Entries in the 'Zohar' Category

A Compass On The Spiritual Path

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Book of Zohar, Chapter “Naso,” No. 93: When the Tree of Good and Evil rules, which is the purity of weekdays and the filth of weekdays, then these sages, who are compared to Sabbaths and holidays, have nothing more than the weekdays give them. As well as on Shabbat, there is no more than is corrected with its help on weekdays.

A man by himself, in his foundation, is just a point. He receives all his “body”/desire from the environment by means of the Light that Reforms. And this “body” is filled with the Light, the Creator that is revealed in it.

That is why Kabbalists write how, through desires/vessels/Kellim received from the environment, a person each time reveals the Creator. Everything what is written in The Zohar are the levels of revelation of the Creator in the desires that we get from the environment.

The Creator is revealed inside desires, within the environment, in the same place. The Zohar describes the degrees of this revelation both from the evil side and the good side, in opposite ways, because it is impossible to try something and feel its flavor if it is not salty, sweet, etc.

That is why The Zohar takes us through different experiences. But we know nothing, reveal nothing, except the Creator. The concept of the environment and specific details of perception disappear, and all this becomes more and more connected in “there is none else besides Him,” in one whole. In the end, we discover one desire/vessel, and inside it—the Creator. And nothing else.

That is why, if a person is yearning to the greatness of the Creator, to have only that in front of him, this directs him correctly.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/20/12, The Zohar 

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.21.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of RabashIgrot,” Letter 37

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 105, Lesson 7

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Rav Yehuda Ashlag “The Peace

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.20.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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“Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 96, Lesson 24

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 91, Lesson 6

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9, Item 3, Lesson 2

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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The Future Society Is Born Between Us

Dr. Michael LaitmanWhile reading The Book of Zohar we must remember that it is only about the connection between us. It all depends on the relationship between the friends, and in this relationship spirituality is revealed. The forms of the connection between us depict the picture of reality, since now too you see these forms of connection.

In any case, you perceive the world according to your Reshimot (reminiscences), and this is where the picture of the world that you imagine stems from. There is no world outside you; there is only what you imagine inside you.

Now you are among people in this world; you were born and developed in our time, but your worldview is also built by your being connected with the whole world. A boy left in the woods who has never seen human beings perceives the world according to the Reshimot in the form of a forest, animals, and other forms of nature since he doesn’t perceive his environment on the human level, but on lower levels, still, vegetative, animate nature.

You, however, perceive reality also on the level of speaking. But in the relations between all these parts of nature: the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking nature, you discover your reality.

All of reality, the whole world, is what is revealed between the shattered parts of the creation. This is why we say that the perception of reality is subjective. If I don’t exist, then there is no world and there is nothing to speak about; Baal HaSulam writes about this in the “Preface to The Book of Zohar.”

So if we want to reach more advanced forms of perception, we have to evoke more advanced forms of connection between us. No wonder that this is what the wisdom of Kabbalah requires: You should develop more advanced and complex connection with others and in them you will discover a higher reality, which is more advanced and more internal. Everything depends only on the levels of the connection.

Now comes the time when all the connections between us are destroyed and we actually see that, and the world obligates us to form new connections. The world doesn’t know yet what types of connection they should be. As we have already heard about it, we have to start fulfilling them. This is what awaits us. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah talks about: Leave all your imaginary dealings and start dealing with building the correct future society.

Then according to the connection between you, which you want to establish, you will receive help from above, from nature’s forces. The integral nature that is being revealed now will help you, it will influence you, and you will feel to what extent you are adapted to its general advancement, and you will succeed. We can say that nature is the Creator, but it doesn’t matter since it is about laws.

So where can you change anything in order to hasten your development? Now for the first time in history you can hasten the development of humanity. Before you were always dependent on forces that moved you forward. Internally new connections between people were revealed and new social structures appeared: instead of the tribe, there came along the era of slavery, and then the Middle Ages, then capitalism, and now we are advancing towards communism. These are the five social structures.

But what has advanced humanity? It was all about the changes in social structure, the new connection that appeared between people. But now, during the fifth and last era of our development, you cannot discover new connection naturally. You will discover them in a negative way, since you have to complete them. Here everything depends on your conscious advancement. You have to attain it, you have to adapt yourself to nature—this is the process we are in.

So we are actually creating a new social structure, hastening the process that all of humanity will have to go through. This is called being a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation,” setting an example and being the conductor. But we are building this in the group, between us, and it is all in the new connection.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/17/12, The Zohar

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.19.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 89, Lesson 23

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 78, Lesson 5

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9, Item 1

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Writings of Baal HaSulamThe Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.18.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 84, Lesson 22

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 65, Lesson 4

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 8, Question 148 “Answer Seder Siba uMesuvav,” Lesson 53

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Writings of Baal HaSulamThe Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.17.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 82, Lesson 21

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 53, Lesson 3

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 8, Question 148 “Answer Seder Siba uMesuvav,” Lesson 52

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The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.16.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 74, Lesson 20

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 25, Lesson 2

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 8, Question 148, Lesson51

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The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy

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Why Do We Have All These Difficulties?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why, according to the whole historical process, does the rescue come as a result of big pressure, at the most difficult moment, after a long time that we were preventing ourselves from hearing about it? For what purpose are all these difficulties?

Why is it required to reveal the Creator, the connection between us, in such torments and tension that we see ourselves at a dead end and only at the last moment, suddenly the answer is revealed? Why wouldn’t we all begin to occupy ourselves in the integral education, in the wisdom of Kabbalah, and walk comfortably toward the goal by having such a solution in hand?

Answer: You know yourself that our ego is working as “help against us.” And only under tremendous pressure do we agree to separate from it. And also this is not immediately, but only after many blows— the ten plagues of Egypt, in darkness, under terrible tension, and in haste—are we finally willing to escape from it. Otherwise, no.

And this is not because we are so weak, but because the ego is very strong. This ego helps us later to reveal the whole eternal spiritual world. Once we connect, we immediately begin to reveal and feel it. Right here in this life we reveal the upper world; about this it is said: “Your world you will see in your life.” I hope that we will reach it.

If we will now perceive all this pressure as force that is given to us precisely as help, then we will see that it works on our side. One needs only to receive it in understanding and we will succeed.
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From Weekly Torah Portion 12/4/12, The Zohar

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.14.12

Preparation to the Lesson

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Rabash – The Social WritingsCome Unto Pharaoh – 2” 

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The Book of ZoharSelected Excerpt, ParashatNaso,” Item 1, Lesson 1

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 1, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Chapter 1, Lesson 2

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The Peace,” “First Method: Nature,” Lesson 2

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