Editing Arich Anpin (section)

== The Influence of Arich Anpin on the Middot ==
Unlike Chochmah and Binah (in which Arich Anpin "clothes itself" internally), it influences the middot only in an external manner. The source for this concept is stated in Etz Chaim that one strand of hair of Arich Anpin strikes the back of Zeir Anpin, and through this the Da'at of Zeir Anpin divides into Chesed and Gevurah. This means that the influence of Arich Anpin on Zeir Anpin (the middot) is in the manner of "back" (and in Kabbalistic terminology is called "unification of back to back").

Chassidic teachings explain this through an analogy from the human soul ("from my flesh I shall perceive G-d"): In the human soul, "Arich Anpin" is the level of "will" and "Zeir Anpin" refers to the middot (love of G-d and fear of Him). In order for the "natural" love and fear (with which a person is born) to grow, and for "intellectual" love and fear to be born within him, there is a need for a power that transcends intellect. This means that a person has the ability to arouse within himself a love and fear more elevated than they are in their natural state, even '''without''' studying and delving and having something to contemplate – and this is through the power of "will" embedded in the depths of his soul (the level of "Arich Anpin" within him). And this arousal '''is''' the introduction that gives him the power and ability to reach intellectual love and fear in an internal and true manner.