November 28, 2024
Archive for July, 2014
July 27, 2014 at 7:30 pm · Filed under Articles, Books
What Moses Really Did
Moses was known for being different than other Kabbalists in that alongside the revelation that he obtained, he was ordered to make it known to the whole of humankind. That did not happen with previous Kabbalists. Since then, all Kabbalists form study groups.
Moses had seventy disciples, and Yehoshua Ben Nun (Joshua, the son of Nun) was the one who ultimately inherited both his wisdom and leadership. Moses did more than research the upper world. He dealt with the practical realization of his spiritual attainment in our world, such as the exodus from Egypt. With the wisdom he acquired and the upper forces he received from above, he was able to bring the people of Israel out of exile.
Moses’s task was to deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt and write a book with which any man could “conquer” the upper world and leave Egypt in the spirit—stop worshiping idols, objects, the sun, and other false gods. He wanted to enable people to obtain entry into the spiritual land of Israel, called the world of Atzilut—a world of eternity and wholeness. It is a situation that one attains inwardly, beyond the boundaries of time and space.
Why the Torah Isn’t What You Thought It Was
The method Moses introduced in his book is called Torah, from the word ohr (light). It contains instructions on how to use the light to enter the spiritual world, how to live for an eternal goal instead of the transient life we live in this world. With this book, a person can uncover the entire picture of creation, though he or she may experience just a tiny fraction of it. He or she can calculate correctly and attain the desired outcome, build his or her life toward the final goal, the one Moses wanted to attain. That is what a person who studies the method that Moses developed gradually achieves.
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July 26, 2014 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Torah Portion
Deuteronomy, 1:1-3:22
This Week’s Torah Portion | July 27 – August 2, 2014 – Tammuz 29 – Av 6, 5774
In A Nutshell
The portion, Devarim (These Are the Words) begins with a long speech that Moses makes before the people of Israel just before his death. The portion contains a historic review of the forty years in the desert, which Moses describes to the people of Israel.
The portion also deals with appointing the presidents of the tribes and the judges, the sin of the spies and the punishment, the relationships between Israel and Edom, Israel and Moab, and Israel and Amon, as well as the wars with Sihon and Og. Moses reinforces Joshua, son of Nun, as the next leader of the people of Israel, who is to lead them into the land of Israel.
Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman
From the cascading of the spiritual degrees and what we learn about the perception of reality, we know there is no world outside of us. All that exists are the spiritual states we go through, states that are depicted within us. Everything is within us, as it is said, “man is a small world.”
We move from state to state. Each state emerges out of its predecessor and is included in it. This is called a Partzuf (face). Each state contains what exists in the previous one, the Reshimot (recollections), impressions, and memories out of which it is born, and which it must now implement. Nothing comes out of thin air; everything relies on what precedes it.
These are the stages by which one ascends from the degree of the desert to the degree of the land of Israel. The degree of the land of Israel contains all the previous degrees, from Adam HaRishon (the first man, Adam), with whom the Torah begins. This is why we find that the Torah always repeats states described in previous books and extends them to the next, higher degree.
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July 25, 2014 at 7:30 pm · Filed under Articles, Books
Can Kabbalah Give Me Spirituality?
Because of our ability to absorb various pictures and impressions of the world around us, we can describe what we feel in this lifetime and create books from our experiences. But Kabbalah books describe what a person who experiences both the physical world and the upper, spiritual world at the same time feels, something that others do not perceive.
Such is the uniqueness of the books of Kabbalah. They describe things an ordinary person cannot feel, though they are attainable. A Kabbalist is not just a person who feels the upper world, but someone who can describe emotions in a clear language so that anyone can understand them. Thus, by studying these books, we will be able to nurture the missing senses inside us, the ones with which we will be able to feel the upper world to the point where we can see our past and future lives. After all, “there is no time in spirituality.” Through Kabbalah, we can all attain the sensation of the eternal upper world and live willingly in both worlds at once.
Why are the Books of Kabbalah Special?
There is a special force in books of Kabbalah: any person who studies them under the right guidance can attain the spiritual degree of the author. That is why it is crucial that we know which books to study. There are many books of Kabbalah, written in various styles and forms and written by Kabbalists at various degrees of attainment. We now know which of the books are the ones that help us enter the spiritual world and which of them direct us like a guidebook intended for a person lost in a foreign country.
Get Rid of Your Past Conception of What Spirituality Is
There are several ways to describe the spiritual worlds. The spiritual world and our own world are parallel. Everything in the spiritual world comes down to ours. All the events originate in the upper world. They descend from it to ours and clothe the suitable objects of this world very accurately.
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July 24, 2014 at 7:30 pm · Filed under Articles, Books
Ever Wonder What Is the Point of Life?
Out of all known creatures, the human being is the most complete. Yet it is the human who asks the eternal question, repeated in every generation: “What is the purpose of creation?”
Scientists have been trying to find the reason for our existence for centuries, and yet they have failed to find the answer. The question grows more and more acute with each passing generation, because the pains of the world only increase in time, and the struggle for survival continues. Hence, it is quite possible that the answer is not within our reach, and science simply cannot provide it.
Who Else Wants to Know What They Are Living For?
But the question is not just “Why do things exist?” but also “What am I living for?” The evolutionary processes of nature and living organisms astonish us with their inconceivable contradictions. For example, young animals mature in a matter of weeks or months, while humans need many years to grow. Only at the end of the process do you see that humans are the masters of creation; however, during the transitional phases, humans are much weaker than any other animal. If we did not know the final outcome, we would reach the opposite conclusion—that it is the young animal who will become the master of creation and the human who will lead a bitter life and die. It follows that we understand neither the meaning of our existence, nor the reason behind the evolutionary process.
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July 23, 2014 at 7:30 pm · Filed under Articles, Books, Perception of Reality
Why Your Continued Development Depends Upon Attaining Reality Itself
Unlike any other science, Kabbalah reveals to us the Upper World. This is why it is most often referred to as a “wisdom” instead of a “science.” The empiric, scientific approach of the wisdom of Kabbalah is based on the same research principles that apply to other fields of research. Kabbalah, too, regards the observer as the researcher and studies reality as it is sensed by a human being, from a subjective perspective. The uniqueness of the wisdom of Kabbalah compared to any other fields of human study is that the subject of its research is the higher part of reality.
The wisdom of Kabbalah enables one to attain the roots of reality, not just another segment of the whole, but reality at its highest levels, before we ever reached it. Attaining the roots of reality grants researchers control over events before they clothe in our world, and the ability to interfere and change them, to lead and guide them using their unique approach.
The Secret of the Elusive Sixth Sense
If we determine our desire in such a way that the entire reality will appear to us in the direction of bestowal upon the Creator, if we want to live in a reality where the five senses are devoted to a single aim, to delight the Creator, then in that state we will determine our attitude to reality in the realm and at the level of the “sixth sense.” This means holding an altruistic attitude to reality, which yields an entirely different characteristic to the reality perceived through the five senses. We will no longer attain a mere speck of reality, but its very root, ascending to the control room, the headquarters of reality.
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