Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Attainment of the Torah Begins with “Sod” (Secret) and Ends with “Peshat” (Literal)

Now you will understand the truth in the words of the Vilna Gaon in the prayer book, in the blessing for the Torah [to which he added his note]. He wrote that the Torah begins with Sod (secret), meaning the revealed [to a common person] Torah of Assiya, which is considered hidden, since the Creator is completely hidden there [and that’s why it seems to us that the Torah speaks about the earthly matters].

Then he moves on to [studying the Torah at the level of] the Remez (intimation), meaning that He is more revealed in the Torah of Yetzira [when a person rises to the level of Assiya]. Finally, [as a result of correction] one attains the Peshat (literal), which is the Torah of Atzilut. It is called Peshat, for it [the Torah] is Mufshat (stripped) of all the clothes that conceal the Creator.
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 148
[23214]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists About The Concealed Torah And The Revealed Torah, Part 2
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists About The Concealed Torah And The Revealed Torah, Part 3
Laitman.com Post: What Is The “Torah”?

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Attainment of the Torah Begins with “Sod” (Secret) and Ends with “Peshat” (Literal)

Great merit is required in order to understand the Peshat of the texts [that speak about bestowal and love], since first we must attain [in our correction] the three internal parts of the Torah, which the Peshat [the last, simple, and completely disclosed understanding of the Torah] robes, and the Peshat will not be parsed. If one has not been rewarded with it [complete understanding], one needs great mercy [of the Creator], so it [his studies of the Torah] will not become a potion of death for him [if he studies it for his own sake].

It is the opposite of the argument of the negligent in attaining the interior [of the Torah or Kabbalah, and, therefore, called the “negligent”], who say to themselves: “We settle for attaining the Peshat [simple understanding of the Torah]. If we attain that, we will be content.” Their words [that stem out of their misunderstanding and thus] can be compared to one who wishes to step on the fourth step without first stepping on the first three steps.
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 1
[23098]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Dual Action With A Single Purpose
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists About The Concealed Torah And The Revealed Torah, Part 2
Laitman.com Post: Will You Use Kabbalah As A Potion Of Death Or Elixir Of Life?

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Attainment of the Torah Begins with “Sod” (Secret) and Ends with “Peshat” (Literal)

The concealed Torah implies that the Creator hides in the Torah, hence the name, “the Torah of the hidden.” Conversely, it is called “revealed” because the Creator is revealed by the Torah.

Therefore, the Kabbalists said, and we also find it in the prayer book of the Vilna Gaon (GRA), that the order of attainment of the Torah begins with the concealed and ends with the revealed (Peshat). This means that through the appropriate labor, where one first delves into the Torah of the hidden, he is thus granted the revealed Torah, the literal [revealed meaning]. Thus, one begins with the concealed, called Sod (secret), and when he is rewarded, he ends in the literal [when everything becomes completely clear to him].
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 103

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Uses The Most Precise Language
Laitman.com Post: What Is The Torah?

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Attainment of the Torah Begins with “Sod” (Secret) and Ends with “Peshat” (Literal)

Who would dare extract it from the heart of the masses and scrutinize their ways, when their attainment is incomplete in both parts of the Torah called Peshat (literal) and Drush (interpretation)? In their view, the order of the four parts of the Torah (PARDESS) begins with the Peshat, then the Drush, then Remez (insinuated), and in the end the Sod (Secret) is understood. [This the opinion of the ignorant people about the attainment of the Torah.]

However, it is written in the Vilna Gaon prayer book that the attainment begins [specifically] with the Sod [when everything said in the Torah seems to a person a secret]. After the Sod part of the Torah is attained it is possible to attain the Drush part, and then the Remez part. [Only] when one is granted complete knowledge of these three parts of the Torah, one is awarded the attainment of the Peshat part of the Torah.
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 1
[22917]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists About The Concealed Torah And The Revealed Torah, Part 2
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists On The Language Of Kabbalah, Part 4
Laitman.com Post: Everything Begins With A Secret

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

All the Languages Are Included in the Wisdom of Kabbalah

The names, appellations, and Gematrias [also] belong entirely to the wisdom of Kabbalah. The reason they are found in the other languages, too, is that all the languages are included in the wisdom of Kabbalah [they derived from the wisdom of Kabbalah and represent its particular languages]. This is so because these are all [nothing else but] particular cases that the other languages must be assisted with.

