ב"ה
THEMES of Featured Contemporary Kabbalists Articles
Beginner
During Kiddush, we harmonize love with awe, and recall redemption.
The fourth of the Ten Commandments proclaims: "Remember the Shabbat Day to keep it holy." At the beginning of the Shabbat there has to be an act of separation, of consecration, emphasizing the difference between the work-days of the week and the holy day, which enables the soul to move into a state of inner tranquility and spiritual receptiveness.
The Kiddush cup symbolizes the vessel through which, and into which, blessing comes. Wine evokes plentitude and power. After filling the cup, now the vessel of consecration containing the divine plenty, the time has come for the recitation of the words of consecration of the Kiddush prayer. |
Intermediate
At the end of each week, the
worlds ascend to their original level and the spiritual light that was before
the sin of Adam and Eve is then revealed.
There are three levels of this ascent of the worlds.
First is the Shabbat after six weekdays, when every person
receives an additional soul.
Second is the Shabbat of the Seventh Year, where the land,
corresponding to the sefira of malchut, ascends a level. Third
is the Shabbat of Yovel; the worlds from the sefira of
malchut ascend to the sefira of bina, also called the
World of Freedom.
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Intermediate
The Sanctuary needed to be built like this world, which corresponds to the body of man.
The Mishkan was composed from inanimate, vegetable, and animal
products in order to elevate the material of this world to Holiness, to create a
vessel for the dwelling of the Shechinah which will descend from "above
to below". This is opposed to Shabbat, when the material world ascends to
the spiritual worlds.
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