Deuteronomy, 7:12-11:25
This Week’s Torah Portion | August 21 – August 27, 2016 – 17 Av – 23 Av, 5776

In A Nutshell

In the portion, Ekev (Because), Moses continues his speech to the people of Israel. He reiterates that if Israel keep the laws and the ordinances that the Creator commanded them, they will be awarded happiness, health, and triumphs over their enemies. But if they do not, the Creator will not keep them and they will be lost among the nations.

The portion also describes the virtues of the land of Israel, the seven species. Finally, the people are commanded to teach these things to their children and to carve the Mezuzah^[1] on their doorsteps.

Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

Moses warns the people to keep the laws of Nature because the Creator is Elokim (God), and in Gematria (numeric values ascribed to Hebrew letters) it is “The Nature.”

The Creator gave us the Torah (Pentateuch), the laws of the world. The Torah is like a physics book, except that the laws in it are absolute, and totally precise. Only Israel received them. If we act according to these laws we will be above everything. We received a promise in advance, and this is truly what is happening. If we keep the laws before us we will receive anything we want—happiness, respect, security, health, eternity, wholeness, this world and the next world.

These laws come down to one: “love your neighbor as yourself; it is a great rule in the Torah.” All we need is to keep that law—love of others. The whole Torah speaks of nothing but that.

The problems begin with keeping that law. We cannot do it alone. It is only possible in an environment that sustains us, along with all the members of that environment. Only through mutual support can we truly keep that law. Baal HaSulam (Rav Yehuda Ashlag) mentioned in that regard a story about two friends sailing in a boat. When one of them began to drill under him, his friend asked, “What are you doing?” the other replied, “It is none of your concern, I am drilling only under me.”

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The Series “General Overview” is a six lesson documentary given by Dr. Michael Laitman to his students on the topic of the Structure of Upper Worlds. The series clarifies the process of creation of the spiritual worlds, from the Initial Thought of Creation, through the creation of the soul of Adam HaRishon and its shattering, up to the development of Man in our world. It also includes the awakening of desire for spirituality in our times. The series is mostly based on the article “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” by the Kabbalist, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag.

Lesson 1 – Revealing the Upper Reality

The Wisdom of Kabbalah discusses the entire structure of reality from its beginning through its development. This ancient wisdom has been passed down to us by people who developed the qualities, means, and methods for attaining a spiritual nature. Those who attained and studied the spiritual reality in depth and conveyed for us what they attained. In lesson 1, we’ll learn about the basic structures of Spiritual Reality.

What Is Life?

DOES LIFE HAVE A MEANING? Why are so many people suffering? What happens to us when we die? Where did we come from? Authentic Kabbalah was made to answer these and all of life’s deepest questions. Take a tour of the laws shaping your life. Discover insights the ancient Kabbalists had into nature’s program and the purpose behind it. In this two hour lecture, we’re going to debunk the many myths surrounding Kabbalah, answer your questions, and explain how you can take the first step into the path of spiritual attainment using Kabbalah’s most practical methodology.

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The Zohar can’t be understood & felt directly, but requires preconception of spirituality before one approaches it.

We need to relate to The Zohar as to the Book that contains a certain secret code, a sequence of spiritual instructions. In order to establish connection with these spiritual instructions, I read The Zohar. However, the connection emerges not by my hearing or reading the text; rather, it is built to the measure of my desire to unite with this inner code so that it could transform me.

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There is no perceptible reality at all outside you – there is only constant Upper Light. The entire world is inside you.

There is a very serious warning that it is forbidden to use the method of Kabbalah in the wrong way. The power of the Light is the greatest power in nature. We have to know how to use it. There is Light in all the Kabbalah books, and if a person uses them the wrong way, instead of the potion of life he receives the potion of death. It is a very strong weapon that is like radiation which can be used beneficially in different techniques and in medicine, but which can also kill. Fire too can be destructive on the one hand while on the other it can help us and warm us.

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Deuteronomy, 3:23-7:11
This Week’s Torah Portion | August 14 – August 20, 2016 – 10 Av – 16 Av, 5776

In A Nutshell

The portion, VaEtchanan (And I Besought), repeats the prohibition that Moses was prohibited—to enter the land of Israel—and that Joshua is to succeed him and lead the people to the land of Israel. The portion deals with the commandment to keep the Torah and remember the standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, as well as with the concept of repentance, which appears here for the first time. Here appears the known text of Shema Ysrael (Here, O Israel).

Moses makes another speech, where he repeats the Ten Commandments. He also distinguishes three cities of refuge on the Eastern side of the Jordan River, warns of idol worship in the land of Israel, and instructs the destruction of the statues. He also reminds the people that the Creator is the one who led them into the land of Israel, the good land that they are destined to inherit.

Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

The portion, VaEtchanan (And I Besought), contains all the conditions for the dwelling of the people of Israel in the land of Israel. The people of Israel began its history with Abraham, who established in Babylon a group. That group distinguished itself from the rest of the Babylonians, who did not wish to unite “as one man with one heart,” meaning to be in the quality of Hesed (mercy), which is Abraham’s quality.

That group of people agreed to live in Arvut (mutual guarantee), and actually began the formation process of the people of Israel. Following the exodus from Egypt, the group took upon itself the commitment to be as one nation despite the problems and the egos of its people.

The formation of a single nation was conditioned upon a successful “passage” of the ordeal at the foot of Mount Sinai, which is a mountain of Sinaa (hate). On Mount Sinai, the people assumed the preparatory stipulation for climbing over that mountain—being “as one man with one heart.” Only by adhering to this condition is it possible to receive the Torah, the upper force that can unite everyone. That condition is met through the point in the heart of each person, a point named Moses, which draws the people onward into the desert and subsequently to the land of Israel. This is the point where everyone must unite.

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