Questions I received on paranormal activities, the solar eclipse and if Kabbalists can choose to die:

Question: I was wondering, are there any ghosts? I have witnessed many paranormal activities and I wanted to know if this is all imaginary or if it has something to do with the spiritual world. Do these activities demonstrate that some people are closer to the spiritual world than others?

My Answer: These activities are all imaginary. Kabbalah is the method to realistically attain the Upper World by means of obtaining senses and qualities that match it.

Question: Superstition aside, why were so many people interested in the July 22 solar eclipse? What does this phenomenon reveal (if anything) about our perception of reality, and does it have any significance in Kabbalah?

My Answer: It’s not just superstition. It is a reflection of people’s fear of losing their life and entering the darkness in every way. This is because at the animate level, we perceive the sun as the source of everything!

Question: Could a Kabbalist die if he wanted to?

My Answer: He can’t and he wouldn’t want to, because this would take him away from his life’s mission.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Demons, Spirits, Angels, Devils- Do They Exist?
Laitman.com Post: Black Cats And Physics
Laitman.com Post: Why Do We Die?
Shamati #34: “Profit of the Land”- Lesson
The Kabbalah Experience: Chapter 7. “Beliefs, Mysticism and The Supernatural”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Though Hast Hemmed Me In Behind and Before”- Talk 4

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

A question I received: What is the secret of love for friends that the science of Kabbalah is talking about? The whole world says that we have to love each other, but instead we just hate each other.

My Answer: The secret is that by properly working in a Kabbalistic group, a person begins to reveal the truth: that he does not love his neighbor, and even hates him. Before making this revelation, he used to think that he loved everyone and he truly believed this. But now he sees that he is the greatest hater, and he would destroy everyone around him if he could. This is called the revelation of evil, and it is a big step on the path of correction.

This realization comes on its own as a consequence of Kabbalah studies and self-scrutiny. A person studies the qualities with which he was created, the same qualities about which it is written, “I created the evil inclination.”

We have to put in a lot of effort in order to understand what kind of world we exist in. This is the springboard for making the leap upward. When I understand with what qualities I was created, the only thing left for me to do is complain and ask for correction from “the Master who created me.”

The Creator does not hide the fact that He deliberately created us this way so we would realize our evil. A person must first understand that he personally suffers from his hatred toward others and loses out greatly because of it. He is then gripped by fear about what will happen to him in this world and the world to come. However, gradually, under the influence of the Light that Reforms, he begins to understand how valuable the quality of bestowal is, since it gives him freedom.

He begins to prefer spirituality over all the material things. He wants to become giving and loving and to come out of his egoism – to come out of his dungeon! For the time being, he wants this for himself, so he would feel better, but at least he already wishes to become free from his egoistic desire.

For this purpose, he unites with others, and in regard to this goal, they are already called Kabbalists rather than a gathering of egoists. Together they reveal that they are powerless to change anything; they need a third component, the Upper Force, the Creator, the Light of Correction.

The Lights stirs them up like a boat in a stormy sea, and the whole group unites in such a way that it begins to react together, synchronously, by interacting with each other in common harmony (either positive or negative). The Light then begins to influence each person much more powerfully, since its influence is increased in the group, as if it passes through an amplifier.

In this manner they come to a realization that they will not manage without the Creator, the Light that Reforms. Then the whole group reaches a willingness to unite as one person with one heart in order to reveal the Creator.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Envy – A Song About Human Nature

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

A question I received: Why can’t we perceive the spiritual realm?

My Answer: We don’t possess the spiritual qualities through which we would be able to feel the spiritual realm. We have the desire to do so, but that desire senses spirituality through receiving and absorbing, whereas spiritual perception is based on bestowal, a quality we don’t have. But our goal is to obtain it.

We have to model ourselves after the Creator – something that exists outside of us. We don’t know Him or anything about Him. We can only transform ourselves into a being that is somewhat similar to Him; then we will begin to sense ourselves as giving creatures. This is what it means to attain spirituality.

Spirituality is the “form” of bestowal that we build within ourselves. This “form” is what we call the Creator and what we attain through our soul in the spiritual world. No one except me can create this form, since we do not feel anything outside of ourselves Kabbalists tell us: “Curtail your current self, reduce your desires, and then use them for the sake of giving rather than receiving.”

Have you managed to do that? If yes, what do you feel now? Our new perception is called “the spiritual world,” the “Creator,” or “the soul.” We still don’t feel a thing outside ourselves, but simply sense your desire in its new form; this is what is called the “spiritual realm.”

Is there anything outside of us that created our desire? We don’t know the answer to that question, but we do know that our “external” desires are also perceived through our inner desires and never through anything that’s outside of us.

