Entries in the 'Spiritual Work' Category

An Eternal Holiday Of Light

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Exodus” (Ki Tissa), 34:23-34:24: “Three times during the year shall all your male[s] appear directly before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel. When I draw out nations before you and I widen your border, no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord, your God, three times each year.”

A year is a certain level. Certain levels are divided into days, weeks (a week is not an astronomical concept but a spiritual one), months and beginning of months. For those who worked correctly with the Torah, these concepts were just as familiar as they are today.

It is about the three lines by which a person has to rise on each level. Every level is a year (stemming from the word to repeat in Hebrew: “Shana” from “Lishan,” to go over again and again, to ascend and to go back).

Therefore, in principle, all the holidays are repeated every year. When this world disappears from our feelings, all the levels will fold together and only one state will be revealed, the world of Infinity, and only one holiday will remain, which is called “one day,” a continuous Light.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/16/13

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Living Space

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe must imagine the spiritual world as an empty vacuum. On one side of this empty vacuum is the person, and on its other side is the Creator, and within this emptiness that separates us, we begin to build all kinds of connections, sections, and forms that connect us with the Creator.

We fill this space with our thoughts, desires, and intentions regarding the Creator with all kinds of observations about the force of desire: Shoresh (0), Aleph (1), Bet (2), Gimel (3), Dalet (4). This means that we construct different sections within this space, forms closer to the Creator, like an internal spiral, cubes, pyramids, and all kinds of geometric forms.

All of these forms are constructed from thought, our intention to reach the Creator in all kinds of ways since in every phenomenon four phases are found, all of the restrictions. In the meantime, we are not prepared to rise above them, so they create the form of HaVaYaH.

However, after we reach the completion of correction, all of these separate forms disappear in that they are connected into an integral form that fills this space with an infinite connection with the Creator, which is no longer in various separate forms but merged together into one whole.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/14, The Zohar

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“Awaken And Arise!”

Dr. Michael LaitmanFrom the book, Ohrot, by Rav Avraham Isaac HaCohen Kook: The structure of the world, which is at present crumbling at the feet of the terrible storms of the sword filled with blood, requires the building of the Israeli nation. The building of the nation and the revelation of its spirit is one thing, and it is completely united with the building of the world which is crumbling and awaits the full power of unity and elevation.

And all of this is found in the soul of the community of Israel. The spirit of the Creator fills it, the spirit fills it there, and it is impossible for the human spirit, which feels its soul pounding within, to be quiet at this great hour without calling upon all of the forces concealed within the nation: awaken and arise to your tasks. The voice of the Creator calls with power and we discern this from within our living soul and its movement. Israel is compelled to seek the source of its life, to stand here on the feet of its spiritual character.

All of the cultures in the world will be renewed through the renewal of our spirit, all the sciences will be straightened, all lives will be illuminated with the happiness of the new birth in our uprising, all faiths will be clothed in new clothes, removing their soiled garments and will dress in precious clothing that was prepared from yore for every nation and every person in the well of Israel. The blessing of Abraham to all nations of the earth will begin its activity with power and revelation and will begin according to its foundation, anew, among us in the Land of Israel. The present destruction is a preparation for a new revival….

During the exile of this idea, this method, it acted in a hidden way within the people of Israel. But beginning from the time of the Ari and onward, when the period of the exile was concluded, the method began to be revealed. Since the exile brought about mutual integration, today the most refined parts of the soul begin to be aroused everywhere.

So the correction is drawn from the lightest parts to the heavier and heaviest. Each one in whom the power to recognize and discover the Creator is awakened and whoever is ready to work towards this is called Israel (Yashar-Kel).

And together with this on the material plane, there is also a group called the people of Israel. Both on these and on those the obligation for correction has been imposed. If the Reshimo (reminiscence) of Yashar-Kel has not yet been revealed, then it’s impossible to demand anything from this person. He acts according to his desires: food, sex, family, money, power, knowledge. And those who feel the desire to discover the meaning of life try to realize their Reshimo in spiritual development above physical development, and they build this on the face of that urge.

There has been no example in history for our period of correction so we cannot take an example from anywhere. It’s unique in that people who have the Reshimo Yashar-Kel must realize the method of correction actively to build the complete Kli called the Third Temple.

In order to realize the building of the Kli, they must first correct the connection between them because the Kli is built from the unification of all of these Reshimot together. And together with this they must attract all the rest of the Kelim, the souls, beginning with the lightest Kelim to the heavier.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/18/14

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A Pressure Gauge That Helps Me To Rise

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In our group, we read the article “There is None Else Besides Him” every day, but it never is felt as deeply as I have felt it here. It is like cooking some dish without spices. Here, I felt this spice, this taste. What kind of spice can you give us so that we will feel it all the time, everywhere?

Answer: You will not believe me, but I always am watching to relate to a group not like my little pupils but like those who are higher than me. Outside, they don’t see this because I can yell at them too, but, internally, I always am careful with myself.

This is my barometer (pressure gauge), how much I feel them higher than me; I can rise only this way and it makes no difference how they behave. The Creator chose, brought, and gathered them, and it is enough for me to think that there is no one before me higher than they are.

There are Kabbalists who are no longer with us in this world. But I almost don’t feel anything besides my friends. If I could, I would use the opportunity to feel them and to be in contact with them, bringing my excitement, my relationship with them about the greatness of the Creator so that, together with them, I will reach discovery of the Creator, because all of this is found within them.

There is nothing else besides this holding on, this group we were given. Only through dissolving into it, magnifying it, can I approach the Creator who is found within it. We don’t need anything else besides a constant concern to relate to a group like this.
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From the World Zohar Week “Integral Education Convention” Day Three 2/4/14, Lesson 1

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Request And Demand

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You always say, “We have to ask, we should demand, and sometimes to do both ask and demand.” At what points should we ask and what should we demand?

Answer: This must come from the heart!

In general, the difference between a request and a demand is on two levels. When we work with the vessels of bestowal, meaning bestowal for the sake of bestowal, then we have a request, and when we work with the vessels of reception, meaning reception for the sake of bestowal, then we form a demand.

In other words, if we work with small egoistic desires, which only require clarification that don’t yet transform the ego into bestowal but only want to inhibit it, to transform it to Hassadim, this is only a request; and when we want to transform the ego into bestowal to work with Aviut ¾ (thickness), then we have a demand. This means that our request becomes a sharp and resolute demand.

In this way, the request or the demand depends upon the same Aviut (the thickness of the ego) with which you are working. If this ego is heavier, then you begin to demand that the Creator will correct it to the degree of its heaviness. However, if it is light and your desire is graded 0-2, then you’re just asking.

Question: However, people have different characteristics. How does one perceive?

Answer: This is not important. It doesn’t provide you with anything. Do you think that it is possible to think whether you are requesting or demanding, and how much and how? This is work in the heart!

You cannot monitor yourself with your intellect because the Creator is in the heart. First, the heart reacts with its degree of correction or destruction. Only after you feel your heart does awareness come to you.

So, it is pointless to carry out some kind of whim where you seemingly turn yourself this way or that. What? Are you going to play with the Creator?

Question: However, when a child asks me for something, my heart is softened and I give to him, and when he begins to demand, I refuse him.

Answer: This is not about that but about yearning for bestowal and love! If it is derived from small egoistic desires, then this is a request because I don’t need anything else, and if this is derived from heavy egoistic desires, then this request becomes a demand.
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From the World Zohar Week “Integral Education Convention” Day Three 2/4/14, Lesson 1

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Wisdom Should Not Be Sold On The Market

Dr. Michael LaitmanScience began to develop after the external sages received knowledge and wisdom from Kabbalists back in the days of the prophets, as Plato and Aristotle admit. They warned of the dangers of passing this wisdom on to students who were drawn not only to pure science but also to corporeal passions.

The desire for wisdom is considered spiritual in our world since a person wishes to know, understand, and attain phenomena that are above him, which are an objective part of nature, independent of his body, which have no practical benefit. If this is the case, he is allowed to study science and it can be revealed to him.

But if a person has other goals besides knowing the secrets of nature and his intentions are impure, this knowledge shouldn’t be revealed to him. After all, besides science, he wants more money, fame, and honor. And then he would sell this science; that is, he would begin to use it to achieve corporeal goals, and thus would destroy the whole world.

As long as we didn’t have science, the greatest harm we could cause each other, was to beat each other with sticks. How hard can a person beat another? But today one bomb can kill millions of people. In ancient times not many lives were lost on both sides in a battle compared to what wars can cause today when we use powerful weapons of mass destruction, poisonous gases, and weapons that affect the climate and can cause earthquakes.

Thus we see that we shouldn’t open the wisdom to people who are attracted to values other than pure science. Unfortunately, the wisdom has been revealed and all of today’s sages are controlled by the rich and by politicians who tell them what to do. Scientists are forced to seek grants, funds, and support in different ways in order to carry on with their studies. The studies themselves bring them money, but it’s only beneficial for those who want to kill, poison, and dominate others like they were slaves. This is what today’s science is like.

However, the prohibition to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah is hard to understand. How can it be harmful if there is a barrier to the spiritual world? If your intention is pure, you will go through it and reach the level where you feel the spiritual forces and desires and begin to use them for the benefit of others and through them for the benefit of the Creator. You discover and feel it; it is your world.

But if you have no intention to bestow, you cannot bestow upon the spiritual world, not upon others and not upon the Creator, and you cannot harm others, so why is it forbidden to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah? It would seem that it could be opened for everyone! But the wisdom of Kabbalah has been concealed for ages until the time of the Ari. Baal HaSulam says that the fact that The Book of Zohar was revealed before its time by the widow of Rabbi Moshe DeLeon is a great flaw. But there is an account from Heaven with regard to it.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/10/14

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I Need The Whole World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Does the hastening of the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun) depend upon our connection or that of the whole world?

