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Archive for August, 2013
August 6, 2013 at 4:43 am · Filed under Articles, Books
“And God said: ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.’ And God created the great sea- monsters, and every living creature that creeps, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.’ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.”
The Act of Creation as Preparation for Man’s Complementary Role
The Book of Zohar depicts each day of Creation as “erection of halls” within man, the so-called “celestial chambers” (Heb. Heichalot—hollow spaces of desires). As the soul’s egoistic qualities become corrected, these hollow spaces gradually fill up with the Upper Light. This is what every person subconsciously aspires to. A gradual filling of the hollow spaces brings all souls to a state of complete correction and perfection.
As discussed elsewhere, the sacred writings were composed using “The Language of the Branches,” where the Creator’s forces are described with words from our language. In the book, Genesis, for instance, they are called fish, fowl and so on: “…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air.” As you read these lines, you should clearly visualize all the actions that you must carry out for your own correction.
Let’s look at the word “fish” (Dag), which stems from the word Daaga (concern). If you see this word in the text, know that it doesn’t allude to fish swimming in water (remember, also, that water denotes the Light of mercy), but to concern. What should you be concerned with? Only with growing closer to the Creator. There should be no other concern for you. These desires to enter the spiritual world are precisely what Genesis speaks of.
Correction with the Help of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
However, for the moment, we must keep in mind that all desires are within us. In their uncorrected form, they appear as objects in our world, but in their corrected form they are the Creator’s forces, governed by His Light.
So then, the Fifth Day alludes to the desires to be corrected first and foremost. This is because they are “easier,” that is, easier to correct: “…and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
Such is your path as well, dear reader—to separate within you egoistic desires, to which you can attach an altruistic intention, and thus try to correct them. To do that, first try to simply think about it. Think and read Kabbalistic books, primarily the books of Baal HaSulam, who took all the ancient Kabbalistic sources from the times of Abraham, Moses, and the ARI, and adapted them to our generation.
“What Does the Fifth Day in Genesis Mean?” is based on the book, The Secrets of the Eternal Book: The Meaning of the Stories of the Pentateuch by Semion Vinokur.
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August 4, 2013 at 5:54 pm · Filed under Articles, Books
“And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; (…)And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars. (…) And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.”
The human being (Adam) inside of you has not yet been born. This excerpt speaks only of creating the environment for his birth and life. What is an “environment”? It is forces—the Creator’s forces that will influence the person. They exist only to bring one to the goal of Creation—unification with the Creator and eternal happiness.
The Spiritual Environment
So, which forces were revealed on Day Four? “And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night.’”
The lights are to govern “night” and “day”—the states one undergoes on the path to the Creator.
“Day” refers to an ascent, when you are filled with confidence that you are on the right path, flying on the anticipation of the doors into the spiritual world opening up before you any second now. “Night” is a descent, when nothing brings joy and the spiritual world seems nonexistent or made up, and you ask yourself, “Why am I wasting my life on this nonsense?”
These questions are thrown at you by your ego. The ego finds the perfect moment to attack because it knows that if you endure, and break into the spiritual dimension, you will escape its rule. Naturally, the ego doesn’t want this, so these common questions abound, “Whom do you work for?” “Can you even see Him?” “Where is your reason?” “Look around, people are leading peaceful and pleasant lives, while you’re struggling toward an unrealizable goal!”
The Tools for Enduring the Night
There is only one thing to suggest: when “night” falls, make sure you are surrounded by people like you, who are seeking the path into the spiritual world. Friends who have the same goal as you will bear the brunt of the ego’s blow, and you will realize that alone, you are helpless, but together, you will endure.
Another useful advice is to go to sleep. What does it mean to “go to sleep?” It means to disconnect from all the pestering questions, block them out, and not look back. You “sleep” through this period.
It’s as if you cancel, nullify yourself, waiting it out as you gather your strength. You think no thoughts, make no actions or movements, and rightfully so. You know that morning is right around the corner.
“Morning” signifies a new ascent, a way out of the state of descent.
Going through Ascents and Descents in Order to be Born into Spirituality
You may ask, “Why does the Creator send us these ascents and descents?”
He sends us these states because without them there would be no advancement, as progress is possible only via a continual change of states.
Only by overcoming is a true person born, a real “man.” This notion refers to the “inner man.”
Also, if the Creator had placed you in a good state right away, He would crush you with His Light. You’d be deprived of any free choice, having become a slave to that state.
But the Creator doesn’t want a slave of the Light. He wants a friend, an equal, which you can become only if you go through all the states and choose the Creator of your own volition.
