Insights into Rabbi Ashlag's Kabbalah podcast

The streams of Teshuvah, both the individual and the general, rush along. They are like waves of flames on the surface of the sun, which, in an unceasing struggle, burst forth, go up, and give life to the multitude of worlds and to uncountable creatures. … Through Teshuvah everything returns to godliness. The reality of the power of Teshuvah that rules over all the worlds returns and reconnects all things in the perfect divine reality. Orot HaTeshuvah Rabbi Avraham Yizhak Hacohen Kook. Teshuvah, the mere possibility of Teshuvah, is thus a gift of the Creator to the created beings. Teshuvah means that we do not have to be separated from our Creator, or remain distanced, but that we all have the possibility of fulfilling the purpose for which we are created and becoming one with the Divine. Through our work in Torah and mitzvot, what seems to be an unattainable aim becomes a real possibility. This month of Elul is designated by the Sages as the month of Teshuvah, the month of reconciliation and love. In this podcast we learn an article of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag who teaches that our origin is in God and directs us how to return. This podcast is dedicated to the merit of my dear friend Hana Leah bat Esther Sara for a Refuah Shlemah Teaching from Bircat Shalom of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag  Ma’amar 2 Sefer Hama’amarim תשמ”ט and from Orot HaTeshuvah Rav Kook chapter four Other talks on Teshuvah and the month of Elul Forty days of love: From Elul to Yom Kippur Enjoying the month of Elul Shame is a precious feeling  

When we come to Tisha B’Av, now, in 2015, we truly need to ask, Why are we mourning? For Zion is repopulated and the city thronged with people. Yet when we consider what the presence of the Temple meant 2000 years ago before the destruction we begin to understand what this day of  mourning is really about. “Make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within” ( Exodus 25,8) says the Scripture. The sanctuary in Jerusalem was a living experience of God’s presence within the city and the nation. Since every human being is  considered as  a whole world, each one of us needs to embody a sanctuary for God’s living vital presence within ourselves. Yet mostly we don’t experience God’s light as such a reality. Why not? Why did God go? Why is our inner sanctuary not functioning? These are the questions we need to ask this Tisha B’Av and through our mourning create a desire, a vessel  for God’s inner light to shine out form within each and everyone of us. Thus fulfilling the dictum of the Sages, ” All who mourn for Jerusalem will merit to witness her joy.” This podcast is based on the teachings of Rabbi Baruch Ashlag Sefer Hama’amarim and is dedicated to  my mother Chaya bat Sara for a Refuah Shlemah  

When I learn the work of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, the Baal HaSulam, I am struck by the joy and the love that is embedded in his work. Listening to some old recordings of him giving a lesson, we hear his voice ringing out with joy. He was clearly a man of both deep understanding and of rich feeling. Our feelings actually originate with the very Thought of Creation, whereby the Creator desires to give pleasure to all the created beings. Thus we all long for pleasure, and that is a given. But what is not a given, is how we receive this pleasure? In a letter that Rabbi Ashlag wrote to his brother, he teaches that the soul incarnates into this world, because only when it is clothed in the physical  can it experience feeling; whereas in the higher realms it has knowledge of God but not feeling. It is through our difficult feelings that we long for the revelation of  God’s light in our lives, creating the desire, the vessel for his light. When such a desire is at long last fulfilled we rejoice in the  manifestation of God’s goodness, His light. In this way, the soul, while in this world, grows in spiritual stature in a way it cannot do in the higher realms. it learns, through this interplay of negative and positive feelings, the revelation of God’s Names in the world. Dedicated to David and Linor on the occasion of their marriage. Here is a link to a recording of a lesson given by the Baal HaSulam even when we don’t understand his words we can hear the beautiful clarity and radiance of his voice. Link to download

One of the qualities of Torah is its beauty; and its wonders, the inner beauty of a life led according to Torah. Sometimes we hear a teaching and we feel, ” Wow, that is beautiful,” and this fills us with joy. This is not a superficial feeling or something we should ignore, but a real appreciation of the beauty of the Torah. The holy Zohar teaches that the Torah, the Holy Blessed One and the soul are all of the same essence  and thus it has inherent beauty. The Sages in the Mishnah, indeed relate to the  Torah as a very precious jewel. Great is Torah, for it gives life to  those who practise it in this world, and in the World to Come. As the Scripture states, “For the words of the Torah are life to he who finds them, and a healing to all his flesh” (Proverbs 4:22)….., “She shall give to your head a garland of grace, a crown of glory she shall grant you” (4:9). Ethics of the Fathers Yet this is not the only sense in which the Torah is seen as an element of beauty , as a jewel. Our whole purpose in being here on this planet is to add an additional element to the Creation. To perfect what is already perfect. Thus the Ari z’l states: Yet it arose, in his simple will, to create the worlds, and to bring forth the created beings, to bring to  light the perfection of His works, His Names and His attributes, which was the reason for the creation of the worlds. Etz Chayim  Rabbi Ashlag teaches  that the unfolding of the worlds is a parallel reality to the perfection that already exists. The beautification of the creation through our good deeds and Torah was so important, that for this the world was created.This idea is stunning in its implications, giving us a basis for true joy in our learning and our practice of the Torah and the mizvot.

