Two questions I received about the Creator

Question: I don’t get it. We are trying to connect with a spiritual being we can’t perceive, called the creator, who in fact is in charge of everybody’s fate and wants us to strive for him and only him, by studying books, and you tell me there is nothing magical or mystic about it?

My Answer: The Creator is the corrected you, because you were created ideally opposite to Him. We write “Him” with a capital letter only as a sign of respect for this property of “selfless love and bestowal.” That is to say, you are researching yourself in order to change yourself to the reverse. That’s what Kabbalah is – the discovery of the property of bestowal within you.

Question: How can the connection with the Creator, who’s good and does good, be expressed through negative feelings?

My Answer: As long as a person hasn’t corrected his desires, he can experience negative sensations in them, but at the same time he can rejoice at the fact that he is having these sensations as part of the process of correcting these desires. And once they become corrected, he rises over them, and despite any sensations he feels in them (even lack of fulfillment!), he will be able to feel only the happiness and goodness that fill the world! It’s because he acquires faith above reason – he is filled by the property of bestowal, even though his desires to be filled are empty.

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Two questions I received on approaching college studies

Question: I am a postgraduate student and I think that writing my thesis and mastering scientific skills could help me in the future with regard to disseminating Kabbalah, i.e. by helping include it in the scientific realm. However, I cannot actively get involved in such a job. The thought of worthlessness and incorrectness of all scientific research and fruitless theories is bugging me, and writing a thesis necessitates me to learn and know a bundle of stupidities. How can I motivate myself? Is it really needed for dissemination?

My Answer: If one has spiritual aspirations, and is confident that they are serious, long term and supported by his spouse, then this person needs to master a profession which will allow him to support his family, and then pursue spirituality, the soul’s correction. However, since you are already at postgraduate level, I would advise you to complete it, and then find a quiet job according your specialization, and dive into Kabbalah.

Question: I would like to know how long the feelings of emptiness and loneliness will last. How can I explain to my parents that I don’t want to go to college, that I don’t want anything except to study Kabbalah?

My Answer: Actually, Kabbalah obligates a person to get a job, get married and only then study Kabbalah. This world was created in complete harmony with the Upper World. If you use it contrary to the way the Creator provided it, you will not be able to attain equivalence with Him.

The order of resolving life’s problems is as follows:
* Specialization
* Job
* Wedding
* Kabbalah!!!

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Two questions I received on bestowing upon one’s neighbor

Question: I’ ve been studying with you, and I just don’t have the words to express my gratitude. It’s as if you take each of us by the hand and lead us to realize where we are. With your help, I’ve merited attaining a small but unmistakable glow, and working together with you.

I’d like to ask you the following: Suppose that I receive for the sake of bestowal, and the more I enjoy, the more I bestow. Or in other words, the more Light I reveal with the intention, the more I bestow. If I want to pass the Light on to my neighbor, and the Light has to go through me, through the Guf of my Partzuf, to my neighbor, so that more Light will be revealed in him than in me, then in order for this to happen, do I have to reveal more Light in the Guf of my Partzuf, or can it also happen without me revealing it, since I don’t want anything for myself except correction?

My Answer: Everything will happen automatically if you will think (and accordingly act) about everyone’s connection together into one Partzuf, and you desire and act for it to be filled, like the Creator. In this case, this Partzuf becomes filled with Light. And then you’ll perceive not only the Light of fulfillment, but also the pleasure of those whom you have fulfilled. The latter is a different kind of Light. It’s like a mother who perceives her children’s fulfillment, rather than what she fulfills them with. However, the Light that you pass to them also fulfills you, as it is written: “Every person who asks for his neighbor, receives first.”

Question: Suppose that a person has started perceiving the influence of the Upper Light and how to bring his neighbor to the same perception using the simplest words and notions – is this possible? If yes, then wouldn’t he be stealing his neighbor’s individual attainment? After all, he’s making the task easier for him, since the main thing is to start perceiving?

