Audio Version Of The Blog – 01.30.12

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 01.29.12

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Gathering Beneath The Wings Of The Shechina

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf we are talking about the spiritual vessel, meaning about unity or an embrace like beneath one cloak or one umbrella, then this is only possible on the condition that we have the Creator as a partner bracing our embrace together, uniting us like a mother unites all of her children under the “wings of the Shechina.Otherwise we won’t be able to do anything.

Without this, it all goes no farther than one, short instant, during which we feel a willingness to unite, yell and scream. But in reality, connection is possible only when we do it together with the upper force.

We all came out of Bina, broke into its levels, and lost the force of Bina. That is why we separated. And now we have to recover this force of bestowal, Bina. The whole world of correction (Atzilut) and the worlds of BYA are under the control of Partzuf SAG, the upper mother. And if we get under Her wings, we will be able to unite. We only have to ask Her to take care of us, like demanding fledglings.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/29/12, Writings of Rabash

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Cool Water For A Soul Tormented By Thirst

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is one’s proximity to spirituality measured by the love that is felt in one’s heart? And if we don’t feel love, does that mean we are not in spirituality?

Answer: Spirituality begins when a person feels that it is inside of his mutual connection with the friends whom he sets apart from the entire rest of the world for this reason. There he feels his new, different existence, which is different from the previous—inside of this connection, in which there are no calculations besides connection and mutuality, where they all embrace the Creator together.

They embrace the very quality of bestowal that reigns in them, which they desire to reveal. They want to feel such joy from it as if they are immersing in cool water on a grueling, hot day. In the same way, we want to feel the quality of bestowal filling us.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/29/12, Writings of Rabash

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Head And Body – Thought And Action

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe spiritual Partzuf consists of a head (Rosh) and a body (Guf). The Guf puts into practice the “Rosh’s” decisions. The part that tends towards obtaining similarity with the upper force demonstrates its intention, power, need, and implements its own decisions is called the “head.”

Initially the Creator made only one desire, the desire to receive. It had neither a head nor a body. Under the influence of the Light, the desire reconstructed itself; it transitioned through the four stages and got to a point where it began to understand that it needed to become similar with the upper force and acquire the property of bestowal. The system that emerges and builds in it as a result of this decision is called “head” (Rosh).

These processes took place within one desire; it’s considered to be the head only under the condition that its parts are connected at the level of thought, intention, and with the recognition of the importance of such a connection. The same desires that are activated by such an intention are called the body. There is a part of the body that is able to execute the head’s decisions; it’s the internal part, Toch. Also, there is a part that is not capable of doing so, the Sof.

Division into head and body (Rosh and Guf) takes place within the same desire. In our physical body, it’s manifested by the fact that the head is located above the body. This position reflects a spiritual process: First, the head makes a decision, and then it starts to be implemented through the body.

Everything happens within one desire, but connections between desires that are of a more sophisticated nature (like thoughts, intentions, and clarifications) are referred to as the head. Substantial thickness (which is called Aviut) is added to the network that we call the head, to all those liaisons and wires that are responsible for calculations and clarifications; and altogether the whole thing is called a body.

Previously, the desire used to be only a body. However, right after the first restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph) it decided that it wanted to re-build itself anew; for that, it needed a head. The body restricted itself because it couldn’t agree to sense itself as opposite to the Creator; at this time, it chose to get a new head.

Thoughts, aspirations, intentions, and plans that lead desire towards the Light are called the head. At this point, it starts receiving the power of the Light for the sake of bestowal and thus becomes similar to the Light.

If we look at the spiritual ladder, we’ll see only heads. Bodies are inside. We see only Partzufim’s heads, one underneath the other. Bodies are necessary only to implement decisions that are made by the head and to also give birth to another head!
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/16/12, “Study of the Ten Sefirot

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When The Upper One Lifts You Up In His Arms

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During yesterday’s lesson, I felt a great heaviness. Afterward, I went outside and I was so lost that for a long time I didn’t understand where I was. How is it possible to go through and process states like these?

