Audio Version Of The Blog – 11.14.13

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2013-11-14_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title:’14.11.13′]

Infinity Above Me

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Shamati #3: “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”: When we pray to the Creator and ask of Him to help us and to give us what we want, we relate to the discernment of Infinity (Ein Sof). There is the root of the creatures, which wants to impart them delight and pleasure, called “His desire to do good to His creations.”

We must go to Infinity, to absolute love. But why? It would appear that it could be enough to imagine the nearest spiritual state?

No.

First of all, because the nearest state is already Infinity. The adjacent, higher degree is called “Infinity” in relation to the previous one. Today, I cannot attain it, limit it, “bound” it in my vessels, desires; I can somehow imagine it in myself. It is higher than any of my fantasies, all impulses.

So, it is infinite for me, i.e., incomprehensible. It is beyond my perception; it operates at such frequencies, in such properties, which I am not able to discern at all. It does not fit in my current desires. I am deprived of the means of its perception. The most I can imagine is some imaginary similarity of the next degree.

And yet, if I do not seek Infinity, to the best of my understanding, according to the correct definitions, then I do not build the unity of Israel, the Torah, and the Creator. We need to remember that His desire to delight the creature is infinite, that He fully desires to bring us good, and thus I must give the same full response and find Him through the group.

Well, in the group, I begin to understand that I need to nullify myself completely, to absorb the friends’ desires, to give them myself, to dissolve among them so that there is no memory of me. I have to work with the desire of the group by all means to fulfill the desire of the Creator. I can express myself only in this way.

This is the preparation that will enable us to become a connecting channel between the created beings and the Creator.

However in the group, we seek not these two ends of connection, but one point—from oneself to the center of the group and the Creator, Who is hidden there, inside. Here, we do not adapt ourselves to the two different directions, this stage will come later. First, we organize a group, establish connection with the Creator, and then build communication, create a “modem” for switching between the Creator and created beings.
[120352]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/13, Shamati #3 “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

Related Material:
Stairway To The Future
Above Ein Sof (Infinity) There Is The Giver Of Ein Sof
Don’t Be Afraid To Receive Pleasure

The Prayer To One’s Future Self

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe problem is how quickly a person, having come to the wisdom of Kabbalah, is included in the real work. He could be there for a long time, listen to what is said, but not apply real effort, which is connection with others.

Perhaps, only after a long time, he finally begins to understand that the spiritual path is in connection in the group, and it is necessary to find the central point of this unity. After all, only there will he be worthy of contact with the Creator.

It will take a long time until he develops an idea about the concept of the Creator. After all, the Creator has no image, no form, not the slightest clue for us. The Creator is called the force of bestowal that is revealed in a person under certain conditions, which he has to reach by his own efforts. He needs to be suitable for the disclosure of this property. Only when it is manifested in a person can it be called the Creator, but not outside the person.

In essence, a person is impressed by the form which he himself will take in the future. He is drawn to the fact that it is revealed in him, that is, to him in the future. He must be very clear that nothing will change, except himself. He strives to his future form, addresses it with a prayer.

Therefore, it is said about this path, “I labored and found.” This does not mean that I remain the way I was and everything around me changes. The entire world, the entire reality is within a person, and only he changes. That is why, “I labored and found, believe.” It is impossible to come to this find without changing oneself. I “find” because I bring myself to the correct form due to the Light that Reforms and within myself reveal the common property of bestowal and love that is called the Creator.

It is impossible to achieve this without effort. And having applied efforts, I find because I make out of myself the basis on which the image of bestowal, the property of the Creator, can be discovered. This is the only way to advance. That is why efforts should be beyond human power; that is, I have to create a foundation, apply my efforts, but always wait for the Light that Reforms to change me, to prepare for the revelation of the property of bestowal and love. Then, it will be established in me and will begin to rule, changing myself in such a way that my entire mind and heart work in connection with my other parts that now seem to me foreign and separate from me.

