“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose” is an article written by Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), discussing the meaning and essence of Kabbalah. In this article, the word “religion” is not proposed in the same fashion as we understand the term these days, that is, as referring to a set of beliefs for understanding the meaning and purpose of our lives and the universe. “Religion” rather refers to the actual attainment of eternity and perfection. The wisdom of Kabbalah is intended for developing oneself with the aim of actualizing this attainment.

Over the generations, human development has been under the control of nature’s influence. We have developed unconsciously, not knowing the cause of our existence and in the meantime have adhered to various beliefs and philosophies in order to provide us some kind of framework while living in this world. This represents one specific phase of our development, “the unconsciousness phase.”

In our era, this unconsciousness phase is coming to an end. We are gradually breaking through into the next phase—“the consciousness phase.” Moreover, nature is necessitating this next phase of development.

Until today, nothing has depended upon the person. “Unconscious development” means that one is simply attracted toward some goal by the pleasure one pictures for oneself in that goal; or one is repelled to go somewhere else by means of pain. All of our progress throughout history has been controlled by remaining in any state as long as it is tolerable, and when we could not tolerate it any longer, we looked for a way out and moved onto a new and different path. We have acted this way all throughout history, in our lives today, and all of nature acts in the same way: toward pleasure and away from pain. This defines our unconscious development.

Today, in the conscious development phase, our development is dependent upon us. If we continue to simply follow nature’s commands, in other words, follow our thoughts and desires without any true awareness of their cause, we will be led into intensifying pain.

The alternative to this path is if we discover a means for attaining what exactly gives rise to our desires and thoughts, and start working on ourselves in order to discover this cause. Kabbalists state that discovering this cause is the purpose for our being here, and the sole purpose for studying the wisdom of Kabbalah.

This cause will be revealed to everyone, however our development leading to it can either be one of getting slapped about without ever knowing why (i.e. unconscious development), or one that discovers the goal before us, and a method for speeding up our understanding of where everything is coming from and why it is happening, and how to use it all in order to reach our final state in the shortest possible time.

We will then develop consciously toward it—researching and understanding how nature operates upon us, and discovering the complete picture of nature in order to live in a new dimension of life, peacefully and comfortably. This all depends upon the revelation of the common purpose for each and every person, of how incredible and great it is, and making it attractive and worthwhile to choose to advance towards.

The wisdom of Kabbalah has stemmed down to us in order that we discover the goal and purpose of our existence. Neither a philosophy, nor a set of beliefs, the wisdom of Kabbalah rather teaches how one can work on oneself in order to attain more complete levels of perception which are concealed from our inborn, egoistic mode of perceiving through the five senses.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, in general, includes our whole life. Everything that exists was created to correctly use ourselves and everything that has been prepared purposefully, to achieve life’s highest goal quickly, and in the most comfortable, short and enjoyable way. Nothing was made so that we “just exist” in it. When we reach life’s goal, we will feel like we are in a state of eternal and perfect motion and existence, without death, without birth, without all of the problems that we perceive in our world.

Today we are being pushed to realize how there is no worse state of existence than our present state of living in this world. This is in order to develop in us the desire to ascend to an altogether new state of existence, of boundless fulfillment and a perception of our eternal state of life—the purpose of our lives.

The Free Kabbalah Course is based on the articles of Baal HaSulam and provides step-by-step guided learning from experienced Kabbalah instructors of Kabbalah’s basic concepts. Baal HaSulam was the first Kabbalist in history who wrote articles not only for Kabbalists, but for the broad public, in order to explain Kabbalah’s fundamentals, because he understood the need that would emerge in humanity to answer deeper questions about life’s meaning and purpose. Therefore, if you’re interested in such topics, we recommend taking the free course and start learning about the world around you and inside you anew. Click the banner below to sign up for the free course …

In “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two,” Baal HaSulam describes how over the course of humanity’s history, from the time when the science of Kabbalah was received, when Abraham revealed Kabbalah in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago; Kabbalists preserved the entire knowledge, developed it, and adapted it for us. They passed it down into our time.

However, even a very long time ago, thousands of years before our era, they had already predicted that this knowledge will have to be revealed precisely in our time because humanity will reach the state when it will need it.

