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I have finished week 1 lessons and I bought books to see on my computer recommanded readings.
I recently read in the Zohar that there are 613 mitzvot, 248 positive and 365 negative. Why are there so many? In Christianity, there are only 10 in Shemot (Exodus), chapter 20.
Thank you very much to answer me to my first question !
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Regarding the books that are advised for one to read, can one use the LIGHT code, or was it just for the first books recommended?
Regarding Aramanta’s question about Noah’s Ark and Moses, Moses will lead us out of egoistic nature, WOW!
And this message has been in the Torah the entire time I have been reading/studying Torah. I wonder how many congregants in the synagogue know this when we attend services. From what I have learned so far, my Rabbi Chaim Block definitely knows Kabbalah and the Zohar because he sermons have always reached my soul and even answered questions that I did not know I was asking. Hence, as I continue to learn, I will realize the immense wisdom I will know that will help me along the way.
Hi Frédéric,
Numbers in Kabbalah are not quantitative, but rather qualitative. They are used to represent certain spiritual states, like the sum of different properties behind that state.
Just like a computer image uses binary code to represent that image, numbers are used in spirituality to represent a certain spiritual state.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/numbers-indicate-quality-not-quantity/
Albert @ KabU
Hello,
I have two questions.
The first is this one :
1) Why this ancient wisdom of Kabbalah was unrevealed for all many times ?
The second is this one :
2) How to start to feel the upper worlds in our life ?
Thank you !
Hi Frédéric,
1. Kabbalah is the method by which we can correct our egoistic nature and reveal the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. There are 5 levels of egoism that need to be corrected. Throughout history, as the level of egoism grew, accordingly Kabbalah was revealed in a specific form that will help correct that level of egoism.
For example: if you compare Kabbalah to a medicine that can cure a rare disease, obviously you can’t take the medicine before you’re diagnosed with the disease, but once the disease actually manifests, you can take the medicine and be cured of it.
So in our days, now that the full level of egoism has been revealed, Kabbalah became fully revealed.
2. Revealing the upper worlds works according to the law of equivalence of form. Meaning that to feel the upper worlds, we need to become similar to them, to the qualities of love and bestowal that reside there. This is just like how a radio can pick up an external wave, when we tune the internal frequency of the radio to that wave.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
Albert @ KabU
I have to admit that when I first started learning about Kabbalah, it sounded a lot like Eastern religions to me. I don’t know enough about the Zohar to compare it with the Bhagavad Gita, but the concept of reincarnation is one of the first things to stand out to me. Also the idea that we are all connected, all one, seems apparent in both traditions. I do see that there is no monastic tradition in Kabbalah as in the east, but besides this, what else is the difference between the two?
Hi Belinda,
I’m not an expert in eastern religions, so I cannot comment on that.
Here’s a link from Rav Laitman’s blog about some general differences between Kabbalah, religion, philosophy, and science: https://laitman.com/2011/01/kabbalah-and-other-sciences-philosophy-and-religion/
Albert @ KabU
When it is said that we exist in a “totality” of which we currently have a very limited perception of, does that imply that after we die, and the soul is freed from the physical body, that we would have greater perception- specifically, can the soul of a loved one who has died be aware of their loved ones still in their physical bodies?
Hi Nerissa,
Our physical bodies are not preventing us from perceiving the whole of reality (or spirituality), it’s our egoistic nature that is preventing us. This is because perceiving spirituality works according to the law of equivalence of form. Meaning that to perceive spirituality, we need to become similar to it, to the qualities of love and bestowal that reside there. This is just like how a radio can pick up an external wave, when we tune the internal frequency of the radio to that wave.
But as long as we have not achieved this type of change, as long as we have not corrected our egoistic nature, which is opposite to spirituality, then we will continue to return to the level of this world again and again, until we achieve that change.
As for the soul, there are different levels to this thing called a soul. In the beginning, we all have an animalistic soul, meaning a certain force that enlivens our animalistic body, similar to any other animal. But the human level of the soul is not something we have by default, but rather something that we acquire by correcting our egoistic nature. In other words, each one of us has a human soul in potential which we call the point in the heart. If we correct that point, out of it, we can build the full level of the soul. If not, that same potential continues to reincarnate again and again until it gets corrected.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
Albert @ KabU
I had some questions relating to Kabbalah though not directly related to the preparation materials which I listened to/read them all anyway.
One was from the book ‘Jewish Meditation’by Aryeh Kaplan. The author states at some point, and I am paraphrasing, that the states of mind attained by kabbalistic meditation may cause such elation that the student may not want to return to a normal state, and in fact these ecstatic states are why many other nonjews practice kabbalistic meditation, which turned it to idolatry. What are your thoughts on this? How important is it to maintain a code of discipline or morality, whether derived from judiasm itself or from another source, to success in attainment through this proccess ? I can certainly see where he is coming from, there are many new-age meditation schools that are not rooted in a strong disciplined structure and so there are more opportunities for people to fall astray. One big example is sexual abuse but there are others like indulging in drugs, alcoholism, etc.
Just wanted to add to this, in terms of personal relevance of morality, it’s more important for me to think about things like relationships and family. Much of religion is about getting married, and having children. What if a person just wants to serve community without those things? Does it still make sense to learn Kabbalah for personal reasons or would that be considered selfish?
The second question is: Is intellectual Kabbalah superior to kabbalistic meditation techniques? And why does the emphasis of the Revealing Kabbalah course preparation materials seems so focused on understanding the nature of reality through gaining knowledge. What role do meditation, visualization, and other practices have in Kabbalah?
Hi Dana,
1. I’m not an expert in other methods, even other methods that call themselves “Kabbalah”. So I cannot comment on what they do or teach there.
As for morality, it depends on your goal in life. If your goal is to reach the revelation of the Creator, this is possibly only when we practice connection and bestowal with other points in the heart in the Kabbalistic group.
If you practice this anywhere else, in the best case scenario you’ll build some good relationships, in the worst case, people will think you’re weird or try to take advantage of you. But either way it will not lead to the revelation of the Creator.
So generally, with the rest of the world, it’s best to just act normal, like everyone else. Meaning don’t make a saint of yourself and at the same time don’t cause harm to others or break the law, but just act the way normal people act.
2. The goal of authentic Kabbalah is to correct our egoistic nature in order to become similar to the Creator and reveal Him in practice. Things like meditation help to calm us down, but ultimately don’t correct our egoistic nature, so they are not a part of the authentic Kabbalistic method.
Likewise with knowledge, we do need a certain fundamental amount of knowledge to practice Kabbalah, but beyond that the Kabbalists tell us that “it’s not the wise that learns”. Meaning that we’re not learning this material simply to acquire knowledge, to store it in some box in our brains. After all, if knowledge was the path to spirituality, then a supercomputer loaded with all of the Kabbalistic texts would be the most spiritual being in the world. But obviously this is not the case.
So why do we study if not to gain knowledge? Because through the study, we draw the force of the light. This force has the ability to correct our egoistic nature. As a result of that correction, we reach spiritual attainment in practice.
See my reply 466214 to Aliona below for more details.
Albert @ KabU
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