The Way of Unity Part 1

The Way o f Unity Derech HaYichud, Part 1
The Way of Unity^

Part 1
Introduction
The teachings of Kabbalah comprise two basic parts: gaining familiarity with the
writings of the Arizal, and doing the spiritual work known as yichudim. Mekubalim like
the Rashash, the Baal HaLeshem and the Baal HaSulam confirmed that knowledge of the
Arizal’s writings is not the sum total of Kabbalah—there is also the entire area of the
avodah of yichudim. The Arizal himself recorded some of the pathway of yichudim in his
Sha’ar Ruach Hakodesh, in the form of sheimos and combinations of Divine Names.
However, if the avodah would be limited to only learning and knowing the sheimos, it
would remain at the level of the world of Beriyah [which is the realm of the angels and of
arousing love and fear within the mind, through contemplation]. And even though this is
a very lofty avodah when one has the proper kavanah, it is not the ultimate purpose of
this pathway [because it needs to be developed further]. The Mikdash Melech wrote that
the true yichud needs to be accomplished in the world of Atzilus [which is the place of
dveikus and complete bitul—it is not restricted to thought alone].
Before Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai passed away, he wanted to accomplish a
complete yichud. This is how the holy Idra was brought down into this world; it is
entirely concerned with the complete and all-encompassing yichud. A true yichud of this
nature is essentially the drawing-down of the supernal light which has the power to
mitigate all judgments and hasten the redemption. When we look at the concept of yichud
in this way, we can better understand why mere familiarity with the technical aspects of
the sheimos is only one element of the entire picture of the true yichud. The complete
yichud encompasses all of the nature of the individual as well as that of all of the worlds,
and it is a complex synthesis of a number of different matters, as we will explain.
*We had serious doubts about whether we should publish this ma ’amar at all, since it is concerned with
very deep matters that are normally not shared publicly. At the same time, we felt a duty to provide the
teachings to those who really seek them, since they are necessary if one longs to grow in this path. May
Hashem forgive us for any errors that we might have made in our understanding or in recording the Rav’s
precious teachings; we print them fully aware that they fall far short of their original lofty source.
‫בס״ד‬
To begin with, it must be said that the study of Kabbalah is that of ‫—סוד‬it is the
“secret” of Torah or its ‫רז‬. The word for secret has the same numerical value as that of
light [207 = ‫]רז = אור‬, and this relationship demonstrates to us that the Torah’s secrets and
Hashem’s light must go together. If a person studies Kabbalah but does not apprehend
that light, he cannot be said to really know the subject fully. One could conceivably learn
a great deal of the technical aspects of Kabbalah without having any real relationship to
the matter, because the Torah’s secrets are really tied up with spiritual light, with the
Divine Light.
The first step to experience the light that exists within these studies is to begin to
access the light of Chochmah, which is bitul [self-nullification], as we will explain.^
[Note: The word ‫ חכמה‬is a rearrangement of the letters ‫ כ״ח מ״ה‬, or the ability to be like
nothing. The truly wise person can learn from anyone; the nullification of the self is that
which leaves space for the absorption of wisdom from a higher source.] In general, the
thought process is rooted in the aspect of the sefirah of Binah [because it is a process, or
a reworking and development of an idea through stages], and Binah is also associated
with yeishus, with a sense of individuated self [because there is an “I” doing the
processing]. The aspect of Chochmah, then, is usually sealed and hidden during the
normal cognitive process. For this reason, the early mekubalim would spend a period of
time in secluded prayer and meditation to access their capacity of Chochmah before
attempting to enter into Kabbalistic study or avodah.
In Sha’arei Kedushah we find a number of meditations of this type, such as
focusing one’s mind on the image of being entirely made of light, and being surrounded
entirely by light, and so on. The further meaning of these kinds of meditations is that the
wisdom of Kabbalah is the means by which a person can come to know [experientially,
though the work of his own faculties] the worlds of Asiyah-Yetzirah-Beriyah-Atzilus and
Adam Kadmon [as they relate to him, and through him]. And it is not enough to just know
the outward form of these ideas, but to also grasp them in a spiritual and experiential
way. Rav Pinchas of Koretz taught that all of the concepts that relate to the “ascent of the
^ See the Sefer HaKaneh, which calls the teachings of Kabbalah, the “Chochmah of Kabbalah,” due to the
necessity of entering into its study in a state of bitul.
‫בס״ד‬
soul” are not difficult to grasp; they are essentially concepts of bitul that are reflections of
the sefirah of Chochmah.
To really begin a discussion of these concepts in a practical way, we first need to
clearly understand the meaning of this idea of “light,” to really immerse ourselves in it.
Only after first absorbing this idea well will we be able to discuss the concepts of
“ascents” of the soul. And this preliminary idea also can also only be entered into in
stages, in a graduated way so that each new concept builds upon that which preceded it.
To accomplish this, we need to pay close attention to the teachings of the mekubalim who
actually followed this practice and the exact ways in which they focused their minds in
order to open themselves up to experiencing G-d’s light.
The First Gate: Engraving with the Imagination
The first stage is to come to know the aspect of Chochmah, which is that of the
“right side of the mind” [‫] מח ימין‬, and to access and develop its light. [Note: This should
not be confused with what is usually called “right-brain thinking.” While it stands to
reason that the lateralization of neurological functions into right and left general types
reflects a higher spiritual reality, we are not discussing the more physiological or
psychological manifestations.] The wisdom of Kabbalah could just as easily be called the
''Chochmah of delight,” because the aspect of Chochmah is bound up with the experience
of spiritual pleasure. The genuine mekubalim merited to feel this intense spiritual
pleasure to a great degree. To understand the nature of this pleasure better, we can
examine our own feelings of delight that are produced when we deeply contemplate the
Torah’s teachings. The contemplation itself is associated with Binah, but after we exert
our minds and discover some chiddush or matter of interest to us, we are suffused with
pleasure, and that subsequent feeling stems from the level of Chochmah. This is the
spiritual light that we speak of; this is the essence of coming to, “know before Whom
[‫ ]לפני מ״י‬you stand.” The term ‫ לפני מ״י‬is a reference to both Binah and Chochmah.
Through the exertion of ‫[ מ״י‬the fifty levels of Binah], you will come to “know that
which is before [‫ ]לפני‬Binah''—the delight of Chochmah which is the level that
“precedes” Binah in the array of the sefiros.
The Kabbalists spoke in veiled terms of the way in which one makes the transition
from the work of Binah to the pleasure and light of Chochmah: one must first “descend to
‫־‬T ‫ ״‬0 3
the merkavahf The concept of the merkavah requires careful explanation, since it is the
foundation of the entire edifice of Kabbalah and avodah. [Note: The merkavah is
normally translated as “Divine chariot,” but it really should be rendered as, “Divine
vehicle f A vehicle is a structure that is used to bear and express something higher than
itself. We will now focus on the way in which a human being has the potential to serve as
a vehicle for the expression of all of the Divine attributes.]
A human being is an analogue of Z e’ir Anpin [the lower six attributes, from
Chessed to Yesod\, and Z ”A is really the ruach aspect of the soul. Beneath it is Malchus,
which is the merkavah [the “vehicle” of actualized expression of the attributes that are
above it and which are “seated” upon it], which is like a throne or seat. Generally, the
Z ’A aspect only connects with Binah which is its source, and no higher. [Note: The
Zohar teaches that “Father established the Daughter,” and that, “Mother established the
Son.” This means that the spiritual root of Z ’A is Binah-Imma, and the root of Malchus is
Chochmah-Abba.] In practice, if Z ”A wants to enter into Chochmah, it has to first
“descend” to Malchus, and from there it rises to Chochmah, because that is its root.
[Note: This is the spiritual dynamic that is the basis for why a man cannot really access
the higher mochin of Torah before he is married—he needs to “descend to Malchus,''^
which brings him to bitul and allows him entry to Chochmah.] This is a critical concept
that underlies one’s search for the Divine Light.
Now, Malchus parallels the soul-level of nefesh, and its capacity is that of the
imagination. (Little children, we know, spend a great deal of time in daydreaming and
fantasy play; this is because their soul-level that is most developed is, at that point, only
the aspect of nefesh.) Malchus is therefore “beneath” a person, because he doesn’t really
value it, because he knows that its realm is that of the imagination and not reality. But it
is possible to make use of this faculty for a holy purpose, and through it to attain spiritual
delight—the genuine delight of Chochmah, which is no fantasy but is real and true.
To really descend to Malchus, one first requires a clear understanding of its nature
as Nukva [“Feminine”]. The first is that Nukva can be compared to sitting, while Z ”A can
be compared to standing and walking. Z ”A is an active principle that always wants to
move and rise, but Nukva is the force that always seeks passivity and which provides a
restraining influence. Because of this, Nukva also as a character known as “engraving”
‫בס״ד‬
[the settling into an impression or engraving a groove in a particular mode of thought]. It

has the power to restrain the forward motion of thought so that it can settle into a groove.
[Note: This is the foundation—“seat”—of all contemplative practice, because the mind
first needs to settle and one has to learn the skill of restraining the mind’s tendency to fly
and race forward so that one thought or image can be held for increasing amounts of
time.]
On the other hand, it is vital that a person know that the world of the imagination
is, itself, a dangerous place, because it is so close to the realm of klippah. There are
endless negative ways in which the imagination can be harnessed. Aside from the
essential danger in entertaining such fantasies, the further problem is that one cannot
derive real spiritual pleasure from them or enter into holiness through them. Yet, if a
person develops his ability to settle his mind on a single thought—“engrave,” in other
words—he will find that if he is focused on holiness, this “seat” [merkavah] will come to
serve as a vehicle upon which the higher experience of spiritual delight \Chochmah\ can
rest. So the first thought that one holds—either of Hashem, or of the light that surrounds
him, and so on—is a way of harnessing the imagination [Nukvah-Malchus-merkavah] for
holiness.
This is the deeper meaning of the verse, “With this [‫—בזאת‬a reference to
Malchus] will Aharon enter the kodesh [on Yom HaKippurim]...”^ The aspect of ‫—זאת‬
the feminine pronoun—^refers to the feminine aspect of Malchus, and it means the faculty
of holy imagination and “engraving” [‫]חקיקה‬. With “this” does Aharon enter into the
kodesh, into Chochmah, the Divine Light. And this is why all of the kavanos of the Arizal
that we attempt must first be developed through this capacity of engraving and
imagination. It is the first stage of the avodah of kavanos—knowing how to restrain the
mind and settle it down so that one can hold a single thought as long as required to
accomplish what needs to be done with that kavanah.
Now, when one unites this faculty of Malchus together with Binah—the ability to
contemplate—a powerful force is generated that is sufficient to access the higher light of
Chochmah and its delight. For this reason, the more developed a person’s Binah is [his
Vayikra 16:3
‫בס״ד‬
analytical and contemplative faculty], the easier it is for him to harness the power of his
holy imagination.
The Second Gate: Breathing into Chochmah
That which we have learned until now is basic for anyone who practices
hisbodedus and kavanos. The next stage, however, is not as explicitly described in most
sources, although Rav Avraham Abulafia does speak of it as avirin, or “airspace.”"^ The
“airspaee” alludes to the externality of the sefirah of Chochmah. When we take the word
ohr [‫“—]אור‬light”—and add ayud [to signify Chochmah], we have the total of ‫אויר‬, “air”
or “airspaee,” in our eontext.
The inner nature of Chochmah is the light (delight) of experiencing pleasure in
connection with the Source. It is this delight that provides a person with vitality
throughout his life; without it, a person is incapable of living. (As we know, if a person
lives under the burden of terrible suffering, he is truly closer to death than life.) This also
applies to the external nature of Chochmah—the avir. Just as a person receives vitality
from the pleasure that is the inner makif of chayah-Chochmah, so too does he derive
vitality from the outer makif of chayah-Chochmah, which is its air, or actual breath, in the
sense of the breaths that a person takes. A person is far more able to control the external
makif of Chochmah than its inner force, and we can see a physical parallel to this. It is far
easier to control the breath than it is to attain spiritual delight through the activation of
Chochmah. Because it is easier to control the breath—the externality of Chochmah—it
also can serve as a gateway through which one can more easily enter the internal nature
of Chochmah, which is the light of spiritual pleasure. Gaining greater control over the
breath allows a person to connect spiritually with the source of the avir, the external
makif of Chochmah, so that he can continue the process of greater connection with its
inner aspect.
The way to practically work on this gateway is through proper focus on the breath
itself. A person must focus on the fact that the surround light of Chochmah [the makif\
enters into him constantly and directly [‫] אור ישר‬, and afterward it exits in the manner of a
“returning light” [‫] אור חוזר‬. This process has an analogue in the way in which physical
air enters into him and exits, through the cycle of respiration. He can visualize the air
See his work Chayei Olam HaBa, as well as Part 4 of Sha ’arei Kedushah by Rav Chaim Vital.
‫בס״ד‬
entering his nose and rising up to his mochin [his mind], and from there it descends again
to his heart, and from there to the liver. Through contemplating this cycle [which is not a
physical cycle, but a spiritual one], one begins to feel the flow of the light of pleasure
circulating through him. He can enhance this through holding the breath as long as is
reasonably possible, by blocking the nostrils and the mouth, and taking time to visualize
the air descending from the mochin to the heart and then the liver, and to hold the thought
in his mind that this is the physical parallel of the aspect of the avir, the external makif of
Chochmah, which vitalizes him. In this way, he contemplates how the makif of chayah
enters into him and leaves him and surrounds him at all times. With Hashem’s help, this
helps him really feel the light of spiritual pleasure, which is the inner light of Chochmah.
Until now we have really discussed two basic pathways—^that of “engraving” via
the imagination, and now that of the “airspace” via the breath. The first is more basic and
more easily accessible; it is simpler to carry out. As one becomes more used to it, one can
add the further avodah of the breath and begin to merge them into a single path so that he
can access the inner light, vitality and joy within Chochmah. This light is essentially the
point and purpose of all of Chassidus; all of the Chassidic paths were ways to grasp the
life-giving light of Chochmah and internalize it and its delight. Chabad Chassidius
generally made use of the aspect of Binah, and this is why we find so much discussion of
hisbonenus in the writings of Chabad. Through a great deal of hisbonenus—the
engagement of the faculty of Binah—one descends to Malchus, and from there rises to
Chochmah. Yet, in Kalisk, for example, the path was very different; they focused
immediately on the faculty of Malchus without engaging the quality of Binah at all. They
would take hold of a single point of holiness—even a single word, for example—and
they would remain with it and think about it in the manner of “engraving,” as we have
already described, which would then allow them to rise to higher places. (This is the path
of Malchus alone, and it is called ‫ דרך החזרה‬, the “way of reviewing,” and it can be done
either aloud or mentally. To do it, one takes a single word or verse and reviews it many,
many times—for half an hour or an hour—until it opens up the light of oneg [delight].^)
^ We see an example of this in a Breslov practice of repeating Ribbono sheI olam for a long period, as
hisbodedus.
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The Baal HaTanya, however, objected to this particular form of avodah, because
although it can bring a person to the light of Chochmah, the lack of involvement of Binah
will mean that he will not be able afterward to rise to the higher place of Kesser. The
advantage of hisbonenus [Binah involvement] is that it can energize further upward
motion [just as we know that Binah is like a fire that rises, and that can continue to build
further upon that which has already been grasped].
It is important to explain a further point about Malchus and the use of the
imagination as a gateway. While it is true that the images produced by the imagination
are not real, nevertheless if a person uses a contrived product of the imagination to hold
his mind to the thought of G-d’s light for a certain amount of time, the light that he enters
into is real. Once a person has passed through the gateway of his imagining and really
feels the light, it is liberated from its tethering to the unreal product of the imagination
that had anchored it at first. It then becomes clear that the gateway was not real, but the
light that he realized afterward is.
The Third Gateway: Erasing
To really accomplish all that we have laid out until now, a third element is
necessary: one must know how to erase and nullify other distracting thoughts. It is part of
our nature that our minds wander from thought to thought, and this is all the more true for
a person who has not practiced the skill of “engraving” as described earlier; he will
naturally find it difficult to stop and settle his mind on a single thought. The author of the
Sulam H a’aliyah wrote that this is one of the benefits of the path of reviewing, of
prolonged repetition of a particular word of phrase—it helps to erase all other distracting
thoughts from the mind.
A second way to accomplish erasing is through focus on two particular Divine
Names, ;!‫’״‬fioao and especially the first one (n2020<'‫)״‬, which is a segulah for
nullifying distracting thoughts.
The third way to accomplish erasing is through making use of the principle taught
by the Baal Shem Tov: all distracting thoughts that arise in the mind are fallout from the
sins that a person has done in the past. Therefore, every thought is a holy spark that
comes at a particular time in order to be rectified. Through being mechavein in the Name
that provides vitality to that particular spark, it is possible to rectify it. The thought will
‫בס״ד‬
then dissipate and will no longer disturb him. For example, if a person is preoccupied by
thoughts of a particular object of his desire, he should focus his mind on the Divine Name
associated with love and Chessed [since lust is Divine love and Chessed that has fallen
into unworthy objects]. The Name associated with Chessed is the Shem HaVaYaH written
out with segol vowels under each letter.
The truth is that the best method of accomplishing this erasing is through making
use of all three of these methods together—to do repetitions of the same word or phrase,
and if a thought comes to disturb him he should focus on the Name ‫טפטפי״ה‬, because that
itself helps to repair the fallen sparks. The Name includes an allusion to its function,
because it is formed by the words ‫ ט״פ ט״פ‬, which mean drops of holiness; they are the
holy sparks of Ze ’ir Anpin and Nukvah that have fallen and which prove so distracting.
Afterward, the double ‫ ט״פ‬is joined to the Name ‫י ״ ה‬, because they are being restored to
their Source. This is their rectification and ascent. If, after all that, a person still feels
beset by distracting thoughts, he must grasp hold of their root. There are only six basic
types of thoughts, paralleling the six “extremities” [of middos from Chessed until Yesod].
If the thought involves love and desire for forbidden relations, it is from the root of
Chessed‫׳‬, if the thought is violent or harsh or if one feels angry and it is disconnected
from holiness, it is from the root of Gevurah‫׳‬, and so on. In that case, he should focus on
the Name ‫ טפטפי״ה‬and the Shem HaVaYaH written with shva vowels beneath each letter.
In this way, one rectifies the spark and the thought dissipates.
As a final point, it is necessary to emphasize that the path of engraving, of
focusing the mind on a single thought, is very difficult because the nature of Z e’ir
Anpin—the human spirit [‫—]רוח‬is to be in constant flux, just like the wind [‫ ]רוח‬that
moves incessantly. So the first step it to try to focus one’s thoughts even for ten minutes;
this will be a good start for developing the faculty of engraving, and for feeling a degree
of holiness and pleasure. If a person wants to advance faster, he can make use of the shem
described above, ‫טפטפי״ה‬, which will help to banish distracting thoughts. The focus on
this Name doesn’t constitute an interruption of whatever he was trying to concentrate on,
because it is part of the process of maintaining his original focus. It is obvious that when
a person first attempts this, it is going to be very difficult, and so the practice requires a
‫בס״ד‬
lot of time and devotion and repetition. But if one sticks to it and is patient, he will find
that the pathway will open to him as he develops its mental habits.
The WayofUnity*^
Part 2
Rising Through the Worlds

