Chapter 5.4 – Questions & Answers
Kabbalah & Science
Question: Are there certain habits or customs around studying the wisdom of Kabbalah?
Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah does not require practicing any customs or rituals. Drawings or pictures of the worlds, Sefirot, or Gimatria, are simply visual aids. The essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah is the individual experience of the Creator and the spiritual world.
The wisdom of Kabbalah is not mysticism. It is a science that explores the entire reality, unlike every other science that explores only our world.
Q: Does modern science accept this perspective?
A: A science that studies the senses, including the theory of relativity, maintains that everything that is perceived by our senses is only valid regarding ourselves. But our picture of the world is relative because the concepts of time and space do not exist, as they, too, are relative. If these terms were not already within us, we would perceive them differently.
We might say that man is like the black box in a plane. It is a closed system. We only perceive what reaches this box, what we feel and sense. We call this combination of sensations "Our world," or "This world," or simply, "the world."
We cannot perceive anything that might or might not exist outside our borders, outside this box. We cannot even imagine that there is anything outside it, (meaning outside our senses).
Q: But is there reliable knowledge as far as Kabbalah is concerned?
A: Of course, but that is not all. Kabbalah not only gives us reliable knowledge of the construction of all the worlds and their laws, the history of mankind and phenomena we cannot even begin to imagine, but also allows us to put this knowledge into practical use. It is written in the Torah that "There is not a blade of grass below, that has not an angel Above." This means that everything in our world has a spiritual root. If we understand these laws and how the spiritual worlds are built, we can influence what happens in our world.
This knowledge requires a deep perception of knowledge, but without it we cannot accurately define what we need. Without this, we would lack a certain kind of information that we are seeking.
Q: Scientists maintain that the world has existed longer than just a few thousand years. What does Kabbalah have to say about it?
A: Kabbalah does not say otherwise. I have written in my book (Interview with the Future) about global warming and cooling periods that lasted thirty million years each, and Baal HaSulam did the same in his essay The Solution.
Q: How does Kabbalah relate to the "Big Band" theory?
A: In the 16th century, the great Kabbalist, the holy Ari, wrote in The Tree of Life: "Behold, that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, the Upper Simple Light had filled the whole existence. And there was no vacancy, such as an empty atmosphere, a hollow, or a pit, but all was filled with simple, boundless Light." Thus, the "Big Band" theory was known to Kabbalists long before the astrophysicists learned about it.
Q: Will science understand the sixth sense in the future?
A: While in his five senses, one is completely limited in his feelings–unable even to simply picture that there might be another sense. Man will never be able to imagine it, much less create it, because he will never feel a desire for something that is not already in him, just as we never feel the need for a sixth finger on our hand.
That is why all the tools man builds and all the research systems only enhance our existing senses but under no circumstances will they yield new ones. Our sensory organs provide us with everything we need for that purpose, and other sensory organs would require another Creation. We are limited by the physical boundaries of our Creation, hence we could never picture what exactly we are missing.
Regardless of how advanced our technology, we will still be unable to break the boundaries of our Creation. Our five sensory organs create a clear framework of understanding, and because our fantasies are, in fact, the figment of our imaginations, it is based on those five senses.
If I ask you, for example, to describe something that is like nothing that exists in our world, as if I were a creature from another world, you would still comprise it from elements that exist in our world.
Though our space is only a substance we can feel in a certain manner, there are other worlds and other creatures that we cannot feel, though they exists in the same dimension we do. I am deliberately using the term "dimension," in our limited understanding, to demonstrate how incapable we are of feeling what our sensory organs are not meant to understand.
In fact, even the word, "dimension," is meaningless. In a different sensation the dimension also becomes something completely different.
For example, try to imagine what we would see instead of the ordinary universe if we could see with X-ray eyes. This demonstrates what a drastic change a single alteration in our senses can produce on our picture of the world.
Q: You always write that it is time that the wisdom of Kabbalah became known to everyone. Why is it that you are now so preoccupied with it, and isn't there a danger that every person who discovers the wisdom of Kabbalah will misuse it?
A: Kabbalah is a science, but it is not a science for the experts alone. Anyone can utilize it just as we utilize the results of every other science. The difference between Kabbalah and science is that everyone needs the Kabbalah. IF one does not practice this science, one does not receive from life its single most important asset, the only thing that will remain forever. Everyone must know that science and the Source of the power of that knowledge. They must know just how able Kabbalah is to change our concepts of the construction of the world, man's purpose on earth, the evolution of the creatures and man's unique role in it.
Kabbalah renders a complete and fundamental knowledge of the world. The goal of the Kabbalists is to bring as many people as possible into Kabbalah, because if humanity continues to follow erroneous and experimental roads, and keeps fumbling in the dark, it is headed toward horrendous disasters.
When a child puts its finger in the fire he cries bitterly in pain. He or she immediately feels that this is something that should not be done. But in the end, the burning heals. By the same token, it is not necessary that we burn our planet in order to understand that it was not worth-while to put our finger in the fire.
Humanity was created in such a way that it would come to know the Kabbalah as a science and not through experimentation. Kabbalah reveals before us the fact that there are forces and connections in nature and which consequences each act yields.
Humanity
Q: When will mankind be able to understand the uniqueness of Kabbalah?
A: Humanity is always pushed forward by disillusionment. Any technological, medical, or other kind of progress is made when humanity is disappointed with past methods. When a certain amount of anguish is accumulated, mankind is forced to understand that the existing methods cannot be a solution to any problem.
