[Issue 4] Aug 2011 The Wisdom Of Kabbalah ”These will accustom one’s heart and guide one until one cleaves to the Lord, as for that was man created. He was not created for acquiring fortunes or for building buildings. Hence, one should seek everything that will bring one to love Him, to learn wisdom and to seek faith.” Yehuda Ashlag (Baal Hasulam). Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot Special magazine for inmates
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[Issue 4] Aug 2011
The Wisdom Of
Kabbalah
”These will accustom one’s heart and guide one until one cleaves to the
Lord, as for that was man created. He was not created for acquiring fortunes or for building buildings. Hence, one should seek everything that will bring one to love Him, to learn wisdom and to seek faith.”
Yehuda Ashlag (Baal Hasulam). Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot
Special magazine for inmates
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL ................................................................................................................................... 3
INTENTION .................................................................................................................................. 4
KABBALAH FUNDAMENTALS ....................................................................................................... 5
The Wisdom of Kabbalah, Lecture 3 ........................................................................................ 5 Baal HaSulam about the Perception of Reality ...................................................................... 13 Comprehension test # 2 ......................................................................................................... 13 Answers to Comprehension Test #1 ....................................................................................... 13
ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND ............................................................................................ 14
Spiritual Path ......................................................................................................................... 14 The Dining Table .................................................................................................................... 18
AUTHENTIC KABBALAH TEXTS ................................................................................................... 29
Baal HaSulam: The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah ....................................................... 29 Rav Laitman: Lesson on the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”. Part 1 ......... 36
DAILY LESSON & RAV’S BLOG: SELECTED EXCERPTS................................................................... 46
We See What We Feel ............................................................................................................ 46 Every Person Should Adjust Himself From Within .................................................................. 46 Without Resistance ................................................................................................................ 47 The Force That Arises From Opposites ................................................................................... 47 Cries Won’t Help .................................................................................................................... 48 The Adapter Between Me And The New World ..................................................................... 49 The Wave That Carries Us Upward ........................................................................................ 50 Cursory Thoughts On Shamati, “There Is None Else Besides Him” ......................................... 50
YOUR INQUIRY .......................................................................................................................... 51
FEEDBACK ................................................................................................................................. 53
GOOD ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................... 54
SMILE! ................................................................................................................................... 56
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EDITORIAL
Dear friends,
Greetings! We are glad to present you with the fourth issue of our magazine and hope it finds you all in good health and good spirit.
As always the magazine opens with an ―Intention‖ part. Please take your time to attune yourself to the study, search for this right wave inside of you and then we‘ll proceed to what this issue has to offer you.
The ―Kabbalah Fundamentals‖ course continues with the basic concepts of the science. From today‘s issue you‘ll know more about how development of desires occurring in a person and lack of its fulfillment pushes him or her further in life to the environment where they finally start ―sensing‖ the possibility to fill their deepest need and discern the source of life.
This lecture will give you an introduction to the perception of reality – a complicated and complex subject that has been explored by Kabbalists starting as far back as four thousand years ago.
―Attaining the Worlds Beyond‖ talk in more detail about the stages that a person goes through while instinctively searching for the right path to his or her spiritual development. Next in the section is the sketch called the ―Dining Table‖. Based on the example given by Baal HaSulam, this short play illustrates the whole method that constitutes Kabbalah as a science of reception - a science of how a human can start perceiving the Giver, connecting to him and receiving from him.
In ―Authentic Kabbalah Texts‖ you‘ll find the original article ―The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah‖ by Baal HaSulam. It is followed by a text of Rav‘s lesson explaining the meaning of what is being discussed in the article. This lesson is the first one in the series of the lectures that were given by Rav in 2005 devoted to interpretation of this particular article. In the coming issues of the magazine you‘ll be presented with all of them - and will be able to go through thorough and detailed analyses for deeper understanding.
The ―Daily Lesson & Rav‘s Blog‖ is going to bring you to the atmosphere of the current discussions in Bnei Baruch through the topics that have been talked about recently.
―Your Inquiry‖ is a new section. It is designed as a place to address the questions that you raise in your letters. Not all the questions have made it to this issue; we are going to get back to tackle them in the next issues..
It‘s our pleasure to share the ―Feedback‖ that we receive from you. Thank you for your support. We really appreciate it.
Groups of our friends from Tel Aviv, the United Kingdom, Belarus and South Africa make up the ―Good environment‖ today.
In Unity, Editors of the "The Wisdom of Kabbalah" magazine
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INTENTION
How can it be possible that everything depends on our thoughts?
Source: ―Intention from the Heart‖, and Rav‘s blog at www.laitman.com
How can it be possible that everything depends on our thoughts? A person has to analyze his thoughts and perceptions. This analysis can be conducted only according to the scheme in which a person attributes everything that happens to the Creator.
If a person is inclined to attribute to the Creator everything that happens to him, as well as everything he contains and the sum of everything called ―his world‖; this tendency is called ―a person‘s work.‖
I am referring to working with thoughts, as it was said: ―Everything will become clarified in the thought.‖ All of the clarifications are performed only by way of thoughts. After all, what is thought?
The material actions of our physiological body do not influence the spiritual. This is clear. The physiological body does not even have a relation to the desires that are present in it. The desires for food, sex, honor, money and power do not belong to the body. Rather, they are merely clothed in it.
Even though we perceive them through our bodies, nevertheless these desires are not attributed to the body.
When we are talking about the analysis with regard to Divinity, the first phase consists in attributing everything to the Creator. In the second phase, this attribution to the Creator will lead a person to the intention for the sake of bestowal. When this happens, the entire work concludes. There is nothing more.
AA ppeerrssoonn wwhhoo eennccoouunntteerrss KKaabbbbaallaahh bbrriinnggss LLiigghhtt iinnttoo hhiiss lliiffee,,
wwiitthh LLiigghhtt bbeeiinngg tthhee oonnllyy ppoossiittiivvee ffoorrccee tthhaatt eexxiissttss iinn rreeaalliittyy..
AA ppeerrssoonn tthheenn bbeeggiinnss ttoo sseeee eevveerryytthhiinngg tthhaatt hhaappppeennss aass
ddeevveellooppmmeenntt tthhrroouugghh ccaauussee aanndd eeffffeecctt,, aanndd hhee bbeeggiinnss ttoo sseeee aallll ooff
hhiiss pprroobblleemmss ccoorrrreeccttllyy -- aass ddiirreeccttiinngg hhiimm ttoo tthhee ggooaall..
KKaabbbbaallaahh ggiivveess hhiimm ppoowweerr aanndd rreeaassoonn ttoo ccoonnttrrooll hhiiss ffaattee.. IItt
ggiivveess aa ppeerrssoonn tthhee UUppppeerr LLiigghhtt aanndd tteeaacchheess hhiimm hhooww ttoo ccoonnttrrooll iitt
wwiitthhiinn tthhee ppeerrmmiitttteedd lliimmiittss aanndd cciirrccuummssttaanncceess.. AAllll ooff tthhiiss bbeeggiinnss wwiitthh
oonnee ffiirrsstt eennccoouunntteerr..
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KABBALAH FUNDAMENTALS
The Wisdom of Kabbalah, Lecture 3
Source: Rav Michael Laitman ―The Wisdom of Kabbalah‖
Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman lowercase italics: emphasized words Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew
During previous lessons, we discussed the substance of creation, which is the
desire to receive. The Creator created it Yesh mi Ain (existence from absence). However, we do not discuss this from the Creator‘s point of view, but rather from man‘s position. Man develops and begins to reveal himself in this world in the historical process of his advancement. Because of his development, he arrives at more developed desires, and he leaves his family and his village in order to move to the city. After that, he arrives at the level of the nation, then the level of the whole world. In fact, even the whole world becomes too small for him, and he wants even more.
He begins to understand that he cannot receive satisfaction from anything he does in this world, meaning from his work, family, and his insignificant life. This pushes him to develop further and is especially taking place in our day, when we already have the opportunity to realize all of our desires. However, we see that people who have great opportunities in this world and who do not have boundaries over what they are able to do, are precisely those people who suffer more than everyone else, because they perceive a huge emptiness. They are simply miserable.
Just as we aspire to develop in order to go onto a better situation whenever we perceive emptiness in one state, the same thing apparently occurs with us and with all of humanity today. The emptiness we perceive now, and the forces that are influencing us, are necessary to give us a push toward development in order to ascend to the following level.
However, there exists an additional difficulty here. If we were to develop within the boundaries of this world, we would then at least understand how to develop. For example, slavery existed, and then wars and revolutions took place that led to a more liberal society and the development of industry, and so on. Man passes from one state to another; he becomes freer and more capable of fulfilling himself. However, he always, in a concrete form, sees the next level before him (the following level of his development or man‘s development) as a variety of opportunities. There have been many famous individuals in history that ascended and moved humanity in various directions, and it advanced forward for better or for worse.
In the present time, however, we feel that both individuals as well as all humanity are searching and that emptiness is becoming stronger. It is difficult for a person to understand what he should aspire to. This difficulty reaches such a level that people want to block out their desires. For example, they do not want to buy anything new. People have complained to me that they do not want to buy the new telephones of the third generation. They do not want novelties because they also quickly become obsolete. Once upon a time, renewals took place every few years, such as during the Middle Ages, or they took place once every few decades. This happened naturally. In our time, however, something becomes renewed every year.
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However, man already understands, feels, and remembers that no novelty will add anything to his life. In this case, why introduce all these novelties? He is already tired of the fact that he is being used in his effort with an empty Kli (vessel) and that he will be unable to receive pleasure in exchange for what others want to sell to him. This is becoming so apparent to him that he no longer wants this kind of advancement. This is the reason for drugs, depression, and disillusionment in technological development. Once upon a time, people thought that this might provide a person with prosperity, freedom, a good sensation and that they would feel some sort of fulfillment from it. What fulfillment?
Today this is even clearer to us, and even the youth are not enticed by such adventures. All of this is a sign that our development on the level of our world has exhausted itself to some degree, and that we have necessities that we do not understand very well. They are pushing us toward a different kind of development.
However, how can we come to this kind of development? Man can neither remain in a state of inaction nor cease to attempt to find meaning for himself. He, nevertheless, wants to fulfill himself with at least something. However, we do not want to develop in a direction that is concealed from us, a direction that we do not understand or feel, and when we do, we only feel a lack; nevertheless, we do not feel it as a goal.
Today, no philosopher or politician can say clearly or with certainty what forms of reality lie ahead for man or the world. Moreover, suppose man does achieve a form that fulfills every desire, one that gives him a genuine perception of freedom, fulfillment, confidence, or even a wonderful perception of life with regard to the youth, adults and so on. Any person can invent any variety of theories, but these can no longer be accepted in the world as possibilities for potential development.
All of this demonstrates that we do not have the solution or the medicine for our condition, and we do not have a goal. This contradicts all development that occurred until now. Long ago, Kabbalists said that the Wisdom of Kabbalah must develop in a state of darkness and despair, meaning, it must manifest and show every person who aspires to advance and to develop what to do with his emptiness and his life. When a person has this desire, the Wisdom of Kabbalah shows him the genuine reality by explaining what occurs beyond this world, how to achieve the consciousness, understanding, and existence in all of reality. That is, he achieves these things not only in this reality but also in a more external reality; he can understand and use it. In addition, when a person draws on the entire universe, he will fulfill himself and achieve an eternal, perfect life that is full of prosperity.
Why? Because the need that is presently manifesting and the one that was revealed over the course of generations passed is the necessity for a fulfillment that comes by attaining the Upper World. This is because all fulfillments come to us from there.
We reside within the limited boundaries of our world.Each of us is a black point. Every fulfillment we receive comes from the Upper World; they pass to us through the Upper World. The fulfillment of every desire experienced over the thousands of years of our development (since about 10,000 years ago until the present day)—for example, of bodily pleasures, money, honors and knowledge, as well as every person‘s exact proportion—we have always received from the Upper World. Every fulfillment we have ever received has always been from there.
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Drawing No. 1
However, they come to us from above, dressed in our varied animal pleasures. For example, suppose the desire for money comes to a person. Whenever the pleasure comes dressed as money, he is not satisfied. This is because the pleasure has come to him dressed as money; nonetheless, a person prefers pleasure dressed in nothing at all. That is, he wants abstract pleasure. Therefore, the more he chases this clothing the more this aspiration leads him to ever-greater disappointment. Finally, after all these pleasures, he comes to the state where he understands, within his point in the heart, that he does not want such clothing as family, honor, and knowledge. He understands that he needs the source itself, meaning the Upper World from where all pleasures come.
Ultimately, this is what all these clothes, concealments, or external manifestations of pleasures bring us. Our understanding of life, along with our intellect, advances to the level where we begin to realize that there are abstract existences that escape us more and more. However, it is precisely they that contain strength, information, and power, and precisely this can bring us greater pleasure and fulfillment. In this way, our world prepares us for the state where we begin to desire something that is located above matter, located above this clothing: clothing within which pleasures come to us in the form of sex, family, money, honor and knowledge. Instead of these, a person wants the fulfillment itself.
Drawing No. 2
Yet, how do we achieve this? When we observe and analyze the laws of this world, we notice that there is essentially a single law: the law of equivalence of form. This law states that all matter consists in various properties of the desire to receive.Thus, it feels good within its inner attributes when all the attributes are in harmony with the environment or equivalent to it. Every one of us and every element of nature aspire toward this state.
Let us take, for example, the force of universal attraction. When I hold up something and let go of it, this object falls because it aspires to become more equivalent to its environment. What does it mean: ―it falls‖? It acquires the place, form, and position within which it is maximally balanced with its environment. Every one of us is the same way.
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Take the human body as an example; all of its organs are in the state of balance between inner and outer pressures. We can perceive light, sound, but we perceive them only to the degree of our equivalence of form. This also relates to the devices we use in order to measure anything.
How do we measure an incoming electric impulse? The measuring device contains an arrow and an inductive spool through which the electric impulse passes. This spool transforms the impulse into an electromagnetic wave, which then pushes an arrow that is connected to a spring. It is in this way that we measure the balance of a device, a radio, a telescope or a microscope. It does not matter what we build or how it is constructed; everything is constructed on the principle of equivalence of form, or the balance between inner with outer.
Therefore, a person within whom the desire for honor manifests, ―smells,‖ so to speak, where he will be able to develop this desire correctly in order to fulfill himself and where he will be able to receive its fulfillment. He then advances in life by trying out various organizations, books, areas of study—everything he can possibly do in order to achieve this. If the desire for money emerges in him, then he returns to the environment of people who talk about this, who discuss this, and who study how to do this or how to ―get ahead‖ in this. If the desire for knowledge emerges in him, then of course he yearns for the corresponding material, books, and people; he listens and so on.
When the point in the heart awakens in him, he instinctively and quite unconsciously begins the search. He does not know how it happens (I wrote about how I came to Rabash in one of my books), but this brings him to the right place. He suddenly hears that someone is telling him something; he suddenly sees a book or some advertisement in a newspaper. However, millions of people see these advertisements, read these books, and hear some announcement without reacting to them. Yet, he reacts, because he has a point in the heart; he has a desire for this.
Afterwards, he reacts to it. What does this mean? He feels that he can find balance and peace; that he can fulfill the desire that has now manifested in him. In the same way that an electric charge finds its place in an electric field, or an object falls that hangs in the air, or how a piece of metal moves as it chooses its place in a magnetic field, so too does a person come to the necessary and best place. A person chooses a group in just this way. It is said that the Creator or the Upper Force brings him to the correct place.
