Entries in the 'Kabbalah Study' Category

An Amplifier of Spiritual Power

938.07When a person begins to study [Kabbalah], he suddenly discovers every time that they see new things in what we study. And this will always be the case.

Suppose you are sitting and reading an article right now, and I am sitting and reading the article, and then you ask me: “Well, can you tell me something?”

Why do I tell you more than you know? Because I read and see a bit more deeply than you. At the same time, I cannot transmit to you what I feel, and so I tell you in other words what I see.

For you it is open to a certain depth; for me it is open much deeper, and there are those for whom nothing at all is revealed. They may read the same article, but feel no reaction in the heart because they have no spiritual Kli, while yours is already beginning to form.

So what is the difference? The difference is that when I speak to you, I give you a bit of light from the depth where I am, and this helps you. In addition to the surrounding light that you awaken during the study, I also add from myself.

But the group can also add to you. Each one understands according to a certain depth because no one here is a random person off the street. There are those who are truly in a good, sensory understanding.

Therefore, when we study together with the intention of passing the incoming light to one another, these surrounding lights from each of us unite and act upon everyone. Do you understand what kind of amplifier of spiritual power there is here?

And it does not matter if each one knows very little, some more, some less. Even if I am here, and you know less than I do, each of you has his own root of the soul. So I enjoy this. From the inclusion of one in another, I receive an addition because there are things that, without you, I will not understand, and without this one, and without that one even though you might be a “0.001 compared to my 1 followed by some zeros.” It does not matter. Every person is unique.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity in the Work?”

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The Whole Torah Is the Creator’s Names

256Question: Why does Rabash use words that are familiar to us in his articles?

Answer: Rabash cannot use other, unfamiliar words. It is not his fault that you get confused. The entire Torah consists of the names of the Creator. The light is clothed in the Kli (vessel), and the Kli receives perceptions from it regarding what He does and what properties He has.

For example, what does it mean: “As He is merciful, so should you be merciful”? As I improve my quality of mercy, I will feel that He is also merciful. This means that I have attained knowledge, the revelation of the holy name “merciful one.”

Thus, the entire Torah is the names of the Creator. The lights clothe themselves in me and give me a sense of who the Creator is because the Creator is the totality of light, while I receive this totality of light in portions according to the measure of my correction. As a result, once I have received the entire Torah, I thus feel the Creator. In the totality of all the lights, I fully feel Him. This is the essence of the commandments, the Torah, and the Creator. And the one who reveals them is called Israel.

The only that is said: “The whole Torah is the names of the Creator.” In other words, only about this is it written in all the holy books. Holy books are those written beyond the Machsom, which means “holy,” and refers to being separated from this world.

If you read the Torah as a novel that tells you what happened between men, women, and children, who went where, who killed whom, and what was done to them for it, that is your problem. We must read the Torah as the names of the Creator.

I was asked on the Internet today: “But it says that every week you have to read a weekly chapter from the Pentateuch with RASHI’s commentary: read the weekly chapter twice, and the commentary once.” By the way, there are many more in-depth commentaries, and you can include them. They are all written by great Kabbalists.

So what should I do, read or not read? I replied that there is a strict prohibition in the Torah: “You shall not make a graven image.” That is, do not imagine something material instead of spiritual. If you are imagining a historical novel as you read a weekly chapter, do not read it.

This is the strictest prohibition in the Torah because it makes it impossible to achieve spirituality. And do not worry. By violating it, you are not doing anything wrong or harming the Creator or the world. However, at the same time, you remain the “animal” that you are today. Therefore we must treat the Torah as the true names of the Creator, and then it will lead you to the goal.

Moses wrote the Torah in this language because he could not find another language. In all other languages—Haggadah, Midrash, Halacha, Kabbalah—it is much more difficult to express all the points and details he wanted to describe. This is almost impossible in other languages. That is why he chose this language, the language in which all stories are written.

Comment: There is a contradiction here. After all, we still keep the commandments and do everything necessary.

My Response: You are on Earth in an earthly body, therefore you fulfill the commandments: you apply Tefillin, Tallit, make a blessing, eat Kosher food, etc. If you were not in the body, you would not have the opportunity to perform these actions. But these are not the actions by which you attain the holy names. You attain the holy names by correcting desire, by putting a screen on it, and by receiving light into it. The light that reveals itself in the corrected desire is called the holy name.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given out of the Darkness in the Work? ”

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Study Ourselves

249.03Before every lesson, a person should think: What will I receive from this study? This inner preparation before the lesson should prepare him so that during the study he will be able to think correctly. This is possible. A person simply needs to accustom himself to it, and gradually it will become natural. There are many things we must do in a very simple, uncomplicated way, “like an ox to the burden and a donkey to the load.”