Until now, we have spoken about receiving the light and pleasure of Chochmah
through the means of “engraving”—focusing the mind on a single thought or matter—
and through meditating on certain sheimos. But there is a whole other avenue available to
dveikus that involves tapping into the native Chochmah within the soul—its natural
capacity for bitul [‫] חכמה = כ״ח מ״ה‬, for the nullification of the individuated self [‫]נאצל‬
before the Creator [‫]מאציל‬. There are many levels to this, but in general we say that there
is self-nullification in thought [meditative] and actual bitul ha ’yeish, as we will explain
shortly. This pathway works together with the way of engraving, since one can begin
with a lower level of focus on bitul and, by settling the mind on it and cultivating only
that thought, eventually enter into higher and higher degrees of bitul.
The primary level of bitul is in engraving the mind with thoughts of acceptance of
the Divine yoke. This draws upon a person the light of spiritual pleasure that comes from
being willing to devote himself to carrying out Hashem’s will; it means that he has
^ We had serious doubts about whether we should publish this m a’amar at all, since it is concerned with
10
‫־‬T 0 3 ‫״‬
reached the level of Chochmah of the world of Asiyah. The nature of the world of Asiyah
is that of acceptance of the Divine yoke. After that, one can begin to use his imagination
to engrave his holy thoughts of love and fear of Hashem; this is bitul of a higher degree.
This brings a person to feel the spiritual pleasure of love and fear, which raises him to the
level of Yetzirah. After that, one rises from there by contemplating and engraving holy
concepts like soveiv kol almin and m ’malei kol almin [that G-d's light both fills and
surrounds all worlds], and so on. The light that he feels is the delight of the spiritual
world of Beriyah. Beyond that, one rises and begins to engrave real feelings of bitul
ha ’yeish within his mind and emotions; this is the sense of being completely nullified
before Hashem—this is the light of the Chochmah of Atzilus. Once a person feels this
pleasure, he can go back and descend again, and think again of the bitul of Asiyah and
follow the process of rising through all of the worlds yet again, many times. This will
bring him to be able to experience spiritual light more completely and more readily.
This pathway of rising through the worlds is known as aliyos. Within every single
person's soul are many levels of thoughts about G-dliness, and at different times each
pathway is particularly open to him. (This is an especially important piece of information
for people who are just setting out on this pathway of "engraving," when it is difficult to
sustain focused thought on a single thought or matter for any real length of time. The fact
that one can enter into the process of aliyah through different channels of thoughts and
feelings is very helpful.) And, in general, it is easier to enter into the light of Chochmah
through the process of aliyos as described earlier because it involves shifting one's focus
to four distinct concepts and one does not have to maintain a single concept for a very
prolonged period. As one becomes more accustomed to the work of engraving and
focusing on a single thought, in the fullness of time perhaps one will merit to ascend on
the strength of one thought, well-engraved. But, at the outset at least, this is not an easy
task to accomplish.
One might ask, why is it so important to follow this pathway of rising through the
worlds and coming to experience [in whatever way is appropriate to our level] each of the
modes of bitul and dveikus that are available at each degree? The entirety of Torah, at its
root, is a means of coming to reveal and know G-dliness in the world. Everything within
the Torah is a method of entering into a relationship with Hashem, as the verse says.
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‫־‬T ‫ ״‬0 3
"And you shall cleave to If a person does not come to feel and know these various
degrees of awareness and attachment to G-d as outlined above, from the level of Adam
Kadmon until Asiyah [meaning, every different possible degree of dveikus], then he
cannot be said to really know Hashem. The more he is able to grasp of each level, the
greater degree of dveikus he comes to achieve.
The teachings of Kabbalah delineate many different forms of avodah that we
accomplish within the levels of Ze'ir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, but our overall focus
and intent should always be on coming to know Hashem, in the sense of the full spectrum
of all of the worlds and levels that exist. [Note: The Kabbalistic works speak of the
specifics of avodah and their effects within the levels of Z'A and Nukva of Atzilus, but
here our teacher emphasizes that this is really only a small part of the overall structure of
all of the worlds, and they all have meaning for us in terms of dveikus and avodah, which
is revealed as we learn more about their nature.]
There is another method that some people find easier to use during the process of
engraving [settling the mind on a single thought or concept]: to focus on the particular
Divine Name that is associated with each world as they rise through the structure of the
worlds. One can fix the actual letters of the particular permutation of the Name in his
mind for a time, until he begins to feel the light of that level and world as described
earlier. The Name that is associated with the world of Asiyah has a total gematria of 52
and is written out as follows: n‫״‬n VO n‫״‬n the Name associated with the world of
Yetzirah has a total gematria of 45 and is written out as follows: n‫״‬n the
Name associated with the world of Beriyah has a total gematria of 63 and is written out
as: ■>‫״‬n ■>‫״‬n the Name that is associated with the world of Atzilus has a total of 72
as is written as: ■>‫״‬n Vo‫״>■ !־‬n ! ”P. (We will discuss the particular light and dveikus of each
level further on in the lesson, with Hashem's help.)
It is important to remember that all of this use of the imaginative faculty in order
to visualize different states. Names and letters are all a reflection of the level of Malchus.
Through proper use of the imagination [Malchus], one rises to taste the light of
Chochmah, which is the spiritual source of Malchus ['Abba established the Daughter"].
The Dream Path
^ Devarim 10:20
12
‫בס״ד‬
Until now, we have spoken about rising to the delight of the level of Chochmah,
but there are other ways to access even higher levels of spiritual pleasure which are
rooted in the level of Kesser, and they are known collectively as the light of Ta'anug—
pleasure. It is qualitatively higher than the light of Chochmah, and also contains a number
of degrees, as we will explain. One of them is called, "the dream path." The light of
Chochmah is an illumination, but one only feels its light while one is in that place of
Chochmah', it does not become an actual part of him, and when one descends from the
level of Chochmah, the light withdraws. However, when a person accesses the light of
Kesser by engaging in very deep prayer, "And I am prayer,"* a bond with the light itself
is generated, because Kesser has the nature of uniting the ‫ נאצל‬with the ‫[ מאציל‬the
individuated being with its Creator]. [Note: The language of Kesser uniting the ‫מאציל‬
with the ‫ נאצל‬is significant, because we speak of Kesser being above Chochmah, which is
the parallel of Atzilus. No matter how lofty Atzilus is, it is still a ‫נאצל‬, and individuated
creation. The Kesser is the bridge between the first degree of ‫ נאצל‬and its Origin.] It is
therefore important for us to understand that when a person prays and does not feel the
light of delight (ta'anug), this is not the kind of prayer that we are discussing here.
Now, when we speak of the path of the dream, it originates in developing a
capacity for prayer of the ideal type, as described just before, where one can truly say,
"And I am prayer." This means embodying the nature of Nukva [Malchus], which is
prayer, while praying Shemonah Esrei, which is mostly bakashos [requests]. It is the
nature of Nukva to ask so that it can receive. To whom does Nukva appeal, so to speak?
To the level that is directly above it, which is Yesod, whose nature is to bestow. When the
appeals of Nukva [expressed by the individual praying in the manner of "And I am
prayer," meaning with absolute identification with the needs of the Shechinah] are
responded to by Yesod so that a bestowal of shefa is triggered, a yichud of the ‫ נאצל‬and
‫ מאציל‬takes place. The person who is so focused in his prayer merits, then, to rise to the
level of Yesod. Because Yesod has the ability to ascend in an instant all the way to Kesser
[since it is like a line that runs from the highest place down to Malchus‫ ^ ]־‬the person who
has expended himself so thoroughly in prayer will find that the light of Da'as opens for
’ Tehillim 109
*Otzros Chayim, Sha 'ar Hanekudim, #89
13
‫בס״ד‬
him—he receives light from the six extensions of Kesser—and really feels it shining within
himself. [Note: Da'as is the internalized light of Kesser; on the array of the sefiros. Da'as
is at the midline below the Kesser.]
Even though this sounds very lofty and abstract to us, nevertheless this is really
the ultimate goal and purpose of all of our prayers—to come to a state of total unity with
the Source. In the order of the prayers itself, the blessing of ‫ שים שלום‬, the final one of
Shemonah Esrei, expresses this culmination in receiving the light of Da'as because of the
yichud. This is the real meaning of the blessing of shalom, peace. This peace is that of
absolute unity, and it is this that the soul truly seeks in expressing itself through prayer—it
is really begging to achieve oneness with the Creator.
What does this have to do with a dream, then? In the relationship of bestower-
receiver that exists between Yesod and Nukva, the light of Kesser that descends into and
surrounds Yesod becomes a wellspring of new holy thoughts and impressions which can
then be transmitted from Yesod to Nukva. [Meaning, once a person—through real prayer—
becomes identified with the bestowing force of Yesod which reaches all the way to
Kesser, that channel stays open and flowing with ever-fresh concepts that descend from
the Source. This is compared to the influence of a dream, which flows downward from
some higher place and is received as an impression that "just comes." The impression,
like all impressions, is registered and felt by Malchus [Nukva], but the channel through
which it descends is Yesod.
To understand this better, it is necessary to first explain the mechanism of
dreaming in the physical or psychic sense. When a person is dreaming, his thoughts are
not under his conscious control at all—it is all a manifestation of his imagination. While
there can be some truth to a dream, nevertheless that little bit of truth is mixed up with a
great deal of falsehood and it is no simple matter to recognize which is true and which is
falsehood. Now, the dream product of the imagination is far more extensive than what a
person could conjure during his waking hours, because when he is awake he has
conscious control over his imagination. While he sleeps, his imagination is at a lower
level [even though its activity is more broad] because it is bound up with the klippas
nogah, which is an admixture of good and bad [and so the dream state has broader but
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more confused imagery]. Nevertheless, it is the way of spirituality that the lower level
operationally or structurally is the place of the revelation of lights of higher origin.
[Note: The deeper works explain the inverse nature of the two basic elements of
reality— and keilim, or "lights" and "vessels." The vessels are operational structures
that are designed to hold light. The "lower" they go, the higher the light they are able to
contain. Or we can think of it in another way; the lower they are, the higher light is
required to illuminate them. This could be compared to a person who wants to shine a
light down into a series of wells of varying depths; he would need a less powerful light to
penetrate to the bottom of the shallower well and a more powerful one to penetrate to the
deeper one.]
We see, then, that the dream itself is formed through the bestowal action of Yesod;
it is the creative force of Yesod that makes the dream interesting so that the person's
thoughts attach to it. And when a person seeks to understand his dream and discover what
truth lies within it, he needs the "dream interpreter," Yosef Hatzaddik, who is the holy
aspect of Yesod. His holiness is able to uplift the holy spark that exists within the dream
from out of the surrounding refuse so that the holy thought it liberated and can be
understood. The inner nature of Malchus [the imagination that registers and experiences
the dream-influence] is known as Leah, and it is expressed by the letters; while the outer
nature of Malchus is known as Rachel is the "film" upon which the images are registered.
It is in this latter level—the externality of Malchus—sNh&ct the work of focusing on
sheimos is done in order to sift out the holy elements from the klippah nogah that
surrounds it and is intermingled with it. [Note: In the first segment of this lesson, we
learned about the ways in which focusing on particular sheimos can help to clarify the
imagination and allow holy thoughts to flourish unhindered by extraneous concepts and
images.]
[Note: It is important to point out here that there are advantages and
disadvantages to attempting this work of yichudim together with other people who are
also seeking connection with Hashem. On the one hand, when a group of people are
focused on a particular spiritual avodah, each one strengthens the other. The down side is
that the barriers of extraneous thoughts that surround and preoccupy the group also affect
^Likutei Moharan 1:56
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everyone. Nevertheless, it is still a productive path to follow because when everyone does
manage to overcome these obstacles, the light of yichud that descends upon the group as
a whole is far greater than what each person could have grasped individually. It is also
important to emphasize that, when it comes to this kind of avodah, mastery of the
theoretical aspects of its study is less important than actually making the effort of trying
to carry out the practices in action. One should therefore make an effort to make a start at
these methods when he has free time, and especially during prayer—he is praying in any
case, so why not exert some additional effort to focus when the time is so auspicious?
During the prayers, one can easily work a bit on "engraving" and "erasing" when
necessary, and to attempt to reach a state of bitul to whatever extent is possible for him,
and from there to enjoy the pleasure of Kesser. The more one makes the effort to put
these principles into practice, the easier it will be for him to grasp the lofty spiritual light
that is available to him.]
This "dream process" is very different from the aliyah process described earlier,
which works from below to above, stage by stage, through the enforced focus of the mind
on a particular thought ["engraving"] and by consciously ridding the mind of extraneous
thoughts and images ["erasing"]. Here, one works on receiving the light of Da'as through
the force of prayer, and then the images come of their own accord from a higher place,
through the now-open channel between Yesod and Kesser. The individual is not making
efforts to accomplish or hold onto any particular thought; they arrive on their own, so to
speak.
Naturally, when a person enters into this avodah and receives "dream type"
impressions through the open channel of his imagination, it is certain that what he
receives is an admixture of good and bad, just like it would be in a physical dream which
is mostly nonsense. It is therefore necessary for one who embarks on this avodah to focus
on the sheimos so that they can help him to clarify out the holy thought and spark that is
among the chaff. And there is an inherent danger in this avodah, because it is possible to
fall away from holiness and down into impure places, and then a far greater avodah will
lie ahead of him, because then one will have to use a great deal of self-restraint and force
to clarify out all of the products of the imagination that flourish in such places.
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The main way to know if the spiritual images that come to a person are rooted in
holiness or not is whether the image comes along with a powerful sense of spiritual
pleasure—not the delight of Chochmah, but a delight that is so strong that one feels in a
state of complete oneness with the light. This is really immeasurable. At each level, one
must imagine himself in that world, immersed within its nature, and pray from that place-
-each level of every world with its particular nature. When fully bonded with the light of
acceptance of the Divine yoke, he prays from that place. When suffused with the light of
love and fear, he prays from there, and so on, each level with its own nature. When one
feels thoroughly "in the place," suffused by the light of each world, this is the experience
of the light of Kesser whose nature is oneness and yichud.
11
The Way of Unity
Part 3
The Sefirah of Binah

