This is the third and final post in the cycle of development of the soul from the Kabbalistic perspective.

The third stage – Gadlut (the large state). This is the adult state. The knowledge a person has acquired gives him the strength to exist independently, and this is equivalent to an adult in our world.

He depends on society and the people around him, but no longer on his parents. He himself possesses the light Hochma, and he is able to perform a Zivug, give birth, as well as raise and fill with light another lower Partzuf – his son.

He now has his own experience and reason that allow him to exist independently. In addition he is able to pass this experience on to another person.

The spiritual object (a soul) goes through the same spiritual processes as a person of this world does, or through processes that correspond to the ones a person in our world goes through.

The difference is only the material: whether it is egoistic or altruistic. However, it is precisely this difference that makes all spiritual events completely incomprehensible to us. The reason for this is that we completely lack any understanding of the altruistic nature.

Every person’s soul repeatedly incarnates or returns into this world (or clothes into the body of this world). This reincarnation continues until the soul has fully attained the entire Kabbalistic knowledge; because without this knowledge, the soul cannot grow and receive everything the Creator has designed to give it.

The reason the soul is obligated to attain the Science of Kabbalah is not that the knowledge itself enlarges the soul. Rather, the soul must attain this science because of the nature of the soul: without having knowledge – Ohr Hochma (the light Hochma) – the soul is not capable of achieving the level or height for which it was created by the Creator.

Thus a person’s soul does not grow by acquiring knowledge. Rather a person’s soul has an inner attribute that does not allow a person to make himself grow with his own two hands before he has assimilated the entire spiritual nature and acquired all the necessary spiritual knowledge.

The soul’s growth completely depends on the degree of knowledge it acquires.

If the soul could grow without receiving the Upper light or knowledge of the Creator, then it would harm itself.

It would acquire increasingly greater desires without knowing how to use them correctly. This is equivalent to a person in our world: if a 20-year-old person’s level of intellectual development still remains on the level of a one-year-old child, then he can do horrible things. This would be strength without reason, and it is dangerous for the person and for the people around him.

This can never occur in the spiritual. A person acquires the ability to perform spiritual actions only to the degree he is corrected, or to the degree of spiritual knowledge he has received.

A person’s age is determined by the degree of his reception of spiritual light. Therefore a person who has not developed spiritually lives and dies physically without having begun to live spiritually.

There exist bodies that have not given birth to souls and that have not achieved the creation of a spiritual Kli. Therefore our world is full of two-legged bodies; but unfortunately there are very few souls in them.

The amount of light that enters the soul determines the Partzuf’s height.

It can exist in a laying-down position, as a newborn: his legs, arms, torso and head are all located on the same level. The head does not have any advantage over the legs: all the spiritual body parts or all desires have only one minimal screen and, correspondingly, a minimal light.

Therefore, the head does not differ from the legs. It is equivalent to a baby or a sleeping person, meaning that the mind is not manifested.

In Kabbalah, a horizontal position means that there is only Ohr Hassadim (the light Hassadim) and there is no Ohr Hochma (light Hochma), which enters the Partzuf correspondingly to the screen. The initial stage of spiritual development begins with the “lying–down” position, as a newborn baby.

The second stage is when he is already sitting, but the legs do not yet have the strength to hold him up.

The extensions, or the ends of the desires to receive pleasure have not yet been corrected; they do not yet have a screen and they cannot create boundaries or restrictions on their own reception of big light.

In the spiritual state of “lying down,” all 10 Sefirot of a person’s soul are evaluated as having a single light, or one minimal screen. A newborn baby does not have knowledge and therefore he does not, and should not, have the strength to move around.

Only the light Hochma gives the soul (Partzuf) spiritual strength. Most of its development does not occur by receiving light from its parents without its own efforts; but rather development takes place as a result of the Partzuf’s own good deeds or actions.

“Good deeds” – means to receive light with the help of the screen, in opposition to one’s own egoism. One’s ability to do this depends on one’s attainment of Kabbalah. That is, the main factor of growth is the function of good deeds, and they depend on the assimilation of Kabbalah, or the reception of knowledge from the upper Partzuf.

Each soul’s knowledge allows it to attain all the other souls: beginning with their initial state called “the soul of Adam” and ending with the final correction of all the souls.

This is equivalent to the way a person attains the entire world: he attains humanity’s nature, mentality, habits and everything around him. Based on this knowledge, he safeguards himself from harm that may come from nature and people around him, and he connects with and grows closer to people who assist in his growth.