That is, we need a proper definition of effort. That is why so much time passes from the moment a person comes to the group and begins to study until he begins to understand and feel that all the changes that must happen are in him, not on the outside. This change in approach, in perception of reality, in feeling that everything is inside him because the whole world is the imprint of his properties, and his spiritual vessel has to include in itself everything, that is, to be “integral.” Only then he will achieve his realization, when the entire creation is in him as his inseparable part. The entire still, vegetative, animate nature, and people are parts of his soul, and there is nothing else besides it.
[120392]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/13

Related Material:
Although You Cannot See Anything In Advance …
We Only Need To Ask Correctly
Efforts And A Finding

How Can We Reach The Gate Of Tears?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It says that we have to reach the “Gate of Tears.” How can we be sure that we are not deceiving ourselves?

Answer: We will not be able to deceive ourselves because we are shaken so strongly from above that we will have to come to the Creator with the right request for spiritual salvation. We simply have to try as much as we can to perform all the requirements, to hasten the process of our evolution, and we will certainly reach it. I promise you since I know from my own experience how this method works.

This is how we develop. The majority of the people who participate in our development are advancing forward, and I hope that it will soon be revealed in us.

Today, when we read the Torah and other Kabbalistic books, it becomes clearer that we are on the right track. You begin to feel and to understand what it says in those books. So don’t worry, sooner or later you will begin to cry.

Tears is a feeling of powerlessness, a state of smallness (this is called the “Gate of Tears”), when it isn’t in my power to do anything and I understand that only the Creator can perform everything in my place.

Question: But how can I be sure that I have really reached that and that I am not deceiving myself?

Answer: Don’t worry, you will be given the chance to understand this. Do everything that is up to you, and then suddenly new states will be revealed to you. These are the new Reshimot (spiritual genes). When they are revealed, a person begins to have new feelings. Just advance forward and you will see how everything is revealed by itself.
[120253]
From the Bulgaria Convention “Dawn Of A New World” Day Two 11/2/13, Lesson 4

Related Material:
Where Do We Find The Key To The Gate Of Tears?
When The Gate Of Tears Finally Opens
The Prayer Of Many

Asking For Others

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we demand the filling of the Light for people who seem to be suffering and at the same time justify the Creator?

Answer: First you have to go through corrections. I pray differently to the Creator: “Just as You are revealed to me as the good and the benevolent and there is nothing evil in what You do, it is by all the evil that you reveal that you direct me to the good and you reveal it to me in suffering and much greater pain than the pain I feel. Although I understand that it is for the best, I ask You to reveal Yourself to them a little in order to show them all Your goodness.”

Let’s ask this differently: How can we justify the Creator if we suffer? We gradually acquire the understanding that everything is for the best by the experience we acquire. All the bad things, the flaws, the darkness, “and there was evening and there was morning,” are revealed as the matter of the next level. We need this and so we don’t only justify this, but we also bless for the evil like for the good.

So when it comes to others, we feel that the world is suffering now and that we have to come to the Creator with this, but we have to turn to Him knowing that people actually need only one thing – the revelation of the Creator. Only His revelation will solve all their problems. It is because the abundance comes from the Light. So only then will they feel that they are rich, healthy, and successful.

So I turn to the Creator and say: “Please do them a favor so that the goodness will be revealed in them.” It hurts me when they curse Him.

A person who suffers curses the Creator automatically, wordlessly. This means that every state that is lower than the circle, than Ein Sof (Infinity) forces me to curse the Creator to that extent. It isn’t about logical conclusions, but the feeling itself is an indication of that.

Question: So how can I depict the revelation of the Creator in them and me correctly?

Answer: I don’t ask for the revelation of the Creator for myself. I only ask for the chance to serve Him and them, or more accurately, to serve Him by them. This is the work I have to do as the link.
[120275]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/11/13, Shamati #3 “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

Related Material:
Looking At The World And Empathizing With The Suffering
Give, Give, Give Us Correction
I Don’t Want To Curse The Creator!

