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

What Is The Basis Of The Wisdom Of Kabbalah?

A person must learn the wisdom: to attain and look into the Creator’s secrets [which are not yet revealed to him] in order to know himself, to understand who he is, how he was created, where he came from, where he is going, how to correct his body [desires], and how in the future he will stand before the court of the Ruler of the world.

One must attain and see the secret of the soul: what is his soul, where did it come from, why did it descend into this body, similar to a foul-smelling drop that is here today and in the grave tomorrow. He must look into this world in order to attain the world he is in and what he must correct in it. Then he will see the higher secrets of the Upper World and attain the Creator. A person will attain all of this from the secrets of the Torah.
– The Zohar For All with the Sulam Commentary, “Song of Songs”

The science of Kabbalah teaches us how to develop until we attain similarity [equivalence] of form with the Creator, avoiding mistakes.
– Rav Kook, Orot Kodesh, V.2

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Re-Assembling The Creator
Laitman.com Post: Tuning-In To The Creator’s Wavelength
Booklet: “The Structure Of The Soul

Filed under: Kabbalistic Sources - No Comments →

The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 116: Woe unto the wicked of the world who do not know and do not look to understand that all that there is in the world is from the Creator, that He alone did, does, and will do all the deeds in the world. He knows in advance all that will unfold in the end, as it is written, “Declaring the end from the beginning.” And He watches and does things in the beginning in order to repeat them and to do them perfectly after some time.

The end of the action lies in the initial Plan. Everything returns from Bina to Keter and from Keter to Bina. Between them, in the upper part of a Partzuf, which relates to the Upper One, is where all the work occurs on the lower part of the Partzuf, from ZAT of Bina and down until Malchut.

We are inside Malchut and from our position we do not see the causes of the actions taking place in Bina, nor the goal that all of this must lead to, which comes from Keter. We are opposite to them due to having opposite qualities. As long as Malchut does not acquire qualities of Bina, it cannot understand Keter, the Upper Governance.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Let’s Agree With His Plan
Kabbalah for Beginners: “The Thought of Creation”
Kabbalah Moments: ‘Essence Of Creation”

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

The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 96: Three Degrees NRN. The most hidden is given to the wise at heart. Three degrees cling to one another—Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama.

All of The Book of Zohar and the entire wisdom of Kabbalah speak about spiritual degrees. However, what is a spiritual degree? What is ascension? What do we ascend in? In the corporeal world, a greater fulfillment of the desire to receive pleasure (in terms of food, sex, family, wealth, recognition, and knowledge) is considered to be an ascent. This is material “ascension” since it is dictated by the aspiration to receive egoistic pleasure.

In contrast, spiritual ascension is greater bestowal to others. A spiritual force is the force of bestowal, whereas a material force is the force of reception. This shows that the science of Kabbalah speaks about ascensions in bestowal.

Where can I actualize, verify, experience, and perceive this ascension and be certain that it is real? I can do this in the group. This is why the Creator broke the connections between the souls. He gave us a perception of this reality called “this world” and a diversity of numerous similar creatures that we call “people.” However, in essence, they are all souls who have lost the sensation of spirituality and live solely in the corporeal world. Thus, instead of experiencing our spiritual vessel, which is the will to bestow, we feel the material desire that paints a reality for us where we live in our bodies in this world.

What are we left to do? In our present state, we must start yearning for bestowal and mutual guarantee. Then, we will become equivalent to the nature of the spiritual degrees that the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about, and we will be able to ascend the steps of bestowal.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Legos For The Soul
Laitman.com Post: How To Receive In Order To Bestow
Rabash Article: "Which Degree Should One Achieve?”
5 Minutes Of Light: "Preparing Oneself For New Feelings"

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

Question: Is it true that every time we read The Book of Zohar it precisely describes my spiritual state?

Answer: The spiritual states include everything just like a holographic image. Indeed, every spiritual state comprises the ten Sefirot. And whichever way you look at it, in every state you see yourself.

How is this possible? It is because all this is a single, universal state; it is only that we discern in it a gradation of qualities. There are not multiple states, but only one state: the first and the last state of adhesion. However, for us it is revealed in different perspectives, as though we are looking at the same picture from different visual angles. Therefore, I can see and recognize myself in every state that there is.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/10, The Zohar

Related Materials:
Laitman.com Post: A Wonderful Infusion
Laitman.com Post: The Holographic Picture Of The Soul
Unlocking the Zohar: “Sensing the Zohar”

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

Question: What does it mean to strive toward unity and to try to “step out of myself” during our reading of The Book of Zohar? It sounds like fantasy. What am I supposed to visualize? What can I latch on to?