The Zohar that we traditionally learn on the festival of Shavuot is called, “The night of the Bride”. In beautiful imagery, it pictures the community of Israel joining together with God, as Bride and Bridegroom under the wedding canopy, at the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The night of Shavuot is spent studying the Torah, rectifying the vessel so we will be fit to join with God and receive the Torah on the following day. However , this enactment each year of the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai on the festival of Shavuot has a parallel meaning. Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag, in his great commentary on the Zohar, called the Perush haSulam teaches that the festival of Shavuot, the giving of the Torah has the same energy as that of the redemption, the gmar hatikkun. The day of the giving of the Torah is the same energy as the day of the completion of God’s creation in the ultimate way, when His goodness and love will be openly manifest to all. The night spoken of, is thus, not only the night of the festival of Shavuot, but it is the time when the forces of separation rule over us, separating us from our Creator . Yet it is just in this time,  the Zohar assures us, that the Bride joins with Her Husband, it is in the night, when God’s light is concealed, that the soul unites with Her Creator. From the ma’amar Leilah de Kalah Perush haSulam vol 1 Zohar, With grateful thanks to Dvorah Hoffman and the chevrutas in Tsfat for enabling this learning.   

Blessed be He who keeps His promise to Israel. (Haggadah) Following the redemption of the children of Israel at the Red Sea when they saw the enemies drowned on the shore the Scripture states, “And Israel saw the great hand which HaShem had wrought in Egypt. And the people had awe of Hashem and they believed in haShem and in Moses his servant.”  Exodus chapter 14. In a remarkable and wide-ranging discussion, the Zohar makes some observations on this text that are pertinent for us today: That the power of faith in HaShem can overcome even the mighty power of evil; that the innocent bystander is not in fact considered innocent if he doesn’t speak out in the face of evil, and that ultimately God’s promises to our forefathers are upheld. In this time when again the words of the Haggadah, ring again with their truth “And this is true for our forefathers and for us that not one only stood against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to annhilate us , but the Holy Blessed One delivers us from their power.” Our faith which was an essential part of the redemption then, will be an essential part of the complete redemption, may it come soon in our days, Amen. In this podcast we study the text of the Zohar Beshalach,  paragraph 185 in the Perush HaSulam with grateful thanks to my chevrutas Dr Susan Jackson, Dahlia Orlev, Timna Segal, Leah Weinstein, Ofra Perl, Jodie Lebowitz Davis, and Mia Sherwood with whom I had the privilege of learning this article .

We are living in turbulent times; on the one hand the light of redemption is undoubtedly getting nearer and with it an increasing consciousness of the light of God in the world. Equally, the destructive elements of the world seem to be growing in strength. This is not the first time, the Jews have faced these huge polarization of energies. They did so at the time of Purim 3000 years ago. Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag in 1948 gave an oral discourse on the inner meanings of the festival of Purim. Through his insight  into the inner meanings of Megillat Esther,we learn what choices were open to the Jews then and how we can learn from their experiences now, 3000 years later. Not only in the scale of world events, but right in the small details of our lives, the choice of how we receive the light of God also applies in the small details of our daily lives. Let us give to God and to our fellow man according to the way of Torah, the way taught by  Mordecai the Jew, and thus each of us, in our own small way may contribute to the redemption of all mankind through the light of God. This talk was inspired by the oral discourse taught by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag at the festival of Purim 1948, recorded by his son Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag. Printed in Shamati and in HaShem Shamati Shimecha (with a commentary by Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb). With grateful thanks to the women of the Tsfat Beit haMidrash  and to my chevrutas, James Torrance,  Ilan Ben Gal, Ofra Dekel, Jodie Lebowitz Davis, with whom I learnt this article and who inspired me with their delight and enthusiasm.

We all find ourselves making good resolutions— intending to live, from now on, according to our deepest values. Yet when faced with the choice in actual practice our actions very often fall short, and yet again we find that we seem unable to follow through. There seems to be a disconnect between our ideals and our practice. We try different tactics but none of them really seem to make much of a difference. We often berate ourselves, not realising that we are up against a greater foe than we had realized. Within ourselves is a Pharoah, just as intransigent as the one in Egypt and indeed , his inner equivalent. This is the aspect of the ego which blocks the Divine light from flowing from the head  to the body; from  the potential to the actual. Pharaoh takes our work and hijacks it for his own. Just as in the Biblical story  only He could take the Children of Israel out of Egypt with His outstretched arm, so, we too need HaShem  in our life to take us out of our inner Egypt, to overcome our inner pharaoh. Lesson adapted from a letter Rabbi Ashlag wrote to his pupils Parshat Shavua Shemot (Igarot HaSulam 12)  With grateful thanks to my chevrutas, Dr. Shmuel Iger- Kinyan, Dr Susan Jackson, Pamela Mond, Yehudit Goldfarb  

In a letter which Rabbi Ashlag wrote to his students whilst he was away in London, he bemoans the fact that some previous students had fallen away from the group. In looking at the question as to why this had happened, he shows how outer change actually follows a prior inner change. This we learn from the story of the exile in Egypt. It was an inner change in the spiritual consciousness of the children of Israel that enabled their outer reality to change from being guests in a welcoming host country, to one of slavery and servitude. The Torah describes this change in one terse sentence. “And a new king of Egypt arose who did not know Joseph.” Ostensibly this sentence is describing a historical change in the outer reality of the Children of Israel; but Rabbi Ashlag shows how the inner meaning of this sentence actually refers to a prior  inner change. —If the children of Israel had remained connected with Joseph the Tzaddik, as they were in his lifetime, then for sure, the power of the Tzaddik would have protected them. It is our belief in God and in his true Sages that help shape our reality. From Igarot haSulam , Igeret 12,  Published by Or Hasulam foundation. With grateful acknowledgement to my chevrutas, Dr. Susan Jackson, and Dr. Shmuel Iger-Kinyan    

