Autor: arhiprofesor

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

Who am I and for what purpose do I exist? How did we appear here and where are we going? Is it possible that we have already been in this world before? Can we know ourselves and the universe? Why does man suffer and is it possible to avoid suffering? How can one find peace, satisfaction, and luck? How can we attain tranquility, fulfillment, and happiness?

Many people in every generation attempt to find answers to these persistently haunting questions, and the very fact that this happens from generation to generation demonstrates that we still have not found satisfactory answers. Studying nature and the cosmos, we find that all that surrounds us exists and functions in accordance with strict, purposeful laws. Regarding ourselves as the crown of nature’s creation, we find humanity to be as if it were outside this system. For instance, seeing in the wise and logical manner nature created each part of our organism, seeing the precise purpose in the functioning of each cell of the body, we are unable to answer the question: what is the purpose of this entire living organism?

All that surrounds us is permeated by the cause and effect relation, meaning nothing is created without a purpose. In the world of physical bodies, there exist definite laws of motion, dynamics, and rotation. A similar logic exists in the plant and animal kingdom. But the primary question, i.e. for what purpose does all this exist, that is, not only ourselves but also the entire surrounding world surrounding us – still remains without an answer. Is there a person in the world who was never, at least once in his life, concerned with this question? The existing scientific theories maintain that the world is governed by invariable physical laws, which we are unable to affect. Our sole purpose consists in wisely utilizing those laws to live out, well some 70 to 120 years of our life, preparing the ground, both literally and figuratively, for future generations. But for the sake of what? „Did humanity develop by way of evolution of the simplest forms”, or „was life brought from other planets”?

There are two dates – birth and death, and what occurs between them is unique and, therefore, precious. Or vice versa: life is nothing if after it there is an end, darkness, and precipice? Where is the wise, all-envisioning, logical Nature that creates nothing in vain? Or, do there exist laws and goals still undiscovered? Our studying of the world is in essence merely the studying of the world’s reaction to our actions, which we perceive by our five senses: touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste, or by instruments that increase their range .All that is beyond our studies is not perceived by us at all, it does not exist as far as we are concerned. Moreover, we are unable to miss the lacking senses, the way we do not miss a sixth finger, or the way it is impossible to explain eyesight to one born blind. For this reason, man will never discover hidden forms of nature by the methods at his disposal.

According to kabbalah, the spiritual world exists but is not perceived by our organs of sense; our Universe is a tiny part of this world located in the center and our planet, the Earth, is its inner center. This world of information, thoughts and feelings, affecting us through material laws of (perceptible) nature and chance, places us in certain situations that determine the way we act. We have no influence in matters like the time and place of our birth, or who we are going to be, whom we are going to meet in our life, and what consequences our actions are going to have.

According to kabbalah, there are four kinds of knowledge available to man, and he must comprehend them:

l. The Creation: Study of the creation and the development of the worlds: how the Creator has created it, how the spiritual and the material worlds interact, what is the purpose of the human’s creation.

2. The Functioning: Study of human nature, of his connection with the spiritual world, known as Practical Kabbalah.

3. The Course of the Souls: The study of the nature of each soul and its course. How man acts in this life and in the following lives. What is the purpose for the descent of a soul into a body and why does a particular body get a particular soul? The history of humanity as a result of the certain order and the transference of the souls are discussed as well.

4. The Rule: Study of our world – inanimate objects, plants and animals, their nature and role; how are they ruled from the spiritual world. The supreme rule and our perception of the Nature, of the Time, of the Space. Study of the supreme powers moving the material bodies to the certain aim (point). Is it possible to divine the main mystery of the human life without asking about its source? Each man tries to think about it.

A quest for the purpose and sense of an individual life, as well as of the life of humanity at large is the central question of man’s spiritual life. Since mid-20th century, we have been witnessing a rebirth of mankind’s religious orientation. Technological progress and the world cataclysms that have given rise to all kinds of philosophical theories have given man no spiritual satisfaction. As kabbalah explains it, of all existing pleasures our world received just one tiny spark. Its presence in material objects gives us pleasure. In other words, all agreeable sensations that man experiences in different situations and that are caused by different things are, in fact, due just to the presence of this spark. Furthermore, as time passes, man has to keep seeking out new objects of pleasure in the hope of experiencing greater and greater pleasures, without realizing that all those objects are but outer shells and that the essence of Ner dakik remains the same.

There are two ways of bringing man to the realization of the need for elevating spirit over matter and absolute satisfaction: (1) The way of kabbalah. (2) The way of suffering.

The first way is the study of kabbalah while through such study man gradually becomes free of his egoism. The second way is standard: suddenly feeling a kind of spiritual hunger and seeking for a source of satisfaction. We can only advise choosing the way of kabbalah in time rather than waiting for the way of suffering.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

Determining the task

Upbringing is humanity’s central problem. If we could provide a correct form of education and grounding to at least one generation, we could then be certain that all future generations would be brought up suitably and live optimally. This is because each generation that receives the correct method of upbringing can and will be capable of adequately raising the next generation.

Alternatively, the failure to raise such a generation in even one society, and observing each succeeding generation as inferior compared to the previous, bears witness to the fact that humanity has never possessed the correct method of upbringing.

Method of Upbringing

The correct method of upbringing must be based on understanding:

1. Humanity’s, society’s and the person’s true nature (the original state);
2. The common goal of humanity, society and each person (the final state);
3. The means of leading each person, society and humanity to this goal.

1. Our true nature is partially known. Life experience allows us to conclude that human beings are egoistic and egocentric, that everything we do is for the satisfaction of our needs.

2. Our life’s purpose, or our predestination, is unknown. We lack the knowledge of our final form of existence, the purpose for which we strive, and society’s and the world’s optimal organization. We can only suppose that nature holds such information about our future states, containing the knowledge about the goal of each person’s, society’s and humanity’s existence.

3. The means to reach this goal cannot be realized until we find out about it: “What is the purpose of our existence?” Knowing our true original nature and that final state which we, according to creation’s scheme, are required to reach, will let us understand what qualities we need in order to perform these changes. This will in turn determine the form that the upbringing’s foundation should take.

The reason for failures in upbringing

It follows from the above that until we come to realize the necessity to define the goal of creation, and then determine the means to reach that goal, all our efforts to create the correct method of upbringing will be unsuccessful. Human egoism will contribute to this failure if it continues to grow from generation to generation, and, for the sake of its private egoistic fulfillment, the human being’s egoistic character will consume everything.

Solution to the problem

It is necessary to broadly investigate human nature so that wide circles of society will become convinced that we, essentially, are egoistic beings. Although such is the nature of our world, human beings, contrary to the rest of nature, are not endowed with an inner behavioral program, and so we require one. Animals have no need for their offspring to undergo such an upbringing, since their behavioral instincts reside within their nature. This is sufficient for them to behave correctly their entire lives. Out of all living creatures, only humans lack nature’s program for correct behavior; only humans are free to choose their actions. Each person who lacks this awareness lives with a particular outlook on life, with self-made goals and a self-made character of actions. Such a person chooses and creates one’s own system of upbringing, and all such systems suffer the downfall.

The place of the missing instinctive rules of behavior must be filled with the correct method of upbringing. Until we learn nature’s laws, and learn how to live correctly in the world, we have nothing to pass down to the next generation. Moreover, we will remain uncertain as to whether we are raising the generations properly, and our entire life will be a sequence of repetitive mistakes. It thus follows that we are obliged to investigate our nature and goal, and on the basis of such investigations, create a program of behavior for our lives in this world; and then teach this to our offspring.

