Ask anything about week 1 lesson and materials and get an answer from a senior Kabbalah instructor.

Hi Shiloh,

If you’re interested in learning how to properly decipher the stories in the Torah, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman: https://laitman.com/2016/05/dispelling-myths-about-kabbalah-part-4/

As well as these books: Disclosing a Portion or The Secrets of the Eternal Book.

Keep in mind that although the Torah and the entire Tanakh are indeed Kabbalistic books, we don’t really study from them directly in our days. See my reply to Nidia below for more details.

Albert @ KabU

Hi Nidia,

There is a part that is passed orally and there is a part that is written.

There have been many Kabbalists and Kabbalistic books written throughout the generations. Although some of those writings still exist today, we don’t really study them directly in our days. In our days we mainly study from the writings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash. This is because egoism grows from generation to generation, so Kabbalah, the method for its correction, needs to get adapted in each generation for that level of egoism. For example it’s like in medicine, if a person has a headache he can just drink a tylenol and that’s enough to fix him. But if it’s not just a little headache but something cancerous, then that tylenol won’t do anything for him but he needs a completely different regime to heal himself.

This is why Kabbalah gets adapted in each generation to the level of egoism that is currently found in that generation. So although there were many different Kabbalists and Kabbalistic books throughout the generations, nowadays we mainly learn from the writings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash, since their writings contains the light that is most suitable to correct the egoism that is found in our generation.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/11/the-great-kabbalists-and-their-works/

Albert @ KabU

Hi Jonathan,

Internally, we try to see all these things as coming from a single benevolent source. This is called “there is none else besides Him”. But externally, we should respond in the normal way. If I’m sick, I go to the doctor. If someone is causing me harm, I move away from them, call the cops, sue them, etc. Whatever is the normal way of dealing with these things, that is how we need to respond externally. And we shouldn’t mix our internal work with our external work. Both are necessary.

We’ll learn more about these things in the more advanced semesters, in the meantime check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/12/there-is-none-else-besides-him/

As for connecting with others, this is done “from light to heavy”. Meaning first we build a strong connection with other points in the heart together with us on the spiritual path. It’s like we’re building here a certain nucleus. Once we build that nucleus, we will be able to add to it wider and wider circles of the world, until we’ll come to include the whole world in that connection. But this is gradual work. And until we build that nucleus, we have nothing with which to do any spiritual work towards the world.

Albert @ KabU

Hi Mike,

1. Kabbalah actually started with Adam close to 6000 years ago. The reason why we sometimes attribute it to Abraham is because Abraham was a major milestone in the Wisdom of Kabbalah who turned it into a practical method.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/10/what-came-first-the-torah-or-the-wisdom-of-kabbalah/

2. We learn from the Kabbalists that every single moment comes to us directly from the Creator, this is called “there is none else besides Him”. Furthermore, they also say that He is the “good that does good”. Meaning that every moment He is sending us nothing but goodness. But why then don’t we see this in our world? Why do we see so much suffering and problems in the world?

This is because our world is governed by our egoistic nature. This egoistic nature is opposite to the Creator’s nature. Because of that, it inverts the Creator’s goodness into something bad. It’s just like multiplying numbers: a positive times a negative equals negative.

So as long as we remain within this egoistic nature, we will continue to see and feel more suffering and horrors in the world. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, then we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists, and our previous egoistic state would appear as nothing more than a dream.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/

Albert @ KabU

Thank you Albert!

Your message is quite clear to understand and very helpful. The blog post from Rav Laitman  you recommended is excellent. And one I will continue to refer to for better understanding to correct my intention toward the light and to pull the light upon us.

Hi Judy,

Spiritual advancement happens specifically from the ups AND downs. It’s just like the EKG chart that measures the heart. If there are ups and downs, the heart is beating, the body is alive. If it flatlines, the body dies.

Likewise in our spiritual work, our advancement is composed of many ups and downs. But if we’re in the same state for a long period of time, then we stop advancing and are spiritually dead.

So what you are experiencing is normal. We go through many states on the spiritual path. Many ups, downs, and everything in between. The main thing is to just keep going, to keep placing yourself under the influence of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic lessons, and it will balance everything out.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/

Albert @ KabU

Hi Jay, great questions!

1. For now, our main contact with the friends (those with active points in the heart on the path with us) is through the weekly lessons and Q/A forums. So if you want to nurture the desire to connect with them, you can spend more time on these forums, incorporating in their responses, in their questions and answers.

In the more advanced semesters, everyone will be grouped into virtual groups of ten where you can work on building the connection in a much more practical way.

2. Our nature is egoistic. As such, it does not allow us to have a clean intention for bestowal. In the best case scenario, we can ASPIRE towards the intention of bestowal. We can play pretend AS IF we want bestowal. This is as much as our nature allows and actually this is enough. Such a game, especially when played with other points in the hearts in the Kabbalistic group, is how we extract the reforming light. It’s ultimately the light that corrects our nature and gives us the intention to bestow. Our work is to extract more and more of it, until it begins to work on us and makes this aspiration a reality.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/03/building-blocks-of-the-first-spiritual-degree/

Albert @ KabU