Every moment contains a Holy Spark

“There is no sphere of existence, including organic and inorganic nature, that is not full of holy sparks which are mixed in with the husks and need to be separated from them and lifted up.” — sixteenth century Jewish mystic Isaac Lucia, known as the Ari (the Lion).

Every particle in our physical universe, every structure and every being, is a shell that contains sparks of holiness. Our task, according to Lucia, is to release each spark from the shell and raise it up, ultimately to return it to its original state. The way these sparks are raised is through acts of lovingkindness, of being in harmony with the universe, and through higher awareness.

The ramifications of this teaching are enormous. In each moment of existence we have the potential to raise holy sparks. If we are unaware of this ability and are spiritually asleep, then we do not accomplish much, for the medium through which sparks are raised is consciousness itself.

Our opportunities to raise sparks are boundless. The choices we make for our activities, the interaction we have with our family, friends, neighbors, business associates, and even strangers, the way we spend our leisure time, the books we read, the television we watch, the way we relate to food, everything in daily life presents sparks locked in husks awaiting release.

— rabbi david a. cooper, God is a Verb - Kabbalah and the practice of mystical judaism