It is important to know that the completion of every pathway is always built upon
the aspect of the ten sefiros [since that is the sum total and completion of all attributes].
Within every sefirah is an entirely different matter and aspect of holiness; when all of
them are in synthesis, an entire integrated structure of holiness is built and completed. So
we now have to turn from our discussion of [the light of Chochmah and the avodos of
"engraving," "erasing," and "dreaming"] to the way in which they are to be integrated
with the attribute of Binah. When a person does the work of engraving [as described
earlier, by learning how to settle his mind on a single thought or image], and through this
rises to the aspect of Chochmah‫׳‬, or if he rises to Kesser through the efforts he expends in
prayer [as described earlier as well], and the klippos are automatically nullified at that
lofty place, it is still nevertheless true that he is likely to be visited by another thought
*We had serious doubts about whether we should publish this ma ’amar at all, since it is concerned with
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sooner or later. [Meaning, a person does not usually sustain this level of freedom from
interruption of his dveikus no matter how hard he worked to achieve it. Fairly quickly, a
new thought will enter his mind.] How is he to deal with this new thought that might
otherwise distract him? He needs to use the force of Binah to come to understand and
recognize this "invading" thought for what it is. Because the person really was connected
to the Divine light before it came, its source is very lofty. It is possible that this thought is
itself the clarification or answer to the prayer that he had offered before he felt the light
of Chochmah or Kesser.
We can understand this better by way of an example. A person prays to Hashem
that he merit to understand a particular subject in his study of Talmud, and then he
achieves a degree of dveikus by using the process of engraving. When he feels G-d's
light, it is possible that sometimes a thought will strike his mind that throws light upon
his original request. For example, he might be suddenly hit with the idea that he ought to
look into a particular book in order to understand the sugya better. It is possible that this
thought is a product of the light of oneg that he accessed during his prayer and
meditations. It is, therefore, a kind of answer from heaven to his original question. This
answer is arrived at through the application of Binah to the unanticipated thought.
If a person does not know how important it is to apply Binah to those
illuminations and those answers, then the "stray" thoughts remain in the aspect of
Malchus, at the level of nefesh [meaning, at the lowermost level], and then the aliyah that
he embarked upon is not accomplished completely. But when he does use his Binah
faculty to examine and grasp the meaning of those thoughts, it is considered to be a kind
of spiritual hearing [since Binah is associated with the sense of hearing, just as
Chochmah is associated with sight].
Now, to explain this a bit more deeply, we have to go back to what we learned
about the level of nefesh and Malchus. Prayer is rooted in Malchus, as is the capacity to
"engrave" a thought upon the mind; in fact, all of the illumination and impressions that
one gains during a time of spiritual elevation are all registered (or sensed) within the
sefirah of Malchus [which is the seat of the imaginative faculty]. When it comes to
spiritual impressions, it is then necessary to activate one's capacity of Binah to
contemplate and analyze the secondary thoughts that arise afterward. What are we trying
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‫בס״ד‬
to analyze, though? One needs to be able to determine whether the secondary thought
really derives from holiness. If it comes together with the light of Chochmah and its
pleasure [and bitul], then it will not be mixed together with false elements [that cause
confusion], because Chochmah has the power to neutralize the klippos, which in this case
would be any admixture of falsehood in the thought. In that case, the thought is entirely
true and it derives from holiness. If, on the other hand, one feels that the answer is dark
and obscure, it means that it wasn't sufficiently clarified by Chochmah and the delight of
its illumination.
Even though the nature of Chochmah is that of rest [the coolness of bitul as
opposed to the fiery efforts of Binah], nevertheless if a person's experience of Chochmah
stops at the level of menuchah, he is still at the level of the "external nature" of the light
of Chochmah. When it is complete, it will also incorporate an element of hisbonenus, of
the return to contemplation that typifies Binah. The Radziner Rebbe taught in the name of
his father, "As long as a person hasn't yet merited to experience 'holy hearing,' his
structure of kedushah is still incomplete.” [Note: We would think that the rise through
Binah and then to Chochmah should have already completed the structure of all of the
aspects of the sefiros, but we see that in order for Chochmah to really be whole, it
requires a return to the work of Binah.] This is the inner meaning of Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai's name: Shimon is from the language of ‫שמיעה‬, or hearing—spiritual hearing
through the force of Binah.
The underlying meaning of Binah is that a person knows that he is truly bound to
the Creator, and then he can hear whatever revelations and words that Hashem makes
clear to him. It was for this reason that the spiritual source of the prophets was in Binah.
Even though the essential connection that exists between the Creator and His creations is
rooted in Atzilus [Chochmah], nevertheless one's understanding and grasp of it is rooted
in Binah. This is the essence of prophecy; that the prophet was able to derive
understanding from the bond that he achieved with the Creator, and then share it with
others. This is why, when a person merits to understand something by way of his spiritual
hearing, the Baal Shem Tov calls it a little bit of ruach hakodesh. Even though the person
is not yet on the level to receive a genuine flow of Divine inspiration, nevertheless he has
reached some degree of spiritual hearing, and it is a spark of ruach hakodesh.
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‫בס״ד‬
It's important to understand that one can only come to a real experience of such
spiritual hearing by expending a great deal of effort. If one receives a "message" that is
really rooted in the imaginings of Malchus rather than a genuine one that derives from the
higher light, he runs the risk of granting a foothold to the klippos, and he can cause a
blemish within his realm of Chochmah [meaning, he will be unable to attain bitul and
clarity about his relationship with Hashem]—and there is a very serious potential for
damage. A person can even lose his mind from such "mixed messages," because lack of
sanity is rooted in one's pride, which itself is fed by damage that is caused to the bris.
Filled with pride, such a person believes that everything that he thinks and does is holy,
and when he attempts to make aliyos he is careless and doesn't understand that there is
danger in embarking on such spiritual work blithely, without attempting to divorce
oneself from his klippos.
[Note: If we begin from the end of the idea, it will make more sense to us. When a
person is not receiving pure messages via Binah but rather mixed messages via the
imagination and Malchus, it is all too easy for all kinds of dross to corrupt his thoughts.
Since the realm of the imagination—Ma/c/m5—is on the verge of chitzonius, it is
susceptible to incursion by klippah, which has already been explained. What this means
practically is that a person can fall into fantasy, and from there into sin and blemishing
the bris. When a person damages the bris, it causes him to feel disconnected from
Hashem and alone (‫) ״תאוה יבקש נפרד״‬, and this disconnect from Hashem feeds his ego—
he no longer has One to whom he must nullify himself. When a person is in this state of
disconnection from his Maker and living in the world of fantasy, he is at risk of really
losing his mind, G-d forbid.]
Delving Deeper by Way of Binah
All of the avodos that we have spoken about until now—engraving and erasing
and so on—that can bring a person to really experience spirituality can only be undertaken
after first going through a number of preparatory steps. In general, it is also important to
realize that there are souls that are inherently connected with the inner dimension and the
mochin [i.e. they have a native capacity for developing higher G-dly awareness]. Most
people who are occupied with the study of Kabbalah are of that type, but even such souls
require a number of preparations and clarifications so that they can enter into holiness.
20
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Exploiting the power of the imagination to capture and focus on holy thoughts by
way of engraving is called by the deeper works, "the aspect of Rachel," which is the
external nature of Malchus. When one uses this faculty to focus on actual letters before
him or to contemplate their nature without using the imagination to generate images, it is
called the aspect of Leah, which is the inner nature of Malchus. When one synthesizes
these two potentials, it is possible to rise and access the light of Chochmah. We have
already learned that an alternate way to enter into the light of Chochmah is by focusing
on the vitality [Chochmah = chayah = vitality] that fills a person by way of the breath,
which surrounds him in a kind of airspace [avirin] and enters into him and then goes out
again to be refreshed. Chayah is a makif or surrounding light [it is not internalized, but
surrounds the awareness like a halo], and so it is possible to visualize it as a light that
surrounds and enters and exits as one breathes in and out, and holds the breath. We have
already discussed this idea, but at this point it would be helpful to provide more concepts
for visualization while meditating.
The Shem HaVaYaH means, "Was, Is and Will Be," or past, present and future.
Each of these senses of tense are associated with a different articulation [vowelization] of
the Name, and the one that indicates the present—‫—הווה‬is the highest and most essential
of them. The vitality that constantly enlivens us is a function of the present—of Hashem
"Being" in the now, and providing us on a constant basis with spiritual vitality. The
vowel cholem represents the body, and so the Name should be visualized as ‫יהו״ה‬, with a
cholem over the vav, when one is working on feeling the breath as a constant in-and-out
flow of life-force and light that surrounds him, provided by G-d. When one begins to feel
the pleasure of this vitality which derives from Chochmah and chayah, it is because its
light has entered into his "right brain" [not his physical brain, per se, but the right-hand
aspect of his spiritual mind, which is called the seat of Chochmah], It is not the actual
light of Chochmah, because that really cannot be assimilated within the mind; any light
that is assimilated within the mochin is really within the "upper three" levels within the
person, which is his general Binah aspect. [Note: We can think of this in terms of the
difference between the flash of light that comes from the outside source, and the means
through which one processes that flash. Chochmah is the experience of the flash, but it is
processed within the vessels of Binah.]
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As with all levels in spirituality, each level is like a hologram that encompasses
within it all of the structure of all of the levels, at different degrees, endlessly. When we
speak of the light of chayah, which is external [a surrounding ma^t/-light], it also
comprises a triad of CHaBaD aspects [Chochmah-Binah-Da'as], Its Chochmah aspect
can be visualized as water [which is cool, and flows from above to below]; its Binah
aspect can be visualized as fire [which is hot and energetic, and rises from below to
above]; the Da'as aspect can be visualized as wind or the breath itself. All spiritual
influences flow in a flux pattern that is called "direct" and "reflected." One can visualize
the intake and exhaling of the light of Chochmah-chayah in all of its aspects as: water
flowing into the nose, from above to below, as the "direct light" of Chochmah d'chayah‫׳‬,
its "reflected light" is a flow of fire into the mouth, from below to above, in the aspect of
Binah d’chayah‫׳‬, its light of Da'as is the flow of the breath itself, inhaling as the "direct
light" and exhaling as its "reflected light."
[Note: These visualizations are going to be challenging for a person who is not
accustomed to focusing his mind on a particular image or thought for any length of time.
But even when one manages to contemplate these concepts and images for a short while,
it helps him draw closer to the vitalizing and pleasurable light of Chochmah-chayah.^ As
he holds these images in his mind's eye while breathing in and out, he should consider
how this avir [airspace of chayah] enlivens him constantly, at every instant, because
Hashem surrounds him completely and vitalizes him. He is therefore surrounded at all
times and filled at all times with the air and breath of G-dliness. This helps him to
experience the external and surrounding Divine light within him, and this draws him ever
closer to being able to experiencing the true inner spiritual light of Chochmah. The more
one works on feeling the external light of Chochmah, the more will he come to
experience the inner light of Chochmah, which is its deep delight.
In general, the body is naturally a barrier to the experience of a higher spiritual
light [since it keeps us in a state of purely physical perception, to the exclusion of
spiritual perception]. But when a person focuses his mind of the kinds of meditations
described here and works on seeing how his own breath is a reflection of the constant
flow of spiritual influence from on high, then it helps to purify and sanctify his body.
This erodes the barrier that his body would otherwise represent [and renders it, slowly but
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surely, in a vehicle for experiencing G-dliness, in the sense of, "And from my flesh, I see
G-d"]. The air that actually enters into the body is the NaRaN \nefesh-ruach-neshamah\
aspect of the avir [lower than the CHaBaD aspect which only triggers the higher mochin
in a very subtle way]. As he visualizes the "direct" flow of Chochmah d'chayah [water
that enters the nose and flows downward], it actually enters into him and awakens his
inner capacity for Chochmah. And when he visualizes the "reflected" flow of Binah
d'chayah [as fire that enters the mouth and rises upward], it actually enters into him and
awakens his mind's capacity for Binah, which is the inner nature of Chochmah.
There is a particular order to the flow of the light of Chochmah as it moves within
a person, and one can be mechavein on this as well. The light of Chochmah which flows
like water from above to below first enters into the NaRaN mochin of the surrounding
light of chayah in the form of the Name ;!"’DN [the uppermost yichud]; afterward, this
NaRaN enters into the CHaGaT level [Chessed-Gevurah-Tiferes] in the form of the
Name n‫״‬irT> [the middlemost yichud]‫׳‬, afterward, it descends to the A/TTlevel [Netzach-
Hod-Yesod] and shines into it in the form of the Name ■>‫״‬3‫״‬TN [the lowermost yichud]. The
light of Binah follows the same pattern, just from below to above.
When a person attempts to carry out these kavanos, he should draw out his breath
[so that he has enough time to carry them in his mind], and focus on how that breath is
the avir, and it is turning to light that is entering into him. When a person is not so
experienced with doing this type of focused meditation, he should at least attempt to feel
the way in which the air enters into his head, into the site of his mochin, in the manner of
the NaRaN level of the avir [of chayah]. The air first makes contact with the body at the
head, and afterward it enters into the rest of the body. If possible, one should hold the
entire structure of the kavanah in his mind [the movement of the light of CHaBaD,
CHaGaT and NH”Y] through a single breath and not break it down by taking a number of
breaths. But if one is not yet able to carry this out within the time needed for a single
cycle of respiration, then he should focus with one breath on the movement of CHaBaD.
As he gets more accustomed to the avodah, he can focus on CHaBaD and CHaGaT.
Eventually he will be able to reach the level of being mechavein in all of the aspects of
CHaBaD, CHaGaT and NH"Y during a single breath.
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It is important to realize that just as we have described something of the avodah

of making aliyos—to uplift the thoughts to a very lofty place—there is also a process of
drawing down the light from above to below. One bonds with the light at a lofty place in
the manner of Atzilus; from there he draws the yichud down to the world of Beriyah; from
there to Yetzirah; and from there to Asiyah. Just as we learn to ascend to higher places,
we also need to learn how to bring the light down to the lower worlds. When a person
learns how to draw the light down into the lower worlds, he finds afterward that it is
easier for him to rise from below to above, to an even higher place. So when a person is
focused on the flow of the light of Chochmah from above to below, he should also think
about the way in which he is drawing the Divine light further down into the lower worlds;
then, when he focuses on the flow of the light of Binah from below to above, he should
also think about the way in which these lights purify his body as they rise.
The Baal HaSulam taught that the main purpose of the study of Kabbalah is to
come to know the levels, and where one stands among them. The better a person knows
his actual level, the better he can bond with Hashem through the level on which he really
is. This is also true of doing the avodah of aliyos—Sit each level, one seeks to bond with
Hashem and purify the body through the particular nature of that level. (It is, however,
important to distinguish whether the messages that one "hears" are really rooted in
holiness at each and every level.)
Afterward, one focuses on the way in which the lights that enter him—both as
direct light and reflected light—purify his body. The light of Chochmah is internal and it
flows through his body from its core and outward to refine half of his body from its
central axis out to halfway through the thickness of his frame. The returning light of
Binah which flows from outward in, refines him from the surface of his body until
midway through the thickness of his entire frame. When those two lights meet—one
moving from his core outward, the other from the surface inward—a yichud takes place,
and it is this yichud that actually purifies the body and erodes its barrier to holiness.
This concept can be translated into the concepts of personal avodah as well. We
can see this refining of the body as a kind of rectification of the state of katnus [immature
spiritual perception] so that one can reach the state of gadlus [mature spiritual
‫ ־‬Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar Ha’akudim
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consciousness]. One should therefore not despair or give up when he feels a heaviness
and resistance to spirituality in his body or any other kinds of confusing thoughts,
because this is exactly the nature of the avodah—to struggle against the torpidity and
opacity of the body by seeking to bond with Hashem. It is only through struggle that one
can merit to rise out of that place. And when a person really focuses on the makifin
which is chayah, and how they surround him and enter into him, and flow from his head,
through his body, down to his feet, from within and from without until they meet inside
him, the visualization will help him to really feel the light of holiness outside and inside
him. Then, through doing the actual yichudim \kavanos\, he will come to really feel the
inner delight that comes from this light. This process of purification of the body is a
necessary stage in developing the capacity for "engraving," because unless the body is
refined so that it no longer represents an obstacle to focused thought, it will continue to
get in the way.
It is important to state here that the work of visualizing the flow of light from
above is, as we have said, the avodah of Rachel, while just focusing on the letters is the
avodah of Leah. There are those who find that this latter avodah is better for them
because trying to harness the imagination to generate images is not only more difficult,
but also can involve more beirurim [effort to separate one's thoughts from klippah]
because of the nature of the imagination. While there is truth to this, it is necessary to
state that even though the Rachel form of avodah is more challenging, it has the potential
to be more spiritually rewarding. We already know that it is particularly the lower levels
that have the potential to rise again to higher places.
There is an additional point that can enhance one's kavanah of the avirin which
hasn't been mentioned until now. In the upper worlds, there are really two kinds of light—
that of yosher ["straight"] and that of igulim ["circles"]. We can see the straight light as
that which enters into the vessel [in this case, the human structure by way of these
yichudim], moving from above to below. The circular light of igulim is that which
surrounds the entirety of the structure, in the sense of a makif. When one does the avodah
as described above, he can also focus on the way in which the light descends through him
and then re-emerges to enhance the surrounding light around him. [Note: Rav Levi
Yitzchak of Berditchev revealed that the light of yosher parallels the avodah of Torah and
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the structure of tefillah, while the light of igulim parallels every Jew’s inherent
connection to Hashem because he is a Jew, which is the light of emunah and the basis of
tefillah.] The lowermost degree of every level and world is its Malchus aspect, which
encapsulates the entirety of the level with all of its gradation [which descend in the
manner of yosher]. The tradition of doing hakafos prior to prayer is to associate igulim
with Malchus and prayer—that all of the preparatory work gets invested into forming the
encircling light that is the gateway for the next level of development. This is the essence
of the makif of prayer—it is the bridge to the next level. [Note: Rebbe Nachman of
Breslov speaks of this interplay as the relationship between na'aseh ("we will do") and
nishma ("we will hear"). The action is the work of mitzvah and Torah, while the
"hearing" is that which we aspire to, as expressed in prayer.]
Ascending and Descending the Ladder
The Arizal and the Ramak both speak of the sefirah of Tiferes [the midpoint of
the six lower middos] as the "ladder of ascending," since rising to higher levels generally
depends on the quality of Tiferes. [Note: The sefirah of Tiferes is associated with the
Torah as well as ernes, truth. It referred to as is also the "torso" of all of the lower middos
that require development.] The triad of CHaGaT are at the center of the body [like two
arms extending from the torso], and they are a bridge between the mochin [higher
spiritual consciousness] and Malchus. We have already explained that the main means of
proper aliyah is in first drawing the light down to the lowest possible place; if one does
not descend by way of Tiferes to Malchus, one cannot afterward rise. Tiferes is therefore
the ladder upon which one must ascend, and the Kabbalists compared it to the spinal cord
by which all influence descends from the mind [Da'as] down to the lower parts \NH"Y\,
and also extends out into the peripherals [Chessed and Gevurah]. One must therefore pay
attention to the fact that when focusing on the flow and entry of spiritual light, the main
place to put one's focus in into CHaGaT, because it is the bridge for all future ascent.
The intake of light/air described earlier parallels the 45-Name [the expansion of
the Shem HaVaYaH with a total gematria of 45, which is associated with the six sefiros
from Chessed to Yesod]■, the outflow of light/air parallels the 52-Name [the expansion of
Shem HaVaYaH with a total of 52, associated with Malchus]. Just as one should be
mechavein about the descent of the light through CHaBaD-CHaGaT-NY’’Y and the 45-
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Name, so too should one exhale very slowly so as to visualize the way in which the
ascending light/air purifies his body as it passes through the vessels of NH''Y-CHaGaT-
CHaBaD and the 52-Name.
One can then go further and visualize the ascending light as continuing its return
and ascent by way of the hairs of his head. While it's true that, physically, the exhalation
exits through the mouth or the nose, nevertheless in spiritual terms it exits from above the
mochin, at the place of the Kesser, and so he should imagine the lights rising and exiting
from the top of his head to join there with the aspect of Kesser.
And when one meditates upon rising from level to level, from world to world, he
should be specific in his intentions, that at each stage starting with the world of Asiyah he
enters into the lowermost aspect [NH"Y] where he is mechavein in the Name ‫ ;אדנ״י‬then
its middlemost aspect [CHaGaT] where he is mechavein in the Name ‫ ;יהו״ה‬afterward he
rises to its upper aspect [CHaBaD] where he is mechavein in the Name ‫אהי״ה‬. He can
then begin the process from below to above within the world of Yetzirah, and then again
to enter the world of Beriyah and rise through it.
The general idea is that one should take as much time as he can to sit and focus on
every single stage, because taking one's time allows the purifying effects of this avodah
to further refine his body's vessels, and then the entire process follows a much better path.
Once a person reaches the world of Atzilus, it is time for him to pray to G-d and ask for
whatever it is that he needs, and this prayer is what can help him ascend to the uppermost
level of Adam Kadmon so that he can achieve a complete yichud with his Creator. After
all of this, he can begin his descent from there, and perform all of the kavanos again on
his way back down through the entire structure.
This ascent and descent is expressed by the dual concepts of ani and ayin [-‫אני‬
‫]אין‬. The ani is the sense of self, and it is what animates the upward ascent through the
worlds—the struggle of the individuated self [Malchus] to reconnect with its Creator.
Once it reaches the level of Chochmah, it transmutes into the ayin, the sense of
nothingness or the dissolving of the self. Once a person reaches that point, he cannot
remain there because it is spiritually dangerous [we speak of klippos attaching to him],
but also it is because his having received light from above is only so that he will bring it
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down to the lower worlds, from Atzilus to Asiyah—from the level of thought down into
the level of action.
The opposite is also true; to remain down below is also not good, because it
would mean that he is coarsening in his sense of his ani or ego, and so he must return to
rise again and then descend again, in the manner of "running and returning." This form of
avodah is very powerful, and it is also very attractive to the forces of negativity \klippos\.
Therefore, if one can, he should complete his avodah with meditation upon the Name
Elokim in its doubled, ten-letter form [‫ ]אאללההיים״ם‬and the vowelization that is unique
to it. If one is unfamiliar with this particular Name, he should simply be mechavein that
Yaakov Avinu's merit should protect him from the grasp of these forces, because that
Name [172 -110 ‫ ־‬units for each of the letters = 182] has the same gematria as Yaakov
[182 = ‫]יעקב‬.
The work Sulam Ha ’aliyah tells us that one should not attempt to hold this lofty level of dveikus for too
long because of the potential danger, but the truth is that few people could do so even if they wanted to.
After enough time passes, one naturally feels that he cannot sustain that level of focus any longer and he
needs to descend. One must also be aware that when he follows the pathway of this avodah in the way that
we have described, slowly and deliberately and at length, it is likely to weaken his body a great deal and
can even cause him to faint. This can come from holding his breath for a long time in order to have enough
time to accomplish the kavanos, and it is actually a good sign that his body is being sanctified. Even so, it is
best not to attempt this at the beginning because there is some potential for physical harm.
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13
The Way of Unity
Part 4
The Power of the Group

