[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Christina,

I’m not sure what you mean. The books written thousands of years ago like the Torah, Talmud, Zohar are Kabbalistic books. As are the more modern books like the writings of the Ari, Rabash, Baal HaSulam.

As for the language used, just like Latin is used by medicine and doctors, and Italian is used by musicians, the wisdom of Kabbalah uses Hebrew and Aramaic. They were both discovered by Adam when he first revealed spirituality. The Kabbalists developed these languages in order to convey spiritual phenomena. In general, Hebrew is used to describe actions of the light while Aramaic is used to describe the actions of the Kli (the vessel, meaning the desire to receive).

But it doesn’t mean that we need to learn Hebrew or Aramaic, since the spoken language is not important here. What is important is for us to understand the basic terms that we use in Kabbalah. We’ll learn these gradually throughout the course.

Check out this article for more details about the importance of the Hebrew language: http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/60270?/eng/content/view/full/60270&main

As well as this blog post from Rav Laitman : https://laitman.com/2016/12/the-letters-as-models-for-managing-our-world/

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Maria,

There are good questions, but I cannot answer them for you, since Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality. Regarding the desires of our animalistic bodies, Kabbalah does not deal with these things. Our corporeal desires don’t have any relation to spirituality, so each person can arrange these desires however is most comfortable for them (of course within the context of the law and without harming others).

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Beth,

The first and second factors point to the part of our development that we cannot change. Meaning that we were created as a desire to receive pleasure. We cannot change that at all. What we can do is to correct this desire to operate in the direction of bestowal, meaning to add the intention to bestow to it.

As for performing that correction and thereby reaching adhesion, it’s not about knowing oneself or being super strong and powerful, rather all that we need to know is how to leverage our one and only point of freedom in life, which is to build for ourselves a strong spiritual environment. Through the spiritual environment we extract the reforming light and the light does all the rest of the work. In other words, the light performs all the corrections on us, our work is only to extract this light through the spiritual environment.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/10/bestowal-should-become-fashionable/

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Beth,

As we learned in the lesson on the perception of reality, the entire external world is nothing more than a reflection of my uncorrected egoistic state. Meaning that I don’t experience some objective reality, but I experience something through the lens of my ego. Furthermore, to the extent that I correct this ego, to that extent the external reality will change as well. It’s like I have these dirty glasses through which I see the whole world as being dirty. The moment I clean my own glasses (correct myself) then I’ll look at the same world, but now it’s clean and perfect.

So until we correct our egoistic nature, we’re incapable of properly judging anything that we see outside of us. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2014/04/in-neutral-gear/

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Eliyahu,

There is none else besides Him does not mean that we have no free will. It means that we are in a closed system with absolute forces and laws. We cannot change these laws, but we can consciously work on putting ourselves under their influence in order to speed up our development. This is our free will. How do we put ourselves under the influence of these forces and laws even stronger? By choosing/building for ourselves a strong spiritual environment.

See my reply 55264 to Marion below for more details.

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Translation of Asher’s post:

Thanks for the answer that you gave me, but I cannot accept this answer. The writings of the father and son are very different. At the moment, I reached the 6th volume of the Study of the Ten Sefirot, and throughout the 8 years that I’ve been studying them, I have come to [see] the differences between Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag and Rabbi Baruch Ashlag.

Hi Asher,

You are right, the writings of Baal HaSulam and the writings of Rabash are very different. Although ultimately they are talking about the same thing, about the spiritual desire and how we correct it, they do so in two different styles. Baal HaSulam writes in a more scientific style while Rabash writes in a more emotional style.

In general, the wisdom of Kabbalah can be divided into two parts, two forms of expressions. One is the language of Kabbalah itself, or sometimes called the language of sefirot/partzufim/olamot(worlds). This language is very technical (at least that’s how it appears to us until we attain spirituality). It’s entirely scientific and uses strict definitions. Baal HaSulam wrote more in this style, especially in the Study of the Ten Sefirot.

There’s another type of style which is also scientific, but it focuses more on emotions. This style is called “Avodat HaShem” which translates to “the Creator’s Work”. This language expresses the many inner states that our desires undergo as we progress on the spiritual path as well as the practical work that we need to do in Kabbalistic groups. Rabash wrote more in this style, especially in his social writings.

Keep in mind that the different style that they used is not so much dependent on them, but rather on the generation in which they lived. For example, this same difference is seen between the Ari and Baal Shem Tov. Baal HaSulam writes about it in the “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”, item 9, here’s an excerpt:

“9) In return for that, we are privileged by Him to have been rewarded with the spirit of The Baal Shem Tov, whose greatness and sanctity are beyond any word and any utterance. He was not gazed upon and will not be gazed upon, except by those worthy that had served under his light, and they, too, only intermittently, each according to what he received in his heart.

It is true that the light of his Torah and Holy Wisdom are built primarily on the holy foundations of the ARI. However, they are not at all similar. I shall explain this with an allegory of a person drowning in the river, rising and sinking as drowning people do. Sometimes, only the hair is visible, and then a counsel is sought to catch him by his head. Other times, his body appears as well, and then a counsel is sought to catch him from opposite his heart.

So is the matter before us. After Israel has drowned in the evil waters of the exile among the nations, since then until now they rise and fall, and not all times are the same. At the time of the ARI, only the head was visible. Hence, the ARI had troubled in our favor to save us through the mind. At the time of The Baal Shem Tov, there was relief. Hence, it was a blessing for us to save us from opposite the heart, and that was a great and true salvation for us.”

Here’s a link to the article in the archive, you can read it Hebrew there if you want: https://kabbalahmedia.info/en/sources/DrsQS1MO?language=en

Albert @ KabU

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