AYIN BEIS | Existence Unplugged

The diverse structure of the human faculties (with higher and lower levels defined by degrees and gradations of energy as they are generated by their respective containers) reflects the spiritual structure above, with the general rule being that the more subtle the container the more intense the energy it manifests, the more substantial the container the weaker the energy.

Chochma, due to its microscopic container — a mere point — contains an abundance of energy. Its container is very close to the energy. In binah, with its substantial and expansive containers (that allow for the elaborate comprehension of the concept), the energy is diminished. The comprehension of binah conceals the concentrated intensity of chochma. Lower than that — in za’ir anpin (z”a), the emorions, and even more so in malchus, the primary location of the containers — the energy is greatly diminished.

This is the reason for the two contrasting perspectives on volume: At times we find that the higher you go the greater the number, and it diminishes as you descend; at times we find the opposite: the lower you go the greater the number, and the numbers go down as you climb to higher levels:

From the perspective of the energies the higher you go the greater the volume — not in number, but in the abundance of energy. As the energy transmits to lower levels (like from teacher to pupil), the volume descends. From the perspective of the containers the lower yo go the larger the volume of containers, and the numbers descend as you reach higher states.

This is the meaning of the Mishne: “A hundred-year-old is as one who has died and passed away and has been negated from the world” — how is this consistent with the previous stages which are all progressive elevations in the human condition? “One hundred” refers to the highest spiritual level (in keter), which one reaches after progressing through the previous levels. After refining and negating the seven emotions of the animal soul, which is completed by age 70, one reaches a spiritual state “as one who has died” and can see the Divine essence. In the future, “a young man… at the age of a hundred” — young with minute energy will elevate to the level of hundred (keter), higher than the elder and the sage.