My Answer: It is written in the Torah: “Go and earn from one another” – all of us together need to adapt the harmony of the common mechanism of Adam, the common soul. By oneself, a person can never attain even a single spiritual state. It’s because, in essence, all of them are an even greater connection between the souls, the restoration of our breaking of the single soul of Adam into billions of pieces or souls. And everything has been prepared for you by the Kabbalists and by your friends. You’ve arrived when everything has already been prepared for you. Maybe you don’t feel it, but the entire world has been prepared for you by all the previous generations, and then you appeared in it as a baby. It is written: “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and this is how you should act, in order to help others in the same way that you want to be helped. However, you shouldn’t do this coercively, but the way you would treat a child – show them the sources, introduce them to the foundations, and then leave it to them to understand themselves, their path, and Kabbalah.

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Two questions I received on Kabbalistic texts

Question: I understand that Kabbalah is focused on changing life. But I can’t find instructions on how to integrate all the other fundamental texts, such as Humash, Mishnah, Talmud, Halachot, and others. How do you use them? Do we even need them? And how do we put it all into perspective?

My Answer: Once you learn Kabbalah, then when you will read other sources you will begin to understand that they all speak about spirituality or the Creator alone. That is to say, they are also Kabbalah, only written in a different style! For example, right now I posted an abbreviated translation of the Torah weekly chapter. Why? Because in this book, the greatest Kabbalist of all times, Moses, describes the ascent of man’s soul along the 125 steps of the ladder of similarity to the Creator. We must now realize this ascent – all of us together and each one of us individually – uniting more and more on every level, so that at the end of the ascent, we will become the single soul of Adam. No other source explains about this path so precisely and in so much detail!

The Zohar is a commentary on the Torah. Our next step is to gradually start studying The Book of Zohar through this blog, and then we will begin to see what was really passed down to us in the Torah. Then, after the Torah (Humash), we will also be able to learn Mishnah, Talmud, and Halachot in this manner. All of these books only speak about the correction of man, his soul, or the egoistic desire – Yetzer Ra – that was created by the Creator. And after that, the Torah (Tavlin) was given, only for its correction. Those who don’t feel egoism within themselves don’t study the Torah. They read an “empty” text instead of the text that Moshe gave them. You will be able to correctly “integrate” all of these books only after you properly attune yourself to using holy books (holiness is something that brings you to the property of holiness – love and bestowal).

Question: When I studied Kabbalah in college, a book titled Sefer HaBahir was mentioned many times, but you don’t mention this book on your website or at your lessons. Did this book ever exist?

My Answer: Yes, the book Sefer HaBahir exists. However, we mainly study the works of Baal HaSulam, who was the last Kabbalist and therefore is the most suitable for the correction of our souls. In addition to his works, we also study the works of Rabash, Ramchal, and Tanach.

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A comment I received: I’ve been reading your work for a long time now, and I see many parallels with Gnosticism. I’m surprised at how you combine this with such a materialistic teaching as Judaism, and how theodicy appears in Kabbalah, since obviously the material world is extremely evil, and its Creator cannot be evil. The only possible hope can be the enemy of whoever created this material world.

My Response: In our world, the Creator manifests as opposite Himself, because instead of perceiving Him, we perceive through our egoism and thus see the negative. In order to begin perceiving spirituality the way it really is, we have to create qualities within us that are similar to it, and which won’t distort its perception.

This is precisely what Kabbalah does to everyone studying it. Kabbalah creates new, spiritual qualities in a person, after which a person, using those qualities, feels the Upper hidden realm that others don’t feel.

I simply disregard everything except Kabbalah, and don’t compare it with anything else. This allows me to avoid getting confused and to attain. I have discarded all the philosophies which I once knew or studied. I prefer to attain rather than to be smart and get lost in thought, and I advise you to do the same. It helps.

