Rabash, “The Meaning of Torah and Work on the Creator’s Path”: When one intends to study the Torah, he should keep the goal, the reason for which he intends to study, before his eyes. The goal, that is, the benefit which he wants to extract from the Torah is the Light that Reforms that’s in it.

Essentially, we don’t need anything else. We should imagine and attempt to feel that everything happens because of the Upper Light, that “there is none else besides Him,” that He is the ruler and the lord, and only He performs everything.

Therefore, we only need to desire and wait for His actions and their consequences. Our entire work consists of attracting His actions upon ourselves, feeling that we are the lower degree, while He is the Upper One, and becoming similar to the Upper degree, the Light. He will act upon us and make us similar to Him in as much as we will aspire toward Him, that is, desire to become like Him.

So it follows that our work is very simple. It’s not important what passage of The Zohar we are reading or what it is about; it’s not important how much we understand what we are reading. There exists a system of connection between us and the Upper Light, called “The Book of Zohar.” We have to utilize it and aspire to become similar to the Light during the study.

This desire will awaken the Light, and it will act upon us. Slowly, we will begin to feel the results of its influence.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Torah, Zohar - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Could we say that the great Kabbalists, who created a connection between the Creator and the created being and wrote books for us, created the method called a Torah?

My Answer: These great Kabbalists wrote books for us. However, they  are not actually books,  but rather a revelation of the connection between us and the Creator. The Kabbalists gave us an opportunity to grab onto this connection through letters and words, which are written down on sheets of paper; in this manner we can take part in this connection.

After all, what is a book and what are the words written in it? We don’t know what it is. Like infants, we touch something. And Kabbalists arranged it so that when we come into contact with a book, wishing to be connected to them through it, we use the force that they created through the connection between them.

It is true that they created the Torah through this. After all, the Torah is actually given to us to correct egoism precisely through these Kabbalists and the special souls who prepared for us this opportunity: their connection. If it weren’t for their actions, we would not be able to achieve our correction on our own, which is the connection between us.  Without the actions of the Kabbalists, we would not be able to rouse the reforming Light.

A simple physical law is in action: if you have the quality of bestowal, Light shines on you; if you do not have the quality of bestowal, Light does not shine on you.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand that without the revelation of the science of Kabbalah in the books, and without studying it, a person will not be able to rouse the reforming Light. He can try to fix his relationships with other people, wishing to build his wonderful world, but he will not receive the force of Light, the force of correction. One needs to be connected to a system that uses authentic books, a group, an understanding, and a connection according to the recommendations of Kabbalists. Otherwise, it is impossible to reach correction.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How To Read The Torah
Laitman.com Post: Shamati-The Most Valuable Book In The World
Laitman.com Post: The System Of Souls Allows The Flow Of Light Between Them
Interview With the Future: “From the Authentic Sources-The Torah and the Language of the Branches”
Shamati #66: “About Matan Torah”- Lesson

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: I’ve been reading your books for a while now. I grew up in a Christian family, but all my questions went unanswered. You mentioned many times that the Bible is not to supposed be interpreted literally because it is written allegorically. I was convinced of the same thing a long time ago. But why does the Bible use the notion of sacrifice for sin? Why is there a need for the commandments of the sin offering, considering that the most important belief in Christianity is that Christ offered himself in sacrifice for the sins of the world?

My Answer: The entire Bible (Torah) speaks about how to correct man’s egoism in order to reach the level of complete equivalence with the Creator. When the Bible enumerates all the possible sins, it is speaking of the revelation of the human ego.

This means that when a person reveals his own egoism, he feels that he is a sinner because he uses others for his own benefit. However, the Bible (Torah) also offers a solution, telling us how to correct our egoism. It explains the different levels of the ego (still, vegetative, animate and human) as well as the method of correcting the ego. More exactly, it tells us how to correct our intention from “for my sake” to “for the sake of others.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Is the Most Precise Language for Expressing Spirituality
Laitman.com Post: Why Are There So Many Words In the Torah?
Laitman.com Post: What Is Sin In Kabbalah?
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: It says in Beresheet 25:6: “But unto the sons of the concubines, that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts; and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.” What gifts did the sons of the concubines receive from Abraham? Where are these gifts?

