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Some people around me feel like if they already have a sort of spiritual wisdom, as if they are developed and altruistic already. They don’t know about kabbala. It could also be a young person. Could you say that development of these people is because they revealed laws of nature by them selves?
Hi Bonnie, good question!
But I cannot comment directly on your personal experience, since this has to do with your personal perception of reality. And our perception of reality is not something constant, rather every time we change, every time our desires evolve, our perception of reality will change as well. We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming lessons.
So we can talk about these things only in general. Why are there some people in life that already seem altruistic? Baal HaSulam writes in the writings of the last generation that there is up to 10% of the world that has a natural drive towards bestowal and altruism. Just like we’re built to enjoy reception, they’re built to enjoy bestowal. Why is there a need for such a thing, for altruistic egoists? It’s because pure egoism on its own would just destroy the world, so nature implanted a few altruists to balance out the system.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2012/07/altruism-no-more-than-10-or-all-100/
Albert @ KabU
Shalom. Can it be said that selfishness and desire for a life without Kedusha is a kind of modern idolatry? Has a Kabbalist actually broken selfish idols by turning his desires into kesusha?
Hi Asher,
Yes, you can say that serving our egoism is a form of idolatry. See my reply 53942 to Rune below for more details (if the link does not work for you, then you can find it manually on the 2nd page of this forum).
As for Kabbalists, a Kabbalist is not simply a student of Kabbalah, but rather one that has already succeeded in correcting his egoistic nature, at least to some extent, at least 1 out of 125 degrees, and as a result has revealed the Creator.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/12/practicing-kabbalist/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Rachel, great questions!
The Creator has many names. But they are not naming the Creator Himself, which we don’t attain, but rather how WE experience this thing called the Creator. In other words, we are naming OUR perceptions of Him, we’re not naming Him Himself.
For example, why do we call Him Creator? Because we come to feel that this is the force that created us.
For more details, see my reply 54291 to Chris below, as well as this blog post from Rav Laitman: https://laitman.com/2017/11/the-concept-of-god-in-kabbalah/
Albert @ KabU
Dear Albert,
Since the Creator doesn’t have a name, and the Tree of Life has both male and female parts to it, would it be reasonable to ask you to refer to the Creator using a blended third person pronoun such as “s/he”? Or is there some incontrovertible evidence that the Creator is a He? I am asking because for me personally I find it adds a 126th step to get over the idea of the Creator as being exclusively male, when “It” is likely either a reflection of both or beyond gender entirely. I say this as someone who has barely dipped my toe into the readings so far, so please take it with a grain of salt, but I am a secular/spiritual female with a Haredi brother. So this is my perspective.
ThanksSharon
Hi Sharon,
It’s a valid concern. Let’s put it into perspective so we can understand it. In spirituality, the force of bestowal is a male force while the force of receiving is a female force. This is why we call the Creator Him. But these are just technical terms, similar to how in electronics we call the plug the male part while the socket is the female part.
Interestingly enough, because our nature is the desire to receive, all of humanity is considered a female in relation to the Creator who is the bestower.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2018/06/man-and-woman-in-kabbalistic-terms/
Albert @ KabU
I am interested in practical use of the wisdom from Kabbalah. I think its not enough only to intellectualize it, but to feel the fruits as well. How i can understand that my desires are good or bad? If i understand that certain desire in me is egoistic, how can i work on that to correct it? Can you describe Kabbalistic approach on example with addiction. Lets say a person is alcoholic (addiction and egoistic will to receive). Can you in a few steps describe how Kabbalah is dealing with egoistic desires or addictions? With examples if possible (like that one with a host on a dinner when we change intention)
Hi David,
You are correct that it’s not enough to intellectualize it, it needs to be felt.
Regarding our egoistic desires, first of all, what are egoistic desires? The fact that I like to eat and drink, this is not considered egoism. In Kabbalah, egoism is a spiritual quality which stands in the way of our connection with the Creator. By default, no one has such a quality. It’s only after we start to do some serious spiritual work, do we reveal this quality within us called egoism.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/10/true-evil/
As for correcting egoism, we don’t do this with our own strength, but only through the force of the light. Essentially, our entire work boils down to extracting more and more of this force, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it performs all of the corrections upon us.
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
OK so last night I had a very strange dream about my son I don’t want to really put it out there a lot but it was so real that when I woke up I could not stop thinking about it and when I tried to go to sleep the dream keeped going until the end it was like a warning. Now with you saying that we are all like shattered souls and we are all one would that be the creator trying to worn me about something? Like could the sixth sense be communicating with the creator in my sleep?
Hi Craig,
Kabbalists typically don’t attribute much importance to dreams or the state of dreaming. They see it simply as a state where the brain summarizes/organizes the daily experiences. Similar to how some computers go through the process of defragmentation.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/02/new-life-496-where-do-dreams-come-from/
Albert @ KabU
What is there in Kabbalah that makes it different from all that has been said, such as mysticism, religion, and so on?
What can convince me to abandon other methods of meditation or meditation and choose Kabbalah? In fact, can Kabbalah show me that in practice it brings me closer to the true Creator of the universe? Or are his claims only theoretical?Hi Michael, great questions!
Kabbalah is a science. So when we make the distinction that Kabbalah is not mysticism, by this we mean to say that it’s not something airy or detached from nature, rather it’s very much so grounded into nature, into researching and applying the laws of nature. And when we make the distinction that Kabbalah is not a religion, by this we mean to say that it’s not based on blind faith or belief, but rather on the empirical research of the Kabbalists. Furthermore, if we follow this method, try to replicate it, we should reach the same results that they did, meaning the correction of our egoistic nature and as a result the revelation of the Creator in our lives.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/kabbalah-and-other-sciences-philosophy-and-religion/
As for convincing you to follow this method, we don’t do such things here. This follows the rule that “there is no coercion in spirituality”. So no one can tell you if this method is for you or not, you need to feel it for yourself.
Albert @ KabU
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