The Secret of "Hamtakah" (Sweetening): How Kabbalah and Aikido Teach Us to Use "Evil" for Our Benefit
by: Eytan Turjeman
Life is full of encounters and frictions. Often, conflicts with others—from trivial arguments to full-blown struggles—are experienced as "evil," an obstacle, or a threat. Our instinctive reaction is usually to resist, push back, blame, or accuse, much like a boxing match where each side tries to overpower the other with their own strength. But what if the difficulty we face, the "evil" reflected through another, is nothing but an immense opportunity for deep inner change?
Two ancient doctrines, seemingly unrelated yet possessing a shared profoundness, offer us an alternative way to confront the opponent's power or the difficulty before us: Kabbalah and the martial art Aikido.
Hamtakah in Kabbalah: Turning Bitterness into Goodness
At the heart of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, lies a fundamental and profound concept: Hamtakah (Sweetening). This term refers to a process where a difficult or negative situation (sometimes called "Din" or "Gevurah," representing judgment or severity) is not nullified or eliminated. Instead, it transforms and reverses its original nature into a state of goodness, kindness, and mercy ("Chesed" or "Tiferet"). This is not an attempt to ignore the difficulty, but an active spiritual endeavor that allows light to shine specifically from within the darkness. Hamtakah is not merely an external change; it is a deep inner transformation of the situation's essence.
It's crucial to emphasize: Hamtakah does not mean we cancel or ignore the harsh reality. On the contrary. We acknowledge it, confront it, but change its internal essence and its effect on us. It's a kind of emotional alchemy: just as simple metal can be transformed into gold, we turn "evil" into "good." We don't seek a better alternative reality; instead, we precisely use what reality gives us to perform this transformation. In essence, the difficulty or conflict is the raw material we turn into gold through Hamtakah - that internal transformation we undertake. So, instead of hoping for a different reality, we embrace the current one and use it for the transformation we seek.
This approach is based on the understanding that we create our reality, consciously or not, and that everything that happens to us in life is meant to serve our growth by reflecting ourselves through life events and relationships.
Aikido: The Opponent's Power as a Catalyst for Self-Victory
In the martial art of Aikido, the guiding principle is using the opponent's strength, momentum, and impetus against them, rather than clashing head-on. This art is entirely based on blending (Ai) with the attacker's power and movement. The practitioner does not resist force at all; instead, they "turn" with it, redirecting the aggressive energy past them, thereby disrupting the attacker's balance. Aikido's philosophy aims to neutralize the attacker without causing unnecessary harm. More profoundly, it's an art for personal and spiritual development, teaching the practitioner to remain centered and calm under pressure, and not to be caught by ego or the attacker's force. In Aikido, the key is not in the power of resistance, but in the wisdom of blending and redirection.
Personal Conflict as an Opportunity for Self-Enlightenment
These principles, from Kabbalah and the martial art of Aikido, can serve as a roadmap for dealing with conflicts in our lives. Not necessarily to defeat the other, but to conquer the "evil" within us and transform it.
When we face a person who evokes negative reactions in us - anger, frustration, fear, criticism - or a seemingly unbearable external difficulty, we have two options:
1. React with external force: To blame, reject, demand, or fight. That is, to exert external force to "win" against the other or remove the difficulty. This is direct resistance to the force directed at us, which expends much energy and often leads not to a true solution but to escalation. It's like trying to block a direct blow instead of redirecting it.
2. Look inward and perform a transformation: Instead of clashing with the "evil" reflected through the other, we take the energy of the difficulty and redirect it inward. Similar to the Kabbalist who "sweetens" the judgment, or the Aikido practitioner who uses the opponent's force, we ask: "What "evil" or weakness within me is being reflected in this conflict? What inner wound is exposed? What part of me still needs correction?"
The greater the difficulty with the other, the greater the potential for change within me. Conflict becomes a powerful mirror revealing hidden corners of our psyche. The higher the tension, and the stronger the anger or pain reflected in us, the clearer the internal signal: here lies a personal battleground, but it's not against the other; it's within us.
The art is to take the power of resistance, of criticism, of the difficulty before us, and redirect it into ourselves. This is a process of inner "Hamtakah" (sweetening), composed of three stages:
- Recognition that the external "evil" is a reflection of an internal conflict within us;
- Acceptance of the difficulty as a lesson, not a punishment; and
- Transformation by using the immense energy generated by the conflict not as a means to clash with the other, but to illuminate and heal parts within us, transforming darkness into the light of insight and growth.
This path demands courage, deep introspection, and a willingness to let go of the need for external "victory." But the reward? It's immeasurable: inner peace, self-healing, and the ability to turn any external difficulty into a powerful catalyst for a deeper connection with the light within us. Conflict, instead of being a breaking point, becomes a turning point on our path to spiritual development.
Hamtakah in Daily Life: From Bitterness to Growth
Hamtakah isn't limited to extreme situations; you can apply it every day, in every moment of difficulty or frustration:
In an argument: Instead of reacting with anger, try to understand the other's perspective, sweeten your response, and find a point of agreement or compassion towards them. In failure: Instead of despairing from it, look for the lesson, the opportunity for growth, and turn the failure into a springboard for future success. In illness or pain: Instead of falling into sadness and trying to fight only the symptoms, try to find the inner strength to cope, understanding that illness is an internal call and an opportunity to examine where you've gone out of balance. Similar to Aikido, instead of fighting the force (illness) that speaks to us through the body - a fight often waged by battling symptoms alone - we transform the energy within the illness into internal healing. How? The key is to understand what the illness is trying to tell us and make the internal change that will restore balance, so we no longer need the illness to draw our attention to imbalance in the future. In this way, we use the power of the illness to heal it at its root.
Hamtakah is a spiritual art that demands practice, awareness, and continuous effort. It invites us not to fear darkness or difficulties, but to see them as sublime opportunities to bring light and discover the hidden good in everything.