We can perceive either the physical reality or the spiritual one, but in either case we can only perceive anything through its matter and form. So there is no difference in the way we perceive either world. We imagine that this physical world exists outside of us, but in fact it is inside. Similarly, we will later imagine that the Creator and the spiritual worlds exist outside of us, but they too are inside. It’s simply a matter of our desire assuming a new shape, a new image, or a new silhouette.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - 2 Comments →

A question I received: Who gives names to spiritual objects like Mocha Stima (concealed mind), Mocha De-Ovira (membrane in the brain), the head of Arich Anpin, Atik, and the unknown head of Infinity? How do we come to know these names?

My Answer: When Kabbalists attain these objects, they naturally (instinctively) give them these names. Anyone who discovers a new spiritual object or phenomenon also discovers its name within himself. It’s a bit like being able to look at a person you’ve never met before and correctly guessing his name.

Question cont’d: So why do they write that the Partzuf is concealed or unknown?

My Answer: Because only when we attain something can we actually assert that it is unknown to us. It’s the same as how a scientist in our world investigating an unknown phenomenon can assert that at some point, there is a particular boundary where something unknown to him begins.

Question cont’d: Then how do we attain the Upper System that controls us if we don’t understand it?

My Answer: It is precisely the sensation of lack of knowledge that pushes us to advance and develop, compelling us to build a special connection to the Upper Level. That is why the Upper System, called Aba ve Ima, Arich Anpin and Atik, is not fully revealed to us. Lacking precise knowledge of this system, we discern certain parts of it and keep being drawn to progress onwards, toward complete understanding.

It is like a flirtation between the Upper One and the lower one, according to the principle, “By revealing one part, two parts are concealed.” This happens in order for the lower one to develop a greater desire for the next revelation.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

A question I received: Does a Kabbalist become religious once he reveals the Creator?

My Answer: A Kabbalist is concerned with just one thing: how to attain a connection with the Creator. Everything else falls into place depending on this. Everything that is happening to you right now is happening in your uncorrected desire. Your attitude to the whole world, to yourself, and to the Creator is completely wrong. So how can you have the right attitude to Him?

If you correct yourself, then it doesn’t matter what your connection with the Creator will be like. The most important thing is that it will be real and true, and this is what the Creator is waiting for from us.

Therefore, we don’t ask what form our religions will take in the future, or how people will behave, what their lifestyle will be, and whether this world will exist at all. The most important thing is that it will be the truth.

If I am uncorrected right now, then everything I feel, see, think and understand now is incorrect, both in my mind and my heart. Therefore, none of it will remain in the future; all the broken things will be replaced by corrected ones.

So what will life be like? I don’t know, and I cannot imagine this within my corrupted qualities. I can only tell you that everything will turn into its opposite, as it is written: “I saw a reverse world!” You only have to be ready for the changes that the Upper Light will perform to us.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

A question I received: Baal HaSulam wrote that he received permission from Above to disclose the wisdom of Kabbalah. What does “permission from Above” mean?

My Answer: When a Kabbalist achieves a high level of attainment, he divulges that he has received “permission from Above.” He accepts his new mission, feels obligated to carry it out and starts acting. This is part of the mission placed upon the shoulders of all great Kabbalists, starting from the time of Abraham and onward. The brightest example is Moses, a spiritual leader of the people.

“Permission from Above” includes knowledge of the structure of the universe, a methodology for revealing the Creator and for educating people about self correction, both in our time and to a certain extent in the future. One who receives “permission from Above” becomes a conduit through which higher knowledge flows downward, in accordance with the ability of those below the Kabbalist to absorb and learn.

Permission from Above includes within itself a vast system for bringing all humankind into harmony with the Creator. Being given “permission from Above” signifies that a human being has become a representative of the Creator, a liaison between the Creator and His creation. In fact, if a person did not receive “permission from Above,” he would only confuse others. He would not be able to adequately present the goal, its importance, the methods of achieving the goal, nor the significance of those methods.

The goal is to become one with the Creator. The method for achieving it lies in the correction of our human desires with help of the Light which returns us to the Source. This is initiated by studying Kabbalah and aspiring to become corrected, a desire that emanates from the “point in the heart.” This in turn drives our desire to connect (“love thy neighbor”) with the “points in the heart” of our fellow group members.

If a person uncovers this system, understands it, and absorbs it into his being, it means he received “permission from Above.”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

A question I received: We have learned that a person should not look back to his prior states of spiritual development. Having this in mind, I cannot understand how Kabbalists were then able to describe all those states to us. Moreover, we know that some Kabbalists prayed to the Creator to lower them to lower (past) states so they could convey them to the lower ones (us).

Let’s say I wanted to write a book based on real events. The only way to do that is to go back to those states or events and feel them throughout once again as much as possible. Isn’t this the same when Kabbalists describe spirituality?

