Authentic Kabbalah from Israel KABBALAHFREE T DAY SEPTEMBER 2007, #7 A PUBLICATION OF THE BNEI BARUCH ASSOCIATION FOUNDED BYO RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN, PHD www.kabtoday.com Editor’s Note A PROPHET IN HIS OWN COUNTRY HAPPY All Together Jonah, the prophet who symbolizes the mission Now of the Jewish people o time is better suit- NEW YEAR ed for introspection Nthan the Jewish hol- idays. In essence, a holiday is a spiritual state—intrinsic by nature—and the beginning of the Jewish year is especial- ly so. The three adjacent hol- idays—Rosh Hashanah, Yom » PAGE 3 Kippur, and Sukkot—denote a spiritual process of ascension THE FREEDOM TO KNOW on the spiritual ladder. An interview with Kabbalah teaches that the Rav Michael Laitman, PhD Creator is a force, or quali- for the upcoming book-tour ty, of love. Hence, the Jew- ish tradition of the holidays’ self-scrutiny and examina- tion of one’s relations with PAGE others bears a much deeper » 2 » CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE SPIRITUAL ROSH HASHANAH by Ron Gilboa » PAGE 4 WHEN KABBALISTS DISCOVERED THE SPIRITUAL LAWS THAT he Torah tells us that AFFECT OUR WORLD, THEY ESTABLISHED CUSTOMS THAT ical calendar, a Kabbalist may FOUR SPECIES the world was created in SYMBOLIZE THE SPIRITUAL STATES WE WILL ALL EVENTUALLY experience a full year’s cycle AND A SUKKAH Tsix days. These days rep- EXPERIENCE. THESE CUSTOMS ARE THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS within a mere two days or less! resent shifts between spiritu- The pace of internal chang- The holiday of Sukkot al states called “light” or “dark- Rosh Hashanah (the beginning of es will determine the length designates the fi rst entrance From Rosh ness.” On the sixth day, Ad- the Jewish year) reminds us that of the spiritual process, and of Light into the soul am ha Rishon (Adam) was cre- we must begin with the process Hashanah to a Kabbalist may experience a » PAGE 6 ated, but right before Shabbat of correcting our souls and re- Simchat Torah (spiritual) state of holiday on (the Sabbath) he sinned and storing their initial unity. Following is the list of any given day of the year. THE MEANING was driven out of the Garden the spiritual states we will Each Kabbalist (and we will OF YOM KIPPUR of Eden. The Ten encounter along the correction all become Kabbalists) con- Introspection is the beginning According to the wisdom of process: nected to the spiritual world of spiritual ascension Kabbalah, Adam represents the Penitential Days 1. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom will experience a fixed num- » PAGE 6 state of unity of all the souls. The ten penitential days be- Kippur is when we discover ber of spiritual states, called When he sinned, his soul split tween Rosh Hashanah and Yom what we must correct. “6,000 years.” These are not into myriad pieces, which be- 6,000 physical years, but a Kippur (Day of Atonement) 2. Yom Kippur is when we ask RABBI HYA'S VISION came individual souls. These number of spiritual states we symbolize ten spiritual states. for the strength to help us Rabbi hya’s vision is detached from one another must experience before we During the spiritual correction correct. The Zohar’s subtle way and, most importantly, became process, these days occur when complete the correction of our 3. On Sukkot we receive the of telling us about alienated from the Creator and we discover the gap between souls. When the 6,000 years power to actually make the mutual responsibility from each other. our present spiritual state and (states) are completed, so will correction. Each of us contains a piece of the original state from which the spiritual correction. This Adam’s soul, and our task is to our souls declined. Seeing the 4. And on Simchat Torah we releases us from incarnating gladly complete the reunit- into this world, and our souls בס“ד reunite these fragments into the immensity of the gap makes us single soul of Adam ha Rishon. By ask for the strength to correct ing of Adam’s pieces, the need no longer descend into doing so, we will be correcting his our souls, to repent. In spiritu- correction. this world. WEB VERSION & RELATED MATERIAL » PAGE 7 sin and thus be able to reenter ality, this state is called Yom Kip- Because these are inter- the Garden of Eden. The time of pur, the Day of Atonement. nal states unrelated to a phys- www.kabtoday.com/links/71 2 KABBALAH FOR BEGINNERS …as long as egoism has the“ upper hand, society will always… disappoint its own “members. Eventually, all egoism-based societies will exhaust themselves along with the egoism that created them. » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 