Rabash, Article “Purpose of Society (1)”: “…the whole world was created for the fear of God.”

There is an exalted goal, which we do not perceive in our egoistic sensations, in the aspiration to absorb everything “into me.” The exit “from me” into concern for “outside of me” is called spiritual fear (Yirat Hashem).

Currently I am worried about how to fill and protect myself, which is called fear about oneself. Subconsciously we are constantly concerned with attracting that which is beneficial to ourselves and distancing what is harmful to us, our egoism. In contrast, spiritual fear means that I experience fear about what exists outside of me. I am worried about others, about the Creator, like a mother worries about her little child, thinking about him and identifying with him all the time.

In this fear and concern for the neighbor, outside of the self (one’s egoism), I feel the Upper reality.

From Mega Congress Lesson 1, 7/23/10

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Knocking On The Creator’s Door
Article : "Arvut (The Bond)"
Kabbalah Moments: "Like An Anxious Mother"

Filed under: Conventions, Inner Work - No Comments →

A question I received: Following is a quote from an article by Rabash. “Then the Creator said to him (Abraham): you should not regret that you do not work with uncircumcised people. Now, after circumcision, you have a similarity in qualities, and hence I can reveal myself to you.”

Is the circumcision the First or the Second Restriction? Also, what does “reveal” mean? Is it a connection between friends or a true desire for bestowal with an altruistic foundation as opposed to an egoistic one?

My Answer: Circumcision is the Second Restriction. As it is written, “Cut off the edge of your heart.” This means do not work with the egoistic desires (extremities) that will only become corrected at the end of correction, Gmar Tikkun.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: And The Lord Appeared To Him By The Oaks Of Mamre
Shamati #95: “Concerning Removing the Foreskin”
AskTheKabbalist: ” The Circumcision”

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

Why Is The Creator Concealed From Man?

And in order for the created beings to receive all the abundance and enjoyment without feeling ashamed for receiving it, the correction [of initially purposefully corrupted egoistic nature] was performed.

The essence of this correction is the restriction and concealment of the Upper Light [from man]. Meaning, until one corrects his desire to receive into a bestowing one [becomes similar to the Light, the Creator] no revelation of the Upper Light is possible. [We perceive the Upper Light like any natural phenomena only to the measure of similarity of our properties to that phenomenon.]

And instead of tasting goodness and pleasure [from bestowal] in the commandments [the acts of correction of the desire to receive into the desire to bestow so as to become similar to the Creator] that we fulfill, we are unable to feel the taste that won’t make us ashamed while receiving pleasure. For this specific reason the correction [concealment of the Light, pleasure from bestowal and love] was performed whereby at the moment of receiving pleasure, we must act for the sake of bestowal since otherwise the concealment extends to our actions.

– Rabash, Shlavei ha Sulam, “Sanctity and Purity in the Work,” 1991, pg. 28.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How To Become A Creature
The Path of Kabbalah: “The Birth of the Partzufim”
5 Minutes Of Light: “Infinite Fulfillment, The Point Of Life”

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

Rabash, “And The Lord Appeared To Him By The Oaks Of Mamre”: He asks, why the oaks of Mamre and not in some other place? And he replies, it is because Mamre gave him an advice about his circumcision. When the Creator told Abraham to circumcise himself, Abraham went to seek advice from his friends. …

Mamre told him, “Remember the day that the Chaldeans threw you in the furnace, and that famine that the world experienced … and those kings that your men chased, which you struck, and from whom the Creator saved you and no one could harm you. Rise up and do as your Master commands.”

Every person is a small world, and just like an element of a holographic picture, each contains all the qualities of the world. The only difference is that for every individual, these qualities exist within us in different combinations.

Malchut of the World of Infinity split into a multitude of parts (souls);  every part contains all the qualities, but with some desires of the soul presented more strongly and some weaker. The first correction of egoism lies in cutting off all the desires to receive pleasure for oneself. This action is called a covenant with the Creator (in goal) or circumcision (in action). In other words, in order to ascend to the quality of bestowal (the degree of Bina), man performs a circumcision of his desires to receive, separating them from the desires to bestow.

Man is governed by three souls: animate, intelligent, and guiding. One governs him through his feelings, one through his mind, and the third weighs which direction he ought to strive to. These souls animate us, and everything depends on which of them prevails. In the end, we have to make use of all the forces at our disposal, regardless of which makes the decisions and which governs the rest of our properties.

As every person passes through the stages of the ego’s correction, he checks whether his “body” (desires) is prepared to make the decision to join the degree of Bina (bestowal). That is when he acquires a Kli, a spiritual vessel, the desires of bestowal, and performs the correction of “circumcision” cutting off, as it were, the egoistic desires from himself.

