Q: Baal HaSulam writes about a premature spiritual birth. How does this happen and can it be prevented?
A: The exile in Egypt was supposed to last 400 years, to match the four degrees of the development of each desire. Instead, it lasted only 210 years. As a result, Israel had to experience three more exiles: Persia and Media, Babylon and the current and last exile.
An early exit from exile, from pregnancy, is called “abortion.” But this also happens in the collective development of the souls, through their evolution from Above downward, meaning even before they are born as creations. That is why we don’t ascribe it to the creation, but to the development of the creation within the Creator. This occurs before the creation has developed enough for an independent existence outside the Creator.
In other words, as creations, we do not feel ourselves equal, independent or free to choose our actions. We begin our existence as creations after the breaking of the “First Man,” and only through the process of the evolution from down upward.
We have to go through the degrees of our development according to the evolution of the soul. We must do it as it evolved from up downward, except that the return is in the opposite direction: from down upward – meaning toward the Creator.