Upbringing – correspondence with the supreme nature

When observing the nature of our world, we find that every type of creation, whether any living thing, cell, or organ, serves the needs of others. This is the natural mechanism of the world, the universe, and reality. All life acts as a closed system according to a single program. In order to exist comfortably in this system, humanity has to be in likeness, homeostasis, and sameness to it. This is achieved by a correct balance between receiving and giving of every person in relation to the surrounding nature and society. Each person’s correct formula of behavior, depending on each person’s natural qualities and surrounding opportunities, is calculated in the science of Kabbalah. Thus, without having knowledge of this science, we cannot achieve the correctly balanced interaction with people around us, nature, and society. We will also have nothing to teach our offspring.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

For a long time now I have felt responsible to give the public at large the true information about the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Prior to the appearance of the printing industry there were no books superficial in content, because there was no point in paying a substantial amount of money to a scribe for worthless merchandise. On the other hand, Kabbalists tried to conceal the wisdom of Kabbalah from those who had no real need for it. So if there appeared Kabbalistic books, they were quite genuine.

But with the invention of the printing press, the “book writing disease” spread throughout the world, and authors no longer had to hire a scribe’s expensive services to make copies of their compositions. Books fell in price, and a swarm of irresponsible writers could now “produce” books in pursuit of profit and recognition.

Consequently, there appeared all kinds of “experts”, each in his field, who indiscriminately printed whatever they wished in order to become rich and famous. Some of them even claim to be good judges; hence they dictate to the public what books should be read.

In recent decades, such “experts” have also set about to explain Kabbalah, not understanding that this knowledge can only be disclosed by someone who received it from an avowed Kabbalist.

However, money and fame are all these “experts” in Kabbalah are after. Therefore books whose authors never studied the genuine sources with a scholar in authority grow in numbers. These people write and publish their ignorant compositions while being totally unaware of the damage they cause for many generations to come.

Therefore, the perception of the truth by the public has been greatly corrupted. This has led to such frivolity of judgment that anyone who took the trouble to leaf through a Kabbalistic text, feels entitled to make conclusions about this wisdom that studies the concealed part of creation.

All of this has compelled me to reveal the true knowledge of Kabbalah to a wide circle of readers.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

We know nothing about the Creator, except His will to create us and to give us the enjoyment. Upon His device, desire of enjoyment arose from nothing.

The Creator’s will of creation is called Keter (crown), since it surrounds like a crown his will to give us the enjoyment.

The creation of the Keter may be imagined as a vessel (Kli) ready to get the enjoyment, or the Creator’s light (Ohr). This point of the creation is called Hochma (wisdom) and the enjoyment filling the Kli is called Ohr Hochma (the Light of wisdom).

Since the desire of the enjoyment is the only human’s desire, the Creator directs us using it. In many countries in hot summer days we hear water-melon sellers driving cars or modest barrows and calling for buyers. Why these men work so hardly under the burning sun? The Creator gave them desire to bring enjoyment to their families, but thus they bring the enjoyment also to the others while selling juicy quenching fruit. Thus the light gives to the creature not only the enjoyment itself but also the ability to give the enjoyment to the others. But the creature (Kli) refuses to have this ability. The enjoyment from voluntary deny to receive (get) the light is called Ohr Hassadim. This stage of the development of the creature is named Bina.

But the life is impossible without the light (Ohr Hochma). And the new form of the creature (Bina) begins to receive some minimal portion of the light and hence is transformed into a new kind called Zeir Anpin. Further development of the creature brings a new desire to enjoy the light, and it beoomes a new object – Malchut (kingdom, it means kingdom of desire).

Hence there are the following stages of the creation and of the development of the creature ( Kli):

1. KETER. The Creator’s will to create Kli and to bring it the enjoyment.
2. HOHMA. Desire of enjoyment arisen from the light.
3. BINA. Enjoyment not from the light but from its returning to the Creator.
4. ZElR ANPIN (ZA). Receiving some portion of Ohr Hohma necessary for a normal life.
5. MALHUT. Feeling the importance of or Hohma, ZA tries to become full of this light and thus turns into Malhut.

Malchut is the only real Kli (creature) because it desires itself to receive the entire enjoyment from the Creator. The previous forms are not real Kli, but onIy stages of its development. The Creator’s will is to create the Kli would like itself to enjoy His light. Malchut filled with the light is called Olam Ein Sof – the World of Infinity. The movement is change of desires giving birth to near creatures (Kli). The time is a chain from the cause (the primary desire) to the effect (the secondary desire). „The World Infinity” means a vessel full of enjoyment without any limit, i.e. unsatisfied desire. This is the condition of Kli of Malchut. Therefore, from the Creator’s point of view, Malchut is the completion of the program of Creation.

The aim of the Creation is to create a new thing the creature and to fill it with lmmense absolute enjoyment. Thus the Creator gave to the creature a great desire to receive the enjoyment.

„The will to receive” (Ratzon Lekabel – Heb .) may be imagined as a vessel (Kli) having capacity proportional to the capacity of the desire, and the enjoyment received – to the quantity of the light filling the vessel. The light coming from the Creator had existed as early as before the Creation. This light is an lntegral nature of the Creator. As for the desire to receive the enjoyment, the Creator himself hasn’t it, but gives it to the creatures. All the worlds are nothing but different forms demonstrating the desire to receive and to enjoy the Creator’s light.

All of us being parts of Kli–Malchut’s desire to receive food, warmth and other enjoyments as little portions of the light in our world. All of us are perfect from the Creator’s point of view, but we must go through a long way of lmprovement in order to feel the spiritual worlds.

Each creature has the only desire – to enjoy. Thus giving a program to a man, changing necessaries during his life, the Creator evokes certain actions; but it seems to the man as if he acts himself, upon his will and choice. When the man realizes the dependence of his behavior on desires of his body and begins to struggle against his body, he may get free of the desires of the body and to pass to the spiritual world, to live in accordance with the necessaries of his soul. The enjoyment is the result of filling the Kli by the light. There is only a littIe sparkle of spiritual light in our world. This sparkle named ner dakik may be found in different things, and that’s why these things attract us by enjoyments concealed there.

Possibility of enjoyment or of release of suffering. That’s the only motive power for all our thoughts and emotions. We can’t either think or act differently due to our egoistic nature. As for spiritual worlds, they consist of altruistic Kelim able to act despite their nature. lf a man realizes his own egoism as an evil bringing him nothing but suffering, he may ask the Creator to change his nature, i.e. to give him a power to be actually free.

All the desires of the creatures are in fact the only one – the desire for the light. The Creator rules us while ruling our desires. Realizing a lack of something, the Creater forces us to act and to strive for things lacking in our life. It’s said that „love and hunger rule the world”. It means that all the human’s actions are forced (determined). If the Creator would not give the mother enjoyment of suckling, the babies would starve. Nobody should move from his place, if not to seek for better conditions. The evolution, the progress, the spiritual search all of this reflects our inclination to find satisfaction of our desires.

As for the desires themselves, they are given us by the Creator upon the program of our development having its aim to leave us the absolute enjoyment. Kabbalah is necessary for mankind, because it deals with the purpose and plan of the Creation, with human recompense for rescue of egoism. Two powers of human development force man to look for the purpose – the suffering of the moment and the enjoyment expected in future. These two forces are like two locomotives pulling a heavily loaded train: the first ahead of the train, and the second one – from behind it. Upon the Creator’s will, the mankind will finally reach the state of absolute correction, meaning develop from egoism to altruism. And Kabbalah helps each of us to find our own way to this state.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

It is well known that we discover the world using our organs of perception. We are like a black box that only perceives things entering it from outside. To be more precise, nothing actually enters the box, it is only being affected or „pressured” and then reacts to it.

Whatever „gets” into us – a self-contained system, through the five organs of perception is recorded, processed and analyzed. Whatever is not picked up by our five organs of perception we do not feel.

