The Letter Tzaddik: Staying Connected Through the Seasons | Kabbalah for Sukkot

The letter Tzaddik stands upright like a tree, rooted and still reaching. In this class, taught between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, Rabbi Amichai Cohen opens the Kabbalah of the Tzaddik through the etrog, the fruit that stays on its tree through every season. What does it mean to stay connected when the season changes? We look at the two forms of the letter: the bent Tzaddik, who knows how to choose his battles and sometimes be smart rather than right, and the straight Tzaddik, the foundation of the world who carries blessing all the way down. We learn why Tzaddik is ninety and why at ninety we learn to bend, how tzedek becomes tzedakah, how tzar (constriction) holds tzur (the rock inside you) and tzohar (a window of light), and why the palm tree teaches that there is no retirement from your calling. Chapters 00:00 The shape of the letter Tzaddik 02:24 Sukkot and the four species 04:52 Pri etz hadar, the fruit that dwells on its tree 07:49 Every season has its gift and its challenge 10:13 I like the season that is 12:05 Tzaddik yesod olam, the foundation of the world 15:09 The three books and the beinoni 19:40 Holding a living tzaddik in your hands 20:43 The bent Tzaddik and the strai