Audio Version Of The Blog – 9/29/21

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Guarantee—Nullification Of Selfishness

942Question: Is the concept of guarantee something through which we can gain resistance to selfishness?

Answer: Of course. One nullifies oneself in relation to others in order to create a joint common desire.

When a person annuls one’s animal component (receiving for oneself) and wants to include only one’s human component (transmission to others), a single common desire arises in which the Creator is revealed.

Question: Suppose seven or eight thousand people gather, as is usually the case at congresses, and they try to enter the state of Arvut (mutual guarantee). It will work, it will not work, we do not know, but we really want it. Will so many people help you achieve the result?

Answer: Of course, both quantity and quality. The quantity is irreplaceable, it is necessary. But even more important is the quality, the tension of the bond between us. Everyone’s egoism tries to tear him away from others. Therefore everything depends on the strength with which we connect with each other.

The meaning of spiritual work is to find in our common connection that property of bestowal and love that is higher than our nature.
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From KabTV’s “The Power of The Book of Zohar” #20

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Feeling The Creator Is Called Faith

610.2The only thing we need is to reach faith. Feeling the Creator is called faith. This is the absolute opposite of the religious understanding of blind faith we are accustomed to in our world.

The force of faith is the force of Bina, and if we receive it, then within this quality of bestowal we begin to feel our root according to the equivalence of form with it. If I start bestowing at least a little bit, in this new quality I begin to feel the upper force according to my equivalence with it.

We attain the feeling of the Creator through the force of bestowal, and acquiring this force is called faith, the force of Bina. We feel the Creator even now, but we are not aware of this. We do not understand that it is He who is depicting the entire picture of the world: the universe, the stars, the Earth with all its inhabitants, inanimate matter, plants, animals, and people.

The Creator is concealed behind this entire picture because we are not yet similar to Him with our qualities, and therefore, we do not come into contact with Him. The law of the spiritual world is the law of equivalence of form.

Faith is a measure of the connection between a person and the Creator. Faith does not appear in a person just like that. First, you need to develop a desire to bestow, and this spiritual vessel (Kli) is called faith. Inside of it, you will receive the light of faith. The desire to bestow filled with the light of faith is called the degree of Bina.

The more a person corrects himself, the more he obtains the degree of Bina, the degree of faith, within which he feels the Creator more and more.

If I develop the quality of bestowal above my will to receive, that is, faith above reason, above the force of egoism, I begin to reveal the Creator to the extent of my equivalence with His qualities.

Then the question arises: What do I really feel, the Creator or the measure of my faith? In fact, I feel the “Divine part from Above” revealed within me, the force of bestowal. I call this force the Creator, come and see (Bo-Re). Before that, the Creator did not exist, but when I acquired the force of bestowal, He began to exist in me.

Kabbalah only speaks about the way to reach equivalence of form with the Creator, measure it, and develop it until we will begin to bestow to Him 100% and He to us.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 9/23/21, “Baal HaSulam. Shamati, 4. What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels when Annulling before the Creator in the Work?”

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Soul Mending Celebration

293.2The last day of the holiday of Sukkot is called Shemini Atzeret. It is kind of a festive gathering because we have corrected the entire soul, the light has entered and filled it.

This ends the long period from the days preceding the New Year (Rosh HaShanah) to the last day of Sukkot.

Question: The name of the holiday “Shemini Atzeret” is taken from Tanakh. It is interesting that the celebration of Simchat Torah, which was introduced by the sages in the 6th – 7th century AD, falls on this day. What is the connection between them?

Answer: The state when we complete all corrections completely, receive seven lights, and they fill our soul, is called the Rejoicing of the Torah (Simchat Torah).

The Torah is the upper light that enters the corrected Kli (vessel) during the seven days of Sukkot, meaning the seven degrees. Then we celebrate the end of our corrections.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/7/19

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The Four Kinds Of Plants—Upshots Of Spiritual Roots

959Question: We use four types of plants in Sukkot. What are these actions?

Answer: The four types of plants come from the fact that our egoism and in general our desires, even non-egoistic ones, consist of four levels. In Kabbalah, they are simply marked: one, two, three, and four.

If we bind them together, they gather into a state called Malchut. And if this state really consists of all the previous qualities, then they gather inside them the quality of bestowal and love, which binds all our desires and intentions, and we thus become like the upper light.

Four types of plants: willow, myrtle, palm branch, and citrus are the upshots of spiritual roots. Kabbalists did not just decide that this is how it will be, but saw in them a clear connection to spiritual roots that manifest in our world this way.

Willow, a plant that has neither taste nor smell, symbolizes the lack of importance for connection and correct relations between people. For us, there is nothing pleasant about them either in the heart or in the mind.

Myrtle has no taste, but it has smell. Taste is a sensation and smell is what we sense with our mind. We understand that unity, a good attitude toward people, is important, but this is not in our heart. The palm branch (date palm), on the contrary, has taste but no smell. And citrus fruits have both taste and smell.

When you hold all four types of plants together, you seemingly want to attract the upper light around us to them. This is the manifestation of the fact that your desire becomes whole, complete, and directed toward bestowal, and thus the upper light enters you.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/7/19

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Sukkah—Construction Of The Spiritual Vessel

506.1After Yom Kippur passes, a person who has made internal corrections must restore himself in the right shape, in the right form. This restoration is represented by the construction of a hut-like structure called a Sukkah.

From the waste of the field and trees, mainly from the waste of agriculture, as well as leftovers of the production of bread and wine, we build a temporary home. By doing this, we embody those desires, intentions, and actions that were previously completely unimportant for us, were like waste, i.e., we did not pay attention to relationships with other people; now, on the contrary, we focus on how to treat others, how to come closer to each other.

It is from these actions, which were previously not used correctly, we are now making a cover on the Sukkah. Then we sit in it for a whole week and celebrate our new home. This symbolizes that we really want to build ourselves in a new way.

The construction of a Sukkah represents the construction of a spiritual Kli (vessel). The roof symbolizes the anti-egoistic quality, the screen.

Bread represents a special force, which is called the light of Hassadim, and wine, the force of the light of Hochma. These two forces must be properly coordinated with each other so that they clearly fill our soul. This materializes in the fact that we sit inside the Sukkah and have a meal.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/7/19

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“Simchat Torah: The Cause For Joy Unlocked” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Simchat Torah: The Cause for Joy Unlocked

The recent failed intent of U.S. progressive lawmakers to reduce defense aid to Israel and the upcoming UN commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the antisemitic Durban Conference underscore yet again Israel and Jews being singled out for criticism around the world.

The global attention we are receiving, negative though it is, is our opportunity to be “a light unto nations.” Therefore, the celebration of Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah) this year has a special significance. It is a window of opportunity to show the world a way toward the light that our forefathers discovered many centuries ago; the path they intended to share with the world.

We only need to practice this simple method of unity between ourselves. Our example is all the world needs for it to realize that there is an alternative to hatred and conflict and that the people of Israel are leading the way toward it.

The High Holy Days represent the process of transformation from our being receivers to givers. At its conclusion, on the day of Simchat Torah, we celebrate the success of this predestined shift. This celebration lets us all reflect on the kind of individuals that we are and the society that we have become. Even if we find that we are not as pure as we would like to be, there is reason for rejoicing because acknowledging the truth is the first step toward change.

“Torah” is from the Hebrew word for “instruction” (“Hora’a”). It is written, “I created the evil inclination, I created the Torah, a spice.” The Torah is the light that corrects the desire, i.e., the positive force of nature that connects us above our egoism. Simchat Torah represents the final correction of this desire where we connect boundlessly to each other and to nature. This complete correction is the cause of the joy (Simcha).

The Book of Zohar (Teruma) writes that the “Torah is light, and one who engages in Torah is rewarded with the light.” The light that The Zohar speaks of is a creative force that engenders all that exists. Similar to The Zohar, the ARI writes in Tree of Life: “Know, that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, the upper simple light had filled the whole of reality.” This light, the ARI continues, “emanated, created, formed, and made all the worlds.”