The external force in itself remains unperceived by us. We cannot judge it objectively. We feel only our reaction to an external force. Therefore, our perception is contained inside us. All the information that comes our way is processed by no other means than our senses.

All existing physical instruments merely serve to expand the range of our sensations but they do not allow us to go beyond their limits. No instrument can create a new organ of perception and we cannot imagine how we would perceive the surrounding world if we had different organs of perception.

After analysis, the entire collection of sensations creates in us an internal picture which is called „our world”. This is an entirely subjective picture that cannot be compared with anything. We can never compare objective reality existing outside us with the subjective reality existing inside us.

We cannot escape the limitations of our perception and are permanently locked within the framework of our sensations. Collectively we all share common sensations that provide us with the opportunity to communicate with each other, to exchange signs, impressions and to understand each other.

All our organs of perception, or to be more precise, organs for the reception of information receive, record, process, and evaluate it exclusively according to its personal usefulness.

Any life form is created in a way that its only desire is to receive pleasure. This law applies to all levels of existence. A desire to receive a maximum amount of pleasure is the main law of the still, vegetative, animate, and human natures..

Kabbalah, („reception” in Hebrew,) is a method that allows us to develop an additional organ of perception, i.e. to receive additional information about something that exists in the external universe. By mastering this method we start feeling the surrounding world in a completely different way: that world will be perceived as independent from our egoistical body and isolated from our „Self”. A person that has sensed this is called a „Kabbalist”.

This is an ancient, scientific method for attaining the Upper World. It has its own mathematical, methodological and psychological system. It investigates fully the mechanics of man’s inner world and demonstrates how in any situation one can go beyond his internal sensations in order to attain the external ones, even before they start affecting our five organs of perception.

Equipped with the Kabbalistic methodology, a man, remaining in its physical body, living in our world, can sense beyond the limitations of his egoistical “body”’ i.e. his desire to receive. He can acquire the ability to sense the world outside himself.

Kabbalists are ordinary people just like you and me yet equipped with the Kabbalistic methodology they’ve developed themselves to such an extent that they begin to feel the objective world. They tell us about this in their books. These books are written using a special language called „the language of branches”. It is the purpose of Kabbalists to introduce us to the system of the Upper Worlds.

In total, there are five worlds or five levels of perception. Each world is the consequence of the one preceding it.. All signals originate in the highest Upper World, pass through the lower worlds which serve to weaken the signal from the Upper World to the appropriate level at which they can be perceived by us existing in the lowest of worlds.

All worlds are designed according to the same scheme. Everything that exists in our world: any atom, cell, and organism has its root or a prototype in the Upper World.

There are no material objects in the Upper Words, just only forces that give birth to the objects of our world and to our sensations. However, we can call these forces, the roots of everything all that exist in our world, by the name of their branches, brought forth in our world by these very forces.

There is a precise and definite connection between a force in the Upper World (cause, root) and a consequence (branch) in our world. That is why we can call any root by the name of its branch in our world. This is the naming method called „the language of branches” in which Kabbalistic books are written.

Kabbalists, attaining the Upper Worlds, are able to reach a very high level, to sense the Source itself and to receive genuine, original information revealing that all five worlds and our world were created with a purpose. BY engaging in this process a man living in our world develops in himself an additional organ of perception and he elevates to a level where he feels all five worlds inside himself. He thereby lives simultaneously in all the worlds without leaving his body. Until a man reaches this state the system requires that he will continue to be reborn, to descent into this world, “below” the five Upper Worlds

Kabbalah consists of a number of areas of study, though all of them talk about the attainment of the Single Field – the Common Law of the creation. There is a section dealing with descent or creation of the worlds and the signals coming down from above. It tells us how the Upper Field restricts itself gradually through level by level of descent, how it materializes according to five levels of restriction until it reaches our world. Each successive world represents an increasingly greater concealment of the Upper Field. This area of the science of Kabbalah researches only the Upper Worlds and their functioning, governance, the effect they have on us, how we affect it by our actions and how, depending on our reaction they affect us in return.

Another area of Kabbalah deals with the method for the development of the soul – the inner part of a human being that is placed in him from the Upper World. Man is the only living creature in which the soul (a part of the Upper World) exists. It has nothing to do with that vital life supporting force of our body which is indistinct from a body of an animal. What we are talking about here is a special energetic, spiritual substance which when realized by man marks the point when he leaves the category of „a two-legged upright being” and enters the category of „human”.

All reincarnations related to the descent of this spiritual part into a biological body, the leaving of it after a biological death and its subsequent descent into a new body are called reincarnation of a soul. The body does not reincarnate.

There is an area of Kabbalistic study that deals with the creation of a mathematical model for the description of spiritual processes taking place in a soul. These models allow the Kabbalist to relate to the processes inside him from a scientific point of view. With it he is able to research the effects of the Upper Worlds on himself, to analyze, rank, and formulate the connection of signals coming from above with the reactions appearing inside him and visa versa. By this he can receive practical solutions for the best, optimal reaction of that spiritual-energetic part (a soul) that he received from above. The mathematical model of Kabbalah consists of:

• gematria – a numeric record of spiritual states of the worlds and a soul;
• figures reflecting the states and interdependence between the worlds’ influence on a soul and the influence that a soul, a man makes on the Upper Worlds;
• tables, matrixes reflecting various ways of engagement between qualities of the worlds and a soul.

After a man attains the Upper Worlds while living in this world he begins to sense the unified system of creation and its single purpose. Even before attaining the spiritual, when just beginning to study Kabbalah, a man begins to realize that without developing the sixth altruistic organ of perception he will not be able to go beyond the limits of his world and that his entire existence amounts to nothing more than the escape from suffering.

The ultimate goal of the spiritual energetic system that we study is the reception by a man of the ultimate pleasure of reaching the total perfection of his existence: an absolute knowledge resulting in of it a complete balance within the entire internal system (soul) and the external system called „the Creator”.

Over the many thousands of years of human existence each generation differs from the previous one by the level that the egoistic nature of a soul reaches, each generation reaching an ever higher level. As a result, the method of attaining the Upper Worlds differs for each generation. The attainment of the spiritual takes place within a soul so if it changes qualitatively then, accordingly, the method changes as well.

The mission of the Kabbalists who live in any given generation is to adapt and adjust Kabbalah, the method for attaining the Creator, in accordance with the nature of the souls of that generation.

The great Kabbalist Rashbi (II c. BC, full name Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai) is the author of the first Kabbalistic method. He came into this world because there was a need for a new method and he presented it in detail in the book of „Zohar”.

The necessity of changing this method arose only in the 16th century. The Kabbalist who created the new method for the new type of souls in his generation was named the ARI (full name – Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534-1572). As he writes in the Preface to his teaching, “starting from this moment and on, everybody willing to study Kabbalah can do so because starting from this time all souls descending into this world are able to attain the root of their origin and upon finishing their correction not to return to our world again.”

The last Kabbalist who created a new method for our generation was Baal HaSulam (1885-1954). He wrote commentaries for the book of „Zohar”, and the books of the Ari and created a method for attainment of the Upper, spiritual world suited for the souls that descend into this word today.

A man possessing a large degree of egoism has a good chance of attaining the spiritual. Like the whole of nature, a man also consists of different levels of desire: the still, vegetative, animate, and human. The smallest degree of egoism characterizes the still level, the largest – human.

Because we study the system of the Upper Worlds where all consequences in this world have their beginning, we can talk about the spiritual application of Kabbalistic knowledge not only to science, but also to the arts and all other manifestations of human activity.

Through the study of Kabbalah a man attains the universal laws of the universe including all the laws of our world. After attainment of the Upper Worlds it is possible to see the origin and the consequence of all sciences in our world. The researcher can draw the line between something that is already revealed or what is inaccessible to scientific research. He can see where the perception produced by our five sense organs, and its logic ends and where the external world begins. However, this is possible only after leaving the limitations of our world through the alteration of one’s personal qualities.

