A Teacher Is The Intermediate Degree Between The Student And The Creator

Unattainability in the Mind of a Kabbalist If a student wishes to ascend spiritually (to acquire qualities of bestowal), he has to “cancel” himself (his egoism) and “adhere” to the Teacher in an attempt to take on the qualities of the Teacher. Of course, he cannot do this on his own, but by making the effort, he will create the conditions for the Teacher to begin raising him “up” to his mind and feelings, which belong to the Upper Reality and the higher degree of the Teacher. This is how we advance in spirituality.

For each level, there is a guide between two states – the intermediate state or degree, the AHP of the Upper Level, which carries you upward (see Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 3, Inner Reflection). The Upper One, the Teacher comes down to the level of the student and reveals himself to you while appearing to be almost like you. He does this so we could connect to him, like a father, who is an intelligent adult, but plays little kids’ games with his son.

However, at times the Teacher reveals himself “incorrectly,” thereby showing us what we need to cancel out from within ourselves in order to adhere to him for an ascent.

If the AHP of the Upper One did not come down to the lower one, the lower one would have no opportunity to ascend. A student must find a Teacher, since otherwise he will continue to wander in place on his own degree and never have the ability to ascend!

The Teacher exists on two degrees: the degree of the student, to where he purposely lowers himself, and on his own higher degree, the level to which he can raise the student. The same is true in any science: The student has to annul himself before the teacher, since otherwise the student will not receive anything from the teacher.

By rising to the Teacher’s degree, you reveal the next, higher degree, which then becomes your next Teacher. In this manner you constantly annul yourself and reveal the Teacher at higher and higher levels every time.  The Teacher connects you to the Upper Degree, and this is why he is called a Teacher, while the degree that follows him is called the Creator.

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Drawing closer and uniting with the Teacher occurs irrespective of physical closeness to him.  It makes no difference whether a person studies with the Teacher face-to-face or through the Internet. If the student listens to what the Teacher says and carries it out, annulling himself with all devotion and trying to understand what the Teacher is thinking, then it doesn’t matter where each is located.  The student will receive everything through that spiritual channel upward, which he will reveal for himself.

After all, the Teacher is not a physical body, but the intermediate degree between the student and the Creator.

The Game Of Life Was Designed For Us By The Creator

chess A question I received: Prior to the Machsom, how should we relate to this world, which is an imagined reality?

My Answer: Your attitude to this world should be very simple: While I am in this dream, I have to be a part of it. It is written, “A judge has no more than what his eyes can see.” I need to work, provide for my family and do everything necessary in this life, but at the same time, I should realize that it is a dream.  The world is a game and I perform all the right actions in it like in a game.

I must, however, treat this game seriously, since the Creator prepared this whole reality for me so that I could exist in it according to its laws and develop my “point in the heart,” my attitude towards the Creator.

These two levels, the corporeal and the spiritual, are completely unrelated to each other. On the corporeal level, where I am in a state of “sleep,” I carry out everything that is necessary for this life. Meanwhile on the spiritual level, I wish to find the connection with the Creator, and I develop while giving all my attention to this. Otherwise, what am I living for, if not to reach the Creator through my efforts in this life?

We Imagine Bestowal Relative To The Environment Of The Group

We Must Only Unite Our Points In the HeartA question I received: How can I imagine myself in bestowal?

My Answer: Only with the help of the environment. There is no other way. We’ve been given a truly miraculous instrument from Above. In this world, on every spiritual degree, and in each state, we have “us versus the environment.” That’s why even before the appearance of this world and the inclusion of humans, there was a breaking, a division of the souls and the emergence of individual bodies.

We are unable to picture an image of the Upper One ourselves, since we don’t have anything within us that is similar to Him. In the same dimension where we exist right now, in our world, there’s “us” and the “environment.”  On the basis of the relationships between each of us and the environment, we can then build the relationship between ourselves and the Upper One. The principle of assembling among us the model of connecting with the Creator, is called “from love for the created beings” to “love for the Creator.”

