Past, Present and Future According to Kabbalah

We experience the past, the present, and the future in the present. In our world, all three are perceived in the present, but as three distinct sensations. These are produced as a result of our minds arranging these notions in accordance with their own internal time charts and, thus, yielding an impression of tense.

In the language of Kabbalah, this is defined as the difference in the effects of the “Light-pleasure.” The pleasure that is felt at a given moment is considered to be the present. If its internal, direct impact on us has already passed, if the pleasure is gone, gleams from afar and is sensed by us as being distant, then we perceive it as “in the past.”

If there was a cessation of Light when the pleasure left us, if we no longer receive it, then we completely forget about its existence. But if it resumes radiating Light from afar, then it becomes the forgotten past that we just remembered.

If we have not yet experienced a certain Light-pleasure, and it suddenly appears to our senses from afar, it will be perceived by us as in “the future” (“the Light of Confidence”).

In other words, we perceive the present as an internal acquisition, as Light, as information, and as pleasure, whereas we perceive the past and the future as the result of the distant external glow of remembered or anticipated pleasure. But in any case, we do not live either in the past or in the future, but only at the present moment, perceiving the different types of Light, which are interpreted as the different times, or tenses.

The Pleasure Vs. Pain Principle

If we do not experience any pleasure in the present, we seek the Source that can give pleasure in the future; we await the next moment, which will bring with it a different sensation. Our efforts in the sphere of self-improvement consist of drawing the distant external Light into our present perceptions.

There are two forces acting upon us: Suffering pushes us from behind, and pleasures entice us and pull us forward.

Usually, one force alone is not sufficient; the mere anticipation of future pleasure is not enough to advance forward, since if we have to make an effort to progress, such factors as laziness or fear of losing what we already possess may come into play.

For this reason, it is necessary to have a force that works from behind—the sense of suffering in the present state. All blunders stem from one ultimate blunder—a desire to partake of pleasure.

Usually, those who commit these blunders do not boast of the fact that they could not withstand the temptation, the fact that they were weaker than the enticement. Only the pleasure from anger awards them a sense of open pride because it ascertains their righteousness. It is this pride that immediately brings them down. Thus, anger is the most forceful expression of one’s egoism.

Praying to Bond with the Creator

When we experience material, bodily, or spiritual suffering, we should regret the fact that the Creator awarded us such a punishment. If we do not regret it, then it is not a punishment, since a punishment is a feeling of pain and regret for a condition we cannot overcome, whether it be health, material needs, etc.

If we do not experience pain from our condition, it means that we did not yet receive the punishment sent by the Creator. Since any punishment is the correction of one’s soul, by not experiencing it, we miss an opportunity for correction. But the one who experiences the punishment and is capable of praying to the Creator to alleviate the suffering, undergoes an even greater self-improvement than would be possible had the suffering been borne without prayer.

The reason for this can be found in the fact that the Creator allots punishment to us for completely different reasons than those that induce punishment in our world. Punishment is not given to us for acting contrary to His Will, but in order to form a bond with Him, in order to force us to turn to Him and to come closer to Him.

Thus, if we pray to the Creator to relieve us from suffering, it should not be interpreted as our asking the Creator to be relieved of self-improvement. Offering a prayer to form a bond with the Creator is a step of incomparably greater progress than that allotted through suffering.

“The Spiritual Reason Behind all Pleasure and Pain” is based on the book, Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Dr. Michael Laitman.

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