There are no material objects in the Upper Words, just only forces that give birth to the objects of our world and to our sensations. However, we can call these forces, the roots of everything all that exist in our world, by the name of their branches, brought forth in our world by these very forces.

There is a precise and definite connection between a force in the Upper World (cause, root) and a consequence (branch) in our world. That is why we can call any root by the name of its branch in our world. This is the naming method called „the language of branches” in which Kabbalistic books are written.

Kabbalists, attaining the Upper Worlds, are able to reach a very high level, to sense the Source itself and to receive genuine, original information revealing that all five worlds and our world were created with a purpose. BY engaging in this process a man living in our world develops in himself an additional organ of perception and he elevates to a level where he feels all five worlds inside himself. He thereby lives simultaneously in all the worlds without leaving his body. Until a man reaches this state the system requires that he will continue to be reborn, to descent into this world, “below” the five Upper Worlds

Kabbalah consists of a number of areas of study, though all of them talk about the attainment of the Single Field – the Common Law of the creation. There is a section dealing with descent or creation of the worlds and the signals coming down from above. It tells us how the Upper Field restricts itself gradually through level by level of descent, how it materializes according to five levels of restriction until it reaches our world. Each successive world represents an increasingly greater concealment of the Upper Field. This area of the science of Kabbalah researches only the Upper Worlds and their functioning, governance, the effect they have on us, how we affect it by our actions and how, depending on our reaction they affect us in return.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

Mankind is constantly searching for a logical substantiation of their existence. To this end, man has been studying the laws of nature for many thousands of years.

Despite this, modern scientists are finding that the more they advance in their scientific investigations, the more confusing and unclear the picture of the world becomes. Answers to the question about the purpose of this world and mankind’s existence have not yet been found.

Kabbalah as a science offers a specific method of investigating the world. This method allows a person to develop the ability to perceive the part of the universe concealed from us. The world “Kabbalah” means “receiving”; it is a method that allows one to receive the highest knowledge, and to perceive the true “objective” picture of the world. Kabbalists explain this technique to us based upon their experiences. They have written books that teach the methodology of investigating the universe and receiving the answer to the question about the meaning of life.

From the beginning of time man has searched for answers to the main questions of life: Who am I? What is the goal of my existence? Why does the world exist? Do we continue to exist after death? etc. These unanswered questions about the goal and meaning of life add to our everyday human suffering – Why do we need to suffer at all? It does not allow us to feel fulfillment, even when some of our everyday desires are temporarily satisfied.

A person, having reached the desired goal, quite quickly begins to feel a lack of fulfillment again. Looking back he is able to see how much time he spent in agonizing attempts to reach the desired goal, but in comparison did not feel a substantial pleasure from the accomplishment.

As there are no answers to the questions of life, the search continues in many different directions. Ancient beliefs and currently popular eastern teachings are a part of these searches. Meditation as well as physical and intellectual exercises allow a person to feel more comfortable in this world, but this is just an attempt to distract oneself from the questions, since one’s desires are left unfulfilled and the meaning of life is not found. All these methods relax a person as they lower a person’s desires, not because they have reached the answer to the goal of life and meaning of suffering.

However, soon man discovers that it is impossible to ignore the truth. We begin to perceive that a huge volume of knowledge necessary for further existence is hidden from us, and feel a strong necessity and urge to discover this truth.

Attaining knowledge

In the process of studying Kabbalah man must attain the knowledge of the fundamental systems of the Universe.

Creation. The process of the creation and development of the worlds in the extend, conceivable to man. That is, how the Upper force, by way of consecutive restrictions, created the worlds and objects within them.

The laws of interaction of the spiritual and material worlds, and their consequences. The purpose of the creation of man is the making of a creation that is able to comprehend the greatness of the Upper Consciousness and ultimately become like Him.

Functioning. Man’s entrance into this world and exit from it. How do man’s actions evoke a reaction in the Upper worlds, and how does this reaction affect our world and each individual person. The individual path of each person from the time of the creation of the worlds until the attainment of the ultimate Goal.

The circulation of souls. The study of the essence of each soul and its circulation. Man’s actions in this life and their consequences in following lives from the beginning to the end of the world. In what way and for what reason does the soul descend into the body, and what governs a specific body taking a specific soul. The Secret of Chance and the investigation of the history of mankind as a consequence of a specific order and transference of souls. The connection of the soul to the common control of the system of worlds, the soul’s circulations, the cycles of life and death – everything that all our paths in this world depend on.

Governance. Studying our world: the still, vegetative, and animal nature, their essence, role and their governance from the spiritual world. Governance from above and our perception of nature, time, and space.

The Method of Kabbalah

Out of all the sciences which are constantly developing and investigating the world around us, Kabbalah is a special science that helps develop us in a completely unique way. Besides the material world that is studied by the natural sciences there also exists another world that is concealed from us. The science of Kabbalah studies this hidden world. We sense that this concealed world exists. Why without seeing this world do we still suspect that it exists? As we uncover only partial laws of the Universe, we understand that more complete laws must exist, ones that are more logical and are capable of explaining all aspects of our life. This means that something escapes our senses and is not currently being grasped by us.

We understand that if we had other sensory organs (for now we can not even imagine what kind) then we would obviously perceive the world differently. Our perception would be broader and deeper in some kind of other way. But we do not presently have such organs. This lack of knowledge of the laws of the universe causes a feeling of great discomfort within us. We suffer as we do not know how to correctly behave with each other and with nature, and we do not see the cycles of our life, death, and birth.

In the course of investigating the world, our knowledge always reaches a limit which prevents further advancement. There are many different methodologies that develop our ability to predict the future and go beyond the boundaries of regular perceptions, but they too, in general, add little. We are able to vaguely predict the future, but we cannot clearly perceive the world around us and properly interact with it. Man (which is seemingly such a developed being) feels even more helpless and lost as he continues to develop and progress. Ultimately it appears that scientific methodologies that investigate the environment do not actually achieve the desired goal. We are then forced to recognize that the root of the problem lies in the limitations of our sensory organs.

There exists a clear methodology that allows the development of an additional sensory organ: the “sixth sense” (it can be called the screen or reflected light). This organ allows us to see, feel and investigate the part of the Universe that is not perceivable through the regular five sense organs. The difference is that we receive the five senses at birth, however the sixth sense we have to gradually develop ourselves.

At some point in time man receives a specific sign from above. He begins to feel the necessity of developing this sixth organ, the necessity of experiencing the concealed or outer Universe. This happens gradually. Humanity and man develop according to different levels of desires: initially there is the desire for just the animal pleasures (sex, food, etc), then for wealth, power, rank, fame, knowledge, and after these emerge desires for the attainment of the Upper or spiritual realm. These last desires are those located beyond our regular perceptions.

This first desire to perceive that which is located beyond us is the seed of the sixth sense. After this it is up to the person to develop it. One cannot develop it by oneself. There exists a specific methodology that was given to mankind.

In every generation those people who receive from above the feeling of necessity to develop the sixth sense one way or another come to teachers and books and develop this feeling within themselves. They are called Kabbalists, meaning receiving the outer or higher information. They lay this information out in books, describe their perceptions, impressions, and pass on to us their experience and the methodology of how to realize the process of creating the sixth sense organ in order to come to this higher state. In principle, they talk about how man, having realized all his preceding desires for the animal pleasures, wealth, rank, fame, and knowledge, arrives at the necessity of attaining the outer or hidden universe.

Ultimately every person will come to this state, if not in this lifetime, then in the next. As a result of all lifetimes one must reach the state of existence beyond time and space, beyond the five sense organs, with a new organ of perception. This is essential in order to reach the state of eternity, universal peace, and boundless knowledge.