But one should not think that these four languages, which serve to explain the wisdom of Godly revelation, evolved one at a time, over time. The truth is that all four appeared before the sages simultaneously. In truth, each consists of all the others [the other three]. The language of Kabbalah [for example] exists in the Bible, such as the standing on the Tzur (rock), the thirteen attributes of mercy in the Torah and in Micah, and, to an extent it is sensed in each and every verse. There are also the chariots [the Upper systems of governance over the worlds that are described] in Isaiah and Ezekiel, and atop them all [King Solomon’s] The Song of Songs, all of which [in spite of their earthly romantic character] is purely the language of Kabbalah.

It is similar in laws [written in the style of legal documents] and in legends, and all the more so with the matter of the un-erasable names [of the Creator], which bear the same meaning in all the languages [meaning that all of them speak solely about one main point: the revelation of the Creator to a person].
– Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and its Essence”
[22853]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Language Of The Spiritual World
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Is The Most Precise Language For Expressing Spirituality
Laitman.com Post: Language Is A Program Of Human Connection

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches

In light of the above, it follows that the internality of the wisdom of Kabbalah is none other than the internality of the Bible, the Talmud, and the legends. The only difference between them is in their explanations.

This is similar to a wisdom that has been translated into four languages. Naturally, the essence of the wisdom has not changed at all by the change of language [but rather there appeared a choice in presenting the material]. All we need to think of is which translation is the most convenient for conveying the wisdom to the student.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and its Essence”
[22610]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists On The Language Of Kabbalah, Part 15
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Is The Most Precise Language For Expressing Spirituality
Laitman.com Post: The Language Of Kabbalah Is Bestowal

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - 1 Comment →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches

All the words and utterances our lips pronounce cannot help us convey even a single word from the spiritual, Godly matters [properties of bestowal and love], above the imaginary time and space. Instead, there is a special language for these matters, being the Language of the Branches, indicating their relation to their Upper Roots.

However, this language, though extremely suitable for its task of delving into the studies of this wisdom, more than other languages, is only so if the listener is wise in his own right, meaning that he knows and understands the way the branches relate to their roots.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

All those who attained the Light of the Creator through their work wanted all those succeeding them to enjoy what they had already discovered, as well [reached the same level]. Therefore, they named each and every attainment so they [those who follow] would be able to understand their intentions and the attainments that they attained, and thus form a common language with each other.
– Writings of Rabash, Volume 2, Letter 19
[22500]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists On The Language Of Kabbalah, Part 14
Laitman.com Post: Acquiring A Spiritual Dictionary
5 Minutes Of Light From The Daily Lesson: The Language Of Roots And Branches

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches

[After the language of branches was created] all the beings of the tangible creation and all their instances have become to them like well-defined words and names, indicating the High Spiritual Roots. Although there cannot be a verbal expression in their spiritual place, as it is above any imagination, they have earned the right to be expressed by utterance through their branches, arranged before our senses here in the tangible world.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”
[22436]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists On The Language Of Kabbalah, Part 14
Laitman.com Post: Jump And Freeze!
Laitman.com Post: Lost In Translation

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - 1 Comment →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches

The language of Kabbalists is a language in the full sense of the word: very precise, both concerning root and branch and concerning cause and consequence. It has a unique merit of being able to express subtle details in this language without any limits. Also, through it, it is possible to approach the desired matter directly, without the need to connect it with what precedes it or follows it.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Thus, Kabbalists have found a set and annotated vocabulary, sufficient to create an excellent spoken language. It enables them to converse with one another of the dealings in the Spiritual Roots in the Upper Worlds by merely mentioning the tangible branch in this world that is well defined to our corporeal senses. The listeners understand the Upper Root to which this corporeal branch points because it is related to it, being its imprint.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”
[22301]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalists On The Language Of Kabbalah, Part 12
Laitman.com Post: A Perfect Language
Laitman.com Post: A Language Created By Nature

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions on the passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

Since the mind of the world is one, divided among numerous carriers, it turns out that if two people are clothed with the same mind, they think about a single issue. If there is any difference between them, it is actually in its greatness or smallness. By nature, the small surrender before the great. Hence, the small who think the exact same thought as the sages ponder the same topic as the sages, and unknowingly surrender and unite with the sages, according to the nature of Creation. In this way the entire world becomes corrected.
– Baal HaSulam, A Sage’s Fruit, Talks, “Permanent Delight and Excellent Enslavement”
[22299]

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Great Sages Of The Past
Laitman.com Post: Great, Small And Equal To A Friend And The Creator
Laitman.com Post: How To Grow Up To Reach The Zohar

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →