Life Is Not Always A Picnic

Laitman_903A question I received: The World Zohar Convention has just ended. At the convention we saw over a thousand people of different races and nationalities many of which carry historical stereotypes. Unexpectedly, in a mere 20-30 hours all these differences disappeared giving rise to connection and love. What do we lack to be in this state continuously?

My Answer: At the convention people felt unity, inspiration, and importance of the goal. However, 20 hours have passed since the gathering, and now we can hardly remember how it was there. Everything vanishes from our senses and memory. Why can’t we to continue in this way and always be in this state?

This state just like everything else in our life cannot last long. One’s inspiration and enthusiasm reach a peak and then a person calms down. It’s impossible to stay inspired forever. This follows from the law of the inverse relationship between the Light and desire: At one moment the Light has to increase, at another the desire. They increase alternately, and through this we advance as if walking on two legs along the middle line that connects two other lines, left and right.

The two lines connect only with the purpose of pressing forward, and then to start moving again. We first move to the right where we obtain the importance of the goal, connection, and desire to continue and go. Then from the left, there comes “heaviness the heart,” so that we have something to work on and return again to the middle line. This is how we advance.

This is why this state cannot last long: It would go against nature. I would even say that no state is more undesirable than being in constant euphoria. A person has to feel that he advances, works, and overcomes some internal resistance, instead of being constantly “up in the clouds.”

Our work is to acutely feel that we give and receive something, and give again, and receive again. We have to feel resistance, actions, and achievements. This is why there is so much pleasure in hard work and difficult preparation that culminate in such a great convention where we see the results of our work and enjoy what we attained for two or three days. However, after this, we again have to return to the state of burden, overcoming, search, clarifications, and corrections so as to eventually arrive at another beautiful outcome.

It is because the Creator and creature stand opposite each other as two opposite properties: the desire to receive and the desire to bestow. Equality between them is achieved only by the means of such mutual actions. Advancement is impossible otherwise. We can’t stay in the small state (Katnut) or Hafetz Hesed: We have to move forward!

Post Zohar Convention Lesson 5/11/10

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Living Each Letter Of Your Sacred Text

Laitman_151Letters are the forms of desire. The Creator created only the desire to enjoy that acquires various forms of reception and bestowal. Yet, forms of reception have no right to exist in spirituality. As to the forms of bestowal, we are only concerned with those similar to the Creator, that is, with various types of bestowal from Bina to Malchut.

Altogether, there are 27 letters: 9 come from ZAT de Bina (from Aleph to Tet), 9 from Zeir Anpin (from Yod to Tzadik), 4 are contained in Malchut (Kof, Reish, Shin, and Tav), and 5 letters are used in the end of words, MaNTZePaCH, on the Parsa.  These are the forms of matter similar to the Creator or models of the correct behavior.

Therefore, when we talk about a book, word, or sentence, we talk about the matter of the desire to enjoy, which is constantly changing and acquiring different shapes like dough. This is how our desire alters its form, yearning to become similar to the Creator.

When one completes repeating the entire series of permutations from the first word (In the beginning – Beresheet) to the last (Israel), going through all the letters of the Torah, one acquires all of these forms, becomes completely similar to the Creator, and reaches the Final Correction. Hence it is said, “Inscribe the whole Torah on your heart.”  The heart is the desire; the book of Torah all the existing forms of the Creator’s bestowal onto the creatures. We have to transcribe them on our desire. Then we will become similar to the Creator.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/5/10

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Questions About Swine Flu, Standard Of Living, and Meditation

Laitman_507_03Question: Can Kabbalah combat epidemics, such as Swine Flu?

My Answer: Yes, just like everything else.

Question: How do we measure one’s adequate standard of living? Is it by the level of one’s corrected egoism? What is the condition of existing below the standard of living and at it?

My Answer: It will be determined as you advance toward the “human” level of existence. This level itself will define what you need or don’t need. The same will happen with every person.

Question: You said Kabbalah has no meditation. But I read that one of the most important Kabbalists, Rav Abraham Abulafia (sec XIII), brought a meditation method that had been used for generations. What’s your opinion about this?

My Answer: Contrary to what is ascribed to him, Abulafia wasn’t a founder of meditation. He was a very realistic Kabbalist. Inability to understand his writings, as those of other Kabbalists, creates such an impression for laymen.

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 05.13.10

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 17
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