Go through Baal HaSulam’s articles – practically all of them, right down the list (ed. all the links under the heading “Kabbalah Source Materials” are Baal HaSulam’s articles, except for Talmud Eser Sefirot, which is a book).

You should first study these articles, and then, if you still feel an inclination toward doing a comparative analysis of Kabbalah and something else, you can go for it. Good luck!

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Two questions and answers on the issue of questions and answers

Question: What’s the point of listening to someone else ask you a question? And in general, what’s the point of questions?

My Answer: It is written that “a shy person cannot study.” One has to ask questions, but at the same time one should heed the answers and delve deeper into them, until they become absolutely clear, that is, until they enter you. When you listen to your friend, you unite with him in his desire for the goal, and this is important for uniting within the group. I mean, your desire on its own is never enough to attain the goal, for the Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) to evoke a new intention “for the sake of another” in your desire. It was only for the sake of such unity with others that the worlds appeared, that the soul of Adam was created and then broken, and that this world was created so low. This was all done in order to create for the person a place for free will. Therefore, the only thing we do is realize our free will in our attempt to absorb the desires and goal of our friends in the entire world group.

In such a way, humanity will have to solve its common crisis, i.e. the revelation of mutual hatred and separation. People will discover that this mutual hatred and separation is causing a life threatening situation, to the point of the destruction of their lives. Even though their life is empty and worthless, they treat it as being very valuable since it is the only life they have, and as such, people will start listening to questions – to the desires of others – until everyone will unite in one question (as stated in item 2 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot“): “What is the meaning of our lives?” They will then come to Kabbalah.

Question: You often say that spirituality is beyond time, motion and space. What do you mean?

My Answer: You need to find the answer in Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 1 “Histaklut Pnimit (Inner Reflection).” You can’t get around it – you have to study. Those who are looking for an easy way out by asking questions don’t understand that only by studying Baal HaSulam’s materials (in any language) can they evoke the Upper Light of correction. Questions and answers are only intended to introduce beginners to the path. At the very least, you should go through all the posts on this blog. Perhaps, for now, this form of studying is most appropriate for you.

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Questions I received on descents in the spiritual path

Question: “There isn’t a righteous man who hasn’t sinned.” What happens between the levels, when one is in a descent and everything one had attained – the Light and the Creator – falls into the Klipot? How can one live with this difficult feeling?

My Answer: As Baal HaSulam writes in the book Pri Hacham (Letters), one needs to be happy about a descent, because it is the revelation of your uncorrected properties.
And if the evil is being revealed in you, this means that you already have the strength, the understanding, and the ability to correct such properties and rise above them to the next degree. Therefore, there’s no reason to feel down even during the greatest descent! The greatest punishment is for you to become disconnected from the Creator in your thoughts and sensations.

Question: On the spiritual path, how can I overcome the state when I feel lack of energy? You know what your purpose in the world is, and you try to connect what’s happening to the Creator, but you still don’t have energy to do anything, you can’t cope with the corporeal world and you simply can’t do anything at all, like you’re trying to disappear and not feel anything…

My Answer: There are many states like this and they are very diverse. It’s in our power to accelerate the speed at which we go through them, but it is impossible to cancel them, and you shouldn’t ever think that they are unnecessary. They are all inside you and have to manifest, and you must justify their manifestation and rise above them. How? You should realize that everything you perceive comes from the Creator, because “there is none else besides Him.” And everything is done for your own good, because “The Creator is good and does good.” The best way to practically, correctly and quickly incorporate this within you is to participate in the group and disseminate.

Question: I have different problems, and I don’t know whether they are psychological or a consequence of studying Kabbalah. What would you advise me to do?

My Answer: If people have psychological problems (mental illnesses), then usually they aren’t allowed to study Kabbalah, or they may study under a doctor’s supervision and a special attitude from us. But if you are mentally healthy, then the only thing that can help you is to increase your studies. It’s because every ascent is preceded by a descent, and you shouldn’t miss the descent, but ascend through it, with an effort, elevating the greatness of the goal and the certainty that the Light of studying will elevate you.