The potential for achieving higher spiritual levels is greater when working
together with others. This is because every person is different and derives from a
different spiritual root, and each person has his own unique mission to accomplish in this
world. When each individual learns how to bind himself to others when they do the work
of aliyos and yichudim, their souls work in synergy so that the uniqueness of each is
shared with the other to build something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Every
person comprises all of the attributes in different degrees; when two people join together
spiritually, that quality that is "secondary" to his nature and root is shared with his friend
whose spiritual strength lies there, and his friend does the same with the quality that is
more "secondary" to him. In this way, each one brings greater power to the other's
strongest quality.
For example, if one person's spiritual root is in the middah of Tiferes, when he
unites with his friend whose root is in Kesser, the first one takes his friend's quality of
Tiferes into himself [thereby strengthening his own], and he contributes his Kesser
quality to his friend [thereby strengthening his friend's Kesser], We need to understand
that each person's greatest strength [or middah, or root] needs to become complete in all
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of its aspects in order for him to fully realize his spiritual potential and accomplish his
mission in this world. [Note: Every middah is like a hologram that also inter-includes the
full array of all of the middos or sefiros. So if we speak of the "completion of Tiferes," we
mean that from Kesser d'Tiferes down to Malchus d'Tiferes, all of the sub-elements of the
full spectrum of expression of Tiferes will be fully actualized. We can understand this on
a more basic level by thinking of the way in which we count out the seven permutations
of each middah during the Sefirah period between Pesach and Shavuos. The avodah of
Gevurah within Tiferes is not the same as Tiferes within Gevurah. The former is part of
the completion of the aspect of Tiferes, while the latter is part of the completion of
Gevurah. We won't go into further detail here, but clearly they are very different
variations in avodah. Rav Nosson of Breslov explains that genuine tikkun can only occur
when everyone is part of an entity that consists of a minyan, alluding to all ten aspects.
That way each element is rectified and empowered. This is the deeper meaning of the
Zohar that a "knishta chada," a single group can bring Moshiach. This is true of any true
rectification which draws the redemption closer.]
It being the case that each person derives from a different spiritual root—Tiferes,
for example—that quality needs to be completed in all of its sefirah-aspects, and it can
only receive the light of each aspect from an individual who derives from that particular
root. So when a Tiferes-ptrson does spiritual work together with a Kesser-ptrson, the
Kesser-ptrson shares his own Tiferes quality [which we called Tiferes d'Kesser'], and
when that light enters into the Tiferes-povson, it assumes the quality of Kesser d'Tiferes.
And this is the case through the entire spectrum of attributes. We see, then, that by
uniting souls together, each one's unique attribute is brought to completion by virtue of
having received the light of his middah reflected through the unique prism of his friend's
middah.
It's important to understand that, generally speaking, one cannot take the light that
would complete his middah from his friend without that person's permission. It's only
when they are in a state of complete bonding that they really become like a single entity,
when they are so united that each one feels like he cannot exist without the other or
others, that each one's mission in this world become fully clarified. [Note: As the Radbaz
writes, the prayers and avodah of a minyan who love each other is better than a multitude
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who feel like separate individuals. This was why many Chassidic groups worship in their
own minyanim.] Then none of them have any resistance to the other fulfilling his
personal mission, or to sharing the aspect within him that is necessary to his friend's
completion. The more that a person can achieve this state of unity with others, the more
able he is to complete the sub-aspects of his own middah so that he can succeed in his
personal mission in life. This concept of "trading lights" is essentially what we speak of
when we use the term yichud [between people].
Harnessing the Imagination
The Mittler Rebbe of Lubavitch taught that when the tzaddik wants to heal a sick
person, he needs to know something of anatomy and physiology. Meaning, when the
tzaddik wants to draw down spiritual light from above in order to bring about a
rectification, he needs to be able to visualize just where the lights are entering into the
body of the sufferer.
Similarly, when a person is doing avodah and trying to reach a higher place in his
meditations, he needs to harness his imagination to visualize each world and level,
otherwise he will not be able to really enter into its aspect and feel it and sense it. It is
difficult to approach the upper world in a purely abstract manner, because one cannot
really grasp the nature of the holiness of each world through knowledge alone. Without
harnessing the visualizing capacity of the imagination, it will be difficult to get anywhere
and it will also be difficult to draw down the lights of those worlds properly.
The Kabbalists had different approaches toward the work of yichudim and aliyos.
The Arizal focused on the principle of, "And from my flesh, I see G-d.” His way was to
visualize the world in an imaginative form or image, but this path is potentially more
dangerous than the others because only a very holy person who is removed from the
material can do it properly. Chabad chassidus, on the other hand, took a different path of
studying the upper worlds, one that is far less risky. They speak, instead, of the path of
"lights," in the sense of levels of bitul to the Divine light, relative to the individual's
standing and situation. The Rashash came later and explained the path of the Arizal in
such a way as to free it from its potential dangers, but understanding it fully requires a
great deal of in-depth study of the Rashash's work [with a qualified teacher who truly
understands its deep significance in avodah]. In general, we can say that the path of the
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Rashash is a way of explaining the Arizal's teachings by way of the parable of the body
and the soul and their workings.
When a person is meditating upon the upward ascent of the worlds, he should try
as much as he can to visualize the aspects that are relevant to each world so that he can
bind himself to each world fully. We have already explained that it is advisable for him to
meditate upon the process of rising through the aspects of NH"Y to CHaGaT to CHaBaD
that are particular to each world.
To help the student on this path, we offer a kind of summary of these aspects as
they are presented in the deeper works. The worlds of Asiyah-Yetzirah-Beriyah-Atzilus
parallel the aspects of the Bed, the Chair, the Table and the Menorah, respectively. They
also parallel the inanimate, the vegetative, the animal and the human/speaker. Within the
world of Asiyah itself are three aspects of Mountain, Field and House. The aspect of
Mountain is the lowest level within Asiyah, and it is associated with the sefiros-tviad of
Netzach-Hod-Yesod; the aspect of Field is associated with the triad of Chessed-Gevurah-
Tiferes; and the aspect of House is associated with the mochin triad of Chochmah-Binah-
Da'as. This is the deeper reason why it is not considered safe for a person to "travel the
mountains on his own"—it is the most external of all of the aspects, and is therefore a
dangerous place. This is not so of the Field and the House.
[Note: Rebbe Nachman discusses these three aspects as they relate to prayer, and
brings a teaching that, "Avraham called it (prayer) a mountain, and Yitzchak called it a
field, and Yaakov uplifted prayer to the state called a house." These three levels are
progressively higher expressions of prayer, increasingly developed and "usable"
manifestations of prayer, which have increasing ability to impact the world at large.
Here, the idea of the lowermost level of Asiyah being dangerous like a mountain is in its
association with the "legs" of NH"Y, which reach down into all of the areas of our
material concerns and their pull on us, with their inherent spiritual pitfalls. To climb a
mountain, a person has to exercise his legs very strenuously.]
So at the time that a person is descending to the aspect of Malchus, he should
focus his mind and carefully visualize the world of Asiyah [and its aspects as delineated
above], and he can also fill himself with thoughts of the acceptance of the Divine yoke.
Likutei Moharan 1:10
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which is the House-level of Asiyah. Afterward, he descends further to the aspect of the
Field, and he can focus on accepting upon himself the Kingdom of Heaven completely
[like Yitzchak, who sacrificed himself completely, whose aspect is the field—"And
Yitzchak went out to speak in the field..."]. Afterward, he descends further to the level of
the Mountain, and he can visualize himself going out into the outer realm [that is in
contact with everything not clearly connected with holiness] and accepting upon himself
the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven there, in the mountains and the hills.
In addition, one can attempt to connect with Hashem in each world through the
unique aspect of prayer that is associated with each level. For example, it would be
worthwhile to visualize himself going into the House and walking from room to room,
kissing the mezuzah, and while in the space between rooms he can be mechavein that he
is in the "middle space" of Da'as. He can imagine that, within the room, he sees a Bed, a
Chair, a Table and a Menorah, paralleling the worlds of Atzilus, Beriyah, Yetzirah and
Asiyah. After that, he leaves the house and kisses the mezuzah to protect himself
spiritually, and goes out to the field. He can visualize that he sees a ladder there based on
the ground, with its top in the heavens, and then imagine himself climbing up that ladder
to bind himself to his Creator. Or he can imagine that there are fields or mountains to his
right and left sides, and he walks among them, and in this way he binds himself to the
aspect of Da'as, which is the middle aspect that unites the right and left.
We can now expand the visualization into the world of Yetzirah, which is the
world of angels. They serve Hashem with the "external" avodos of Divine fear/awe and
love—and by virtue of being avodah it is necessarily external, since the inner way is that
of a deep and reflective spiritual apprehension. That is the realm of the next higher world,
Beriyah.
It's important to know that, when a person wants to ascend this ladder of the
worlds to connect with his Creator—and he starts to think about angels, and so on—he
shouldn't be afraid of using his imagination for such lofty matters. He should only focus
on the fact that he longs to connect with Hashem, and whatever he does is just a means
for him to reach whatever degree of dveikus is possible for him, for this really is his
purpose.
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He can then visualize that he is binding himself to the four angels that surround
him—Michael, Gavriel, Uriel and Refael—which parallel Chochmah, Binah, Tiferes and
Malchus [Tiferes being the crux of the six lower sefiros from Chessed to Yesod. Rebbe
Nachman writes that gemara is an acronym for these angels.] He should first visualize
Michael as the aspect of C/tc5'.s‫׳‬e<i—expressed in the Shem HaVaYaH articulated by segol
vowels—and the attribute of love. Afterward he should visualize Gavriel as the aspect of
Gevurah—expressed in the Shem HaVaYaH articulated by shva vowels—and the attribute
of fear/awe. And he should continue with the rest of the angels, each one in accordance
with its aspects. (The deeper works explain that they taught the ancient king, Alexander
the Great, that he could fly if he would be mechavein properly on the kavanos of the 42-
Name which is encoded into the Ana b'Koach prayer. The first full phrase. Ana b'Koach
etc., parallels the right side; the second full phrase, Kabel Rinas etc., parallels the left
side; Na Gibor etc., parallels the middle. By activating all of them, he would be able to
fly.) [Note: Each of these lines contains six words, the initials of which form a section of
the 42-Name. The prayer as a whole is seven lines of six-word phrases—a total of 42
initials. Each line alludes to a different sefirah from Chessed to Malchus.]
The deeper significance of this is as follows: The angels have six wings—they
cover their faces with two of them; with another two they cover their legs; and they have
two with which they fly. The two that cover their faces protect them from exposure to too
much of the Divine light, so that they should not be incinerated. The two that cover their
legs are to protect them and keep them bound to holiness when there is too little light, lest
the klippos that are in [the "legs" of] NH''Y take hold of them. The two with which they
fly is for when there is balance in their reception of the Divine light; then they are
empowered and they can fly to do Hashem's service and carry out His missions.
Everything spiritual exists in a state of flux known as, "And the chayos run and
return." In holiness, there is always spiritual motion. Sometimes there is too much light
and one must take care not to "burn out;" sometimes there is too little and one must
protect himself because he is vulnerable to the klippos. But when there is balance
between the two, it is possible to rise in holiness.
Now, when a person breathes in he can meditate on the idea that he is filling up
with the Divine light of love and fear; first it enters into his head, and afterward it fills his
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body until it reaches his extremities. During that breath in, he will notice that as his lungs
fill, his right and left arms raise slightly; when he exhales they will lower again to their
original position. This physical motion parallels a spiritual reality, that when light enters
him, he can rise and "fly" with his two wings, right and left of love and fear, which lift
ever so slightly. When holiness exits with his exhalation, his arms/wings also fall and he
returns to earth. Alternatively, one can imagine during his inhalation that he is becoming
so filled with air that he cannot contain it within him any longer; this would be a
reflection of "too much light," or ayin [attaining a state of nothingness but risking
spiritual ”bum out”]. At that point he can cover his face with his hands. He then exhales
the air until he is completely emptied out, so as to return to the state of ani ["self," but
Rebbe Nachman reveals that returning from bitul is risky, since one feels the discrepancy
and can easily fall to “too little light"]. At that point, he can cover his legs with his hands
[so he won’t be susceptible]. At the point of emptiness, he can take an instant to feel a
yearning and longing for air and Divine light, and then he begins the process again. In
this way, he fluctuates in the manner of "running and returning." This cycle is actually
the proper way to draw in spiritual light, and over time the light really does penetrate into
the person and become internalized, and then he really can come to the level of, "and
with two wings, he flies"—he can really rise much higher. The state of "too much light" is
associated with the right side, and the state of "too little light" is associated with the left.
By fluctuating back and forth he rides the middle line, and moves forward and flies; this
is spoken of as, "ani and ayin, joined as one." This is the ideal state, to be in balance
between ani and ayin, between right and left, between running and returning.
Let us now try to describe the visualization of entry into the world of Beriyah.
According to the deeper sources, we know that this world is one of holy concepts, and
practically speaking it means making a connection with the mind and concepts of the
tzaddik. While the angels embody the "external" nature of avodas Hashem, the souls of
the tzaddikim embody the inner nature of avodah, which is the contemplation of holy
thoughts of G-dliness.
When a person seeks to connect with the tzaddik and his path in avodah, the
easiest way is through the level of feeling a sense of closeness to the tzaddik by
activating the visualizing capacity of the imagination. The Bnei Yisasschar taught that it
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is possible to connect with the tzaddik through the use of sheimos—the Name ‫״»־‬ivy
parallels the neshamah-level of the tzaddik‫׳‬, the Name n‫>־״‬iri parallels the ruach-\ewe\
of the tzaddik‫׳‬, and the Name parallels the nefesh-\ewe\ of the tzaddik. In actual
fact, the better means of connecting with the tzaddik is by meriting to know him and his
pathway in avodah very well, and this is what really brings him close to the tzaddik so
that he can receive the light of his holy concepts. This is the light that is bestowed in the
world of Beriyah.
Another way to connect with the tzaddik is by learning his works and trying to
bond with him by way of his path in avodah as taught in his seforim. The Komarna
Rebbe, for example, said that he would often connect with the Arizal and the Baal Shem
Tov by way of their writings [i.e. their teachings as recorded by their students], and
through this it is possible receive an ibbur ["gestation" or temporary
illumination/implanting] of a spark from the soul of that tzaddik. The Belzer Rebbe
taught that there are tzaddikim who, when learning the teachings of Abaye and Rava,
were able to literally see the two sages before them. And there are people who are worthy
of feeling Abayeh and Rava [even if they don't see them with their eyes, they are filled
with renewal and access some of the deep connection of these sages].
The entry into the world of Atzilus is by way of the Divine Names and lights.
Meaning, the Names and lights are fully abstracted, they aren't what we know by way of
our personal avodah, but rather they are a reflection of, "I place Hashem before me
always"—of existing in a state, "facing the Face of Hashem." All of the levels and worlds
that are beneath it are degrees and stages to bring one to this lofty state of, "facing the
Face of Hashem." Beyond that is the level of Adam Kadmon in both its general sense as
well as in all of its particulars within every single world. It is, at every level, the point of
union between the Creator and the created being—an actual and real bond with the holy
Shechinah where the ani is fully encompassed within the Ay in. This is at a level of unity
far beyond anything that we have described until now, following degrees of avodah
higher and higher until one reaches the state of, "facing the Face of Hashem." The level
of Adam Kadmon isn't just facing the Face of Hashem—it is complete subsuming within
Hashem.
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This level of Adam Kadmon parallels the highest degree of prophecy possible
which was experienced by Moshe Rabbeinu, that of the "clear lens." The unclear lens is
when the self stands before the ultimate Ayin and stays at some degree of removal; with
the clear lens, all darkness and obscurity and obstacle is nullified utterly, and the created
being is fully unified within the Creator, as it were. And now that we have explained
something of each of these levels, each person should do his best to try and understand
the concepts to whatever extent he can relate to them. He should attempt to be mechavein
in them in every world in a general way and also in whatever way is particular to him. At
each level, he must try to connect with Hashem as well as he can and in accordance with
the nature of that level. Even if he can only focus on a little of these ideas, it's also
worthwhile, because this is what will allow him to feel something of the spirituality that
he is accessing on high in accordance with the level of his own avodah.
The Level of Adam Kadmon
The Baal HaTanya taught that until a person reaches the soul-level of yechidah,
he cannot be considered to have really experienced G-dliness fully. Yechidah is
sometimes referred to as MaTaT [which we will not discuss right now] and Adam
Kadmon, which is the innermost point of the soul [where it exists in a state of unity at all
times with its Creator]. It is through this level that one can really come to, "cleave to
Him," as the verse indicates.
A person is bound to the level of Adam Kadmon when he is bound up with the
Ayin, encompassed by all of the worlds, and at that point his own ani [individuated self]
can catalyze genuine miracles [through prayer] and draw down a flow of abundance both
physical and spiritual to the world [because he is a pure channel for G-d's blessing]. This
is not like what happens at the level of Atzilus, where one's individuated self is
completely nullified; within Adam Kadmon, the yeish-?,t\i is transformed, because the ani
is subsumed within the Ayin. At that point, the soul is empowered to act in holiness.
Yet everything in the spiritual world has its counterbalancing force, and so there
is great vulnerability to the klippos at these lofty levels of Atzilus and Adam Kadmon. For
this reason, if a person manages to rise to such high levels and his kavanos are not
completely pure in terms of that which he seeks to accomplish down below, he can err
and fall to terrible places, chas v'shalom. He can even fall into heresy, G-d forbid. It is
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therefore important that a person be aware that if he is still not completely clear of the
hold of even klippas nogah [i.e. he is overly attached to even permitted pleasures of this
world, etc.], trying to reach such lofty lights can be extremely dangerous. There are even
people who are completely removed from holiness, but through engaging a number of
different potentials—mental focus and a well-developed imagination—they are able to
reach certain levels of ascent in the higher worlds while focusing their minds on nogah-
corrupted thoughts. When they reach the aspect of Adam Kadmon, it is as though they are
even able to accomplish something there, but this is really because they are engaged in
the level of Adam Kadmon d'klippah—a place that is completely impure.
Let us return to our original subject—when descending from the lofty avodah of
Adam Kadmon, the spiritual work assumes the nature of Asiyah. For this reason, the study
of Kabbalah and the work of kavanos is the ideal partner of the "down to earth" avodah
of Torah and mitzvos at the level of Asiyah, in action. There is a value in learning how to
take the loftiest spiritual experiences and studies and draw them all the way down into the
realm of action—from Ayin down to yeish, so that one's avodah is completed through
dveikus in thought, speech and action.
The World of Music
Until now we have spoken about accomplishing aliyos through engaging the
imagination, visualization and working with kavanos—all of this is in the realm of
thought. We will now address another means of aliyah that make use of a more "external"
tool—we call it, "the world of niggun," or music. It is considered more external because it
is more closely tied to the world of Asiyah, since music is formed either through physical
action or through the breath that emerges from the mouth.
Rav Pinchas of Koretz would say that if a person studies Torah all week with
great diligence, he will merit to experience delight on Shabbos with the niggunim of the
holy day. The connection between the two is that Torah study and niggun both derive
from the same "world" since they are both products of the apparatus of speech and breath,
but music is loftier and more abstract. So if a person learns all week and is mechavein to
the Torah's inner meaning, and sanctifies his breath and speech, he can rise on Shabbos to
the delight of niggunim [which is a form of spiritual pleasure and dveikus]. Because
niggun is more external, it is possible for a person to remain with its avodah for much
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more time—even several hours without interruption—which would not be possible for him
when attempting aliyos through visualization and kavanos alone.
One takes this path by singing aloud some melody of dveikus, and while singing
he should attempt to be mechavein in all of the order of Names and worlds and aspects as
we've already described, in accordance with his capacity. The melody will enable him to
maintain his focus for a greater length of time.
15
The Way of Unity
Part 5
The Nature of the Letters^'’

