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Hi Marouane, good question!
Kabbalah is a method by we correct our egoistic nature and as a result become similar to and reveal in practice the Creator. There is a certain level of attainment of the Creator called prophet/prophecy. In other words, the prophets are Kabbalists of a certain degree.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2018/08/were-the-prophets-kabbalists/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Asher,
I’m not sure who you are referring to as the first Ashlag. Are you asking about the difference between the writings of Baal HaSulam (Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag) and the writings of Rabash (Baruch Shalom Ha-Levi Ashlag)? In which case there is no difference in their teachings. Everything that Rabash did was a continuation of the work of Baal HaSulam. You can see it in the very first line of the very first article of Rabash. Here’s an excerpt: “We have gathered here to establish a society for all who wish to follow the path and method of Baal HaSulam, the way by which to climb the degrees of man and not remain as a beast (Purpose of Society – 1).
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/11/the-great-kabbalists-and-their-works/
Albert @ KabU
Translation of Asher’s post:
Thanks for the answer that you gave me, but I cannot accept this answer. The writings of the father and son are very different. At the moment, I reached the 6th volume of the Study of the Ten Sefirot, and throughout the 8 years that I’ve been studying them, I have come to [see] the differences between Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag and Rabbi Baruch Ashlag.
Hi Asher,
You are right, the writings of Baal HaSulam and the writings of Rabash are very different. Although ultimately they are talking about the same thing, about the spiritual desire and how we correct it, they do so in two different styles. Baal HaSulam writes in a more scientific style while Rabash writes in a more emotional style.
In general, the wisdom of Kabbalah can be divided into two parts, two forms of expressions. One is the language of Kabbalah itself, or sometimes called the language of sefirot/partzufim/olamot(worlds). This language is very technical (at least that’s how it appears to us until we attain spirituality). It’s entirely scientific and uses strict definitions. Baal HaSulam wrote more in this style, especially in the Study of the Ten Sefirot.
There’s another type of style which is also scientific, but it focuses more on emotions. This style is called “Avodat HaShem” which translates to “the Creator’s Work”. This language expresses the many inner states that our desires undergo as we progress on the spiritual path as well as the practical work that we need to do in Kabbalistic groups. Rabash wrote more in this style, especially in his social writings.
Keep in mind that the different style that they used is not so much dependent on them, but rather on the generation in which they lived. For example, this same difference is seen between the Ari and Baal Shem Tov. Baal HaSulam writes about it in the “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”, item 9, here’s an excerpt:
“9) In return for that, we are privileged by Him to have been rewarded with the spirit of The Baal Shem Tov, whose greatness and sanctity are beyond any word and any utterance. He was not gazed upon and will not be gazed upon, except by those worthy that had served under his light, and they, too, only intermittently, each according to what he received in his heart.
It is true that the light of his Torah and Holy Wisdom are built primarily on the holy foundations of the ARI. However, they are not at all similar. I shall explain this with an allegory of a person drowning in the river, rising and sinking as drowning people do. Sometimes, only the hair is visible, and then a counsel is sought to catch him by his head. Other times, his body appears as well, and then a counsel is sought to catch him from opposite his heart.
So is the matter before us. After Israel has drowned in the evil waters of the exile among the nations, since then until now they rise and fall, and not all times are the same. At the time of the ARI, only the head was visible. Hence, the ARI had troubled in our favor to save us through the mind. At the time of The Baal Shem Tov, there was relief. Hence, it was a blessing for us to save us from opposite the heart, and that was a great and true salvation for us.”
Here’s a link to the article in the archive, you can read it Hebrew there if you want: https://kabbalahmedia.info/en/sources/DrsQS1MO?language=en
Albert @ KabU
אני מקבל עכשיו! זה נקרא תשובה מלאה ומשכנעת! הלוואי שכל המורים והפקידים יגיבו כך! אם הייתי מרוצה מהתשובה הקודמת, האם בכל זאת הייתי מקבל תשובה כל כך יפה ומדויקת? אני מבקש מכל הסטודנטים לא פשוט לקבל שום תשובה… כמובן, זה היה בגלל 14 שנות לימוד והמאמץ והדיוק שלי שגרמו לי לא לקבל את התשובה הראשונה!
I accept now! This is called a complete and convincing answer! I wish all teachers and officials would respond like this! If I was satisfied with the previous answer, would I still get such a beautiful and accurate answer? I ask all students not to simply accept any answer … Of course, it was because of my 14 years of study and effort and accuracy that made me not accept the first answer!
This is a personal question to Tony: if Kabbalah is not a religion, if Kabbalah is not subscribed only to jews, why are you wearing a kippah?
Hello Tony and teaching team. I am very much looking forward to gaining the wisdom described in the Kabbalah.
Here are my questions:
1: Are there current day, living examples of people attaining the highest level of correction?
2: I am getting a sense that internalizing the true ways and attaining the 125 levels of corrections may require a lifetime of learning and at best may only be achievable to a selected few. I do appreciate that there is no end to the level of knowledge that can be gained on any given topic. I am just wonderring how attaniable is the achievement of full alignment.
Hi Attila, good questions!
1. There are different degrees of correction. There is a person’s personal correction and there is the final correction of all of humanity. There were many Kabbalists throughout the generations which reached varying levels of correction. But it’s only Rabbi Shimon and his 9 students that were able to reach the final degree of correction. They were the pioneers that had to reach this state in order to pave the way for the rest of us. So in our days, this work is not limited to a select few, but it’s open to the whole world.
2. There is no time in spirituality. Reaching it does not depend on hours of study or acquisition of knowledge, but rather it works according to laws. One of these laws is that “there is no light without a kli (vessel)”. Meaning that if we don’t have the vessel (desire) we have nothing with which to get the light (the fulfillment for that desire).
In other words, everything depends on us, if we build the right desire for spirituality, we will right away reveal it. If not, then even if a few more thousands of years pass by, we will still not reveal it. This is called “there is no coercion in spirituality”. Meaning if we don’t want it, we will not receive it.
And although we spend a lot of time studying, the goal is not to acquire knowledge, but through the study to draw the light, a special force that helps us to build the right desire. Meaning we don’t need to be super strong, wise, or talented in order to succeed in Kabbalah, all we need is to extract more and more of this light and it does all the rest.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Ale, good question!
It’s usually out of respect for the culture and traditions that a person grows up with. We should keep in mind that Kabbalah and religion 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 on ward 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/2008/10/religions-place-in-our-lives/
Albert @ KabU
By the way, if you want to ask this question to Tony directly, you can do so at the live Q/A event. The next one is on November 14 at 1 PM eastern time. Check out this link for more details: https://kabuconnect.com/live/
Hello,
It may sound a silly question but it bothers me. I understand, Kabbalah tells that all humans have a point in the heart, a tiny desire piece of the shattered original soul of Adam ha Rison. That this is the only truly spiritual morsel or seed that comes into our body straight from the Spiritual realm, descending (or falling?) 125 steps of the “ladder” between the two worlds. And it helps the Kabbalist’s ascent by remembering the feelings of the individual states of the “ladder”. But exactly how and when this truly spiritual point gets into our bodily hearts according to Kabbalah?
Hi Maria,
We’re here to learn, so don’t worry, it’s not a silly question. These are all good, legitimate questions and concerns.
As for the heart, we’re not speaking about our physical bodily hearts. After all, a person can undergo a heart transplant but will still remain the same person. Heart in Kabbalah refers to all of our desires: desires for food, sex, family, money, honor, knowledge, etc. Among all of these desires is a single desire, a single point, which yearns for something higher than this life. That desire is called the point in the heart. Everyone has this desire, but for some it’s more active and for others less.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/05/what-is-the-soul-4/
Albert @ KabU
Wow, just going through the questions I am amazed, I came to know about Kabbalah in of my most recent readings..most being The Kyballion, which refers to Hermes Trismegistus 7 principles. Any comment as I see similarity especially this one: “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.”– The Kybalion
On the Three reasons why Kabbalah is called “the hidden science.”.. could this be what The Kyballion, which refers to Hermes Trismegistus 7 principles.. where it is mentioned: “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.”– The Kybalion
Hi Louis,
I’m not an expert in other methods, so I cannot comment on what they do or teach there. In general, Kabbalah was concealed because humanity as a whole was not ready for it. Let’s put this 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
Thank you for the response.. thought not as expected.. would have been great to hear your comment, nonetheless I am grateful for this session and opportunity to learn.
As a follow up question on the recommended reading: ” The true path to this goal proceeds along the middle line. This implies combining three concepts into one: the human being, the path to follow, and the Creator. Indeed, three objects exist in the world : the human being, who is striving to return to the Creator, the path one needs to follow in order to reach the Creator, and the Creator, the goal toward which the human being is striving.” Spiritual Path- Pg 33. Can this be equated to the Conscious, UnConscious and the sub-conscious mind?
Hi Louis,
No. That excerpt is talking about the path we undergo. There is me, the path I go through, and the end goal of that path. Underlying all these things is the law of equivalence of form. Which means that in order for me to reach that end goal, I need to become similar to it. In other words, the path I go through is the means by which I correct myself and become similar to the Creator until I reach complete adhesion with Him. This is why later on in that article, he writes that these 3 things ultimately become as one.
We’ll learn more about this law in the upcoming lessons. In the meantime, 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
Are the 125 steps linear and need to be taken in a specific order or do we have moments that we may find ourselves at one point on a “higher” step and another day on a “lower.”
Hi Jeff, great question!
The 125 steps represents the difference between us and the Creator. The Creator is a desire to bestow and we are the desire to receive. Adapting our desire to receive to work in order to bestow takes 125 steps. Meaning that to the extent that we correct our nature, make it similar to the Creator’s nature, to that extent we’re “climbing” this ladder.
All of this works according to the law of equivalence of form. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
As for the order, yes there is an order to these corrections which we cannot skip over. Every step is an important part of our development. If it was possible to skip a step, we would be incapable of reaching that ultimate degree of wholeness and perfection.
As for going backwards, there is a rule that “one is raised in holiness and never lowered.” So we never go backwards. It’s possible that we receive an additional challenge that belongs to a higher degree and that challenge can feel like we’re going backwards, but it’s still a step forward. Similar to how a bodybuilder that masters a 5 lb weights moves on to 10 lbs. That 10 lbs is much more challenging and he cannot do as many reps as before, but this is nonetheless considered progress and advancement.
Albert @ KabU
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