Evening Zohar Lesson – 04.08.10

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYaera (And The Lord Appeared),” Item 452
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Foundation Of Spiritual Corrections

Dr. Michael Laitman The Zohar, Chapter “VaYaera (And the Lord Appeared),” Item 360: “He will keep the feet of His holy ones.” It writes “His holy ones” without a Yod [in Hebrew], which means a holy one, Abraham, with whom the Creator always went, so that others would not be able to harm him. “But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.” Those are the angels that the Creator killed on the night when Abraham chased them.

The quality of Hesed (Abraham) is the foundation of all other corrections. It’s the first quality that becomes revealed in egoism during its correction. This is why we consider him to be the “father of the nation of Israel,” meaning that he is the father (foundation) of the nation (all other corrections) of Israel (Yashar-El, leading a person straight to the Creator).

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/6/10, The Zohar

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Costly Forgetfulness

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe’ve gotten used to the fact that when we wish to achieve something in our ordinary lives, we exert effort and receive a result. In order to reap a harvest for example, one needs to plow the land, plant seeds, care for crops, and so on. The fruit of the labor is a direct consequence of the effort a person invested.

Spirituality is also impossible to achieve without effort, but for a different reason: the effort builds a spiritual desire (Kli) within, where spiritual fulfillment can be felt. Spiritual fulfillment exists in abundance, but we are unable to sense and perceive it. Man’s efforts cause an influence of the Upper Light, which forms the person, adjusting him or her to its fulfillment. The Upper Light performs all of the work. Therefore, I put in effort to “desire Him,” and the Light works; the Creator and I are partners.

We constantly forget about our Partner, thinking that we need to change and correct ourselves while performing different changes in the society single-handedly, as if everything is centered around and performed by “me.” We forget that we only need to scream out and ask like a little child, and then it will happen. The Light will influence and do everything. The Creator will do “what is necessary,” while we need to guess “what is necessary” and ask Him for this, according to the principle “Make your desire as His.”

We advance too slowly because we constantly forget about correction through the Light by presuming we can win using our own strength. We attempt to transform ourselves and the world, connect the cause and consequence, do the work of the Light and see the result of our work.

At the outset, we forget about the main component, the Light, which gives us the desired form. Subsequently we believe that the outside needs changing and forget that the outside changes only as a result of our inner changes.

The outside world doesn’t change. Rather, our view of the world changes along with our inner qualities, our desire to receive pleasure. As a consequence, a new picture of reality emerges. Therefore, if we fall short of attuning ourselves correctly to spirituality, we can waste years without feeling advancement.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 4/2/10

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Practical Joke

Dr. Michael LaitmanI am trapped in my skin which cuts me off from the Creator who is situated “outside.” I am a slave and I cannot break out. At every given instant, a force influences me and automatically returns me to my own self, to the egoistic center.

How do I force myself to pay attention to what is happening on the outside in order to understand that it is also me? My true reality is “outside”; there, I am together with the Creator; there, I am outside of my animal; there, my soul is outside of the egoistic “I,” which I currently imagine myself to be.

These are two forces that act in nature. I need to arrange them in such a way that the second force (centrifugal) would influence me in the same natural manner, instinctively and inevitably, as the first force (centripetal). Let it occupy my mind and heart and drag me out by force. Let it force me to think about others and worry about them. I need this since this is the only way for me to find my soul.

In this regard, the force of a Kabbalistic group helps me; only the group can convince me to come out of my circle and turn my attention to what is “outside of it.” When I change my attitude from the “intra” (within) to the “extra” (outside). I stop worrying about the body and begin to be concerned with the soul.

I understand that the external reality, which seemed foreign to me and which I was completely indifferent to, contains the real me. This external circle is actually much more valuable to me than the inner one since it contains my soul which is eternal. Meanwhile, the inner circle is merely an animal, which is allotted some 70 years.

However, the concealment does not allow me to see all this. When I begin to realize this, I am amazed to what extent the Creator plays a joke on me.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 4/1/10

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First Book In Chinese

The Chinese state publishing house Tianjin Academy of Social Science published my first Chinese book, The Wisdom of Kabbalah. The book contains the translations of two books, Kabbalah Revealed and From Chaos to Harmony. Press releases have already been sent to Chinese newspapers around the world; the information about the book is now being sent to the universities in China, philosophers, historians, and social scientists.

Book_in_Chinese

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The Spiritual World Is Above Reason

Dr. Michael LaitmanShamati, Article 86: There is a great rule we must know. Our work, which was given to us so as to be a basis for faith above reason, is not because we are unworthy of a high degree. Hence, this was given to us so as to take it all in a vessel of faith.

We exist in the world that we perceive through our senses and evaluate in our brain (“heart and brain”). This type of perception is called “reason.” “Reason” means that we recognize and feel something that “enters” our senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch) and constitutes “our world.” We perceive the whole through our five sensors.

Anything we feel is called “within our reason” (Be Toch Da’at) and corresponds to our sensations and observations. The spiritual world is something “above reason” since we are unable to sense it and thus cannot perceive it (neither in the heart and brain nor in our organs of perception). In order to start perceiving spirituality, we have to obtain new properties (desires) that correspond to its level: a “spiritual heart” and “spiritual brain.”

According to the type of perception, reality is split into two parts: the inner sphere (“I”) and the outer sphere (the world outside of me). Driven by the desire to receive pleasure, we perceive inner and outer influences selectively. This selective perception builds a picture that is called “my world.”

The division of reality into two parts stems from the separation of the soul into two parts: Keter, Hochma (GE) and Bina, Zeir Anpin, Malchut (AHP). Before the separation occurred, all of them constituted five desires of the soul, five Sefirot. As a result of the separation, our perception of the world was divided into two parts: GE (Galgalta Eynaim – skull, eyes) formed our inner desires through which we sense our world and ourselves, whereas we feel AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh – ears, nose, mouth) as something “outside of us.”

Things are arranged this way on purpose. It is in order to give us a chance to work in GE “within reason.” However if we choose to work with AHP, treating it as our own desires, we reach the state called “above reason.” Our “reason” is something that exists within us, whereas “above reason” means something outside of us.

If we want to attain spirituality, we have to connect the AHP desires to us; when we do so, it is called “work above reason.”  In fact, these terms are simply the words that we use to describe our attitude towards our desires, inner or outer.

From the lesson on 4/1/10, Shamati 86

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5 Minutes Of Light From The Daily Kabbalah Lesson: Support Of Others

 

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 04.08.10

Preparation to the Lesson, Shamati #78 “The Torah, The Creator, And Israel Are One
The goal of creation is to make “desire for pleasure” independent and similar to the Light. This is the Creator’s desire to give pleasure to His creations.
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYaera (And The Lord Appeared),” Item 431
In the spiritual the “main component” is the desire to receive, where as the “programming support” is based on the intention to bestow.
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Beit Shaar HaKavanot, Item 64, Lesson 21
By trying to give my inspiration to others and only leave what’s necessary for myself, I don’t feel ashamed because I’m not receiving any free gifts.
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Article, “Exile and Redemption,” Lesson 2
In the land of Israel, a spiritual state must be created, which will show an example of “love thy neighbor” to the entire world.
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