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VaYikra (The Lord Called) Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

Leviticus, 1:1-5:26

This Week’s Torah Portion | January 19 – January 25, 2014 – Shevat 18 – Shevat 24, 5774

In A Nutshell

The portion, VaYikra (The Lord Called), deals with rules of sacrificing and the priests serving in the tabernacle. Some offerings are optional; some are mandatory. Some of the offerings are burnt to ashes on the altar, and some remain for the priests and the giver of the offering.

The rules of offerings speak of a “burnt offering” that a person brings voluntarily from the cattle, flock, and poultry. There is also a “gift offering,” which a person brings voluntarily from the flora. Also, there is the “peace offering,” which is an offering that a person brings from the cattle, sheep, and goats. The “sin offering” is an offering brought by one who sinned by mistake. That person makes an offering to atone for the sin.

 Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

The portion, VaYikra (The Lord Called), teaches us about the work of the offerings, which are also the main topic in the Talmud. We learn all the works from the works of the Temple.

People are nearing the purpose of creation and Dvekut (adhesion) with the Creator, to the human level, a life in a totally blissful world, and experiencing all the worlds and the sensation of nature as complete and eternal, as it was prepared for us. That nearing is called Korban (offering/sacrifice) from the word Karov (near).

We are approaching it step by step by correcting our nature. There are 613 desires in us, which we must correct one at a time, each desire with all of its parts. Our desires divide into four levels: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. The work of the offerings teaches us how to sacrifice and correct them so they are in bestowal and love. The rule in our work is to correct our nature and achieve the state, “love your neighbor as yourself; it is a great rule in the Torah.”[1] By that, we become similar to the Creator and achieve Dvekut with Him.

The correction of the egoistic desire from receiving for myself into bestowal upon others is called an “offering” that a person offers. The offering may come from several sources. It may be from the still, as it is written, “On all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Leviticus, 2:13), or water or oil. It can also be from the vegetative or processed plants, such as the showbread. From the animate, only a certain kind is offered. The priests’ and the Levites’ daily work in the Temple is to sacrifice the flock and the cattle.

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Glossary – VaYikra (The Lord Called) Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

Offering/Sacrifice

The word Korban (offering/sacrifice) comes from the word Karov (near), as it is written, “As Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord” (Exodus, 14:10). Pharaoh is our biggest force of advancement. In fact, everything we slaughter at the altar, all that we correct, are parts of Pharaoh, that great will to receive from which we cut slices and sacrifice. By that, we become corrected and draw closer until the image of the Creator emerges in us from the image of Pharaoh.

Sin

Sin is the complete disclosure of our nature, how absorbed we are in self-love instead of love of others.

Mistake

The corruption of the force of Bina in us is called “mistake.” The corruption of the force of Malchut in us is called “sin” (deliberate faulty act). In our world, the sins are far greater than the mistakes. Take for example a person who wants to steal; the mistake is that he is jealous of another and seemingly does him no harm by that.

The correction of the mistake is when a person transcends one’s will to receive and does not want to use it whatsoever. At that time a person becomes detached from the mistake, and later inverts the entire ego, the entire will to receive into having the aim to bestow upon others. This is how we correct the sins.

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Kabbalah on the Ukraine Protests and Riots

Below is a collection of material discussing how Kabbalah relates to the protests and riots taking place increasingly in our world today…

Education on the Laws of Nature Is the Means for Reform, Not Resistance

If governments do not understand the law of evolution of human society, people will suffer, but the change will still happen. It is better not to resist, but to study nature, as Kabbalah suggests, to study the laws of mutual guarantee (Arvut), of new relationships of humanity as one body, and follow them.  [Source: Dr. Michael Laitman, “The War for Peace“]

There Will be No Tomorrow if We Continue the Way We Are. Building Tomorrow Requires Integration & Connection

The problem is that the people who are protesting do not yet understand that the reason for all of the dissatisfaction is the loss of hope for the future. This bothers people even more than the fact that there is nothing to live on. A person does not feel that there is something good waiting for him tomorrow. And it is necessary to give people an explanation that there will be no tomorrow if we will continue the way we are! After all, this way we are only speeding up the destruction of the world.

What benefit would it give to overturn everything and to change one thing for something similar? There used to be one head of government and now there will be another one. So what will change, really? Things will only get worse.

Until we become integral and connected with everyone and with the environment into one system, we will not have any feeling or thought that will enable us to build tomorrow. Now, the only question is: How much longer will we have to suffer in order to understand this? How many more blows will we have to endure in order to want to hear it? [Source: Dr. Laitman, “Are Mass Protests an Effective Means of Reform?”]

What Needs to Change so there Will be Peace?

The Guardian: “The least one can say is that this crisis offers proof that it is not the people but experts themselves who do not know what they are doing. In Western Europe we are effectively witnessing a growing inability of the ruling elite – they know less and less how to rule. Look at how Europe is dealing with the Greek crisis: putting pressure on Greece to repay debts, but at the same time ruining its economy through imposed austerity measures and thereby making sure that the Greek debt will never be repaid. …

“And therein resides the true message of the ‘irrational’ popular protests all around Europe: The protesters know very well what they don’t know; they don’t pretend to have fast and easy answers; but what their instinct is telling them is nonetheless true – that those in power also don’t know it. In Europe today, the blind are leading the blind.”