Your task is to feel the immortal soul behind the mortal bodies, whereupon all your questions will fade away instantly; then, you will see the goodness emanating from the Creator and His individual attitude toward every soul.
The Creator will push the human toward attainment of the spiritual world. To this end you need to identify yourself with your inner qualities, with the “human” in you. If you succeed you will pass through all the states that lie ahead together with Him. The “nights” and the “days,” the “mornings” and the “evenings” are spiritual states designed to bring you to Infinity, to life in the Upper World.
“What Is Day and Night in the Bible?” is based on the book, The Secrets of the Eternal Book: The Meaning of the Stories of the Pentateuch by Semion Vinokur.
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August 3, 2013 at 6:49 pm · Filed under Articles, Books
“And God said: ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.’ And it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree-bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.”
The Middle Line as the Combination of Altruistic and Egoistic Forces
Man’s correction is built precisely on the ideal combination of altruistic and egoistic qualities within his soul, the “heavens” and the “earth,” the Creator and the creature.
This correction is called moving along the “middle line.”
Our innate egoistic nature is called “earth,” or the left line.
The quality of the Creator, “water,” absolute bestowal is the right line.
The middle line is what we must create on our own, by combining the right and the left lines.
That is, we must combine the “water” with the “earth” in a complementary way, which would allow the two qualities to “bear fruit.”
First we ought to ask for rain and not a storm, since we are not yet capable of bestowing like the Creator. However, we are ready to gradually advance, starting with correcting our smaller egoistic desires, as it is written: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind.” Subsequently, rougher desires emerge, as in “and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind,” followed by even rougher desires … until our eyes fully open to the wonderful world that the Creator has prepared for us.
Growing the Tree of Life through the Study of Kabbalah
First we ought to “ask for rain” so that these two qualities (“water” and “earth”) combine to ultimately grow the “Tree of Life”—a spiritual person who perceives the whole universe, existing eternally and blissfully in all the worlds.
Eternally, because by identifying ourselves with an eternal soul instead of a transient body, we begin to equate your being with our soul, relegating the body to its true role—an ephemeral shell that simply accompanies it. This transition to identifying ourselves with the soul, rather than the body, is strictly internal, taking place as we gradually acquire the quality of bestowal through working correctly with the Kabbalistic books.
“Eternal Life through the Middle Line by the Study of Kabbalah” is based on the book, The Secrets of the Eternal Book: The Meaning of the Stories of the Pentateuch by Semion Vinokur.
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August 2, 2013 at 11:45 pm · Filed under Torah Portion
Deuteronomy, 16:18-21:9
This Week’s Torah Portion | August 4 – August 10, 2013 – Av 28 – Elul 4, 5773
In A Nutshell
The portion, Shoftim (Judges), continues to explain the Mitzvot (commandments) connected to the entrance to the land of Israel. The portion begins with appointing Judges to make the laws and officers to enforce them, so there will be true justice in Israel.
The portion describes the laws of the king, who must be chosen from among the people. The portion also deals with the prohibition to engage in witchcraft and turns the people to the true prophets. Finally, the portion teaches the people how they should conduct themselves in a time of war.
Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman
The Torah was given to every person, for one to correct oneself, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created for it the Torah as a spice.” Every person, whether or not one demands social justice, should first discover that one is filled with the evil inclination. We must discover that we are completely egotistical in order to perform our correction. Put differently, we need to discover that we are living as criminals.
During the High Holidays we say [1], “We are at fault; we have betrayed.” It is written about these words, “Keep far from a false word” (Exodus 23:7). We need to discover that it is we who have committed those transgressions. If we think what is written is overstated and is not a true depiction of who we are, it is a sign that we have not yet come to know who we truly are, and that we still need to discover the entirety of our evil inclination. This is when the Torah comes to us, because “the light in it reforms them.” That is, the Torah instructs us on how to elicit from it the light that will reform us, so we may achieve the love and bonding with others.
There is much work for us to do: We walk in the darkness, in the desert, in cries, in scrutinies, in raising MAN, in various transgressions, such as with the spies, and the waters of quarreling, until we reach the boundaries of the land of Israel. We correct ourselves until we can use our desires in order to bestow.
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August 2, 2013 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Definitions
Glossary of Terms Used in the Shoftim (Judges) Weekly Torah Portion
Judge
A judge is the one who decides.
Officer
Officers, as well judges, tend to the good influence on people.
Judgment and Justice
“Judgment” is a state in which one works above one’s great will to receive. “Justice” is a state in which one works only in favor of others, without any thought of self-gratification.
King
This is a state where a person has the strength to do what is required according to the Keter (crown), according to the Creator, upper force that appears.
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