[The Ramak writes that before 'Satan' caused Adam to sin, 'Satan' attached to holiness and was partially pure, for he was created to help Adam serve his Master. Yet the 'Satan' attached to the physical and caused Adam to sin. Thus 'Satan' was banished outside, and he could no longer attach to holiness.]

Rabbi Levitas the visionary opened his discourse with "I will place hate between you [the snake] and the woman [the Shechinah] between your descendants [that of Sam-kel, the souls of the nations of the world] and hers [the holy souls]." (Gen. 3:15) From the day the world was created, great enmity [between holiness and the Other Side] arose because of the advice of the snake [to Adam and Eve to sin]. From the hour in which it [the snake] was cursed, it was pushed away from the King’s gate [and it could not get a portion of holiness from the King's gate, rather it had to suckle from the sweat of the Holy Animals of the Chariot]. And he was constantly waiting to ambush at the edges of the world, i.e. the boundaries of the Torah. Anyone who trampled upon those boundaries with his heel [not being careful not to trangress] is bitten by that snake.

Woe that it found [them]. Woe that it bit [them]. Woe for that awful anger which it holds onto - that [snake’s] awful anger against that woman who is known as "the woman [the Shechinah] who fears G‑d." (Prov. 31:30) This evil begrudging anger towards her since the day the world was created [and Adam sinned], until he shattered her [in the form of the Temple], to lie broken upon the earth [in exile].

"Alas! How lonely sits the city great with people/Eichah Yashevah Badad, Ha-Ir Rabbatai Am." (Lamentations 1:1) Look at the initial letters of these words to and you will find the terrible grudge-bearing hatred that he [Sam-kel] bore [towards the Shechinah] until the destruction of the Temple. "Eivah Ra'ah/terrible hatred," is spelled out in the initial letters [of the words "Eichah Yashevah Badad, Ha-Ir"]; the hatred which was borne against the woman of valor [the Shechinah] until the destruction of the Temple that she be cast down to lie in the dust [of exile].

Thus, it is written "Like a widow, the greatest among nations, the princess has become a tax-paying tributary/KeAlmanah Rabbati baGoyim, haytah La-Mas." (Lamentations 1:1) The initial letters of these words read in reverse read: "Lah beShivrech/to Her in Your [the Shechinah's] brokenness," for in the destruction of the Temple, in the destruction of the Congregation of Israel, the terrible hatred [of the Serpent for the Shechinah] adhered "Lah beShivrech/to Her in Your brokenness,".

“Alas”, for that terrible hatred that has adhered to Her [the Shechinah]. That is the voice of the [accusations of the] snake, the bitter voice of crying [of angels] in the heavens calling out, "Alas/Eicha". The [messengers of the] Other Side call out 'Hatred/Eivah,' as it is written, " I will place hatred between you and the woman," (Gen. 3:15) between the side of holiness and the side of impurity. That hatred is found in the Temple’s destruction. And all of this is written in the first verse of the Book of Lamentations to show to us this terrible hatred that has adhered to her since the day the World was created.

BeRahamim LeHayyim: Why did the Ari and Chida include this section? What do they want us to learn?

Hatred at the beginning. Hatred at the end. Both were gratuitous hatred. I can not condemn in any way those Holocaust survivors who hatred all things German. After all, when one loses one's entire family, how can one forget? How can one forgive? The hatred we must condemn is that of the Serpent and that of the days leading up to the Second Temple's destruction. It is free hatred, not "earned hatred", lehavdil.

This hatred comes from a lack of self-love, a failure to recognize that YOU ARE PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, just as G‑d created you.

We fight self-righteous battles for nonsensical issues based on material elements. The cure for hatred is only more love, Ahavat chinam/gratuitous love, expressed even when you don't feel it. Love your fellow as yourself because we are webbed together. Legend has it that the Serpent/Satan/Evil Inclination/Angel of Death was the only 12-winged angel, prized of all, till he decided to try to take out The Boss, and fall he did. the Serpentwas also Adam's buddy, a reptile with legs, till he tried to have Eve for himself. Jealousy and gratuitous hatred ruined it for him, as it was for the 2nd Temple Jews.

There are no direct suggestions for cultivating love in your heart. Listen to the still silent inner voice, and figure out for yourself.

What does the above mean to you, and why is it revealed now?

Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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