The Upper Force, or the Creator, is the common law of reality, because nature is the Creator according to Gimatria. It draws a person, as a piece of iron to a magnet, to the place where he is now able to receive fulfillment and development. This is how a person comes to the books, to the group, and this is how he finds an instructor. Therefore, we should not worry about people who do not come. In addition, we should not worry about our loved ones either. Many people come to me with the request to influence their children and loved ones. For example, one wonders why someone‘s husband does not want to study. As a rule, this is a very popular question.
When the desire emerges, a person will find the place. However, where there is no desire, we are forbidden to awaken it because everything must develop naturally and gradually. Otherwise, it is considered coercion, and this is against the common law of the spiritual reality, which states that there is no compulsion in the spiritual.
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What does it mean, that there is no compulsion in the spiritual? As we observe from generation to generation, humanity has moved along the path of a natural development of its desire. The same is true now, when the point in the heart is awakening in man. Allow it to develop naturally, and in this way a person comes to the correct place and the correct environment.
We have already somewhat discussed how we perceive reality around us.
Drawing No. 4
We are a kind of box with five openings: eyes for sight, ears for hearing, nose for smell, mouth for taste, and hands for touch. (To be more precise regarding touch, it is not only the hands; the whole body possesses this ability.) There also exist sensations that derive from inner organs. However, it is easier to index things this way. In all our sense perceptions, we perceive an external reality that surrounds us according to our equivalence of form to it (or equivalence of our attributes). As I experience pressure on my eyes, ears, the nerve endings of the organs of smell, taste, and touch, I perceive and balance this pressure. That is, I measure it in the same way as the arrow that measures balance. This is how I measure what is coming to me.
When a certain pressure influences me, it takes place within me. I perceive this pressure when it passes through my unique Kli, for example—sight. In this way, I perceive, but this does not mean that there exist visible waves around me. When a pressure excites me or my organ of perception such as my eyes, this stimulus evokes the picture of light or darkness. Pressure on a different organ such as the nerve endings of the organ of smell, or perception of smell, evokes various odors. Influence or pressure on another one of my organs of perception will evoke a bouquet of tastes or a variety of tactile sensations.
That is, I do not know what exists outside, but I imagine that which is unknown to me depending on the reaction of my sense organs. If my sense organs were constructed differently, I would feel, see, hear, and smell in a quite different manner. Maybe I would perceive everything around me as a block of concrete with me inside of it, without any ability to move. Moreover, what I now perceive as light might appear as darkness. On the other hand, maybe everything would be very different. My entire world is what stands before me as the sum of the perceptions of my five sense organs.
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Drawing No. 5
At the same time, I have a mind and memory; I have the ability to compare what I see and feel with what I have in my memory. According to this, I evaluate what enters me or my impressions. According to this, I make deductions and begin to understand. Taking into consideration our entire upbringing, experience and previous incarnations, our memory quickly gives us an understanding of our place and how we may utilize it.
After comparing data from our memory and information received from the sense organs, as Baal HaSulam writes, everything passes through a particular screen by which the picture of the world appears, as in a movie theater. It is built only on the information that has impressed us or what we have perceived from the outside, even without knowing what it is. We have also compared it with what we have in our memory and brain. It seems as if this picture is located outside of us and that everyone knows this. However, this is only a mere appearance; it is completely not the case.
Drawing No. 6
Therefore, Kabbalists call our world (meaning what we now imagine to be located in front of us) ―the world of illusions.‖ These things are known and simple, and every person understands this. However, this is not what is most important.
Question: Where does the decision take place that determines which of my sense organs will be affected by the pressure?
All my sense organs are nothing more than sensors or devices for perception that I am able to replace with mechanical or electronic devices. Currently this is being done quite successfully. For example, it is easy to create an artificial eye in place of the natural eye, or to model our nerves in the form of electronic impulses. These things are obvious, and there is nothing special about them.
It is true that we do not possess all the technology for it, but this is only temporary. From nature‘s point of view, there are no limitations to man‘s ability to do
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this. We can do practically anything with our animal body. We can change or replace everything in it. We can create a person with all five senses in such a way that there would be no difference between an artificial ear, for example, and our natural biological ear.
We can create an ear that might possess a broader range of correspondence with the external world. In this case, we could hear other creatures, hear sounds that we currently do not hear and see things that we do not see. For example, we would be able to see different colors or to see in the dark. This is not a problem.
The problem consists in the fact that we will always attach our inner picture to this. For example, I can turn off all perceptions that come from a person‘s sense organs (I used to do this in the past), and begin influencing them with electric shocks. We can provide an impulse that would cause a person to think that he sees some things or that he is located in another place. Although I do not show him this place, nevertheless according to the signal I give him some sort of memories unravel in his consciousness. In this case, he begins to imagine these things due to the mutual effect of my influence and his memory: he travels somewhere or imagines something abstract.
Drawing No. 7
To be precise, there is nothing genuine in all these perceptions; they do not have a real connection with the external reality. We cannot even say whether it exists at all. All our excitation is internal, and our entire picture of the external world is located within us.
Later, in the Wisdom of Kabbalah, we will study why we are constructed this way and for what purpose. In essence, we are studying all this now as well, as in a lesson in school. This is necessary in order to understand how limited our perceptions are and that all our concepts are internal; they are based on our memory and the reactions of our sense organs. We do not know what is located outside of our sense organs. Moreover, the question arises whether anything exists outside of us at all. I do not know. Does any question about the external and internal even have any meaning? After all, the very concept of ―outside‖ and ―inside‖ may be only an illusion and nothing more.
A desire awakens in us, which is called a ―point in the heart.‖ This desire is not one that stimulates the normal organs of perception. We have a desire to use our organs of perception, such as when I want to see, hear, smell, and understand. To understand is already a sum of desires. Each perception of a sense organ contains many other distinct characteristics that our brain adds. What specific pleasure do I want to feel from sight, sound, smell, or any combination of them?
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If I see something beautiful, it should have a particular color, smell and a specific texture. My desire, which stimulates my organs of perception, is very complex. It is based on memories of what gave me pleasure in the past. I arouse this within me and attune my sense organs in such a way that they search for what will give them pleasure. However, this desire is organized relative to my five sense organs, my mind, and my memory.
Suddenly, there emerges a desire called a ―point in the heart.‖ Currently, this desire is awakening in many people, and it does not affect the aforementioned sense organs. They cannot give it any kind of fulfillment. The mind and memory do not exist for it. Everything that relates to the point in the heart is something new, something that does not exist within us. This comes to the surface from a concealed place and begins to confuse us by separating us from our perceptions and memories.
Drawing No. 8
We already perceive that we do not want any of this and that we are bored with this life. I do not know where to derive pleasure; I do not know what to do, and I force myself to move with difficulty. A modern person speaks this way. The reason for this is that the memory, the mind, and the point in the heart are coming from a new Kli (vessel) called the ―soul.‖ After this Kli, a new screen will emerge to show a person a new reality. This reality differs from the previous one in which he saw this world. It is a completely different mechanism. If a person develops it, then this point in the heart will become an additional sixth organ of perception. In this case, the mind and memory will acquire a different development, and through this system, a person will see a completely different picture.
However, a question arises: will this new picture be just as illusory and dependent on my sense organs and dependent on the way I conceive of it, and call it the external world? It is not an external world at all. Is it possible that we are not located in an external reality? Alternatively, will I be able to describe what I shall perceive as something located outside of me? Or, could it be that one of my systems will be called the external and the internal as opposed to some other? We will talk more about this later.
However, undoubtedly, the development that nature compels me to acquire is completely different. This new path is directed toward manifesting completely new things and revealing new horizons.
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Baal HaSulam about the Perception of Reality
TTaakkee oouurr sseennssee ooff ssiigghhtt,, ffoorr eexxaammppllee:: wwee sseeee aa wwiiddee wwoorrlldd bbeeffoorree uuss,,
wwoonnddrroouussllyy ffiilllleedd.. BBuutt iinn ffaacctt,, wwee sseeee aallll tthhaatt oonnllyy iinn oouurr oowwnn iinntteerriioorr.. IInn ootthheerr
wwoorrddss,, tthheerree iiss aa ssoorrtt ooff aa pphhoottooggrraapphhiicc mmaacchhiinnee iinn oouurr hhiinnddbbrraaiinn,, wwhhiicchh
ppoorrttrraayyss eevveerryytthhiinngg tthhaatt aappppeeaarrss ttoo uuss aanndd nnootthhiinngg oouuttssiiddee ooff uuss..
FFoorr tthhaatt,, HHee hhaass mmaaddee ffoorr uuss tthheerree,, iinn oouurr bbrraaiinn,, aa kkiinndd ooff ppoolliisshheedd
mmiirrrroorr tthhaatt iinnvveerrttss eevveerryytthhiinngg sseeeenn tthheerree,, ssoo wwee wwiillll sseeee iitt oouuttssiiddee oouurr bbrraaiinn,, iinn
ffrroonntt ooff oouurr ffaaccee.. YYeett,, wwhhaatt wwee sseeee oouuttssiiddee uuss iiss nnoott aa rreeaall tthhiinngg.. NNoonneetthheelleessss,,
wwee sshhoouulldd bbee ssoo ggrraatteeffuull ttoo HHiiss PPrroovviiddeennccee ffoorr hhaavviinngg ccrreeaatteedd tthhaatt ppoolliisshheedd
mmiirrrroorr iinn oouurr bbrraaiinnss,, eennaabblliinngg uuss ttoo sseeee aanndd ppeerrcceeiivvee eevveerryytthhiinngg oouuttssiiddee ooff uuss..
TThhiiss iiss bbeeccaauussee bbyy tthhaatt,, HHee hhaass ggiivveenn uuss tthhee ppoowweerr ttoo ppeerrcceeiivvee eevveerryytthhiinngg wwiitthh
cclleeaarr kknnoowwlleeddggee aanndd aattttaaiinnmmeenntt,, aanndd mmeeaassuurree eevveerryytthhiinngg ffrroomm wwiitthhiinn aanndd ffrroomm
wwiitthhoouutt..
EEvveenn tthhoouugghh wwee sseeee eevveerryytthhiinngg aass aaccttuuaallllyy bbeeiinngg iinn ffrroonntt ooff uuss,, eevveerryy
rreeaassoonnaabbllee ppeerrssoonn kknnoowwss ffoorr cceerrttaaiinn tthhaatt aallll tthhaatt wwee sseeee iiss oonnllyy wwiitthhiinn oouurr oowwnn
bbrraaiinnss.. SSoo aarree tthhee ssoouullss:: AAlltthhoouugghh tthheeyy sseeee aallll tthhee iimmaaggeess iinn tthhee GGiivveerr,, tthheeyy
ssttiillll hhaavvee nnoo ddoouubbtt tthhaatt aallll tthheessee aarree oonnllyy iinn tthheeiirr oowwnn iinntteerriioorr,, aanndd nnoott aatt aallll iinn
tthhee GGiivveerr..
BBaaaall HHaaSSuullaamm,, ““PPrreeffaaccee ttoo tthhee BBooookk ooff ZZoohhaarr,,”” IItteemm 3344
Comprehension test # 2
1. What does the “law of equivalence of form” pertain to? How does it manifest itself in Nature? In what natural phenomena can it be observed?
2. Why do Kabbalists call our world “the world of illusion”?
Answers to Comprehension Test #1
2.B 4.D 7.C 10.B
3.B 5.D 9.C
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ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND
Spiritual Path
Source: Rav Michael Laitman ―Attaining the Worlds Beyond‖
Our need to perceive the Divine makes us spare no effort in attempting to solve all of nature‘s mysteries, leaving no stone unturned either in ourselves or in our environment. But only the yearning to perceive the Creator is a true yearning, since He is the source of everything and, above all, He is our Creator. Therefore, even if a human being existed alone in this world, or in other worlds, one‘s search for the self would inevitably lead to a search for the Creator.
There are two lines that reveal the Creator‘s influence on His creations. The right line represents His personal Providence over each of us regardless of our actions. The left line represents the Providence over each of us, depending on our actions. It stands for punishment for evil deeds and reward for good ones.
When we choose a certain time to proceed along the right line, we must tell ourselves that everything in the world happens only because the Creator wants it to happen. Everything proceeds according to His plan, and nothing depends on us.
From this point of view, we have neither faults nor merits. Our actions are determined by the aspirations that we receive from the outside.
We must therefore thank the Creator for all that we receive from Him. Moreover, realizing that the Creator leads us to eternity, we can develop feelings of love for Him. We can move forward with a proper combination of the right and left lines, aiming exactly at the middle. That is, we can advance only along the line that is exactly halfway between them.
Yet, even if we begin to advance from a correct starting point, if we don‘t know exactly how to continually check and correct our course, we are sure to deviate from the correct path. Furthermore, if we make even the slightest deviation at any point along the journey, then our error will increase with every step as we continue moving forward. Consequently, we will get farther and farther from our set goal.
Before our souls descend into this world, they are a part of the Creator, a tiny element of Him. This element is known as ―the root of the soul.‖ The Creator places the soul into the body so it can elevate the body‘s desires when the soul rises and merges with the Creator again.
In other words, the soul is placed into the body when a person is born into this world to overcome the desires of the body. By overcoming the desires of the body, the soul ascends to the same spiritual level it descended from, experiencing far greater pleasures than it had in its initial state when it was part of the Creator. At this point, a tiny element is transformed into a whole spiritual body, and is 620 times greater than was the original element before it descended into this world.
Thus, in its complete state, the spiritual body of the soul consists of 620 parts, or organs. Each part is considered to be a spiritual law or spiritual act (mitzvah). The Light of the Creator or the Creator himself (which are the same) that fills every part of the soul is called ―Torah.‖
When we ascend to a new spiritual level, it is called “fulfilling a spiritual law.” As a result of this elevation, new altruistic aspirations are created and the
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soul receives the Torah, the Light of the Creator.
The true path to this goal proceeds along the middle line. This implies combining three concepts into one: the human being, the path to follow, and the Creator. Indeed, three objects exist in the world: the human being, who is striving to return to the Creator, the path one needs to follow in order to reach the Creator, and the Creator, the goal toward which the human being is striving.
As has been said many times, there is nothing that truly exists except the Creator, and we are but His creations, endowed with a sense of our own existence. We come to recognize this clearly in the course of our spiritual ascent.
All of our perceptions, or rather, the perceptions we see as our own, are but responses to the Divine Acts He has produced in us. In the end, our feelings are only what He wants us to feel.
As long as we have not yet fully comprehended this truth, we will see not one, but three separate concepts: the self, the path to the Creator, and the Creator Himself. However, once we have reached the final stage of spiritual development, once we have ascended to the same level from which our souls descended--only this time with all our desires corrected-- we can receive the Creator completely into our spiritual body.
Then, we will receive all the Light of the Creator and the Creator Himself. In this manner, the three objects that once existed separately in our perception: ourselves, our spiritual path, and the Creator merge to become a single entity--the spiritual body filled with Light.
Therefore, to ensure that we proceed correctly, we must conduct regular checks while advancing on the spiritual path. This will ensure that we strive for all three objects with an equally powerful desire from the very outset, regardless of the fact that we perceive the three objects to be separate.
From the outset, we must work to blend them into one; at the end of the path, this will be apparent. They are, in fact, apparent now, even though we are unable to see them as such, due to our own imperfections.
