Evil Shows Us The Form Of Good

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe evil we reveal inside us by virtue of studying Kabbalah helps us to build good above it. However, we do not plan on correcting the actual evil.

I reveal its highest peaks and lowest pits inside me, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. That is how I outline the boundaries of evil inside of me. So what should I now do with that evil?

I shouldn’t do anything to it! Just complement it with good along the same but opposite trajectory, as it is written, "Love will cover all sins"!

I do not cancel the evil because otherwise I will not have anything upon which to build good. Therefore, I do not erase the evil, but above it, I build good of the same exact form.

To do this I have to attain my evil in all its depth and manifestations. The Light that comes to me illuminates the deepest layers of egoism, showing me who I am and submerging me to the very bottom.

However, from the place where I find myself, I must always aspire to grow upwards—to be grateful for the revelation of evil inside me, and to use all of its forms to build good.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/11, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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An Insurance Policy From The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person has to take care to provide himself with the vital necessities according to the normal living standards customary in our day. It is customary to have some kind of insurance (such as medical insurance and a pension fund), although it is impossible to insure yourself for everything in life.

Obtain a small insurance at the "upper registry" from the Creator, and to this degree you will feel how you should realistically relate to this life. It’s not simple to understand the meaning of "vital necessity," but humanity will have to gradually start attaining this.

Otherwise, we won’t attain balance with nature, the Creator. The Creator gave us life where a part of it is called "material" and takes place in an "imaginary" world. But we have to play as if we are living real lives in this imaginary world.

You cannot say that the Creator will take care of everything and you do not need any insurance or health fund. The Creator has set up this entire game for us and I have to accept it with full seriousness and carry out all its conditions.

Of course, the Creator is responsible for everything, including my upbringing and safety, and He has to provide total coverage for me. But no matter what, I have to play according to the rules He has established and take care of the vital necessities.

It’s as if the Creator has removed Himself from this material life and tells us: "Take care of this yourself, and I will take care of everything else." And obviously, that is not true. But He wants me to play this game and provide for myself in the material world. That is how I correct myself.

First of all, you have to take care of the vital necessities: obtain a profession and a salary, and create a family. After that you can study Kabbalah and correct your soul. Until then, you do not have the necessary foundation.

However, if you start to worry about the material things more than the necessary, you will receive such great problems and burdening of the heart that they will completely obstruct the sky, the Creator, for you. You will no longer be able to think about spiritual work. On the other hand, if you provide for yourself on the normal, rational level, then this work helps you to advance.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah lesson 1/4/11, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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What Is Money?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is money? And why are people so interested in it?

Answer: Money (Kesef) means a screen, which comes from the word “covering” (Kisufa). This is the Light of Hassadim that covers or conceals the egoistic desire, enabling one to receive the entire Light of Hochma.

That is why in the material world money has such great value and can buy anything. Any object has a monetary equivalent and everything is measured by money.

In spirituality everything is measured by the anti-egoistic screen, by what kind of covering you have from the Light of Hassadim. It determines a person’s size, height, and force because according to this garment, he is able to accept the Light of Hochma.

Thus, there is egoistic use of the notion of “money” as well as its use “for the sake of bestowal.” Accordingly, the ritual vessels in the Temple are divided into those that are “silver” (silver, Kesef, comes from the words covering, Kisufa), and those that are “golden” (gold, Zahav, comes from the words “give this,” Ze Av).

There is also a notion of “pocket money” that we sometimes give to a child. This is money that a person needs in order to feel protected against “poverty,” meaning to have the necessary covering for his will to enjoy.

A “pocket” is a receiving vessel, and pocket money is a covering that corresponds exactly to my receiving desires or vessels, enabling me to remain on the minimal level of bestowal, Nefesh, as Hafetz Hesed, one who does not need greater fulfillment.

Every person determines the degree of the concealment necessary to him according to his degree. However, if a child has a question about what he should spend the money he receives on, this is no longer called “pocket money” because it is beyond the boundaries of providing the vital necessities (buying breakfast at school or even candy or ice-cream, which is also considered necessary for a child to some degree).
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/4/11, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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Consult The Experts

Dr. Michael LaitmanRabash, Shlavey HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder), Article "Above Reason in Divine Service": I will only put my faith in the sages, who have told us that the Creator indeed hears our prayers. This is called faith above reason.

A person has to try to clearly reveal for himself that the Creator hears one’s prayers. Until it happens, he advances as though he has already revealed it.

