A question I received: What should I do if I can’t concentrate during a Zohar lesson for even 5 minutes? I don’t know where to look for all of this within myself.

My Answer: By all means keep searching within yourself for all the properties described in The Zohar. If a sick person were told that this text bears the information on how to become healthy, escape trouble, bankruptcy, and other problems, he would greedily “swallow” the text, trying to absorb every single word of it. If he were scared and sought salvation in the text, he would try to comprehend it even if the book was written in a foreign language.

But the lack of spirituality does not frighten us. Only the environment can bring about this desire within us.

So even if you don’t know where to look for it within yourself, keep looking anyway. Imagine that you are entering a new, dark, unknown place and you can’t see anything. You have a flashlight, and each time you hear something, you point the flashlight around, hoping to find something.

As adults, we study by filling our intellect. But sensations do not develop through the intellect. As infants, however, we evolved through listening and observing, without understanding what we heard or saw. This was precisely why we developed our feelings and mind. We were being told stories, things were being shown to us, but we did not understand them. The connections between things were being explained to us, yet we did not grasp them. However, precisely because of our efforts to understand, we turned from an animal into a human being.

Hence at this time, when I strive to develop within myself new senses and mind, I read The Zohar without understanding what “it” is all about. However, my efforts uncover new abilities within me and eventually I start sensing and understanding something that was hidden from me before.

The Upper World is among us. We only need is to continue developing from being a human of this world toward becoming a "human" of the Upper World. Make every effort to see. That’s how your senses develop. After you start sensing, your mind will start working as well.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Mind Is Useless Unless It Relies On Feelings
Laitman.com Post: Mutual Guarantee Is An Inner Intention
Video: Inner Work And The Zohar – 5 Minutes Of Light (5:30)

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

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 109
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Zohar - No Comments →

A question I received: What does knowledge give us if while reading The Zohar we can’t remember anything a moment later?

My Answer: Knowledge does not give us anything. Today I know something, but tomorrow I forget all about it. Why do I forget? If my desires (Kelim) change, then tomorrow, within my new desires, I won’t remember what I knew before because I am no longer inside my previous desires.

I can convey knowledge from one level to another only through sensation. Our states include a wave-like process: knowledge – sensation – knowledge – sensation. Suppose I have just corrected my desires on some level. According to this level of correcting my desires, I acquire some knowledge and sensation of reality, a realization of where I am, on what level and in what world.

Then a new desire comes. The previous level disappears and I am immersed in darkness. What remains with me? Everyone knows that when the sensation of darkness comes to you, then all the previous sensations disappear and you can no longer work with them. However, if you begin working with this new level, this new darkness, then your efforts evoke a new Light that comes and corrects you. You then go on to a new state where you have a deeper understanding of the previous knowledge based on the new, higher knowledge.

Therefore, you should never take knowledge into account. It will always be there and it will always enter the corrected desire. The most important thing is to correct the desire. Then whatever needs to be revealed in it will be revealed, but there’s no point worrying about that.

This is why the people who study correctly leave the lesson without remembering anything. They just go away with a general impression. This impression is recorded in their senses rather than their understanding. It remains in the sensory, not the mental, memory.

I don’t look down on reason at all. In fact, I am drawn to knowledge and serious study. However, when a person studies through the point in the heart,he does not remember or understand what he studies until his sensations develop sufficiently and he starts to understand with his feelings. He then understands “what he is feeling.”

It turns out that what you study for years disappears and the “results of the study” are not apparent. The results should not show in your knowledge, but in the correction of your qualities by the Light of Correction (Ohr Makif), meaning in your qualities.

This is very different from studying at a university, where a person studies for four to six years and then becomes an expert in some field, and then writes a dissertation for another several years. Where is the clear knowledge of a person who studied Kabbalah for ten years? What has he gained? It seems like he has nothing to show for it. That’s because every day he is born anew, in new qualities, until he attains revelation.

When he attains revelation, then it is recorded on his level. Then, in states of ascent he really has mastery of the material and possesses knowledge. But in states of descent, he is in the dark and only his experience holds him up. (See Baal HaSulam’s article, “What Is Support in the Torah, in the Work.”)

One has to understand that until we reach the Final Correction, the states vary a great deal and we should only consider the height or level of correction. Knowledge will always accompany a person according to his degree.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/14/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: While The Wheel Is Spinning
Laitman.com Post: Be Ready For Changing Perceptions
Video: Exertion – 5 Minutes Of Light (5:04)

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

The most important thing while reading The Zohar is to unite with the text. If we remember that the Light influences us, this is sufficient.

A small child lives among adults, but what does he understand from their conversations and behavior? Does he know their world? No; it’s all a secret to him. We are built by nature like a child among adults: Without understanding anything or being ready for it, a child perceives everything by means of the “surrounding glow.”

