Coming Together – The Real Meaning

The men draw the Light and the women provide them with the desire for correction.

The phrase "man and woman coming together" brings up images for all of us that have absolutely nothing to do with what it really signifies. To us, we see corporeal men and women relating to each other as their bodies, minds and emotions direct them.

In Kabbalah, the coming together of man and woman is not about Adam and Eve or even about men and women. It is about a part of humanity that is masculine and a part that is feminine. The reason for their coming together is to complete one another and bring about the general correction of mankind. When the men study the wisdom of Kabbalah and draw the Light, the women provide them with the need, the desire, the fuel to fire their energy for this correction. Each has their part, neither is more important than the other, and neither can do without the other.

Conditions for Women's Spiritual Advancement

Women need fewer conditions to advance spiritually than men do.

Kabbalah states that if a man wants to advance spiritually, he is obliged to marry and have a family. It is his responsibility to fulfill these obligations. Otherwise, he cannot advance spiritually.

A woman, on the other hand, can advance spiritually even if she is not a mother or a wife. Moreover, if she has the means for existence, she may also choose not to work. That is, in comparison to a man, a woman is relatively self-sufficient and can grow spiritually without many external conditions that apply to men. Thus, from the spiritual point of view, she is a considerably more perfect creature than a man.

A man has to overcome himself, to constantly convince himself that it's worth staying on the spiritual path. He is less susceptible to spiritual advancement than a woman, who naturally aspires toward everything spiritual. She is ready to accept, feel and understand all of the spiritual transformations that are happening in her. She yearns for this.

The need for the spiritual ascent is manifested much more in a woman. She feels unsatisfied with our world, disappointed in family and work. A man looks for foolish passions, such as football, beer, friends and so on, and then gets lost in them. He lives pursuing false goals. A woman is unable do this. She perceives emptiness more internally and acutely. She cannot appease herself with such petty goals and temporary painkillers. More often she embarks on a spiritual search and comes to study Kabbalah.

We see this happening all over the world. More than half of the 1.3 million students studying within the framework of the Kabbalah Institute are women.

A Woman's Happiness - Today It's More Than Family and Career

Women demand the spiritual status equal to that of men.

We are living in a very special time. Children leave home at a young age; relationships between couples are not as close as they used to be. Today, women are in the same social circles and have the same power as men and in many cases even more. As a result, the feeling of emptiness and attempts to find fulfillment and happiness are no longer related to family or even a woman's professional life.

Although it is still important to a woman to be content with her husband, children or grandchildren, as well as with her professional life, this is not enough for her. Her ego is so developed that it breaks through the fences of the family, the work place and even the nation. It wants spirituality.

This yearning for spiritual fulfillment has increased during the last 15 - 20 years. Before the current generation, there were a few cases here and there, but it did not occur by the thousands as it is today.

These days remind us of the times of Abraham, who formed the first Kabbalistic group in ancient Babylon. In those ancient times the women who attained spirituality were by the men's side. They were on a spiritual level equal to that of the men. The great prophetesses, such as Dvorah, Hulda and others reached spiritual levels even greater than the men's. People lived in realization of Godliness, and children were taught these truths from an early age.

But after humanity's decline from spirituality, we rarely saw women Kabbalists. There were a few who reached spirituality, from the times of the destruction of the Second Temple until our generation, but they were a limited number.

Today, however, whether we like it or not, we are going back to that same early state in which humanity was united as one man in one heart. Because of this women have to be on the same spiritual level as men. In other words, the spiritual downfall of humanity that led to the devaluation of the woman's spiritual status has to be remedied in our days.

Hence, today, we have to answer the demand that comes from so many women. It isn't just a demand but a true need.

The Power of Women

Women can change reality by fulfilling their spiritual role in the world.

Women should realize that in their hands lies great power. They are the ones who can change the world. How? By understanding and fulfilling their spiritual role in the world, just as they understand their role in the family.

Women naturally know how to organize the family, how to make it all work, how to care for children, husband, and kitchen. They should understand equally well that they have an inner ability to know how the world has to be organized according to its spiritual root. They should also know that they have the power to make the men execute their will.

We see that humanity is becoming a small house, a small village. Men have tried numerous times to lead it, but it hasn't brought us much good. So the problems that are surfacing today make the women feel that they must come forward. Let us hope that men will listen, yet it is essential that women will know what to say.

A Woman's Lack of Fulfillment

A lack of fulfillment in women has a spiritual root, and can be satisfied only by spirituality.

It is no secret that in our world, women suffer more than men. Every woman, be it a queen or a tribal woman in Africa, is somewhat dissatisfied with her life; she has some difficulty, feels dependent, or is somehow unfulfilled. She wants more warmth and love; she longs for more sympathy and support.

It is not that the world is built this way. This inner lack of fulfillment is embedded in woman's nature, and since the reason lies in spirituality, it can be resolved only by spirituality.  A woman will never be fully satisfied or fulfilled except by spiritual attainment.

We see how much deeper a woman's lack is as compared to that of a man in our world. A man derives pleasure just by looking at a woman. What woman derives pleasure by simply looking at a man? A man has multiple pleasures: football, women, beer, TV and adventures. A woman wants something deeper than that.

Kabbalah explains why our world is built this way. It says that in spirituality, the woman is the one who feels the lack of fulfillment first. She only needs to formulate it correctly and use it to propel a man to reach the spiritual goal, draw the Light from Above and bring it to her.

Presently, we don't fully understand how it all works. But our task is to follow the recommendations of the Kabbalists and let them open our eyes. We will then see how this great lack that the Creator has given to women in this world - her despair and anxiety, her lack of satisfaction, support, security, lack of warmth and love - how all this can be used in a purposeful way to achieve the spiritual goal. It is from there that the Light comes and fills all the lacks that a woman feels.