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Hi Basma,
First we need to keep in mind that our very nature is egoistic, meaning it’s completely opposite to spirituality, to the Creator. And just like a PC cannot just reprogram itself to run as a Mac, we too cannot just change our own nature. We require outside help to make this change. This help comes to us from the light. The light is a special force that has the ability to change our nature. Our work essentially boils down to extracting more and more of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
So the most practical action that you can do towards reaching equivalence of form with the Creator is to set aside some time to regularly return to the source of the light, meaning to the Kabbalistic sources, videos, lessons, books, etc. Such a habit will help you throughout your entire spiritual development.
And in the more advanced semesters, we’ll learn how to do this type of spiritual work within the Kabbalistic group. The Kabbalistic group is like a lab where we practice manifesting the Creator’s qualities of love and bestowal. 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 about these things in greater detail in the more advanced lessons, in the meantime, 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
“I’ve heard you talk about working with a group of people, sometimes referred to as a group of ten, for study and spiritual work. Is this connected in any way to the traditional Jewish concept of a minyan? Why is this number significant in Kabbalah? And along with that, do Kabbalists generally keep kosher and observe other Jewish traditions, or is the focus more on the inner, spiritual aspects?”
MP
Hi Michael,
The number ten is significant in Kabbalah because it’s based on the 10 sefirot. A group of ten is essentially the smallest spiritual unit. This is similar to how our body needs a certain amount of organs for there to be life within it, likewise our spiritual body needs a group of ten for there to be spiritual life within it. And yes the group of ten is called a minyan.
As for keeping kosher and other observations, in Kabbalah we learn about the spiritual roots behind of all these things. There are those that choose to observe these things in corporeality as well, but it’s not mandatory.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/11/the-only-ritual-of-the-kabbalist/
Albert @ KabU
Is the desire to receive help from God, the key to convert our will into one of bestowal? And how so?
Hi Dominique,
Yes, you can say that. Essentially our very nature is egoistic. Just like a PC cannot reprogram itself to run as a Mac, we too cannot just change our own nature. We need help to make that change. This help comes to us from the light. The light is a special force that has the ability to change our nature. All our work boils down to extracting more and more of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
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
What is the significance of the number 600,000 with regards to the shattering of Adam Kadmon’s soul?
Hi Dominique,
600,000 is less of a quantitative number and more of a qualitative number. It represents the strength of the spiritual desire after it has been fully corrected. So essentially all of humanity is included in this number.
Check out this blog post to see how this number is derived: https://laitman.com/2010/09/love-and-hatred-of-600000-souls/
Albert @ KabU
I feel a little confused by this new perception of reality that Kabbalah teaches and which is very different from the world as I imagined it.
Humanity in its evolution has a constantly growing ego in total contradiction with the unreserved gift that is the creator.
My question is how can the ego growing in me bring me closer to the creator, given that there is a total opposition of form?
Thank you
Hi Guy,
You are correct that the growing ego by itself indeed causes further and further disparity of form with the Creator. It’s only by correcting the ego that we come closer to the Creator. And the bigger the ego that we correct, the closer we get to the Creator.
This is why in Kabbalah we don’t work on eradicating the ego, but on correcting it. The more we advance, the more our egoistic desires grow. They turn into a type of mountain that we climb over. The bigger the desires, the higher we can climb, and the higher the spiritual degree that we can attain. On the other hand, if we were to eliminate our egoistic desires, then accordingly, we would only be able to attain a tiny degree of spiritual attainment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
Albert @ KabU
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