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Based on the recommended reading, it seems that the 613 mitzvot in the Torah and 7 mitvot de rabbinan are the methods by which one can ultimately reach the ultimate state of correction. However, I have read and heard elsewhere that many of these mitvot cannot be performed by Noahide’s or people not of the Jewish faith, suggesting we each need to convert to Judaism so that we can perform as many of these commandments as possible. Can you please correct any misunderstanding I may have. Thank you
Hi Anne,
Torah comes from the Hebrew word ohr (light). So when Kabbalists use the word Torah, they are not referring to the physical book, but rather to the light. This is a special force that we can extract, especially through the Kabbalistic studies, in order to correct our egoistic nature.
And when Kabbalists use the word Mitzvot (plural of Mitzvah) they are not referring to the corporeal Mitzvot that a religious person performs with his hands and feet. But rather the Mitzvot are the INTERNAL processes by which we draw the light and correct the egoistic desires. So no need to convert to Judaism. All we need to do is extract more and more of the light, especially through the Kabbalistic studies, and we’ll begin to correct our egoistic desires. This is essentially how we fulfill the commandments to correct ourselves.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
Albert @ KabU
Do Jewish people who can and to some degree must perform mitzvot, have the potential to correct the rest of humanity? Or to serve as their light and elevate them? Could it be that Jewish people have this responsibility toward those not from their faith? Rav Laitman was not a practicing Jew … and gradually understood that becoming observant had something to do with elevating the broader learnings he immersed himself into. There may be a different set of responsibilities for those of the Jewish faith that are not highlighted so as to avoid alienating/deterring others from learning and transforming, each to his ability.
There has been a question in my head since I started the course.
The question is this.
Long ago a kabbalist told me that our Creator knew me before I knew myself, and if I was in a certain painful situation it was because the Creator put me exactly where I wanted to be.
I disagreed, because I did not like the situation at all, and I explained that I waited for a sign from Above to start changing the situation.
Who was right?
I assumed that everything comes from Hashem, so the situation as well,and Hi would show me what to do.
Was I wrong?
Thank you
Hi Elena Ester Rivka,
I cannot comment on your personal situation, we can only talk about these things in general.
In general, everything indeed comes from the Creator, this is called “there is none else besides Him”. But the Kabbalists also say that “He is the good that does good”. So everything should be good, why then don’t I feel everything as good? It’s because his goodness passes through the lens of our egoistic nature. This nature is opposite to Him, so it inverts His goodness into something bad. It’s like multiplying numbers, a positive times a negative, equals negative.
So as long as we remain within this egoistic nature, we will continue to see and feel more bad things in life. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists and that our previous egoistic state was nothing more than a dream.
We’ll learn more about these concepts in the upcoming lessons, in the meantime, check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
http://laitman.com/2017/12/there-is-none-else-besides-him/
https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/
Albert @ KabU
It’s interesting, this episode makes me wonder, as we are becoming more of a global society, more and more connected and unified externally, through technology and social media, and we see masses of people turning towards social justice, is this a manifestation of the corrected desires of individuals being corrected in the collective?
Hi Dustin,
There are no free rides towards correction. This is called “there is no coercion in spirituality”. Meaning that no one gets corrected without putting in their own efforts towards their correction.
So what then are we seeing in the world? On the one hand, we see how the ego is constantly developing and pushing us forward. On the other hand, we see how the very thing that drives us, our ego, is actually the source of all of the problems in life. This process is called “the recognition of evil”. It’s a necessary part of our development, since without seeing the harm caused by the ego, we don’t feel the need to come out of it.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/08/the-sinking-of-science-the-past-pride-of-humanity/
Albert @ KabU
I feel that the study of Kabbalah provide many answers at depths that other philosophies I have looked into so far, don’t provide. For this I’m truly grateful.
As I study the material, books and videos and understand the Kabbalistic perspective, new questions do arise though not specifically about the 3rd week material, but mostly existential questions. May I pose one of them here to provide an example? It would be great to hear the Kabbalistic perspective about this.
How about the hurtful words and actions we may have done, before expanding our awareness, and while “existing” at an unconscious level?
Does consciousness of it suffice? Meaning: repentance, regret, major lessons learned at the deepest level, love and forgiveness for oneself & the other, and new perspectives aquired during the spiritual ascension? I find it easier to understand and forgive the hurtful actions of another towards me but very difficult to forgive my own towards a loved one.
Hi Andreanne,
In the next semester, we’ll learn this concept of “there is none else besides Him”. It means that there is a singular benevolent force behind EVERYTHING that is happening to me. All of my thoughts, desires, life events, EVERYTHING comes from Him.
If so, am I to blame for what I did in the past? No. This force arranged everything the way it needed to happen. So it’s not good to dig into the past. The healthiest attitude towards the past is to say “there is none else besides Him” and that we went through exactly what we needed to go through. And instead we should focus our spiritual work on the present moment, on trying to reveal this force behind everything that is happening to you in the present.
More on this in the future, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman: https://laitman.com/2017/12/there-is-none-else-besides-him/
Albert @ KabU
I have struggled with this same problem, and I have wondered about applying the principle of There is None Else Beside Him. Guilt and shame can be very complex emotions. Sometimes, None Else Beside Him makes me feel so much better; so much relief; like putting salve on a burn, but other times I worry that I am not taking enough accountability for my past mistakes. I don’t want to blame the Creator, or use Him as a scapegoat, if that’s even possible. I worry about it.
I also worry if I try to explain this to others (especially those I feel like I have harmed in the past) that they won’t understand and accuse me of avoiding responsibility for my actions.
Hi Dustin,
The system we live in is built such that you wont be able to use the Creator as a scapegoat, even if you tried. Let’s take an extreme situation where a person kills another person and then tries to tell the judge “but there is none else besides Him”. The judge will still send that prison to jail.
We need to keep in mind that ascribing everything to the Creator is our INNER work. Externally we must continue to function in this world in the normal way. If I’m sick, I must still go to the doctor. If someone is hurting me, I must stop them, call the cops, etc. If I hurt someone, I should apologize, make amends. Externally, we must continue to deal with all of our problems in the normal way. Internally on the other hand, we will begin to feel ourselves connected with the Creator through everything that we experience. More on this in the future.
Albert @ KabU
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