Will Scientists Ever Be Able To Bring A Rock To Life?

munich A question I received: What is “desire”?

My Answer: Desire is the entire matter of creation, everything except the Light. Desire is “something created out of nothing,” and all the different derivatives of desire are created under the influence of the Light.

You might ask, “So is a pen also a desire?” No, it is already a form clothed into a desire. And the plastic from which the pen is made is not a desire either; it also has a form instilled in it – namely, it consists of molecules and atoms which have taken that form under the influence of the Light. This is no longer matter in a pure form; it is not just a pure desire.

This is precisely the basis of creation that quantum physicists are trying to find through experiments with the Large Hadron Collider and other research. They want to find that “stem cell” which constitutes everything. Yet, the more they strive toward this, the more additional, secondary particles they reveal. However, they will never reveal this fundamental “particle” since it is not matter.

Eventually they will discover that it is not matter; it is desire. However, they will not be able to reveal what desire actually is because to make this discovery, one has to enter the spiritual world. Human beings try to find precisely this basis of creation through all their investigations of nature, but the basis is desire.

Yet, at the same time, they will be able to discover why we feel the desire in a specific manner and why it is revealed to us in the form of  particles. However, at the end of the day, what are these particles? They are us, our qualities. This is why we reveal the desire in all these various forms.

When these desires collect together, they form unions which possess additional qualities that we artificially subdivide into physical, chemical, biological, and others. In essence, however, all of this is desire in its pure form, which takes on various additional forms and qualities under the influence of the Light.

The problem that science cannot solve arises on the border between desires. There are levels of desire called inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human, and we are unable to turn one into another; for example, we cannot turn an inanimate object into a living thing. What’s the difference between an inanimate object and a plant? The difference is that a living thing is influenced by additional, life-giving Light, and that is something we can never add to inanimate matter. This is why science is reaching its end.

It is necessary to understand that the only thing that exists is the desire. Everything else is merely conceptions of this desire.

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.30.09

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYishlach (And Jacob Sent),” Item 258
“Night” is the inability to bestow. It is an overabundance of the Light of Hochma that is not clothed in the Light of Hassadim.
Download: WMV Video | MP3 Audio

“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 97, Lesson 39
On any given spiritual degree I’m not working with my own desire, but with the desire of the lower one, which I have to elevate.
Download: WMV Video | MP3 Audio

Preface to the Book of Zohar,” Item 21, Lesson 6
My perception is formed out of desires, which I identify and give various names to.
Download: WMV Video | MP3 Audio

You Are Much Bigger Than You Think

impudence A question I received: Does The Book of Zohar reveal the realm of desire to us? Can we reveal this through this book?

My Answer: The Light that shines upon us reveals various forms of desire within us. These forms are already inside us, but they are concealed. It seems to me that I grow, turning from a child into an adult and putting on weight and height. But this is not so.

In reality the Light influences me and I reveal a greater desire within me, along with its various new forms. All of these forms are my own and they have always been inside me. It’s impossible for anything new to be revealed; things only seem new to me.

I am enormous and infinite, but I perceive myself as being small. I have to evoke Light upon myself in order for it to reveal more and more of my forms to me, until I return to infinity with all my different qualities and desires. This will mean that I am growing, that is, ascending up the steps of the ladder.

The same thing takes place in our world, and it is how children grow as well. There is nothing new under the sun. There are only new revelations. Everything exists from the beginning, as it is written, “You will eat what has been stored away for a long time.”

It turns out that all I have to do in this entire process is desire for the revelation to happen to me, to reveal my inner qualities and forms that are more developed and closer to the Creator. I want to open myself up so the Light will come and open me up even more. I don’t reveal the Light, but attract it so it will open me up and show me the real me – the me that is greater and closer to infinity. When I can become more and more revealed to my own self, this means that I ascend up the spiritual ladder.

The Way To Reach The King’s Castle

castle A question I received: Why do we simply read The Zohar – why don’t we go over the meaning of every word?

My Answer: If I explain the meaning of every word, such as “mountains, night, darkness, and day,” then you will think that you have found out their meaning and will relax. You will think that you have read and learned an excerpt and now you can go home happy. However, this is not how you should feel when leaving the lesson.

You have to leave The Zohar lesson feeling as though you did not understand anything at all – not one word. Everything is locked and closed; the book talks about a world that you don’t feel and don’t belong to. You tried to feel it, but didn’t succeed, and you still don’t know how to do this.

