We at the Bnei Baruch Learning Center are so excited about the upcoming Kabbalah Fundamentals Summer Course, starting on Wednesday 4 August @ 8:00pm EDT (U.S.)… that we can’t wait to get started!

So the week before the course starts, we’ll be holding a free public preliminary live Q&A session with you to celebrate the upcoming course.

We invite you all to post just one question that’s itching away at you, and get it answered at the live event. Maybe you have a question about Kabbalah itself, or how Kabbalah can help you in a certain situation you’re facing, or how Kabbalah explains all kinds of events occurring in our world, or any variety of concepts, such as whether we have free choice, how we perceive reality, why we feel pain and pleasure, or countless other things…

Kabbalah encourages the asking of questions to progress, so here’s an opportunity to ask your first question and get it answered live!… Just write your name, e-mail, and the question you have in the comment form below, and you’ll get reminder e-mails with a link to the live event where we’ll answer your question.

AND… By sending us your question using the comment form below, you’ll go into the draw to win a number of book & CD giveaways!

We’ll be updating about this event regularly on this blog, and providing new, special preview Q&A material leading up to the event to help you prepare. Here is the first of many of these: a free PDF for you to download, containing an interview between Dr. Michael Laitman and Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements.

• Personal Change, Social Change & Global Change (PDF) – an interview between Dr. Michael Laitman and Don Miguel Ruiz, guide, Shaman, Master of the Toltec Tradition, and author of The Four Agreements.

Related:

• Sign Up To The Summer Kabbalah Fundamentals Course>>
  

Ask a question below!

Privacy: Any private information you submit will never be traded, rented or sold.

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Birds from illuzia.net on Vimeo.

Life works in such a way that all cells must become mutually dependent on each other in order to build a living body. Nature created a regularity by which the adhesive that joins the cells and the organs as a living body is the relationship of mutual consideration among them. Thus, it follows that the force that creates and sustains life is a force of giving and sharing. Its objective is to create a life based on a mutually considerate existence, harmonious, and balanced among all its elements.

Humanity can benefit from seeing examples of mutual dependency in Nature, in order to inspire us to develop such relationships among ourselves. By achieving mutual consideration, trust and love among people, we will discover a whole new life of balance, harmony and completeness.

In order to promote this message of harmony, we are offering a book package containing the softcover versions of From Chaos to Harmony: The Solution to the World Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah and Bail Yourself Out: How You Can Emerge Strong from the World Crisis, to anyone who adds text to the above video that encases the above message. The prizewinners will also have their text added to the above clip, and it will be published on the site Illuzia.net.

To enter, simply write either one or both of the following options in the comment section below, together with your e-mail address where it asks for it:
1) Imagine there is a black screen at the end of this video, and you could write the text that appears in this screen. Write something that creatively captures the above message (Word Count Limit = 15 words)
2) Imagine there is a black screen both at the start and at the end of the video. Write the text that appears in each of these black screens. Write something that creatively captures the above message (Word Count Limit = 15 words per screen)

We will be selecting the winning entry on Tuesday, 21 July, 2009, and will announce the winner on this blog on that same day.

If you are interested in learning more about this message, then you are encouraged to read the following sections from the book From Chaos to Harmony:

• Altruism is Life’s Law
• Breaching the Balance
• The Crisis as an Opportunity to Restore Balance
• Life’s Purpose
• Changing Our Attitude Toward Others Brings All of Nature into Balance

Click Here to Sign Up for a Free Kabbalah Introductory Course – Starts Soon!

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Win a free $50 coupon for our Kabbalah Bookstore, as well as a free copy of the book From Chaos to Harmony: The Solution to the Global Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah by writing Kabbalah’s solution to the crisis in your own words.

We will publish the winning answer in the Kabbalah Newsletter of Tuesday, 3 March, and send out the prizes in the same week. (Subscribe to the Kabbalah Newsletter by leaving your e-mail address in the “Kabbalah Newsletter” box in the right sidebar.)

To enter the competition, in the comments section below, leave your

• name
• contact e-mail, and
• write Kabbalah’s solution to the crisis in your own words, in a 140 to 220 word count limit.

The writing style can be anything you like: informative, creative, personal, a bulleted list… The answer with the most “Wow! Factor” receives the prize.

Click here to subscribe to the RSS feed of Michael Laitman’s Personal Blog, to stay updated with Kabbalah’s message in response to the crisis and world events.

Click Here to Sign Up for a Free Kabbalah Introductory Course – Starts Soon!

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PART OF AN ENTRY SENT BY MARY DARE: I thought the Kabbalah had something to do with Numerology. Since I had never been good with numbers, I stayed away from it…

Numerology and Kabbalah

FROM THE BOOK: The term numerology did not exist in authentic Kabbalah; contemporary scholars linked the two. Although numerology is not an accurate term to describe Kabbalah’s treatment of numbers, there is probably no better word to use if you want to translate the Hebrew term Gimatria into English.

Gimatria, in simple terms, describes a Kabbalist’s experience of the divine. In Kabbalah, the ego performs Yihudim (unifications) with the Creator. The shape of Hebrew letters depicts such unifications through dots and lines over a white background. The dots and the lines symbolize the states of the Kabbalist, who perceives the Creator. The white background symbolizes the divine light, the Creator.

In Hebrew, each letter of the 22-letter alphabet is assigned a specific number… The correlation between letters and numbers created a way for Kabbalists to describe to each other what they experienced in a concise and accurate manner. For example, the word Nega (affliction) and the word Oneg (pleasure) have the exact same letters (in a different order) and, therefore, the same numeric value. The inversion in the order of letters indicates that when affliction is corrected (from egoism to giving), a person experiences pleasure.

p. 11 in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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We are continuing to post responses to the “Misconceptions of Kabbalah” competition…

ENTRY SENT BY JANNET: My encounter with Kabbalah was when I went to the library and out of curiosity borrowed the book entitled “Qabbalah Magic.” It told of what magic you can achieve and things you can acquire by performing all these rituals. However I didn’t finish the book as I felt it wasn’t what I was looking for.

