The Path of the Tree of Life

The portion of separation, and the oneness hidden within it

If there were a single word for this Shabbat, the Zohar would use v'et'palig, "to separate" (root פ־ל־ג). Every opposition, every hatred, every war, and all the world's suffering has its root here, tracing back to the second day of Creation, the first separation.

But the Torah isn't telling a story of separation, it's awakening us to reunification. Hidden inside this Shabbat of separation is the great Light of oneness. That's why this is a world Shabbat: it awakens both the root of every fracture and, more importantly, its cure.

Why Korach came for Moshe

Moshe dedicated every day and every night to sharing, supporting, and loving the Israelites. And Korach rises up in front of everyone, attacks him, and creates a total revolt. Why?

Because Moshe's life purpose was to open, for all of humanity, the Derech Etz haChayim, the path back to the Tree of Life. And that path can't be walked without correction. So, as the Zohar and Rabeinu Bachya teach, every fundamental problem in the world had to come to him to be corrected. Korach wasn't a random enemy, he was the channel bringing humanity's fundamental flaw, separation, so Moshe could correct it.

The three ways to face a challenge

When chaos, a problem, or a difficult person enters our life, there are three possible mindsets:

Not spiritual: "Oh my god, why is this happening?"
A little spiritual: "I don't know why I need to go through this, but let me use the tools to get through the darkness.", Michael says: this is still the wrong consciousness.
The deep consciousness: "What's my purpose? I'm opening my way back to the Tree of Life, and this challenge is exactly what my soul needs to correct."

Your soul's problems need to come back to you. It's not the next annoying person you'll simply "not give attention to", it's precisely what you came to correct.

Idea 1, Living as part of the whole

The first of three central ideas: remembering ourselves and living a life that is part of the whole, not a separate existence. The Torah's story isn't a history book, it's humanity's process. The great Italian kabbalist Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explains it all began in the Garden of Eden, when the Creator promised, through Adam: connect to Etz haChayim, the Tree of Life, and you will live forever, not just physically, but in constant abundance of the Creator's Light.

Idea 2, From Yesh to Ayin: cleaning the window

In Kabbalah there are two words that explain everything: Yesh (יֵשׁ), what exists, being; and Ayin (אַיִן), nothingness. It's the nothingness that connects us to the Infinite, to the Creator's infinite Light.

Imagine your soul as a window. With every "this is me," every "this blessing is now mine," you stick another sticker, another smudge onto the glass. By the end of life, chas v'shalom, almost no Light can get through. Moshe and Aharon were the cleanest windows in the world: abundance shone through them because they never thought it was theirs.

That's the consciousness of v'nachnu mah, "and what are we?" The complete state of Moshe and Aharon: we are nothing. And that's why all the Light could shine through them to the world.

Idea 3, The sparks scattered across the world

Before the soul comes into this world, we receive two gifts. The first: our soul mate, originally a single soul divided in two, and life is the reunion. The second: before descending, we hold all the wisdom, all the consciousness, and all the blessings we need.

But upon entering this world, all of it is taken from us and scattered across the world. Our work is to go out and gather these pieces of wisdom, these sparks of Light scattered everywhere. Every person, every encounter, every challenge may hold a spark that's ours to rescue.

The Kotzker Rebbe and the ladder: keep jumping

The great kabbalist, the Kotzker Rebbe, teaches that we come down into this world by a ladder. Once here, we keep the memory of where we need to return, the Tree of Life, but the ladder is gone. So we try to jump back.

Some souls jump 10 times and give up. Others, a hundred. Others, a thousand, and give up, falling into the separate, dark, chaotic reality. Only those who jump every day, all day long, for the rest of their life, are lifted back by the Creator to oneness, to the Tree of Life, to the abundant Light we came for.

"I'm here recruiting", the 22,000 souls

Michael closes the lesson with an open heart. In the Ten Luminous Emanations we learn that, to transform the world, 22,000 souls are needed who are really doing the work. A small number, that will change the entire world.

The invitation isn't just to make your own life better, nor just to help others. It's something deeper: taking on humanity's work as your own, because we truly are one.

I, because I am the world, there is no separation. The world desperately needs this.