If we strive for one of the three objects more than for the others, we will immediately deviate from the true path. The simplest way to check whether we are still on the true path is to determine whether we are striving to comprehend the characteristics of the Creator in order to become one with Him.
―If I am not for me, then who is for me? And if I am only concerned with myself, then what am I?‖ These contradictory statements reflect the conflicting attitudes we face when considering our efforts to attain a set personal goal. On the one hand, we must believe that there is no one to turn to for help but ourselves, and act with the certainty that our good deeds will be rewarded and our evil deeds will be punished.
We, as individuals, must believe that our own actions have direct consequences, and that we build our own futures. On the other hand, we must say to ourselves, "Who am I, to be able to defeat my own nature by myself? Yet, no one else can help me either."
Providence of the Creator
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If everything happens according to the Creator‘s plan, then what good are our efforts? As a result of our own work, based on the principle of reward and punishment, we acquire from Above an understanding of the Creator‘s rule. We then rise to a level of consciousness where we clearly see that it is the Creator who rules everything and that everything is predetermined.
First, however, we must reach this stage, and until we do, we cannot determine that everything is in the hands of the Creator. Also, until we reach that stage, we cannot live or act according to its laws, for this is not how we understand the world to operate. Therefore, we can act only according to the laws of which we are aware.
Only when we have put forth efforts based on the principle of "reward and punishment" do we become worthy of the Creator‘s complete trust. Only then do we have the right to see the true picture of the world, as well as the way it operates. And when we arrive at this stage, and realize that everything depends on the Creator, we long for Him.
One cannot oust selfish thoughts and desires from one‘s heart and leave it empty. Only by filling the heart with spiritual, altruistic desires instead of selfish ones can we replace the old aspirations with opposite ones, and in this way obliterate egoism.
Those of us who love the Creator are sure to feel revulsion toward egoism, since we know from personal experience how much harm the ego can cause.
However, we may not have the means to rid ourselves of the ego, and will eventually realize that it is beyond our power to oust egoism, since it was the Creator who had endowed us, His creations, with this quality.
Although we cannot rid ourselves of egoism by our own efforts, the sooner we realize that egoism is our enemy and our spiritual exterminator, the stronger will be our hatred of it. Eventually, this hatred will bring the Creator to help us overcome the enemy; in this way, even our egoism will serve the purpose of spiritual elevation.
The Talmud says, "I created the world only for the completely righteous and for the complete sinners." It is understandable why the world would be created for the absolutely righteous, but why wasn‘t the world also created for those who are neither absolutely righteous nor absolute sinners?
We inadvertently perceive Providence according to the way it affects us. It is ―good‖ and ―kind‖ if it is agreeable to us, and ―harsh‖ if it causes us suffering. That is, we consider the Creator either good or bad, depending on how we perceive our world.
Thus, there are only two ways for human beings to perceive the Providence of the Creator over the world. Either we perceive the Creator and see life as wonderful, or we deny the Creator‘s Providence over the world, and assume the world is ruled by ―forces of nature.‖
Though we may realize that the latter scenario is unlikely, our emotions, rather than our reason, determine our attitude toward the world. Hence, when we observe the disparity between our emotions and our reason, we begin to consider ourselves as sinners.
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When we understand that the Creator wants to bestow only benefit and good, we realize this is possible only by drawing closer to Him. Thus, if we feel distanced from the Creator, we perceive this as "bad," and then we consider ourselves to be sinners.
But if we feel ourselves to be so evil that we cry out to the Creator to save us, asking the Creator to reveal Himself to give us the power to break out from the prison of our egoism into the spiritual world, then the Creator will help us instantly.
It is for this form of human condition that this world and the higher worlds were created.
When we reach the level of absolute sinner, we can cry out to the Creator and eventually rise to the level of the absolutely righteous.
Thus, we can only become worthy of perceiving the Creator‘s greatness after we have rid ourselves of all conceit and realized the impotence and the baseness of our personal desires.
The more importance we ascribe to becoming close to the Creator, the more we perceive Him and the better we can discern the Creator‘s various nuances and manifestations in our daily lives. This deep, impressive awe of Him will give rise to feelings in our hearts, and as a result joy will flow in.
We can see that we are no better than those around us, and yet we can also see that, unlike us, others have not earned the Creator‘s special attention. Moreover, others are not even aware that the possibility of communicating with the Creator exists. Nor do they really care to perceive the Creator and understand the meaning of life and spiritual progress.
On the other hand, we are not clear how we merited such a special relationship with the Creator, in that we are granted, if only just occasionally, the opportunity to concern ourselves with the purpose of life and our bond with the Creator.
If, at that point, we can appreciate the uniqueness of the Creator‘s attitude toward us, then we can experience boundless gratitude and joy. The more we can appreciate individual success, the more deeply we can thank the Creator.
The more nuance of feeling we can experience at each particular point and instant of contact with the Creator, the better we can appreciate the greatness of the spiritual world that is revealed to us, as well as the greatness and might of the omnipotent Creator. This results in stronger confidence with which we can anticipate our future unification with Him.
When contemplating the vast difference between the characteristics of the Creator and those of His created beings, it is easy to arrive at the conclusion that the Creator and created can only become compatible if the created beings alter their absolutely egoistic nature. This is only possible if the created nullify themselves as if they do not exist; thus, there is nothing to separate them from their Creator.
Only if we feel that, without receiving a spiritual life, we are dead (as when life has left the body), and only if we feel a compelling desire for a spiritual life, can we receive the possibility of entering this spiritual life, to breathe spiritual air.
Realizing the Creator’s Rule
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How can we rise to a spiritual level where we have completely eradicated self-interest and self-concern? How can our desire to devote ourselves to the Creator become our only goal, so much so that without attaining this goal, we feel as if we were dead?
Rising to this level takes place gradually and is processed in the form of feedback. The more effort we make in our quest for a spiritual path, both in studying and in emulating spiritual objects, the more convinced we will become of our utter inability to achieve this goal by ourselves. The more we study texts that are important for our spiritual development, the more confusing and disorganized the material will appear. The better we try to treat our instructors and peers, if we are indeed advancing spiritually, the clearer it will become that all our actions are dictated by egoism.
Such results follow the principle: Force him until he says, "I do.” We can rid ourselves of egoism only if we grasp that egoism causes death by holding us back from realizing true, eternal life, filled with delight.
Developing a hatred toward egoism will eventually lead to our liberation from it.
Most important is our desire to give ourselves fully to the Creator by realizing His greatness. (Giving oneself to the Creator means to separate from the "I").
At this point, we must decide which is a more worthy goal: to attain: transient values or eternal ones. Nothing that we have created remains forever; all is transient. Only spiritual structures such as altruistic thoughts, acts, and feelings are eternal.
Therefore, by striving to emulate the Creator in our thoughts, desires and efforts, we are, in fact, building the structure of our own eternity. However, dedicating yourself to the Creator is only possible when we realize the Creator‘s greatness.
It is the same in our world: If we consider someone great, we are happy to be of service to that person. We may even feel that the recipient of our gift has done us a favor by accepting it, rather than the other way around.
This example shows that the intention of an action can change the external form of a mechanical act—giving or taking—to its opposite. Therefore, the more praiseworthy we regard the Creator, the more readily will we give Him all of our thoughts, desires and efforts
But in doing so, we actually feel that we are receiving from, rather than giving to, Him. We feel that we are being given an opportunity to render a service, an opportunity that is only bestowed upon a few worthy ones in each generation. This can further be clarified by the example provided in the following short play.
The Dining Table
Act One
In a brightly lit house with spacious rooms, a pleasant-looking man is busy in the kitchen. He is preparing a meal for his long-awaited guest. While hovering over the pots and pans, he reminds himself of the delicacies his guest so enjoys.
The host‘s joyous anticipation is very evident. Gracefully, with the moves of a dancer, he fills the table with five different courses. Next to the table are two cushioned chairs.
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There is a knock on the door, and the guest enters. The host‘s face brightens at the sight of the guest and he invites him to sit at the dining table. The guest sits down and the host looks at him fondly.
The guest regards the delicacies in front of him and sniffs them from a courteous distance. It is apparent that he likes what he sees, but he expresses his admiration with tactful restraint, not revealing that he knows the food is meant for him.
Host: Do sit down. I‘ve made these things especially for you because I know how much you like them. We both know how familiar I am with your tastes and dining habits. I know you‘re hungry and I know how much you can eat, so I‘ve prepared everything exactly the way you like it, in the exact amount that you can finish without leaving a crumb.
Narrator: If there were any food left when the guest was satiated, both Host and Guest would be unhappy. The host would be unhappy because that would mean he wants to give his guest more than his guest wants to receive. The guest would be disappointed at not being able to fulfill the host‘s wish that he would consume it all. The guest would also regret if he were full while there were still more delicacies left over, and was unable to enjoy any more of them. It would mean that the guest lacked enough desire for all the pleasure being offered.
Guest (solemnly): Indeed, you have prepared exactly what I‘d like to see and eat at my dinner table. Even the amount is just right. This is all I could ever want out of life: to enjoy all this. For me, it would be the ultimate divine pleasure.
Host: Please, have it all and enjoy it. It will delight me.
The guest begins to eat.
Guest (obviously enjoying and with his mouth full, yet looking somewhat troubled): Why is it that the more I eat, the less I enjoy the food? The pleasure I receive extinguishes the hunger and I enjoy it less and less. The nearer I get to feeling full, the less I enjoy my meal.
And when I‘ve received all the food, I‘m left with nothing but the memory of the pleasure, not the pleasure itself. The pleasure was there only while I was hungry. When the hunger faded away, so did the joy. I received what I longed for, and here I am left with neither pleasure nor joy. I don‘t want anything any more, and I have nothing to bring me joy.
Host (a little resentful): I‘ve done all I could to please you. It isn‘t my fault that the very receiving of pleasure extinguishes the sensation of delight because the yearning is gone. In any case, you‘re now full of what I have prepared for you.
Guest (defending himself): By receiving all that you‘ve prepared for me, I can‘t even thank you because I‘ve stopped enjoying the abundance you‘ve given me. The main thing I feel is that you have given me a great deal, while I have given you nothing in return. As a result, you‘ve caused me to feel shame by thoughtlessly showing that you are the giver and I am the taker.
Host: I didn‘t show you that you‘re the taker and I‘m the giver. But the very fact that you‘ve received something from me without returning anything made you feel guilty, despite the fact that kindness is my nature.
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I want nothing more than to have you accept my food. I can‘t change that. For example: I raise fish. They don‘t care who feeds and nourishes them. I also tend to Bob, my cat. He, too, couldn‘t care less whose hand fed him. But Rex, my dog, does care. He will not take food from just anyone.
People are built in such a way that there are some who receive without sensing that someone is giving to them, and they just take. Some even steal with no remorse! But when people develop a sense of self, they know when they are being given to, and it awakens their awareness that they are the takers. That brings with it shame, self-reproach and agony.
Guest (somewhat appeased): But what can I do to receive pleasure on the one hand, without perceiving myself as the taker? How can I neutralize the feeling within me that you are the giver and I‘m the taker? If there‘s a give-and-take situation, and it brings up this shame in me, what can I do to avoid it?
Perhaps you can act in such a way that I will not feel like the receiver! But that‘s possible only if I‘m unaware of your existence (just like your fish) or if I sensed you, but did not understand that you were giving to me (like a cat or an underdeveloped human).
Host (narrowing his eyes in concentration and speaking thoughtfully): I think there‘s a solution after all. Perhaps you‘ll be able to find a way to neutralize the sensation of reception within you?
Guest (his eyes light up): Oh, I‘ve got it! You‘ve always wanted to have me as your guest. So tomorrow, I will come here and behave in such a way that will make you feel like the receiver. I will still be the receiver, of course, eating all that you‘ve prepared, but I will regard myself as the giver.
Act Two
The next day, in the same room, the host has prepared a fresh meal with exactly the same delicacies as the day before. He sits at the table and the guest enters, wearing an unfamiliar, somewhat secretive expression on his face.
Host (smiling brightly, unaware of the change): I‘ve been waiting for you. I‘m so happy to see you. Do sit down.
The guest sits at the table and politely smells the food.
Guest (looking at the food): All this is for me?
Host: But of course! Only for you! I would be delighted if you were willing to receive all that from me.
Guest: Thanks, but I don‘t really want it all that much.
Host: Well, that‘s not true! You do want it and I know that for a fact! Why won‘t you have it?
Guest: I can‘t take all this from you. It makes me feel uneasy.
Host: What do you mean, uneasy? I want so much for you to have all this! Who do you think I‘ve prepared this for? It would give me so much pleasure if you were to eat it all.
Guest: Perhaps you‘re right, but I don‘t want to eat all this food.
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Host: But you‘re not just receiving a meal; you‘re also doing me a favor by sitting at my table enjoying what I have prepared. I‘ve prepared all of it not for you, but because I enjoy your receiving it from me.
That‘s why your consent to eat would be doing me a favor. You‘d be receiving all that for me! You wouldn‘t be taking, but rather, giving me great joy. In fact, it would not be you who would receive from my meal, but rather I who would be getting great joy from you. You‘d be the one giving to me, and not the other way around.
The Host imploringly slides the fragrant plate in front of his reluctant guest. The Guest pushes it away. The Host again slides it near his Guest, and again he‘s turned down. The Host sighs, his whole appearance revealing how much he wants his Guest to accept the food. The Guest now takes the attitude of the giver who‘s doing the Host a favor.
Host: I implore you! Please, make me happy.
The guest starts to eat, then pauses to think. Then he starts again, and again he pauses. Each time the guest pauses, the host encourages him to continue. Only after some persuasion does the guest continue. The host keeps placing new delicacies in front of his guest, each time begging him to please him by accepting them.
Guest: If I can be sure that I‘m eating because it gives you pleasure, and not because I want it, then you‘ve become the receiver and I‘ve become the giver of pleasure. But for that to be so, I must be sure that I‘m eating for your sake alone, and not for mine.
Host: But of course you‘re eating only for me. After all, you sat at the table and wouldn‘t taste a thing until I proved to you that you‘re not just eating, but rather rendering me great joy. You‘ve come here to give me pleasure.
Guest: But if I were to accept something I did not initially desire, I would not enjoy receiving it, and you would not enjoy watching me willingly accept your offering. So it turns out that you can receive pleasure only to the extent that I enjoy your offering.
Host: I know exactly how much you like this food and how much of each dish you can eat. Therefore, I‘ve prepared these five courses. After all, I know your desire for this and that dish and not for any other thing in your life.
Knowing how much you enjoy them evokes the sensation of your pleasure in me. It also pleases me that you enjoy my dishes. I have no doubt that the pleasure I receive from you is genuine.
Guest: How can I be sure that I am enjoying these dishes only because you want me to, and because you‘ve prepared all this for me? How can I be sure that I shouldn‘t turn you down because by receiving from you I will actually be giving you joy?
Host: Quite simple! Because you totally refused my offers until you were sure that you were doing it for my pleasure. Then you accepted. After each bite you take, you will feel you‘re eating for my pleasure, and you will sense the joy you bring to me.
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Guest: I can get rid of the shame and take pride in giving you pleasure if I think, each time I receive, that I‘m receiving it for you. .
Host: So eat it all! You want it all, and thus you‘ll be giving me every bit of pleasure you can!
Guest (eating with pleasure and finishing every last dish, but afterwards, realizing he is still not satisfied): So now I‘ve eaten it all and enjoyed it. There is no more food to enjoy. My pleasure has gone because I‘m not hungry anymore. I can‘t bring any of us any joy right now. So what do I do next?
Host: I don‘t know. You‘ve given me great pleasure by receiving from me. What else can I do for you, so that you‘ll enjoy again and again? How can you want to eat again, if you‘ve eaten it all? Where will you get a new appetite?
Guest: True, my desire to enjoy has turned into a desire to bestow joy upon you, and if now I can‘t enjoy, how can I bring you pleasure? After all, I can‘t create within me an appetite for another five-course meal!
Host: I have not prepared any more than you desired. I‘ve done everything I can to please you. Your problem is: "How can I not stop wanting more, while I receive more and more."
Guest: But if the pleasure doesn‘t satisfy my hunger, I can‘t feel it as pleasure. The sensation of pleasure comes when I satisfy my needs. If I weren‘t hungry, I couldn‘t enjoy the food and hence could not have bestowed joy upon you. What can I do to remain in constant want, and constantly render you joy by showing you my pleasure?
Host: For that, you need a different source of want and a different means of satisfaction. By using your hunger to receive both food and the joy from eating it, you extinguish them both.
Guest: I‘ve got it! The problem is that I prevented myself from feeling joy if I felt you would benefit from it. I refused to such an extent that, although the whole meal was set before me, I couldn‘t accept it because of my shame in receiving it. That shame was so intense that I was willing to starve, if only to avoid feeling the shame of being the recipient.
Host: But then, once you were convinced that you weren‘t receiving for yourself, you began to receive for my sake. Because of that, you enjoyed both the food and the pleasure you were giving me. That‘s why eating the food should be in accordance with your will. After all, without pleasure from the food, what pleasure could you render me?
Guest: But it‘s not enough to receive for you, knowing that you enjoy doing this for me. If my pleasure comes from your joy, then the source of my pleasure is not the food, but you! I have to feel your joy.
Host: That should be easy, since I‘m totally open about it.
Guest: Yes, but what does my pleasure depend on? It depends on you, the one I‘m giving pleasure to. That means that my pleasure depends on how strongly I wish to bestow joy upon you; that is, to the extent that I sense your greatness.
Host: So what can I do?
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Guest: If I knew more of you, if I had a more intimate knowledge of you, if you really were great, then your greatness and almightiness would have been revealed to me. Then I would have enjoyed both giving you pleasure, being aware of who was receiving it. Then, my pleasure would have been proportional to the disclosing of your greatness.
Host: Is it up to me?
Guest: Look, if I give, it‘s important for me to know how much I am giving and to whom. If it is to beloved ones, such as my children, then I am willing to give to the extent of my love for them. This gives me joy. But if someone off the street comes to my house, I will give that person something because I can empathize with being in need, and hope that when I‘m in dire need, someone will help me.
Host: This principle is what lies beneath the whole concept of social welfare. People realized that if there were no mutual assistance, they would all suffer. That is, they would themselves suffer when they became the needy ones. Egoism forces people to give, but it is not true giving. It is simply a way of assuring one‘s survival.
Guest: I really don‘t think this kind of giving is genuine. All our ―generosity‖ is nothing more than a way for us to receive pleasure by satisfying ourselves and those we love.
Host: So how can I give you pleasure that goes beyond the pleasure found in your food?
Guest: That is not up to you, but to me. If the person coming to my house were not a common person, but a very important personality, I would receive greater pleasure in giving to that person than to an ordinary person. That means that my pleasure depends not on the food, but on who prepared it!
Host: So what can I do to make you respect me more?
Guest: Because I receive for your benefit, not mine, the more respect I have for you, the more pleasure I will get knowing to whom I‘m giving it.
Host: So how can I deepen your esteem of me?
Guest: Tell me about yourself, show me who you are! Then I could get pleasure not merely from receiving the food, but also from knowing who is giving it to me, knowing with whom I have a relationship. The smallest portion of food I receive from a great figure will give me a much greater amount of pleasure. You see, the pleasure will grow in proportion to how great I consider you to be.
Host: That means that for the pleasure to become great, I must open myself up and you must develop a likeness of me in you.
Guest: Exactly! That is what creates a new hunger in me—the desire to give to you grows in proportion to your greatness. It is not because I want to escape the sensation of shame, because the shame won‘t let me satisfy my hunger
Host: That way you begin to sense not the hunger, but my greatness and your desire to render me pleasure. So are you saying that you wish not to fulfill my appetite, but to bask in my greatness and your desire to please me?
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Guest: And what‘s wrong with that? I can receive pleasure from the food many times more than the food itself can actually give, because I add to the hunger a second desire: a will to bestow upon you.
Host: That, too, I must fulfill.
Guest: No. The will to do this--and its fulfillment--I will create in myself. For that I need only to know you. Reveal yourself to me and I will create within me a craving to bestow upon you. I will also receive pleasure from the giving, and not from the elimination of shame.
Host: What will you gain from knowing me, aside from the fact that your pleasure will increase?
Guest (clearly hinting that that‘s the point of it all): There‘s another major benefit. If I create in me a new will, apart from the inherent hunger, I can become the master of that will. I can always increase it, always fill it with pleasure, and always bestow it upon you by receiving pleasure.
Host: Won‘t you lose that will when it is filled, just as you lost your hunger?
Guest: No, because I can always create within me a greater impression of you. I can always create new desires to bestow upon you, and by receiving from you I will carry out these desires. That process can go on indefinitely.
Host: What does it depend on?
Guest: It depends on constantly discovering new virtues in you and sensing your greatness.
Host: That means that, for constant self-indulgence--that even when receiving selfish pleasure the hunger will not cease but rather increase by that reception--a creation of a new hunger must be formed: the will to feel the giver.
Guest: Yes, in addition to receiving pleasure (the delicacies), the receiver will develop a sense of the giver‘s greatness. The discovery of the host and the delicacies therefore becomes the same. In other words, the pleasure itself creates an awareness of the giver. The giver, the food and the attributes of the giver are one and the same.
Host: So It turns out that what you initially wanted, subconsciously, was for the giver to be revealed. For you this is, in fact, a filling up and nothing else.
Guest: In the beginning I didn‘t even understand that this was what I wanted. I only saw the food and thought that that was what I wanted.
Host: I did it on purpose, so that gradually you would develop your own independent will that you would supposedly create yourself, so that you would fill it by yourself. You would be taking the place of both guest and host simultaneously.
Guest: Why is it all built like that?
Host: For the purpose of bringing you to completeness. So that you will want each thing in totality and will attain maximum fulfillment. So that you can enjoy each desire to the fullest and so that the pleasure would be unbounded.
Guest: So why didn‘t I know about it to begin with? All I saw around me were objects
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I desired, without suspecting that what I really wanted all that time was you.
Host: It‘s specifically done so that while you might be in a situation in which you weren‘t feeling me. You would come to me by yourself and would create that inner will on your own.
Guest (bewildered): But if I can create that will within me, where are you in the picture?
Host: It is I who created the simple egotistical will in you to begin with, and I continue to develop it by constantly surrounding you with new objects of delight.
Guest: But what is it all for?
Host: For the purpose of convincing you that chasing pleasure will never satisfy you completely.
Guest: I can see that: The minute I get what I want, the pleasure is instantly gone, and again I long for something, either bigger or altogether different. Thus, I‘m on a constant pleasure hunt, but never quite attain it; the minute I get my hands on it, it slips away.
Host: And that is precisely why you should develop your sense of self and become aware of the futility of this type of existence.
Guest: But if you were to develop in me the picture of how things really are, I would understand the meaning and purpose of all that was taking place!
Host: That picture will be revealed only after you are totally convinced of the purposelessness of your egoistical existence, and become aware that a new form of conduct is required. You need to know your roots and the meaning of your life.
Guest: But that process lasts thousands of years. When does it end?
Host: Nothing is created needlessly. All that exists is there for the sole purpose of revealing to creations a different form of existence. That process is slow because every little desire needs to appear and be recognized as unworthy of use in its preliminary form.
Guest: And are there many such desires?
Host: A great many, and in direct proportion to the pleasure you will receive in the future. But the pleasure from receiving the food doesn‘t change. You can‘t eat more than one lunch a day. The capacity of your stomach will not change. Therefore, the amount that comes from me and is received by you doesn‘t change.
But when you dine at my table in order to please me, that very thought creates in you a new will to eat and a new pleasure, apart from the pleasure for the food. That pleasure is measured in size and power, or in quantity and quality, according to the amount of pleasure you get from dining at my table in order to please me.
Guest: So how do I increase my desire to receive pleasure for your sake?
Host: That depends on your appreciation of, and respect for, Me. It depends on how great you consider me to be.
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Guest: So how can I increase my appreciation of you?
Host: For that you simply need to know more about me--to see me in every action that I make, to observe and be convinced of how great I really am, and to be convinced that I am almighty, merciful and kind.
Guest: Then show yourself!
Host: If your request stems from a desire to bestow upon me, I will reveal myself. But if it stems from a desire to please yourself by seeing me, I will not only refrain from disclosing myself to you, but I will hide myself ever deeper.
Guest: Why? Is it not the same for you whichever way I receive from you? After all, you want me to enjoy. Why hide from me?
Host: If I disclose myself entirely, you will receive so much pleasure from the eternity, almightiness and wholeness of me, that you will not be able to accept that pleasure for my sake. That thought will not even cross your mind and you will later feel ashamed again. Besides, because the pleasure will be perpetual, it will, as we‘ve seen before, eliminate your want, and again you‘ll be left drained of will.
Guest (finally realizing): So that‘s the reason that you hide from me, in order to help me! And I thought that it was because you didn‘t want me to know you.
Host: My greatest wish is that you‘ll see me and be near me. But what can I do if then you‘ll not be able to sense pleasure? Wouldn‘t that be the same as dying?
Guest: But if I am unaware of you, then how can I make any progress? It all depends on how much you show yourself to me.
Host: Indeed, only the feeling of my presence creates in you the ability to grow and to receive. Without that sense, you just swallow everything up and immediately stop sensing any pleasure. That‘s why, when I appear before you, you feel shame, the sensation of one who gives, and a will to receive the same attributes as the giver
Guest: So reveal yourself to me as soon as possible.
Host: I will, but only to the extent that you will benefit from it, although I‘d always like to show myself to you. After all, I hid myself on purpose to create conditions of free choice for you. In this way, you can be free to act and choose how to think independently of my presence. There will be no pressure on the part of the host.
Guest: So how do you reveal yourself to me?
Host: I do it slowly and gradually. Each degree of disclosure is called a ―World,‖ from the most hidden degree to the most exposed.
The End.
From here it follows that our main objective is to elevate the importance of the Creator in our own eyes, i.e., to acquire faith in His greatness and might. We must do this because this is our only possible means of escaping from the prison of personal egoism and entering into the higher worlds.
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As mentioned earlier, we can experience extreme difficulty when we decide to follow the path of faith and to abandon all concern for the self. We then feel isolated from the whole world, suspended in nothingness, without the support of common sense, reason or prior experience to support us.
It is also as if we have abandoned our own environment, family, and friends for the sake of being united with the Creator. These sensations arise when we lack faith in the Creator, when we cannot sense Him, or His presence, or His rule over all creation. At these times, we can feel an absence of the object of faith.
However, once we begin to sense the Creator‘s presence, we are ready to submit fully to His power and to follow the Creator blindly, always prepared to nullify ourselves completely to Him, disparaging our own intellect almost instinctively. For this reason, the most important problem confronting us is how to perceive the presence of the Creator.
Therefore, whenever such doubts arise, it is worthwhile to dedicate all our energy and thoughts for the sake of the Creator. We must immediately aspire to cling to the Creator with every fiber of our being. This feeling about the Creator is called ―faith.”
The process can be accelerated if we make this an important objective. The more important it is to us, the faster we can achieve faith; i.e., our awareness of the Creator.
Furthermore, the more importance we assign to perceiving the Creator, the stronger the perception will be, until it becomes part of our being. Luck (mazal in Hebrew) is a special manner of Providence that we cannot influence in any way. But it is dictated from Above that we, as individuals, are responsible for trying to change our own nature. Afterwards, the Creator will evaluate our efforts in this direction, and eventually He will alter our nature, as well as elevate us above our world.
Therefore, before we make any efforts, we should realize that we cannot expect the Upper Forces, luck, or some other special treatment from Above to intervene on our behalf. Rather, we must begin by fully recognizing that if we ourselves do not take action, we will not arrive at what we desire.
However, once we complete a task, or engage in study, or exert any other effort, we should reach the following conclusion:
Everything that we have achieved as a result of our efforts would have come about anyway, even without exerting any effort, since the result has been predetermined by the Creator.
Thus, if we yearn to comprehend true Providence, we must early on try in every undertaking to assimilate these contradictions in ourselves.
For instance, in the morning we should start our daily routine of study and work, leaving behind all thoughts of the Creator‘s divine rule over the world and over its inhabitants. Each of us must work as if the final result depended only on us.
But at the end of the day, under no circumstances should we allow ourselves to imagine that what we have achieved is the result of our own efforts. We must realize that even if we stayed in bed all day, we would still arrive at the same result, because that result has been pre-determined by the Creator.
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Therefore, one who wishes to live a life of truth must, on the one hand, obey the laws of society and of nature just like everyone else, but on the other hand, must also believe in the Creator‘s absolute rule over the world.
All of our deeds can be divided into good, neutral or evil. Our task is to elevate our neutral deeds to the level of good ones.
We can accomplish this by being aware that, even as we are performing the deeds, ultimately, the will of the Creator shall rule. For example, when we are ill, while we are aware that a cure is completely in the hands of the Creator, we should take the medication prescribed by an established physician and believe that the doctor‘s skill will help us overcome our condition. But when, after taking the medicine in strict accordance with the doctor‘s orders, we recover, we must believe that we would have recovered anyway because it was in the Creator‘s plan.
Therefore, instead of thanking the doctor, we must thank the Creator. In this way, we are converting a neutral act into a spiritual one, and by repeating this procedure in regard to all our neutral acts, we can gradually ―spiritualize‖ all of our thoughts.
The examples and explanations given above are important because they may actually become serious stumbling blocks that can impede our spiritual elevation. The problem sometimes escalates because we think we understand the principles of Divine rule. We will concentrate our energies, artificially, on strengthening our belief in the omnipresence of the Creator, instead of working hard on ourselves.
Often, in order to demonstrate our faith in the Creator, or simply out of laziness, we assume that we need not work on ourselves, since all is in the Creator‘s power. Or, we may close our eyes and rely on blind faith alone, at the same time eluding vital questions about real faith.
However, by avoiding answering these questions, we rob ourselves of the possibility of spiritual progress. It is said of our world, "Thou shall earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow." Yet, once we have earned something, it is hard for us to admit that the result did not result from our hard work or abilities, but was instead the work of the Creator.
We must strive by the sweat of our brow to strengthen our faith in the Creator’s absolute rule.
But in order to grow and experience new spiritual sensations, we must make an effort to understand and accept the contradictory nature of Divine rule (which only appears contradictory due to our blindness).
Only then will we know exactly what is required of us and can grow to experience new spiritual sensations.