By overcoming the egoism within us, by putting the importance of attaining the quality of bestowal above our quality of reception, and by working on these relationships within the group (the connection between the points in the heart of our friends), we create the quality of bestowal within us. To the measure of the desire that the Upper One grants us, we sense the Creator by experiencing the attribute of bestowal within ourselves.

Here we can understand the need for the breaking of the universal soul. If it were not for this breaking into individual souls, none of us would be able to create the desire to attain the quality of bestowal on our level, nor to bring upon us the effect of the Light of Correction.

By verifying everything relative to the environment (points in the heart), it becomes clear to us how we relate to the Creator, to the Upper Degree. We cannot sense it, but we can prepare ourselves for its attainment.

Learning To Sail Together In One Boat

Is the Bermuda Triangle Myth or RealityWe all are in one boat, but we just don’t feel yet to what extent each of us influences our common fate. This is the whole issue. In our global world, it doesn’t matter if a criminal is far away from me or close by! In the integral system, all are equal and the most distant person from me is equivalent to the person closest to me. We’re all in the same boat.

We don’t see this integrated net as yet, but we are approaching its revelation. Soon we will feel that there is no concept of people being close or distant or that there are people on whom we depend more or less, because absolutely all people influence us in equal measure.

Action precedes recognition of this fact because we live in a world of actions. This is why when something happens I say, “Oh,” only after something has happened. Then I forget and repeat the same mistake, and again yell, “Oh!” After a whole series of exclaiming, “Oh-Oh-Oh!” I finally begin to think, “What could be the reason for these things happening? This was probably not an accident!”

How much more time will pass before humanity finally ponders about the reasons for all that is happening? How long will it take before all of humanity will want to understand that peace in society, peace for all of humanity and peace for each individual are completely dependent on each other?

Much like how I depend on my kids, my spouse, my parents, or those people who are the closest to me – today I depend on every person in the world the same way. The truth is, I depend on these other people to an even more significant degree!

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The Soul Is Ageless

Laitman_2009-07-24_0521_wTwo questions I received that relate to a soul’s age:

Question: Why do innocent children have cancer, AIDS or other incurable diseases? Is this not injustice from the Creator?

My Answer: The same souls are present in all  people. In addition, the souls have no age.

Question: What is the purpose of a baby dying or having a severe disease? Does the soul gain experience from it and is there any meaning in it?

My Answer: A soul has no age. All souls have been born together in the shattering of one soul. This is why only bodies have different ages, but there is no preference given to a baby over an old man.

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11.18.09

Preparation To The Lesson
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Writings of Baal Sulam, Letter 45, 1927, pg 132
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“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 30, Lesson 13
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“The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Its Essence,” Lesson 13
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Permission From Above

Russia A question I received: Baal HaSulam wrote that he received permission from Above to disclose the wisdom of Kabbalah. What does “permission from Above” mean?

My Answer: When a Kabbalist achieves a high level of attainment, he divulges that he has received “permission from Above.” He accepts his new mission, feels obligated to carry it out and starts acting. This is part of the mission placed upon the shoulders of all great Kabbalists, starting from the time of Abraham and onward. The brightest example is Moses, a spiritual leader of the people.

“Permission from Above” includes knowledge of the structure of the universe, a methodology for revealing the Creator and for educating people about self correction, both in our time and to a certain extent in the future. One who receives “permission from Above” becomes a conduit through which higher knowledge flows downward, in accordance with the ability of those below the Kabbalist to absorb and learn.

Permission from Above includes within itself a vast system for bringing all humankind into harmony with the Creator. Being given “permission from Above” signifies that a human being has become a representative of the Creator, a liaison between the Creator and His creation. In fact, if a person did not receive “permission from Above,” he would only confuse others. He would not be able to adequately present the goal, its importance, the methods of achieving the goal, nor the significance of those methods.

The goal is to become one with the Creator. The method for achieving it lies in the correction of our human desires with help of the Light which returns us to the Source. This is initiated by studying Kabbalah and aspiring to become corrected, a desire that emanates from the “point in the heart.” This in turn drives our desire to connect (“love thy neighbor”) with the “points in the heart” of our fellow group members.

If a person uncovers this system, understands it, and absorbs it into his being, it means he received “permission from Above.”