Traveling With Rabbi Shimon

Laitman_132A question I received: Why do the authors of The Zohar repeat and explain the same things over and over again? Isn’t it enough to explain the basics and proceed further? Why do they write so much about things that are clear to us already, for example, that each element consists of four parts multiplied by three lines, which eventually add up to twelve parts?

My Answer: By reiterating, the authors of The Zohar give a chance to those who already possess the screens and spiritual vessels (Kelim) to perform the actions described in The Book while they read it. A person then reveals these actions and performs them along with Rabbi Shimon during the time when the latter wrote The Zohar. Time doesn’t exist in spirituality, so the reader connects with the author, grasps his hand like a child holding on to an adult, and proceeds together with him.

Rabbi Shimon leads a person, shows and explains to him the actions and properties one by one by replicating the same actions in various places over and over again. Why? It’s because each time we have to correct a certain property within our desire to receive pleasure.

It seems to us that it is already enough; how many times can we go over the same things? But that is because we simply neither know nor sense that these things are in fact different. Names and titles look the same, but each time they stand for new inner definitions. This is why we should simply move along with the authors of The Zohar, trying to connect with them as much as we can in order to better understand what’s going on.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/5/10

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The Flip-Flopping Heart

Laitman_131The only freedom of choice we have lies in our desire for spirituality or more precisely the point in the heart, which we can raise above all the other desires. As soon as I raise the point in the heart above the whole heart (egoistic desires) and aim myself directly toward the Creator (become “Isra-El”), my heart immediately begins to turn, swell, and increase in size. I experience this as feeling a descent, whereby spirituality ceases to be important for me and nothing shines; there is only darkness.

The turning heart

This indicates that the point in the heart is already, again, situated below the desires of the heart and that egoism has risen above it. Again, I begin to work in order to escape these desires and to elevate the spiritual point above them. However, as soon as I do this, once more my heart receives an additional heaviness. In this manner their mutual importance flips around.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/10/10, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar

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The Spiritual Root Of Spreading The Wisdom Of Kabbalah

Laitman_514_03Question: What is the spiritual root of dissemination and why is it so important?

My Answer: The root of dissemination, spreading the wisdom of Kabbalah, lies in the connection among souls. After the breaking of the vessels and separation due to mutual egoism, the souls have to reunite. It’s a “puzzle” that we have to reassemble; this is how we will come to know the Creator of the common soul.

Question: Why do religions and other beliefs also want to disseminate?

My Answer: They all want to spread their influence and strength; they want to be stronger, more powerful and rich, and to absorb more followers from other belief systems. It is a natural egoistic desire of any teaching.

Question: Then what is the difference between Kabbalah and egoistic teachings?

My Answer: We don’t recruit anyone. We don’t need to. We pursue only one goal: that a person will know the purpose of his existence and the way to make his life good, eternal, and perfect. That’s it! What would you call such a person? He wouldn’t be called anything, neither a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim, nor a follower of anyone or anything. He simply will be kind and loving to everybody.

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