Connected Through the Worlds

Connecting Through the WorldsThree questions I received on my connection with Rabash:

Question: Rabash wrote that Baal HaSulam’s students fell from the spiritual level they were on after Baal HaSulam died because they no longer had anyone to support them. Didn’t they notice this? And more importantly: How does a Kabbalist guard himself from this, what does he use for support? Baal HaSulam didn’t have a Rav, and neither did Rabash, and now you don’t have a Rav either. How do you guard yourself from descents and mistakes?

My Answer: Just like them – by being connected with them directly and clearly! One who has attained the Creator’s plan continues to advance. One who realizes that it is necessary and feels responsible does not leave the path.

Everyone experiences descents and ascents until the end of all the levels. However, beginners fall into their egoism and can’t even “move a finger” on their own, whereas the advanced students experience this in another way. Hence, one should focus all of one’s energy on overcoming the first part of the path.

Question: What do you do when you run out of answers?! If Rabash was still with us today, then you would still be studying with him and asking him questions. But what do you do when you have questions now? Do you ever have questions that you haven’t found the answers to yet?

My Answer: If I have questions, then I ask Rabash. This isn’t mysticism, but reality. I am his student because I attained a connection with him – not a physical connection, but an inner connection through equivalence of form. Hence, when I have questions, I turn to this image, to greater equivalence of form with him, or in other words, to “his image in me,” and this is how I find his answers to my questions – like a lower degree learns and receives from a higher degree.

It’s because the lower one feels the Upper One. One always feels only himself, and he feels it only inside him. Rabash remains the Upper Partzuf for me and I have a connection with him. Otherwise I wouldn’t call myself his student.

Question: Dear Rav Laitman, who authorized you to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah?

My Answer: My teacher Rav Baruch Ashlag (Rabash), the eldest son of Baal HaSulam. I wrote my first three books while I was by his side. I was his secretary, assistant, and student for twelve years. The most important thing in Kabbalah is who you learn from. In addition, “learning” means that you are really a student of your teacher and are connected to him in every way. See “A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar” by Baal HaSulam.

After my teacher passed away, I continued doing our common work in this world. Rabash was the only Kabbalist in the previous generation, and I am his student. I think that my lessons, books, and everything I do indicate this. I only teach the works of Baal HaSulam and Rabash.

Incidentally, did you ask this question of other people who teach “Kabbalah” today?

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Don’t Look for Love In This World

Don\'t Look for Love In This WorldA question I received: You said that men are polygamous by nature and are always looking for new sensations. In the past every man had several wives, and he would buy a new wife whenever he wanted one. There was no love involved in this, and sometimes men and women did not even know each other before being married. This is also the reason why men today cheat, get divorced, and find new wives.

On the other hand, you speak about spiritual marriage – man, woman, and the Shechina between them. How is it possible to attain the presence of the Creator between a man and a woman in the spiritual marriage if the modern man always needs new experiences with different women (today this is called cheating).

This is very painful and difficult to accept. Please help us, women, understand men’s behavior. Why is it so difficult for us to accept the fact that men are always attracted to other women? Do men do this because of some anomaly? Or is it just natural for them to constantly need new women, and it’s us, women, who are so uncorrected that we simply cannot understand their needs?

My Answer: This is the curse of egoism, which we fell into from the spiritual level. God said to the woman: “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” So my advice to you is: Don’t look for truth, justice, loyalty, and love in marital relationships. They aren’t there from the beginning, and they can’t be there – the Torah warns you of this. Quit trying to resolve the mess in the physical world, and instead aspire toward correction. As a result of it, your relationships will be corrected as well.

You have to understand that egoistic nature cannot be changed, and everyone suffers from it until they rise above it. You should transfer your worries from the corporeal level to the level where you realize “Why did the Creator do this?” It is in order to push you toward correction!

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Why Did I Write About Rav Berg and the Kabbalah Center On This Blog?

Why Did I Write About Rav Berg and the Kabbalah Centre On This Blog?A question I received: Today I read your blog entry where you say that Rav Berg is a failed Kabbalist. Did you really have to say this? It would be so wonderful if all the people who disseminate Kabbalah would stop judging one another. Your comment made me very angry and confused. Every person insists that he is the only one and the greatest one. Until this happened I thought that you were not a part of this game, that you know how to control yourself and don’t give in to the temptation of judging others.

My Answer: I said this so people would differentiate Kabbalah – the study of the primary sources and the works of Baal HaSulam, from the business of selling red strings, interpreting dreams, fortunetelling, meditation, and holy water, which is what Berg’s enterprise does. I hope that what I said will shorten people’s path to the truth – to the authentic Kabbalistic sources.

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There Are No Speeding Tickets In Spirituality

You Don\'t Get Speeding Tickets In SpiritualityA question I received: Dear Rav., When I turned thirty, I stopped feeling anything. My life became gray, worthless, and empty. I thought that this is what old age feels like and just accepted it. The years went by, and then one day I “accidentally” saw a program where you spoke about Kabbalah. It touched me, so I went to your website and spent three years studying materials there on my own. But a year ago I was so “shaken up” that I couldn’t remain alone anymore, so I started looking for other people who were interested in Kabbalah. And the ball started rolling! In the past year we formed a group, rented a study hall, went to a congress, and held a book fair that brought more people to Kabbalah. Now when men and women come to our center for the Sunday lesson, I feel responsible for making sure that everything goes smoothly. And all of this is happening after just one year!

Time seems to have gone by incredibly fast. More things happened during this one year than in my entire lifetime. My states change so fast that I don’t have the time to think about what is happening. My question is: Am I going through my reincarnations faster, or am I feeling this reincarnation more strongly, or am I making up for lost time, for the things I needed to do but didn’t?

My Answer: There is no “fast” path, there is no speed limit, and there are no speeding tickets. However, you must always check:

1. What is your goal? Is it to attain absolute bestowal by connecting into one whole with your friends, through the mutual guarantee?

2. Is this the goal you’re racing to attain? You have to gradually attain the property of bestowal, the opposite of your present state.

3. Where do you get the strength to advance? If you get it from yourself, then you are being pushed by your natural egoism – and it’s not pushing you toward the goal. However, if you are receiving your energy from the group, then you are advancing toward the right goal.

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Intricacies of the Hebrew Language

I had a meeting that was recorded with Dan Kaner, the anchorman of radio Kol Israel and a popular Television host in Israel.

The Intricacies of the Hebrew Language

Dan Kaner is a true master of the Hebrew language, with extraordinary knowledge of its intricacies, origin, history and evolution. Therefore, it was a real pleasure speaking to him about the Hebrew language as used in Kabbalah.

By origin, Hebrew is a symbol for the forces operating in the universe. It harmoniously expresses the essence of man and nature through letters and symbols (TANTA). Combining and ordering the letters to form words and sentences is a means to describe the order of the creature’s creation and correction, all the way until the full correction – similarity to the Creator or Light. The Torah exemplifies this order. Knowing what forces and actions are indicated by the letters enables one to move all along the process of creation, to become incorporated in it at different stages, and to thereby gain a better understanding of the Creator’s plan.

Dan was very impressed with the wealth that the language of Kabbalah offers in describing the Hebrew language, the sensations that every letter evokes when interpreted Kabbalistically, and the music of feelings that plays in the combination of letters. He understood that Kabbalah enables one to enter the world of letters, symbols, forces and desires – to feel them and their filling with the Light.

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