The Acting Mind

Every person is obliged to attain the root of his soul. This means that the aspired-for purpose of the created being is Dvekut (adhesion) with His qualities, “As He is merciful, etc.” His qualities are the Holy Sefirot, and this is the acting mind that guides His world and by which it allots them His benevolence and abundance.

But we must understand why this is called, “Dvekut with the Creator,” as it seems to be mere study. I shall explain it with an allegory: In every act in the world, the mind of its operator remains in that act. In a table, one can attain the carpenter’s dexterity and deftness in his craft, whether great or small. This is so because while working, he built it according to his mind, the qualities of his mind. And one who observes this act and considers the mind imprinted in it, during this act, he is attached to the mind that performed it, that is, they actually unite.
This is so because in fact, there is no distance and cessation between spirituals, even when they are in distinct bodies. But the mind in them cannot be distinguished, since what knife can cut the spiritual and leave it separated? Rather, the main difference between spirituals is in their qualities – praiseworthy or blameworthy – and the composition, since a mind that calculates astrology will not cling to one that contemplates natural sciences.
And there is great diversity even within the same teaching, for if one exceeds another in even one element, it separates the spirituals from one another. But when two sages contemplate the same teaching and bear the same measure of sagacity, they are in fact united, for what separates them?
Hence, when one contemplates another’s action and attains the mind of the sage who performed it, they have the same mind and power. Thus, now they are completely united, like a man who met his beloved friend on the street, he embraces him and kisses him, and for their utter unity, they cannot be separated.
Hence, the rule is that in the Speaking, the mind is the best-adjusted force between the Creator and His creatures. It is considered the medium, meaning He conferred a spark of that force, and through that spark, everything returns to Him.
And it is written, “In wisdom hast Thou made them all,” meaning that He created the whole world with His wisdom. Hence, one who is rewarded with attaining the manners by which He had created the world and its conducts is adhered to the Mind that performed them. Thus, he adheres to the Creator.
This is the meaning of the Torah being all the Names of the Creator, which belong to the creatures. And by their merit, the creature attains the Mind that affects everything, since the Creator was looking in the Torah when He created the world, and one achieves illumination through Creation and forever cleaves to that Mind; thus, he is adhered to the Creator.
Now we understand why the Creator has shown us His tools of craftsmanship. For do we need to create worlds? But from the above-mentioned, we gather that the Creator has shown us His conducts so we may know how to adhere to Him, which is “cleaving unto His qualities.”

more...

Exile and Redemption

Harmony between religion and the law of development or blind fate

"And among these nations shalt though have no repose."

Deuteronomy 28:85

"And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; in that you say we will be

as the nations, as the families of the countries."

Ezekiel 20:32

Abbreviated version of this article by Dr. Michael Laitman »

The Creator will evidently show us that Israel cannot exist in exile, and will find no rest as the rest of the nations that mingled among the nations and found rest, and assimilated in them, until no trace was left of them. Not so is the house of Israel. This nation will find no rest among the nations until it realizes the verse, “And from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him for you will demand him with all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
This can be examined by studying Providence and the verse which states about us, “The Torah is true and all its words are true, and woe to us as long as we doubt its truthfulness.” And we say about all the rebuke that is happening to us that it is chance and blind fate. This has but one cure—to bring the troubles back on us to such an extent that we will see that they are not coincidental but steadfast Providence, intended for us in the Holy Torah.
And we should clarify this matter by the law of development itself: the nature of the steadfast Guidance that we have attained through the Holy Torah, as in the path of Torah in Providence (see “Two Ways”), a far more rapid development than the other nations has come to us. And because the members of the nation developed so, there was always the necessity to go forward and be extremely meticulous with all the Mitzvot of the Torah. And because they would not do it, but wished to include their narrow selfishness, meaning the Lo Lishma, this developed the ruin of the FirstTemple, since they wished to extol wealth and power above justice, as other nations.
But because the Torah prohibits it, they denied the Torah and the prophecy and adopted the manners of the neighbors so they could enjoy life as much as selfishness demanded of them. And because they did that, the powers of the nation disintegrated: some followed the kings and the selfish officers, and some followed the prophets. And that separation continued until the ruin.
In the SecondTemple, it was even more conspicuous, since the beginning of the separation was publicly displayed by unvirtuous disciples, headed by Tzadok and Bytos.Their mutiny against our sages revolved primarily around the obligation of Lishma, as our sages said, “Wise men, be careful with your words.”Because they did not want to retire from selfishness, they created communities of this corrupt kind and became a great sect called “Tzdokim,” who were the rich and the officers, pursuing selfish desires unlike the path of Torah. And they fought the Prushim and brought the Roman kingdom’s rule over Israel. They are the ones who would not make peace with the imperious, as our sages advised by the Torah, until the house was ruined and the glory of Israel was exiled.

