Messiah (Moshiach, Heb.) n.

The messiah is a spiritual force. It is the Light that penetrates self-aimed human desires to correct them so that they become altruistic, that is to say, identical to those of the Creator. In our world all spiritual forces are manifested in material garments.

For example Rabbi Shimon, the Ari and Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) represent a spiritual force radiating the Light of correction. This force appears in our world as a man, a Kabbalist, a professor, a book author. Therefore, the Messiah is a guide who becomes progressively accepted by humanity. Humanity will follow the path pointed by the Messiah because evil and suffering will be felt by all, and there will be no other way out. People stand on a level where they cannot imagine the coming of the Messiah as a Light but only as a human leader. But for Kabbalists, the Messiah is the spiritual force of correction (in the image of the world of AB SAG).

Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in “Selected Topics in Kabbalah“

We are continuing to post responses to the “Misconceptions of Kabbalah” competition…

ENTRY SENT BY JANNET: My encounter with Kabbalah was when I went to the library and out of curiosity borrowed the book entitled “Qabbalah Magic.” It told of what magic you can achieve and things you can acquire by performing all these rituals. However I didn’t finish the book as I felt it wasn’t what I was looking for.

Myth: Kabbalah Is All About Magic

FROM THE BOOK: It is a common mistake for people to think that Kabbalah deals with fortune telling, revelations of the past, and the study of the present. The definition of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to people in this world today, not after death. Perhaps some draw this parallel as a result of the perception of secrecy that surrounds Kabbalah.

Either way, Kabbalah has no connection to magic. In fact, Kabbalah forbids fortune telling or any attempt to find out about the destiny of the physical body. The body is temporary, negligible, and, thus, insignificant. It is not worthy of attention beyond the question of how it serves the soul.

pp. 55/6 in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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This World (Olam HaZeh, Heb.) n.

1. The sum total of sensations that a person receives through the five senses.
Source: The Perception of the World

2. The lowest level of entirely egoistic desire.
Source: The Perception of the World

3. The feeling of extreme remoteness from the original cause, of absolute inability of even minimal contact with it, while realizing its existence and longing to reveal it entirely.
Source: The Language of Kabbalah: Fundamentals of Terminology

4. Where the “desire to receive” reaches its final development and receives completely separated from the light.
Source: Pticha—Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, item 2

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The origin of the name “Babel” is the word Balal (Hebrew: confused, mixed), named after the confusion of the tongues (Genesis 11:9): “Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

Click here to view this definition in Kabbalah Today issue 4

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From Today’s Daily Lesson:

Student: It’s unclear how the Partzufim of BYA receive the Light of Hochma. Baal HaSulam doesn’t explain it.

Rav Laitman: That’s right. Baal HaSulam doesn’t explain it nor does he intend to. This is the problem: We think that Talmud Eser Sefirot (The Study of the Ten Sefirot) is an explanation of the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria).

Baal HaSulam doesn’t explain the Ari at all. He wants to direct us in how to study the Ari to reach the goal: to correct ourselves and then to discover what the Ari discusses in our Kelim (vessels/tools/receptacles), because you will never know otherwise.

It is literally impossible to bring you a picture of what is happening in the world of Atzilut. If he does explain, sometimes, that some things happen somehow by different technical actions, he also doesn’t intend to give a technical explanation so that you will learn that the will to receive and the will to bestow need to be in mutual bestowal to one another, that the Upper Light will correct the will to receive, and so on and so forth.

Why would he explain spirituality? It’s impossible to depict. At the end of it all, Baal HaSulam strives so that you will direct yourself toward revelation by the explanation. This is his entire hope; that you will reach him by your own corrections, and then you’ll discover what is being discussed.

If your Kli (vessel/tool/receptacle) is not on a degree that is written here, in the same state as the world of Beria, Yetzira or Atzilut, then you won’t understand what is written, in each and every sentence. So you have to be brought. His entire trouble is to bring you there. Not to simply “blah blah” talk about it. It’s not a world where I can tell you about a certain state, a certain place and you depict it and imagine it to yourself…

This is how it is in our world, however, in the spiritual world you’re incapable of imagining it. It’s the opposite; it’s not worthwhile for you to imagine it, because all these imaginations give you satisfaction. Therefore, he has completely no intention of bringing you any knowledge—only Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light), as he mentions in item 155 of “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in the lesson on Talmud Eser Sefirot (The Study of the Ten Sefirot), Volume 6, Part 16, item 107: wmv video | mp3 audio (55 min)

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