Ze'er Anpin (Kabbalah)

Ze’er Anpin means “the small face,” for the light of Ḥokhma is called “the light of the face,” in the mystical meaning of the verse: “A man’s wisdom illuminates his face” (Ecclesiastes 8:1). In the same vein, the general partzuf of the Keter in the world of Atzilut (Emanation) is called Arikh Anpin, or “the long face,” because it contains the essence of the light of Ḥokhma. Consequently, the third level, whose essence is only light of giving that is drawn from Bina, but which also contains illumination from Ḥokhma (albeit not the essence of the light of Ḥokhma), is called by this name of “the small face,” or Ze’er Anpin. The reason is that the light of its face is small and slight in relation to the first level (Talmud Eser Sefirot, v. 2, Q & A 24).