A Real Spiritual Vessel

where.jpg A question I received: What is a real spiritual vessel (Kli)?

My Answer: A real Kli is a desire that is ready for correction. My task is to fully discern which part of my desire I can correct for the sake of bestowal, and which part I can’t correct and must simply restrict.

Suppose I am given a desire and I discern that I can correct 20% of it for bestowal, and that I have to restrict the other 80% of it, making Sof out of it, meaning the end of the Partzuf. This means that I corrected that entire desire. Both kinds of desires are always present, and I have to understand what to do with them.

However, there may be desires awakening in me that are unclear. This is because the Light that reaches me is insufficient to illuminate all the desires and all their details. This is why I am left with desires that aren’t discerned, called Hash, Mal, and Noga.

It’s as if I am in a fog and I cannot touch part of these desires. I only have to revive them as Klipot in order to support life in them. I have to make these compromises due to my own weakness and inability to perform the correction.

The desires that I have discerned are called “root, soul, and body.” They differ from these other desires, called “garments and castles,” which appear as if they’re not my own, real desires.

Later, at the very end of correction, these desires will turn into my own, real desire. It will join that which is called “brain, bones, and veins,” and will become my unified spiritual vessel. I will then see that all of reality is inside me, as opposed to the way I see things today, when it seems that there is me and a world outside of me.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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"See Your World In This Life"

titles.jpg Everything consists of just two components: desire and fulfillment. In Kabbalah, fulfillment is called Light. It is all around and inside us, unlimited in scope. We are in it like in an ocean. All the changes in how we perceive ourselves and our surroundings depend on the changing of our desire. Our desire, in turn, either changes under the influence of the Light or under the influence of our efforts. The desire is called a vessel and the fulfillment is called Light. The Light is constant, and the only thing that changes is the desire or vessel; its change alters the constant Light that it perceives.

Kabbalah teaches us how to change our desire so we feel an additional, spiritual world within it. This is the meaning of the verse, “You will see your world in this life.” This happens when a person creates one more inner desire. Inside it, he feels the Upper World, and then even when the desire in which he feels this world disappears, it does not influence his desire and sensation of the Upper World. It always remains in his sensation. Yet, even if one was unable to create a new desire, the Partzuf of our world eventually disappears and is replaced by a new one. Thus, a person is “born” into the sensation of this world.

Every sensation in the desire has its period of existence. When a certain level or Partzuf runs it course, it disappears and is replaced by the following one. However, on the level of this world, it remains as long as we don’t create an inner desire (Partzuf) of the Upper World, the desire of bestowal and love.

In essence, all the generations are Partzufim on the level of this world, existing within the quality of reception. They are limited by their inner perception because this kind of development takes place within a single plane: We return to the same level or the same world in various life cycles. We see our reality in different forms, but always on the same level – this world.

The Upper World, however, is the sensation within the quality of bestowal, the sensation beyond oneself and development upwards. That’s why we are summoned, “See your world in this life.”

From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/10, Shamati #69

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Six Hundred Thousand Lights Between Us

Laitman_145Everything that we read about in The Zohar becomes revealed in the connection among us. The Zohar talks about the connection among the souls rather than about a soul per se. A soul by itself is a desire; there is nothing else to it.

The uniqueness of a soul is in its ability to obtain a screen and attract the Reflected Light, and with the help of both of them connect with other souls. The Light (the Creator) emerges within their mutual desire to unite above egoism. That’s why we try to imagine that we have a screen (against our egoism) and the Reflected Light (our aspiration to connect into one whole.) We join our aspirations (Moses in each of us) above Mount Sinai (hatred.)

Each of us is a small spiritual vessel (Kli), an egoistic desire that with the help of the screen and Reflected Light works like a bestowing entity. This allows all separate souls to unite together into one soul.

Egoistic desire is our nature. When we create a screen above it and attract the Reflected Light, it becomes a soul, a desire that is similar to the Creator.

The Creator is then revealed within our mutual Reflected Light. The Reflected Light of each Kli is the Light of Hassadim. Within the shared field of the Light of Hassadim the Light of Hochma reveals itself.

If our mutual Reflected Light reaches a certain degree of power called “six hundred thousand,” the Creator (the Torah, the Upper Light or the Light of Wisdom – Hochma) reveals Himself in it.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/10, The Zohar

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When The Exile Comes To Its Conclusion

Laitman_003.jpgThe Zohar, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 340: “And it came to pass in the course of those many days.” This was the end of their exile, when Israel were enslaved in any labor. “In those many days,” meaning many days of Israel’s stay in Egypt, when the end has come. And since their exile has come to its conclusion, it is written, “The king of Egypt died,” meaning that the minister of Egypt has been brought down and fell from his pride. This is why it is written about him, “The king of Egypt died,” since descent was as death to him. And since the king of Egypt – their minister – has fallen, the Creator remembered Israel and heard their prayer.