Answer: If I am sitting in a stuffy building and need fresh air, I open the door. Opening the door is all you need to do! When you open yourself outward, everything that is outside will enter you.

It is written: “You shall not bow down to a foreign god.” (Psalms, 81:9) If you do not want the Creator to be foreign to you (dwelling outside of you), bring Him in.

The entire Book of Zohar speaks about the Creator, as does the whole of the wisdom of Kabbalah. Above our world and everything else that exists is the Creator. There is nothing more to look for but the Creator. Beyond this world, there is Upper Light that is revealed to you in your corrected desires where you discover the properties of the Light.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What Is The Creator?
Laitman.com Post: All The Treasures Are In Front Of You!
5 Minutes Of Light: “Unraveling The Zohar”

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

Question: What should someone who is just beginning to study the wisdom of Kabbalah do when he is sitting in front of The Book of Zohar absolutely clueless about what is written in it?

Should he keep trying to hold intention for the entire 45 minutes of the lesson? It is so frustrating to sit in front of such an incredible book and get nothing out of it. What am I to do?

Answer: The only thing I need to get out of The Zohar is the force of bestowal, nothing else. If I have a minimal force of bestowal, I will start sensing The Zohar, my involvement with it, and the flow of text in it. I will start feeling how precious this book is to me. Gradually, through my reactions to its words, I will start feeling what it is talking about.

But all of this follows my desire above myself for the force of bestowal and my desire for an open heart. Only with such intentions should we open The Zohar. When you step “out of yourself” (out of your egoism), that is when The Zohar enters you.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The First Contact With Spirituality
Unlocking The Zohar: “Sensing The Zohar”
5 Minutes Of Light: “The Zohar, An Entrance To Spirituality”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Zohar - 1 Comment →

The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 32: “And I will make you a great nation”…“And I will bless you”…By retiring from the right line that is not mingled with the left, he was rewarded with illumination of the right that is mingled with the left…

Because he retired from the illumination of the left that is not mingled with the right, he was rewarded with the promise implied in the words, “And [I will] make your name great,” which is the illumination of the left that mingled with the Hassadim on the right.

…“And you will be a blessing,” which is the illumination of the middle line.

The advancement along three lines is like walking with two legs: on one side there is the force of bestowal (the right line), and on the other, the force of reception (the left line). One uses these two forces or lines to advance, “stepping” on one and then the other. However, the direction he moves in, which also determines how he activates these two forces of right and left, is called the middle line.

Therefore, the middle line is not some kind of third force. There is no third force! The middle line is the correct combination of the left and right lines. The correct combination ensures advancement, first via the governance of the quality of judgment, and then mercy, first good, and then evil. One triggers the revelation of the evil forces, which push man from behind. The other reveals the forces that draw and beckon him forward. Man advances with the help of these two forces. They are like two reigns through which one controls and advances himself. There is an entire science on how to use them.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is called the third line, the “golden path.” It is the method of the correct use of these two forces of nature: the force of reception and the force of bestowal, plus and minus. Our entire corporeal sciences also amount to the ability of using these two natural forces: from atomic energy, which too contains “plus” and “minus,” to molecules that join and divide on the basis of positive and negative valencies. Everything is comprised of two opposite forces.

Therefore, the correct study lies in learning how to take these two natural bases (the Light and the desire, the plus and the minus), to merge them into a single whole, and to assemble whole systems up to the infinite universe which includes everything. We have to learn so that the “mechanisms” we build through this unification, such as “engine,” “refrigerator,” “air conditioner,” and so on, all work in the best and optimal way.

Essentially, the entire wisdom boils down to extracting the maximum benefit from these two forces. And we stand in the middle between them, in the so-called “middle line.”

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Don’t Let Your Ego Consume You!
Laitman.com Post: One Can Not Walk Alone
Laitman.com Post: Unity Of Desires Determines Everything

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

A question I received: Can one person with a correct intention affect the entire group that reads The Zohar without any intention?

My Answer: When we read The Zohar together, we strive to unite. We gather in a group so that there are no difference between an advanced student and a beginner, a prominent one and not. Together in a group we are all equal.

Each of us may be in a certain state: one just started and doesn’t fully comprehend where he is, while another has studied The Zohar for some time and has already gained a certain picture from it. Yet both undergo different states. Perhaps today a person feels especially attuned and inspired, but there are times when he is unable to tune in at all, as if unconscious. It may be that yesterday there was great clarity, and today that person is unable to collect his thoughts.

Therefore, everything depends on the collective mass of those who study together, and how well, through a unified effort, they are able to feel that this mass contains everyone within itself. It turns out that those who have sharp clarity today help those who are now lifeless. Moreover, both benefit from each other.

