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The Gate of Unification can be divided into two basic parts - the first, consisting of chapters one through nine, comes as a direct continuation of Kuntres HaHispaalus Tract on Awakening (or Excitement of the emotions), where it explained the necessity for hisbonenus. This first section continues by explaining what hisbonenus-(contemplation) is, how one is to structure this contemplation, and on what to contemplate.
Since the first section concludes that one must contemplate on all of the details of the hishtalshellus (-the chain like process of cause and effect that the infinite divine light continually undergoes in the perpetual act of creation, i.e., the chaining down of the worlds Atzilus , Briyah, Yetzirah, Asiyah (Emanation, Creation, Formation & Action)), the second section proceeds to delineate a synopsis and clear explanation of the whole of the Lurian Kabbalah explained according to the teachings of the Chassidic Masters.
This book has been called THE KEY to Kabbalah and Chassidus.
IT IS THE ONLY BOOK OF ITS KIND !!!
For though there are others, such as Etz Chaiim (The Tree of Life), that compile the Kabbalah they do not explain the concepts in tangible terms with physical analogies and so there is a great risk of misunderstanding the teachings presented there. This is why these teachings were, for a long time, not taught to the public - for fear that they would misunderstand them. For a time the Kabbalah was only taught to men at least forty years old who were fluent in the entire Tanach (the Jewish Bible, it is an abbreviation for the Hebrew name of its three parts the Torah-Pentateuch, Nevi'im-Prophets, and Kissuvim-Writings) and Talmud (Jewish law) and even then it was only taught privately one-on-one. There also existed another problem of being liable to fall into the evil side of Kabbalah or go crazy.
However, both of these problems are avoided when one learns the Kabbalah according to the explanations of Chassidus. The reason for this is twofold, one, because it is taught with proper analogies to help one understand, and two, because the teachings of Chassidus explain one step higher than the Kabbalah itself. For, while the Kabbalah explains how the Infinite Light is invested in the sfiros and worlds, what is called the razzin or secrets of the Torah, the teachings of Chassidus are called the razzey d'razzin - the secrets of the secrets, for they go even further to even explain how the Infinite Light exists before it is contracted to create the worlds, as it is united with G-d Himself. This helps to prevent the mistake of thinking of the Kabbalah as purely mechanistic, which is unfortunately a common error.
Now, with these teachings, the Kabbalah has become more accessible. One no longer has to be forty or a Torah Scholar. Also, the Lubavitcher Rebbe declared that it is now even more important for women to study it than men, and it should now be made as public as possible. This is all part of the process that the world is undergoing with the approach of the Messianic era, the central theme of which is the spreading of the Knowledge of G-d until it covers everything as the water covers the sea. This "flood" of divine knowledge was predicted in the Zohar, a basic text of the early Kabbalah, more than two thousand years ago, stating that in the year 1840 the wellsprings of both secular and G-dly Knowledge would open in preparation for the Messiah. This date corresponds to the beginning of the technological advancements of the industrial revolution and also the beginning of the spreading of the Chassidic teachings. (1840 is one interpretation of what the Zohar says.)
May G-d accept favorably our good intentions for the benefit of every person who searches for G-d with truth and sincerity and may will be judged favorably for anything that might be improper in the eyes of the sages, as it is stated "who can discern unintentional sins from unknown transgressions cleanse me etc."
Translated, annotated and edited by Habachur Hatamim Benjamin Walters, Habachur Hatamim Mordechai Markel and Rabbi Yossi Markel
The material in this series is authored and copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel
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