The Merit of the Children
The Merit of the Ancestors (Zechut Avot)
This is the inner inheritance that every Jew carries within them:
a hidden love for God (”a natural love”)
that is passed down from Abraham,
in whose “soul the love of God was acquired.”
It is an inborn soul-point
that cannot be lost,
even if it is covered by klipot (shells/husks).
Baal HaSulam explains that “the merit of the ancestors”
is the power of the first rectified vessels.
The ancestors are the roots of the system of rectification.
In the generation of redemption,
it is not enough to rely on the “merit of the ancestors” as something external.
Rather, we must discover that same spiritual template within ourselves—
Chesed (loving-kindness),
Gevurah (strength),
and Tiferet (harmony)—
in order to build Malchut (Kingdom—the feminine principle, our generation).
The merit of the ancestors is the foundation,
but in the generation of Mashiach,
the focus is on the “merit of the children”—
on our own awakening to continue the process that the ancestors began.
The Ramchal writes that the ancestors are the roots of creation and they prepared the template for the world’s rectification. Their merit exists as long as we constitute a living continuation—
not merely biological,
but spiritual and conscious.
If we cleave to their path,
we connect to the “channel of influence”
that they opened.
At the end of the rectification,
all merits converge into one single process
of revealing the divine unity.
The merit of the ancestors = connection to the ancient soul-roots that are the sefirot of the Divine Chariot (Chesed–Gevurah–Tiferet).
To reveal the merit within ourselves is to build the stature of Malchut and reveal the Shekhinah (Divine Presence).
Reflect:
Can you feel that “hidden love” within you—an innate, unshakeable point of connection, even if it’s covered by layers?
Where in your life have you been passively relying on an external source of merit or inspiration, when you could be actively building your own?
What would it mean for you to activate the “merit of the children”—to consciously embody the qualities of loving-kindness (Chesed), strength (Gevurah), and harmony (Tiferet) today?
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