Until a person enters the spiritual world, he is unable to understand that the only thing that’s important is his desire. As for knowledge, the game of playing around with words, and memorizing the theory, all of this merely constructs an artificial system inside of you which calms you down and leads you away from the goal.

My great teacher Rabash had the ability to make a person leave the lesson feeling even emptier than when he came to the lesson. Our task is to awaken such a desire inside us that even our numbest places within will sense that the problem lies in our soul, which does not feel its state. Our soul feels that it is in the dark because it is receiving the illumination from the following state, and it does not match that state.

When I feel that I am unable to feel, it means that I have reached the realization of being opposite to the Upper Level. It’s as though I am standing opposite a person that I completely depend upon, but he ignores me like a wall. I can stand on my head for him and cry, but he remains impenetrable and does not react to any of my pleas.

At that point I have to collect all my strength and understand that this is the Creator’s behavior towards me, and that is how He is showing Himself to me in order that I may persist despite everything. It is written, “Only those who are persistent and truly patient attain the King’s castle.”

What Is Revealed In The Book Of Zohar?

ThoseAreStudyKabbalahAreNotScaredofAnything_thumb.jpgA question I received: What is revealed to me when I am reading The Zohar?

My Answer: You reveal what is happening on the Upper Degree. It is like a little child growing up – he sees, understands, and feels the world. By observing his behavior and reactions, you can see that every day he understands life a little bit more, gains a greater understanding of what is happening and reacts to things more consciously.

In spiritual attainment, we suddenly reveal images inside ourselves on a sensory level as a result of projecting the narration of The Zohar inside us. The narration “lands” on our desire and is imprinted in it, and we therefore begin to feel and then understand what is being said, similar to how we revealed this world when we were growing up.

Spiritual revelation is not rational but sensory; it happens in new senses. It is brought about by the Light that Reforms, which simply makes us able to understand the Creator and to become like Him.

This may not sound serious and one may wonder, “How is this a science? Where is the mind? Where is the person?” After all, we are just reading a book, and we desire very much to be in that picture, in that reality about which it is telling us. It appears similar to how a baby acts, “I want and that’s it!” But nothing else is required of us except this desire.

Baal HaSulam writes in Item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot,” “Although they do not understand what they are learning, through the yearning and the great desire to understand what they are learning, they awaken upon themselves the Lights that surround their souls.” It works the same way as how a baby wants to know the world he is in. When we desire to reveal the spiritual world in the same way, it suddenly becomes revealed to us.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post:Remembering What Has Long Been Forgotten
Laitman.com Post: You Can’t Have Too Much Zohar Study
Laitman.com Post: Open The Path For The Upper Light To Fulfill You
Articles: “From the Preface to the Book of Zohar”
Shamati #78: “The Torah, the Creator, and Israel Are One”
Tuning Yourself To The Zohar – 5 Minutes Of Light (5:20)

Learning To Feel The Spiritual World Through The Zohar

Heb5.jpgWhen we read The Zohar we encounter many notions that we do not understand. With time, we will begin to recognize what they are, but actually this is not very important. The process of studying The Zohar is similar to how a baby always sees a lot of new, unknown things around him. He does not know what they are intended for, yet he becomes acquainted with the world even without knowing how he does this, instinctively and simply.

In the same manner we shouldn’t be afraid of not understanding something that we read and not knowing how one thing relates to another. We just have to listen and “touch” everything, and have a burning desire to understand. This is the only way to get to know anything in our world as well as the spiritual world.

Later on when we read the Torah, we will see where all these images came from, why one name is mentioned first and then another, or why different quotations are used. We will understand what spiritual actions and qualities are being described and what force operates at each degree (such as Josef, Jacob, Abraham, Moses, and so on).

The Zohar in particular and the science of Kabbalah in general appeal to these internal forces we have inside us. Thus, little by little we begin familiarizing ourselves with our qualities. As these qualities develop, it becomes possible for us to work with them, to organize them and use them properly.

One’s degree of vitality in the spiritual world is measured by how familiar that world is to him and by the level of one’s acquaintance with it. Therefore, the more we will know and feel, the more significant our spiritual life will be, and the greater the degree of our spiritual awareness and existence. That is how we will advance.

