 37:12] — and this is in the Name KVZY"V whose gematria also = TAL. And then also below the graves will be opened. And then it is said: "Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust — for your dew is a dew of lights" [Isaiah 26:19]. And: "and the earth shall cast out the shades."

And the reward of the Torah consists of these thirteen — the yud-gimel naharin de-afarsimona dakia [thirteen rivers of pure balsam] — for they complete the beard of Ze'ir Anpin to thirteen, and they are given to masters of Torah — as Rabbi Abbahu, who was given these thirteen as reward for his Torah exposition (Jerusalem Talmud, Avoda Zara 3:1).

And: "and the graves shall be opened with the Name KVZYV." And this is the great secret of: "Who sustains the living with chesed, Who revives the dead with great mercy" — said in the blessing of gevuros. For in the ChaS there are TWO ASPECTS: the aspect of itself — which is the Nukva [feminine] — and the aspect of what it takes from its male [KETER]. And therefore there are two dews: the tal de-nukva and the tal de-duchara [male dew]. The Nukva is the Name KVZYV — and illuminates in the hairs of the beard. And the Duchara is YUD-HEH-VAV — and draws the bounty within the hairs. And its secret: "Who sustains the living with chesed." But KVZYV: "Who revives the dead with great mercy."

And the dew of KVZYV exits from the nima [hair-strand of Arikh] to Ze'ir Anpin — and through it the dead will be revived when it is shaken from his head to the Nukva. And the reason this Tal comes from KVZYV rather than YHV: because every day is a particular gradation that rules and illuminates — and each day NEW SORTINGS must be sorted from the Malchin Kadma'in. And these sortings are the aspect of resurrection — and done in the Name KVZYV. And the sorting begins in ChaS — and afterwards also in the brains of Ze'ir Anpin. And YHV is chesed and KVZYV is gevura — and the sortings are done through the power of gevura — but when chesed rules over it — then it rectifies the corruptions. But if gevura prevails alone — the darkness and corruption increase.

And the verse: "Open to me, my sister, my beloved..." [Song of Songs 5:2]. This is said every day — for every day is a particular gradation. And the secret: the Shechinah in exile is a CLOSED ROSE — she is a treasury where all the sortings gather. And when she comes to G‑d she is opened. And this is the secret of: "Give me a sip of water from your pitcher" [Genesis 24:17] — for she sorts in her thought what is fitting for her — and Ze'ir Anpin takes from her what he takes and sorts in his thought. And in all the time of exile — tikkunim flow for the sake of redemption — and Ze'ir Anpin's head is filled with this Tal — and the drops [resisei] remain on the ends fitting to descend to the Nukva.

And: "the heart of her husband trusts in her and spoil shall not be lacking" [Proverbs 31:11]. For the Nukva has TWO ROOTS: one in the eye from the side of Chochma — and one in the heart from the side of Bina. And in exile it is said: "Awake, why do You sleep?" — for the EYES are sealed — in the secret of: "open Your eyes and see." But the HEART is always awake — in the secret of: "I sleep but my heart is awake" [Song of Songs 5:2]. And in the time she stands in exile sorting — the heart brings the Shechinah near to the King. And at the end G‑d will shake these ends — and then the drops will fall to the Nukva — and through them the dead will be revived — when the morning shines which is the redemption.

And from the inner Tal of the skull — in which is the tal de-vudlacha [crystal dew] — there are THREE ASPECTS of the inner bestowing: TAL in the secret of Yud-Heh-Vav — descending to Abba-Imma and the angels are nourished. It descends to Ze'ir Anpin and is rectified in his Netzach-Hod which are SHAMAYIM [the grinding skies] — there it is MaN — in the secret of the four Names Ayin-Beis, Sa"G, MaH, Be"N with nine Yuds — and all illuminate in the Nukva. Then descend to the Nukva and become LECHEM [bread]. And thus: from Arikh Anpin TAL descends to Av"A — then MaN to Ze'ir Anpin — then LECHEM to Nukva. The lower beings eat bread from the earth [Malchus]. But Israel in the desert ate MaN — the aspect of Ze'ir Anpin — the "bread from heaven" — which is what the righteous eat in the World to Come.