Many of us go through difficult times in our lives, times of loss and sadness. In such times our connections with God can be painful. We ask Him where He is? Is this what He really wants? That we suffer? We wonder, why is He acting like this towards us, towards me? David, the sweet singer of Israel, actually had a life polarized in its extremes. It was certainly a life in which, as well as joy, he  experienced persecution and suffering. Psalm 63 was composed by David at a time of great trouble. By analyzing the precise words of this psalm, the Zohar teaches us a great lesson in how to respond when God’s light is hidden from us. It transpires that God’s light is only hidden, it is not absent. Our sorrow and our suffering are real, as David’s was, but his faith was strong and enabled him to feel in full consciousness both the hidden aspect of God and give thanks and praise together. In this lesson we will learn from the Zohar the inner meanings contained in the very first words of this psalm that David wrote in the Judaean Desert when running away from his son Absalom. 1.A song of David when he was in the Judaean desert. 2. O God, My God, You, I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You, in an arid and thirsty land without water. 3.  Yes I saw You in holiness, seeing Your strength and Your glory. 4. For Your kindness is better than life; my lips will praise You. Psalm 63 From Rabbi Ashlag’s commentary on the Zohar, Terumah, Perush HaSulam paragraphs 253-259 With grateful thanks to my chevruta Meirah Rachel , who inspired and joined me in this learning. Photo credit: Efrat Weiss  

Zohar Toledot, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: The real truth is, Jacob never deceived anyone. He was incapable of deceiving anyone.  The Scripture testifies that he was Ish Tam a man of innocence, and thus we say in Micah 7, “Give us the truth of Jacob.” The Torah gives us the bare record of the events in the early lives of Ya’acov (Jacob) and Esau,on the surface jacob seems to be the one who is deceitful. But the Zohar assures us this is absolutely not the case. What really happened? Why was the relationship between Jacob and Esau so difficult, and why did Jacob have to wear Esau’s garments in order to receive the blessings from Isaac? In this portion of the Zohar we learn what the true natures of Ya’acov and Esau were,  their potentials and their limits. Ya’acov and Esau actually needed each other. We learn what  the blessings meant, and why both Ya’acov and Esau viewed them as being of the utmost importance. We learn why Rivkah intervened, and how Ya’acov took on a role he had not wanted, and in so doing saved the Jewish people and also mankind. Ya’acov and Esau are the carriers of desires also to be found within each one of us. When we learn the real motives of Ya’acov and how he acted in truth, it helps us understand our own inner truth. From the Zohar Toledot and Rabbi Ashlag’s commentary the Sulam on the Zohar Photo Shmulik G.

The fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob make up the Merkavah, a Hebrew word meaning “chariot” . In our modern language we could translate this as a vehicle for the light and love of God, receiving it and passing it on to others. Being their children, we also have within our potential, the vessels they brought to the Merkavah. The act of the Akedah, the binding of Issac, was the most important  rectification of the Merkavah, in that it united and completed the elements of both Abraham and of Isaac;  Abraham, the embodiment of the  Sephirah of chesed , loving-kindness, with Yitzhak the embodiment of the  vessel for the  manifestation of the light of God. One doing the binding, the other agreeing to be bound. Avraham and Yitzhak take on roles opposite to their own innate natures; Avraham using the vessels of Yitzhak acting with stern judgment, and Isaac wrapping himself in the vessel of Avraham, yielding and giving. Rabbi Ashlag in his commentary on the Zohar, indicates that the  unification they achieved  is of the same essence as the unification of the night and the day;  as on the first day of Creation, ” and it was evening and it was morning, one day.”  Looked at in its true  light, the Akedah was an act of  the fulfillment of love, which we, as their children inherit. From the Perush HaSulam Zohar Vayera paragraph 484 and Berishit 1 paragraphs  356-7

And God spoke to Abraham. Since the flood, silence. God had not revealed himself to mankind again. What was He waiting for? On the finish of the Creation, the words of the Torah are, vayhal  Elohim, “and God finished”  But the Holy Or HaChaim, Rabbi Ibn Atar, tells us that these words also have the connotation of God “yearning” for Man.  What was He yearning for? The answer comes when we consider why God spoke to Abraham. What made Abraham different from all the other members of his generation that God should speak to Him?  Even more poignant is the question is, in what way had Abraham prepared himself so he heard the voice of God? Why does the advent of Abraham mark a new beginning for mankind, a new consciousness, to the extent that the Torah suggests that the entire Creation was waiting for his coming ? As we study the Zohar on this question, we begin to understand how to  discover our own inner Abraham. My thanks to my Chevruta Leah Weinstein pointing out the Perush of the Or haChayim; and to my Chevruta Jodie Lebowitz who patiently learned the sources with me. Zohar from Perush haSulam Lech Lecha, paragraph 1

Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag teaches that through the light of the Torah we can come back to the way of affinity of form with the Creator. This light is most easily accessed in the stories of the revelation of God to our forefathers; stories whose energies can be found within ourselves. The epic story of Cain and Abel appears on the surface to be a rather sordid story of fraternal jealousy and murder. But if we look at the underlying elements we find that they indeed are to be found within us. By considering what the basic identity and makeup of Cain and Abel was,  we can find how they are in fact elements represented in  each one of us. Once we have identified them,  we can ask ourselves the most important question of all: How do we stop our inner Cain “murdering” our inner Abel? From Rabbi Ashlag’s essay, Torat Hakabbalah Umahutah; the Netivot Shalom on Bereishit, the Zohar Bereishit A and Bereishit B Picture credit: From the National Geographic Channel ( Video series)

