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Hi Renata,
There are 613 spiritual desires and relative to each spiritual desire there is a law, a process by which we correct that desire. Keep in mind that in practice we don’t work according to some list of desires, but only according to whatever desire is awakened at 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 Michael,
We’ll be learning portions from the three course books, but it is recommended to read through the entire books (Kabbalah Revealed and Attaining the Worlds Beyond) by yourself.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Helen,
As we learn in this week’s lesson, our freedom is in choosing to be influenced by the spiritual environment (meaning the Kabbalistic books, group, and teacher). Everything else is a result of that choice.
Baal HaSulam writes about it in the article “The Freedom”. Here’s an excerpt:
“However, there is freedom for the will to initially choose such an environment, such books, and such guides that impart to him good concepts. If one does not do that, but is willing to enter any environment that appears to him and read any book that falls into his hands, he is bound to fall into a bad environment or waste his time on worthless books, which are abundant and easier to come by. In consequence, he will be forced into foul concepts that make him sin and condemn. He will certainly be punished, not because of his evil thoughts or deeds, in which he has no choice, but because he did not choose to be in a good environment, for in that there is definitely a choice.
Therefore, 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.”
Albert @ KabU
google translation of the question:
How can I direct my basic primal instincts (food, sex/reproduction, and seeking shelter) in advance to align them with the nature of the Creator and not have to confront the suffering that comes from being guided by my selfish nature?
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Hi Enrique,
Kabbalah only deals with our desire for spirituality. Regarding the rest of our desires, Kabbalah does not deal with these things. Our corporeal desires don’t have any relation to spirituality, so each person can arrange these desires however is most comfortable for them (of course within the context of the law and without harming others).
In practice, we don’t need to suppress our corporeal desires or live a life of poverty. We only need to work on making the desire for spirituality the most important thing. Then naturally the rest of our desires will fall into place. For example, it’s like with an artist that is so involved in his art, that he fulfills all the rest of his desires out of necessity so he can quickly return to his passion. Same with us, when spirituality is the most important desire, then we will be able to properly relate to all the rest of our corporeal desires in a balanced way.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Helen,
1. You’re right, our initial choice of the spiritual environment is not up to us. This follows the saying that: the Creator puts man’s hand on the good fate and says “choose this for yourself”. Meaning He awakened your point in the heart and brought it to a good spiritual environment in which you can nourish it. Only after that, the rest is up to you.
So what needs to happen for me to start actualizing my free will here? After all, the point in the heart is seemingly forcing me to be here. If so, then this desire needs to be taken away from me little by little, and there I begin to reveal more and more the place of my freedom.
This is similar to how we teach a child to ride a bike. First the parent holds the child completely. Then as the child learns to pedal and balance himself, the parent lets go a little, then a little more and a little more, until the child continue to pedal without the parent holding him at all.
So we too need to learn to continue to do this work even when that initial desire for spirituality begins to disappear or when the ego grows and begins to pull us into many different directions. When that happens, we’ll feel a need for mutual work in the group, the spiritual environment. On one hand when I fall into my ego, they need to pull me out, and on the other hand I need to help pull others out when they fall. This is why Kabbalists have always studied in groups (physical or virtual).
We will learn more about this in the more advanced semesters on KabU, where you’ll receive your own Kabbalah group with whom you can practice these things.
2. The rule is that “one is raised in holiness and never lowered.” So even if we don’t finish our full correction, nothing is lost, it’s an accumulative process.
3. In our current state, we don’t have the tools to measure what happens after the final correction. So instead of philosophizing about it, the science of Kabbalah does not talk about that state at all. We’ll have to reach that state first and then see for ourselves what is the next step of our development.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/03/a-door-to-the-unknown/
4. The four factors can be confusing. If it helps, you can say that the fourth factor is the ability to choose to be under the influence of the third factor. But once I place myself under their influence, the rest is already a result.
In any case, if you understand the main takeaway from this lesson, that the road to freedom is in choosing/building a good spiritual environment for ourselves, then I wouldn’t worry about the details of the four factors.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Branden,
The split makes it easier for all of us to reach out common corrected state. It like the difference between one person lifting 1000 pounds or 1000 people lifting 1 pound each. In other words, the bigger the split, the easier correction is for all of us.
As for the numbers themselves, numbers in Kabbalah are not talking about quantity, rather they are measurements of quality. 600,000 for example represents the strength of the spiritual desire after it’s been fully corrected. So essentially all of humanity is included in this number.
Check out this blog post to see how this number is derived: https://laitman.com/2010/09/love-and-hatred-of-600000-souls/
Albert @ KabU
