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How can we decide on anything good or bad, when all good and bad are due to our parochial understanding? And if it is so, how can we be blameworthy?
Hi Muhammad,
In the wisdom of Kabbalah, we learn that we are like a seed. What happens to the seed ENTIRELY depends on where you plant it. If you plant it in the desert, nothing will come out of it. If you plant it in good soil, something good will come out of it. Likewise with us. All of our choices are the result of the environment that we plant ourselves in.
Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article “the Freedom“. Here’s an excerpt:
there is freedom for the will to initially choose such an environment, such books, and such guides that impart upon him good concepts. If one does not do this but is willing to enter any environment that appears before him and read any book that falls into his hands, he is bound to fall into a bad environment or waste his time on worthless books, which are abundant and more accessible. In consequence, he will be forced into foul concepts that make him sin and condemn. He will certainly be punished, not because of his evil thoughts or deeds, in which he has no choice, but because he did not choose to be in a good environment, for in this there is definitely a choice.
Therefore, he who strives to continually choose a better environment is worthy of praise and reward. But here, too, it is not because of his good thoughts or deeds, which come to him without his choice, but because of his effort to acquire a good environment, which brings him these good thoughts and actions.
For this reason, it’s important that we find a good spiritual environment for ourselves. We’ll learn about these things in depth in the next semester.
As for “sinning” and “punishments”, these terms have a different meaning in Kabbalah. Essentially there are no sins or punishments in Kabbalah the way religions depict it. Punishment in Kabbalah is simply a cause and effect relationship. If I disregard the law of gravity and jump from a 100 story building, then I’ll be “punished” by falling to my death. Meaning it’s not a punishment, but cause and effect, jump off 100 story building -> death.
Likewise with our spiritual work:
If build a good spiritual environment for myself -> correct my egoistic nature and become similar to the Creator.
If I don’t build a good spiritual environment for myself -> I’ll waste my time and not reach the spiritual correction in this life.
So there are no sins nor punishments, but there are laws of nature. Our work is to come into balance with these laws.
Albert @ KabU
If anyone doesn’t have the knowledge of Torah and Mishna, can’t s/he be enlightened and reach the real realm of pleasure?
Hi Muhammad,
Spiritual attainment does not depend on our knowledge. After all, we can take a computer and load it up with all of the Kabbalistic books as well as all of the knowledge that this entire world has to offer. But this computer will not attain spirituality.
Spiritual attainment depends on one thing and one thing only, the desire. If we build the right desire for it, within that correct desire, we will reveal spiritual sensations. That’s it. And although we spend a lot of time studying, the goal is not to acquire knowledge, but through the study to draw the light, a special force that helps us to build the right desire.
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
Hello,
I read this today in my Kabbalah Revealed book (p.30): “Today, we are beginning to realize that we are all connected and that we must rebuild the state that existed prior to the shattering. By rebuilding into a united humanity, we will also rebuild our connection with Nature, with the Creator.” Does this mean that Kabbalah has a forgiving outlook on interfaith intermarriage?
I ask this because I married outside of my faith years ago, and repeatedly encounter unforgiveness (indeed, a venomous resentment for being a spiritual traitor). At the time, I needed to separate myself completely from my faith/religious culture of origin for my absolute psychological survival. You can say this was a powerful egoistic desire, not simply “for a better life”, but for the ability to live at all. I simply couldn’t handle all the inter generational trauma on top of the personal kinds of trauma I experienced in my family. But my husband and I have raised ethical, thoughtful, responsible good children, in a loving home. If forgiveness is not to happen from my those in my religious background, is it reasonable to expect it from God? Can the Kabbalah approach restore a sense of inner forgiveness?
Hi Sharon,
I’m sorry but I cannot comment on your personal life, we can only talk about these things in general. In general, we need to remember that Kabbalah is not a religion nor a faith. It does not deal with these types of things. Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality.
