Symbolically, Binah is like the Great Mother of the universe. This symbol implies that everything originates from her. Continuously and silently, Binah gives life and nurtures all created things. Just as the Great Mother is the source of all life, Binah is the origin from which all forms emerge in Qabalistic tradition.

Additionally, Binah is considered the negative or feminine side of the divine mind, underlying all creation. She acts as the passive and receptive part of the divine, making her a place of infinite possibilities. She is like the stage where everything happens, the silence that allows sound to be heard, and the environment where the entire story of the universe unfolds. Thus, Binah lays the foundation for everything to exist and be experienced.

At the same time, Binah initiates separation and diversity in all that exists. Although there is no division within Binah herself, she becomes the starting point, or Bereshit, for all forms of separation. From Binah comes what is known as Olamot, worlds of variety and difference, but these worlds are contained within Binah as unified concepts. Here lies the paradox: Binah is both one and many, the beginning and the end of all that is cosmic.

According to Qabalah, souls are born within Binah. They then descend through different dimensions until they reach Malkuth, the earthly realm. Eventually, they ascend again, experiencing multiple lessons and life experiences. Upon returning to Binah, souls discover an infinite sea of divinity. At this point, each soul recognizes its uniqueness but also its part in the whole.

In this context, Binah is associated with Teshuvah, a word commonly translated as repentance but actually means return. This return is a type of ultimate redemption, resembling biblical concepts like the Jubilee, the forgiveness of debts, and the liberation from slavery, all of which reflect the restoration of divine order. Binah thus represents the final state in the soul's journey.

In its broader aspect, Binah encompasses the totality of the cosmic laws that govern existence. It is considered the root of Severity, the transition from the formless to the formed. Just as souls undergo a kind of "death" by being born into a lower level of existence, energy also becomes restricted when taking a specific form and losing its previous freedom. But without form, this energy would remain unknown and unmanifested, just like a soul without incarnation.

Therefore, Binah has two aspects: one severe and one loving. In her severity, Binah is like a strict mother who understands all the pain, work, and challenges of life's journey. She sees both the descent and the ascent, the struggles and the triumphs. But she is also a loving mother who guides the worlds, or Olamot, toward their final perfection, offering redemption and liberation. In this sense, Binah represents an ideal future, a heavenly state without suffering or limits.

Exploring the concepts related to Binah further, we see that she represents the archetype of the mother, the ultimate source of security. Just as a mother provides discipline, order, and structure, Binah imposes these qualities on our interactions with the world. She offers us concepts that help us understand our reality and communicate effectively with those around us.

Within Binah, the logical mind works tirelessly to organize the complex web of life. This order allows us to understand the world around us and feel somewhat secure in its vastness. People seek some degree of control over their world to feel comfortable and stable. Therefore, Binah creates concepts, categories, and ideas as tools to manage the vast and sometimes overwhelming reality.

At the same time, Binah gives us structure, discipline, and order, ensuring that the powerful yet raw energies of Chokhmah are well channeled. Binah develops a plan of order that dictates how energy should be managed among the lower Sefirot. She is responsible for guiding and nurturing the energies flowing toward the lower parts of the Tree of Life, ensuring they are used in the best way possible.

However, Binah also represents the fear of the unknown and uncertainty. She can act like an overprotective mother who guards so much that it can induce fear. People heavily influenced by Binah's energy often want to control everything out of fear of losing control, highlighting the dual nature of this Sefirah.

Like all elements of the Tree of Life, Binah has a dark side, called Qlifah or the shell. This shadow manifests as dogmatism when Binah's energy turns inward. This dogmatism, a rigid adherence to a set of beliefs regardless of logic, contrasts sharply with the flexibility and openness that are usually part of Binah. This desire for control and security leads to a very rigid belief system that replaces the infinity of Ein Sof with narrower perspectives.

In its purest form, Binah represents the act of differentiating and categorizing everything. As the core of rational thought, Binah is responsible for organizing and classifying knowledge and reality. Through her influence on the lower Sefirot of the Tree, Binah essentially directs the self, guiding our actions and decisions.

When we say the world is an illusion, we refer to the illusion that comes from Binah, making us see things as real and separate, like birth and death. It's not that these things don't exist, but reality has two sides: something and nothing. The true nature of reality is not something that can be explained in words; it's more a state of being.

If in your daily life you think everything is predestined and unchangeable, you are trapped in the Qlifah of Binah. This means you see the laws of the universe as absolute when they can actually be transcended from a higher level, because wisdom precedes understanding. Everything is connected to Ein Sof, which means everything is infinite.

The most important trait of Binah is silence, which is even deeper than the silence in Malkuth. In Binah, this silence is a necessary void for a new beginning in a divine space. Every new beginning comes from emptiness and silence.

Like Malkuth, Binah also has a vice: greed, but in this case, it is a greed for spiritual things rather than material ones. This greed can trap you and divert you from the true goal, which is to unite with the Divine through complete and silent self-donation. Craving too much for spiritual goods can interfere with this silence and block it.

The spiritual experience involves understanding the pain of being separated from our true spiritual nature. It’s about realizing the purpose behind existence and seeing how everything is part of a grand plan to perfect the world. We hear the world's suffering and feel deep compassion, wishing for everything to finally be resolved and reconnected with the Divine, with the Eternal.

We also feel the joy of souls who overcome their challenges and reach a state of perfection, a state even brighter than anything in this world. This state of perfection is found in Binah, also known as Teshuvah or "return," because it’s like coming home.

Regarding Binah, there is an important rule: we should not use the name of the Eternal lightly. The name represents the entirety of life’s purpose, and using it carelessly breaks the connection between different levels of existence. Instead, we should always be aware of the divine presence, maintaining a constant connection.

Binah also deals with organizing the energy that comes from another concept called Chokhmah. In Chokhmah, wisdom and knowledge grow and expand. Binah takes that expansion and organizes it effectively. It’s not a negative restriction but rather an approach that helps to understand and classify things. Yes, some of the expansive knowledge of Chokhmah is lost, but what we gain in return is more organized and focused understanding.

To understand ideas, we need to organize them first. This helps us know which parts are necessary to create something new. We don’t use all the resources we have (Chokhmah), just the useful ones. In Binah, we discover what resources we need and how to use them.

Binah is the stage where we prepare everything for building. We make the plans, gather the resources, and examine how everything will fit together. We haven’t started building yet; we are in the planning phase. We look at the blueprints, study the parts, and see where problems might arise.

There is time in Binah to change direction if we see something won’t work. It’s the moment to think, organize, and prepare. The more organized we are, the better the result will be. It’s in Binah where our understanding becomes clearer, which affects our overall knowledge, or Daat, that comes from Binah.

If we don’t organize and classify things, we won’t understand them. We might have many resources (Chokhmah), but if we don’t know what’s important and what’s not, we get confused. Without a plan and priorities, we get lost.

The Qliphah of Binah can manifest in two ways: disorganization or an excessive focus on order. Some people are so focused on organizing that they forget the essence of what they are organizing (Chokhmah), and their organization lacks meaning.

Perfectionism is also a trap in Binah’s dark side. In short, paralysis can come from feeling the need for more organization or from being totally disorganized. Both scenarios lead to the same negative result: not understanding or feeling that we don’t understand due to a lack of organization.

If you don’t organize well, your life will be full of confusion. You can’t have solid knowledge (Daat) if you don’t move from wisdom (Chokhmah) to knowledge through understanding (Binah).