Kabbalists have prayers that depict imperfect states using words that seem to be addressed to the Creator to someone who understands nothing. But one who understands sees from this text which of his inner desires and inclinations he should direct to the Creator. The prayer is composed in such a language that, in principle, anyone can adapt it to himself, depending on the level he is in: from zero to the level of the final correction.

Kabbalists have always used the language that Moses received and used to write the Torah, not only to specifically address those who study Kabbalah, but also to address everyone regardless of their spiritual level. If you delve into the prayers, you can see all the interactions and all the levels of every human desire toward the light, toward the Creator.

Moses described everything related to receiving the Torah and the ascent of the soul to Bina. This is his task.

Moses is the force that raises all person’s desires from Malchut to Bina, up to entering the Land of Israel. And afterward the corrections take place without him

Since the quality of “Moses” pulls Malchut to the level of Bina, his mission ends at this point, and he dies. He dies in Jordan, looking from afar at Israel, as it is said in the Torah: “He went up Mount Nebo and died there on the 5^th of Adar.” He was born on the 5^th of Adar and died on the 5^th of Adar. All of this is according to the spiritual roots…

It is not about the person Moses, but about the quality. I cannot imagine a person who would do this, it does not form any kind of picture in me at all. But it can also be understood that way, it does not matter.

Every spiritual root must touch our world, clothe itself in matter. Therefore, everything that should happen in the spiritual world must happen in this world with all of us. As of today, everything has been realized except Purim, except Gmar Tikkun (the final correction).
[362267]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/25/26

Related Material:
Moses—Leader of Faith above Reason
The Torah: Changing Yourself In Order To Reveal The Creator
The Higher Desire, “Moses”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Prayer and Intention, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

The night called “Leil Hoshana Rabbah” is known as the night of the “Great Salvation.” What is this night during which the correction of Zeir Anpin is completed? In brief, first a person descends into Egypt, into a negative Kli (vessel), and then receives a positive force, the Torah. Then he builds an idol for himself and destroys everything. This is what we are experiencing now, the destructive connections.

Then, gradually he enters the desert and reaches the building of the Temple, when Malchut and Bina completely unite with one another.

A person builds himself over the course of six days, corresponding to the six Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod. These are the six days of Sukkot, during which the surrounding light influences him. And the seventh day, when the light enters Malchut, is called the holiday of Simchat Torah, “the Joy of the Torah,” the joy of the Light.

What joy can the light have? The joy of being able to enter the Kli. In other words, after the correction of all six qualities during the six days, on the seventh day the light enters the Kli and fills the egoism. But the light that enters is not the full light of Hochma, but VAK of Hochma, a weak illumination. Keter, Hochma, and Bina are still absent; they will join on the holiday of Purim.

Therefore, after celebrating Simchat Torah, we leave the Sukkah, because according to the law we can no longer remain in it, since a person has already moved into the next state. There is no need to regret it and no need to strive to return to it. Only forward and upward!
[362369]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 10/4/26

Related Material:
Holidays—Stages Of The Correction Of The Soul
The Great Light of Final Salvation—Hoshana Rabbah
Spiritual Holidays, Part 5

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

There is a well-known article in Shamati that  discusses the meaning of Tzlalim (shadows) and what Tzelem (image or form). It refers to the Masach (screen). If a person shields himself from the Creator and thereby gives Him the opportunity to reveal Himself, then the Creator can be revealed to the extent that the person has concealed themselves. Ultimately, a one-hundred-percent correspondence is always maintained between us and the light.

Once, we were in the world of infinity, where Malchut decided to restrict herself and never receive the light. Malchut imposed the first restriction upon herself and said: “The light will not come to me. And if it does come, it will be only so that I may bestow through this reception, and in no other way.” Therefore, the light comes to the extent that Malchut can shield herself from the light approaching her.

In other words, the relationship between Malchut, the creation, on the one hand, and Keter (the Creator or the light) on the other, is always as follows: if Malchut is one hundred percent closed, the Creator is one hundred percent revealed; and if Malchut is one hundred percent open, unable to impose a restriction upon herself, the Creator is one hundred percent concealed.

The state may be intermediate where the degree to which I open or close myself determines my spiritual degree, that is, the extent to which the Creator is revealed. This is essentially where the worlds are located; it determines which world I am in: Assiya, Yetzira, Beria, Atzilut, Adam Kadmon, or Ein Sof (infinity).

In Ein Sof I am completely beneath my screen, and then the Creator can be revealed before me. In our world, I am entirely devoid of a screen, and therefore the Creator completely conceals Himself from me. In the interval between these two states, I am on one degree or another of the worlds, which is called concealments and indicates the relative level of revelation and concealment.

It is precisely this relationship between revelation and concealment that is called a shadow (Tzel). On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, we check the integrity of our “shadow.” In other words, has Zeir Anpin (that is, the “body” of a person) become complete as a result of its correction? Does it have a screen over all the parts of the “body” and, consequently, a “shadow” from each part? Has a person acquired a screen for each of his desires?

This is what one must find out at the end of Sukkot, because throughout Sukkot all the surrounding lights were meant to construct the image (Tzelem) of the Creator within the person, meaning a screen sufficient for all their desires. This is known as examining the “shadow.”
[362309]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on the night of Hoshana Rabbah, 10/2/26

Related Material:
What Your Shadow Will Show
“Under Its Shadow I Delighted To Sit”
The Evil And The Holy Shadows

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Drush Vav, Drush six, and this is the discourse for the night of Hoshana Rabbah, in which the matter of this night, which is called the night of the seal, is explained. …

And that seal is the principal inner seal made from the NHY of Ima, from the three names EKYEH, with Yuds, and with Heys, and with Alephs, that are in them. And the Gematria is Chotam, seal, for the external ones do not take hold of Ima. Therefore, at that time, the entire world is judged and sealed, either for life or for death, and that is the principal judgment (The ARI, Leil Hosha’ana Raba).

The Partzuf of Zeir Anpin of Atzilut is called the Creator. He gives us all the Light. Opposite Him are His Nukva, Rachel and Leah. Rachel is the small Nukva, from the Chazeh of Zeir Anpin downward, to its ending, the Parsa. Leah is the great Nukva of Zeir Anpin. Above them is Ima, Bina, which lowers its “legs,” meaning the NHY of Ima descend inside Zeir Anpin.

Where the NHY of Ima are present, Ima, meaning Bina, gives the receiving Kelim a covering of her light of Hassadim. If I remain in the desire to receive, but the NHY of Ima have entered me, then I am truly “covered,” “vaccinated,” and have immunity against any possible problem.

I have the desire to receive, but I also have a vaccination, the NHY of Ima, the light of Hassadim that is within me. Because of this, I simply do not want to use my desire to receive; I am free from it. One hundred percent healthy. This is what Bina provides us with.

Indeed, this is how it should always be with us. After all, the desire to receive can never become good. It simply cannot become good on its own. But if the surrounding light or inner light enters it, in one measure or another, with one quality or another, then it becomes vaccinated against itself, because it receives satisfaction from the light that fills it.

Sometimes we fall into a state where we say: “I don’t need anything. I feel good. I want to feel the spiritual, to be in the spiritual world. This world does not interest me; let everything burn, I don’t care about anything.” How is this possible? Simply because a certain spiritual illumination from above shines upon me slightly, and as a result I feel that the spiritual is worth much more than the corporeal, and I feel good. The desire to receive chooses this.

Or, on the contrary, the spiritual recedes upward somewhat, and I am left with the desire to receive, which becomes stronger than the light that has moved away. Then I have no choice, I want fulfillment for it.

Everything depends on the play of the Upper Light, on how close it is to me or how far away it is. This determines my attitude toward the spiritual: Is it worth it or not? What is preferable, the corporeal or the spiritual?

Therefore, all our work consists of bringing the upper lights closer so that they will influence us. And if we reach a state in which the NHY of Ima clothe within us, then we can be completely calm. This provides a covering, an immunity against the entire desire to receive.

