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<p style=”text-align: left;”>Hello! The relationship between Judaism and kabbalah is still not 100 percent clear to me.</p>
Is kabbalah taught as a part of Judaism? I see the Hebrew letters and references to Torah and the Zohar. I must say i know very little about the Jewish religion but I’ve never seen any of the Jewish people I’ve met in my life mention kabbalah.Is Judaism not a science like kabbalah? Are they different or two names for the same thing.
Thank you ❤️ Juan
Hi Juan,
Kabbalah and Judaism are two separate things. Let’s put a few things into perspective to understand this:
Kabbalah is the method of correcting our egoistic nature and thereby revealing the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. The first one to actualize this was Adam. His name gives us a hint at this since Adam comes from the Hebrew word “Dome”, meaning “similar to”. He was not the first one alive, but rather the first one to reveal the Creator by becoming similar to this quality of bestowal.
This wisdom gets passed onward from Adam until Abraham who adapted it to the people of his generation and made the wisdom more practical. Abraham put together a large group of Babylonians who were interested in actualizing this method. These people later on became the Israeli nation. The word Israel comes from the Hebrew words “Yashar” “El” meaning straight to God. These are the people who had an active point in the heart in those days and were interested in revealing the Creator.
These people greatly succeeded in this method. The peak of their success was symbolized in the building of the first and second temple, which reflected the level of unity and bestowal they were able to reach. At a certain point, they lost the spiritual connection between them (the destruction of the 2nd temple) and what remained was just these external symbols of their connection.
At this point the wisdom of Kabbalah became concealed. People still had the holy books, Torah and etc, but they did not know how to use them. Since the Torah is written in the language of roots and branches. Meaning it uses words of our world to describe spiritual phenomena. But if a person does not have this spiritual connection through which he can see this, then he thinks this book is talking about this world, history, morals, commandments, etc. From this emerges the Jewish religion.
From all the above we see that Kabbalah itself is not connected to any religion and that the modern religions came out due to the concealment of Kabbalah. At the same time, Kabbalah is not against religions. In fact we have millions of students worldwide, from many different backgrounds and religions. Many of them do choose to maintain their religion or to perform certain religious customs while studying Kabbalah and there is nothing wrong with that. Just like with any other science, a person can be religious and also be a chemist or physicist. Likewise a person can be religious and also study the science of Kabbalah. Baal HaSulam writes that even after the full spiritual correction people can still keep their religions.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/12/the-wisdom-of-kabbalah-and-the-other-religions/
Albert @ KabU
For being lost myself, I am curious on how I will be able to find meaning in my life. From the lessons of week 1, what are going to be the main studies that come from Kabbalah. How was this modern age created? How do I connect to the material sources around me, to be able to connect not only external reality but, internally as well?
I believe after solving your own problems and contributing to the world, there has to be a reason for being on this Earth. With religion, what religion connects the most to the concept of the afterlife existing?
Hi Kai,
These are great questions which we’ll cover in depth throughout the course. But here are a few key points:
1) We discover the meaning of our lives when we reveal the Creator and connect with Him. Revealing Him works according to the law of equivalence of form. Meaning that in order to reveal Him, we need to become similar to Him. In other words, we need to correct our opposite egoistic nature, for it to operate in the direction of love and bestowal, just like Him. Then we will reveal Him in practice and realize the meaning of our lives. This is precisely what the Wisdom of Kabbalah helps us do.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/kabbalah-without-a-trace-of-mysticism/
2) Regarding the modern age, we will understand its emergence as well as all the stages that preceded it and that ones that will follow it when we learn about the three states of the soul (Baal HaSulam describes in article Introduction to the book of Zohar, items 14 & 15).
The first state is the state of perfection in which we were created. But this was an unconscious state, like a baby in its mother’s womb. So we necessarily had to come to the complete opposite state (the second state), to lose that state of perfection, in order to once again reach it, but this time consciously (the third state).
As Baal HaSulam writes in that article, these three states necessitate each other and are thereby fixed and unchanging. In other words, all of the things humanity has undergone in all the billions of years of development as well as all of our future states are preset, prearranged to give us exactly what we need in every moment in order to help us reach that final third state.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/01/from-perfection-to-perfection/
3. Connection happens on the level of desires, we’ll learn about this in the future lessons.
4. I’m not an expert on religions so I cannot comment on that. But in general, we should know that Kabbalah is not a religion. It’s a practical scientific method by which we can correct our egoistic nature and thereby reveal the Creator in our lives. What about the afterlife? If we realize this correction within our lifetime, we will continue to exist within that corrected state even when our animalistic bodies die. If not, then we’ll continue to reincarnate again and again until we finish this correction.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
Albert @ KabU
<p style=”text-align: center;”>Although there is a barrier between our world and Assiyah, isn’t it the case that our actions do effect the completion or lack thereof, in the overall system?</p>
Hi Trino,
Not just any action. As we learn from the system of roots and branches, our world exists on the level of branches. All the changes essentially stem from the root. In order to make any change here, we need to do so on the root level.
It’s like watching TV. Let’s say I’m watching a TV show and want to change something in the show. I can start yelling at the show or even turn it off, or go to sleep or make a thousand other actions, but ultimately it will not change the show itself. In order to make any change, I would need to go to the source. In this case maybe to contact the director or something.
This is how our world works. That we’re on the level of branches, like that end result of a TV show that was already made. And in order to make any change here, we need to go to the roots.
We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming lessons, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2009/09/the-law-of-roots-and-branches-the-most-imporant-law-in-kabbalah/
Albert @ KabU
Hi. I have a more practical question.
What is the correct manner to solve personal problems using the receiving to bestow rule?
For example, if I have a money problem in the moment. According to Tony Kosinec class, this problem exists in the root world and manifests here in the branch world.
As intention is our 6th sense, I have to feel (as a prayer) that I’m open to receive money to help other people, i.e., receive to bestow?
Thanks. Essentially though I am an audience member of a TV show. Whether I watch it or don’t doesn’t impact the producers one way or another. On the other hand the branches are here in this world and came from the higher roots? Wouldn’t my own corrections or lack thereof make the whole thing closer or more distant from correction?
Hi Trino,
1. Yes.
2. Yes, you can say that. All of humanity is interconnected and one person’s correction brings everyone closer to their correction and to the purpose of creation. It’s like we’re all parts of an eight billion piece jigsaw puzzle. If I find where my piece fits into the puzzle, it makes it easier for others to find where their piece fits.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Reinaldo, good question!
Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality. As for our corporeal desires, Kabbalah does not deal with these things. Each person should arrange those desires in the normal way, that is customary in our world. Meaning that if I’m sick, I need to go to the doctor, if I lose my job, I need to go look for another one, etc.
Albert @ KabU
Thank you for these eye-opening lessons once again. My question is with regards to the concept of Adam Kadmon. Is it the same as The Christ ? If not , in what way does it differ?
Hi Adebiyi,
I’m not an expert in other methods, so I cannot compare/contrast or comment on what they teach there.
As for the concept of Adam Kadmon, this is the first world to emerge in the system of spiritual worlds. It’s called Kadmon (primordial) because it operates in a different way than the rest of the system.
Albert @ KabU
Thank you very much for the wise lessons.
What I did not understand was that Kabbalah studies do not require change in this world. That I can actually continue with your actions, in my own way, in my conduct which can also hurt me and hinder me from changing and reaching other places. How does it work out because I’m learning that if I want to achieve a better life then I have to improve myself. Like my way of thinking, knowing my feelings and working with them at a level where I manage to express them and thus reach a situation where they don’t affect me very much but to a certain extent. Taking care of my body because it is actually the instrument of my soul. And if it’s not good and I eat poisoned food, and drink contaminated water, it affects the quality of the things that come out of me, affects my way, affects also on a mental and emotional level, I get sick and thus my functioning is at a low level. The same goes for my environment, the job I work in if I don’t like the job and it’s just to survive and get money. I bind my spirit and it is terribly depressed in the face of this life, and then I try to make up for this deficit with all kinds of distractions, Addictions, unwanted behaviors. And as a result of harmful choices, actions, feelings and thoughts that if I learn to change them then I significantly change my life in a dramatic way in a direction where I shape my reality that supports me, others and creation.Hi Salam,
We say that we don’t need to change the world because, as we’ll learn in the upcoming lesson on the perception of reality, the external world is a reflection of my internal world. Meaning that if I see something bad in the world, it’s a sign that there is something bad within me. So in order to fix what I see outside of me, I need to fix what is inside of me.
It’s like I have these dirty glasses through which I see the whole world as dirty. The moment I clean my own glasses, I’ll look at the same world, but now it’s clean and perfect.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/04/in-neutral-gear/
As for arranging our corporeal lives, Kabbalah does not deal with these things. Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality. The rest of our desires don’t have any relation to spirituality, so each person can arrange these desires however is most comfortable for them (of course within the context of the law and without harming others).
How do we do this in practice? In practice we only work on making the desire for spirituality the most important thing. Then naturally the rest of our desires will fall into place. For example, it’s like with an artist that is so involved in his art, that he fulfills all the rest of his desires out of necessity so he can quickly return to his passion. Same with us, when spirituality is the most important desire, then we will be able to properly relate to all the rest of our corporeal desires in a balanced way.
Albert @ KabU
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