A question I received: How does one pray in Kabbalah? I pray every night, yet I find myself asking whether this is the correct way to pray. It seems so egoistic to pray only for my own desires and requests. Does Kabbalah have “instructions” on how to pray, or a general, single prayer that a person can say? Perhaps every person should pray individually, according to how he feels, or is it better to just stop praying altogether?

My Answer: A prayer is a desire that comes from the bottom of one’s heart – the desire to become similar to the Creator, to bestow and selflessly love. This is the only desire that the Creator perceives as a prayer – the desire to be similar to Him, or to attain adhesion with Him. Hence, He doesn’t feel all the egoistic prayers people say, and the entire history of mankind shows this.

This is how the system of Atzilut (the system of the Creator’s connection with the creation or soul) is built: AVI (Aba ve Ima) feel a MAN coming from Malchut (the soul), and react to it by giving Malchut the Light of correction or the Light of fulfillment, depending on what Malchut asks for.

One cannot reach such a request, or the true prayer, alone. This can only be done through a group, by trying to unite with it into one whole, as requested by AVI, and as it was before the breaking of the soul. In addition, it can only be done through studying authentic Kabbalistic books – the original books of Baal HaSulam, because then one is influenced by a special Upper Force called the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). (See item 155 in the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”)

Precisely this Light creates the true prayer in a person, which immediately receives an answer from the Creator in that He reveals Himself to the person. This revelation of the Creator is called the evidence (Edut) of the fact that a person will never sin again, that is, that he will never act egoistically under the influence of this revelation. This is why the Upper World becomes revealed to him.

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Kabbalah Today Article: A Prayer

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A question I received: In a previous post, you gave a lengthy response in defense of yourself. Dear Rav, I think it’s a waste of your precious time to do this. Those who understand what you have attained truly appreciate your merit and exclusivity. As for your opponents, even though they get on your nerves, they are actually doing a service to dissemination by bringing attention to you and Kabbalah. Still, your devotees (myself being one of them) are offended by the fact that our Teacher has to come down to the level of such ignorant people in order to defend himself and to flatter the remains of his egoism. Besides, we have to love them too.

My Answer: On 08-05-08 and 08-06-08 we studied Baal HaSulam’s letters and his attitude to opponents of Kabbalah. It would benefit you to watch these lessons. Nowhere does it say that we have to love impurity (Klipot), which is prolonging our suffering in the egoistic exile. However, we do have to try to correct these people and explain to others about the harm that they bring onto everyone. This is what motivated me to write about the connection between them, me and Kabbalah.

Therefore, it isn’t a defense of myself, but study material. In addition, it isn’t written about me, because Kabbalists don’t talk about themselves from a personal standpoint. Moreover, you shouldn’t believe my answers but verify everything for yourself!

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Questions I received on death, reincarnation, the body and the soul:

Question: How can you do spiritual work with a friend who has passed away?

My Answer: In exactly the same way as you do with the souls of your other friends. Integrate that soul’s aspiration toward the Creator together with your aspiration as well as the group’s.

Question: In one of your lessons, you said: “A person’s soul is eternal because it is part of the Creator. This is why one imagines that he will live with his soul forever. However, the Creator changes one’s soul, and this is the meaning of the reincarnation of souls – it’s when the previous state dies and ‘a new person is born.’” My question is: When the souls reincarnate, does one keep the same physical body (does it happen in one physical incarnation), or does the body also change?

My Answer: Every time we change our spiritual state, we change our soul or our degree of similarity to the Creator. When a person rises to the level of being similar to the Creator, then his reincarnations happen during the life of the same body. However, if he hasn’t completed correcting his soul yet, then his body is changed for another one.

Question: When a person’s soul is replaced and he is given a new soul, where does the previous soul go? Does it incarnate in another body?

My Answer: A soul is the state that appears in the desire due to the realization of the Reshimo. The soul is a part of the entire desire – it’s the part that is similar to the Creator.

Question: When one’s soul changes, then it would seem to me that its properties shouldn’t be very different from the properties of the previous soul. Is this correct?

My Answer: The soul is stronger and larger every time.

Question: Does a person notice when his soul changes?

My Answer: A person changes his soul for a more perfect one with his own efforts.

Question: Recently I read a newspaper that talked a lot about Kabbalah, and there was an interview with you where you talked about the person’s “I.” You said that the body is only a shell for this “I,” and that a person won’t change if any of his physical organs were to be replaced – even his brain. I would like to know: What happens to this “I” after the body dies?

My Answer: If a person has expanded his “point in the heart” during the life of the body by uniting with others (by coming out of egoism and crossing the Machsom), then he has already revealed the Upper World. But if he hasn’t attained it yet, then he remains a point and reincarnates again in order to cross the Machsom.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What Is the Soul?
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Kabbalah Today Article: Reincarnation

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Two questions I received on sin and forgiveness:

Question: Dear Rav, if all of our thoughts and desires come to us from the Creator, then how is it possible to “sin”? Or, in other words, would you please explain what “sin” is in spirituality (or as it is understood in Kabbalah). Baal HaSulam makes many references to sin in Shamati, and I’m trying to understand what appears to be a paradox.

My Answer: “A sin” is when one’s thoughts disconnect from the Creator.

Question: In Kabbalah, are one’s sins forgiven if one really repents from them?

My Answer: We all start out as absolute sinners, because we are absolute egoists. Then we begin correcting ourselves until reaching the level called “absolutely righteous” – the level of bestowal and love for one’s neighbor and the Creator.

It is written, “There is no righteous person in the world who didn’t sin beforehand.” This means that a person first reveals his egoism (this is considered a sin, even though the egoism is given to us from above), and then he corrects it. When one corrects his egoism to the quality of bestowal and love, through the force of the Creator – this is called forgiveness.

In the Torah (Kabbalah), these notions are completely different from the way we ordinarily define them. We think that we were the ones who created our sinful qualities, and that we can correct them on our own, without the Creator’s help. We don’t realize that we are sinners from the beginning; we think that we only sin when we do something bad. However, in fact, everything about us is sinful, egoistic. When a person reveals the egoism inside him, he then feels that he is a sinner. However, he is already on the way to becoming righteous, unlike those who still don’t realize that they are sinners.

Related Material:
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Shamati Articles

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Questions I received on perception, mountains and poor people:

Question: Do animals and nature feel their “self”? Do they perceive reality differently than we do, or do they perceive limited reality like us?

My Answer: They live, but they don’t feel that they live. They don’t have a perception of their “self” or that it’s “their life.” They also don’t feel jealousy of others, but are concerned only with survival.

Question: If we exist in an imaginary reality that we create in our consciousness, then where are we all actually going?

My Answer: By gradually discovering that our reality is distorted, we unknowingly prepare ourselves for attaining the true reality. Science is discovering that matter and waves are the same thing. By studying our perceptions, we have discovered that solid can turn into liquid, and liquid can then turn into gas – a substance that’s imperceptible to our senses. But then the imperceptible gas becomes liquid and then solid again. For example, a piece of ice melts and evaporates, and then condenses into water and becomes solid ice again.

Reality is subjective and depends on our senses. We create it within us. All development is aimed at bringing us to the true state – “There is none else but Him.”

Question: What are mountains from the point of view of Kabbalah – for example Mount Miron and Mount Sinai?

My Answer: A mountain is a mass of egoism, because earth is desire (Aretz means earth, and it comes from the word Ratzon – desire). A mountain is a “protruding” desire. By rising to the top of the mountain – by rising above one’s egoism to the Creator, to equivalence with the Creator, one attains Him.

Question: The Bible very often speaks about poor people. What is a “poor person” in spirituality?

