Two questions I received on love and relationships:

Question (from a woman): Why is it that before we find our match, we have to go through so much pain and disappointment?

My Answer: It is because you use the wrong criteria to look for a partner. Your spouse should be someone you understand, someone similar to you, with a similar upbringing and childhood, and you should remind him of his mother. Everything else will fall into place throughout the process of living together. Mostly it will happen when you forgive one another and compromise with each other.

Question: There is a couple starting out their relationship. Both study Kabbalah. They now have the opportunity to create the right connection between them. How should this occur? How can they aim their relationship toward the goal?

My Answer: Tune into the studies together, discuss them, and read articles together. This is what Rabash advised for couples.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: True Love Is the Fulfillment of Another’s Desire
Laitman.com Post: How to Compromise With Your Partner
Laitman.com Post: Man, Woman and Divinity Between Them
Article: “A Woman’s Nature”
Lectures at the Educational Center “Nekuda Shebalev“: Unconditional Love, Lesson of December 23, 2004

Filed under: Love, Q&A, Rabash, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Questions I received on the will to receive, roots and branches, and Ramchal:

Question: What is the will to receive based on? What is the will to receive made of?

My Answer: Of the shadow of the Upper Light.

Question: Are the roots and branches in Kabbalah something like a reflection of a tree in water? Everything is “reflective opposite” exactly like the source, but made from a different “material”?

My Answer: That’s exactly right. The difference is the material – whether it’s the will to receive or to give.

Question: What do you think of Ramchal? There is no mention of him on the site.

My Answer: I have mentioned him more than once. I studied his works alone and with my teacher Rabash.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Formula for Success: Take Care of Your Needs, and of Your Relationships With the Whole World
Laitman.com Post: The Entire Universe Is One Material (or One Blanket, According to Dustin Hoffman)
Laitman.com Post: What Will the Future Generaton Be Like?
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

The more we repeat the phrase, “love your neighbor as yourself,” the less we understand it. It is written that this is the general rule, the law of all reality, and we must act according to it. And whoever thinks that individual parts of the universe do not observe it, is mistaken.

We observe this law because we have no other choice, since we live in one dimension, in one sphere. This law affects us, but we observe it unwillingly. The suffering we perceive is precisely this absence of desire to observe this law. This is how we feel the difference between the present state and the more advanced state.

If we pay attention to this, we will be able to discern the most important thing: that this law is mandatory for us. It affects us and we purposefully exist in a state that’s opposite to it, where we don’t want it. This is done in order for us to realize its importance, splendor and universality. We will then observe it willingly, with our free choice.

The fact is, we all serve the Creator (or Nature). However, some of us do it unwillingly, while others do it willingly and consciously.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Humanity and Nature Want the Same Thing – Unity
Laitman.com Post: Man Was Created to Exist In Balance With Nature
TV Program: “Ask the Kabbalist”
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings”

Filed under: Education, Love, Q&A - No Comments →

Two questions I received about physical observances and Kabbalah:

Question: If a person who studies Kabbalah is not religious or Jewish, does he have to follow the example set by you and the great Kabbalists to grow a beard and dress accordingly?

My Answer: Definitely not. I need my “getup” in order to be recognized as a man who has received Kabbalah from the lineage of Kabbalists, because they all looked like this (and they were much more orthodox than me, by the way). But when you separate from the external world, your external appearance and clothing do not matter one bit. Besides, Kabbalists looked pretty different three thousand years ago!

Question: You say that by studying Kabbalah, I can ascend to the level of double concealment, then single concealment, and then cross the Machsom and attain revelation. Then is it true that I am not required to observe the commandments physically?

My Answer: Physical observance forms a framework for living in our world, but it is not mandatory for correcting our souls.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Improve the Quality of Your Life
Laitman.com Post: Everyday Life Provides Us With Opportunities to Ascend In Spirituality
Laitman.com Post: How Does a Kabbalist Organize His Day?

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Two questions I received about myself:

Question: Are you a mystic?

My Answer: I am a rational, down-to-earth man. Mysticism has never appealed to me. Even if I have feelings that seem “mystical,” I feel them because I attained them for myself. This is a sensation of the Creator, a sensation of crossing over, a sensation of commonality, of a single force and a field of love. All of this is mine. This is my reality because I live it and breathe it. Therefore, it is not mysticism for me, but an unfolding wider world. So, call me a “mystic” if you wish, but to me this means the attainment of a higher, wider range of vision, where attainment is not mysticism.

Question: Are you a prophet?

