The Science of Kabbalah

[kabbalah]

Greetings to all, I'm new here so heres a bit about myself: I've always wondered about the ultimate question: the meaning of life, its bothered me my whole life and I tried to avoid it, but now I think kabbalah can give me the answer. I've been studying kabbalah with Bnei Baruch for the past six months.

We say that kabbalah is a science, not a religion or form of mysticism because kabbalah studies universal truths empirically, and does not deal with speculative or metaphysical concepts. Kabbalists tell us the Creator is completely altruistic and rules the world in complete benevolence. He created the entire universe with one thought: to delight his creations. The creation consist of entirely opposite qualities to the creator is it is to have free choice in receiving the pleasure, this is because the greatest pleasures come from altuism, so the creator must choose to want to change his property of absolute selfishness into that of absolute altruism. He created one universal soul called Adam HaRishon (the first man) as a vessel to receive pleasure and gave it pleasure. However, this created in Adam, a sense of shame at being the receiver rather than the giver. Similar to the way you feel if someone gives you a huge gift and you have nothing to give in return. Adam wants to give something but he has nothing to give. This cause the First Restriction (tzimtzum) in which Adam cannot receive the Creator's light unless it is with altruistic intention. There is no lack in the Creator, so the only way to give is to receive in order to bestow. Since the Creator wants to delight me, I will receive his light, but only for his sake, not because I want to please myself. Adam's soul was split into 600,000 parts, which descended to our world in dressed in bodies where they have no sensation of the Creator. They can only correct their egoic properties in this world. The science of Kabbalah teaches people to build a Masach (screen) which only allows the person to receive pleasure if it is for altruistic reasons. If a person corrects themselves, they can begin to sense the spiritual world, of which our world is a mere shadow. Kabbalists are not able to percieve the Creator's essence, but are able to perceive Ein Sof (Hebrew, literally "no end") which is the Creator's desire to delight his creation. Kabbalists who reached a high level, were able to see that the Creator is the only power in this world, that all is done out of his desire to delight us and that Olam HaZeh (this world) is only a small shadow of the true reality in which only 3 things exist: the creator, the light of the creator and the souls that He created. All of the pleasures experienced in this world are small amount of light from Ner Dakik (the small candle) which gives us only a tiny amount of pleasure when compared with the pleasure we will receive from Gmar Tikkun (final correction). It is said that even the slightest pleasures received from creating the Masach are greater than all of the pleasures experienced ever experienced by all of humanity combined from Ner Dakik, the small candle. Money, power, fame, sex are but a trickle of the Creator's light. Suffering is sent to further our correction and to get us to the goal of receiving infinite delight. If a person corrects their selfishness to bestowal, they will see that all the wrongs ever done to them, that they though were coming from other people or from blind nature or chance were actually gifts sent by the Creator so that they would correct themselves and realize that outside of them, exists a state of perfection that they can exist in only by equalizing form with it which means becoming 100% altruistic.

Kabbalah was once limited to only certain people, until the Ari said that from his time onwards, all people of all races, genders, ages etc could and should and MUST study it. The only prequesite is a DESIRE to study it.

Bnei Baruch is a nonprofit group based in Israel, but with students all around the world. It was founded by Micheal Laitman who was originally from the soviet union and a scientist in the field of bio-cybernetics. He later emigrated to Israel and became the student and personal assistant to Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag, the son of Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag who was considered by many to be the greatest kabbalist of modern times.
The only books we study kabbalah from are the writings of the Ari (Isaac Luria), Yehuda Ashlag (Ba'al Hasulam), Baruch Ashlag and some commentaries by M. Laitman. We are only concerned with correcting our inner qualities and revealing the Creator's light. We do not concern ourselves with magic, good luck charms, red strings or anything of the sort, like some other organizations coughcoughKabbalahCentrecoughcough are. I've explained a little bit, but this is really just some of the basics of Kabbalah, so go to the main site www.kabbalah.info to find out more, if you are interested.

[dauer]

Welcome. I'm not sure if you're simply advertising or if you're here to stay but welcome either way. There's another person on this site studying Ashlagian Kabbalah.

Dauer

[bananabrain]

hi,

i'm familiar with bnei-baruch and have found it a useful resource over time. what i'm not entirely happy with is the phrase "science of kabbalah". with all due respect to r. laitman, i don't think it's a good idea to confuse the two. whilst kabbalah obviously talks about universal themes and has much to tell us about the "why" of the universe, the point at which it does is quite specialised and has more to do with theoretical physics than it does with such things as experimental method. consequently, conflating science and kabbalah leaves one open to accusations of quackery from scientists who disagree!

may i ask if you're studying direct (ie F2F) or taking web classes? and can i also follow up what dauer said - if you are here to recruit you will get a frosty reception, but if you are here to engage in dialogue you are welcome.

b'shalom

bananabrain

[kabbalah]

F2F is face to face right? I do study with f2f in Washington DC, with a group of 4, although we want to get bigger.