The main kavanah of the letters is in the combinations of the triads that have the
same "small number" in gematria. [For example, and so on.] The basic
reason for this is that the Alef-Beis is a gradual downward descent that parallels the order
of the sefiros. The letter alef [=1] parallels the sefirah of Kesser, and so on. Once you
descend past the first nine letters, the rest of the Alef-Beis parallel lower faculties within
the nefesh. To explain this more clearly, we can look at the first triad of the alef
parallels the Kesser, meaning the inner vessel of the Kesser, the yud [=10] parallels the
middlemost vessel of the Kesser, and the letter kuf [=100] the outermost vessel of the
Kesser. Similarly, the letter beis parallels the inner vessel of Chochmah‫׳‬, c/io/parallels its
middlemost vessel; and reish its outermost vessel.
This continues through the order of the Alef-Beis: parallels Binah; n ‫״‬Q‫״‬T
parallels Chessed; ‫־‬j‫׳‬on parallels Gevurah [the final chof is the first of the doubled-letters
of ^(‫״‬moD.] D‫״‬oi parallels Tiferes; ‫׳׳)־‬Vt parallels Netzach; parallels Hod‫׳‬, and
parallels Yesod. The full framework works out as follows: the first nine letters from alef
until tes are the innermost vessels; the nine letters from yud until tzaddik parallel the
Much of the following is from Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar HaPartzufim, Sha’ar II, p. 26b-27.
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middlemost vessels; and the letters kuf until the final tzaddik parallel the outermost
vessels. As we have seen, the sefirah of Malchus is not counted, because there really are
only nine actual vessels; Malchus is always encompassed within the Kesser because
Kesser is the vessel that contains the Malchus-aspect of the partzu/directly above it.
When a person focuses his mind on the letter alef, he arouses the innermost vessel
of Kesser. Afterward, he can visualize the letters yud and kuf, and in this way arouse the
other aspects of the Kesser—the middlemost and outermost vessels. In this way, he begins
to draw the Divine light upon his body by sanctifying and purifying his own Kesser-
vessels. One begins by purifying the vessels—which are external in nature—because it's
easier to do so. This process has a further purifying effect on the inner aspect.
[Note: This sounds very abstract, but the principle is actually very familiar in a
different context. We know that, "working on the external arouses the internal"—external
acts have a penetrative effect on the deeper parts of ourselves. In down-to-earth terms,
this means that even if a person doesn't feel generous, he will become a more generous
person by giving. Even if he isn't happy, smiling and acting positive will affect the deeper
parts of himself and he will come to feel happier. This is just a reflection of the teaching
brought above; we begin doing the work of kavanos in the "external" vessels—here, this
means the visualizations of the letters—because doing so has an effect on the analogues of
those letters, our actual personal aspects of Kesser.]
To help us understand this better, we can examine the dynamic of the avodos of
Rachel and Leah. The avodah of Rachel [Malchus] is accomplished by engaging the tool
of the imagination to visualize the letters; the avodah of Leah is in focusing the mind's
intent on the inner meaning of the letters. Together, they form a complete avodah. This
synergistic avodah is the path described by the Arizal throughout his works, because the
person who attempts to do aliyos on the strength of his Rachel-avodah alone is in danger.
While it's true that the Rachel-avodah is very powerful and it is only through that kind of
work that it is possible to reach the highest levels, nevertheless it represents a certain kind
of risk spiritually, because its place [the aspect of Malchus which is Rochel accessed
through imagination] is closer to the klippos [and therefore prone to corruption and
misuse. “This is learned from the verse, “her feet descend to death.”] However, if one
unites this "external" avodah [of "vessels-letters”] with the Leah-avodah of sheimos
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[kavanos of the deeper intent of the letters], it is possible to [complete] Rachel so that it is
uplifted and no longer dangerous.
Rising on the Letters
The letters are an ideal means of entering into and rising from world to world. The
general principle at work is that the main degree of light that enters into a vessel is
contingent on the form of the vessel itself. In this case, the letter is a form that serves as a
vessel that contains Divine light, and it is necessary to focus one's mind on the light that
is within the letter. Every letter contains a different degree of light depending on its
particular form. [Note: The deeper works explain that Hebrew letters are very lofty
constructs that are far more than their physical form. These holy forms are so lofty that
they do not belong in our world at all. Only Hashem’s kindness enables us to relate to
these letters in the material world. This is why many poskim rule that it is forbidden to
speak Hebrew in a manner that is inappropriate or the like. Even those who permit only
do so because when doing so people are disconnected from the deep spiritual nature of
these letters. The Zohar explains that when a child says the Hebrew letters he accesses
this deep connection and the letters ascend on High below the Kisei Hakavod. The
purpose of this shiur is to teach us how to reach the deep potential of the letters and feel
their awe-inspiring light.]
[Note: The Rav now goes on to explain that there are three basic levels of
awareness and avodah in the work of contemplation and kavanah, which are expressed in
the upper triad of Chochmah-Binah-Da'as.\
The first level that one must grasp is that of Chochmah, which [in general] is the
experience of the Divine light in an abstract way. There are thirty-two paths of
Chochmah [by which this light descends and spreads forth throughout the body, to share
its influence]. The second level is that of Binah, which is the drawing-down of the Divine
light by way of struggle and effort, through the pathways of Divine love and fear and
dveikus, and so on. All of these pathways [of avodah] are called the "fifty gates of
Binah." The third level is that of Da'as, and it is the implementation of the experience of
light into action; meaning, that one begins to act in accordance with his Chochmah and
Binah grasp of the Divine light. There are twenty-six pathways of Da'as. The concepts
that we focus on mainly are concerned with the workings of Chochmah and Binah,
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because the Da'as level is really the deepest of them all. Da'as-work. involves all of the
actions that one can do and accomplish once he is invested with the light of Chochmah
and Binah; such avodah includes practical Kabbalah [which is for the very rare few who
are worthy of it, and is not our concern. The Arizal told Rav Chaim Vital that in general,
only one who has never sinned is permitted to use sheimos to affect things]. But even a
more simple person [relatively speaking] who undertakes these kinds of avodos should do
his utmost to visualize the way in which Hashem's light enters into him and penetrates
through him; this is a spiritually refined kind of seeing, and developing a sensitivity to the
way that it feels as it flows through him is a spiritualized type of sense that one also
needs.
Until now we have outlined a pathway to this Chochmah work—by way of
"engraving" and "erasing," and so on—and by following it one can merit to experience the
pleasure of the light of Chochmah. Nevertheless, it is still only a first step which is not all
that difficult to take. The next, and more difficult, step is to actually feel the light within
one's body, and the pathway to achieve this is by way of the letters, because they are the
actual vessels of the body itself. [Note: We have already explained that the letters
embody all three levels of every vessel of the full structure of the sefiros—and that is the
spiritual root of the physical form.] The ultimate purpose of doing this avodah is to allow
Hashem's light to influence and transform the body so that it will no longer act as an
impediment to Divine service, so that one can feel the light without any barrier. [The
Shelah Hakadosh writes that tzaddikim attune their physical selves to the spiritual root of
the material.]
Proper kavanah during prayer, therefore, requires the use of the siddur of the
Rashash or one of the other siddurim—ont has to keep his gaze focused on the actual
letters of the prayers [or sheimos]. After one has already accomplished some degree of
aliyah through the means we have already described in earlier segments, the next stage is
accomplished by looking at the forms of the letters so that the lights can descend into his
body. The more effort one expends in this, the more refined and pure his body becomes.
There is a positive feedback loop at work; the more refined the body is, the easier it is to
focus and be mechavein on the letters. This is the synergized avodah of Rachel
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[visualization] and Leah [kavanah on the light within the letters] at work, and when they
are together they are complete.
Just as we spoke earlier of carrying out the avodah of "engraving" while working
with a group, it is possible to bind with the souls of others while pursuing the avodah of
the letters. One can visualize the letters that correspond to the aspects [sefirah-middah] of
his friends, and also the letter that corresponds to his own aspect, and after that each
person in the group can visualize how each other member of the group is sharing with
him the sub-aspects that "belong" to him [as explained in earlier segments], and how
those letters are coming to him and entering his own letter. And he can also visualize the
inverse; how all of his own sub-aspects are flowing from him in the form of their letter
into his friend. And while they do this act of meditation, they should focus on the fact
that the lights of the letters are purifying their bodies. (One should only visualize the
forms of letters as they appear in a sefer Torah, or in the block print that appears in a
siddur.)
During the time that one focuses his mind on the letters, he begins by closing his
eyes so that he can rise from level to level. Closing the eyes is associated with Chochmah
[where one is receiving light from outside himself, and which does not require the
engagement of his "perceptive" mental faculties; he only needs to nullify himself before
the experience of G-d's light]. But when one is in the Binah-statt, one naturally feels a
desire to open his eyes, so that he can process the light through his faculties of reason.
When attempting to draw the light down into the letters, he therefore should keep his eyes
open and focused on the letters within the siddur so that he can contemplate them more
effectively with his Binah aspect.
And there is another point regarding the interplay of Chochmah and Binah that is
important for our purpose now. Every action that is done in a general way is in the
category of Chochmah, while every action that is carried out to the level of details is in
the category of Binah. When contemplating the letters and attempting to do detail-
avodah, it is important to avoid getting so caught up in the details that one loses sight of
the bigger Chochmah picture of the avodah. One therefore has to move between deep
contemplation of intricate details [Binah quality] of the avodah and the state of
Chochmah and its light [of bitul and being subsumed within Elokus].
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Holiness, and the Three Impure Klippos

It is very important to be aware that a person's sensitivity to holiness in general
and his ability to experience the way in which the Divine light spreads throughout his
body specifically depends on the degree to which he distances himself from worldly
pleasures. The first and most important area to work on is the lust for food. When a
person learns that he should not focus on the material, and he starts to enter into a more
spiritual way of seeing the world, his body does get more refined. But if a person remains
with his lust for food and doesn't work on coming out of it, he will find that all of his
efforts to refine his body through the avodah of aliyos and kavanos do not help at all. The
more spiritual one makes the food that he eats [by focusing on Hashem while eating and
on eating that which is healthy for his body so that he can serve Hashem], the more
refined the body becomes, and the Divine light can be absorbed by it more easily. We
aren't speaking here of taking on a regimen of self-affliction, of fasting or not providing
the body with what it requires. Rather, one should simply make sure to eat what he needs
in a holy way [and not motivated by ta'avah, or blind desire]. In fact, the pathway of self-
affliction distances a person from holiness because it prevents him from being able to
settle his mind, and without a settled mind it is impossible to be mechavein properly.
When a person always follows the lead of his body—by eating whatever comes his
way that his body feels drawn to—it means that he has fallen into the three impure
klippos. We know that when a person rises to a higher plane spiritually, he first has to
pass through three impure klippos, and afterward he is able to enter the upper worlds.
[Note: This is seen in Moshe Rabbeinu's ascent through three stages of darkness, and is
found in the first chapter of Yechezkel's vision.] This is a very important concept when
attempting to accomplish aliyos—one cannot really ascend without first having to pass
through these three klippos. When Yechezkel experienced his vision, he first confronted
the klippah known as the "stormwind" [‫ ;] רוח סערה‬afterward he met the klippah known as
the "great cloud" [‫ ;]ענן גדול‬after that, he faced the "flashing fire" [‫] אש מתלקחת‬. Only
after passing through these three levels did he come to the klippah of the "surrounding
shine" [‫]נוגה‬, which is an admixture of the pure and the impure.
This is why, when a person begins to pray, all kinds of distracting thoughts plague
him. Really negative thoughts—like those of idolatry or of jealousy—derive from the first
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klippah of the stormwind, which blows a person around like a hurricane and prevents him
from rising. [This includes any thoughts which are all-pervasive, preoccupying the
person’s entire self. Money-lust is one example Rebbe Nachman brings as being
comparable to idolatry. In our context this would mean worrying about money or lusting
after it.] When a person begins to realize that those thoughts are only garments [meaning,
that they are messages sent by Hashem to awaken him to teshuvah—they show him what
he needs to fix] and he overcomes them, then sometimes he is beset by a second league of
distracting thoughts, of various lusts, but they don't blow the person off course to the
same extent as the first "stormwind" thoughts. This second rank of thoughts tends to
obscure his clarity and acts as an obstacle, because these thoughts derive from the second
klippah, the "great cloud," which is less forceful. Even so, they can present a great
challenge, precisely because they are not as obviously derived from the klippah. It is
easier for a person to fall into confusion from these thoughts because they are clearly not
as problematic as distractions of the first rank, like thoughts of idolatry. [One feels like he
has done no wrong. Yet they are less all-encompassing than thoughts which are or
resemble idolatry.] At the third level, the klippah of the "flashing fire" manifests itself as
feelings of pride and self-consciousness about the very act of prayer. This is the most
delicate of the three klippos, and also the most dangerous, because it is very difficult to
escape from its grasp. These three klippos parallel the three fundamental negative traits of
jealousy, lust and the drive for honor.
Anyone who is paying attention to his Divine service will realize that he
definitely passes through all of these three klippos with every bit of avodah that he
performs and with every mitzvah that he carries out. Sometimes the process takes longer
and sometimes it passes more quickly. However, when a person is aware of the dynamic
and the challenges, and he makes use of the appropriate sheimos that counteract the effect
of each klippah, he can more easily and quickly extricate himself from their influence.
[Note: The Baal HaLeshem said that the strongest sweetness and light is what can be
grasped in Sha’ar Ruach Hakodesh, a sefer composed of spiritual remedies for various
sins and character defects along with how to help others and oneself through the sheimos.
Using the correct sheimos when confronted with such a problem is often the strongest
way to correct them. Nevertheless, one can also use more conventional methods, like
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hisbodedus to beseech Hashem to help one recognize the problem. Or learning mussar or
chassidus about what troubles him.]
The most basic form of pride really derives from the first klippah, because it is no
less than idolatry. It bears little resemblance to the more subtle kind of self-consciousness
that comes up when fulfilling a mitzvah. The way to tell if one's feeling of ego is rooted
in the first klippah or the more refined third klippah is by examining how he feels when
his friend rises to a higher level spiritually. If he feels belittled by the spiritual
accomplishment of another, then his jealousy is just another form of idolatry and is
rooted in the first klippah, the stormwind. The remedy for this is in focusing on feeling
dveikus with Hashem by visualizing Hashem's greatness; that He fills all the worlds, and
that Hashem is connected with him even though he is so small and lowly. This will bring
a person to grasp the root of humility and help him leave his pride behind.
When it comes to klippas nogah, however, the matter is entirely different. A
person reaches nogah after having already passed through all three impure klippos; at that
level, his struggle is in only feeling pure Elokus in the spiritual light that he receives. For
example, food and drink is filled with G-dly sparks. When a person wants to only focus
on the spiritual light within the material and not derive pleasure from its [physical]
substance [but rather from the sparks that generate the taste], and he struggles to achieve
this, he can be said to be overcoming klippas nogah. This is a far more refined type of
avodah. Working through the three impure klippos, however, is equivalent to the avodah
of circumcision—complete cutting away of that which is entirely negative [the orlah].
When it comes to the three primary klippos, we aren't speaking of a "clarification"; that
terminology only applies to the subtle klippah of nogah.
It is important to be aware that the dynamic of the three primary klippos and
nogah exists in every world. Although the dynamic remains the same, the expression
becomes successively more subtle, in accordance with the degree of each world.
The Three Lines
It is said in the name of the Baal HaTanya that the path of the Baal Shem Tov was
a new way of understanding the teachings of the Arizal, and it was so very deep that it
was almost impossible to set any of it down in writing. What this really means is that we
were not worthy of having more than the least bit of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings
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brought down to us. In any case, the general trend of the Baal Shem Toy's path is not the
way of the "surrounding lights" or the "inner lights"—of Chochmah or Binah—hut, rather,
the aspect of hashra'ah [the investment of light within or upon a vessel], which is the
nature of Kesser. To receive the light of Kesser, one does not necessarily have to be an
extremely elevated person; that is the whole concept of hashra'ah—that light is invested
from a lofty place into external vessels. The pathway of "lights" is something deeper; the
lights have to enter into internal vessels [which need to be more developed].
The Baal Shem Tov revealed a very great secret regarding the concept of
hashra'ah, and the fact is that it is the most fundamental idea that underlies all of the
writings of the Arizal and the entire Torah. We will try our best to explain something of
the concept, even though whatever we can manage to clarify will only be the least bit of
the matter. To approach it, we first need to explain a number of basic ideas; we will
return to them later on in this discourse to explore them in further detail, and also to
demonstrate how the concepts connect with one another. For now, a basic introduction to
the ideas will suffice, though. Firstly, it is important to state clearly that most mekubalim
who study Kabbalah and are mechavein with sheimos certainly merit to apprehend Divine
"internal lights," and this refines their bodies. The Baal Shem T oy's innovation, however,
was in his assertion that it is impossible to truly ascend on high and transform oneself
without also reaching a degree of hashra'ah. He wrote in one of his letters to his brother-
in-law, Rav Gershon Kitover, a description of one of his aliyos, and how three Names
were revealed to him during that aliyah. These three Names parallel the three "lines"
[kavin of Chessed—oxpansivomss, kindness, love; Gevurah—limits, constriction, fear; and
Tiferes—beauty, truth, Torah]. Throughout the generations, all of the tzaddikim revealed a
little bit of information about this matter, each one in his own way.
There are several keys that open the way for a person to enter into spirituality and
ascend; they are fixed principles of aliyah, and without them a person can spend his
entire life searching for a true means of ascent and never find his way. The three Names,
or three keys, or three "lines" are the three sheimos known as the 72-Name, the 42-Name,
and the Shem HaVaYaH. They parallel the "right" line, the "left" line, and the "middle"
' The Baal HaSulam in particular addressed this issue; his entire commentary on the Zohar is founded
upon the principle.
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‫בס״ד‬
line. We will have to address this concept at greater length, because it is very deep, but
before we do there is just one more piece of information to be added in so that we will
eventually get a complete picture. In Sefer Shmuel, we find that there was a time when a
prophet was called a chozeh ["visionary"] rather than a navi. The Baal HaTanya taught
that there were prophets who saw their visions via the color white, and others who saw
via the color black. Meaning, there were those whose visions appeared on a white
background, and others whose visions appeared on a black background. Similarly, it is
well known that there were prophets whose bodies shook violently when they
prophesized, and others who received their prophecy in a state of complete tranquility.
Right and Left
We'll begin first with a discussion of the right side, which parallels Chochmah
since it really includes the entire array of the attributes on the right side. It is important to
know, though, that Chessed and Netzach are not exclusively connected with the right side
even though they "sit" on the right side, because Chessed receives influence from Binah
[on the left], and Gevurah [on the left] receives from Chochmah. Nevertheless, at the
external level Chessed receives from Chochmah as does Netzach, and because they are on
the right positionally, they are considered right-side attributes.
One way to access the light of Chochmah is by visualizing oneself filled by
Divine light and surrounded by that light, and by feeling the reality of G-d's giving
nature; this pathway is known as the way of tranquility and relaxation [‫] מנוחה ורגיעה‬. At
the outset, it is difficult to grasp very much of this light; only lower levels of Chochmah
are accessible, and we call them mochin d'katnus d'Chochmah—the "constricted [or
immature] consciousness of Chochmah." For this reason, it is difficult to have a very
deep or clear feeling of the light of Chochmah at the beginning. It is like white fire on a
white background, where the vision is hidden and one experiences only the light.
The left side, however, is the path of fire and gevurah, of holy fervor, of fear and
awe. On this pathway, the visions are not very clear, but their light can be felt more
strongly than that which one accesses in Chochmah. In the way of Binah, the letters at
first are like black ink inscribed on a black background—they are unclear. But as one
merits to clarify his vision and extracts the truth from the falsehood, he begins to see
more clearly, like write writing on a black background. Even so, the process of clarifying
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one's vision on the "left side" takes time; while it's true that even a small candle will
illuminate a room, it will only allow you to see something of what is contained in the
room. It will not allow you to really see everything that is in the room completely clearly.
The vision of Binah is similar to this, because even if a person does see something, it will
be an admixture of truth and falsehood, so one must remember that the truth is not yet
clear.
The deeper works are mainly concerned with the two pathways of Chochmah and
Binah, and far less so on the path of the middle line; mainly because it is so very hidden.
Nevertheless, it is important to know that the middle line has a far loftier potential
precisely because it bridges and reconciles the right and the left, and by following it one
can come to reach the aspect of Kesser, which is the highest of all.
The first general principle in the path of aliyah is to enter into the right side—to
the aspect of Chochmah. One does this by focusing on how everything is only Divine
light, absolute whiteness, and the more that one's mind delves into this, the more he sees
that whiteness growing brighter and more brilliant. The main focus of his kavanos should
be on existing in a state of complete bitul to Hashem; that he has no level at all, and that
everything begins and ends with the extent of his self-nullification before Hashem. He
must also know that all of his Torah study and mitzvos are only a means of drawing
closer to Hashem.
After that, he can enter into the left side—to the aspect of Binah. One does this by
feeling a longing and a yearning to see Divine light; this necessarily involves a greater
degree of self-awareness or yeishus. Because of that, the area of Binah is inherently more
dangerous, and so one must always begin the avodah with the right-hand side of
Chochamh. After achieving total bitul, one can express his desire to see whatever he can
of holiness. And this is a general rule; when it comes to holiness, we always begin on the
right side and then move over to the left.
If a person really wants to carry out this avodah properly and thoroughly, he must
spend several days focused on the light of bitul [Chochmah], and to take delight in the
One who conducts all of the universe [meaning, in feeling subsumed with Hashem and
knowing that He controls absolutely everything]. This is the essence of emunah and the
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‫־‬T 0 3 ‫״‬
proper way to bind oneself to Hashem, and it is the ideal means of preparing the body and
soul to reach the further levels that are the natural outgrowth of such avodah.
Even though the left side is different from the right, and the tranquil state of
Chochmah appears to be in direct contradiction to the fevered energy of Binah,
nevertheless that is only at the level of sensation and the material. When it comes to
spiritual states, it is possible for two different modes of thinking and being to coexist
simultaneously, without any contradiction, because both are encompassed by and within
the other. They are not mutually exclusive states; they are interdependent states. [It is
stems from complete unity with Hashem. It just depends which veil of the light of Bin Sof
we use. Many different hues can be grasped at once.]
The Apter Rov explained that there were chassidim and very pious people who
fell and even lost their minds because they focused on the left-side avodah before they
had mastered the right side of bitul. The root of the problem lay in their seeking after
"levels" for themselves, like ruach hakodesh or Gan Eden, and so on. Such self-seeking
intensified their yeishus or ego, which allowed them to fall into melancholy [because it is
painful to see how far one is from his goals when it's all about his ego], and from there
they fell into despair. [Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk explains that if one is
arrogant—even the inverted arrogance of one who feels unhappy with his spiritual
level—he is bombarded with negative thoughts until he feels ejected from the spiritual
palaces on high.] And for those who sought spiritual light after having blemished their
personal purity but did not to teshuvah, the fall is almost certain to come; such a person
only adds further impurity to his impure state. [Bris is due to arrogance because one with
genuine emunah and humility will understand that these sins contradict living emunah
and will at least repent for them.]
We see, then, that if a person wants to enter properly in to the avodah of the "left
side," he needs to first master the tactics by which one battles the sitra achra, because the
left side is dark and dinim are encountered there. But if a person knows how to overcome
the negative [as described earlier] and remain in a state of holiness, he can eventually
come to see things that are like "white fire on black fire," which has far more clarity. One
can only enter this avodah properly, however, by first spending time on the quality of
bitul, which is Chochmah and the "hidden vision" of white fire on white fire.
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18
The Way of Unity
Part 6
The 42-Name and the 72-Name