Here, everything depends on the correction of one’s Kelim (vessels). If a person does not yet see something, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist in reality. The broken glasses are not an indication that the world has become depleted. I imagine to myself that the things I saw before still exist.

But what should I do if I’ve never seen them before and still don’t have the glasses? Then I have to follow the advice of the sages. Otherwise, how will I be able to discover anything?

I recall that when I was 11, all of a sudden they told me: "You need glasses." At first, I didn’t realize why and what for, especially because back then children wearing glasses wasn’t very common. With difficulty, my parents found a suitable pair for me; when I finally put them on, I was surprised to see things that escaped my sight before.

The same happens in spirituality: I have to trust the experts who tell me that I have to acquire a new instrument of perception, a spiritual Kli (vessel), and then I will recover my sight. This instrument is not obtained instantly, but by way of multiple actions. I perform them in order to see a new world; I act by using the force called "faith in the sages."

They said: "It’s worthwhile for you to get new glasses; you need them." I don’t feel it; I have never experienced the spiritual world to lack it now. Yet, I still follow their advice.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, " Above Reason in Divine Service"

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The Arrogant Do Not Learn

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It is written that the head of the lower Partzuf gets clothed in the body of the upper Partzuf. What does it mean “to get clothed in the upper one”?

Answer: The “body” of the upper one is his actions, work above desires, while the “head” is decision making. The lower one cannot accomplish anything with his “head,” at his degree. It is written: “From your actions, I shall know You.” In other words, the lower one has to include itself into the “body” of the upper Partzuf.

And when he learns what the upper one does by example, while repeating his actions, only then does he start to understand what the upper one meant to tell him. Until you have done what the upper one told you to do, you won’t understand what he is saying.

It isn’t by any means some thoughtless, animate action when you are required to do what the upper one says; you have to do it so that you may learn! Look how children copy what grownups do: They imitate our behavior without understanding their meaning. When a child is given a plastic hammer and nails, he doesn’t know what to do with them. But he sees how you hammer the nails and does the same, from which he begins to comprehend what it means.

One can’t learn otherwise. We must keep this in mind while designing education programs: Teaching can be successful only if we teach by example. We see that the cause originates in the spiritual roots and is embedded into nature during the expansion of Partzufim (descending of the connection of souls) from Above downward.

The mind given to the lower one is necessary solely in order to be able to copy the actions of the upper one. The head of the lower Partzuf must work only in such form. If the lower one’s head looks up to model and perform his actions by those of the upper one, the lower one is destined to succeed. But if he thinks that he can use his own head to judge, make decisions, and do something, he is headed for failure.

He will think that he is at the degree when he can do something on his own. But all of the acts take place in the “body” of the upper one. If the lower one is smart enough to cancel his intelligence, reason, he ascends and receives wisdom, the mind of the upper one.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Kabbalists On The Torah And Commandments, Part 10

Dr. Michael LaitmanDear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Essence of the Work in Torah and Mitzvot

The purpose of the study of Torah [Kabbalah which unveils the Torah] is to come to feel the Giver of the Torah. If one does not place the goal of reaching the Giver of the Torah [the Creator] before one’s eyes, he is considered “a gentile [one who does not desire to reveal the Creator, regardless of his origin or nationality],” meaning he has no need for faith [perceiving the Creator], that is, to have a need to seek advice [the instructions of the Torah, the advices of Kabbalists] for achieving faith [perceiving the Creator]. This is why he is still regarded as “a gentile [he who does not strive to reveal the Creator]” and not as “Israel [he who aspires for the Creator].”
– Rabash, The Rungs of the Ladder, “What are Torah and Work on the Path of the Creator”
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Correcting The Broken World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If I cannot reveal the place of the breaking, does it mean that there is nothing for me to correct?

Answer: A person has nothing to correct except the breaking between him and other people who have the same aspiration to the Creator. However, why is it particularly with the people who aspire to the Creator? Can’t I correct my relationship with other people such as at work, in the family, or at the market? There are plenty of people around, and everyone needs to reach complete correction.

Then, why can’t I work with them? This is because their desires are not aimed at the unification of souls. Each of them desires only to fill their ego with something, and this is the animate level of egoism, not the degree of the human being. I do not reveal the breaking there.

The breaking is on the human degree. Meanwhile, I have nothing to correct on the animate degree. There, people are polite, pleasant, and kind.

