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I lack a clear understanding of what the five Spiritual levels mean individually. I noted the proper names and have researched the names; however, I do not have a clear interpretation. For example, if one of the levels meant that a person works on reactivity, then work on . . . is there that type of explanation in language that would assist me in understanding the steps of each Spiritual level. Thank you.
Hi Sue,
The 5 spiritual worlds are not place like we think, but rather levels of concealment. World (Olam in Hebrew) comes from the word Concealment (ha-alama). So the 5 worlds are 5 levels of concealment between us, the desire to receive, and the Creator the general force of love and bestowal. To the extent that we correct our own opposite, egoistic nature, for it to also operate in the direction of bestowal, to that extent we reveal these worlds, these higher qualities.
Regarding the order and meaning of each world:
First is Adam Kadmon (primordial Man) this is the first form of the desire to receive that became similar to the Creator, but it operates in a different way then the rest of the system, so it’s called primordial.
Atzilut (from the Hebrew words etz lo: at his place, in his possession). This is the place where the Creator exists, meaning the pure desire to bestow.
Beria (creation), comes from the Hebrew word Bar, meaning outside of. Meaning that it’s already a distinct degree of remoteness from the quality of bestowal.
Yetzira (creation), also means creation but this time it stems from the Hebrew word yetzer, inclination. Meaning there is already an inclination of its own to the Creator.
Assiya (action), this completes the action of creating the desire to receive.
Keep in mind that we usually don’t translate these words when we use them in the lessons. A lot of times it’s better to use the Hebrew word instead of being confused by the translation.
As for attaining these things and understanding them, these are two separate matters. First we reach spiritual attainment and only afterwards can we understand these things. It’s like a blind person that is trying to study colors. He can learn the wavelengths behind each one, the different feelings they all evoke, but ultimately he will never truly understand colors. But if this blind person was to undergo an operation and gain his sense of sight, how easy and simple it would be to teach him colors. We would simply point to it and say “this is red”.
Same with us, until we reach spiritual attainment, it’s impossible to truly understand these things. In order to reach spiritual attainment, we need to correct our egoistic nature. This is done through the force of the light. So our entire work boils down to extracting more and more of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
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
I want to ask what exactly do you teach about these steps, downward as in our world, is it as overcoming those desires, renunciation as in upward, in some way returning those desires?
Hi Igor,
Our work is to correct our desires from receiving into desires to bestow. But our very nature is the desire to receive pleasure. Just like a PC cannot just change itself to run as a Mac, we too are powerless to change our own nature. We need help to perform this change. This help comes to us from the light. This is a special force which has the power to change our nature. Our entire work boils down to extracting more and more of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
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 Johan,
In Kabbalah, the Messiah is not a person but a force. Messiah (Mashiach in Hebrew) comes from the verb “to pull” (Moshech in Hebrew). This is the force that has the ability “to pull” us out of our egoistic nature into the Creator’s nature of love and bestowal.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/what-do-they-expect-from-a-messiah/
Albert @ KabU
Hi, first of all, thank you for teaching us.
my questions
1. why 1995?
2. if it’s “designed” to be hidden, why not hidden anymore? and giving so little of the entire population knows about this, how a “collective soul” even possible to be achieved?
3. what’s the connection between Kabbalah and Torah?
thanks again
Helen
Hi Helen, great questions!
1. Although we point to 1995 as to when Kabbalah became revealed, technically the prohibition was lifted much earlier, from the time of the Ari. He was the one to make a very special correction within the entire spiritual system, after which its not only possible, but a must to openly disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah in order to help the whole world reach its correction.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details on the Ari: https://laitman.com/2010/08/the-ari-rav-isaac-luria-the-godly-man/
So why do we say 1995? Let’s put a few things into perspective:
Kabbalah is the method of correction of our egoistic nature, thereby revealing the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. Why was it necessary to conceal such a wisdom? Because egoism was still not yet fully developed. 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.
It’s just like the 5 stages development of a disease within a person. First a person is healthy. Then he is sick, but he does not feel it. Then the disease spreads to the point that he starts to feel pain and symptoms of the disease. This then pushes him to go to a doctor to get diagnosed and find the cure, and etc.
2000 years ago, egoism was still on a very low level, there was no need to correct it. Starting from the days of the Ari, egoism already grew to a certain extent (and technically the prohibition on Kabbalah ended there), but humanity still didn’t feel sick, on the contrary the ego was the main driving force of all of our development. Then from around 1995 egoism peaked and began to show itself as bad, like a cancer that begins to kill the host body. This is the peak at which there was a true need for the cure. Which in essence is what the Kabbalists have been waiting for all these years, for the desire, for egoism to fully ripen.
2. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we’re already all parts of a single system, like cells within a single body. In this integral system, all the parts are equal and everyone is important. So much so that if even a single part is missing, then the whole system is incomplete. Meaning the purpose of creation must be attained by EVERYONE. And if even one person is missing, then we have not yet attained the entire purpose of creation. It’s like a eight billion piece jigsaw puzzle, where if even one piece is missing, the entire puzzle is incomplete.
So no one will be left behind, we will all reach the goal. The only difference is that there are those that are awakened to this work earlier and those that are awakened to it later. This is because there is a certain order of corrections that need to take place. It’s like building a large jigsaw puzzle. First you start with all the corner pieces, and only then do you gradually work your way to the center. So those that received awakened points in the hearts are like those corner pieces of the puzzle that need to start the whole process. Later on, due to their good work, they pave the way for the rest of the world to join this process.
3. The Torah is a Kabbalistic book but we don’t really study it 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 Debra,
Rav Laitman wrote about it in one of his blog posts:
Question: You said that 1995 was the starting point of the current events. What happened in 1995 that you are referring to?
My Answer: I felt this because suddenly, the students that started coming to study with me were different: They were serious, diligent, and persistent in their pursuit of the goal. Today they still make up the core of the worldwide Bnei Baruch group. Of course, there were also inner changes that are concealed from the average onlooker – a clearer revelation of new spiritual forces in the world.
Albert @ KabU
very insightful, thank you so much. I do have another question if you don’t mind. I recall hearing about “the collective soul of Adam ” was divided into 600 thousand pieces, and I suppose that 600k are shared among all population? but the population changes all the time, how does that work? when the population increased, does that mean each person is getting a lesser piece of soul? does the population actually matter here? (sorry for my English, not my first language)
It seems to me though that egoism now is much worse than in 1995. At those times there was more hedonism perhaps and the younger generations, those who are searching have maybe gone beyond all that but now in 2024 with all the global corruption and conflict it seems much worse, I also wonder whether covid is somehow connected to this
Hi Marie,
Yes, egoism continues to grow, even after 1995. This is how it should be, since the greater the ego, the higher we can rise above it in spirituality.
Keep in mind that in Kabbalah, we don’t work on eradicating the ego, but on rising above it. The more we advance, the more our egoistic desires grow. They turn into a type of mountain that we climb over. The bigger the desires, the higher we can climb, and the higher the spiritual degree that we can attain. On the other hand, if we were to eliminate our egoistic desires, then accordingly, we would only be able to attain a tiny degree of spiritual attainment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Helen,
600,000 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/
Albert @ KabU
Hello,
My question is somewhat personal. I had a “spiritual awakening” experience about 2 years ago, and since then I believe I am going through the Dark Night of the Soul.Does Kabbalah speak on this state of spiritual dryness and how to go beyond it? Is this a part of the 125 rungs? Also where can I learn what each world is and the 125 degrees?
Thank You!
Hi Nikhil,
Just like in our world that there is day, then night, then day again, then night again, likewise in spirituality, we go through cycles of ascents and then descents. So it’s normal. The main thing is to just keep going, to keep placing yourself under the influence of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it’ll balance everything out. We’ll learn more about these things in the advanced semesters.
As for learning about the worlds and 125 degrees, you can read about them in technical terms in the article Foreword to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. This too we’ll study in depth in the advanced semesters.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Johan,
Our nature is the desire to receive pleasure. It simply means that every calculation we make is to chase pleasure or avoid pain. This is similar to how any other animal functions. By itself, there is nothing wrong with this nature, it’s simply the program by which we function and preserve ourselves.
Egoism is when this program begins to be used in a way that harms others. Not only do I want to receive pleasure, but I want to receive it at the expense of others, at their detriment. This is the corporeal ego.
There is also a spiritual ego. Spiritual egoism is everything that stands in the way of our connection with the Creator. Normal people don’t have a spiritual ego. This is only something that we discover after doing some serious spiritual work.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/10/true-evil/
Albert @ KabU
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