Answer: Indeed you know that we must go through spiritual birth. Birth is complete reversal, like a revolution. A person has to go through a certain number of states through which he acquires a new vision: He sees everything in a usual way, like others, and together with this, he sees the other side, as well, the reversal. And this is what happens not only once, but several times.

He has to get used to detaching himself from his animal nature and existing without perceiving the world through his body. It is not mysticism but special work that we let the Light perform on us. We don’t know when we will fall into these states; it is difficult to predict and locate them in advance. But it happens in order to give you enthusiasm, a feeling that it is possible to see the world in a way not according to what you are used to.

If a person works intensively with authentic books, attracts to himself the Light that reforms, and tries to connect with the group, then he goes through states like these. There is nothing special or dangerous about this. It doesn’t cause any unwanted results, but it is done only in order to accustom the person to see the world and all of reality in an objective manner.

The objective manner is the same form that I clothe. Objectiveness in itself doesn’t exist. Even the Creator, as it seems, is not objective, since He sees everything by way of bestowal, while we now see everything through our egoism. But in order to teach us to see reality from two points of view, they are transferred to us through exercises like these.

In our corporeal world there is no “division” like this since we never leave this one world, which operates according to the principles of egoistic reception. Thus it is impossible to explain to someone that there can be another perception. They see it as sophisticated psychology.

But with us it happens in a materialistic way, since we change our substance with others. When the reforming Light operates on a person, it gives him a foundation that is called the desire to bestow. And the person already begins to see the world through this desire.

And in the meantime, it happens not only at the expense of the person himself, but also simply teaches him, shakes him up a little, and awakens him, like a grown-up who lifts a baby in his arms and the child suddenly sees a new world from above. One that is big and wide. He, himself, asked that he be lifted and held up in order to feel grown up like everyone, and even more than that, since everything becomes visible in front of him.

But does he deserve this height? No, we are those who lift him and want to show him that something else exists besides the childish perception, in order to awaken a desire and urge in him to attain it.

And the exercises of this kind are sometimes given to us from above, with the help of the surrounding Light. Usually they happen suddenly. In these exercises there are sometimes states that are incomprehensible to us, and thus they aren’t pleasant and they confuse us to a great degree. The person totally doesn’t understand how it all can turn upside down and is alarmed because he doesn’t know what is happening to him.

They simply want to show you now that there are other forms of perception that exist, different than the forms that you are used to. In this world there exists something other than what you felt the last few tens of years of your life. It happens this way with everyone.

We go through these kinds of states, until we get used to them. In the beginning, they are considered as exceptions and incomprehensible to the extent that you don’t know what to do with them. Afterward, you already get used to the existence of this inversion. You even begin to identify it in the friends when they lose balance and experience passing from state and state.

Thus we advance. You get used to it and anticipate that the inner states will change as quickly and frequently as possible, because through them you formulate acquaintance with reality. After all, all of reality is within you and depends on your state.

Thus we progress until the Machsom (barrier), where really a true change occurs. And everything that happens until then is designed to prepare for this. Get used to it!

You should be happy that you already have begun to feel yourself as something other than a beast, and that fundamental and highly qualitative changes are occurring in your attributes, in the perception that the Light that reforms brings you. No one is hypnotizing you, but it is simply the real beginning of feeling changes within.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/23/12, Shamati #148

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Do Not Create An Idol

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot” (37): Hence, until this day there has indeed been a fortified wall around this wisdom. Many have tried to begin to study, but could not continue for lack of understanding and because of the corporeal appellations. This is why I have labored with the interpretation, Panim Meirot and Panim Masbirot, to interpret the great book, The Tree of Life, by the Ari, to make the corporeal forms abstract and to establish them as spiritual laws, above time and place. Thus, any novice can understand the matters, their reasons, and explanations with a clear mind and great simplicity…

It becomes a real problem if people perceive the teaching of Kabbalah in its external sense and assign material meaning to spiritual forces. There is a commandment that prohibits creating idols and images. This is exactly what triggered Abraham to exit the material realm and rise to the spiritual world.

