When we think or feel something and wish to convey it to someone else so that he may feel it too, we use words. There is a general consensus in the use of words and their meanings; when we call something “sweet,” the other person immediately understands what we mean since he imagines the same taste. Yet how closely does his conception of sweet match ours? How can we best communicate our feelings while still using words?

The feelings of Kabbalists are above our level. Nevertheless, they wish to convey to us their wonder at things that have no meaning for us. They do this through means taken from our world: often words, sometimes music notes, and on occasion, by other means.

Kabbalists write about their experiences and feelings in the upper worlds. They write about the higher forces and what they discover there. They write for other Kabbalists, since the interaction of studies between them is so essential and so fruitful. Their writings are then extended to those who haven’t yet sensed spirituality, for those whose spirituality is still hidden.

Since there are no words in the spiritual world to describe their spiritual feelings, Kabbalists call these experiences branches, a word taken from our world. Therefore the language used in books on Kabbalah is called the language of branches. It is a language that borrows words from our world and uses them to identify spiritual experiences. Since everything in the spiritual world has an equivalent in the physical world, each root of the spiritual world has a name and the name of its branch. And because we cannot describe our feelings precisely and do not know how to measure or compare them, we use all kinds of auxiliary words to help.

Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag writes in his book Talmud Esser HaSefirot (Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1 Looking Inwards):

...the Kabbalists chose a special language that can be referred to as the “language of branches.” Nothing takes place in this world that is not drawn from its roots in the spiritual world. On the contrary, everything in this world originates in the spiritual world and then descends into this world. The Kabbalists accordingly found a ready language by which they could easily convey their achievements to one another orally and in writing for future generations. They took the names of branches from the material world; each name is self-explanatory and indicates its upper root in the higher world system.

For every force and action in this world there is a force and action in the spiritual world that is its root. Each spiritual force correlates to only one force, its branch in the material world.

Of this direct correlation it is written, “There is nothing growing below that does not have an angel above urging it to grow.” That is, there is nothing in our world that does not have a corresponding force in the spiritual world. Because of this direct correlation, and because spirituality does not contain names – just feelings and forces without the mantle of animal, mineral, vegetable, or speech – Kabbalists use names of branches in this world in order to define their spiritual roots by them. Baal HaSulam writes further:

With all the explanations, you will comprehend what sometimes appear in the Kabbalah books as strange terminology for the human spirit, particularly in the basic Kabbalah books, The Zohar and books by the Ari. The question arises, why did Kabbalists use such simple terminology to express these lofty ideas? The explanation is that no language in the world can reasonably be used, except for the special language of branches, based on the corresponding upper roots... It should not be surprising if strange expressions are sometimes used, since there is no choice in the matter. The matter of good cannot replace the matter of bad, and vice versa. We must always convey precisely the branch or incident showing the upper root as the occasion dictates. We must also elaborate until the exact definition is found.

In Kabbalah, the student repeats the main ideas of Kabbalistic wisdom: “place,” “time,” “movement,” “lack,” “body,” “body parts” or “organs,” “match,” “kiss,” “hug,” etc., over and over again, until he feels within himself the right feeling for every idea.

A final word: It should be noted that there are some so-called instructors of Kabbalah who communicate erroneous interpretations to their students. The error stems from the fact that the Kabbalists wrote their books using the language of branches and used words from our world to express spiritual ideas. Those who do not understand the correct use of this language are mistaken. They teach that there is a connection between the body and the spiritual Vessel, for example, as if by physical actions a person is doing something spiritual. The branches are an integral part of Kabbalah and without their use, one is not learning true Kabbalah.