Myth: Kabbalah Is All About Magic

FROM THE BOOK: It is a common mistake for people to think that Kabbalah deals with fortune telling, revelations of the past, and the study of the present. The definition of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to people in this world today, not after death. Perhaps some draw this parallel as a result of the perception of secrecy that surrounds Kabbalah.

Either way, Kabbalah has no connection to magic. In fact, Kabbalah forbids fortune telling or any attempt to find out about the destiny of the physical body. The body is temporary, negligible, and, thus, insignificant. It is not worthy of attention beyond the question of how it serves the soul.

pp. 55/6 in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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We will continue featuring various entries in the daily Kabbalah Blog posts (Click here to receive them in your e-mail) and in the newsletter (subscribe on the right of this screen).

The following entry, sent by David D. Garcia of New York, was chosen to receive the free copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah because it most closely fits the Jewish themes of this week’s newsletter and the new issue of Kabbalah Today.

WINNING COMPETITION ENTRY: As a Jew, my biggest misconception of Kabbalah before encountering Bnei Baruch was that I had to be fully ‘Torah Observant’ before being able study Kabbalah. I was always taught that one must have an extensive background in Torah and Talmud before even contemplating Kabbalah. I always accepted this because I had always assumed Kabbalah was ‘only for Jews’, and further, only for ‘observant’ Jews.

Once I learned through Bnei Baruch that it is essential for all people to study Kabbalah, this discovery made me begin to question my preconceived ideas of prerequisites to Kabbalah study. And it was through Bnei Baruch that I came to understand that Torah, and perhaps to a ‘lesser’ extent, Talmud, can only be properly understood through a Kabbalistic lens. This allowed me to dispel all my previously held ideas and begin to Kabbalah study in earnest. Thank you!

Myth: Kabbalah Is a Religion

FROM THE BOOK: This is a common misunderstanding, and one worth addressing from the start. The wisdom of Kabbalah is related to no other religion or belief. It does not deal with meditations, prophecies, questions of religion, or even one’s mental state. Religions, however, are combinations of rituals designed by humans to support them in their earthly existence. While religions such as Judaism and Christianity have similar concepts of the Upper World (heaven, the afterlife, etc.), much of religion teaches how humans should exist in this temporal world.

Kabbalah, however, is better thought of as a science, not a religion. As such, Kabbalah studies and provides a way of understanding of the essential core of humanity, the Higher World, the entire universe, and the Creator. The outcome of that study is the discovery that humankind wishes to become like the Creator. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the science of the system of creation and its management.

pp. 53/54 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah, by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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Part 1 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah explains the general phenomenon and its popularity, and gives an overview of what exists today in the world regarding the word Kabbalah. It also discusses what Kabbalah is and what it isn’t, and gives some background on how it got started.

We have been receiving many responses to the competition showing the many misconceptions we all have about Kabbalah prior to encountering the authentic study through Bnei Baruch. We will post some of these coupled with explanations about these misconceptions from Part 1 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah in coming newsletters and blog posts.

Next Thursday we will publish the winning entry. You still have until Monday, June 3, 2007 to enter! Send all entries to english@kabbalah.info

Click here to pre-order your copy today!

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Meditation and Kabbalah
The Meditation Misconception

COMPETITION ENTRY FROM PAULA: Prior to coming to Bnei Baruch to learn what the wisdom of Kabbalah really is, I spent 12 years intensely studying Judaism and so-called “Kabbalah.”

My biggest stumbling block was meditation and so-called “Kabbalistic meditation.” I fully expected to attain the upper worlds by sitting in stillness with my eyes closed and chanting various permutations of names of G-d. All my closest “divine” connections came from my meditation practice and that was my ultimate pleasure, that sweet “divine connection.”

Imagine my surprise and shock to learn that meditation was actually reducing me to the level of a stone! Sure I could feel the divine, but in the same way a stone does It was like settling for the teeny-tiniest fragment of the upper light. Now I wrestle to become a fully speaking human in this world, thanks to Bnei Baruch.

FROM THE BOOK: Meditation is considered by many as part of the spiritual work or practices of a Kabbalist. But not all Kabbalists have practiced meditation, and even those who did meditate did not practice it in the sense we do today.

Today meditation is associated with Eastern teachings, something that Kabbalists in the past did not know. Generally, Eastern meditation is used for relaxation and for uniting with higher levels of existence by “removing” the ego. In Kabbalah, the ego is not removed, but elevated to a higher level of practice. It connects with the divine instead of canceling itself. This embrace of ego and Creator is called Yihud (unification).

pp. 10/11 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah, by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

Click here to view a related video: “Can a Kabbalist also be a Buddhist?”

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One of the purposes of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah is to clear up any misconceptions a person has about what Kabbalah is and what it can do for you; misconceptions that developed during the 2,000 years of its concealment.

In order to win a free copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah, please send us (in 250 words or less) a short story about your biggest misconception of Kabbalah prior to encountering authentic Kabbalah at Bnei Baruch.

The sender of the most unique answer will receive a free copy of the book, and the answer will be published in the newsletter and Kabbalah Blog post of Thursday, June 7, 2007.

Closing date for entries is Monday, June 3, 2007. Send all entries to english@kabbalah.info

Click here to pre-order your copy today!

Click Here to Sign Up for a Free Kabbalah Introductory Course – Starts Soon!

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