I had a conversation that was recorded called “Kabbalists Write.” We discussed my fourth book, Attaining the Worlds Beyond. I spoke with Ben-Tzion Gertz, a writer and an editor of several of my books in Hebrew.

Immediately after my teacher’s passing (September 1991), I had to go to Toronto to visit my dying father. I wrote this book after I returned, following the death of my father (February 1992). I think that more than any other of my books, it conveys the feelings of a person who is beginning the path of Kabbalah, one’s impressions from encountering the world of Kabbalah. This is exactly how I saw this book – the first of a series of books that I would write.

Here is an introductory chapter from the book Attaining the Worlds Beyond:

“The need for this text became apparent to me from the questions that I received from my students, and from the questions that were asked during various lectures and radio programs, as well as from the letters that continue to flood in from all over the world.

The difficulty of explaining and teaching Kabbalah lies in the fact that the spiritual world has no counterpart in our world. Even if the object of our studies becomes clear, our understanding of it is only temporary. What we learn is grasped by the spiritual component of our ability to understand, which is constantly renewed from Above. Thus, a subject we initially understand may appear unclear at a later date. Depending on our mood and our spiritual state, the text can appear as either full of deep meaning, or entirely meaningless.

Do not despair if what was so clear yesterday becomes very confusing today. Do not give up if the text appears to be vague, strange, or illogical. Kabbalah is not studied for the sake of acquiring theoretical knowledge, but to help us see and perceive what is hidden from us. When, after we have contemplated and acquired spiritual strength, we begin to see and perceive, then our ability to attain the resulting spiritual lights and levels will bring us to true knowledge.

Until we can comprehend the Upper Light and can perceive what it presents to us, we will not understand how the universe is built and how it works, since there are no analogies to these concepts in our own world.

This text can help ease our first steps toward perceiving the spiritual forces. At later stages, we will be able to progress only with the help of a teacher.

This text should not be read in an ordinary fashion. Rather, we should concentrate on a paragraph, think about it, and attempt to understand examples that reflect in the issues discussed. We may then try to apply these issues to our own personal experiences.

We should patiently and repeatedly read and think about each sentence as we try to penetrate the author’s feelings. We should also read slowly, trying to extract the nuances of what is written, and if need be, return to the beginning of each sentence.

This method can either help us delve into the material with our own feelings, or recognize that our feelings are lacking regarding a particular issue. If the latter is the case, it is a crucial prerequisite for us to move forward spiritually.

This text is not written for quick reading. Though it deals with one subject only, ‘How to relate to the Creator,’ it deals with it in different ways. This allows each of us to find the particular phrase or word that will transport us into the depths of the text.

Although the desires and actions of egoism are described in the third person, until we can separate our personal consciousness from our desires, we should consider the aspirations and desires of egoism our own. The word “body” in the text does not relate to the physical self, but to ‘egoism,’ our desire to receive.

To get the most out of this material, I recommend reading the same passages at different times and in different states of mind. By doing so, you can better acquaint yourself with your reactions and attitudes towards the same text on different occasions.

Disagreeing with the material is always positive, as is agreeing with it. The most important aspect of reading the text is your response to it. A feeling of disagreement indicates you have reached the preliminary stage (achoraim, the backside) of understanding, which prepares you for the next stage of perception (panim, face).

It is precisely through this slow meaningful manner of reading that you can develop feelings, or ‘vessels’ (kelim). These are necessary for us to receive spiritual sensations. Once the vessels are in place, the Upper Light will be able to enter them. Prior to their formation, the Light merely exists around you, surrounding your soul, although you cannot perceive it.

This text is not written to enhance your knowledge. Nor is it meant to be memorized. In fact, we must never test ourselves on the material.

It is even better if we forget the contents altogether, so that the second reading will seem fresh and entirely unfamiliar. By forgetting the material, it implies that we have grasped the previous sensations and that they have now subsided, leaving a space to be filled by sensations we have yet to experience. The process of developing new sensory organs is constantly renewed and accumulated in the spiritual, unperceived sphere of our souls.

The most important aspect of our reading is the way we feel about the material while reading it, not afterwards. Once we experience these feelings, they become revealed within the heart and mind, and manifest themselves when they are needed in the continuous process of the soul’s development.

