“The Face does not reveal God, but is God revealing himself.” — Zohar, III, 288a
1. General introduction
The concept of the Partzufim (פרצופים), which in Hebrew literally means “face” or “settings”, constitutes one of the pillars is the most complex and profound of the Cabal luriánicadeveloped primarily by Isaac Luria (the Arizal) and systematized by his disciple Chaim Vital. The Partzufim represent the dynamic organization of the sefirot in structures of living, integrated and aware, which reflect the interaction of the divine process of manifestation.
In the Kabbalah previous (especially in the Zohar and in the system of Moses Cordovero), the sephiroth were understood as emanations of divine attributes or static. With Luria, in change, the system becomes anthropomorphic and relational: the sefirot are grouped into Partzufim, which act, expand, contract, communicate with each other and form the spiritual universe.
“There is No face no light, or light without a face.” — Zohar, II, 42b
2. Origin and evolution of the concept
2.1. In the Zohar
In the Zoharthe term “Partzuf” is used occasionally to describe aspects of the divine face, as “the Face of the Elder of the Days” (Atika Kadisha). However, the concept is not systematized.
2.2. In the school of Cordovero
Moses Cordovero in your Pardés Rimonim he unified the sefirot under a harmonic structure, but have not conceived as interactive entities. His thought was the bridge to the formulation luriánica.
2.3. In the system Luria
With Isaac Luria, the concept is expanded radically. The sefirot become simple fields or attributes to become faces or configurations spiritual complete. Each Partzuf is a divine person, a self-sufficient system that contains ten sephiroth in an organized manner and that it interacts with the other Partzufim in a cosmic drama of continuous emanation, rupture and repair (Shevirat ha-Kelim and Tikun).
“The higher worlds there are in man, and the man is the face of the worlds.” — Sefer haZohar
3. The main Partzufim of the system luriánico
Luria, and Chaim Vital identified five Partzufim mainthey all derived from the world of Atzilut (Emanation), the highest of the four worlds of kabbalistic (Atzilut, Beriá, Yetzirá, Asiyá).
3.1. Arij Anpín (The Long Face)
- Represents the Supreme Will and the Patience Is Divine.
- Derived from the sefirah of Kéter.
- It is the most hidden of the Godhead manifested.
- It symbolizes the boundless mercy, the source of the vital flow towards the other Partzufim.
3.2. Abba (Father)
- Corresponds to the sefirah of Jojmá (Wisdom).
- It represents the spiritual seed of divine knowledge.
- Is the male principle, the generator and the giver of light intellectual.
3.3. Imma (Mother)
- Derived from the sefirah of Biná (Understanding).
- It is feminine principle and receptive.
- Contains and develops the forces emanating from Abba.
- Is the matrix of the spiritual forms, and as a source of protection (Ima Ilaáthe Mother Superior).
3.4. Zeir Anpín (The Small Face)
- Forms a Partzuf consists of six sephiroth (from Chesed to Yesod).
- It represents the emotional aspect and the mediator of the Divinity.
- Is the channel between the sefirot upper and lower.
- In terms mythical, is the “Son” of Abba and Imma, and the husband of Nukva.
3.5. Nukva (Female) or Maljut
- Corresponds to the sefirah of Maljut (Kingdom).
- It is the receptacle end of the divine energy.
- Represents the manifestation, the material world and the collective soul of Israel.
- In the interaction with Zeir Anpín occurs union (Zivug), of which emanate blessings and vitality to the lower worlds.
“The Wise man sees in each sefirah a face that turns to him, and in every face, the mystery of One.” — Isaac Luria (Arizal)
4. Interrelations between the Partzufim
The Partzufim are not separate entities, but interdependent settings of the Divine Light. Their interaction reproduces the processes of emanation and correction in the Creation. A few fundamental principles:
- Zivug (Union): the fusion of the Partzufim of the female and male (Zeir Anpín and Nukva) to generate new emanations of light.
- Katnut and Gadlut: the stages of “smallness” and “maturity” of a Partzuf, reflecting the cycles of expansion and contraction of the divine flow.
- Ibur, Yeniká and Mojín: stages of pregnancy, nutrition and development of the lights inside of a Partzuf, analogous to the human process of growth.
This model explains both the movements of the cosmic and the spiritual processes of the human soul, which is part of the same dynamic of expansion, binding and repair.
“The Infinite is not fragmented: multiplies in faces, look at yourself.” — Chaim Vital, Etz Chaim
5. Theological meaning and psychological
5.1. A theological dimension
The Partzufim offer a vision relational God. Do not describe multiple deities, but the modes in which the Divine Unity is structured internally to reveal himself to the world. Luria sought to explain how the Infinite (Ein Sof) can interact with the finite without fragment.
5.2. Anthropological dimension
Each Partzuf also reflects structures of the human soul:
- Arij Anpín: the will profound.
- Abba and Imma: intellect and understanding.
- Zeir Anpín: emotions.
- Nukva: the expression in the action and the physical world.
The mystic seeks to align your soul with these levelsreproducing itself in the divine harmony.
“The Partzufim are the mirrors of the divine consciousness: each one reflects the manner in which the Infinite is thought to yourself.”
6. The role of the Partzufim in the Tikun (repair)
According to the doctrine luriánica, the breaking of the vessels (Shevirat ha-Kelim) generated the dispersion of divine sparks throughout the cosmos. The process of Tikun, or repair, consists reorder those sparks through the spiritual action of man (mitzvot, prayer, meditation).
The Partzufim are the structures that allow for the repair, rearrange the sephiroth damaged and channel the divine light in a balanced way. So, every prayer or act of ethics of the human being contributes to restore the union between Zeir Anpín and Nukva, restoring the cosmic harmony.
“God is not hidden behind the face; the face is their language.”
7. Contemporary approaches and symbols mystical
7.1. In the modern Kabbalah and hasidic
Teachers jasídicos reinterpretaron the Partzufim as levels of spiritual awareness. In the Taniafor example, Zeir Anpín and Nukva are understood as the dimensions of emotional & practice of the divine soul.
7.2. Universal symbolism
The Partzufim can be seen as a symbolic language universal that describes:
- The structure of the soul.
- The mental processes of the unconscious.
- The correspondence between the macrocosm (God) and the microcosm (man).
“Man was made in the image of the Partzufim, to remember that every human face is a reflection of the Divine Face.”
8. Conclusion
The concept of the Partzufim it is one of the recipes most advanced metaphysics kabbalistic. It represents an attempt to master join the mystical with the rational, the divine with the human, using a system dynamic and organic. In place of a God static, the Cabal luriánica presents us with a Divinity in processcontinuous movement of emanation, binding and repair.
Understand the Partzufim is to penetrate the core of the psychology divine according to the Kabbalah: a cosmos where every face is a mirror of the Infinite Face.
“Abba begets wisdom, Imma shape, and in their union is born the soul of the world.”
