A question I received: I have discovered that not only do red strings fail to help people, they are also absolutely forbidden by the Torah. It says in the book of Beresheet, the chapter Derech HaAretz: Rabbi Tzadok said: “הקושר על ידו חוט אדום הרי זה מרדכי האמורי” – “One who ties a red string around his hand is like an impure force against Mordechai (the property of Bina).”

Why is it that when you answer questions dealing with myths about Kabbalah, you always mention Tarot cards, red strings, yoga, and so on? Why do you never mention “channeling” which is so popular now? For example everyone knows about Lee Carroll’s numerous appearances at the UN, as well as his books. And there are many other people who practice other teachings that coincide with what you teach. I have no doubt that no one explains the structure of the universe in as much detail as Kabbalah, but still the other methods help “awaken” humanity, which is running late with its correction.

My Answer: I am not familiar with all the “spiritual” teachings, and I don’t plan on getting to know them. They all appear and then disappear. I don’t have the time or the desire to pay attention to them. If we were to systemize everything that our egoistic mind can invent, then we would see how meager it is.

I prefer the teaching of Kabbalah, which deals with practical entrance into the Upper World (I have tested it for myself). It is based on coming out of the nature of our world, instead of all the different religions and teachings of this world (this can also be seen from above, from the Upper World). I advise you to do the same.

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The Book of Zohar, Chapter, “Who Has Created These?” (abridged)

7. Rabbi Elazar (the son of Rashbi, his next degree) opened (the Light of Wisdom) and said (revealed): “Raise your eyes (the corrected desire to receive) and see (receive the Light of Hochma) WHO HAS CREATED THESE. Raise your eyes to what place? To the place (degree) where the eyes (revelations) of all depend on Him (wherefrom the Light of Hochma comes). Who is He? He is one who opens eyes (corrects the desires of man), Malchut of Rosh (head) of Arich Anpin (the system of the source of the Light of Hochma, wisdom). And you will see that Atik (a higher Partzuf than Arich Anpin) is concealed, and therein lies the answer to the question, “WHO HAS CREATED THESE?”

WHO is ZAT of Bina of the World of Atzilut, the upper edge of heaven. Everything depends to Him. As there is a question (the desire to bestow) in Him, and He is concealed (because the lower ones are not stimulating Him to correct them), He is called WHO – questioningly. There is no question above Him (there’s perfection). Only at the upper edge of heaven is there a question (anticipation on behalf of the lower ones).

8. But there is another question below (in ZON of the World of Atzilut), called WHAT. What is the difference between them? WHO – is concealed, so that man would ask and investigate from degree to degree until the end of all the degrees, until Malchut. And that will be WHAT – what have you learned? What have you seen? What have you investigated? After all, everything is still concealed, just as it was before (and it depends on the lower ones’ stimulus to reveal the Upper Ones).

9. This secret is contained in the word WHAT: “WHAT do you testify? WHAT can be compared to you?” When the Temple was destroyed (when the souls lost the screen and the Inner Light), a voice sounded (the breaking of the bond between the souls was revealed): “WHAT can I point out to you, WHAT can I compare you to?” But in the type of WHAT: “WHAT is the covenant, WHAT can be compared to you?”

“WHAT is the covenant?” – Because the days of past (the descending degrees) are a testimony to you (to the Thought of Creation) each day, as it is written in the Torah (the method of correction): “I call to witness heaven (the force of bestowal) and earth (the force of reception).”

“WHAT can be compared to you (to your force of bestowal)?” – As it is written, “I adorned you with holy ornaments (of love) and made you ruler over the world (ruler of its correction). “Is this the city that was called the quintessence of beauty (when the Light of Wisdom clothes in the Light of Mercy)?” I have called you, “Jerusalem (Malchut, the egoistic desire made similar to Bina, bestowal), a city rebuilt by me.”

“WHAT could be compared to you?” – Just as you (Jerusalem = Ira Shlema = complete property of Bina) are below, so is He (the Creator, ELOKIM) above, in the Upper Jerusalem (the Upper Bina of the World of Atzilut). Just as now the holy nation (the corrected souls) does not enter into you, so I (the Upper Light) swear to you (have set forth the “Law of the souls’ similarity to the Light” as a law of nature) that I will not enter above until I enter into you down below (until the desire to become similar to the Upper Bina, to complete love and bestowal, is revealed below). And your consolation is that I shall equalize you with the Upper Jerusalem, with the Upper Malchut, which reigns in all things (Malchut means “kingdom”).

