Kabbalah glossary
Similarity of Form
השתוות הצורה Hishtavut HaTzura
Similarity of form is the Kabbalah principle that you draw closer to the Light by becoming like it, which means becoming more of a giver.
Similarity of form (hishtavut hatzura, השתוות הצורה), sometimes called equivalence of form, is a principle central to the Kabbalah of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag. In the spiritual world, closeness isn’t about distance; it’s about resemblance. Two things are close when they’re alike, and far apart when they’re different.
Applied to the Light
The Light is described as pure giving. So you draw closer to it, and it flows to you more freely, when you become more like it: more generous, more sharing, less grasping.
Why “like attracts like” isn’t quite it
This can sound like the law of attraction’s “like attracts like.” The difference is in what has to match. It isn’t your thoughts or feelings matching the thing you want. It’s your nature becoming more like the source of all good, which is giving.
In practice
Every time you give without keeping score, share what you’ve received or hold back a taking reaction, you’re practicing similarity of form. It’s less mystical than it sounds, and it’s very practical.
Last updated · By Teo Ashe