In the Shema, the 42-word paragraph that begins with ‫ ואהבת‬and ends with
‫ ובשעריך‬expresses the 42-Name [‫] שם מ״ב‬, whose letters are embedded into the initials of
the 42-word prayer Ana B'koach. [Note: This is the kavanah that one should have in mind
when reciting v'ahavta. This Name is a reflection of gevuros or the "left side," and so it is
of special significance that it is embodied within the first section of Shema, which speaks
of loving G-d with all of our hearts, souls and might. This is to convey that the light of
gevuros shines into the vessel of chessed, and the reverse is also true, as we will see.]
The 72-Name is expressed by the 72-word section of Shema that begins with ‫והיה‬
‫ א ם שמוע‬, and its letters are embedded into the three verses [each one has a total of 72-
letters] that describe the events that occurred just before Moshe Rabbeinu split the sea.
[Note: It was with this Name that he split the sea.] The process of deriving the 72 triads
that form the 72-Name is more complicated by far than what we find with the 42-Name,
however. [Note: The first triad is derived by taking the first letter of the first verse,
combining it with the last letter of the second verse, and then adding the first letter of the
third verse. The second triad is formed by taking the second letter of the first verse, the
second to last letter of the second verse, and the second letter of the third verse. And so
Sha'ar Hakavanos, Drushei Kriyas Shema
51
‫בס״ד‬
on... As we can see, the "motion" of forming this Name is right-left-right. The 72-Name
expresses chassadim, or the "right side."]
We know that there are two basic dynamics—that of "running" and "returning"—
and the truth is that the "returning" is actually higher than the "running." [Note: Rebbe
Nachman said that his main avodah is in the aspect of "returning." We tend to think that
spiritual accomplishments (running) is the greater matter, rather than learning how to
hold our own when we are feeling distance from Hashem (returning). But Rebbe
Nachman said very clearly, "The main thing is “And from the depths of she'ol I cried
out.'" This is the revelation of G-dliness that one can access from the place of distance,
which actually characterizes our entire human existence. Rav Avrohom ben Rav
Nachman explains that the deepest self is only expressed when one is distant from
Hashem, when crying out with all one’s might. Rebbe Nachman revealed that the main
way to do hisbodedus is to put one’s entire essence into the prayer and yearning for
Hashem. This is often only accessible when one feels far.]
We have already explained that the "right" and "left" sides of avodah really need
to work in synthesis; the clarity of the right needs to be joined to the force of the left,
otherwise both are incomplete. So when we enter into the avodah as expressed by the
Shema we really start from the left, with the first paragraph of ‫ ואהבת‬that embodies the
42-Name [gevuros], because it's aspect is "running"—the upward motion and energy of
fiery avodah. This is really the way of the Baal Shem Tov—to embark on our avodas
Hashem with the genuine self-sacrifice of the 42-Name, the fire of Binah. We can see this
from the way in which the Baal Shem Tov took his own son, Rav Tzvi, and climbed to a
tall hill with him to demonstrate the meaning of mesirus nefesh. He told him that his
avodah was just like throwing himself off of that height and breaking all of his body to
bits and pieces. We also have countless examples of great tzaddikim that served Hashem
with the intense self-sacrifice that is rooted in yirah, but their yirah-avodah [left side]
was fully invested with the light of Chochmah beforehand. And this is why their avodah
yielded up the great light of R/na/i—because their mesirus nefesh was synthesized with
the light of Chochmah and chassadim. [That is, they acted in harmony and balance, with
complete nullification of self {Chochmah). Their main motivation was from love for
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‫בס״ד‬
Hashem and the realization that such self-sacrifice is the deepest kindness that one can
bestow on himself and the world (Chessed).]
When we speak of the 42-Name it is important to realize that there are many
levels and facets to it, but its most essential and basic meaning is that it is the gateway
into the avodah of Divine Names and proper focus on the [inner nature of the] letters.
The 42-Name is, as we've said, associated with the left side, which means that it is by
nature more connected with the outer aspect of things [meaning, their outer form or their
vessel], and so that Name involves putting energy into actions that help one to connect to
the inner spiritual light of a particular avodah. This pathway is the basic path of the
letters [because they are in the realm of forms and vessels, the are outer structures that
contain light]. As we have already learned, one of the ways in which we can access the
inner light of the letters is through music, because music [or song] is also an outer form
or vessel. However, even when one uses melody to enter into a deeper connection with
the light of the letters [which means using niggun as accompaniment (‫ לווי‬is from the side
of Levi, which is the left), and which is "external"], nevertheless one doesn't stay there
but must attempt to return to the right side of Chochmah again [of bitul and dveikus rather
than "avodah"]. When one does this, he naturally feels the desire to sing because his soul
is in a state of pure delight—"he will sing spontaneously"—without having to make an
avodah of it.
There were tzaddikim whose great dveikus would impel them to sing melodies
that were the natural accompaniments to the avodah that they needed to do when
focusing on the letters, because those melodies were an outgrowth of their dveikus [i.e.
spontaneous and not as a kind of calculated avodah]. And there were tzaddikim who
would begin their avodah with niggun in order to find their way into the inner nature of
the letters [of prayer, Torah or before contemplating a Divine Name]. This is because
music has a dual nature; while it is definitely a form that is external and has associations
with gevuros, it also is the natural expression of ‫נעימות‬, a deep spiritual pleasure and
sweetness. There were therefore many tzaddikim who sang through most of the sections
of the regular prayers—the Baal HaTanya was one of them—because their souls were
rooted in the aspect of the 42-Name.
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‫בס״ד‬
Now, the basic act that carries a person into the inner aspect of the letters is
making the attempt to feel the sweetness that is inherent within the letters that he reads
and sees. The 42-Name, as we have already mentioned, is multifaceted and really
encompasses many other sheimos (as the Arizal explains) and so it is possible for a
person who is involved in this avodah [which is that of the form and content of the
letters, the music, and so on] to feel many different types of spiritual light, as well as the
most general and all-encompassing spiritual light [i.e. "just light," without the limitation
of it being of a particular nature]. We know that when Rav Naftali Tzvi, the student of the
Vilna Gaon, had questions about avodas Hashem, he would "enter into the [light of the]
42-Name" and he would receive the answers that he sought . But one can only receive
the light of the Divine Names and the letters to the extent that he has done the
preliminary work of bitul and serenity. When a person really invests time in this
Chochmah-avodah first, he will find that, afterward, his recitation of Shema is a totally
different experience, because he can really begin to feel the light within the structure of
the letters. This is a movement in avodah from "right to left"—from Chochmah to Binah—
from bitul to focus on the "outer" structure of the letters.
After this, one goes on to the aspect of the 72-Name, which is a second, but
higher, return to Chochmah—that of "returning." This is always a far easier step, because
after doing the avodah phase, one always finds that it is easy to "rest" into a state of bitul
and dveikus [just as, physically, it is natural to relax after expending a great deal of
effort]. This is expressed in the second segment of the Shema, ‫ והיה אם שמוע‬, "And it will
be, in consequence of having listened..." [Meaning, the next stage is the natural
consequence of having "listened," or done the avodah of Binah, which is the work of
"listening," of processing that which you hear.]
The further stage after the avodah of the left side and the right side is, as we have
explained earlier, the ascent to the "middle line," which is that of Da'as, where it is
possible for a person to really access and act within all of the worlds [in the sense that his
tefillos at that level are truly effective]. The middle is the point of integration of the right
and left avodos, where they are synthesized in a single, organic whole. Instead of
alternating between two different states, the person becomes able to harmonize both
^Siddur HaGra Al Pi Hakabbalah
54
‫בס״ד‬
states within himself simultaneously. If we examine the essence of the Chochmah and
Binah states, we can see clearly how each of them on their own are lacking in some way.
When there is complete dveikus and bitul [Chochmah], we cannot say that it brings the
Creator nachas ruach because the human being is completely subsumed within the
Creator and there is no distinction between them. There is no "giving" when they are
unified, but the act of giving is really what provides the nachas ruach to the Giver. In the
Binah state, however, we also cannot say that there is complete nachas ruach, because
there is division [there is a self doing the avodah, and self-awareness of expending
effort], and any situation of division from the Creator is a diminishment of His nachas
ruach [in a way]. And so the ideal state is one in which it is possible for the person to
experience his ‫[ אני‬individuated existence] and his ‫[ אין‬the subsuming of himself in
Hashem] at the same time. One can only come to this by way of the "middle line," and
this is the level of Kesser.
The Divine Light Enclothed within the Material
We find a number of verses in the Torah that appear to express a contradiction,
and for our further understanding it is very important for us to clarify them at the outset.
One verse says, "And he [Moshe] saw the image of Hashem,"^^ and another says, "You
[the Jewish people at Sinai] did not see any image.Similarly, we find, "Let Us make
man in Our image, after Our form," yet the Zohar comments on this, "Of this the verse
says, 'Cursed is the man that makes a statue or molten image formed by an artisan's
hands, and places it in secret.'"^"^ How are we to reconcile these sources?
The first idea to address is that the innermost desire of every single Jewish soul is
to become worthy of seeing its Creator. We have already learned that the beginning of
this revelation is accessed by way of the light of Chochmah [bitul and dveikus], which
over time becomes an actual spiritual way of seeing, described by the prophet as, "eye to
eye"—a spiritual experience so vivid that it is tantamount to actually seeing with one's
eyes. If a person fails to attain this kind of spiritual vision, he cannot be said to have
actually immersed himself in the teachings of Kabbalah. [This is because they are not
Bamidbar 12:8
' Devarim 4:15
^Bereishis 1:26
^Idra Rabbah, Bamidbar 127b
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‫־‬T 0 3 ‫״‬
abstract concepts, but are actual means of attaining dveikus. At the very least, one should
be moved to tears when learning these sublime concepts. And this is why learning
Kabblah is likened to praying since it should bring dveykus by its very nature]. Now, the
teaching of the Zohar quoted above tells us, on the practical level, that one may not make
some kind of material form that is meant to represent Hashem, chas v'shalom. And on a
deeper level, this means that one may not form an image in his mind of the Ein Sof, or of
any of the sefiros or Divine Names and apply them to the Ein Sof, chas v'shalom—i\\i^ is a
very serious prohibition. Yet, at the same time, there is a great mitzvah—even a duty—to
fulfill the commandment, "And you shall cleave to Him,"^^ and the Jewish soul
inherently yearns to carry this out.
If a person were to look at something physical and think that the object is an
actual portion of the Ein Sof, or if he would make use of a particular object and in that use
feel that it is representative of the Ein Sof, then he would certainly be transgressing the
very worst sin, which is avodah zarah itself, chas v'shalom. The Ein Softs so lofty and
holy that it is a very great sin to attempt to "tie it down" to anything that exists within the
lower worlds of Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah, which are the worlds of division. [Note: In the
lower worlds, Elokus is enclothed by many garments and there are countless degrees of
separation between the absolute of the Ein Sof and the lower worlds. The key here is to
understand that the Ein Sof is the exactly the same indivisible Oneness filling all the
worlds as it was before creation. We don’t perceive it as such because of the many levels
which are essentially veils that hide Hashem's light from us, as the Ramchal teaches. But
the truth is that the light is the same. We may perceive different hues and intensity
depending on the type of veil we perceive it with, but the light remains exactly the same].
So while it is certainly a mitzvah to cleave to the Creator and "see the image of
Hashem," it means that we are meant to attach ourselves to Hashem—not to think that
there is anything in the lower worlds of BY"A that are similar to the Ein Sof. Even if a
person's intentions are good if he makes this error, it is still a very grievous sin of
idolatry; this was essentially the root of the sin of the golden calf, because the Jewish
people wanted to generate a form that would represent spiritual lights within the material.
The fact is that no human thought can really grasp the Creator, and so any attempt to
’ Devarim 10:20; See Sefer HaBris, etc.
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‫בס״ד‬
reduce "spiritual vision" of Chochmah-dveikus to some object on which the mind can
fasten is already a violation of this prohibition.
Yet it is also very difficult to completely abstract one's conception of Hashem, so
one must take care even when contemplating the sheimos that one does not allow the
thought that the Name as it appears is an actual manifestation of G-d to enter his mind.
Instead, one must think that the Name is a revelation of a particular aspect of G-d's light.
[Note: The light is shed from its Source, but it is not that Source. We cannot grasp the
Source at all, as explained by the Rashbah. Hashem has mercy and allows us to call Him
by His Name so that we can have a relationship with Him while we remain challenged by
the call of the material.] This error is generally made when a person's bitul is incomplete;
because he still has too much of a sense of self when he is mechavein in the Names, it is
easier for him to fall into the danger of hagshamah, or materializing his conception of
Hashem. And so, when one looks at anything that exists within the world of Asiyah, one
needs to focus on the fact that it is the most external garment over [many layers] in which
the innermost point is G-dly light. As one develops greater degrees of bitul, he learns
how to abstract his understanding of the material world that he sees around him into more
and more spiritual concepts, always bearing in mind that he is still far from that
innermost point. Once a person reaches an absolute state of bitul, he finds that physical
forms or images are meaningless to him, because he is purely relating [in an experiential
way, not a visual way] to the concept of the innermost point of light.
This is why the sages taught that when one is attempting an aliyah [to reach bitul
and dveikus], he should close his eyes. In this way, he strips the outermost garment of
physicality out of his consciousness and can move toward a more spiritualized concept,
and he does this from level to level, going deeper and deeper toward the innermost
essence of whatever is before him. This is the real distinction between the concept of a
‫ דמות‬which is associated with the lower level of Malchus [i.e. visualizing something
actual] and a ‫ צלם‬which is loftier and more internal [i.e. getting closer to the real essence
of the thing as opposed to its outer form]. The material [Malchus aspect] tends to arrest
our attention, and when we are looking at something physical it is difficult to
conceptualize it spiritually; its physicality blinds us. So we close our eyes and then even
in our mind's eye [still Malchus and ‫ ]דמות‬the image is weaker, because we are no longer
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‫בס״ד‬
looking at the physical form itself, just the mind's image of it. Afterward, one can open
his eyes just a bit, enough to let some light through, he will see that object surrounded by
darkness and by light; the object's details will be unclear but its boundaries can still be
made out. Its Malchus-mm aspect is most powerfully embodied within its details (which
express its ‫ צמצומים‬and the degree of it being enclothed and distant from its source).
When those details are blurred, it is far easier to transcend the material nature of the
object and penetrate to its spiritual nature [i.e. its higher source]. When just its outline
remains in one's vision, it is possible for its inner Divine light to begin to shine.
Naturally, this work needs to be done in conjunction with the forms of avodah that we
have already studied—engraving and erasing and so on. There are, of course, many levels
and aspects to this avodah, depending on the nature and capabilities of the person doing
it.
The Mittler Rebbe taught that the Maggid of Mezeritch only reached the lofty
levels that he did because he would make a "lower yichud" with every single object that
he encountered. This means that the would see everything in terms of its Divine aspect.
He certainly did not mean that the Maggid would see "the image of G-d" within the
actual object, chas v'shalonr, as we've already learned, this crass materialization is
absolutely forbidden. What is means is that the Maggid would bind his vision of
everything that he encountered to Hashem, and nothing would escape his revelation of
the essential connection that the object or experience has with the Creator. And this is
why the tzaddikim could immediately see into the inner nature of whoever came before
them; their power of vision was so purified and bound to Hashem, that they automatically
uplifted the "image" (‫ )דמות‬of the person before them to its actual "form" (‫)צלם‬, its
spiritual essence. The truth is that the eyes constantly see the most lofty things, and they
can also see some of the inherent Divine light that exists deep within everything; the only
problem is that the material exterior and our materialized mental vision gets in the way
[as Rebbe Nachman taught in Likutei Moharan], But as a person learns to how to be still
and focus his mind patiently on that which he sees so that he can penetrate to its deeper
essence, he finds that he can strip away the external garments and see the light within it.
The Spectrum of "Image" and "Form"
58
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Just as the outer forms of the letters [and melody] can serve as an external
gateway to allow a person access into an inner holy light [of prayer, etc.], so too do the
colors that are associated with each of the sefiros of Atzilus. All of these external forms
help us to connect with the inner nature of the avodah. The colors are a reflection of the
level of [the imagination and] Rachel, while the sheimos formed by the letters are a
reflection of the level of [contemplation and] Leah. The colors are, by the nature, more
external, and as we know all external aspects of avodah carry a risk of over
materialization [and also descent into fantasy]. This is why it is very important to use the
external tool of visualization very carefully. Rather than visualizing images, it is better to
use the more abstract tool of the simple colors alone.
When a person begins to enter into the avodah of visualization [Malchus], and he
wants to ascend to a higher level of spiritual vision and dveikus, and he becomes
practiced at engraving holy thoughts in his mind for longer and longer periods, he finds
that his mind starts to embody this light into the forms of letters or colors on its own. This
is because thought requires some sort of a visual anchor, such as letters or colors. This is
not the problem of materialization as described earlier; it is just a natural function of the
human mind, that our thoughts are not capable of remaining in a state of complete
abstraction [of a holy concept] for any amount of time. We require some form on which
to focus the mind to keep the holy thought, which serves as its external anchor. This is
what the Baal Shem Tov meant in his quoting of the Ramban, that after the process of
engraving, one begins to feel that light completely fills him and surrounds him. This is
the Rachel-avodah of visualizing the lights [colors].
The dynamic that we have learned about until now—of beginning avodah with the
right side of Chochmah, then entering into the left side of avodah, followed by a return to
the right side in order to really grasp the Divine light and receive its influence—applies in
a very basic way to every mitzvah act that we perform. Before one performs a mitzvah or
learns Torah, he focuses his mind on Hashem's existence and that there is nothing but
Him and that the mitzvah is the way to make a yichud. [Note: The word mitzvah shares
the root of tzavta, which means connection.] That is the right side of his avodah.
Afterward, he actually carries out the mitzvah or learns; he does so energetically, and
expends effort into it to carry it out properly. This is the left side of his avodah, which is
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the area of making the beirur or clarifying out the good from the bad by way of effort.
And this is really the purpose of our creation—"A person was born to toil." The final stage
is a return to the right side, of actually experiencing the Divine light that flows to a
person as a result of the effort that he expended.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that this process is alluded to in the sages' statement,
"Halevai that they would abandon Me and keep My Torah." It is as though our Creator
says to us, "Leave Me for now"—leave the avodah of dveikus of the right-hand side—as
long as you, "Keep My Torah"—move into the avodah of the left-hand side, of doing the
actual work of the mitzvos. Afterward, you can return to Me; and, really, only after you
do that avodah of the left side will you be able to come to this lofty level of serenity and
true dveikus.
Hearing and Seeing
When we speak of all of this spiritual seeing, we have to understand that in deeper
terms, only one of its levels is really called seeing; the other is more like hearing. Seeing
is a Chochmah aspect, because it is the direct experience of Hashem's light [as a kind of
passive absorption within that which he sees]. When one begins the work of clarifying
out the meaning of what he sees in this world, he has descended back to the place of
division and work where good has to be separated out from the bad. This is Binah-vis,ion,
which is more like hearing than seeing. [Note: Hearing involves filtering out the message
from the noise, and then processing the message so that it can be absorbed.] Yet after one
does this work, he begins to see the inner spiritual nature of that which he is looking at,
and in this way he returns to the right side of vision again.
When tzaddikim look at something physical, their very first glance at it comes
with the awareness that they are only seeing its outer garment, and so that vision is
already a kind of hearing [Binah work]. This is because they are already in a state of
primary Chochmah awareness and connection to Hashem; they can therefore enter right
into the work of the left side without falling into any danger. Afterward, through further
dveikus, they were able to really see the G-dliness within that thing. This follows the
general rule, that one begins from the external and then progresses to the internal, which
is the yichud. These concepts can, and should, become a part of our practical avodah. For
’ Midrash Rabbah, Eichah, Pesichta
60
‫בס״ד‬
example, it is worthwhile to make a habit of looking at a particular object—a cup on the

table, for instance, with deep attention. One then closes his eyes completely and only
focuses his mind on the fact that everything is G-dliness—‫— אין עוד מלבדו‬there is no reality
and no thought other than Hashem. After that, one opens his eyes and looks at the object
again, and then closes his eyes again and focuses on dveikus, until he begins to feel a
spiritual pleasure that comes from the realization that everything is G-dliness—it is all a
reflection of G-d's light. Then one can open his eyes partially, and concentrate on
entering into the darkness that surrounds the cup-which is the place of Malchus—Sind on
the light that surrounds that dark boundary. The boundary is a vehicle for expressing that
light that surrounds it. And then he can close his eyes again and consider that everything
is only G-dliness. One must carry out each step slowly and patiently and not move on to
the next stage until he has fully experienced each level. By following this pathway, he
will find that when he looks at the cup, he sees [feels] that it is filled with Elokus, and this
ramifies out to his experience of everything that he sees.^^ [The Piasetzna Rebbe explains
the difference between a mekubal and chossid who learns Kabbalah in a similar way:
“The mekubal knows that lechem, bread, has a numerical value of seventy-eight because
it is composed of three sheimos HaVaYaH (26 x 3 = 78). When a chossid sees bread he
perceives the three sheimos HaVaYaH that are its essence.” ]
We find that one of the earlier sources—Rav Elchanan who lived at the same time
as the author of the Sefer Chassidim— that if one wants to bind up his physical
vision of an object with the Divine light within it, he should close his eyes and place his
two index fingers on the inside corners of his eyes. He should then rub his eyes in circles,
downward and around, and if he does so he will see something that appears to be a
human form. Generally, when a person closes his eyes he sees all kinds of colors, and
they are an illumination of the object that he just looked at. [Meaning, the impression of
the image remains within the mind even when the eyes are closed, and it expresses itself
in patterns and colors of light.] There is a connection between the physical vision and the
imagination, and by closing the eyes one can get in touch with that connection.
See Likutei Moharan 1:65.

