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Hello Tony and Albert
I wonder after I saw Tony’s video about the 613 mitzwot.
Is there also a system in those mitzwots. If you develop, which mitzwot comes first? Or does it depend of your personality in the way your character is? Does it have to do with the 613 desires of your personality?
Can I compare this with the development of childhood, puberty adolescence and adultery?
Hi Bonnie,
Yes, there is a certain order to these things which stems from the root of each person’s soul. But in practice we don’t work according to some pre-made list but according to what is being revealed in the moment.
See my reply 221960 to Zhenia below for more details:
Albert @ KabU
Hi Albert,
Thank you for your replies to the other students!
I have a question I am struggling with. In the ‘Kabbalah Revealed’ book it is stated that Nature is altruistic. Also I quote from your reply #184670: “This is because humans have an egoistic nature while animals do not. So although animals are naturally in tune with nature…”
As an animal lover I have since childhood studied some animal behaviors. Although the ‘system’ of Nature does seem to constantly seek balance, the animals themselves are profoundly cruel and egoistic. Male lions will kill all the cubs from the previous line, eagles lay 2 (or more) eggs and the dominant chick will kill the rest, stork parents often remove the weaker chicks from the nest, orcas, cats, dogs, dolphins often kill for fun, otters and penguins are known to be rampant rapists. On and on and on… While ‘system-wise’ this might make sense – the eagle one, for instance, being that the 2nd egg is a survival guarantee in case the 1st chick dies for some unpredictable reason – I cannot conceive why and how Nature is altruistic. So my question is – how is Nature altruistic? How are Animals altruistic?
The same kind of even more egoistic/evil behaviors are rampant within Humans – I also struggle with seeing how this can be made altruistic and how the system is perfect. In previous weeks I came to see that this is a product of my perception of reality. Somewhat (though not fully) I have come to terms with that realization. But the real question becomes: am I the one who is profoundly and fundamentally rotten then?
Sorry for the long one and thank you in advance!
Hi Francisco,
Yes, essentially the world is a reflection of our own uncorrected state. As long as we remain uncorrected, we’ll see in front of us an uncorrected, egoistic, and cruel world.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/12/fantasies-and-reality-part-5/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Francisco,
Animals operate purely on instinct. As such, it’s not accurate to ascribe to them human attributes, like cruelty, egoism, etc. It’s like a machine that was programmed to act a certain way. For example, I’ve read somewhere that once one of those self driving cars made a miscalculation and got into a car accident, killing the owner. Why don’t we call that car a cruel murderer? It’s because it’s a machine. It was programmed to operate a certain way and that’s exactly what it does. The same thing with the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature. They are simply carrying out their inner instincts and programming.
As for nature, when Kabbalists use the word “nature”, they are not referring to the outdoors but rather to the all encompassing system in which we exist. Furthermore, we can say that the words “nature” and the Creator are interchangeable. Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article The Peace:
“To avoid having to use both tongues from now on—nature and a supervisor—between which, as I have shown, there is no difference regarding the following of the laws, it is best for us to meet halfway and accept the words of the Kabbalists that HaTeva (the nature) has the same numerical value (in Hebrew) as Elokim (God)—eighty-six. Then, I will be able to call the laws of God “nature’s commandments,” or vice-versa, for they are one and the same.”
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/09/elokim-is-nature-in-gematria/
Albert @ KabU
Where does the number 613 come from? Is there names for each if the desires? How do I know how many more I have to correct?
Hi Zhenia,
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 this number is derived in the more advanced lessons on KabU that deal with the structure of the upper worlds.
Keep in mind that the 613 desires are 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/
As for how we work with the 613 desires in practice, we don’t work according to some pre-made list, but simply with whatever is being awakened at the moment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/09/compliance-with-the-613-mitzvot-commandments/
Albert @ KabU
In week 2 of this study program a lot of energy arose within that led to a lot of questioning and doubting the material. I have spent the past 3 weeks in introspection and identified I was taking in the material from a distorted perception. This placed everything out of context. Inside I found several egoistic hubs with nodes that created an interconnected web of shared purpose (create safety for the ego). Being raised in conservative Christian environment a main theme taken to heart was God loves us unconditionally, when I did wrong God hates me and will send me to everlasting torment, any corrective beatings were to perfect me so God could love me. So now I have egoistic hubs of I am damaged, I am unlovable, I am unworthy, etc. that then stems out to nodes of challenge authority (this one gets me in a lot of conflict!), despair, avoidance, disconnection, etc. So now my question, are these hubs and nodes considered as some of the 613 egoistic desires needing correction? I can clearly see how these desires are all about focus on the ego but not yet able to perceive how they can be transformed into an altruistic force.