HA P P Y N EW YE A R meaning than their social as- pects. It reects our similar- THE COMING YEAR MAY WELL BE THE TIME WHEN THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL UNDERSTAND ity with the quality of love, WHY THEY WERE NAMED “THE CHOSEN PEOPLE.” WHEN THAT HAPPENS, the Creator. WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO FEAR WAR OR THREATS In Kabbalah, the goal is to achieve the Creator, to each holiday can bring us much of us feels totally isolated, de- the pressure of the nations— become like Him. And the n recent years, the popu- closer to the purpose of our spite the seven billion people are forces operating on us from means to do it is to love our lar attitude towards Kabbal- lives. This is why introspection around us. Hence, introspec- Above to impel us to do our fellow person, as reected in ah has shifted dramatically. I in Elul, the last month of the tion can now become extreme- duty. The people of Israel are the verse, “love thy neighbor People are no longer intimidat- Jewish year, can be very helpful. ly eective for us. judged with respect to the col- as thyself.” If we keep in mind ed by it. Instead, they are much According to Kabbalah, the Our current questions con- lective, to the whole world, not that the goal is to become sim- more willing to put their res- whole of humanity is in a very cern not only mundane issues, just with respect to themselves. ilar to the Creator, the com- ervations about Kabbalah be- special phase: it is approach- such as what careers we should If we understand that and ad- ing holidays will introduce hind, as they discover that its ing a state of “global introspec- pursue, but relate to the very dress it seriously, we will discov- new meaning to the ceremo- wisdom is nothing like they er that life on Earth is literally nies, something that will con- originally thought it to be. Human egoism has increased to a point heaven on Earth. But this out- tinue with us all year long. Kabbalah is not about where each of us feels totally isolated, come will depend on our ac- As part of the eort to charms or mysticism; it does, tions and commitment. despite the seven billion people around us promote the goal of love of however, contain an intrinsic At the end of the day, our man, Rav Michael Laitman, code that is tightly connected to tion.” People are beginning to reason for our existence. We success depends on Israel’s level PhD, founder and president everyone’s future. Using it, we realize that thousands of years are no longer talking about suc- of awareness of its duty toward of Bnei Baruch and publish- can change our future and real- of evolution have not produced cess, but about why we should stay the world. If we can bring this er of this paper, co-authored ize ourselves as complete spiri- anything of true merit; they are alive! Hopefully, this time our knowledge to people in a way The Complete Idiot’s Guide to tual beings. This is what makes growing tired and despaired. self-examination will be genu- that they can understand, we Kabbalah. Immediately fol- Kabbalah worth examining. Even the younger generation ine, yielding lasting results. will literally change the world. lowing the holidays, he will is bored and tired before their The people of Israel deter- The beginning of this rev- The coming year can be a time begin a month-long tour in lives have really begun. Seeking mine everything that happens in olution dates back to 1995. In of revelation of the awareness North America promoting new stimulation, they decline the whole world. Although there that year, something happened and the purpose of creation. the message of the book: ego- to drug abuse and want to for- are fears and anxieties of war and in the world, something shift- It can be the year of the revela- ism is humanity’s only ene- get about life. anti-Semitism, we actually have ed, and the ideas of Kabbalah tion of our duty to the world, of my, love of man is the only nothing to fear. If we do our du- began to appeal to many. Even But this is precisely the what makes us “the chosen peo- cure, and the wisdom of Kab- ty and bring correction to the people who did not know it and kind of state that can create fer- ple,” and what we must bring balah is the only means to world, the ominous clouds on did not claim to understand it, tile ground for poignant intro- into the world to carry out the achieve this love. people who were physically re- spection, beginning with the the horizon will dissolve, not just commandment of being “a light In the spirit of love of mote from Israel, began to take question, “What am I really for us, but for all of humanity.