^Bnei Machshavah Tovah
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The deeper root of this dynamic lies in the fact that, within the head, there is a
place that is called luz, and it is in the area [now a suture, but in a baby the fontanelles
that are actually open] that runs between the knot of the head tefillin and the forehead.^^
This is the physical parallel of the place on high [in the upper worlds and in the
development of the worlds] where the new light of [the Divine influence that
repaired the damage of sheviras keilim] burst forth.^*’ By rubbing the inner corner of the
eye in an upward circular motion, one works on the kavanah that he is attempting to
uplift his vision to the more inner-direction sight of the luz, which is spiritual and not
physical. Those are the "eyes" of the soul, not the body.
Ramak
’ Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar Hatikkun
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31
The Way of Unity
Part 7
The Colors of the Rainbow

There is a prohibition against gazing directly at a rainbow [unless making the
blessing over it], and it parallels the prohibition against staring directly at the male organ
which represents Yesod. [Note: The rainbow represents the tzaddik, which we know from
it having not appeared even once during the lifetime of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who
was the "rainbow" of his generation. In addition, it expresses the nature of Yesod by
carrying the full spectrum of colors, just as Yesod is the lowermost of the six middos
which includes all the other five. The rainbow is a sign of the covenant between Hashem
and the world, which prevents it from being destroyed again. In the merit of the tzaddik,
the sign of the rainbow becomes unnecessary because he is able to draw the world to the
positive. It was therefore unnecessary for Hashem to send the "warning" sign of the
rainbow to the world during Rabbi Shimon's time. In addition, the rainbow's shape is that
of a drawn bow, which expresses the directive force of the prayers of the tzaddik and his
ability to draw down shefa into the world.]
One is not allowed to gaze at the actual bris because when one's physical vision is
focused on a place that is mixed together with klippah [since it is the seat of desire], it is
very difficult to bind up that view with its spiritual source. [The more bound we are to
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that which we see in a material way the harder it is to see further, since its physical nature
"speaks so loudly" to us.] As we have already learned, developing a spiritual vision
means binding that which we see to its source [of light and life] on high. You see the
object, you close your eyes and focus the mind on the fact that everything is a reflection
of G-dliness, and then you open your eyes again to view the object in a spiritualized, new
way. But when one attempts to do this by gazing at an object that is bound up with
klippah, instead of uplifting the object, the light is brought down to the level of the
klippah. The point of the avodah is to strip away the external and material illusion of the
object and get to its inner nature; when looking at something bound up with klippah,
one's vision gets further corrupted because the klippos are just too strong. So one's inner
focus on the light of G-dliness, trained again on a klippah-howndi object, merely drags the
lofty light into a lowly place and damages it, and one's connection with something higher
is severed.
The only way in which it is permitted to look [at a physical thing which is still
bound up with klippah] is if one is sure that he can rise from it afterward and draw light
back to it from on high, and in this way remove its klippos. Only this can be considered a
rectified "view" [of that which is physical and by its nature bound up with klippah]. And
if one fails at this objective, one must realize that he damages his spiritual vision and it
can cause him to fall into dinim and bitter suffering, chas v'shalom. This is why it is
altogether safer to avoid looking at anything over which the chitzonim [pure materialism
and its negativity] have a strong hold, and this is the underlying reason for the practice of
shemiras einayim, or guarding one's eyes.
We have already learned that the process of proper spiritual vision comes in
gradual stages—the initial focus on G-dliness through bitul and dveikus, which involves
closing one's eyes to the illusory nature of this world. Once one's consciousness is
permeated with G-dly awareness, he can open his eyes again and gaze at the object while
realizing that its outer form is only the lowest of a series of veils that cover up the light of
Elokus. One then closes his eyes again and only sees the impression left by his first view
of the object, which allows him to further strip the externality of the object from its
spiritual core, so that the next time he "half-looks" at it (with semi-closed eyes), he will
only see its outline and remove himself further from its outward form. This process
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continues, eyes closed and open, through many stages and phases until it is possible to
really experience that the object is only a reflection of Elokus. This is the transition from
seeing the ‫ דמות‬or outer image of the object, to seeing its ‫צלם‬, its true inner form.
Now, after disassociating from the outward nature of the object (along with its
danger of falling into klippah) and penetrating to its inner spiritual essence, the next stage
is to return to opening the eyes and looking fully at the object again. Even though this
would seem to be a return to a lower level of engagement with the object, it is actually a
much higher level, because it is only when one re-engages with the object after
experiencing an elevation in consciousness that the higher light can really be drawn into
the object. It is only when one's eyes are fully open that one is truly and powerfully
connected to the object without any barrier, and once a person's mental focus is fully
spiritualized, his gaze has a transformative effect on the object so that its true spiritual
nature can be revealed. When a person's gaze is only focused on the material, it is a
reflection of the lower worlds of Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah (the worlds of division, where
G-d's light is masked), and that of the lower soul-levels of nefesh-ruach-neshamah.
Rebbe Nachman explains that suffering is only possible in these lower worlds of
physical seeing. This is why a person automatically closes his eyes when he is in pain, to
escape the place of dinim so that he can rise to a higher level of vision. In that higher
place, he is able to attach himself to Hashem and pray, and he can then return to his
worldly situation with a trace from that higher awareness that everything is only a
reflection of Hashem's reality. This is what empowers him to be able to overcome the
dinim to which he returns.^^ He re-opens his eyes fully and, back in the lower worlds of
BY''A, he is able to nullify the external nature of the experience and reach its G-dly
essence; this is what is called ascending from BY'A to Atzilus. The Baal HaLeshem
taught that this avodah is extremely lofty; it is the essential work of the repair of Adam
HaRishon's sin, the rectification of creation and the bringing of the redemption.
Connecting by Way of the "Image"
It is important to emphasize again that all of these different levels of "image" and
"form" are bridges between the physical and the spiritual, but there are still levels that
transcend these intermediate degrees altogether—we call them mochin, "mentalities," or
' Likutei Moharan 1:65
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higher levels of spiritual awareness. Even so, there are certain levels that cannot be
apprehended except by way of the activation of the holy imagination, or the use of
"image" and "form," as explained earlier.
Because a person lives in the world of Asiyah where his ego-self is very grounded
within his material experience, he can make the error of thinking that all of these
concepts of "image" and "form" don't have any relevance to him personally. After all, his
sense of self is bound to far more tangible realities, so what could these ideas have to do
with him, really? This is an error because the self also exists on the planes of "form" and
mochin. [Meaning, a human being's experience of himself is limited to the evidence of
his senses, but the truth of himself is that he exists simultaneously on many planes of
increasing spirituality, for example within the realms of the ‫ צלם‬and mochin. Developing
a more spiritual perception depends on expanding the awareness of self so that it includes
more of what one essentially is, even if the experience of those planes is withheld from us
right now, in this world.]
For example, if a person wants to connect with a tzaddik who has already passed
away, he can do so by way of the image of that tzaddik that he retains in his mind and
memory from when he was still alive. He must awaken those memories, and through
visualizing them again and working on clarifying those images, he forms a bond with that
tzaddik at the level of image. This is his way of staying in touch with the lowermost
aspect of the nefesh of the tzaddik which remains at his gravesite after his higher soul
departs. Once a person comes to this level, he can merit to reach higher levels through the
action of his mind, memory and imagination [until the tzaddik is really a solid image
within his mind], and eventually reach the level of ‫צלמים‬, or "forms," which is higher.
We can understand this better if we look at the Tosafos that explains the matter of
the four who entered the Pardes: "...by way of a Divine Name, for instance, but they did
not literally ascend on high. Rather, it seemed to them as though they had ascended.
The Baalei Tosafos meant to say that these four sages accomplished everything within
themselves, fully internally. This is because every act can be carried out in one of two
ways. They can be done within the realm of the material, in the sensory and "divided"
world of Asiyah, where actions can only be accomplished through external and physical
’ Chagigah 14b, see the Tosafos there.
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means. This is the realm of the "six extremities" [lower middos] and [the best that can be
accomplished there is a] "lower yichud." The second level is within the internal realm,
because a human being is himself a microcosm, and everything that exists "outside" also
exists within him, in exact parallels. Because the Jewish people are powerfully connected
to the internal structure of all of the worlds, it is possible to carry out an act within the
deepest part of the self and have it touch the highest worlds. This is the realm of the
"three upper levels," and a "supernal yichud."
In this way, when an ill person comes to a tzaddik, it is possible for him to help
the person through the first means of acting, through a "lower yichud," by closing his
eyes and visualizing the Shem HaVaYaH written out with segol vowels under each letter,
which expresses Chessed. He can also visualize the colors of Chessed, or even of
Gevurah d’Chessed ["overpowering Chessed"], which is gold, and draw it down upon the
person so that this lofty influence will descend. After that, the tzaddik might descend
further and open his eyes half-way and gaze at the nefesh-ruach-neshamah ["outer"]
aspect of the person, while meditating on the Shem HaVaYaH vowelized by a cholem. He
can also visualize the color green which expresses Tiferes, which can help to draw down
a powerful influence of healing to the person from on high.
But when the ill person is at a geographical distance, one places his name upon a
piece of paper before the tzaddik, because the imagined physical form of the person will
not suffice when he is not present. The tzaddik then must work at a higher level [by way
of his name], and bind his inner self together with the sufferer until he feels that they are
a single entity. Once the tzaddik feels fully bound to the petitioner, he can operate upon
himself spiritually, and it will affect the person who suffers at a distance.
The Need for Purity
It is essential to realize that such avodah can only be attempted if a person is
certain that the klippos have no hold whatsoever over the focus of his attention, because
of the potential risk involved. For this reason, any person who is devoted to Hashem's
service needs to make an honest assessment as to whether a particular time is really the
right time to attempt such avodos. For this reason, the Ramchal taught that a person's
main work is in developing his higher mochin [without the work of visualizations and
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"images" and "forms"], and only then should he make an assessment as to whether the
attempt is possible or advisable.
Sometimes a person might want to attempt this avodah for the right reasons, but
the time that he chooses is simply wrong. For example, he might make an attempt during
the night hours before chatzos, but since the first part of the night is spiritually dark and
filled with dinim, instead of rising to the place of the Name ‫״>־‬ivy, he can fall to the place
of the ‫־‬T”\y, chas v'shalom, and then the forces of negativity really can take hold of him. It
is possible for a person to literally lose his mind this way—when the Name ‫־״>־‬T\y loses its
yud, so to speak—when the person loses his purity, represented by the yud which is the
mark of the holy bris. One needs, instead, to be fully connected to holiness and to keep
his desire to fulfill Hashem's will at the forefront of his consciousness. This is what saves
a person from the risks of the klippos.
The Nature of Color
When focusing on a color [as described in an earlier segment, when the eyes are
closed and one sees the afterimage of the object or letters of a Name within the mind's
eye as a pattern of colors], it is best to attempt to focus the mind on the Divine Name that
is associated with that particular shade. For example, a shining, bright white expresses
Kesser, and so one can visualize the Shem HaVaYaH vowelized with kometz vowels
under each letter. A regular white expresses Chochmah, and so one can visualize the
Shem HaVaYaH articulated by pasach vowels under each letter, etc. Once one is
accustomed to this degree of focus, he can advance to a higher level; when seeing the
bright, white light of Kesser and visualizing the Shem HaVaYaH with its kometz vowels,
he can also focus on his skull being a vehicle for the light of Kesser. He can continue this
process through all of the sheimos and the parts of the body that are associated with each
sefirah.
One can also do this without focusing on the colors; this is what is meant by
bringing the lights into the body, which we have already spoken about when discussing
the breath. One can also try to be mechavein in all of the Names and the sefiros that are
associated with them, and afterward only focus his mind on those particular sefiros whose
colors arise in his mind clearly, and visualize them rising to their place in the structure.
One should just be careful to only "uplift" the higher sefiros before the lower ones, in
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their proper order. One can then open his eyes a bit and look at an object, like a table, and
focus his vision on the "form" that surrounds it [like a halo] and try to distinguish the
actual colors that can be seen. He can then focus on each of those colors and the Name
and sefirah that are associated with it, and finish each attempt by opening his eyes fully
so that he can "project" his vision of that Name onto the place on the table where he saw
the color. After all of these different attempts, one should always focus his mind on the
"doubled" form of Elokim [as written out in an earlier segment—o‫״‬D‫>׳>׳‬nnbbKN], because
this Name clarifies the klippos. This is extremely important when one is occupied with
these avodos having to do with images and colors, so that it is no longer risky spiritually.
Chochmah and Binah as One
When a person enters properly into the avodah of Chochmah, he generally first
feels a powerful infusion of the pleasure that comes from spiritual light. But he will
usually then transition into feeling a desire, a powerful need even, to move on to the
avodah of Binah, which involves striving for further understanding. And if a person
follows this desire and expends enough energy in serving G-d with fervor and struggle,
he will truly experience the light of Binah. At that point, he will begin to feel a profound
yearning for rest and calm serenity in his avodah, which is the second entry into the
avodah of Chochmah.
Rav Avraham Abulafia, zt"l, taught that, practically speaking, since Chochmah
and Binah unite within Kesser, they really are one. The only distinction is that, when it
comes to the particulars of our avodah, we fluctuate between the two of them, taking
from the light of one and then completing it with the light of the other. In addition, their
two lights—that of spiritual pleasure, and that of fervor and struggle—are also
encompassed within the other. For example, one can feel great pleasure within the
struggle and effort itself (Chochmah within Binah), and one can also feel that the avodah
of bitul only comes through real effort (Binah within Chochmah). Da'as, on the other
hand, is an entirely different matter, since it involves contemplating [Binah] the light [of
Chochmah] until one fully acquires it, so that it is possible to accomplish something with
that light. There is something inherently risky about this last process, because it is more
external ["accomplish something"] since it is a matter of action. It is the ultimate purpose
of apprehending G-d's light, because the awareness of His light is meant to be brought
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down into action, into our experience of the physical world in which we exist.
Nevertheless, its external nature does involve a degree of risk.
The sefirah of Chochmah is rooted in yirah ila’ah, the lofty level of Divine fear
and awe that comes from having an almost visceral awareness of G-d's watching
presence. The word ‫ יראה‬shares the same letters as the word ‫ ראיה‬or vision [which is
associated with Chochmah], and it means really seeing the presence of G-d and, in a state
of bitul, feeling the serenity that comes from knowing that there is nothing but Him. In
this state of mind, one feels that there is nothing more that he needs to work for or
accomplish or do, because he feels the absolute serenity and peace of dveikus. Binah, on
the other hand, is rooted in Divine love; out of burning love for G-d, one is willing to
literally sacrifice himself for His sake. This is the ultimate fire and fervor of dveikus.
Rav Avraham Abulafia explains that the final letters vav and hei of the Shem
HaVaYaH do not express the main light of the Name. Rather, the vav represents Ze'ir
Anpin and the drawing down of the pleasure that comes from the experience of the light.
The final hei represents Malchus and absolute willingness to assume the yoke of Divine
service, even without the experience of any pleasure—which is [how Malchus descends
into] exile. The fact is that this "lowermost" level is, at its essence, really the highest of
all, because it is complete subsuming of the self and will to carry out the Divine will,
even without the "personal" satisfactions of knowing and understanding and feeling. It
would seem, then, that the Shem HaVaYaH should really be inverted, since we work our
way up from below to above, level by level. Despite this, its proper order is as we are
familiar with, because there are always two directions at work in avodah—iht descent of
influence from above to below expressed by the order of ‫יהו״ה‬, and the ascent of the
seeking soul from below to above, expressed by the reversal of the letters.
This can help us understand the nature of the "squared form" of the Shem
HaVaYaH [‫]י׳ י״ה יה״ו יהו״ה‬. One begins his avodah through the gateway of Chochmah
[‫]י׳‬, and then joins together his Chochmah-avodah with his Binah-avodah [‫]י״ה‬, and
afterward returns to the side of Chochmah, this time drawing down the pleasure of the
bitul [‫]יה״ו‬, and finally bringing all of that light and joy down into the realm of his
acceptance of the yoke of heaven [‫]יהו״ה‬. This is the completion of the Name.
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34
The Way of Unity
Part 8
The Entry through Binah