The Torah states “In succot (booth)s you shall dwell for seven days all citizens of Israel shall dwell in booths. In order that your generations all know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God.”  (Leviticus 23, 42-43). But surely it was only natural that the Children of Israel would construct some type of temporary shelters as they journeyed in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. But history is only part of the story, why does the Torah state that God made the Children of Israel dwell in them? Indeed the significance of the succah is debated in  the Talmud: Rabbi Eliezer stating that the purpose of the succah  is  to remember  the Clouds of Glory that protected the Children of Israel in the wilderness; Rabbi Akiva said it refers to the actual physical structures themselves. Rabbi Ashlag teaches that both Sages are relating to the attribute of faith, but from different perspectives. The succah is our refuge of faith. We build our succah  through our desire for faith in God, both in times when His light is revealed to us as it was in the Exodus from Egypt and at times when His light  is hidden from us, in times of trouble. In this podcast we look at how the construction of the Succah reflects its true, inner  meaning, and how it can provide a refuge for us throughout the coming year. From a letter by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag written to his students one Succot festival    

We spend the day on Yom Kippur praying. But will our prayers be answered? Do we know what our real needs are? The Sages of the Talmud gave us a clue: “Rabbi Elazar said that when the Temple was destroyed all the gates of prayer were closed; but even though the gates of prayer were closed the gate of tears is never locked.” Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag asks the seemingly simple question. If the gate of tears is never closed, why is it a gate? To answer this he helps us examine our true motives and our true feelings. When are we praying for our very life? For what is really crucial for us? Rabbi Baruch Shalom teaches us in this pivotal article for Yom Kippur, what real prayer is. From the Sefer HaMamarim of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag, with grateful thinks to Shmuel Igar Kinyan who studied it with me Other talks on Yom Kippur. “The Inner Essence of Yom Kippur”, “From the depths I call on You”, “Yom Kippur : A chance to reclaim our true identity”

Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag teaches that the language of the Kabbalah and much of the Talmud is dealing with relationships between spiritual roots, albeit using words familiar to us in our everyday speech. A literal interpretation thus causes distortions of understanding. A classical misunderstanding applies to the saying of the Sages of the Talmud relating to Rosh Hashanah, The Talmud states that on Rosh Hashanah three books are opened, on book for the righteous, who are straightway listed for life, one for the wicked, who are straightaway listed for death and one for those in between whose fate is undecided until Yom Kippur. In order to understand this in its true sense we need to first know that this entire statement applies to aspects within us. The righteous within us is the will to give goodness and compassion to our Creator and to our fellow-man. This is the aspect we wish to keep alive and list in the book of life. The aspect of the wicked within us is our selfishness and our ego- orientated desires. We indeed would like to let these die. But how to come to these decisions? These are not simple decisions to make! Can we say such a thing and really mean it? This is the work of Elul the month we are in now. From an oral talk by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, the Baal HaSulam to his students in the month of Elul. HaShem Shamati Shimecha Yareiti vol. 2 Other talks for Elul: Forty days of love: From Elul to Yom Kippur Enjoying the month of Elul Shame is a precious feeling  

“…and He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you” ( Deuteronomy 7,13). The Creator’s desire is to give all blessing and goodness to us. Actually this is all He does, as He is good and does good. However, the Scripture continues, “And you will eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land He has given you.” How do we bless God? What does it mean for us to bless God and what does such blessing do? This question is discussed in the  Zohar: “It is written that you shall eat and be satisfied and bless the lord Your God.” It is with these blessings that a person brings forth, with these words, the bounty from the highest source, which is Binah, and then all the spiritual levels and sources of the Ze’er Anpin and Malchut are filled with light to give to all the worlds and all are blessed together.” Thus what begins as one -directional;  man receiving  from God, becomes a holy dialogue, in which the goodness of God is acknowledged and thanked. This dialogue then becomes a fruitful conduit, for the  flow of God’s bounty,not only  to the one who blesses, but to all humanity as one.  Together. From the Zohar on Ekev paragragh 1 and Rabbi Baruch Ashlag’s Al HaTorah Parshat Ekev With grateful acknowledgment to Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb who inspired this learning.

Jerusalem: the city of David, the epitome of beauty.  In the Kabbalah, Jeruslam is a representation of the soul, also called the Shechinah, the in-dwelling presence of God within us.  By looking at the concept of the city, as the source of governance, the focal point of the country, we can see how the soul also needs to be our own governing center. In these three weeks, culminating in Tisha Be Av, when the historical Temple was destroyed, we mourn the fact that we are not governed by the soul. We are not allowing her to develop, to govern, to be our focal point;  and she also needs rebuilding. It is an opportunity to look within and see what our lives would be like both individually and collectively if we were governed by the soul.

We all have moments of connection with our soul, with the Divine within us,….and we all have moments when we feel sad or depressed or spiritless. How do we keep ourselves from falling into the grip of the will to receive for ourselves alone and ending up separated from our soul, from God? Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the compiler of the Zohar, discussed this question more than 2000 years ago. Giving us an example from the Scriptures, he teaches us how the Torah, which shares the same essence as our soul, helps us to keep centered. In this podcast we will learn a piece of the Zohar with Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag’s commentary and discover that Rabbi Shimon’s advice is just as useful today, in our present day circumstances, as it was when he gave it. From the Hakdamah LeSefer HaZohar, Ma’amar Oraita VeZaluta

The Torah is the great repository and record of our connection with the Divine. Its very words are vessels which hold within them the Divine revelation, as it was, as it is, and as it will be. Its very essence is one with the Divine. It is both the garments for the Divine, and it is one with the Divine who is clothed within it. Of all the vast and varied creation, it is only Man who has the ability to sense the feelings of his fellow, what pains him and what makes him happy. Thus, only the human being has the ability to engage with the Divine, until, like Moses, we will be able to encounter God as a man speaks to his neighbor. The Torah uses four languages with which we describe such encounters; the languages of the Tanach, the Halachah, the Aggadah, and the Kabbalah. Each language is an expression of the Divine … they all need each other and they all open up for us ways we too can reach up to our Creator. From the essay Torat Hakabbalah Umahutah by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. Dedicated for the souls’ ascension of Yaacov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah, Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim and Ayal ben Iris Teshurah zichronom l’vrachah, who gave their lives al Kiddush HaShem,  in the sanctification of God’s name.

