The Light that Surrounds Us

✦  Self-guided study based on the teachings of Michael Berg and on articles published on kabbalah.com.

1 · Key Points

• Shemot begins the exile in Egypt, Mitzrayim, a word that means "narrow places". All darkness is, in truth, an invitation to reveal a greater Light.
• There is a Light too vast to fit within our vessels: the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). It envelops us even when we cannot yet contain it.
• The two highest levels of the soul, Chayá and Yechidá, are the channel for that Light. When they awaken, the darkness of the world is removed.
• We don't have to "earn" the Surrounding Light through perfect effort; it is awakened by connection and by the desire to be with the Creator.
• The way out of our inner Egypt does not come from within the limitation, but from the Light that comes from beyond it.

2 · In Short

The portion of Shemot places us at the beginning of the exile: the children of Israel go down into Egypt, Mitzrayim, the word that means "narrow places". Kabbalah reads this Egypt as any limitation in which we feel trapped. And the answer to the narrowness is not found inside it. Michael Berg teaches that there is a Light too vast to fit within our vessels, the Surrounding Light, and that the highest levels of the soul, Chayá and Yechidá, are the channel through which it descends. When that Light is awakened, the darkness need not be fought: it simply ceases to exist before so much radiance. To navigate the week of Shemot is to learn to open ourselves to that greater Light, not through force, but through the will to be in union with the Creator.

3 · Phrases for Contemplation

Michael Berg describes the most intimate moment of that union, and the Light it awakens:

4 · Takeaways

5 · Action Plan · The Week

May the week of Shemot be the beginning of your own exodus, from narrowness to expanse, from darkness to the Light that was always surrounding you. Shavua Tov.