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Hi Frank, good questions!
1. The light has multiple connotations. When we use the word light, we’re not referring to colors or waves but rather that this is 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/
2. It depends on the context. In the past we did develop thanks to the ego. But in order to really speed up our development, we need to place ourselves under the reforming light that we extract especially from the Kabbalistic studies.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
3. We need to keep in mind that “necessities are neither praised nor condemned”. Meaning that the normal necessities that we need in order to maintain a normal life are not considered egoistic.
As for dealing with the ego, in practice we don’t suppress the ego, but we only work on making the desire for spirituality the most important thing. Then naturally the rest of our desires will fall into place. For example, it’s like with an artist that is so involved in his art, that he fulfills all the rest of his desires out of necessity so he can quickly return to his passion. Same with us, when spirituality is the most important desire, then we will be able to properly relate to all the rest of our corporeal desires in a balanced way.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Miho,
You can say that bestowal is a type of self-sacrifice. Whether it hurts or not, whether we find it pleasurable or not, that depends.
For example, when a mother gives birth and takes care of her baby, is it painful or not? It could be, but usually the mother feels her role as being so important and feels so much love towards the baby, that it more than compensates for her self sacrifice.
Or another example, when a bodybuilder lifts a huge weight in the gym, is that painful or not? It could be, but it could also be that the bodybuilder enjoys the whole process, especially when the gym environment encourages him and respects him.
In other words, all these things are relative. Kabbalists tell us that the main thing is the importance of the goal which we get from the environment around us. So if we build for ourselves a strong spiritual environment, then we wont feel the process of spiritual development as something painful, but on the contrary, we’ll gladly run towards it and enjoy the entire process.
We’ll learn more about this in the next semester, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/10/bestowal-should-become-fashionable/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Molly,
Moving closer to the Creator works according to the law of equivalence of form. Meaning that in order to come closer to Him, we need to become similar to Him. He is the pure quality of love and bestowal, while our nature is the complete opposite, pure reception or egoism. The process of correcting our nature to make it resemble Him is called Torah & Mitzvot.
Torah comes from the Hebrew word Ohr (Hebrew for “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.
As for the Mitzvot, when Kabbalists use the word Mitzvot (plural of Mitzvah) they are not referring to the corporeal commandments 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.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
As for the 620 names of the Creator, our egoistic desire can be broken down into 620 parts, every time we correct a part of the desire, in that corrected desire, we reveal a certain phenomenon. We call this phenomenon the Creator. This is why there are many names for the Creator (in Hebrew), since every time we correct a different part of the desire, we reveal a different aspect of this thing called the Creator.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/12/the-holy-names-of-bestowal/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Tom,
Kabbalah requires of a person to make strong inner efforts. For a person with a mental health disorder, such efforts could worsen their mental state and ultimately harm them. For this reason, a person with an untreated mental health disorder should not study Kabbalah without first consulting their doctor and getting it treated.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Julia,
We reveal a new layer of egoism in order for us to keep going until we correct everything. And this is a good thing. Through this process we can continue to develop spiritually. It’s like Baal HaSulam wrote in letter 5, that he’s happy when the ego gets revealed. Here’s an excerpt:
“I rejoice in those revealed corruptions and the ones that are being revealed. I do, however, regret and complain about the corruptions that have still not appeared, but which are destined to appear, for a hidden corruption is hopeless, and its surfacing is a great salvation from heaven. The rule is that one does not give what he does not have. Hence, if it has appeared now, there is no doubt that it was here to begin with but was hidden. This is why I am happy when they come out of their holes because when you cast your eye on them, they become a pile of bones.”
And yes, there is an end, it’s called Gmar Tikkun (the final correction). Meaning when we complete all 125 degrees of correction, we will reach that state of the final correction.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/10/what-happens-after-the-final-correction/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Paul,
All of humanity is part of one system. In this system, we don’t choose when to be awakened, but rather there is a certain order of corrections that needs to take place, and each one receives a spiritual awakening when it’s his/her turn for correction.
It’s similar to building a house. There is a certain order in which you need to build it. For example, first you dig the foundation, then pour the concrete, lay the beams, etc, and only at the very end do you paint the house. Meaning that there is no point in even taking out the paintbrush before you finish all of the preliminary stages.
Likewise with us. Those that were awakened to this work first are like the foundation of the house while the rest of the world belongs to the later stages. So until those with awakened points in the hearts complete their correction, there is no point in even awakening the rest of the world for their correction. So we don’t need to wait for humanity to wake up, we need to finish our correction, and this will wake them up.
Albert @ KabU
