A question I received: How do we combine intellect and feelings?

My Answer: There is a scholastic approach widely used at schools and universities to convey knowledge. Often, however, without involving our feelings, we are unable to understand our teachers. For example, when studying music, a person has to hear it inside himself. He has to differentiate between its most minute shades and nuances. In other words, his feelings have to go together with his intellect, which, in turn, will make his feelings work.

The building material of the wisdom of Kabbalah is feelings, not intellect, because the matter of creation is desire. Therefore, we have to develop our desire, making it more sensitive and more complex. We have to fill it with impressions, crevices, and “cells” of the thinnest, most delicate emotions. In the same way, when a person who is not a wine expert tries a 200-year-old wine, he won’t be able to detect the same nuances as the expert who will experience an entire range of unique sensations. Yet, the wine expert wasn’t born that way; he developed this rich wine-tasting palette. We have to do exactly the same thing. We have a point in the heart, which is the initial impulse toward something. But toward what? That is something we don’t know yet because we can’t discern the details within our aspirations.

Thus, it’s essential for a person to develop his point in the heart. He must make it more voluminous so it well have enough room to accommodate the many details of his spiritual perception. It has to become capable of all the inner responses, the depth, height, colors, and tastes of the spiritual sense. This development occurs through one’s aspiration toward the spiritual goal. Thousands of feelings will show up as soon as we can sense them; everything is already there in the spiritual world. Our task is to develop the ability to feel them. In order to accomplish this, we need to aspire toward the Light, to long for the Light to descend upon us, correct us, and make us similar to it.

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The Zohar, Chapter “ Ve’Eleh Toldot Itzhak (These Are the Generations of Isaac),” Item 14: Even though all the people in the world are from Israel, they are all worthy of blessing the Creator. But blessings for which upper and lower are blessed, who are they who bless Him? It is the servants of the Creator. And who are they whose blessing is a blessing? It is them who stand in the house of God at night, those who rise at midnight and awaken to read in the Torah. They are the ones who stand in the house of God at night. And they need both: to be servants of the Creator, as well as to rise at midnight, for then the Creator comes to entertain with the righteous in the Garden of Eden.

In the science of Kabbalah, “midnight” does not correspond to the time fixed by astronomical hours and the rotation of the planet earth. Rather, it corresponds to the state of a person who builds spiritual senses (Kelim) within.

This person is in the state of darkness because his previous level has completely exhausted itself like a grain that rots in the soil. This is a necessary condition for acquiring a new degree; his previous state must “rot” in regard to him.

Then he begins to see a new level from within the darkness, which is formed by the following level and the Upper Light that lie ahead of him. For now it appears as darkness to him because he senses it through his current qualities. After all, every subsequent level is a greater degree of bestowal in relation to the uncorrected will to enjoy that becomes revealed to him.

On one hand, a greater Light shines for him, but on the other hand, he reveals an additional, uncorrected will to enjoy within him. He already has a new level within him, but he perceives it as darkness, a lack of Light within the desire.

Because his additional desire is not yet corrected, he experiences the Light as darkness. This makes him search for a way to change his attitude to his perceived reality. In and of itself reality is always a part of the corrected Malchut, which gradually becomes revealed to him more and more.

A person constantly changes his perception, sensation, and awareness, as well as his attainment of his state. He then demands the Light that Reforms; yet, he does not do it to make reality change, but to change his perception of reality.

Therefore, this person is called “a servant of the Creator” because he understands that in every state, everything comes from “There is none else beside Him.” Only the person’s perception of reality changes as a result of him correcting his qualities (Kelim).

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What does The Zohar teach us? We know from the science of Kabbalah that the Creator created one desire, within which all further development occurs. This one desire encompasses a great multitude of individual desires, connected with each other into a single system called “Adam,” the common soul.

Then, according to His program, the Creator began to ruin the connection that existed between the parts of the same desire. Thus, they began to lose connection with each other, and like a sick organism, the organs stopped interacting with each other properly. Similar to an imbalance when our body is ill, we experience symptoms such as increased blood pressure or temperature, or chemical changes of the blood. It is an illness where the body is unable to balance itself out.

Why does the Creator act this way with regard to the souls? It is in order for us to feel the corruption and then correct it. This illness or corruption of connection between us as parts of one system permeates into our initial state, and we begin to feel less and less connected to each other. This loss of connection between us comprises 125 degrees of descent from Infinity, the state where we were infinitely connected to each other and until a state where this connection vanishes completely. Moreover, during the descent through 125 degrees, on the level called “Parsa,” (division), an even greater corruption arose, and instead of the positive connection that was once present, a negative connection emerged. Therefore, each person now wishes to use others for his own benefit. The organism doesn’t simply die, but completely devours itself.

This descent into a desire for the sake of receiving and using others continues until it reaches a state where we absolutely lose any connection to each other, including a positive connection for the sake of bestowal, as well as a negative connection for the sake of reception. We exist in a state of complete disparity to spirituality, lacking any realization or knowledge of it, which is a consequence of our separation from each other.