The Difference between a Secular Ideal and a Religious Ideal

A secular ideal stems from humanness and hence cannot raise itself above humanness. But a religious idea, which stems from the Creator, can raise itself above humanity. This is because the basis for a secular ideal is equalization and the price of glorifying man, and he acts to boast in the eyes of people. And although one is sometimes disgraced in the eyes of one’s contemporaries, one still relies on other generations and it is still a precious thing for him, like a gem that fuels its owner although no one knows of it or cherishes it.
A religious idea, however, is based on glory in the eyes of God. Hence, he who follows a religious idea can raise himself above humanness.
And so it is among the nations of our exile. As long as we followed the path of Torah, we remained safe, for it is known to all the nations that we are a highly developed nation and they wanted our cooperation. They exploit us, each according to their own selfish desires. Yet we still had great power among the nations, for after all the exploitation, there still remained a handsome portion left for us, greater than for the civilians of the land.
But because people rebelled against the Torah in their aspiration to execute their selfish ploys, they lost life’s purpose, meaning the work of God. And because the sublime goal was swapped for selfish goals of life’s pleasures, anyone who attained fortune raised his own goal with glory and beauty. And where the religious man scattered his monetary surplus on charity, good deeds, building seminaries, and other such collective needs, the selfish ones scattered their surplus on the joys of life: food and drink, clothing and jewels, and equalized with the prominent in every nation.
By these words, I only mean to show that the Torah and the natural law of development go hand in hand in wondrous unity even with blind faith. Thus, the bad incidences in the exile, which we have much to tell of from the days of our exile, were all because we embezzled the Torah. And if we kept the commandments of the Torah, no harm would come to us.

Congruity and Unity between Torah and Blind Faith, and the Development of Human Calculation

Hence, I hereby propose to the House of Israel to say to our troubles, “Enough!” and at the very least, make a human calculation regarding these adventures that they have inflicted us time and time again, and here in our country, as well. We wish to start our own policy, as we have no hope of clutching at the ground as a nation as long as we do not accept our holy Torah without any extenuations, to the last condition of the work Lishma, and not for oneself, with any residue of selfishness, as I have proven in the article “Matan Torah.”
If we do not establish ourselves accordingly, then there are classes among us, and we will undoubtedly be pushed right and left as all nations are, and much more. This is because the nature of the developed is that they cannot be restrained, for any important notion that comes from an opinionated person will not bow its head before anything and knows no compromise. This is why our sages said, “Israel is the fiercest of the nations,” as one whose mind is broader is most obstinate.
This is a psychological law. And if you do not understand me, go and study this lesson among the contemporary members of the nation: While we have only begun to build, time has already disclosed our fierceness and assertiveness of the mind, and that which one builds, the other ruins.
…This is known to all, but there is only one innovation in my words: They believe that in the end, the other side will understand the danger and will bow his head and accept their opinion. But I know that even if we tie them together in one basket, one will not surrender to the other even a little, and no danger will interrupt anyone from carrying out his ambition.
In a word: As long as we do not raise our goal above the corporeal life, we will have no corporeal revival because the spiritual and the corporeal in us cannot dwell in one basket, for we are the children of the idea. And even if we are immersed in forty-nine gates of materialism, we will still not give up the idea. Hence, it is the holy purpose of for His name that we need.

more...

