Question: In Kabbalah there is listening and watching. You have repeatedly mentioned that in the past the Torah was learned by heart, meaning it was listened to. Is the difference in perception really that significant?

Answer: The point is that when you load yourself with data, you can freely operate with it and act accordingly. Imagine that, like a computer’s memory, you had all spiritual literature embedded within you.

Not just memorized words and phrases but fully integrated in accordance with your own internal program like a computer filled with connections allowing you to extract, explore, and study information as needed.

For example, I recently had a discussion about the nature of envy, and I had to elaborate on the topic for half an hour: what kind of human trait it is, how it drives a person toward a goal, whether it is good or bad, how it manifests in a group, in a family, within oneself and in relation to the Creator, and so on.

Because I have accumulated a significant amount of Kabbalistic material, I never prepare for lessons or recordings. I arrive, hear the topic from the host, and immediately engage in discussion.

This improvisation is even more enjoyable for me than preparing in advance as I experience various new associations in the moment through the setting and the act of speaking itself. This process goes live immediately, and requires a certain mental effort, a bit of nervous, stressful inner realization. And I love that.

This is possible because I have stored the necessary material within me. I can instantly recall what is said about mutual hatred, envy, egoism, vanity, and other qualities that help a person internally structure himself and achieve a goal.

It is said that envy, hatred, power, vanity, and similar traits drive a person toward their purpose. These qualities exist within us for a reason; they are meant to help us achieve something great when used correctly, not to suppress others, but to learn from them and continually rise higher and higher.

I operate with this knowledge immediately. But if, at that moment, I had to start reading and searching through books like some philosopher, that would not be what Kabbalah demands from a person in their spiritual advancement. In other words, this knowledge, these informational records must be within us.

I am speaking about a Kabbalist-scholar and not about someone who simply moves forward internally. Such a person does not need this; they only need connection with others in order to restore the structure of the collective soul. There, they will perceive their own inner spiritual world and their eternal movement.

Question: So does that mean one does not need to memorize material?

Answer: No, people do not need anything at all except to correct the division between themselves that occurred during our creation.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Listen or watch” 5/25/10

Related Material:
Not to Read, But to Attain!
Write It On Your Heart
How To Perceive The Material: Through The Heart Or Mind?

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