Therefore, correction pertains only to those who aspire to the Creator. We might ask then: “Why is the whole world suffering? Why are we all entering a global, integral, and broken world now?”

This is because all the other people also need to be corrected to the extent that they can join or adhere to those who aspire to the Creator. They will not correct the connections between them on the animate level since, then, they would be like the communists in Russia. However, in the end, they will be forced to unite due to adhering to us and through us to the Creator.

We only correct the connections between souls on the level of man who is similar to the Creator. Therefore, this correction pertains only to the group of Kabbalists or those who join them in various forms to the extent that they are able.

Thus, Baal HaSulam writes in the end of “Introduction to The Book Of Zohar” that everything depends on Israel. “Israel” are those who aspire to the Creator, those who feel hatred between them and need to correct it. The whole correction depends on them.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article Yitro (Jethro)”

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Introductory Lecture “What Does The Wisdom Of Kabbalah Revolve Around” – 01.04.11

Kabbalah for the Nation Introductory Lecture Series, “What Does the Wisdom of Kabbalah Revolve Around”
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The Place Where We Encounter The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanUntil we clarify our desire to enjoy and reveal the whole system of connections and qualities in it, it seems to be just a desire to us, nothing special. However, when its depth is revealed, we see just how complicated this system is.

This is how in quantum physics, scientists penetrate deeper and deeper into matter, each time revealing a whole world within, consisting of smaller and smaller elementary particles that seemed inseparable before. Similarly, we penetrate deeper and deeper into the desire to receive pleasure.

What do we see in it? We see how the Upper Light that created the desire to enjoy influenced it and created the four phases of the Direct Light in it. Since the Light entered the desire to receive, during these four phases, it builds its own structure in it.

In the desire to receive itself, there is nothing except the desire. However, the Light creates differentiations in it according to the five phases of Aviut (the thickness, coarseness of the desire): Shoresh, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet (root, one, two, three, four), as well as the Sefirot, worlds, Partzufim, lines, and an infinite number of types of connections and forms, each of which has its own characteristics. There is an infinite number of differences, and they all come from the Light.

Therefore, the more we reveal the desire to receive, the more we reveal the Light, the Creator, and His nature. However, we reveal Him from the material, the desire to receive, and this is called "form clothed in matter."

We do not reveal the Creator Himself. We reveal the actions that He has performed in the matter, and from these actions, we know the Creator. As it is written, "From Your actions, I shall know You."

We penetrate into the matter itself. The Creator brought Himself into the matter, we reveal ourselves in that same matter, and there we encounter the Creator. Therefore, Atzmuto (His Essence) remains unattainable.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article Yitro (Jethro)”

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A Problem To Help You

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I actually turn the desire that awakens in me to bestowal?

Answer: Suppose I am relentlessly worried by something since the morning. This unsatisfied desire gives rise to a thought that I have to calm it down. I am tormented by this problem, immersed in it, and am looking for a way to solve it.

I received all of this from Above. If my problem relates to something that is vitally necessary, then I have to solve it without paying too much attention to working with the intention. First of all I have to provide myself with the vital necessities. It is written about this, "Without bread there is no Torah."

However, if it is not something that’s vitally necessary, if it isn’t something I need on the animate or bodily level, then I have to try to transfer this thought to the right format. I received it from the Creator and it was in order for me to build the right reaction to it. It is "help against the Creator." It is against the goal, yet at the same time it helps me to react correctly, and by pushing myself off of it I can aim at the goal.

My goal is adhesion with the Creator. The Creator is good and does good and there is none else besides Him. He sends me all the problems and worries in order to help me. Therefore, above my worry, as if making a mirror image of it, I turn back to Him, who is good and does good.

I have to reach the sensation that my problem is help to enable me to understand the Creator’s attitude to me, which is opposite to the sensations that awaken in me. That is how I build the Creator’s image. By having a careful and accurate attitude, I will be able to identify why a certain worry or problem is being sent to me precisely in this form. I will see a reverse mold of it, the form of the One who is good and does good, and who engraved it in me.

By virtue of this "inversion" I will ascend to the degree of a righteous man and will justify the Creator in some regard. And by doing so I will get on the right track. The most important thing is to keep going, without falling asleep during any state on the background of any negative forms that the Creator sends me.

I can react to them correctly at every second if only I equip myself with the support of the environment. Without it my efforts are episodic, but with it I am constantly "in the loop." The group entirely determines the speed of my advancement.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/4/11, Writings of Rabash

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