And while you are here: “Your misery is great, like the sea.” But if you claim that there is no existence or remedy for you, then “WHO shall heal you” (WHO is not a question, but the name of the force that will heal you). Meaning, that concealed supernal degree, called WHO, Bina, which animates all things; it shall heal and reanimate you.

10. WHO is the upper edge of heaven (Partzuf Ishsut), WHAT is the lower edge of heaven (Partzuf ZON = ZA and Malchut). This was inherited by Yaakov, for he is ZA, who shines from edge to edge. From the first edge, WHO, until the last edge, WHAT (from Ishsut to Malchut). It is therefore said: “WHO has created THESE”: Bina has created Malchut.

“Who Has Created These?” – full commentary

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Two questions I received on a woman’s desire for a faithful companion, and women’s singing:

Question: Is a woman’s desire for her man to be loyal, faithful and devoted only to her a part of the will to receive (the ego), or is this embedded in her nature? If it’s embedded in her nature, why did the Creator do this? What is the purpose of the woman’s suffering?

My Answer: The women’s suffering is part of the egoistic suffering that brings one to the realization that egoism is evil, the recognition that it’s necessary to break away from egoism, the desire to gain the property of bestowal, and then the reception of this property from above. You have to separate your earthly, animalistic, egoistic desire to have a loyal, devoted companion, from your aspiration to the property of bestowal. Spiritual ascent begins with the desire for one’s spiritual aspiration upward to be stronger than one’s natural aspiration downward.

Question: Why aren’t women allowed to sing out loud? What’s the connection between Kabbalah and a woman singing out loud?

My Answer: Women are allowed to sing, provided that men won’t hear them, because this “seduces” the men – distracts them from their spiritual work! A woman has a subconscious desire to attract a man’s attention. Women who want to use their natural properties correctly should restrain themselves in order to avoid becoming a disturbance in the spiritual growth of others.

We are all parts of one single soul of Adam, and we have to help each other overcome our nature. We shouldn’t suppress it, but use it correctly and separate the spiritual from the corporeal.

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A question I received: If every word in the Torah can be explained as “the will to receive” or “the will to bestow,” then why are there are so many different words in the Torah?

My Answer:
The Creator – The Creator is “the will to bestow” (Good, Doing Good, Loving, etc.). This is why He wanted to create the creation – in order to bestow upon it.

The Creation – The Creator made only one creation – “the will to enjoy” (the will to receive pleasure). “The will to receive” was created exactly opposite to “the will to bestow.” It is an imprint of the Creator, in order to be able to receive everything that the Creator wants to give to it.

The Plan of Creation – Pleasure comes directly (clearly) from the Creator to the creation and fills it. But besides this, the Creator indirectly (unclearly) influences the creation by prompting in it a “desire to become similar to Him” – to bestow. Hence, inside its fulfillment the creation discovers an additional desire – to “become similar to the Creator,” and it then decides to attain this state, setting in motion the process of correction. A part of the correction process occurs unconsciously for the creation (from above downwards), and a part of it happens consciously (through free will, from below upwards).

Instructions – All Kabbalistic sources constitute a description of both parts of the correction process, and they are written in four languages: the Torah, Halachah, Haggadah, and Kabbalah. They are recommendations for how to carry out the conscious part of this process in the best possible way. (The Torah comes from the word Oraa, instructions).

Correction – The initial conditions and the final goal together build a sequence of actions that’s intended to bring the initial “will to receive” to “the will to receive with the intention of bestowal.” The process of correction of the created “will to receive” breaks into pieces and a sequence of actions. This is what all Kabbalistic sources describe.

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A question I received: According to Kabbalah, everything in this world is perceived by our five senses. But what about the other things that are in our world and we can sense them, but without the five senses – like thoughts, ideas, information, and dreams? What are they and are they also under the rule of the ego?

My answer: Everything is sensed (perceived) only in our egoistic desire, regardless of how it gets there – through our five senses or from our conscious (or subconscious). The latter is also formed by the perceptions of the five senses. As Baal HaSulam writes – everything we imagine appears in our imagination only because we have sensed something similar to it in the past. Our imagination can only add and expand on this. Otherwise we would not be able to imagine those things.