And of the Manna the Sages said: "it contained all the flavors" (Yoma 75a). And this is because the Manna adhered to all kinds of gazing — for it encompasses all the powers of the eye. Know: every place where we see a color in a physical thing — it reflects how above the light meets it according to the power of that gazing. And there are THREE KINDS of gazing among the luminaries: the upper gazing at the lower — which is supervision and bestowing; the lower gazing at the upper — which is cleaving and attainment; and both gazing at each other equally — which is double cleaving. And the COLOR of a thing is the ordering of its portions according to which powers of the eye embrace it. And the MANNA encompassed all kinds of gazing — for it encompasses all the eye's powers. And of it: "like a bdolach crystal" [Numbers 11:7] — for the crystal stone's surface appears white first — but all the other colors appear within it.

Chapter 7 of Adir BaMurom is the longest and most profound chapter in the entire work — the Ramchal's masterpiece: a complete systematic exposition of the second half of the Idra Rabba, from the continuation of the Eye of Arikh Anpin through the final closing of the Idra. It spans pages 116–488 of the printed text (373 pages) and covers seven major thematic arcs:

I. THE EYE OF ARIKH ANPIN (§§1–11b, pp. 116–340). The five senses as breaking-through points of light; the Reshimu as vessel and the Kav as light; the three white hues [chivorin]; how ZA's eye has no illumination except from AA's; the Mikveh's three aspects [40 Se'ah / 9 Kabin / 3 Lugin] as the sweetening of the Eye's Gevuros; wine becoming water; chachlili einayim mi-yayin; the double bonding of ZA with AA drawing Imma's milk to wash ZA's eyes; the third white hue sending illumination downward to all six extremities; tov ayin hu yivorach — the blessing going out from the goodly eye; yiras ha-romemus vs. yiras ha-onesh; hineh lo yanum ve-lo yishan shomer Yisroel — 60 letters of Birkas Kohanim as the protection of the All.

II. THE NAME OF ATIK AND THE GREAT TEACHING ON CREATION (§§12–12b, pp. 341–397). The Name of Atik Yomin is hidden throughout Torah except at the Akeidah, where bi nishba'ti ne'um Hashem reveals that Atik IS the inner secret of HVYH itself; the complete teaching on the Tzimtzum and the Kav; Torah preceded the world by 2000 years [= the YH before the VH]; the world first created with Din then with Rachamim; BEREISHIS = Torah; the Patriarchs as cosmic forces [Avraham = Kav = 248 = Chesed; Yitzchak = Reshimu rectified; Yaakov = lights breaking through]; Esav and Yishmael; Moshe = Shem MaH; the 70 nations from the Nikkudos; Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben Dovid; NACHASH = MASHIACH in gematria — Mashiach binds the klippos as head controls tail; the Nose of Arikh Anpin as Malchus of the head-tikkunim; the two breaths: one for ZA now, one reserved for Mashiach; the four lights of the Nose flaring into the Great Sea [Dikna]; the Four Kingdoms of Daniel [Bavel/Paras-Madai/Yavan/Edom]; Atik Yomin sitting on the Dikna of Arikh — "when Atik sits upon it, it is subdued; the one who rides controls."

III. THE RUACH OF MASHIACH, FREE CHOICE, AND THE SIN OF ADAM (§13, pp. 398–440). The Ruach of Mashiach was created before the world and all human tikkunim depend on it; everything Mashiach will do — Adam HaRishon could have done on the day he was created; his sin only lengthened the time; the two trees = two paths to the same ultimate point; the Tree of Life = immediate direct path; the Tree of Knowledge = the long path of exile and tikkun; the secret of Free Choice — G-d is the ultimate good and even evil must return to good; judgment by free choice enables this without coercion [= the shame of "bread not one's own"]; ROSH and SOFA [beginning and end] — the Unity of the Emitter is equally present in both; 7th millennium = revelation of Sofa; 8th millennium = equalization of Rosh and Sofa = "Hashem Echad u-Shemo Echad"; the Tzimtzum at the center of all infinite light — when its opposite [evil] is revealed as identical to the Blessed One, His unity is clarified completely; SHEM and KINUY: ELOHIM is the cognomen concealing HVYH — all evil is only a concealment that hides the inner good; nine Heichalos; the Pargod between Keter and Chochma; Gan Eden's plants = 613 commandments.

