Kabalistic wisdom on the ten plagues of Egypt

[Samsonov]

I'd like to translate an interesting interpretation of the ten plagues of Egypt to the ten kabbalistic "sphirot" from the tree of life, here is how they correlate (and a brief explanation on the plague):

1.  Malcvut (Kingship) - Blood: the nile river turned to blood.
2. Yesod (Foundation) - Frog: Frogs covered the Egyptian empire.
3. Hod (Glory) - Lice: has infected Egyptians
4. Netach (Eternity) - Arov: Wild beasts that infected Egypt.
5. Tiferet (Harmony/Beauty) - Dever: a plague on the livestock.
6. Gevorah (Heroism) - Boils: a skin infection upon the Egyptians.
7. Chesed (Kindness) - Hail: Heavy hail across the empire. 
8. Bina (Understading/Intelligence) - Locust: flying insects that destroyed the fields.
9. Chochma (wisdom) - Darkness: Complete permanent darkness.
10.  Keter (Crown) - Death of first born: the firstborn of every family died.

Each of the sphirot/sefirot according to the kabbalah represent the ten components of every souls, where the first (bottom) seven represent the emotional self and the top three the unconscious self.

The ten plagues doesn't try to tell us about the events that occurred in Egypt over three thousand years ago, but are a guide to self development. 
Here's how the plagues of Egypt are symbolic of the plagues of our lives on our spiritual path:

Blood, relates to Malchut מלכות, which means, security, physical security, as the plagues came to Egypt in times of prosperity, the source of which is said to be the nile river, in Egypt, an arid environment, agricultural activities are futile due to the lack of rain, the abundance of Egypt was thanks to the nile river. The Egyptian "betrayed" the nile, as they used their wealth in an authoritarian and violent rule over the jews. that's why the river has turned to blood, to symbolize the turning of wealth to violence. Warning us about the human capacity for exploitation over others.

Frog, relates to Yesod יסוד which usually signifies human connection and intimacy, but here it represents the lack of which in the Egyptians, as they are amphibians, cold blooded, and do not care for their young.

Lice, Aaron has threw dust to the air and infected the Egyptian with lice, it relates to Hod הוד which means glory, but here, on the same vain as the privious plague, it actually refers to a lack of glory, or the negative aspect of humility, humility usually is looked upon as a virtue, a humble student of life, a necessary quality for spiritual development, as well as the willingness to admit when you are wrong, but there is another kind of humility, according to kabbalah, that represses one's spirit and dilutes his vitality. In this kind of humility, one's sees himself as worthless and meaningless. Like lice sucking on your vitality.

Arov, relates to Neztach נצח which means eternity or perhaps victory and ambition, the Arov is said to be a flock of wild predatory creatues (undescribed explicitly ) this represents a negative manifestation of ambition, which walks over anyone who is an obstacle.

Dever, a disease the infects livestock, relates to tiferet תפארת which means beauty, but can have a connotation to empathy as well, here again described is the negative aspects of empathy, or dubious empathy, which is said to lurk quietly and spread like a plague.
Kabbalah speak widely about the sacred quality of empathy, but the dubious empathy that is said to have been a pestilence, refers to manipulation and the exploitation of the Egyptians.

Next, is Boil or Shchin in hebrew, a skin infection, it relates to Gevorah, which means heoism, but here the kabbalah connect it to rejection, as when you neglect or refuse to speak to someone. god has told moses to throw ashes from the furnace and throw them to the air to create the shchin/boils, like fire, rejection can scar or even destroy a person,  the kabbalah meantions that a healthy soul knows how to reject at times, it shouldn't be used out of hate.

the seventh plague was heavy hail over the Egyptian empire, that has destroyed their crops, it relates to the sefira Chesed חסד which means kindness or good deeds, but like hail here the kindness has froze, turned cold, soild and self centered. and their were punished for nut letting their love flow, like warm water.

the first seven plagues punished the Egyptians for their sins regarding their emotional self, the final three regard the unconscious or transcendental self.
It is said that when one's emotional self is malfunctioning, the transcendental self get correct the course, but when the transcendental self deludes one's self, it is a great challenge....

Locust, relates to Binah בינה which means intelligence, one of the most precious gift of humanity, allowing us to investigate the universe, improve our lives and discover our destiny. but the same quality can turn upon us, and justify any misbehaviour and rationalize any evil. This is a pestilence in our society, and like the locust devours the field crop, it devours our diligently cultivated moral system.  

Chochma חכמה relates to darkness, the Pharoh (the Egyptian ruler) was blind to god's messages, his ego prevented him from perceiving was what hard to accept, by being aware of our limitations only then can the new space created can be enlightened. By being arrogant, the ego prevents the mind from divine wisdom, thus keeping us in the dark.

the final plague was the hardest of them all, the death of every first born child in Egypt.It reflect how the corruption of the Egyptian souls went all the way down the core, affecting it's most transcendental component, which according to kabbalah is hidden and not easily damaged, but a life of abuse and addiction will eventually lead to the death of this most primal self.

The final plague has allowed the jews to flee Egypt, and accept the ten commandments from god, which themselves, relate to the healthy manifestations of the ten components of the soul, and the path to spiritual healing.

[Lila9]

Thank you, this is very comprehensive.

Where did you learn that? 

[The Crocodile]

I don't know what relation to the Qlipoth this has since it's divine will and not anti-divine forces.

Kether is more like superconscious rather than subconscious.

Malkuth is the most physical.

[AION]

The unconscious or subconscious is below Malkuth in the realm of the Klipoth which are the 9 Hells

Edited January 23 by AION

[Samsonov]

@Lila9 It was one of the weekly posts on "Beit Chabad"'s website":) I only translated