Timeless Language

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is better: reading the original Hebrew text during a lesson without understanding it or reading a translated text?

Answer: This is a big question. In general, the Kabbalistic lexicon is so limited that students gradually become accustomed to it. We are talking about approximately a couple of hundred words that allow you to understand the Hebrew text. We see it in Moscow group which reads original texts in Hebrew.

I don’t think that in the future any person who pursues the goal will study Kabbalah in any other language. It is very hard. We haven’t learned the Hebrew letters yet and haven’t started studying their external or internal meaning.

Knowledge of the Kabbalistic language is extremely helpful. I am sure that you already know half the major terms in Hebrew, and can assert that you won’t be able to abide without understanding the original text.

Yes, it is not simple. We are talking about an unusual language that is very different from Latin. But there is nothing we can do about it, the Light descends to us from right to left, that’s why in Hebrew the direction of writing is the same.

Besides, we write the letters from right to left and from top to bottom, according to the direction of the Lights of Hassadim (Mercy) and Hochma (Wisdom). All letters consist of these elements. Their shape is defined by various combinations of the Upper Forces.

All linguistic rules and grammar also have a spiritual foundation. They are built on interaction of Bina and Malchut. There are no rules in Hebrew that are invented by human beings.

Since Adam’s birth 5772 years ago to this day, nothing has changed in the language, neither written nor verbal. If you met a person who lived thousands of years ago in Egypt or Babylon, you would understand each other with ease. Everything depends on the Upper root which is unchangeable. Laws of interactions between Bina and Malchut are eternal, and that’s why the language doesn’t undergo any changes.

Other languages transform according to the mentality and ethics of the people speaking them. A thousand years ago your ancestors used language that you would hardly recognize today. Spelling and the external form of the letters themselves also change with time.

However, Hebrew is not a human language but a projection of the Upper Forces and their combinations. Even though it is not convenient for contemporary people to use Hebrew, we have no choice. Kabbalists cannot convey Kabbalistic knowledge any other way.
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From he 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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