Kabbalah Experience: The Root of Our Uniqueness and the Ego’s Trap

We had a very special event in Haifa yesterday, with our instructors teaching in person over there. It was a great opportunity to bring everyone together and there was so much excitement in the air. You can watch the full lesson here. Read on to see what the special lesson was about.

Every single one of us feels unique. We feel special, distinct, and unmatched in how we experience reality - and the truth is, we're right.

Baal HaSulam writes that the trait of uniqueness exists within every single one of us. It stems directly from the Creator, the Root of all created beings, in whom uniqueness exists as pure, absolute unity—He is One.

Consider the people around us:

One person is deeply sensitive and vulnerable, perceiving subtle emotional realities that others completely miss.

Another has a refined palate, cooking with unmatched mastery, yet rarely feels fully appreciated for their gift.

A third lives in a world of pure sound, feeling music or the cadence of a voice so vividly that they don't even need to see the person speaking.

A fourth instantly reads emotional dynamics, makes split-second decisions, charges ahead, and has zero patience for those who need an explanation of why he’s right.

A fifth possesses a systemic overview of any situation, instantly identifying every single flaw in the structure - wishing only that others could see what is so glaringly obvious to him.

Yet, bringing this uniqueness into the world is rarely easy. We often feel misunderstood, ignored, or flatly rejected. Others judge us, label us as critical, or push back against our perspective. At times, we ask ourselves: Is it better to just stay silent?

And what about our own attitude toward others? Do we truly understand our loved ones? Are we patient with them? Do we listen? Do we genuinely value their unique qualities?

Because our individual perspectives are so distinct, multiple people can experience the exact same situation and interpret it in completely opposite ways. The world is full of unique individuals, each possessing a perception of reality that is completely coherent - but only to themselves.

Why did this happen? Because of how we were created. Our Creator is One, Unique, and Singular, and He implanted within us the innate drive to be like Him. As a result, each of us feels like the center of the universe, convinced of our own correctness, constantly battling to prove our point and prevail over others.

How do we break out of this cycle? Is there a solution to this fundamental clash of human egos?

That is what we're here to explore today. Some sources we used in the lesson -

Every Branch Resembles Its Root

"The nature of every branch is close to its root. And since man’s soul extends from the Creator, who is One and Unique, and everything is His—so too does man, who stems from Him, feel that all creatures in the world ought to be under his control and serve his personal benefit. This is an unchangeable law."

How Uniqueness Operates Within the Ego

"This quality [of uniqueness] extends to us directly from the Creator, the Unique One of the world, who is the root of all creations. However, because this feeling of uniqueness settled inside our narrow egoism, its action became destructive and ruinous, turning into the source of all destructions that have occurred and will ever occur in the world.

Key Concept Breakdown: Self-Justification (Horat Heter)

In Halakhic and analytical terms, Horat Heter (הוראת היתר) refers to a ruling that permits something otherwise forbidden - a formal dispensation.

Baal HaSulam uses this term to describe the clever mechanism of the human mind: our intellect works in service of our egoistic desire. We do not act based on cold logic; rather, our desire wants to self-aggrandize at the expense of others, and our mind subsequently invents rationalizations, moral justifications, and ideological cover-stories to make our actions feel ethical, necessary, or fair.

We convince ourselves that we are "right," that the other person "deserved it," or that our cause is higher, simply to hide the crude egoistic drive operating underneath.

Workshop 1: Topic for Discussion

Why do people invent self-justifications (Horat Heter) when they build their own success upon the ruin or diminishment of others? How does this mental mechanism protect our self-image?

Conclusion

To evolve beyond this natural egoistic trap, we must realize that our drive to be unique is not an error - it is a divine trait misplaced in an isolated vessel. The work of Kabbalah is not to erase our individual uniqueness, but to shift its application: moving from exploiting others to enrich the self, to utilizing our distinct gifts to serve, connect, and complete the collective vessel.