Welcome,
enlightened viewers, to
Science and Spirituality
on Supreme Master
Television.
Today we continue to
follow the footsteps
of the story of our
world’s creation based on
the Kabbalah account.
“Kabbalah” in Hebrew
means “receiving.”
Kabbalah is
a supernatural science
and a spiritual method
of getting in contact
with God.
Kabbalah is not a religion,
but rather it is founded
on spiritual experience.
Attainment of God
is achieved through
an individual’s study of
certain Kabbalah books
such as
the “Book of Zohar.”
By way of
scientific methods
and through perceiving
of the spiritual reality
of the upper worlds,
Kabbalahists can develop
a sense of the surrounding
spiritual space and
this gives them wisdom
to deal with
our material world.
Kabbalah says if we wish
to truly change anything
in our world,
including ourselves,
we must first climb up
to the spiritual level
and do it from there.
This is what Abraham,
who is known to those
of the Judaic, Christian
and Islamic traditions
as the Biblical “father of
the nations,” discovered
almost 4,000 years ago.
This is the essence
of Kabbalah.
Let’s briefly recap
the creation process
as we discussed
on last week’s program.
We had discussed
the root of creation
and the four phases of
a creature’s, meaning
an independent being’s,
development, which
differ by degree
and kind of desires.
This pattern of creation
occurs again and again
during the world’s
evolution on every level
and is a fundamental part
of its design.
Every succeeding phase
of creation has attributes
of the previous phases –
just as one who has
reached adulthood
may still act like a child
on occasion.
At the root of creation is
the desire of the Creator
who emanates Light,
and who is the Light,
to love and bestow.
This is known
as phase zero.
However to do so,
Light creates a vessel
called a Kli or an
underdeveloped creature.
The Kli has
an opposing nature -
that is, the desire
to receive pleasure - and
it is filled with the Light.
This is phase one
or Hochma.
Once so filled,
the creature senses
the Giver behind the Light,
and naturally responds
by bestowing the Light
back to the Creator
in phase two or Bina.
But the Creator’s pleasure
comes from giving.
Therefore,
in order to please Hirm,
the vessel simulates
its own action by
combining two desires,
the receiving
and bestowing of Light,
at the same time.
This is phase three
or Zeir Anpin.
Out of this mixed action,
the creation gets
some sense of
the Creator’s thought,
and in phase
four or Malchut
becomes a creature
that feels independent,
but is not truly
independent yet
at this stage.
Malchut is aware of
its own pleasure
in two forms –
one from receiving Light
and second, from sharing
the Creator’s status.
Malchut feels in bliss
in the world of infinity
(Ein Sof), where
every desire is fulfilled,
and is spiritually
very close to the Creator.
Malchut is also now
above its own
root spiritual level.
But soon, the creature
discovers that she is
only a receiver of
the Creator’s Light,
She is ashamed of
only receiving pleasure
which brings her
unbearable anguish
that she is not
on the same level as Hirm.
Therefore,
Malchut decides first
to completely end the
receiving of the Light
with an act called
Tzimtzum or restriction.
She then acquires
Masach, which means
‘screen’, to control
the reception of Light.
This turn of events is
to be applauded,
as the creature wants to
correct its own desires,
in order to resemble
the Creator.
The creature’s true
nature is to receive,
not to bestow, hence
once the vessel is filled
up, no more pleasure
can be received.
This is comparable to
when we have satisfied
a feeling of hunger.
We no longer have an
appetite for more food.
Therefore
if the pleasure is felt
not because we receive
it for ourselves,
but because
we immediately
bestow delight
upon another being,
then pleasure and
desires can be infinite,
because it all depends
on how much
we can receive.
The more we can bestow
upon another being,
the more pleasure
we receive.
The role of Masach
is to calculate
how much inner Light
is to be received
into the vessel.
The remaining Light,
which is called
the surrounding Light,
is rejected and
forms a surrounding
environment
for the creature.
The screen basically
controls the ratio
between egoistic
and altruistic desires
of the creature.
As a result of the screen action,
Malchut’s vessel is
divided into two parts:
The top, the white zone,
constitutes the “Worlds,”
which receive Light,
thus it can bestow pleasure
upon others called
workable desires.
The lower, gray zone,
where no Light penetrates,
constitutes creation,
which is made purely
of desires which cannot
bestow pleasure
on others called
unworkable desires.
The workable desires
feature the now
familiar zero-to-four
phase-structure,
starting from the world
“Adam Kadmon” (the
root phase) at the top,
followed by “Atzilut,”
“Beria,” “Yetzira,”
and then “Assiya”
at the bottom.
Similarly,
the bottom part of
the vessel constitutes
unworkable desires and
is divided into five levels.
Starting from the top
we have the “Still”
(unchanging),
at the root level, followed
by the “Vegetative,”
“Animate,” “Speaking,”
and the “Spiritual” level
at the bottom.
You might be surprised
that spiritual desires
are placed at the bottom
of the vessel.
We’ll clarify this later,
when we discuss more
about the nature of
the material world from
the Kabbalah perspective.
Please stay with us.
Welcome back to
Science & Spirituality.
Today we are re-tracing
how our world was
created according to
the ancient philosophy
of Kabbalah.
The actual root
of everything that occurs
in our physical world
is called
the “Common Soul,”
or “Adam ha Rishon,”
or “Adam” for short,
meaning “the first man.”
