Indeed, you should know that the reason for our great distance from the Creator, and that we are so prone to transgress His will, is for but one reason which became the source of all the torment and suffering we suffer, and for all the sins and the mistakes that we fail in. Clearly, by removing that reason, we will instantly be rid of any sorrow or pain. We will immediately be granted adhesion with Him in heart, soul, and might. And I tell you that preliminary reason is none other than “our lack of understanding of His guidance over His creations,” that we do not understand Him properly (Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot“).
We have a big problem with correct definitions. The style of Kabbalistic texts sometimes seems so religious that it pulls us far from reality and from the proper perspective from which we should relate to ourselves and the world as a certain order of forces and systems with their characteristic interrelations, vectors, numerical indicators, and measurement data.
We are used to such a specific approach; therefore, centuries-old terms need modern, clear definitions so we do not make mistakes or get confused by our assumptions.
That is why Baal HaSulam writes that the reason for our distance from the Creator is that we do not understand Him. This misunderstanding primarily relates to the definition of terms.
“The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot” is the most important of all introductions by Baal HaSulam. It precedes his main work, showing us what kind of system of interrelation we are in, what happens between us, and how we connect with each other and with the whole of reality. We step out of ourselves into the space between us, where a force pushes people apart. By beginning to overcome this force, we form a different field, not a field of rejection, but a field of convergence – distance.
Now there is negativity, rejection (“–”) between us; it is a field in which we all reject each other. Everyone is ready to feel only themselves, and this state is called “this world.” If we step outside ourselves and begin to feel what is between us, this state is called the “upper world.”
Rejection between us is a “crime”: as Baal HaSulam writes, we transgress the Creator’s will. The desire for unity between us is called a “commandment” (+). The transition from transgression to commandment is a “correction.” The effort that I make to move from crime to commandment, from my egoism, from receiving to giving, is called an “effort.”
I can measure all these forces: how much I wanted to receive, how much I overcame, how much I turned myself from receiving to giving, how much strength I exerted, how much effort I invested, to what extent I previously felt my egoistic desire and in it this world, to what extent I now come out of myself and begin to feel the upper, spiritual world in the outer direction, and with what strength, at what level. All this can be measured.
This is what the science of Kabbalah deals with, the physics of human desires. Of course, you and I cannot yet conduct such measurements in practice, as we have not yet mastered the relevant forces. But in general, you can work with all these parameters in a real way, actually verifying our relationship: how much I give you and how much I receive from you. To do this, we need to rise above our nature and take an objective position outside it (beyond receiving, beyond bestowing, beyond everything), check from the outside, and observe and measure what is happening.
The ability to do so is called “restriction,” which lets us simply disconnect from our nature. We may not be able to fully break out of it, but we can ensure it does not rule over us. This is called “breaking free” from it. After that, we can truly measure all the parameters.
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From Kabbalah Lesson before the Toronto Congress, 9/16/11
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Defining The Terms Is Key To The Study Of Kabbalah
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Question: If the soul is the quality of bestowal and love, then what does all these pieces of knowledge about the nature of the system of the spiritual worlds have to do with it? Are they conditions for the existence of the quality of bestowal?