The light works according to a very simple principle: bestowal. This quality of giving created everything around us, the entire universe with us within it. When we study our universe—the galaxies, planets, plants, animals, and even ourselves—we are actually studying manifestations of this light.

Simchat Torah celebrates the happiness of one who succeeds in acquiring the quality of the Torah (light): complete and absolute benevolence. “The inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth,” and “every inclination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil,” the Torah tells us in Genesis.

When we are born, we are completely opposite from giving, from the light. Most of us are content with and even oblivious to our self-centered nature. But when this nature becomes detrimental to ourselves and to others, it forces us to look for other alternatives. This is the situation in our world today.

Despite the apparent difficulty, there is a paved and proven way to achieve the transformation that we need to undertake. You cannot give in the way needed when you’re alone, you need like-minded people with whom you can “practice” giving. Through such practice together, you fashion a sustainable and prosperous society of givers that has acquired the light’s quality of benevolence.

The necessity to become givers in order to establish a thriving society is the underlying impetus behind the age-old Jewish emphasis on love of others. “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “as one man with one heart,” and “that which you hate, do not do unto others” were not intended as moral principles, but as practical tools to create a society whose members have acquired the quality of giving, or, put differently, a society that rejoices with the Torah.

We constantly succumb to our innate nature and mutual hatred erupts. Yet, although we may not be aware of it, we have the remedy to our plight: just practice giving above our egoism and thereby heal it. The book Maor Vashemesh stated two hundred years ago that “The thing upon which everything depends is love and brotherhood among the sons of Israel, for when there are peace, love, brotherhood, and friendship among them, they can receive the Torah.”

Then joy comes indeed, as it is written: “Joy is a reflection of good deeds.” Good deeds are the deeds of bestowal.

This is because the Torah is the force that is ready to correct hatred and separation between us and transform them into connection and love, which is the discovery called “Simchah” (happiness). With it a person senses within himself the entire vast expanse around him, and gains an eternal, whole, and happy life.
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“A Weekend Of Profound Unity”

 

Dr. Michael LaitmanFrom My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 27/9/21

Over the past weekend, my students from around the world gathered for an event of profound unity. Using a unique virtual platform, built by the students themselves, nearly 6,000 friends got together online for what was probably the largest interactive convention ever held.

For forty-eight hours of joy, we had lessons, workshops, watched movies and clips. We ate and drank, sang in multiple languages, at every hour of the day, and at every time-zone in the globe.

Every event was simultaneously interpreted over the internet into dozens of languages by the friends themselves, which fastened and strengthened their bonds. They divided into groups, then mingled the groups, divided into languages, then mingled the languages, and all with one aim in mind: to generate worldwide unity.

This weekend, Chinese bonded with North and South Americans, who bonded with Iranians, who bonded with Israelis, who bonded with Russians, who bonded with Europeans, who bonded with Africans, who bonded with Australians, who bonded with Chinese, until the circle was complete. Indeed, we all became one sphere, held together by invisible threads that stretched from heart to heart to heart. Veteran students, complete beginners, and everyone in between felt very much at home in this gathering, and everyone wishes to continue fostering our unity.

In this troubled time of deepening chasms among and within nations, when hatred and violence seem to have the upper hand, my students proved that if we truly want to unite and nurture love among all people, no rift will divide us. On the contrary: The deeper the rift, the tighter the bond.

I am confident that such events have an enormous positive impact on the world. Hopefully, with persistent work on unity, we will be able to spread the love that we nurtured this weekend to the entire world, so that all of humanity may taste the taste of oneness and choose to beat swords into plowshares.

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 9/29/21

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #8 “What Is the Difference Between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra?”

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Lesson on the Topic: “Everything Is Obtained by the Power of Prayer”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 56

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Selected Highlights

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 9/28/21

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #7 “What Is, ‘A Habit Becomes Second Nature,’ in the Work?”

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Lesson on the Topic: “Everything Is Obtained by the Power of Prayer”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 53

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Selected Highlights

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