The First Ten Days

Adam and Chava were created on the last day of the Six Days of Creation- a day forever celebrated as Rosh Hashanah. On that very day, Adam and Chava committed the very first sin. Hashem judged and forgave them, and this day became a day of forgiveness forever. When Adam sinned he damaged his soul. The Zohar teaches that what Adam actually lost can be described as a ‘G-dly light’ which illuminated his soul. This light radiated out through the Ten Sefirot – the divine emanations that form the infrastructure of the world. The human soul is a microcosm of that infrastructure – when a person violates his soul, he, in essence, extinguishes the ‘lights of the world’. The Ten Days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur correspond to the Ten Sefirot and these days are a special time when each individual is given the potential to restore the light of these Sefirot into their souls, referred to in Kabbalistic language as the process of ‘Tikun’. Each day of the Ten Days presents a unique opportunity for Tikun through the light of a different Sefirah – studying, understanding, processing and internalizing it into our lives in an actualized way – thereby altering the fabric of our very soul. Tikun is a down-to-earth process. Very simple deeds and adjustments to our lifestyle can have eternal ramifications. The true work of the Ten Days has more to do with delving into our inner selves and disciplining our day-to-day behavior than conceptualizing or attempting to approach the sublime. This powerful little book is a down-to-earth guide to the Ten Days based on the Sefirot.