Correct Yourself, Correct The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “600,000 Souls”: And when a single soul is purified from all its filth, it will draw onto itself the whole of the soul of Atzilut, and through it, all the souls of its generation will be completed. This is the meaning of one being dependent on the other.

This is the result of complete mutual connection of all souls. Hence, no soul can ascend without taking all souls along with it; its ascent depends on them. It is an integral system where all parts are mutually linked. By correcting itself, every soul corrects its connection with the other souls, thereby bringing them closer to correction as well.

To correct oneself amounts to mending one’s connection with the others. Their individual state remains unchanged; I am only preparing them for corrections that they will later undergo. In fact, I precede them as a previous generation. I establish a connection with them without their awareness or understanding of what I am doing.

I employ the entire system of souls so as to correct the connections within it to the best of my ability. However, the souls who are not yet ready for it cannot understand and feel my actions. They haven’t arrived at correction yet, but I use them in it, and that is called the preparation of sons by the fathers. It is similar to how in our world where we improve the world for the future generation, and our children who come after take advantage of everything that we have prepared for them.

We correct the connection between us, our “layer,” until the differences between the souls get erased, and from our side, the entire humanity is corrected. But they themselves don’t feel it. When their time of correction arrives, they will receive all the necessary tools for it.

Why are they entitled to this? I, too, received assistance from the previous generations, from the "older" souls, some time ago. Each new generation is born with even greater egoism, and without such preparation, they cannot accomplish the work. We are all doing relatively the same work: Those who must correct greater egoism receive greater assistance.
[21988]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, "600,000 Souls"

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Love And Hatred Of "600,000 Souls"

Dr. Michael Laitman600,000 souls are parts of a single soul created by the Creator. This single created being was divided into parts which we call "600,000" souls. However, this number does not indicate quantity, but rather the quality of the connection between them.

When the Creator gives rise to the desire to receive pleasure, everything is a single whole; the Creator, the vessel, and the Light are like one. But in this state, both the desire and the Light sense neither separation nor connection; they don’t feel whether the creature exists or not. There is a complete absence of any sensation because any sensation in the creature can be detected only through the opposition between the creature itself and what it feels.

For that, it is necessary to distinguish between the Light and the vessel and to feel their complete oppositeness and connection. However, when the vessel and Light connect, their difference doesn’t vanish since love emerges above hatred.

Both qualities have to emerge. The distance between hatred and love, darkness and light (hatred is revealed as darkness and love as light), gives the creature the sensation of its existence and understanding of where it exists and with whom it is connected. This is the reason why the World of Infinity is not enough to outline the creature and make it independent.

Only after the creature goes through the entire process of its development, meaning that it starts at the first stage, descends to the second, and then rises back to the third, does it begin to understand what the first state was about. The created being becomes independent and similar to the Creator. That’s why it is called Adam.

In the beginning (Stage 1), the creature was just a drop of semen. Then, it realizes that the breaking has occurred and corrects it. By doing so, the creature attains perfection. It is not considered a drop of semen any more, but rather, it has the power of 600,000 souls and represents one, big, autonomous soul.

“Six hundred thousand” stands for six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin multiplied by ten Sefirot in each of them and then by ten thousand, the power of the ascent of Zeir Anpin to Arich Anpin which governs all corrections. 60 x 10,000 = 600,000. Hence, the common soul (the general, final, corrected state) is called 600,000 souls.
[21991]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, "600,000 Souls"

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Where Is My Soul?

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the material world, everyone has a body with its fulfillments. We are separated from each other by biological bodies, and psychologically, each of us perceives themselves as an individual personality.

In spirituality, everything is constantly changing by going from one state to another; the Light and the vessel are always different. We “clothe” in a certain state and name ourselves in accordance with it as actors who change costumes for new roles. It is as if we are in a science fiction movie where we play a variety of characters.

There is no such notion as a “private, permanent soul” that exists autonomously, climbs the ladder, and preserves its individuality. It’s hard for us to understand how our "self" disappears. For example, it is said in the article “600,000 Souls” that each person who corrects his soul will uncover Malchut to the world and will be named King David.
[21985]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, "600,000 Souls"

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Hoshana Rabbah Night Lesson – 09.29.10

Shamati #2 “Examining the Shade on the Night of Hoshana Rabbah”
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Shamati #8 “What is the Difference Between A Shade of Kedusha and A Shade of Sitra Achra”
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter, “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 114
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My Spiritual Simulator – 09.28.10

Spiritual Simulator: Questions of the Day

Only The Creator Gives Us The Soul

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How should I relate to my wife to feel the Creator between us?

Answer: Try to make all the interactions between you happen only in order to reveal the Creator between you. This guarantees you absolute peace at home and is useful for every person even out of purely egoistic interests.

