Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “What I Find in the Wisdom of Kabbalah”
A couple of weeks ago, a journalist from the French women’s paper magazine Fémitude wrote me asking if I would be willing to answer a question for an article she was writing about the wisdom of Kabbalah. Her question was, “What Dr. Laitman is trying to discover through Kabbalah?”, adding that she intends to include my answer in her piece.
I was happy to answer her because I am very pleased that there is interest in the wisdom of Kabbalah in France, but even more so because it is a women’s magazine, and the increasingly prominent role that women are playing in society, much to my delight, makes it all the more important that they know what is Kabbalah and what it gives.
Over the years, there have been many myths about what is Kabbalah, and all kinds of myths and stories about magic and esoteric ideas have been attached to it. True, authentic Kabbalah has nothing to do with mysticism, magic, amulets, or anything of the kind.
The wisdom of Kabbalah studies natural, physical forces, just as Newton’s physics studies physical forces. The difference between the forces Newton studied and the forces that Kabbalah studies is that instruments cannot detect the forces that Kabbalah talks about. In order to study the forces that the wisdom of Kabbalah discusses, we need to change our very selves, our nature.
Our inherent nature focuses on self-interest. As a result, we see the world as separate elements locked in a struggle for survival. Kabbalah proves that in truth, there is no struggle; there is complementarity and mutual support. However, in order to discover this, we need to change our perception of the world from egocentric to holistic and inclusive. Otherwise, we will misinterpret everything we see, according to our egoistic minds.
Once we change ourselves, we find that the world consists not of elements that fight against each other for survival, as in the motto, “the survival of the fittest.” Rather, the forces of the universe balance and support one another. The battle exists only in our minds, but we cannot see this until we acquire a new perspective, as if shifting from a two-dimensional vision into a three-dimensional vision.
The wisdom of Kabbalah espouses caring for others, solidarity, and unity. It does so not only because it is nicer to live this way, although it certainly is. If this were the only motivation, we would be in a constant struggle against our nature, which constantly strives to return to narcissism. The wisdom of Kabbalah advocates pro-social, pro-humanity values because when we expand our vision and can see others, we see the actual reality and begin to perceive the forces that a self-centered mind cannot grasp. Once we discover how the world really works, we will never return to selfishness.
This is why I study Kabbalah: to change myself and to see the world as it really is. As part of my efforts, I also teach Kabbalah because once you realize the gift it gives those who study it, you cannot keep it to yourself, as nothing would be more selfish than keeping such a gemstone hidden from the world.
*To find out more about Kabbalah, please visit my website, my personal webpage, or our Kabbalah courses.
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Question: Can the same text or book be perceived and felt differently with each repeated reading? If so, why?
