Highlights and Key points of Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah

Says the Zohar, the Torah provides us with a calendar of events, timetables, to know when you
can tap into different energies of the Light force of God. We can tap into the Light force of God in
such abundance and beneficence that once we turn on that incredible Light Force in our lives, in
our homes and in our environments the chaos and darkness cannot exist side by side.

This is the only intention of The Torah, and the only intention of the Zohar is the
decodification to support and assist all of mankind into taking advantage of dramatic
moments throughout the year, year in and year out, nothing to do with tradition. These
conditions come before us each and every year and are channeled by the moon. That is
why the moon is an extremely important, integral part of this timetable.

Rabbi Isaac Luria beautifully explains what the Zohar says of this period of Rosh Hashanah to
Simchat Torah as it occurred in the time of creation…in the time of Rosh Hashanah, the world
was created. And so when Rosh Hashanah returns each year, we too connect to the spiritual
process that was In the Beginning. This is coded in the first word of the Torah - Berashit - When
you rearrange the letters you have B'Aleph Tishrei or On the First of Tishrei.

In the beginning, there was no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds. Ze'er Anpin
and Malchut were one. On the day of creation, Rosh Hashanah, these two worlds were sawed
apart. The period of 21 days from Rosh Hashanah to Simchat Torah is the period of time it takes
Ze'er Anpin and Malchut to reconnect - to mate. During these 21 days, it is the metaphysical way
that the spiritual Light and physical vessel mate - Creating the way that the Light will relate to us
for the rest of the year.

During this period, it is important to restrict your own desires by recognizing that it is not you who
fulfill your desires but the Light of the creator that fulfill your desires. The one with big desires
pushes away their desire - the more one pushes away the more the Light comes to you. For big
desire, we must learn to push away small desire "me and my life"- small desire. When you
concern yourself with bigger things the smaller things are taken care of.

Rosh Hashanah is traditionally understood as the time of judgement, when the Creator takes a
reckoning of our deeds for the past year. But according to Kabblah, and the Zohar, this depiction
is inaccurate. It is not about observance for the sake of tradition. And it’s not about religion, either.

Science can offer some insights into the true significance of Rosh Hashanah - a principle of
physics states that for every action there is an equal reaction. For every cause there is an effect.
Rosh Hashanah is built upon this foundation - the universal laws of cause and effect. Think about
it - every word that we speak, every action we perform is like a boomerang that we fling into the
cosmos. Every Rosh Hashanah all of these boomerangs, the positive and negative, return into
our lives. Moreover, this system of cause and effect is not exclusive to the Jews. According to
wise Kabbalistic sages, all mankind shares this system of cause and effect. Putting it simply, life
operates like a cosmic mirror- when we smile, a mirror smiles back, when we perform a negative
action in our world, this negative energy is reflected back upon us.

So it is not the Creator that stands in judgement of us and we are never required to stand in
judgement in front of the creator.

God does not punish.

God does not reward.
That is the big misconception.

There is only one force. On divine energy that flows through the cosmos just as there is but one
electrical force flowing through your home. The force is only good, infinite and compassionate.

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Now consider this, no one would argue that electricity enriches our lives, but this same force can
also be destructive - stick your finger into a light socket and you can die. But, the nature of
electricity has never changed. It would be senseless to say that electricity has punished you. In
the same way the Creator never punishes us.
Never.
We ourselves choose to put our finger in the socket knowingly or unknowingly.

We mistakenly think we have many decisions in life - an infinite number of choices of how to act.
But the truth is there are two possibilities in life - Light and Darkness. Sharing or selfishness.
Only two choices in any given thing. And guess how many results there are? The same. It is not
infinite - it's two: Light or Darkness.

When you understand that there are real repercussions associated with our negative behavior,
large and small, we may be tempted to ask for a pardon, or seek exoneration, through the
ignorance of the law of cause and effect.
Sorry.
Ignorance of the laws of the universe is no excuse, and natural laws of the universe cannot be
violated without consequences. Just as you cannot plead ignorance of the law of electricity while
touching a high voltage wire.

But, it is also a spiritual law of a universe that when a person achieves a basic change in his or
her own nature, the universe must respond and reflect the miraculous energy back to us. We can
then use that energy to alter destiny and deflect judgements.

The first thing you must do in order to bring about change is to accept responsibility. You need to
become accountable for your actions. That first stage begins leading up to Rosh Hashanah.