My Answer: These gifts are all the beliefs and religions in the world, except Kabbalah. Kabbalah, however, is the sole method of egoism’s correction. The sons of the concubines did not wish to correct themselves and to be Abraham’s students, and therefore he sent them eastward - Kedma, to a source from which they would begin to return to Kabbalah.

By the way, the Torah does not speak about people in our world, but about spiritual forces. Therefore, the Kabbalists did not mean that a woman named Sarah gave birth to child named Isaac, for example. Rather, they meant that two spiritual Partzufim, called Abraham and Sarah (in Kabbalah they are generally called Father and Mother, Aba ve Ima), gave birth to their common, more advanced state, called Isaac.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Origin and Purpose of Eastern Teachings
The Path of Kabbalah: “The Birth of the Partzufim”
Article: “The Order of Creation”

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: What is your opinion on preparing the Torah scroll in order to bring it into the Temple?

My Answer: It is necessary to prepare the people to serve at the Temple so they will attain the quality of the Creator. Hence, the Torah scroll isn’t the most important thing. It’s because the Torah has been given to us for our correction, as written, “I created egoism and the Torah for its correction.”

The Torah scroll will not be beneficial if man isn’t corrected. So it’s best if you put your effort into the correction of people.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Difference Between Spiritual Correction and Ritual Observance
Laitman.com Post: Building the Third Temple
Introduction to the Book of Zohar: “Items 45-59″

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

Two questions I received on the study of spiritual texts:

Question: Can your teaching replace the study of Gemara? What is the connection between Gemara and the science of Kabbalah?

My Answer: Gemara is the continuation of the Mishna. Both are part of the Babylonian Talmud. All of these texts speak about the Creator and the creation, creation’s correction and attainment of the goal – similarity to the Creator. Other than this, there is nothing for a person to do in this world; it is the reason why he is here.

In order to explain this, Kabbalists used four languages: Tanach, Alachot, Agadot, and the language of Kabbalah. The language of Kabbalah is the most precise, and therefore it’s the one Kabbalists use most. Only occasionally do they resort to other languages. All of these texts speak only about the Creator’s actions. This is why these books are called “holy.” See Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence,” the section, “Four Languages are Used in the Wisdom of Truth,” and my article, “The Language of Kabbalah,” the section, “Four Languages.”

Question: After listening to your lessons for a long time, I finally reached the conclusion that you repeat the same thing over and over, just phrasing it differently. Do you do this intentionally, or is it just more convenient and acceptable for you not to reveal new things from the primary sources? For example, I have never heard you try to reveal new aspects of the Mikra (one of the Biblical primary sources). But you are a Kabbalist and should therefore see the inner meaning in these writings.

My Answer: At our lessons, we follow a certain program, just like Rabash’s students did. You can verify this with any of his students. I also discuss the weekly chapters of the Torah on my TV shows. All of these programs are available on the Internet.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How to Read the Torah
Laitman.com Post: To Pray Means to Reveal the Quality of Love and Bestowal Inside You
Interview: “Who is a Kabbalist”
Article: “The Secret Meaning of the Bible”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Introduction to the Book, The Tree of Life”, Item 1

Filed under: Torah - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Can you please remind all of us of the story about the student of a Kabbalist, who served the other students by preparing the study room, cleaning it and serving the students food and coffee, and how he had the highest spiritual attainment of all of them?

My Answer: This story is about Joshua, who helped Moses to teach his students by preparing the place of study and creating the necessary conditions. By helping his Teacher, he merited to become his successor, to be the spiritual leader of the nation.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Study, Work and Dissemination
Laitman.com Post: The Torah. The Book of Devarim. Chapter Vaetchanan
Laitman.com Post: Dates of the Torah’s Transmission from Moses to Our Days

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: In the article, “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)” Baal HaSulam quotes the sages, “The Creator offered the Torah to all the nations and in all the languages, but they didn’t accept it.” What does this verse mean?

