TIFERET: TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
Baal HaSulam. The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Morning Lesson June 30, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Baal HaSulam. The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah (The Language of the Kabbalists Is a Language of Branches)
Reading (00:36) “This means that the branches indicate their roots…”
1. R. (00:57) Yes,that is what is interesting about the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is a wisdom that was revealed to Adam almost 6,000 years ago and since then this wisdom has been revealed more and more and also the language which is the language of branches as a result of the upper laws. The ways we express them and write them down but also doesn’t change because the laws are absolute. They are the laws of nature. Nature itself relative to us next to us changes over the years but the foundations of all nature, they do not change. Therefore, it is interesting what is happening to us in language.
Many languages change and it is very difficult for people who lived two thousand years ago or thousand years ago to converse with people who live today if they could do it. Whereas with the Hebrew language, no. We have the Talmud that was written about 2,000 years ago and before that Psalms and other texts from ancient Babylon and kinds of places and although these texts were written thousands of years ago we can read them. Even if we meet a person from a thousand two thousand, three thousand years ago, we will be able to talk to him and understand each other almost like today for we understand each other because you are speaking the same language, the language of the Hebrew language,where is the rest of the language you cannot do it because they are not connected to the root the laws of nature. Although the roots are permanent, both the words, laws of grammar all exist.
There’s a book that was written called Ketav Sofer and all those laws are explained there quite well. You cannot do anything to change one with another just like in our world is this something you do in other languages and we cannot do it with the Hebrew language. From the beginning this language was designed only for the attainment of the Creator and for writing books that have to do with the attainment of the Creator. People didn’t use it much for daily matters and we see it throughout history we will see more of it of course.
2. S. (05:12) The language of Hebrew is very important for studying Kabbalah. What is the meaning of the connection between the word Hebrew and to pass on. In Hebrew it is Ivrit and Lavo, what does that mean spiritually?
R. A letter is a sign or symbol where our relationship to the Creator, each aspect of our relationship is like a letter a symbol between the man’s desire and the Creator so in total we have 22 letters from the degrees of Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut because the will to receive begins from ZAT of Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. That is why you have three groups of letters and you also have the letters that belong to Malchut with the five forms of additional letters called MNTZPCH that’s an acronym, those Mem, Nun, Peh, Tzadi, Kaf, The letters are not many typically in alphabets of other languages there are more letters but this is enough. The writings when you write you do not have to use vowels, you can use the punctuation because it is clear what has to be and we will learn about it. The most important thing for us is not that but rather what we are learning. In other words that the language of the Kabbalists is a language of branches and the laws that we have above, meaning in spirituality, similarly we can use these laws and how they are copied into corporeality.
Reader continues (08:08) “as with the seal and its imprint….”
3. R. (09:28) Let us say that if there was no language of the branches we would not be able to discuss spirituality because spirituality is like a completely different world that is unknown to us unseen by us and we do not know how to call each and everything in that world in the actions and relationships between elements there we wouldn’t know what to do. However Kabalists gave us this language called the language of the branches and so we understand that it’s such a way we can use words of this world however they are related to the upper World.
Reader Continues (10:31) “The listeners understand that the upper root…”
4. S. (12:10) How do Kabalists, how could they discover the language of branches and connect between root and branch? Because we learn that everything is attained in faith above reason by uplifting above the corporeal world.
R. In rising from this world as a Kabalist connects to others and through them rises to the Creator through all of the degrees of attainment then he sees how all of these things are interconnected. So it is as if he all day thread from himself through others and also all of this stil, vegetative, and animate, and all Humans all the way to the Creator. He sees how all of these steps, all at these degrees are interconnected and they are one below the other or one on top of the other. He has no problem discussing the language of Kabbalah and each and every state. He can speak the language of fish and birds or rocks and trees. He can also speak the language of let’s say clouds and stars, it doesn’t matter through all the discernment he goes through them through the connection with the Creator.
S. What does it mean?
R. He recognizes the discernments that exist in all of creation because he exists at the lowest level of all creation and the Creator exists on the highest level and so all of nature is in between the Creator and the person, the creative being. In terms of the creation man is on the lowest level this is what is called that he is born after the rest, meaning after the still, vegetative, and animate then comes to speaking.