It should not be surprising that a single soul is able to attain all the souls. The same thing applies to a person in our world: if he is wise, he is able to attain the nature of all humanity by attaining himself because every part of creation includes the elements of all its other parts.

A person does not have a single attribute that other people do not also have. Every person has all of humanity’s attributes, even if he has them to the minimal degree.

Every person is slightly a murderer, slightly a rapist, a womanizer, a scientist, a fool, a pious man, an atheist, etc. Everything is contained in each person!

When a person works to spiritually perfect himself, he begins to perceive all of these attributes in himself and, as he perceives each of them to be egoistic, he gradually realizes their evil for himself.

When the perception of this evil reaches the maximum and unbearable threshold, a person voluntarily rejects this attribute as one that is harmful. This way, step by step, he corrects himself.

A person perceives another person’s attributes to be natural only if he has discovered and felt them inside of himself. That is, if he has become aware of their presence inside of himself.

How often do we see people who possess negative attributes, yet they do not even suspect this fact and do not perceive it within themselves. At the same time they cannot tolerate these attributes in other people.

With the help of studying Kabbalah, a person begins to attain who he really is and therefore he gains the ability to tolerate others and to forgive them, because he realizes that he possesses the same things as they do.

Why does he become tolerant of others? Because he perceives that they are not capable of getting rid of their negative attributes. He begins to love others to the degree that he realizes his own insignificance, because he sees himself in them.

Since all parts of creation consist of all the other parts (after all we are separated only by egoistic intentions, while our souls comprise one single spiritual body called “the soul of Adam”), when a person corrects himself he corrects the whole world. This applies to each one of us.

This stage in the physical/material world is The Growth and The Acquisition of the necessary knowledge and reason that enable the person to avoid everything harmful to the body by generally taking care of himself with his own strength, as well as the father’s and mother’s strength; Childhood through adolescent…

What does “growth” mean in the spiritual? Does it mean to become fatter or taller, as in our world? Yes: “fatter” with regard to the light Hassadim means to increase one’s desire to bestow. “Taller” with regard to the light Hochma means that a person acquires an immense ability to receive light for the sake of the Creator.

A person acquires knowledge by receiving the light Hochma. However, he is able to receive this light (Hochma) only when it is clothed into the light Hassadim, meaning into the intention “for the sake of the Creator” or the altruistic intentions.

This way, the light Hochma is able to enter into the altruistic desires, and this is the light that gives us knowledge about how to withstand the impure forces.

What does it mean when we say “impure forces?” We think that our desires are given to us for our benefit, because having desires enables us to receive and perceive pleasures.

Therefore, we think that all the things that “sparkle” and attract us with their pleasures are good for us. And generally, we think that “pleasure” and “good for us” are the same thing.

In reality, however, a person attains the realization (or awareness) of evil when he understands that “egoistic pleasure” and “evil” are the same thing.

In the spiritual worlds the spiritual impure forces tell a person about the great spiritual pleasures he will receive if he follows his desires (that is, the desires given to him by the impure forces as if they were his own.)

Let’s pause here and take a few minutes to become aware of the spiritual worlds. I have two videos for you to watch. Both are very well done and very different. The first one is instructional and I just want you to watch until minute 6. He begins to get in to Tarot after that and the Tarot is not relevant to this inquiry. The second one is just beautiful.

If a person is able to realize or see the evil for himself in this, then this realization already becomes a part of the next – higher – state.

On every step of his spiritual path from the bottom up, a person must go through all of the following stages: he must see that the Ego is evil and, for this reason, he must gain the ability to withstand it; he must admit his own weakness or inability to do anything independently; and he must want to turn to the Upper for help.

A person is able to go through these stages only with the help of the Upper light’s illumination or glow on him. The light that comes from the Creator allows the person to perceive that egoism is evil, that he himself is insignificant and that the Upper is the savior.

When a person goes through these states, he feels how his parents (or the Upper Partzuf) watch over him and take care of him. They safeguard him, provide him with everything necessary from all sides and show him what is good and what is bad.

Gradually, the lower realizes that everything he perceives – both good and bad – comes from his parents. He is now able to accomplish certain things on his own, by remembering what his parents have taught him. Gradually, as he acquires more spiritual strength and knowledge, he grows even more.

Spiritual growth consists of at least two stages: whenever a person is able to do something for the Creator, he must do it on his own. Whenever he is unable to – he must ask the Upper for it.

