A question I received: Wasn’t it proved that the books of Joseph Flavius are false? A lot has been written about this.

My Answer: I don’t believe anything or anyone. Every researcher is first and foremost an egoist, wanting to “discover” something in order to get famous and to prove that he’s worth something, at least to himself! I wouldn’t base my life on any sources except authentic Kabbalistic ones. So it doesn’t really matter whether they are correct. All the books, other than those written from the attainment of the Upper Worlds, might as well disappear. What do we need them for? The only use we have for them is to verify, through the path of suffering, that the only science is the attainment of the Upper Governing Force.

I understand that my words might be confusing, but any act one makes that isn’t aimed at the root of one’s soul, even the most beautiful and aesthetic act, made “with the best intentions” etc., only causes suffering in the world. And even with books written from the attainment of the Upper Worlds – we still need to select those that lead us to the goal in the shortest and most direct way. Read Kabbalists’ advice about this (below).

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Baal HaSulam Article: Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot

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A question I received: Sometimes you can’t hear the lesson! That is, you’re listening to it, but you don’t hear it! Sometimes you sleep through it… And sometimes it seems that you understand every word, and it’s simply a revelation!

What determines one’s sensations at the lesson? Is it the lesson itself, the people who are present at the lesson, the person, the material being studied, or something else?

What can I do to hear the lesson like I did the first time, when I couldn’t hold back the tears?

My Answer: I understand you. This happens to everyone. It’s because the Creator only gives a person the initial desire for the spiritual goal: He awakens one’s point in the heart. And He brings a person to the source (a book, a teacher, a group, the Internet), and no more than this. And it’s up to a person to continue developing this desire he received from above, to develop it to the size of the World of Infinity.

This is impossible to do unless you study Kabbalah in the correct environment. (See item 155 of Baal HaSulam’s “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot,” and also his article “The Freedom.”) Otherwise you will spend many years eating yourself up.

In addition, it’s very important to prepare for the lesson. The preparation begins before going to sleep. You should fall asleep with a Kabbalistic book in your hand. Wake up half an hour before the lesson and attune yourself to the lesson. If you don’t attune yourself, the lesson will be ineffective.

You should go through this period more energetically: from the point to the Machsom. Good luck!

Related Material:

Preparing for the Lesson

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Two questions I received on the subject of faith above reason

Question: A person who studies Kabbalah works in faith above reason before the Machsom (barrier). How does this notion change for this person after he acquires the screen? And does he even need it once he starts perceiving the Creator?

My Answer: It’s only after the Machsom that a person is able to work in faith above reason. Before the Machsom he only aspires toward it, but he can’t act in such a way yet. It’s because faith is the property of bestowal that one acquires above the Machsom, above egoism (knowledge, reception). “Faith above reason” = “bestowal above reception.”

Question: When a person attains a certain spiritual level and he desires to rise even higher, to even greater equivalence of form with the property of bestowal, and when he is on the path of faith above reason, does he use the previous level in his actions, or does he refuse to use it as well?

My Answer: He already considers the previous level as completed and egoistic compared to the next level. And this happens every time. The Upper Level is called “the Creator,” and it changes every time. Today, a person attains the Creator of yesterday, and acquires a new Creator, whom he will attain tomorrow.
[1474]
Related Material:
Chapter 1.10 in the Book The Path of Kabbalah: Faith Above Reason
Chapter 5 in the Book Attaining the Worlds Beyond: The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah

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And I prayed to G-d: Lord! Let me cross Jordan, and I shall see this good land! But G-d became angry with me because of you and said: Do not speak to Me of this anymore! Rise to the summit, look west, north, south and east, for you shall not cross Jordan! And give an order to Joshua, and strengthen him, for he shall become the head of the nation and he shall conquer for them the land that you will see.

And now, Israel, hear the rulings and laws that I teach you to observe, in order that you will live, and come, and take possession of the land that G-d, the Almighty of your fathers, is giving you! Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, in order to observe the commandments of your G-d.

Just protect your soul, so you won’t forget what your eyes have seen, and so it won’t leave your heart for the rest of your days, and tell of them to your sons and to the sons of your sons: Of the day when you stood before G-d at Chorev. [Read more →]

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Three questions I received on the notions of nationality and Israel

Question: If a person is physically born a Jew, does it mean that he will always reincarnate as a Jew?

My Answer: Yes, because his soul came from Babylon and took the path of correction, then ascended to the level of complete personal correction during the times of the Temple, and then fell from that level to the state of all the souls in this world, in order to spend 2,000 years together with them (and even worse off than them), while being in exile from spiritual life. Precisely this soul must ascend and help everyone else do the same – help all the souls attain the full correction.

Question: If the answer is yes, then is it because the nation of Israel was chosen to carry the plan of the Creator, and this would mean that all the other people will also continue being born with the same nationalities that they started with?

My Answer: Yes. However, we don’t know about the other ten tribes, where they are and who they are today. It’s possible that today they are several billion people – those who were on the spiritual level and fell from it during the times of the First Temple. We learn about this fall and its correction from the breaking of two Partzufim, DACHGAT and NHY, in the World of Nekudim, their common fall and then their common correction. See parts 6 and 7 of Talmud Eser Sefirot.

