"Hevruta" - following Lesson 11. Kabbalah in 10 Principles
"Hevruta" - following Lesson 11. Kabbalah in 10 Principles
Kabbalah in 10 Principles
1. Man is the center of creation.
2. Everyone is obligated to attain the complete degree of correction of his soul - Gmar Tikkun (Final Correction).
3. The correction of the soul is achieved while living in this world, within a physical body.
4. Correction means reaching equivalence of form - of intention - with the Creator
5. The wisdom of Kabbalah unites the principles “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” and “There is none else besides Him.”
6. We are desire to receive, and his intention is naturally always for the sake of receiving. A change of intention can be achieved only with the help of an external force, called in the wisdom of Kabbalah the Light that Reforms.
7. The process of spiritual advancement is structured such that the more we advance, the more we reveal our nature as evil - meaning how opposite we are to the Creator - and then we turn to the Creator with a request for help for change.
8. We do not ask that the Creator change; rather, we ask the Creator to change us
9. Kabbalist cares for all of humanity, regardless of gender, age, religion, or race (a universal wisdom).
10. There is nothing more natural than attaining contact with one’s Creator.
Workshop
Which 3 principles are harder to understand or awaken questions?
1. Man is the center of creation.
"Man is the center of the whole Creation"
- Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”, p. 18
"All the conducts of creation, in its every corner, inlet, and outlet, are completely prearranged for the purpose of nurturing the human species from within it, to improve its qualities until it can sense the Creator as one feels one’s friend. These ascensions are like rungs of a ladder, arranged degree by degree until it is completed and achieves its purpose.”
- Baal HaSulam "The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence"
The sages said: “Anyone who becomes proud—says the Creator - I and he cannot dwell in one dwelling.” And this is because he makes two authorities.
Whereas when he annuls himself to the root - meaning that all his intention is only to bestow, similar to the Root - it follows that there is here only one authority, namely the authority of the Creator. And everything that he receives in the world is only in order to bestow to the Creator.
And this is the interpretation of what he said: “The entire world was not created except for me, and I [exist] to serve my Maker.” Therefore, I am compelled to receive all the degrees that exist in the world, because of the reason that I will be able to bestow everything to the Creator, which is called “to serve my Maker.”
(Baal HaSulam, “Shamati,” Article 17)
We learned that we do not have the perception of the upper force, so that we will have free choice. Therefore, we are given the whole reality - this state of dissimulation - called world (Olam in hebrew - which has the same root as dissimulation) - exist that that we have an opportunity of choice, which is called Adam - from the word "edame le elyon" - "I will be similar to Creator" - so the whole world exist so we have an opportunity to become similar to the Creator.
2. Everyone is obligated to attain the complete degree of correction of his soul - Gmar Tikkun (Final Correction).
"Every person is obliged to attain the root of his soul."
- Baal HaSulam “The Acting Mind”
This means that every person ... is guaranteed to finally attain all the wonderful attainments with which the Creator contemplated in the thought of creation to delight every creature. And one who has not been awarded in this life will be granted in the next life, etc., until one is awarded completing His thought, which He had planned for him, as it is written in The Zohar.
- Baal HaSulam - "Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot"
3. The correction of the soul is achieved while living in this world, within a physical body.
"This wisdom is no more and no less than a sequence of roots that cascade by way of cause and consequence, following fixed, determined laws that interweave into a single, exalted goal described as “the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world."
- Baal HaSulam "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah"
We need to discover this state - which we can do only when we have free choice (in this world).
4. Correction means reaching equivalence of form - of intention - with the Creator
"Spiritual adhesion can only be depicted as an equivalence of form. Hence, by equalizing our form with the form of His qualities, we become attached to Him.
This is why they said, “as He is merciful.” In other words, all His actions are to bestow and benefit others, and not at all for His own benefit, since He has no deficiencies that require complementing. And also, He has no one from whom to receive. Similarly, all your actions will be to bestow and to benefit others. Thus, you will equalize your form with the form of the qualities of the Creator, and this is spiritual adhesion.”