This is a very effective means and it correctly orients a person toward his entire life. The group and the friends are still an artificial structure for him, all of humanity is perceived even farther away, and the universe is felt as completely distant. One’s wife is the closest thing to him, as it is written, "A person’s wife is like his body."

On the other hand, you suddenly reveal that you have a partner in every regard! The Creator lets you start to feel that against every movement you make, she also makes a movement. No matter what movement takes place – in the mind, the heart, or a physical one, a synchronous movement takes place against it. It’s as if the Creator glues together two separate parts in all the details and forms as He becomes revealed.

All we have to do is try to reveal the Creator between us, the force that unites us and that we want to attain as a result of living together. Otherwise this entire life will be a mere animalistic existence.

Together the two of us desire to reveal the force of unity between us – the third component which completes us so we will become as one! When He unites us into one whole, we will include Him inside us and will be one whole precisely because He is inside us and fulfills us.

This is called "Husband, wife, and the Creator between them." He is present in everything that exists between them. There is nothing other than that because the desire of each person is aimed at the other. It’s like the relationship between Zeir Anpin and Malchut: He is entirely aimed toward her, and she toward him.

The Creator set apart all the particular Sefirot of Malchut and made Hava (Eve) out of them. That is why there is a precise correspondence between Zeir Anpin and Malchut along the entire height of a spiritual Partzuf; they are on one level, one against the other in eternal, unceasing union.

Neither has any qualities that are not present in the other. However, the only way to attach them to one another is by the Light of AB SAG, which comes and connects them by correcting one of them toward greater bestowal and the other toward greater reception. In order to unite, they both ascend into Bina, which is called Elokim, the Creator, and He gives them the force of unity and then fulfills them.

They don’t fulfill each other, but their shared desires. That is how a "child" is born, being a result of the union. It is the following spiritual Partzuf, a new state, described by the verse, "The father (Aba) gives the white, the mother (Ima) gives the red, and the Creator gives the soul." The Creator is between them, and by fulfilling them He gives a soul to the new level.
[22122]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/10, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Stretched Out Into A Line By The Light

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the meaning of the term “line”?

Answer: A line is a scale inside me where I build all the inclinations, thoughts, desires, and attitudes in a straight manner. Everything that is now being revealed in me, in my Kelim, becomes built in accordance to the Light that comes to me.

If there is a clear, precise agreement between the Light that now shines on me and the vessels I put in order according to the Light, this means I am built according to a line. That’s because inside of me there is a heap of qualities and the Light that comes to me helps me build myself along a line. Previously I was like a sphere, and then I asked the Light that comes in a straight form to shine inside me in the form of a line and to put me into the same order.

The Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) shines all around. When I ask it for corrections that are built as a straight line, the Light becomes “stretched out” into a line, as do I in conformity with it. This transition depends on whether a person is able and willing to demand this structure from the Light. The Light’s action lies above knowledge, but if a person receives the force to overcome, if he bestows and gives himself over to the Light with full agreement, then the Light orders all the components of his soul according to their importance.
[22102]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/10, “What is Silver, Gold, Israel, the Nations in Work”

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"And A Wise Wife Is From The Lord"

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Zohar, Chapter “VeYechi (And Jacob Lived),” Item 401: So the Creator is the one who gives the woman to the man and the couplings come from Him. This is why it is written, “And a wise wife is from the Lord.”

Everything that occurs in all of the worlds should be interpreted solely in relation to the connection between us. This is because all the worlds were created after the breaking of a single Kli (the will to receive, our soul) into multiple parts. The wisdom of Kabbalah explains how to restore the broken parts to wholeness.

“A woman” or “a wife” is a desire that “the man” or “the husband” has to correct. “Woman” is the broken (egoistic) desire that becomes revealed between me and the friends in the group in its uncorrected state. I have to correct it, find the Light in it, and fill the “woman.” I am the desire to correct, the desire to receive the force of bestowal, the intention. With it, I will be able to correct the intention “to receive for oneself” (“a woman”).

I discover the broken links between myself and the friends. I perceive them as my uncorrected “female” part; I treat these flaws as mine since “one judges according to his flaws”; I intend to correct them; I construct a “corrected woman” from them. Then, in these corrected desires, I attain adhesion with the Creator according to the rule: “Husband and wife, and the Shechina between them.”

The place of the breaking is supplemented by a screen. I perform the adhesion (Zivug) with the Light in this desire that has a screen and thereby reveal the Light within myself. This means that I have already gained a degree of adhesion.

The corrected desire is filled with the Inner Light, and thus I reveal the Creator within myself, the creature. This is what is called the realization of the wisdom of Kabbalah or the revelation of the Creator to the created beings.

What does it mean that “the Creator is performing Zivugim” (couplings, adhesions)? This means that He is setting a person up for desires that will lead him to the revelation of the Upper Light which fills the entire creation. But in order to reach the simple Light, we have to undergo, understand, and know all the kinds of relationships there are in reality. This is similar to how a simple, white color includes into itself all of the others.
[21948]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, The Zohar

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A Time Of Giving And A Time Of Receiving

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is it possible to prepare for the revelation of the broken connection between us?