All Kabbalists pointed to our time as the point from which there will begin a mass assimilation of the spiritual realm, or a mass development of this sixth sense organ in man. Kabbalah studies the construction of our soul, its path, its descent from the highest state – the World of Infinity – through many worlds until “our world”. This path downward ended in the end of the last century (Kabbalists pointed the exact date – the years 1991-1995) and now the path upward has begun.

All Kabbalists existing before our time were just people who walked this path and prepared for us a methodology of ascent. We are the first wave, the first group of souls descending into this world which must begin to ascend in a mass order.

In our time the science of Kabbalah is becoming more and more popular, despite the fact that very few people understand what it is, why it is called a science, and why it reaches people in this way. However, the pull can already be seen, and it is perceived on the mass level, which is what Kabbalists foretold many centuries ago.

What should a person do when a clear desire to understand the highest knowledge emerges? One begins by developing the “point in the heart” (in Kabbalah this is what the desire is called) according to the methodology which Kabbalists assembled. After some time (this can take a few years) one will begin to gradually and increasingly feel the outer world. Only then one begins to understand the reasons behind everything that happens in our world. He already sees the picture of that, where all the signals from our actions, strengths, and thoughts are going to.

In order to see this picture, it is necessary to develop the sixth sense. In our five sense organs it is not perceivable. Our “I” – the true essence of man – is perceived only in the sixth sense. As soon as it develops man begins to feel what is called the “soul”. One begins to literally see thoughts and desires. One is able to perceive in what way they pass from him to other people, in what way he receives them and is under the influence of others, and how this connects in the whole universe with all of surrounding nature and descends back to us.

Man receives the opportunity to clearly envision the past, present, and future in real time. The concept of time disappears and ultimately one sees everything in absolutely equal and open manner. Besides vision, man begins to correctly evaluate what is happening. And most importantly, the opportunity emerges to influence the above control that from the outside governs us and our society. One is able to not only predict what is to come, but to literally change it. These abilities only emerge in a person to the extent to which he is able to overcome his egotistical nature and begin to think according to the laws of the Upper world.

All these things are real and they are absolutely accessible to all. Moreover, all of nature, or the common law of control of all creation, works in such a way that it constantly makes us move in the necessary direction. All mankind is unconsciously progressing, but the individual who begins to consciously move towards this goal (the attainment of the total Universe and life in its total volume) this person no longer feels the pressure of nature on him (i.e., suffering), and immediately the whole Universe seems filled with good instead of evil.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

„But if you listen with your heart to one famous question, I am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study the Kabbalah will vanish without a trace. This question is a bitter and fair one, asked by all born on earth: `What is the meaning of my life?’ ” (Rabbi Y. Ashlag, „Introduction to Talmud Esser Sefiroth Sections 2, 12-17, 44-57)

…Generation follows generation on our planet, yet every generation and every individual asks the same question about the meaning of life, especially at times of wars, global suffering or runs of bad luck that each of us is prone to. What is our life for, the life where minor joys cost us so dearly that absence of suffering seems like happiness to us?

If we are at nature’s mercy, if we are what we are because this is the way nature created us, and we have to live with whatever qualities we have in us like semi-intelligent beings, intelligent only in that we are aware of the fact that our actions are determined by the characteristics and nature traits we were created with and cannot do anything about – in this case, there is no telling where wild, non-intelligent nature can lead us, causing us permanently to fight one another, making whole nations, like wild animals guided by instinct, fall upon one another in a vicious fight. Yet, subconsciously, we cannot reconcile the idea of ourselves as intelligent beings with this concept.

If, however, there does exist the Divine force that has created us, why then do we not perceive it, why does it conceal itself from us? For if we knew what it required of us, we would not commit mistakes in our lives for which we are punished by suffering!

…We know how much torment and pain that are worse than death mankind has suffered since the creation of the world. And who is the source of all that suffering, who causes it but the Creator?

…And how many there have been in all mankind’s history who were willing to suffer any pain for the sake of comprehending superior wisdom and achieving spiritual elevation, who voluntarily subjected themselves to unbearable anguish and agony for the sake of finding at least a drop of spiritual perception and comprehending the higher force, of becoming united with the Creator and able to be His slaves!

Yet, they all lived out their lives without ever getting a response, without achieving anything, they left this world with nothing, just as they had come into it…

…So, why had the Creator ignored their prayers, why had He turned away from them, why had He scorned their sufferings?..

…And they did feel His scorn! They did feel subconsciously that there is a higher purpose to the universe and to all that is happening, called the drop of man being united with the Creator. And, still immersed in their egocentrism, while going through unbearable agony, sensing the Creator’s rejection, they suddenly felt an aperture opening in their heart, which had until then been closed to the truth and able to feel only its own pains and desires – an aperture due to which they were honoured to feel that longed-for drop of unity penetrating into the heart through its broken wall…

…And thus all their qualities were replaced by those opposite to them and similar to the Creator’s, and they realized that only in the depth of those sufferings and nowhere else could they experience the unity with the Creator, for He and the drop of unity with Him are there…

…And at the instant of experiencing this sensation that revealed itself to them and healed their wounds the Creator Himself fills with infinite bliss, so delightful that nothing more perfect could be imagined, so that they feel that it has been worth suffering all that agony in order to achieve this perfection…

And every cell of their bodies convinces them that anyone in our world would be willing to go through unthinkable torment in order to experience, at least once in a lifetime, something like the bliss of being united with the Creator…

…And the reason for the Creator’s silence in reply to man’s appeals lies in the fact that man is more concerned with his own progress than with glorifying the Creator in his own eyes, which should be his only concern. But if it is his only concern, then all his efforts will be painless. Otherwise he will only cry in the wilderness and leave this world just as he has entered it, without having perceived the Creator…

…For the drop of unity, the purpose of creation, flows into the heart of him who is concerned with the Creator’s glory and love, who is convinced in his heart of hearts that all the Creator has made, He has made for him, rather than complain selfishly about the unfairness of divine rule…

…The spiritual cannot be divided into separate parts, but man can comprehend one part of the whole and then another, until he comprehends it all… This is why it all depends on the purity of yearning, and it is into the part of man’s heart purged of all egocentrism that the spiritual light comes flowing.

How much easier life would be if the Creator did not conceal Himself from us but were clearly perceivable or visible to each and every. We would have no doubts whatsoever as to His existence, we would be able to observe the effects of His rule on ourselves and on the surrounding world, to realize the cause and purpose of our creation, to see the consequences of our actions and His response to them, to discuss all our problems with Him, to ask Him for help, to seek His protection or advice, to complain about our troubles and ask Him to explain why He does that to us, to ask His advice concerning the future, to be constantly in touch with the Creator and change ourselves in accordance with His advice, the way He wants us to be and the way it is best for us.

We could be in constant communication with the Creator from the moment of our birth, the way a child is aware of its mother from the moment of its birth (and the Creator would be just as close to man as its mother to the child, for man would see Him as the source of his birth, his Parent, the cause of his existence and all future life), we could be learning to live the right way by observing His responses to our actions and even intentions.

There would be no need in schools, educators. All nations would coexist simply and wonderfully united by the common cause obvious to all – the spiritual unification with the openly visible and perceivable Creator.

All would be guided in their actions by spiritual laws that would be common knowledge, the laws of spiritual worlds called commandments that would be obeyed by everyone naturally, for everyone would see that disobeying the commandment meant doing themselves harm, like jumping into the fire or off a cliff.

If we could clearly see the Creator and His rule over us, the world and the universe, we would not groan under the hardest toil, for we would see its benefits for us. For instance, anyone would gladly give his all to a stranger, without a thought to himself, for he would be aware of the divine rule, would see the beneficial outcome of his selfless acts, would know that we are all in the power of the kind and eternal Creator.