Hi Joseph,
We learn from the shattering of the system of Adam HaRishon that the only thing that is broken in the ENTIRE system of creation are the proper connections between people. This is the only thing that is broken and the only thing we need to correct.
In other words, each one of us is perfect. We don’t need to correct ourselves. We only need to correct our connection with others. It’s just like when doing a large jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is unique and necessary as is. We don’t start recoloring the pieces or cutting off seemingly redundant parts. All we need to do is find where each piece fits relative to all the other pieces.
It’s the same with us. Each one of us is like that unique jigsaw piece. We don’t need to fix ourselves or change ourselves. The ego and 613 corrections that we’re talking about are not within me. The ego is what stands in the way of my connection with others. So our focus should be entirely on the connection with others. We do this work first of all with other points in the heart that are together with us on this spiritual path. After we learn how to connect with them, we can expand this connection to the whole world. We’ll learn how to do this practically in the more advanced lessons.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/05/puzzle-adam-harishon/
Albert @ KabU
Still sitting with this egoistic condition that needs correction I am finding I am powerless to correct. Is this the space of hopelessness in ego self that motivates a deep prayerful cry to the Creator for help? I am there now with tears streaming but doubt of my worth remains. Will there be an end to this pain?
Hi Joseph,
That’s not quite it. The deep powerful cry to the Creator is not a passive state, rather it comes from the efforts we make to connect. And it’s not a sad state, but rather a joyous one. Baal HaSulam writes about it in Letter 57, here’s an excerpt:
“There is no happier state in man’s world than when he finds himself despaired with his own strength. That is, he has already labored and done all that he could possibly imagine he could do, but found no remedy. It is then that he is fit for a wholehearted prayer for His help because he knows for certain that his own work will not help him.”
Albert @ KabU
According to the excerpt from Baal HaSulam’s text “the active intelligence”, in practical terms, how we can expand our ability to see the thought of the Creator in any daily situation such as walking in the forest, in a meeting with other people, during dinner , etc?
Hi Henry,
Every moment of our lives we’re in a dialog with the Creator. This is called that “there is none else besides Him”, that the Creator is the singular force behind ALL of reality. All of my thoughts, desires, all the events in life all originate from Him.
But the Creator operates on the frequency of bestowal, while our nature is on the frequency of reception. As such, we operate on two completely different frequencies. So it’s currently impossible for us to understand Him. We first need to correct our nature, become similar to Him, and only then will we begin to understand Him, to understand this constant dialog that’s happening between us.
We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming semester, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/09/learn-the-creators-language/
Albert @ KabU
Since I was a young child, I have tended to be sensitive to what I perceive as the suffering of others, whether the “other” is a person or animal and sometimes even plants. (Conversely, I have also been pleasantly sensitive to the enjoyment of others. : )
People have tried to convince me that animals, in particular, do not suffer because they do not “know” anything different. This lesson mentions that ALL levels of physical life (animate, vegetative, animate, and human) suffer because we lack equivalence of form….or something to that effect.
My question: Is it accurate to say that animals (and perhaps all of physical forms) suffer when they are deprived of their natural inclinations? For example, hoards of animals are presently being deprived of their natural desires for fresh air, movement, rearing of their offspring all because of human intention to acquire food. Could you please relate the 613 Laws of Bestowal (outside forces) to the topic of what many people perceive as animal cruelty?
With much appreciation…
Dyrk
Hi Dyrk,
Nature is in the form of a pyramid. The lowest part of the pyramid is the inanimate nature, then comes the vegetative, then animate, and then the speaking (human) level. Each lower level is greater in quantity while each higher level is greater in quality. Also each higher level has a stronger and stronger effect on all the lower levels. Meaning that humanity, the peak of the pyramid, has the strongest effect over the rest of nature.
Furthermore, the still, vegetative, and animate levels don’t require any correction, they are naturally in harmony with nature. Why then do they suffer? Because the uncorrected human ego is at the top of this pyramid and it causes all of the imbalances and harms on those lower levels. So when we correct that human level of egoism, the still, vegetative, and animate levels will return to their natural balance.
Once the human ego is corrected, we will also be able to properly relate to the other levels. Properly meaning that we will use the other levels only out of necessity. We learn that “necessity is neither praised nor condemned”, meaning that acquiring our normal necessities is neither good nor bad, it’s simply what we must do. Just like in nature when an animal eats another animal, it’s not doing it out of spite or to harm the other, but rather because this is simply how it was programmed and how it needs to survive. Likewise with us, when humanity corrects it’s egoistic nature, it will also use the lower levels of nature in a balanced way, without causing harm.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2016/01/chernobyl-is-flourishing/
Albert @ KabU
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