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I’m having trouble understanding the 613 desires or mitzvot that require correction. I looked up the what they were specifically using a few different sources. Is this what we are talking about? Please tell me I’m missing something!!
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-613-mitzvot-commandments
Hi JD,
There are 613 desires that we need to correct. Corresponding to each desire, there is a law or commandment. These are the INTERNAL processes by which we correct that specific desire. In other words, Kabbalists don’t look at the 613 commandments as physical actions to be performed by our hands and feet, but rather as allegories to the internal process of correcting our desires.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/02/mitzvot-commandments-the-correction-of-desires/
Keep in mind that these 613 desires that we are learning about are spiritual desires, meaning desires that we don’t yet have. This is similar to how a single cell in a body only has some basic desires. But when that cell is part of a greater body, it reveals there higher desires which are impossible for the individual cell to have: desires for money, honor, power, etc. Same with us, until we integrate with the general body of Adam HaRishon, we don’t reveal or understand these 613 spiritual desires. We’ll learn how to do this practically in the more advanced lessons.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2008/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-613-desires/
Albert @ KabU
Thanks for your reply. I’m really trying to understand. So each of the Mitzvot aren’t to be taken literally, but seen as a metaphor or allegory for a thing that we can’t truly understand until we begin our spiritual ascent? I think I get that as a concept. But help me understand the ones that say , for instance, “not to have homosexual relations” and “not to have relations with menstrually impure women”. What could that be a metaphor for? Is it possible to even know?? I want so much to be able to connect and stay open but reading that made me really sad. How can that be reframed?
Hi JD,
Each commandment is an allegory for us correcting our egoistic desires. It’s possible to explain each commandment in Kabbalistic terms, but that’s beyond the scope of this semester.
If you want to read up on it by yourself, check out the book Disclosing a Portion.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Thank you.
I am curious about when you say that we have been separated and shattered into 600,000 pieces but that we have 613 corrections that we can make to go up the 125 steps in the ladder. Is the 600,000 the number of other souls that we are connected to, or is that just the number of shattered pieces that an individual possesses? Can you clarify.
Thanks again.
YvetteHi Yvette,
The numbers all have their own significance. When a person attains spirituality, he begins to research it, and discovers all these numbers from his research. But what exactly is he researching, what is spirituality?
Essentially we’re always talking about a desire. Our current reality is based on our current nature, the desire to receive. Spirituality on the other hand operates according to a different desire, that of pure bestowal. The different numbers are just a different way to divide up that spiritual desire. This desire can be divided into 613 parts, or 620 parts, or 600,000 pieces, or 125 degrees, or even 10 sefirot.
It’s just like how we can study a person based on his behavior, or based on his anatomy, or based on his external appearance, or his internal chemistry. Ultimately we’re studying the same person, but from different angles. Same with these different divisions, they are all talking about the same spiritual desire but from different angles or a different scale.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/numbers-indicate-quality-not-quantity/
Regarding 600,000, this is less of a quantitative number and more of a qualitative number. It represents the strength of the spiritual desire after it’s been fully corrected.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman to see how this number is derived: https://laitman.com/2010/09/love-and-hatred-of-600000-souls/
Albert @ KabU
Will we know when we’ve reached our final correction or is correcting ourselves something we continue to do through life until death?
Hi Tanya,
If we correct ourselves, we will know, because to the extent that we correct ourselves, we reveal the Creator in practice, in our lives.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/04/when-all-doubts-will-dissipate/
Albert @ KabU
Hi,
I have had the feeling in my life at times, that im just living the same life over and over. That all the choices i made have already been made and im just living out the story of my life. and if this was eternity it would already be done wouldn’t it? it would be done as soon as it started, because eternity has no beginning and no end.
It would seem this is true, if the end is already determined, and for some reason im made just to experience the process.
I dont like this because theres been alot of pain and suffering in my own personal life. Even though i have a fantastic life and have been blessed with so many wonderful things and so many wonderful people, and if i were to live this life again i wish i could have enjoyed it more, and been more grateful for the things i had been given.
So i naturally really struggle with the concept of free will. I know that i really “feel” like i have a choice, but when i look back i question weather there was any choice at all, because if i were to live the same life again i would make all the same decisions.
and it seems to me both the path of pain and the path of light are confusing, because if its supposed to happen in a conscious way, then god wouldn’t be giving me directions like do this and do that, because that would be to easy and wouldn’t require any conscious effort. would it?
But i honestly just feel lost when it comes to studying kabbalah, and i understand i know very very little, only re watching the kabbalah revealed series from time to time and reading some of the books. But the books are also a hard read for me, very very hard for me to grasp what is being said. Thats why im taking this course.
I guess my question is basically, how can i ever be confident in my intentions? or have confidence that im ever doing the right thing?