How natural it would be, and how unnatural and impossible under our present conditions of concealed rule, to give ourselves fully to the Creator, give all our thoughts and desires to Him without reserve, be what He wants us to be, have not the least concern for ourselves, give no thought to ourselves – as it were, cease to be aware of our own selves, transfer all our feelings from ourselves to Him, try to enter Him, to live by His thoughts and His will.

All the aforesaid makes it clear that there is only one thing lacking in our world, and that is a perception of the Creator!

This is why that should be man’s only purpose in this world, the only goal man should spare no effort to achieve, for only in perceiving the Creator lies his salvation, both from the calamities of this life and from a spiritual death.

The methods of searching for a perception of the Creator is called the Kabbalah.

Perceiving the Creator is called faith. A common mistake in interpreting this word lies in thinking that faith means groping in the dark, without seeing or perceiving the Creator, i.e. taking this word in a sense directly opposite to its true meaning. According to the Kabbalah, the Creator’s light pervading man, the light of man’s link with the Creator, the sensation of unification is called the light of faith or just faith.

Faith, the Creator’s light, gives man a sensation of being linked with the eternal, a comprehension of the Creator, a sense of complete, explicit communication with the Creator, of absolute safety, immortality, greatness and strength.

All the aforesaid makes it clear that deliverance from our temporary existence fraught with suffering and wearisome pursuit of transient pleasures lies only in attaining faith, i.e. perceiving the Creator.

In any case, the only cause of our misfortunes, of the uselessness and temporary nature of our life is our failure to perceive the Creator. The Torah itself tell us, „Try it and see for yourselves how good the Creator is!”

The aim of this book is to help the reader make the first steps on his way to perceiving the Creator. Those who will come to realize the vital necessity of perceiving the Creator will arrive at the decision to study the original works of the Kabbalah: the book Zohar with commentaries Sulam, the works of Ari and the works of Ashlag.

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(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

The Law of Interdependency

In the human system, our desires, thoughts and actions inescapably influence each other.

This law connects all individuals at every level, at all times.

Any interaction is an expression of this law.

When an individual is focused on self interest, it forces the others to do the same, creating conflicts within the system.

These conflicts are amplified at the global level.

Interconnection is constant, man’s attitude can change.

Clearly, changing the attitude from self concern to global concern affects the whole system positively and ensures its survival.

This is the law of interdependency.

Character: But at the end of the day, we all have bigger problems, right?

The Law of Motivation

Human beings are naturally motivated to seek lasting pleasure.

However, when their desires meet the pleasure, the desires are gradually extinguished.

The resulting emptiness motivates the individual to once seek again fulfillment, creating an endless cycle of fleeting pleasures.

Exhausted by this cycle, an individual is forced to seek an entirely new and different motivation for fulfillment.

This can only be found outside of the regular selfish fulfillment – it is the motivation to fulfill others.

When this motivation meets our global reality, the opportunities for pleasure are unlimited, extinguishing the emptiness of modern life.

Character: As dull as it gets, I’m pretty sure there’s something in it for me…

The Law of Necessity and Surplus

A human being’s desires can only be fulfilled according to their natural purpose.

An individual has physical desires and social desires.

Physical desires can be fulfilled by the individual. Their purpose is survival.

On the other hand, social desires can only be fulfilled through others. Their purpose is the survival of the society.

When an individual uses their social desires selfishly, it leads to a never-ending pursuit of more. On the global level, this creates social, economic and political imbalance.

One can choose to fulfill their social desires in two ways – for themselves or for the whole.

Obviously, choosing global benefit as the aim balances the global surplus, creating positive results at all levels.

Character: But the sad thing is, we are all addicted to the surplus.

THE LAW of Purpose

The end result of an action is already contained in the initial thought.

All actions and thoughts of an individual contribute to the whole human system.

When a person is unaware of their effect on the system, they automatically act with an egoistic intention.

When these intentions are combined, they are naturally in conflict.

At the global level these crises reveal the initial thoughts behind our actions.

Becoming aware of these egoistic thoughts, the individuals can then consciously determine the purpose of their actions.

It is clear to see that changing the thought behind an action, is the only way to produce positive, and purposeful results.

This is the law of purpose.

Character: Unfortunately, no one ever really looks at their intentions…

THE LAW OF Success

In a social system, an individual’s success is motivated and measured by the society.

The individual is constantly working to fulfill the goals of society.

Being unaware of this dynamic, the individual attributes the accomplishments to oneself.

This egoistic perception isolates individuals from each other, making them unaware of how they affect the whole system.

At the global level, this creates crises in all realms of life, threatening the very survival of the whole.

These crises help form a new perception – wherein the individual considers the success of society equal to his own.

This change in perception provides the correct motivation for all individuals, and the survival and prosperity of the whole.

This is the law of success.

Character: In reality, who has time to change?

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

Words and letters provide a code that points to the spiritual object and to its unique situation. When one Kabbalist reads what another Kabbalist wrote, he can reconstruct the text and feel exactly what his fellow Kabbalist meant, just as a musician can reconstruct a musical piece that was written by a another composer 500 years ago through notes, or just as we mark the mathematical signs with notes that are numbers.

Let’s assume that we meet a creature from outer space, and he speaks our language, meaning he uses our words, but the content that he puts into them is completely different, could we still call it ‘our language’? In order to learn it we would have to know what he means by those familiar words. Kabbalists too can convey to one another the knowledge in our language, but within the words there is a completely different content that points to a sensation, act or an attainment of the ‘right’ result. And that is because they have common feelings and a common basis for these realizations. Their language in our world is the language of the branches, where every name points to a specific spiritual object that it symbolizes.

When Kabbalists take a name from our world, they see the root from the upper world that stands behind it very clearly. The whole difference between us and Kabbalists is in that when we read in the books of Kabbalah, we see before our eyes pictures from our world, which are completely unlike what the Kabbalist who wrote them meant, whereas when a Kabbalist reads the book, he sees the spiritual roots of the upper world in the words. That is why we often find in books of Kabbalah, words that seem inappropriate to spiritual terms, such as: kiss, coupling, hug, vagina, uterus. Of course their spiritual meaning is not the spiritual meaning we ascribe to the words in our world. Even a person unfamiliar with the wisdom of Kabbalah will easily agree that this area is above our reason. According to our understanding, spirituality cannot stem from such abject egoistic desires and from the use of such mundane language, so how is it that we find such ‘vulgar’ expressions, that even in our everyday life we almost never use them?

The thing is that once the Kabbalists have chosen the words in the “language of the branches” for the description of spiritual objects, they cannot change one word for another as they please. They must use words that precisely indicate those upper roots, and they cannot waive even a single word just because it seems vulgar or improper. Just as two hairs cannot grow from the root, so two branches cannot stem from the same spiritual root. Each and every creature has its own upper root, and it cannot be replaced with another.

Each object in our world has an upper root that bears the same name. There cannot be two different roots with the same name, just as two separate creatures in our world cannot bear the same name, because they are different at least in something, or else they would be one and the same. Each object or a phenomenon of nature must have a specific name, and once it’s been given, it cannot be called by any other name.

If we were to replace the ‘dirty’ words with others, we would break the tight connection between the branch and its upper root. We would not know which spiritual object to relate to which written word, because there is no other science in the world with such perfect correlation between root and branch. Kabbalists are people who attain those roots; they clearly see those ‘strings’ we can not, which link the root with its branch below.

From beginning of creation to its end there is an ongoing process of correction and elevation, according to a plan that descends from the upper world and dictates us everything. Each and every creature goes its own way in that collective process, and no ‘I’ disappears in the process. It might take on different forms, but it always sustains.