Related Material:
Laitman. com Post: Learning To Focus On The Spiritual World
Laitman. com Post: We Attain The Spiritual World Naturally, Like A Baby Discovering The World
Laitman. com Post: Spirituality Is Attained Through Effort
Shamati #35: “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha”
Dissecting The Person Within Me – 5 Minutes Of Light (4:37)

Reaching The State Of Concealment Is A Great Accomplishment

onlymeans If I decide to attain bestowal, I have to begin studying and using all the resources at my disposal to attain this quality. But all of this is necessary only to help me arrive at the conclusion that I don’t want to bestow. I don’t want for the mere sake of bestowal; I can agree to study only on one condition – that I will receive something in exchange. To study only in order to bestow onto others and to connect their desires to me is not something I’m capable of.

And yet I continue to study thinking that maybe something else will come of it. Meanwhile, the Surrounding Light influences me and others around me, persuading me that bestowal and spirituality are, in fact, wonderful. I discover that spirituality is bestowal, but I still don’t want that kind of spirituality. This realization is great because it means that I have already achieved the “state of concealment” (either single or double). Thus, I am already on the path of spiritual advancement.

The first thing I need is the feeling that I don’t want to bestow and love, and that I reject spirituality. At that point two people exist within me. One says: “You must move towards the Creator, otherwise what will happen to you?” And the other one says: “Why do you need all of this? What will you get out of it?” An inner struggle ensues and I begin to sense darkness. The whole world changes depending on whether I think one way or the other, since the whole world is inside me.

The state of concealment begins when the property of bestowal is hidden from me. I am the one who desires to conceal it; I am the one who doesn’t want it. Yet, at the same time I do want it, despite the fact that it is concealed from me. In other words, I am already split in two: I strive towards bestowal and at the same time, I don’t want it. This condition is revealed to me as darkness relative to the Light, and one cannot exist without the other.

So, do I want to bestow or not? Well, I wouldn’t mind to bestow, but I don’t really have a desire for this. What can I do if this is the way I was created? This is what we call “concealment,” “imperfect work,” or the state of Lo Lishma. It is when I am ready to give something, some small part of me to the Creator or to others, but I must get something in return. Otherwise, I cannot do anything.

Concealment cannot exist without revelation, and it is a special state of being. Kabbalists write that if we only knew the value of concealment, we would appreciate this state called Lo Lishma. We think that “Lishma” is a very high state, whereas “Lo Lishma” is insignificant. But that’s not true, because Lo Lishma is also a very big and important state of being, and let us hope that all of us will reach it.

Act By The Laws Of The World You Are In

New world A question I received: In my daily life I try to imagine that everything I come across is a part of my desire. Is this outlook correct, or will it just confuse me?

My Answer: Everything depends on the results of this outlook. The world behaves according to invariable laws. Until you come out of this world into the spiritual world and begin to feel it in a clear and sensory manner, it is forbidden for you to comprehend the spiritual world as though it already exists in a ready-made form for you.

I can only exist in the spiritual world if I am on a spiritual degree, whereas in this world I always exist on the corporeal level. Both of these levels exist until I reach the end of correction, at which point this world will vanish from my imagination. However, until this state of my complete correction, I will always live and exist in this world according to its laws, without fantasizing that I supposedly need to follow the laws of the spiritual nature in this world.

I do not need to pull the spiritual world into this world, and I shouldn’t raise this world into the spiritual world. This corporeal level obliges me to follow all the existing laws in it, as evidenced by the rules, “A doctor has the right to treat,” “A judge has no more than what his eyes can see,” and “If not I for me, then who will be for me?”

Meanwhile, the rule, “There is none else besides Him” pertains to the spiritual world. And there is no connection between the laws of this world and the laws of the spiritual world. This connection is hidden from us and hence “it doesn’t exist.” We have to live in a realistic manner, only within the boundaries of what we really perceive.

There Is No Sanctity In Our World

New Theories A question I received: Why do we have to understand every word in The Book of Zohar according to its spiritual meaning and not according to its simple corporeal meaning?

My Answer: We should never interpret the words of The Book of Zohar according to their corporeal meaning, since by so doing we will be lowering the Torah to the level of this world. We have to rise from the branches to the roots, from this world upward, to the spiritual world. And you are asking: Why don’t we take the spiritual world and lower it down to our world?