Rather than rushing to complete reading the text, it is recommended to concentrate on the sections that appeal to us the most. Only then will the text be able to help and guide us in our search for personal spiritual ascent. The goal of this text is to help us become interested in the mysteries of life, such as:

Why were we born into this world? Can we enter the spiritual worlds from here? Can we ever understand the purpose of the creation? Is it possible to perceive the Creator, eternity and immortality? How can we begin to grow spiritually?”

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A question I received: I heard that plans to build the Third Temple are underway, and that there are even Kohanim and Levites being prepared to perform services there. Where can I find out more about how to be admitted to perform services, and when will the construction begin?

My Answer: I think that before we rush to build the Temple, we should first take care of our unfounded hatred of each other, as this was the reason for the fall of the Second Temple. We have to correct this hatred to the level of unconditional love for everyone – love without receiving anything in return. Then we will become the Kli or vessel for the revelation of the Creator. He will become revealed in it according to the principle of equivalence of form – “He is merciful and you are merciful; He forgives and you forgive.” As soon as He becomes revealed to us, we will become “wise of heart” – attain the spiritual level of Bezalel, the builder of the Temple. Then, based on our spiritual attainment of the Temple, we will be able to build the Temple on the material level as well. This is the meaning of the verse which says that the Third Temple will descend from above.

However, if we only try to build it on the material level, without correcting ourselves, then we are like children who are playing without knowing what the game is. It’s good to do this, but only when we know what is really important – to live by the law of the Temple, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s because the Temple is the gathering or unification of all the souls into one soul, and it was destroyed because people fell from “love thy neighbor as thyself” to “unfounded hatred.” It’s unfounded because it doesn’t have a reason (such as someone hurting you); it comes from envy and the desire to rule over others.

If you want to prepare for working in the Temple, then study Kabbalah and correct yourself to the level of the Temple. Then you will discover that the Temple already exists in your spiritual attainment – Matzav Gimel, the third state. (See the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar.”)

It’s written than the Third Temple will be better than the first two, because the Light of Chaya in the First Temple and the Light of Neshama in the Second Temple are smaller than the Light of Yechida of the Third Temple. It’s because the Third Temple will incorporate all the souls of all the people in the world, whereas the First Temple incorporated only the souls of Israel, and the Second Temple – only two tribes out of 12 tribes of Israel. This is why the Light of the Second Temple was lower than the Light of the First Temple.

It’s written about the Third Temple: “My house will be called the house of prayer for all the nations of the world” (Beiti – Beit Tfila Ikare Le Kol HaAmim). By disseminating Kabbalah throughout the whole world, we will attain the union of all people in love, in the single soul of Adam.

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A question I received: It says in the book Shamati, Article #16: “The rooster said to the bat: ‘I await the light for the light is mine; but you, what need have you for light?’” My question is: How does a person go from the state of being a bat to the state of being a rooster in this lifetime?

My Answer: Those who use Kabbalah (Torah) to attain the property of love and bestowal will see the Light of life in this property. On the other hand, those who use Kabbalah (Torah) for their own sake (to get rich, satisfy their pride, attain honor and confidence, to feel like they’re better than others, to justify their existence, and so on) are in the state of darkness; yet they are convinced that they are in the Light of the Creator. They are like bats that mistake the darkness for the light, and hence they are content to remain in exile from spirituality, to perform mere physical rituals – and they don’t feel like they need anything more.

Look at what Baal Hasulam writes in the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot,” about the words of the prophet Amos, “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!” “There is a parable about a rooster and a bat that were awaiting the light. The rooster said to the bat: ‘I await the light for the light is mine; but you, what need have you for light?’ (The Talmud. Sanhedrin 98:2)” This means that without the Light (which descends only when one studies Kabbalah), one doesn’t even understand that he is in darkness, because he only perceives our world.

If a person doesn’t aspire higher, above our world, but is satisfied with mechanical observance of rituals, historical and philosophical investigations, theology, holy water, amulets, and meditation (as we can see, this covers the whole gamut, from the naïve to the erudite), in other words, if one doesn’t have a “point in the heart,” then nothing will help him. It’s because his desire is still on the level of our world, and people always act exclusively according to the desires that surface in them.

