Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

What is the Purpose of Creation?

Man’s reality is built of deep, endless wisdom. Because the Lord created many great creatures, higher than high and higher yet, and all are needed in their positions, as nothing is superfluous, and all is based on the fundamental cornerstone that what the Creator desires of man’s work is for him to correct all of the deficiencies of creation and elevate himself, degree after degree, until he cleaves to His Blessed Divinity.

Hence, that sets aside all things that distance the Blessed and all in their proximity from Him, and draws all that nears Him and in their proximity, and all this is extremely profound and tremendous, and everything is bound to develop, under great circumstances, to attain the general wholeness.
– Ramchal, Da’at Te’vunot (Knowledge of Wisdom), Item 124.

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Attainment Of The Purpose Of Creation Rests Upon The Whole of Mankind

The purpose of creation applies to the entire human race without exception [complete similarity to the Creator, the quality of absolute bestowal, will be attained either as a result of pressure from Above, by the path of suffering, or by man’s efforts from below, by the path of Torah or the Light that Reforms].
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings“

… the purpose of Creation rests on the shoulders of humanity as one race, without any essential difference such as black, white, or yellow.
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” Item 23

… the purpose of creation is not necessarily for a select group; rather the purpose of creation belongs to all creations without exception. It is not concerned with merely the strong and skillful… [when it comes to the correction of the soul, no corporeal abilities or talents determine the success].
– Rabash, Shlavey HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder), 1984 “Love of Friends (3)”

All the nations [in the future, either against their will, through the path of suffering, or consciously, though the path of Light] will unite and be ready for the Creator’s work [mutual bestowal to the Creator whereby they receive infinite fulfillment from the Creator for His sake].
– Baal HaSulam, Letter pg. 55

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

…all the worlds, Upper and lower and everything within them, were created only for man [to attain complete equivalence to the Creator]. This is so because all these degrees and worlds came only to complement the souls in the measure of Dvekut [equivalence in properties of love and bestowal] that they lacked with respect to the Thought of Creation [as the Creator said: I have created the evil inclination in man].

In the beginning, they were restricted and hung down degree-by-degree and world after world, down to our material [egoistic] world, to bring the soul into a body of this world, which is entirely to receive and not to bestow [the desire to receive with the intention for oneself. The desire to receive with the intention to bestow is considered to be bestowal. It follows that the intention determines the nature of the action or desire], like animals and beasts. It is written, “A wild ass’s colt is born a man.” This [the desire to receive with the intention to receive] is considered the complete will to receive, which has nothing in the form of bestowal. In that state, a man is regarded as the complete opposite of Him, and there is no greater remoteness than that.

Afterward, through the soul that clothes within one, he engages in Torah and Mitzvot. Gradually and slowly, from below Upwards, he obtains the same form [intention] of bestowal as his Maker, through all the discernments that hung down from Above downwards, which are but degrees and measures in the form of the desire to bestow.

Each Higher degree means that it is farther from the will to receive and closer to being only to bestow. In the end, one is awarded being entirely to bestow and to not receive anything for himself [after one corrects all the intentions on all of one’s desires]. At that time, one is completed with true Dvekut with Him, for this is the only reason why man was created. Thus, all the worlds and everything in them were created only for man.
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 9

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

It is known that the meaning [essence] of the souls of the children of Israel [those who aspire to the Creator, regardless of corporeal origin] is that they are a part of God Above [the property of bestowal]. The soul cascaded [diminished its property of bestowal] by way of cause and consequence and descended degree-by-degree until it became suitable to come into this world and clothe the filthy [egoistic] corporeal [desire to receive everything] body.

By keeping the Torah [studying to draw the Light of correction] and observing its Mitzvot [creating the group through Arvut, a mutual guarantee, the condition to receive the Torah] it ascends degree-by-degree [in acquiring the quality of bestowal] until its stature is completed [all 613 egoistic desires are corrected], and it is fit to receive its reward from The Whole [the Creator, who is completely giving and loving]. This has been prepared for it in advance [in the Thought of Creation], meaning attaining the holy [holiness = bestowal and love above one’s own benefit] Torah by way of the Names of the Creator [His qualities, that is, similarity to Him], which are the 613 deposits.
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, From the Mouth of a Sage”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

What Is the Purpose of Creation?

…His guidance is purposeful and aims to eventually bring us [our souls] to adhesion [similarity] with Him, so it would reside within us [within our corrected desires, in full equivalence with the property of bestowal and love called the Creator]….
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

…the purpose of instilling the soul [the point in the heart] within the body [desire to receive] is so that the soul, being precisely in the body [to receive in order to bestow], returned [became similar] to its root [the Creator] and merged [in complete similarity] with the Creator, as it says: “(1) And love thy Creator, (2) and walk His ways, (3) and keep His commandments, (4) and merge with Him.”
– Baal HaSulam, Igrot (Letters) pg. 63

Every person is obliged to attain the root of his soul.
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Acting Mind”

It turns out that the purpose of the whole Creation is that the lowly creatures will be able, by keeping Torah and Mitzvot [Torah is the Light of correction, and the Mitzvot are the corrections of man’s 613 egoistic properties which are performed by the Light. The soul is the desires of bestowal, a soul’s qualities of bestowal toward other souls], to rise ever upward, ever developing, until they are rewarded with Dvekut with their Creator.
– Baal HaSulam, Article “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah),” Item 6

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

What Is the Purpose of Creation?

…what was the purpose for which the Creator created this lot? Indeed, it is to elevate him to a Higher and more important degree, to feel his God like the human sensation, which is already given to him. And as one knows and feels one’s friend’s wishes, so will he learn the words of the Creator….
– Baal HaSulam, Article "The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence"

…the aim of the Creator from the time He created His Creation is to reveal His Godliness to others. This is because the revelation of His Godliness reaches the creature as pleasant bounty that is ever growing until it reaches the desired measure.

And by that, the lowly rise with true recognition and become a chariot to Him, and cleave unto Him, until they reach their final completion: “Neither has the eye seen a God beside thee”….
– Baal HaSulam, Article "Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)," Item 6

Man is created to raise the heavens… [from himself, the lower central point, to fill the empty restricted space by the property of bestowal, the Light, thus raising its boundary to the World of Infinity].
– Rabbi Menahem Mendl of Kotzk

…the purpose of creation is invaluable because a tiny spark such as a person’s soul can rise in its attainment higher than the ministering angels [the forces of bestowal that have no independent will, like animals in our world]….

– Baal HaSulam, Article "The Handmaid That is Heir to Her Mistress"

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What Is the Purpose of Creation?

…man is the center of Creation….
– Baal HaSulam, Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 18

…the purpose of the creation of all the worlds was for man alone.
– Baal HaSulam, Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 39

…the Creator’s desired goal for the Creation He had created is to bestow upon His creatures, so they would know His truthfulness and greatness, and receive all the delight and pleasure He had prepared for them….
– Baal HaSulam, Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 39

…all the conducts of Creation, in its every corner, inlet, and outlet, are completely prearranged for the purpose of nurturing the human species from its midst, to improve its qualities until it can sense Godliness as one feels one’s friend.

These ascensions are like rungs of a ladder, arranged degree-by-degree until it is completed and achieves its purpose.
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Dear Friends, I will begin posting selected quotes of great Kabbalists on various subjects. Please ask questions about these passages. I promise to answer them.

The Creator Is the Absolute Good

And because we realize that the Creator is, in and of Himself, complete and needs no one to help Him to completion, since He precedes everything, it is therefore clear that He does not have any will to receive. And because He has no will to receive, He is fundamentally devoid of a desire to harm anyone; it is as simple as that.

Furthermore, it is completely agreeable to our mind as the first concept, that He possesses a desire to bestow goodness upon others, meaning to His creatures. And that is evidently shown by the great Creation that He has created and set before our eyes. For in this world there are beings that necessarily experience either a good feeling or a bad one, and that feeling necessarily comes to them from the Creator. And once it is absolutely clear that there is no aim to harm in the nature of the Creator, it necessitates that the creatures receive only goodness from Him, for He has created them only to bestow upon them.

Thus we learn that He has only a desire to bestow goodness, and it is utterly impossible that any harmfulness might be in His domain, which could emit from Him. Hence we have defined Him as “The Absolute Good.”
– Baal HaSulam, Article “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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The Zohar, On Major Corrections

Adam was the first person to reveal the order of actions that lead to spiritual success. He passed on this wisdom to his disciples “mouth to mouth.” And everyone can add to his friend (Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”).

One: The Creator is One, all of reality is included in Him at all times; everything stems from Him; He is perfect despite the seeming imperfection of creation. Kabbalists call this investigation “One.”