Why have we been given reason and thought? To search and discover the one thing that is truly worth holding on to: to study, to examine what is happening to us. This study should lead us to the conclusion called the recognition of evil. I should not resist anything, nor should I force myself to do anything. That is of no benefit.

I need only pay attention to what the Creator is doing to me! From this, I gradually begin to understand: who I am, who He is, what He wants, why He arranges these things for me, and with what subtlety He does so. Through this, I slowly come to know nature.

Kabbalah is the study of nature, but in a broader sense. It includes the world of causes, where everything is conceived and prepared, and from there extends to our nature, to ourselves, and to our environment.

Thus, by studying ourselves, as it is said, “From Your actions we shall know You,” and “From my flesh I shall see the Creator,” we come to study the whole of reality.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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The Fallout of Neglecting the Inner Part of the Torah

032.06Question: Why is the connection of religious people with the Creator imperfect?

Answer: Baal HaSulam writes at the end of Introduction to The Book of Zohar that the people of Israel do not belong to this world, and the Germans once felt this. Jews are not a nationality, not a people, but something irrational.

In the Torah, it is said that the Creator wanted to give the Torah to the other nations, but they did not want to accept it. Then He gave the Torah to the people of Israel, scattered us throughout the world, and sent us into four exiles so that we would intermix with other nations.

In exile, we fell to the level of the “nations of the world.” Now, we must correct ourselves so that the Galgalta Eynaim (GE) are corrected, and only then can we elevate the AHP to GE.

Baal HaSulam says that the entire nation of Israel is guilty of not fulfilling its mission in the world, of not realizing itself as a spiritual guide. But there are those who are more guilty and those who are less guilty.

And it is those who study only the outer part of the Torah, neglecting the inner part, who cause the greatest harm to the entire nation of Israel and to the world as a whole.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/26, Rabash, “What Is the Importance of the Groom, that His Iniquities Are Forgiven?”

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On the Still Level of Kedusha

281.01In our world there are people who engage only in external actions. No illumination from above reaches them, and they do not perform any inner actions. So, what is the difference between those who engage in inner actions and those who engage in external actions? The difference is very simple; it is their correspondence to Abraham.

Question: But where can you find a point of connection between our external and inner actions so that there is some logic to it?

Answer: If you perform actions with your body without any connection to spiritual corrections, like a good Jew who does what he was taught, then you establish correspondence on your own level: Domem deKedusha (the still level of holiness). You perform corrections, but since it is the still level of Kedusha, it does not give you the opportunity to grow. Nevertheless, they are corrections.

The light came from above, clothed in matter, and within this matter the spiritual replicated. Thus, in this world there are still, vegetative, animate, and speaking levels, and on the speaking level there are people who are descendants of Abraham or Gerim (converts), whom we will discuss later.

Those who are on the still level possess sparks of Abraham that they do not develop; for example, the illumination from above that awakens one to spirituality has not yet come to them, and so, they perform correction on the still level of holiness.

It is still a correction; you cannot deny it. But neither can you live by it, that is, you cannot add anything to it, because the still level is characterized by the absence of spiritual life.

If you desire something more, then you must begin to add your own effort: take deficiencies as though from outside yourself, add your own contribution through the single point of free choice available to you, and thereby evoke an additional illumination from above, or absorb more of the illumination that comes to you. Then you begin to carry out the spiritual commandments, to work for the Creator.

You must distinguish between these two aspects, because Kabbalah is, in essence, work for the Creator. Otherwise, you observe the commandments simply as a person who was taught to do so. One does not contradict the other; both approaches are necessary.

However, to one who exists on the still level of holiness, it appears that you are negating that level, because for him only the first aspect matters; if something else is deemed important, then the first loses its significance.

We observe that those who truly begin to study the inner part begin to neglect the external part—to the point that a person who meticulously observed all the commandments, upon beginning the study of Kabbalah, suddenly forgets that he has anything at all that he must do. He still does certain things out of habit, but his thoughts are floating in the clouds, above. We see how much the material action becomes weakened—in work, in the family, in everything. A person who is completely attached to spirituality greatly neglects the material.

Those who say that one who studies Kabbalah does not observe the commandments in practice with the meticulousness required in this world, are seemingly right. We ourselves see that this is so; let us not hide what, in the end, actually happens.