STAGE 1. CLEANSING
The first stage of the holidays is this month of Elul - the month of cleansing.
This upcoming month, Elul, is all about figuring out what you need to change about yourself so
that you can overcome whatever it is inside of you that is stopping you from getting everything
you want out of life. It’s the first stage of the holidays. It’s the month of cleansing where we can
get rid of a lot of negativity in order to get the all the energy of the following month. We want to
bring up all that we need to see so that we can cleanse it before Rosh Hashanah. We need to
reverse the hostile situation we’re in. We think what’s hostile is terrorism and wars, but what’s
really hostile is closer to home – it's the chaos and the fighting we create in our own homes - it’s
the pollution we create in our own environment. This affects everyone and everything – so that’s
why all people and all things need Rosh Hashanah. It is about removing all the negativity from
all of our lives. You have to know that you can take care of it all by doing this month right.

What we’re really doing is creating a structure for our vessel that determines what kind of Light
we want to have. And it’s all in our control. There really are no dead ends in life, and there is no
chaos we can’t get through. But we need to figure out what we need to do to break through our
chaos, and then we need to tap into the laws of the universe to help us make it happen.

The first prayer of Rosh Hashanah, the Mizmor le David asks, "Who is the King of Honor?" - the
answer is not God - it's us. It is about asking ourselves what we make a priority in our lives. So
from now until Rosh Hashanah, it's important for us to think about what we really want for our whole
next year - what are our priorities? How much more do we want to have? What do we want to
accomplish?

During Rosh Hashanah, the cosmic energy of the universe is completely in balance. For two
days, the supernal world of Ze’er Anpin and the physical world of Malchut are in balance. That’s
why Rosh Hashanah is in the month of Libra, which is related to balance. On Rosh Hashanah,
you have to do something to earn that balance, though. During those two days, it is said that the

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world sits in judgment. Meaning, it is decided how pollution will take place – how much you’re
going to get, and how it will affect you.

On Rosh Hashanah, you get the opportunity to clean out all the wrong messages our body and
souls give us. For example, the reaction of feeling jealous, a fear of being betrayed, even
something as small as the craving for sugar… We are not born with these things. But through
our lives we have experiences that impact us greatly. They make enormous impressions on us.

We have 2 days during Rosh Hashanah to eliminate all our negativity:

Rosh Hashanah is a time where there is an opening in the cosmos - that creates a virtual time
tunnel in which our thoughts and meditations allow us to travel back in the moments of the past
year that require correction. Our consciousness during Rosh Hashanah plants the seed for our
entire next year. Rosh Hashanah is not the New Year as commonly believed, but the head or the
seed of the year. Just as an apple seed begets an apple tree, Rosh Hashanah is our opportunity
to choose the seed we wish to plant for our coming year. Just as your head, your brain, controls
your body, Rosh Hashanah controls your entire year. The harder we work at changing our ways
and removing our negative traits, the more positive energy we inject into the seed level, the more
seeds of prosperity, peace and blessings will sprout in our life.

On Rosh Hashanah, you are basically writing your movie for next year. In the two days of Rosh
Hashanah, we are illuminating our vessel in one shot, not through a process, and we can do it.

There is a prayer you say to nullify the vows you made last year that you didn't keep. These
vows create energy that sits in you and blocks you from receiving more, so you have to nullify the
energy you took but didn't use. In the evening on this day is the first connection to the holiday -
where we plant the seed. We have to figure out what we want, what our priorities are, and ask for
everything to be different - ask for it all!

All Jewish Holidays are only one day in Israel. Rosh Hashanah is the only holiday that is
two days, even for Israelis. Why? The first day is for removing harsh judgements -
nullifying all of the major short circuits that we have created that cause tremendous chaos in our
lives. Hurting people, anything. The second day is for nullifying soft judgements.

What does that really mean?

The judgements for murder and stealing are not the same. You can destroy a person's life
without a gun, but a gun is more real. However, there are judgements for both. On the first day,
we remove the pollution we have created for the most negative things, and of course we have the
most potential to change on the first day too. On the second day, soft judgments are nullified -
minor relationship problems, minor illnesses.

Another way to look at it, the first day of Rosh Hashanah is like building the frame and the second
day is drawing what's in the picture. If you do the days right, your next year will be different. And
it is not about doing it right technically; it is about doing it right with consciousness. It's nothing
that can be explained, but you'll feel it and know if you did it right. It is a commitment for us to go
into Rosh Hashanah with the right intention. We have a responsibility - it's not just about fixing
yourself, but supporting the others as well.

STAGE 2 - BLOWING OF THE SHOFAR

Unfortunately, most people associate blowing of the shofar with tradition, a symbolic act of
commemoration. This could not be further from the truth, and frankly, symbolism and traditional
rituals offer no practical benefit to our modern day existence. Because we have remained
ignorant to the true purpose of the shofar, its effect in our lives has remained negligible. Instead
of being an awesome instrument of power, the shofar has remained a fruitless symbol of tradition.
The power of the shofar can only be expressed when the knowledge of its true purpose is
expressed in our consciousness. Yes, knowledge is power, and knowing why we sound the
shofar is the electrical current that turns it on.

