Landmarks: The development of the soul during the cycle of the year

After many years of learning about the spiritual meaning of the Jewish holidays according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, we thought it was judicious to bind together selected source excerpts on the topic from the greatest kabbalists throughout the ages, and primarily Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), and his firstborn son and successor, my teacher, Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (RABASH).Landmarks was compiled so as to pave the way for all our friends, Kabbalah students from around the world, who aspire to be Israel—Yashar El [directly to the Creator], namely to aim themselves directly to the upper force, the power of bestowal and love.In Hebrew, the word Hag [holiday/festival] comes from the word Hug, meaning a circle. As the hands of a clock repeatedly return to the same numbers, we, too, experience spiritual states in a cyclical process. It begins with the exodus from Egypt, which we celebrate on Passover, symbolizing the beginning of the process, and ends with the final correction on the holiday of Purim.Each holiday and festival in the cycle of the year is like a landmark symbolizing an important stage in the development of the soul. Through these stages, we come to know ourselves, build ourselves, and experience the spiritual process over and over again.I am thankful to my devoted students who collected the excerpts herein for those already on the path, and for those who are yet to come, and I hope that reading them will help us advance the entire world toward redemption. Read more