It is necessary to clarify the reasons for this phenomenon: either, God forbid, we are studying something incorrect; or we are mistaken and are not studying as we should; or this is natural and perhaps it will later return in another form, on another degree, in another existence—together, both in the spiritual and in the material.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?”

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The Spectrum of Our Possibilities

49.01Question: Why do we agree that some people engage in inner actions while others engage only in external ones?

Answer: Why should we agree or disagree with it? In spirituality, there is no such concept as agreeing or disagreeing. In spirituality, there is only the definition of the state in which I exist.

If a particular light comes to me and sustains me on a certain degree, then I am a “thief.” If a greater light comes to me, I become a “robber.” And if an even greater light comes, I become a “righteous person.” Everything depends on the measure of the light descending upon me.

You may lament, “Oh, I’m a robber!”, it will not help you at all because a state is a state. You can only give it a name; you cannot change it. If you want to deceive yourself, put the label “righteous” on it. It will not help, though perhaps it will make you feel differently.

“Why don’t we oppose this? Why do we agree with it?” I am speaking about the state itself, not about how I should react to it. Whether I want it or not, whether I agree or disagree, this is my state. This is how it happens: A person who begins to engage in the inner part almost completely neglects the external part.

Conversely, there are people who studied Kabbalah in the correct way and, as a result, neglected the practical commandments. Later, having forgotten what true study is and returned to some pseudo-system, they begin observing the commandments and become good Orthodox Jews. I see all these changes, the entire spectrum of possibilities.

Thus, I am describing a phenomenon without judging whether it is good or bad. You cannot say that when a lion devours its prey, it is doing something wrong. That is its nature, which dictates its actions. It is the same with us: every step we take at every given moment is dictated by our nature.

This has been known for many generations. There are many stories dating back three or four hundred years. For example, someone looked through a window and saw a Kabbalist lighting a candle at a time when it was forbidden. I do not think these stories are false or that they were invented by opponents of Kabbalah. I am saying seriously that such phenomena are well known. I have seen them and experienced them myself.

Why is this so? We will speak about that later. There is a reason for it and an intention from above. First of all, everything that happens is done from above. As for how we should relate to it, how we should behave, whether by adapting ourselves or by overcoming it, we will discuss that separately. But the phenomenon itself exists. This is not the army where you can simply say, “No, that’s impossible!” It exists, and first of all we must define the state and acknowledge the truth.

To study yourself, you must see yourself through someone else’s eyes.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?”

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Study that Leads to Action

250In the work, meaning when we want to come to work in order to bestow and not receive for ourselves, of course we must observe the 613 Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] in actual fact.One who learns Torah but does not want to observe the 613 Mitzvot de facto, is learning knowledge, the way one learns external teachings (Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?“).

Question: Does this apply to us in the sense that a person who still does not observe the Torah and the commandments in practice is, in essence, merely “acquiring wisdom” rather than studying the Torah?

Answer: I can tell you, as I understand it, what Rabash most likely means, not as others explain it, but according to his own interpretation.

A person who studies the Torah is one who is learning to become like the giver of the Torah. But if he does not draw the guidance for becoming similar to the giver of the Torah from the Torah, then for him the Torah is merely a science. He is not studying it in practice. It is written: “Good is the study that leads to action,” but such a person does not come to action, to correction.

If the Torah does not lead to action, it becomes merely a science, mere intellectual knowledge. About this it is said: “Believe that there is wisdom among the nations of the world.” What a person studies from the Torah while wishing to remain a non-Jew is called a science. But if a person wants to become a Jew, even though at present he is still a non-Jew, that is, he remains in the desire to receive, then he is truly studying the Torah, not merely a science. One who studies the Torah seeks through its illumination to attain the lights.

An action is called the correction of the screen over the desire to receive. Action is the fulfillment of a commandment. You take an evil desire and transform it into a good one. Therefore Rabash says that the commandments of the Torah consist first of 613 counsels (Eitin) for correcting the soul, and then 613 commandments (Pekudin), through which these corrected parts are filled with the lights.

In the end, after you have corrected and fulfilled all these commandments, all these parts, and filled them with the light called the Torah, you are rewarded with the general Torah. And when you come to the correction of the entire vessel, and the truly all-encompassing light is revealed to you, this is called Kadosh Baruch Hu (the Creator).
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work? ”

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Gradual Study of the Material

227Comment: At different times you have emphasized the importance of different topics. First it was children’s education, then working through crises, then the writings of Baal HaSulam or the articles of Rabash, then The Book of Zohar, then The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES). Each time, people tend to think that this is now the final and most important subject they should focus on.

My Response: Yes, in this way, we gradually study the material until eventually everything comes together into one unified whole.

