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Entries in the 'Baal HaSulam' Category

You Are More Useful to the World As a Kabbalah Student

Posted on July 28th, 2008

Questions I received on making life choices, understanding Baal HaSulam’s Letters, and preparing for the future

Question: I have a problem on my hands: I’ve been studying Kabbalah for two years and now I’m supposed to go to the army for a year. I can get out of it by paying money (without violating the law!), which will also take about a year of work. If I go to the army, then I won’t be able to watch lessons or disseminate Kabbalah, but if I work for a year, then I’ll have time to disseminate and go to lessons. What’s better?

My Answer: If you will be working as you’re supposed to, studying Kabbalah, and working on inner correction and dissemination, then you will be more useful to the world as a Kabbalah student. So if it’s legal, choose this route.

Question: In reference to Baal HaSulam’s Letters (Igrot) that are included in the kabbalah.info Library section, to whom was Rav Ashlag addressing them?

My Answer: To you! Even though these letters contain some personal answers and comments, mainly they talk about things that are experienced by every person who’s going toward the Creator.

Question: You have disseminated Kabbalah to thousands of people, and I’m one of them. (Thank you. I’m an example of the benefit that comes from dissemination work, which unfortunately I don’t do yet.) I’d like to know: Are you preparing someone to be your successor, to continue the lineage of the wisdom? Or is there no need for a leader in the new era of Kabbalah’s revelation?

My Answer: The leader will be the group that is now learning to resolve the management issues. They are growing right beside me – and you are one of them. Every person who learns the wisdom of Kabbalah at least to some degree, will have to serve others, in order to help them learn and actualize the degrees of man’s transformation until the level of the Creator. This work of attaining equivalence to the Creator has already begun, and the leaders of the new spiritual upbringing of the common worldwide civilization will be determined from above.

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Attaining Correction With Less Bloodshed

Posted on July 27th, 2008

Questions I received on possible dangers of disseminating Kabbalah

Question: Is there a danger that widespread Kabbalah dissemination will lead to another catastrophe for Israel, because Israel will be the source of Kabbalistic knowledge?

My Answer: No catastrophe was ever caused by Kabbalistic knowledge, but just the other way around: the catastrophes were caused by a lack of Kabbalistic knowledge – including the last one, the Holocaust. They took place because people didn’t want to introduce the study of Kabbalah when it was already time to reveal it, when the period of darkness and exile (from spirituality) ended. Kabbalists prohibited the study of Kabbalah only during the period of the exile.

Question: Are you sure that the time for revealing Kabbalah has really come?

My Answer: The only thing that I’m sure of is that great Kabbalists like Baal HaSulam, Rav Kook, and others know the design of the world better than all the “blind” non-Kabbalists who try to object to them. The great Kabbalists know the Creator’s desire, and I am just a small student of theirs, carrying out their decree.

Besides, you should know that our words don’t change anything, and the world will keep following its path regardless. All of Kabbalah’s opponents will disappear, and real Kabbalists and their students will remain. The only reason for struggling against Kabbalah’s enemies is in order to attain correction faster and with less bloodshed.

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The Path Is Available to Everyone

Posted on July 26th, 2008

The Path Is Available to Everyone Two questions I received on why people sometimes stray from the right path and what to do when it happens to you

Question: Why do people sometimes drop out of the group? Do they leave on their own, or does the group somehow influence them to make them leave?

My Answer: One’s only freedom is to participate in the group. If one does this, then he advances toward the Creator, and if he doesn’t – then he leaves the group. However, it’s also possible that a person isn’t given the freedom to participate in the group, but rather, he simply exists in it. Our archive contains many talks on this topic. In the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot,” items 3 and 4, Baal HaSulam writes that the Creator brings a person to the group and teacher, and his freedom of will then lies in strengthening his connection with them. But if a person’s desire for the purpose of life isn’t ripe yet, then he leaves or “wanders away” from the group.

Question: Dear Rav, suppose that a student was in the group, he really advanced and understood the inner part of the study, and raised a MAN, but then he fell into the state, “His wisdom exceeded his actions.” Can he still regain the property of “faith above reason” and the skills needed for spiritual work, get back on the path, and cross the Machsom?