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AUTHENTIC KABBALAH TEXTS
Baal HaSulam: The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Source: www.kabbalah.info
Before I go about elucidating the history of the wisdom of Kabbalah, conversed
about by many, I find it necessary to begin with a thorough clarification of the essence of this wisdom, which I believe so few know. And naturally, it is impossible to speak of the history of something before we know the thing itself.
Although this knowledge is wider and deeper than the ocean, I will make an utmost effort, with all the strength and knowledge I have acquired in this field, to clarify and illuminate it from all angles, enough for any soul to draw the right conclusions, as they truly are, leaving no room for error, as is often the case in such matters.
What Does the Wisdom Revolve Around?
This question comes to the mind of every right-minded person. To properly address it, I will provide a reliable and lasting definition: this wisdom is no more and no less than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and consequence, by fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as ―the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world.‖
And here there is a conduct of particular and general:
General—the whole of humanity, obligated to eventually come to this immense evolvement, as it is written, ―For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea‖ (Isaiah 11, 9). ―And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord: For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them‖ (Jeremiah 31, 33). ―Yet thy Teacher shall not hide Himself any more, but thine eyes shall see thy Teacher‖ (Isaiah 30, 20).
Particular—that even before the perfection of the whole of humanity, this rule is implemented in a chosen few individuals in every generation. These are the ones who are endowed, in each generation, with certain degrees of revelation of His Godliness. And these are the prophets and the men of God.
And as our sages said, ―There is no generation without such that are as Abraham and Jacob.‖ Thus you see that the revelation of His Godliness is implemented in each generation, as our sages, whom we find trustworthy, proclaim.
The Multiplicity of Partzufim, Sefirot, and Worlds
However, according to the above, a question arises—since this wisdom has but one, special, and clear role, why is there the matter of the multiplicity of Partzufim, Sefirot, and interchangeable connections, which are so abundant in the books of Kabbalah?
Indeed, if you take the body of a small animal, whose only task is to nourish itself so it may exist in this world for enough time to father and carry on its species, you will find in it a complex structure of millions of fibers and tendons, as physiologists and anatomists have discovered. And there is much there that humans have yet to find.
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From the above, you can conclude the vast variety of issues and channels that need to connect in order to achieve and to reveal that sublime goal.
Two Conducts—from Above Downwards and from Below Upwards
This wisdom is generally divided into two parallel, identical orders, like two drops in a pond. The only difference between them is that the first order extends from Above downwards, to this world, and the second order traverses from below upwards, precisely by the same routes and make-ups imprinted at the root when they appeared from Above downwards.
The first order is called ―the order of descent of the worlds, Partzufim, and Sefirot,‖ in all their occurrences, whether lasting or transient. The second order is called ―attainments or degrees of prophecy and Holy Spirit.‖ A person rewarded with it must follow the same trails and inlets, and gradually attain each detail and each degree, precisely by the same rules that were imprinted in them upon their emanation from Above downwards.
A revelation of Godliness does not appear at once, but gradually, over a period of time, depending on the cleansing of the attaining, until one discovers all the degrees from Above downwards. And because they come in an order of attainment, one after the other and one above the other, as do rungs of a ladder, they are called ―degrees‖ (steps).
Abstract Names
Many believe that all the words and the names in the wisdom of Kabbalah are a kind of abstract names. This is so because it deals with Godliness and spirituality, which are above time and space, where even our imagination has no hold. For this reason they have decided that surely, these matters speak only of abstract names, or even more sublime and exalted than abstract names, as they are completely and from the outset, devoid of elements that are imagined.
But that is not the case. On the contrary, Kabbalah uses only names and appellations that are concrete and real. It is an unbending rule for all Kabbalists that, ―Anything we do not attain, we do not define by a name and a word.‖
Here you must know that the word ―attainment‖ (Heb: Hasaga) implies the ultimate degree of understanding. It derives from the phrase, ―that thy hand shall reach‖ (Heb: Ki Tasig Yadcha). That means that before something becomes utterly lucid, as though gripped in one‘s hand, Kabbalists do not consider it attained, but understood, comprehended, and so on.
The Actuality of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Actual things are found even in the corporeal reality set before our eyes, although we have neither perception nor image of their essence. Such are the electricity and the magnet, called ―fluidum.‖
Nevertheless, who can say that these names are not real, when we vividly and satisfactorily know their actions? We could not be more indifferent to the fact that we have no perception of the essence of the subject itself, namely electricity itself.
This name is as tangible and as close to us as though it were entirely perceived by our senses. Even little children are familiar with the word, ―electricity,‖ as well as they are familiar with words such as bread, sugar, and so on.
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Moreover, if you wish to exercise your tools of scrutiny a bit, I shall tell you that as a whole, as there is no perception of the Creator whatsoever, so is it impossible to attain the essence of any of His creatures, even the tangible objects that we feel with our hands.
Thus, all we know about our friends and relatives in the world of action before us are nothing more than ―acquaintance with their actions.‖ These are prompted and born by the association of their encounter with our senses, which render us complete satisfaction although we have no perception whatsoever of the essence of the subject.
Furthermore, you have no perception or attainment whatsoever even of your own essence. Everything you know about your own essence is nothing more than a series of actions extending from your essence.
Now you can easily conclude that all the names and appellations that appear in books of Kabbalah are indeed real and factual, although we have no attainment in the subject matter whatsoever. It is so because those who engage in it have the complete satisfaction with their inclusive perception of its ultimate wholeness, meaning a mere perception of actions, prompted and born of the association of the Upper Light and its perceivers.
However, it is quite sufficient, for this is the rule: ―All that is measured and extracted from His Providence so as to be realized into the nature of Creation, is completely satisfactory.‖ Similarly, one cannot wish for a sixth finger on one hand, because the five fingers are quite sufficient.
The Corporeal Terms and the Physical Names in Books of Kabbalah
Any reasonable person will understand that when dealing with spiritual matters, much less with Godliness, we have no words or letters with which to contemplate. This is because our whole vocabulary is but combinations of the letters of our senses and imagination. Yet, how can they be of assistance where there are neither imagination nor senses?
Even if we take the subtlest word that can be used in such matters, meaning the word, ―Upper Light,‖ or even ―Simple Light,‖ it is still imaginary and borrowed from the light of the sun, or a candlelight, or a light of contentment one feels upon resolving some great doubt. Yet, how can we use them in spiritual matters and Godly ways? They offer the examiner nothing more than falsehood and deceit.
It is particularly so where one needs to find some rationale in these words to help one in the negotiations customary in the research of the wisdom. Here the sage must use rigorously accurate definitions for the eyes of the observers.
And should the sage fail with but a single unsuccessful word, he is certain to confuse and mislead the readers. They will not understand at all what he is saying there, before it, after it, and everything connected to that word, as is known to anyone who examines books of wisdom.
Thus, one should wonder how is it possible for Kabbalists to use false words to explain the interconnections in this wisdom? Also, it is known that there is no definition through a false name, for the lie has no legs and no stance.
Indeed, here you need to have prior knowledge of the Law of Root and Branch by which the worlds relate to one another.
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The Law of Root and Branch by Which the Worlds Are Related
Kabbalists have found that the form of the four worlds, named Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya, beginning with the first, highest world, called Atzilut, and ending in this corporeal, tangible world, called Assiya, is exactly the same in every item and event. This means that everything that eventuates and occurs in the first world is found unchanged in the next world, below it, too. It is likewise in all the worlds that follow it, down to this tangible world.
There is no difference between them, but only a different degree, perceived in the substance of the elements of reality in each world. The substance of the elements of reality in the first, Uppermost world, is purer than in all the ones below it. And the substance of the elements of reality in the second world is coarser than in that of the first world, but purer than all that is of a lower degree.
This continues similarly down to this world before us, whose substance of the elements in reality is coarser and darker than in all the worlds preceding it. However, the shapes and the elements of reality and all their occurrences come unchanged and equal in every world, both in quantity and quality.
They compared it to the conduct of a seal and its imprint: all the shapes in the seal are perfectly transferred in every detail and intricacy to the imprinted object. So it is with the worlds, where each lower world is an imprint of the world Above it. Hence, all the forms in the Higher World are meticulously copied, in both quantity and quality, to the lower world.
Thus, there is not an element of reality, or an occurrence of reality in a lower world, that you will not find its likeness in the world Above it, as identical as two drops in a pond. And they are called ―Root and Branch.‖ That means that the item in the lower world is deemed a branch of its pattern, found in the Higher World, being the root of the lower element, as this is where that item in the lower world was imprinted and made to be.
That was the intention of our sages when they said, ―You haven‘t a blade of grass below that has not a fortune and a guard above that strike it and tells it, ‗Grow‘!‖ It follows that the root, called ―fortune,‖ compels it to grow and assume its attribute in quantity and quality, as with the seal and the imprint. This is the law of Root and Branch, which applies to every detail and occurrence of reality, in every single world, in relation to the world Above it.
The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches
This means that the branches indicate to their roots, being their molds that necessarily exist in the Upper World. This is because there is nothing in the reality of the lower world that does not stem from its Superior World. As with the seal and the imprint, the root in the Upper World compels its branch in the lower one to reveal its entire form and feature, as our sages said, that the fortune in the world Above, related to the grass in the world below, strikes it, forcing it to complete its growth. Because of that, each and every branch in this world well defines its mold, situated in the Higher World.
Thus, Kabbalists have found a set and annotated vocabulary, sufficient to create an excellent spoken language. It enables them to converse with one another of the dealings in the Spiritual Roots in the Upper Worlds by merely mentioning the tangible branch in this world that is well defined to our corporeal senses.
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The listeners understand the Upper Root to which this corporeal branch points because it is related to it, being its imprint. Thus, all the beings of the tangible creation and all their instances have become to them like well-defined words and names, indicating the High Spiritual Roots. Although there cannot be a verbal expression in their spiritual place, as it is above any imagination, they have earned the right to be expressed by utterance through their branches, arranged before our senses here in the tangible world.
That is the nature of the spoken language among Kabbalists, by which they convey their spiritual attainments from person to person and from generation to generation, both by word of mouth and in writing. They fully understand one another, with all the required accuracy needed for negotiating in research of the wisdom, with precise definitions one cannot fail in. This is so because each branch has its own natural, unique definition, and this absolute definition indicates to its root in the Higher World.
Bear in mind that this Language of Branches of the wisdom of Kabbalah is better suited to explain the terms of the wisdom than all our ordinary tongues. It is known from the theory of nominalism that the languages have been disrupted in the mouths of the crowd. In other words, due to excessive use of the words, they have been emptied of their accurate contents, resulting in great difficulties to convey precise deductions from one to another by word of mouth or in writing.
This is not case with the Kabbalah‘s language of branches: it is derived from the names of the creations and their occurrences, set before our eyes, and defined by the unchangeable laws of nature. The readers and the listeners will never be misled into a misunderstanding of the words being offered to them, since the natural definitions are utterly unwavering and cannot be breached.
Conveyance from a Wise Kabbalist to an Understanding Receiver
Thus wrote the RAMBAN in his introduction to his commentary on the Torah: ―And I bring with true covenant to all who scrutinize this book, that of all the clues that I write in the secrets of the Torah, I resolutely assert that my words will not be grasped by any mind or intelligence, except from the mouth of a wise Kabbalist to the ear of an understanding receiver.‖ Such as that, Rav Chaim Vital wrote in his introduction to The Tree of Life, and also, in the words of our sages (Hagiga, 11): ―One does not study the Kabbalah on one‘s own, unless he is wise and understands with his own mind.‖
Their words are thoroughly understood when they say that one must receive from a wise Kabbalist. But why the necessity for the disciple to first be wise and understanding with his own mind? Moreover, if he isn‘t so, then he must not be taught, be he the most righteous person in the world. Additionally, if one is already wise and understands with his own mind, what need has he to learn from others?
From the aforesaid, their words are understood with utter simplicity: we have seen that all the words and utterances our lips pronounce cannot help us convey even a single word from the spiritual, Godly matters, above the imaginary time and space. Instead, there is a special language for these matters, being the Language of the Branches, indicating their relation to their Upper Roots.
However, this language, though extremely suitable for its task of delving into the studies of this wisdom, more than other languages, is only so if the listener is wise in his own right, meaning that he knows and understands the way the branches relate
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to their roots. It is because these relations are not at all clear when looking from the lower upwards. In other words, it is impossible to find any deduction or semblance in the Upper Roots by observing the lower branches.
Quite the contrary, the lower is studied from the Higher. Thus, one must first attain the Upper Roots, the way they are in spirituality, above any imagination, but with pure attainment. And once he has thoroughly attained the Upper Roots with his own mind, he may examine the tangible branches in this world and know how each branch relates to its root in the Upper World, in all its orders, in quantity and quality.
When one knows and thoroughly comprehends all that, there is a common language between him and his teacher, namely the Language of the Branches. Using it, the Kabbalist sage may convey the studies in the wisdom, conducted in the Upper, Spiritual Worlds, both the ones he had received from his teachers, as well as his expansions in the wisdom, which he had discovered by himself. This is because now they have a common language and they understand each other.
However, when a disciple is not wise and comprehends the language on his own, meaning how the branches indicate to their roots, naturally, the teacher cannot convey even a single word of this spiritual wisdom, much less negotiate with him in the scrutiny of the wisdom. This is so because they have no common language they can use, and they become like mute. Thus, it is necessary that the wisdom of Kabbalah will not be taught unless he is wise and understands with his own mind.
We must ask further: How then, has the disciple grown so wise as to know the relations of branch and root through tracing the Upper Roots? The answer is that here one‘s efforts are in vain; it is the Creator‘s help that we need! He fills those who capture His fondness with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to acquire sublime attainments. Here it is impossible to be assisted by any flesh and blood!
Indeed, once He has grown fond of a person and has endowed him with the sublime attainment, one is then ready to come and receive the vastness of the wisdom of Kabbalah from a wise Kabbalist, for only now do they have a common language.
Appellations Alien to the Human Spirit
With all that is said above, you will understand why we sometimes find appellations and terms quite alien to the human spirit in books of Kabbalah. They are abundant in the fundamental books of Kabbalah, which are The Zohar, the Tikkunim, and the books of the Ari. It is indeed bewildering why these sages used such lowly appellations to express such exalted, holy notions.
Yet, you will fully understand it once you have acquired the above conceptions. This is because it is now clear that no language in the world can be used to explain that wisdom, except one that is intended for just that end, namely the Language of the Branches, relating to their Upper Roots.
Thus, obviously, no branch or occurrence of a branch should be neglected because of its inferior degree, or not be used to express the desired concept in the interconnections in the wisdom, as there is no other branch in our world to take its place.
As no two hairs suck from the same foramen, we do not have two branches that relate to a single root. Hence, by leaving an incident unused, we lose the spiritual concept corresponding to it in the Upper World, as we have not a single word to utter
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in its place and indicate that root. In addition, such an incident would impair the entire wisdom in all its vastness, since now there is a missing link in the chain of the wisdom connected to that concept.
This mutilates the entire wisdom, for there is no other wisdom in the world where matters are so fused and intertwined by way of cause and effect, primary and consequential, as is the wisdom of Kabbalah, connected head to toe just like a long chain. Therefore, upon the temporary loss of but a small cognizance, the entire wisdom darkens before our eyes, for all its issues are tied to one another very strongly, literally fusing into one.
Now you will not wonder at the occasional use of alien appellations. They have no freedom of choice with appellations, to replace the bad with the good, or the good with the bad. They must always use the branch or the incident, which precisely points to its Upper Root in all its necessary measure. Moreover, the matters must be expanded so as to provide an accurate definition for the eyes of their fellow observers.
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Rav Laitman: Lesson on the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”. Part 1
Source: www.kabbalahmedia.info
Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam
Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman
lowercase italics: emphasized words
Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew
We‘re starting an article of Baal HaSulam from the book for beginners Kabbalah LeMatchil; page 21. The article is "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah." Baal HaSulam‘s articles illuminate our whole way. They tell us where we are, what our status is, what reality we exist in, who we are, how we feel our lives, and how we should relate to reality. Is it in our power to change reality—how we perceive it, how we come here, leave again, and once more return in reincarnations? Are we in other states besides the one we know in our present state, the one we call ―life on Earth here in this world‖? Are there other dimensions, different times in which we exist? Can we simultaneously be in different dimensions?
There is time, space and motion. Can we change times? We think that we can change places. What about motion? Can we move only in corporeality, on the surface of this world? Perhaps we can move in time? Can we move in dimensions, from dimension to dimension? This all comes from man's awareness about who he is, because what we feel, we feel within ourselves. Thus, by knowing ourselves, we know the reality that we feel, what is felt inside us. From here, we develop onward. The wisdom by which we develop is called ―the Wisdom of Kabbalah,‖ first and foremost, because it is a result of a chain of Kabbalists who discovered it and passed it onto us, generation to generation. Also, this wisdom appears in what is called our ―Kelim,‖ our vessels of reception (―Kabbalah‖ is the Hebrew word for ―reception‖).
Our nature is that of a desire to enjoy, to receive, to absorb. When we want to know what appears in us, in what form, and for what purpose, then this study, this knowledge that becomes a whole collection, is called ―The Wisdom of Kabbalah.‖ We can say that, in fact, all of our dealings in research, in science, in this world, in all the sciences we develop, in everything we know about ourselves in this world; everything is included in the Wisdom of Kabbalah. That is what Baal HaSulam wants to tell us.
But we normally do not relate to the Wisdom of Kabbalah as a science of our world, but as a science of what is beyond this world. Why? It is because every science we know in this world, and the ones we don‘t yet know about, surface according to natural forces in us. Although they are incorporated in the Wisdom of Kabbalah, we do not engage in them because, in the end, we want to engage in what can change our destiny and what determines our lives. That is why we deal with those forces, those dimensions that are above this world.
What does it mean, ―above‖? It means those forces that manage our world, which create us, in the reality we sense. So if we learn about the Upper Forces which are above us, the ones that conduct us, this then gives us understanding about them and teaches us how to use them for our benefit. That is why the Wisdom of Kabbalah is first and foremost not about what appears before us, here on Earth in our universe, because these things come from above, and there is nothing about them through
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which we can change our life, our destiny. Rather, our attention is solely given to the Upper World, to the forces that can change our lives.
"Before I go about elucidating the implications of the Wisdom of Kabbalah, conversed upon by many, I find it necessary to begin with clarifying the essence of this wisdom, which I believe so few know."
Not only do so few know it, actually everyone thinks they know what the wisdom of Kabbalah is. Everyone has his own idea, his own opinion about it; that it is like this or like that. Everybody is wrong, because this wisdom has been concealed for thousands of years, and nobody is familiar with it. Kabbalists actually didn‘t want to introduce it to the world, to humanity, and it has begun to surface only in the past few years, corresponding to a genuine desire in humanity to know this wisdom. But this desire still has to be scrutinized, to see that it is a genuine desire and not just a desire to discover some miracles that the Wisdom of Kabbalah seemingly plays with. It has to be a desire to really discover the profound, serious, and ancient wisdom that‘s at the foundation of the world. We can say that up until today, the public still doesn‘t understand what is the Wisdom of Kabbalah, and there actually cannot be such an understanding. This is because, knowing what the Wisdom of Kabbalah is, means getting into it, living in it, acquiring it, using it, and from that understand what it is. From the outside it is virtually impossible.
We can talk about physics, biology or something like that. However, when we learn these for a few months, when we take interest according to some books, light books about these sciences, we can somehow have some perception of them—of some science. But in the Wisdom of Kabbalah it is virtually impossible, because the topic itself is hidden. In order to feel the Upper World we have to develop additional Kelim, special sensitivity—a new sense. As much as the books may tell us, before we taste it, before we develop a new sense and feel what it is, we still want to know about the Wisdom of Kabbalah, what it is and what it says.
All of the words, names, drawings, and formulas are, for us, actually dead, like mathematics. There are numbers; so what do they talk about? What‘s behind the numbers? Grams, kilograms, liters—are they liters of blood or liters of water? What are they? They are just numbers. That‘s how it is in this wisdom. Although Baal HaSulam tried, as much as possible, to explain it to us, we should however understand that to explain what the Wisdom of Kabbalah is means to feel it in itself. At the very least, a beginner who reads it for the first time should clean himself up from any impression, any understanding or attached stigmas that he previously had of the Wisdom of Kabbalah, and just take everything that we speak of here as if on a clean slate.
"And naturally, it is impossible to speak of the implications of some thing before we know the thing itself.
Although this knowledge is wider and deeper than the ocean, I will make an utmost effort, with all the strength and knowledge I have acquired in this field, to clarify and illuminate it from all angles, enough for any soul to draw the right conclusions, as they truly are, leaving no room for error, as is often the case in such matters."
―As is often the case in such matters‖—that is correct. In order to somehow understand what he wants to convey to us, we have to stick to his words and not imagine anything ordinary that we think we know about this wisdom, but to advance as if we never heard anything about it.
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"What Does the Wisdom Revolve Around?
That question comes to the mind of every right-minded person. In order to properly address it, I will provide a reliable and lasting definition, that this wisdom is no more and no less, than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and consequence, in fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as—“the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world.”"
Meaning, there is a creature who is in a state called ―this world.‖ Let‘s draw him as an ordinary person; and there is Godliness [He is writing Godliness]—something we don‘t know, an unknown thing—and that person should discover Godliness. For that purpose there are Shorashim, roots, in a person that should gradually appear and steadily bring that person to the awareness of Godliness. There‘s a specific order. In other words, there is an inner preparation in a person to go through this evolution and there is a special order in this evolution by way of cause and consequence, before and after. This order of cause and consequence, from the person toward Godliness, also comes after there‘s an order of roots that hang down from above downward—from Godliness to man. First, the roots concatenated down to the person, and afterwards, once they build the person in a state called ―this world,‖ that person re-attains his roots once more, until he discovers Godliness.
"And here there is the conduct of particular and general:
General—meaning the whole of mankind, obligated to eventually come to this immense evolvement, as it says: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea…"
Meaning, all of mankind—including Jews, the nations of the world, women, men; all of mankind, as he says, must reach a state where it will understand Godliness. He is talking about knowing—"know the Lord"—in the fullest manner, meaning every person has enough intelligence, emotion, and sensitivity for that. We just don‘t know ourselves. They say that we only use about two per cent of our brain. I don‘t know, maybe ninety-eight per cent of it, which is seemingly unnecessary, is ascribed to know Godliness. But everyone has the ability to come to have the fullest knowledge of Godliness, the Creator—the Upper Force. In that there are no fools, no smart people, and no righteous, no evil—nothing. Everyone is capable, and everyone will have to do it. As it says, all of humanity must. It is ―obligated to eventually come to this immense evolvement.‖ It‘s an absolute. There are no outlets from it. They have to come to this immense evolvement.
In other words, we will have to take this path back from this world, up to Godliness, to attain this Godliness, and we have to do this while we are in this world; as he writes, according to the definition of the Wisdom of Kabbalah: ―The revelation of Godliness to His creatures in this world.‖ Meaning, while I am living here in this world, in this body; I have to discover all the worlds, the entire Godliness, everything and likewise, everyone. If you think about some Indian in South America, he too must. It‘s not that he can‘t. Of course he can! And of course, he will have to.
Question: What does it mean that everyone should know Godliness to the fullest? Can he be known more or less? Are there degrees to this knowing?
Knowing Godliness means that ―as the waters cover the sea.‖ Meaning, in every hollow space that appears in a person, in all of these cavities, Godliness will
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come and fill it so that no empty space will remain. Just imagine that some Upper Force comes, the sensation of Godliness, the Creator, and fills up your entire body as you now feel it. Besides a body, you currently don‘t feel anything. There are other spaces, big empty Kelim, and Godliness fills everything; the heart, the mind, my flesh, emotions. It fills everything. What‘s left? Nothing—everything is filled with Godliness. What‘s left of man? We‘ll see. But nature is arranged in such a way that we are in this world and these forces that operate on us, the natural forces in this world, operate on us in such a way that we are compelled to enter this process, and we have to execute it, and all the crises and all the problems, and everything will eventually happen in order to oust us into that trajectory, because, in fact, there is no other action by nature on a person in this world except to bring everyone into the evolution that will bring man to know Godliness. That is its purpose, and nature operates only according to this goal.
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord."
Meaning, no one will be smarter than the other but everyone, I‘m sorry... [From article] ―For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.‖ Meaning there will be no difference between each and everyone. Perhaps one will be smaller than other? As it says, ―from the least to the greatest.‖ But everyone will be totally fulfilled, filled up with Godliness, endlessly, infinitely.
"Yet thy Teacher shall not hide Himself any more, but thine eyes shall see thy Teacher."
Meaning, the Creator, this force of Godliness, will not be hidden from man, but will be entirely revealed. ―Your eyes,‖ meaning the greatest disclosure that can be. So, in general, it means that it must occur in all of humanity. When? As we understand, and take it from Kabbalists, it should start from the end of the twentieth century. Baal HaSulam determined—Baal HaSulam, Rav Cook, the Agra—all the last great Kabbalists determined that we are at the time of the coming of the Messiah. Meaning, in our time, this law is beginning to surface, to appear in everyone.
"And the particular is... that even before the perfection of all mankind, this rule is carried out in particular individuals. They are the ones who are endowed, in each generation, with a certain amount of revelation of His Godliness."
Meaning, besides the law that everyone now is collectively beginning, through the natural forces, to be prompted to enter into that same tube, that path that brings them to know Godliness, to ascend to Olam Ein Sof, the World of Infinity, to adhesion; besides the fact that it‘s happening now, beforehand, it didn‘t happen to everyone, but only to specific souls, and they didn‘t come to the end of the way completely, because the end of the way can only be reached if everyone reaches it. But they came to certain degrees, as he writes, regarding the revelation of Godliness, and it happened to them over thousands of years of human evolution; when the Wisdom of Kabbalah was hidden, where humanity evolved slowly, until it came to a state where it could enter into this development. It is because, this whole path by which a person came to this world and evolved in it, during which the personal evolution of man himself took place; that he developed in physical desires, then money, honor, then knowledge, and then spirituality. When spirituality begins, here begins a process where the point in the heart begins to evolve, and passes through the Machsom, the barrier, into spiritual evolution. This is actually… the phases through which one evolves.
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Money, honor, and knowledge take place through society. That‘s human. That‘s the evolution of humanity, and this is still the physical evolution… in the earlier stages, periods, of human evolution. This is already spirituality. So, there are periods for each person which is called ―the individual,‖ and there are periods where all of mankind advances, and now we‘re coming to a state where many many people in the world are beginning to enter this spiritual phase, where the point in the heart appears in them, and they are evolving in the sensation that there is nothing more to do here. The whole path they went through, during many reincarnations, doesn‘t give them any fulfillment anymore, and now they are looking for fulfillment through Godliness, ―as the waters cover the sea.‖
"These are the prophets and the men of God. And as our sages said: “There is no generation, which has not such men as Abraham and Jacob.” Thus you see that the revelation of His Godliness is carried out in each generation, as our sages said, whom we find trustworthy, proclaim."
In other words, in every generation there were Kabbalists who went through this path, and evolved, and improved the Wisdom of Kabbalah. Humanity is in a state called one soul or Adam HaRishon, where each of us is in this soul as a tiny point a tiny cell that‘s the particular soul, private soul. All the souls are interconnected like cells in a body, and if we have a Kabbalist who corrected himself, then he induces a relative correction in the whole body of Adam HaRishon. Meaning, if there were many Kabbalists in previous generations, then each of us is nourished by them. This is called ―ancestral merit,‖ where they all imprint in my soul seemingly, another drop of light, and another drop of light; and thus I begin to consist not only of my own will to receive, not only of my own corruptions, of my own evil inclinations, but of good things too, meaning the sensation of Godliness.
In other words, we have the particular, which are the Kabbalists from all these generations who left us preparations. They gave us preparations inside every soul. On the one hand, these preparations are in us, in some sort of collection. On the other hand, they built the method which is called Kabbalah; through their books. They‘ve prepared it for us. So from them we have spirituality, within our soul, and we also have their books. So, with their internal preparation, and with the books they have prepared for us in the external, we can come to the collective. The time has come that all of us can begin our path, through the merit of those great Kabbalists throughout the generations.
"The Multiplicity of Partzufim, Sefirot and Worlds
However, according to the above, a question arises—since this wisdom has but the above unique task, then why is there the matter of the multiplicity of Partzufim, Sefirot and interchangeable connections, which are so abundant in the books of Kabbalah?
Indeed, if you take the body of a small animal, whose only task is to sustain itself, that it may exist in this world, and father and carry on its species, you will find in it complexity much greater than a million fibers and tendons, as physiologists discovered, and there is so much more for humans yet to find there. From the above you can conclude the vast variety of compositions needed to connect, in order to invent and to reveal that sublime end."
We must know Godliness, through which, individually, each person in this world has a heart, which is our desires. We have a point in the heart, which is the beginning of our spiritual Kli. Out of our heart and point in the heart, we need to build
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the spiritual Kli. From within our desires, we will have Kelim, and from within the point in the heart we will have a Masach (Screen). In general, our functioning will, in a certain way, be called a Partzuf, and that state called ―Partzuf,‖ will constantly change from smaller to greater and greater, and so on and so forth, until we come to a complete measure called ―Godliness.‖
There are many, many changes in this [Drawing]. Just like our body; it begins as a seed, and it grows and becomes a fetus. It then grows and becomes an infant, and continues growing until it is grown up. When it‘s an adult, it begins to perform the correct actions, as a grown up. It then begins the time of work, as a man, who attains, gains, understands, and discovers.
Look how many phases we have to go through before we become grown ups, ready to work and to perform operations. This path also exists in spirituality; because spirituality is the root and corporeality is the branch. What exists in us in corporeality is a replica of the spiritual. We thus have to study that our path in spirituality probably consists of a preparatory time, as well as the time of the work, [drawing] and this is how we should relate to what happens with us. We even have another condition, called ―prior to the preparation.‖ That is our current state, when we are still not in it; we just want to get to know things, and it also contains the states we went through before we got to know the subject. There are many, many phases. It is the same in spirituality. When a person begins to enter into spirituality, there too it is divided into many, many degrees. In total, there are one hundred and twenty-five degrees. These are defined situations that a person has to go through, improving himself in order to know Godliness.
What does he get from knowing Godliness? He attains perfection and eternity. Here he is whole and eternal. The Creator, the Upper Force, wants to bring us to that state. He doesn‘t care about how much we understand or if we don‘t understand. But as we‘ve read, everyone must reach that degree of being whole and eternal, while also in this world. The body is here [Drawing] and the soul must come to perform these operations and Godliness. Meaning, all of mankind should eventually remain alive here on Earth, and not change in any way, except by what will fill it. Then of course, life will change, because we will know all the laws, all of reality. It will be familiar to us and we will know how to behave. We will be in an eternal and whole state.