We have to reach a state when the entire Malchut of Egypt, meaning this world, all of its goals, our whole life and achievements, will lose their significance in our eyes. We will feel worthless, unhappy, and transient. We will ask ourselves, “What do I get from all this?” This world will become devoid of any importance to us.

This is called “The king of Egypt died.” We begin to ask ourselves, “Why do I need everything that I have in this world?! What for? What do I get from it?” This state marks the beginning of the exit from Egypt.

Today humanity is starting to understand that it doesn’t have any clear plan of development or goal, and most importantly, there is no purpose in life. We are yet to see the emptiness even in those who are still fanatically devoted to some meaningless goals and don’t realize the worthlessness.

When this becomes revealed, the real wars will be forged, and it will happen out of emptiness, despair, and helplessness. The most dangerous state is when a person sees that this life is empty. While he expects to accomplish something in life, he acts and even battles wars, and thus problems, revolutions, and wars that occur in the world, are purposeful.

On the contrary, when everyone sees that life is worthless and they begin to clash with each other, it becomes a big problem. Then everyone will turn their attention to Israel.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, The Zohar

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Life Is Merging With The Creator

Laitman_504The science of Kabbalah defines life and death only with respect to merging with the Creator. A state similar to the Creator is called life, while one that is opposite to Him is death. Therefore, egoistic desires (Klipot) are considered dead, whereas the “poison of death” refers to the force that separates the creature from the Creator.

Death is not a loss of existence, as we observe the disappearance of one’s form in this world (at our degree). All that is created (desire) changes only with respect to drawing closer to or further away from the Creator in its intention to bestow; in everything else (in its desire), the creature remains the same. Hence distancing from the Creator, losing the state of adhesion with Him, is called “death,” whereas adhesion with Him, acquiring the quality of bestowal, is called “life.”

In his article, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Baal HaSulam writes that the science of Kabbalah is a means for the creature to reveal the Creator in this world. To reveal the Creator means to assume His qualities.

Although we exist in a world of the still, vegetative, and animate matter, by acquiring the human level of similarity to the Creator, we come to feel ourselves and our existence as perfect and eternal, like the Creator. The science of Kabbalah changes us to facilitate our ascent to the next level (degree) where we begin to see that we do not disappear, but simply change the level of our existence.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 4/21/10

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There Is No Death, Only A New Degree

Laitman_730A question I received: In the Torah, a lot is written about death. Yet the Torah and the Creator are eternal and perfect; the reality that He created is also eternal and perfect. Therefore, it seems that “life and death” are states of the eternal process.

My Answer: We see how still objects lose their form; animals and plants lose their life. They are also born in a new form. We learn that nothing disappears; everything that exists only changes form. Since we do not perceive some of the forms, we imagine that they disappear or no longer exist.

A soul or a Partzuf loses the screen and the Light (Ohr Pnimi) leaves it. Its previous form remains, but it is hidden behind the new form that is born. However, at the End of Correction, all the previous forms unite and form a final corrected state.

Therefore, there is no death, just the disappearance of the previous form with respect to the observer since he is not on the level of his subsequent state. Yet if we were able to look at these states “from the side,” we would see the transformation.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/10, The Zohar

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A Song Is Inner Work

Laitman_183_03A question I received: What is a song? Is it a prayer (MAN), an awakening from below?

My Answer: The entire process of the spiritual work is included in a song. Similar to our spiritual work, a melody always contains the collision of different sounds with altering pitches and pauses without which we wouldn’t hear a melody but only noise.

Why does a melody give us a feeling of harmony and awaken our emotions? Why is it that a particular sequence of sounds is capable of suddenly making us laugh or cry? A sound is but an aerial wave of a particular frequency that affects the eardrum. What is this inner mechanism whereby mechanical actions and electrochemical reactions inside the brain turn into emotions? Moreover, emotion isn’t contained in the sounds themselves, but the sounds awaken the emotions in us.

How can somebody else convey to us a feeling via this essentially inanimate mechanism, via this inanimate process, which penetrates inside our living, animate organism and awakens in it feelings on the human level?

This is a complicated process. All this is possible only because a melody contains separate sounds of varying pitches and breaks or pauses between them. That is, it contains the same qualities present in our work with the three lines: right, left, and middle.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, The Zohar

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The Song Of Ascension

Laitman_069_05The Zohar, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 333: The ministers below are called “Levites” because they accompany and join above as one [Livui means accompanying], and because one who hears the singing becomes accompanying and his soul clings upwards, in the Creator.

