Kabbalah Moments: Don’t Flee

The Secret Code Of The Zohar

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can we say that the flow of the words in The Zohar changes the strength and the direction of the forces that bind us together?

Answer: We do not know how it works. Something about it is still deeply hidden from us. The Book is written in a language that seemingly allows us to discern quite logical things in it, relate to them, and somehow picture ourselves in them or them in us. There is a certain interaction between me and the book, a connection and understanding that the Book talks about me and I am inside of it.

But this is a completely false sensation. It is simply the form in which the story is presented to us, the story that is extremely distant, unfamiliar, and foreign to us. It is like some beast that acquired a human form, talked to us, and we could only grasp its outer form: its arms, legs, or head. But it is absolutely not the case.

Consequently, we need to relate to The Zohar as to the Book that contains a certain secret code, a sequence of spiritual instructions. I do not know how they are written from the inside and cannot come into contact with them. In order to establish at least some sort of connection with these spiritual instructions, I read The Zohar. However, the connection emerges not by my hearing or reading the text; rather, it is built to the measure of my desire to unite with this inner code so that it could transform me.

The Book can be written in a variety of forms, and I may not understand a single word of it. What counts is my desire for the inner content of the Book to correct me. Its inner content is the spiritual world with its entire apparatus, actions, and forces, not the paper and print within the cover.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/4/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Excerpts From My Book-In-Progress: The Guide To The Book Of Zohar
Laitman.com Post: The Guide to the Book of Zohar: A Kind And Loving Father
Laitman.com Post: The Mind Cannot Comprehend The Zohar

The Only Way To Ascend

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn order to ascend to a next degree, we should act by “faith above reason.” “Faith” means that our “head” (Rosh) is in the Upper One. The Upper One tells us what to do, and we do as we are told: Unite with the friends and study. We know that we do not love anyone and do not want to unite with anyone, but we are told: “Do it mechanically, and do not fool yourselves. You do not want to unite; your heart is against it. The Pharaoh, the will to receive pleasure, the evil inclination, rules you with all its might. Hate is inside of you, and the game of ‘love,’ a lie is on the outside.”

This is done on purpose. It is necessary because the Upper degree which we are now enacting is a lie to us; we are not yet connected with it. However, we have to act it out until it becomes the truth. This is done by the Light that we draw through the “silly” act of “we shall do,” and, as a result, we “will hear,” will attain “Lishma” (Bina), the spiritual level of “hearing.”

This is the most intelligent action that allows us to grow. Without it, neither plants, nor beasts, nor humans evolve. We advance only when we annul ourselves before the Upper One, the higher spiritual degree. We simply imitate whatever we are able to, as much as possible, without the mind’s participation for we do not yet comprehend or perceive what is occurring at a higher spiritual degree. The sages say: “Whatever is in your power, do it” and “I have labored and found.” You put forth effort and find a “treasure” that you did not expect or imagine you would obtain.

This is the sole basis of growth. There is no other way to ascend from one spiritual degree to another. I have to annul myself before the Upper One and tell myself that my “head” (Rosh) serves only one purpose: to recognize the actions of the Upper One and copy them with my “body” (Guf). Just that! I don’t use my “head” for my “body.” I use my “head” solely to connect with the Upper One and repeat his actions as my own.

Our world operates according to the same principle. In every element of nature where there is growth and evolution this law presides, even in the vegetative and animate levels of nature. A living cell that desires to grow matches itself with the more advanced cell, and thereby evolves. This is called “acting” because the higher spiritual state has not clothed in me as “Mochin,” and I move forward by the mind of the Upper One, as in a game. I do it just like a child who is playing a “grown-up” and because of this becomes one.

This is an iron law in all spiritual degrees. Only by abiding by this law can we ascend the spiritual degrees. This law governs both the material and spiritual worlds.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Psychological Barrier On The Path To Bestowal
Laitman.com Post: Upper Logic
Laitman.com Post: The Spiritual World Is Above Reason

We Shall Do, And We Shall Hear The Creator

The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 315: “Bless the Lord, you His angels… upon hearing the voice of His word.”

A person is called an angel when he performs actions automatically, without using his mind. He doesn’t have his own head (Rosh) and does what he is told. He carries out what someone else thinks. This state is called “angel” since an angel is a force that acts without any discernment.

Hence, in the instruction of “we shall do and we shall hear,” we carry out “we shall do” as angels. This is why it is written: “…His angels…upon hearing the voice of His word.” We too shall act and then we shall hear. Acting without inner agreement or a clear understanding of the reason and purpose of our deed (since they are the attributes of a higher state), we merit a higher degree.