Meaning what? I‘m in a body, and our body, the biological body, eventually dies. People who have spiritual attainment have said that this is not the case; that along with knowing Godliness, we also begin—with our own body, our own minds—to change into such forms and dimensions that we today cannot even imagine. They don‘t exist in any book or movie. We cannot imagine what happens with a person when he attains Godliness and Godliness fulfills him.
But we do it here in this world. It‘s seemingly a contradiction, but from this world, to Godliness, to perfection, and intentionally, to tie the lowest degree with the highest degree is man‘s work. This whole level from down up is then called Adam. It‘s called Adam from the words Adame le Eliyon, ―I will be like the most high.‖ Just like Godliness created these things from above downward, in this manner, man attains it and equalizes with the Godliness from below upward. [Referring to drawing]
Question: You said that progress is in the inner states that one goes through in changing interior attributes. In the beginning you also talked about dimensions. Are there other dimensions exactly resembling Earth, like our own, just in an additional dimension?
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What do you mean by resembling and additional? I don‘t know. No. We divide reality, everything that exists, and which we attain, into Atzmuto (His Essence), which is an Upper Force which we do not attain, that is, we attain that we don‘t attain it. We‘ll talk about it [Drawing] in this same article. Then there is Ein Sof, Infinity. Ein Sof means that we are unrestricted from above downward in the way the Upper Force created us. Afterwards there are the Olamot, worlds, Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya, and after these worlds, there is Olam ha Zeh, this world. The special thing about this world is our substance, the substance that we now feel, that is, the still, vegetative, and animate found in this world. In between this world and these worlds there is something called Machsom (barrier). The barrier is like a border I run into and I don‘t even feel it. When the point in the heart awakens in me, it is a point that is beyond the Machsom. I have a heart, or my desires, and in them I have a point in the heart. The heart is just desires, my desires. The point in the heart is called ―the part of Godliness from above.‖
It‘s as if it fell into me from a different dimension. This here is Shoresh, root, and here [drawing] it fell into me… that‘s the branch. This point draws me toward a dimension beyond the Machsom (barrier). It shows me that there is something beyond. When it awakens in a person, that person begins to become Adam (a man). In other words, he already begins to awaken, to resemble Godliness. Before that, he is not Adam (a man), because he has desires belonging to this world, and these are the only ones he wants to sustain. In that, he is nothing more than anything else in this world—still, vegetative, and animate. In between this point, called ―the point in the heart,‖ and between the heart; [Rav repeats] between the heart and the point in the heart, there is tension. Where does this come from? It is because both aim toward fulfillment from different places. Then, between the heart and the point in the heart, if I use this tension correctly, I have freedom of choice.
I should use all of my substance, not just degrade it and be like an angel, like in many of those Eastern methods. I also shouldn‘t be within matter all the time, because I won't be able to rise above this world. I should rather use both—[refers to drawings] this one and that one—and then I discover my free choice in between them. The free choice is in being Adam (a man), and in rising to a level where I know and equalize with Godliness. This is called ―becoming eternal and whole like Him.‖ As it is written, ―Return O Israel unto the Lord your God.‖ It is literally coming to the degree of Godliness. Now, in order to bring us to all of these possibilities from below upward, the worlds were created. The worlds—world [drawing] (he's writing 'world')—it comes from the word Ha-Alama, He Alem, concealment. Meaning, this Godliness gradually disappears. Let‘s say this is one hundred per cent and then there‘s eighty per cent, [drawing] sixty, forty, twenty and this is zero per cent. I don‘t feel it at all—Godliness.
Gradually by having these worlds, meaning, degrees that constantly hide Godliness from me, they give me the opportunity to freely ascend and discover Him, in that I do it myself. I acquire knowledge, wisdom. I build Godliness by myself, through my own understanding, and my own recognition with my own substance. That‘s the special thing here, because a person has to come to the state—of Godliness It might sound strange or frightening. I have my own substance, my own matter, but it‘s only my matter. It‘s like clay; like a piece of clay. I must, from this amorphous piece of clay, build the image of the Creator. I thus take the blueprint from Him—I take this blueprint bit by bit. As He lowers this blueprint to me, called the Olamot, worlds, I slowly, slowly take this blueprint from Him, and with my own matter, return to Godliness.
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With my own substance. It means that I build it myself. This is called ―having a heart and the point in the heart.‖ In the point in the heart I constantly receive information about Godliness, about Partzufim, about worlds. The world Assiya: What is the world Assiya? I build the world of Assiya within me. What is the world Yetzira? I build the world of Yetzira within me. It then turns out that I seemingly swallow the whole reality before me; I swallow it within me. I begin to absorb within me all of reality. It‘s called ―rising in degrees.‖ They enter me, beneath me already, within me, and I rise above them until Ein Sof . Thjs is what is actually happening.
This is from within "Know the Lord your God," as it says. ―Knowing‖ means taking from Him all the information of what Godliness is, what the worlds are, Partzufim. and to serve Him; to make His image out of your own matter. That is why man is called "I will be like most high."
The Wisdom of Kabbalah is intended to provide us with everything needed for that process.
Question: As you’ve said, it sounds strange and frightening, saying every person will have to be what, God? It is strange and frightening.
According to all the verses, to everything that the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Torah, and nature demands of man; man has to rise to the highest degree, which is called ―Creator‖ or ―God‖—to reach Dvekut, adhesion, with the Creator. Adhesion occurs according to equivalence of form, meaning, according to nature. In other words, there is a nature [drawing] that is at the highest degree called ―Godliness,‖ and there is a nature that appears to us on the human level. A person has to gradually acquire the nature of the Creator. Does that make him as the Creator, as God? Of course, he becomes Adam (a man). He himself remains a person.
However, everything about him… according to what does he operate?. The Creator created man with 613 desires, and these 613 desires were deliberately corrupted. They all became egoistic. Man, after thousands of years of developing in this world, has to come to a state where he is despaired, where he has a point in the heart, and then he must begin to ascend, to improve himself and come back to correct these 613 desires, of which the correction of each desire is called a Mitzva, a commandment of the Creator. As it says, you have to do it.
That is in fact the whole process we have to go through. Our substance is those 613 desires, and the correction of each desire is in resembling the Creator, which is called Dvekut (adhesion). Why is resembling called ―adhesion‖? It is because, in the corporeal world, resembling is through corporeal attributes, but in the spiritual world, it‘s bestowal, the force of bestowal on the part of the Creator and the force of reception on the part of the creature. The force of reception on the part of the creature is his 613 desires. If the creature uses all of these desires, 613 desires, [Rav repeats] if the creature uses them in order to bestow, it is tantamount to bestowal, because everything follows the intention. The 613 desires are the heart, the substance of the creature. They are unchanging, and in order to bestow, it is his intention. That is the point in the heart that the creature develops. [Drawing]
Therefore, reaching bestowal, the Creator, Godliness, which is in fact man, is called ―adhesion,‖ since, according to the equivalence of form, according to the matching between the—if one gives and the other receives, then they are different. This is the Creator and that‘s the creature. But if this receiver begins to receive from the Creator in order to give back to the Creator, then he gives. In that they are equal. They are no longer one above the other, but both are up, and are not one next to the
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other, but they‘re both at the same place. They are in the same place because they are now both operating according to the other.
There are 613 desires in the Creator to give to man. That is why He created a man with 613 desires. Man has these 613 desires in order that by fulfilling them, he gives pleasure back to the Creator. They meet together in man‘s substance. It all exists within man‘s substance.
The Light, the Creator, created the Kli called ―desire‖ with 613 desires, and within these desires one feels one‘s self—Godliness, the Light, the Creator—and one‘s own sameness with the Creator. It all happens within man, within that same Kli. From this, we come to the understanding that the perception of reality... What is reality? What is ―my world‖? My world is what I feel within. If my desires change to some extent… So there are human desires, and bodily, like we spoke before, which do not change—they are static, they do not require correction, my body remains the same body—and there are desires that come as a point in the heart, and these are spiritual desires. In spiritual desires, I feel according to the changes in them. I feel in them spirituality, the Upper World, or Godliness. But it‘s also within me, within my desire.
Meaning, within man appears two forms of reality which are called ―this world‖ and the ―Spiritual World.‖ If only this world appears, then it is dependent on my body. When the body dies, the sensation of this world disappears from me. If, before I physically die, if I acquire the sensation—spiritual sensations, spiritual life—by correcting my Kelim, my desires, to be like the Creator, then I am eternal and whole like Him.
There are, then, two forms of reality in me., And outside of this Kli, we don‘t feel anything - that is Atzmuto (His Essence or His Self). It is something unknown to me, something that probably influences me, but I don‘t even know who or what it is. That‘s why the perception of reality is totally subjective, inside man. That‘s why it‘s so difficult to explain what a person feels by being in some Upper World, because it is completely an inner change that he goes through, such that can‘t be explained—only by the same method by which you can reach that same state, and then you‘ll feel it yourself.
Now we can talk a lot about what the Wisdom of Kabbalah is, how it explains reality, how we perceive reality, how man lives, dies, and reincarnates, and where our corrections are, what happens with us. Now, from here onward, you open up an Infinite world.
Question: What you’re explaining sounds very interesting but I have a few simple questions. What will I do after I become like God, will I create a world? Create people? What will I do if I reach these things?
You can‘t explain it because the words will be dry. Eternity? Perfection? Pleasures? Infinity? I hear some vibrations in my ear or in my mind but I don‘t know what they are. It doesn‘t matter what I say.
That‘s why we say such. Those who reach the Wisdom of Kabbalah, who have a desire for it, will feel that they will have to know what the secret of life is, and what they will have to do with life. For such people, this world has no pleasure, fulfillment, or attraction. Those people come and discover it for themselves, because before a person enters this reality, you can‘t convey the picture to them. As Baal
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HaSulam says, everyone will eventually have to come to it. Those who have a desire for it can do it right now.
That‘s why the Wisdom of Kabbalah exists, and besides this, by acquiring these Upper Forces, one can change one‘s life. He gets filled with abundance and feels detached from this world, not disconnected, but above it—in his ability, his sensation, in the whole flow of the force of life in him. It‘s not now that we have to work for a thousand years; now, immediately, we can enter the Upper Reality, and experience what being God is—literally, in its simplicity. Let‘s hope that we will succeed. But right now we have to end our lesson.
Bnei Baruch, Israel, August 30, 2005
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DAILY LESSON & RAV’S BLOG: SELECTED EXCERPTS
Source: Rav‘s blog at http://www.laitman.com
We See What We Feel
The end of correction, which Kabbalists describe in their writings, has to be realized in our world, in matter, in all our vilest, most “materialistic” relationships. This is the correction where ―the darkness shines as Light‖ (Psalms 139:12) and ―his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives‖ (Zechariah 14:4).
The animate part of me remains the same. My body does not start working for the sake of bestowal. Besides, it operates that way initially. The whole of nature, besides man, works for bestowal. We just don‘t see that since we evaluate everything by our standards.
We think that animals only devour each other, but in reality, this is not true. We simply cannot attribute the intention to bestow to them because we do not feel or understand them. But in fact, nature rules over them directing them toward bestowal, and they obey its orders. However, the same cannot be said about man. He carries out the orders of his egoism, which is aimed at reception, and moreover, he mires nature by judging it according to his own faults.
When man corrects himself, he takes on the global form and sees the global picture. Simultaneously, we say that the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels of nature become corrected as well, but what that means is that they become corrected in our new perception. Animals do not actually have to be corrected. It is you who will see that the wolf and sheep live in peace, just like today your eyes see that one eats the other.
In the article ―The Creator‘s Concealment and Revelation,‖ Baal HaSulam writes that you see wars and strife in the world because you are like that yourself.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/11, ―The Nation‖
Every Person Should Adjust Himself From Within
Changes are now required on the part of man. He must change himself internally, rather than changing anything outside of him. The systems that we built, economy, society, and education, were developed according to our growing egoism. But now it is time to stop because we have begun to develop internally in a way that does not accord with our growing egoism, but with the correct form of our ego, the form of bestowal, mutual connection.
Today, the world is revealing the spiritual form. It‘s a miracle to see how humanity is acquiring the form of bestowal—total interconnection.
In the beginning, we became separated from each other. There was a breaking on the scale of the universal system, and as a result, no one was connected. But now the system has started to close and we are becoming more and more tightly connected with one another. This is called ―the integral world.‖
We are revealing the system that is showing us the corrected world. However, it is showing it to us from the outside, while we have to adjust ourselves to it on the inside.
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In essence, this is the Creator, the Light being revealed to us! If we bring ourselves into harmony with this connection and universal globalization, and if our desires acquire the corrected form, then the Light will be revealed inside them.
We should try to understand that the old methods are no longer effective and there is nothing we can do with them. This must be acknowledged as a fact. Nothing will help unless we think about connection. There is no other way for us to correct this world.
We will not have any instruments to use in the economic system. Even in the army, the hero that wins does not do so by his own force. Nothing will work in our world besides the power of connection! The more we unite, the sooner we will succeed, and everything will work out in the world and in society, from the inside out.
We have reached the actual implementation of the method of correction, and we cannot escape it. Time obliges us to this.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/11, ―The Nation‖
Without Resistance
Question: How can we explain to people the benefit of unity? What will it give them?
Answer: Through unity, you will reach balance with Nature, and then, you will experience no shortage of anything.
Our problem is that our every action requires efforts, energy. But if you are in balance with Nature, in harmony with it, you scarcely put forth any effort. You function as a perpetual motion machine, with virtually no fuel, no effort, and no resistance.
Today, all your actions are caused by the fact that you are opposite to Nature. But imagine the reverse situation: Anywhere you come, everyone is immediately ready to help you with anything, and you are ready to help them. Everything becomes immeasurably easier; you spend infinitely less energy, material, and time; you have infinitely fewer problems. And that is in everything.
Equilibrium eliminates resistance. A relationship you enter provides free movement from one to the other. This refers to the production of anything and to everything you extract from nature. Abundance appears everywhere because each element reveals to us the Inner Light, additional energy.
In their time, the scouts sent to the land of Israel after forty years of wandering in the desert told about the land‘s huge fruit. That is what they had in mind. Yes, this is difficult, but there is no way out. If you want to bring good to the entire society, you must abolish and eliminate our oppositeness to Nature.
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/2011, The Zohar
The Force That Arises From Opposites
Question: How do we prepare internally before going out to disseminate externally?
Answer: We must aspire to unity above all differences and chasms between us. I perceive certain people as completely antagonistic, others as hating me, and still others as distant in terms of their worldview, beliefs, and sensations. But I put a
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restriction on all of these feelings; I don‘t use any of my negative responses. Instead, I want to build a feeling of connection and unity above it all.
It is written: ―Love will cover all sins.‖ This means that the negative (–), the ego, all the transgressions, are below, and they are covered from above by the positive (+), which is love.
The difference or discrepancy between us creates a force of resistance and the ability to overcome, or to use Kabbalistic terms, the screen and the Reflected Light. It appears from the opposition of the two poles within me.
That is why we don‘t eliminate our ego, but cover it with love. The sin remains—now we merely need to use the method of correction and add a screen.
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/2011, The Zohar
Cries Won’t Help
Our problem is that we cry out from the pain that our egoism has caused us. But the Creator is deaf and unreceptive to this kind of cry. We can cry as much as we want. We have witnessed terrible suffering throughout history, but the upper force doesn‘t seem to pay attention to it.
