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

The Wisdom of Kabbalah Does Not Speak of Our Corporeal World

Woe to those wicked ones [ignorant people] who say that the Torah is no more than a story [about this earthly world], and regard only the clothing [external narratives of the Torah]. Happy are the righteous who view the Torah [its inner content] appropriately.

Wine lies only in the jug; likewise, the Torah lies only in that clothing in its external clothing which has a form of stories [that seemingly take place in this world]. Hence, we should consider what exists beneath the clothing [within it]. Thus, all of those stories are the clothing [whereas the true essence of the Torah, the truth that the Creator wishes to pass to us, is presented in Kabbalah. This is the reason why Kabbalah is called the “inner Torah.”].
The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat BeHaalotecha, Item 64
[21289]

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

The Wisdom of Kabbalah Does Not Speak of Our Corporeal World

Such is the Torah. It has a body, which is the Mitzvot of the Torah, called “bodies of the Torah.” This body clothes in dresses, which are stories of this world. The fools in the world see only that clothing, which is the story in the Torah, and know nothing more. They do not observe what exists underneath the clothing of the Torah [the inner content of the Torah, Kabbalah].
The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat BeHaalotecha, Item 62

This [external, general] story in the Torah is [only] the [external] clothing of the Torah. Whoever thinks that that clothing is the actual Torah, and that there is nothing else within it, will be cursed [his soul will remain corrupted, egoistic; he won’t correct it] and [therefore] he will have no share in the next world [in the state of bestowal and love that follows our current uncorrected state]. This is why David said, “Open [the Creator] my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Your law [Torah],” observing what is beneath the clothing of the Torah.
The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat BeHaalotecha, Item 60
[21243]

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

The Wisdom of Kabbalah Does Not Speak of Our Corporeal World

Regarding the entry, Adam Kadmon, I was appalled to see that a corporeal form was depicted for the concept of Adam Kadmon of the Kabbalah, which is only a metaphysical concept, a Godly concept. God forbid that we should allow ourselves to materialize these sacred concepts, even as a way of studying. [There is no form in spirituality, only forces; therefore, we are allowed to illustrate only correlations between them. See Baal HaSulam’s drawings Sefer HaElan.]
– Rav Kook, Letters, Vol 1, pg. 162

Woe to that person [an unfortunate ignorant man] who says that the Torah is meant to tell literal stories [that allegedly take place in our world], and in uneducated words of Esau, Laban, etc., for if that were the case, even today we could turn words of an uneducated into a Torah, and even nicer ones than they. If the Torah is meant to show mundane matters, even world rulers have better things among them. Let us follow them and make them into a Torah as well. Rather [it’s not the case at all, and not a single world of the Torah speaks of our world, instead], all the words of the Torah are sublime secrets.
The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat BeHaalotecha, Item 58
[21069]

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After all is said and done, the result we get from studying the science of Kabbalah comes from the Light that Reforms. It influences me, elucidating the whole picture of reality to me, and as a result I perceive the spiritual world as a picture that is presented in my desires.

My desires are a means of feeling, and in order to attune a person to the Light that Reforms, we study The Book of Zohar. During the study I search for a way to see the Giver through the picture that arises in me. I need to aspire to feel Him, the One who acts from within and forms the picture that I see. This picture stands between me and the Creator like a table filled with refreshments, but who is on the other side of me? Who is He, the One who forms this picture for me?

Therefore, everything that exists, this entire world and everything that I imagine while reading The Book of Zohar, becomes a means for me to reveal the Source. In that case I am really “studying the Torah.”

I demand the Light that Reforms, but why? It is in order to reveal the Source, the Creator, as it is written, “The purpose of the science of Kabbalah is to reveal the Creator to the creatures in this world.”