Therefore, what we feel is “this world,” an imaginary reality. Why is it imaginary? It is because the Creator created it specifically for the purpose of creating an illusion of His absence for us. We are given the opportunity to understand that we need to correct the connection between us. To the extent that our connection increases, our soul ascends from the feeling of just our world to the World of Infinity occurs. Thus, re-establishing a connection between us creates an ascent.

For that reason, to the extent that we can imagine our states in connection with all the souls (all individual parts of creation together), we will gain a greater appreciation of The Zohar. After all, The Book of Zohar is written from the level of Infinity. The authors of The Book of Zohar wrote this work from the height of all 125 degrees, where they were connected together. Likewise, when we study The Zohar, we need to feel a desire to unite within. We don’t need any special tricks, but must only remember that everything is attained inside our connection with one another.

In actuality, The Zohar talks only about the unification of souls. It explains our connection in the general system, called “Adam,” with all the other souls, and how we can connect them all together into a corrected, healthy, and properly functioning system. This is the only thing that The Zohar speaks of.

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A question I received: I am giving a Kabbalah internet class with a group of eight people right now. One couple has studied other Kabbalah books on their own. They talk about the Sefirot as lights in parts of our body that need to be awakened and they are confusing me because I have studied with you that the Sefirot are levels of attainment.

Can you explain to me what the Sefirot really are so that I can clarify it in the group? I want to tell this couple that they can’t come and confuse the students with other Kabbalistic views that are not authentic. They also mentioned a book named Bahir that they say is very important in Kabbalah, but I haven’t heard of it here in Bnei Baruch. I need to establish with them that we study only authentic Kabbalistic writings and not every Kabbalistic book that is found out there.

My Answer: Don’t listen to those who say that our body is a receptacle of spiritual forces. This is the foundation for all mistakes. As for the book Bahir, nobody understands it and because of this, many are reading this particular book. It would be better if you would avoid these people.

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A person who consciously seeks spirituality is influenced by different developmental laws than a person who walks the natural path. It’s similar to the difference between classical physics, which deals with large material objects, and quantum physics, which studies elementary particles. The difference between them is like the difference between light and dark. Regular physics speaks of matter, while quantum physics speaks of light, because a quantum particle is a particle of light. In other words, it is a different level of nature, even though it is still within the boundaries of this world, and it differs greatly from what we are accustomed to.

With regard to spirituality, if the sparks of correction aren’t awakened within a person, he is corrected in a similar fashion as all of nature – by being incorporated inside those who do have the spiritual spark, those who aspire toward spirituality and ask the question, “What is the meaning of my life?” Some carry out the spiritual work, while others help them either by supporting or by hindering. Thus, all advance together.

That is why the science of Kabbalah must be disseminated among all people, for as long as it hasn’t in some way reached even one person, he will not participate in correction. It’s similar to how at first glance it seems that humankind bears no relation to what happens in some galaxy millions of light years away from earth. But in fact, we simply don’t yet understand just how dependent we are at the end of correction on every gram of matter, even at some distant star, because it too must be part of us in order to result in perfection, Malchut of Infinity.

This principle applies all the more so to every person in this world, even one who leads the simplest existence and doesn’t have a care about spirituality. This person, nonetheless, pertains to the process of correction to whatever extent he is able, and therefore, we must bring the knowledge of Kabbalah to him as well.

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A question I received: What does it mean to annul oneself at the Zohar Convention so the Upper Light will become revealed to us?

My Answer: It means that I annul my egoism in relation to the common desire to be together, and I do this with the purpose of revealing the Upper Force – the force of bestowal and mutual love within us. It is the common force of nature, the Creator (Bore), meaning, “come and see.” More precisely, it means, come to the annulment of your ego at the inanimate level of holiness, and then you will see and feel the Light which fulfills you. This is possible to do!

It is enough to simply want to connect, even with no true intention to bestow yet. One should want to rise above his ego in order to connect with others and reveal the Creator. This requires a connection according to the method of Kabbalah, rather than simply an egoistic unity among people.

Then the Upper Light will connect us and fulfill us. That is the meaning of the verse, “Israel, Torah, and the Creator unite as one.” “Israel” means everyone who wants to annul his ego for the sake of connecting with others. This is possible to do with the force of the Light which is called “Torah” for the sake of revealing the Upper Force, which is called “the Creator.” We have all the conditions for that!

It is impossible to do it alone, but it’s easy to do it together.

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A question I received: You said that everything depends on the person. What depends on me, and only me alone, at the Zohar Convention 2010 that starts tomorrow?

My Answer: The science of Kabbalah teaches that all of reality is inside a person, and there is nothing in reality besides a person. Everything I imagine as existing outside of me, such as the group, the Creator, and all of reality, is all actually inside of me. Everything is depicted inside me, and only seems external to me, distant, or even opposite.