IV. THE PARGOD, THE NINE HEICHALOS, AND THE 42 PAIRINGS (§13b, pp. 441–460). The Pargod [brain membrane] is born from Chochma's pursuit of Keter — it is the root of all screens between all levels; its shape = the letter Aleph [two Yuds facing a Resh]; nine Heichalos as root of Atzilus; three illumination levels [Keter = sealed Kamatz; Chochma = Patzach = opened; Bina = the Mouth/Peh]; mati ve-lo mati — in the reaching aspect things are known; in the not-reaching aspect all gathers in Unity; the 42 pairings through the seven Heichalos of BIY"A; the Korbanos ascending from below, connecting Kavod to Atzilus and Atzilus to Ayn Sof.

V. THE EIGHT EDOMITE KINGS (§13b cont., pp. 460–488). Each of the eight Malchin Kadma'in [primordial kings] in Bereishis 36 corresponds to a stage in the world's governance: BELA = the sealed mouth of Bina / chesron ha-da'as / reward and punishment; YOVAV = the trembling voices [ro'esh] / Shevarim-Teruah / all worldly hardship; CHUSHAM = the senses / 2000 years of Tohu / materialist blindness to Providence; HADAD = Tiferes breaking / the domain of SA's unchecked power / ultimately destroyed; SAMLAH from MASREKAH = the nations as fallen garments of Jewish souls / Mashiach as the folding Vav completing for the later generations / Chirik→Shuruk→Cholam at redemption; SHAUL from RECHOVOS HA-NAHAR = Yesod / Torah-joy through revelation to others / David inheriting and completing this; BAAL-CHANAN = times of expansiveness vs. sealing of lights / the tzaddik-mouse and the evil-mouse; HADAR = the general tikkun of all the Breaking / ZU"N united / TZEDEK + YaK = HADAR / Ruach HaKodesh from Malchus — the final governance.

VI. SOULS, GARMENTS, AND MASHIACH'S FOLDING (§§13b–14). Before Adam's sin, all souls were to be Israel and the nations only their outer garments; after the sin the garments fell; Mashiach stands at the "fold" between the earlier and later generations, completing for those who could not complete for themselves; the Tzaddik = Yesod = the giver to the Nukva; Torah-joy = the flaming of the 231 gates when Torah is revealed to others; Yerushalayim = City of Tzedek; Tzedek + YaK = Hadar = the final king = the final tikkun.

VII. THE METAPHYSICS OF THE EMITTER (§§13–13b). Woven throughout the chapter's final arc: the Keter is the first emanation and may not be investigated [only from Chochma downward]; the sefirot are the Emitter's attributes as they relate to those below; there are nine upper Heichalos and seven lower Heichalos; the ultimate reward of souls is endless new comprehension of the Infinite; the blessed Emitter desired that even the evil of exile shall be revealed as good — so that in the end not merely "the illness passed" but the illness itself is transformed into the healing.

1 The Pargod as the membrane of the brain: see Zohar Bereishis 15a; and see Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar ha-Tzimtzum.

2 On the nine Heichalos as root of Atzilus: see Zohar Pekudei 259b; and Kla"ch Petach 136.

3 On Mati ve-lo mati: see Kla"ch Pataich 93–94; Pischei Chochma ve-Da'as §9 (Sha'arei Ramchal p. 144).

4 On the 42 Zivugim = the seven Names in the Heichalos with 42 letters: see Kitzur ha-Kavanos p. 162; and Sha'ar ha-Zivugim.

5 On Bereishis = Bra Shis: Zohar Bereishis 3b. On the seven Voices: Zohar 2:25b (parashas Va'era).

6 On the Eight Edomite Kings = eight stages of Breaking and Tikkun: see Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar ha-Shvirah; and Maamar Sod ha-Yichud (Ginzei Ramchal p. 270).

7 On the Vavs = garments of AK contracting to threads: see Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar ha-Klalim §3; and Kla"ch Petach 29 (p. 87).

8 On Mashiach as the folding Vav: see Da'as Tevunos Part 2 (Ginzei Ramchal p. 48); Maamar Sod Demut ha-Adam (Ginzei Ramchal p. 263).

9 On the Simchas Torah = flaming of the 231 gates: see Tamid 32b; and Kla"ch Petach 52.

10 On Tzedek + YaK = Hadar: Sha'arei Ramchal p. 386. And see Kla"ch Petach 58 on Malchus as Yesod.