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 →

A question I received: “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Why? What was the motive? What was the plan? How could the Creator make this world without thinking through all the consequences!? This is proven by the story of the flood where G-d said “I will blot out man whom I have created… for I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen 6:7) – as if He didn’t know this was going to happen.

My Answer: There are only two things in existence: the creation - the will to receive Light, and the Creator - the Light, the will to give pleasure. As long as the creation is equivalent to the Light and wishes to receive “for His sake,” in order to please Him - it receives the Light. And if the creation does not desire to act “for the sake of Creator,” then it is opposite to Him, because He desires to please the creation. Then the creation does not feel Him or His Light, but instead feels complete darkness, a black copy of the Light – our world.

“In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth” means that He created the qualities of bestowal and reception. What for? In order for man to intermix these qualities within and make a free choice about which of them to use: egoism or altruism. You can read the rest in my books (available for free download).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Source of Happiness
Laitman.com Post: Adhesion with the Creator, from the Primary Source Texts
The Path of Kabbalah - Chapter 2.1 “The Purpose of Creation”
The Secret Meaning of the Bible - “Seven Days of Creation”

 

 The Tree of Life [5:29m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: It’s written that the villain Bilam was a great prophet, like Moses. I understand that this is describing the desires that become revealed in a person, and Light cannot be revealed in uncorrected desires. But why is the most uncorrected desire, Bilam, not only able to reveal the Light, but even the level of a prophet? How could Bilam reach the level of prophecy while being in such an uncorrected state?

My Answer: It is written that Pharaoh knows the Creator, and that the villain Lavan embodies the complete Upper Light. Similar things are written about many other “evil” characters. The Torah talks about the spiritual roots of characters in our world, rather than their earthly manifestations. When you look at the root of their souls from the spiritual level, then you define who they are, even though in our world these characters play their roles unknowingly.

Pharaoh is equal and opposite to the Creator. This is similar to how there are four pure worlds of ABYA (worlds of the good forces of bestowal), and opposite them there are four impure worlds of ABYA (worlds of evil forces of reception). These two systems are opposite, parallel, and equal to each other in order to sustain the conditions of freedom of will for the souls.

The souls are equally influenced by both, and their choice lies in choosing the right environment in order to receive additional forces so as to prefer the right side - the good, bestowing side. It is written that at every moment one should see oneself as half-sinner and half-righteous, and the only way to tip the balance is by being impressed by the group. This is why it is so important for us to create the most complete virtual influence of the Bnei Baruch group on everyone who desires it.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Don’t Fight Egoism Alone - It Will Always Win!
Laitman.com Post: Only the Upper Light’s Influence Can Give You the Importance of the Group
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings”
Chapter from Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “The Return to the Creator”
Chapter from The Zohar: “The Vision of Rabbi Chiya”

 

 Video: Four Worlds [51:57m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: I don’t understand where we are in the Torah at the moment. We know that it speaks only about ourselves, and that the historical path is really a spiritual one that we all must go through. At different times you say that we are in different time periods of the Torah:

• In this entry we are Noah before the flood;
• In entries like this you talk about how we are at the foot of Mt. Sinai and we must come together to rise above it, which happens years after the Flood;
• And Mt. Sinai is after the Exodus from Egypt (or our egoism), so shouldn’t we have to do that first, before climbing the mountain?

So where are we exactly?

My Answer: Everywhere. You’ll find confirmation of this in Baal HaSulam’s and Rabash’s articles, because there is no time in the Torah – it talks about all of man’s states. We perceive our world within the framework of place-time-movement, but these three coordinates do not exist in the spiritual world!

This is why Kabbalah calls our world unreal or a dream. We perceive it through the part of Malchut that’s most detached from the Creator and has opposite qualities to Him. Each of our states may include several states described in the Torah, from different sections (times).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Time - Illusion or Reality?
Laitman.com Post: The Machsom Can Be Crossed Individually and As a Group
Shamati Article #50: “Two States”

 

 Physical and Spritual [3:52m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - 1 Comment →

A question I received: I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who creates Kabbalah Internet resources! I found Kabbalah on the Internet two years ago, and my life has made a 180 degree turnaround. I finally found my inner world, and all of the questions that haven’t given me a moment of rest since the day I was born have stopped bothering me. I started to understand the essence of things and the reasons behind the things that happen to me. Currently I work on disseminating video lectures and lessons on the Internet.

There is a question that has been bothering me for many years. What is the meaning of the Biblical verse, “A day for each year”? Does this have anything to do with corporeal time?

My Answer: This has absolutely no relation to corporeal time. When a person advances down the path of the Light’s influence on him, then he shortens his path, and this is like “A day for each year” (a day instead of a year). However, this isn’t a corporeal ratio.

There is only one way to ascend to a higher spiritual degree - through desire and love. (All of the Torah speaks only about this - one’s ascent up 125 degrees toward adhesion with the Creator.) However, when it comes to the first degree, one ascends to it from one’s absolutely egoistic properties (the degree called “our world” or “this world”). After the first degree, you no longer have to change yourself completely in order to ascend, but must only keep developing greater altruistic properties within you.

This is why the ascent to the first degree is the most difficult and takes the most time (although the higher you rise, the more difficult it gets; but experience and knowledge help you do this - see Baal HaSulam’s example about ascending up the Creator’s mountain). One’s development either happens through the path of suffering, or through the path of Light, which descends during Kabbalah study. So the verse “A day for each year” expresses the difference in the time it takes to attain the goal (the first degree) through suffering (without using Kabbalah) or through Light (using Kabbalah).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Conscious Acceleration Toward Life’s Purpose
Laitman.com Post: The Solution - Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: Chapter 7, “From the Afterword to the Zohar”

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: Can you say more about the meaning of man being created in the image of his Creator? Kabbalah says that image means imprint, as in an impression taken by a mold to make a mask or as in a signet ring, where the Upper Force is the ring design and mankind is the wax imprint which is opposite in form (or essence) to the Creator. It is much more common in my society to be taught that we are made in the image of God, like that is a good thing, as in the saying “he is the spitting image of his father.” The whole of Kabbalah seems to me to stand on this definition of the word “image,” so I believe it is very necessary to explain the definition of the Hebrew word for “image” in terms that come from the source texts, including Genesis.

My Answer: The Light (pleasure) imprinted itself in the desire, thereby creating a matching desire that wants to be filled by It. Then the Light revealed its “bestowing” essence to this “desire to be filled,” thus showing the desire Its opposite nature. This compelled the desire to become equivalent to the Light - to become “bestowing.”

We are the ones going through this process, whether involuntarily or voluntarily. We go through it involuntary until a desire to do it voluntarily awakens in us. We then involuntarily come to Kabbalah - the method of becoming similar to the Creator voluntarily.

When one begins to implement the equivalence to the Creator voluntarily, one then takes control of himself and his world. Everyone will attain this, whether by suffering or by understanding that it’s necessary, and then by realization and love.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Do You Turn a Bat Into a Rooster?
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Teaches Love and Bestowal, and Nothing Else
Article: “Matter and Form in the Science of Kabbalah”
Shamati #4: “What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels when Annulling before the Creator in the Work?”

 

 Episode 3 from "Kabbalah Revealed”: The Path of Pain & the Path of Torah and Mitzvot [24:41m]: Play Now | Download

 

 Episode 5 from “Kabbalah Revealed”: Introduction to the Four Phases of Direct Light [25:04m]: Play Now | Download

 

 Lesson on Shamati #243: Examining the Shade on the Night of Hoshana Rabbah [25:41m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: I have discovered that not only do red strings fail to help people, they are also absolutely forbidden by the Torah. It says in the book of Beresheet, the chapter Derech HaAretz: Rabbi Tzadok said: “הקושר על ידו חוט אדום הרי זה מרדכי האמורי” - “One who ties a red string around his hand is like an impure force against Mordechai (the property of Bina).”

Why is it that when you answer questions dealing with myths about Kabbalah, you always mention Tarot cards, red strings, yoga, and so on? Why do you never mention “channeling” which is so popular now? For example everyone knows about Lee Carroll’s numerous appearances at the UN, as well as his books. And there are many other people who practice other teachings that coincide with what you teach. I have no doubt that no one explains the structure of the universe in as much detail as Kabbalah, but still the other methods help “awaken” humanity, which is running late with its correction.

My Answer: I am not familiar with all the “spiritual” teachings, and I don’t plan on getting to know them. They all appear and then disappear. I don’t have the time or the desire to pay attention to them. If we were to systemize everything that our egoistic mind can invent, then we would see how meager it is.

I prefer the teaching of Kabbalah, which deals with practical entrance into the Upper World (I have tested it for myself). It is based on coming out of the nature of our world, instead of all the different religions and teachings of this world (this can also be seen from above, from the Upper World). I advise you to do the same.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: There are no Miracles
Laitman.com Post: All the People In the World Are Sick With the Same Illness
Kabbalah Today Article: What is (and is not) Kabbalah?
Chapter from Book The Kabbalah Experience: Beliefs, Mysticism and The Supernatural

 

 Video: This Isn't Kabbalah! [3:20m]: Play Now | Download

 

 Video: Miracles [4:37m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

A question I received: If every word in the Torah can be explained as “the will to receive” or “the will to bestow,” then why are there are so many different words in the Torah?

My Answer:
The Creator - The Creator is “the will to bestow” (Good, Doing Good, Loving, etc.). This is why He wanted to create the creation – in order to bestow upon it.

The Creation - The Creator made only one creation – “the will to enjoy” (the will to receive pleasure). “The will to receive” was created exactly opposite to “the will to bestow.” It is an imprint of the Creator, in order to be able to receive everything that the Creator wants to give to it.

The Plan of Creation - Pleasure comes directly (clearly) from the Creator to the creation and fills it. But besides this, the Creator indirectly (unclearly) influences the creation by prompting in it a “desire to become similar to Him” - to bestow. Hence, inside its fulfillment the creation discovers an additional desire - to “become similar to the Creator,” and it then decides to attain this state, setting in motion the process of correction. A part of the correction process occurs unconsciously for the creation (from above downwards), and a part of it happens consciously (through free will, from below upwards).

Instructions - All Kabbalistic sources constitute a description of both parts of the correction process, and they are written in four languages: the Torah, Halachah, Haggadah, and Kabbalah. They are recommendations for how to carry out the conscious part of this process in the best possible way. (The Torah comes from the word Oraa, instructions).

Correction - The initial conditions and the final goal together build a sequence of actions that’s intended to bring the initial “will to receive” to “the will to receive with the intention of bestowal.” The process of correction of the created “will to receive” breaks into pieces and a sequence of actions. This is what all Kabbalistic sources describe.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How To Read the Torah
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Revelation of Godliness” (Matan Torah)

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →

Questions I received on perception, mountains and poor people:

Question: Do animals and nature feel their “self”? Do they perceive reality differently than we do, or do they perceive limited reality like us?

My Answer: They live, but they don’t feel that they live. They don’t have a perception of their “self” or that it’s “their life.” They also don’t feel jealousy of others, but are concerned only with survival.

Question: If we exist in an imaginary reality that we create in our consciousness, then where are we all actually going?

My Answer: By gradually discovering that our reality is distorted, we unknowingly prepare ourselves for attaining the true reality. Science is discovering that matter and waves are the same thing. By studying our perceptions, we have discovered that solid can turn into liquid, and liquid can then turn into gas – a substance that’s imperceptible to our senses. But then the imperceptible gas becomes liquid and then solid again. For example, a piece of ice melts and evaporates, and then condenses into water and becomes solid ice again.

Reality is subjective and depends on our senses. We create it within us. All development is aimed at bringing us to the true state - “There is none else but Him.”

Question: What are mountains from the point of view of Kabbalah - for example Mount Miron and Mount Sinai?

My Answer: A mountain is a mass of egoism, because earth is desire (Aretz means earth, and it comes from the word Ratzon - desire). A mountain is a “protruding” desire. By rising to the top of the mountain – by rising above one’s egoism to the Creator, to equivalence with the Creator, one attains Him.

Question: The Bible very often speaks about poor people. What is a “poor person” in spirituality?

My Answer: In Kabbalah (the Torah) a poor person is one who does not have any knowledge of the Creator (Ani be Daat). It’s because knowledge of the universe and attainment of the Creator (of the only force in existence, the source of everything and the one who governs everything) - is the same thing. A wealthy person in Kabbalah (the Torah) is a one with a wealth of knowledge (of the Creator).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Writings of the Last Generation
Shamati #1: There is None Else Beside Him
Kabbalah Today Article: Camp Mount Sinai

 

 Video Clip: The Law of Equivalence of Form [4:10m]: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Torah - No Comments →