The Sefirah of Yessod is one’s foundation. In this Sefirah we put the final touches in our projects, making ourselves ready to create a final product. In this Sefirah we examine our resilience, our ability to quiet the internal doubts and find the path to self-esteem and self-realization.
It is very easy to listen to the voices that tell us that we are not able to do something, especially the voices that reside in our own heads. These voices creep up in our minds, becoming impediments to being productive and purposeful. These are the voices of fear, seated deep in our psyches, powerful and very dark. After all, it is hurtful to hear “no,” to be denied opportunities, to be passed over when we are qualified, to experience the tyranny of harsh criticism, to be told we are not enough. These voices try to protect our hearts from disappointment, and from developing the wounds that are difficult to heal. We acknowledge the existence of these voices, and their desire to protect us. We thank these voices for trying to shield us from frustration and sadness. And then we breathe deeply and quiet those voices, telling ourselves that we are going to try anyway. Yessod, our basis, our foundation, gives us the strength to withstand this process with grace.
The brilliant side of the sefirah of Yessod is that voice that says that no matter what, we are moving forward with our projects and with our ideas. We have the creativity, the dreams, the sense of purpose, and imagination needed to bring to fore whatever we allow ourselves to envisage. Our essence is strengthened by persevering, by facing challenges with the assertive power that comes from knowing that our foundation is secure. From that point on, we can open space for others to express their creativity and their whole selves.
The Sefirah of Yessod expresses in full the Torah’s commandment “Veahavtah l’reachah camochah” (Leviticus 19:18), “you shall love your fellow human-being as yourself.” According to Rabbi Akivah, this is a central principle in the Torah. This is also a central principle of Yessod.
Before one can love one’s fellow human being, one must love their own selves. Loving oneself means that we appreciate our whole self, with its positives and negative voices, with what we do perfectly and the areas that need improvement. Lovingly we feel that we deserve the goodness that has come to us, and we identify the steps needed so we can function better in the world. Only after we stand with our Yessod balanced and centered, with our foundations firmly established in the ground of being, we are able to love others, helping them strengthen their own foundations.
Yessod, the foundation of our being, the purpose of who we are, is the last sefirah in Olam HaYetzirah, the universe of Formation. This is the Universe in which we map all the steps needed to achieve the ideas that were dreamed up in the Sefirah of Binah, which is in the Olam HaBeriah, the Universe of Creation. We have planned with love and strength, infusing harmony into our projects, understanding what victory truly is, acknowledging with gratitude the source of our abilities, and transforming our foundation so we can be ready to take meaningful action. Yessod enable us to go through this process with love, for ourselves and for others, strong in our foundation and helping strengthen the foundation of others.