Hence, Kabbalah is intended only for those who are searching for a genuine answer to the question, “What is the meaning of life?” And this answer lies in attaining the Source of one’s existence. This is how one reveals the meaning of what is happening as well as its final outcome.

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A question I received: Do we have a memory (Reshimo) of freedom? I think we have to have it, because otherwise how do you explain the fact that we are always searching for freedom? So, assuming that we have this Reshimo, then the Light also fills us, but we just don’t feel or remember it. And one’s aspiration for spirituality is also determined by the Reshimot, isn’t it? This yearning for spirituality and freedom can’t just appear in us out of nowhere, and this means that we have Reshimot of something that once filled us. So my conclusion is that the entire problem is with us – how to awaken our Reshimot , how to wake up from the dream?

My Answer: That’s absolutely correct – our task is not even to awaken or revive the Reshimot, but to realize the Reshimot that have already surfaced in us. And the way to do this is by drawing the Upper Light (Ohr Makif) upon the Reshimot. However, this work has to be done constantly, and it can only be done in a group, by receiving the following things from it:

1. The importance of the goal.
2. The realization that it’s impossible to attain the goal with your own desire, but only with the group’s desire.
3. The help of the Upper Light, Ohr Makif.

This means that the Reshimot are awakened by the desire that we receive from our environment! And the awakened Reshimot in turn awaken the Light (Ohr Makif) that corresponds to them. This Light then corrects them, gives them the screen, and fills this screen with Inner Light (Ohr Pnimi).

So the Soul = Reshimo + screen + Ohr Pnimi.

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A question I received: What do you think about disseminating Kabbalah to the masses through Christianity and Islam? Applying the method of Kabbalah to the study of the Gospel yields tremendous results. You begin to understand that you’re not reading fairytales about magic tricks, but about attempts to change something in the spiritual world, and you want to explain this to everyone who doesn’t yet know or understand it. I think that you should explain this to your Christian students, especially since the Old Testament is a major part of the Bible. Once they understand this, once they feel the bliss of true attainment without having to be detached from their culture and religion, then perhaps they will take it even further.

My Answer: Religion is not connected to Kabbalah in any way, but is actually opposite to it. Religion was given to humanity to be a framework for life in the time of darkness, before the revelation of Kabbalah. And this is why religion is dying out in our times, although this process is lengthy and it’s possible that there will still be religious wars in the future.

We do not approach religious Jews, and we disseminate Kabbalah only among the secular public. There’s nothing new about showing religious people that the Torah contains a deeper meaning. However, they’re not interested in this, because it knocks out the foundation of their faith – the egoistic principle of our world, “Do certain actions and you’ll receive a reward.”

Kabbalah, on the other hand, contradicts egoism, and tells you that you won’t receive anything for your actions (you won’t receive anything into your egoism, that is). Your entire reward lies in being corrected by the Upper Light, in loving your neighbor as yourself.

This is something you can only say to people who have already gone through all the egoistic desires and have a “point in the heart” – the desire for the Creator or the meaning of life. People who are still satisfied by faith do not have a “point in the heart” yet, and therefore we cannot talk to them for now. Kabbalah reveals the law of spiritual development to a person, but this development can only happen when it’s free and non-coercive – and that’s another aspect that’s fundamentally opposite to religion.

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Noah, the well-known character from the Torah, represents a stage in one’s spiritual development. It’s when a person realizes that his egoism is evil, and that he cannot save himself from it because it is his entire nature. He then understands that only the Upper Force, which is outside him, can change him. This is why he builds the Ark – or in other words, in response to his appeals, the Upper Light creates the property of Bina (bestowal) in him, and he then remains inside it so that his egoistic desires and properties will no longer rule over him. When he enters the Ark, he ascends above egoism and enters the realm of bestowal, isolating himself from his egoism, his nature.

Today every one of us and the entire world as a whole are beginning to feel that we are in a threatening state – the state of Noah before the Flood. We are being threatened by the inner (individual) and outer (worldwide) Flood (egoism), which we have brought upon ourselves and cannot overcome on our own. Our only salvation is to hide in the Ark, that is – for every person and for everyone together to acquire the property of bestowal, to ascend above our egoism. Then everything will reach harmony – just like all the species of creatures that were in the Ark, and we will make the transition to renewed life.