As a matter of fact, the person now inspired lacks the force of egoistic desire (Aviut), but receives it from those currently in the dead state and vice versa. In this way, when there is great inspiration and Aviut at the same time, then together in unison we help each other to receive an opportunity for advancement. Thus, when we connect and bring both together, it works and brings good results. Conversely, if only those who are burning with inspiration came to study today while those who feel lifeless stayed in bed, we would gain nothing. We would not have a sufficient force of egoistic desire to advance.

Our strong desire attracts the Light that Reforms. We burn with the desire to receive it and it comes. So where does the Light enter? Where is your egoistic desire that it can influence? Yet when several “dead” friends sit next to you, the Light influences them and brings them back to life. And tomorrow you will switch places, and everything will reverse.

We do not fully comprehend the unique potential of a group. Without it, spiritual advancement is impossible.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Self-Contained System Of Connections
Kabbalah Moments: "To Be Inspired By Others"
Kabbalah Moments: "Dual Attitude"

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

The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 22: Therefore, when Abraham… came and received the illumination of the left line, …he immediately fell under Nimrod’s rule. He, in turn, threw him into the furnace, which extends from the power of the illumination of Shuruk.This is when the Creator helped him extend the illumination of the middle line over the Masach de Hirik, which decides and makes peace between the two lines—right and left.

Salvation always lies in the middle line, the screen of Hirik (Masach de Hirik). Two forces – the left and right lines, the force of bestowal and the force of reception – must surface within us; with their help, we are being governed from Above. Similar to how these two forces descend from one upper root, so must we unify them in the middle line.

For this purpose, we are given the Wisdom of Kabbalah, a method that allows us to understand how to unify the two lines and remain in the middle one. However, in order to attain this wisdom, this knowledge, we need a group, studying, and dissemination. All these means help us visualize the correct state, desire it, and ask the Creator to grant it.

Obviously, this wisdom and understanding how to arrange these two forces in order to reconcile them in the middle line also come from Above. It is written: “Who makes peace in His heaven, makes peace within us.” “Who makes peace in His heaven” means the place from where the two lines derive. There too, the Creator extracts them from the middle line – Himself, Zeir Anpin in relation to us. Thus, the two lines descend down to us, to Malchut and all the souls residing within her.

“Makes peace within us” means that from Above, we are given the knowledge of how we have to arrange ourselves. And once we do, the middle line descends and enters us. This is our salvation that was given to Abraham as well.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: He Made Heaven From Fire And Water
Interview with the Future: “The Recognition of Evil”
5 Minutes Of Light: “Find Balance Through The Middle Line”

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

A question I received: I study The Zohar every day, but I don’t feel anything besides my growing desire. Am I advancing in the right direction?

My Answer: This is very good! If your desire is growing from one day to the next, then you don’t need anything else! Even though a growing desire brings you disappointment, you have to see it as a reward. This is because desire or lack of fulfillment is the force that moves you forward. When you have an empty desire, you feel that you lack unity with the Creator, the feeling of connection with Him, the quality of bestowal.

Therefore, the right desire is a reward. In our world you have to earn fulfillment, but in the spiritual world you have to earn a spiritual vessel, a desire. The fulfillment is always there, you are welcome to come and take it! But what will you take it into? That is the question.

Right now there are spiritual treasures all around you: “diamonds,” “gold,” “money,” and anything else you can possibly wish for. You just do not have a desire for them, which is why you don’t recognize them. The space around you seems empty! All the best things you can possibly wish for are already present, but it is as if you have been gagged and your arms and legs have been tied, and then you are placed in front of this treasure and told, “It’s yours!” But, how is it yours if you can’t take it?

It is necessary to develop or prepare the desire, the spiritual vessel. That is all we have to do. Therefore, our reward is desire or aspiration, and it has to be created by the Light. We have to change our perception, our attitude to reward and punishment. In our world punishment is desire or the sensation of lack, whereas reward is the fulfillment that calms you down because you live inside the will to enjoy.

However, if you are inside the will to bestow and you have the desire to bestow, this is a reward. Why is the difference so great? It is a result of the restriction. The restriction was performed on reception, but there are no restrictions on bestowal.

If you already have the desire to bestow, then everything lies open before you and everything becomes revealed to you to the same degree. Inside your desire to bestow, you begin to see in the Reflected Light everything that is around you, and you are welcome to take it!

That is how gradually, from one day to the next, The Zohar changes our vision and the direction of our thinking, by building a new, different attitude to life and to the phases of spiritual advancement.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How To Receive The Upper Abundance
The Path of Kabbalah: “Spiritual Reward”
Kabbalah Moments: “An Entrance Ticket To Abundance”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Perception - 1 Comment →