Of course in such a complex system you cannot replace one name with another. In order to choose an accurate ‘code language’ it must be applicable under any condition – meaning, always use the word that points to its upper root, as in genuine Kabbalah books. The people who wrote those books attained the roots and were in such spiritual degrees that they provide accurate definitions. That is why their language describes the upper worlds with utter precision. We learn from this that books that are written by people who call themselves ‘Kabbalists’ are worthless and only mislead and divert the reader from understanding and advancing in the right way.

All the terms we meet in Kabbalah books such as: kiss, coupling, dressing/clothing, extension, meat, circumcision etc., all speak of the upper roots and in no way about any worldly processes. They are called that simply because it is impossible to find another name that will point to that upper root in our language, and not because the processes in the upper roots somehow resemble the ones of this world. We must not picture sublime bodies mating or kissing.

Because of that it is very difficult for a person who doesn’t know how to translate the words to the spiritual language, to read the books of Kabbalah, and that applies to the Torah (Bible) as well. In legends and in the Torah and most of all in the Song of Songs (that seems to speak of love as we understand it) it is very difficult to separate between the ordinary meaning that we ascribe to the words, and their spiritual meaning, because there is already a solid connection between the words and our emotions. (By the way, it is easier for those whose mother tongue is not Hebrew, because they do not connect directly between the Hebrew words and their emotions).

In time that connotation is broken in the student, and gradually, according to his work and effort to feel spiritual concepts that stand behind the language of the branches, he creates a new connection. An ordinary reader of the Bible, or the Gmara, simply cannot free himself from the familiar meaning of the words he knows, which in fact, stand for things that are completely unknown to him. The whole problem is that Torah is understood correctly by only a handful of people, although the Torah itself says: “The whole Torah is the names of the Creator”. But what does that mean?

We name an object according to its attributes, after we have attained them and we know precisely what its essence is. When a Kabbalist rises with his feelings to the spiritual world, he begins to feel the revelation of the Creator, His actions, His attributes, the Creator Himself, and he names what he feels. Only a person who can feel the Creator can name Him. The name is not a result of reading a book. A Kabbalist calls the Creator by a name when he feels Him no less then we feel anything in our world.

That is why the expression: “The whole Torah is the names of the Creator” means that the revelation of the Torah is only for those who climb up his spiritual sensations and can feel the Creator.

The light that the Kabbalist receives is called Torah. Only people who attain the roots, meaning Kabbalists, can easily see what is behind the words of the Torah. That is also how all our holy books are written, which is why they are holy. They speak of Godliness, about the world of the Creator.

A Kabbalist is named after the highest degree that he attains – the highest revelation of the Creator that he attains defines his name. For example: we learned that a partzuf (spiritual object) is named after the type of light in its head. If it is the light of wisdom, it is a partzuf of wisdom (Hochma), if the head contains the light of mercy, it is called partzuf Bina. In our world too, we name a person after his greatest achievement, for instance: Professor, Doctor etc.

It is almost impossible to understand the books of Kabbalah, because they were written in our world’s terms. It is said about the first man, who was created by the Creator, that he was a thief, about Moses’ wife – “cheap woman”, about Laban (which is really the light of wisdom, the upper light), that he was a “cheat”. We simply do not understand the real spiritual meaning behind the familiar words. Each and every language has its own spiritual root, as does every thing in our world, but there is certainly a difference between one spiritual root and the next. At the end of correction, those spiritual differences will disappear, but until then there are upper roots and lower roots, more important and less important.

The world is built as a spiritual pyramid, and until the end of correction we are not all equal in relation to the spiritual world, and we cannot determine the position of a person who delves in spiritual correction by one’s appearance. He who is closer to entering the spiritual world might have a worse character, but he is more familiar with his attributes, with the lowness of his nature. Those who are farther from the entrance to the spiritual world have nicer attributes. We must remember that we are only talking about people who are working on their spiritual correction. About a person who is not studying Kabbalah there is nothing to say anyhow, because they still cannot feel anything real, because they have no spiritual scale to compare themselves with. Hence, there is a difference between the spirituality of the upper roots and the branches in our world. So can any language be picked as the language of the branches? In fact, every language has its own upper root, but Hebrew is the only language that we know the spiritual code for. The world was created in its letters, and each and every word expresses the essence of the object.

That is why the Torah was ‘given’ in Hebrew. In the upper world there are no letters, but the spiritual attributes were described for us in the form of Hebrew letters.

The ARI, the great Kabbalist from Zefad (Hebrew city) described the spiritual world through ten sefirot. He conveyed the reasons for everything that happens in the spiritual world, through a screen and the upper light, which allows any beginner to study Kabbalah. Before the ARI all the books were written in the language of legends or midrash, like the Zohar. Until then, Kabbalists wrote their books as a story that tells of what they saw in the spiritual world, and not as a scientific description of what happens there, by way of extension of light from up downward, or the five phases in the vessel and the screen that dresses over it. You might say with certainty that there were Kabbalists who attained higher degrees than that of the ARI, but he was the first to be given permission from above to convey to us the whole wisdom of Kabbalah. Baal HaSulam, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, interpreted all the places in the writings of the ARI that needed to be stripped of terms of time, space and motion.

How then, did Baal HaSulam refine the language to such a degree that now there is no room for the materialization of spirituality? He ‘only’ explained the ten sefirot, and nothing more. The first nine sefirot describe how the Creator relates to the creature, and the last sefira is Malchut – the creature himself. There is nothing in the whole of creation other than the inclusion of the Creator with the creature.

In the following example we will try to further understand what is the “language of the branches”. For example, scientists measured a certain level of influence that the outside world has over a certain person, through instruments that they connected to his sensory organs and to his heart, which is his vessel of reception for the reaction. That way they built charts and graphs that expressed the dependency between his inner reactions and outer stimulus. Afterwards they connected the source of the electric signals to his body and sent them to his mind, as they came from the real source. The person did not feel any difference, he took the signals as though they came from the actual source. They gave technical names to the experiments, you send this and that signal and get this and that reaction. That is how a scientific dictionary is created. That is also how Kabbalist-scientists operate. They perform experiments with the effect of the light of the Creator (the single source of all our emotions) on themselves, and afterwards they describe their reactions.

The Kabbalist is both a researcher and the object being researched at the same time. That is why he can describe his feelings in terms of an exact science, and not only through emotional expression such as poetry or music. That is why the Kabbalah is called the “wisdom of truth”, or a “Torah of truth”.

To a person in our world, who has not yet attained the spiritual world, there is a spiritual vessel in his heart called a “black point”. It is a spiritual point that is not physically in the heart, but only felt through it. If a person studies Kabbalah with the right teachers, he slowly begins to develop that point into a complete vessel, a spiritual partzuf. It is as though he expands that point, inflates it and creates a space in it, in which he will afterwards receive the spiritual light – the sensation of the Creator. The sensation of the Creator is called “light” and the spiritual partzuf is the “vessel” that can receive it. The size of the partzuf determines the spiritual degree of the Kabbalist. A name in Kabbalah (such as Moses) is used to indicate a degree that Moses the Kabbalist attained. Anyone who attains that degree will also be called by that name. Kabbalah does not deal in any way with a description of the physical body. Only the measurement of the revelation of the Creator determines the stature of the spiritual degree of a Kabbalist. When a Kabbalist reads in a Kabbalah book, he knows what he must do in order to raise himself spiritually. The acts that he performs in his spiritual body are called “mitzvot”. They are spiritual actions – “desires of the Creator” that one must follow in order to attain the light and feel the Creator.