600,000 souls

It is said that there are 600,000 souls, and each soul divides into several sparks. We must understand how it is possible for the spiritual to divide, since initially, only one soul was created, the soul of Adam ha Rishon.
In my opinion, there is indeed only one soul in the world, as it is written (Genesis, 2:7), “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” [1] The same soul exists in all the children of Israel, complete in each and every one, as in Adam ha Rishon, since the spiritual is indivisible and cannot be cut—which is rather a trait of corporeal things.
Yet, saying that there are 600,000 souls and sparks of souls appears as though it is divided by the force of the body of each person. In other words, first, the body divides and completely denies him of the radiance of the soul, and by the force of the Torah and the Mitzva, the body is cleansed, and to the extent of its cleansing, the common soul shines upon him.
For this reason, two discernments were made in the corporeal body: In the first discernment, one feels one’s soul as a unique organ, and does not understand that this is the whole of Israel. And this is truly a flaw; hence, it causes along with the above-mentioned.
In the second discernment, the true Light of the soul of Israel does not shine on him in all its illumination force, but only partially, by the measure he has purified himself by returning to the collective.
The sign for the body’s complete correction is when one feels that one’s soul exists in the whole of Israel, in each and every one of them, for which he does not feel himself as an individual, for one depends on the other. At that time, he is complete, flawless, and the soul truly shines on him in its fullest power, as it appeared in Adam ha Rishon, as in “He who breathed, breathed from within Him.”
This is the meaning of the three times of a person:
1. A spark of a soul, the act by way of sparkling, as in prohibiting and permitting.
2. A particular soul, one part out of 600,000. It is permanently completed, but its flaw is with it. This means that its body cannot receive the whole of the soul, and feels itself as being distinct, which causes him much pains of love.
Subsequently, he approaches perfection, the common soul, since the body has been cleansed and it is entirely dedicated to HaVaYaH and does not pose any measures and screens and is completely included in the whole of Israel. … …
We learned that “if even one man came before his Master in complete repentance, the Messiah King would come at once.” It seems to mean, as they said (Song of Songs, 1), “Moses is equal to 600,000.” We need to understand it, since this would mean that there are twice 600,000 souls—the soul of Moses and the soul of Israel.
But the truth is that there is no more than one soul, as it is known by the measure of each and every soul that purifies and cleanses itself from its filth. Hence, when all the souls are corrected, they will draw onto them the entire Higher soul of Atzilut, to each and every soul, since the spiritual is indivisible. At that time (Zechariah, 14:9) “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.” Hence, while even a single soul is denied of complete purity, the extension of Kedusha (Holiness) will be deficient in every soul from Israel.
And when a single soul from Israel is purified from all its filth, it will draw onto itself the whole of the soul of Atzilut, and through it, all the souls of its generation will be completed. This is the meaning of one being dependent on the other, as it is written (Sanhedrin, 11), “It was befitting that Divinity would be upon him, but his generation was unworthy of it.”
The content of the words is unanimously bewildering, that the same soul that was rewarded with purification immediately strives to increase the grace of the generation and asks for them, until it elevates its entire generation to its merit.
This is the meaning of “Moses is equal to 600,000.” Because he was their loyal shepherd, he had the same Kedusha (Holiness) that the whole generation had.
Indeed, the whole is found within each item, since in the end, all the souls will unite into one discernment, returning to their spiritual root. Hence, all the miracles and wonders and all the journeys they had travelled throughout the world during the 6,000 years should be experienced by each soul. The good soul draws to itself from all the discernments of Kedusha before it and after it; and the evil soul does to the contrary.
And the changing times are considered generations. However, each generation behaves as its judge, by the mind that judges it, since it receives from the Kedusha of that time.
For this reason, each soul is willing to draw the souls of Moses, Aaron, Samuel, David, and Solomon within it, as times that it experiences. During the exit from Egypt and the reception of the Torah, the soul of Moses appears on it; during the seven of the conquests, the souls of Joshua; and during the building of the Temple, the souls of King Solomon, etc.
This does not refer to the above-mentioned souls in particular, but according to the rule that we said that the spiritual is indivisible, as soon as one is rewarded with a soul, he is rewarded with the soul of the whole of Israel, though according to one’s merit and place. Hence, at a time when one is rewarded with these wonders, one receives into himself the abundance of the soul in that disclosure, hence the name of the owner of that disclosure is upon him.
And they said (Shabbat, 67; Baba Metzia, 113), “All of Israel are sons of kings. Also (Jerusalem Talmud, Masechet Horaiot (Instructions), 3, 5), “A king that dies, all of Israel are worthy of kingship.” This is a great secret, for in all the previous generations, which were but a preparation for Malchut (kingship), special Kelim (vessels) were required for anointment of their judges, such as the souls of Moses and Samuel. But the final purpose depends on the whole of Israel, since when a tiny part of a tiny spark is missing, the end will not be able to appear. Hence, all of Israel are worthy of kingship, since everyone is equal in this true discernment.
For this reason, there is no special Kli (vessel) for drawing that perfection, but anyone who cleanses and purifies his soul to be worthy of extending the revelation of Malchut in the world will literally be called “King David.” This is the meaning of “David, King of Israel, is indeed alive,” for he has not died at all. His Kli is within each and every soul from Israel. This is not the case with the soul of Moses, which is found only in the wise disciples in the generation, as well as in prophets and priests.
This is the meaning of (Jerusalem Talmud; Masechet Horaiot, 3, 5) “A king that dies, all of Israel are worthy of kingship.” This is also the meaning of exempting the public.
This is the meaning of (Sutah, 49), “At the time of the Messiah, Chutzpah (impudence) will mount,” and (Isaiah, 3:5) “the child shall behave insolently against the aged, and the base against the honorable.” This means that even an ignoble child will dare to extend His kingship to the world, as though he were one of the elders and the honorable in the generation.
Should the ignoble, too—one who has a lowly and base soul at its root—aim his heart and purify his deeds to become worthy, he will be rewarded with extending the whole of the soul of a holy nation in his soul, with all the wonders that the holy nation has tasted thus far. This is because they were all but preparations for this wholeness.
Hence, even that particular soul must taste everything, and he will buy his world in an hour due to the ability of that generation to extend the crown of His kingship, which contains everything: “And all need the owner of the needles, and every element in it is required” (Berachot, 64; Baba Batra, 145).
This is the meaning of their words: “Even if one man came before his Master in complete repentance, the Messiah King would come at once.” This means that whoever it was, even if it were only one man in the generation who was rewarded with extending that soul by himself, he will be able to reward his whole generation, since all who are obliged, exempt the public through their duty, and he can do much praying and hold his own until he rewards his entire generation.
This is not so with other kinds of redemptions, which were only in the form of preparations and did not belong to each and every one. For example, the giving of the Torah belongs specifically to the generation of the desert and to Moses. And any other generation, even if they were more worthy, did not extend that discernment, and neither did any other person besides Moses, for one they were interdependent.
However, the Messiah is ready for each and every generation. Because of that, it is also ready for each and every person to extend the discernment of the Messiah, as in “All who are obliged,” as mentioned above.
And the reason is that anointments concern the correction of the Kelim, and the portrayal of all the Kelim as equal, since any division between them is only in their HBD, by their measures. Hence, from the minister who sees the King’s face to the one who sits behind the grindstone, all are equal servants in bringing back the old glory, and in that, there are no degrees between one another.