I know a lot of people have a problem with it being called a science, and I can understand why to some extent. But the more I study and understand, the more it does seem like a science to me. The thing is that there is a much more empiric element to kabbalah than with any other form of mysticism or religion.

[bananabrain]

yeah, that's what f2f is.

But the more I study and understand, the more it does seem like a science to me.

are you a scientist, though? i ask just to get some idea of where you're coming from.

The thing is that there is a much more empiric element to kabbalah than with any other form of mysticism or religion.

i have to say that you're not really in a position to back this sort of thing up unless you have studied "any other form". i for one can tell you that there are some pretty darn empirical forms of mysticism and religion that i have encountered out there - all can be debunked or rubbished if you have the means and/or the inclination, but it doesn't really prove anything one way or another. it is one thing experiencing something empirically oneself - and entirely another setting out to convince others of the "truth" of what is the quintessential inner experience (see my thread on "what is it about mystics?" in the CR forum for a start) - unless you are starting down the road of proofs, which is, imho, both futile and kind of missing the point of belief. the point is, is kabbalah "true" because it is "empirical"? and, if so, wouldn't that mean that "empiricism" was what you actually *believed in*? and, if so, wouldn't that mean that if someone found an "empirical truth" of something else you'd have to drop kabbalah and believe in that as well? this is an important point to bear in mind when studying stuff like this. it can really do your head in.

b'shalom

bananabrain

[human1111]

Originally Posted by kabbalah

The thing is that there is a much more empiric element to kabbalah than with any other form of mysticism or religion.

There are many emperic systems out ther, some of them claim to be like science as well.

What is the difference in the emperic element between Kabbalah and other systems and mystic practices (which are based on induvidial perception).

Thanks. As much as I like Ashlagian Kabbalah, it has a stiff competition from others...

[kabbalah]

Kabbalah is a science because you don't have to take anything on "blind faith," all things written about by kabbalists can be attained by those with a strong desire to attain them. If you study with the proper method and books, you will attain the same thing that the authors attained, which is comprehension of the Upper Force that governs everything in this world. I have read a lot about other religions/paths, Kabbalah is the only one I have come across that shows man that the is an Upper Force and how to change man's own nature to correspond with the Upper Force.

"Religion assumes that the Creator changes His attitude to the person depending on the person’s actions. The science a Kabbalah however states that the Upper Force is invariable, and the actions of a person can in no way affect it. Instead, the person’s actions can change him. He will be able to perceive the Upper Governance differently, if his own changes are aimed toward greater resemblance. He will be able to perceive the Creator as kind and good. By increasing the difference between his properties (reception) and those of the Creator (bestowal), he will feel the Creator’s attitude as more negative."
-Rav Laitman
full article->http://www.kabbalah.info/engkab/scie... _religion.htm

Paths such as buddism seem to tell man to either reduce his expectations and learn to live with as little pleasure as possible, ie lowering the amount of egoism (will to receive). If this appeals to you, go for it. In my opinion, the will to receive cannot be suppressed with meditation and other eastern techniques forever, it is the very nature of the will to receive to keep increasing. But Kabbalah offers the chance to change the egoistic will to receive into an altruistic will to receive, and unite man and the creator eternally, which was the purpose of creation. You can't stop the will to receive, but you can turn the will to receive for yourself into the will to receive only in order to bestow. I don't see any other paths that talk offer this type of perspective, they are all aimed within man's nature to enjoy while kabbalah aims to change man's nature into a will to bestow.

[kabbalah]

oh, and i'm not trying to say other paths are completely worthless only that in my opinion, they don't offer enough, if you feel kabbalah doesn't offer what your looking for then im sure you won't go for it just as I feel these other paths don't offer enough

[human1111]

Originally Posted by kabbalah

Kabbalah is a science because you don't have to take anything on "blind faith," all things written about by kabbalists can be attained by those with a strong desire to attain them.

What about "emunah lemalah mi daat" ?

Problem with this paragraph is again, many other mystics have claimed the same thing. But then again in Kabbalah as in any other tradition relies on a person to trust the methodic. You could see the effects of materialistic science (and make certain assumptions that maybe their methods work, atleast in certain areas).

"Religion assumes that the Creator changes His attitude to the person depending on the person’s actions. The science a Kabbalah however states that the Upper Force is invariable, and the actions of a person can in no way affect it. http://www.kabbalah.info/engkab/science_and_kabbalah/articles_by_rav_laitman/the_difference_between_the_science_of_kabbalah_and _religion.htm

Religion is a set of beliefs (usually with minimum proof) and a set of rituals.
What they believe is not important in terms of difference of METHOD. Method is what separates Religion and science.