Abraham laid down the basis of this investigation. In his Book of Creation, he arrived at the conclusion that there are not two different authorities of good and evil, but rather everything is ruled only by good (Baal HaSulam, “The Character of Kabbalah”).

The Book of Zohar, Preface (abridged)

1. Abraham is the root of mercy in the souls. That is why he corrected the common soul (Shechina) and made it suitable for fulfillment by the Light of Mercy.

But if the Light of Mercy (Hassadim) stayed in the souls of Abraham’s disciples (the “people of Israel,” the group he created), they wouldn’t be able to exercise their desire to receive pleasure. That is why the correction of mercy didn’t bring the Thought of Creation to completion. This is because the main idea behind the Thought of Creation is to please the creatures specifically by receiving fulfillment from Him.

2.  This is the reason why Abraham (the property of bestowal) gave birth to Isaac (the property of receiving). As a result of Abraham’s correction, Isaac discovered the existence of the common soul which was in the state of a complete perfection filled with the Light of Mercy. He then sensed its desire to receive the entire perfection that was pre-determined by the Thought of Creation.

In other words, Isaac awakened in it the desire to receive from the Creator for the sake of bestowal which means that the desire to receive emerges only because of the desire of the Bestowing One; if the Bestowing One didn’t desire it, the soul wouldn’t possess even the tiniest desire to receive anything at all from Him.

This type of receiving for the sake of giving is considered bestowal since it is a quality that is not supported by egoism. It completely corrected the general desire (Shechina) to receive the entirety of abundance that was programmed at the time of creation.

3.  However, since the world was not ready for complete correction, the villain Esau appeared and corrupted the process of correction.

Esau didn’t follow “receiving solely for the sake of bestowal” as per Isaac’s correction; he sinned by receiving “for his own sake.” Even when he came to understand that the Bestowing One didn’t want him to receive, he still continued to receive pleasure for his own sake and that’s why Klipot “bonded” with him.

Since Jacob was aware of Esau’s “defect,” he corrected the Soul within the property of trepidation. That’s why it is said: “his hand grasping Esau’s heel.”  As a result, the corrections of Abraham and Isaac were united and no wrongdoing occurred.

4. But this correction was not final since it resulted from fear of sin that comes from “Esau’s heel.”  When complete correction takes place, the fear of “Esau’s heel” is annulled, and trepidation appears out of the greatness of the Creator. Jacob’s fear serves to correct all generations of the people of Israel until complete correction is attained.

5. Everybody has to go through correction, and by doing so perceive the soul created by the Creator. This means obtaining the “qualities of the forefathers.”

Only after the acquisition of such properties, correction of the soul commences; it takes off from the same place which Jacob left for us, meaning elevating trepidation to a degree at which it depends solely on the greatness of the Creator. Afterward, the Upper Light is attracted through this elevated property of trepidation to guide us towards complete correction.

6. The reason for all afflictions that emerge in this world is exclusively to correct the desire to receive within souls so that they become ready to receive all of the abundance included in the Thought of Creation.

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Had my people heeded me in this generation, when heresy is increasing, they would have studied The Book of Zohar and contemplated it with nine-year-old children. … By this they would revoke all the harsh sentences and would extend abundance and Light.
– Rav Yitzhak Yehudah Yehiel of Komarno, Keeping Mercy, Chapter 4, Teaching 20

There are no limitations on studying The Zohar. Hafetz Chaim used to evoke everyone to study The Zohar, even unmarried men.
– Rabbi Yosef Ben Shlomo of Pojin, Yosef’s Building Supplements

The Book of Zohar does not say anything about this world, but speaks only of the Upper Worlds where there is no time as in the material world. Spiritual time is a change in qualities.
– The Book of Zohar, Chapter “VaYetze,” Item 62

The Book of Zohar (The Book of Radiance) was named thus because it radiates the Light of the highest Source. Those who study The Book of Zohar are influenced by this Light and receive revelation of the highest knowledge and the secrets of the Torah.
– Rav Moshe Cordovero (RAMAK), Know the God of Thy Father, Item 2

Prior to the coming of the Messiah, heresy and Epicureanism will increase in the world. The advice for it is to meticulously study The Zohar every day, even if one does not understand what one is saying, since studying The Zohar can cleanse the heart.
– The Light of the Upright, Clear Myrrh

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