It will never be able to seize me and make me, like a madman, follow all kinds of foolishness. The NHY of Ima will give me such satisfaction that no ego of mine, no property, and no disturbance will be able to approach me and confuse me. This is the state before the night of Hoshana Rabbah.
[362305]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on the night of Hoshana Rabbah, 10/2/26

Related Material:
The Screen Builds Me As A Character In The Spiritual World
Independence And Equivalence
Get Ready To Be Born: Flip Over “Head Down”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: During Sukkot, we must strengthen our strength of purpose and focus on it. Does this mean that the exchange of Reshimot (spiritual records) must reach its peak during this period?

Answer: We still have to go through many states. In principle, these states should serve only to connect us for the sake of one goal. In other words, we need only think: “We are all together—toward the Creator!” That is all. This is the only thing. That is why we chose our slogan: “We are all one Kli!”

If we constantly think about this and focus on it, then I hope that many will feel it clearly, while the rest will feel it subtly. This will be a sensation of being “above the Machsom.” It will create the conditions within us that will enable us to advance further, at least during the coming months until Passover. Or perhaps at Passover we will add something more (some now and others later), but it will be a group on an entirely different level.

Everything has been given to us for this purpose. We see how all of it comes to us from above. We even feel how we are being pulled. Whether we want it or not, today we are already being regarded above as people fulfilling their duty. And if we speak about what it means to be the chosen people, we can say that we are the chosen people. We have been chosen today (and this is what “being chosen” means) in order to raise ourselves and then raise everyone else.

There are people who, practically speaking, are capable and ready today, have exerted sufficient effort, and can at least sense these states, pass through them, and then, after some time, actually realize them.

There can be no leaps. Everything depends on how much you accelerate the events. In any case, you must pass through everything; otherwise, you will not have a Kli. You must scrutinize everything, feel it, and live through it inwardly. Of course, it is possible to live through this in a second. There are states in which a single second already gives you an impression.

But you must pass through all these states. Therefore, those who have more or less passed through them are ready today, while the others will sense them from a distance and imagine them.
[362129]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/25/26

Related Material:
Chosen To Go Ahead Of Everyone
The Guides Of The Last Generation
The Groundbreakers

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

After Yom Kippur and before the beginning of Sukkot, there is a preparation for correction that begins on the first day of the holiday of Sukkot. During Sukkot, we build a special, unique, somewhat auxiliary Kli (vessel) for ourselves. That is why we sit in a hut, a Sukkah, which we build from specific natural materials.

The walls do not matter much, because we erect them artificially. But the roof must be made from what is called “Psolet, Goren ve Yekev,” the refuse of vineyards, fields, and plantations: straw, hay, palm branches, or similar vegetation.

This is not merely a custom. All of this is based on spiritual roots. A person builds a temporary dwelling for seven days because at this point only the ZAT, only the VAK, only part of our soul, the egoistic desire, is being corrected. The correction of the remaining three higher Sefirot, Keter, Hochma, and Bina, will be added on Purim, when we arrive at Purim through Hanukkah.

What is Purim? It is the reception of the entire light into a completely corrected Kli. It corresponds to Gmar Tikkun, the final correction and fulfillment. In contrast to this, when the Kli is completely empty but ready for correction, there is a state “like Purim,” “Ki Purim,” which is Kippur, Yom Kippur.

During Sukkot, for seven days we gather in the shack, which is made according to special rules and specifications. In the Talmud, which was written in the third century CE, there is an entire tractate devoted to this subject, aptly named Sukkah. When the Temple was destroyed, in order that people would not forget how to observe the laws, everything was recorded by the sages of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah).

There was such an assembly consisting of seventy great Kabbalists. It was a kind of supreme institution called Knesset HaGedola. “Knesset” means an assembly, while “Gedola” comes from the word “great,” from the word “Hochma”. This means “great” not in width, which corresponds to Bina, but in height, which corresponds to Hochma.

