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Tony says that we should look at occurrences based on our experience (the tsunami). does not this make one “selfish”? we do not look at things with empathy and look at things based on OUR TRUTH?
Hi Elizabeth,
We learn that “a judge has only what his eyes can see”. Meaning that Kabbalah is a very practical down to earth method. We shouldn’t live in the clouds, rather we should work practically with what we are experiencing every moment of our lives. Furthermore, just like when a person is sick and goes to a doctor, he doesn’t lie to the doctor about how he feel. Likewise in Kabbalah, we shouldn’t lie to ourselves about how we feel the world.
As for being selfish, that is okay. After all, we were all created as egoists on purpose. It’s precisely thanks to the ego that we can rise to high spiritual degrees. In Kabbalah, the ego is not a bad force but rather a partner that helps us to advance. Meaning we don’t eliminate our ego, we rise above it. It turns into a type of hill or mountain that we rise above. In other words, the greater the ego, the further up we can climb, and the greater the spiritual level we can achieve. On the other hand if we eliminate the ego, then the spiritual level we can achieve is relatively tiny.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
Furthermore, since our very nature is egoistic, we can’t fight the ego directly. We need help to rise above the ego. This help comes to us from the force of the light. All of the corrections are performed on us by the light. Our work is only to extract more and more of this light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, 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 Elizabeth,
If you’re trying to connect with others then you don’t need to focus on yourself. Essentially each one of us is perfect. We don’t need to change anything about ourselves.
Just picture that all of humanity is part of a single system. Like a 8 billion piece jigsaw puzzle. In a jigsaw puzzle, you wouldn’t start cutting off pieces or recoloring the pieces to make them fit. Likewise with us. Each piece of the puzzle (each person) is perfect by itself and does not require any correction. The only problem is knowing where each piece fits in with all the other pieces.
We’ll learn about this more practically in the more advanced semesters when everyone will get their own Kabbalah group with whom they can put all these things into practice. In the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/05/puzzle-adam-harishon/
Albert @ KabU
may i ask where 613 came from? and to clarify, since each one of us has part of that 613 that needs to be corrected, does this mean if I correct my part, it also corrects everyone’s part of that? in a way, does this correction correlate to the tikkun of each person?
Hi Elizabeth,
613 is the number of corrections that need to be placed over the spiritual desire. This number is further divided into 248 desires of bestowing in order to bestow and 365 desires that operate on receiving in order to bestow. We’ll learn how these numbers are derived in the more advanced lessons on KabU that deal with the structure of the upper worlds.
Regarding correcting other, we learn that all of humanity is part of one single system, like cells within a single body. So naturally what one experiences influences EVERYONE else. And if I reach a correction, this same correction influences everyone. But I don’t actually correct the other person, rather I correct my part that is found within everyone.
It’s like a hologram where the big image is made up of identical smaller copies of that image. So if there is a flaw in one of the smaller images, that same flaw is found in every piece. And if you correct that flaw in the small piece, it’s reflected in the whole image. But each one will still need to correct their part of the general picture.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/04/the-fractality-of-nature/
Albert @ KabU
My question is about Jewish laws and customs. Â The renown kabbalists who wrote the kabbalist books that we are studying in this course (at least since Moses) were what we consider today as Orthodox Jews and followed Jewish customs, laws, and practices in accordance with holy Jewish texts such as the Torah, Mishnah, etc. Â In fact, some like Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai were persecuted severely for being Jewish and following Jewish laws and customs, yet they refused to renounce their Judaism and stop practicing. Â Although I understand it is not necessary to follow a certain religion to study Kabbalah, and that you don’t have to be born Jewish (like possibly Rabbi Akiva), it seems clear that they considered it extremely important to keep kosher, keep sabbath, and otherwise comply with the 613 commandments in the Torah. Â Will we be learning the reasons for this later in the course and whether we should also do so to help with spiritual attainment? Â I know the focus so far has been on intention, but what about actions in line with Jewish practices and customs? Â Thank you!
Hi Afc, great question!
Kabbalah and religion are two separate things. Let’s put a few things into perspective to understand this:
Kabbalah is the method for 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:Â https://laitman.com/2008/10/religions-place-in-our-lives/
Albert @ KabU
Thank you for the thorough and helpful response, and I did read Rav Laitman’s blog post in the link you provided. Â I am still processing how it is that kabbalists who were able to reach high degrees of spiritual attainment through the practice of kabbalah seemed to still strongly believe in the spiritual importance of following the physical commandments in the Torah (if as Rav Laitman says, such external actions are mere culture or tradition). Perhaps it is my Jewish heritage that is making it more difficult for me to separate, as I have always been taught that the Torah is the word of the Creator and that although there are literal (peshat) and hidden (sod) meanings in the Torah, both are important. Happily, my synagogue has never been hostile towards kabbalah, in fact quite the opposite. Â As you can see, I still have a lot to process (and learn) and I am thoroughly enjoying the course. Â Thank you again.
Curiously, if the Creator is Light, why do use terminology that refers to Him as a person and specifically male?
Hi Carla,
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.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Derek,
In general, you can say that, but there are different nuances behind each word.
Torah comes from the Hebrew word “ohr”, light. But it’s more so the system through which we extract the light in order correct our egoistic nature.
And when we use the word light, we’re talking about the force that is opposite the desire. All that was created was the desire to receive pleasure. The force that created this desire and fulfills it is the light. So the light is the Creator, the pure quality of bestowal. We can also say that light = pleasure, since this is what fulfills that desire.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2014/12/what-is-the-light/
Albert @ KabU
Can we walk on the path of light and yet suffer from physical illnesses? Or? (I was thinking of the path of pain?)
Hi Annililia,
Yes, it’s possible. This is because our health is not always the result of our own actions, rather it’s often a reflection of the society and environment that we live in. This follows what we learned that all of humanity is completely interconnected, like cells within a single body. So even if there are a few healthy cells out there, if the body as a whole is sick, those healthy cells as well would feel it.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details:Â https://laitman.com/2018/01/how-does-kabbalah-relateto-health/
Albert @ KabU
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