Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/26/24
Posted on November 26th, 2024
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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 8
Are Prayers a Fixed Order of Corrections?
Every new state is a correction process. A new state is called “a new day.” This new state comes from above, and we have no influence over it, except through our effort to carry out that day’s corrections. The corrections at each level are essentially the same, but the external conditions change, and the person’s work changes accordingly.
The order of corrections remains the same since every structure of the vessel at each level comprises ten Sefirot. However, the feeling is completely different because the light and the vessel differ. Therefore, without refining our inner self, we view all prayers as a single prayer, i.e., one that we read from the Siddur. However, if we refine our inner self, then each prayer is new every time.
In Part 12 of The Study of the Ten Sefirot, it is written that the day begins in the evening; i.e., preparation for the next day starts from the energy of the previous day. This preparation includes the evening Shema, the bedtime Shema, and continues through the night thanks to the previous day. But from midnight onward, the vessels change. A completely new vessel is created, which is prepared through the morning sacrifices. Then follows the Shema for the sacrifices, the Shema for the Creator of Light, and so on.
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Question: You said you could not rest; you were always looking for something. Did you understand what you were looking for? This is a personal question for you.
Answer: Not quite. The meaning of life. What is going on with me? How should I act to find answers to the questions? This type of questions.
Question: So something did not satisfy you?
Answer: Sure, I was dissatisfied with meaninglessness.
Comment: Scientific work is pointless, as is…
My Response: Of course, all that is…
Question: Was there some kind of premonition that it had to be somewhere, that you must seek it?
Answer: In general, it is somewhere because nature itself does not tolerate this emptiness. It screams outright, screams there is a goal and there is truth, and it is for everyone although each person may have their own, but one can find it.
Question: Did you feel this inner cry?
Answer: Yes, of course.
Question: Did you reach a point where if you could not achieve your goal, there was no point in living?
Answer: Definitely. For many years it was meaningless.
Question: How did you come out of these states?
Answer: It is not easy, but I think a lot of people are still in such a state.
The most important thing is to understand that it does not depend on you, it is given to you from above, it is a gift from nature. And you must keep looking for answers to the question of your fate.
Comment: That is, on a positive note, you keep going, you are not stopping.
My Response: Absolutely, yes.
Question: How long do these states last: “If I do not find it, life is not worth living”? Are these statements internal?
Answer: I have had it for decades.
Question: What is the most important moment in your life?
Answer: The most important moment was when I found my teacher. I realized that a great happiness had befallen me now.
Question: In all the time that you have been studying Kabbalah, have you ever regretted it?
Answer: No. How could it have happened?
Comment: Probably the person asking may have doubts.
My Response: Doubts, meaning to forget and fall asleep?
Comment: I do not know, maybe there is something else.
My Response: I am not hiding from anything, and I am not turning a blind eye to anything; there simply is nothing else.
Question: You have been studying for a long time. More than forty years, nearly fifty. Was there no moment of doubt? Have you ever regretted it? Or were there some doubts like if you were in the right place?
Answer: No, such depth and horizons are revealed to you that you have nothing more to look for. Either you give it up, or you stay with it.
Question: So you never had any doubts, and you went along with it. But you did go through different states, right?
Answer: Of course.
Question: Why are these states given on the path?
Answer: To test yourself.
Question: So, you were questioning yourself?
Answer: Yes. “Do I need it?”
Question: “Am I in the right place?” Did you ask yourself this?
Answer: “Am I in the right place?” Not really. Whether I have the right sources, whether the methodology is correct, whether I should behave this way—all such questions were there.
Question: How did you answer these questions?
Answer: My answer was that I did not believe in anything, and therefore—to check.
Question: Is there anything in life you regret most and would like to take back and do differently?
Answer: Yes, I would like to take back and redo absolutely everything except my choice in life. That is, the choice itself is correct, but its implementation could have been more intense.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 9/1/24
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Question: When you feel that you are hated, what is your internal reaction?
Answer: I need to look at why I caused such a reaction.
Question: So you think about why you triggered that reaction?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Let’s say you find the reason. What is next?
Answer: I must correct myself.
Question: What does this correction mean?
Answer: Correction means improving myself so that next time there would be no reason to hate me for it.
Question: Is hatred actually a reaction of egoism?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Fully, absolutely?
Answer: Definitely.
Question: So today you have a different conversation with your own egoism?
Answer: Yes.
Question: You often say that the Creator is jealous. Are you jealous? What do you feel when your students leave you for another teacher?
Answer: Completely indifferent!
Comment: That is hard to understand. You invested in the student, watched him grow…
Answer: I did everything I could to bring him closer to the truth. And if he ultimately feels his place is not among my students, that is his right.
