Entries in the 'Daily Kabbalah Lesson' Category

“At That Time The Moon Was Completed…”

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Zohar, Chapter “BeShalach (When Pharoah Sent),” Items 160 – 162: “At that time the moon, meaning Malchut, was completed in all the discernments and inherited seventy-two holy names in three sides, three lines. On the first side, the Malchut clothed in the crowns of the upper Hesed, in seventy engravings of the light of upper Aba that illuminated for her. This is the right line and the meaning of the verse, “And … went.”

On the second side, Malchut clothed in the spears of Gevura, the Dinim in her, in sixty strikes of fire and ten strikes of herself, which descend from the side of upper Ima in engraved Dinim. This is the left line and the meaning of the verse, “And it came.”

On the third side, Malchut clothed in a crimson garment worn by the Upper, Holy King, called Tifferet, who inherited the holy son, Tifferet, in seventy upper crowns from the side of AVI. It includes both—right, which is Hesed, and left, which is Gevura. And this is the meaning of the verse, “And … stretched.”

The broken souls desire to reunite and raise MAN to Malchut of the World of Atzilut (or to Shechina, the assembly of souls) and cling to it. Afterwards Malchut connects with ZA (Zeir Anpin) of the World of Atzilut  or the Creator (Kadosh Baruch Hu).

ZA raises to Aba ve Ima of the World of Atzilut, gets illuminated in the right and left lines from Gevura and Hesed, creates a place of Zivug of Aba ve Ima, Sefira Da’at, urges them to merge,and then this Light reaches Malchut through ZA.

1. Souls which desire to reconnect raise MAN and enter Malchut.
2.
These souls force Malchut to merge with ZA.
3. ZA
connects with Aba ve Ima and creates Sefira Daat.

All of them unite according to the instruction: “And …went, and it came, and …stretched.”
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/10, The Zohar

A Place Deserving Of A Woman

Dr. Michael LaitmanOur world is egoistic. Everything here is based on egoism, authority, status, and power. That’s why a woman plays a secondary role in this world.

A man enjoys more power and independence than a woman. He is not as attached to his house and children. He conquers space, discovers continents; his imagination and enthusiasm are stronger, and he is more passionate in playing games. Men go “wild” in this world.

A woman, by nature, is more moderate and represents a more serious force. She balances out this world, she embodies the power of a household and family. From the point of view of continuation of the human race, she is the most important part of nature.

But since our world is egoistic and aggressive, men who possess strength, freedom, and ability to break through usually hold positions that they don’t deserve. Consequently, they define many things in this world, whereas women treat them with lenience and compliance.

This applies to everything: religion, science, everyday life, career advancement, and salary. Men leave to women only those places that they are not interested in. This is how unfairly our egoistic world is built.

But the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about a totally different (reverse) reality where everything is governed by the force of bestowal and love that evens out all dissimilarities and contradictions. We have to give weight to everything which is worthy of it. This is what nature, harmony, and perfection demand from us, not to mention the wisdom of Kabbalah.

If we transition from receiving to bestowal, we will see a reverse world in which a woman (Malchut which translates as “Kingdom”) occupies an essential place. She is the one who rules!

It is derived from the structure of the spiritual worlds. A woman (Malchut) is positioned in the core of all the worlds, and everything there is exists only for her sake since she is the one who gives birth and develops a new world.

That’s why only with the help of the wisdom of Kabbalah a woman can reach her genuine purpose and attain an adequate and fair status that she naturally deserves.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Men and Women” 10/14/10

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In The Grip Of The Lack

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: There is a famous prayer that states “I thank you for not making me a woman.” A woman rightfully asks, “Why doesn’t it say, ‘thank you for not making me a man?’”

Answer: This prayer is about the force of overcoming. When a person surmounts his evil inclination, he blesses the Creator for giving him the force of overcoming. We are all (men as well as women) under the influence of the female part, in the power of the lack. A woman is “Nekev,” “Nekeva,” “Nukva,” which means emptiness, need, or the place of a lack.

