When we think about this deeper, we find that, despite the fact that the shell stands in the way of getting to the fruit, it is from the fruit itself that the shell gets its whole life and vitality in the first place. So, klipah<\/em> stands in the way of your getting to the purpose, yet it is from the purpose itself that klipah<\/em> gets its whole life and vitality.<\/p>\n For example, imagine a person who builds a trivial collection, such as comic books or baseball cards. Where does his desire to build such a collection come from? If we dig deep, I think we\u2019d have to say that building such a collection is rooted in the collector\u2019s inner yearning to build, accomplish, and grow something in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n Judaism says that this yearning is actually rooted in the soul\u2019s desire to build a relationship with the Infinite \u2013 to build something meaningful; to build the Real Thing. Yet the collector is using this yearning in order to build something that is not meaningful. The collector takes a soul desire and uses that inspiration and power of assertion to do something else, something \u201cother\u201d that distracts and, ultimately, pulls him away from the true goal of the origin of that soul desire.<\/p>\n Building such a collection is a manipulation and hijacking of the soul\u2019s energy to accomplish. It undermines the original intent of that energy to accomplish in the arena in which it is truly worth accomplishing \u2013 in one\u2019s relationship with the Infinite and the expression of one\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n Thus we can see that there is \u201choly growth\u201d and there is the \u201cklipah<\/em> of growth.\u201d That is, there is growth in areas that are objectively meaningful and purposeful, such as character refinement and one\u2019s relationship with God. And there is an \u201cother\u201d side of growth, a \u201cbackside\u201d of growth that feeds off the soul\u2019s energy for holy growth, despite its being ultimately objectively meaningless and purposeless.<\/p>\n At this point, it is important to clarify that we are not saying here that there is something categorically or inherently wrong with someone compiling a trivial collection, or with someone\u2019s involvement with something that is not connected to his or her personal development and relationship with God. Rather, we are pointing out that there is a tragedy going on. This tragedy is the fizzling away of the human being\u2019s focus on and motivation for that which is ultimately valuable and meaningful, by way of pacifying his inner yearning for meaning through attributing a false sense of value and meaning to that which is ultimately not valuable and meaningful.<\/p>\n Now, some people will claim that these things are relatively<\/em> meaningful \u2013 that since the individual finds a certain sense of fulfillment in his collection, it is therefore meaningful to him<\/em>.<\/p>\n The truth is that my intent here is not to challenge that assertion. If a person senses a certain fulfillment or meaningfulness in a particular accomplishment, then, by definition, it is indeed relatively meaningful to him. However, what I am trying to demonstrate here is that when you compare relative<\/em> meaningfulness to objective<\/em> meaningfulness, it comes out that relative meaningfulness is not meaningful at all.<\/p>\n This is because, ultimately, what is meaningful is that which goes on, that which is everlasting. For example, what meaningful<\/em> difference is there between me waking up this morning and building a hospital versus me waking up this morning and filling a hospital by going on a killing spree? Obviously, it would be nicer of me to build the hospital than to go on the killing spree, but what makes my decision between the two objectively meaningful<\/em>?<\/p>\n God willing, the conversation continues next week. Stay tuned…<\/p>\n Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov<\/strong>\u00a0is a sought after cutting edge\u00a0<\/a>international\u00a0speaker on Kabbalah, relationships, parenting, and life. His recently released #1 Amazon\u2019s Best Seller,\u00a0Jewish By Choice: A Kabbalistic Take on Life & Judaism<\/a>, has won wide acclaim as one of the clearest, most comprehensive, and reader-friendly depictions of Kabbalah and the \u201cwhys\u201d of Judaism.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em> In previous articles, we outlined that, according to Judaism and Kabbalah, God set up the world as a system by which humanity has the choice to pull away from Him, thereby allowing for the \u201chigher\u201d Spouse-like relationship with Him to become available. God gives us the Free Will to choose away from the relationship with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":506,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowth & \u201cGrowth\u201d<\/h1>\n
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