My Answer: For Kabbalists, there is no time, but only the manifestation of the cause-and-effect sequence of corrective actions.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Research Of The Human Level Is Only Possible From A Higher Level
Laitman.com Post: In An Integrated System, Even A Small Change Causes Changes Within The Entire System
Laitman.com Post: The Law Of Roots And Branches – The Most Important Law In Kabbalah
The Path of Kabbalah: “Cause and Consequence”
Interview with the Future: “Writing a Book of Kabbalah”
Video: Language Of Roots And Branches – 5 Minutes Of Light (5:18)

Filed under: Perception - No Comments →

A question I received: Why were we chosen for the wisdom of Kabbalah and not others?

My Answer: People will never know the answer to this. Only after revealing the entire system of worlds and souls, will a person begin to understand his role in this system and see why the desire to become like the Creator has awakened in him at this specific time. This awakening is the soul.

But the meaning of this will only come once people reveal the entire picture. This is why Kabbalists say that once you’ve been awakened – wake up, once you’ve been given a point in the heart – realize it. It is then that you will receive the answer to your question.

We can ask similar questions about our physical situations, such as, why was I born to my parents, why was I born into this specific body and during this time? In our life there are no answers to these questions either, but the wisdom of Kabbalah enables us to attain the entire system and find the answers.

(From the Children’s Lesson at the North American Congress in Buffalo, NY)

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

We have to rise from the world we exist in up to the Upper World. This is the only purpose of our world. People who have revealed the path to the Upper World are called Kabbalists, starting from Adam HaRishon and on. They discovered that only the Upper Light can draw us into the spiritual world and help us achieve correction. Only the Upper Light is capable of correcting us and raising us along the spiritual degrees.

We can draw this Light by belonging to its system. Currently we do not belong to it because our nature is opposite to the Light. Our nature is reception, while the system is giving.

In order to draw the Light of correction, an “adapter” was created, or a buffer between the two systems. This buffer is Kabbalah books that connect us with the souls of the Kabbalists who wrote them. When we read these books with our “material” eyes, we unconsciously connect our souls (or the embryo of the soul that exists in us) to the soul of the author, and through his soul, we receive an illumination.

Some Kabbalists wrote books for each other, describing the Upper System in order to perfect their attainment and give joy to the Creator, or in order to prepare the Upper World to accept the souls that will later ascend to it. Other Kabbalists wrote for us, those who exist in this world, but they used four different languages.

Three of the languages – the Mikra, Halacha, and Hagaddah, do not allow us to adhere to the Upper Level. They can only be effectively used by people with a particularly refined soul. In addition, because we are living in a special time, we now need a different kind of language; the only language intended for our generation is that of Kabbalah. Only it can help us draw the Surrounding Light and ascend.

Moreover, out of all the Kabbalists who wrote in the language of Kabbalah, we single out the Ari and Baal HaSulam. Their language is most appropriate in order for us to find the connection with the Upper Level. The effect of their texts on us is the strongest, since the Surrounding Light that comes from their books is the most appropriate for our souls. So, of all the sacred books, the only ones that suit us are the books of Baal HaSulam, who adapted Kabbalah for our souls.

Besides this, there is The Book of Zohar, which is absolutely unique. It isn’t even a book, but a tool we can use together with the commentary of Baal HaSulam, who wrote it specifically for us. Besides these books, we cannot establish any contact with any of the other sacred books. Although they are sacred (meaning, they talk about the Upper World), they cannot help us correct our souls and realize the purpose of our existence.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

A question I received: Why is it written that Baal HaSulam merited to receive the Ari’s soul? Didn’t he have his own soul?

My Answer: The soul is a “part of the Creator from Above.” No person born in our world has it from birth. The only people who have a soul are those who have attained at least the minimal quality of bestowal, the quality of the Creator.

With the case you are asking about, a person corrected himself, attained the quality of bestowal, built his soul (vessel of perception – Kli), and suddenly this vessel acquired a specific form and was filled with the Light called “the soul of the Ari.” The soul is the corrected desire (this is “the body” of the soul), and the Light that fills it (the Light of the soul) is the revelation, the Creator, which clothes into you. That is why the soul is called a “part of the Creator from Above.”

Receiving the soul of the Ari means thinking like him, feeling like him, being instead of him, seeing through his eyes, and feeling with his senses just like him. Baal HaSulam received the soul of Ari, which is the same soul that was passed from Adam to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Rashbi, from Rashbi to the Ari, and from the Ari to Baal HaSulam. This is a special soul through which the Creator reveals the method of merging with Him during the generations when a special spiritual change has to occur. If the Creator sent us a teacher like Baal HaSulam, who had the soul of the Ari, this indicates that we are living in the generation of the last, general correction.

The soul constantly changes and reincarnates. Throughout the course of a Kabbalist’s lifetime, he always has a different Partzuf and a different degree. A person’s corrected qualities that have the intention of bestowal, in which the Light can be clothed, is called a soul. The Kli is called the body of the soul, and the Light is called the soul. This is the Light of NaRaNHY, but in general it is called “Neshama” (soul) because until we reach the complete correction, we can only correct this degree completely.
[5578]

Filed under: Body and Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →