The geographic area of Israel corresponds to the structure of the upper world, the world of Atzilut. Mount Hermon in the north of the country is Keter (the crown), from where all the upper light descends and spreads downward. Similarly, streams of water descend from Hermon and the Golan Heights, which revive and nourish the land of Israel.

These streams pass through Galilee, which is a purely Kabbalistic part of the country where Kabbalists lived and The Book of Zohar was written. The cave where The Book of Zohar was written, special places, graves, Mount Meron, and the ancient Kabbalistic city of Safed are also there. These places are very strong in their influence on man.

If Hermon is Keter, then Galilee, from where the waters descend into the Sea of Galilee, is Hochma descending to Bina. The entire area extending to the Kinneret personifies Hochma, which in Hebrew means “wisdom.” Indeed, it was there that Kabbalistic wisdom was being revealed for hundreds of years.

And Lake Kinneret [the Sea of Galilee] is Bina—the property of mercy, the property of water, the property that brings life to everything, and therefore, this lake is special. There is Miriam’s well in it. Miriam is a great prophetess, the sister of Moses.

As Chaim Vital writes, one day his teacher, the great Kabbalist, the Ari, took him to Lake Kinneret. When their boat sailed up to the well gushing from inside the lake, the Ari gave him a drink of this water, and Chaim Vital suddenly began to understand everything—the upper world opened up to him.

It is interesting that when you look at the water of the lake from above, you see how the Jordan River flows in the middle of it. Moreover, the water of the river flows in its own channel, not at all mixing with the water of the lake. The water of the Kinneret and the water of the Jordan River symbolize two different qualities. Indeed, the Jordan River descends from the upper mountains, passes through Bina, and flows further, just as the light of Hochma passes through Bina and descends.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalistic Geography” 10/10/10

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