Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/29/24
Posted on November 29th, 2024
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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 11
Chapter 2 The Encounter Between Man and the Serpent
Man goes through many reincarnations. Each time, his soul is dressed in an additional desire to receive. This process is called “being dressed in a body.” The soul repeatedly undergoes these kinds of states, which are known as “reincarnations,” and thereby increasingly enhances its desire to receive in various forms through garments of power, wealth, honor, and knowledge. These garments are unnecessary for the soul. They are but desires for enjoyment. The question is, what is the source of this enjoyment?
Since the soul is dressed in a body, it seems to perceive that the light comes from these different garments—power, control, money, honor, and knowledge. The light assumes a particular form and reaches the soul that is dressed in a specific desire. The soul, now dressed in material desires, encounters the light which is also dressed in physical forms within these garments. In other words, we find ourselves in “this world.”
If both the soul and the light are dressed in physical garments, it is called “materialism.” If we remove our desires from all garments—from desires for enjoyment that are coverings such as honor, wealth, knowledge, sex, and so on—and even strip the pleasure itself of its covering, it is called “spirituality.”
The soul’s readiness to be naked, without a body or shell, and also the exposure of the pleasure requires progress through and growth within the four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking of this world. It includes the experience of all bodily desires and pleasures: raising a family, eating and resting, and especially the desire for sex. Afterward, it must advance through all of the social pleasures: wealth, honor, control, and knowledge.
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Comment: From the beginning of the lesson, a prayer was formed in the heart for all the friends to rise to Lishma in order to delight our teacher for the efforts he makes for us, and by this, to give contentment to the Creator.
My Response: Thank you very much! In principle, we have to do everything to support each other. This is the most important foundation of our unity.
We should desire to see all of us, men and women, regardless of where we are from or who we are, united in one desire so that this desire becomes the most important for us, and in it we unite and reach the state of mutual bestowal.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam Shamati 20 “Lishma [for Her sake]”
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Question: What are obstacles?
Answer: Everything that hinders you from fulfilling the command of the Creator.
Question: Do we always have the power to overcome obstacles?
Answer: Not always. When we do not have it, we ask for it.
Question: In a state of confusion, how do we keep the intention on the Creator, overcome obstacles, and rise? Where do we get the strength and understand we are on the right path?
Answer: Only from the group, from connection with friends.
Question: How do you get the power to overcome obstacles in the ten to bring contentment to the Creator?
Answer: It depends on your desire, on whether you want to get the power to overcome the egoism that prevents you from fulfilling the desire of the Creator.
Question: How do we overcome individual obstacles to benefit the ten?
Answer: It depends on your intention. If you want the whole ten to receive the force of bestowal, connection, and love as a result of fulfilling the commandments, that is how it will be.
[337068]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/24, Writings of Rabash “Overcoming”
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Question: If I am unsure whether my action is directed toward bestowal or not, and some friends are “for” and some “against,” does this mean there is a place for free choice?
Answer: This is not a free choice but an egoistic one.
To come to the true choice, you must rise above this state, transcend egoism, and then perform actions that can lead you to free choice.
Question: How can the Creator be involved in this process?
Answer: Pray! Ask.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/24, Writings of Rabash “Overcoming”
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Question: Second grader Stasik asks the Creator: “Did You give me my own soul or someone else’s?”
Answer: No, you received your own soul. But if you are not satisfied with it, you can work to correct it.
Question: What kind of soul should one aim for?
Answer: One that loves everyone.
Question: Do people have this desire?
Answer: I do not think so.
Question: But what about children?
Answer: Personally, I think children are more inclined toward correction than adults.
Adults have already settled into their ways and believe that things will not and cannot get better, and they simply should accept what they have.
Question: Do children still hold on to hope?
Answer: Yes.
Comment: Ideally, with experience, we should…
My Response: But we do not. Where would we get the patience, experience, or determination to resist what we have? We just accept it as it is.
Question: Is this because of the blows? Because we constantly experienced setbacks and received blows?
Answer: Yes, it is because we are too lazy to correct ourselves.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/4/24
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Question: Can a teacher be a friend? When does a teacher become a friend, and does he become a friend?
Answer: It depends more on the student, on whether the student can understand that his teacher is his friend. It is not easy.