All over Israel people are gathering to recite psalms or offer up prayers for the safety of the three kidnapped children. The outpouring of prayers from all sectors of the community, secular as well as religious is unprecedented. In the face of worry and anxiety for the safety of the three boys, we turn naturally to prayer: Prayer as song, prayer as whispers, prayer as hopes voiced in words. Using our own words in our own language, or the well-trodden paths of our ancient prayers, we raise our words up to the Holy Blessed one, asking  Him to watch over the three boys, Ayal ben Iris Teshurah, Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah and Gil-Ad Michael ben BatGalim. Why does prayer work? This question is naturally stirred , when we turn to pray. Prayer is often seen as a last resort. But the Sages teach us that its power is immense . From the teaching of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag on the Zohar Vayakhel.

Rashi, the great commentator on the Torah teaches us that when the Children of Israel stood together at Mount Sinai to hear the word of God and to receive His revelation, they stood there “as one man with one heart.” How did they achieve this extraordinary state of unity? 600, 000 people; each one with his own characteristics and attributes. What bonded them together? Furthermore, why was this unity an essential component of the revelation of God on Mount Sinai? An essential teaching of the Baal HaSulam is that the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is an eternal act, an act which continues, unceasing, to this day. In this talk we explore what we need in order to receive this revelation in our own lives now. Talk (15 mins.) taken from “Hashem Shamati Shimecha”: the oral works of the Baal HaSulam collected by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag and the other students, collated by Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb. With many grateful thanks to my chevrutas Channa Glazer, Shmuel Igar Kinyan, Timna Segal, Dahlia Orlov, Shayna Falk, James Torrance and Sara Schroeder Further talks on Shavuot

The song that Moses and the Children of Israel sang after their deliverance from the Egyptians  at the Red Sea is a song of the joy of redemption. It is a song of great beauty. The  Sages of the Zohar, known as “the Companions”, discuss its inner meanings in detail. In this lesson, we will focus on  the inner meaning of one of the phrases of this songת ” God is my strength and my song, He will be for me a salvation.”   עזי וזמרת י”ה ויהי לי לישועה .In a more or less direct translation from the Hebrew, we dive into the Zohar itself, listening-in, as it were, to the discussion of the Sages, as they gradually unfold the inner meanings inherent in this verse. The meanings reveal themselves as being both lofty, dealing with Man’s creation and purpose, and surprisingly intimate as they also touch on each one’s own unique relationship with the Creator. Translated from the Zohar Beshalach Perush haSulam paragraphs 230-250 by Yedidah Cohen  With grateful thanks to my chevrutas with whom I had the privilege of studying this article with me on Pesach: Binah, Susan, Dahlia, Leah, Timnah, Aliza and David

And God  said to Avraham , “I am the Lord, who brought you forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.” Although it is clear from the text that Avraham believed God, he still had a question. On the surface he is asking for some surety that he will indeed inherit the land. But a closer  look at the text shows that this was not his concern. He was more concerned over whether his children would want the inheritance. He asks God, ” How do I know that I will be able to give it as an inheritance?” God’s answer, “You shall surely know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and oppress them, for four hundred years,” is hardly one that we would take as reassuring, yet it seems that Avraham accepted it as sufficient. Abraham was not concerned over to whom he would leave his tents and his sheep. He was concerned over to whom he would be able  to give his love of God, his faith in Him, as an inheritance. Would his children want that?  What did Avraham see in God’s answer that reassured him? Avraham’s question and God’s answer turn out to have immense meaning for us now. The themes of exile and redemption, indeed the need of exile and its redemption  are on–going inner states of consciousness as Rabbi Ashlag  explains in this discourse that he gave to his students. This class is a translation and explanation of a an oral discourse given by the Baal haSulam transcribed by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag  in his work, Shamati. ( Arie Miskanot le Paroh) ( 1 hour)  My grateful thanks to the many chevrutas who learned this article with me this year.  Other Pesach talks on Nehora press are: The inner meaning of Seder night  Who knows One? From exile to redemption  The inner meaning of the four cups  

“It is a natural law for every created being, that whatever is to be found outside the framework of his own body, seems to him to be empty and completely unreal.” Surely not! But remember that the word “body”, as used in the Kabbalah, is synonymous with the word “ego” or our desire for self-benefit. Then this sentence by Rabbi Ashlag, taken from his work Matan Torah, is not so far-fetched. To understand why this is so, we need to examine what is the paradigm of our usual thought. What is the web of concepts and thoughts that form the threads that make up the texture of our lives? In his commentary on the Etz Chayim of the Ari, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag writes: “You should know, that the aspect of the will to receive, that forms the created being, is its vessel. This vessel is all the material that stems from its created aspect; such that the rest of the entity, other than its created aspect, relates to the Creator.” But it transpires, that since all our senses and our imagination are aspects of our created nature, we cannot actually know in a direct way the rest of ourselves, our essence. This why, all that is outside of ourselves seems empty to us. It explains why acting as a giver inside of a receiver is very hard for us to do. But the words of the Ari offer us hope. Our created nature is not all of us. There is another paradigm through which we may act, the paradigm of light. It is there waiting for us.  Even if we cannot sense it directly.  Podcast based on writings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, from the Histaclut Pnimit, Part One; Matan Torah and the Introduction to the Zohar.

The prophet Zechariah  has a vision of the end of days, when the Lord will be One and His Name One.  As part of this vision he says the verse,  וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֹא יִהְיֶה אוֹר יְקָרוֹת וְקִפָּאוֹן: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light that is precious and frozen” (Zech. 14,6). The Sages of the Talmud (Pesachim 50a) discussed what these words mean. They asked, “What light is both precious and frozen?” They answered, “This is light that is considered precious in this world but worthless in the world to come.” Rabbi Yoseph, the son of Rabbi Joshua Be Levi then tells of his near-death experience in which he  saw what is truly real. People who we venerate in this world were often at the bottom of the scale in the world to come. Our values of this world are truly upside down! Rabbi Ashlag, the great Kabbalist, so often teaches us that the fulfillment of our wills to receive for oneself alone which we chase after in this world are really illusory pleasures.  One could say, they are not worth the paper they are written on, as in the next world they are worthless. What will stand for us at the end of our lives and what will be in the end of days are the good deeds we have done for each other. Inspired by an article by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag ztz’l Sefer haMa’amarim 5748, article 12 , “Mahem Torah U Melachah b’derech HaShem, with grateful acknowledgement to my chevruta Dr. Susan Jackson.

“Make for Me a sanctuary so I may dwell within them.” (Exodus 25,8) Rabbi Ashlag teaches us that the Torah is both a way and a destination. Its essence is beyond all human understanding, being one with the essence of God and with the soul, in the inner meaning of the phrase from the Zohar, “The Torah, The Holy Blessed One and Israel (the soul) are one.” Thus the Netivot Shalom, the great chassidic work of our time, teaches us that the sanctuary, the Mishkan, which occupies such a large portion of the Torah in its planning, its implementation, its structure, its vessels and the service within it, is like a map. It details both the essence of the soul, that is its makeup, and also guides us on the way that we as human beings can come to the soul’s fulfillment in actual practice. So we may indeed become a sanctuary, each one of us, for the Holy Blessed One to dwell within. Rabbi Ashlag shows us how the building of the sanctuary is thus as relevant now for us today as it was for the Children of Israel in the wilderness. It is our inner sanctuary we must now build. This podcast is dedicated to לעלוי נשמת אבי מורי אהרון בן מנחם מנדל ז”ל; my father, Aaron ben Menahem Mendel z”l

A friend of mine sent me a chart this week of the ten Sephirot that she had received over the internet. Although this chart wasn’t exactly wrong, the image it invoked for me, was as if one were to reduce a statue carved by Michelangelo to a line drawing, without shading, omitting the play of light and shadow. To avoid such a representation it is necessary to go back to the definitions of the basic components of the Kabbalah: the light of the Ein Sof, which  is the prime force of creation; the vessel of the Ein Sof, which is the essence of creation itself, and the very first dynamic of their interaction that  gave rise to the Sephirot. This is described by the Holy Ari, and explained by the great Kabbalist of the twentieth century Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. In this podcast we will be learning these basic definitions and understand, more deeply, their meaning. With grateful thanks to Mia Sherwood Landau for the inspiration of this podcast; and to Avraham Lowenthal, for permission to reproduce his relational diagram of the ten Sephirot Tsfat Gallery of Mystical Art

When we start to learn the Kabbalah of Rabbi Ashlag and we learn that most of our desires are driven by our will to receive for ourselves alone, which separates us from the Creator it comes as a shock. But when we turn to our good deeds, we find to our dismay that they also are tainted with our own ego-driven desires. In fact the more we look, the more it seems to us that whatever we do we simply can’t act purely and simply, giving unconditionally. So often this realization makes us feel stuck; we don’t want to move backwards but how do we move forwards? The Sages anticipated this dilemma, and answered us in the Talmud, saying,””A person should always practise Torah and mitzvot, even lo lishmah, that is not for its own sake, for through being engaged in Torah and mitzvot even when it is not for its own sake, the person will come to practise Torah and mitzvot for its own sake?” (Pesachim 50b). In other words… don’t give up! The meaning of Torah that is practised not for its own sake has more than one meaning; but so long as we remain with our overall intention, of wanting to get closer to the Creator and act mercifully as He does, we stay on track. From the Kabbalah of Rabbi Ashlag

We could  approach Torah just through our mind, trying to understand it intellectually—learning the mitzvot, and fulfilling the commandment of learning the Torah. Although we all have to start our learning of Torah through our mind, many just leave it at that. But Rabbi Ashlag, the great Kabbalist, teaches that just learning the Torah intellectually does not in fact fulfill the real purpose of our study of the Torah. As Rabbi Ibn Ezra tells us, the most important reason for learning the Torah is the tikkun of the heart. What does the term “heart” refer to? Is it simply an anatomically important vessel in the body that keeps us alive? Or is it something more? Many people refer to the heart when they want to describe their feelings. But Rabbi Ashlag defines the heart as desire. The tikkun of the heart is thus the rectification of the will. This makes sense. When i am excited by something, my heart races faster. When I am angry I can hear it throbbing in my ears. But why should my heart need rectification, why does it need to change? Related talks: Joining heart and mind The Torah: the soul’s voice The labor in Torah

When we have explored every avenue but we still can’t do something, we feel only a miracle can help us. Something that is within our power, even if it is hard is not considered a miracle. Before we start on our inner work, the notion of giving unconditionally in order to be in affinity of form with the Creator sounds good. We feel we could do it; we only have to want to. However, when we try in actual practice to do good without wanting anything back at all, we find we come across an unforeseen adversary, ourselves. Somehow, we don’t seem to be able to overcome those aspects of our ego that want to stop us giving to the other person unless we get something back for it. Then we know we need a miracle. This is the miracle of Chanukah. The Gemorrah discusses the correct placement of the Chanukah candle. In Jerusalem and Safed it is a common sight to see the Chanukah candles outside the house opposite the mezuzah. What does this mean for all of us regarding the light of Chanukah and our inner work? From the Bircat Shalom Sefer HaMaamarim of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag Other talks on chanukah: Faith: Torah from the Years of Fury Chanukah: The Triumph of the Soul over the Ego Chanukah: What is a miracle?  

The purpose of learning the Kabbalah is to learn a new language.  I don’t mean learning the vocabulary of Sephirot and other technical terms, I mean the language of connection with the Creator. We start off in this world learning the language of receiving. When we are born into this world, the life school of the physical world is set up for us so we learn the language of the ego. But satisfying the demands  of the ego separates us from the Creator, who is all giving. How can we learn to speak the same language? Learning the language of giving is learning a language which is foreign to our inbuilt nature.  So we are given the Torah and the mitzvot to help us form the vessels, the words and the letters that form this new language that connects us with our fellow man and with our soul. From the Kabbalah of Rabbi Ashlag and the Zohar.  

What are we really looking for? This question stands at the center of our lives, our hopes, our dreams. It is the motivating force that drives us forwards. Yet when we consider it deeply we see several things: Firstly, that what we felt was important to us when we were younger may not be what we want now. Secondly, we may have attained what we thought we wanted, but although we were pleased when we got it, it no longer feels satisfying to us anymore and we feel the need to move on. What causes this restlessness? Why don’t we feel satisfied? Something must be wrong. After all according to the Purpose of Creation God wants to give us all Good! The answer is that we are looking in the wrong direction. Sorting out what we really want in our lives means relating to a little known part of ourselves, the soul. Rabbi Meir in Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of the Fathers) defines the goal we can aim for, which will really bring us lasting happiness. Talk based on an article by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag: Bircat Shalom, Sefer Hama’amarim and inspired by a shiur with my chevrutas , Effie and Asher, with thanks!

Why did Avraham break off from his communication with God and turn to give hospitality to wayfarers? This tiny detail in the life of Avraham Aveinu, has a profound meaning for us today. Many of us who learn the Kabbalah in different ways may sometimes find conflict between our thirst for spiritual knowledge and the demands of family, and others, who need our attention in the little details of life. How should we act? Where do our priorities lie? The answer Avraham gave is by example. It is an answer which surprises, and we find a deed whose courage and humanity takes away our breath, even today. An interpretation based on the teachings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag in the Perush HaSulam of the Zohar. original photo

When we receive in this world, unless it is for the benefit of the other or because we have earned it in some way we feel shame or embarrassment. The Baal HaSulam, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag portrayed this problem in his work Matan Torah. It is like a rich man who sees a poor man in the market place and gives him all possible food, drink and money. Every day he gives him more gifts adding to that which he has already given him. But when asked if he has any requests left the poor man answers, “I wish that all these gifts had come to me from my own hand and not through charity.” The rich man replies,”here I cannot help you.” The receiver feels embarrassment when he receives something for nothing from the giver. Only if he earned the wealth himself would the receiver feel comfortable. Our original nature causes us to want to receive everything good to get pleasure. Yet when we do we feel shame. How can we come to receive all that God wants to give us according to the Purpose of Creation in such a way that we feel we have earned it? Listen to the podcast to learn the different forces within us and our purpose in the tikkun of the creation. From Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb’s commentary on Matan Torah of the Baal HaSulam. Podcast about 18 minutes.

“And your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” This sentence not only changes reality for Abraham but also for us. As the additional letter to Abram’s name making it Abraham is actually made up of the same letters meaning ” in the creation of” heaven and earth. What does Abraham have to do with Creation? The Zohar gives a profound answer: Abraham’s virtue was that of chesed, loving-kindness, this addition to Abram’s name teaches us about the central role of acts of chesed, acting in loving-kindness in fulfilling our true destiny. Excepted from Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag’s Sefer haMamarim.

…this is the inner meaning of “Let us make Man b’tzalmeinu in our image, k’dmuteinu like us ” (Genesis 1:26 ). The light is called the “tzelem” and the darkness is called “dmut“, such that Man will be created from both of these forces: both soul and ego. The Sages tell us that the entire work of creation is included in the declaration of the first day, “Let there be light.” For within that declaration is included the whole differentiation between the light and the darkness, wherein the holiness is called ‘light’, and the evil is called ‘dark’. However, despite this differentiation between the light and the dark, with which all the created beings of the creation were clarified, the tikkun is still left incomplete. The entire aspect of evil or dark appears as something for which there is no use, and this is not at all fitting for God’s perfection. The tikkun of creation will only be complete in accordance with the inner meaning of the phrase, “Even darkness will not cause dark to come from You, and the night will give light as day, the darkness will shine as much as the light” (Ps. 139:12). In order to correct this darkness the human being was created, who includes everything from the uttermost evil to the ultimate good. Through his hand the tikkun will be finished to the required perfection, that is, the evil will transform into good, the bitterness into sweet, the darkness will shine like the light, death will be swallowed up for ever, and the Lord will be King over all the earth . From the Perush haSulam of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag on the Zohar Translated by Yedidah Cohen in A Tapestry of the Soul (Nehora Press) .

Just as the children of Israel were given the clouds of Glory to protect them in the wilderness so we are given the mitzvah of the succah which shares the same essence as the clouds of glory the attribute of faith, as In our own lives we go through our own inner wilderness. The inner meaning of the succah is taking shelter in faith. The clouds of Glory have the same essence of that of Aaron the priest, the Sephirah of Chesed ,loving-kindness, and this is the same light we attract to ourselves when we sit in the Succah. The shade provided by the Succah is that of the shelter of faith and this gives us faith for the New Year now open to us . This talk was first published last year.