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A question I received: Dear Rav Laitman, could you please explain how does Kabbalah treat marriage and differences in perception between husband and wife? Kabbalah has already explained a great deal to me. Does Kabbalah treat a relationship between husband and wife as a sacred one or is it up to one`s desire to decide whether to follow the path? Thank you for helping us to understand what was considered “a secret.”

My Answer: “Sacred” is the quality of bestowal, which we acquire under the influence of the Light of Correction (Ohr Makif), when we correctly study Kabbalah (the books of Baal HaSulam). There is no other sacredness! It’s written: “There is no coercion in spirituality.” In corporeality, coercion originates from egoism. But it cannot exist in the spiritual world and in spiritual actions.

Every person has his own path and his own time to come to the Creator, and therefore you don’t have the right to force anyone to do this, including your husband and children. You can only tell them about it without pressuring them, “by the way,” gently, without threatening them, and evoking love for this topic in them. And no matter what the result, you should continue with your family life just like before.

Uniting with everyone who aspires toward the Creator will give you the strength and the desire to attain Him. You should view your relatives as bodies that are related to you, and as souls that are foreign to you.

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A question I received: I have been reading and watching different Kabbalistic materials over the course of this past year. Sometimes I’m very interested in Kabbalah, and other times I get too busy doing daily things and searching for pleasure. Over this period of time I gradually started feeling that something is happening inside of me. I became sadder and less satisfied. But some time ago, my life and my previous sensations have completed the changes they were going through. I have experienced a loss, and suddenly my heart started hurting so bad that I didn’t know where to hide from this pain. I realized that there is nothing else in this world that could satisfy me. For the first time in my life I started to desire studying Kabbalah with passion. I started watching the beginners’ course over the internet. The first lesson was like heaven to me. I don’t know why I was feeling so incredibly well while watching it. My heart still hurts every time I don’t watch lessons.

My Answer: There is one path for everybody, and nobody can choose another path. There’s an opportunity to take the path toward the goal of creation consciously, while others go against their will, and with a much slower speed. A person following the conscious path also experiences plenty of sadness and stress, but everything depends on the environment. One needs to close one’s eyes and give himself fully to the environment. Everyday there are more unhappy and devastated people in the world. Just imagine that you’re going to the same place that they are, and that the only difference is that they are walking, while you’re flying past them in parallel on an escalator. The fast changes in your mood, thoughts, and inner life happen because of the increase in your speed relative to others.

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A question I received: I participated in a Kabbalah seminar in Tallinn, Estonia on the 15th of June. At that meeting, I expressed my resentment of the following statement: “During a descent, one can progress even more than during an ascent, since at that time a person only uses the force of the group, which is always greater than his own force. One’s friends in the group were selected by the Creator Himself. If you will love them, then He will love you.”

I am used to moving forward and achieving things on my own. Maybe this is wrong, but that’s how it is for the time being. People singing together, holding hands, and singing songs – I feel that not only do they fail to see or know the text, but they even sing without any spirit – so what should I do?

I put more spirit into writing a letter to a woman I love or looking into her eyes. I can’t let myself be part of a group yet. Maybe I’m not ready for a group yet and I have to work on my own, as long as the group is foreign to me. On the other hand, talking to individual people at that evening in Tallinn was a pleasure. But when it came to singing and hugging, I wanted to leave!

My Answer: Everyone is repelled by this at first. Some people are social by nature, and some are loners. Personally I belong to the latter, so I understand you very well. What should you do? You should participate as much as you can. And after that your life will direct you, because when you make efforts and don’t receive a result, you will understand that there is no way out, that our correction lies in the union of souls. You don’t have to hug others or have a good singing voice. You should study and disseminate, and the rest will come in due time. Don’t force yourself.

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