How could I turn a student into a slave? That would be far worse than any wrongdoing, it would be stealing his freewill! That is it! It is almost like removing him from the pedestal of being a human.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/21/24
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Abraham saw that since he had a Mitzva that he could do only once in his life, meaning that he could make an effort on this Mitzva only once, he thought of an idea to ask his friends. Should they resist, he will have great labor to overcome them, and “According to the effort, so is the reward.” For this reason, he put himself into the test in order to receive reward (Rabash, Assorted Notes 622, “Overcoming“).
If we understand what it means to fulfill a Mitzva, that is, an action desirable in the eyes of the Creator, we see that we lack the strength to carry it out. Then we turn to the Creator and ask Him to grant us the strength and the importance of performing this action, and afterward we fulfill it.
It is said that “with charity, we should overcome more than the environment obligates.” This means that receiving the strength to overcome ourselves and fulfill the commandments is mercy from the Creator.
The reward for overcoming obstacles is our closeness to the Creator. Essentially, this is the true purpose of any commandment, that is, everything the Creator asks of us.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/24, Writings of Rabash “Overcoming”
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Question: It is said that creation cannot do anything without the Creator since everything originates from Him. So what is the role of creation and where is the transition to what the Creator does?
Answer: The creation must do everything possible to reach the goal on its own. By creation it is meant a ten, a single person is not considered to exist at all.
If the ten is constantly exerts, it begins to feel that it is impossible for it to reach this goal.
Therefore it begins to call upon the Creator. It is written about this: “And the children of Israel cried out from the hard work.”
When they call upon the Creator, their prayer ascends to Him, and He answers them by bringing them out of Egypt—out of egoism. That is how it works.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/19, “Questions and Answers”
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Question: What is a common prayer?
Answer: A common prayer is a very difficult action. For now, it is best for you to turn to the Creator personally, each with their own feelings, their own problems.
Later you will start feeling you have the same problems and feelings. To be sure that you can justify and correct them, you need to turn to the Creator together.
This state will come; it is close. You will see that from a single person, it is only a preliminary, small step toward real contact with the Creator. We cannot interact with Him individually, each on our own, especially in our state, when we are on the threshold of complete correction.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/19, “Questions and Answers”
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Question: To ascend the degrees of human, we choose a group and a Kabbalistic society where we practice love for our friends and mutual guarantee.
At the same time, we isolate ourselves from other environments so they do not negatively influence us. Will this isolation not mean retreating from real life and our responsibility for what happens in the world?
Answer: First, you currently do not yet bear any responsibility for what happens in the world.
Second, as you gradually ascend, you will expand your horizon. You will see how you influence other groups, how all groups together influence the Creator, and how the Creator relates to each group. We will study all of this, and study it in practice.
Do not be afraid of anything. The main thing is not to miss lessons and to strive to gain as much knowledge about spirituality as possible.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/3/24, for Graduates of MAK – the International Academy of Kabbalah in Russian, “We have gathered here”
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Question: As a future Kabbalist, how can I help a friend come closer to the Creator?
Answer: First of all, you are already considered a Kabbalist. You can help him by further strengthening your connection with him and supporting him.
Question: In the ten, I see everyone as perfect, even if I notice flaws, I can immediately nullify myself. But in the corporeal world, egoism overwhelms me and prevents me from quickly seeing that I am the one who needs correction, not others. Why does this happen?
Answer: Because in spirituality, you have the support of the group.
Question: How should we “make (ourselves) a Rav” of our friends who teach us so they become a channel of connection with the Creator?
Answer: You should respect all your friends as if they are above you. There is no harm in listening to them as teachers.
Question: When we study sources, it is not difficult to see our friend as a teacher. But when it comes to lesson-related questions, some sort of struggle arises among us, and we cannot even make a decision. How should decisions be made in the ten?
Answer: Solely according to who your teacher is, what he says, and what you accept from him.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/6/24, “The Conditions for Studying with Friends”
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Question: Is it possible to overcome all the obstacles on a spiritual level, within the group, rather than on a physical level?
Answer: Yes, if we try hard to mentally bring the entire world into the group and resolve all global, personal, and any other issues specifically within the group, within the ten, in the HaVaYaH, where the Creator should be revealed. He is present there, albeit in a concealed form.
Question: What are spiritual disturbances?
Answer: Spiritual disturbances are the disturbances that arise in our connection with friends and in the collective connection with the Creator. There are no other disturbances. All the intimidating names of evil angels and other objects or phenomena represent qualities that drive us apart, but through which we establish correct relationships with each other.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/19, “Questions and Answers”
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