This is the manner in which development takes place: gradually, indirectly, from outside, a child begins to absorb everything from adults and tunes into them without understanding what is happening ahead of time. By entering them through his desire, he begins to feel and then to understand. This develops new senses and desires (Kelim) in him, and then the mind.

When we are adults, we don’t develop, but merely fill ourselves with knowledge and sensation. Our senses no longer develop. They can only develop on the condition that a person enters an “area” where even without understanding or feeling anything, he desires to become similar to it. By means of his desire and drive, without understanding or knowing anything, he begins to absorb forces from this area and that develops him.

Adults do not undergo the same inner development as children. They merely fill their previous desires. Both in our world and the spiritual world, new desires can only grow when you want to feel and discover where you are.

When I read The Zohar, I don’t know what it is talking about. But because I desire to reveal this picture, I develop the senses through which my soul perceives. This is why it is written, “The study does not happen through reason” (Lo HaHacham Lomed).

Our spiritual development takes place in exactly the same way as a baby develops in our world. It can only happen when the lower level completely annuls itself before the Upper Level. After all, we are learning to feel a whole new world!

Kabbalists write about this in many articles. Baal HaSulam writes in “A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar” that a student has to cancel himself before the Rav just as children do before adults. That is the only way you can attain a higher state.

From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/14/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Following The Creator’s Example
Laitman.com Post: I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Shamati #40: “Faith in the Rav”

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

A question I received: How is The Zohar’s influence on us different from that of other books?

My Answer: Other compositions influence us in a more open manner and affect our material feelings and mind. As we read them, we’re able to imagine that we’re in a similar state. For example, the book of Shamati addresses our emotions and feelings while other articles by Baal HaSulam appeal to our mind.

In contrast, The Zohar doesn’t address our external, corporeal mind or emotions; we have to reveal the inner meaning instilled in it. That is, we have to discover what this book points to inside our soul, qualities, and inner sensations. Until a person is able to do this, he feels that he’s not connecting to this book and that it exists completely separately from him.

Kabbalistic books and especially The Book of Zohar are very personal and intimate. When you go inside them, they reveal your soul to you. You begin to feel that this book knows you more thoroughly than you know yourself; the book tells you about your true self. It opens you more and more and explains who you are inside.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Help Against Yourself
Laitman.com Post: Revealing The Creator With The Book Of Zohar
Video:”Unlocking The Zohar – February 1, 2010″(1:17)

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

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 50
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Zohar - No Comments →

A question I received: Perfection always emanates from the Upper One; the role of the lower one is to figure out his attitude towards perfection. The Zohar says: “Everything that occurs Above is perfect. Everything, whether it is a miracle or a judgment, is one whole and occurs in one place. It’s not split into two, where one half is a miracle, and the other, a judgment.” Why is that so?

My Answer: When we play with a child, we use various images so that he can discern within himself various states and relationships, react correspondingly, and thus grow.

We undergo changes all the time. Our advancement is built upon our perception of Upper properties that are not always enjoyable. Particularly by triggering within us unpleasant feelings, the Upper One compels us to grow. As Baal HaSulam writes in his story about a servant, the Creator assumes the form of a rebel, robber, or murderer.

What is the purpose of the system of the worlds? It serves as our permanent educator. It is a system of filters that hides the infinite, benevolent, and perfect Light from us. By passing through the worlds (filters), the Light educates us.

We constantly face (oppose) this system, yet each time it has an impact on us in the best possible way. It gives us exactly what we need at each given moment. Our job is to find within ourselves the correct reaction to it. If our reaction is right, the system encourages us: “Good for you! Now, you’ll be getting the next impact!” If our next reaction is adequate, the system encourages us once again: “Wonderful! Now you’ll get the next one!” This is how we advance.

To us it seems that the Creator constantly changes His attitude as if he wants us to see Him from different angles: sometimes He turns to us with his benevolent side and sometimes we see His “evil” side. It is similar to the theatrical masks that consists of a laughing and crying face.

This is how the Upper One constantly relates to the lower one in order to raise him; this is how the system of worlds treats us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/7/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Creator’s Concealment Helps Us Build The Correct Desire For Him
Article: “The Difference Between Kabbalah and Religion” – Lesson 1
Video: The Creator’s Revelation & Concealment – 5 Minutes Of Light (5:26)

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

The more the Creator awakens us, the bigger His expectations. The Creator woke several million people who at this time study The Zohar and He waits for their correct, conscious, and voluntary reaction that would manifest their readiness to “wake up.” “Awakening from below” (Itaruta de-Letata) has to become equal with the “awakening from Above” (Itaruta de-Leila). When these two processes coincide, the Light of the Creator fills us.