Comment by Dr. Laitman: The process of growing should break out in the leading countries to force management to recognize its inability to understand and control what is happening. At the same time, more people will recognize the need to change their attitude towards themselves and the world, feeling the necessity to change not the world, its management, system, but to change the human being first, by way of the widespread implementation of a short course (2-3 months) in integral education, to raise awareness of the general population to the level where nature forces us to rise. After that, it is possible to introduce gradual reforms at all levels and systems of society. [Source: Dr. Laitman, “The Blind Leading the Blind“]

To learn more about Kabbalah’s attitude to protests, riots, social reform, the global crisis and the way to world peace, it is recommended to take the free courses. The reason is that many of the concepts and terms we have a heard a lot about in our upbringing have completely different definitions in Kabbalah, and it takes a while to process them properly. Therefore, if you’re interested in this topic, and related topics like:

  • Humanity’s globalization and today’s global crisis explained by Kabbalah.
  • How to use nature’s examples to model a perfect existence for humanity.
  • Why have all attempts toward a peaceful existence among humanity failed? What was the missing element in all those attempts?
  • How does Kabbalah provide what was missing in all past attempts to make a peaceful existence for humanity?

…then it’s recommended to take the free courses…

Images in this post: Top: Bandura, Ivan. “Maidan Reboot on the St. Michael’s Square.” Flickr. Yahoo!, 30 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Middle: Bandura, Ivan. “Riot Police Blocking the Way to the Parliament Building on Sunday Night.” Flickr. Yahoo!, 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Bottom: Bandura, Ivan. “Youth of the Nation for Euro Integration.” Flickr. Yahoo!, 28 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

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Tetzaveh (Command) Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

Exodus, 27:20-30:10

This Week’s Torah Portion | February 22 – February 28, 2014 – 3 Adar – 9 Adar, 5775

In A Nutshell

In the portion, Tetzaveh (Command), the Creator provides Moses with additional details regarding the tabernacle, and commands the children of Israel to take olive oil to light the everlasting candle in the tent of meeting outside the veil, so it may burn from dusk to dawn.

The Creator instructs Moses to appoint Aaron and his sons, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, and Itamar to be his priests. He elaborates on the commandment of preparing the holy garments “for honor and glory” (Exodus, 28: 2): the vest, fringe, coat, and the rest of the garments of the priest.

Afterward comes an explanation on the sanctification of Aaron and his sons for their role in the tabernacle, including the offering of an ox and two rams on the altar of the incense that will be positioned inside the tabernacle before the veil, and how the incense is to be made. Finally, the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is mentioned, which is to take place once a year.

 Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

The portion, Tetzaveh (Command), is very matter-of-fact, short, and pragmatic. The whole of the substance of creation is the desire to receive. This is the solid basis from which we should begin. We feel the will to receive within us divided into four levels: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. All our desires are divided in this manner, and we give them the shape of bestowal, namely to aim them toward giving. All desires must be aimed toward our connection “as one man with one heart,”[1] with love of others, as in “love your neighbor as yourself.”[2]

To the extent that we correct each one of our desires, we shape the image of man—becoming similar to the Creator. This is Adam HaRishon (the first man), who shattered and divided into myriad souls. Our purpose is to reassemble those souls into that single soul. We achieve this by annulling our egos and connecting all our desires. The connection is on the levels of still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. In these degrees we gradually reconnect everything into the new reality that the Torah narrates.

First, the oil for the lamp is a special oil, which must be lit in a special way. Subsequently, from the emitted light we can prepare the priesthood garments that clothe the will to receive.

The will to receive remains the same whether it strives to benefit others or itself. The difference lies in how we use it—for our own sake or for the sake of others. That is, do we want to use it to benefit ourselves although it is detrimental to others, or do we want to benefit others? There are two options with myriad variations.

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Where Is God?

The purpose of our lives is to reach adhesion with God, the Creator, according to the law of equivalence of form, which means that we need to become “human” (“Adam” in Hebrew, from the word “Domeh,” meaning “similar” to the Creator).

Kabbalists have used many terms in their texts to explain God: the Creator, Nature, Lord, Upper Force, Upper Light, King, and more. These all define a quality of giving and love, which is the source of our lives and of everything on the still, vegetative, animate and human levels of existence.

In order to find where God is, or in other words, to reach adhesion with the Creator, we first need to prepare our desire so that it becomes similar to the Creator’s desire.

The nature of our desire – reception, a desire to receive pleasure for our own personal benefit – is opposite to the Creator’s desire – bestowal, a desire to give and love.

Therefore, there is work and a method (Kabbalah) where a person can change their desire to resemble the Creator’s desire. When that transformation takes place, a person finds God, i.e. attains the Creator.

The work involves rising above every characteristic in our desire to receive pleasure; all our hatred, envy, ambition, pride and thirst for power become included within that very desire to receive pleasure, and we need to rise above it all in order to become similar to the Creator, and thereby attain adhesion with Him.

It seems to us as though the Creator is somewhere outside of us, but in fact, He is revealed inside that common desire to give and love that we build. Therefore, to perceive God, the Creator, we need to perceive everything as if existing in one place. We build this space for the revelation of the Creator.

To learn more about God and how to attain God, it is recommended to take the free courses. The reason is that many of the concepts and terms we have a heard a lot about in our upbringing have completely different definitions in Kabbalah, and it takes a while to process them properly. Therefore, if you’re interested in this topic, and related topics like:

  • What are the benefits of having a revelation of the Creator? (Topic tackled in lesson 1)
  • Why is adhesion with the Creator the purpose of our lives? And if everyone is destined to reach this purpose, then what’s the point of studying Kabbalah, what does it give? (Topic tackled in lesson 2)
  • What does it mean to rise above our desire to receive pleasure? How is it different to what many other methods say about suppressing our desire? (Topic in lesson 4)

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