Introduction to Sulam Commentary

The Inverse Relationship between Vessels and Lights 10. There is a consistent inverse relationship between the lights and the vessels. In the case of the vessels, it is the higher vessels that develop first in the partzuf. First Keter enters the partzuf, then Ḥokhma, then Bina, then Tiferet, and then Malkhut. This is why we list the vessels in the order of Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, that is, from highest to lowest, since that is the order of their entrance into the partzuf.

The reverse is the case with regard to the lights since the order of the lights is that the lower ones enter the partzuf first. Initially the light of nefesh enters the partzuf, then the light of ruaḥ, then the light of neshama, then the light of ḥaya, and then the light of yeḥida. Thus, the light of nefesh enters first, which is the light of the vessel of Malkhut, the smallest of all the lights, and at the end, the light of yeḥida enters the partzuf, which is the largest of all the lights. Consequently, we list the lights in the order of nefesh, ruaḥ, neshama, ḥaya, and yeḥida, that is, from lowest to highest, since that is the order of their entrance into the partzuf.