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Hi Francis,
620 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, 365 desires that operate on receiving in order to bestow, and 7 additional desires that are corrected only in the final correction.
So yes the numbers 613 and 620 are connected. Depending on the context, sometimes Kabbalists include those additional 7 desires and sometimes they omit them.
As for correcting these desires, in order to correct them, we first need to discover them. The 613/620 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 613/620 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/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Sapir, great questions!
1. We were indeed created in the state of perfection (Baal HaSulam describes this in the article Introduction to the book of Zohar https://kabbalahmedia.info/sources/ALlyoveA), but this was an unconscious state, like a baby in its mother’s womb. So we necessarily had to come to the complete opposite state, to lose that state of perfection, in order to once again reach it, but this time consciously.
And the fact that we had to lose this state is not something bad, but it’s a necessary part of our development. It’s just like with kids. We don’t just give them a completed jigsaw puzzle. On the contrary we take it and break it down into many pieces. Then in the process of them putting it together, they grow and develop. Same with us, this process of losing that state is a necessary part of our further growth and development.
This process also adds to us a certain level of freedom, without which, we would be no different than machines, or robots, that were programmed to act a certain way and they just carry out this inner script. Instead, we were programmed one way, and we rise above this inner programming, become independent of it, and then develop our own desire to advance towards this goal.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/01/from-perfection-to-perfection/
2. The method of Kabbalah is one by which we correct our egoistic nature. But if we don’t feel our egoistic nature as something bad, then we have no need to correct it, we have no need for this method. Just like we don’t take any medicine if we don’t feel sick, likewise humanity could not discover the method to correct egoism until it truly felt itself sick with egoism.
In the prior years of development, egoism was seen as something positive, as something that pushed humanity forward. Only in the past 20 or 30 years, did we begin to feel how much our egoism is actually causing us harm, like something cancerous within us. This is why Kabbalah was only revealed in recent years, when humanity began to feel a real need for it. This follows the rule that “there is no light without a kli (vessel)”. Meaning that you cannot reveal something spiritual without feeling a true need for it. Which is essentially what those thousands of years of development gave us.
3. From the three states model (referenced in the article & blog post in answer #1) we see that the end goal is set. There is no escaping it. Every single moment in our lives is designed to help bring us all towards that goal. Our only choice in the matter is to go consciously towards that goal or wait for the sufferings to build up and push us.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/lets-go-with-the-light/
4. When Kabbalists are talking about the 613 Mitzvot, they are not referring to 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 these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
https://laitman.com/2015/09/compliance-with-the-613-mitzvot-commandments/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Zeinab,
You don’t need to create your own group. In the advanced semesters of KabU, we we’ll learn in depth how to do spiritual work in a group and then everyone will receive their own virtual Kabbalah group with whom they can put all those things into practice.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Francis, great questions!
There are two levels of studying from a Kabbalistic teacher: mouth to ear and mouth to mouth. Mouth to ear is simply to hear the words of the teacher and try to implement them.
Mouth to mouth means that there is a shared anti-egoistic screen between the two of them. This is an internal connection with one’s teacher, in which the teacher and student are so connected that the thoughts and desires of the teacher simply pass to the student on an internal level.
We of course aspire to reach such a connection with the teacher, but in our days it’s not by studying with the teacher one on one. In our days it’s more important that we study together with others in a Kabbalistic group, even through the internet. And in the connection with the Kabbalistic group, we will also build a connection with the teacher. We’ll learn about these things in the advanced semesters on KabU where each one will receive their own Kabbalah group with whom they can put these things into practice.
In the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/make-yourself-a-teacher-and-a-group/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Hensy,
That’s perfectly normal. We go through many different states on the spiritual path, many ups and down. Sometimes we’re overflowing with questions and sometimes no questions at all, etc. It’s fine.
The most important thing is to just keep going, to keep placing yourself under the influence of the spiritual light and it’ll balance everything out.
Albert @ KabU
Hi John, great question!
Yes, the ego is tricky like that. Even the process of working on it is done egoistically. And that is okay. After all, we were created with this nature on purpose. And just like a PC cannot just reprogram itself to run as a Mac, we too cannot just change our nature by ourselves.
So no one is demanding of us to be saints, no one is demanding of us to have superhuman strength and to conquer our ego. Nope. All that we need to do, and all that we’re capable of doing actually, is just to try. That’s it. We just need to try to be above the ego. We don’t need to succeed, we just need to try. Such efforts are enough to extract the reforming light and it’s the light that ultimately makes all the corrections on us. Our work is only to extract the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/03/building-blocks-of-the-first-spiritual-degree/
Keep in mind that the Kabbalistic method is not about suppressing or killing our ego, rather it’s about rising above it. In fact the more we advance, the more our egoistic desires grow. They turn into a type of mountain that we climb over. The bigger the desires, the higher we can climb, and the higher the spiritual degree that we can attain. On the other hand, if we were to eliminate our egoistic desires, then accordingly, we would only be able to attain a tiny degree of spiritual attainment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
Albert @ KabU