As for the past, in general, 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. Beyond that, we should be very happy that through everything we went through, we merited an awakened point in the heart. After all, less than 1% of the world has this desire and we were as if handpicked by the Creator to be among such people. So we shouldn’t go digging into the past, but rather we should focus on the present, on the opportunity that is presented before us and be happy for the priceless gift that we received!
Albert @ KabU
so if i undertand it well. my good works does not really matter? it is only my intention. how strong it is to be transform back to the light that gets me there? and this getting me there is not done on my part but by the creator himself?
shalom
Hi Rachel,
Yes, you can say that. Keep in mind that true bestowal does not exist on the level of our world. Bestowal is the Creator’s nature. While our nature is that of pure reception. So it’s impossible for us to truly bestow. At best we can perform more and more covert actions of reception. For example, I go to the store and I give them my money, but obviously I want something in return. It’s the same with all of our actions of bestowal in corporeality. Either I do it to receive pleasure directly or indirectly from fame, honor, money, or even the pride of knowing that no one knows about this action, or even avoiding pain or guilt is also part of this same calculation.
So real bestowal, above any calculations for receiving for oneself, does not exist in our world. Real bestowal is purely the Creator’s quality. If we want to acquire such a quality, we first need to correct our nature. This is done by the force of the light we evoke through the Kabbalistic studies. And the light begins to work on us even if we don’t have the true desire to bestow. Even if we’re just like little kids, pretending to be spiritual grown ups. It takes this aspiration of ours and corrects it little by little, building in us a true desire for spirituality, for the spiritual qualities of love and bestowal.
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 Frank,
Yes, that’s exactly what we’re here to do. Under normal circumstances, a person goes through a handful of changes every lifetime. When we begin to study Kabbalah, we as if put ourselves in a spiritual incubator that speeds up our development. So instead having to go through many different lifetimes and countless sufferings, we can go through these changes in a relatively short period of time, without any unnecessary suffering.
How do we speed up our development by studying Kabbalah? Every time we study, we learn about higher and more corrected forms of our development. By learning about them, we start yearning to be in those forms. That yearning is essentially what extracts the light from the studies. The light is a special force that begins to work on us gradually and corrects this yearning until we build a true desire for spirituality. And when we build that true desire for spirituality, we will immediately reveal spirituality within that desire.
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, and thank you all at KabU.
I would like to know. Is there a list of the 613 desires we must correct, and can I find it online?
Hi Rune,
A list won’t really help you here because these are 613 spiritual desires that we don’t yet have. Similar to how a single cell in a body only has some basic desires. But when that cell is part of a greater body, it reveals there higher desires which are impossible for the individual cell to have: desires for money, honor, power, etc. Same with us, until we integrate with the general body of Adam HaRishon, we don’t reveal or understand these 613 spiritual desires.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2008/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-613-desires/
Albert @ KabU
I am guessing that they correspond to the 613 mitzvot that are expected of a non-Noahaide person, but I’m not sure if that is the correct answer.
My own question is: So okay, I have a Jewish background. Are all 613 laws now going to be expected/required of me (or perhaps slightly fewer because I’m female) than the 7 laws of Noah?
I’ve been in a spiritual desert for close to 40 years now. Am just hoping this question is not headed toward some unfounded Lubavitcher assertion that I’m actually expected to keep Halacha now and dogmatically follow the 613….
I am hoping/guessing not, because at one point Tony spoke of how the external practice is hollow if the internal feeling is not right. So I’m hoping there’s another path of light with 613 meaning other than what I think it dies.
Hi Sharon,
Kabbalah and Judaism are two separate things. Although they both might use the same terms, Kabbalah defines these things differently.
There are 613 spiritual desires and corresponding to each desire is a commandment. The commandments (Mitzvot) in Kabbalah are not the actions we do with our hands and feet, but rather the internal process by which we extract the force of the light to correct this desire.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
As for whether a person should implement these commandments on a physical level, like a religious person does, with his hands and feet? Kabbalah is not a religion, so it does not deal with this. That is completely up to you.
Albert @ KabU
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