Nehora School Presents The Kabbalah Of Rabbi Ashlag

Why was Kabbalah hidden form previous generations, and why is it revealed to us now? We find it is not because we are worthy, but that without Kabbalah we cannot fulfill the purpose of our lives and come to the full redemption which is now close.

The Zohar teaches us that when we act in holiness, that is in giving unconditionally, we cause blessing and holiness to flow back to us. With the actions we do with the lulav and etrog we cause the seven Sephirot of Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut to bring blessings of love and compassion from the higher Sephirah of Binah to all the world.

Can we say the prayer “ write us in the book of life” wholeheartedly? Most of us would simply say yes. But Rabbi Ashlag finds that this is not such a simple prayer as it seems on the surface. Life, does not refer to just physical life but actually means loving unconditionally and wishing to do good unconditionally. Which part of ourselves can sign up to that wholeheartedly, and what holds us back? The work of Elul for the High Holidays.

Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, shares the same essence as that of the day of the final redemption, when all the tikkun of Creation will be complete, and the “Earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the water covers the sea.” What are the elements that demonstrate this, and what is our role in bringing this great day nearer? A talk from the Zohar and the commentary of Rabbi Ashlag.

Just as we were exiled in the historical Egypt, we all suffer different aspects of exile wherein we are in exile from our inner selves. Connecting with the name of God, HaShem helps us put our trust in God, helps us forgive ourselves and others and helps trust that HaShem will release us from the bondage of our inner Pharaoh, as indeed He does.

In these weeks we read the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai in the weekly parasha. All the root souls of the children of Israel were there. This moment of being in God’s presence, of hearing his voice indelibly changed us, both as individuals and as a people, and through us the world. What was this experience like? What did we, who were there, feel? How did we experience God’s voice? The Torah tells us the facts: and indeed they are dramatic, but to get inside the experience we need to go to the Zohar the central text of the Kabbalah. This podcast opens up that inner experience that still resonates on.

Why is Tu B’shvat the New Year for trees? What does this mean for us as human beings? In which ways are the human and the tree similar? What are our fruits of holiness that are equivalent to the fruit given to us by the tree? These and other questions are addressed by Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag in a remarkable letter he wrote to his students on Tu B'shvat 1957.

Rabbi Ashlag teaches that the real mourning we do on Tisha B' Av is to mourn the lack of awareness of our own inner Jerusalem, our soul. The lack of space we give her, the ways we override her whisper with the strident shouts of the ego, and the ways we fail to build our own inner Temple through which her light could be manifest to ourselves and to all who accompany us on our journey here.

The Zohar itself declares we should not use the Torah as telling literal stories. These are its words: Rabbi Shimon said: "Woe to the man who says that the Torah comes to tell literal stories and stories of people like Esau and Laban and such like. For if this were so, even in these times we could make a Torah out of the words of ordinary people — even nicer stories than these." In this podcast we look at Rabbi Ashlag’s disappointment to such a use of the Kabbalah and how it fueled his resolve to bring out the true wisdom of the Torah for all .

One evening in 1892 in a suburb of Warsaw, a seven-year-old boy was lying in bed when, suddenly, a book fell off the bookshelf, hitting him on the head. The boy picked it up and started to examine it. His father, hearing the sound, came in, and seeing the book in his son’s hand, took it from him and replaced it on the shelf. “This is a book for angels, not for you,” said the father. But the boy argued, “If it has been printed, it must be meant for everyone.” “No,” insisted his father, “it is not for you.” But the boy’s curiosity had been aroused, and he started to study it. It was a book of the Kabbalah and its light illumined his heart. The child was Yehudah Leib Ashlag who, one day, was going to change the way we see spiritual consciousness.

When we read books of kabbalah, as for example English  translations of the Zohar , or look at diagrams of the Sephirot, we often end up more puzzled than enlightened. This is because Kabbalah actually uses a specific language.

The words of the Torah are the vessels for its wisdom. They are written as black letters on the white parchment . The white is the light of the wisdom of the Torah, but if it were not for the letters we would not know what it says. Similarly our lacks and desires make up the words of our lives. By learning the meanings of the words of the Torah and of the Kabbalah we can understand our own desires more accurately . We look at "zivug", the union of opposites and see how it applies to relationships.

In this happy and optimistic letter for the New Year that Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag wrote to his friends and students in the Beit Hamidrash for Rosh Hashanah, he teaches that the themes of Rosh Hashanah are actually advice the Sages are giving us in how to come closer to our Creator.

The great light of God that comes into the world on Rosh Hashanah is identical to that which came into the world at the time of its Creation. But if we were to receive it "straight", as it were, it would be dangerous for us. The shofar sounds the voice of loving-kindness and compassion, which clothes this great light so all the world may benefit from the light of God in its bounty and blessing.

In Judaism the word "sin" actually means missing the mark. When we look back on our lives , we may see many things we wish now we had done differently. It transpires that the main sin is that we didn't ask for help when we needed it. An article from the Kabbalist Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag

Feeling sad and feeling happy all at the same time? Conflicting emotions aren't that rare; interestingly enough the Zohar talks about them in context with the person who wants to draw closer to God again after having strayed. How can he come close to God when he is feeling sad, when the injunction is " serve the Lord with gladness" !? Rabbi Baruch Ashlag looks at this Zohar with sympathy and depth.

We have two ways of relating to the goodness that the Creator gives us: receiving or giving. But these two functions are very often mutually opposite, each feeling that its own way is the correct way, even though such function is often incomplete. But a greater harmony and balance is achieved by co-operation, thus causing a third, middle way to emerge. The Torah itself comes forth from and guides us to this middle way.

Rabbi Ashlag teaches the redemption of the Children of Israel from Egypt as an on-going process within ourselves. He teaches that Egypt is within us, personified as our egoism, and this constitutes our bondage. The elements of the Pesach preparations and Seder night guide us so we can also celebrate our own redemption by the Hand of the Almighty with joy.

Becoming Adam implies coming to resemble the Creator in His loving kindness and unconditional love. But how can we fully embody this? From the Kabbalah of Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag

When the children of Israel encamped at Mount Sinai, the Sages teach that they encamped "as one man with one heart." It is from this teaching we understand that the revelation of God to the people at Mount Sinai was dependent on their being united What does this unity imply? How do we achieve unity while still respecting our individuality? Rather than look at this idea in a philosophical way, Rabbi Ashlag taught unity in the most practical way possible, by encouraging mutual love, support and responsibility between his students. His advice then is still good now.