Isaac is a force that grows opposite to Abraham and serves as "help against him." We begin discovering that spirituality is not a singular force as we once thought. We are unable to understand how two opposite opinions can coexist and both can be true. It isn’t understood yet that precisely in this collision and contention, the truth is revealed. We think everything should be straightforward and clearly defined.

However, we start realizing things aren’t as clear cut as we originally perceived. When we begin working with our quality of “Isaac” and correcting it, we start realizing things aren’t as straightforward as we had formerly perceived exclusively through our egoism. In other words, all that we saw through our egoism was the desire to enjoy and the pleasure opposite the desire, but now we see that there is a left line and a right line. Moreover, both may be true and correct, which helps us advance. On the other hand, both may contradict one another, but nevertheless both have a place in creation because they’re both tied to the Creator.

Indeed, both the qualities of “Isaac” and “Abraham” are included within us: one’s own quality of reception, whereby a person remains a creature existing separately from the Creator; and above it a quality of bestowal, which one acquires from the Creator. It follows that there will always be an inner conflict between these two forces within a person. Thus, only by raising Isaac, Abraham comes to understand his true position with respect to the Creator. That is why the word "son" (Ben) means "understanding" (Leavin), which is Bina, a new degree.

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The science of Kabbalah is the order of descent of the Upper Forces directed to the revelation of the Upper Governing Force (the Creator) to a person.

The law of the particular: Even before the common revelation of the Upper Force to the whole of humanity, there are a few chosen individuals who are able to reach this state.

The law of the general: At the end of its development, the whole of humanity must come to the revelation of the Upper Governing Force, and completely attain it. Studying a path of attaining the Creator, Kabbalah explores “the order of descent of the worlds” from above downwards, that is, from the World of Infinity to this world, as well as “attainment of the Upper Force” from below upwards, by climbing the steps that were formed by the descent of the worlds.

Attainment of the Governing Force is gradual and sensed in our feelings, depending on correction of egoism. The Upper Force has to be gradually attained according to the laws established by its descent from above downward.

Kabbalah studies the world we can’t feel. A Kabbalist first senses this world, and then takes on the cognition of it. Those who don’t feel the Upper World think that Kabbalah studies something abstract and detached from reality. But it’s the opposite: Kabbalah describes only a real, attainable reality.

Everything is revealed from above downwards in the parallel worlds, and these worlds differ only in their material, a quality of desire. However, the objects and forms are the same as an imprint of a seal. All the details of the Upper World (roots) are reflected in our world (branches). A root controls its branch in everything.

The language of branches: The language of branches was created by Kabbalists based on the connection of each branch in our world with its root in the Upper World. However, this language can be understood only by those who feel the root. Aspiration to attain the Upper Force causes the Light to shine from the root to the branch, thus correcting the branch to the degree of the root.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: “You Can’t “Jump” Through Spiritual States”
Laitman.com Post: “Attaining The Names Of The Creator”
Laitman.com Post: “A Language Created By Nature”
Talks: “Perception of Reality” Michel Laitman’s Talk with Michael Sanilevich and Eugene Litvar
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Before creation reaches a state of fulfillment, there is a prerequisite process of obtaining a desire to get fulfilled. Everyday examples of this preparation for the anticipation of fulfillment are animals’ mating rituals or our “saving our appetite” for a special meal. The preparatory stage that creates a desire to get fulfilled is always more important that the fulfillment itself because it defines the measure and kind of pleasure we eventually experience.

In spirituality, everything depends on the desire since the Light (Pleasure) is everlastingly unlimited and absolutely tranquil. It completely fills the space around us at each given moment. What we lack is a desire to receive It and the tools to perceive It.

However, a desire to get the Light is being built in us gradually by adding “spices”: “pepper,” “salt,” “mustard,” and other “seasonings” that stimulate our appetite. It’s similar to a game of “flirting,” that the Creator plays with us by repeatedly letting us taste the pleasure and then taking it away from us. This “game” builds and refines our right attitude towards our future fulfillment.

The Torah is called “a spice” (Torah Tavlin) because it reveals to us the desire, teaches us how to grow it, and then how to correctly fulfill it. Specifically, it leads us toward the right pleasures and fulfillments that await us in the future. At present, we are trying to shape the correct desire with the help of the Torah; without it we won’t be able to sense the Light even though it is all around us.