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter “Flower Buds” (abridged)

4. Rabbi Shimon opened (the Light): It is written in “Song of Songs”: “Flower buds appeared on the earth. “Flower buds” refer to the act of creation. “Appeared on the earth” – on the 3rd day of creation, when it was written in the Torah: “And the earth shall pullulate” (the middle line compels growth, because it comprises of the sum of the left and the right lines – desire and Light).

Then it is said in “Song of Songs”: “The time of singing has come” – and this is the 4th day of creation, the time of judgment (restriction; in order to provide an opportunity for growth it is necessary to restrict the growth of desire in accordance with its correction).

Then it is said in “Song of Songs”: “The voice of the turtle dove is heard” – this is the 5th day of creation, of which it is said in the Torah: “Let the waters swarm” – so as to produce offspring (the spiritual correction of broken desires).

And the word “heard” refers to the 6th day, where it is written, “Let us stand and create man,” and there it is said, “We shall do and we shall hear,” meaning that he will be able to perform actions (studying Kabbalistic sources, unification) that bring him to the property of bestowal (“hearing” is the property of Bina, bestowal, while “sight” is the property of Hochma, reception).

Then it is said in “Song of Songs”: “In our land” – this is the day of Sabbath, which is like the Land of Life, the world to come (“land” designates desire, “our” means corrected by the desire to bestow – the result is the corrected state called Sabbath).

5. Flower buds are the Patriarchs, the fundamental desires that entered with their correction the mind of the Upper One and the future world – Bina, and there they are concealed. They emerge from there concealed in the true prophets. Yosef was born and they concealed themselves in him. When Yosef entered the Holy Land (the soul’s corrected desires), they appeared and were revealed (to him as the Upper World). When are they revealed? When a rainbow is seen. It is the time of eradication of all the wicked from the world (final correction of all egoistic desires). That is why the flower buds can be seen in the earth. And if they could be seen earlier (if the Upper Light were to be revealed before the correction of all egoistic desires), they could not have remained in the world, and the world would not be able to exist (it would be destroyed, for Light would have come in contact with egoism, like an electrical short circuit).

6. Who animates the world and causes the revelation of the Patriarchs (the initially created desires)? – It is the voice of the children (revealed for the correction of previously concealed desires), who study the Torah (the method of correction). Thanks to these children (newly revealed desires, Reshimot) the world exists (the Creator’s revelation to people/souls). It is hence said in “Song of Songs”: “We will make you pendants of gold” (the Light of Hochma, gold, will fill the newly corrected desires). These are the children, the flower buds of the world, as is it said in the Torah (the method of correction): “You shall make two Cherubs of gold” (“cherub” comes from the word “Karov” or “Lakriv,” meaning to draw one closer – to draw man nearer the Creator by utilizing two cherubs, two lines, right and left, while the Creator speaks – is revealed, in the property of bestowal, between them, in the middle line).

“Flower Buds” – full commentary

My Comment: The Book of Zohar should be studied just like any other Kabbalistic text – with the intention of receiving the force of the soul’s correction from it. Then, to the extent that one’s soul is corrected, one begins to feel (reveal) what The Book of Zohar describes.
(See “The Introduction to The Teaching of the Ten Sefirot”, item 155.)

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A question I received: Whenever I tell religious people that we are opposite to the Creator, they always quote the Biblical verse that we were created in the image of G-d. How can I respond to this? What is “image” in Kabbalah? Is the “image” really a “shadow,” which would mean that we’re exactly the opposite of the Creator?

My Answer: By telling a religious person that we are opposite to the Creator, that we are egoistic and He is Good, you deny their closeness to the Creator. So how could they agree with this, if they consider themselves corrected!? This is where they get their conviction that they are righteous and everyone else is obliged to them; that just by observing the religious prescriptions (which are allegedly G-d’s desires), they are freed from their corporeal responsibilities.

The conclusion to be made from this is: Don’t talk to them until they discover their egoism, their opposition to the Creator, on their own. You shouldn’t make people upset if they are not ready for correction yet. After all, this is exactly why religion was invented – to last until the time when humanity will be ready to attain the Creator.

