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Roots—from Top to Bottom

Kabbalah explains that the roots of our world are spiritual roots, coming down from Above, not from below. Roots come from the source, which is Above this world. Picture roots growing in from the outside of a bubble. Because you are in the bubble, the area of creation, the roots come down to you. They can be thought of as colorful party streamers hanging from above. The main goal of this wisdom is for the Creator to reveal his Godliness to his creatures (that’s us). Each root has its own branch in this world, and everything in this world is a branch of some root in spirituality. In this way, Kabbalists “use” this world to communicate with the Creator and to learn His ways, so that they can become like Him. To avoid “miscommunication” with the Creator, you need to know which branch relates to which root. The arrival of the Ari and, to a greater extent, that of Rav Ashlag, marked a shift toward a new and clearer terminology in Kabbalah. Kabbalists describe their internal experiences and understandings using metaphors and a language suitable for the souls of their time. Over time, their texts become unclear because people’s souls develop and require new explanations. This requires of succeeding Kabbalists to write interpretations to make the spiritual journey clearer

and more accessible for us. This is why Rav Ashlag wrote a
commentary on The Tree of Life, published in his major work The
Study of the Ten Sefirot.
Rav Ashlag’s commentary on The Tree of Life details the
stages, events, and forms of life’s creation, originally described
by the Ari. Ashlag did a similar thing with Rashbi’s The Book of
Zohar: he took Rashbi’s text and clarified it in a commentary he
called HaSulam (The Ladder). This is why Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag
is also known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder).