How can I study the wisdom of Kabbalah?
I am glad that I have been born in such a generation when it is permitted to disclose the wisdom of truth.
Baal HaSulam, "The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence"
Kabbalah is studied because the Kabbalists write from attainment of spiritual reality. That is, from an attained perception of the roots for the branches of this world, roots which require attainment.
Hence, their writings often require study before they can even begin to be approached correctly. In The Book of Zohar, the language might appear as narrative or symbolic, because spiritual roots are clothed in images and stories that are taken from this world. In the writings of the Ari, the language becomes more systematic and technical, speaking of worlds, Partzufim, Sefirot, lights, vessels, and so on. Even in the writings of Baal HaSulam and the Rabash, which are much closer to the modern student and are written in a more explanatory form, the reader still meets a precise sequence of reasoning based on principles from which questions can arise and which demand more understanding, because the reader that reads these writings, itself, wants to understand more about this attainment. It follows that understanding them requires more than ordinary reading; i.e., it requires study.
Thus, one of the first things to learn in Kabbalah is the importance of learning itself. A person does not enter the wisdom by collecting impressions from here and there, because the sources demand continuity and gradual clarification. At the same time, one also needs to learn how to learn. Meaning that, one might spend continuous hours studying, yet the actual gain comes from the correct form of study. The study is not only a habit to add to one’s day, although that habit is essential, but it is also a method by which the student gradually becomes closer to the language of the Kabbalists, to the logic of their writings, and, ultimately and most importantly, to the same direction of attainment from which those writings were composed.
Since the whole of the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks of the revelation of the Creator, naturally, there is none more successful teaching for its task. This is what the Kabbalists aimed for—to arrange it so it is suitable for studying.
Baal HaSulam, "The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence"
This is why Kabbalists speak about establishing a fixed time for study, traditionally expressed as “setting aside a fixed time for Torah,” or likvoa itim la-Torah (לקבוע עתים לתורה, from the Talmud, Shabbat 31a, “?קבעת עתים לתורה” – “Have you set aside a fix time for Torah?”). The purpose is to invest one’s efforts in this study. Just as any serious field requires repeated engagement, which itself allows patient clarification, the wisdom of Kabbalah also develops through consistent contact with authentic sources that have been passed down from the Kabbalists. Thus, a person who wishes to understand Kabbalah often begins to ask what to read, but also asks how to structure one’s day so that the study receives a real and recurring place in it. The student returns again and again to the same principles, because the same sources begin to open more deeply according to the student’s efforts and development.
Set times for Torah, without any cessation for idle conversations, God forbid. See that you dedicate no less than five consecutive hours. You can set them for whatever time you wish during the day, as long as you do not stop for any conversation in between, they are consecutive, and specifically in the study of the revealed. Be careful not to forget anything from the study, so repeat the learning as you should. Also, it would be good for you to learn to be a teacher; it will be very helpful for you.
Baal HaSulam, Letter 22
Before continuing, one should first understand what Kabbalah studies. The wisdom of Kabbalah investigates the laws that govern the development of desire, the relation between the created being and its root, the Creator, and the process by which a person comes to spiritual attainment. Therefore, the purpose of study is not simply to know more about Kabbalah as a subject. Rather, the purpose is to gradually acquire a correct relation to the spiritual reality described by the Kabbalists. Accordingly, the student studies texts written by those who attained that reality, and through this contact, begins to organize one’s own questions and perception according to the method.
For this reason, the student repeatedly returns to the same concepts, texts, and principles. At first, many of them may appear abstract: desire, intention, light, correction, adhesion, and so on. However, through continued engagement with authentic sources, these terms gradually become connected to one another. The student begins to see that Kabbalah is an ordered wisdom, which is why the method itself is transmitted through study. The connection to the sources is maintained through study; the clarification of questions takes place through study; and the gradual entrance into the language of Kabbalah also happens through study.
