Questions and Answers
How can I realize the method of Kabbalah in my daily life?
Realizing the method of Kabbalah is done primarily through studying from authentic Kabbalah books. Despite the difficulty in understanding these books, Baal HaSulam explains that there is a special power in the original sources, and this is the only force that can draw a person toward spirituality.
Kabbalists are people like you and me, who discovered the forces that operate us and our world, and write about it in their books. Studying the writings of the Kabbalists evokes in the reader a desire to obtain those forces. In consequence, the light hidden in these books leads us to the spiritual world. In a time when the wisdom of Kabbalah is becoming accessible to all, anyone can begin to realize this method in his or her life without much trouble and effort, using a variety of study options through the Internet, TV, courses, and lectures that are open for all.
Isn’t there a contradiction in the verse “All is foreseen and freedom of choice is given”? If everything is known ahead of time, what choice are we given?
Actually, there is no contradiction here at all. The words “All is foreseen” relate to the fixed and constant laws that operate in reality. We call these laws “nature.” In Gimatria, the word Elokim (God) is equal to the word HaTeva (the nature). The words “freedom of choice is given” relate to a person’s free choice concerning how to come to know these laws.
For as long as we don’t know the law, we cannot say that we have any choice at all, since those laws operate us without our awareness. Moreover, we are operating in contradiction to these laws and hence suffer blows that aim to redirect us toward studying the higher nature. If we know the laws of the higher nature, we will know how to operate them correctly—to our benefit. This, in turn, will change our fate.
What does it mean to be Jewish, according to Kabbalah?
The term Yehudi (Jewish) relates to those who unite entirely with the Upper Force, the Creator. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches that the basic substance that comprises us is the desire to receive pleasure. Kabbalah also explains that we possess physical desires for food, sex, and shelter. Alongside those desires we also possess human desires: for money, honor, domination, and knowledge.
As we evolve, all these desires appear in us, from the least to the fiercest of them. At the final stage of our evolution we discover a new desire within us—for spirituality. This new desire prompts us to understand the essence of the comprehensive nature, and live within it. The desire to unite with the Upper Force, i.e. the desire for spirituality, is called Yehudi. And the only way one can realize it is by studying the wisdom of Kabbalah.