He sees that his other desires do not agree with the Creator. He has no strength to correct them, but he is strong enough to cut them off (as it is written, “from the edge of one’s heart”). Afterward, at subsequent degrees, he will even be able to correct them so that they would willingly join the actions of bestowal and help him ascend even higher.

This force or property called Mamre, which man finds within himself, is his preparation (friend) that helps him achieve the property of bestowal.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/6/10, Article, “And The Lord Appeared To Him By The Oaks Of Mamre”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Escaping The Rule Of Our Desire
Shamati #95: "Concerning Removing the Foreskin”
Kabbalah Moments: "Through The Ego"

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work - No Comments →

We proceed to reading The Zohar after preparing ourselves for it by studying Rabash’s articles during the first part of the lesson; that is, after we are ready to receive the Light that Reforms. What does it mean, “We are ready”? It means we have a desire for it, a desire for the inner dimension in particular, for acquiring the property of bestowal beyond our earthly mind and sensations. We want this property to rule over us.

What if a person has no desire for it? What if he does not feel that he lacks the property of bestowal and does not even wish to feel this lack? What should he do? He too should stay with those who want to acquire the property of bestowal. A person who feels virtually no relation to it should cling like a newborn to those who study. It is said about the science of Kabbalah: “It will heal all flesh.”

In our world, even a healthy person occasionally undergoes medical examination: “What if they find some illness?” “Why do you need it if you are healthy?” “I want to be sure I don’t have any disease that is progressing while I am unaware of it.”

The same applies to us. Even if we don’t feel that we lack the property of bestowal and we consider ourselves “healthy,” we trust the great Kabbalists who advise us to examine ourselves. Hence, we read The Book of Zohar even if we feel no need for it. Perhaps, thanks to this reading that I don’t particularly relate to or feel any taste or necessity for, I will nevertheless examine myself and see that I possess negative properties. By correcting them, I will reach something good (I will get better).

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/28/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: First, Let’s Receive A Soul
Laitman.com Post: One On One With The Creator
Unlocking The Zohar: "How To Evolve"

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →

From Writings of Rabash, Shlavey Ha Sulam, Article 16, 1984 “The Matter of Bestowal”: There is a rule that if one wants to reach a certain goal and knows that it is impossible to reach it without toil, then one exerts effort and ignores rest. And if a person engages in Kabbalah and inner work, it means that he has a spiritual need and expects to receive the desired in this way. Hence, before starting his work, one needs to examine what one is expecting to receive with its help, meaning what reward is he expecting from his work? And when a person starts pondering about it, an array of different thoughts come to him, and it is hard for him to understand what he truly wants….

We always find ourselves in misgivings and doubts: “What do I need all this for; why am I doing this?” We don’t know the true reason since it is hidden from us. This great chasm of doubt seems endless and many gradually stop analyzing these questions. The more one delves into them, the more questions arise in him; meanwhile, regular life keeps flowing along. And thus one stops pondering about it and no longer looks for the answer.

But why did the Creator prepare for us so many considerations, so many paths and thoughts, such as “why, what for, and how?” I cannot escape these thoughts, and the more I think about them the more confused I become. Was it really His intention that I should fall into despair and quit it all? If I don’t clarify all of it fully, if I don’t reveal for myself the new degree, I will not advance. So why is He putting obstacles in my way?

The Creator does it so that only those who seek to attain bestowal, to become like Him, and are willing to work for it will come to Him. I tried to reach bestowal and realized that I know nothing, that I am in total darkness, and, thus, need help from Above. On the one hand, I am ready to give everything because the exerted efforts grant me strength to go on toward the goal. If I have invested great efforts to achieving some goal, I can’t abandon it easily. I’ve already invested so much! I am prepared to pay so as to not let my investment go to waste.

If I understand that bestowal exists and that I must achieve it by all means, the disillusionment in my own strength gives rise to the true prayer.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/10, Article, “The Matter of Bestowal”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Greatest Reward Is Not Seeing It
5 Minutes Of Light: “Effort = Acceleration”
Kabbalah Moments: “Investment”
Kabbalah Moments: “Purpose Of Suffering”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work - No Comments →

A question I received: When is it considered that a person is in a state of Galut (exile)?

My Answer: Galut (exile, deportation) refers to the exile from the spiritual world and the property of bestowal and love. That is, one needs to wish for this property, and the measure to which one does not have it, one feels Galut, the exile from it.