- Baal HaSulam "A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar"
"Therefore, we must ask, why then did the Kabbalists obligate every person to study the wisdom of Kabbalah? Indeed, there is a great thing about it, which should be publicized: There is a wonderful, invaluable remedy to those who engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Although they do not understand what they are learning, through the yearning and the great desire to understand what they are learning, they awaken upon themselves the lights that surround their souls.
This means that every person is guaranteed to finally attain all the wonderful attainments with which the Creator contemplated in the thought of creation to delight every creature.”
And one who has not been awarded in this life will be granted in the next life, etc., until one is awarded completing His thought, which He had planned for him, as it is written in The Zohar."
- Baal HaSulam "Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”
5. The wisdom of Kabbalah unites the principles “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” and “There is none else besides Him.”
“If I am not for me who is for me, and when I am for myself, what am I?” This is an inherent contradiction. The thing is that one should do all of one’s work by way of “If I am not for me, who is for me,” that no one can save him, but “by your mouth, and by your heart to do it,” that is, a discernment of reward and punishment. However, to oneself, in private, one should know that “when I am for myself, what am I?” This means that everything is in private Providence and no one can do anything.
If you say that if everything is in private Providence, why is there the issue of working in the form of “If I am not for me, who is for me?” Yet, through working in the form of “If I am not for me, who is for me,” one is awarded private Providence, meaning attains it. Thus, everything follows the path of correction, and the distribution of added fondness, called “children of the Creator,” is not revealed unless it is preceded by work in the form of “If I am not for me, who is for me."
Baal HaSulam - Shamati #217 - If I Am Not for Me, Who Is for Me?
It is written, “There is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what one sees, that there are things in the world that deny the upper household, the reason is that this is His will.
This is deemed a correction called “the left rejects and the right pulls closer,” meaning that what the left rejects is considered a correction. This means that there are things in the world that, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Kedusha [holiness].
…
Then he comes to the decision that no one can help but the Creator Himself.
Baal HaSulam - Shamati #1 - There Is None Else Besides Him
6. A change of intention can be achieved only with the help of an external force, called in the wisdom of Kabbalah the Light that Reforms.
There is a wonderful, invaluable remedy to those who engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Although they do not understand what they are learning, through the yearning and the great desire to understand what they are learning, they awaken upon themselves the lights that surround their souls.
Baal HaSulam – Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot
7. The more we advance, the more we reveal our nature as evil - meaning how opposite we are to the Creator - and then we turn to the Creator with a request for help for change.
“The beginning of his work is the recognition of evil, meaning that a person asks the Creator to feel how bad is the will to receive. This awareness that the will to receive is called “bad,” only the Creator can make him feel. This is considered that through the Torah, a person can achieve recognition of evil, meaning to understand how much his will to receive is bad, and then he can ask to replace the will to receive and give him instead the desire to bestow.”
- Rabash “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”
8. We do not ask that the Creator change; rather, we ask the Creator to change us
All the worlds are regarded as simple unity, and there is no change in Godliness, as in “I the Lord did not change.”
Baal HaSulam - Shamati 2
9. Kabbalists care for all of humanity, regardless of gender, age, religion, or race (a universal wisdom).
"The religious form of all the nations should first obligate its members to bestowal upon each other to the extent that (the life of one’s friend will come before one’s own life), as in “Love your friend as yourself.” One will not take pleasure in society more than a struggling friend.
This will be the collective religion of all the nations that will come within the framework of communism. However, besides this, each nation may follow its own religion and tradition, and one must not interfere in the other."
- Baal HaSulam, the Writings of the Last Generation
The purpose of creation applies to the entire human race, none excluded.
- Baal HaSulam "The Love of God and the Love of Man"
10. There is nothing more natural than attaining contact with one’s Creator.
“There is nothing more natural than attaining contact with one’s Creator, for He is the Master of nature. In truth, every created being has contact with its Creator, as it is written, ‘The whole earth is full of His glory,’ but one does not know or feel this. And one who merits connection with Him is not given anything additional except knowledge alone—like a person who has a treasure in his pocket and does not know it, and someone comes and informs him of what he has in his pocket; in truth, only now is he considered to have become wealthy.”
-- Baal HaSulam - “Writings of the Last Generation,” Part Two