We study ourselves and wish to find within us all the distinctions The Book of Zohar describes. “Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: ‘Thus says thy servant Jacob: ‘I have lived with Laban.’’” Jacob immediately opened, to turn into a slave before him so Esau would not look upon the blessings that his […]
The soul says to the Creator, “Tell me the secrets of the sublime wisdom, how You lead and govern the Upper World; teach me the secrets of the wisdom that I have not known and have not learned thus far, so I will not be shamed among those high degrees, among which I come.” The […]
“Neither shall you lack the salt of the covenant of your God from your offering.” Why is salt so important? It is because it cleanses and perfumes the bitter, and makes it tasty. Salt is Dinim [judgments] in the Masach [screen] of Hirik, on which the middle line emerges, which unites the right with the […]
“The language of The Zohar remedies the soul, even when one does not understand what it says at all. It is similar to one who enters a perfumery; even when he does not take a thing, he still absorbs the fragrance.” – Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov, Degel Machaneh Ephraim [The Banner of the […]
All who fault, fault in their own defect Babylonian Talmud, Kidushin 70b It is no coincidence that we were made to perceive reality as divided into two parts—me and what is outside of me. If our perception were only internal we would never be able to rise above our egos toward the quality of love […]
Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 41: Bear in mind that the reality of all the worlds is generally divided into five worlds called a) Adam Kadmon, b) Atzilut, c) Beria, d) Yetzira, and e) Assiya. These “worlds” are the levels of my internal closeness to the Creator, to bestowal. It’s as […]
The will to receive is the whole substance of Creation from beginning to end. Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 1 When we want to be impressed by something, whether emotionally, intellectually, or otherwise, we must be on the same “wavelength” with it and thus possess the same quality. For example, to […]
It is best for us to accept the words of Kabbalist, that HaTeva [the nature] is equal [in Gematria] to Elokim [God]. Baal HaSulam, “The Peace” The Book of Zohar explains that we exist in a single, vast system, called “Nature” or Elokim [God], yet we sense only a fraction of that system, a […]
Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag is better known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder) for his Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. Baal HaSulam spent his entire life interpreting the wisdom of Kabbalah, innovating and spreading it throughout Israel and the world at large. He adapted the Ari’s Lurianic Kabbalah to our generation, and […]
Within a mere year and half, Isaac Luria (the Holy Ari) revolutionized Kabbalah and made it accessible to all. Since his time, his “Lurianic Kabbalah” has become the predominant approach to the study of Kabbalah. The Ari was the greatest Kabbalist in 16th century Safed, a town near Rashbi’s village, Meron. In the Ari’s time, […]