5. S. (14:55) Tell me when we had our stand in our regular brain with a language of branches with a certain technique?
R. No, we cannot really understand it well or even feel it but we can use it to some extent to bring ourselves closer to Godliness, to the revelation of Godliness so that we will understand how important are the words we are learning about and how to get closer, yes. The language is a special language that is why it is called sacred language, because it ties us to the Creator.
S. The language and feelings you have to feel it?
R. Ultimately it is not just a feeling, ultimately this language becomes a language. What does it mean a language, it means that whatever you received from the Creator is through it.
S. What does it mean that he writes fortune what does that mean?
R. Feeling, simply for now, anything that a person receives from the Creator comes to him through the language. the language of Kabbalah. Mind and emotion.
S. I need luck, fortune. Do I need luck to feel it?
R. Yes, luck means Mazel, that the upper light comes to the person it comes by way of Mazel. coming from the word Mozelle like a liquid, drop by drop.
6. S. (16:52) We know that Kabbalists used four languages to express their spiritual attainment. Why didn’t they only use the language of Kabbalah, of the Sefirot and that way they would have prevented all kinds of confusion in trying to make spirituality tangible?
R. The problem is that a person needs to receive these impressions in a complete and full way through the four languages which are Hochma, Bina, Tifferet and Malchut or Yod Kay Vav Kay. He needs to receive that in order to ultimately become a whole vessel for the revelation of the Creator but also in the opposite way because otherwise he will not discover the Creator in a complete way and that is why we need the languages that is why we have the language of Legend and the language of code of laws and so on.
S. He writes that the difficulty in expressing spirituality is that it has no tangible expression and they found the language of the branches, that there are a lot of conducts that are like copies but here we see a language that is disconnected from this world, the language of the Sefirot ZA, AA, there’s nothing in corporeality about it so why not only express spirituality through that language?
R. That is true but this language of Sefirot, it isn’t a language, it does not connect the person to the upper world. We have many smart people in our world and our time that study the Sefirot, Partzufim and worlds and everything. They know well what is written, I saw some people with Rabash as well, they used to sometimes come to him, all kinds of smart people who know very well how things are written in all of the pages of Kabbalah and the Zohar except they do not have attainment. Without attainment, if a person studies these things and does not attain them, that means that he is just counting the letters.
7. S. (19:30) It is written that the Creator created the world by speech. In the article it says that the righteous one, when he blesses and utters the words he can change the reality of a person he blesses. What is in this holy language that is special about it that it can create a new reality?
R. Language is not the power that creates. Language is just symbols but if we accept those symbols with such an attitude that we can clothe in them, that we can use them to build our vessels similar to these symbols; meaning, to format our will to receive so that we are compatible with the light that should spread inside the Kli because a letter is simply a template that the upper lights must fulfill and then that means that by the language we connect to the Creator and speak the same language with him.
8. S. (21:11) Every Kabbalist has his writing style, there is Baal HaSulam that writes scientifically, Rabash writes socially, Rav cook is very depictive, King David through poetry. What is the style of writing of the Kabbalists, what can you learn from that?
R. These are already external aspects that have to do with time and education of the Kabbalists and I would not go deep into it because also it is not so relevant there were Kabbalists who did not write in Hebrew at all, the Rambam used Arabic, and others.
S. What is the connection between a Kabbalists style of writing and the language of the branches?
R. No, I do not think that there is a connection here. The style is a style and the writing is a writing. The style has to do with the corporeal time when the Kabbalists lived and how he communicated to his contemporaries to convey the knowledge and the language of Kabbalah is the language to convey the wisdom itself, the internatilty that is attained.
S. The language of Kabbalah has to be expressed in writing or not necessarily?
R. It’s a language that is in writing, sure. You have Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, Otiot, through these four types of symbols the Kabbalists conveys what he attains to those who can understand and attain.