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So what is the shofar?
The shofar can be an instrument of astonishing mystical power when used by someone that has
gained the necessary understanding and has completed the essential spiritual preparations. As
it is written in the Zohar, "There is no sound of the shofar, which does not ascend to a certain
firmament, and all in that firmament make room for that sound." In preparation for this part of the
spiritual observance, the Rav devotes three days to his own spiritual cleansing in order to
become a pure channel for the energy of this holiday. When the Rav brings the shofar to his lips
and sounds a note, this is not merely a symbolic act. The blowing of the shofar is a tool that has
immediate cleansing and purifying effect on the negative forces affecting the lives of everyone in
the synagogue, and even on the negativity in the world as a whole. The mystical sound
emanating from the shofar operates like a spiritual laser beam that dissolves all the blockages of
negative energy that we have created over the past 12 months. A spiritual ultrasound whose
vibrations permeate every crack and crevice in our being removing negative residue and purifying
our soul. With every blast of the shofar, we transcend the every day parameters of time and
space. We revisit the moments of our negative behavior and we rescind the judgments. Like
travelers in time, we literally construct a new universe -- one in which both our transgressions and
the judgements they engendered never existed.

The shofar can only be made from a ram’s horn. Why?

The ram exhibits what is the most negative behavior, even for humans. You can see this in how
they act when they eat. If three rams all have food in front of them, and plenty of it, one will push
the other away from his food so he can’t have it. It’s not that the other needs it – he has his own
food! It’s just that he doesn’t want the other ram to have his food. The ram wants what he has,
and does not want any other ram to have it even if he does not need it. People have these same
qualities - selfishness for no reason - and we have to vaccinate against this quality.

What is a vaccination – it usually uses a bit of the disease to cure. That’s what the shofar does.
The shofar goes against the power of the ram and changes us.

There is another very specific reason that the ram's horn is used which is explained in the Zohar
and is a bit more complicated…Rosh Hashanah is the head of the year which takes place in the
Hebrew month of Tishrei. This month is known as the Head of all Months although, according to
the Zohar, it is the seventh month of the year in the Hebrew calendar. The shofar helps to clarify
the connection between the head of the year (the month of Tishrei) and the actual Jewish New
Year (the month of Nissan).

The ram is the zodiac sign of Aries, the Hebrew month of Nissan. Kabbalists through the ages
explain that the month of Nissan represents the true New Year in the Hebrew calendar. By no
coincidence, Passover is celebrated in the month of Nissan - As it is written in the Zohar, Rosh
Hashanah is the seed or conception of the year, but Passover is actually the birth of the New
Year.

So, we actually DO connect, to the concept of the New Year, but we do so at the Head of the Year
or on a seed level. So in short, we are connecting to both the conception of the year, and the
birth of the year.

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Shofar meditations:
The 101 sounds of the shofar are divided into four levels. Each has its own spiritual connections,
and each focuses on eliminating a specific aspect of negative energy. This can eliminate
judgment and provide protection. The sound of the ram's horn literally CONFUSES Satan - it's
25th century technology. It's an anti-virus.

What do we do during the blows? This is very important - we need to meditate on very specific things.
With the right consciousness, using the right meditations to guide us, the shofar functions like a powerful
laser removing the negativity of our actions eliminating our biggest fears, negativity, major health
problems - things we are not aware of - replacing it with Light.

The First 30 Soundings are connected with Abraham, who represents the divine energy of
mercy and kindness. These soundings erase negativity associated with idol worship. This does
not refer to idolatry in the narrow sense of bowing down to graven images. Kabbalistically, we
worship idols whenever we give power in our lives to something or someone other than the Light
of the Creator - anything that controls you. It could be fear, anger, money, sex, ego, judgment, or
drugs! Anything that makes you forget about the Light and your purpose in this life. Things you
have to change but you can't because you're reactive. Meditate to eliminate this part of your
movie to get clarity.

The Second 30 Soundings are a connection to Isaac, and to the energy of receiving. Kabblah
teaches that these sounds cleanse the negative effects of incest, which like idol worship is
defined in the broader sense. Here incest refers to any negativity engendered through improper
sexual acts. This is also about relationships. Any form of relationship you want to fix or cleanse
to make them better. Or, it can be about relationships you want to create - your soulmate...

The Third 30 Soundings are a connection with Yaacov, and to the define balance between
mercy and judgement. These blows of the shofar annul the effects of bloodshed -- which includes
not just physical violence, but any intention to cause harm and pain. In this sense, Kabblah even
defines causing embarrassment to another person as bloodshed, in the sense that shame can
cause blood to rush to someone's face. This also includes your physical health so you do not
have bloodshed in your own life.

The Final 11 Soundings are connected to King David, and to the spiritual energy of malchut,
which is the foundation of the physical world. These last soundings deal with the negativity of evil
speech and the damage that is done by any form of gossip or slander. This takes care of
airborne diseases. Things you don't have control over, things that just travel around. Things that
manifest because of speaking about others.

There are 4 types of notes blown:

Tekiyah – is a big note
Sh’varim – 3 notes
Teruah – 9 or more broken notes
Tekiyah Gedolah – long blowings

The broken shofar blows are like crying sounds - they take care of crying that can be created in
our lives due to misery. The longer notes surround the broken notes to encapsulate the negativity
and eliminate it.

We stand during the shofar blowing because sitting connects you to manifestation, and
you don't want that grounding.

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Watch out - during the actual shofar blowing, when you are trying to have the best thoughts – to
think of all you want to cleanse – you might have the most negative thoughts ever! You might
even have the worst feelings for other people! Don’t worry, it’s okay. It’s even good. Because all
that negativity is floating up so that you can knock it out!

Normally, we blow the shofar on both days of Rosh Hashanah, but if Rosh Hashanah lands on
Shabbat we do not blow the shofar. Shabbat is so powerful that it takes care of the negativity
itself - no added actions are necessary. That day will also be easier for us than normal because
we have the power of Shabbat. Even though we don’t blow the shofar, we still do meditations on
the sounds as though we were hearing them.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEN DAYS BETWEEN ROSH HASHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR
The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a time to test out and edit your
new movie.
This period is known as Aseret Ymei Teshuvah or the Ten Days of Repentance.
Actually, it is ten days of cleansing - it is an opportunity to cleanse/change your past in order to
effect your future. It's a period of testing, too. Whatever it is that you scripted, you have to prove
that you really want to live it! You have to act differently, and prove you have a different
consciousness. Remember your consciousness is 99% of what you draw into your life. One way
to do this is through minimizing ego. You should go to people you know you hurt and ask for their
apology. Put your ego aside and ask for forgiveness. And focus on how you can change, not on
how others hurt you and how they need to change. Are you going to go back to where you were
before Rosh Hashanah, or be different? It's a huge test.

KAPPAROT sacrificing chickens:

The connection to eliminate the desire to receive for the self-alone. You can get it all on
this day! Think BIG.
This occurs in the wee hours of the morning prior to the eve of Yom Kippur - sacrificing chickens...
We take a chicken, circle it over our heads, and give it our negativity. The chicken actually takes
your negativity from you. Then they are sacrificed, but don't think of it as cruel, because the
chickens also win - when they die, their souls get elevated to the human kingdom. Otherwise,
they are stuck in the animal kingdom. We do each other a favor. Also, when they are killed, it is
according to the laws of Kashrut, the kosher process, which ensures that the animal feels
absolutely no pain when it dies. We also eat the chickens - it's not that we're just sacrificing them.
It's continuity.

YOM KIPPUR is the 10th day of the days of repentance. On Yom Kippur, the movie is done.
It's edited, finished; the negativity is off you. It's the most powerful day of the year. Satan is not
around - he is on vacation. On Yom Kippur, you actually take advantage of the fact that Satan is
not around, and you can pull out any cassette you want. It's like you're in a Blockbuster store and
you get to grab the best movie there is, and he can't stop you. You can get whatever you want,
but you have to go through a lot to get it first.

There are five recommended restrictions for Yom Kippur- eating, drinking, wearing leather shoes,
engaging in sexual relations, and putting oils on your body. The reason is so that your
consciousness remains focused and your body is fulfilled through spiritual sustenance. That way
you remain on a very elevated level of being (BINAH) and are not dragged down spiritually by the
physical limitations of your body. If you adhere to these restrictions, then you can pick your
movie. You have to meditate to connect to the level of Binah on this day. BINAH is our
connection to the source of the Light or the Endless - The Flawless universe.

Ready to go deeper?

Remember earlier, how Isaac Luria explained the creation of the world at the time of Rosh
Hashanah and the sawing a part of the spiritual world or upper realms of Ze'er Anpin from the
physical world or lower realm of Malchut…

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Well at Rosh Hashanah, the moon or the physical world, is concealed. The moon does not wake
up or reveal itself until the 10th of the month, which is Yom Kippur. The Zohar explains that on the
10th day, the upper mother returns (The Light of Binah) and illuminates the moon (the symbol of
Malchut - our physical world.) It is written Yom HaKipurim. Plural. Why? Because the two lights
illuminate together - the light of Binah (the upper worlds) and the light of Malchut (lower world).
On Yom Kippur, the world, Malchut, is lit from the Light of Binah. On this day our world is not
illuminated by Ze'er Anpin, the sun, but from the light of Binah - the upper Sefirot.

