Tapestry for the Soul

The Creation

And then it arose in His undifferentiated will to create the worlds and to bring forth the created beings; bringing to light the perfection of His works, His Names, and His attributes, for this was the reason for the creation of the worlds. Etz Chaim, Rabbi Isaac Luria, the “Ari”

For the four letters, Y-H-V-H, which constitute the Name of the Blessed One, encompass all of reality without any exception at all. Petichah l’Chochmat haKabbalah, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag

Is everything included in God? Everything!

Excerpted from A Tapestry for the Soul: the Introduction to the Zohar by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, with explanations collated from his writings by Yedidah Cohen (Nehora Press)

Why We Separate from God

Just as a metal instrument cuts and divides a physical object, splitting it into two, so in spirituality, it is difference of form that divides one entity into two.

From this you may see that the souls have, innately, the will to receive God’s pleasure, which, does not exist within God, the Creator—for from whom could the One receive?—And it is this change of form, which the souls acquired, that acts to separate them from is essence, in a way similar to that of the blade that splits the stone from the mountain. It was through this change of form that the souls emerged from the totality of the Creator and became differentiated from Him, thus becoming created beings.

Feeling the Feelings of Our Fellow Helps

It is clear that this purpose cannot be fulfilled by the inanimate realm, not even by the great spheres, the earth, the moon, or the sun, no matter how brightly they shine. Nor can it be fulfilled by the plant or the animal kingdoms, which lack the capacity to feel the feelings of the other, even those of one from the same species. How could they possibly feel appreciation for the Divine and His Goodness? Only human beings have the required potential to appreciate God, through their capacity to feel the feelings of their fellow human beings.

Excerpted from A Tapestry for the Soul: the Introduction to the Zohar by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, with explanations collated from his writings by Yedidah Cohen (Nehora Press)