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Hi Frank, great questions!
A1. You’re right that according to our nature, we’re incapable of doing anything that is truly altruistic. Which is why the first step is to correct this nature. We do this with the help of the reforming light. The more we extract this light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, the more it works on us and gradually corrects our nature.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
A2. We learn that “necessities are neither praised nor condemned”. So the things we need to do in order to acquire our normal necessities are not considered egoistic or altruistic. It’s simply what we must do to preserve ourselves and not become a burden on society.
B1/B3.
Yes Moses was a Kabbalistic.
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. Once we correct that nature, the light of Torah also refers to the fulfillment that is felt in that corrected state.
Keep in mind that the light itself does not change. We change, meaning our desires change, and accordingly we feel the light differently. It’s similar to how electricity is the same electricity but based on what appliance we plug in, we have different uses and results from it. Plug in a heater and you’ll produce warmth, plug in an AC and you’ll get cool air, etc. So when we’re not corrected, the light helps to correct us. And when we are corrected, the light fulfills us.
As for the Mitzvot, 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.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
As for the list of Mitzvot, in practice, we don’t work with a list, but only according to whatever desire is 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/
B2. Yes, correcting the spiritual desire takes 125 steps.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Skye,
There is the desire to receive pleasure and there is egoism. Although we sometimes use these two things interchangeably, in truth they are two separate things.
Our nature is the desire to receive pleasure. It simply means that every calculation we make is to chase pleasure or avoid pain. This is similar to how any other animal functions. By itself, there is nothing wrong with this nature, it’s simply the program by which we function and preserve ourselves.
Egoism is when this program begins to be used in a way that harms others. Not only do I want to receive pleasure, but I want to receive it at the expense of others, at their detriment. This is the corporeal ego.
There is also a spiritual ego. Spiritual egoism is everything that stands in the way of our connection with the Creator. Normal people don’t have a spiritual ego. This is only something that we discover after doing some serious spiritual work.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/10/true-evil/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Marta,
That video is covered in week 4 of this course. Here is the recommended reading link and related videos link for that week’s content.
And here’s a blog post from Rav Laitman about the law of equivalence of form.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Bobby,
The spiritual world is composed of higher and higher levels of bestowal. But since bestowal is opposite to our nature, we don’t really have the ability to set such intentions. The best that we can do is just to try. When we try to have such aspirations, especially during the Kabbalistic studies or while doing spiritual work in the Kabbalistic group, these things evoke the light to work on us and gradually correct our aspirations. Then what started as a mere aspiration or even a game gradually becomes reality. And it’s all thanks to the light, we ourselves are powerless to correct ourselves with our own strength.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
https://laitman.com/2012/03/building-blocks-of-the-first-spiritual-degree/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Spencer,
The number 125 comes from the structure of the upper worlds. This structure is just a division of the spiritual desire that we need to correct into sefirot, partzufim, and worlds.
The most basic division of the desire is 1 Sefira. 5 Sefirot compose 1 partzuf. 5 Partzufim compose 1 world. There are 5 worlds in total. So 5 worlds each with 5 partzufim each with 5 sefirot equals 125 (5x5x5) steps on the spiritual ladder, or in other words corrections that need to be performed on the desire.
In the book Kabbalah for the Student, there’s an article called Foreword to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah (http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/full/64187) which lists these 125 steps in the language of sefirot/partzufim/olamot(worlds). For now, these are just technical terms for us, but in the future lessons we’ll dive deeper into these things and learn how to feel and experience them.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Frank,
1. You can say that it’s the evolution of the desire and the process it needs to undergo in order to become fully corrected. Essentially the 125 steps represent the difference between us and the Creator. The Creator is a desire to bestow and we are the desire to receive. Adapting our desire to receive to work in order to bestow takes 125 steps. So to the extent that we correct our nature, make it similar to the Creator’s nature, to that extent we’re “climbing” this ladder.
In other words, ascending or descending this ladder is not a physical action, but rather depends on how much we’re similar to the Creator’s quality of bestowal (ascending) or less similar to it and more egoistic (descending).
All of this operates according to the law of equivalence of form. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
As for reincarnation, reincarnation happens on the level of desire. We all have this desire called the point in the heart. This is our spiritual potential. If we realize this potential, this grows into a desire called a soul. If not, this same desire continues to reincarnate again and again until it gets fully realized.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
2. At every moment of our lives, we are surrounded by many different forces of nature that are constantly acting upon us. Some of these we identify, like the force of gravity, magnetism, the force of the sun, the moon, etc. And some of them we don’t yet identify. Spirits, angels, etc are terms referring to the forces of nature that are always acting upon us. These terms can be used interchangeably, so essentially you can call the force of gravity the angel of gravity. But these are forces. Just as you don’t attribute any intelligence/consciousness or even an image to the force of gravity, you shouldn’t attribute any to the forces called angels or spirits.
Furthermore, there is nothing harmful that stems from any of these forces. The only source of harm in the world is man’s own egoism.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2008/03/demons-spirits-angels-devils-do-they-exist/
https://laitman.com/2010/05/why-do-angels-have-wings/
https://laitman.com/2015/07/a-devil-with-horns-or-our-own-egoism/
Albert @ KabU
