Gate 32: במ — THE TWO FACES

במ

Pillar 2: THE SEPARATION

[32:1] "I form the light, and create darkness:

[32:2] I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these

things."

[32:3] --- Isaiah 45:7

[32:4] "The right hand of God extends mercy;

[32:5] the left hand imposes judgment."

[32:6] --- Kabbalistic teaching

[32:7] "Every action of God has two aspects:

[32:8] the nurturing and the limiting."

[32:9] --- Traditional teaching

[32:10] [32:1] The divine has two faces: Mercy and Judgment,

Expansion and Limitation, Yes and No.

[32:11] [32:2] In Kabbalah, the right pillar of the Tree of Life

is the pillar of Chesed (Mercy, Loving-kindness)---expansive, giving,

affirming. The left pillar is the pillar of Gevurah (Severity,

Judgment)---contracting, withholding, negating. Neither is complete

without the other; together they constitute the full range of divine

action.

[32:12] [32:3] The White Face (Partzuf Lavan) is the aspect of

unconditional giving. It says "yes" to all, nurtures without limit,

loves without condition. It is the sun that shines on the just and

unjust alike. Untempered, it would destroy through excess---too much

light blinds; too much giving creates dependency; too much affirmation

lacks discernment.

[32:13] [32:4] The Red Face (Partzuf Adom) is the aspect of

discerning judgment. It says "no" where necessary, sets boundaries,

imposes consequences. It is the fire that burns away impurity.

Untempered, it would destroy through severity---too much judgment

crushes; too much withholding starves; too much negation despairs.

[32:14] [FIGURE 32.1: The Tree of Life with right pillar (white,

mercy) and left pillar (red, judgment) highlighted. The middle pillar

balances them.] [32:5] Creation requires both. The Father-principle

(form, limit) is Judgment; without it, there would be only formless

chaos. The Mother-principle (substance, acceptance) is Mercy; without

it, there would be nothing to form. The interplay of Mercy and Judgment

is the dynamic by which worlds are made and sustained.

[32:15] [32:6] "I form the light, and create darkness; I make

peace, and create evil." Isaiah's God is not squeamish about the dark

side. The One who gives also withholds; the One who blesses also curses;

the One who creates also destroys. This is not contradiction but

completeness. A God of only light would be half a God.

[32:16] [32:7] In practical ethics, the two faces guide action.

Sometimes love requires mercy---forgiveness, second chances,

unconditional acceptance. Sometimes love requires

judgment---accountability, consequences, firm refusal. The wise discern

when each is appropriate. Mercy to the cruel is cruelty to the victim;

judgment without mercy is tyranny.

[32:17] [32:8] The middle pillar of the Tree balances the two

faces. Tiphereth (Beauty, Harmony) is the point where Mercy and Judgment

meet in balanced expression. The heart chakra, located at the center,

integrates giving and withholding into appropriate response. From the

center, one can access either pole as needed.

[32:18] [32:9] Within yourself, you carry both faces. Your

capacity for kindness is the internal White Face. Your capacity for

boundaries is the internal Red Face. To be whole, both must be developed

and integrated. The person who cannot say no is incomplete; the person

who cannot say yes is also incomplete.

[32:19] [32:10] Do not prefer one face to the other. The

spiritual path that seeks only light fears darkness; the path that

dwells only in darkness fears light. Both faces are God's faces. Both

are necessary. Both are you. The integrated being holds both, expresses

both, loves with both---and rests in the center where the two are one.

[32:20] See Also: • Gate 23: בד (Bad, "Alone") --- The Gate of

the Father (the limiting principle) • Gate 24: בה (Bah, "In Her") ---

The Gate of the Mother (the expansive principle) • Gate 27: בח (Bach,

"Test") --- The Gate of Polarity (the structure of opposites) • Gate

150: טס (Tas) --- The Gate of the Narrow Way (balancing between

extremes)