more...

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part One, Histaklut Pnimit [32]

First, you must know that when dealing with spiritual matters that have no concern with time, space and motion, and moreover when dealing with Godliness, we do not have the words by which to express and contemplate. Our entire vocabulary is taken from sensations of imaginary senses. Thus, how can they assist us where sense and imagination do not reign?
For example, if you take the subtlest of words, namely “lights,” it nonetheless resembles and borrows from the light of the sun, or an emotional light of satisfaction. Thus, how can they be used to express Godly matters? They would certainly fail to provide the reader with anything true.
It is even truer in a place where these words should disclose the negotiations in the wisdom in print, as is done in any research of wisdom. If we fail with even a single inadequate word, the reader will be instantly disoriented and will not find his hands and legs in this whole matter.
For that reason, the sages of the Kabbalah have chosen a special language, which we can call “the language of the branches.” There is not an essence or a conduct of an essence in this world that does not begin in its root in the Upper World. Moreover, the beginning of every being in this world starts from the Upper World and then hangs down to this world.
Thus, the sages have found an adequate language without trouble by which they could convey their attainments to each other by word of mouth and in writing from generation to generation. They have taken the names of the branches in this world, where each name is self-explanatory, as though pointing to its Upper Root in the system of the Upper Worlds.
That should appease your mind regarding the perplexing expressions we often find in books of Kabbalah, and some that are even foreign to the human spirit. It is because once they have chosen this language to express themselves, namely the language of the branches, they could no longer leave a branch unused because of its inferior degree. They could not avoid using it to express the desired concept when our world suggests no other branch to be taken in its place.
Just as two hairs do not feed off the same foramen, we do not have two branches that relate to the same root. It is also impossible to exterminate the object in the wisdom that is related to that inferior expression. Such a loss would inflict impairment and confusion in the entire realm of the wisdom, since there is no other wisdom in the world where matters are so intermingled by cause and effect, reason and consequence as in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Matters are interconnected and tied to each other from top to bottom like one long chain.
Thus, there is no freedom of will here to switch and replace the bad names with better ones. We must always provide the exact branch that points to its Upper Root, and elaborate on it until the accurate definition is provided for the scrutinizing reader.
Indeed, those whose eyes have not been opened to the sights of Heaven, and have not acquired the proficiency in the connections of the branches of this world with their roots in the Upper Worlds are like the blind scraping the walls. They will not understand the true meaning of even a single word, for each word is a name of a branch that relates to its root.
Only if they receive an interpretation from a genuine sage who makes himself available to explain it in the spoken language, which is necessarily like translating from one language to another, from the language of branches to the spoken language. Only then will he be able to explain the spiritual term as it is.
This is what I have troubled to do in this interpretation, to explain the ten Sefirot as the Godly sage the Ari had instructed us, in their spiritual purity, devoid of any tangible terms. Thus, any beginner may approach the wisdom without failing in any materialization and mistake. With the understanding of these ten Sefirot, one will also come to examine and know how to comprehend the other issues in this wisdom.

more....

There’s Nothing Sweeter Than Feeling The Creator’s Embrace | Laitman.com

♥ ...then we will begin to feel Him, unite with Him, and feel His embrace. ♥

There’s Nothing Sweeter Than Feeling The Creator’s Embrace | Laitman.com