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The Tip and Quote for this week is: “By observing the table crafted by the carpenter we can learn his thought and desire preceding his building of it. Similarly, we can learn about the acting mind of the Creator in every action.”
I understand this and can get deeper into the thought and desire behind the carpenter and Creator in crafting the table. But this is something that is positive in our reality so can relate to this. I’ve been trying to expand and challenge my thinking and consider other actions that aren’t in my reality but know they are here; like trying to see the thought and desire behind negative actions – such as someone torturing another person or animal.
And this weeks tip is to: “Identify the acting mind in every situation and try to ascribe it to the good and benevolent force that drives the action”
I can’t see any good or benevolent force behind this negative action. Other more milder negative actions perhaps I can see perspectives from differing angles. But not torture or the likes of these actions. Can you help me see where the good and benevolent force is behind violent actions such as this.
Hi Jeff,
The Kabbalists tell us 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. Why then don’t we see this in our world? Why don’t we feel everything that is happening as something good?
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 more evil and suffering in the world. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists and that our previous egoistic state was nothing more than a dream.
We’ll learn about these concepts in more detail in the future lessons, but in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/
Albert @ KabU
Beste docent Tony. Ik heb zoveel respect voor jou en de manier waarop je deze moeilijke begrippen toch verstaanbaar en helder kan uitleggen aan mij,die beginnend is met de studie van Kabbalah. Dank hiervoor
Mijn vraag: ik las ergens dat in de Thora de rangschikking van letters door God is voorbeschikt. Daarom mag geen letter gewijzigd geworden. Mag ik dan zeggen dat de Thora een geschrift is geinspireerd door God,het hogere licht ? Net zoals in de christelijke bijbel denk ik. Andere vraag: Kabbalah sreekt over de 600 000 zielen die telkens opnieuw terugkomen. De ziel van Adam Kadmon.
Elke oerziel heeft een letter uit de Thora en dat is de wortel van het individu en die zal de Thora voor het individu openbaren. Maar ik ben geen Joodse, Behoor ik dan toch tot die 600 000 zielen en kan ik ook die letter krijgen en te weten komen waar mijn wortels liggen, Ik zou zo graag weten welk godsaspect ik in mijn ziel draag. Ik ben geboren op 25/12/1952 en heb een tweelingzus, kregen wij dan dezelfde letter? Met vriendelijke groeten Christiannegoogle translation of the question:
Dear teacher Tony. I have so much respect for you and the way in which you can explain these difficult concepts understandably and clearly to me, who is starting with the study of Kabbalah. Thanks for this
My question: I read somewhere that in the Torah the arrangement of letters is ordained by God. Therefore, no letter may be changed. May I say then that the Torah is a scripture inspired by God, the higher light? Just like in the Christian bible I think.
Another question: Kabbalah refers to the 600,000 souls that come back again and again. The soul of Adam Kadmon.
Every primordial soul has a letter from the Torah and that is the root of the individual and that will reveal the Torah to the individual. But I’m not Jewish, I still belong to those 600,000 souls and can I also get that letter and find out where my roots lie, I would love to know what aspect of God I carry in my soul. I was born on 25/12/1952 and have a twin sister, did we get the same letter?Kind regards Christianne
Hi Christianne,
I’m not an expert in other methods, even others that seemingly teach “kabbalah”, so I cannot comment on what they do or teach there. But in general, if we want to succeed in Kabbalah (or in any spiritual practice really) we should practice it without mixing in other things into it. Otherwise it’s like following two different GPS systems. One leads you to the goal through the west highway, while the other through the east highway. If you follow both, you’ll just wind up going in circles.
Also keep in mind that Kabbalah is not a religion, it’s a science. Everything that the Kabbalists wrote, including the Torah, they do so out of their attainment and research of spirituality. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/01/the-torah-is-a-program-and-a-guide/
As for 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. So essentially all of humanity is included in this number.
Check out this blog post to see how this number is derived: https://laitman.com/2010/09/love-and-hatred-of-600000-souls/
As for being Jewish or not, this is not relevant here. The only condition to studying Kabbalah is the desire. If a person has such a desire (the point in the heart), then this entire wisdom is open to them, if not, then no. Furthermore, even if you see such words like Israel, Jewish, Gentile, etc used in Kabbalah, these terms are not referring to our corporeal bodies, but rather to our desires.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2008/08/can-a-gentile-study-kabbalah/
Albert @ KabU
Can you see a difference in a person’s reaction to things going wrong or in their emotional state if they have attained a state of perfection? I am trying to change and be more altruistic and bestowing pleasure but I seem to always fall back into the same old habits and bad emotions. How can I really change everything about my attitude and emotional state just through study and prayer?
Hi Nancy,
In the next semester, we’ll learn the importance of the spiritual environment. Essentially our entire work in Kabbalah boils down to strengthening our spiritual environment. In other words, we don’t focus on ourselves, on our own strength to overcome, etc. Rather, we focus only on our connection to the spiritual environment. And everything else, all of the good thoughts, actions, that we perform, this is a result of our connection with the spiritual environment.
This is similar to how a seed by itself is powerless to do anything. Everything depends on where you plant that seed. Once you plant it, the results are already dictated by the environment in which you plant it. Same with us. By ourselves, each one of us is powerless to do anything against his own egoistic nature. So our entire work is on planting ourselves in a good spiritual environment and the rest is a result of that action. We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming lessons (KR2, Lesson 2).
Albert @ KabU
My question is that in order to obtain the bestowal of the creator n coming to the point of Equivalence,we need desires ..pure desires…what if once has started to live life with an attitude of no desire for pleasure? Would it mean in order to achieve the bestow the creator’s gifts, one needs to start desiring again?
Yes, but keep in mind that in Kabbalah we don’t need to focus on our desires, on growing them, or anything like that. Our entire focus is always on the positive side of things: on our aspiration to acquire the spiritual qualities of love, bestowal, connection, etc. As a result and only as a result of that, we will see that our desires, our ego will grow and develop to the necessary levels. But again, this is only a side effect, this is not something we need to focus on.
See my reply to Miryam in the week 3 questions forum for more details.
Albert @ KabU
In Attaining The Worlds Beyond, Rav Laitman writes, “The gratification that we receive not for the sake of our own egoism does not generate feelings of shame, because by receiving, by grasping, and by perceiving the Creator, we are happy for the pleasure He receives. Thus, the more we receive from the Creator and are pleased by Him, the happier we are that the Creator experiences pleasure as a result”. This is confusing to me, as I think of the Creator as constant, unchangeable (though I do understand that the attributes of the Creator have different ‘flavors or qualities’). Is it through equivalence of form that Kabbalists know that the Creator experiences pleasure as a result of our receiving to bestow? Is there really a change in the Creator’s experience of pleasure, or is this a change in the creature’s perception? (Or, are they somehow the same thing??) Thank you.
Hi Miryam, great question!
Although we sometimes say that we are trying to bestow to the Creator or to bring Him contentment, but in truth it’s just a game to help us to develop. It’s just like with kids. When we spoon feed them, they see the example from us and want to pick up a spoon and feed us back. Do we really need them to feed us? Of course not. But we still accept this from them, smile, show them how happy they made us by feeding us, etc. Since we know that through this game, they grow and develop. So ultimately the Creator is not lacking anything and does not change. And all of our attempts to bestow to Him are nothing more than a type of game for our own development.
As for the changes we feel, these changes are not in Him, but in us. This follows the rule that “I have not changed my HaVaYaH”. Meaning that the Creator’s light is the same light, it never changes. We change and accordingly we feel the light differently. It’s similar to how electricity is the same electricity but based on what appliance you plug in, you have different uses and results from it. Plug in a heater and you will produce warmth, plug in an AC and you will get cool air, etc. So the Creator does not change, we do, and every time we change, we experience this thing called the Creator in a different way.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/12/the-holy-names-of-bestowal/
Albert @ KabU
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