Within Bnei Baruch, the principal framework of study is the daily lesson. This follows a long tradition among Kabbalists, who set aside a fixed part of the day to the study of spiritual matters, especially during the hours after midnight (in heb. – ‘Hatsot ha-laila, חצות לילה; from Berakhot 3b: “A harp hung above David's bed, and when midnight [חצות לילה] arrived, a north wind came and blew upon it, and it would play by itself. Immediately, he would rise and engage in Torah study until the break of dawn.”) In the contemporary framework of Bnei Baruch, the main group of students studies live from Israel in the early hours of the morning, usually from 3:00 to 5:30, and online from more than 70 other countries. Students connect to this lesson according to their ability, whether for the entire lesson or for part of it.
When a person rises at midnight from his bed to engage in Torah, a herald calls out about him and says, “Behold! Bless the Lord all servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord at night.”
Zohar for All, Vol. 8, VaEtchanan
There are also practical reasons for this arrangement. The early morning is generally quieter and less occupied by the demands of ordinary life. At the same time, this form of study allows a person to continue living normally throughout the day: working, raising a family, fulfilling responsibilities, and participating in society. Thus, the study is integrated into life rather than separated from it.
However, not every student studies in exactly the same way. Some participate in the full daily lesson, while others join for one hour in the morning. Others study through recordings later in the day because of work schedules, family obligations, health conditions, or time zone differences. Throughout the years, the Rav Dr. Michael Laitman insisted on developing an archive of all the lessons for Bnei Baruch – within which students can access thousands of recorded lessons, which are updated daily, and can download or follow the lesson later according to their circumstances. The common element, and that which is the most important, is the effort to maintain regular contact with the sources. Essentially, the main point is not the external form alone, but the seriousness with which a person builds a consistent relation to the study. This consistency allows the wisdom to become a stable axis in one’s life, rather than an occasional source of inspiration.
From the tenth hour until the prayer is the time of delving in the holy books, Beresheet Hochma, and the like, and in the writings of the ARI. See that you thoroughly understand and internalize everything you learn. If you do not fully understand, give the Creator no rest until He opens your heart and you understand Him, for this is the most important—that the Creator gives wisdom.
Baal HaSulam, Letter 22
And the study itself is based on authentic Kabbalistic sources. For this reason, the central materials studied in Bnei Baruch come primarily from the writings of Baal HaSulam, the Rabash, The Book of Zohar, the writings of the Ari, and so on. These writings form a continuous chain of transmission, through which the method has been preserved, clarified, and adapted for each generation. And although one may have a strong need to delve into all of these sources, a beginner, however, does not need to approach all of time at once; Kabbalah is actually studied gradually. First, one acquires familiarity with the basic concepts and principles. Then, little by little, one becomes capable of approaching more detailed and technical texts. Because of this, the question for a beginner is often where to begin.
The meaning of “Torah and work” is that he learns Torah in order for the Torah to bring him the light of Torah. By this, he will be able to invert the vessels of reception to work in order to bestow, and with these Kelim he will be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator, called “learning Torah Lishma.”
RABASH, Article No. 12, (1988), "What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?"
A person who encounters authentic Kabbalah for the first time may find an abundance of materials: books, articles, lessons, videos, courses, clips, and archives. Thus, a structured introduction is important. Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Academy provides multiple entry points for beginners, of which one of the principal frameworks is the fundamental course taught from Israel by long-time students of Rav Dr. Michael Laitman, Avihu Sofer (Laitman’s student since 1997) and Michael Sanilevitch (Laitman’s student since 1998). This course is designed as a one-year course, taught once a week for an hour and a half, and is open, free of charge, to anyone from any country who wishes to begin the study in an ordered way. In that way it gives the beginner a stable first framework: a rhythm, a sequence of topics, a connection to experienced students, and a shared path with other people who are beginning from the same foundations.
Beyond this framework, there are different approaches: For students who are not yet ready to enter a full course, or who need a more flexible framework, Kabbalah Academy also offers small learning groups. These groups allow beginners and continuing students to study selected materials together at a fixed time, without the same structure or commitment as a complete yearly course; here, the learning group serves as an entrance into the habit of study. A few students gather around an article, a lesson excerpt, or a short sequence of materials, and by reading and clarifying them together, they help one another remain focused on the study.
I learned much from my teachers, from my friends - more than my teachers, and the most - from my students.
