Entries in the 'Religion' Category

What is The Connection Between the Wisdom Of Kabbalah And The Torah?

Laitman_137Question from Facebook: What is the connection between the wisdom of Kabbalah and the Torah? After all, Kabbalah is a science about the universe, its origin, general structure, its movement as a whole, and every detail in particular. How can such a grandiose teaching be based on religious stories and parables?

Answer: Indeed, there is no connection between Kabbalah and the ordinary worldly interpretation of the Torah. After all, in truth, Kabbalah is the hidden, secret part of the Torah because a person cannot reveal it through his own qualities.

But when it reveals itself, a person sees that the Torah changes his senses and leads him to the perception of the upper world—the system of governing our world in order to change a human and through him to change our world, and not just to perform some kind of material actions. This is what the Torah speaks about.

The Torah is divided into the internal part (Kabbalah) and the external part, which talks about the fulfillment of some accepted conventions and actions, which is called “practical Judaism.”
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/27/17

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The Wisdom Of Kabbalah Is Open For Everyone

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Did the priests in ancient Egypt know about the wisdom of Kabbalah? They say that Pythagoras learned from them.

Answer: According to Kabbalistic sources, people came from ancient Greece to Judea to study even in the time of the prophets, and they wrote about that.

The German philosopher Johannes Reuchlin, for example, who lived in the Middle Ages says that: “my teacher Pythagoras, the father of philosophy, did not learn from the Greek, but actually from the Jews.”

The Jews did not hide their knowledge from anyone, and Abraham initially wanted to tell about and to teach this knowledge all over Babylon, but the Babylonians opposed him. It all depends on people’s desires. Even today we see that currently people don’t want it.

The wisdom of Kabbalah had to be concealed for only 1,500 years, since the first century AD until the time of the ARI because humanity had to develop internally and to mature during that time. Then, starting from the ARI onward, it was possible to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah to everyone. Baal Shem Tov started doing so, and today it is open for everyone.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/22/17

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The Torah: Encrypted Knowledge

Laitman_137Question: Could the wisdom of Kabbalah exist without the Torah?

Answer: The Torah is Kabbalah and not how it was later reinterpreted and altered by people.

The Torah is a Kabbalistic record of the information of the upper world. It seems to us that it talks about historical events in our world, but it has nothing to do with them, and talks only about what is happening in the form of the forces of the upper world.

The Torah is written in the language of the branches, so instead of still, vegetative, animate, and human objects mentioned in it, we must imagine the forces that rule the universe. And not only the entire text, but every letter of the Torah is a record of force. Hence, we must treat it as encrypted knowledge.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/22/17

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Body And Soul From The Point Of View Of Ancient Philosophers and Kabbalah

laitman_612Comment: As is known, many philosophers and Kabbalists mentioned that long ago the ancient Greeks visited Judea to learn from the Kabbalists. For example, the great ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras wrote: “Souls never die, but always on quitting one abode pass to another. All things change, nothing perishes. The soul passes hither and thither, occupying now this body, now that… As a wax is stamped with certain figures, then melted, then stamped anew with others, yet it is always the same wax. So, the Soul being always the same, yet wears at different times different forms.”

My Response: This is about reincarnation. I can not say whether he understood correctly what a soul is, but what he said is correct.

My teacher used to tell me that the human body is like a shirt, which one changes, but the soul remains the same.

Comment: Socrates wrote: “Just as you ought not to attempt to cure eyes without head or head without body, so you should not treat body without soul.”

My Response: In Kabbalah, by body, we mean desire. Our physical body is not taken into account; it is nothing more than an animal.

Comment: Aristotle said: “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.”

My Response: It’s beautifully said. My friend and I are one whole, we are separated only by animal bodies.

In Kabbalah, a friend means a person who is my partner in spiritual work. And everything that I wish to liken to the Creator, I give to him, and he gives it to me, and we exercise together how through each other we can become similar to the Creator. Then a field of mutual bestowal and love is formed between us, in which the Creator is revealed.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About Soul” 3/30/17

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The Higher Power From The Point Of View Of Kabbalah

Laitman_043Question: Most of humanity is religious. They have their own impressions about the higher power, God, the Creator. In the wisdom of Kabbalah, what is the higher power and what is the fundamental difference?

Answer: Humanity has always feared something and has been afraid until today. It always tries to find some method of protection from the unexpected and cruel forces of nature.

The same is said about Abraham who was first a priest in ancient Babylonian and later discovered the higher power,  called nature or the Creator, as a singular and good force that doesn’t demand rituals and sacrifices. Based upon this discovery, he began to conduct research and clarification and eventually taught people as well.

That is how Kabbalistic language was formed; its foundations come from the first Kabbalist, Adam, who lived 5,777 years ago.