There still is a danger of going back to worshiping idols if we happen to allocate any spiritual essence to material subjects or actions. Many people think that certain objects possess spiritual power: red strings, holy water, icons, etc. On numerous occasions, people used to bring such objects to my teacher Rabash, and I always gave them away to those who wanted to have them since he never kept them for himself.

People are inclined to assign spiritual properties to letters, pictures, objects, animals, and other people. There are many objects of worship. A spiritual aura is ascribed to various actions as well. In fact, there is no spiritual force in materiality whatsoever. It hides only within the intention of a person when he interacts with the reforming Light.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/15/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

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All The Light? That’s Too Much, Can I Have Just A Bit?

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of The Ten Sefirot“: One concealment means that he believes in the Providence of reward and punishment. Yet, because of the accumulation of the suffering, he sometimes comes to thoughts of transgression.

The egoistic desire pressures a person and the slight revelation of the Creator’s posterior isn’t enough for him. But he still restrains himself as much as he can.

This is because even though he believes that the suffering came to him as a punishment, he is still like one who sees his friend from behind, and might doubt and mistake him for another. And these sins are only mistakes, since, as a whole, he does believe in Providence of reward and punishment.

So what are these states? Suppose a person’s egoistic desire weighs 100 kg and the Light gives him only 50 kg of power of resistance. If we subtract the 100 kg of evil from the 50 kg of the power of the Light, the result will be minus 50 kg. These 50 kg of the ego operate inside a person and lower him to the level of mistakes. If all the 100kg of the ego were set loose in us, a person could find himself on the level of sins.

If I am totally under the control of my egoistic desire, it is the level of sins. Here all my vessels, the ones that receive and ones that bestow, operate with the intention of in order to receive. But if some of my vessels can restrain themselves fearlessly, then I am on the level of mistakes. It all depends on the revelation of the Creator, on the way He appears to me.

This mechanism doesn’t work in our world. Here only the threat of a blow to the ego restrains us: whether it is the feeling of shame, or whether our pride may be hurt, or even physical harm. On the other hand, in the spiritual world the punishment is the inability to bestow. The threat of the inability to bestow restrains a person.

On the whole, it all depends on how much the Light influences me, in how many of my vessels I want It to bestow. Accordingly I am on the level of a “righteous” or an “evil person.”

Do I have free will here? It depends on whether I can demand that the Light will influence me as much as possible.

For example, I have a “cruel” egoistic desire that weighs 100 kg and I am ready to correct it only by 10 kg because I simply cannot ask for a greater correction; I can’t resist all the pleasures and put them under the intention of bestowal. Even when I am incorporated in the group, I am not ready to get rid of all my egoism. At the most, I am ready to “cut the edges,” to get rid of the “excess fat,” and not more than that; that’s all I can ask for. So what’s next? Will my request be accepted in such an egoistic manner?

Everyone should try and answer this question by himself.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/25/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

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Everybody Has Their Own Toy

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What makes us create “idols” and assign spiritual properties to material things and actions?

Answer: We are like infants: each of us carries around a baby’s pacifier, a doll, or a toy. Those who haven’t grown up yet need something that they can hold onto. They require something that they are used to, that is intertwined with their parents’ house, something familiar and comforting.

Nobody knows how to behave, what to say, and what to expect when they get to a new and unknown place. One feels discomfort, can’t relax, and gets nervous. It’s quite different at home where everything is familiar, clear, and easy. We speak one language with our friends and family.

We are built similarly to the spiritual realm, which is the origin of such order of things. How can we abide with the situation that is opposite to us in phase? In order to familiarize oneself with the surroundings, a person needs some kind of foundation that is usually made of simple symbols. The farther people are from spirituality, the weaker they are and the more they depend on external objects. The general public is in more need of relying on them, whereas individuals depend on them less.

All external traditions of Judaism started at the time of the destruction of the temple. Prior to that period of time, material symbols were not necessary since people lived in spirituality.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/15/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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