S. And this style is just an expression of that generation?
R. The style is just the colloquial language that is something we need to learn. The colloquial language also has a very specific message and we also have the different shapes of the letters that determine how we use our mouth and throat and so on, how we use the five parts of the mouth to communicate to each other. That does not have to do with communicating the wisdom, it has to do with the inner structure, the spiritual structure of the soul, that in such a way we can connect to each other. There is more to learn here, there’s more to learn, it doesn’t matter. These are things that even if we do not learn them then as we rise to forms of bestowal we discover that that is how it works in nature.
9. S. (24:57) Can a Kabbalist affect those drops of fortune?
R. Go ahead, there is no problem. If you have a restriction, screen and reflected light you can be in control of everything to the extent that you have the force of bestowal.
S. So there are laws about it too? The drops do accumulate according to some efforts?
R. Yeah sure. The water is the light of Mercy that is in a level of Mercy in the world of Atzilut and from there that light descends and comes to those who can become suitable for it.
10. S. (25:57) I understand that the Hebrew language shows our attitude towards the Creator, the lights and the vessels so is it recommended for us to learn Hebrew for people who it is not their mother tongue? Is it recommended for spiritual advancement to learn Hebrew or does it not affect us?
R. Look you’re going to know something, a little bit like it. You are just going to learn some of it. Like say, I have acquaintances, you know in general musicians have to know a little bit of Italian here and there or doctors, Physicians need to know a little bit of Latin even though that language is generally not in use anymore and in other cases we need the Greek language so every profession has its own language. The language of Kabbalah is Hebrew but how much do we need to know it? You are going to know a few words here and there. It is not many and that will be enough and if you want more than that of course you can do that, I think we even have some Hebrew courses.
11. S. (28:05) Without knowing Hebrew, reading or writing can we reach attainment?
R. In order to attain the upper force and generally correct oneself one does not have to know Hebrew. So relax but you will learn a little bit of it anyway because we are using a few signs and letters here and there, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, a few terms of the lights Ohr Yashar, Ohr Hozer, direct light, reflected light, a little bit but it is not that you need to know the spoken language, no.
S. What do you advise? Let us say that there are things that happened in the ten and we do not have words to express them. Relationships, things that awaken between us and you can’t find the words for it.
R. So you still can’t, you still don’t know how to relate to that. It is like a baby there are many things he wants to say but he opens his mouth and he can’t say so yeah that is natural. Advance and then you will find the language and also see where the whole feeling and situation stems from and then everything will connect with your actions between you and the Creator, there are only three things here, man, the group and the Creator.
S. Is it important to find words for this or is it…?
R. No. It is important, the words and terms and definitions are important because it indicates how much you’re in the right scrutiny or even a final scrutiny. Yes, we will talk about it. I don’t really like talking about things that we are not exactly going through in the present and maybe it seems that sometimes I don’t know something or I avoid something but I avoid in order to not create confusion.
Reading Continues: (31:02) “This is the nature of the spoken language…”
12. R. (33:44) So what does he want to say? That because the wisdom of Kabbalah comes from the laws of the upper nature where there are no changes and also in our world when we use the wisdom of Kabbalah there cannot be changes in it and that is therefore, this language and this wisdom are without any change for thousands of years and it will continue to be as long as this reality continues to be. This language of Kabbalah, the language of the Kabbalists, the language of the branches will remain as it is now.
13. S. (34:39) It is mainly about dissemination. Do you think that with time in the next generation and people changing so much, some combinations of all of these languages will be born like a fifth language or something because it is written that the Torah needs to be simple. Will there be a special branch to speak with the next generations?
R. I think that over time we will further develop, those who study and teach the wisdom of Kabbalah and over time the world will develop and come closer to us, to the attainment of the Creator and open their ears and eyes more and it’ll make it easier for us to reach people and explain to them what we should all be engaged with and that the real purpose of human development is connecting between us and returning to the state of Adam HaRishon and then discovering the upper force that fulfills us and thus attain the true reality, all at once, and those people will understand us.
14. S. (36:24) Man needs to connect the aspiration in his heart to the ones he is turning to?
R. Yes, if a person turns to someone who wants to explain something he has to descend to their level and try to make clear what he wants to communicate to them.