Question: What if a person converts to Judaism and works very hard trying to attain the Creator? Does he also become a part of the nation of Israel (physically and spiritually)?

My Answer: There is no such nation. These people are ancient Babylonians who began correcting themselves back then. The others, who continued developing egoistically, went on to develop from the 70 forces of Zeir Anpin of the World of Atzilut, and this is why they are called “nations” – and each one has its own form of egoism.

The former are called “Hebrews,” which comes from the word Ever, meaning “across” (across the Machsom), “Jids” – because they await the correction or the Mashiach, and Yehudi (Jew), which comes from the word Yehud, meaning union (with the Creator). This is what set them apart from their brothers, the other Babylonians. So one doesn’t just “convert to Judaism,” the way we see it in our world, but rather spiritual Judaism is when one corrects oneself to the level of the Creator, one attains the Creator through studying Kabbalah. Just like in ancient times, those who are the “nation of Israel” today are those who separated from the other Babylonians by starting to correct their egoism.

You should see the world as that same Babylonian civilization, a part of which temporarily corrected itself, and today everyone must become corrected and become like the Creator. There is no such thing as corporeal Judaism, just like there are no religions, faiths, and so on. All of these things are incorrectly, egoistically understood Kabbalah. Where did people even get such notions, even if they’re mistaken? They came up with them either because their soul hinted at them from within, or from the fall of Kabbalah to the egoistic level. Who were the ancient nations? They were pagans or believers like Romans and Greeks. Everything else came from the spiritual fall, in order to accelerate the development of the Babylonians and bring them to the necessity to become equal to the Creator.

Related Material:
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Kabbalah Today Article: Happy New Year
Chapter 18 from the eBook The Open Book: Introduction to the Zohar, Who Is to Blame?

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A question I received: In an interview you gave about men and women, you said that a woman’s soul has male components and a man’s soul has female components. Considering this and the law of “love thy neighbor as thyself,” how can you say that a woman will consent to her partner – a man – having many other women, and that she will be happy with this situation? This is illogical. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, but I feel that I can easily put myself into a man’s shoes, and I know that if I were a man, I wouldn’t have other partners just like I don’t have them now, being a woman, because this would harm the soul of another person.

My Answer: Male and female properties are incorporated in each other from the beginning, back in the root of creation. This incorporation exists because the property “to receive” cannot exist without including the property “to bestow” – the desire (Kli) cannot exist without the Light (pleasure), which creates and nourishes it, and determines its existence. On the other hand, even though the property of bestowal and Light seems to exist before the creation of desire, in any case, this is just our hypothetical way of describing it, because there is no pleasure without desire, no Light without a vessel. The abstract form only appears after the form embodied in matter manifests, and we can then visualize the form as existing without matter.

In ancient civilizations, polygamy was a normal occurrence, and acquiring a woman for money, through a contract with her father, was always popular, and this took place among ancient Jews as well. The Talmud says that a woman is acquired for money or through coitus. She is acquired, purchased. As you see, it doesn’t speak anywhere about love! Polygamy is manifested at the basis of the nature of the human society. You aren’t being objective about this because you’re a prisoner of the European culture you’re living in.

Related Material:
Chapter 8 from the eBook Interview with the Future: The Freedom to Choose
Chapter 10 from the eBook Interview with the Future: The Right Environment

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A question I received: Why is He concealed? Sometimes this game of “hide and seek” brings me to despair… I’m trying with all my strength to advance toward the quality of bestowal and the revelation of the Creator, but my earthly life really interferes and makes me curse a lot. How can I accept the fact that everything that’s coming from above helps me get closer to the Creator, if He keeps sending me endless blows? I know that He’s doing this out of love, but it pushes me away instead of attracting me. I’m sick and tired of all these games and lies already! Who can I appeal to if He’s the one setting all of this up for me?

My Answer: There’s no one to appeal to, other than the force (Light) that can correct you if you want it to. This force exists in nature and it will influence you to the degree that you will aspire to change from a “receiver” to a “giver.” Moreover, there’s no one to curse at. It’s all nature! The force that can change you can be found only in Kabbalah studies (study in a group and dissemination), using the books of Baal HaSulam. This force is called Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light). So aspire to it!

Related Material:
Shamati Article #4: What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels in Annulling Before the Creator in the Work?
Lesson: Shamati Article #4 – What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels in Annulling Before the Creator in the Work? [26-06-06]
Lesson: Shamati Article #4: What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels in Annulling Before the Creator in the Work? [26-06-06]
Lesson: Shamati Article #4: What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels in Annulling Before the Creator in the Work? [26-06-06] – Transcript

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Two questions I received about the Creator

Question: I don’t get it. We are trying to connect with a spiritual being we can’t perceive, called the creator, who in fact is in charge of everybody’s fate and wants us to strive for him and only him, by studying books, and you tell me there is nothing magical or mystic about it?

My Answer: The Creator is the corrected you, because you were created ideally opposite to Him. We write “Him” with a capital letter only as a sign of respect for this property of “selfless love and bestowal.” That is to say, you are researching yourself in order to change yourself to the reverse. That’s what Kabbalah is – the discovery of the property of bestowal within you.