Question: So the teacher is ready to be a friend on his own?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Is it the student’s effort?
Answer: Yes.
Question: And then the second part of the question is: who was your teacher to you?
Answer: Today, of course, I can say that he was the person closest to me, a friend, a teacher, it doesn’t matter how you say it. But it is true on his part.
Question: What kind of life wisdom do you consider the most important thing to live by?
Answer: In general, the wisdom of life, according to my belief, is that a person desires the revelation of the Creator and agrees to accept Him as He reveals Himself to him.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/28/24
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Comment: From a letter: “You always talk about kindness and love, but in reality, people treat each other like parasites.”
My Response: Of course.
Question: “And the kindest people in this world take the most blows from others and from fate. So the choice is either to be a parasite in life or to suffer from parasites. Please explain why one should be kind in this world, and why do you advise it?”
Answer: Because if we are kind, we become like the Creator. Then it will be better and easier for us both in this world and in the next.
Comment: But this person believes it is better for the parasites, those who use others and live that way.
My Response: That is just how it seems to him. In small, limited circumstances, he might be somewhat right. But overall in life, no.
Comment: So you are saying that we should still raise children with good relationships, with concepts of friendship, decency, and so on. And looking at the bigger picture, you say that this is correct.
My Response: Yes.
Comment: But if we narrow our focus, as he says, parasites just…
My Response: When you narrow your focus, you are limiting yourself to isolated cases. And then, of course, it seems better to be an egoist. But if you look at life as a whole, at what a person is left with, and where they end up after, then it is clearly better to be kind.
Question: Tell me, does this kindness ever come back to a person?
Answer: It does not exactly “come back.” It gives you the ability to understand why everything is made this way and how it is still better to act kindly.
Question: Is that important?
Answer: It is important.
Comment: Right now, you are not even saying that kindness will return to you as good.
My Response: We do not see that.
Question: But if we look at it globally, does it still return?
Answer: Not in our world.
Question: You are being so definitive: if you do good, good does not come back to you?
Answer: Yes.
Question: But we should not conclude from this that we should not do good? We should continue?
Answer: Yes.
Question: You started by saying that the Creator is good and does good and we must be like Him. Will this ever come back to me? Or should I not think about that at all?
Answer: The fact that you think this way and can act this way is already the Creator’s bestowal. This is already the reward.
Question: What about those who, as he says, are parasites, what happens to them? I would like to ask about them.
Answer: They calculate their dividends and believe they are happy.
Question: And you think they are not?
Answer: No.
Question: Can we say, as an egoist asking, that after they finish their life, in another world, will they be punished for being parasites? Or not? Will there be punishment?
Answer: Yes, without a doubt! And it will be in such a way that they will even not understand it at first.
Question: But it comes? Is this how the Creator teaches a person?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Through suffering like this?
Answer: It is not the Creator teaching the person; it is a general law of nature: everything a person does must be compensated for—good with good, evil with evil.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/12/24
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Question: When a person’s desire to receive awakens, they raise it through the ten to the Creator. What does it mean that this desire is corrected by the Creator, and how does it then transform into “Lishma“?
Answer: The desire to ascend to the Creator is expressed in a sense of need for Him. This need is prayer. It ascends to the next, higher degree. From there, light descends, and a connection between the upper and the lower begins. On this basis, the lower one is corrected, changes himself, and thus movement occurs from below upward. The result of this connection is the spiritual screen.
Question: So the very contact with the Creator changes a person. Is this what it means to receive a screen? And after that, they can already act for the sake of the Creator?
Answer: Yes.
Question: It turns out that the most critical point is when I raise MAN, and the Creator begins to influence me? How can we, as a ten, reach the state where we raise MAN, and He begins to change us?
Answer: Visualize it, start acting, and it will happen on its own.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/24, “On the Verge of Lishma”
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Question: How can we transform our ordinary life into commandments and connect everything to the Creator?
Answer: To do this we need to understand the meaning of the Creator’s directives. Everything in our lives can be directed toward actions for His sake.
Through the results of our actions, we will feel what we’ve accomplished and how much closer we’ve come to the Creator, and so on.
Correctly working with commandments means fulfilling them to bring Him contentment.
Question: But what if I still don’t understand what that means?
Answer: Then simply strive to be closer to Him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/24, Writings of Rabash “Overcoming”
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