
In this episode, we explore the concept of spiritual growth and the stages that souls experience. Baal HaSulam, in his "Introduction to The Book of Zohar," describes three states that souls go through. The first stage is the beginning of creation, where everything that will later evolve in the soul is contained, similar to a seed containing a plant. The second stage is the birth of the soul and its stages of growth. The third state is when the soul realizes its potential and reaches the level of the Creator, bonding with Him. In this third state, the soul returns to the first state, but this time it is a conscious and mature act.
An analogy is made to a baby's growth, wherein in the first stage, the baby is at the mother's height as she holds it next to her chest. In the second stage, the child stands and grows from below. And in the third stage, the child becomes fully grown, reaching the mother's level as a conscious and mature adult.
The cycle of spiritual reality is compared to a ladder, with the Spiritual Light at the top, representing the starting point or the zero point. This starting point is referred to as Phase Zero, and it marks the beginning of the circle. The ladder has five stages and four steps because the cycle starts at the root or zero. A barrier at the end of Phase 4 stops the Spiritual Light, except for a fraction of Light that evolves into our universe.
The five levels of desire in our world correspond to the five cycles in the spiritual reality of the Upper Worlds. Throughout this chapter, the number 5 reappears in different ways, describing various aspects of the Kabbalistic journey to spiritual attainment.