The partition is a barrier that prevents the supernal light from radiating into lower levels of existence. As a result, the partition rebuffs it, like a mirror that reflects light back to its source. The partition is manifest during the process of creation, as a result of the first constriction (tzimtzum), and it is a way of describing the resistance of the created being to receiving the supernal light in its fourth level, which corresponds to, and is called, Malkhut. The collision between the supernal light and the partition causes the light to be rebuffed, and as a result, the returning light becomes a new vessel for the supernal light. There are partitions at every level of reality, and each partition has different degrees of opacity (ovyut) and hardness (kashyut), giving rise to a variance in the structures of returning light that a given partition generates. This also underlies the variance found in the different levels of reality, such as the partzufim. In addition to the partitions that rebuff the light, there are partitions that serve as a terminating point of a particular level of existence (such as a partzuf), and the division between one level of existence and another. In general terms, it can be said that the different operations of these differences in the partitions are the causes of the differences between the various levels and stages of creation, as a result of the variance of opacity and hardness and the resulting varying heights of returning light.
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