Zohar means Radiance, and The Book of Zohar is the fundamental book in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is the key enabling one to reveal the spiritual part of the universe, hidden to our five senses, and the Upper Force that governs everything and brings everything into being.

It was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, or Rashbi, a great Kabbalist who lived in the 2nd century CE. Rashbi attained all the wisdom that was to be recorded in The Book of Zohar while hiding from the hostile Roman authorities in a cave in Northern Israel. Together with his son Rabbi Elazar, Rashbi spent 13 years living in this cave, eating fruits of a carob tree and drinking water from a nearby source. In that time, the father and son had attained all the degrees of the spiritual world, and were able to feel the Upper Force or the Creator with utter clarity. Read the rest of this entry »

Kabbalah Chronicles
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 1

The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote that when the whole of humanity was deep in idol worship, one man could not go with the flow. His name was Abraham. He pondered and searched until he found the truth: that the world has only one leader. When he discovered this, he realized he had discovered life’s eternal truth and ran to tell the world. Since then, the world has had a method that reveals this truth. Today this method has a different name – “Kabbalah” – but it is essentially the same. If we open our hearts to it, it will teach us why things happen, and how to make them happen better. Read the Full Article…

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You Don’t Have to Believe

“Kabbalah is not for believing. The first rule in Kabbalah, which first of all is a science, says: ‘The judge has only what his eyes can see.’ Meaning, everything comes through experimentation, study, and observing for yourself.”
– Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in the video clip “Reincarnation.”

The following list of materials deals with the attainment of reality, a fundamental concept in the science of Kabbalah:

“Perceiving Reality” Video Clips:
* Belief – Do I Have to Believe in God to Live a Spiritual Life?
* Consciousness – What States of Consciousness Have Other People Achieved?
* Kabbalah – What Is the Essence of Kabbalah?

Articles in the Kabbalah Today publication:
* Baal HaSulam on the Perception of Reality – “That which we cannot feel, we also cannot imagine… We attain only manifestations and reflections of operations that stem from the essences.” – Baal HaSulam
* I Saw a Reversed World – Spirituality is an opposite world to our current reality, and it needs to be seen to be believed.
* Living the Spiritual Dream World – When we discover our true state of existence, we’ll see that our current state is just a dream.

Articles by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD:
* The Science of Kabbalah: A Method for Researching Man and the World – Kabbalah consists of a number of areas of study, though all of them talk about the attainment of the Single Field – the Common Law of Creation.
* Body and Soul – The science of Kabbalah is intended for revelation of the Upper World to the same extent of clarity and reliability as the earthly sciences reveal our world to us.
* Matter and Form in Kabbalah – The science of Kabbalah subdivides into two parts: the knowledge of matter and the knowledge of a form. However, unlike conventional science, even the knowledge of a form in the science of Kabbalah is based entirely on scientific research and practical experience.

Recommended Book by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD on the perception and attainment of reality:
* Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life – Free PDF Download | Purchase

Articles by Baal HaSulam:
* Preface to the Book of Zohar
* Matter and Form in the Science of Kabbalah
* The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy

Lessons by Rav Laitman on Baal HaSulam’s Article “Preface to the Book of Zohar” [approx. 90 min. each]:
1. wmv video | mp3 audio (9 November, 2007)
2. wmv video | mp3 audio (16 November, 2007)
3. wmv video | mp3 audio (23 November, 2007)
4. wmv video | mp3 audio (30 November, 2007)
5. wmv video | mp3 audio (7 December, 2007)

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Klipot (Heb. Shells) n.

1. Desires of a spiritual nature that want to rejoice selfishly in the Creator.
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in the article “Selected Topics in Kabbalah.”

2. Uncorrected desires. Impure desires. Low, animal lusts.
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in the interview “Heaven and Hell.”

3. Shinui Tzura (difference of form) separates and departs spirituals (see the definition for What is Separation?). Know that this Hofchiut Tzura (opposition of form) from one end to the other separates and drives them to the opposite ends until there isn’t any suction between them.

You already know that there is only a will to bestow in the Ohr Elyon (Upper Light), and not to receive even a bit. The Klipot are of completely opposite Tzura (form), meaning want only to receive and swallow everything; they haven’t any will to bestow whatsoever. For that reason they are separated from the Life of Lives and are therefore called “Dead” and so is anything that cleaves to them.

Baal HaSulam, in Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 3: Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words.

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