They wrote down and specified what the Sukkah should be like and the internal state it corresponds to. The tractate says that the distance between the walls must not exceed three handbreadths (Shlosha Tefachim).

Why? Because when Reshimot emerge from the Kli, when the Kli receives and then the light exits it, this light ascends to the upper and manifests in the lower. Then it rises even higher and manifests again in the lower, but the third time it is no longer felt at all. In other words, when passing to the third level, the connection between the lower and the upper completely disappears. Therefore, a distance greater than three Tefachim is forbidden.

Thus, in our world we have a reflection of how a person prepares such a Kli within himself in which there is no interruption of more than three levels between the exiting and entering lights. In other words, a person wants by every possible means to remain connected with the light. Under these conditions, he builds his inner Kli and begins to receive the surrounding light (Ohr Makif) into it.

This Ohr Makif shines upon him throughout seven stages, while it purifies within him the seven Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Therefore, each evening, while sitting in the Sukkah, we say: “Today we invite Abraham into our Sukkah,” because Abraham corresponds to Hesed, this is his quality. “Today we invite Moses into the Sukkah, Joseph… David.”

In other words, each day corresponds to a particular spiritual degree, a particular spiritual quality that we are correcting in our soul. This is what each day of the holiday of Sukkot symbolizes.

By correcting all these seven Sefirot during the holiday of Sukkot, we receive only VAK, a small illumination of the light of Hochma. This is the light that can exist in a Kli that is not yet completely corrected.

Then, after Sukkot, on the eighth day, the remaining light enters us. This is called Simchat Torah , “Rejoicing of the Torah.” It is called rejoicing because when one drinks wine (Ohr Hochma), the light of Hochma enters. “Torah” comes from the word “Ohr,” “light,” or Ora, “illumination,” the general light that fills the Kli.
[362097]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/25/26

Related Material:
Sukkot: Adhesion With A Single “Embrace”
Temporary Residence Under The Open Sky
Sukkot–The Symbol Of The Corrected Kli

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

After Yom Kippur, we essentially build our attitude toward the light so that it will begin to correct us. Preparation for perceiving the light continues from Yom Kippur until the beginning of Sukkot.

Before Yom Kippur, we have ten special days called the “Ten Days of Return,” when all of egoism becomes structured according to ten levels, into ten Sefirot. Each Sefira, each level, under the influence of this light from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, directs itself in such a way that it reaches Malchut. Malchut is the last, tenth Sefira, which feels completely isolated and opposite to the light. This is Yom Kippur, the tenth day.

These days are called the “Ten Days of Return” or the “Days of Judgment.” A person judges himself: Who is he, what is he, and in what way and what has he done with himself? He begins to pray and ask for correction through this light.
[362094]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/25/26

Related Material:
Days Of Atonement
Yom Kippur—The Revelation Of Egoism
Yom Kippur: Universal Joy Or Grief?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: By meticulously observing all the laws of the Sukkah, don’t we resemble idol worshippers?

Answer: You are asking: “If I work on the material observance of the commandment—building and decorating a Sukkah and carefully performing the rituals associated with the holiday—am I not violating the prohibition, ‘Do not make for yourself graven images or likenesses?’ In other words, am I becoming more attached to matter than to the spirit?”

For me, it is important not to become more attached to matter than to the spiritual, but to see in material objects only hints of the spiritual. It is important that these hints awaken questions in me about spirituality. How should I act internally toward the Creator regarding my inner qualities? If this is indeed what happens, then I am using the material expression of the spiritual correctly—branches and the literal meaning (Pshat)—for my personal spiritual advancement.

But if I really forget about the spiritual aspect of the commandment, about advancing through it, and about the connection between the material action and the spiritual intention that makes spiritual ascent possible, then indeed I have simply built a beautiful Sukkah, covered it with a beautiful roof, and sit in it, eating and drinking without thinking about spirituality at all.

I would not say that this is graven image or likeness or something forbidden, but in any case, the benefit is minimal. Perhaps at some point I will nevertheless develop a desire to attain the state of Sukkah in the spiritual sense—to build it within myself.

