Ze`ir Anpin (

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

: זְעֵיר אַנפִּין meaning "Lesser Countenance/Small Face", is a revealed aspect of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

, comprising the emotional

sephirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...

attributes: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod and Yesod. The

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

's imagery expounds its role in Creation, where it is the microscopic equivalent of

Arich Anpin Arich Anpin or Arikh Anpin (Aramaic: אריך אנפין meaning "Long Face/Extended Countenance" (also implying "The Infinitely Patient One",) is an aspect of Divine emanation in Kabbalah, identified with the sephirah attribute of Keter, the D ...

(Macroprosopus) in the Sephirotic

tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

. The Sifra D'Tzniuta portrays it as the revealed face of God, and the Idra Rabba elaborates on the Kabbalistic significance of its several attributes {{citation needed, date=May 2024. In 16th century Lurianic doctrine it becomes systemised as one of the 6 Primary Partzufim Divine Personae, as part of the cosmic process of Tikkun Rectification.

Uniting ''Zeir Anpin''-Short Face with ''Nukvah''-Female

Zeir Anpin, the emotional

centered on Tiferet (Beauty), is the transcendent revelation of God to Creation ("The Holy One Blessed Be He"), a perceptible manifestation of the essential Divine infinity (the

Tetragrammaton The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliteration, transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from ...

name of God). Nukvah ("Female" of Zeir Anpin) is the indwelling

immanent The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheist ...

Shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

(Feminine Divine Presence) within Creation, the concealed Divine finitude (the name Elokim). In Medieval Kabbalah, the sin of

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

, as well as later sin, introduces apparent separation (perceived from Creation) between the two, bringing exile and constriction on High. The task of man is restoring union (Yichud) to the Male and Female Divine manifestations. This is the origin of the Kabbalistic prayer formula recited before performing a Jewish observance. Within the tetragrammaton, the first two letters signify the Concealed World/Upper Unity with God, and the latter two signify the Created World/Lower Unity:

"For the sake of the union of the Holy One Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah, to unite the name Y-H with V-H in a perfect union, in the name of all Israel"

Lurianic Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of Kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earli ...

, the origin of disharmony in the Sephirot is located earlier, in the primordial Realm of Tohu before the creation of Man, though later sin brings further exile. The task of man, while also affecting Male-Female union on High, involves Messianic redemption of the exiled "Sparks of Holiness" (Birur) from Tohu that are scattered within Physical existence. Birur becomes the inner dimension of Yichud. Each indwelling spark is relatively female in relation to the person who redeems it from captivity. The collectivity of all sparks, similar to the collective People of Israel, also comprises the exiled Shekhinah, awaiting raising up to God.

References

*''Mystical Concepts in Chassidism'', Jacob Immanuel Schochet, Kehot pub. Also printed as Appendix of Likutei Amarim-Tanya, Kehot. Chapter 8 etc. *S. L. MacGregor Mathers, ''The Kabbalah Unveiled'', George Redway, London, 1887

External links

''The Kabbalah Unveiled'' by S. L. Macgregor Mathers''Related articles on Zeir Anpin'' by Zion Nefesh
Kabbalah Aramaic words and phrases Kabbalistic words and phrases Aramaic words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings

Uniting ''Zeir Anpin''-Short Face with ''Nukvah''-Female

See also

References

External links