When we read Talmud Eser Sefirot, we also strive to reveal the Creator just like when we study The Zohar. We read about the same thing, but in a technical language rather than a literary one. In addition, we don’t read it through the heart, but through the mind. However, we do this with the same intention, which is to reveal the Creator.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/20/10, The Zohar

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

The Wisdom of Kabbalah Does Not Speak of Our Corporeal World

The truth is that The Zohar does not speak of corporeal issues [that occur in man’s egoistic desires] at all, but rather of the Upper Worlds [felt in the altruistic desire], where there is no time line [actions] as in corporeality [egoistic world], and spiritual times are explained in transformations of forms and degrees; they are above place [egoistic desire] and time [the order of actions since cause and effect in the spiritual property of bestowal are opposite to their order in corporeality].
The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat VaYetze, Item 139

The wisdom of Kabbalah speaks only from the root of Assiya in spirituality and upward [that is, above our world. Hence, those who try to apply Kabbalah to our world are either ignoramuses or charlatans].
– Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, Collections of the Moharan, 225
[20994]

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Question: Please tell us, how can we advance by the path and method of Baal HaSulam in order to attain the goal as quickly as possible?

Answer: Overall we have already studied Baal HaSulam’s method and everything he wrote. We just have to actualize it. We have merited to be acquainted with this person, this soul, and his life’s work. We live with his thoughts, inside the "building" he has built. The science of Kabbalah develops because the souls develop. More and more souls are reaching the final stage of correction and are coming closer to realizing themselves.

The final exile is over and we are now the first to go from the final exile to the full redemption, the revelation of the Creator. To do this, we really need support, help, a great Light, and the teaching that Baal HaSulam left to us. We see how much it helps us to use it, and when we follow his method to the letter, we achieve success and awaken the Light that Reforms.

For now the Light influences us in a concealed manner and the results are not very visible on the outside. However, day by day this force grows, becoming more noticeable and perceptible. I really hope that we will soon start to feel what we read and to feel the same forms, qualities, and images inside us.

All of the pictures we read about in The Book of Zohar and Talmud Eser Sefirot will enter us and we will see that it is all a movie! Right now our desires depict the picture of this world for us, and likewise, later on our desires (which will be desires of bestowal) will depict the picture of a second nature, the Upper World. Then we will understand what Baal HaSulam did for us!

He writes that in reality people begin studying the Torah only after they reveal spiritual attainment. When you reveal pictures of the world to come, you have to know what all of this is for! It’s like a baby who needs adults. Then you will feel that Baal HaSulam and Rabash take care of you, like a baby, by explaining this entire world to you.

With their help you start going deeper and deeper into it, understanding it better and making some independent actions. You are more inspired each time, while these great teachers are by your side, always taking care of you and supporting you at every moment through every step of the way.

We have yet to see how great the enterprise that Baal HaSulam created is and to realize how great the preparations he made are. He built the "kindergarten," the "school," and the whole "university" of spiritual life. He prepared all of this for us. If not for him, no Kabbalistic school could help us. Others can only add something to the revelation that we make by the method of Baal HaSulam as we attain the spiritual world.

I really hope that we will reach this revelation and then we will begin to attain how truly great he is and his love for us. After that, we will be able to communicate on another level and understand each other. I really hope to meet you in the world of truth, where we will be able to discuss everything taking place, look at things from a true perspective, and understand each other.

We are doing all of this together with Rabash and Baal HaSulam. They are helping us, and you will feel how they always support us, surrounding us with care. Let’s try to be worthy of them!

From the talk at the meal in honor of Baal HaSulam’s Passing Day 9/18/10

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

The Wisdom of Kabbalah Does Not Speak of Our Corporeal World

All the words of the Torah are sublime secrets [for those who have not acquired the property of bestowal yet and therefore cannot attain their true meaning].
– Baal HaSulam, The Book of Zohar with the Sulam [Ladder] Commentary, Parashat BeHaalotecha, Item 58

The wisdom of Kabbalah mentions nothing of our corporeal world [the state in which egoism reigns].
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

The depth of the Divine secrets simply can not be comprehended by the discernments of the human intellect, rather, according to Kabbalah, from wonderful people whose souls were permeated by the Divine Light. When we study their teachings with the proper preparation, internal insight comes forth and settles the matters of the heart until they are similar to the terms of the natural, simple intellect.

