“You Shall Be Holy…”

laitman_740_03The Torah portion “Kedoshim” (“Holiness”) explains that we all have to achieve the level of sanctity.

“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy,” (“You people are to be holy because I, Adonai, your God, am holy.”), i.e., we have to reach complete renunciation of our ego. One is unable to get rid of one’s egoism, but one can gradually rise above it to the level of sanctity and transform the entire depth of one’s egoism to altruism, bestowal, and love. At the same time, egoism won’t disappear. However, because of it we will reach this high state.

The desire to exit from one’s egoism shows up under the influence of the internal pressure, which in its turn, depends on the presence of a soul. If so, one begins rising higher and higher until he reaches the level of Bina, the property of bestowal, the quality of sanctity, and begins following the laws of the Torah.

Then, one proceeds further because it is not the end of correction yet; rather, it’s a beginning, the first part.

Observance of the laws of the  Torah is the “processing” of our ego that we use in a way that is opposite to our egoism. If previously one strived to receive and enjoyed exploiting others, now one maintains oneself for the sake of others. This is called receiving for the sake of bestowal.

Question: Does the Torah say how the processing of egoism happens?

Answer: In general it refers to the rise above egoism. The first part of the Torah is dedicated to the means of achieving holiness. Later, it describes entering the land of Israel, the correction of the ego. However, the Torah describes only the ways suitable for the people of Israel, that is, those who attain this state.

As to correction of the entire world, it is described not in the Torah, but in other Kabbalistic books, such as The Book of Zohar and others.

Question: Does it mean that the Torah is not written for the entire world?

Answer: As a source, the Torah is meant for the whole world because it is written in the universal language that is available to all of humanity. But in order to use the text of the Torah directly, people have to be at the level of holiness, at which, for example, Moses wrote the Torah. That’s why we don’t understand what’s written in it.

Question: In other words, after we ascend above our egos, we genuinely understand and sense what the Torah says. How does the ascent happen: consciously or unconsciously?

Answer: A person has to act consciously. The Torah gives us a direction: “You shall be holy,” that is to pursue this rule constantly. That’s why we have to completely master our egoism and elevate it to the level of sanctity.
[149869]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/9/14

Related Material:
A Test On The Attribute Of Holiness
Entering The Holy Of Holies
Learning How To Work With Egoism

Discussion | Share Feedback | Ask a question




Laitman.com Comments RSS Feed