On this day, Malchut becomes equal to Binah - the vessel becomes equal to the source of the
Light. This is also why we say the second line of the Shema out loud on that day …because the
prayer of the Shema is connected to the Tree of Life. We usually say the Baruch Shem quietly so
as not to attach negativity to this energy - because Satan sits where there is Light. But, on Yom
Kippur, we say it out loud because the physical world is elevated to the level of Binah on that day
and there is no negativity in Binah. It is a holy place where the Light and the Vessel are equal.

Restrict the physical world on Yom Kippur to reach a higher level. The less you do, the closer to
the level of Binah you become. It is not the Day of Atonement but the Day of At One ment. We
reach a place of Being at One with the Light. You have to collect as much as you want - the store
is open. But, in addition to doing the five restrictions, you also have to be in a consciousness
without arrogance, selfishness or uncertainty.

The way to do that is to forget about YOU. Forget about your needs. You RESTRICT. Eating,
makeup, water, even sex are all about YOU and your needs and are related to comforts of
physicality and the physical limitations of your body. You want to transcend that - so you don't
have any of it. Your soul needs to be in Binah, so you restrict the body's comfort to get it there.

There are five "meals" or prayers throughout the day to keep you full. And as you cleanse, you
get higher and higher to reach Binah. Reaching the level of Binah is the ultimate fulfillment.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRAYER OF NEILAH ON YOM KIPPUR

The end of Yom Kippur is about being on target - focusing. Locking in on a target. There's a
prayer called Neilah that does this. Here, you are putting the cassette you have written,
produced, and edited and locking it into the VCR. And you seal it so hackers can't get in. Of
course, the biggest hacker is Satan.

From Yom Kippur to Sukkot - these are days of mercy. Look to serve others. Find ways to
act with mercy - share, visit the sick... anything. The four days before Sukkot have the energy
of grace and sharing. This creates encircling light. It surrounds our cassette with Light to
protect it - it almost creates a bubble for us to live in so that as we go about our year, we have
protection. It takes care of your surrounding atmosphere.

SUKKOT
In decodifying the meaning of this holiday, the Zohar asks "if all that was meant to be was a
tradition a commemoration of remembering this time when the Jews pass by through the desert,
and all they had were these little huts, and because they lived in huts, therefore we have to live in
huts? The Zohar then asks, "Why does it have to be on this particular day? Why does it
necessarily have to follow after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? They sat in these huts during
their sojourn through the desert for 40 years throughout the year, so why would the 15th day of the
month of Libra be designated as the festival of the tabernacle? Why the specific dimensions?
Why the other aspects, which include the palm, tree, ergot, citron, and myrtle branch?

Why does the Holiday of Sukkot fall on the 15th day of the month?
We know the power of each day of the month. The 15th day of the month is when there is
complete union, complete revelation, where the complete bonding between the sun and the moon
has occurred. That full moon indicates for us that the Light is now ready to shed its entire

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beneficence upon all mankind, the vessel, the moon which is our vessel. The Light force of God
is symbolized by the sun. Science has explained that one second of the full power of the sun can
feed this entire universe its electrical needs for billions of years. Now, imagine how awesome, to
go beyond the power of the sun, because this light force is available to us without limitation on the
15th day of the month of Libra, because we have achieved a bonding with that level of Binah, the
flawless universe, which we can access by merely sitting in a hut with the proper dimensions to
create the adequate vessel to receive this awesome Light.

Coupled with the four aspects of the lulav, each one providing us with another dimension of a
metaphysical vessel, so we can access into this awesome opportunity of the light force of God,
which comes without limitation, without interference, without any visible or invisible or
metaphysical obstacles. We have the blessing, the benefit, and the ability to tap into this light
force (of action) that remains with us for an entire year! Can you imagine? Imagine filling our
household our families, our environment with this incredible light force of God because now is the
appropriate time for it to last one full year! We can draw forth from the wellspring of the fountain
of the Light force of God!

Why must the holiday of Sukkot follow Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur?
Because, as it explained in the Zohar, the cosmic energy of Rosh Hashanah and the cosmic
energy of Yom Kippur, provide a setting by which the Light force is no longer inhibited by our
negative actions. Our klippot or blockages are shattered by the blowing of the shofar so that there
is no longer a curtain between ourselves and the Light force of God - thereby enabling us to
receive the light force with out limitation.

For 40 years wandering in the desert, the Israelites lived in chaos, their destiny controlled by the
environment, as we are today, for the most part, governed by our chaotic environment, and yet
the Zohar explains, that by this holiday of Sukkot, you can create your own environment.

What? Even though everything around us is so polluted, so corrupted, we can somehow tap into
a whole new environment, the encircling light (Or Makif) and create a whole new dimension of life
free of pollution, chaos, is that the implication? And the answer is YES.

Why do we need to sit in the Sukkah?

The Sukkah itself is the vessel or tool that we use to draw down the Light of Mercy and the Light
of Sharing (Or DeChasidim). This type of light becomes prevalent, manifested in this arena
known as the universe. By sitting in the sukkah, eating in it and sleeping in it as much as
possible and having the quantum consciousness of unity and limitlessness that goes beyond time
space an motion, we can draw this energy from the vast cosmos that furnishes us with the light
force of God. Thereby, creating a bubble of protection so that we can look forward to that world of
peace on earth and good will to our fellow man.

But let's go a step deeper in the explanation of the act of sitting in the Sukkah. In the Torah
portion of Emor it says that we should sit in the sukkah for seven days in order that Israel sit in
belief or faith (EMUNAH). And what is that belief? That we are sitting in the shadow of the
sukkah without fear. We know that words are not wasted in the Torah. The Zohar explains the
secret of the word EMUNAH and the secret of The Shadow of the Sukkah. By sitting in the
sukkah, we have no fear of prosecution (any form of negativity) because the prosecutor, Satan,
has already been separated - At Yom Kippur we were separated from the negativity of the force of
Satan. All who sit in the sukkah have the secret of Emunah.

The Zohar explains, what is the Secret of Emunah? This is where Gematria comes in…The word
EMUNAH is made up of the Hebrew letters Aleph, Mem, Vav, Nun, Hay.
The Aleph Mem and Nun make up the word AMEN that numerically adds up to 91. The
Kabbalistic interpretation is the idea of 91 where the Tetragramatron (representing the spiritual
world) comes together with the Adonai (the physical world, as we know it). When these two

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channels of awesome energy come together, the forces of heaven and earth, the two forces of
the upper and lower realms - you immediately remove chaos from your realm.
So what is revealed in the Zohar and explained by Rabbi Ashlag, through the word EMUNAH,
Is that when we sit in the sukkah we are there in an embracing field, a quantum field, of this entire
world, together with the entire universe, and chaos cannot be seen.

Sitting in the sukkah (which also has the numerical value of 91) is the totality of the energy of the
upper and lower realm. Just being there is like being in the Holy temple and you draw down the
Light of Mercy (Or DeChasidim). Drawing down this light depends on one thing - how we share.
This impacts the quality of your life for the year- we encompass all of the energy we have actually
shared. When we change our desire to receive - we share. That is the energy of Sukkot.

HASHANAH RABBA:
This is the night where our movie gets distributed to all the theaters. This night, we check to
make sure the movie is okay first. We check our shadows under the moon to make sure
we're all right. Our entire year shows in our shadow and if there are any problems that
come up, we can fix it, but only on that night. The seal is made here.

There is a kabbalistic process called checking of the shadows. A trained teacher will look at your
shadow by the Light of the moon. The moon represents desire – that’s why it affects this world in
the most physical way (tides, etc.) The moon represents the vessel. You can see the reflection
of your 80” of surrounding light by the moon. The process is to check the energy level of an
individual to determine if their work is being done. It shows the build up and condensing of
energy in your life. You want to check and make sure everything is okay, and determine how
much inner light you have.

SIMCHAT TORAH/ SHMINI ASERET:

This is about getting joy. It is about collecting joy for the entire year. Don't let your mind get
involved. Just be happy! Just dance in circles until you can't take anymore.

The most important promise the Zohar makes about Simchat Torah is that if we’re happy,
chaos MUST disappear from our lives.

As everyone knows, we go through the Torah throughout the year, reading a portion each week,
using it as a manual for life. We try to understand it and we use it to redesign our lives. By
Simchat Torah, we are at the end of the Torah. So this weekend, we will read the last portion.
But we also read the very first portion as well. Why do we read both the last and the first portions
in the same Shabbat? The Zohar says that we end and begin in the same day because in life,
you can never say you’re “done.” There is continuity.

The Torah never ends because we need the power of continuity. The same is true in life.
We can benefit from all of it – the good and the bad things. Some people say they wished they
had been studying Kabbalah since they were three years old – but maybe you needed the 20 or
30 years of bad experiences to realize you needed to change.

A person can never say, “I don’t do drugs any more, it’s over.” Or “I’m divorced, it’s over.” You
can’t create a vacuum where something once was; you can only fill it in with something else.
Whenever you think you can say something is done or over– that is a clear sign that it isn’t.
Why? Can you say you’re “done with drugs?” Never. What about the effect they had? That’s
never gone. When you did drugs, it affected your body, your brain cells, your family, and your
career… You might not do drugs anymore, but they are still there because the effects are there.
And what if drugs caused you to come to spirituality – that’s an effect. Do you want to really be
over drugs? Because that means you’re over spirituality, too.

When you say something is over, it’s a real problem because it means that you’re not
aware that it’s still there. And if you’re not aware, you’ll never be able to control it. You

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have to know its still affecting you. It’s not real that things end, and if you think they do, then it
just means you don’t get it.

