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If “all the Kabbalists stopped what they were doing at the time to follow the Ari” (paraphrasing Gianni’s recent YG session), then how come the Hasidic community, who are immersed in so much Kabbalah, as well as the Orthodox community, don’t mention the Ari much? If the Ari was THE Kabbalist… why are these large groups immersed in Kabbalah for generations not really mentioning the Ari? From what I know.
Hi Cameron,
You can find where Baal HaSulam writes this in The Teaching of Kabbalah and its Essence:
“You must understand the reason why all the great sages who followed the Ari abandoned all the books that they compiled in this wisdom and in the commentaries on The Zohar, and nearly prohibited themselves even from being seen, and dedicated their lives to the words of the Ari. This was not because they did not believe in the sanctity of the sages preceding the Ari; God forbid that we should think so. Anyone with eyes in the wisdom could see that the attainment of those great sages in the wisdom of truth was immeasurable. Only an ignorant fool could doubt them. However, their logic in the wisdom followed the first three languages.
Although each language is true and fitting in its place, it is not completely fitting, and quite misleading to understand the wisdom of Kabbalah contained in The Zohar using these orders. This is so because it is a completely different language, since it was forgotten. For this reason, we do not use their explanations, either the explanations of Rabbi Moshe de Leon himself, or his successors’, as their words in interpreting The Zohar are not true, and to this day we have but one commentator—the Ari.
In light of the above, it follows that the internality of the wisdom of Kabbalah is none other than the internality of the Bible, the Talmud, and the legends. The only difference between them is in their explanations.
This is similar to a wisdom that has been translated into four languages. Naturally, the essence of the wisdom has not changed at all by the change of language. All we need to think of is which translation is the most convenient for conveying the wisdom to the student.”
First of all, there are many religious people who greatly respect the Ari. Why there are some groups who don’t emphasize the Ari, and go to great lengths to deemphasize and even obscure Baal HaSulam, I’m not going to comment on even though it’s interesting. “One studies where the heart desires,” and I think that in those groups they study materials that are suitable for those who come there, while everyone more or less knows of Bnei Baruch, what we study, and has the opportunity to come here if they choose.
Hello Gil, I just finished watching What Is the Meaning Behind Genesis? – Bible Secrets Explained by Kabbalah, and Rav was explaining how we shouldn’t reproach ourselves or others and give the label “bad” since all our qualities, including our bad qualities come from the Creator, but he further explained that we are only at fault when don’t use our free will to use the conditions and qualities towards getting closer to the Creator. This last part confuses me because wouldn’t the person still be “bad” if he chose to not work on himself and instead chose to be controlled by his will to receive?
Hello Erica. Kabbalists tell us there is only one reason for creation, and that reason is for the created creature to come into adhesion with the Creator. They also point out that there are two paths to get us there. One, there is the path of Nature, which is slow and often painful. And two, the path of kabbalah. The path of kabbalah is a method for speeding up the process. So, if I choose to not work on myself and let nature do this instead, it does not mean I am bad. It simply means I am taking the slower path. -Jim
HI Erica. Kabbalists tell us that we each have a “point in the heart”. This point is the desire to know the Creator. When this point wakes up the person begins to seek a way to satisfy this desire. This is what brings one to the study of kabbalah. This usually happens more than once, until the point in the heart stays awake and the person begins the search in earnest. The Creator is the one who awakens the point in the heart.
Hello Erica.
The reason is because of the root of our souls. We are different parts of the one soul. Kabbalists tell us that the Creator created one soul which they call Adam HaRishon. He then broke this soul into many pieces (us) to make it easier for the soul to come into equivalence of form with Himself. Just like an embryo needs to develop its parts in a very precise order so as to become a human being, the soul is developing just as it needs to, in order for it to reach its final correct form.
Hello Erica,
The thought of creation was to crate a creature and fill it with unbound delight. In order for this to happen, the Creator had to create a desire to receive the light. This desire went through a breaking and shattered into 600,000 parts and continued breaking until today there are nearly 8 billion pcs
The shattered soul is divided according to the coarseness of desire. If you picture the entire shattered soul in the shape of a pyramid, the courser desires comprise the lower section of the pyramid making up by far the majority of the souls. The tip of the pyramid is small and is where the lighter/purer vessels are located comprising a fraction of the entire soul. These are the ones with the awakened part in the heart, the part called Israel. This part has a very special role of being a pipeline and bringing light down into the entire system. All parts of the system serve a role and are necessary in the attainment of the light. Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. Accordingly, we reveal within desire five types of the Light: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida.
If all the souls were at the top of the pyramid only the light of Nefesh would be revealed. The courser the desire the greater the light.
Hello,
I am watching Mike Kellog’s sessions on catch-up and am now watching August 4, ‘Obstacles’
I searched in Kabbalah Media for the texts they are reading from, and haven’t found them. Where are they from?
