All holy books describe spiritual emotions that one should attain. They all deal with one thing only: choosing the spiritual over the physical; the greatness of the Creator. The Creator doesn’t need our respect because He is completely denied of egoism. The one thing he does need is to bring …
Chapter 3.2 – What Does Kabbalah Deal With?
Scientists have discovered that plants react differently when different people approach them. For example, if a certain person harms a certain plant, the plant will remember it, and if that person approaches it, the plant will react with intensive internal "waves." Fish and animals also feel others in various ways. …
Chapter 3.3 – The Structure of the Upper Worlds
Forward This course is based on the article, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, written by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag. Rabbi Ashlag wrote this article as one of his introductions to the Sulam commentary that he wrote on the Zohar. According to the method of the Kabbalah, one learns about the extension of existence from …
Chapter 3.4 - Fundamentals
It is written in the Book of the Zohar that all of the worlds, both Upper and lower, are found within man. Our entire reality was created for us alone. However, while we feel that we are inside reality, we do not feel that reality is inside us. Why is this world …
Chapter 3.5 - The Four Phases in the Evolution of the Vessel
Kabbalists attained spirituality and wrote about it in their books. They perceived that the root of the entire reality is a Supreme Power, which they named “His Essence”, because they could not attain the power itself. However, they did perceive that there is a thought, an aim, to create creatures …
Chapter 3.6 - The First Restriction, Screen, Partzuf
When the Light of Wisdom fills up the will to receive in the first phase, it also gives it its nature–that of bestowal. That is why in the end, after having felt the nature of the Light that fills it, the first phase changes its desire from that of reception …
Chapter 3.7 - Expansion And Withdrawal of Light
Once Malchut (who is considered a female Partzuf) decides to receive some of the direct light into her Toch, she stops receiving. Malchut always calculates in the Rosh (head) what is the maximum amount of Light she can receive in order to bestow. She always receives only a small part of the Direct Light, as receiving in order …
Chapter 3.8 - Entrance and Exit of Lights in the Partzuf
The five parts of Malchut are called Behinot Shoresh, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet. After the restriction, when those parts receive Lights through the screen, they are called Sefirot, because the Light shines in them (Sapir means illumination in Hebrew). Therefore, from that stage on they are referred to as Sefirot: Shoresh – Keter Aleph – Hochma Bet – …
Chapter 3.9 - The Birth of the Partzufim
Behina Dalet is called Malchut (Kingship) because it has the greatest will to receive. When it is filled with Light, it is called Ein Sof (No End), because it receives Light without limitation. Malchut is therefore the only creature. Its parts are called "worlds" (the Hebrew word for it is Olam, from the word Ha'alama (concealment) because they conceal the …
Chapter 3.10 - Reality in General
After the restriction, Malchut decides to receive in order to give to the Creator. This intention is called a "screen." A series of Partzufim then comes out on this screen: Partzuf Galgalta is emanated on the screen that can receive Light with fourth-degree coarseness. Partzuf AB is emanated on the screen that can receive Light with third degree …
Chapter 3.11 - Nekudot de SAG
After the First Restriction Malchut decides to fill herself with Light in order to bestow using the Reshimot that remained from the world of Ein Sof. Reception in order to bestow goes against the nature of the creature, therefore Malchut cannot receive the Upper Light that filled her in the world of Ein Sof all at once, but only …
Chapter 3.12 - The Second Restriction
Nekudot de SAG went below Tabur de Galgalta and filled the empty vessels of the Sof de Galgalta with Light of Mercy. They felt that in the empty vessels of Galgalta there were Reshimot from the Light that filled the Sof de Galgalta before it had been refined. The Light that filled the Sof de Galgalta was a Light of Mercy with a little …
Chapter 3.13 - The World of Nekudim
The entire process of the descent of Nekudot de SAG below Tabur de Galgalta, their mixture with Sof de Galgalta and the Second Restriction, occurred while the screen of SAG was rising from the Tabur to the Peh. Thus, when the screen arrived at the Peh, the Reshimot of everything that happened in Nekudot de SAG, and in Tabur de Galgalta, were already there. Once Partzuf Galgalta was refined, there were Reshimot of Dalet …