We don’t have desires that target and help us to reveal the Light yet. It is like a radio that needs to tune into a certain frequency (wavelength) in order to receive the transmitted signal. The radio has to create a wavelength that sufficiently matches the one that exists outside of it, in order to attract the outside wave.

Due to our studies, we receive a small “taste of spiritual flavors” and attract the Light that elevates us, and then it lets us fall. Sometimes it feels good and other times not so good. However, this is how we build a vessel for the Light, a tool for its perception. In other words, we create “a wave” that is similar to the Light that exists outside of us; it is only then that we become able to attain It.

As soon as the “instrument” is ready, it starts to receive the Light. There is no secret to this. It seems a mystery to us only because we don’t see it and our desire is not ready for it yet. This is our only problem. There is nothing that is hidden outside of us; the concealment is within us.

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The breaking of the common soul really was a great thing. Through the breaking, the Creator gave us an opportunity to exist and express ourselves. After all, if the parts of the common soul weren’t distanced from one another, we wouldn’t be able to build the Creator’s image and perceive ourselves in relation to others. We would simply dissolve within the Light as it is impossible to distinguish anything within one unified object.

The creation can’t exist within one whole; we can only exist when there is us and something else. Our perception results from the distance between us. We can’t attain anything in absolute light or in complete darkness.

For this reason, the breaking gives us the opportunity to attain and experience existence. Otherwise, if we were to find ourselves in absolute and total darkness, we wouldn’t sense anything and we wouldn’t be able to feel that we exist. This is because all of our senses are based on perception between two opposites, such as sound versus silence or scented versus unscented. If there were “silence” in all of our senses, we couldn’t perceive ourselves.

So, the breaking happened precisely to give the creation the opportunity to exist and perceive itself. This really is a divine patent. We fill the space where the breaking took place. We fill the empty space between the parts that seemingly appear to be distanced from one another with the Light. In reality, however, it was the Creator who disappeared from the single whole in order to give us the opportunity to reach that same unity independently.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Pekudei (Accounts),” Item 15: When the Creator said unto Moses, “Make the Tabernacle,” Moses was bewildered; he did not know what to do until the Creator vividly showed him, as it is written, “And see and make them after their pattern, which is being shown to you in the mountain.” “In their pattern” means that the Creator showed Moses everything in its higher, spiritual shape, and each of the spiritual shapes above was making its shape similar to the fictitious shape that was made below, on earth. This is how Moses knew.

This is what our work consists of because the spiritual world doesn’t have a form and we don’t know what Upper Light is by itself. This notion doesn’t exist at all separately from the creation. We can attain and define it only in relation to ourselves and through our sensations. However, our sensations are imaginary because we always feel reactions to an outside influence. We will never find out what actually is happening outside of us because we can’t extract ourselves from our perceiving senses.

It turns out that one can perceive properly only to the extent of the similarity of his properties to the spiritual properties. When the properties of man and the Creator coincide, man reveals the Creator to the extent of that similarity. Initially, we only perceive the imaginary form of this world. Our work consists of rising above it and asking for the Upper spiritual form to clothe in it. Once we have these two forms where one is confined within the other, we will acquire the proper perception of the world.

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Before his sin, Adam HaRishon had attained the world only in one form, without its imaginary reflection in this world. His entire attainment was inside of Bina. He was born already circumcised, which means disconnected (cut off) from Malchut. This is why he saw only the true form of bestowal which was in Bina. However, all other forms of attainment of the Creator take place inside the connection between Malchut and Bina.

The reflection of Bina in Malchut is called an imaginary image while Bina, itself, is the true and authentic form. Malchut is called Bina’s mirror. Bina and Malchut, the true and the imaginary realities, are connected together up until the very End of Correction. We can’t even say that truth is really truth because we always attain the limited Malchut within Bina; ouBina and Malchutr perception is based on a reflection of Bina we receive inside of Malchut. However, the imaginary reality is not a mirage, but rather, a reflection which has true existence.

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The breaking creates an imaginary reality, space, and distances. Parts of Malchut drew away from each other during the breaking of the common soul. It is in this space between its parts that I differentiate myself and others, those who are close to me and those who are far away. Within this sphere, I imagine a distance between these separated parts, which are not connected as one whole.

Thus, it is as a result of the breaking that I feel this reality. If such a reality did not exist, I would not be able to work on drawing closer and connecting to others. I would not have had an opportunity to attain something. After all, my whole attainment comes from an aspiration to learn, “What is this?”  And then I draw closer to the object that interests me, much like a little child that brings everything to his mouth, his most developed sense, in order to taste it.

