Why Do We Suffer? Part 1

Question: Suffering is an integral part of our lives, no matter how much we try to live well. What is suffering, and why do we suffer?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah considers everything, starting from the bases of creation, of which there are two in nature.

First is the Light, the force of love, bestowal, and unity that is called the upper force, the Creator (Boreh), which means “come and see” (Bo-re), because we must reveal it. This force created the creature, the desire to enjoy, the lack of fulfillment.

The Upper Light develops a desire and forms it as a need for all sorts of fulfillments. All creatures, including ourselves, are various desires. Human desires can be divided into six types: food, sex, family, money, honor, and knowledge. Each person feels a natural need for all of these fulfillments, but in different proportions.

If a person lacks these fulfillments, he feels suffering, emptiness, and even pain. Sometimes, this suffering is so strong that it becomes unbearable.

Food, sex, and family are desires of our body, natural instincts that are inherent to all animals. Money, honor, and knowledge—that is, the desire for power, fame, position in society and in science—are purely human desires.

The source of suffering is the lack of fulfillment of these desires. When the Light doesn’t fill the desire, it begins to suffer. Suffering can be big or small, lengthy or instantaneous, general or personal, and so forth.

The wisdom of Kabbalah states that it has a method to get rid of suffering. Not by chance is it called the wisdom of Kabbalah, which means the wisdom of receiving because it teaches how to fulfill all desires.

On the one hand, this is a very popular topic, but on the other hand, this wisdom is hidden. If people knew that there is a method that enables us to fulfill our desires and become completely happy by getting rid of suffering, from the smallest to the largest, global, and universal ones, then, it might seem what could be better than this?

Indeed, there is nothing better. If we used the wisdom of Kabbalah, then we would be able to fulfill all of our desires, all the created material of creation, and feel in it only pleasure and eternal fulfillment that is called eternal life. Suffering would disappear from the world and we would be completely happy.

Conversely, all other ways and attempts to avoid suffering and fulfill ourselves will end in an imminent collapse.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 6/23/16