Cabala
ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND A Guide to Spiritual Discovery RABBI MICHAEL LAI MAN COMPILED BY BENZION GIERTZ LAITMAN Kabbalah P Executive Editor: Be Laitman Kabbalah Pu ors16 tc view nut*ge abbalah. info Laitman Kabbalah Publishers Email: into@kabbalah. info ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND copyright g 2003 by MICHAEL LAITMAN. All rights reserved. Published by Laitman Kabbalah publishers, 299 Mullen Dnve Thornhill ONT. L4J 3W3, canada. Printed in Canada. 1-866-LAITMAN.
No part ofthis book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except in the case ofbrief quotations embodied in ritical articles or reviews. ISBN: 0-9731909-0-6 Second Edition: November 2003 Contents Introduction . 9 How To Read the .. 31 Providence of the Creator 34 Realizing the Creator’s Rule 3. The Dining Table 40 Act One . 40 Act Two 4. Nullifying Our Personal Interests. . 50 Let Kabbalah Be Your Guide 65 5. The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah 6. Spiritual Progress . 71 Faith: Believing in the Oneness of the Creator . 74 7. our Perceptions Structure of Spirituality . False Pleasures 84 9.
A plea for Help.. In Memory of the Kabbalist Rabbi Baruch Ashlag . 88 10. Counteracting the Desire for Self – Gratificati . 43 . 67 788. .. 81 . 87 Baruch Ashlag .. . 88 91 10. Counteracting the Desire for Self – Gratification 1. Inner Motion and Development 98 Advancing toward Altruistic Pleasure . . 104 12. Eradicating Egoism 19 The Search for the Creator 131 13. The Way of Kabbalah . 139 The Desire To Receive Pleasure . 146 14. Revelation and Concealment 154 Transforming Egoism to Altruism 169 15. Gradual Spiritual Correction 16. Inner Qualities and Outer Aspects 188 Spiritual Gradations 193 Four Fundamental Outlooks . . 195 17.
Merging with the Creator . 202 Phases of Revelation 176 214 18. The Omnipotent Magician Who Could Not Be Alone: A Tale for Grown Ups 218 19. Spiritual Levels . 227 20. The Return to the Creator . The Path of Kabbalah 253 21 . Correcting Egoism . 267 Yearning for Spiritual Qualities . 278 22. Spiritual Development 296 23. Spiritual Work… Faith 239 317 24. 328 25. The process of Conforming to the Creator 333 26. Cognition ofthe Spiritual World 341 Grasping Higher Spiritual Leveis .. 344 27. Stages of Correction 349 Faith, the Only Antidote to Egoism Correction .. 28. Not for ones S . 352 Light That Brings . . 355 Correction 28.
Not for One’s Self 364 Obtaining “lishma” . 367 29. Transformation of Our Nature . Creator ofAltruism…………. 373 30. pear ofthe . . 378 31. ASeed 83 32. Battling for the Perception ofthe Creator’s Oneness Receiving for the Sake of Giving 34. Suffering Sent As Absolute Kindness . . 35. The Evil Inclination 409 36. The work Along the Three 388 33. . 396 402 Lines True Nature Quotes . . 415 37. Understanding Our . 424 38. Kabbalistic 432 39. Rabbi 436 other Laitman’s Search for Kabbalah books by Rabbi Michael Laitman . 447 t is beyond human comprehension to understand the essence of such spiritual qualities as total altruism and lave.
Even the existence of such feelings is beyond our comprehension; we seem to require an i Even the existence of such feelings is beyond our comprehension; e seem to require an incentive to perform any act that does not promise us some form of personal gain. That is why a quality such as altruism can only be imparted to us from Above, and only those of us who have experienced it can understand it. Rabbi Michael Laitman If you listen with your heart to one famous question, I am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study Kabbalah Will vanish without a trace.
This question is a bitter and a fair one, asked by all born on earth: “What is the meaning of my life? ” Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, Introduction to Talmud Esser Sefirot A mong all the texts and notes that were used by my Rabbi, Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag, there was one particular notebook he always carried. This notebook contained all the transcripts of his conversations with his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, the Rabbi of Jerusalem, and a Kabbalist. He was the author of a 21 -volume commentary on the book of Zohar, as well as the author of a six-volume commentary on the texts of the Kabbalist, Ari, and of many other works on Kabbalah.
Not feeling well on the Jewish New Year in September 1991, my Rabbi called me to his bedside and handed me his notebook, saying, “‘Take it and learn from it. ” The following morning, my teacher perished in my arms, eaving me and many of his other disciples without guidance in this world. He used to say, “I want to teach you to turn to the Creator, rather than to me, because He is world. He used to say, “l want to teach you to turn to the Creator, rather than to me, because He is the only strength, the only Source of all that exists, the only One who can really help you, and He awaits your prayers for help.
