The Chain Of Souls

clip_image001Each desire consists of two parts: the Upper and the lower, Galgalta ve Eynaim, which is connected to the Upper Partzuf and the AHP, which is connected to the lower. This is the way that all the souls are connected in the spiritual world, where they are dependent upon each other.

It turns out that with my bestowing part (Galgalta ve Eynaim), I am fully under the control of the Upper Level and I wish to belong to it. Meanwhile, with my lower part (AHP), I am completely connected to the lower one and I care for it.

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I bestow in both cases. However, with regard to the Upper One, I bestow by canceling myself, whereas with regard to the lower one, I bestow by caring for it. The more I am able to cancel myself before the Upper One and to receive from it, the more I can give to the lower one later.

This is what happens between all the souls, and therefore, everything depends on our mutual connection. It turns out that a person has nothing left to call his own, since his Upper Part is determined by the Upper Level, and his lower part is determined by the lower one. If he is united with both the Upper One and the lower one, then he fully belongs to them, and now he can reveal his “I” precisely in this form. Then his point in the heart picks up strength and flourishes as it realizes itself.

This is like the mother of a family for whom the most important thing is the upper level, her husband, and the lower level, her children. She does not see her existence separate from them and for this reason she is the most important member of the family; it is she who holds everything together.

It is the same for every soul; by receiving Light from Above and transferring it below, it becomes important to everyone.

The Final Condition

clip_image001The story of the Exodus from Egyptian slavery depicts all the details of a Kabbalistic group’s spiritual path. It seems like we are ready to come out of Egypt and gain our freedom (out of egoism and into the quality of bestowal), and yet it is so difficult. We undergo the “seven years of famine” and the “Egyptian plagues” so that every one of us feels the Pharaoh (the evil rule of egoism over us) lurking within. We undergo a terrible inner struggle with a part of us willing to come out of Egypt (forsake egoism), but with another part unwilling to escape.

The escape from Egypt (the night of Passover) happens suddenly while we are in darkness, in a hurry, out of fear, and is prompted from Above. It is when we feel a force pushing us forward, toward bestowal. We are willing to flee into the darkness, which is how we perceive the quality of bestowal. However, the Creator leads us to freedom via the long path, by surrounding us with the Pharaoh’s followers (Erev Rav – mixed multitude).

Even when we tear ourselves away from true egoistic desires known as “Pharaoh’s forces,” we are still left with the “mixed multitude.” They are those who want to have their cake and eat it too, seeking to remain egoistic while at the same time receiving pleasure from the Creator and spirituality.

These desires bind us in exile, preventing us from escaping. And when we finally do escape, they may still attach themselves to us because they have a connection to the Creator. That is why they are called “mixed” – because both their desires are immediately apparent: hoping for a good life here in this world, as well as in the world to come. They are the ones holding us back.

Thus, the story of the Exodus talks about desires and intentions that exist in every one of us. When we come to the Red Sea, we aren’t ready to jump in – the sea seems like death. To cross it, we must reveal the single, special force that is capable of leading us across.

And when after all that we finally reach Mount Sinai, we are given the final and most difficult condition: “Unite as one man with one heart.” After all our discernments and efforts toward spirituality, we eventually reveal that we aren’t willing to unite with others.

However, this is the only condition that we must meet and we have no choice but to agree: “We are willing, but incapable.” If we really want this mutual guarantee, then the Creator has to be our guarantor – But do we really want that?

When we agree to this condition, we receive from Above the strength for the mutual guarantee and the Creator’s revelation. The Creator reveals Himself within us so as to give us a chance to bestow.

It is a very long and complex process, and The Book of Zohar teaches us how to be more sensitive to the changes taking place within us so that we can imagine every detail. All this takes place within us and nowhere else. That is why we must learn to recognize and understand these qualities internally. As we train ourselves to maintain such an inner vision, we move increasingly closer to perceiving the spiritual world.

Why Be Lost In The Dark?

bottom If the burden of our group mate’s heart grows heavier, we have to bring him medication: we have to do everything in our power to lift his spirits. If I feel darkness or heaviness, it means that I lack desire for spirituality. For example, let’s assume that spirituality is so important that the power of my desire for it weighs 20 pounds. All of a sudden another 20 pounds of uncorrected desire is added to it. This weighs me down and makes me unable to move. In order for me to advance, my desire towards spirituality has to become more important by that same 20 pounds. Then spirituality starts attracting me with a force of 40 pounds.

Where do I get this additional force as I certainly don’t have it within myself? I can only get it from Kabbalah books or my surroundings. I have to immediately start working on raising the importance of the spiritual goal for myself.

It is like a patient who is not completely sick yet and has to use all his healthy organs to overcome his illness. I use all my remaining strength to achieve this and by doing so I turn darkness into Light. I can quickly transition from one state to another, spiraling upwards, and advancing as a result.

It begs the question, why would I go deep into darkness and stay there for months or years, waiting for it to end on its own?

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 01.17.10

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Bo (Come Unto Pharaoh),” Item 14
While reading The Zohar we look within ourselves trying to see everything this book is talking about through the point in the heart.
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“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 122, Lesson 51
The beginning of any state is called “conception” because a new state begins when the accomplishments of the old state are nullified.
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Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 6
In the spiritual world, just as in the in the physical world, everyone perceives the same things, but each person feels and reacts to them differently.
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