The last letter in the last portion of the Torah is a lamed, and the first letter of the first portion is a
bet. This spells lev, which means heart. All the holidays up until now have been about the head
– about understanding what we need to change, thinking, figuring out, and seeing. This holiday –
to the heart, not the head – which is the expression of our soul. It’s not about analyzing. Lots of
holidays are about understanding; this is the only one about the heart.

Simchat Torah provides us with a window of opportunity – its energy appears in the
universe once a year. It means “the happiness (or joy) of the Torah.” The holiday is also
called Shmini Atzeret, which means, “to stop at the eight.”

What does “joy of the Torah” mean? We can receive universe the power of joy and happiness in
the universe. Interestingly, happiness scares some people. Many people aren’t even clear what
it is. Can you even be happy? We know we can be happy about certain things, or happy in
certain moments, but can you be totally happy? All the time?

The reason happiness scares us has to do with how we define it. What do you mean am I
happy? Now? Because of what? And relative to what? What does happiness even mean?
Decide this week.

For most of us, happiness is a reaction to something or someone. We can smile or laugh, but are
we happy? Is laughing a true connection to happiness?

What makes a person happy? When the Twin Towers fell, were we supposed to feel joy? What if
a person suffers great pain or loss? Are you just supposed to be happy? Is someone supposed
to be happy if they are raped, God forbid? What is the field of energy of joy? Will chaos just
disappear? Truly, if you were happy all the time, even during tragedy, people would probably want
to lock you up.

According to the Zohar, happiness is an energy field in the universe. In moments of chaos,
you feel fear, anger, jealousy, or other things. But in other times, you feel happiness. But the
Zohar says that even if you have chaos in your life, you’re supposed to be happy. Most
people don’t want to give up their unhappiness, though. They worked hard for it! They want to
wallow in it. You’re supposed to just be happy? People don’t get that. Most people think they
have to hold on to their chaos just for a few more minutes, or years, or decades. Kabbalah says,
even in those moments of chaos, be happy.

This week, we learn that we can erase chaos from our cassettes (both past lives and
current) with happiness. People can even overcome physical deformities and problems with
happiness. You just have to be happy about it!

You just need to be happy on one day? YES.

On Simchat Torah, the Zohar promises that you if you are happy, you can eliminate chaos for a
year. That is why it’s also called Shmini Atzeret – to stop in the eight day [of Sukkot]. You’re
stopping the chaos and starting a new cassette where difficulties can’t enter.

Simchat Torah is a situation in which we enter an energy field of joy. A marriage is created
between the flawless universe and us.

If there is a situation later on in the year where we experience chaos – think about bringing out
the happiness you captured on Simchat Torah. Call upon it and release it to bring in joy.

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To understand what it is to be happy and not react to experiences, you have to know how to do it.
You need to understand how and why it works. Want to know what you have to do on Simchat
Torah? – Walk around in circles, sing, and dance. That’s it. That’s the way to plant the seed of
happiness for a whole year.

In Kabbalah, you have to know that a simple act can create happiness! In fact, most of our
problems could be solved in the simplest of ways. This is true with most things. Even inventions
– think about them. The most amazing inventions are simple ones – you always wonder why no
one thought of them sooner. Little details illuminate so many lives.

The reason we don’t experience happiness is because we’re too complicated. We don’t believe
that simplicity is Light. But remember – the Light is simple!! The solutions to things are not
complicated! The reality is that you don’t need ten advisors to tell you what to do – if you think
you do, that’s just a reflection of you.

What’s one of the most complicated things in life? Human beings. But what do you have to do to
create one? A very simple act. Same thing with miracles – how do you create one? Just
SHARE! IT WORKS! But it’s hard for people to understand. People would rather go to a
marriage counselor for ten years to figure out their problems rather than just share with their
spouse. We lost our understanding of what the Light is. It’s simple.

By walking in circles, dancing and singing – you can get happiness. You don’t need to do
anything else. Why does it work? Why on this day? And why can’t you walk in a straight line
instead of a circle? There’s a reason.

There are two aspects to every human being – two kinds of Light – Inner Light and Encircling
Light (or surrounding light.) On this day, we’re bringing out both. What are they?

1) Inner Light is energy you have within you. In regard to your body, think of it as a
straight line running through you from your head to your toes, top to bottom. Inner Light
nourishes the body – it keeps us going and alive. It’s what makes us wake up in the
morning. But it doesn’t protect us, provide us with miracles, or push us forward in life.
It’s our good intentions and desires, but not the action – it doesn’t make anything actually
happen.

2) Encircling Light is what surrounds you. Imagine this light as a bubble or circle that
surrounds you. It is a perimeter of about 80 inches that extends about 18 inches from all
points of your body. It’s an energy field that protects you. You can see it in high definition
photography that shows auras, or some people can even see them. If you put your hand
close to someone and you can feel it. The more spiritual you are, the farther away you
can stand and still feel it, but as you get closer, it becomes more physical so you can feel
it more. It’s an energy field.