Answer: Everything only depends on the connection between us; this is enough. And from this connection we feel the necessity for all the rest of the steps.

The main thing is the connection between us, and if we reach some stage, then suddenly we will discover that we need to connect yet another part otherwise we cannot go forward. We require additional forces, densities, and troubles in order to move forward.

So you clarify that you need more and more until you understand that you need the whole world, that it’s entirely mine. As it is said: “The whole world is meant for my use”; that is, to transmit to me all of their problems, troubles, and desires so that I will correct them. “And I am meant for the use of the one who possesses me” because I take all of their desires and rise up to the Creator. It is only this that He needs.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/10/14

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In A Fortified Ring Of Concealment

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What should I do with regard to all the forms of concealment, all the problems in life that surround me on all sides and which are revealed more and more each day?

Answer: This state will only keep on growing until you feel such hatred for this concealment that you will simply burst and wish for one thing only: that the concealment should disappear. You should discover all the hatred in order to feel what hate is and what form it has.

Then you move on to the next state in which you leave this hatred and it seems to cool down and disappears. You begin to develop your attitude towards the Creator, and then you feel an obstacle that disturbs you from bestowing upon Him. This interference should also be as hateful as the hatred you felt towards your problems before. It is very important.

Question: What stops me from reaching total despair and an outcry? There is something that gives me the power to survive, to hide from the thoughts that bring the burning hatred that you are describing.

Answer: On one hand you are not allowed to leave and on the other hand you are not allowed to break in. It is because you still need to grow. There are more actions that you have to perform.
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From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/17/14

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Every Candle Strengthens The Light of The Flame

Dr. Michael LaitmanDegel Machane Efraim, “BeShalach” (written more than two centuries ago by Rabbi Moshe Haim Efraim from Sudilkov, by the student and grandson of Baal Shem Tov)

God’s servant should be incorporated in all the created beings, and so he has to connect to all the souls and to be incorporated in them and they should be incorporated in him. So you should leave yourself only what is needed for the connection of the Shechina (Divinity).

In order to do so, there should be a multitude of people who are connected, as it is written: “Connection of the righteous is good for them and good for the world.” Since the Light of the Shechina (Divinity) will be revealed more if there is a multitude of people who serve the Creator.

According to the sages, “the righteous are the same before the Shechina (Divinity), like a candle before a flame,” so according to the multitude of candles, the Light of the flame will grow since it is the Shechina (Divinity). Therefore one should be incorporated in all the people and in all the created beings, and they should all ascend to their root in order to correct the Shechina (Divinity).

The correction is actually in having more and more people who have learned just a little and who join the same great connection, called the Holy Divinity, in which the Creator can reveal Himself to the created beings. Therefore it is said: “The King’s glory is in the multitude,” and a force that is strong in quantity should appear, just like in previous generations a force that was strong in quality appeared and was operated by great Kabbalists.

They were on a very high spiritual level, but they were few as they had to draw and to convey the Light that reforms from Above down to our generation. We receive it through them, but the manner of correction in our times is totally different. If we want to reach at least the beginning of correction, we have to connect all the candles, and thus reach the Light that can illuminate in our vessels.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/19/14, Conversation about Importance of Dissemination

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Taking Pride In Our Mission

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If each of us had a measuring tool, we could measure where we are. How can I know if I am doing everything the right way?

Answer: If you had such a measuring tool, you wouldn’t need to correct anything. I have to constantly think how to do the right thing every moment along the spiritual path, what the Reshimot (reminiscences) Yahsar El (straight to the Creator) that I have received demand from me. Then I have to refine myself and to sharpen my sensitivity, my accuracy, in order to find out what the Creator wants of me and how I can fulfill it in the group, in dissemination, with myself, in the study, in the connection with the friends, the teacher, etc.

I constantly clarify things. This is the work we have to do. If I received everything readymade I would be a total righteous, an angel. It is actually by the difficult clarification in which I have to ask for the Creator’s help every step of the way in order to correct myself, that I reach connection with Him. Otherwise I wouldn’t reach that. I have to exert myself to a certain degree since the exertion is my vessel. Only by the exertion do I begin to differentiate between things that are concealed from me now.

We are born into this world with an instinct and a desire to develop, and so little children run around all the time doing something and thus develop. If we behaved like children with regard to the spiritual goal we would advance very quickly.

All we have to do is to exert ourselves. This exertion has to be right and not where our ego is dragging us to. We need a group so that the pride in the goal, the pride in belonging to it, and the pride in the mission that I have received from Above has to be greater than my self-love. This is what a person should develop. This is the key formula that is fulfilled only in the group, it is like team spirit, pride in the unit.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/18/14

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