Glossary of Terms Used in the Ki Tavo Weekly Torah Portion

First Fruit

When the will to receive grows, we bring it to correction, to scrutiny. That desire is called “first fruit.”

Tithing

The tenth part, ten percent, which cannot be corrected. Malchut is the tenth Sefira in the structure of our soul. She cannot be corrected because she is the will to receive itself. She must instead be mingled with the first nine qualities of bestowal, and this is how she is corrected.

Because it is impossible to correct the will to receive itself, we give a tithing instead. We simply do not work with the part that cannot be corrected. Rather, we hand it over to bestowal so it will be corrected by itself. Afterward, at the end of correction, it will be corrected.

Altar

An “altar” is the place where correction is made, the contact with the upper light.

Blessing

A “blessing” is the force we receive from above in order to perform acts of bestowal toward others. This force comes after we prepare for it, when we truly want to perform acts of bestowal above, from whatever we will have. When that happens, an upper force comes to us, which is called “receiving a blessing.” A blessing is the Ohr Hozer (Reflected Light) that we activate, a force from above.

Blessing vs. a curse: a “curse,” in its simple form, indicates that a person is not asking for and is not receiving the upper force. On the other hand, a “blessing” is the reception of power from above in order to perform an act with the aim to bestow upon others, wherein we discover that we are similar to the Creator and feel as such.

What Is, “With God’s Help”?

All we have is God’s help. We can do anything; our actions are not difficult. The difficulty is only in coming to a state of demanding of the Creator to do it for us, and then it is immediately done. This is why everything is easy.

All we need is to make contact with Him and then do everything with His help, the help of the upper force, the upper light. When it comes, it scrutinizes all the details in us, all the desires, giving us strength and correcting us. This is how we discover that we truly are “You have made me from behind and from before” (Psalms, 139:5), and that He does everything for us.

Choice

The choice is to see that in truth, man is not the operator, but the Creator. Man needs only to demand of Him, as it is written, “My sons defeated Me.”¹ By committing Him, “You have made us, help us, and do it on us,” we achieve a perfect world.

The meaning of the term “perfect world” is that in all of our 613 desires, which have been corrected, we had a share, as well—we asked for them to be corrected. This is why we see the world as perfect, spiritual, and eternal.