Since the wisdom of Kabbalah developed from Adam to Abraham and from Abraham to us, it expanded its conceptual system through four languages with which Kabbalists describe the upper world. Through these languages, we gradually begin to feel what the Kabbalists felt and described.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/22/17

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Purpose Of The Mixed Multitude

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe implementation of the Torah starts from the fact that while reading it we begin to understand what it is calling for and what it represents, and then we move on.

Comment: But there is great resistance to it.

My Response: It is not resistance because everything comes from the broken desires that remained the same desires but without a screen, which counteracts egoism and raises it to its inverse state, that is, to the level of bestowal and love for others.

First, egoism should be revealed as a demonstration of its nature, a demonstration of evil. Naturally, at this stage, Kabbalists receive many obstacles that haunt them and are revealed as evil.

This also happened during the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. After all, it isn’t a stroll in the Sinai desert, but an escape from our egoism, separation from it, and elevation above it. Therefore, the desires that are called Egyptian were practically killed within a person. Pharaoh himself agreed to this and released them.

However, the so-called “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) didn’t release them. These are people who think that they have another, more correct Torah. As it is written, they are “God-fearing servants of Pharaoh.” They are characterized by a dual state, when they, while being in this world, at the same time, wish to earn the next world—paradise, for their egoistic work.

“Tell us what to perform in this world without correcting ourselves,” this is the work of Pharaoh. Pharaoh says, “Why do you need all your problems? Work, do whatever you want. Pray, act, everything is open to you. The only thing that you shouldn’t do is correct yourselves. All the rest is in front of you; you will be respected and honored. You will possess the entire world.”

Unfortunately, or I would say, to great joy, our goal is to achieve connection with the Creator, integration and full equivalence with Him. It’s not just to perform physical commandments, movements, actions, and to consider that we will obtain this or the next world, or both worlds together for doing so; it is to rise to the state where we don’t need any rewards.

We want to receive the upper Light of correction that returns to the source, to the Creator, and to become fully equivalent to Him when we won’t have any personal desire left in us. It’s not that we pretend or don’t understand it because it manifests in us more and more, but we receive greater and greater strength to work against egoism from the upper Light.

In this case, we ascend 125 degrees to the level of the Creator. This is the implementation of the Kabbalistic method. Therefore, the main problem for those who don’t agree with advancement to the Creator in this world is the problem with the wisdom of Kabbalah.

It is necessary to do everything in order to reveal this wisdom to the wide circles of the Jewish people and the nations of the world. Baal HaSulam in the article “Messiah’s Shofar” writes that Kabbalah should be spread around the world even before the people of Israel begin to master it.

He calls to penetrate into it gradually, and then we will understand the need for it. After all, even Pharaoh understood what the realization of the method of correction of humanity is, and therefore he let the people of Israel out of Egypt. But it came to him with great difficulty, through heavy blows.

Therefore, obviously, now the opponents of Kabbalah dissemination will also receive big blows, and we must distribute it as widely as possible.

This is not an easy task with many challenges on our way.

Question: So, do you believe that the Kabbalists couldn’t confine themselves to the internal work alone?

Answer: No. During the exit from Egypt and also now, the “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) will persecute people departing from Egypt (from their egoism) and rising to the correction. This is the army that Pharaoh sends after the Jews. His soldiers think that they are protecting the sanctity of the Torah and so they, by all means, prevent the spreading of Kabbalah.

In fact, the mixed multitude is the most ardent opponent of the ascent of humanity to the level of the Creator.

Question: The mixed multitude wanted the people to stay in Egypt. So why didn’t these people stay there, but instead they followed the others when they started to exit Egypt?

Answer: No, they stayed at first. But when they saw that the people already approached the Red Sea (Yam Suf), they chased after them. Without them, the people wouldn’t have made the crossing because they were afraid to go further when they approached the Red Sea.

Here they were supposed to rise by faith above reason, to put themselves into the power of the Creator, to make the first inclusion into Him. And in this they received help precisely from their pursuers who came very close to them.

This is when Nachshon was manifested, the special force that pulled everyone after it. However, if it were not for the negative force of the mixed multitude, the people of Israel wouldn’t be able to make the crossing.

The most important contradiction between them is: is it necessary to fulfill the Torah not for one’s sake, not in order to receive some material privileges, but only for the sake of one’s neighbor without any reward? If they agree to this, they are obliged to break through the Red Sea, and the so-called mixed multitude helps them in it by sharpening the problem. Then the conquering of the method of elevation to the Creator starts.

Unfortunately, the mixed multitude follows them and constantly spoils their lives. All the problems come only from it. In particular in the desert it incites the people to make the golden calf.

This is the force that must be corrected gradually, understanding that everything is done only by the upper force, and we need to interact correctly with all the obstacles that it brings to us in order to direct us to the correct goal. Therefore, all the obstacles have a clear direction, showing us how to advance.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/14/16

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Why Isn’t The Wisdom Of Kabbalah Considered A Religion?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why isn’t the wisdom of Kabbalah considered a religion if it speaks about the upper force, about the Creator?