We can now return to a certain concept that we discussed at the very beginning of
this discourse—what was described there as, "rising to the supernal light by way of the
makif of chayah" [entering into an experience of G-d's light through the avodah of
Chochmah], Earlier in the lesson we explained that this avodah involves the "avirin" or
airspace and working with the breath, which helps us to enter into the innermost nature of
Chochmah.
When a person is at the level of Asiyah and he wants to ascend from that place so
that he can taste from the light of chayah and feel G-d's light enter his body, he might
find that the practice of breath-meditation (and its purifying effect on the body) that we
have already learned is too difficult for him. It really is a difficult avodah to do, and when
a person is on a very basic level it is all the more challenging because he feels that his
body presents such a formidable obstacle. And even if he has attempted this avodah for a
long while, he might not feel its purifying effect at all or any special spiritual light. So if
one finds that this applies to him, there is an alternate route for him to reach the inner
state of Chochmah‫׳‬, it is by way of Binah.
As we've already learned, the nature of Binah is the expenditure of effort and
struggle in avodah until one really feels exhausted and unable to continue. At that point,
when he can longer go on in the Binah-avodah, he must rest, and this resting state can
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also allow him to receive the light of the makif oi chayah [which is serenity and bitul].
This will allow him to really feel that his body is getting increasingly purified and
refined. This pathway is also a kind of "writing" [just like the Malchus-Asiyah level of
recording the plain letters on paper, without having any higher kind of understanding] in
the sense of engaging in a holy endeavor without feeling its deeper reason or pleasure.
This is unlike the Binah-avodah of expending effort—for example, in Torah study—and
through the striving one comes to feel the pleasure of attaining deeper understanding. In
this purifying work of "writing," one spends as much time and energy in the phase of
pure effort, of pure mesirus nefesh, without any thought of receiving a tangible reward.
This is such a deep avodah, it is literally like being shechted‫׳‬, when one cannot take it any
longer because he is simply exhausted, he can begin to attempt the avodah of breathing
and kavanos as described at the beginning of the lesson. After entering through this
pathway of Binah, he will find that his body is not the obstacle that it was.
It is also possible to enter into the path of Binah through less action or effort and
more focus on thought. For example, he can focus his mind on the thought that, on a
certain day, starting at a certain time, he will—Z?// neder—lcam mishnayos for a very long
stretch of time (sufficient to learn eighteen chapters, for example) without taking a break,
no matter what. [Note: Mostly one should picture something which would stretch him to
the limits of his endurance but is not utterly impossible for him. Visualizing and yearning
for something beyond one’s ability is only positive if the thoughts don't wind up
discouraging him.] This thought of mesirus nefesh and the fixing of the mind on the
prospect of such a difficult avodah binds a person to the aspect of Binah and will also
help to purify his body, as we have described earlier. [We are speaking mainly about
yearning for a holy goal and trying to put it into action. But even if a person can’t do it,
his mental focus on it will assist him to access Binah.] And sometimes any of these forms
of mesirus nefesh will also bring a person to feel pleasure; it derives from the light of the
oneg of Binah. From this type of delight one can move on to feeling the light of the oneg
of Chochmah.
This dynamic is also at work within the process of actually writing down Torah
concepts. When a person records the letters [Malchus] on the paper, and spends a great
deal of time and energy on his writing until he is literally exhausted, the action can also
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bring him to apprehend the light of Binah, because it comes through the expenditure of
effort. But to really grasp it, he must write and delve until his hands literally run out of
strength. This Binah force then inhabits and enlivens the Malchus-aspoct of the physical
letters that he records. This is an even surer pathway to the light of Binah than in focusing
the mind on thoughts of mesirus nefesh alone, since those thoughts are difficult to
maintain at the degree of intensity needed for true Binah-wovk. Yet there is another way
to use pure thought in a Binah-manmr without actually writing anything down, and this
is by devising chiddushim that are rooted in gematrios [numerical values of words and
phrases]. Because gematrios can absorb the full force of a person's concentration for long
periods of time, and because they also involve the vessels of letters and words, they are
also a joining of the forces of Binah and Malchus. So once a person has invested his
mental energies is devising new gematria concepts, his focused efforts can lead him to
feel a profound pleasure in the new revelation that the gematria accomplishes. In this
way, he can also enter into the light of the pleasure of Chochmah, because that light is
associated with the level of sod—the Torah's secrets that are only discovered through
more esoteric interpretations, including [genuine] gematrios.
Even if a person is capable of entering directly into the light of Chochmah
through the hreathing-avodah that was described earlier in the lesson, it is still more
proper for him to follow a Binah-pathway to begin with, to the extent of his abilities,
since it is Binah-avodah that really refines the body. And, then, when he does embark on
the Chochmah-avodah of the breathing or "avirin," it will affect him all the more
powerfully and last for a much longer period of time afterward. It is also important to
take into account that when a person finds that the Chochmah-avodah comes naturally to
him (because his spiritual root is in Chochmah), it necessarily means that he will find the
Binah-avodos more difficult, whatever form they may take. Nevertheless, it is the Binah-
force that enables a person to act against the dictates of his nature, and for the Chochmah-
oriented person, it will mean that if he invests himself in Binah-work as well, he will find
his grasp of the light of Chochmah will be much stronger afterward.
Sometimes, the obstacle presented by the body in one's search for higher
spirituality is the result of prior unrectified gilgulim. It is therefore natural that a person
can find that he needs to spend a great deal of time and energy on refining his body. This
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‫בס״ד‬
is all the more true in a generation like ours. But it is also important to emphasize that the
point of contemplating gematrios is not to "feel the light," because then a person could—
chas v5/1‫׳‬a/om—capitalize on that light as a means of satisfying himself [such as the
pleasure of a spiritual "high"]. Its only purpose is to help him achieve dveikus with
Hashem and to ascend spiritually. And even though his level won't really allow him to
access the true light of Chochmah because he does not know the ways of aliyos or
kavanos, he still can attain some lower degree of dveikus which is positive for him, on his
level. [The key here is not to “float away,” anchorless, into the yam hachochmah. One
who does so will either find a way to attain balance or slip and fall.]
And as a person works through these avodos, it is good for him to try and
discover some new concept within them, some chiddush, because it will refresh the
avodah for him and make it stronger. When it comes to the simple experience of dveikus,
however, which is associated with Atzilus, there is no need to try to be mechadesh
anything, since the light of Hashem's presence is ever-fresh and never grows stale—it is
alive and vital and powerful at all times.
Grasping the Light by Way of "Being"
Until now, we have spoken mainly of the different means through which a person
can grasp the Divine light, but they were almost exclusively avodos of ‫אין‬, ayin, of
subsuming the self within G-dliness—where the self becomes "nothing." [This is the
essential pathway of Chochmah-avodah.] Yet there is another way, that of grasping the
Divine light through the avodah of ‫יש‬, yeish, of experiencing the "being" of the self,
together with G-d. The avodah involving the breath that we have learned about does
include a small element of yeish, however it does not really approach the true avodah of
yeish where one can see how objects, places and tzaddikim are illuminated with Divine
light. The first entry into this world of avodah is generally by way of visiting kivrei
tzaddikim or developing a relationship with a genuine tzaddik, both of which are a kind of
urim v'tumim experience (which we will explain shortly).
As we have already learned, the yeish-avodah [earlier we spoke of it as Binah-
work] has the potential to bring an even greater influx of light to the ayin-avodah. This is
because the more physical something is, the more ["locked" or potential] holy yeish is
within it, and it is through doing avodah "down here" that a person can really access the
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great force of Malchus. In addition, the light of ayin ["nothingness" or absolute and
abstracted bitul] is difficult to really grasp, and so its power to illuminate [down into the
realm were we live and operate] is far less. If we think about the kinds of interactions that
one can have with a tzaddik, we see that there is a distinction in him between the strength
of his thoughts alone, and that of his speech [which is more physical]. This is why the
prophecies of the nevi'im were true without exception; they were as solid as the
information that was received via the urim v'tumim, which never failed. Although some
people wonder why, then, do the words of tzaddikim not always come to fruition, the
answer is very straightforward. Even though they have an element of ruach hakodesh to
their speech, it doesn't compare to the actual force of prophecy of the nevi'im. It is a
closer parallel to the level of thought that existed in a much earlier age among tzaddikim,
which could alter based on the merit or failings of the generation. The level of speech
from that earlier age is, to our great loss, no longer available to us.
There are a number of "arts" that are associated with the yeA/i-aspect, such as
understanding the lines on the hand, the drawing of lots, the use of a candle as a
meditative focus, and what is known as the "speech of trees"—grasping the Divine light
by way of looking at physical objects in an "abstracted" and spiritualized way, as
described earlier. [Note: We already discussed at length the potential pitfalls of this
avodah, and the proper way to undertake it. Just to review, it would be forbidden to
attempt to "pull down" the Divine light "into" our perception of physical objects, since it
is tantamount to idolatry where "anything" can be G-d, chas v'shalom. Rather, we focus
on the object in an increasingly spiritualized way until we come to an almost visceral
experience that it is really only a cloak of Elokus, that "there is nothing but G-d"—‫אין עוד‬
‫מלבדו‬. There is a world of difference between the two ways of seeing.] We will discuss
each of these at a later opportunity, with Hashem's help.
In general, the yeish-fomis of avodah serve as a great aid to achieving higher
levels of perception [in the way of ayin\ because they have an energy and momentum that
is broad and approachable. They can serve as a springboard, therefore, for the higher but
finer and narrower path of ayin-avodah, and make it far easier to pursue. There are times
when even the tzaddikim—who always are connected and aware of the "eye that sees and
ear that hears"—enter a state of katnus, or more constricted consciousness of G-dliness. At
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that time, they too focus more on the yeish-avodos. One of them is the avodah of eating
in holiness—meaning, that they eat and focus on the Divine light that animates the food.
Another is in "drawing lots" [in the sense of drawing a Torah verse "at random," as in the
goral of the Vilna Gaon, etc.]. Even though a person who does this improperly [for self-
interest] is in danger of having the klippos involved in his attempt, the tzaddikim are
completely I'shem shomayim when they draw a goral, and transform the avodah into
something very lofty. They do this by taking a gemara or a siddur after having spent a
certain amount of time in drawing down shefa from the upper worlds [through doing
intense teshuvah and then the kinds of Chochmah-avodos described earlier, or through
aliyos and kavanos], and reading a bit from it. They then focus on a particular yichud that
they were involved in earlier, or on the words of the gemara itself or the letters of the
siddur and pray that Hashem should allow them to illuminate his mind so that he will
grasp the necessary advice or guidance from it. As long as he is focused on finding
guidance in avodas Hashem, it is permitted. It is also preferable to attempt this avodah at
a time when one is anyway immersed in study or in a very extended tefillah. This is one
of the yeish-avodah means of drawing shefa down to the "six extensions."
It isn't always possible to immediately understand the answer being provided by
way of the letters [of Torah or prayer in the goral], and there are a number of potential
reasons for this. It could be that, to begin with, the flow of shefa [from the earlier avodah]
was not really sufficient to provide enough light until he was able to grasp the answer
fully. The real root of this is because there are spiritual lights within creation that were
designed by G-d to exist "enclothed"—the purpose of their creation is only fulfilled when
one strips away their "garment" and discovers the true spiritual light within them. [This is
really a general statement about all of the yeish-avodos. There is great light to be
discovered there, but their "garments" were designed so that one has to expend effort and
focus in order to grasp their essential nature.]
The Light of ti‫ »״‬and the Light of y‫׳‬a
In the deeper works, we learn of two expansions of the Shem HaVaYaH which
express vastly different realities: the Name y a [52-Name, because it has a total gematria
of 52: n‫״‬n VO n‫״‬n 'T1‫]>'״‬, and the Name [45-Name, with a total gematria of 45: ‫־‬T‫״‬v>
K‫״‬n V‫׳‬K1 N‫״‬n]. The 52-Name expresses the nature of the body and our this-worldly reality
76
‫־‬T 0 3 ‫״‬
[which is occluded and garbed, where G-dliness is difficult to discover]. The 45-Name
[which is "articulated by alefs" that symbolize the Alufo shel olam, the "Lofty One of the
universe"] expresses light and holiness. Our struggle in this world lies in always causing
the 45-aspect to overcome the 52-aspect, and then uplift the 52-aspect to its rectification.
[Meaning, our purpose is to make clear to ourselves and the world that we see that
everything is only a masking of G-d's light. Once we are aware of this, the "masked
world" of the 52-Name ascends to its source and is repaired. The Arizal points out that
the word beheimah has a numerical value of 52 while adam is exactly 45. When we do
this avodah properly we uplift ourselves from the lower level of the animal soul and
achieve our human potential.]
Sometimes, though, the 52-aspect overcomes the 45-aspect, because a human
being is still a physical creature living in a physical world, and the work of having the
spiritual overcome the physical entails lifelong effort. In addition, without sufficient
vessels to contain it, one cannot feel the Divine light either. For this reason, a person who
genuinely wants to serve Hashem may find himself falling into the 52-aspect
[materiality], either by getting over-involved in some physical matter or even in falling to
the place of klippah, chas v’shalom. Nevertheless, if he struggles to continue to serve
Hashem even there, this does draw down a higher light to the place where he is [and his
struggle generates the vessels to contain it]. His persistence in Divine service even in the
"distant" place is a powerful force that purifies and refines his body so that he becomes
more fit to receive and shine with a holy light than he was before he had the setback. His
ascent afterward will be commensurate with the degree of effort that he expended to
overcome his challenges when he was in a lower and more distant place.
This dynamic exists on every level of spiritual ascent, in every sefirah and every
world. So when one rises in his aliyos, he should make sure to access the lights of y>2 and
n3(‫ ״‬at every degree, relative to each level. The light of y a is embodied in the struggle to
make oneself into a fit vessel to receive the light of the level that he seeks; the light of
n ‫״‬Q is embodied within the light itself that fills the vessels once they are prepared. Only
together can his avodah can be said to be complete as he rises from level to level.
The Nature of the Vowels
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Rav Avraham Abulafia, zt"l, taught in his work Ohr HaSechel just how it is
possible to enter into the light of Chochmah by way of the body itself—through
hisbodedus via the vowels. This means saying words or Divine Names enunciated by the
vowels that are appropriate to the nature of their sefiros. Practically speaking, nowadays
it is not the practice to say such sheimos or vowelized Names aloud, but it is permitted to
articulate them in thought. It is possible to combine movements that express the vowels
with one's kavanos in the Names as follows: to signify a cholem, one lifts his head
upward slightly, since the cholem is above the letter; for a kometz, he moves his head
right to left and then up and down; for the pasach, it is a line right to left; for the tzeirei, it
is a point of the head to the right and then to the left, in two distinct motions; for the
shuruk it is three points moving downward from left to right; for the chirik it is a
movement of the head backward and forward to a point; and so on. This is also a kind of
y a work, since it causes the light to penetrate the substance of the body that is being
harnessed as a vessel. After this avodah, he can experience the lights directly, in the
manner of n‫״‬o.
Memory within Da 'as
It is important to expand a little about the power of Da'as within the human being.
One's personal sefirah of Da'as is the main place where one is able to bind himself to
Hashem. By its nature Da'as is connected with the sefirah of Malchus, and so it is the
perfect channel through which shefa can descend from above to below. It is pretty much
forbidden to make use of practical Kabbalah since it is a way of drawing Divine light
down into the lower worlds of Beriyah-Yetzirah-Asiyah literally and actively—through the
use of amulets and the binding of angels through oaths, etc. Nevertheless, if a person
truly enters into the world of Atzilus—hy binding his thoughts to Hashem with dveikus—
then drawing down shefa through having made this yichud is certainly permitted. Perhaps
it is even a mitzvah; this was the path of the Baal Shem Tov and his students.
It is important to realize that the power of memory is rooted within Da'as. Rav
Elimelech of Lizhensk taught that anyone who truly does teshuvah sees his past sins as
mountains and peaks; it is because he has risen to the place of Da'as, and at that lofty
place his memory reveals the exact nature of his sins to him. Not only that, but he can
also remember his sins from his prior gilgulim. In addition, if he is able to influence his
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friend and uplift him also to the aspect of Da'as, he can also see the nature of his friend's
sins as well at that lofty place. It was through this force that there were tzaddikim who
could repair others from the sins of their prior gilgulim—this, was how they rectified souls.
When a person exists within the realm of Asiyah and Malchus, he cannot always
see or clearly remember everything that happened to him throughout his life. In that
world, there is confusion of the klippah and the truth, but in the place of Da'as, no
klippah can obscure the truth of a person's past because the klippos have no place there at
all. For this reason, when a person comes to that place, he can only remember the truth of
his past, and the longer he stands there in dveikus and removed from his entanglement
with the material, the deeper and deeper into his past he can remember, going all the way
back to his birth and even into his prior gilgulim?^
There are people who are not really serving G-d who claim that they are able to
regress people [through hypnosis, etc.] into memories of the deep past, but it is important
to realize that, unless they are working through a genuine connection with Hashem, they
can only access memory in the realm of Malchus, which is going to be affected by the
klippas nogah that surrounds the holy Shechinah. And there are even practitioners whose
attempts to access memory are rooted in the three impure klippos [since they are really
disconnected from holiness], and what this means practically is that they cause more
harm than they help.
The Descent of the Tzaddik
There is another manifestation of this dynamic, but it is far more subtle. We find
it at work when the tzaddik knows clearly that he is in a state of dveikus with Hashem; at
that moment, he is able to enter into the darkness, the place where good and evil is mixed
together, in order to clarify out whatever holy spark he needs to extract from the place of
negativity. This is what is called, "a descent for the sake of ascent," and the tzaddik is
capable of it by virtue of the aspect of Yosef Hatzaddik that is within him. Yosef was so
holy and pure, he was not afraid of being damaged by the klippah at all, and he is able to
extract and uplift the Divine spark that has fallen into low places quickly and without
endangering himself.
' See the story of the Blind Beggar, in Rebbe Nachman's tale of the Seven Beggars.
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This is because anyone who enters into holiness along the pathway of the "middle
line" [Kesser-Da’as-Tiferes-Yesod] of balance is able to ascend and descend in order to
rise afterward, because this is the nature of the middle line—it runs a clear channel from
the uppermost levels to the lowermost place. One ascends and descends by being attached
to the light of spiritual pleasure and dveikus‫׳‬, when one is that connected, he can descend
wherever he needs to go without suffering damage and he has the potential to strip away
all evil and neutralize it for the benefit of the entire world. If a person enters his avodah
through the light of Chochmah alone, he can drive away the klippos [from his own place],
but he will not be able to descend and clear away the klippos from the sparks of holiness
trapped among them, in their place.
Those individuals who have the ability to arouse their memories through binding
themselves to Hashem are called, "masters of a c c o u n t s . On c e a person is aware of the
exact nature of his wrongs, it is far easier for him to complete his rectification. This
capacity also allows him to heal soul-sick people, because the tzaddik can share the
power of his connection with Hashem with those who are ill [physically and spiritually]
to bind them to Hashem as well. The force of this bond can trigger the sufferer to
remember the incident that brought on his state, and with a clear power of memory he can
now understand the matter correctly, and this can completely clear away the soul-
sickness ["madness"] from which he suffers, with Hashem's help.
The truth of the matter is that most of people's perceptions and thoughts of this
world are illusions, but it is very difficult for most people to understand this. However,
striving and reaching higher states of spiritual consciousness can bring a person to see
much more clearly and realize how much of his ordinary thoughts and views are illusory.
In this way, he becomes more and more able to clarify the good from the bad, and find
himself healed from the negative fantasies and illusions that drive him insane.
This is the underlying purpose of reciting Shema before going to sleep. The
nighttime, and especially the time of actual sleep, is a manifestation of the "six
extensions" [of the lower middos]. Before descending to the spiritual dark, one binds
himself to Hashem so that the klippos will have no hold over him. Because making this
bond triggers the force of memory that enables genuine teshuvah, the tzaddikim
’ Zohar, Bamidbar 178a
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‫־‬T 0 3 ‫״‬
established bedtime as the moment for reflection over all that one did during the day so as
to make a full accounting and complete teshuvah.
When a person learns the proper pathway of aliyos [and we have made good
inroads throughout this entire discourse], it opens the way for him to remember all of his
sins and do complete teshuvah for everything wrong that he has ever done. He will merit
to rectify all of his five soul-levels of nefesh-ruach-neshamah-chayah-yechidah. And
now we can better understand the statement of the Zohar. the place of the yichud on high
is adjacent to the heavenly abode of those who died in sanctifying G-d's Name. May
Hashem set our place among them, and may we never be shamed in the world to come.
Blessed is Hashem forever. Amen and amen.
Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.
81

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The Way o f Unity Derech HaYichud, Part 1

The Way of Unity^

The Way o f Unity Derech HaYichud, Part 1

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[the settling into an impression or engraving a groove in a particular mode of thought]. It

The Way o f Unity Derech HaYichud, Part 1

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Rising Through the Worlds

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^Likutei Moharan 1:56

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The Sefirah of Binah

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It is important to realize that just as we have described something of the avodah

‫ ־‬Eitz Chaim, Sha'ar Ha’akudim

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The Power of the Group

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Likutei Moharan 1:10

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The Nature of the Letters^'’

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Holiness, and the Three Impure Klippos

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The 42-Name and the 72-Name

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