What Does It Mean To Study And Engage In The Torah?

Dr. Michael LaitmanA question I received: What does it mean to “engage in the authentic Torah”?

My Answer: As Baal HaSulam writes, to practice Kabbalah means to realize it in oneself, to experience it. The Light that corrects us is called the Torah. It is opposite to me and shines from afar onto my Reshimo (my spiritual, informational gene). I evolved in the previous generations according to the chain of Reshimot and arrived to a Reshimo called the “point in the heart.” It awakened under the influence of the Light, and gives me a feeling that there’s something higher than the life I’ve been leading in this body.

Study The Torah vs Engage In ItAll the work is done by the Light that Reforms. It’s the Light that awakens me. Initially, the Light developed me at the animate level. However, now the time has come for me to become human.

I, myself, am not able to act, so I appeal to the system of souls (a Kabbalistic group) and from it receive additional will and additional importance of the Creator, that is, I start feeling His importance and my own insignificance. The difference between one and the other creates additional desire called MAN (prayer). I raise this MAN upward. Basically, my work lies mainly in this. When I raise MAN, the desire to attain the Creator, to a magnitude 10 times greater than it was initially as my point in the heart, I have done my work.

However, this is not yet “studying the Torah”  or “engaging in the Torah.” So far, all this has been preparation. But now, the Light begins to illuminate me with greater power. This is now Surrounding Light – 2. It shines on me differently, in a straight line, and to the measure of my yearning.

The perception of the importance of the Creator is called Keter and one’s own insignificance is Malchut. This means I’m now acting in accordance with the goal of attaining the Creator by arranging my desires into one line. Its two outermost points are Keter and Malchut. The Creator and bestowal are above, and I and reception are below.

Now, the Light comes to me in another, direct form, and begins to collate my properties. It shows me what is more and less important within me by putting everything in order. That is, the Surrounding Light – 2 is well-ordered, and according to this order, it begins reforming me. This means that I’m now “studying Torah” since I’m studying what modifications the Surrounding Light is making within me.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/31/10, Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Zohar Is For Those Who Yearn For The Light
Kabbalah Moments:  “True Torah”
Kabbalah Moments: “Surrounding Light”

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