My Answer: Don’t despair – the path is available to everyone. This student should continue advancing from the state he is in, but he should advance toward the goal honestly, rather than through deceit. (You got it!?)

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How To Read The Torah

Posted on July 26th, 2008

Here is some guidance on how to read the Torah chapter summaries posted on this blog:

The Torah lays out the foundation of the theory and practice of attaining spiritual life. Neither Adam nor Abraham received the full method of attaining the Creator; only Moses did. All other texts are commentaries, that is, other ways of describing the attainment of the Creator or descriptions of partial attainment of Him.

Torah comes from the words Ohr – Light, and Ora’a – instructions. It is written in the Language of Branches, which names spiritual forces by the things they produce in our world. So even though we think that it’s describing our world, it’s actually describing spiritual forces, since in the spiritual world there are only forces without matter.

Why do we need these descriptions of the Upper World?

1. So that by reading them, we will evoke the influence of the Correcting Light (Ohr Makif) on us.

2. So that after we correct ourselves by the Light, we will then be filled by It to the degree we’re corrected.

If it weren’t for this method, we would remain on the animate level of existence forever. We wouldn’t be able to reach the level of eternity, perfection, and equivalence to the Creator.

The Language of Branches (which describes the Upper Forces with the help of their results or branches) has four modifications, or in other words, there are four languages of branches:

1. The language of Tanach – historical narration, like the one used in the Torah chapter summaries posted on this blog;

2. The language of Halacha – laws;

3. The language of Hagadot – legends;

4. The language of Kabbalah – this language is closest to the spiritual roots and the most precise of all the languages. For more on this, See Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah.”

My suggestion: As you read the Torah, start imagining that it’s talking about egoism, the desire that has to be corrected, so that instead of being used for the sake of oneself, it will be used for the benefit of one’s neighbor (or the Creator, which is the same thing); and this correction happens gradually, in parts. Everything divides into the force of bestowal (the Creator) and the force of reception (the creation). The part of creation that’s corrected or undergoing correction is called Israel (Isra-El – straight to the Creator). It also has parts called people, rulers, slaves (of desires), overseers (of correction), Levites, Kohens, and so on. Check yourself to see how much you’re able to discern actions of forces that govern our world behind the “theatrical” scenes you read.

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Correction Lies In Unity

Posted on July 23rd, 2008

A question I received: It’s a known fact that Rabash never spoke about unification and unity, but only used terms like “above reason,” “Creator,” and so on. So how did you come to understand the meaning behind his words? Did he relate it to you in private conversations? If yes, then what were the other students doing there? Why do people have to spend years studying terminology that doesn’t appear in their lives?

My Answer: Beginning with Kabbalah’s revelation 5768 years ago, the only principle of correction is the unification of all our broken, separated souls (parts of one soul) into one soul (the only creation that was created), just as they were united before the breaking. Correction lies in unity.

The same condition of “mutual guarantee” (Arvut) was given to the people at the time of the reception of the Torah (the method of unification), at the time of the Creator’s revelation. He becomes revealed inside this union, to the extent of it.

Were you sitting with Rabash instead of us? Have you read Baal HaSulam’s articles “The Revelation of Godliness,” “The Arvut,” “The Peace,” his letters to students about the need to unite, and Rabash’s articles on the group? I recommend reading them! It’s because unification is the only action required of us. I don’t know what you may have heard from others, but I do know what is written!

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Let Others Mature On Their Own

Posted on July 21st, 2008

Let Others Mature On Their Own A question I received: I have been watching your lessons over the Internet for about six months now. My brother, who is in the process of becoming religious, has also been studying your books a little, but in addition he studies the Mishnah by Rabbi Nachman, and a Jewish interpretation of yoga taught at Ohr Aganuz once a week. We have interesting and deep conversations, but it’s difficult for me to accept some things he says which aren’t related to what you teach. Would you advise me to be more open to the teachings of Likutei Mocharan, Breslov pamphlets, and the materials studied at Ohr Aganuz? And what advice can I give to my brother?