My Answer: Usually a person only feels and is controlled by his natural egoism. In this case he is called “the nations of the world.”

If the point in the heart surfaces in him (the embryo of his soul, the future quality of bestowal and love for the neighbor), then because of his goal, he is called, “Straight to the Creator” (IsraEl, in Hebrew).

So what the sages meant is that if a person does not feel the point in the heart (if he still belongs to the nations of the world), then he does not need the Torah, the Light of Correction, since he does not feel a need for correction.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Israel Are Those Who Aspire Straight to the Creator
Laitman.com Post: Only People With the Point In the Heart Can Feel that Kabbalah Is the Salvation
Interview with the Future: “Two Parts to the Soul – Israel and the Nations of the World”
Talk: “The Birth of the Soul”

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: Why does the Torah justify Jacob when he lies to Esau? Esau comes to Jacob with open arms, yet Jacob turns away from him and tries to buy himself off with gifts.

My Answer: The Torah speaks about a person’s correction, whereby he becomes similar to the Creator. Jacob represents the intention of bestowal and Esau represents the will to receive, our egoism. Esau doesn’t understand that he always remains empty because his intention is “for the sake of himself,” and that only by changing it to the intention of “for others” will he instantly be filled by the Upper, eternal fulfillment – the Light. This is something egoism doesn’t understand, and that’s why a person must trick his egoism. He has to entice the ego to work on spiritual development by telling it that it will avoid suffering and to be filled by spiritual fulfillment and revelation.

This way, one’s egoism helps one to study Kabbalah, because it expects fulfillment from it. It studies Lo Lishma – for the sake of oneself. However, in the process of studying, connecting with friends, and thereby receiving the Light of Correction, the person ceases valuing the intention “for himself” and instead starts valuing the intention “to bestow” – for the sake of others, for the sake of the Creator.

This happens by virtue of the Light’s influence. And when one’s intention changes, he can begin to use his egoism (Esau) in order to receive for the sake of bestowal. This is how one attains eternal, perfect fulfillment. This maneuver is similar to the way we trick or entice a child to study, and eventually he comes to understand that it was done for his own good. This is how the Creator plays with each and every one of us.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Preface to the Science of Kabbalah. Items 13-16
Laitman.com Post: The Only Point of Freedom Is Your Reaction to the Creator
Laitman.com Post: The Goal of Creation Is Perfect Fulfillment
Article: “One Law”
Lesson on “The Introduction to the Book ‘From the Mouth of a Wise Man’”
Shamati #20: “LISHMA (for Her Name)”

Filed under: Torah - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Why do you say that the word Mashiach (Messiah) originates from the word Lishmoch – to pull? I think it originates from the word Limshoach – to anoint, and it refers to one who is anointed for service.

My Answer: To be anointed means to draw the Upper Light of Hochma upon a person. In our world, this Light is represented by oil. This is how a person ascends to a level required to serve the Creator.

This procedure was done by a prophet who was on such a high level that he could pull a person up to the spiritual level of service to the Creator. Kabbalah doesn’t talk about “whom, how and with what to anoint,” but tells us about the essence of this phenomenon: about the reception of the Upper Light that actually gives a person the force and right to be God’s anointed, to be close to the Creator. I “translate” these words to get directly to the essence of what is happening.

By the way, these letters are interchangeable in Hebrew. However, if you feel more drawn to corporeal anointment, then you should read the non-Kabbalistic explanations. Everything written in the Torah can be understood directly, as physical actions, and/or according to its true, inner meaning. Still, by understanding the text literally, one does not reveal its true meaning. It is because the Mashiach is the force of liberation from egoism, and not a person.

It says in the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar, Item 70: “Alas, these people, who make the spirit of the Messiah vanish from the world, so as never to return, make the Torah dry, without the moist of mind and knowledge, for they confine themselves to the practical part of the Torah, and do not wish to try and understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, to know and educate themselves in the secrets and the reason behind the Torah and Mitzvot…”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Coming of the Messiah
Laitman.com Post: The Messiah – the Force that will Correct the World
The Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Vision of Rabbi Chiya”, items 57-60

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →