The Thirteen Tikkunim

Shalom and thank you for your question! You ask what does the term ‘tikkunim’ mean in the context of the beard of ‘Atik’.

In that context it means ‘garment’, not in the literal sense of a piece of cloth, but in the sense of a garment being an outer expression of one’s inner being, just as an important person might wear a particular item of clothing or accessory that denotes his or her position, such as a King or Queen, an army general, a doctor or a nurse, etc. A person expresses their mood or makes a statement by wearing a particular scarf or piece of jewelry – this  ‘garment’ then is a sort of identification. In our context however, it goes much deeper than that. The garments referred to here are a means of manifesting certain G-dly energies.

G-d created and is constantly recreating the entire world with everything that is in it. There are ten G-dly energies – or soul powers, which we are all comprised of, each person is a combination of these powers, with a different predominance. There are three powers of intellect: Chochmah – Wisdom – representing the initial flash of insight,  Binah – Understanding – developing the concept in detail, and Da’at – Knowledge – bringing the concept into actuality. These powers ‘give birth’ to the seven emotive powers: 1.Chessed – Loving-kindness – expansiveness

2.Gevurah – Severity – holding back or contraction

3.Tiferet – Beauty or harmony, a synthese of Chessed and Gevurah

4. Netzach – Victory or persistence

5. Hod – Glory or humility

6. Yesod – Foundation or connection

7. Malchut – Royalty – speech – the funnel for the other powers.

Above these ten soul powers is the spiritual attribute of Keter – meaning Crown. This attribute is the attribute of Ratzon – Will. In our daily lives we can see how the attribute of will has an advantage over our abilities, as the saying goes – where there is a will, there is a way. Keter refers to Divine will, and the level of Atik is an internal level of will. To use a very superficial analogy, if a person gets up in the morning to go to work, it is usually because he or she is paid to do so… enjoying and or identifying with the nature of the work may be an added bonus. When that person sets out to go to work, they are operating with their external will. Their internal will is to make money in order to maintain their home and/or family…

The Creator designed a world where humanity must engage free choice to choose good over evil. The forces of evil exist only to challenge us to overcome them. They are maintained only by the most external and reluctant aspect of G-d’s will.

So the thirteen tikkunim of Atik are garments or manifestations of Divine will that flow through the metaphorical beard.

We hope this has been helpful!