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I’m confused about the role of the physical/egoistic desires in Kabbalah.
First, it looks like one has to progress through fulfillment of all levels of those desires before reaching spiritual desire, doesn’t that mean that Kabbalah is only for successful elites who have achieved “everything” in the physical world?
Second, if that’s not the case, how do we continue to relate to those base desires after opening that point in the heart, or does bestowal only concern spiritual desires?
Hi Ami,
1. There are plenty of people out there that have everything and still have not awakened the point in the heart. So the point in the heart is not conditional on our other desires. It can awaken at any point of our development.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2008/11/only-people-with-the-point-in-the-heart-can-feel-that-kabbalah-is-the-salvation/
2. Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality. Regarding the rest of our desires, Kabbalah does not deal with these things. Our corporeal 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).
In practice, we don’t need to suppress our corporeal desires or live a life of poverty. We only need to 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
Hi Ami,
The Kabbalists tell us that “necessities are neither praised nor condemned.” Meaning that arranging your life in the normal way to receive all your normal necessities is not considered egoistic. It’s simply what you must give to your body for it to exist normally.
For more details, check out Baal HaSulam’s article: A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar
Albert @ KabU
Yes, but is there a way of changing the intention of the will to receive of basic necessities into a form of bestowal upon ourselves?
If we are all one soul, then shouldn’t we treat ourselves and our desires in the same way we treat others with a will to bestow?
Hi Ami,
Yes, we can add an intention to those desires as well, that I’m taking care of these things in order to not be a burden on society, or in order to have the strength to serve the society, etc.
Keep in mind that we practice bestowal primarily within the Kabbalistic group. In the group we build a strong connection with other points in the heart that are together with us on the spiritual path. This becomes like a nucleus. Once we build that nucleus, we will be able to add to it wider and wider circles of the world, until we’ll come to include the whole world in that connection. But this is gradual work. And until we build that nucleus, we have nothing with which to do any spiritual work towards the world.
We’ll learn more about these things and practically implement them in the advanced semester.
Albert @ KabU
That makes more sense. I started having these thoughts when I heard Dr. Laitman mention Shame in a lecture, that we experience Shame when receiving from the Creator because receiving highlights our opposite nature to Him.
So if one has Shame towards receiving even the basic desires, then one could change the intent from receiving to bestowal upons one’s self of the Creator’s gifts, that way it is no longer purely selfish.
Towards the end of the speech you linked, Rabbi Ashlag talks about inverting “bestowal into reception”, which is what I think I am getting at here: receiving as a form of bestowal, receiving in a way that elevates you to the level of the bestower.
Hi Aguinaldo,
It’s difficult because we’re trying to understand it intellectually. 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 a world full of colors would be complex and completely incomprehensible for him. 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”.
Likewise with us, it’s only after we reach spiritual attainment that we will truly and easily be able to grasp all these things. Until then, we should remember that the goal of studying Kabbalah is not to fill us up with knowledge, rather the goal is to help us reach spiritual attainment. And we do that by extracting the force of the light through the Kabbalistic studies.
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 Lei,
Ein Sof is commonly translated from Hebrew as infinity. But here the literal translation “without end” is more accurate. This is referring to the state in which the desire is completely fulfilled, to the max. Similar to how you can take a cup and fill it up to the max where it’s impossible to add any more liquid to the cup. Even if you add one more drop it will just spill over. So if you take a desire and fill it with pleasure to the max, that state is called Ein Sof.
So if we’re calling the Creator the Light of Ein Sof, it means that He wants to fill us up with pleasure to the max.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2020/07/ein-sof-infinity-the-attitude-of-the-creator-to-the-created-beings/
Albert @ KabU
How has exploring the differences between Kabbalah and traditional religious practices influenced the perspective on spirituality and personal development?
Hi Nadia,
I’m not an expert in other methods or religious practices so I cannot comment on that. But in general, we can say that Kabbalah is a scientific method through which we can correct our egoistic nature. As a result of that correction, we become similar to the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. As a result of becoming similar to Him, we reveal Him in practice, 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/
Albert @ KabU
Can you explain in a practical example what mean “When we take a part of our desire to receive and correct it in the direction of bestowal”?
Hi Jul,
To bestow in practice requires someone to bestow to. Since the Creator is concealed, it’s impossible to bestow to Him. Instead, we need to practice spiritual bestowal with other people. We do this type of spiritual work first in a small Kabbalistic group. Afterwards we can expand this work to wider circles until we include the whole world in this connection.
In the advanced semesters of KabU, everyone will receive their own Kabbalah group and will learn how to practically do this type of spiritual work in the group.
Albert @ KabU
If the external world is a reflection of our internal world, then what I see and understand through gifts from a higher source, which is only for our good and correction, and I do not question it myself, but I have feelings of compassion and the need to pray for the connection of all of us as a whole. Is this an adjustment to my needs? When I feel that my own physical needs have faded and I see not only myself as center but above all the good of others and the need to connect us with the light. Is this my path of light towards the creator? Is this how it feels like? Best Regards Ewelina
Hi Ewelina,
I cannot comment on your personal feelings, but in general, going from me to we is part of the process. We start this process in a small kabbalistic group, and expand it more and more, until we come to see the whole world as parts of our soul.
We’ll learn how to implement this practically in the more advanced lessons. In the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/05/puzzle-adam-harishon/
Albert @ KabU
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