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Hi Judit, great questions!
613 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 and 365 desires that operate on receiving in order to bestow. We’ll learn about this in detail in the more advanced lessons on KabU that deal with the structure of the upper worlds.
Keep in mind that these are 613 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 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/
Regarding the order of corrections, there is a certain order but in practice, we don’t work according to some pre-made list, but simply with whatever is being awakened in the moment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/09/compliance-with-the-613-mitzvot-commandments/
Albert @ KabU
Hi Miryam,
I think you’re referring to the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah” which was written by Baal HaSulam.
Regarding the holy spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh, in Hebrew) that he mentions there, Kodesh (holy) is referring to the quality of bestowal. Our nature is the opposite, the desire to receive pleasure. We correct this nature to operate in the direction of bestowal thanks to the light. The light is both the force that corrects this nature and it’s also the spiritual fulfillment we feel within the corrected desire to bestow. There are 5 levels of desire that we need to correct. Corresponding to each level is a certain light that corrects it and fulfills it (Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, Yechida). The light that we receive from the 2nd level of bestowal is called Ruach ha Kodesh.
In other words, it’s one of the illuminations of light that we receive in order to correct ourselves. Or if we already corrected ourselves, then it’s the fulfillment that we receive in order to bestow.
It’s good that you asked and it’s good to redefine these things from the typical connotations of these words to their proper Kabbalistic definitions so we don’t start picturing all sorts of “spirits” and other such things when hearing these words.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Suresh, good questions!
Spirituality operates according to very precise laws. We attain spirituality by becoming similar to it. This follows the law of equivalence of form.
For more details, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman:Â https://laitman.com/2011/06/a-science-about-the-world/
And see my replies below to Binux as well as to John.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Miryam,
Yes, you can say all that. The only thing I would add is in regards to how we grow this desire. Our desire for spirituality is like a seed. If we plant it in fertile ground, then it’ll get all the right nutrients and grow. If we put it in the desert or just keep it on a shelf somewhere, nothing will come out of it at all. So our entire spiritual choice is in finding the best spiritual environment in which to plant that seed. And what will ultimately happen to that seed is a result of that choice. We’ll learn more about this in the next semester when we’ll study in the depth the topic of freedom.
Regarding asking questions, it’s not too much, it’s good. We are here to learn after all. Questions and answers are a big part of this process. So feel free to keep them coming. It’s also recommended not just to read your own questions/answers but to read the other questions that your fellow students are asking here. This is a good way to start growing your desire within this spiritual environment.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Mehran, good question!
Knowing Kabbalah is not the same as practicing it. I can load all of the Kabbalistic knowledge onto a computer, but that wont make the computer something spiritual. So it’s not enough to know it. By studying Kabbalah we need to build a desire in which we can reveal spirituality.
See my reply below to Michael for more details.
And even after we build this desire and reveal spirituality in practice, we still continue to exist on the level of this world throughout the ENTIRE spiritual ladder of development. As such, we must continue to take care of ourselves in the normal way: to work, take care of our family, health, etc. We will of course have a completely different attitude to all these things, but they wont disappear.
Albert @ KabU
Hi John, great questions!
1. Kabbalah is the method of correction of our egoistic nature, thereby revealing the Creator, the general force of love and bestowal. Why was it necessary to conceal such a wisdom? Because egoism was still not yet fully developed. For example: if you compare Kabbalah to a medicine that can cure a rare disease, obviously you can’t take the medicine before you’re diagnosed with the disease, but once the disease actually manifests, you can take the medicine and be cured of it.
It’s just like the 5 stages development of a disease within a person. First a person is healthy. Then he is sick, but he does not feel it. Then the disease spreads to the point that he starts to feel pain and symptoms of the disease. This then pushes him to go to a doctor to get diagnosed and find the cure, and etc.
2000 years ago, egoism was still on a very low level, there was no need to correct it. Starting from the days of the Ari, egoism already grew to a certain extent (and technically the prohibition on Kabbalah ended there), but humanity still didn’t feel sick, on the contrary the ego was the main driving force of all of our development. Then from around 1995 egoism peaked and began to show itself as bad, like a cancer that begins to kill the host body. This is the peak at which there was a true need for the cure. Which in essence is what the Kabbalists have been waiting for all these years, for the desire, for egoism to fully ripen.
2. Kabbalah defines spirituality as the acquisition of the qualities of love and bestowal. When we acquire these qualities, we become similar to the qualities that reside in spirituality and thereby reveal spirituality in practice. This follows the law of equivalence of form. We’ll learn more about this law in the upcoming lessons, but in the meantime you can check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
Regarding science, we say Kabbalah is a science because the Kabbalistic method is not based on blind belief, but rather on the empirical research of the Kabbalists. If we follow this method, try to replicate it, we should reach the same results that they did.
Albert @ KabU