Falling To The Bottom

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from ITAR-TASS): “In the near future, millions of people around the world may be in extreme poverty, providing only their physical survival. The middle class is being eroded by the fact that there is an increasing stratification between the rich and the poor. This year, the unemployment rate will reach a record high of 200 million people. …

“Scientists point out that chronic poverty is characterized by the point of no return, after which the hopes for changes for the better are lost. Usually, it takes three years, spent in extremely difficult circumstances. Over the past ten years, the number of poor people who display extreme passivity with respect to life has increased dramatically. They accept their plight and do not believe that they can change things for the better; they do not even want to look for some kind of work.

“The situation seems hopeless to the poor segments of society, and they are not ready to rise internally.”

My Comment: That is why integral education, which can give relief to the masses through unity, is especially desirable for them. As Marx wrote and Baal HaSulam emphasized, that he addressed not the bourgeoisie, but the oppressed masses, calling them to change themselves, to change society (See Baal HaSulam “The Last Generation”).

But as they distorted religion, replacing the commandment “Love thy neighbor” with only carrying out the requirements mechanically (See Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose“), so they ignored Marx’s message about changing society by changing the human being, thinking that it was possible to compel people to be altruistic by the force of KGB pressure. We must bring the method of integral education to the masses, and proceeding from changes in themselves, they will rebuild public relationships.
[120366]

Related Material:
The Collapse Of The American Dream
Middle Class Greeks Queue For Charity Soup
Europe: The New Economic Reality

He Elevated His Heart In The Ways Of The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Shamati #26, “One’s Future Depends and is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”: It is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” that only the low can see the greatness. The letters Yakar (precious) are the letters Yakir (will know). It means that one knows the greatness of a thing to the extent that it is precious to one.

One is impressed according to the importance of the thing. The impression brings one to a sensation in the heart, and according to the measure of one’s recognition of the importance, to that extent joy is born in him.

Our basis is opposite from the Creator. There are two desires: a desire to receive and a desire to bestow, which are opposite to one another because one stems from something from something and the other stems from something from nothing. So the more humble a person is, the more he acknowledges the Creator’s greatness.

It is very easy to see what the desire to receive appreciates. We are ready to bow before an important person, to admire an important phenomenon, only if our ego feels that they are important. A person spends his whole life searching for the feeling of stability, confidence, support…

However, if something is external to the desire to receive, it isn’t felt as an important factor that can bring desired pleasure or as a threat to what one already has; if it is not in contact with the desire to receive, then I need to create the awareness of its importance, a new awareness. How do I do that?

The condition, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” tells us that we must change.

After all, at least we have a desire to receive. So when we work persistently in order to identify its lowliness, we will be able to identify the greatness of the force of love and bestowal to the same extent. We see that one stems from the other, according to the principle of “the advantage of the Light from the darkness.”

We can do that only in the relations between the friends. The relations with the external world are not suitable for that because there are other standards there. In the group a person can make efforts in order to annul himself in a simple way, as much as he can, even without the right intention.

Then he sees that he isn’t any better than the others. On the contrary, it turns out that he is even worse than them in his attributes. The Light that Reforms influences him through the group and although a person doesn’t understand, he sees that the friends are more successful, have greater strength in annulling themselves, and more force for participating in the lessons, in connection, and in adhesion for the goal. At the same time, he sees that he can also do it. This is where the feeling of importance stems from, since it turns out that the Creator relates to him personally.

Thus, time after time, only when he measures himself in relation to the friends, can a person understand that on the one hand he is low and on the other hand he is worthy of something that he doesn’t deserve at all. He sees that all the other people are detached from the upper force, while he was rewarded with a special attitude from Him. This evokes the development of the vessels in him. He becomes more responsible for what he has received and feels that he is already responsible for others. It’s because he didn’t receive it thanks to his efforts or his personal achievements. No, the Creator has invited him to perform this special work and from now on he is responsible for the correction of the world.

This is how everyone should see himself because the correction of the world depends on him. No one else can correct what he will correct.

So a person feels that he is low and at the same time he understands that he has received a very important mission. The Creator, of course, only expects a person to be able to fulfill the mission and He is ready to help him in any way possible. A person needs only to prepare a prayer so that the Creator will complete what he has started (“The Lord will complete it for me”).

Thus he advances. When a person looks at the past, he understands that the Creator has prepared the whole way for him. He cannot do anything by himself, or expect anything in advance, since he doesn’t know how to advance. On the contrary, everything was prepared for him in advance from above.

Then a person feels gratitude for being in a group, for the fact that he has support from above, for the guidance that he has received up until now. It’s on this basis that he can be sure that if he advances and each time recognizes the lowliness of his nature, then he will feel the “Lord’s greatness” instead and that will fill him. Instead of empty pride “he elevated his heart in the ways of the Creator,” and thus advances.

This is why Baal HaSulam says that “one’s future depends and is tied to gratitude for the past” for his nature, of the progress he has made and of his current state. He sees that he hasn’t chosen his nature, his fate, and that he hasn’t planned his path, and didn’t design himself the way he is. Everything actually comes from Above, and so if he continues to advance he will subdue his ego and from that point onwards there will be a wonderful path to the future spread before him.
[119828]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/6/13, Shamati #26 “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”

Related Material:
From Lowness To Greatness
Gratitude To The Creator Is The Elevator To New Heights
An Addition Of Reality

No Desire, No Thought

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Did I understand it correctly that thought precedes emotion?

Answer: We measure thought by the magnitude of desire to which it applies. Desire is experienced in the heart, and a thought in the mind. What is primary, and what is secondary?

On our side, desire precedes thought since when a person starts wanting, he experiences a thought about how to obtain what he desires. If I have no desire for something, I will never think about it.

A person is constantly bombarded by the desires of this world and he is in turmoil because they pull him in different directions. How do we check the thought so we don’t get confused?

A thought can be discerned only when a person becomes part of the group and receives greater desire from it. The group gives him certain values, its own values, and if he is included in the group, he accepts its values and desires, and then the desire awakens to realize the new thought he received from the group. Desire always precedes thought.

Basically, we don’t possess a thought per se; we desire! If there are desires, there are thoughts; if not, there are no thoughts. The greater the desire is, the greater the thought.
[25998]
From Kab TV’s “Kabbalah for Beginners,” 10.21.10

Related Material:
The Mind Only Evaluates Feelings
What Is A Thought?
How Does One Move One’s Attention Towards The Creator?

Becoming A Part Of The Creator’s Thought

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If the Creator is a thought, then having attained similarity of properties with the Creator, do I also become a thought?

Answer: When we fulfill the Plan of creation, we also become part of this thought. The Creator created desire in the created being in order to give it an opportunity to exist, to be tangible and real. In order to exist outside the Creator, we need matter, which is called desire. But the possibility to become similar to the Creator, merge with Him, and achieve adhesion is accomplished solely by way of thought. The Creator wishes to delight us and He does by means of thought. If we wish to bestow to Him, we also do it by way of a thought. Thought prevails over everything. This regards man as well. In every one of us, there are various desires but we evaluate a person based on his ability to think.
[26056]
From Kab TV’s “Kabbalah for Beginners,” 10.21.10

Related Material:
No Desire, No Thought
The Mind Only Evaluates Feelings
The Foundation Of The Spiritual Ladder

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11.14.13

Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1] [media 2]

Shamati #56Torah Is Called Indication

[media 3] [media 4]

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet (Genesis),” Item 289

[media 5] [media 6]

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 2, Item 5

[media 7] [media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam,The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence

[media 9] [media 10]