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Hi Matthew,
Not quite. The language of roots and branches is a spiritual language. It’s a type of code that uses the words of our world to describe spiritual phenomena. The words of our world are called branches because each one of them stems from a certain spiritual root. This is why it’s called the language of roots and branches.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/09/from-root-to-branch/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Geneva,
We were indeed created in the state of perfection (Baal HaSulam describes this in the article Introduction to the book of Zohar), 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/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Geneva, great questions!
1. There is a force that enlivens our bodies, which is called the animate soul. But Kabbalists are not usually talking about that part. They are usually referring to the point in the heart. Every person has something called a point in the heart. The point in the heart, the desire for spirituality, is like a seed. If we nourish that seed, it can grow to the level of something called a soul. A soul is also a desire, but one that has already been corrected to operate in the direction of love and bestowal. But if we don’t fully realize that initial point in the heart, then that same point, continues to reincarnate again and again until it gets realized.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
As well as this page from the book The Kabbalah Experience: http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/86133?/eng/content/view/full/86133&main
2. Also Baal HaSulam as the next incarnation of the soul of the Ari. “The next reincarnation of the soul is like the inheritance of the entire spiritual attainment of the father, which is passed on to the son.”
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2020/08/on-the-anniversary-of-the-aris-departure/
3. I see that you’re really interested in this topic. I recommend you check out this collection of articles and clips revolving around that: https://www.kabbalah.info/bb/what-happens-when-you-die/
4. Yes, the whole old testament, or Tanakh (Books of Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim), as well as Psalms, Gemara, Talmud, Zohar, etc. These are all Kabbalistic texts.
Albert @ KabU
Hi James,
I’m not an expert in other methods, so I cannot comment on what they do or teach there. As for Kabbalah, Kabbalah is a method by which we can correct our egoistic nature. As a result of this correction, we reveal the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal, in our lives.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Aaron,
1. It’s the light that builds the screen. Our job is only to extract more and more of the force 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: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
2. The end goal is preset but we determine the pace at which we get there. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/lets-go-with-the-light/
3. Although you are correct that we shouldn’t waste our time on unnecessary things, we still need to find a good balance between our corporeal lives and our spiritual aspirations. Without a good balance in our corporeal lives, we won’t be able to advance in spirituality either. This is called “no flour, no Torah – no Torah, no flour”. Meaning a Kabbalist continues to exist on the level of this world throughout the entire spiritual ladder. So I cannot just turn into a monk and disconnect from this life and only focus on spirituality. On the other hand, if I only focus on corporeality, then I’m no different than an animal. So the important thing is to find the right balance between the two: to take care of all of one’s normal necessities: to work, take care of the family, health, etc (this is called flour) and to set aside some time on a regular basis to focus on spirituality (this is called Torah).
Albert @ KabU
Hi Luis,
Kabbalah does not deal with dream interpretations. In general, Kabbalists don’t attribute much importance to dreams or the state of dreaming. They see it simply as a state where the brain summarizes/organizes the daily experiences. Similar to how some computers go through the process of defragmentation.
On the other hand, there is a spiritual state called dreaming which is the process by which we transition from one spiritual degree to another. It’s like the neutral gear on a manual transmission, which requires you to switch to the neutral gear before switching to another gear. In other words, in between every spiritual state is a state called “dream”. But it’s not related to the corporeal dreams that we experience in our physical bodies. Kabbalists don’t ascribe any importance to corporeal dreams.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2016/04/an-ordinary-dream/
https://laitman.com/2015/02/we-cannot-live-without-sleep/
Albert @ KabU