Babylonian Talmud, Masechet Taanit, 7a
This corresponds to the traditional idea of ‘havruta (heb. חברותא, lit. “companionship”, mentioned in Bereshit Rabba 69: “Just as a knife can be sharpened only on the side of another, so a disciple of a sage improves only through his ‘haver [study companion]”), where the student does not advance only through private reading, but through a shared engagement to return to the material, clarify, ask questions, summarize, and keep the direction of the study alive together, as a small group of two to four people. Thus, the learning group gives the beginner a concrete place in the study: not yet the full rhythm of the daily lesson or the yearly course, but already a stable connection to the method of Kabbalah, its sources, and other students who are learning how to approach them.
Each one should assemble with his friend and come to him to hear from him a word about the work of the Creator, and how to find the Creator. He should annul before his friend, and his friend should do the same toward him, and so should everyone do. Then, when the assembly is with this intention, then “More than the calf wants to suckle, the cow wants to nurse,” and the Creator approaches them and He is with them, and therefore, all the salvations and all the blessings, and all the good bestowal opens to them from the source of mercy.
Maor VaShemesh, VaYechi
Introductory articles can serve this same progression in a more individual form. They explain the main concepts of Kabbalah little by little, and help the student become familiar with the language used in the sources. These articles can prepare the entrance into a course or a learning group for others, as much as they can accompany the daily lesson, books, and so on. As previously mentioned, the common and most important point of these study forms that exist side by side and support one another, is to help the student remain connected to the method in a continuous way, in order to arrive to the same attainment as the Kabbalists – and the different forms of study are simply a way to adapt to one’s situation.
From there, the student might want materials that can be studied with more continuity than a single article. This is where books have a specific role. A book allows the beginner to remain with one sequence of explanations, return to the same principles, and follow a more complete development of the subject. In Kabbalah Academy, this can take the form of a recommended reading path, and Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Rav Dr. Michael Laitman can serve as one of the central first books, because it presents the wisdom of Kabbalah in an accessible and, most importantly, ordered way. Other introductory books, such as Kabbalah Revealed, can also help the beginner receive a first orientation in the purpose and method of Kabbalah. Essentially, the goal, here, is not to send the student immediately into the full breadth of the library, but to give a first set of materials that can be studied seriously, returned to, summarized, and gradually connected to the broader sources.
This also explains the usefulness of studybooks and guided notebooks. A person who begins to study often needs more than a text to read, mainly as a form that helps one work with the material. A simple studybook, in an A4 format, can help give a concrete framework with selected excerpts, short explanations, questions for clarification, space for summaries and places to mark central points, and so on (such a format is especially helpful because Kabbalah often requires returning to the same ideas, writing them down, comparing them, placing them in order, and slowly forming a relation to them; hence, a guided material can support both personal study and group study, and still directing the student back to the authentic sources themselves).
Ultimately – and most importantly –, although a person sometimes approaches Kabbalah with the expectation that understanding will come quickly, Kabbalists describe study as a gradual process, because the whole wisdom of Kabbalah deals with the development of perception itself. Concepts that initially seem abstract gradually acquire meaning and acquire their given importance, and questions become practical. Thus, progress in Kabbalah is measured less by the quantity of information acquired and more by the stability of one’s engagement with the sources, the environment, and the method.
What is the meaning of the verse, “Wealth gotten through vanity shall be diminished; but he that gathers little by little shall increase” (Proverbs 13:11)? If a person turns his Torah into many bundles, by studying large amounts in a short period of time without reviewing, his Torah will diminish. But if he gathers his knowledge little by little, by studying slowly and reviewing, his knowledge shall increase. Rava said: The Sages know this, but nevertheless they transgress it. Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: I did this, as I studied little by little and regularly reviewed what I had learned, and my learning has in fact endured.
Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zara, 19a
The purpose of studying Kabbalah is the development of spiritual attainment of one’s root. Through regular engagement with authentic sources, through participation in a suitable environment, through a progressive relation to study, and so on, a person gradually acquires the means to approach the spiritual reality described by the Kabbalists, and this is why they give such importance to study.