KabbalaOnline.org The Good of the Land "Other Side" in the Land
KabbalaOnline.org The Good of the Land "Other Side" in the Land
"Other Side" in the Land
Chapter One, Part 2
Intermediate
Uniqueness of the Land (Ch.
1)
Due
to the inequities of the generation of the destruction of the Holy Temple, the forces
of the Other Side [the kelipot]1
extended a membrane from all directions surrounding Eretz Yisrael towards the middle of the
opening [above the Land, as mentioned above]--to the extent of sealing off the
flow of divine connection from the supernal Jerusalem with the physical Jerusalem, hence the destruction.
We
must bear in mind that when the membrane of the Other Side interfered, they
didn't seal up the opening at one time [of the destruction], rather the
consequences of the idolatry and other transgressions drew forth those forces
little by little, until the opening was completely sealed, then came the
destruction. We see from the first destruction an example of this. In that
first destruction, the exile started with the portion of land under control of
the ten tribes, gradually working its way to the kingdom of Judah and finally to
the place of Zion, the temple, which is the center of the world.
Now
we must know that the Land itself is inherently holy, having been apportioned
by G‑d as
special, as opposed to the rest of earth. Being thus, how is possible for the kelipot to enter this G‑dly portion of land?
Therefore the answer to this question is that in truth the kelipot have
absolutely no portion in the Land. The best way to understand the phenomena is
by parable: A landowner has a servant who has fled his master's servitude.
Instead, he works for another man. One day the original master walks in, finds
his servant, and takes him back to where he belongs. So too, the Jewish people
have acquired for themselves a master through their transgressions. This
"master" is the kelipot, and daily they sacrifice and serve
their master. Yet they live in a land not belonging to their
"master"; the kelipot have the right to enter the Land of Israel and take what
is "rightfully" theirs, forcibly removing them [their
"servants"] to their lands. Yet immediately after that, the gate is
reopened. One may ask if the holiness returned to its original place, then how
could the Land remain in a state of destruction? The answer is, that the Shechina
ascended to its heavenly abode, while the Jews were exiled from their land to
the land of the gentiles, leaving the land desolate without her children or
husband. Therefore it wasn't significantly re-inhabited until that time when G‑d gazed down from the heavens. The holiness left in
order not to dwell amongst the impurity, for that is its custom, as is known
from the secret of tumat met [in Hebrew, impurity from the dead].2
That being the situation, G‑d has placed a curtain of holiness in that opening
in that firmament above the Land of Israel, thus creating a partition between
the impurity and the holiness. The Land is likened to an aguna3
who can not marry another.
The
intention of this curtain [according to Rav Chaim Vital's transmission of the Arizal's teachings]
is: It is known that at the time the malchut clothes itself with gevura and din
[judgment]. At that time the din functions through the external-most
garment, which is the hue of techelet4 which completes [from the root of the word "chole",
which means to finish] everything. Thus at that point even the chitzonim
[external forces] fear the malchut, as the wrath of the King.
Therefore when the external forces see the malchut thus clothed, they
flee from there. That is the essence of the "light covering" as is
mentioned in the holy Zohar(part two page 141) which is the secret of the
outermost garments, which in the end are the innermost garments; they are also
called the 'holy curtain' relative to the internal garments. Therefore the
external forces can't enter there. So too, the blessing and bounty are prevented
from entering due to the might of the din that is incorporated in that
veil. That din prevents the descent of the blessings which is all a
result of the lack of merits and abundance of inequities amongst the Jews. That
is why the land of Israel remains desolate: not because of the impurity, rather
from a lack of fulfilling positive mitzvot.
Uniqueness of the Land (Ch.
1)
Footnotes
1.Translated most
literally as "husks" or "shells", usually refers to the
tendency of the forces of evil to try to create barriers between the Jewish
people and G‑d
2.Literally, the
"impurity of the dead". The source of this impurity stems from the
absence of the soul, the holiness, from the body. This creates a sort of vacuum
inviting the impurity.
3.A woman whose husband
is missing. Without any proof of his whereabouts or death, she remains legally
married to him despite his absence; she is probably in the most tragic
position.
4.A hue of blue which is described by Chazal as being like sea blue. This dye was used for many sacred purposes, i.e. Tzitzit, the priestly garments, The Mishkan [Tabernacle], etc. Techelet implies eternity as in the sea, the sky, and G‑d's throne.
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