Meanwhile, men experience the sensation of a lack not less than women, and they feel an even greater emptiness. Therefore, if we are talking about spiritual correction, each of us (a man or a woman) who can conquer our egoistic desire, gives thanks for the fact that we have become worthy of this analysis and correction, that we can rise above our egoism, unite with others, and reach adhesion and revelation of the Creator.

We reach the corrections where men and women go through the same stages. Women who advance with us on the spiritual path go through the same states, ascents and descents, unification, and clarification like men. Due to their nature, we don’t feel the same kind of explosions in them as men experience, but nonetheless they go through the same processes. They understand us perfectly, study the same material, absorb and realize it.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, "Men and Women" 10/14/10

Geometry Of Feelings

Dr. Michael LaitmanTalmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 1, p. 37, Item 1: This line is similar to a thin tube through which the Light from the Upper Light of Infinity expands and passes into the worlds, into the place where the void exists.

I recommend visualizing not some geometric forms such as a line and a circle, but a relationship between the two objects. I visualize two properties, the connection of which may be achieved through a circle (without limits) and by means of a line (with limits).

Let’s take, for instance, a relationship between two people. The connection between them may be in the form of circles or straight lines. Therefore, try not to paint these relationships in a geometrical form but rather, visualize them by way of emotion.

Question: What does it mean to relate to the friends by through a circle?

Answer: Whose desire prevails, mine or the friends’? After all, we are talking about desires and restrictions over them, aren’t we? The Light of Abundance is present in and fills everything. It all depends on the desire: to what extent you round and straighten it. Hence, in accordance with this, make a decision about how you relate to the others.

If their desires determine everything for you, then you accept them in such a form as not to judge their actions and deeds, which means that you are filling the circle. With what are you filling it? You are filling it with your attitude. Your attitude can be either through a straight line or a circle.

And if it is really so, it might be that you both turn into two circles or even one, if one lies over the other. The key for now is to keep trying to translate these meanings into feelings.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, TES

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11.07.10

Rabash, Letter #40
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “BeShalach (When Pharaoh Sent), Item 411
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Baal HaSulam, “The Future Generation”
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Happiness Multiplied

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the difference between personal joy and the joy of many?

Answer: The joy of many is positive, beneficial, and easily achieved. We are talking about spiritual joy, of course, which exists above time, increases in pleasure, and does not disappear.

The joy of many occurs when I fill everyone else, and each of them fills the others and me. In this manner we intensify our fulfillment and joy within each person. I delight in the joy of others, they delight in my joy, and, together, we multiply our inspiration and reach a Light that is 620 times more powerful than the Light at the beginning of creation. We can receive all this and enjoy it in our world.

Due to an event like the Convention, in the connection between us we reveal such a Light, such a spiritual power, and joy that we will reach the level of Infinity! And one must reveal this during his lifetime.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, "Happiness" 10/28/10

The Reward Of Truth

Dr. Michael LaitmanMankind as a whole and each person individually can be divided into the following three types of desires:

1. Those who are indifferent to spirituality and remain at the animate level of existence. They relate to others only in order the find the most comfortable and pleasant way of interaction. These people don’t step beyond the “I versus environment” calculation.

2. The second type are the religious and those who believe in being rewarded for “good” deeds according to their standards. Faith and philosophy don’t matter to them: Some fear the police and others fear the Creator. They both seek reward from their environment, but the religious expect to be rewarded in the future world as well. They are receivers of payment one way or the other, and each one defines for himself the optimal reward expected at a given moment.

These people do not have the slightest intention to correct themselves, and therefore they have no relationship with the Creator. They simply practice psychological self-help, expecting to receive in the future world in exchange for certain actions they perform in this world.

They are willing to pay and suffer many hardships in this world in order to collect a handsome reward which they were told awaits the righteous when they die. They believe the elation and paradise that they will feel in the future is even worth dying for.

3. The Kabbalists are the ones who understand that everything mentioned above is a lie and it doesn’t work, that the principle of “do something and be rewarded” doesn’t work in a relationship with the Creator. It doesn’t hold up when it is tested in the reality of life or human history.