This is because the purpose of creation, the Thought of Creation, and its entire system is built so as to bring the egotistic desire to correction, to the intention to bestow. If we don‘t cry in order to acquire the attribute of bestowal, but on the contrary, we demand good for our egoism, we get the opposite result and only make our situation worse. We invite a much stronger negative effect, from which we will learn how to cry out correctly.
This is the problem of humanity, which doesn‘t understand the upper governance. All the heaviness that we feel, all the hardships, and our disagreement with the Creator stem from the fact that we don‘t understand His plan and expect Him to change and to do something for us. But He won‘t do anything! There is a plan for the correction of the shattering, and I need to use it. That‘s all.
If I don‘t do that, I can cry just as everyone has done for ages, and whom did it help? By our crying, pleading, and attempting to fill our ego, we only increase our desire to receive and we receive harder blows until we reach total despair, which we are starting to feel now. This is so that we will finally understand that salvation will only come from our correction and not from egotistic demands. There is no one to ask from!
It is only possible to turn to a corrected system, which is one level above me and which I perceive as total darkness since it is a system of bestowal. If I want to adapt to it and be like it, I can ask for that. This is what I will receive—if I really ask for this.
My request will be fulfilled if I ask to bestow in order to be the one who bestows, and not in order to feel better.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/2011, Shamati #240
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The Adapter Between Me And The New World
We already understand that we are all connected by a close mutual bond and that this connection works in the world differently than in the past. A new condition, a new coefficient, has been added to our interrelationships, which we still cannot take into account because of our nature. We are not familiar with the system we have been hurled into, and so we cannot do anything about it.
Therefore, Kabbalists say: We should first learn what the system is and understand the situation. Then will we know how to arrange our life.
We cannot continue to advance by our own powers. If we refuse to learn, we will learn by terrible blows that will show us how stubborn and ignorant we are. In any case, we will have to ―go back to school‖ and study the science of Kabbalah. It wasn‘t given to us without reason—it is about the system of reality opposite to us, about the upper world.
We should not delude ourselves: By studying this system, we will not be able to correct the financial system or find new business management methods under the new conditions. With the study of the science of Kabbalah we will only realize that we must ask for the power of correction.
The method of Kabbalah will not enable us to continue ―improving‖ the world by our merciless egoism. It will only enable us to acquire a new power, the power of bestowal, in addition to our power of receiving. Only when the power of bestowal dominates the power of bestowal will we know what to do with ourselves and with the world.
The wisdom of Kabbalah is not a practical manual for solving all problems by using the usual egotistic approach. The studies will only show us how to ask for an internal change. Only having changed internally will we understand what to do with the world.
This is why the method of Kabbalah had to be revealed externally, artificially. It doesn‘t grow in us naturally from within. It is given to us from the outside so that we will exert effort and ask to correct ourselves.
Here we are given free will: I am facing a new system, a new method, and now I have to develop the will to change inside me. I am in my ego facing a new system, a new world. The science of Kabbalah is what adapts me to the new world. It helps me reach a state in which I ask for correction. Then I will change: Besides my egoism, I will also have the attribute of bestowal, and I will understand how to approach the new world correctly.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/2011, ―The Nation‖
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The Wave That Carries Us Upward
Question: How can I reach the demand for the Creator if I feel that I am nothing compared to Him?
Answer: Our work is not to engage in soul-searching, but to focus on our environment. There is nothing more we have to work on but our attitude, our coming closer and connecting with others, which stems from the shattering of the vessels.
The Creator is what is revealed in our corrected vessels. We should worry about the vessels because the upper Light is at absolute rest. The more the vessels become equal to the Light, the attribute of bestowal, the more they reveal this attribute, and this is called the revelation of the Creator to the created beings.
How can a radio receive and transmit signals? After all, these sounds do not exist in the air? It is because we ―arouse‖ in the radio the same radio wave that exists outside. According to the equivalence of form, these two waves unite and begin to resonate. Thus they produce the result of their unity in the radio, which we hear as sound.
Clearly, we cannot hear radio waves; our ear does not detect such frequencies. However, this main, ―carrying‖ wave has some extra element, harmony. And if we reach equivalence with the main wave, we begin to hear this extra element, the hidden voice inside.
All our senses work according to this principle, and this is how we have to tune ourselves to the connection with the Creator.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/2011, Shamati #240
Cursory Thoughts On Shamati, “There Is None Else Besides Him”
We must always know one thing: There is one cause, one force that influences and governs us. It has a beginning and an end, and there is a process whereby it advances us. Nobody can influence it; nobody can confuse or change it. This force is absolute.
We can only change ourselves so as to perceive its influence in a better, more pleasant way that is also closer to this force. To the extent that we identify with it and become like it, we will understand, feel, and act in congruence with it, in harmony and equivalence of form, what we refer to as ―adhesion.‖
In that case, we are prepared to accept everything it subjects us to and greet it with the right feeling, in full partnership, acting in unison with it. There is only one governance. There is nothing else that could be our root.
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YOUR INQUIRY
- What is exactly your definition of "Bible" and "The Scriptures" Which books, specifically, should I be reading? (Christopher from Texas)
- I would like to know how to apply the study of Kabbalah to my study of Torah? (Bryan from Arizona)
Kabbalah Explains the Bible
Source (Kabbalah Today 12th
issue)
What does it take to author the greatest bestseller of all time? Apparently, it takes as much as discovering a world where there are no words at all, and finding words from our world to describe it.
But that‘s not all. As a baby, the author of the Bible was found by the daughter of the ancient Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh, lying in a papyrus crib by the banks of the Nile River. He was raised in Pharaoh‘s house and lived like a king‘s son, having everything one could desire. But one day, Moses found he could no longer remain in that setting and embarked on a journey that led him to discover the Upper World.
And even though Moses found himself in different places, the Upper World he discovered was not at all a physical place somewhere on the globe. It was rather an inner world of completely new sensations, unattainable to our regular five senses.
When we think about a ―world,‖ the picture that probably pops up in our mind is of some vast physical space filled with all kinds of objects, plants, animals and people. However, the Upper World is sensed through a person‘s internality, where one connects to the driving forces behind the reality we perceive through our five senses, called ―our world.‖ And at the highest level of the Upper World, one discovers that all these forces are connected into a single, all-inclusive Upper Force, called ―Upper Light.‖
Words of this World, Meaning of the Upper World
Even though Moses wrote his book thousands of years ago, the Bible is still the most famous book ever written. It was originally written in Hebrew, and its Hebrew name, ―The Torah,‖ gives us an insight into its true meaning and intent: The word Torah comes from the Hebrew words Ohr—Light, and Hora‘a—instruction. Thus, the book is an instruction manual on how to feel the Upper Light, found in the Upper World that Moses had discovered.
But since there are no words in the Upper World, The Torah uses words from this world to describe it. How can our normal words describe the Upper World? Kabbalah explains that the spiritual forces within the Upper World govern everything in our world, and hence, every force in the Upper World is manifested in our world. The forces in the Upper World are called ―roots,‖ and their manifestations in our world are called ―branches.‖ Thus, the language used in The Torah is called ―The Language of Branches.‖
It works like this: When Moses wanted to describe something in the Upper World, he named it after its branch in our world. For instance, if a spiritual object manifests in our world as a stone, he called that spiritual object ―a stone.‖ So the
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word, ―stone,‖ did not refer to the stone we see and feel in our world, but to the spiritual root that manifests in our world as a stone.
In the same way, every word of the Bible describes the happenings of the Upper World. And when read this way, the book is used the way the author had intended: as a guide for one who embarks on the journey of spiritual discovery.
When Words Lose Their Meaning
Thousands of years have passed since Moses produced this monumental book, and as time went by, the true Kabbalistic meaning of the Bible was forgotten. Instead of reading it in order to enter the Upper World and feel the Upper Light, many people began thinking that the book talked about our world: about relationships between people, moral teachings, and advice on arranging our mundane matters. Others believed that this book was a historical narrative. Either way, these are all misinterpretations of the text, since it is written in the Language of Branches and deals only with the Upper World.
And yet, there is archaeological evidence that the historical events described in the Bible actually happened in our world. Do Kabbalists maintain that none of these events actually took place in our world? No, just the opposite: They help us see why they all had to happen in our world.
As said above, every object and event in this world is brought about and governed by its root in the spiritual world. Therefore, if a spiritual object exists, it has to manifest in our world as well. That‘s why, although the Bible describes only the Upper World, the corresponding events must have taken place in our world as well.
Reading Kabbalah Correctly
The key discernment here is that Kabbalists consider the spiritual objects and events— the roots—infinitely more important than their material consequences. They explain that a Kabbalist with the exceptional spiritual attainment of Moses could not have written a word with the objective of telling us about history or ethics. Rather, his only purpose would be to reveal the Upper World to mankind, to help us feel it the way he did and thus help us attain the highest goal of our existence.
Therefore, the right way to read The Torah is to see that its every word refers to a spiritual force found in the Upper World. Then one begins to gradually connect to these forces and feel them, just as Moses did.
Those who have already developed an ability to feel the Upper World are called ―Kabbalists,‖ and when they read The Torah they don‘t envision historical events or moral teachings. Instead, they clearly sense how spiritual forces govern us and everything around us, and how everything unites in the infinite, perfect Upper Light.
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FEEDBACK
From your letters: … I have read everything you have sent to me and I hope you realize how much I
appreciate all your help. I just needed to say thank you for reaching out to me. I wish you all the best and I will always look forward to hearing from you (James from Colorado)
… I am reading the booklet, almost daily, along with my weekly Torah portion. I am taking
your teaching to heart & look forward to grow with these teachings (Michael from California) … I recently received a book from you titled: From Chaos To Harmony, and I liked it very
much … I am writing to show you my appreciation and to request more books concerning this same material (Michael from Texas)
…I am glad to hear the Kabbalah Correspondence Course is so well received. I for one
thank you all very much for your time and efforts! I received Volume 2 and I am really getting a lot from the writings (Richard from Arizona)
…I wanted to send you a thanks for a copy of the wisdom of Kabbalah magazine for
inmates. I truly enjoyed it and can't wait to start the correspondence course (Henry from California)
…I really appreciate the information I‘m receiving and I‘m glad I‘m a part of this movement
and asking for the new magazine and some potent jewels (Jeremy from Texas) …I first would like to say thank you for the magazine for inmates. Both the first and the
second issue has been very knowledgeable for me (Bryan from Arkansas) …I have enjoyed both volume 1 and 2 that I have received so far and have enjoyed the
literature in them (Keith from Nevada) …I just read and reread Volume 2. This is fantastic! Immediately after receiving it I sent it
to the law library for my friend to make me 10 copies. We are distributing that to the inmates and everyone. The quality of the magazine is excellent and equal or better than the books. The present Magazines format could not get any better than it is - it is perfect. This Magazine is a Great correction for the realization and disconnection from the klippot (Dante from Nevada)
…I plan of having the Chaplain make copies of the first magazine and the second. Please
keep the ―Wisdom of Kabbalah‖ magazine coming. That is really good idea and the format is perfect keep up a good (great) work (Nelson from Pennsylvania)
…I received your package; everything is so informative and helpful. My past experience
with Kabbalah was through mysticism and symbolism. The truth you have let me know that is Kabbalah has given me a great deal of comfort and, yes, Desire!! (Jon from Texas)
…I‘ve just read one of Rav Michael Laitman‘s books ―Kabbalah Revealed‖, and it opened
my eyes so I could see things that have been right in front of me all along. This book was the missing piece to the puzzle I call life. What I am trying to do (with the Creator‘s help) is to help spread the knowledge and wisdom that Kabbalah has to offer to hundreds of brothers that desperately need it. My Goal is to start a Kabbalah study here. Even though we are incarcerated there are a lot of spiritual seeking brothers. Brothers just don‘t know that we are all part of one body and we don‘t know how to kill off the Ego and realize we are one (James from North Carolina)
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GOOD ENVIRONMENT
Manchester United
Friends from all over the United Kingdom met in Manchester for a real unity!
Participation Of The Mutual Guarantee Movement In The Protest In Tel Aviv
Over a thousand men and women from all the Bnei Baruch centers in the country participated in a huge dissemination operation at the tents protest in Tel Aviv. Buses from all the centers dropped the participants at the Essence College where they all got stocked up with shirts and signs and a briefing.
At the main stage many friends gathered before the event started and managed to spread around the stage with signs of mutual guarantee that covered the entire area of the stage. You could see them from every angle. These signs were seen in all the reports of the news channels: L'Chaim! for a huge connection operation seen by the entire country!
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Belarus
Friends from Belarus organized a mini convention in nature in Brest area. 25 friend of Minsk, Grodno, Orsha, Saratov, Vitebsk, Fohovic'I and Brest were connected in one intention during all these memorable days of unity in the forest near the lake. The heavy rainstorm, promised by the forecasters, had changed its course in the face of the power of unity and the weather was excellent.
The friends were connected with the World Kli for the daily Kabbalah lesson, while sitting around the campfire. There were also seminars, a cultural evening with guitar and accordion, friends‘ gathering and of course festive meals with a lot of L'Chaim! greetings.
Thanks for friends from the Bnei Baruch of Minsk for the report and pictures.
Bnei Baruch Of South Africa
The South Africa Group is a virtual group that includes friends (men and women) from South Africa, Kenya, England, Holland and even Norway. Some of them met for the first time during the Moscow convention, and since then they are working hard to strengthen the World Kli and the establishment of a physical group.
They meet whenever they can (picture was taken during the last meeting). Last time they met for 3 hours and discussed the purpose, building of the group, absorbing new friends, and increasing the group. During the week they meet virtually for the daily Kabbalah lessons, friends' gatherings, Tuesday lectures with Dr. Laitman, unity days and joint reading of sections of intention before bed. I can tell that the friends are serious and highly organized, goal oriented, warm, supportive and caring. Nice to know that there are such friends in the world!
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SMILE!
Source: Rav‘s blog at www.laitman.com
A Kabbalistic Joke
A cannibal can‘t sleep; he turns in his bed and sighs. His wife pokes him on the side: ―Why aren‘t you sleeping?‖ The cannibal sighs: ―A question is bothering me: ‗What is the meaning of life?‘ His wife responds, reproachfully: ―I told you, old fool, don‘t eat Kabbalists!‖
OOuurr ssiinncceerree ggrraattiittuuddee ffoorr tthhee ddoonnaattiioonnss tthhaatt yyoouu hhaavvee mmaaddee!!
AAllll ooff tthhiiss mmoonneeyy wwiillll bbee ssppeenntt oonn pprriinnttiinngg aanndd sshhiippppiinngg tthhee mmaaggaazziinnee..
TTHHAANNKK YYOOUU!!
Friends, it's important for us to know that those of you who get released from prison still stay in touch with us.
You can start by visiting the website of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center at http://edu.kabbalah.info where you'll be offered a number of self-study courses of different levels
The center broadcasts live classes and provides students with other services like access to the library of authentic Kabbalah materials as well as to a lesson archive and Question and Answer Forum.
When you feel that you are prepared enough to move on, our main informational internet resource at http://kab.tv/ will be your next step. Here you'll find Kabbalah TV Live Stream with daily lessons of Rav Laitman and more.
Also you can join one of our local Kabbalah groups. Let us know about your location upon discharge and we'll hook you up with the closest group in your area.
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