Introduction to Sulam Commentary

Who Measures the Level in Atzilut? 84. The following question arises: Since the partition of Atzilut contains only the level of opacity of the root,258As explained in previous sections, this level of opacity generates returning light for a partzuf of the level of Malkhut, the lowest level. Thus, the question here is, how could this low-opacity partition ultimately give rise to a full set of five partzufim in Atzilut or Nekudim? known as “forehead,” which has only the height of the light of nefesh, what has caused the emergence of five partzufim in Atzilut, namely Atik, Arikh Anpin, Abba and Imma, and Ze’er and Nukba,259These are the five partzufim of Atzilut. Like all sets of five partzufim, each corresponds to one of the five main sefirot, Keter (Atik), Ḥokhma (Arikh Anpin), Bina (Abba and Imma), Tiferet (Ze'er Anpin) and Malkhut (Nukba). in which Atik is the level of yeḥida, Arikh Anpin is the level of ḥaya, Abba and Imma is the level of neshama, and Ze’er and Nukba is the level of ruaḥ? The same difficulty also applies to the world of Nekudim: Since only the opacity of the first level, which is called the “apertures of the eyes,” is left in the partition, how could five partzufim emerge in Nekudim?