The Love of God and the Love of Man “‘Love your friend as yourself,’ Rabbi Akiva says this is a great rule in the Torah” (Beresheet Rabbah 24). Collective and Individual The above statement—although it is one of the most famous and cited sayings—is still unexplained to everyone with all …
You Have Made Me in Behind and Before
You Have Made Me in Behind and Before “You have made me in behind and before,” meaning the revelation and concealment of the face of the Creator. This is because indeed, “His kingdom rules over all,” and everything will return to its root because there is no place vacant of …
Building the Future Society
Building the Future Society __________________________________________________________________ Building the Future Society There is an allegory about friends who were lost in the desert, hungry and thirsty. One of them had found a settlement filled abundantly with every delight. He remembered his poor brothers, but he had already drawn far off from them …
Body and Soul
Body and Soul Before I clarify this exalted matter, it is important for me to note that although all the readers seem to consider it impossible to clarify and bring such a matter closer to the human mind, except by relying on abstract, philosophical concepts, as is usually the case …
Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two
Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two There is an idiom among great sages when they come to disclose a profound matter: They begin their words with “I am disclosing a portion and covering two portions.” Our sages took great care not to utter words needlessly, as our sages instructed, “A word …
A Word of Truth
Introduction, “A Word of Truth” “Abraham was old and of many days, and the Lord blessed Abraham with everything” (Genesis 24:1). Noam Elimelech interprets (portion Hayeh Sarah) that when he came to the degrees of “days,” regarded as Hassadim [mercies], “the Lord blessed him with everything,” meaning with the whole …
Four Worlds
Four Worlds Attainment, as a whole, comes by matter and form whose beginning is the being. Also, the attained sustains the “being” which is devoid of matter and form. This is considered “the four worlds,” perceived in everything that exists (meaning, a world is giving and receiving), and all our …
Exile and Redemption
Exile and Redemption Harmony between Religion and the Law of Development or Blind Fate “And among those nations you will have no repose and there will be no resting place for your feet” (Deuteronomy 28:65). “And that which comes to your mind will not be at all, in that you …
The Last Generation
The Writings of the Last Generation Editor’s Note 2 Introduction to the Writings of the Last Generation 4 Part One 6 Appendices and Drafts 22 Part Two 36 Part Three 45 Part Four 52 Part Five 57 Editor’s Note The original manuscripts of these writings are stored in the ARI …
Matter and Form in the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Matter and Form in the Wisdom of Kabbalah As a whole, science is divided into two parts: one is called “material research,” and the other, “formative research.” This means that matter and form are perceived in every element of the entire reality before us. For example, a table consists of …
Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator - 1
Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator - 1 First concealment (Depiction): His Face is not revealed; that is, the Creator does not behave toward a person according to His Name—The Good Who Does Good. Rather, it is to the contrary—one is afflicted by Him or suffers from …
Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator - 2
Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator - 2 Depiction of Concealment of the Face 1) Suffering torments such as deficient income, poor health, degradations, failing to accomplish plans, and emotional dissatisfaction. 2) Praying without being answered. Declining when bettering one’s ways, such as avoiding deceiving his friends, …
The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)
The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee] (Continued from “Matan Torah”) All of Israel are responsible for one another (Sanhedrin 27b, Shavuot 39a) This is to speak of the Arvut [mutual guarantee], when all of Israel became responsible for one another. Because the Torah was not given to them before each and every …
The Solution
The Solution Pragmatic Commune 7 Private Opinion and Public Opinion 8 The Corruption in Public Opinion 8 The New Structure 8 The Principle of Bestowal upon One’s Fellow Person 9 Private Opinion and Public Opinion 9 Disparity of Form 11 Human Attributes 12 More General Definitions 14 The Positive 18 …
The Peace
The Peace (An empirical, scientific research about the necessity of the work of the Creator) “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lay down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” “And …
Peace in the World
Peace in the World Scrutinies and inquiries concerning matters that cause absence of peace, suggestions of world reformers and testing them against reality, observing the “good” that is founded on “mercy and truth, justice and peace,” as implied in the book of Psalms. “Mercy and truth met; justice and peace …
This Is for Judah
This Is for Judah (From a commentary on the Passover Haggadah [narrative]) “This is the bread of poverty that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.” The Mitzva [commandment] of eating Matza [the Passover unleavened bread] was given to the children of Israel even before they went out from …
Rewarded - I Will Hasten It; Not Rewarded - in Its Time
Rewarded—I Will Hasten It; Not Rewarded—in Its Time “If they are rewarded—I will hasten it; if they are not rewarded—in its time” (Sanhedrin 98, Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 81:1). It is written, “No outcast shall be cast out from Him” (2 Samuel 14:14). Also, “If you sinned, what will you perform …
The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy
The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy What Is Spirituality? Philosophy has gone through a great deal of trouble to prove that corporeality is the offspring of spirituality and that the soul begets the body. Still, their words are utterly unacceptable to the heart. Their primary mistake is their erroneous perception …
The Wisdom of Israel Compared to External Wisdoms
The Wisdom of Israel Compared to External Wisdoms The Standard by which to Evaluate a Wisdom The value of any wisdom in the world is according to the purpose that it yields. This is the goal to which all the scrutinies aim. Therefore, a wisdom without some purpose is inconceivable …
Inheritance of the Land
Inheritance of the Land [From a manuscript] Israel will not return to their land until they are all in one bundle. Our sages said, “Israel will not be redeemed until they are all in one bundle.” 2) We must understand how Israel’s unity pertains to redemption. 3) First we should …
Anyone Who Is Sorry for the Public
Anyone Who Is Sorry for the Public “Anyone who is sorry for the public is rewarded with seeing the comfort of the public, and anyone who is not sorry,” etc. (Taanit 21). Interpretation: We have already said that the revelation of Godliness to His creatures as revelation is in answering …
Not the Time for the Livestock to Be Gathered
Not the Time for the Livestock to Be Gathered “It is not the time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them” (Genesis 29:7). It is known that all the words of the righteous turn upwards, as it was said to him, “And it was …
The Freedom
The Freedom “‘Harut [engraved] on the tablets’; do not pronounce it Harut, but rather Herut [freedom], to show that they were liberated from the angel of death.” [Shemot Rabbah 41] These words need to be clarified, for how is the matter of acceptance of the Torah related to one’s liberation …
A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar
A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar (Given to celebrate the completion of the publication of the Sulam [ladder] commentary on The Book of Zohar) It is known that the desired purpose from the work in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] is to adhere to the Creator, as it is …
From My Flesh I Shall See God
From My Flesh I Shall See God Qualification for the Nurturing of the Soul It is impossible to sustain one’s body in the world without a certain amount of knowledge about the corporeal nature, such as knowing which drugs are lethal and what things burn or harm, as well as …
The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose
The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose In this article, I would like to resolve three issues: What is the essence of religion? Is its purpose intended for this world or for the next world? Is its purpose to benefit the Creator or the created beings? At first glance, the …
The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Rav Yehuda Ashlag - Baal HaSulam The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah Before I go about elucidating the history of the wisdom of Kabbalah, conversed about by many, I find it necessary to begin with a thorough clarification of the essence of this wisdom, which I believe so few …
One Commandment
One Commandment “If he performs one Mitzva [commandment], he is happy, for he has sentenced himself and the whole world to the side of merit.” There is no serving the Creator and observing the Mitzvot [commandments] except Lishma [for Her sake]—meaning to bring contentment to one’s Maker. Yet, our sages …
Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah]
Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah] “Love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) Rabbi Akiva says, “This is a great Klal [collective/rule] in the Torah” (Beresheet Rabbah, Chapter 24). 1) This statement of our sages demands explanation. The word Klal [collective/rule] indicates a sum of details that, when put …
The Prophecy of Baal HaSulam
The Prophecy of Baal HaSulam [from a manuscript] And it came to pass in the days of the war, the days of the dreadful carnage, that I was praying, crying bitterly all through the night. And behold, at the break of dawn, it seemed as though all the people in …
Remembering
Remembering Remembering and Forgetting, Keeping and Losing During the exile, considered “the female world,” the work is in keeping. One who flaws one’s work might lose what he is given. And Dvekut [adhesion] in this world is by the force of keeping, and the adornment of the force of keeping …
The Meaning of the Chaf in Anochi
The Meaning of the Chaf in Anochi1 Malchut that is clothed in the worlds is called Ani [me/I]. It hangs down to Assiya, which is the separation, where each person feels as a separate entity, sensing the “self,” and by its expansion wishes to conquer the entire world for one’s …
The Meaning of Conception and Birth
The Meaning of Conception and Birth 1) Rules General and Particular The scrutiny of the educated in creation, in the first concept, is defined as emulating the work of the Creator. The work of the Creator is called “Providence,” or the “nature of creation.” They are not called “body,” but …
Newspaper "The Nation"
The Nation Jerusalem, Dalet Sivan, Tav-Shin (June 5, 1940) Our Intention This paper, The Nation, is a new entity on the Jewish street. It is an “inter-partisan” paper. And you may ask, “What does an ‘inter-partisan’ paper mean? How can there be a paper that can serve all parties together, …
Time to Act
Time to Act Rav Yehuda Ashlag, Baal HaSulam For a long time now, my conscience has burdened me with a demand to come out and create a fundamental composition regarding the knowledge of the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah, and spread it among the nation, so people will come to know …
Man’s Actions and Tactics
Man’s Actions and Tactics One Depiction Emerges from All the Actions All the actions and tactics of an individual are a single procession that the Emanator has set up out of choosing Him with love. One depiction emerges from all of these actions, as bright as an object of the …
Righteous and Wicked
Righteous and Wicked (from manuscripts of Baal HaSulam that have never been published) When a person becomes cleansed so as to adhere to the Creator, he is all to bestow and has nothing in him of the will to receive. Thus, how will he receive His abundance, with which He …
The Shofar of the Messiah
The Shofar of the Messiah Redemption Only through Kabbalah Know that this is what it means that the children of Israel are redeemed only after the wisdom of the hidden is revealed to a great extent, as it is written in The Zohar, “With this composition, the children of Israel …
600,000 Souls
600,000 Souls It is said that there are 600,000 souls, and each soul divides into several sparks. We must understand how it is possible for the spiritual to divide, since initially, only one soul was created, the soul of Adam HaRishon. In my opinion, there is indeed only one soul …
The Acting Mind
The Acting Mind It is written that every person is obliged to attain the root of his soul. This means that the aspired-for purpose of the created being is Dvekut [adhesion] with His qualities, as it is written, “And to cleave unto Him.” Our sages interpreted that this is the …
A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress
A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress This requires a thorough explanation. To make it clear to all, I will choose to interpret the matter by what is revealed to us for this reason and extends to us here in the conduct of this world. Internality and Externality The …
The History of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
The History of the Wisdom of Kabbalah The first book that we have in this wisdom is The Book of Creation, which some attribute to Abraham the Patriarch, and so it is written on its cover. However, most authors attribute it to the Tanna, Rabbi Akiva. This seems to make …
The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence
The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence What is the wisdom of Kabbalah? As a whole, the wisdom of Kabbalah concerns the revelation of Godliness, arranged on its paths in all its aspects—those that have been revealed in the worlds and those that are destined to be revealed, and …
The Quality of the Wisdom of the Hidden in General
The Quality of the Wisdom of the Hidden in General There are two parts in any understanding (recognition of reason). The first is in material elements, meaning the nature of the objects in the reality before us. The second is in the figurative elements devoid of those objects, meaning forms …