What is the Tree of Life in Kabbalah?

People start asking questions about why. Why am I here? What is life? What does it mean to be alive? What is God? This constitutes, in spiritual teachings, a point of no return. And one way of understanding, of trying to find an answer to this eternal question, is by studying the Kabbalah.

So, the Kabbalah is essentially an oral teaching. The word Kabbalah comes from the Hebrew word, the root of which means to receive and to reveal. It is absolutely not a religion. And in its use, it is a way of personal development and self-realization. And it’s a way of bringing light into the world and therefore bringing light into our lives.

And it shows you a diagram of three pillars and ten circles. There’s actually ten plus one, so there’s actually eleven. And the circles that are coloured in the diagram are called Sephirot. There’s no direct translation of this word. You can call it spheres. And here we have a picture of ten Sephirot and twenty-two paths. So we have two opposite energies on this DNA of creation. And they are held, if you like, in stasis by this middle pillar, or the pillar of balance or equilibrium. So here we have a map of creation.

And this is called the process of manifestation. And it’s called the lightning flash. It seems like this flash zigzags across the tree. Everything that is ever created, whether we’re talking about a chocolate cake, or a world, or a baby, has to follow these steps in order, as described in the lightning flash, for it to manifest. For example, when you get into your car in the morning, and you put your key in your ignition, you turn it to the right, you put your foot on the accelerator, and it starts. If you miss out one of those steps, your car won’t go. If one of these steps are missed out in the process of a manifestation, it will not manifest. It will be aborted.

So God created the world so that God could behold God. Kabbalah says for us to become more and more filled with light, we have to try and be better and better in this world. And I’m not talking in a dogmatic or religious sense. I’m just talking about the awareness that what we do in this world affects other realities. So as we climb the tree, and as we become more aware in our spiritual journey, we learn a number of things. These three things are humility, integrity, and responsibility. In seeking wisdom, the first stage is silence, the second is listening, the third is remembrance, the fourth, practicing, and the fifth, teaching. So we are now going to start this journey of seeking wisdom.