[!tip] Moments of Quiet

Chesed is the fourth of the ten sefirot. It appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the right axis, directly beneath Chochmah, and corresponds to the "right arm.‘’ Chesed is associated in the soul with the desire to embrace all of Creation and bestow upon it goodness. As the expansive force which impels the soul to connect with outer reality, Chesed inspires, and thus implicitly accompanies, all the other expressions of emotive force which succeed it in the soul.

Chesed is the first “day” of Creation. On it was created the goodly light of mercy for all. The first day is called “the day of one”. The Divine consciousness of this day is that all of Creation is one as embraced, in love, by the Oneness of the Creator (echad, “one” = 13 = ahavah, “love”). The unique form of the word “day[s]” implies “a day that accompanies all days.” From this we learn that the first day, the day of lovingkindness, “accompanies” and radiates its light to all the other days of Creation.

Chesed = 72 = 2 x 6 squared. 6 squared represents the perfected state of the six emotions of the heart which correspond to the six days of Creation. The 2 x 6 squared represents the perfect love and harmony within Creation, “as one’s face is reflected in water [the basic physical symbol of Chesed] so is the heart of man to man”. There are the 72 “bridges” of love (corresponding to the 72 hidden Names of God) that connect together, in perfect harmony, all of created reality.

The spiritual state identified as corresponding to the sefirah of Chesed is that of love. Love is the single most powerful and necessary component in life. Love is the origin and foundation of all human interactions. It is both giving and receiving. It allows us to reach above and beyond ourselves. To experience another person and to allow that person to experience us. It is the tool by which we learn to experience the highest reality – G-d. In a single word: love is transcendence.

![[posts/freedom/week_1/Chesed#The Sefirah on the Tree of Life]]

Reflections

This Universal Energy awakens prior to the limitation of form, beyond definition. This Energy is the force that is the impulse contained in each feeling. The greater the feeling, the greater the Energy it contains. But there is no feeling great enough to contain that Energy. Each feeling can only hold a piece of it. Feelings of acceptance, of compassion, and of love, contain the fullest energy.

Kindness in Love

Examine every aspect of love, its expression and its intensity. We all have the capacity to love, however to actualize and express it in a productive and positive manner is our work. Unless my love includes the other six aspects of Chesed, it will be distorted and unable to be truly realized.

The challenge that stands in front of us is to choose freedom. With freedom comes truth. In slavery is the illusion, the pretence of life. The journey from slavery to freedom is filled with challenges, demanding that we release the chains that keep us stuck in our pain, those habits and thoughts that cause great pain. They keep us separate from realising our potential, convincing us of our limitations, our smallnesses. Our external slavery is a metaphor for the slavery we experience internally.

The paradox of slavery is that it is safe. There is security in being able to blame the external world for the challenges I experience. There is safety in someone else making the decisions, of not having to take responsibility for the choices you make in your life.

The Journey through the Sefirot becomes a metaphor for our personal journey from the confines of a place of self-delusion to the wonder of renewed self-creation. The life of this Universe calls each of us to experience the fullness of our own life. In this way we participate fully in Creation itself.

However, the true calling is for us to enter into a closer relationship with the Creator, and by doing that we can not only ascend the highest peaks we are capable of, but also carry out our true task in service to the Divine by bringing that relationship into the world around us.