Since the breaking exists, I first begin to egoistically strive to adjoin individual parts to myself, and then I wish to unite with them in bestowal. If I wish to unite with them egoistically, then I wish to attain only my inner sensations. However, if I wish to unite with others in bestowal to them, I thereby attain the Light that vanished during the breaking. I wish to fill the gap between us with this Light.

I build an image of the Creator within the desires (Kelim), which are distant from one another. I fill this empty space between them with my Reflected Light. This means that I build an image of the Creator. Therefore, the Creator (Bore) is called “Come and See” (Bo-Re), since I create Him.

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Because the science of Kabbalah only talks about what exists inside of us, it is called the inner Torah, an inner wisdom. In reality, our bodies and all of this matter do not exist. Therefore, this world is called an imaginary world. As soon as we begin to perceive reality correctly, we begin to feel that all this exists only in desire. Our desire gives us various levels of sensation that exist as the inanimate nature, plants, animals, and human beings. However, all this is actually different phenomena within the desire.

We need to realize that we live within a matrix of sensation in which everything exists exclusively in our sensation. This means that there is the desire to receive pleasure which perceives the phenomena that occur in it. Therefore, it is important for us not to forget this since this approach to the perception of reality, that “everything depends on me, rather than on what is outside,” directs us to our inner correction.

We perceive ourselves in our desires on the background of white Upper Light. Everything is on the background of the Upper Light. The World of Infinity is merely the white Upper Light. We don’t see ourselves there because we reach the same state, perception, reality, and qualities as the Light.

Meanwhile, the 125 degrees by which we descended from this state are the degrees of greater and greater distancing from the white Light, on the background of which we see ourselves. Therefore, everything we see around us is our desire which includes the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels. These are the 4 levels of Aviut (coarseness of desire) in all its various inner forms, and which are the measures of our difference from the white Light.

These pictures are in fact our reality which presents itself to us in the form of this world. Thus our constant effort to reveal true reality, to unite with the true picture of reality, forces us to correct and perfect ourselves; and in doing so to see that we are all connected together.

The more we unite with each other and tune into the white Light, we advance toward our eternal and perfect life in the World of Infinity. And all these phenomena which we see and perceive to be outside pass like a dream. In actuality, we live only inside white Light.

This fundamental point in the science of Kabbalah is extremely important, since it separates the science of Kabbalah from all the philosophical teachings, religions, faiths, and different methods. The science of Kabbalah tells a person that he needs to correct only his desire, to make it similar to the white Light. No physical external actions have anything to do with it.

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Our egoistic desire filters reality to suit its purpose. In effect, there is a filter before us through which we see the world. In other words, we don’t see the world, nature, society, and people objectively the way they really are; rather, we merely see what is profitable for our ego in every object, namely by what is either beneficial or harmful to it. Thus, out of an infinite reality, we sense only its minuscule part called “this world” because our ego cannot perceive anything more than that.

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The science of Kabbalah tells me that reality does not exist outside of me. All of reality exists inside the person who observes and feels it. Outside of me there is nothing. The problem is that we’re not accustomed to this perception of reality.

I was born perceiving reality through my body’s five senses. This is very limiting, and it’s hard to relate to the world differently. When I begin to realize that my reality depends on the qualities inside me, then it forces me to examine them and determine what they should be. I realize that I must correct them in order to create a true, unchanging, eternal reality inside myself. This is a true reality, but I must live in different states, different levels of false reality, before I can reach it.

Kabbalists tell us how to achieve a true perception of reality. They tell me that I am the one who determines my own life. If I start to look at life according to the perception that “everything exists within me,” then I can place the whole outside world inside me. Then, I will never die because the whole world will remain within me and I will continue to exist inside it.

So the perception of reality, which at first seems to us an abstract philosophy, something virtual and unreal, becomes a matter of “our life and death.” If I am able to change my qualities, my perception, everything that I presently see and sense as existing outside of me, then I begin to perceive and sense the world as my inner phenomena, my unchanging, eternal, perfect existence, and nothing will have changed, disappeared, or perished. By changing my perception of reality from external to internal, by placing it inside me, I ascend 125 degrees of the perception of reality, and reach a state of complete connection with eternity because I perceive it all within me.

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