Our goal is to return to the correct, true state, to reveal the true reality and the One who fills and sustains it. Within this reality we have to attain unity, in order to reveal the One who gives rise to this reality, the One who governs it.

If this is the case, then everything is inside me and everything depends on me. What is the Convention, different gatherings, groups, and all our actions? It’s a demonstration of my own forces where the Creator gives me an opportunity to unite them.

No matter who attends, it means that I have received a special opportunity to unite precisely with these forces or qualities inside me. They are close to correction, to the state in which I can correct my connection with them.

Nothing depends on them. I am the only one who controls this entire system or scheme. What happens depends only on me, and no one else. If I am not in this state of awareness, it means I am on a lower level, in which case I’m worried about things that depend not just on me, but also on others.

I start to worry about wanting them to think and desire the same way as I do, so we will find a connection between us, so from the connection or the lack thereof, or even from our repulsion from one another, we would ask for correction, like at the state beneath Mount Sinai. It is written, “Either you will unite as one man with one heart, or this will become your burial ground.”

This is exactly the state we are in now. We must only desire to unite, since on our own we are incapable of any action, good or bad. All the actions are performed from Above, as it is written, “There is not a blade of grass below that does not have an angel above striking it and ordering it to grow.”

All the changes come from Above. We must only demand correction. The most important thing is our worry about the common unity, since inside it we will reveal the quality of universal bestowal and will feel the Creator. The science of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to the creatures in this world – and this really can happen to us.

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A question I received: If a person doesn’t study Kabbalah but only reads The Book of Zohar, what will he get out of doing that?

My Answer: The Zohar is the central book in the wisdom of Kabbalah. For us The Book of Zohar with the “Sulam Commentary” is the most effective and powerful source for the correction of the soul.
The broken soul exists in each of us and it’s completely concealed inside. We don’t know what it is. It is, in fact, an enormous, endless desire (Kli) and it exists in every person. We have to find, reveal, and correct it. Precisely in this soul we will sense the eternal reality called “Creator.”
I identify myself with this soul when I reveal and sense it. In the end it turns out that the Creator and I become one.

However, all of this can be carried out only by the Upper Light. It is the force which acts upon us and develops within us the sensation that we exist in the spiritual system in addition to the sensation of this world.

If a person only reads The Book of Zohar with us, it’s not enough. Baal HaSulam preceded The Book of Zohar with four prefaces. It’s not an accident that he wrote them as prefaces to The Book of Zohar and not as separate works.

“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” introduces a person to the wisdom of Kabbalah. “Preface to the Book of Zohar” provides the correct approach to The Book of Zohar that will help a person to open this book. “Preface to the Sulam Commentary” describes the entire structure of the spiritual system by way of the three lines. And finally, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” talks about the general system of creation, including the three states of creation, about the research and the fundamental questions, and about the rungs of the spiritual ladder by which a soul ascends.

A person doesn’t need anything else after these prefaces and The Book of Zohar because these texts contain everything. However, there is one more very special preface, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot.” However, when a person studies The Zohar he will see what is written in the “Study of the Ten Sefirot” and in the introduction to it. He will sense internally the same explanations which Baal HaSulam provides in other articles.

A person will feel all these conclusions and facts from The Book of Zohar, provided that his study is combined with its four introductions. Therefore, there should be a special course preceding the study of The Zohar. A person can study The Zohar together with us, but at the same time he should be taking this course. That should be enough for him.

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A question I received: You have mentioned that there are seven sciences that originate from one root, Kabbalah. What are these sciences?

My Answer: Kabbalah is the root of all the sciences because it speaks about the common law of the universe, the law of similarity. This law is also expressed in these sciences.

The sciences that originate from Kabbalah manifest in our matter divided into seven disciplines: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. All of the other sciences in our world are their derivatives.

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It is only by virtue of The Book of Zohar that we will be able to come out of exile to redemption, and there is no doubt that we are now in a special state. We have to thank the Creator for choosing us for this mission; and on the other hand, it is a great responsibility. Let us have faith that the Creator will lead us through all the obstacles and they will only make us stronger.

I am fearful and inspired, and at the same time worried and anxious. We have to be aware of our great responsibility. All the generations of Kabbalists, the people who attained the goal of creation and the Creator’s desire, are inside the same system that we want to belong to. They have already corrected themselves in this broken system of the common soul (Adam HaRishon) and have prepared it for us, enabling us to accept it as a global system where it is no longer separate, corrected souls that are revealed, as was the case during the times preceding Rabash. He was the last in the lineage of Kabbalists who transmitted Kabbalah, the method of correction, to us. These special souls were instilled in all the generations like drops in an ocean.

Now, for the first time in history since the times of the last exile, we want to attain the last, final redemption. This is the real exodus from Egypt. Moreover, it’s happening at a special time – right before the holiday of Purim, which symbolizes the End of Correction. These conditions are completely extraordinary.

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