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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
Hi Jessica, great questions!
The Creator created our egoistic nature. Why? Because it’s a vital component in our development. Without it, we would not feel separated from the Creator and would thereby not have any free will whatsoever. Baal HaSulam describes this in the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”, here’s an excerpt:
“4) The reason why the will to receive must cascade by the four above-mentioned discernments in ABYA (Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya) is that there is a great rule concerning the Kelim (plural for Kli): the expansion of the Light and its departure make the Kli fit for its task. This means that as long as the Kli has not been separated from its Light, it is included in the Light and is annulled within it like a candle in a torch.
This annulment is because they are completely opposite from one another, on opposite ends. This is so because the Light extends from His Essence existence from existence. From the perspective of the Thought of Creation in Ein Sof, it is all towards bestowal and there is no trace of will to receive in it. Its opposite is the Kli, the great will to receive that abundance, which is the root of the initiated creature, in which there is no bestowal whatsoever.
Hence, when they are bound together, the will to receive is annulled in the Light within it, and can determine its form only once the Light has departed thence once. This is so because following the departure of the Light from it, it begins to crave it, and this craving properly determines and sets the shape of the will to receive. Subsequently, when the Light dresses in it once more, it is regarded as two separate matters: Kli and Light, or Guf and Life. Observe closely, for this is most profound.”
Meaning that if you place the light of a candle within the light of a torch, you cannot differentiate one from the other. So in the process of giving the created being the nature of reception, by that, the created being became separated from the Creator and as a result feels itself as existing and independent. Later on, even though they return to a state of adhesion, they still remain as two separate things. We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming lessons.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Luis,
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman: https://laitman.com/2013/09/from-root-to-branch/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Sudhi,
1. Internally we should try to see how everything in life comes to us from a single benevolent force. This is called “there is none else besides Him” and that He is the “good that does good”. But this is our internal work. It does not cancel out any of the work we need to do in life in order to take care of all of our problems in the normal way that we would go about taking care of them. Meaning that if I’m sick, I still must go to a doctor. If I lose my job, I need to go job hunting. If someone is hurting me, I need to call the police, etc. Externally we need to take care of all of our problems in the normal way.
We’ll learn more about this in the upcoming semester. In the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman: https://laitman.com/2017/12/there-is-none-else-besides-him/
2. We learn that “necessities are neither praised nor condemned”. Meaning that taking care of our necessities to live a normal life is not considered egoistic. It’s perfectly fine to do that.
Albert @ KabU
Hi J,
We’re in a process of development in a perfect integral system. There is nothing redundant in this system. Even the smallest blade of grass has a reason to exist and is part of the purpose of creation. All the more so all the levels of development that humanity is going through. Baal HaSulam writes about it in the article “Peace in the World”, here’s an excerpt:
“Because any observation of the work of Creation is enough to teach us about the greatness and perfection of its Operator and Creator. Therefore, we must understand and be very careful when casting a flaw in any item of Creation, saying it is redundant and superfluous, as that would be slander about its Operator.”
So what is the purpose of the long path of suffering that humanity has undergone? It’s in order for a person to gradually reach the state called “the recognition of evil”. The recognition of evil is that we recognize that it’s not the Creator who is the source of our suffering. He’s the good that does good and only sends us good. Rather, all of the suffering we experience is because of our uncorrected egoism. We need this process to reach this recognition and eventually even be willing to come out of our egoistic state. Only after humanity has realized that it’s sick with egoism, is it relevant to present it with the cure: the wisdom of Kabbalah, the method of correction of man’s egoism.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/08/the-sinking-of-science-the-past-pride-of-humanity/
Albert @ KabU