Then the exile from spirituality, from the concealment of the Creator, will end. Baal HaSulam explains “What is Kabbalah” in the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah.” He writes:

“Kabbalah is the method of revealing the Creator to man in this world” – and by saying this, he immediately erases all of religion! It’s because this doesn’t leave any room for faith in something you were told. Instead of the unfounded tales, one suddenly receives the opportunity and responsibility of clear revelation and attainment of the Creator.

When one reveals this, then he does not just reveal something slightly bigger than our world, the way regular science widens the world for us. Rather, one reveals the Upper World, the Creator Himself! Moreover, Baal HaSulam adds that every person and all of humanity will have to reach this revelation, until all people will clearly feel the Creator just like a person feels his friend, and even closer!

So where is there any room left for belief, if you attain everything yourself and make your own conclusions!? In addition, this allows you to attain immortality, omniscience, and perfection, because revelation is only possible to the degree that you are equal to the Creator. In other words, revelation means that a person acquires the same state as the Creator Himself!

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Questions I received on how to get through the difficult times on the path:

Question: You live and work, raise your children, and study Kabbalah for a hobby. Everything is good. You even think that you’re successfully managing your life in both worlds – this world and the spiritual world. But suddenly you lose your job, your house, and your savings, and in addition someone in your family gets very sick. And for some reason, along with this world, your “spiritual world” falls apart too. Does this mean that everything you attained in spirituality was only a higher form of egoism, a desire for knowledge?

My Answer: This only means one thing: your conditions for advancement have changed, and now you are being offered new conditions for advancement. Why? Because this is how the common desire (the common soul) develops, and you are one of its parts (a particular soul). If you don’t want to advance under the new conditions, then you will leave the path of individual development, and from then on you will be led down the general path of suffering, “forced to happiness.”

Question: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! Wherefore would ye have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light!” (Amos, 5:18) Initially the Light blinds all of our senses and seems like total darkness. However, this darkness is useful for one who aspires toward spirituality, since it shuts off all egoistic aspirations, and one’s egoism loses all interest in spirituality. And only one who keeps on stubbornly moving toward the Goal, “harnessed” together with Rav and the Creator, receives support, assistance and instruction. He then surmounts this part of the path, “the darkness of the night.”

I must admit that I am still a denizen of this world – the world of darkness, and I need the Light in order to acquire “sight,” the ability to see in the world of Light. My question is: What else can a student of yours add to all that he is already doing to attain this?

My Answer: Only more efforts to unite all aspirations toward one goal. It’s because the Creator, the quality of love and bestowal, is revealed only in the unified desire to be together in one desire, to reveal the property of love and bestowal between the souls.

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A question I received: I know that in one of your videos Tony Kosinec states that meditation has nothing to do with authentic Kabbalah. However, Abraham Abulafia has left us with books on how to engage in Kabbalah meditative techniques. While these techniques are different from far-eastern meditative techniques in that Abulafia’s methods require the use of the intellect rather than the negation of it, still meditation has played an important role in the Kabbalah method. Perhaps Baal HaSulam did not find these practices relevant in his system, but does that negate the validity of these meditative practices in other Kabbalistic systems?

My Answer: Sometimes the word meditation is used in Kabbalah to refer to a deep analysis of one’s intentions and qualities. But actually there is no such word in Kabbalah – this is only how people translate the concept of “inner observation” into other languages. Besides, of course there is a difference between the exposition styles of Eastern and European schools.

Instead of trying to sort through all of this, isn’t it better to simply turn to the source that’s closest and most effective for us – the works of Baal HaSulam; and instead of discussing history and geography, to start correcting yourself? What other reason do we have for being in this world?

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Two questions I received on the 613 desires and the transformation of singularity:

Question: Dear Rav Michael Laitman, the teachings talk about 613 desires, but they all came from one original desire by the Creator. When we distanced ourselves from the Creator, then the one desire fragmented into 613, of which 612 are unreal and only one is real. Right?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: How can singularity transform without being changed?

My Answer: Everything stays the same, besides the intention “for oneself” in all of one’s thoughts, desires, and actions. The intention changes to its opposite – “for others.” This is how one becomes similar to the Creator, and when he does, then he also perceives himself this way.

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