What Are the Most Interesting Secrets of the Bible?

No book has influenced the world more than the Bible. It laid the foundation for the development of human civilization, culture, art, education, law, and much more. Everything is rooted in it.

First, what makes the Bible unique? It is that the central figure of the book is God. He speaks, acts, warns, punishes, rests His presence upon people, and directs all events. The Torah, the Prophets, and the Scriptures describe the relationship between human beings, society, and the upper force, how people are meant to organize themselves according to God's call, and to what extent they strive, or fail, to realize it.

The Bible reveals the law of connection between people and the upper force. It explains how to align with that force and thereby achieve a good life. It delves into great detail, addressing human thoughts, behavior toward ourselves, our families, others, society, and also nature’s still, vegetative, and animate levels. It teaches how to advance them all to a deeper mutual connection in which the Godliness can dwell.

The Torah, from the Hebrew word for “instruction” (Hora’ah), teaches how to act in every situation in life. Its great principle is "Love your neighbor as yourself," and by following this principle, we can always advance correctly. The problem is that throughout history people have taken its teachings in other egoistic, self-serving directions.

Countless interpretations have been written about the Bible, some by those who understood it deeply, and others by those who did not. The Bible is composed of four layers known as PARDES: Peshat (simple meaning), Remez (hint), Drush (interpretation), and Sod (secret). We can read the words superficially, or we can penetrate their inner meaning. Our level of development determines what we will see in the text and how deeply we will understand it.

The sages who succeeded in penetrating the book's depths discovered that it is not merely letters and words printed on paper or parchment. It is a complete operating system. According to this system, we need to program ourselves and organize our qualities, desires, and thoughts so that they correspond to the book. Just as software is installed in a computer to define the relationships between its components and their modus operandi, so the Torah is intended to organize the human being.

To study Torah, in the deepest sense, means to program our inner world according to its instructions. Those who succeed in doing so begin to see previously unseen heights and depths of reality. They perceive the forces that stand behind the picture of reality received through the five senses and that manage everything down to the finest detail. Such people read reality in depth, and it becomes like an open book to them. They discover an entirely different world and understand that the Torah was meant to open a new perception of reality.

The method for entering the inner dimension of the Torah is taught in the wisdom of Kabbalah. In general, it is based on work in a small group of about ten people under close guidance. The goal is to rise above our egoistic nature and acquire a new nature of love for others, thereby revealing among us the upper force, the quality of which is pure love and bestowal.

When a desire develops in the group to be "as one man with one heart," it becomes capable of "receiving the Torah." This is a special force, also called "the light that reforms," which builds within us the quality of love and bestowal. As this process unfolds, the group begins to see itself within the words of the Torah. Word by word, sentence by sentence, everything written there actually takes place within the group, and through this we advance in our development.

This development is called “spiritual development,” and it consists of a ladder of 125 degrees of attainment. These degrees are divided into five "upper worlds," which is also reflected in the Five Books of Moses. The names of these worlds are Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya. The spiritual fulfillments attained in these worlds are called "lights," and their names are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida.

At every spiritual degree, the connection between people becomes deeper, and the light that fills such a connection becomes correspondingly greater. The final degree is called Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction), where all the power of egoism is transformed into the power of love. Humanity becomes like a single person, a created being entirely similar to God, the upper force that is positioned at the foundation of creation.

The sages underwent this entire process of development. At every stage, a greater egoistic desire was revealed within them, bringing separation, rejection, and hatred, and they were required to rise above it by increasing love. "Love covers all transgressions" (Proverbs 10:12) is the formula of the work.

To the extent that they succeeded or failed in this task, they recorded their experiences in the Bible in a coded form that becomes clear only to those who undertake the same inner work.

"Mount Sinai," for example, symbolizes thoughts of hatred. The people had to rise above such divisive thoughts, to understand that each person is egoistic by nature, prioritizing self-benefit over the benefit of others and nature, and that in order to positively connect, they need a higher force to unite them, a force that would cover the ego with love.

When an appropriate network of connection was established between them, a system called "Torah," they discovered within it the upper force of love and bestowal dwelling there. From that point, development continued. Suddenly the state of the Golden Calf appeared, afterward Jethro arrived and gave advice, later the spies went to explore the land, and these states are experienced within us, step by step, in our inner development.

If today we approach the Book of Books with the desire to build connection and love among all who feel an initial attraction to realize a new reality of positive connection above the egoistic forces, the book will once again come alive among such people. The world will feel that a higher force dwells among such people and will wish to join and assist in every possible way.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of this when he said: "They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders" (Isaiah 49:22), and also, "All nations shall flow unto it" (Isaiah 2:2), and, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7).

Then we will demonstrate to all created beings the method for building a "house of holiness," a bond of love and bestowal within which God becomes revealed.

Based on “New Life 160 – The Bible - The People of the Book” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.