My Answer: People often ask me this question. To me, a spiritual sensation is not prophesy, but the reality in which I live. And if you will ask me, “What will happen tomorrow?” I will tell you unequivocally, “I don’t know.” And none of the prophets knew it. They were simply saying, “If you don’t do what you’re supposed to, then things will be very bad for you.” And they could describe the “bad things” that would happen because they knew the laws of Nature and what will happen if people don’t comply with them. This is what they described.

“But if you behave well,” they explained, “then all of this evil will transform to goodness. We, the prophets, do not know what will actually happen. We are telling you about Nature’s (or the Creator’s) plan, and the rest depends on you.” I also don’t know what will actually happen in the future. It depends on our choice: what path will we choose to get to the originally set goal – equivalence to the Creator.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: You Are the Only One Who Can Find the Truth
Laitman.com Post: Verifying the Validity of Kabbalah
Laitman.com Post: Prophets Are Those Who Help Us Find a Way Out of the Labyrinth
Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “39. Rabbi Laitman’s Search for Kabbalah”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Three questions I received on how Kabbalah can change the world:

Question: I do not see how changing the political direction toward a unified world is at all realistic. I just don’t see how we can influence the course of the world’s development with our limited resources. Can the unification of all those who study Kabbalah really save the world from catastrophe?

My Answer: Yes, because they are a tremendous spiritual force, as compared to the spiritually inanimate masses.

Question: If I were a great Kabbalist, what would I have to do to help others like me?

My Answer: Give them an explanation of the reason for our current state and how to correct it.

Question: I have read a myriad of your articles in French on your site, and I think I have understood the purpose of Kabbalah. Essentially, it answers my inner metaphysical questions – how and why we exist, as well as the purpose of our existence. But how do I go from theory to practice?

My Answer: Through study in the group: you must use the group to create the conditions of a corrected humanity.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Humanity and Nature Want the Same Thing – Unity
Laitman.com Post: Our Living Depends On Our Attitudes
Laitman.com Post: People Don’t Have to Hear the Word Kabbalah to Hear Kabbalah’s Message

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Questions I received on the commandments, the Hassidut, prayer and the Creator:

Question: Why do you teach that the 613 commandments are actually 613 desires?
My Answer: Because the only thing that was created is the desire, which was then separated into 613 parts. Our task is to correct the aim of this desire from “for one’s own sake” to “for the sake of others.” It is written, “I created evil (egoism) and created the Torah for its correction, because its Light returns one to the Source, to Goodness.”

Question: While you omit some commandments, you don’t reject others: you and your students wear Kippahs (skullcaps) and some of you have beards. Incidentally, wearing the Kippah is a relatively late commandment – given in approximately 1700.

My Answer: One’s appearance bears absolutely no relation to the commandments or the correction of one’s desire from egoistic to “love your neighbor as yourself” (the general commandment of the whole Torah).

Question: Why don’t you view the point in the heart in the same way as the Hassidut, which defines it as an awakening of the intelligent soul, which exists in the right part of the heart?

My Answer: The point in the heart is an aspiration to the Creator, which pertains to the quality of bestowal – “the right portion of the desires,” and the “heart” refers to the collection of all of a person’s desires. However, the physical heart lacks any desires whatsoever. What if a heart transplant was performed and a righteous man received the heart of a wicked person? Is this forbidden by the Torah?

Hassidut (the authentic one) comes from the word Hesed – goodness, which develops only in a person who studies Kabbalah. That’s because the study of Kabbalah is the only way to draw the Light of Correction to yourself.

Today the only thing remaining of Hasidut is the externality. It consists of rituals and the literal interpretation of the texts. This is why they interpret the statement, “Goodness lies in the right part of the heart,” literally. Kabbalah, on the other hand, explains the true meaning of these words.

Question: Why don’t you view a group of students as a Minian (traditional group of at least ten men) of those who pray?

My Answer: Prayer occurs during the studies, when a student asks the Creator for correction, and to help him attain the degree that he is learning about. Then, over the course of the day, he aspires for this transformation to take place, as it is written, “And he prays the entire day.”

Question: Some of the people who pray reach Lishma, even though they start out in Lo Lishma. This is exactly the same as your students! I am convinced that “all roads lead to Rome,” but apparently, you don’t think so?

My Answer: I don’t think, but I know, that no one reaches Lishma without studying Kabbalah thoroughly and correctly. And in order to understand my answers, you have to study it as well.

Question: If the Creator or the Upper Light is constant and does not change, then how could He have restricted Himself? And how is it possible that the Creator created anything?

My Answer: Constant and unchanging means that He does not change His intentions and actions – He is always “Good and does Goodness,” despite the fact that His actions seem contradictory to us.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Does a Kabbalist Wear a Skullcap?
Wondrous Wisdom: “A Point in the Heart – the Soul”
Shamati #20: LISHMA (for Her Name)
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Questions I received on our lecture series, symbols used in weddings, and names:

Question: I listened to a lecture series you gave on the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah.” The last lesson, given on 11.21.08, ended with Item 121. Will you continue giving lectures on this topic?

My Answer: The regular study of the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” ends there because from that point on, it is better to continue studying Kabbalah using the book, Talmud Eser Sefirot. The material becomes extremely dense at that point – you can check this for yourself. In addition, this was my teacher’s custom.

Question: Please explain the Kabbalistic meaning of the symbols used in the Jewish wedding ritual: the Huppah (wedding canopy), the glass of wine, the ring, the money for the ring and the bride, the breaking of the glass, the Ketuba (marriage contract), and so on.

My Answer: These are all symbolic of the unification of the desire (vessel) with the right intention (screen) for the reception of Light (adhesion with the Creator). The Huppah is the screen, the wine is the Light of Hochma, the ring and the money is the effort to create a screen, the bride is the desire, the Ketuba is the condition for adhesion, and the breaking of the vessel or glass signify that the correction and unification begin with the revelation of the broken, egoistic desires. And the entire family life is the correction of the vessel.

Question: You wrote that the Torah contains all the names that have spiritual roots, that these are all names of spiritual forces, whether holy or evil ones. Out of these names, we should choose the “holy” ones to name our children. How do I know which names are holy?

My Answer: Use the names that have been given to children throughout the centuries.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis Will Erase the War of the Sexes
Kabbalah Today Article: What’s In a Name?
A Guide to the Hidden Wisdom of Kabbalah: “Discover Your Root, Discover Your Name”
The Book of Zohar: “The Night of the Bride”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Questions I received on perception, what the Creator wants from us, and how to use an ascent:

Question: Kabbalah says that everything is within us, including the Creator. But it also says that we must come out of ourselves and feel others. Isn’t there a contradiction?

My Answer: We perceive everything within our desires. However, these desires can either be “for oneself,” meaning within oneself, within one’s egoism, or “for others,” meaning outside of oneself, outside of one’s egoism. Either way, we perceive only what enters our senses.

Question: What does the Creator want from us? I don’t understand this at all. The only thing I understand is that I am the will to receive pleasure and He bestows all the pleasure. And if I want to attain His plan, I have to become like Him by attaining complete equivalence to the desire to bestow. This is necessary in order to attain His thoughts and ways. Am I on the right track?

My Comment: So far, yes. And you will reveal all the rest for yourself through your “conversations” with the Creator.

Question: How do you use an ascent most efficiently? I’m talking about the state where you are overwhelmed with emotion, with the importance of the goal, the unity of souls and so on. After a Congress there is always a very clear, tangible sensation of a new degree, and I want to make the most out of it.

My Comment: Immerse yourself in the books and try to discern new things in the text.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The World Is the Perception Inside Our Desires
Laitman.com Post: Redemption Will Come At the Hands of the Creator
Article: “All We Need is The Revelation of The Creator”
Shamati #21: “When One Feels Oneself in a State of Ascent”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Questions I received on the names of God, clairvoyants, “Jewish healing,” and Islam:

Question: If the names of God are His qualities, then does the phrase, “His names are upon one person” mean that God bestows His qualities upon that person?

My Answer: If people call you an elephant, does that make you one?

Question: Are there any genuine mediums or clairvoyants? If so, how do they attain the Upper Worlds without the study of Kabbalah?

My Answer: Yes, there are mediums and clairvoyants. But their abilities are confined to the forces of our world and our egoistic subconscious. These people do not attain the Upper World, which is the quality of bestowal, and they do not have a perception of the Upper Force.

Question: Thank you for making authentic Kabbalah accessible. I find your comments on medicine very interesting. I practice a vital, holistic model and I have always had the conviction that everyone is entitled to benefit from it regardless of their ability to pay. I have found one website that claims to teach people to use Kabbalistic wisdom, including contact with the Tzaddikim, to guide decision making. It is connected to “Jewish Healing.” Since they are selling lectures and other such things on the subject, I wanted to consult you as “neutral” source. Do you see this as true Kabbalah?

My Answer: I don’t think it’s Kabbalah because they sell these things. However, it can be a healing practice similar to other methods.

Question: Is it true that Islam’s goal is to dominate the world?

My Answer: Yes, this is a generally known fact.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah On Astrology, Death, Homosexuality and More
Laitman.com Post: Moses Decreed That Kabbalah Must Be Taught for Free
Laitman.com Post: The UN’s “Anti-Defamation” Plan Is In Line With the Book of Zohar
Kabbalah Today Article: What’s In a Name?
From Chaos to Harmony: “The Rise of the Islam”
Lesson: “One Law”

Filed under: Q&A - 1 Comment →