As Ibn Ezra writes, all the commandments were given to us not in order to “make idols,” but to correct the heart. If a person relates to willow branches, the etrog, the Schach, and so forth as attributes symbolizing the correction of the heart, wishing through them to connect a little more with the inner meaning and grasp the hints conveyed by these “branches,” then he truly sanctifies this world as well. The entire world acquires meaning for him.

But this applies only to those who use everything in this world for spiritual advancement.

Some people think that we are opposed to the mechanical observance of commandments. No, we are not opposed to physical actions at all. It is true that the importance of physical actions is somewhat diminished for us because we constantly think and work on how to fulfill these commandments in the spiritual, inner sphere, and carry them out within the person himself.

But when a person is already completely filled with the desire to perform a spiritual action and attain fulfillment of the commandment in its true meaning, then material things do not hinder him at all. On the contrary, they help him return to his intention again and again. He finds all kinds of nuances and pleasant elements in them that connect him with the same idea.

There are things that people often neglect. At the beginning, there may be periods when a person pays almost no attention to the material world or to carrying out physical actions. Later, everything, so to speak, returns to its proper place. This will come; there is no need to worry.

We should be more concerned about what we do not fulfill spiritually, which is a matter of bestowing upon the Creator. As for the material side, that will come. It is desirable to try to do these things in parallel—in the spiritual and material realms—although, in reality, one or the other occasionally falters.
[362084]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/26/26

Related Material:
The Distinction Between Spiritual and Physical Actions
Physical And Spiritual Conversion
Performing Mitzvot Both Externally And Internally

Filed under: Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Comment: Baal HaSulam writes that the commandment of the Sukkah symbolizes faith, and therefore stands above all the other commandments. On the other hand, we learn that the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” is the one that transcends all other commandments.

My Response: Neither the commandment of Sukkah nor the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” goes beyond all the other commandments. They include them within themselves. If it seems to you that this commandment is something greater, then it would appear as though there are 613 commandments, and the last of them is greater than all the others.

No, this commandment includes all the others, but is not an additional commandment, an additional action. It is an action that manifests as the sum of all the previous actions.

For example, suppose you have a cucumber, a tomato, an onion, dill, and parsley. You chop everything, and you get a salad. The salad is something new, but is there really anything new in it? There is nothing other than the combination of components that already existed.

The same principle underlies the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” (the great rule of the Torah) or the commandment of the “Sukkah” as a synthesis of all the commandments. Combine all the commandments and you will get the Sukkah.
[362089]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/26/26

Related Material:
Commandments Dictated By the Upper Force
Love As The Law Of Nature
Warm Waves Of The Sukkot Holiday

Filed under: Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Why is fulfilling the commandment of Sukkah equivalent to all the other commandments? It is because the Sukkah symbolizes faith, and faith is the screen and reflected light through which a person can perform the commandments. Bestowal upon the Creator (Hashpa’ah) is called a commandment (Mitzvah), equivalence with the Creator is called a commandment, adhesion (Dvekut) with the Creator is called a commandment.

A commandment is working with the desire to receive for the sake of bestowal, which is possible only according to the measure of the screen and reflected light.

Therefore, Rabash says that all those who betray faith receive a curse. That is, one who is unable to work with the intention for the sake of bestowal, who has neither a screen nor reflected light, has no faith, and then instead of a blessing, he receives a curse.

Conversely, those who preserve their faith will face no obstacles. Therefore, the main thing is to work on maintaining faith and ensuring that faith prevails over reason.

Thus, one must always be concerned with the intention to bring contentment to the Creator, so that only the magnitude of the intention to bestowa becomes the magnitude of the Kli (vessel) with which the person works.
[362069]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/26/26

Related Material:
“I Sat Down Under His Shadow With Great Delight…”
Sukkot: Adhesion With A Single “Embrace”
Let Us Meet In The Sukkah Of Peace

Filed under: Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Spiritual Work - No Comments →