For instance, in his article “A True Prayer,” Rabash says that Galut is when a person is not given an opportunity to hold the intention for his actions not to be in order to receive a reward, which is against our nature.
(רב"ש. מאמר "תפלה אמיתית": הגלות – היינו, שלא נותנים לו לכוון, שעבודתו תהיה בשלא על מנת לקבל פרס, היות שהוא נגד הטב)

Related Material:

Laitman.com Post: Exile Is A Spiritual Degree
Kabbalah Moments: "Feeling In Exile"
5 Minutes Of Light: " Prayer, The Desire I Wish To Correct"

Filed under: Inner Work - No Comments →

The Creator Is Absolute Good
Questions about the post "Kabbalists On The Purpose of Creation, Part 1"

Question: Right now I see the Creator as good that does good, even though I often scold  Him and believe that He is unfair to me and others. In the next moment, I can see Him negatively again. Is my ego painting this picture for me? How can I ask for MAN (prayer)?

My Answer: Study the articles of Rabash together with us. He is the only Kabbalist whose articles describe all the spiritual Laws in detail, as well as the states that a person goes through as he attains them.

Question: I quote: “The Creator is absolute goodness.” I want to feel the Creator, bestowal, all the time, but how do I feel it and to whom do I bestow? On the one hand, bestowal is absolute good, but on the other, it is simply a blind law. If we are desire, which is matter, and we must become similar to the Creator, what exactly are we supposed to become? By becoming similar to the Creator, we will turn into a different matter, a different substance, so what will we feel?

My Answer: You should know that there is no answer for this question. You will find your own answers through attainment. Answers to spiritual questions come only to the extent of your entrance into the spiritual quality of bestowal. This is possible only through a systematic and practical study of Kabbalah. All theorists will remain with their questions refuting Kabbalah disdainfully in an effort to justify themselves. All of your questions have already been answered on this site, so read up!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Muse of A Kabbalist
Kabbalah Moments: "Seeing Goodness"
5 Minutes Of Light: "What Is The Creator?"

Filed under: Q&A - No Comments →

From the articles of Rabash: Malchut’s guidance is called “Chukat” (corpus juris/code of laws). But it is only the law of the Torah, not the Torah itself. This means that in order to attain the Torah, we have to accept the laws it bestows on us. Otherwise, it is impossible to receive the Torah. When a person accepts Malchut’s governance over him, he is called Israel.

We all are the desire to receive pleasure. This desire is similar to a mountain, hill, or a pile of sand that has no form. From this “sand,” with the help of water (Hassadim), we must build a shape in the likeness of the Creator much like we are able to shape the sand on the seashore.

This is our work, the process in which we build the correct form from shapeless “sand” as we study the qualities of the Creator, copy them, and mold ourselves from it – called “chukat” (the code of laws). The forms that we acquire ourselves are called “chukat.”

Ultimately, the cause, effect, and the forms of bestowal that we are building, one by one on the foundation of the will to receive, will all join together. Nothing disappears in spirituality; the foundation remains, and ultimately this construction will transform into an image of the Creator that we create by ourselves.

It follows that the creatures create the Creator. This is written in The Zohar. Therefore, all the great laws that we receive from the Light, along with the revelation of the Creator, exist for us to realize them on our own.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 6/14/10

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Who Can We Call A Creature?
Laitman.com Post: All Of Creation Is The Creator’s Game
Article: “The Creating Mind”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Zohar - No Comments →

We are still unable to appreciate what Rabash had done for us. He was the first Kabbalist in history to have described man’s spiritual work in a specific and structured way. As a guide to one’s inner work in attaining the Creator, the works of Rabash have no equal.

There are various books that speak about this at various lengths, but none of them describe the entire path of one’s inner transformation in a systematic way. Rabash, however, gives concise and comprehensible explanations with clear examples. He supplements the method of Baal HaSulam with all that is missing for the practical realization of correction so that all humanity could accomplish it. We take the works of Baal HaSulam and the articles of Rabash and adapt them to the modern man by stripping away all that could confuse him.

These great Kabbalists created the two parts of the method of correction. Everyone needs them today in order to reach the purpose of creation. Baal HaSulam connects us to the source of the Surrounding Light, and Rabash teaches us how to prepare ourselves to connect to this source. He explains how I should organize myself step by step, and how to focus my thoughts and intentions. When I am ready, I then open the books of Baal HaSulam.

Baal HaSulam is like the Light that comes to me from Above, and Rabash prepares me through the work below upward, toward the source. If I make use of both these forces, I am guaranteed success.

From the Talk on Working on Rabash’s Articles 6/15/10

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Nothing Vanishes In Spirituality
Laitman.com Post: The Carriers Of The Light
5 Minutes Of Light: "Rabash, The Successor Of Baal HaSulam"

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →