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The purpose of the marriage of a woman and a man is union.

The purpose of union is fertilization.

The purpose of fertilization is giving birth.

The purpose of birth is learning.

The purpose of learning is to grasp the divine.

The purpose of apprehending the divine is to maintain the endurance of the one who apprehends with the joy of apprehending. —The Essential Kabbalah, Dr. Daniel Matt

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"How did God create the world? Like a person taking a deep breath and holding it, so that the small contains the large. Similarly God contracted his light to a divine handbreadth, and the world was left in darkness. In the darkness God carved cliffs and hewed rocks to clear the wondrous paths of wisdom." —The Essential Kabbalah, Dr. Daniel Matt