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Questions I received on what happens after death:

Question: My name is Daniel and I am fifteen years old. Recently I had a conversation with my uncle about the wisdom of Kabbalah. He said that people who study the wisdom of Kabbalah live forever, but this doesn’t seem logical to me. I would like to know what happens to the soul after death.

My Answer: It’s true: a person who has attained the life of his soul perceives his existence as eternal. But you probably think that eternal existence is impossible because you are connecting it to your body. Of course we can’t exist forever in the body, because this kind of existence is imperfect (egoistic). It was created to be brief (opposite to the Creator), and its only purpose is for us to correct it, to make it similar to the Creator. And the corrected state is eternal. Moreover, our temporary state is actually an illusion, given to us only to realize its evil, like a bad dream, so we would get an impression of it and separate from it!

Question: I really enjoy listening to your lessons and studying with you. You have revealed a beautiful world to me. Suppose that someone has crossed the Machsom, but then died before completing his entire correction. The next time this person is born, will he immediately perceive the spiritual world?

My Answer: No, but he will quickly go through all the preliminary stages and reach the state he attained before, and then he’ll go on from there. One must keep returning to our world until he attains the full correction, because a desire can only be corrected “from outside,” that is to say, while one is in this world, which is external in relation to spirituality.

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Two questions I received on whether spiritual correction requires observance of physical rituals:

Question: You say that it’s possible to attain spiritual correction without physically observing the commandments of Judaism. Maybe you’re just saying this out of your concern for Kabbalah’s dissemination around the world? Or maybe what you really mean is that people can’t understand these commandments by simply reading them? If you can’t publish the answer on the blog, I would like to receive a private answer.

My Answer: The Creator created the will to receive pleasure with an intention “for one’s own sake,” and this is how we find ourselves in this world. We were created this way in order to correct our intention to “for the sake of the neighbor or the Creator,” on all of our 613 desires. This correction happens under the influence of the Upper Light, Ohr Makif, which descends during the study of Kabbalah.

This bears no relation to the observance of religious rituals. A person can attain correction and spiritual attainment without physically observing the commandments, or rather – the traditions. This is true for both Jews and the nations of the world. Moreover, every person can keep his religion, because religion is no more than a nation’s cultural framework. Kabbalah only teaches us about the intention “for the sake of the neighbor,” how to love and bestow to others – and nothing else.

Question: You’re all about spirituality and the love revolution. But what about connecting the root with the branch? After all, the still, vegetative, and animate levels are also levels of the will to receive. You always speak about the internality without any externality, and this confuses me. Baal HaSulam writes at the end of the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” that the internality should be preferred over the externality. But it looks like Bnei Baruch gives 100% of their attention to the internality, and 0% to the externality! This is difficult and confusing. Why not make a small change and pay a little more attention to the externality? Why not combine both parts? Dedicate 90% of your attention to the internality, and 10% to the externality. This will really help everyone! What do you think?

My Answer: We at Bnei Baruch actually do this – we follow the traditions. But do you really think that all the people in the world – who are now approaching correction – have to observe the physical commandments of Judaism, even if it isn’t their tradition? In the article “The Future Generation” Baal HaSulam writes that every person can keep his religion!

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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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Two questions I received on how a Kabbalist feels the changes in this world and the Upper World

Question: Can a Kabbalist feel the improvement or worsening of his relationships with the Upper World?

My Answer: He feels it constantly.

Question: In a previous post, you wrote, “Your personal predestination is to bring the whole world to this state, because you are the only one who can do it.” This sentence, I suppose, implies that if there is an increasing number of people sincerely trying to ascend spiritually, then the whole of humanity will make certain improvement. Can you, as a Kabbalist, feel the change, and if so, is there any change currently – given the growing number of people becoming aware of the necessity to improve?

My Answer: Certainly, it is felt directly, and it gives me the desire to disseminate Kabbalah – to give every person who desires to reveal the Creator (i.e., the meaning of his existence) the opportunity to encounter Kabbalah in his life – the method to develop spiritually and to reveal the Creator.

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