On his current level, a person is able to do everything on his own. However, in order to achieve a higher level he must ask the Creator for everything. This is how he grows.

This stage – growing on account of the Upper and attaining the spiritual nature – is called “Katnut Bet”, or “the second small state.”

This year – 2024 – is the year of Ascension and The Great Awakening. Sure, that’s my opinion, however this opinion is based on years of study, inquiry and practice in several areas and modalities, i.e., yoga, meditation, spiritual/metaphysical maps, healing practices, etc….

The next few posts I will focus our inquiry on the concept of “The Soul.”

This specific inquiry is based on the Kabbalistic perspective.

REMEMBER: The way which we conduct this type of inquiry is by keeping an open mind. Nothing put forth here is done so for you to “believe” in a particular view or follow a particular path. Try to empty your mind as you do the inquiry. The process of inquiry is a 5 step process. It can be described in many ways. In our yoga practice we sometimes use the Kripalu method called BRFWA: 1. Breathe 2. Relax 3. Feel 4. Witness 4. Allow. The Growth process is: 1. Confront 2. Explore 3. Incubate 4. Illuminate 5. Celebrate.

In this post I will introduce the conditions for the soul’s development and the first stage in the process……..

Conditions for the Soul’s Development¹

A person in our world cannot exist without having some basic knowledge about the structure of this world. The more a person comprehends the world around him, the easier and safer it is for him to exist in it.

If we placed a primitive man among us who did not know the laws of our society, its problems, the thoughts of the surrounding people and their relationships with each other, would he be able to exist?

Just as a person in our world cannot exist without knowledge of our world, a person’s soul cannot exist in the spiritual world, having not acquired certain knowledge of its laws and nature.

The knowledge the soul must possess in order to exist and survive include understanding of the structure and functioning of the spiritual worlds, Partzufim² and Sefirot,³ as well as their interactions called “Zivugim”⁴ and their consequences and actions.

However, in order to gain knowledge of the spiritual world, one is required to have a soul. Only then does it become important to him to understand the nature of the spiritual world, for this is what gives one’s soul the ability to exist in it.

Continue reading The Birth of the Soul →

It is within the patterns of our life that we find our purpose.

There’s a popular movie from the early 1990’s called Groundhog’s Day. It’s a comedy about a man who becomes stuck in a loop where the same day repeats itself. Each morning, Phil awakens and its February 2^nd all over again. No matter what he does, he cannot seem to progress to the following day. At first, he sees this as carte blanche to do whatever he pleases. However, it’s not long before Phil becomes disillusioned with the state of his repetitive life and attempts to end it all. Still he inevitably awakens on the morning of February 2^nd.

It is in Phil’s exhaustion and hopelessness that he begins to contemplate his place and purpose in the loop.

He understands that he can use the repetition the universe has provided him to make himself and the world better: He learns to speak French, play the piano, and after witnessing the death of a homeless man, creates a plan to avert this and other disasters from happening. It is only then that the cycle is broken.

It’s a funny and clever film, but perhaps the greatest reason it has become such a classic is because it speaks truth to our soul.

“Once we recognize the moments that repeatedly pop up in our own movies, we can seize them for the gifts they truly afford us.”

Each of us has our own “Groundhog’s Day,” an unpleasant situation that continuously repeats. Maybe we leave one job to get away from our tyrant of a boss only to arrive at a new one where the boss is an even greater nightmare. Many people divorce their spouse only to end up marrying the same kind of person with similar shortcomings years later. What is this phenomenon that sees the universe placing recurring patterns before us? And more to the point, how do we break the cycle?

The kabbalists had a name for these patterns: tikkun, indicating that which we have come back to correct. Each lifetime may afford us several chances to accomplish our tikkun, to learn the lesson and make the inner changes necessary for our spirit to progress along its journey.

Once we recognize the moments that repeatedly pop up in our own movies, we can seize them for the gifts they truly afford us. For instance, maybe the reason one is faced with a tyrannical boss is to find the areas where they themselves lack kindness and mercy with others, or perhaps it is to learn to stand up to an authority figure if that has been a persistent problem throughout one’s life. If someone finds themselves dating or married to the same kind of person time and again, it could be to learn how to accept someone’s shortcomings and love unconditionally, or it could be simply to start looking outside the box! This is a deeply personal spiritual work; only you can recognize the patterns, and only you can decipher what they are meant to teach you.