Basic free will implies a choice, and if its as simple as the path of pain or the path of light, how can i even choose when i cannot see where im going? or if i cant escape always making decisions for my own well being, how could i ever be useful to the greater whole? I realize im a part of something much, much bigger. how could i feel that i was making a meaningful contribution? because i would only be helping myself, my greater self, as a cell in the body, but i guess im a cell that wants to feel the joy felt in the body. i want no just to see but feel the goodness of what i do, and even in that is a selfish intention. But if i could never feel i was doing good i could never “know”, and i would be stuck doing the wrong things, and im afraid of being a cancer.
just how do i go about receiving in order to bestow? If theres no action i can take that can change anything, then would the feeling just be “i accept my life because this is what god wants for me.” or “i will live my life and make “choices” in my life to my best ability because this is what god wanted for me.” or else why would i be here?
Hi Oliver,
A lot of good questions here. What you’re experiencing is normal. We go through many different states on the spiritual path: many ups and downs, and everything in between. The main thing is to just keep going, to just keep placing yourself under the influence of the spiritual light, and the light will balance everything out.
The best way to do this is to just set aside some time to regularly return to the Kabbalistic writings, weekly lessons, videos, books, etc. Such a habit of regularly returning to the source of the light will help you throughout your entire spiritual development.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
Also keep in mind that we should not be afraid of making mistakes. Spiritually we’re all like little babies. When a baby poops their pants or breaks something, no one is upset at them, that’s the level of what is expected of them. Likewise with us, we will make many MANY mistakes throughout the path. And that’s fine. We need to learn from them and keep going.
And furthermore, our very nature is egoistic. So naturally we’re not saints, no one is born corrected, and no one can truly make an action of bestowal. We’re all just aspiring towards those higher qualities. This aspiration is what is important. It helps us to extract more of the light, which is ultimately what turns this aspiration into reality.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/03/building-blocks-of-the-first-spiritual-degree/
And lastly regarding free will, that is a topic that we’ll cover in depth in the second lesson of the next semester.
Albert @ KabU
Hey Albert! Thankyou so much for your response. I kind of wrote about this because my mind and feelings have been all over the place this last month but i really appreciate you getting back to me and sharing these articles with me. Ill keep these on my tabs to return to sometimes, but i really like the building blocks article.
Ive been ridiculed in the past for not being “genuine” or whatever and i always strive to reach deeper levels of honesty in myself. I like the concept of “fake it till you make it” but also i like being happy and sometimes i think its good to be happy too if it lifts up others instead of pulling them into my own misery if im having a bad day or whatnot.
I know were ahead on the next lesson now so i dont know if youll see this but i wanted to come back because i thought about this and didnt know if anyone responded to me so i wanted you to know that i do appreciate it very much.
Hi Joseph,
I do have a question at this point… Watching the video ‘Ask The Kabbalist With Dr. Laitman’ has confused me a bit.
At one point he talks about how one has to ‘choose’ between developing spiritually and developing in other fields of life.. however in earlier course material it was said that you dont necessarily need to ‘change anything’ in your current life… I might interpret this in the wrong way, but it seems to me that those two statements quite contradict themselves?
I do feel a strong desire to understand life and its meaning, this longing has been there for a long time and I have been chasing answers in different places… However I also would like to incorporate this in my current life, change perspectives etc… but still be able to enjoy what corporal life has to offer, live if fully, whilst being of service to others in need… I feel this needs to be in balance somehow. But this is not what I get from his answer…
Would you shine your light on this please?
Thank you!Greg
Hi Greg,
You’re right, we need to find a good balance between our corporeal lives and our spiritual aspirations. Without a good balance in our corporeal lives, we won’t be able to advance in spirituality either. This is called “no flour, no Torah – no Torah, no flour”.
Meaning a Kabbalist continues to exist on the level of this world throughout the entire spiritual ladder. So I cannot just turn into a monk and disconnect from this life and only focus on spirituality. On the other hand, if I only focus on corporeality, then I’m no different than an animal.
So the important thing is to find the right balance between the two: to take care of all of one’s normal necessities: to work, take care of the family, health, etc (this is called flour) and to set aside some time on a regular basis to focus on spirituality (this is called Torah).
And in the more advanced stages of our development, we will see how our day to day life helps us with our spiritual development.
Albert @ KabU
Shalom,
1- I just need an additional clarification on what does the Screen ( Masach ) do exactly ?
2- Does the Screen gives an indication on the level of attainment which one has reached ?
3- Is the Screen helping or hindering the process of reaching enlightenment ?
Hi Milo,
In order to perceive this world, we have the 5 senses, within which there is a certain screen that sends impulses to the brain to give us a perception of the world.
In order to perceive spirituality, we also need a screen. The spiritual screen (Masach in Hebrew) is an anti-egoistic screen. It’s the intention of bestowal that we place over the desires. Once we acquire that screen, in the corrected desires, we’ll be able to perceive spirituality. And the strength of the screen determines the spiritual level that we can attain thanks to it.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/06/how-to-receive-in-order-to-bestow/
Albert @ KabU
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