November 29, 2024
Archive for August, 2015
August 18, 2015 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Altruism, Articles, Books, Ego, Perception of Reality
The Need to Avoid Certain Influences
Those of us who strive to ascend spiritually must avoid extraneous influences and protect personal convictions that have not yet matured, until we receive the necessary perceptions that can support us. The main defense and distancing must be aimed not at those people who are far from Kabbalah, since they can only transmit indifference or utter, at most, negativity, indicating a great divergence from the state of the person involved in spiritual ascent. The defense must be aimed at the people who are supposedly close to Kabbalah.
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August 15, 2015 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Torah Portion
Deuteronomy, 16:18-21:9
This Week’s Torah Portion | Aug 16 – Aug 22, 2015 – 1 Elul – 7 Elul, 5775
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 12, 2015 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Articles, Books, Perception of Reality
Spiritual Names Vs. Corporeal Names
The Kabbalistic names, though they were taken from our world, signify completely different objects and actions in the spiritual world, unrelated to those of this world. It is true that the spiritual objects are the immediate sources of the objects found in this world.
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August 11, 2015 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Altruism, Articles, Books, Ego, Perception of Reality
Working for Self-Gain Provides Fleeting Pleasures
The first stage we go through when trying to understand the purpose of creation is working on ourselves for personal gain (“not for His name”) since there are many ways to feel pleasure—eating, playing games, receiving honors and glory, etc. These methods, however, allow us to feel only small and fleeting pleasures. The motivations behind such actions are “for the self.”
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August 10, 2015 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Altruism, Articles, Books, Ego, Perception of Reality
Perception of Life Is Contingent upon Pleasure
Life is considered to be a state in which we perceive desires for attaining pleasure, either from receiving or from giving. If the desire to attain pleasure disappears, then the new state is that of unconsciousness, fainting, or death. If we are in such a state that we clearly see and feel that we cannot receive any more pleasure, for example because of the shame that we feel for past actions.
If we suffer so much that even the smallest pleasure we get out of life is neutralized, then we will no longer feel like living. Thus, by means of the surrounding environment, enemies, bankruptcy, or failure in one’s work, those who are ascending spiritually may experience sensations of hopelessness, despair, and a complete lack of meaning of existence.
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