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I’m feeling nourished by all the information and teachings here, but one refrain keeps going through my head: “Where are the women teachers on this path?”
Hi Krista,
Throughout history, there were many women Kabbalists, such as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and Miriam.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/11/the-modern-woman-and-kabbalah/
Albert @ KabU
Why did the books of Kabbalah become public in 1995? What happened that year, and who decided it was time to make them available to everyone? Thank you.
Hi Joan,
I did not define that, this is what we learn from other Kabbalists.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/03/dispelling-myths-about-kabbalah-part-1/
Albert @ KabU
Hi György,
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.
Albert @ KabU
Hi
How can you know that you have an authentic teacher? Also, should we be reading the Torah along with the Zohar?
ThanksHi Yvette,
1. The only compass we have is to follow our point in the heart. It will lead us to the place where we need to be. In other words, no one can tell you if this is the place for you or not, or that this is the teacher for you or not, you need to feel it for yourself. This follows the rules that “there is no coercion in spirituality” and “one learns only where one’s heart desires”.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/06/trust-your-heart/
2. The Zohar is essentially a commentary on the Torah, so by studying the Zohar you are already studying the Torah. If you want to read the Torah separately, it’s up to you.
And if you’re interested in learning how to properly decipher the Torah, check out the books: Disclosing a Portion or The Secrets of the Eternal Book.
Albert @ KabU
Is it possible that with the right teachers, you can reach a very high level of the upper realms and then fall back from them when those teachers are no longer with us? It seems sometimes that its like a slow going trampoline experience. How can one maintain the upper realms?
Hi Elle,
Spirituality works according to the law of equivalence of form, meaning that attaining spirituality requires us to become similar to it, to the pure qualities of love and bestowal that are there. Since our egoistic nature is completely opposite to spirituality, we naturally don’t feel it. In order to feel it, we need to rise above the ego.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
It could be that under a certain teacher, a person wants to cancel one’s ego and cling on to the teacher. As a result, they attain spirituality to some extent. Then when that teacher is gone, they stop canceling their ego and again fall into it, and again become disconnected from spirituality.
In order to maintain this type of work, besides the teacher, we also need a group where we can constantly work on rising above our ego. In the advanced semesters of KabU, everyone will receive their own virtual Kabbalah group and we’ll learn how to do this type of spiritual work in practice.
Albert @ KabU
In alchemy, there is said to be seven steps toward (inner) gold. Is this comparable to the five levels of consciousness, including our world and the higher infinity god?
Hi Patty,
I’m not an expert in alchemy, so I cannot answer that.
In general, there are many spiritual methods out there. But if we want to succeed in one of them, we should follow it without mixing in what we learn from other places. Otherwise we will corrupt the results we’re trying to reach. Sort of like trying to replicate a science experiment without following the procedures in the original experiment. Or like following two GPS systems simultaneously, one leads you to the goal through the west highway, while the other through the east highway. If we follow both, we’ll just wind up going in circles.
Albert @ KabU
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