As a matter of fact, this is the most natural way to act. It is similar to a child who while playing an unfamiliar game repeats the words of a grown-up even though he does not understand the meaning. We can say any nonsense, and the child will repeat it seriously. If we perform an action, he will copy it with total willingness and passion. This is how a child learns. A “small one” doesn’t possess a mind (Rosh, the head of the Partzuf); a mind is the attribute of a “big one.” A “small one” has only a body (Guf of the Partzuf) to carry out the tasks.

However, when the lower one follows the Upper One and annuls himself before him, then he acquires the mind of the Upper One and becomes similar to him. This is the essence of “we shall do, and we shall hear.”

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Reaching The Speed Of Light
Laitman.com Post: The Upper One Doesn’t Err
Laitman.com Post: Upper Logic

Prove That You Are A Hero!

Dr. Michael LaitmanAfter the Mega Kabbalah Congress, many complain about experiencing heaviness and “hardening of the heart.” This is the Pharaoh, our ego, awakening in us. If we now use the power that we have received during the Congress in order to correct the heaviness that descended upon us, we will benefit!

We need to relate to the entire reality as to a single whole. Both ascents and descents are the stages of the same path. Advancement is impossible without these two forces acting one upon the other. The state of excitement is not yet advancement. This is not yet a step forward but only the force received from Above. Afterward, we need to realize it “below.”

If you receive this force and do not wish to realize it, you resemble a clogged pipe that is being pressured from within but is unwilling to pass this pressure further. Next time, you won’t receive anything! You will be forced to leave this path, and someone else will be chosen for this mission from Above.

We should understand that we received a force, and by itself, it doesn’t self-realize. It is our duty to continue working with it by ourselves. If you don’t utilize whatever was given to you, you won’t receive any additional strength and will become increasingly passive.

And on the contrary, anybody who now will quickly invest all the received forces into circulation of Kabbalah will feel himself receiving more and more from Above. We need to open the pipe and let the energy flow freely through it!

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/4/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Let’s Keep Ascending Higher
Laitman.com Post: Be A Spiritual Embryo: Cleave To The Upper Level
Laitman.com Post: Desire Is Our Only Work

Kabbalah For Beginners “Jealousy, Lust, And Respect” – 08.04.10

Kabbalah TV Channel 66’s Kabbalah for Beginners, “Jealousy, Lust, and Respect”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

The Truth Lies In The Middle

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person’s actions are based on his habits; he perceives and accepts solely that to which he is accustomed. Anything beyond the ordinary passes by him unrecognized. In our state of unawareness, we ignore everything new before we can even sense or perceive it. This is why it is so difficult to come face to face with spirituality.

We live in the world that we choose by picking only that which we are familiar with and accustomed to from the World of Infinity that surrounds us. In order to expand our world into and through the world of bestowal, we need to use “faith above reason” and accept the states of bestowal, the attributes, desires, thoughts, and actions of the “opposite world.”

To achieve this, we have to reconcile two opposing spiritual states within; we have to recognize our current egoistic existence (the lower degree) is opposite from the property of bestowal (the higher degree). Moreover, we need to live between these states and rejoice in the sensation of emptiness of the lower state because it gives us an opportunity to rise above it, to the higher degree.

Such forces descend on me through the group from the Upper Light and hold me “above the ground” like a magnet. The magnetism of truth and faith (bestowal) that lifts me upward should be stronger than the sensation of beastly egoism that pulls me downward, to the “ground.”

The truth, however, lies in existing in both states simultaneously. Living in each of them separately is a lie. Even if I am entirely in spirituality, it is a lie. True existence is always between two states at the same time: the sensation of perfection and lack, gratitude and prayer.

I should rejoice in the fact that I can experience both of these states at once and am in constant transition. Yet, I am aware of the obstacles and hold myself above them by will, like a mountain climber who knows that as soon as he gives into weakness, he will immediately fall to his demise. This is the only true state of existence, and we must train ourselves to make it our “lifestyle” and rejoice in it.

Accordingly, there is a test: Are we able to live in a state of joy despite all the struggle and dissatisfaction, always persevering between inspiration and desperation?

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/10, Article, “The Matter of Truth and Faith”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post:On The Other Side Of The Screen
Laitman.com Post: Waking Up To The True Reality
Laitman.com Post: Heaven And Hell Are “Frames” We Experience Within

We Are Existence From Absence

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Creator is a singular quality of bestowal and absolute good. The creature, however, is created by the Creator as a desire to receive pleasure, which makes it opposite to Him. Hence, in order to become similar to the Creator, the creature has to undergo numerous contradictory states. The creature could simply replace the desire to receive with the desire to bestow and merge with the Creator. But to avoid this and remain independent yet similar to the Creator, the creature incorporates two elements within itself: the will to enjoy and the sensation of the Giver.

Our sensation of the world and existence is comprised of these two opposites: Yesh (existence) and Mi Ain (from absence). Only then is the creature able to feel that it exists. We can’t exist in either Yesh (the reality of the Creator) or in Ain (the reality of the creature), and therefore, we undergo gradual transformations in order for the Light (Yesh) that created us from absence (Mi Ain) to mold the desire (Ain) into the form of Yesh (the form of the Creator).

This Light leads me along the chain of cause and effect, where each previous effect becomes the cause of the following state. This goes on until I begin to sense His relationship with me, an outside force that created and is guiding me. Beside the sensation of being filled “within reason,” there is another force of the Creator that educates me by setting a model and a goal to follow. This is where I must act by using “faith.”

In my present state, I exist in my animate form and act according to what I have. At the same time, however, I am aware of my higher state, a degree that I haven’t yet achieved. I take the existence of a higher degree on “faith” because it is opposite to my present state of being. The nature of spiritual degrees is such that each higher degree is opposite to the lower one since it contains a greater degree of bestowal than the one below it.

In order to attain a higher spiritual degree, I must accept its condition of “bestowal despite my egoism” or “faith above reason.” If I don’t, I will forever remain at the present, animate degree. This means that I will continue to receive in the “old” will to receive pleasure and will not climb the spiritual ladder to bestowal. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare ourselves so that we willingly accept a higher spiritual degree and not push it away.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/10, Article, “The Matter of Truth and Faith”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: From The Garden Of Eden And Back Again
Laitman.com Post: How Do We Find Our Point Of Freedom?
Laitman.com Post: The Unification of Light And Desire

The Guide to the Book of Zohar: A Kind And Loving Father

Dr. Michael LaitmanExcerpts from my upcoming book, A Guide to The Book of Zohar

We exist in the reality which includes the Creator, the Creator’s communications system with the created beings, and the created beings themselves. Through this system the Creator governs us with the aim of bringing us to the goal of creation “to delight the creatures” and to make us similar to Himself. The Creator wishes to share everything He has with us.

Therefore, from the very beginning we need to view everything in reality as though it was created by a loving Father. However, He has to bring us to independent development so that we will grow and be independent. To do so He has to influence us from two sides: mercy and judgment. And even though they both stem from Him, from His kind and loving heart, they are divided into two opposite forces which we perceive as manifestations of good and evil, mercy and judgment, light and darkness.

When we perceive all the circumstances of our life “down in this world” we shouldn’t forget that we receive them from the kind Father, and even the worst and harshest of His methods of influence stem from His desire to delight us. As long as we don’t forget this and connect everything to Him, “There is none else beside Him, and He is Good that does good,” we combine these two lines back into one which is the same source. And because we combine them in our heart and mind, in so doing we merge with the Creator.

It follows that our entire work lies in constant attempts to relate everything that happens to Him.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Prepare A Place For The Light To Work
Laitman.com Post: The Unification of Light And Desire
Laitman.com Post: Is Concealment Hiding Within Me?

Kabbalists On The Essence Of The Science Of Kabbalah, Part 13

Dr. Michael LaitmanDear Friends, please ask questions about these passages of the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. The comments within brackets are mine.

The Reality Contained in the Wisdom of Kabbalah

The lower is studied from the Higher. Thus, one must first (even if one desires just to understand what happens in our lower world] attain the Upper Roots, the way they are in spirituality, above any imagination [by correcting one’s egoism to their level in the quality of bestowal], but with pure attainment [that is, through equivalence with them, by becoming equal in spiritual level to them].

And once he has thoroughly attained [with his new qualities] the Upper Roots [from where the whole governance descends to the branches of our world] with his own mind, he may examine [from the roots above] the tangible branches in this world and know how each branch relates to its root in the Upper World.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence Of The Wisdom Of Kabbalah

Every thing that we do not attain and that has no name and appellation, how can we define it by a name? Any name implies attainment.
– Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Inner Reflection, Chapter 1, Item 5

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Sensing The Upper Roots Through Their Branches
Laitman.com Post: The Teaching Of The Language Of Roots And Branches
Laitman.com Post: Treating The Root