Chapter 3.14 - The Division of Rosh de SAG to Five Phases
The vessels Keter, Hochma, and the upper half of Bina, are referred to as Galgalta ve Eynaim (GE), or vessels of bestowal. The upper half of Bina belongs to the vessels of bestowal because it is filled with Light of Wisdom, and hence wants to receive nothing for itself, wishes only to have the Light of Mercy. But …
Chapter 3.15 - The Birth of a Partzuf–Katnut and Gadlut of Nekudim
Keter and AVI don’t know that the Light of AB SAG, that comes from Above and gives the vessel the power to go from Katnut to Gadlut, cannot go under the Parsa. That is why, until now, the Parsa was not cancelled. But now, when Light of Wisdom begins to fill the vessels below the Parsa, the vessels begin to break, as they are still …
Chapter 3.16 - The World of Correction
Several things unfold after the breaking in the world of Nekudim: The Lights that filled Partzuf Gadlut of the world of Nekudim rise to the Rosh of Partzuf Nekudim. The Reshimot that remained in the screen rose to the Rosh of Partzuf Nekudim and to Rosh de SAG. The Nitzozim (Sparks, parts of Returning Light, the broken screen) fell into the broken vessels that lost their screen …
Chapter 3.17 - The World of Atzilut
Once broken, the screen refined and rose to AVI together with the Reshimot. The Reshimot in the screen demanded to be corrected and to have a Zivug over them for the reception of the Light. But the Rosh of AVI de Nekudim returned to a state of Katnut and could not do it; hence, the screen rose to the Partzuf of the adjacent Partzuf, that of Rosh …
Chapter 3.18 - The Worlds of BYA
The Zivug for the creation of the world of Beria was performed in Bina of Atzilut, and hence took the place of Zeir Anpin of Atzilut. The world of Yetzira, which was created after the world Beria, expands below it in the place of Malchut of Atzilut. Partzuf Malchut of Atzilut clothes only the four lowest Sefirot of Partzuf Zeir Anpin (NHYM) so that only the first four Sefirot of Malchut, KHB and Tifferet are in Atzilut facing the four Sefirot NHYM of Zeir Anpin. The Sefirot Gevura, Tifferet, and NHYM of Partzuf Malchut are below Parsa. …
Chapter 3.19 - The First Man
The First Man is a different creation than anything that preceded it. He is the only one that was created from the actual Malchut de Ein Sof, and is therefore the only one that can be called a "real" creature. He too was created by Malchut de Atzilut, which rose to AVI. She (Malchut) …
Chapter 3.20 - The Rising of the Worlds
The real place of all the worlds is the phases before the sin: Zeir Anpin occupies the place of Arich Anpin; Malchut, the place of AVI; Beria, the place of YESHSUT; and Yetzira stands in the place of Zeir Anpin. The first four Sefirot of the world of Assiya occupy the place of Nukva of Atzilut, dressed over TNHYM of the world Yetzira. The last six Sefirot of the world of Assiya stand …
Chapter 3.21 - The Formation of the Worlds of ABYA
The Formation of the World of Atzilut Atik: The screen rose along with the Reshimot to Rosh of Nekudim and from there to Rosh de SAG. The screen sorted the finest Reshimot Aleph de Hitlabshut and Shoresh de Aviut, and rose from Peh to Keter of Rosh de SAG, and from there, even higher up to Bina de Keter. There it stopped above the Sefirot KHB HGT of Keter, so that above the …
Chapter 3.22 - The Birth and the Breaking of Adam ha Rishon
Throughout the corrections of Malchut that we have been discussing, Malchut of Malchut still has not been filled, the central Malchut of all the worlds. Everything that happened up unit now, the First and Second Restrictions, the breaking of the vessels, and corrections were all done on the Upper Nine Sefirot of Malchut, not on Malchut itself, Behina Dalet of Dalet. That is because she was …
Chapter 3.23 – Basic Terms
Sefirot: properties, clothes that the Creator "wears" in order to appear before His Creatures. They are not His real properties and there is nothing we can say about them, because we cannot grasp their meaning. We can only grasp what He wants to reveal to us. We regard these external properties as “attributes” …
Chapter 3.24 – Questions & Answers
What is Kabbalah? Q: What is Kabbalah? A: Kabbalah is an ancient teaching that covers a number of languages and many forms of expression. There is the language of tales that the Bible uses and the language of rules that the Talmud uses. There is also the language of Kabbalah itself, …
Chapter 3.25 – English Meaning of Hebrew Terms
1. Bavel – Babylon 2. Bore – Creator 3. Kli – Vessel 4. Mador HaKlipot – The Shell Section 5. Masach – Screen 6. Ohr Hassadim – Light of Mercy 7. Ohr Hochma – Light of Wisdom 8. Ohr Hozer – Returning Light 9. Ohr Makif – Surrounding Light 10. …