Paths such as buddism seem to tell man to either reduce his expectations and learn to live with as little pleasure as possible, ie lowering the amount of egoism (will to receive). If this appeals to you, go for it. In my opinion, the will to receive cannot be suppressed with meditation and other eastern techniques forever, it is the very nature of the will to receive to keep increasing. But Kabbalah offers the chance to change the egoistic will to receive into an altruistic will to receive, and unite man and the creator eternally, which was the purpose of creation. You can't stop the will to receive, but you can turn the will to receive for yourself into the will to receive only in order to bestow. I don't see any other paths that talk offer this type of perspective, they are all aimed within man's nature to enjoy while kabbalah aims to change man's nature into a will to bestow.

Phrases such as "Eastern systems are based on destruction egoism" is a bit too simplistic to deal with very complex sysems and practices. Most Mysticisms are NOT about simply killing the ego. Buddhism for example is often called "The Middle Path" (kinda like the middle line in the Kabbalah). When I studied Buddhism it was about "seeing things as they really are" not self imposed austerities. Buddhism for example, views negatively about being too
strict, and self inflicted punishments. All the "rules" of Buddhism are to make your progress as fast as possible. And isn't there Tantric Buddhism which is based on transmutation of desire?

Regarding meditations lowering desire. False. They allow you to see things as they really are which naturally changes you. Also it is very tough to meditate for hours, it does take a lot of desire and conviction to do. It is not really suppressing a desire - more like growing a desire (desire for liberation which overrides sloth). It takes a bigger wave to cancel out the current wave.

Thanks.

[kabbalah]

"emunah lemalah midaat" can be a bit misleading at first, faith in kabbalah does not mean the same thing as it does in other religions, faith is not simply groping around in the dark with no answers, it is perception of the creator and equilizing form with him. Knowledge/reason is the desire to receive. Faith above reason means putting the Creator above your ego, as Rav Laitman says, you have two choices: worship your own ego, or worship the creator. In short, to go against your own nature (egoism). To work for the creator when your desire to receive cannot agree to the work. While you do have to accept things on blind faith in the beginning, there is nothing that cannot eventually be revealed if you have enough desire and stick to the proper method. The Zohar says "Open for me slightly your heart, and I'll open the world for you." Emunah lemalah midaat may sound simple enough but it's actually an extremely difficult thing that cannot be understood until you experience it yourself.

About Eastern Religions, they may be more complicated than simply restricting the ego, but do they go beyond the desire to receive? They are still aimed at pleasing yourself, because when you meditate, who do you give to but yourself? You will still be confined to your will to receive pleasure.

[human1111]

Originally Posted by kabbalah

About Eastern Religions, they may be more complicated than simply restricting the ego, but do they go beyond the desire to receive? They are still aimed at pleasing yourself, because when you meditate, who do you give to but yourself? You will still be confined to your will to receive pleasure.

For example, Buddhism does not believe in a separate "entity" known as ego or some sort of induvidial independance, and their practice helps a person to realise that. So how can a person be egoistic without any ego? The realisation comes not because you torture yourself like some yogis do, but because you realise the fact the separation in me vs the, is due to the defilements of the mind.

Great replies so far.

[kabbalah]

how can there be no ego? we are nothing but a desire to receive pleasure, look around you and it should be obvious. Baal Hasulam writes that there is no empty space in reality, meaning without a desire, if you don't have a desire, your don't exist, so if you have no ego, you don't exist. You can correct it of course, but not destroy it

[pohaikawahine]

"Regarding meditations lowering desire. False. They allow you to see things as they really are which naturally changes you. Also it is very tough to meditate for hours, it does take a lot of desire and conviction to do. It is not really suppressing a desire - more like growing a desire (desire for liberation which overrides sloth). It takes a bigger wave to cancel out the current wave." (Sorry, I don't know how to put the quotes in the little boxes, but this came from one of the abover postings)


I agree with this thought and like the reference to "a bigger wave to cancel out the current wave" .... meditation doesn't have to be long or tedious, it can take place almost instantly when practiced enough .... and part of the process to to overcome the ego to reach that space between the thoughts .... the "wave" is that ancient ocean that resides inside of us and is connected with "the flood" as well as the ever elusive "fountain of youth". I have been very drawn to the Zohar and Kaballah not as a science but because it is in keeping with many other ancient lines of knowledge. I don't get into much debate over which came first because to me all that matters is the process itself to achieve a change in who we are and to return our world to one of tolerance, balance, and love. Although I cannot read the ancient text in which the Zohar was written, I can certainly meditate on it. The words (and sounds) which go from right to left and can in essence be read from either side (front or back) are linked, in my mind, to the concept of "as above, so within" which actually came (if I am not mistaken) from the Emerald Tablets of Toth .... I think this is connected with the "tefilin" (the small box tied to the forehead in ritual) in which the words can be read both externally and internally "you will wear the 'tefillin' like a sign upon they hand and a memoraial between thine eyes" (is this a symbol of the opening of the third eye) and is connected with a word 'zikarin' meaning memory "there is only one memory in the world which is to come ' remember your future".

