MTZP"TZ

The name MTZP"TZ is the name Havayah in the AT-BASH code. MTZP"TZ is the intermediary between the "Gulgalta" (skull) and the 13 rectifications of the beard, and it represents the spiritual aspect of the sidelocks (pe'ot).

The Source of the Name

The source of the name MTZP"TZ is in the Zohar. The essence of the matter is that in the verses that precede the 13 Attributes of Mercy, the name Havayah appears twice: "And Havayah passed before him and proclaimed, Havayah, Havayah, Almighty, Merciful and Gracious, etc." These two names are more elevated than the 13 Attributes of Mercy themselves and are the root and source of the attributes of mercy.

Explanation of its Meaning

Generally speaking, letter substitutions indicate a constriction (tzimtzum) in the divine light. The name MTZP"TZ specifically represents the constriction of the hair of the sidelocks, from which the beard begins to grow. This constriction is a kind of partition between the ten sefirot of the Gulgalta and the 13 rectifications of the beard.

As an introduction: In Kabbalah, the level of Keter (Crown) is compared to a head, which contains the brain surrounded by the skull bone and covered with hair. From the bottom of the skull grows the hair of the sidelocks, and from the cheeks grows the beard hair. In the analogy: The supernal brain is called "Mocha Stima'ah" (the concealed brain), the skull itself is the "Gulgalta," the hairs are "the hairs of Arich Anpin," the beard is "the 13 rectifications of the beard," and the hair of the sidelocks (which are the beginning of the beard) are the two names of Havayah in letter substitution – MTZP"TZ.

In simple words: Just as physically the sidelocks are located between the skull bone and the beard, so too spiritually, the two names of Havayah at the beginning of (before) the 13 Attributes of Mercy are the intermediary between the illumination of Chesed of Atik in the Gulgalta and the 13 rectifications of the beard.

Since this level is an intermediary, it follows that although in relation to the levels above it, it is a constriction, but in relation to the levels below it, and even in relation to the 13 rectifications of the beard, it is still at the level of the name Havayah, since this flow is not through the normal chain of descent (hishtalshelut), but is a direct flow from the Gulgalta, which becomes the source for the world of Atzilut, and these are the ten sefirot of the head.

That is, although both the sidelocks and the beard are constrictions in the form of hair, in the hair of the sidelocks there shines a much more elevated light than in the beard – similar to the superiority of plant life over inanimate matter. The reason for this is that the sidelocks extend from the skull where Chesed of Atik shines, while the beard extends from the brains (inside the head) and only Gevurah of Atik shines in it.

Connection to Metatron

The angel Metatron is called in several places the shoe (sandal) of the Shechinah. The shoe is a garment for the foot and its purpose is to separate between the person and the ground. This can be understood through an analogy: The letters of thought and speech indeed reveal intellect and emotion, but they don't "act" on something outside the person – that isn't intellect or emotion (and even when a person speaks to another and the intellect seemingly "transfers" to the other, this isn't a true exit outside the person but rather, through this the intellect of both becomes united, as they both understand the same thing). This is not the case with the garment of action: when a person expresses themselves through painting or sculpting and the like, then the intellect has undergone an essential change, and now it is not intellect at all, and is completely separated from the person. The analogue is that for the creation of the worlds, it's not enough for the divine light to be clothed in letters (in Malchut which is called "mouth" - we call it the Oral Torah), but the letters themselves must be clothed in the garment of action. This "garment" is called a shoe (and sometimes a sandal), and it is the 231 gates through which the letters interchange to create the created beings.

Based on the above, it is understood that every place, matter, and level that speaks about letter substitution is through the power of Metatron (the shoe of the Shechinah), and so it is with the matter of substituting the name Havayah for MTZP"TZ in the AT-BASH code.

However, it is brought in Chassidut (from Tikunei Zohar) that in the future redemption, the Holy One, blessed be He, will divest Himself of all appellations (which are constrictions and substitutions of letters), even the most elevated ones – and He will be revealed.

Connection to Mitzvot

Every mitzvah draws down the light of the name Havayah, and therefore mitzvah is the name 'YHVH' with letter substitution - but the substitution is only in the first part (MTZ instead of YH).

The explanation is that through the intention of the mitzvah, the inner light is drawn down, and through its actual fulfillment, the external light. And although the upper part (YH) is drawn down only in constriction and substitution (MTZ), the lower part which is the main fulfillment of the mitzvah (VH) is drawn down as it is, and it is "that which is revealed to us and to our children."

In Kabbalistic texts it appears that the gematria of 'MTZP"TZ' is 300, the letter Shin, and this is hinted at in the verse "from Hodu to Kush," where the word 'Kush' alludes to the doubling of the name Havayah, from the revealed name Havayah which has a gematria of 26, to the substituted name Havayah, which has a gematria of 300.

See Also

• Pe'at HaSadeh and Pe'ot HaRosh
• Pe'ot HaRosh (Sidelocks of the Head)