Question: How can the connection with the Creator, who’s good and does good, be expressed through negative feelings?

My Answer: As long as a person hasn’t corrected his desires, he can experience negative sensations in them, but at the same time he can rejoice at the fact that he is having these sensations as part of the process of correcting these desires. And once they become corrected, he rises over them, and despite any sensations he feels in them (even lack of fulfillment!), he will be able to feel only the happiness and goodness that fill the world! It’s because he acquires faith above reason – he is filled by the property of bestowal, even though his desires to be filled are empty.

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Questions I received on life in the Upper Worlds

Question: What is “heaven” from Kabbalah’s point of view?

My Answer: Heaven is the Light of Hochma. The “Garden” is Malchut. Malchut filled with the Light of Hochma is called the Garden of Eden. In this state Malchut is the Malchut of the World of Atzilut for the souls.

In other words, the Garden of Eden refers to a place (or a state) where the souls are filled with the Light of Hochma. Stated simply, the Garden of Eden is Malchut of the World of Atzilut. The Upper Garden of Eden is Bina of the World of Beria, and the Lower Garden of Eden is Yesod de Malchut of the World of Assiya. Of course, this bears no relation to people’s regular notions about heaven and its inhabitants. In spirituality there is no space, images, sounds and etc., but only forces unclothed by matter. The soul is a desire. To the degree that it’s equivalent to the Creator, to the quality of bestowal and love, it becomes filled with the sensation of the Creator, the sensation of this quality within itself. This sensation is called “heaven,” and there’s no heaven besides it.

Question: Does a person use the system of ABYA de Kedusha even before the Machsom?

My Answer: This system only starts after the Machsom. See the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” where it speaks about the attainment of Malchut de Assiya.

Question: After the breaking of the vessels (Shevirat ha Kelim) in the World of Nekudim, how did the Parsa reinforce itself to avoid breaking again?

My Answer: In order to receive the Light, it’s necessary to ascend from BYA to Atzilut – this is one of the Parsa’s reinforcements.

Question: Why is Ein Sof (Infinity) surrounded by Igulim (circles)?

My Answer: Because everyone is equal and there are no limitations.

Question: In Kabbalah, are there things like the devil and other evil forces, or are these just metaphors for egoism?

My Answer: The only thing that was created is desire. Its different, particular forms have different names. My sensations of myself and of my surroundings are also desires or forces, but we perceive them as vectors on a TV screen, as pictures. In reality, the only things that exist are the force of reception (creation) and the force of bestowal (the Creator). They depict the entire picture we see. When we attain these forces, we are immediately freed from the illusion of the visible picture of the world, and therefore, Kabbalah describes our world as being imaginary and dreamlike.

Related Material:
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Kabbalah Today Article: Living the Spiritual Dream World
Lesson: The General Structure of the Worlds [03-10-2004]
Lesson: The General Structure of the Worlds [03-10-2004]
Lesson: The General Structure of the Worlds [03-10-2004] – Transcript

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Two questions I received on Kabbalistic texts

Question: I understand that Kabbalah is focused on changing life. But I can’t find instructions on how to integrate all the other fundamental texts, such as Humash, Mishnah, Talmud, Halachot, and others. How do you use them? Do we even need them? And how do we put it all into perspective?

My Answer: Once you learn Kabbalah, then when you will read other sources you will begin to understand that they all speak about spirituality or the Creator alone. That is to say, they are also Kabbalah, only written in a different style! For example, right now I posted an abbreviated translation of the Torah weekly chapter. Why? Because in this book, the greatest Kabbalist of all times, Moses, describes the ascent of man’s soul along the 125 steps of the ladder of similarity to the Creator. We must now realize this ascent – all of us together and each one of us individually – uniting more and more on every level, so that at the end of the ascent, we will become the single soul of Adam. No other source explains about this path so precisely and in so much detail!

The Zohar is a commentary on the Torah. Our next step is to gradually start studying The Book of Zohar through this blog, and then we will begin to see what was really passed down to us in the Torah. Then, after the Torah (Humash), we will also be able to learn Mishnah, Talmud, and Halachot in this manner. All of these books only speak about the correction of man, his soul, or the egoistic desire – Yetzer Ra – that was created by the Creator. And after that, the Torah (Tavlin) was given, only for its correction. Those who don’t feel egoism within themselves don’t study the Torah. They read an “empty” text instead of the text that Moshe gave them. You will be able to correctly “integrate” all of these books only after you properly attune yourself to using holy books (holiness is something that brings you to the property of holiness – love and bestowal).

Question: When I studied Kabbalah in college, a book titled Sefer HaBahir was mentioned many times, but you don’t mention this book on your website or at your lessons. Did this book ever exist?

My Answer: Yes, the book Sefer HaBahir exists. However, we mainly study the works of Baal HaSulam, who was the last Kabbalist and therefore is the most suitable for the correction of our souls. In addition to his works, we also study the works of Rabash, Ramchal, and Tanach.

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: How to Study Kabbalah
Kabbalah Sources
5 Things You Should Know About The Zohar

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