My Answer: My advice to you is: Don’t study at Ohr Aganuz, don’t teach your brother, and don’t talk to him about your studies, as if you don’t study Kabbalah at all. The two of you are on absolutely opposite paths – he’s on the path of Chassidut, and you’re on the path of Kabbalah. Don’t get in each other’s way.

You should let him mature on his own. Soon he will feel that yoga doesn’t supplement the attainment of the Creator, and that the only thing worth studying are the works of Baal HaSulam (provided they are interpreted correctly, according to my lessons).

What’s important isn’t the books you study, but how you study them. All the great sages wrote from their spiritual attainment. They all lived in the attainment of the Upper World, the Creator, and wrote only about this. So you’re both reading holy books. But they are holy because they speak of holiness – the property of bestowal and love that’s beyond one’s self. The purpose of studying these books is to reveal these properties within you, or in other words, to reveal the Creator.

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Only the Upper Light’s Influence Can Give You the Importance of the Group

Posted on July 20th, 2008

Two questions I received on virtual groups

Question: I’m starting to feel kind of a pull towards “groups,” though I don’t know what groups or why. I’ve always been an outsider and an “independent” loner. I just want information about virtual groups: What do they do? How can I join one?

The understanding of the group’s importance comes from the influence of the Upper Light (Ohr Makif) on you. In the beginning a person doesn’t understand that the only way to enter the common soul is by connecting with others. He doesn’t understand that there is no other path to the spiritual world, to his soul. So without the influence of the Light, you wouldn’t have begun feeling a desire for the group. And the fact that you feel it is an enormous achievement! However, mostly it didn’t come from you, but from above. As Baal HaSulam writes, the Creator brings a person to the group and thus makes the choice for him, and the person’s choice lies in reinforcing himself in the group – in that which the Creator put his hand upon. Now you have to use it and develop it – it won’t happen by itself.

Later the Creator will push you away from the group and you will suddenly start scorning it, yet you will think that this feeling is coming from you rather than being sent to you by the Creator on purpose, and so on. And you will need to fight this feeling by increasing the importance of the group, of unity, of Shechina (the place of the Creator’s revelation).

Question: Recently you mentioned that groups outside of Bnei Baruch lack the presence of a Rav who would represent the Creator, the force of bestowal. In this case, how will a virtual group work, since it also lacks leadership by a Rav?

My Answer: I am fully present in the virtual group. I am their teacher and every person is my student, if he desires to be and learns what I pass to him. Everything depends only on one’s desire.

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Freedom of Will Lies in Acceleration

Posted on July 18th, 2008

Freedom of Will Lies in Acceleration Questions I received on accelerating one’s spiritual path and realizing one’s Reshimo

Question: What’s the purpose of us participating in acceleration?

My Answer: By accelerating, we change ourselves, and this is the result we need, rather than the acceleration itself. And we can only attain this result by accelerating our movement through applying our personal, free desire, which we acquired through interacting with others.

Question: How can there be freedom of will in acceleration?

My Answer: It exists due to the freedom of will one has in interacting with others and in receiving additional desires and aspirations toward the goal from them. One’s freedom of will lies in using the environment.

Question: There is no time, but even if time did exist, the Creator and the goal of creation wouldn’t be limited by the parameters of time, right?

My Answer: Yes, and we have to enter this timeless space of sensations precisely by using our freedom of will.

Question: It’s a blessing to go through 1,000 states in two minutes. But what about going through 1,000 states in a day – is this worse? I know that there are Reshimot, which are predetermined, but does the speed of their unraveling depend on the power of the Surrounding Light’s (Ohr Makif‘s) influence?

My Answer: Yes, it only depends on this. Of course, even without it we would still be forced to develop our aspiration for the goal through the group, but by means of suffering and a lengthy path. But we can also go through this development quickly and with pleasure, by realizing that it’s necessary, with the help of the forces that we receive from the environment instead of the compulsory forces, as Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Freedom.”

Question: Does the way a person realize his Reshimo depend on the environment he’s in?

