Part 1. Purim - Selected Excerpts from the Sources

Purim - The light of Gmar HaTikun [The End of Correction]

1. "The light of Purim is the light that will shine in the future."

- RABASH, Article No. 21 (1991), "What Does It Mean that We Read the Portion, Zachor [Remember], Before Purim, in the Work?"

2. "This light of the purpose of creation, called light of Hochma, cannot shine without clothing, and it dresses in the light of the correction of creation, called light of Hassadim."

- RABASH, Article No. 21 (1991), "What Does It Mean that We Read the Portion, Zachor [Remember], Before Purim, in the Work?"

Megillat Esther [the rollo of Ester]

3. "The meaning of Megillat Esther [the scroll of Ester]. There seems to be a contradiction in terms here, since Megillah [scroll] means that it is Galui [revealed] to all, while Ester means that there is Hastara [concealment]. However, we should interpret that the whole disclosure is in order to give room to choose concealment."

- Baal HaSulam. Article No. 37. “An Article for Purim”

Haman and Mordechai

4. "Haman’s way is not to look at the correction of the Tzimtzum that was placed on the vessels of reception. Rather, he says, “Since the Creator created the world in order to do good to His creations, and we see that in our nature there is a desire to receive delight and pleasure, then why did the Creator create this desire if not to use it? Did He instead create in us a desire and craving to receive pleasure and said not to use it but be tormented by it?”

It therefore follows that this is the opposite way."

- RABASH, Article No. 11 (1987), "Purim, and the Commandment: Until He Does Not Know"

5. "The way of Righteous Mordechai is to work only in order to bestow upon the Creator, which is called “bestowing”."

- RABASH, Article No. 11 (1987), "Purim, and the Commandment: Until He Does Not Know"

6. "One must pay attention to the Haman in his heart, how he wants to destroy anything related to Kedusha [holiness], meaning anything that can yield something that is regarded as Kedusha. Regardless of the measure of the matter, even if it is the smallest, he wants to destroy it."

- RABASH, Article No. 21 (1991), "What Does It Mean that We Read the Portion, Zachor [Remember], Before Purim, in the Work?"

7. The dispute between Mordecai and Haman. Mordecai’s argument was that what we now see, that the Creator reveals the authority of Hochma is not so they would receive the Hochma, but in order to improve the Hassadim, meaning that now they will be able to show that their reception of the Hassadim is voluntary. That is, they have room to receive Hochma, since now is the time of the control of the left, which shines Hochma, yet they choose Hassadim. It follows that now they show—by receiving the Hassadim—that the right rules over the left.

[…] And Haman claimed the opposite, that the Creator’s current disclosure of the left line, which is Hochma, is in order to use the Hochma. Otherwise, it would mean that the Creator did something needlessly, meaning that He did something and there is no one to enjoy it. Hence, we should not regard what Mordecai says, but everyone should listen to him and use the disclosure of Hochma that now appeared.

- Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 37, "An Article for Purim"

Redemption Through Unity

8. “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples.” Haman said that in his view, we will succeed in destroying the Jews because they are separated from one another; hence, our power against them will certainly prevail, as it causes separation between man and the Creator. And the Creator will not help them anyway, since they are separated from Him. This is why Mordecai went to correct that flaw, as it is explained in the verse, “the Jews gathered,” etc., “to gather and to stand up for their lives.” This means that they saved themselves by uniting.

- Baal HaSulam. Article No. 144. “There Is a Certain People”

Part 2. The Structure of the Upper Worlds

Items 37, 39, 40 from the "Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah" >>

37) Thus we have explained the emergence of the Partzufim one below the other by the clash of surrounding light and inner light, which refines the screen of the Guf until it brings it back to the state of the screen of the Peh of the Rosh. At that time, it is incorporated there in a coupling by striking, which takes place in the Peh of the Rosh, and through this coupling, it elicits a new level of ten Sefirot. This new level is considered the son of the previous Partzuf.

In this manner, AB emerged from Partzuf Keter, SAG from Partzuf AB, MA from Partzuf SAG, and so on with the remaining degrees in Nekudim and ABYA. Yet, we should still understand why the ten Sefirot of AB emerged only on phase three, and not on phase four, and why SAG was only on phase two, etc., meaning that each lower one is inferior to its upper one by one degree. Why did they not all emerge from one another on the same level?

39) It follows that by the clash of surrounding light and inner light, the screen of the ending Malchut became the screen and Malchut of the mating Malchut once more (Item 35). This is because the clash of surrounding light refined the ending screen from all its coarseness of the Guf, leaving in it only fine records [Reshimot] of that coarseness, equal to the coarseness of the screen of the Rosh.

Also, it is known that equivalence of form attaches and unites the spirituals to one another. Hence, once the screen of the Guf equalized the form of its coarseness to the screen of the Rosh, it was immediately incorporated in it and they became seemingly one screen. In that state, it received the strength for coupling by striking like the screen of the Rosh, and ten Sefirot of the new level emerged on it.

Yet, along with this coupling, the records of the coarseness of the Guf, which were in it from the beginning, were renewed in its screen of the Guf. In that state, the disparity of form between it and the screen of the Rosh incorporated in it appeared in it once more to some extent. The recognition of this difference separates and removes it from the Peh of the Rosh of the upper one, since after its first origin from the Peh of the upper one downward has become apparent once more, it could not continue to stand above the Peh of the upper one, as the disparity of form separates the spirituals from one another. It follows that it was compelled to descend from there to the place from the Peh of the upper one downward.

Hence, it is necessarily considered a second Guf with respect to the upper one, as even the Rosh of the new level is considered as merely the Guf of the new level with respect to the upper one, since it extends from its screen of the Guf. Thus, this disparity of form distinguishes them into two separate Gufim [bodies]. And since the new level is entirely a consequence of the screen of the Guf of the previous Partzuf, it is considered its child, like a branch extending from it.

40) And there is another difference between the lower one and the upper one: Each lower one emerges with a different level in the five phases in the screen, as written in Items 22 and 24. Also, each lower one lacks the highest phase of the lights of the upper one and the lowest phase of the vessels of the upper one. The reason is that it is the nature of the clash of the surrounding light in the screen to eliminate from the screen its last phase of coarseness.

For example, in the first Partzuf of AK, whose screen contains all five levels of coarseness, down to phase four, the clash of surrounding light in the screen of the Guf completely refines the coarseness of phase four, not leaving even a record [Reshimo] of that coarseness. Only the records from the coarseness of phase three and above remain in the screen.

Hence, when that screen is incorporated in the Rosh and receives a coupling by striking on the coarseness that remained in its records from the Guf, the coupling emerges only on phase three of coarseness in the screen. This is because the record of coarseness of phase four is eliminated from there. Therefore, the level that emerges on that screen is only at the level of Hochma, called HaVaYaH of AB of AK, or Partzuf AB of AK.

We have already learned in Item 22 that the level Hochma that emerges on the screen of phase three lacks the Malchut of the vessels and the light of Yechida from the lights, which is the light of Keter. Thus, Partzuf AB lacks the last phase of the vessels of the upper one and the highest phase of the lights of the upper one. Because of this great disparity of form, the lower one is considered a separate Partzuf from the upper one.