We should always combine the force of the truth of Kabbalah to this science for then things become illuminated and joyous as when they were given at Mount Sinai, to each and every one according to their degree.
– Rav Kook, “Orot HaKodesh,” page 102, Item 85

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5 Minutes Of Light From The Daily Lesson: Connecting With Kabbalists

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Question: How are we to understand the Sulam Commentary, or any other commentary to a Kabbalistic book?

Answer: When the concealed Light (Ohr Makif) influences a person aspiring to bestowal, the person starts to feel inner qualities of reception and bestowal in their various manifestations and connections. This is similar to our world, which we feel in many details and their interactions. However, in spiritual attainment, when a person discovers an entire world of qualities within, he also reveals the knowledge of their names.

Then, when he reads holy books, they start to tell him about what he reveals within him, and books written in the language of Kabbalah tell him about the qualities he discovers, similar to how the sciences of our world tell us about the qualities of the things we see. That’s why Kabbalah is the science of the Upper World, and only to the extent a person learns it can his soul understand its state and develop.

Reading The Book of Zohar without the Sulam Commentary can reveal the Upper World to a person similar to how our world is revealed to a simpleton: He sees it, but doesn’t understand it. However, learning the Sulam Commentary enables a Kabbalist to know and control his state and his abilities to come closer to the Creator, similar to how a connoisseur in our world has the ability to use the world to his benefit.

The same is true for all the commentaries to holy books written before HaShlah HaKadosh (the 17^th century). After that many authors did not even attain the Upper World. Likewise, we shouldn’t confuse the Sulam Commentary to The Book of Zohar with other, especially later commentaries to The Book of Zohar.

In order to help beginners come closer to The Book of Zohar, we have created a simplified Sulam Commentary called “Zohar for the Nation” (Zohar L’Am). In it we have removed some of the descriptions of images of the Upper World in Aramaic, making it limited in its comparison of the picture of the Upper World that a Kabbalist revealed, with the explanation of this picture by the science of Kabbalah. However, practice shows that precisely this form of The Zohar is best for beginners. And to the degree people reveal the picture of the Upper World, they will go on to the original Sulam Commentary.

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We are removed from the World of Infinity by 125 steps of concealment and are totally cut off from authentic reality. It is like we are comatose and don’t realize who and where we are. We have to awaken from this state, regain consciousness, and return to the same place from which we descended by climbing back up all 125 steps again. On this path from below upward, we overcome concealments and achieve similarity with the Creator. In other words, we become like Him.

As a matter of fact, no one in this world has a chance to wake up on their own, nor can we ascend from the bottom point that is buried under 125 degrees of concealment. As it is said, “A prisoner cannot release himself from the jail.” For that, he needs to use some external force.

We are unable to sense the upper world and, therefore, exist in a false reality. Because of our unconsciousness, we fantasize that we are alive and that there is a world full of people around us, the earth, and the universe. Such images emerge in our unconscious minds, and we perceive them as real life.

Through our dreams, we hear voices that say, “You are unconscious, deprived of actual life, of the spiritual world,” but we don’t trust them. Only those people who watch us from the side realize that we are in a coma.

We have to be grateful for the awakening of our “point in the heart.” It allows us to differentiate impulses that reach to us from another world and a different reality. Great Kabbalists try to introduce us to real sensation and, by doing so, wake us up to a genuine existence.

Beginning with Adam, the first human being who "regained consciousness," and up until now, there was a long chain of Kabbalists who attained authentic reality. However, today, we all have to come back to our senses. Our "doctor," Baal HaSulam, together with his "assistant," Rabash, applied all possible efforts to help us recover consciousness. It is they who attract the ray of Light that now finds its way from authentic reality into our unconscious mind that is, as of yet, switched off.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/16/10, Lesson for Commemoration of Baal HaSulam’s Passing Day

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