My Answer: It depends on how he uses his environment. If a person finds out about the opportunity to advance through freedom of will, this means that the proper environment for doing so has been prepared for him as well: a teacher, books, and the group.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Conscious Acceleration Toward Life’s Purpose
Laitman.com Post: Klipot and Reshimot (Advanced)
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah on Evolution
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Teaches Us How to Be Free

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How Do You Explain Suicide?

Posted on July 17th, 2008

A question I received: If the Creator is good and does good, there is a plan of creation, and everything is predetermined, then how do you explain suicide? What kind of correction should a soul perform in a body, if we don’t have freedom of choice and one’s suicide was predetermined in advance, from the root, since we are controlled by our root?

My Answer: Everything that has already happened was the Creator’s will. But as long as it hasn’t happened yet, it is up to a person. There is freedom of choice, otherwise we would be robots and there would be nothing to discuss – we would just have to exist! You have to understand the connection between the general governance and the private governance, HaVaYaH and Elokim. For more on this, see Baal HaSulam’s Letter from p. 61 – “If I Don’t Do It for Myself, Who Will Help Me?”

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Religion and Kabbalah Are Opposite

Posted on July 14th, 2008

A question I received: Why did Rabash and Baal HaSulam insist on physically observing the Mitzvot, and moreover, they did so scrupulously, not omitting even the point of the letter Yod?

My Answer: It’s because they lived exclusively in a religious environment, and back then it wasn’t yet realistic or necessary to disseminate Kabbalah among the secular public and around the world in general. They had absolutely no contact or connections with secular people. Nevertheless, in the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” “Messiah’s Horn” and other texts, Baal HaSulam writes that it’s necessary to disseminate Kabbalah among all the nations of the world. Moreover, Baal HaSulam writes that a person can only begin studying Kabbalah after he becomes secular (even if he does it secretly, on the inside). As long as he is religious inside, religion binds him and he won’t be able to understand Kabbalah. It’s because these two worldviews are opposite to one another.

In the religious worldview, you believe something that you were told about God, and you blindly follow the instructions you learned from others. You fanatically limit yourself with your mind’s attempts to understand who you are, what you are living for, and where you are. The less you ask and the more you do – the holier you consider yourself to be. And forget about “love for thy neighbor” – you are above all those vile atheists, you are chosen by the Creator. You overflow with pride, and feel that everyone is indebted to you for your holy lifestyle.

On the path of Kabbalah, however, you don’t believe anyone else, and using your own efforts, heart and mind, you reveal Nature or the Creator for yourself. You pull yourself up towards Him, penetrate into His governance, and start to understand Him. And you do all this by correcting your egoism, according to the Torah’s appeal, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” You step out of yourself toward your neighbor, and thereby attain the Creator.

Moreover, Baal HaSulam writes that according to the instructions in The Book of Zohar, you have to disseminate Kabbalah to all the nations of the world! (See his articles “The Revelation of Godliness,” “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” and “The Peace.“)

On this path, the most important thing is you and your decision. So let the critics who favor religion attend to their own business – they need to, since it’s slipping out of their greedy and envious hands. It’s not that I’m against religion, but I am against the egoistic use of it!

Related Material:

Laitman.com Post: Cain and Abel are Within Us
Laitman.com Post: The Bible – History or Science?
Kabbalah Today Article: Permission to Reveal
Kabbalah Today Article: Kabbalah Explains the Bible

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Entries in the 'Baal HaSulam' Category

You Are More Useful to the World As a Kabbalah Student

Attaining Correction With Less Bloodshed

The Path Is Available to Everyone

How To Read The Torah

Correction Lies In Unity

Let Others Mature On Their Own

Only the Upper Light’s Influence Can Give You the Importance of the Group

Freedom of Will Lies in Acceleration

How Do You Explain Suicide?

Religion and Kabbalah Are Opposite

KABU - THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING

ENTER THE ZOHAR

KABBALAH SOURCE MATERIALS

Kabbalah Beginner Materials

MY PROFILE

Michael Laitman

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Entries in the 'Baal HaSulam' Category

KABU - THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING

ENTER THE ZOHAR

KABBALAH SOURCE MATERIALS

Kabbalah Beginner Materials