Netzach
The God-name associated with Netzach is
YHVH Tzabaoth [This
needs to be read in conjunction with the next Sephirah,
Hod. They are so intimately connected that
it is difficult to talk about them as separate entities] Netzach means
"victory". Netzach is the desire to excel and to be competitive. Like Chokmah
and Chesed above it, Netzach is expansive and outgoing. There is,
however, a qualitative difference between Netzach and the two Sephiroth above
it. Chokmah and Chesed pour their energy out in a constant unchanging stream.
Netzach on the other hand pulses. There are periods of intense activity
interspersed with periods of rest. Netzach can be viewed as the urge to
dominate. Hod, on the other hand, is the urge to be
dominated. The level of Netzach-Hod is seen to be the level of prophecy.
True prophecy only occurs when an individual has truly realised each of these
Sephiroth and actively balanced their opposite natures within themselves. The
lives of the Prophets in the Torah demonstrate the manifestation of Netzach and
Hod - periods of quite devotion (passive Netzach), times of empathy and being
dominated i.e. receiving G-d's message (Hod), and times of expansive activity
i.e. conveying G-d's message to others (active Netzach). But the
Prophets were very special people, they had undergone years of training to be
able to reach the prophetic state. For the majority of us the level of
Netzach-Hod is where spiritual advice can be found. Advice has its source in
Binah, but at this high level it is not specific enough to be used in everyday
life (Binah being the realm of all possible actions). The advice of
Binah then flows down the Tree. At the level of Chesed-Geburah it is channeled
in to the Torah. At Tiphareth it is interpreted by the spiritual teachers. At
Netzach-Hod it is made relevant to the majority of the people.
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