Text
“When you start sensing the relationship between these two parameters (the light inside of a pleasure, a pleasure inside the desire to enjoy pleasure, a pleasure outside the desire for pleasure, the desire for pleasure to aspire to pleasure, a desire for pleasure to aspire to become like a pleasure itself), that is like the Creator. When you start comparing the relationship between them, then you develop your impression to both of them.
It is like they exist outside of you. You start to see from the outside of your vessel. And then you decide who is important, what is profitable (what can bring gain), how is this, how is that… Then you begin to become what is called intention. YOU begin, intention is you. It iS not you and your intention, THE INTENTION IS YOU.
And then a third thing appears. We call it the screen and reflected light. So you have the light, the vessel, and the screen, (the reflected light, or intention, call it what you like). There is nothing but these three things. The light and the vessel are established by the Creator. He creates and gives them to you, but the intention, which is developing in the relationship of the light and the vessel, is your perception. It is you.
Conceptually, it exists somewhere outside the Creator and the vessel, as if a third “something” exists. Of course, it is their outcome, their result which is separated from them and is not correlated to them directly. Why? The intention means that you relate not exactly to the light, not exactly to the vessel, you relate to their status. You correspond not to the desire to receive, not to the fulfillment of this desire; you correspond to the Source of fulfillment. That is something that was not included in their relationship from the very beginning.”
Thank you.
David
Dear KabU Instructor,
Re. The Manifesting Stars -Why
My question is, if the purpose of creation was for the ‘creator to create the creatures and fill them with delight’ why then is the universe so extraordinarily massive when we are such a small race of on a tiny spinning blue marble at the periphery of a very unremarkable planetary system in one corner so far-flung and unremarkable.
Why then does the universe have to be so big if it was solely intended, from the outset, to support and develop only us on our tiny spinning globe; this doesn’t add up?
This appears the case not only in the boundless size of the universe but also in the eons of time that the universe has been around when we have only existed -1 millisecond on the cosmic stage.
It just seems to me that it is akin to a tailor making a single man’s suit but using trillions of metres of fabric to do so and taking an inordinate amount of time?
On the premise of the size and age of the universe it is more than reasonable to conclude that we are incidental to the universe and not the other way round meaning that the human race is not the sum total, the be-all-and-end-all nor the totality of the manifesting stars unless life somehow pervades the whole system from the furthest most outreach to furthest most outreach otherwise this idea sounds incredibly presumptuous on our part not least because we (as an entire race) are so unexceptional and minute?
Thank you ever so much. Lyndon.
PS. If I were the creator I would have done it all different! I would have rammed the universe full of life and filled us all with delight or better still done it for us in the firstPS. If I were the creator I would have done it all different! I would have rammed the universe full of life and filled us all with delight or better still done it for us in the first instance to save the misery of life.
Hello Lyndon. Science tells us that the observable universe is about 93 billion light years across, containing about 150 billion galaxies, with billions of stars in each galaxy. Although this all seems like a lot, kabbalists tell us that our universe is just a tiny part of Reality. What’s really mind blowing is that we contain the whole reality – our universe and all the spiritual worlds. We are like a hologram. Each of us is part of the whole, yet each of us contains the whole. The Creator did what He did so that we can come to know this. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dear KabU Instructor,
FAO Seth B.
Re. Pticha Lesson 2 [19 July ‘22]
M. Laitman’s short video (played at approximately 40 minutes in) explains the four phases of direct light and, he states, that the original emanating light from ketter (phase 0) entered into Hochma (phase 1) at which point the two were in complete unity (giving and receiving completely) at which point reality could have been completed and none of the following phases would have happened.
My question is, why in the natural balance of the original light (0) and the original reception of the light (1) being so completely satiated within itself / one-another would anything have become necessary namely Bina (phase 2) and down?
It would follow that complete union between original giving and original receiving was achieved at humble phase 1, as,
(0) + ( 1) = ballance? If this was so, why would the subsequent phases be necessary and have happened?
Thank you. Best wishes. Lyndon.
Lyndon,
Great to hear from you and a great question it means you’re grasping what’s going on.In the root phase is the “thought” of the Creator to fill the Creature with endless fulfillment.
In phase 1 is the “vessel” for that endless pleasure.
But it takes 4 phases of development until we have a “creature”.Imagine if the moment any desire arises in you it was instantaneously filled, so much so that there is never a moment without fulfillment. So there is no reason to move or to do anything for that matter. That is phase 1.
We move and calculate when we want to figure out how to fill ourselves but if we are constantly filled there is no reason to move.
So we will reach a state again like phase 1, where the pleasure fills the vessel, but after many operations. Why do we need further development, so that the Creature will feel itself as independent and has a relation to the Creator as the giver.
For that we need the next few phases (….and then many many more operations).
Wishing you the best,
Seth@KabU
Im so upset and frustrated. The past 2 nights I have accidentally knocked over a glass of soda on my nightstand that has many of my KabU books on it. They have got wet and discolored but are still readable. I feel so horrible. 😪 Is this disrespectful to the creator?
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