In Kabbalah, there is essentially no separation at all. The difficulty is that we are unable to grasp everything simultaneously, so we study it one topic at a time. Later, all of these separate topics merge into one unified science, one comprehensive method.

The same thing happens in our world. We study reality by dividing it into physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, into thousands of different subjects and specialties.

But where does all this division come from? The world is one single reality! Why have I divided it into so many separate parts? Inanimate matter is one field, plant life another, animal life another, human beings yet another.

Why do I need these divisions? Because I am incapable of integrating everything into my mind all at once. I cannot contain all of these sciences within me simultaneously. That is why there are different professions and why people become specialists.

In Kabbalah, however, such separation does not truly exist. Yet, in order to embrace the entire science of the upper world, we must study it piece by piece. Over time, it becomes integrated within us because we will merge and unite into one common soul, and there will no longer be any separation between us.

For me, everything will become one. Moreover, it will continue to simplify until it is reduced to a single vessel containing the simple light. In that lies the whole of creation—including our own tiny world.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Laitman’s Bullying” 10/13/10

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What Conceals the World of Truth from Us?

115.06Comment: The neurons that make up our brain function as logic gates. They are adapted to reflect the logic that exists in nature and reproduce it in the brain and nervous system. Therefore, they can sense when the information reaching them does not correspond to that logic.

It seems to me that if a person is presented with false information, he begins to sense it at the level of the neurons. And if a person is continually fed falsehoods, it may even lead to illness. History provides examples of how years of feeding people false information have resulted in social consequences and widespread negative phenomena.

In other words, there is an objective truth in nature that is reflected in the neurons themselves, enabling them to detect falsehood.

My Response: The fact is that within human consciousness there are two levels of nature. The higher level represents the perfect connection among all parts of nature, while the lower level is an absolutely fragmented, egoistic connection.

Today we function on the egoistic level, in mutual alienation from one another. Yet, nature is arranged in such a way that, through all the positive and negative feelings that arise within us and through the comparison of reason and emotion, it gradually leads us to examine what truth really is.

We will inevitably have to accept the system of complete interconnectedness, and we will begin to perceive this entire system existing for the sake of its all-encompassing nature and integrality. It exists within every person.

Therefore, it is quite possible that our neurons sense that the perception of truth is inherent in our nature. Essentially, we are structured correctly; it is only that all of this is covered over by an immense egoism that conceals from us the complete, closed system that is entirely good.
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From KabTV’s “Together about the main thing. Alexander Zhdanov,” 12/8/17

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The Difference Between Kabbalah and Philosophy

234Question: The dialogue I conduct with myself, trying to understand why I suffer, takes place within my ordinary Kelim. Can I really investigate the source of suffering within them?

Answer: Your dialogue with yourself does indeed take place within ordinary Kelim (vessels). However, because you are working according to the system described by people who have already corrected themselves and attained the state of Gmar Tikun (final correction), you receive from them a force called Ohr Makif (surrounding light).

Naturally, without help from above, you would continue revolving around the same questions with your own intellect and desires and never rise above them. All your investigations would remain on the same plane, as happens with philosophers.

What is the difference between us and them? They use the intellect, but they do not draw the surrounding light upon themselves.

If you study the correct books, the authentic sources, with the intention of attracting the surrounding light, then you begin to utilize a force, a height, that exists above your nature. This is the difference.

If, in your investigations, you rely solely on your own intellect, as philosophers do, then you remain on the same plane. In such a case, there is no correction through the surrounding light. You simply become more intelligent within the framework of this world. But this does not give you the ability to free yourself from suffering or to attain its source.

All that you possess are conclusions reached through reasoning. This is called philosophy; one does not draw the upper force in order to be corrected by it. Drawing the upper force not to dwell with suffering or to fill it, but to attain its source is the work of a human being.

Comment: But a person must know what to ask for.

My Response: There are many subtleties here. When the surrounding light begins to influence us, our request changes. We stop asking for fulfillment and begin asking for correction. We begin to desire to become similar to the light itself, initially without understanding what is happening to us and later with awareness.

The first phase (Behina Aleph) of the four phases of direct light desires to receive and enjoy the light. Yet after some time, it suddenly begins to desire to bestow, just as the light bestows. This is the result of the influence of the upper light upon us.

Without this wondrous property, we would never be able to attain anything.

The difference between the wisdom of Kabbalah and philosophy (as well as all other methods) is that Kabbalah utilizes the surrounding light. From my corrected state, I draw this force, this light, into my present state, because I want to be corrected, because I want to be there.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/26, Rabash, “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

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