The Kav V’Chut-Line and Thread, which is the next stage in the creation process is the exact opposite of what preceded it. Whereas the Reshimu (Impression) is a complete withdrawal into a point, in which there is no extension or revelation, the Line and Thread represent extension and revelation. A point has no dimensions. Nevertheless, a line cannot exist without a point for every line must begin with a point. A line is drawn from a point, thus creating the dimensions of up and down, beginning and end. In the analogy of the teacher-student relationship, this is the line of explanation that comes out of the central point and theme of the subject. Due to this a revelation from top to bottom, from the teacher to the student, becomes possible.
Similarly, when a person wants to think, speak or act, he must first focus on the point. Then the point must be extended and “threaded” through the entire line of action. This is analogous to the line which is threaded through the pearls of a necklace to hold them together. Similarly, if a person desires to express a thought to his friend, he must focus on the point and hold it in his mind throughout the conversation. If he will be distracted in some way he will forget the point and lose the “thread” of thought. Only when he is reminded of the point will he again be able to continue where he left off.
Furthermore, during the time that a student receives a teaching, he must make himself into a point, so to speak. This means to say that he must stay totally focused and invest his whole being into absorbing the teachings. Only afterwards, when he reviews the subject in his mind, can he analyze and contemplate all its ramifications and applications, thus bringing out its length and breadth. It is only then that he will be able to draw out a length of explanation to a fellow student.
From all the above it is clear that if one cannot focus on the point he will think and speak in a rambling and disjointed manner. This is because a person is capable of speaking only one letter at a time. The line of thought which contains the point must be “threaded” throughout his speech in order to make up words and sentences which give shape to a whole thought. In his actions too, if a person cannot focus on the point of the line of action, he will jump from one activity to the next, having difficulty finishing any one task and never accomplishing much. This is because there is no flow or clear line of thought or action from a central focal point. From all this we see that the point is the heyulie for the line, and that the line extends from the very beginning of the revelation process to its final culmination.
In the same way, in the creation process, the Reshimu (Impression) is the central point which remains after the Tzimtzum (Holding back). This Reshimu contains within itself everything that will come out in the entire “line of action” of creation, to its finest detail. However, in the Reshimu, all this is in a way of a Heyulie (Ability). Nothing has actually come out yet. Everything is still in a state of total concealment. It is specifically the Kav V’Chut, the line and thread that extends from the point of the Reshimu, which brings about revelation to the worlds. Unlike the Ohr Ein Sof, which is an unlimited, infinite revelation of G-d, the Kav V’Chut is a “thin band” of revelation specifically tailored to the capacity of the world. Itis the “thread” of revelation that runs through all the spiritual worlds from the highest spiritual levels to this lowly physical world. The Kav V’Chut (Line and Thread) is the “connection” between the Giver and the receiver. In this fashion the Kav V’Chut represents both concealment and revelation. It is a concealment in that it reveals only a “thin band” of finite revelation, rather than the complete Infinite Light. On the other hand, it is a revelation in that it reveals according to the capacity of the recipients to receive.
However, it must be noted that though this extension of the Kav V’Chut comesfrom the Reshimu, in actuality it does not go out of it at all, but in to it. As mentioned before, the Reshimu is the central point which was left after the withdrawal of the Ohr Ein Sof (The Infinite Light). As such, it is called the, Makom Panooy (The Empty Space of the world). As long as the Infinite was in a state of total revelation, there was no possibility for the revelation of the finite. There was no “room” for it, so to speak. The Tzimtzum, which is the withdrawal of infinite revelation, brought about a Reshimu, a “space”, and “impression”, where the Infinite was not revealed, thus giving rise to the possibility of the finite. All of existence, from the highest world to the lowest world, is within this Makom Panooy (Empty Space). Therefore, when we say that the Kav V’Chut extends from the Reshimu, it means that it extends from it, but into it, rather than out of it.