When you seek help in your search for freedom from the bondage of this world, help _9_ in elevating yourself above this world, help in finding the self, and help in determining your purpose in life, you must turn to the Creator, who sends you all those aspirations in order to compel you to turn to Him. ‘ In this text, I attempt to convey some ofthe ideas frorn his notebook as I perceived them. It is impossible to fully relate to What is written there, as each of us can only understand What we read within the limits of our immediate grasp, since each of us is limited by the qualities of our individual souls.
Therefore, in the course of interacting with the Supreme Light, each of us Will interpret these ideas as our souls perceive them. May the thoughts of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag penetrate this world through the words of his eldest son, my Rabbi, and may hey help all of us unite with the Creator in the course of our lives here in this world! -IO How To Read the Text T he need for this text became apparent to me from the questlons that received from my students, and from the questions that were asked during various lectures and radio programs, as well as from the letters that continue to flood in from all over the world. adio programs, as well as from the letters that continue to flood in from all over the world. The difficulty of explaining and teaching Kabbalah lies in the fact that the spiritual World has no counterpart in our world. Even if he object of our studies becomes clear, our understanding of it is only temporary. What we learn is grasped by the spiritual component of our ability to understand, which is constantly renewed from Above. Thus, a subject we initially understand may appear unclear at a later date.
Depending on our mood and our spiritual state, the text can appear as either full of deep meaning, or entirely meaningless. Do not despair if what was so clear yesterday becomes very confusing today. Do not give up if the text appears to be vague, strange, or illogical. Kabbalah is not studied for the sake of acquiring theoretical knowledge, but to elp us see and perceive What is hidden from us. When, after we have contemplated and acquired spiritual strength, we begin to see and perceive, then our ability to attain the resulting spiritual lights and levels Will bring us to true knowledge.
Until we can comprehend the IJpper Light and can perceive What it presents to us, we Will not understand how the universe is built and how it works, since there are no analogies to these concepts in our own world. This text can help ease our first steps toward perceiving the spiritual forces. At later stages, we Will be able to progress only with the help of a teacher. This text shou ater stages, we Will be able to progress only with the help of a teacher. This text should not be read in an ordinary fashion.
Rather, we should concentrate on a paragraph, think about it, and attempt to understand examples that reflect in the issues discussed. We may then try to apply these issues to our own personal experiences. We should patiently and repeatedly read and think about each sentence as we try to penetrate the author’s feelings. We should also read slowly, trying to extract the nuances of What is written, and if need be, return to the beginning of each sentence. This method can either help us delve into the material ith our own feelings, or recognize that our feelings are lacking regarding a particular issue.
If the latter is the case, it is a crucial prerequisite for us to move forward spiritually. This text is not written for quick reading. Though it deals with one subject only, “How to relate to the Creator,i’ it deals with it in different ways. This allows each of us to find the particular phrase or Word that Will transport us into the depths of the text. Although the desires and actions of egoism are described in the third person, until we can separate our personal consciousness from our desires, we hould consider the aspirations and desires of egoism our own.
The word “body” in the text does not relate to the physical self, but to “egoism” our desire to receive. -12- HOW -ro Read the -rext To get the most out of this material, recommend reading the same passages at different times and get the most out of this material, recommend reading the same passages at different times and in different states of mind. By doing so, you can better acquaint yourself with your reactions and attitudes tovvards the same text on different occasions. Disagreeing with the material is always positive, as is greeing with it- The most important aspect of reading the text is your response to it.
A feeling of disagreement indicates you have reached the preliminary stage (achoraim, the backside) of understanding, which prepares you for the next stage of perception (panim, face). It is precisely through this slow meaningful manner of reading thatyou can develop feelings, or “vessels” (kelim). These are necessary for us to receive spiritual sensations. Once the vessels are In place, the upper Light Will be able to enter them. Prior to their formation, the Light merely exists around you, surrounding your soul, although you cannot erceive it. This text is not written to enhance your knowledge.
Nor is it meant to be memorized. In fact, we must never test ourselves on the material. It is even better if we forget the contents altogether, so that the secand reading Will seem fresh and entirely unfamiliar. By forgetting the material, it implies that we have grasped the previous sensations and that they have now subsided, leaving a space to be filled by sensations we have yet to experience. The process of developing new sensory organs is constantly renewed and accumulated in the spiritual, unperceived sphere of our souls. The most im PAGF 516