It has already been explained that a corporeal essence is separated and divided by the force of motion and remoteness of location, and a spiritual essence is separated and divided by disparity of form.

According to the measure of disparity of form from one another, so is the measure of the distance between them. If the disparity of form comes to complete oppositeness, from one extreme to the other, they become completely severed and distinct (Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Inner Observation,” Chapter 3, Item 15).

Question: In our world, we are completely opposite to the qualities of the Creator, and therefore we do not feel Him at all. Is there any other reality in which we are even more opposite to the Creator? Or is this the most extreme point?

Answer: Man by his nature is absolutely opposite to the Creator. Out of all types of desires—inanimate, vegetative, and animate, there is nothing more distant from the Creator than man. Therefore, in the future, as a result of his correction, there will be no object closer to the Creator.

Question: Man is the most distant in qualities from the Creator. Is this called “our world”? Is this the most remote condition or are there even worse ones?

Answer: No, there are no worse ones.

Question: In the process of our development, are we distancing from the Creator or getting closer to Him?

Answer: We are getting closer by distancing. The fact is that we see ourselves constantly distancing from the Creator, that is, not similar to Him. At the same time, we have the opportunity to become like Him. This is the paradox of our development.

In principle when we develop naturally, we feel ourselves further and further away from the Creator as the will to receive in us becomes greater and greater. But, on the other hand, there is an opportunity to come closer to Him. As it is said: “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.”
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 11/20/22

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