How Kabbalah Develops a New Sense of Reality

Hello dear friends - thank you for the wonderful preparation for the lesson. It really brings us to a different place before we begin the lesson. This is part of our principles - to create a corridor to leave all our other desires behind before we get into the lesson.

Today we're reading from the article >> The Essence of Religion Is to Develop in Us the Sense of Recognition of Evil.

We'll open with an introduction from Rav:

What does he say? "The outcome of this, which is our ultimate goal is to prepare us for His devotion." That is, this is the whole purpose of religion, to bring us to devotion. And then we will now see "the essence of religion is to develop in us the sense of knowing evil," to the extent that we are not in devotion and to the extent that we can come closer to devotion.

That is, only towards this.. If the goal of our entire existence is to reach from the opposite of the Creator to resemble Him, then only towards this we must now develop our senses, and our values, and our measurements and sensitivity. Only towards this. More or less to devotion with the Creator. And then what is the benefit of this? To request..

"The essence of religion is to develop in us the sense of knowing evil"

What is bad and what is good towards devotion? The closer to devotion or being in more devotion, if we can say so, the closer to the Creator, the better. The less of Him, the bad. That I should feel this good and bad both intellectually and emotionally, in everything possible, so that it would be clear to me where I am at any given moment and where my direction might be. In what direction I am also. In a good state, more or less, and in what movement, where. Michael Laitman

Rav explained that the whole purpose of our existence is to go from a state where we're opposite to the Creator to becoming similar to Him. So that's also the purpose of our lesson here. To ask the Creator to help us feel what it's like being similar to Him. He is in about bestowal and love, which is why He is whole and eternal. And we want some of that to drip into our hearts. This is why we're studying, right?

Rav says that if our whole purpose of existence is going from being opposite to the Creator to like Him - we must develop our senses in this direction. What's amazing in the wisdom of Kabbalah that Michael Laitman teaches us, is that it's the wisdom of truth. From the moment the ear opens up to hear it, you discover that there is nowhere to escape to. Because it causes you to be very precise about where you are right now, and where you want to get to. But we don't have senses for that because our senses are always focused on pleasure - on which pleasure is pulling me in a certain direction. Money, food, honor, intelligence, respect, etc. I'm drowning in desires. But if you stop and ask yourself what the meaning of your life is, meaning what you want to achieve here - that's all you need.

Baal HaSulam, Rabash and Rav Laitman are always guiding us very precisely on this point. It's not faith based where you believe in reward and punishment. What you're doing right now is the reward and punishment. What you're doing right now is the result of what will happen as well. You chose a good environment - you'll have good thoughts, good feelings, you'll be connected to the Creator. Everyone at their own degree. You chose a lesser environment or the complete opposite - enjoy it, until once again you're reminded from Above that there's a purpose to life. And you'll start all over again. That's what we call a reincarnation. This is why it's so precise.

In the previous lesson we spoke about there being Purposeful Providence. People play the lottery because they believe there is something that can change the natural laws in their favor - it's completely irrational but everyone does it. We all may believe in Providence to a certain extent but the fact that there is Purposeful Providence - that's something that obligates us - it's not just general Providence. It's inviting me toward it. It wants me to be happy. It's bringing me closer to it. It's talking to me. It wants to be heard. But I don't have ears to listen. A mouth to taste it. Or the eyes to see this Providence. This is why we first need a correction, to reach a connection with the Providence. And afterwards, it will guide us onward.

Baal HaSulam tells us that there are two ways to get there - one is through suffering - all the normal ups and downs of life. And the other way is the path of Torah - to allow the light to operate on us and work on us much quicker. So not only the pace changes but also the quality - because the purpose is clearer. You can run a marathon but you want to reach the end, and you know exactly how much longer you need to run. That's what gives you strength to deal with the suffering - you actually enjoy it because each step brings you closer to the finish line.

But with the wisdom of Kabbalah the finish line is elusive. It's hidden on purpose. So that we'll develop a special sense. This sense will help us connect to and feel this goal. So as he explains - the two paths are essentially one. Derech Eretz from the word ratzon (desire) - meaning the path of suffering. Where my desire controls me. Or the path of Torah where the light controls me. I am inviting the light to come correct me. Come to me and correct me. This is why it's called Bo're - as in "come and see," The Creator is inviting us to Him, and we want the light to operate on us so we invite it - and this is where we meet. He wants to give us the light, and even though we're egoistic and small-minded, lacking any senses to feel the goal - despite all this the light gradually changes us and we feel the goal closer to us.

We're all going to experience these states - even those that the greatest Kabbalists experienced. Each of us in their own special way - but the path of suffering and Torah are actually one - because the suffering bring us to the path of Torah. There is no other point for our suffering except this - to bring us to the path of Torah.

You can watch the full lesson here.