ח' חשון – אגרת הקודש פרק כ"ו

When המלכות דאצילות—the level of Malchus of Atzilus—descends and enclothes itself within קליפת נוגה—the kelipas nogah—it does so in order to refine and elevate the holy sparks that fell there. These sparks came about both through the sin of Adam HaRishon, who ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and through the שבירת הכלים—the shattering of the vessels in the world of Tohu, which resulted in the fall of the רפ"ח ניצוצין—the 288 sparks.

Because Malchus of Atzilus descends into this mixture of good and bad, it too is called עץ הדעת טוב ורע—the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is in contrast to ז"א דאצילות—the level of Zeir Anpin of Atzilus—which does not descend into the lower worlds and is therefore called עץ חיים—the Tree of Life. The distinction is that Malchus, by descending, becomes involved with the process of refinement, dealing with both good and evil, whereas Zeir Anpin remains above, in a state of pure holiness.

This descent of Malchus into kelipas nogah is described as the סוד גלות השכינה—the secret of the exile of the Shechinah. The Shechinah, the Divine Presence, is said to be in exile when it is enclothed within the realms of kelipas nogah, surrounded by concealment and mixture.

This is the meaning of the verse אשר שלט האדם באדם כו'—that man rules over man to his detriment. Here, the "man" of the side of Kelipah dominates the "man" of holiness, taking the Divine vitality and using it for unholy purposes. This is the inner dimension of exile: the Divine energy is present, but it is misappropriated by the forces of Kelipah, and the Shechinah is thus in a state of concealment and subjugation.

This is what is written in the רעיא מהימנא—the Ra'aya Mehemna section of the Zohar: ובזמנא דאילנא דטו"ר שלטא כו' אינון כו'—at the time when the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is dominant, etc. This refers to the period of the exile of the Shechinah, when the Divine Presence is forced to bestow vitality even upon the external forces, the חיצונים, which are the kelipas nogah.

In this state, the ערב רב—the mixed multitude—draw their sustenance from kelipas nogah. Even the תלמידי חכמים—the Torah scholars—are nourished in exile only from the "extracts" or remnants that remain after the external forces have taken their share. In other words, the main abundance and materiality is found among those who are not connected to holiness, and only a small portion reaches the scholars and the righteous.

Therefore, during exile, the main service of a Jew and the primary focus of Torah and mitzvos is to refine and elevate these fallen sparks. This is the central avodah, as is well known from the teachings of the Arizal: to extract the Divine sparks from their exile within the realms of kelipas nogah and return them to holiness.

For this reason, the main aspect of Torah study during this time is to engage deeply in the analysis and dialectics of halacha—especially in the areas of איסור והיתר—the permitted and the forbidden, and טומאה וטהרה—the pure and the impure.

Through delving into these laws and clarifying what is permitted and pure versus what is forbidden and impure, one is actually refining and separating the holy from the unholy. The process of עיון—deep study—and פלפול הלכה—halachic analysis—using the faculties of חכמה בינה ודעת—wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—serves to elevate the sparks embedded within these matters.

This is based on the principle that דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת—the Torah emerges from Chochmah, Divine wisdom. It is specifically through the power of Chochmah that the process of refinement and clarification is accomplished.

In other words, the ability to distinguish between what is permitted and what is forbidden, what is pure and what is impure, comes from the Divine wisdom invested in the Torah. Without Chochmah, one would not be able to make these distinctions and thereby elevate the sparks.

This refers to the חכמה עילאה דאצילות—the supernal wisdom of Atzilus—which is enclothed within מלכות דאצילות—the Malchus of Atzilus. This is the secret of תורה שבעל פה—the Oral Torah.

In Kabbalistic terms, this is the concept of אבא יסד ברתא—the father (Chochmah) founds the daughter (Malchus). The Chochmah of Atzilus is invested within Malchus, and then further enclothed within מלכות דיצירה—the Malchus of Yetzirah. This chain of enclothement allows the Divine wisdom to descend and become accessible in the lower worlds, where the avodah of refinement takes place.

The secret of the משניות וברייתות—the Mishnayos and Beraisos—is that they are enclothed within קליפת נוגה—kelipas nogah—which corresponds to the world of Yetzirah. It is in this realm that the aspect of הדעת—knowledge—begins to manifest within Nogah.

According to another version, it is specifically the aspect of הרע—the evil—within Nogah that begins here. In other words, the process of refinement and separation between good and evil becomes more pronounced at this level, as the mixture of good and bad in kelipas nogah becomes more apparent in the world of Yetzirah.

According to another version, the ברייתות—Beraisos—are enclothed within kelipas nogah corresponding to the world of Asiyah, the lowest of the spiritual worlds. It is here that the aspect of הרע—evil—within Nogah truly begins to dominate.

This is as is known from the teachings of the Arizal. In summary, the descent of Malchus and the enclothement of Torah in the lower worlds is all for the purpose of refining and separating the good from the bad, the holy sparks from the realms of kelipas nogah, through our avodah in Torah and mitzvos.