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Hi Peter,
We learn that all of the changes we undergo is thanks to the reforming light. We extract this force primarily from the Kabbalistic study. So ideally a person should set aside some time on a regular basis to return to the sources: the Kabbalistic books, videos, lessons, etc.
As for what happens in between all those times. That depends less on our own strength and more on the spiritual environment that we place ourselves in. All of our good thoughts are the result of that environment.
Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article “the Freedom“. Here’s an excerpt: “he who strives to continually choose a better environment is worthy of praise and reward. But here, too, it is not because of his good thoughts or deeds, which come to him without his choice, but because of his effort to acquire a good environment, which brings him these good thoughts and actions.”
We’ll learn how to do this practically in the more advanced semesters.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Mark,
I’m not sure in which context you’re asking this question, but in general, yes, you can say that. The point in the heart awakens and in a way this throws us off balance. We become incapable of simply living out our lives like everyone else. Rather we start asking some deep existential questions and start seeking some other type of fulfillment in life.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Keith, great questions!
1. Kabbalah is a science. You don’t need to take anything on blind faith. If something does not make sense, ask and we’ll clarify it. Like with the exclusivity for example. Kabbalah does not hold the monopoly over spirituality. It’s not claiming to be the one and only method. The Wisdom of Kabbalah is the accumulation of thousands of years of experience from people practically trying to reach spirituality, what worked, what didn’t, etc. It’s not a must to use it, but as you can imagine, it’s a lot faster and easier with it.
2. We don’t lose our selves. If anything, the whole process that we’re undergoing is the process by which we clarify further and further who we are. We learn this from the 3 phases that Baal HaSulam describes in the article Introduction to the book of Zohar. That we were created in the state of perfection 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.
So even though we return to that initial state of being in complete adhesion with the Creator, thanks to the process we underwent, we remain as two separate things. Baal HaSulam describes this with the candle and torch analogy in the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. Here’s an excerpt:
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 [pl. of 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 before 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 self, existence from existence. From the perspective of the thought of creation in Ein Sof [infinity], it is all toward bestowal and there is no trace of a will to receive in it. Its opposite is the Kli, the great will to receive that abundance, and 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 from it once. 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.
3. Kabbalah is meant to be very practical. It is the method by which we correct our egoistic nature and as a result reveal in our lives the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. Everything we’re learning now is the foundation for that practice. And even the study itself, it’s not meant to just fill us up with knowledge, rather the study is the means by which we extract a special force, the light, by which we can perform all these changes on us.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details:Â http://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
Furthermore, even though we’re learning about spirituality, it does not mean that Kabbalists are like monks that disconnect themselves from the corporeal world. A Kabbalist remains on the level of this world throughout the entire spiritual ladder of development. As such we need to maintain a normal balance on this level as well: to continue to work, take care of our health, families, etc. And in the more advanced phases of our spiritual development, we’ll begin to see how everything we do in our corporeal lives is also part of our spiritual development.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Francis, great question!
We’ll learn in the more advanced lessons that our thoughts are not our own, rather they are the result of the environment that we’re in. It’s like you have a seed in your hands. What will happen with that seed depends on the nourishment it will receive from the environment in which you plant it. Same with us, if we want our thoughts to be focused on higher things in life, then we need to plant ourselves in a good spiritual environment.
Baal HaSulam writes about it in the article the Freedom, here’s an excerpt: “He who strives to continually choose a better environment is worthy of praise and reward. But here, too, it is not because of his good thoughts and deeds, which come to him without his choice, but because of his effort to acquire a good environment, which brings him these good thoughts and deeds.”
We’ll learn about this in depth in the next semester.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Elizabeth, good question.
Our world is below the ladder of spiritual degrees. Kabbalists call it “the imaginary world”. Since once we correct ourselves, relative to that corrected state this life would appear as nothing more than a dream.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman: http://laitman.com/2010/11/this-life-is-a-dream/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Derek,
In general, you can say that, but there are different nuances behind each word.
Torah comes from the Hebrew word “ohr”, light. But it’s more so the system through which we extract the light in order correct our egoistic nature.
And when we use the word light, we’re talking about the force that is opposite the desire. All that was created was the desire to receive pleasure. The force that created this desire and fulfills it is the light. So the light is the Creator, the pure quality of bestowal. We can also say that light = pleasure, since this is what fulfills that desire.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2014/12/what-is-the-light/
Albert @ KabU