Adam was divided
into five levels of desires
that do not receive
the Light, named:
Still, Vegetative,
Animate, Speaking,
and Spiritual.
Adam is surrounded
by the worlds of Adam
Atzilut and others
that do receive the Light.
Now with the help
of those worlds, that are
meant to be Adam’s
surrounding environment,
Adam tries to
change himself by
trying to receive Light,
as those worlds
taught him to do.
However, when Adam
attempts to receive
the Light,
the received pleasure is
so overwhelming that,
due to his selfish desires,
the screen (Masach)
immediately shuts off
the receiving of the Light.
But this second
Tzimtzum or restriction
is very different from
the first one experienced
by Malchut.
This is because now
Adam receives the Light
only for himself
without consideration
of the Creator’s pleasure.
This is considered a sin,
which in Kabbalah terms
means Adam has
moved away from
the Creator’s purpose
of creation.
Thus, during the process
of collecting the Light,
the egoistic intention
expanded,
and each desire tried
to receive the Light
selfishly upon themselves.
Thus the Common Soul
shattered into
600,000 pieces, with
each piece representing
a different desire.
As a result,
the vessel also shatters and
Adam’s Common Soul
descends through
a system of worlds,
and through 125 states,
enveloping in greater
and greater egoism,
until Adam manifested
on our physical plane
of existence.
As a result
of this great fall,
Kabbalah says we have
left the spiritual worlds
and become scattered
into many residual
selfish desires, in which
each piece of
Adam’s soul experiences
separation and isolation
from the other pieces.
Thus we do not know
how to live in harmony
with each other and our
inanimate, vegetative,
and animate creatures.
In this world,
the Creator’s Light
is concealed from us
by our own
self-centered nature
and we rely on
the five physical senses –
touch, taste, sight, smell
and hearing - in order to
satisfy our selfish needs.
The shattering of
Adam’s common soul,
although it appears
catastrophic
from our physical world
perspective, was
a necessary step to fulfill
the purpose of creation.
Human history
has already shown
how hard it is to address
even a little piece
of smaller desires.
Thus can you imagine
how hard it is to correct
Adam’s large number
of egoistic desires?
In order to help Adam,
the Light and Creator
are concealed
from humankind.
The Creator,
by Hiers concealment,
gives Adam
an opportunity to learn
to bestow and love
other creatures, and to
experience the sensation
of free will, which is
actually an illusion.
The historic evolution
of the material world
we are familiar with
is actually very simple.
Everything in our world
evolves along
the same five stages;
beginning at the bottom,
and smallest desires,
the Still or inanimate, then
Vegetative level, followed
by the Animate level, and
the Speaking (human)
level at the top,
with the strongest desires
and Spirituality
as the absolute peak
of the pyramid.
Our own human
development also
goes through phases zero
through four.
At its preliminary
or zero stage,
humanity has to satisfy
the basic physical desires
for sustenance, shelter,
reproduction, and family,
which are the same
as animate desires.
Then the first stage
is followed by the desire
for wealth.
The second stage is
a desire for
power and respect, which
are social desires.
The third stage is
the craving for more and
more knowledge, hence
we have the development
of advanced science.
Today,
as Kabbalahists say
we are approaching
the conclusion of
this evolution stage,
which has taken us
thousands of years,
they believe we are
beginning to realize that
it really did not
yield much
in terms of changing us.
They say we are actually
more lost and perplexed
than at the beginning
of the journey.
Today, relatively few
people are at this stage,
but their number
is growing all the time.
Eventually,
every human being
must come to the point
where a craving
for spirituality,
which is a point initiated
by the Malchut’s envy,
meaning
the inherent need
in every creature to
resemble Creator and
reach his status again.
Kabbalah says because
the Creator is good,
it means that the Creator
created us
with the intention of
bringing us to the best
possible state of being.
This state is
Hes own state.
Kabbalists say,
they already live
in the spiritual worlds,
while living in this world.
Desire for spirituality isn’t
a separate level in its
physical manifestation.
Rather, it is a distinct
level of development,
a state where one’s soul
yearns to return to its root
in the Upper Worlds –
a place where the soul
was once in direct contact
with the Creator.
In Kabbalah,
the actual act of
correction is taken
by the upper Light.
We cannot do it without
the Creator’s help.
So if we have desire
for spirituality,
but no means to develop
it inside ourselves;
meaning
no special vessel,
therefore no way to draw
and expand the spiritual
force upon ourselves,
how can we do that?
A prominent 20th century
Kabbalist,
Bal Ha Sulham answered
this question
in the “Introduction to
the Talmud Eser Sefirot”:
"... There is a wonderful,
invaluable remedy
to those who engage in
the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Although they do not
understand what
they are learning,
through the yearning
and the great desire
to understand what
they are learning, they
awaken upon themselves
the Lights that
surround their souls."
It is very important to
remember that things
evolve from up above
and on downwards
and from the spiritual
to the corporeal.
The reverse is not true.
Also there is not a
single event in our world
that occurs
without the agreement
of the Upper Worlds.
The only difference
is that events
in the spiritual worlds
reflect
altruistic intentions,
while in our world they
reflect egoistic intentions.
Thank you,
our spiritual viewers,
for joining us
for this journey through
our world’s creation
from the Kabbalah
perspective.
Coming up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News.
May your days be graced
with illumination
from the Upper Light.