Answer: It is because the wisdom of Kabbalah explores and studies the upper force like a physicist who explores and studies the physical forces in our world. The wisdom of Kabbalah explores and studies the next layer of nature, the physical forces of the upper world.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/22/17

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Demons, Angels, And Miracles

Laitman_151Question: The Book of Zohar mentions demons, angels, and other miracles. It seems strange to me that Kabbalah is not mysticism. Would you explain what you mean by that?

Answer: The fact is that the Kabbalists used terms such as “satan,” “angel,” “demon,” and so on, to name physical forces of nature.

The positive and negative forces of nature are equivalent. Moreover, negative forces are in no way worse than positive forces, but in Hebrew, they are described in those terms, and therefore, Kabbalah uses them. It was written in Kabbalah 5,000 years ago when there was no Christianity nor Judaism.

The fact that people began to give the names of physical forces, forms, volumes, and add them to their lives as if placing them in our world is the imagination of a person; this is mysticism.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/22/17

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Are We Guarded From Above? Part 10

Dr. Michael LaitmanThroughout his entire life, a person cannot make a single action aimlessly, without any connection with the upper force. However, it is preferable that he or she acts only in order to resemble the upper force and to connect with it since thereby he approaches revelation.

Question: Why do I need the upper force? Why do I need to resemble it? In what way is it connected to my everyday life? I get up in the morning; I go to work; my concern is for my children to get to school safely and return home safely. I would like for everything to go well at work, for my boss to be in a good mood, and for my projects to go smoothly.

In the evening I return home and want to be greeted by a satisfied wife and happy children so that there is no stress or aggravation.

This daily routine repeats year after year, only with new problems, discernments, inventions, and losses. How does trying to resemble the upper force, which theoretically protects my life, fit into all this? What kind of connection, if any, does it have to a person’s life?

Answer: All your life you were following commands of the upper force without even being aware of who was controlling you. You just ran along the tracks of life like a toy train that is set in motion by a remote control. And it seemed to you that you did everything yourself.

The problem lies in the fact that the upper force is hidden from us. But if you begin to sense who is controlling you and for what purpose, and how you can participate in all the things that He is doing with you, then you will understand that you are not being aimlessly led around in circles like a toy train. Precisely by participating in these actions you will be able to attain the One who is controlling you and to see your entire life from His perspective.

And then in all that you do, you will attempt to establish contact with the Controller. A person must conduct this type of inner work each moment. That is, all that you do in life is only in order to reveal the upper force that directs you. You begin to sense how it behaves at each moment.

Question: A person senses his complete vulnerability in life, in not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Does a connection with the upper force give us a greater sense of security in tomorrow?

Answer: If a person is connected with the upper force, then he is not concerned at all about tomorrow, the main thing is to remain in contact, in adhesion with the Controller. What difference does it make where He is leading me? I am not concerned about the next moment, my only concern is to not lose contact with Him.

This provides such a protective shield in life that nothing else is required because you are connected to the upper mind. Connection with the upper force is like an insurance coverage for all situations in life from the biggest and most successful insurance company that includes all of existence. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah offers a person.

Question: But what if the person is not religious?

Answer: This has nothing to do with religion, only with a desire to attain the force that governs us.

Question: Where do we look for this upper force?

Answer: We need to look for it inside our own hearts with the help of the wisdom of Kabbalah. It’s not an easy task and it requires time. But ultimately, each will be able to “know your G-d and serve Him.”
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From KabTV’s “A New Life,” #818, 01/26/17

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Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How does a Mezuzah (doorpost) symbolize the spiritual force that protects the soul?

Answer: A Mezuzah has four components, which together represent the entire HaVaYaH: Yod-Key-Vav-Key, in other words, the upper system. A person, wishing to resemble the Creator, enters this system of complete HaVaYaH. It is then his home, the mother’s womb, in which he develops.

The system HaVaYaH symbolizes the loving attitude toward us from this upper force, the Creator. Attaining love of others, we resemble the Creator who loves His creation and unite with Him in a mutual embrace.

Question: If He loves me, why does the Creator not embrace me now?

Answer: Because you do not correspond to Him, you disregard Him, you are opposite to the upper force of the system, and therefore undesirable.

The Creator relates to everyone with love, but His goal is to bring everyone to attainment of the upper force, in order for all to know the Creator, to reveal Him and become equal to Him. In this way we stop being puppets without free will, not understanding anything in our own lives, and raise ourselves to a higher level, eternal and absolute.

Question: But what is the purpose of the commandment to put a Mezuzah in the doorway?

Answer: It has to remind us that there is the upper force on which we are dependent and we need to resemble it, behave as it does. As it is merciful, so we should to be merciful, as it is compassionate, so we should be compassionate. In the end, all is very simple.

Question: So the Mezuzah symbolizes the force of love and positive connection between us?

Answer: Just as any other commandment in the physical world, it directs us to the need to follow it spiritually, internally.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life,” #819, 01/26/2017

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