First, the Creator sends us an impulse from Above to inspire us; we open the book and begin to read and to study. Later on it becomes too difficult for us. But why, what is the reason? It’s because this sensation also originates from the Creator. He stops inspiring us and gives us a chance to “awaken from below.”

The Creator imposes a burden that is equal to our initial inspiration. He seemingly says: “Wait! I don’t need you. I didn’t call for you. Forget it, it’s not for you. Calm down!” He plays this game on purpose after He already “woke us up.” It is as if He made a mistake and then changed His mind: “No! Stay asleep, don’t wake up.”

By slowing us down, He wants us to replace His awakening by our own voluntary effort to wake up. Otherwise everything happens “at His expense” rather than through our own effort. What good does that do? This way, our spiritual vessel doesn’t get ready for the Light.

That’s why we feel like we reject spirituality. However, was our previous desire really ours or were we just granted the chance to go through such circumstances from Above? Now that you’re convinced that you don’t want spirituality – that is the real you, your desire to receive pleasure to which you can add the same sense of awakening that you first experienced.

The Creator woke us up, we turned His awakening into “our own”; we acknowledged and made it available to other people. Then together with others we make attempts to attract the Upper Light. We use this situation as an amplifier: Our request grows in direct proportion to the number of people to whom we managed to transfer this knowledge by working against our own egoism. We receive “620 times” more in return; this is how many times stronger our own advancement toward the next degree becomes.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Rules Of "The Game"
Laitman.com Post: The Zohar Is A Spiritual Amplifier
Baal HaSulam Article: "The Bond (Arvut)" – Talk 3

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

A question I received: During The Zohar lessons I always find myself at war with myself. What can I do to maintain the right intention?

My Answer: That is a natural state for beginners. Try to use the time at the lesson to realize the purpose of your suffering. Who is it in you that suffers? It is your body, your egoistic desire that resists. You have a body, the ego, and the point in the heart which aspires to the Creator. Are you examining your state from within the ego or the point in the heart? If you are one with the point in the heart, then The Zohar shines to you, but this Light is opposite to your ego. It feels adverse to you, like a person that speaks out against you.

Imagine sitting in front of your wife as she criticizes you, saying that something is wrong with you, and you listen and agree with her criticism, realizing that you do need to correct yourself. Your uncorrected ego resists and doesn’t want to listen, but you tell yourself: "It’s not me who doesn’t want to listen, but the ego that the Creator deliberately created within me. I, however, want to listen and to love her, because she is pointing out my real shortcomings that need correcting."

Picture this scene to yourself in the smallest detail until you realize that you really do need to sit and try to cling to every word of The Zohar. You don’t like what you hear? That’s wonderful! You’re not interested in revealing this? Absolutely! The Zohar is opening your eyes to the whole truth, thereby infuriating you and that’s great. That is precisely what it’s supposed to do. That is how the Light influences you, by showing you how uncorrected you are. Precisely then should you rejoice and desire to cling to it.

Now you have two points: the uncorrected Malchut and the spark which you have to connect to the Light. Go with the Light against your uncorrected Malchut, and then The Zohar will cease to irritate you. You will begin to work on yourself with what it awakens within you.

Practice this at home with your wife for a bit, and then the work with The Zohar won’t seem so hard.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Help Against You
Laitman.com Post: Revealing The Creator’s Greatness
Laitman.com Post: How To Make A Heavenly Dish From Unpleasant Ingredients

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

A question I received: I have already participated in virtual Kabbalah Congresses and felt the unity. Why should I leave the comfort of my home and my living room couch, and why should I make efforts to personally attend the World Zohar Convention that will be held in New York at the beginning of May?

My Answer: It’s impossible to unite with others without “getting up from the couch.” We don’t live in the virtual world, but the material world. Therefore, a person who attends our physical meetings understands how necessary it is in order to advance. A person who has never left his computer screen is unable to imagine what it means to unite with other people.

There is a rule in the science of Kabbalah: a spiritual root has to touch its material branch. Therefore, we have to implement the connection among us, both in the virtual form and the material form. This is required by our world. Therefore, if a person never attends one of the Congresses, he is not really participating. It only seems to him that he is together with everyone while he is sitting by his computer screen, but in reality, this is a delusion.

Once a week we hold a virtual assembly of friends, and once every half a year we hold a “live” assembly where we meet together with people at one of the continents. People definitely have to participate in these Conventions.

A person cannot advance without participating in a Congress and without receiving an impression (Reshimo) from it. The Convention is the place where his unity with others transpires, and this connection remains. It’s as if he plugs into the electrical outlet and stays plugged in.

We did not make this up ourselves. Our great teachers practiced this for centuries, and if we want to attain the same thing they did, we have to follow their example.

From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/10, “Exile and Redemption”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: World Zohar Convention 2010
Laitman.com Post: How A Kabbalah Convention Affects The Correction Of The World
Intention Handbook: “The Intention of the Group”

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