[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Kelly,

Perhaps you can say so in an inverse way, that He’s the pure desire to bestow while we are the pure desire to receive. But not in a direct way. After all, there is no desire to receive within Him whatsoever.

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Keith, great questions!

1. Just follow along with the course, it provides a good foundation and order to study the materials. If you want you can also read through the course book “Kabbalah Revealed” from beginning to end, this will also give you a good foundation.

2. As for the knowledge checkpoint, this is just a tool we use to help students stay engaged. But keep in mind that ultimately it’s not through our knowledge that we attain spirituality. After all, we can take a super computer and load it up with all of 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.

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: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/

3. As for the changes we go through on the spiritual path, we need to understand that Kabbalah is the method by which we correct our egoistic nature. In order to correct our egoistic nature, we first need to discover this ego. So by engaging in spiritual work, we don’t just become saints. Rather, each time we uncover more and more of our egoistic nature and then we have what to correct. This follows the sayings that “there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin” and “a person does not keep a commandment if he has not failed in it first”.

4. What we do has little effect because our world is the world of branches. To change something here, we need to do it on the level of roots. It’s like watching TV. Let’s say I’m watching a TV show and want to change something in the show. I can start yelling at the show or even turn it off, or go to sleep or make a thousand other actions. Ultimately none of this will change the show itself. In order to make any changes, I would need to go to the source. In this case maybe to contact the director or producer.

Likewise with our world, We’re on the level of branches, like that end result of a TV show that was already made. In order to make any changes here, we need to go to the roots. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2009/09/the-law-of-roots-and-branches-the-most-imporant-law-in-kabbalah/

5. As for being able to give, we need to keep in mind that true altruism 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. This 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.

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Kelly,

All of the corrections are done by the force of the light. Meaning that we don’t need to focus on correcting our desires or fighting them. Rather our entire focus is on extracting more and more of the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.

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

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Kay,

Baal HaSulam writes in the writings of the last generation that there is up to 10% of the world that has a natural drive towards bestowal and altruism. Just like we’re built to enjoy reception, they’re built to enjoy bestowal. Why is there a need for such a thing, for altruistic egoists? It’s because pure egoism on its own would just destroy the world, so nature implanted a few altruists to balance out the system.

Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2012/07/altruism-no-more-than-10-or-all-100/

As for our DNA, it does change from generation to generation. Baal HaSulam talks about it in the article “the Freedom“, which we’ll study in depth in the next semester.

And if you’re interested to learn more about Reshimo, which are like our spiritual DNA, see my reply below to Peter.

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Ricardo,

Yes, you can say that. Keep in mind that the important thing is not just to learn this intellectually, but rather to realize it practice, to fully realize our point in the heart. Which, as we learned in this week’s lesson, is done by choosing for ourselves a strong spiritual environment. It’s like each one of us was given a priceless seed. What happens to that seed is ultimately determined by where we plant it. If we plant it in a good soil, with the proper nutrients, it’ll develop one way. And if we plant it in the desert or a nutrient deficient soil, it’ll develop differently or perhaps not at all.

Albert @ KabU

[Albert – KabU Instructor]

Hi Antonio,

I cannot comment on your personal state, we can speak about these things only in general. In general, we learn in Kabbalah this concept of “none else besides Him”. This means that there is a singular benevolent force behind EVERYTHING in life. All of my thoughts, desires, all of the life events we go through, EVERYTHING comes from this one force.

But if everything is coming from a singular BENEVOLENT force, why don’t we sense this goodness? Why is life so full of suffering?  It’s because we’re opposite to Him. Our opposite egoistic nature inverts this goodness into something bad. It’s like multiplying numbers: a positive times a negative, equals negative. So as long as we remain within this egoistic nature, we will continue to suffer more and more in life. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists and that our previous egoistic state was nothing more than a dream.

We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming lessons, in the meantime check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/

Albert @ KabU

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