First of all, our world does not have the same laws as the spiritual world. The whole confusion in our reality comes from the fact that people imagine the spiritual world without existing in it, and then they clothe the spiritual into the material by force, as though they have the force of bestowal in their right hand, and the force of reception in the left, or some parts of their body are more sacred than others, and so on. All of this is false, and therefore, we are forbidden to connect the spiritual with what we understand, feel, and do in this world. There shouldn’t be any connection between the two.

There is nothing sacred in our world, including on the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels. There is also no sanctity in anything that human beings do in this world. The Book of Zohar is called a sacred book because it can help us to rise from this world, from egoism, to sanctity, bestowal, and love for the neighbor.

I am a point in the heart, which belongs to the spiritual world – the world of sanctity. This is the only point in me that is different from my whole nature, and by using a means called “the sacred book,” I can rise to the world of sanctity – to bestowal. However, it is not the paper with the typographical print in it that is called sacred, and the letters in the book are also not sacred. Sanctity is the connection between the Light and the vessel (Kli), which is symbolized by the letters. But there is nothing sacred in our world.

Our whole problem lies in the fact that we begin to attribute sanctity to a person or his actions. However, all of this is merely symbols. All the attributes for following the commandments – the Talit, Tefillin, the book of Torah, Aron Kodesh (the cabinet for storing the Torah scroll) – are just symbols of the interaction of the Lights and Kelim, the relationships between them, and the states of the soul. Thus, it is the states of the soul that are, in fact, sacred, because they hold the quality of bestowal.

A book of Torah standing in an “Aron Kodesh” is just a symbol of a spiritual essence called Zeir Anpin, and which affects the desire – Malchut (the commonality of all the souls) with the Light of sanctity, making it bestowing. Thus it corrects our souls and raises us. There is nothing in our world except symbols. We are all “like mortal animals.”

A person who subdivides the objects and actions of this world into those that are more sacred and less sacred, causes himself to leave the path of correction. These kinds of actions are called “Erev Rav,” because they halt one’s advancement to the spiritual world and the correction of one’s soul.

Language Is Formed By The Interactions Of Light And Desire

chance Hebrew is a special language, created by the union of the Lights and Kelim. Malchut unites with Bina, and this causes the emergence of the inclined border (Parsa) in the letter Alef.

The Light of Hochma comes down to Malchut from Sefira Hochma above, and is depicted by the letter Yud. The part that expands below forms the lower Yud. And if there is no Light below, the place of Yud will be occupied by Dalet. That is how the letter Alef is formed.

Untitled-1

The letter Dalet is the combination of two axes (Delet means “door”) – the doors that close and open the Rechem (the womb of the spiritual Partzuf). The horizontal axis is the spreading of the Light of Hassadim, and the vertical one is the Light of Hochma.

The letter Shin reflects the three lines. The Ari explains the number and shapes of the crowns that are needed over each letter. The whole TANTA (Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, Otiyot) – Lights, letters, dots, and crowns over the letters – are the reflection of the direct connection between the Lights and the Kelim.

That is why it is so important to know how this connection is expressed. After all, it isn’t merely language, but the connection between the Light and the Kli upon which the whole universe stands. Therefore, these letters and the language itself are called holy, for they show how the Kli wants to become similar to the Light.

When Malchut ascends to Zeir Anpin and Bina, she joins with them and thus the 22 letters are produced, reflecting Malchut’s likeness to the Upper Sefirot, up to ZAT de-Bina, where Malchut receives the qualities of Bina.

Ascending from Malchut de-Malchut (the black dot), she begins to deflect, thus creating a line to the right or to the length, lengthwise and widthwise, as well as all kinds of shapes or circumferences when she reaches perfection.

On every degree of the ascent Malchut connects to Bina and draws the forms of their unification. This is how letters are formed.

A kinescope works by the same principle. It contains a deflection system: a plus and a minus along the vertical axis, a plus and a minus along the horizontal axis, and in the middle an electrical beam which moves wherever all these pluses and minuses draw it to. As it moves, it draws all sorts of forms. With time these sequential forms overlay and clothe one another.

Similarly, via the joint work of two pairs of forces (potentials), Hassadim (left and right) and Hochma (above and below), the point is drawn from left to right and from above to below, thereby forming all the different letters. These forms clothe one another, and the letters form a sequence that we call the alphabet.