I have always heard in my head and in my dreams "when we remember who we were, we will know who we are , we will be free" I have come to understand this message in ways that others may not agree, but the Kaballah is a key and the Zohar tells how to use the key .... this is not a "new age" thing, it is as ancient as time itself.

"And they journeyed from Succoth and encamped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness (in Hawaii the wilderness or the top of the mountain is called 'wao akua' the forest of the gods). And the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a pillar of fire (the twin pillars), to give them light to go by day and by night." (my family line in hawaii is Kalama which means the 'night torch' or 'carriers of the night light' and its ancient meaning is connected with this line of knowledge).

"has charged you to teach you to do in the land into which you are about to cross to take hold of it (the passover)" 'the Lord God of your fathers has spoken concerning you, a land flowing with milk and honey (milk and honey are the color of two chemicals that are secreted by the brain which the energy of light moves into this space through meditation)" "and it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you to the land that He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you - great and godly towns that you did not build and houses filled with all good that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and you will eat and be sated" (this is the place of paradise and it exists in the temple not built with human hands, the human head).....sorry I don't have the exact quotes I just write them down when I see them and they seem important to me .... all comments in parenthesis are my thoughts on the interpretation from these passages .... this is what the mystics do, they think and talk in symbols .... it teaches us how to look beneath the veil or deeper into the ancient ocean for meanings within meanings. The hawaiian quote that is shown below is actually a prophecy and it has to do with the the place not built by human hands .... it has several layers of meaning, but its literal translation is

what is down will rise up
what is up will come down
the islands will unite
the wall stands

some say that this prophecy, uttered by a mystic, was the premise on which King Kamehameha conquered the other islands and united them under one rule (which became an easy way for outsiders to conquer the conquerer in the end) .... but the prophecy has nothing to do with outside control or consolidation of power .... it is all about the uniting of the seven islands within us (or the seven energy centers) .... this described the spiralling energy ....

"so said Jacob: Against Esau these blessings are sufficient, but to the others blessings I must reseve until such time as my descendants will need them to take their stand against the great ones and rulers of the earth. When that time comes, these blessings will begin to work, and the world will be in harmony. From then on,the one kingdom will supervene ove all the other kingdoms, and it will endure forever, as it is written 'it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever' (Dan 2:44) ("the wall stands" is the metaphor for the kingdom that will stand forever once we rediscover the ancient path)

"Why do you cry to me?" (you have everything you need to save yourself)

There is also a reference to the ability to see the "seven palaces" (I'll have to find the exact quote, but it is quite beautiful)

In the Kaballah the twin pillars or represented as "the right column represents Chesed, or benevolence,mercy and the desire to give and share" the "left column represents Gvurah power judgment and the desire to receive) .... the central column represents the mediating energy of choice and free will that enables us to meld and transform Chesed and Gurah into a third form, which is desire to receive for the purpose of sharing" (The Essential Zohar Rav P.S. Berg) .... the central column also represents our spinal column along which the twin energies spiral .... when they reach the holy of holies, the place of paradise, they are completely merged and the wedding is complete .... this is the return to the perfect balance as symbolized in the Star of David, the merkaba ....

At least this is my take on things .... he hawai'i au, fay

[human1111]

Originally Posted by kabbalah

how can there be no ego? we are nothing but a desire to receive pleasure, look around you and it should be obvious. Baal Hasulam writes that there is no empty space in reality, meaning without a desire, if you don't have a desire, your don't exist, so if you have no ego, you don't exist. You can correct it of course, but not destroy it

Well the buddhists (IMHO) beleive that a persona is merely a set of things that interact together. A car is not a self existent thing, it is made of many different parts? Where is the car? Is it the wheels, the seat, the engine, where? What is obvious can often be misleading. If you loose the attachment to your aggregates (emotions, physical body, mind, perceptions, sense organs) you will loose the ego because it does not self existent, like a car.

[kabbalah]

Kabbalah contends that everything we perceive in the five senses is a desire to receive. Even rocks have a tiny desire to receive (compared to a human's desire to receive it's like a grain of sand to the entire universe). So the entire universe is really part of the one gigantic soul the Creator created and then split into many peices to make the process of correction more efficient.

The desire increases from still, vegatative (plant), animate (animal) to speaking (human).

So can buddism go beyond the desire to receive? I personally don't think so.