My Answer: In Kabbalah (the Torah) a poor person is one who does not have any knowledge of the Creator (Ani be Daat). It’s because knowledge of the universe and attainment of the Creator (of the only force in existence, the source of everything and the one who governs everything) – is the same thing. A wealthy person in Kabbalah (the Torah) is a one with a wealth of knowledge (of the Creator).

Related Material:
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Two questions I received on whether it would be best for the world’s spiritual leaders to unite:

Question: If we were to gather all the people of truth in one place and tune into the general system, would we be able to influence the afterworld with our Light or information, as well as the development of our planet?

My Answer: We have to disseminate Kabbalah to all the people in the world, accept the world as a whole, and provide every person with everything they need for correction no matter where they are located. All the people in the world are sick with the same illness – egoism, which separates them from the Light of life. Hence, everyone needs the medication – the Upper Light. This is what we believe, and this is why we disseminate Kabbalah to everyone. After that, it’s up to the person to take the medicine now, or later on – when he will feel his illness at a more advanced stage.

Instead of gathering in one place, people have to gather in one intention, in spite of the physical distance separating them. This is the purpose of our world. Nevertheless, when someone wants to move to Israel to join our group, we don’t turn them away, and about 5-10 people move here every year. However, I don’t consider this necessary for spiritual advancement. There have also been cases when people moved here and found it to be too intense for them, and had to return to their previous location.

Question: Do the world’s spiritual leaders, such as Rav Laitman and the Dalai Lama, as well as their students, have a spiritual connection and do they help each other (I don’t mean the World Wisdom Council)? I get the impression that spirituality is just a game, where each person (or group) is for himself. Sooner or later people get tired of these games, because you start feeling like you’re the soccer ball and you don’t want to play for any team. If the spiritual leaders have a connection with each other, then why isn’t it revealed to us, the masses, in a material form and with a true final goal (again, I don’t mean the World Wisdom Council)?

My Answer: I don’t associate myself with any organization, including the World Wisdom Council, and I have no connection with any spiritual leaders. I only participate wherever I see an opportunity to disseminate Kabbalah. Kabbalah is so vastly different from other methods at the root, that we cannot unite or work together with any earthly method or religion.

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Questions I received on turning egoists into altruists, and attaining the goal of creation:

Question: How do you explain your allegation that all of nature, including wild beasts, is altruistic?

My Answer: By the fact that it unconsciously follows the Creator’s plan.

Question: How do you plan on turning egoists into altruists?

My Answer: Through the influence of the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). See item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Question: In doing so, are you removing the “defective gene” in man?

My Answer: No. Rather, everything remains and grows bigger, becomes supplemented, and corrected!

Question: Why do you think that humanity has to go back in its development in order to become equal to God again?

My Answer: Humanity was never equal to God. It must attain this state by developing and becoming corrected.

Question: What do you think of building an altruistic society out of ascetics?

My Answer: I am against it. Asceticism goes against Nature, because the goal of creation is perfect fulfillment.

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A question I received: I’m Jewish. Can I study Kabbalah together with gentiles – people who aren’t Jewish by birth? The Book of Zohar says that every person who teaches even one letter of the Torah to a gentile is responsible for the destruction of the world, and that a gentile who wants to learn must first convert to Judaism. What should I do?

My Answer: “Jew” comes from the word “Ever,” to cross, so a Jew is a person who has crossed the Machsom. Israel is a person who has the intention of “Yashar-El,” “straight to the Creator.” “Yuhudi” comes from the word “Ihud,” meaning “union” (with the Creator). All these notions are properties of love, bestowal, or altruism.

“Goy” (gentile) means “a nation” in Hebrew. This word isn’t offensive; it only underlines the uncorrected, egoistic degree. In the Torah or Kabbalah, “Goy” (gentile) refers to egoism, and Jew, Israel, or Hebrew refer to love and bestowal.

We all start out as gentiles – uncorrected. When we choose the spiritual goal and begin the correction (even while we still haven’t attained it), we become Israel (Isra-El, straight to the Creator). Next, when we cross the Machsom, we become Jewish. And when we attain the goal – union with the Creator, we become Hebrew.