There are some people who have a lot of encircling light – these are people who you love to be
around. It can also be that someone’s energy is so negative that it can contaminate a whole
building – even if he doesn’t say or do anything!

When you don’t have Encircling Light, you have to live only with Inner Light. This creates
an opening for problems, and when they come, you don’t have enough energy to
overcome them. There are certain signs that have less Encircling Light than others.
These people usually feel more pressure and can tend to have addictions. It’s all a part of
their correction.

Inner Light keeps a person alive, but it doesn’t help you change or overcome anything. It’s only
10% of our energy, whereas encircling light is 90%.

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The essence of Simchat Torah is to connect to your own circle of energy – your own 80
inches of Encircling Light to create Inner Light. You can reach out and tap into your
circular energy field and bring it all in to give you control of miracles and wonders! And
you do it through the physical act of walking in circles.

On Simchat Torah, you can build your surrounding light up more.

What matters in life is our ability to get to a point where we can call upon a source of
energy to make us happy. What does it mean to connect to joy to deal with chaos?

Think about how do you felt when the twin towers fell. Did you feel joy? What does Simchat
Torah mean for someone who was raped? How do you feel the joy there? And do you have to?

Happiness is a positive field of energy that provides you with Light and allows you to
connect to the real reality. This is NOT about just seeing the good in all bad situations. It’s not
about believing, either. It’s not about suffering and telling yourself, well, it must be for a good
reason. It’s about calling upon the energy of happiness during chaos and KNOWING this
will cause it to disappear.

IF YOU BUILD UP ENCIRCLING LIGHT ON SIMCHAT TORAH, WHEN CHAOS TAKES PLACE
IN YOUR LIFE, YOU CALL UP THIS ENERGY AND IT WILL CHANGE YOUR DESTINY.

You can decide to smile when things are bad. You can choose to inject in the energy of joy. You
can do it. Or you can choose not to.

Simchat Torah is for those who make the choice to inject the energy of joy and push away
the chaos – in marriage, in having kids, in business, in anything.

If you are happy, chaos disappears. If there is darkness, what do you need to do to inject in the
Light? Just flip a switch. It’s what the Rav always says.

We are planting a seed for a different attitude. Don’t immediately react to chaos. Create a
nourishing support system to tap into – ENCIRCLING LIGHT – in order to be in control of you life!

Why is this holiday about the heart? Because if you don’t choose to feel something, you will
never feel it. If you don’t want to see something, you cannot see. Some people are afraid of
happiness. To see more, you have to want to. To get happiness, you have to want it. This week
creates a support system for us to want it.

Remember - go to the sukkah as much as possible this week. Remove your veils to see how
you can be in charge of bringing more joy to your life. The system is ready. Just tap into it.

All the blessings and joy in the world to all of you! May this be the best year of your lives - full of
happiness, joy, and no chaos.

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 In Summ ar y, here is the b ig p ic ture ab ou t t he holi days :

Rosh Hash an a is like filming your life’s movie. It only takes two days to film all the footage.
Then you have 10 days (until Yom Kippur) to do the editing. They are the days of repentance.
During these days, you manifest the connection you made at Rosh Hashanah. You have to
behave perfectly, as if you’re being watched! On Yom Kippur, Satan takes a vacation. It’s our
day without him, so we can sneak into his vault and steal the files he has on us and erase
them.

From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur you’re dealing with judgment and cleansing. Then Yom
Ki ppu r is the highest day, and it’s not about asking God for forgiveness as if he’s angry with
us. That’s not a quality of the Light. It’s about removing the spiritual corks or blockages that
you have. On this day, you don’t want your body involved in any way with your spirituality, so
you remove yourself from physical pleasures like eating, bathing, sex, drinking, etc. You shrink
what your body gets to bring yourself to the highest level of enlightenment. This stays with
you for the whole year. It’s the energy of judgment.

After Yom Kippur, it’s about the energy of sharing. On Sukk ot, you get Inner Light and
encircling Light. The Sukkah is actually a structure that helps you get Light. This is also about
protecting yourself from your environment. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, you can clean
yourself, but what about other people? If you’re driving on a freeway alone, you can ensure
you won’t have an accident, but what if the other driver is careless or drunk? You should be in
the sukkah as much as you can to capture the encircling Light. But you have to have the right
consciousness to gain it.

Sukkot is like the premier of the movie you filled and edited, but instead of the starring actors
coming to see it, you invite the tzaddikim – the righteous Abraham, Moshe, etc.

Has han ah Rab a an d Simc ha t Tor ah is when your movie goes to the theater. These are
the days of Joy.

This whole process, which may seem hard, is all a test to ensure you have a perfect year.
Thank God we have it…

Blessings a nd Li ght !

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