A song is the revelation of the Light of Hochma in the Light of Hassadim, the greatest revelation there is. "The Song of Songs" is the peak of adhesion, connection, and unity between the creature and the Creator. Psalms are songs, which King David (Malchut) revealed in the darkness, they are revelation of the Light of Hochma in the Light of Hassadim.

Sometimes it seems to us that King David cries, not knowing what to do, and hides from enemies; yet in this darkness, he reveals Hassadim, the Creator’s mercy. Thus it is a song.

First we need to reveal the right line, faith or Hassadim, while suppressing the left line and holding onto the right one alone. When Hassadim are revealed completely, we rise into Bina and see that we can stay in mercy in all the desires, on this whole degree (in the desires of GE). Then we begin to work with the desires of reception (AHP) and rouse the left line. In other words, we begin to awaken the forces of Malchut and to accept the Light of Hochma in these receiving desires.

By elucidating our desires of reception and adjoining them to the right line, we thereby build the middle line. The state when the Light of Hochma is revealed in the Light of Hassadim, when the left line connects into the right line and gives raise to the middle line, it is called a song. This is called a "crusade" since we switch from state to state as a result of these relocations, thereby advancing by the three lines: Ibur, Yenika, and Mochin. We first prepare the desires, and then we fill them with Light.

Therefore, Psalms (the songs) of King David describe all the different states during the correction of Malchut in the three lines. They contain the immense Light that overspills the Kli, meaning that the correction is so high that the Kli becomes completely like the Light.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, The Zohar

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Playing King David’s Harp

Laitman_038The Zohar, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 3: At midnight, a northern wind awakens and a flame of fire comes out of the lower altar, Malchut. Then the gates open and low Dinim, Dinim de Nukva, gather in their holes and that flame walks and wanders, and the gates of the Garden of Eden open. Finally, that flame reaches and divides into several sides of the world and enters under the wings of that rooster, and it calls.

The most special corrections are performed in the state called “night” when a person feels darkness, lack of strength or interest, when spirituality does not attract him much, he is tired, he wants to forget everything and fall asleep, and he is fed up with everything – in short, when he does not feel the importance of the spiritual goal.

The work at “night” is crucial. It is written that King David “got up” at “midnight” and took upon himself the “northern wind,” the great restricting powers of overcoming and correcting egoism (“Gevurot” and “Dinim“). Precisely using these unpleasant “northern” powers he “played the harp” and in this way he welcomed “dawn,” which is the manifestation of the Light in the soul.

During all the work at “night” he was bringing himself to the state where he was turning the very desires (Kelim) in which he sensed darkness, lack of power, and separation from the Creator; he “cried and screamed” into desires or “vessels” for the Light. That brought about “morning.”

In spirituality, there is no morning, evening, or afternoon. We perceive the entire reality within our desire. This is why we reveal the “Light” in our corrected desire which formerly was dark and empty. Then the Light of Hassadim shines in it, and this is called “day.” When the Light of Hassadim cannot shine, meaning we don’t have the intention to bestow, it is called “night.”

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 4/22/10

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The Analysis Of One’s Own Egoism

Laitman_010Initially in the world of Nekudim, Malchut connects to Bina, creating the small state (Katnut). Then Bina connects to Malchut giving her strength by which Malchut appears to attain the big state (Gadlut). This action is performed by Aba ve Ima of the world of Nekudim. However, there is a desire in Malchut called “Malchut de-Malchut,” which is unable to include the qualities of Bina in itself and simply remains Malchut. Hence, this is the reason for the breaking, and in every particle and desire there is a part of this desire called “the stony heart” (Dalet de-Dalet), which is incapable of mixing with Bina.

The lifting of the Second Restriction (Tzimtzum Bet) has led to the revelation of desires that are unable to accept Bina (bestowal). Yet it’s impossible to know ahead of time that Malchut includes desires that will always remain egoistic since they can only be revealed by the breaking! Therefore, the world of Atzilut appears after the breaking and already knows what to select for corrections: Bina in Malchut, Malchut in Bina, and pure Bina, as well as knowing not to use pure Malchut. In sum, all of this knowledge comes thanks to the breaking.

Thus on our path upward, we need to receive an impression from the breaking. This means we are bending over backwards, but see that we’re powerless. We try to unite with others, bestow to them, and love them while accepting their love, but see that we’re incapable. We must reveal this quality within ourselves, and this means we ultimately reveal that very part of Malchut that is unable to include Bina within. That is when a person breaks down and weeps, and therein resides the point from where correction comes.

Indeed, everything else is easily corrected. The main thing is to separate Malchut de-Malchut from the rest of the desires that can be corrected. Our analysis and separation must be done before anything else. In this way, we correct the parts that can be corrected.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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