We all came out of Babylon, we are all egoists, and we must all correct ourselves and become like the Creator. When a gentile (an egoist) studies Torah (Kabbalah) for his own sake, he is only harming himself. One should study Torah (Kabbalah) only in order to attain spirituality, the property of bestowal. Hence, you should study with the people who have this goal!

In addition, you should ask: can you and should you study the Torah (Kabbalah) with yourself? Maybe you are a gentile (in your intentions and aspirations)? First you should check whether you want to become like the Creator and attain “love for your neighbor.” If yes, then you can study Kabbalah, because this is the only correction Kabbalah makes to a person. However, if you have a different goal – for your own sake, then you are a gentile, and Torah (Kabbalah) isn’t for you. It is written: “A gentile who studies the Torah must die,” because he attracts Light and thereby becomes even more opposite to It. This is how a person kills the gentile within him. It’s written that the entire Torah is the rule, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Conclusion: Everyone should study Kabbalah regardless of their intention! If they have the intention of a gentile, then they will kill the gentile within them and go from “for one’s own sake” to “for the sake of the Creator.”

Related Material:
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Questions I received on the pleasures felt by a Kabbalist and the Creator:

Question: Does a Kabbalist ever attain the state of feeling that he gives pleasure to the Creator?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: How is this feeling expressed?

My Answer: As union with the Creator and perception of Him.

Question: What are the signs that let a Kabbalist know that the Creator is really receiving pleasure from his actions?

My Answer: Mutual joy, their feelings expressed in one Kli.

Question: A Kabbalist receives pleasure from the Creator’s gifts, and by doing this he gives joy to the Creator. But how can a Kabbalist be sure that the Creator is really enjoying this?

My Answer: He knows this because they merge into one whole.

Question: Do Kabbalists feel pleasure from the small, material things in life?

My Answer: A Kabbalist still feels all the pleasures of our world. Moreover, he feels these pleasures even more than ordinary people do.

Question: The spiritual goal is the union of souls. When a person enters the spiritual world, he begins to feel the desires and thoughts of the other souls. Does he still differentiate between what’s “his” and what’s “someone else’s”, or does he lose the sensation of his individuality?

My Answer: He doesn’t lose it. Even though he feels everyone, he feels them through himself, like a cell that works for the entire body.

Question: You said that great Kabbalists have great egoism, but they know how to control it. How do they control their egoism?

My Answer: Through Light that comes from above; through the Creator, the way a child does this through an adult.

Related Material:
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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 39

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The Bnei Baruch Band has recorded another song called “The Last Generation.” (The English translation of the lyrics appear below)

So we thought we would succeed if we would think a lot,
So the philosophers sat down and calculated:
If we strain our mind, we might find a solution.
All this may be true – but it led to nowhere.

So we thought we would succeed if we explored a lot,
So the scientists sat down immediately and began to count:
If we find the formula we might prevent disaster.
All this is certainly true – but they also developed the atom bomb.

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,
(The last generation, the last generation)

We thought we would succeed if we stopped breathing,
If we fly to the Himalayas to be with the Hindus,
They sit there and meditate all day long,
They are still alive – but have long gone to sleep.

We also thought we would succeed if there were equality,
So the communists said: let’s split up the riches,
Let’s forget about the ego and live the good life,
And what happened to us? It is even worse than Sodom.

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,

We also thought we would succeed if there were tranquility,
So the mysticists sat down and thought of a solution:
Let’s close our eyes tight and try to relax,
It was very nice – but nothing happened.
(Nothing happened, nothing happened)

So we said it might be better to just forget everything.
Yes, to take some pill, it will make us feel good.
We can just escape to our imagination.
It may true – but in the end it certainly won’t help.
(Certainly won’t help, certainly won’t help)

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,
The last generation,
The last generation.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Kabbalah Today article: Echoes of the Future

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