Feminine water, מ”ן

מ״ן (Mayin Nukvin) literally means “feminine waters”, a Kabbalistic term describing the arousal from below—the spiritual awakening that rises from the lower worlds toward the higher ones. In the language of the Zohar and the Arizal, מ״ן is the movement initiated by the receiver (Malchut / the created world) toward the giver (Zeir Anpin and above). It includes human actions such as prayer, Torah study, mitzvot, repentance, and sincere inner desire (ratzon). When מ״ן rises properly, it elicits a corresponding response from above called מ״ד (Mayin Dechurin, masculine waters)—a flow of divine light, blessing, and abundance descending back into the world.

In the work of the Tzadikim, raising מ״ן is central. A tzadik serves as a living conduit between worlds, refining and elevating the collective prayers, pains, and yearnings of the people and offering them upward in a purified form. The Zohar teaches that the tzadik is called “Yessod Olam” (the foundation of the world) because he knows how to unite Malchut with Zeir Anpin—how to raise מ״ן with proper intention (kavanah) so that mercy and light are drawn down. Through their self-nullification (bitul), purity, and constant attachment to Hashem, the tzadikim raise מ״ן not only for themselves but on behalf of the entire generation, sweetening judgments, opening channels of blessing, and sustaining the spiritual life of the world.