That is why the books of Baal HaSulam can be studied without any danger of materializing the spiritual concepts, without picturing physical objects that operate on one another. We do not affect the spiritual world by the mechanical performance of the mitzvot. There is no connection between our physical acts and the spiritual world. The severity of the prohibition of idolatry is about materializing spirituality and not about bowing before some piece of wood or a rock. Such things are not even a topic for discussion. Idolatry is the materializing of the spiritual terms, as though spiritual powers dress in our body, or in a piece of flesh. Because of that danger there was the prohibition on the study of Kabbalah. Baal HaSulam conveyed the wisdom in his books in such a way that anyone could study it without materializing the spiritual concepts. Before his time, they were still not ready to accept it, and the Kabbalah was hidden. In fact, the purpose of the development of mankind is to bring it to feel and agree that there are things that we cannot feel, but do exist; that they are unseen, yet great, that there can be existence beyond time and space.

That will prepare mankind for the thought that such a thing as spirituality, that is not felt and that cannot be described, can still exist. Our collective experience is so great by now, that we are more willing to accept that anything is possible than ever before.

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

(înapoi la pagina ARTICOLE RAV M.LAITMAN – click)

Basics of Terminology

It is thought that since Kabbalah researches the root characteristics of the universe for basic categories of our world that transcend human imagination such as space, time, and movement, scientists/Kabbalists use abstract definitions as terminology. In fact, the actual state of affairs in our science is completely opposite to the above opinion. Kabbalah, being a practical method rather than a tool of research, uses names, titles, and terms only on the condition of their genuine correspondence to the objects and phenomena which they denote. There is an iron rule that a researcher/Kabbalist follows: “Anything that has not been attained cannot be designated by name”. The word attainment itself as a term is derived from the concept existing in one of the Kabbalistic texts “when your hand attains…”. This means that it is the necessary level of knowledge defined as attainment, when there is a correspondence of the feeling equalized to the reaction of the body. Kabbalah refers to the levels of knowledge that do not correspond to the given definition as comprehension, studying, and so forth.

At this point we should briefly touch upon the following question. The problem of attainment also implies the question about the depth of attainment: what exactly in the researched phenomenon, world, or object is available for attainment, and what levels of its existence will remain outside of the framework of any research?

From the most obvious examples of human contact with the environment, it becomes clear to us that the depth of the person’s attainment is limited by his needs. There are real, daily used forces and phenomena such as physical fields and waves of which man has not yet attained their essence. However, though not even cognizant of their essence, man has learnt, researched and used their qualities and thereby given them names. The names are given according to the perceptible manifestations of an object, or even more accurately, according to their impact on man. These words enter the everyday language and generate in everyone a cluster of associations connected with the sum of manifestations of the object. This may be limited due to what this particular man is familiar with, personally or through hearsay. That is to say, this sum of associations creates a sense of an object in a person.

This is the reality of anything that is defined by the reality of a sum of impacts of a given object on the researcher’s senses. This is true for the above reason and its researched manifestations as well as for the impact of objects and bodies of our world that affect our five senses. The knowledge of them is also limited by our familiarity with their impact on us. The sum of reactions of our sensors to this impact creates a complete and sufficient image of an object in our perception despite the absence of knowledge about the inner essence of a given object.

The same will be true regarding man’s self-knowledge. Everything the person knows about himself is a superficial manifestation of some inner essence with which he is unfamiliar.

In the process of studying the basics of a science, a person initially fills the grand repository of terms with images taken from textbooks. He believes these names to be the result of an impact of the phenomena they define on the specialists who or devices that have researched these phenomena. In the process of further advancement, the reality of these terms passes on to a higher level as a result of experiencing the influence of these factors through experimentation.

This principle is true for the researches of the worlds, Partzufim, and Sefirot for whom the experienced influence of the Upper force, called the light in Kabbalah, is a complete and sufficient basis for naming every level of manifestation of this Upper force.

Therefore, one of the rules of Kabbalah states: “Everything subject to assessment and deriving from the Upper force’s expression at the different levels of nature completely satisfies the researcher’s needs.” Thus, man never needs anything that is not in the nature of the universe, which is a manifestation of the Upper force.

“The Language of Branches”

One of the conclusions from the aforesaid is that a researcher is unable to give a name to the true material of elements of the first system called the spiritual worlds. This is because our language is an instrument of consciousness, which is born from a combination of feelings and ideas. In turn, they are a result of the world’s influence limited by the categories of space, time, and movement.

The research of scientists/Kabbalists has shown that the structure of all spiritual worlds is exactly the same, the only difference being in the “material”. The difference is in the state of the element of reception in them determined by a greater or smaller degree of remoteness from the state of equivalence with the Upper force.

Therefore, every following part is the manifestation of the Upper force at a particular level of the qualitative remoteness from its character, and being like the Upper force itself, it naturally represents its purpose at this level. In this capacity the part of the system (as joining of elements of reception and influence, i.e., the achieved goal), fully constitutes the Upper force for the lower part, giving birth to it and completely defining all of its qualities.

The absolute identity of the higher level to the lower and its ability to determine it are given by the scientists in the following or similar sentences: “A grass-blade’s destiny strikes it from the Upper world compelling it to grow and reach its purpose.”

All of this gave the scientists an opportunity to apply a special system of signs called the “language of branches” for conveying the information about the levels of creation that is beyond simple description. Every word in this system is semantically bound to an object or phenomenon of our world – the branch. To the person who attained the level on which the cause of this object exists – the root, it indicates the phenomenon or object of that level.

Such is the character of the language used by the scientists/Kabbalists for conveying the information necessary for the entire world. They pass it to one another, so that it could be used in the future generations both orally and in written form. This language is quite adequate, i.e., it fully satisfies the needs of everyone who desires to study the universe and participate in the realization of its purpose.

Thus, the integrated approach to the creation of terminology in Kabbalah consists in the principle of the language of branches based on the character of structure of the universe as the subject of this science.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a full list of other very important aspects of the Kabbalistic system of signs, such as conveying information through graphical inscription of the Hebrew letters, or through their numeric meaning, the so called Gematria. All of this is studied in a separate course. However, for this article we need to provide a concise glossary for some of the above-mentioned terms.

Our world

The complete and self-sufficient picture which is presented to our “desire to receive” through the combination of the five senses and consciousness generated by them.

Original cause (“The Creator”)

As it has been already mentioned, a phenomenon of influence, bestowal, the nature of which has no analogues in the universe, and realization of which is in a desire to receive, is referred to as the original cause in Kabbalah. The phenomenon is achievable only by changing the desire to receive with the help of a special method until it acquires a form of influence and reaches a condition of equivalence of form. Let us cite a few definitions of the Creator:

1. His nature is not an object of direct research because any research is possible only if the law of similarity of properties is observed. We can only research the effect of that law (it is known that one of the accepted methods of research is that an object with a set of given properties is exposed to some influence with unknown properties, which we estimate by the changes in the properties of the researched object);
2. His influence (the light) is constant, invariable; His state is defined as absolute rest, because movement is a function of the state of deficiency;
3. As a result of the act of creation, which left the receiving part devoid of filling His influence is felt as desired and good;
4. The Creator is sensed as one possessing personal qualities, because in the part of the universe that is most remote from Him, which is defined by scientists as concealment of the original cause or of the Upper Governance. The objects of the universe are aware only of their personal qualities; therefore, they are projected onto the so-called Reshimot, i.e., the residual effects of the primary state, which is the world of Infinity.

Existence

This is the realization of the material of creation, called the desire to receive, on different levels of proximity to the original cause. The existence of the original cause is indefinable due to the opposition of its properties to those of the researcher; only one or another aspect of its influence can be defined.

The Goal

This is the necessary component of existence. With its apparent assessed and transcendental objectivity of the goal, it is indeed a carrier of the existential content and plays the role of the determinative factor for the location on a certain level in the hierarchy of the universe.

This World

It is defined as the feeling of extreme remoteness from the original cause, of absolute inability of even minimal contact with it, while realizing its existence and longing to reveal it entirely.

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