Awakening the vessels

All difficulties result from the Breaking of the Vessels that occurred prior to Creation. This happened because man had not yet been created below, and there was no awakening from below which is the primary means of creating vessels in which to receive God's light. Therefore, the more awakening from below that there is nowadays, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the more beautifully perfect the vessels will be.
This is the reason for the lengthy exile. Each time a soul that is distant from God is inspired and awakened, and uses its free will to move from where it is a little ways towards holiness there is a great improvement in general in the rectification of the ability of all of Creation to receive His light.

Paradigms of Opposition and Unity

The main purpose of Creation is to reveal the Unity of God, that Creation should know Him. This can only come about when there are two diametrically opposing paradigms that can unite and blend together. This reveals the true unity as it demonstrates His omnipotence, and all is equal before Him. Despite the fact that the paradigms appeared to be in opposition within each of them lies the Infinite which directs them both to the same end.

This is symbolized by the masculine-feminine dynamic in which the masculine represents Chesed, the ability to give and the feminine represents the constriction and limitation of that which was given. Despite the fact that they are completely different, they can unite and produce offspring which are the manifestation of their complete unity. This pattern repeats itself throughout the upper worlds in which opposite paradigms unite together and blend to create something new. By showing that the opposite forces of infinite giving and limiting molding do not prevent God's ability to have them together do His will.

This unity is apparent when the two forces are separate initially each powerfully manifesting what it represents. However at times the feminine and masculine are connected back-to-back. I.e. they are relating in a manner in which they share something in common in that the masculine has some of the constricting feminine energy and the feminine has some giving. In that state the unity of God is not manifest in their unity as they are not in opposition to each other. in the absence of feminine-masculine conflict there is no revelation of His omnipotence. The Gaon of Vlina compares it to the moon shining during the day. Its light is swallowed up by the sunlight as they are one and the same and we gain nothing from it.
נפש אליהו מבוא שערים שיעור ס

Partzufim: 2

This combination of the various Sefirot is symbolized by the form of a person (אדם). The Midrash teaches us that the clearest vision seen by the prophets was that of "על הכסא כדמות מראה אדם, On the throne was the form of the appearance of a person." Man incorporates all of the abilities that are found within all the spiritual realms. All of worlds and visions of the chariot are in the spiritual form of Man. It would be impossible to understand the depth of a portion of this form, without an understanding of its entirety.
A person consists of 248 limbs. Imagine if they were all disconnected and piled up. Could someone who has never seen a person figure out exactly how they should be put together, limb by limb? Similarly, without an overarching understanding of the combination of the Sefirot, one will end up with many contradictions as he studies Kabbalistic thought.
This was the main insight of the Ariza"l. He taught the concept of Partzufim, namely that the Sefirot are details in the form of Man which incorporates within it everything of the spiritual conduct of the world. By understanding the greater picture one can then appreciate the depth of each Sefira; what it does as part of the whole. By understanding each Sefira as part of a whole many questions that disturbed earlier Kabbalists are resolved.

Partzufim: 1

The Ariza"l is known to have opened new vistas in Kabbalistic understanding. The most fundamental point which he clarified is that earlier Kabbalists discussed נקודות, individual points, whereas the Ariza"l explained that there were פרצופים, partzufim,  literally faces, i.e. combinations of points, as well.
The fundamental building blocks of Kabbalistic understanding are the ספירות, Sefirot. These constitute ten "colors" of Divine conduct. (Literally, the word Sefirah means clear.) They are the atoms of Creation.
But they do not form the entire picture. The Sefirot only describe individual and very specific ways of God's conduct, חסד, kindness, גבורה, limitation, etc. When this Sefirah is on top, you get this result. When another is in ascendancy there is a different result. They are like points נקודות in which each point has a very limited definition. Each point stands individually on its own and there is no overarching picture.
This viewpoint does not allow you to see the entire picture because God's conduct is actually a combination of different colors all blended together. From all of them emanates one united purpose. The study of the details gives you only a superficial view.

The Bigger they Are....

Our Sages teach that the greater a person is the greater is his Yetzer Hora, his Evil Inclination. Why is this so?
It is a well known Kabbalistic concept that the primary drive behind Creation was because God desired to give Good to others. The Baal HaSulam teaches that as God's capacity to give is infinite He had to create an almost infinite capacity to receive His Goodness. Creating the ability to receive was the seminal act of Creation. This capacity to receive is un-Godlike as God is only a giver and not a receiver. As such, the ability to receive is synonymous with the Yetzer Hora as it is the epitome of un-Godliness.
Ultimately, our challenge as humans is to take our ability to receive and channel it into being givers. By doing so, we connect back with God and have raised the spiritual level of the world by bringing things full-circle. As a person gives he enlarges his capacity to receive bringing it ever closer to the almost infinite capacity to receive created by God.
This is why as a person becomes greater, i.e. he increases his giving of what he has to others, his Yetzer Hora, his capacity to receive, increases as well. 

Lights& Vessels; Inside & Out: 2

The purpose of Creation is for man to understand and cleave to Hashem. This understanding is referred to as אור, light. The entirety of the body of the person contributes to his minds ability to achieve this comprehension. They are the כלים, vessels, which facilitate the assimilation of the light.
There are two types of כלים. The limbs of a person serve him to achieve these comprehensions. So too, all other aspects of Creation work to this end as well. The distinction is that a person's limbs are direct contributors to a person's serving Hashem, whereas everything else does so in an indirect manner and are more distantly connected to the person's ability to serve Hashem.
This serves as a way to understand the distinction between the inner and outer vessels. Those which are direct are referred to as the inside. The indirect ones are the outside.

Lights& Vessels; Inside & Out: 1

We will begin this section by offering some definitions of Kabbalistic terms.

(A disclaimer: With many such concepts there are varying ways of understanding them. I do not assume that the way I am presenting is universally accepted or even that it properly conveys the understanding of the authors who I am studying. This is my understanding.)

When we speak of כלים, vessels, it is a reference to a person's (or some other spiritual being's) capacity to engage with and assimilate a particular spiritual concept. Spirituality is spoken of in terms of light, אור, and specifically the light is spoken about in terms of אור פנימי, the Inner Light, and אור מקיף, the Light which Surrounds.

The light of Hashem's spirituality is infinite and can't possibly be fully assimilated by one of His Creations. The אור פנימי is the quantity of light that a person can take within himself. It is that which can fit within his vessel. That which he can comprehend. That which is beyond his ability to conceive of remains אור מקיף, hovering about on the outside. It is there, but unattainable, and in much greater quantity than that which has been taken in.