Let us take an example from our own lives: over the past several decades, the number of psychoanalysts has increased many times over, but the number of patients has increased even more, and so has the number of suicides. This combination is like a new trend that will soon pass, giving way to bitter disillusionment.
We are trying to prepare for that time by developing various methods for those who are already aware, or will soon be aware, of the necessity for Kabbalah. They should have enough material to enable them to change themselves through it. Anyone who marches on the right path should help those along the way and prevent them from taking dead-end roads. This can be done by circulation books, audios, video files, and cassettes.
Those who are truly interested should be referred to Kabbalah. It is important not to force or compel anyone to study Kabbalah, because people must first ripen for it.
Judaism
Q: What kind of connection exists between Kabbalah and the role of the Jews in realizing the goal you described?
A: There is a pyramid-like division in this world: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. The same division also exists in our souls. The Jews are considered to be the chosen people because they were given the opportunity to reach spirituality before other nations. It is not that Jews are any better than others; it is simply that they are the first of man-kind to be obligated to correct themselves and attain the spiritual world. There is a certain type of soul called "Jewish," from the Hebrew word Yehudi–meaning "unique," or "unified" (with the Creator).
The Kabbalah maintains that this is the most egoistic type of soul. It is no coincidence that the Jewish people are described as "stiff-necked" and insubordinate.
The collective spiritual vessel (soul, Adam) broke into pieces because it was easier to correct small egoistic parts than the entire egoism all at once. The first parts to correct are called "Jews." Afterwards, the other parts mingle with them and begin to approach the Creator. In the end, all the parts merge into a single vessel filled entirely with Light.
This is why there is no such thing as a "Jewish nationality." If a person feels a genuine need to draw nearer to the Creator and attain spirituality through Kabbalah, that person will be regarded as a Jew. This means that the name "Jewish" correlates to one's natural desire, not to a birth nationality. This is how it was in the past, and only later came the determination of who was considered to be a Jew.
Q: Why was the Torah (including Kabbalah) given only to the Jewish people?
A: Our world is divided into certain groups of people called "nations" or "peoples. All the worlds are built according to a single principle, namely the "pyramid principle." Because there is the law of the "opposite value between Lights and vessels," the Torah was given to correct the stiffest part of the world–the Jews. In the Torah they are regarded as "stiff-necked," the most egoistic of all peoples. That is why the Torah and the wisdom of Kabbalah were given to them of all nations.
The Jews are to be the first among the nations to correct themselves, and other nations are to follow in their footsteps. That is why it is said that the Jewish people should become the carrier of the Light for the other nations. The hatred of other nations towards the Jews stems from a spiritual root that demands that they correct themselves first.
The correction of all other nations and their physical and spiritual peace and well-being depends on the success of the correction of the Jews. This is described in great detail in the Introduction to The Book of Zohar (item 66 through the end).
Q: How is the perception of the Creator among Kabbalists different from the perception of the Creator among religious people?
A: A religious person believes that there is a superior force that governs man and determines all the laws that man must follow. Kabbalah is different in that it adds to the above, the opportunity of man to feel his Creator.
God
Q: Where is God in the wisdom of Kabbalah and what is His function?
A: Reality consists of two elements: the Creator and Creation, or as we normally call it, "the soul." The reason for the existence of the souls is to achieve complete unification with the Creator. Man's desire is to receive pleasure from the Creator. Every property of the soul is defined by a specific term.
Kabbalah uses technical terms when studying the collective law of the universe. In Kabbalah, we do not use the word God because we use technical terms to study Creation, but the meaning still refers to the Supreme Force, the Upper Light, or the Creator. Every degree that is higher than another is regarded as the "Creator" of the lower degree, because it creates, controls, develops, and influences the inferior degree.
It is enough to open any Kabbalah book to see the nature of the Creator-creature relationship. A creature has a clear, concise and well-defined sensation of the Creator, and partakes of His Actions. Eventually, the creatures attain the same spiritual degree as the Creator and become His partners.
Other Religions
Q: Are there parallels to the wisdom of Kabbalah in other religions?
A: There is no parallel to the wisdom of Kabbalah in other religions because the wisdom of Kabbalah is not a religion, but a science. It is not related in any way to religions, faiths, or clairvoyance of any kind, not even to Judaism. Any believing Jew, when asked if he or she is proficient in Kabbalah, would reply negatively, and see no need to be.
One does not need the wisdom of Kabbalah to perform religious commandments. Besides, the study of Kabbalah increases one's egoism; increases one's desire for knowledge, and relies on self-discover and understanding of the spiritual world, whereas religion relies on self-restriction, coercion, and settling for the limitation of desires.
Q: Do other religions also have ways to attain the spiritual worlds?
A: All other religions speak of internal psychological processes, or processes that relate to one's animate body and the power that revives it. Animals, too, have bodies that operate according to certain laws, and their bodies are not that different from our own. Animals can also, to a certain extent, predict the future, and even more so than people. They can also feel the other.
If there is anything that relates to attaining spirituality in other religions, it is only what has transferred to them from the Torah. The primary question that all religions ask is how to use man's intent to improve his animate and social properties, as well as life in this world.
Q: What does idolatry mean?
A: Idolatry means using egoistic desires. There are only two ways to use the desire for pleasure that the Creator created–either for the Creator, or for oneself. It is not only impossible but unnecessary to change the desire to enjoy. The only thing that must be changed is the intention of that desire.
The directing of the desire must be changed. This is called "the correction of the desire," and it is our goal and the only purpose for our being in this world, the lowest of all worlds (states of being). One can either work for the Creator or for self; there is no in-between.