At this stage, a person arrives at a more exalted goal: to know the purpose of life. He doesn’t care that much about reward or punishment (“sweet” or “bitter”); he wishes to dig deeper and reach the truth (“truth” or “false”). He may suffer and receive nothing for it, but the truth is the reward he seeks. Then a person does not measure himself according to how satisfied he feels or how bitter or sweet something seems, but by what is true or false.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/3/10, “The Creator and Israel Went Into Exile”

The Lifesaving Bite Of The Serpent

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn his article "Exile and Redemption," Baal HaSulam writes that Israel (a person who searches for the Creator) will find no rest among the “other nations” (desires of this world) until the following takes place within him: “And from there you shall crave the Creator, and you shall find Him, for you shall look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Until you have reached such a request, you have no chance of escaping Egypt for it is only with a ripe desire that you will gain your freedom. Your own desires to remain in Egypt are the guards that are keeping you there.

This is why the 10 Egyptian plagues are necessary. In order to be born, one must come to feel a great yearning for the next degree, that is, to desire what’s on the outside while still remaining on the inside.

It’s as though there are two totally opposite desires inside of you. They cannot be reconciled, but you come to a point where they almost connect, and that is when the breakthrough happens. The force of the Upper One expels you and hurls you onto the next degree in accordance with the principle, “I labored and I found” (Igati ve Matsati).

Indeed, you have achieved the point of near-contact between your desire in your current state and your subsequent state. In nature it is impossible for the desire to receive to make contact with the desire to bestow. Therefore, when this transition takes place inside you, the Creator completes the work (the serpent’s bite), and you are born on the next degree!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, “Exile and Redemption”

The Wandering Sparks Of Bestowal

Dr. Michael LaitmanSince the times of ancient Babylon, there are people who belong to “Isra-El,” that is, have a desire for the Creator. Their number is increasing over the course of history because their souls are becoming mutually incorporated in one another. This is why there are so many people now who search for spiritual redemption, meaning desire to abandon the property of egoistic reception and attain bestowal.

There is an inner struggle inside each one of us between the desire of “Isra-El” which strives to reach love and bestowal and all our other desires which do not yet wish to hear of bestowal and unity. This way, man constantly balances between the two sides, the two powers.

When the desire is truly to bestow, when there is a spiritual spark that remains from the breaking, the person will not be able to remain submerged in his egoism, in his desires of the “nations of the world.” Spiritual sparks will necessarily flow out of there.

At first, they fell and mixed with this enormous egoistic desire, as if they were thrown into a “broth” and had “soaked it up,” and then they were taken out together with the desire (Aviut or coarseness) they had “soaked up.” In other words, the spark (GE) returns to its place, but now it is surrounded with the desires which have attached themselves to it. They are called AHP de Aliyah (of elevation).

However, as long as Israel, the desire for the Creator, is submerged into the desires of the “nations of the world,” it will not find peace and will keep being pushed out by them as a foreign body in order to ascend and perform the correction. To be in the power of these desires is referred to as exile, while the ascent and correction is referred to as redemption.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, "Exile and Redemption"

There’s Nothing Supernatural About Kabbalah

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What should we do in order to reveal the Shechina between us at the Convention?

Answer: Just one thing: unity. There isn’t one action that depends on us besides coming closer to each other. This will enable inspiration to flare up among us, which will help us to unite .

We unite internally. It’s not necessary to hug each other, although sometimes the external actions do help. First of all, I have to understand that I will enter the spiritual world and acquire life on a higher level only if I ascend to a higher, more powerful desire to perceive everyone as parts of me.

However, that’s when a purely psychological problem arises: I reject them. That means I have to change my perception and attitude, and break through the inner fence between me and others.

To do this, I have to come closer to my friends so they influence me. Then they will suffuse me with their idea and goal, with the unity in which each of us will reveal the Upper Reality.

That’s why we are organizing the Convention and uniting with everything we have. This is practical Kabbalah.

In the past people used to think that Kabbalah predicts the future and deals with something supernatural. But there is nothing supernatural about it besides the transformation of our egoistic nature to an altruistic one.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/5/10, Writings of Rabash