The Free Kabbalah Course is based on the articles of Baal HaSulam and provides step-by-step guided learning from experienced Kabbalah instructors of Kabbalah’s basic concepts. Baal HaSulam was the first Kabbalist in history who wrote articles not only for Kabbalists, but for the broad public, in order to explain Kabbalah’s fundamentals, because he understood the need that would emerge in humanity to answer deeper questions about life’s meaning and purpose. Therefore, if you’re interested in such topics, we recommend taking the free course and start learning about the world around you and inside you anew. Click the banner below to sign up for the free course …

Where Does the Desire to be Like the Creator Come From?

There is a Creator who wishes to give. This is the Root, or Zero Phase. In order to give, He must have someone to give to, and because the Creator wants to give, He creates a Kli that receives the “gift,” meaning the Creator gives to the Kli. This is State One.

For this to occur, the receiver must first want the pleasure. If I build in you a desire for something and then give you what you want, you will not enjoy my gift because this is not your own desire. You must feel that it is your own desire before you can define it as “pleasure.” Thus, at the end of State One, the creature begins to sense the Giver and His nature.

The will to receive evolves by sensing the Giver (State One), and consequently wanting to be like the Giver (State Two). In that state it becomes worthwhile for the creature to be like the Giver (State Three). However, this is only a phase in the formation of the will to receive, and the creature is not really aware that it is receiving anything.

In fact, the creature isn’t aware of any of these observations; they are merely phases in the evolution of the crude will to receive. This crude desire must still descend, formulate, and drift far from the Creator until it stops sensing Him altogether. It must descend to the level of our world, and only then will it sense the desire in it as its own independent will (State Four). In this way, it will believe that it’s free and does not submit to the Creator’s guidance.

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Numbers 4:21-7:89

This Week’s Torah Portion | May 25 – May 31, 2014 – Lyar 25 – Sivan 2, 5774

In A Nutshell

The portion describes the children of Israel’s preparations to set out on a journey from Mount Sinai to the land of Israel. The bulk of the work revolves around the tabernacle. The census in the tribe of Levi continues, and there is a description of the distribution of duties between the families of Levi, Gershon, Kohat, and Merari. The Creator gives an order to send the impure people outside the camp as preparation for the inauguration of the tabernacle.

Afterward the portion narrates different situations in which the people need the help of the priests and the tabernacle. The incidents are connected to negative acts such as stealing, a person swearing in the name of the Creator in vain and must offer a sacrifice, and a woman who strayed and is suspected of committing adultery and is therefore brought to the priest. There are also positive incidents, such as the story of the hermit, detailing the laws that a person who makes a vow takes upon himself, and the blessing of the priests, the blessing that the priests bless the people.

The end of the portion discusses the gifts of the presidents and the great celebration—the inauguration of the tabernacle. The portion ends with the conclusion of the preparations, when the people of Israel can set out to the land of Israel.

 Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

The Torah speaks only about our soul and how we should correct it. We do not correct the body because the body is an animal and acts according to its nature. We must reinstate the “portion of God from above” (Job 31:2); this is the soul.

We do it as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created for it the Torah as a spice”^[1] because “the light in it reforms.”^[2] When we begin to connect to others under the condition, “love your neighbor as yourself,”^[3] we find how repelling we find this act. We do not want to see anyone, only use them for our own benefit.

This is our nature, as the Creator said, “I have created the evil inclination.” However, the more we study and try to draw closer to each other, and discover how utterly impossible it is, the more we feel our nature as bad, as ill will, evil inclination. Then we need a means to correct it, and this is the light that reforms.

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• Mount Sinai
• Family
• Impure
• Camp, or Being Outside the Camp
• Tabernacle and the Inauguration of the Tabernacle
• Gift
• Blessing
• Blessing of the Priests
• False Oath

Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai is a mountain of Sina’a (hate). If a person discovers all the evil within, it is considered being at the foot of Mount Sinai. However, it is possible to discover it only if the point within, called Moses, climbs up that mountain. There, in the chasm between the bottom of the mountain and its peak, under that condition one acquires the Torah. This happens because that person feels that he or she simply must correct, but does not know what to do. Such a person is worthy of receiving the light that reforms, called “Torah.”

Family

A family is a whole person consisting of a man, woman, children, a house, and the entire world. It is a complete Kli.

Impure

One who is impure is fraught with self-interest. Such a person defiles everything he or she touches because anything that that person wants is only for self-gratification instead of giving to others. Conversely, giving, or bestowal upon others, is called Kedusha (holiness), purity.

Camp, or Being Outside the Camp

A camp is the part of the will to receive that a person can define and say that in this part one is advancing only with the intention to bestow. That is, a camp is our corrected desires.

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