Answer: This is done during the time of preparation. It is the first stage of advancement in the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is the method of the revelation of the Upper World and the Upper Force to everyone in our world.

A person comes to Kabbalah, but no matter how much he has read or been told about it, he does not grasp what it is all about. What is required are not efforts to remember or the ability to understand, but the influence of the Light that comes as a result of attempts at uniting rather than efforts in study. Then, he gradually begins hearing, that is, feeling his internal reactions to what he hears and reads. Certain internal sensations arise in him.

Try reading a book to a cat. Why doesn’t it listen? It’s because it lacks the senses that would react to your information. The cat doesn’t have a “place” (desire) to receive, feel, and conceive the information. Similarly, a person that comes to the science of Kabbalah can’t perceive our information. It’s not because he does not know the words, but because he doesn’t yet have the internal models of sensations and thoughts which enable him to react to The Book of Zohar.

This is why the “time of preparation” is required. During this period, we construct different models of sensations, relations, and reactions to spiritual definitions in our desire (matter). Construction of these new sensory cells of spiritual definitions in us occurs only through studying Kabbalah in a group which evokes influence of the Upper Light. It’s this Light that creates in us models, cells of new and previously incomprehensible sensations of the Light, bestowal, and connection and other spiritual discernments.

It takes a lot of time before a person acquires a set of sensory reactions to the main spiritual definitions. This is the essence of upbringing in our world. If you were to place a child in a senior class, you’d see that he does not understand what’s required from him and can’t comprehend anything.

Baal HaSulam writes that there is a time of giving and a time of receiving. Giving initiates the process that leads to receiving. However, giving and receiving can’t happen together. That’s because a “place” needs to be created inside a person to feel the lack of what is being given to you.

All of our advancement on the spiritual path comes down to creating an inner ability to feel the Upper World. It is around us right now, but we do not feel it. The Creator is already giving it to us, but we don’t have a desire for it yet. We don’t feel the need for bestowal and love although that’s precisely the spiritual world.

So, how do we reveal spirituality? There is Light in the Creator’s giving, and it influences and awakens us according to the rule, “Light develops Kelim” (vessels). The Light “plows” desires, and more and more, they understand and want the Light, the quality of bestowal. The time of giving ends, and the time of receiving begins.
[21947]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, The Zohar

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How To Help A Friend

Dr. Michael Laitman with StudentsRabash’s article “They Helped Everyone His Friend,” 1984 (the text in bold)

I am unable to advance without the help of the others since only through unity with them can I discover that the spiritual world is revealed in the connection between us. In our world, sometimes I need assistance from someone who is strong, rich, kind, or intelligent. Likewise, I need the help of a person equal and similar to me regarding the purpose of life.

We must understand how one can help his friend. Is this where there are rich and poor, wise and fools, weak and strong?

In our world, help is needed when there are disparities between people; that is where we discover an opportunity to help. If, however, people are equal, then there is no place for assistance. Help in our world extends from a whole person to the one who lacks.

When all are rich, smart, or strong, etc.? How can one help another?

Generally speaking, we are not excited if we have to turn to someone for help. We feel shame, pride, and envy. We don’t want to admit that we need something or depend on someone, and we strive for separation.

We see that there is one thing that is common to all: the spirit. It is said, “A concern in one’s heart, let him speak of it with others.” This is because with regard to feeling high-spirited, neither wealth nor erudition can be of assistance.

An uplifted mood is the result of confidence in the benevolent future. But if a person knows that he has to save himself and can’t do it alone, he falls into depression.

Rather, it is one person who can help another by seeing that one’s friend is low. It is written, “One does not deliver oneself from imprisonment.”

If the prison is our world, then only a friend who shares the same goal can free me from this prison and help me enter the Upper World.

Rather, it is one’s friend who can uplift his spirit (meaning, to give him confidence in reaching the goal). This means that one’s friend uplifts him from his state into a state of livelihood. Then one begins to acquire confidence and wealth once more in life, and he begins as though his goal is now near him.

I’m desperate because I can’t reach the spiritual goal without external help. I cannot force anyone, but I found a friend who is willing to help me. And he will be able to help me not by way of his knowledge or wealth, but by his desire to reach the common goal.

It turns out that each and every one must pay attention and think, how he can help his friend, uplift his spirit, because regarding one’s spirit, anyone can find a needy place in one’s friend, which he can fulfill.

It doesn’t mean that you have to entertain your friend. We must evoke in each friend a feeling that the goal is reachable. Then he will be filled with the spirit of life and rise above this corporeal life, above this world which looks like a prison to him. When a person has such a friend, he feels certain that he is able to break free from this prison.

[21944]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, "“They Helped Everyone His Friend”

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