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Or Makif

אור מקיף

Encompassing light (Or Makif)

Light too great to enter a vessel, staying above and surrounding it, head and foot alike; or light that entered, could not be held, and went out to surround it. Its partner is or pnimi.

Where it’s explained

  1. Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶7Or pnimi enters and settles in the vessel in graded order (yosher); or makif could not enter because of its great light, so it stays above as a circle (igul), surrounding head and foot alike. Its root is the great circle around the kav.ובחי׳ א״מ הוא מה שלא היה יכול ליכנס בהכלי כלל מפני גודל אורו ונשאר למעלה מן הכלי בבחי׳ מקיף
  2. Likkutei Torah, Reeh 12, ¶6Two kinds: the returning makif, light that entered the vessel, could not be held and went out to surround it, particular like hair and garments (the mitzvos); and the direct, general makif that never enters, equal from head to foot (the joy of a mitzvah).מקיף החוזר שהוא מקיף פרטי ומקיף הישר שהוא מקיף כללי שמקיף מראשו עד רגלו
  3. Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶14The near makif, though it does not shine within, still moves a person, as the Shechinah resting on ten at prayer does, and is called the makif that shines into the inner light; the general makif surrounds equally and moves nothing within.הב׳ מקיף הכללי שמקיף בהשוואה א׳ ואינו מאיר בפנימי כלל ולא נמשך ממנו התפעלות
  4. Likkutei Torah, Vezos Haberachah 6, ¶4Food, rooted in inner light, unites with the body and is used up; clothing, rooted in the makif of Keser, surrounds a person and lasts longer; a house, rooted in the lowest level of the Emanator, is a makif of a makif.משא״כ הלבושים שרשם למעלה הוא מבחי׳ כתר ראש לנאצלים בחי׳ מקיף ולכן הם למטה ג״כ מקיפים על האדם ולא בחיות פנימי
  5. Torah Ohr, Shemos 5, ¶9Citing Etz Chaim: the mitzvah itself draws the inner light clothed in the vessels; its blessing draws the makif, which is above the inner light and therefore cannot clothe itself in the vessel.וע״י הברכה שעל המצוה ממשיכים בחי׳ האור מקיף שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ האו״פ שלכך א״י להתלבש בתוך הכלי

Stated differently

Where the encompassing lights come from: the inner light (the kav), or a root above it

Likkutei Torah, Reeh 12, ¶9וכך מן פנימית עליון שהוא הקו וחוט נעשו כל המקיפים

After the tzimtzum only the kav was drawn, and it is inner light; from it all the makifim were made, the inner light of a higher level becoming the makif of a lower one.

Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶32דשרש כל המקיפים הוא מהמקיף הגדול שמקיף כל העולמות בשוה

The root of all makifim is the great makif that surrounds all worlds equally; this is why a makif repels the external forces.

Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶7אעפ״כ שרש המקיפים נמשך מבחי׳ העיגול הגדול המקיף את הקו וחוט

The makifim of every world are drawn through the kav, yet their root is the great circle that surrounds the kav; the inner light is drawn from the yosher.

Whether an encompassing light can come to be inner light

Likkutei Torah, Reeh 12, ¶9וכנודע שמקיפים א״א להיות פנימי׳ רק פנימי׳ עליון נעשה מקיף לתחתון

Makifim cannot become inner; only the inner light of a higher level becomes the makif of a lower one.

Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶14שבשבת נכנסים המקיפים דחול בבחינת פנימים

On Shabbos the makifim of the weekdays enter as inner lights, and higher makifim are drawn.

Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 4, ¶8ומה שעתה הוא בחי׳ סובב ומקיף יתגלה לעתיד בבחי׳ פנימי

What is now sovev and makif will be revealed in the Time to Come as inner.

Whether the greater part of the light is what remains makif, or the inner light is greater

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶48החלק המעולה והגדול מאד הוא הנשאר מקיף

Cites Mevo She’arim (Sha’ar (Gate) 2): the superior and very great part of the light is the part that remains makif; it later cites the Ramaz that the makif of Atik spreads without limit, “as here.”

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶48וצ״ל ממ״ש (בשער ג׳ ח״א פ״ה) כי אור הפנימי גדול

Sets against it Mevo She’arim (Sha’ar (Gate) 3), Etz Chaim and Mevo Chochmah, which say the inner light is greater.

Main sources

Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶32Likkutei Torah, Reeh 12, ¶6Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶14Likkutei Torah, Vezos Haberachah 6, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 2, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Tazria 6, ¶27Torah Ohr, Shemos 5, ¶9

Where it appears

In 639 paragraphs of 217 maamarim.

Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.

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