The choice is set before us. How to choose? There is the way of service to God versus the way of the ego. But these choices have consequences. In the Temple service on Yom Kippur this choice was demonstrated to the Children of Israel through the special sacrifice of the two he-goats. The one whose lot fell to Azazel shows the way of suffering, which is consequent on the use of the will to receive for oneself alone; the other illustrates a life given up in the service of God and one’s fellow. From the Zohar Acharie Mot and the Perush HaSulam of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag

What do we hear when we blow the shofar? Do we hear a cry to battle or do we hear a call for repentance? The Zohar teaches us that the shofar in its essence is the sound of compassion. It is the sound of the Malchut joined with Binah, the Sephirah of compassion. On Rosh Hashanah we start the year’s cycle all over again. The original energy that  came into the world at creation is present again. But this light is too strong for us and needs balancing. This the Jewish people do with the mitzvah of the blowing of the shofar, thus bringing the sound of compassion to all humankind. This is a class given on the inner meaning  of the shofar, in which we learn a piece of the  Zohar  explained by Rabbi Yehudah  Lev Ashlag in the Perush HaSulam. The teaching is followed by a short discussion. About 35 minutes

One of the problems of the work of the month of Elul is the language of confession, sin and repentance. We want to get closer to God. We understand this as being the message of the month of Elul.  But the emphasis on looking at areas in our lives where we have messed up and the feelings of shame this arouses, is difficult for us all. The Sages, however,  see the feeling of shame as something positive! Shame wakes up in us when we sense a discrepancy between our acts and our potential, and it has the power to bring us to true Teshuvah. Talk inspired from Ani l’Dodi, writings for the month of Elul, by Rabbi Chaim Sabato with understandings from the Kabbalah of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag

The essence of the month of Elul is “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.” Yet this doesn’t square with it being the month of Teshuvah, repentance. Or does it? It’s a time for repairing relationships till they reach the level of love they had before we messed up, whether they are relationships between ourselves and our fellows or ourselves and God. It is a time of Teshuvah, a time of coming back. From Ani Ledodi by Rabbi Chaim Sabato with added inspiration from the teachings of Rabbi Ashlag and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

Love your neighbor as yourself: To what extent do we need to go? What stops me? Do I even understand what it means to love my fellow, who I may not even like, unconditionally. The truth is that in our normal ego-ruled consciousness we don’t even know what these words mean, let alone being able to put this into practice. In this talk we find out that our awareness of the soul and the language of unconditional love are in fact intimately related to each other. And we learn how the great Sage Hillel gave us a stepping stone to help us on our path. Drawn from the the article Matan Torah by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag with the commentary of Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb With grateful thanks to my chevrutas David Bar Dov and Ilan BenGal talk 15 minutes

Where is God? Why can’t I sense His presence? This question troubles us throughout the year, but is given added poignancy on this day, Tisha B’Av, the day of the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Ashlag teaches us that the destruction we need to focus on, is the destruction of our own inner sanctuary for God’s presence. So says the Lord: “A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for He is not.”  He is not at the center of our lives. (The Zohar on Lamentations ) Adapted from a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Gottlieb at Gush Katif 1997

The fasts and festivals of the Jewish year seemingly remember historical events. But in truth they are prisms with which to view the inner processes of our present. This period of the three weeks of the destruction of the Temple 2000 years ago teaches us how to rebuild our inner Jerusalem today. Rabbi Ashlag teaches that the inner meaning of Jerusalem is the point of holiness within our soul wherein we can come to love our fellow unconditionally and thus come to the love of God.

The seventeenth of Tammuz, is a fast day which commemorates many tragedies,but they all started on the day when the children of Israel made the golden calf just six weeks after they received the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. On this day Moses broke the first tablets of stone that had been written by God . What went wrong? To our eyes the making of the golden calf seems foolish . Why did they do it? When we look at it from the perspective of the Kabbalah as taught by Rabbi Ashlag we understand that the basis for the sin was that the Children of Israel were trying to receive the relation of God with their vessels of receiving, with their ego and thus they came into separation, instead of giving to God through faith This has profound implications for us even today.

The works of the Kabbalah are often technical with language that seems foreign to us. What are they really talking about? Why is it that purity of heart and loving-kindness help us understand the material in question, why isn’t intellectual aptitude enough? Rabbi Ashlag wrote introductions, essays and letters to his pupils, which use language with which we are familiar. So we think we understand them. But the more we go into these works, the more we realize how deep they are, with many shades of meaning. As we work on ourselves, their meanings seem to change. However, all these works are based on the work of the Ari and of the Zohar to which Rabbi Ashlag wrote more technical works that use language that seems foreign to our ears. As we grow in both our inner work and in our learning we begin to see that both these types of writings are actually talking about the same issue. How we can rectify ourselves and fulfill the lives we were created for. Includes an essay by the Baal HaSulam on why he wrote his books (16 minutes)

The work of lighting the Menorah that Aaron was given in the Mishkan, is shown to be a metaphor for the work of the mitzvot that we do. However the western candle shone with more light than the oil light allotted to it, and this was seen by the Sages as miraculous, testifying that God in His mercy does not reward us strictly according to our deeds but gives us of His light, His bounty despite the paucity of our mitzvot. Through His light, he sustains the whole world. From the teachings of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag, on Parshat Shavua Al Hatorah Beha’alotecha

The light of the Torah is one. The vessels with which we receive the light of the Torah are called the garments of the Torah. However, to access the light of the Torah we need to add in the ingredient of faith. Faith that the Torah itself can bring us back to the good way. A discussion on the correct way to approach our study of the Torah taken from one of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag’s articles in the Sefer haMaamarim. Maamar 12 vol3