Would like to endorse this website – they teach Sulam in Russian in Israel. Recorded lessons are also available.
Note that this Rebbe was not student of RABASH – another son of Baal HaSulam. The site is managed by his Russian speaking Rabbi – Tzvi Nisanzon
Join the Aish Center as we welcome three of the brightest lights in the Kabbalah world for a full day of learning and growth.
Sunday, April 29th
Where: The Aish Center 313 West 83rd St (West End/Riverside)
When: 9am-5pm
Cost: $49 (Breakfast and lunch included)
http://www.aishcenter.com/mystical-fireworks
On Pesach night we discuss the situation of four sons – Chacham (wise), Rasha (wicked), Tam (simple), She Eino Yodea Lishol (one that doesn’t know how to ask).
The sequence of these sons seem quite peculiar and our sages mention in various commentaries that their order is actually a hint to Avodat HaShem – the self-building process that individual is going through. It seems to me that these are indeed stages of development, and by applying the principles of Baal HaSulam we can arrive to the following picture:
Stage 1 – Wise. The person sees himself as “Wise”. He knows laws of Creator, and fulfills them to the most crucial detail with stringency. Pure Ratzon Le-Kabel, yet a crucial stage as our sages teach – mi lo lishma, ba lishma – one must start performing mitzvot of Creator even if he isn’t capable to get to the right intention and by attracting the Ohr Ein Sof he is purified to get to the next stage.
Stage 2 – Wicked. The person realizes that everything he did and does is nothing in comparison to what Creator bestows on him, thus he sees himself as a Rasha (wicked). It’s indeed very painful but very important stage – this is when person is awaken from deep bondage of his ego and is able to see his personal Ratzon Le-Kabel from aside.
Stage 3 – Tam. In addition to simple, Tam in Hebrew also means whole. In this stage the individual is in balance between his desires and actions. This is the third line – the line of true ascend. This is when the person can truly focus on his spiritual work leaving aside any doubts and depressing thoughts that come from Klipa
Stage 4 – One who doesn’t know [can't] ask. This is the highest of all stages – this is the stage of GA”R – Gimel Rishonot as referred to by ARIZAL and Baal HaSulam. The upper three sefirot, the stage that no words can possibly describe and the stage where one can’t even question. Thus in this stage the person is called – one that can’t ask.
May we all merit to come close to HaShem and be zoche to serve him will all our hearts and minds
This is a small but extremely powerful book -
I found it very useful and would like to endorse it. There are not many books like these in English
http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Concepts-Chassidism-Introduction-Kabbalistic/dp/0826604129
Baba Sali was known Kabbalist that lived in Israel.
The open miracles that he performed on daily basis can fill many volumes. Finally there is book in English that depicts the life of this great man.
Baba Sali is grand-son of Rabbi Abuchatzera – disciple of ARI. Ever heard of Aladdin when you were a kid? Well the idea of Aladdin wasn’t really an invention.
Once Rabbi Abuchatzea was sent by ARIZAL to collect funds for yeshiva. He came to the Yaffo port to look for a ship that would take him on his trip. There was one problem – the boat that was ready to leave didn’t want to accept him on board.
Seeing that the ship departs, Rabbi Abuchatzera took the small carpet that was with him and laid it on the ground. As the boat left the port, the carpet flew him above the sea just behind the ship. Thus came his name Abuchatzera – which means the owner of the carpet.
While in our generation these stories are hard to imagine the book documents many miracles that were performed by his grandson – Baba Sali that were witnessed by many non-religious people and acknowledged by doctors and scientists as open miracles that go against laws of nature. The book also gives a glimpse at the daily life of this holy man
http://www.eichlers.com/Product/Books/Biographies/All/Baba-Sali-_JPBABH.html
Weekly Parasha Insights by Rabbi Eli Mansour
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Description: Parashat Vayigash: Vayigash, Goshen, and Mashiah
Parashat Vayigash tells of Yaakob and his family’s move from Eretz Yisrael to Canaan. We read that as Yaakob made his way toward Egypt, he sent his son Yehuda ahead, for the purpose of establishing a place of learning: “He sent Yehuda ahead to teach him the way to Goshen” (46:28).
The Torah in this verse refers to the area of Goshen with the term “Goshna,” which means “to Goshen.” Rav Nissan Alpert (1927-1986) noted that the word “Goshna” has the same numerical value as the word “Mashiah” (358) – indicating some connection between this context and our hopes for the arrival of Mashiah. Rav Alpert explained that the word “Goshen” is closely related to the first word and name of the Parasha – “Vayigash” – which means “approach.” The Parasha begins with Yehuda approaching Yosef (“Vayigash Elav Yehuda”) to plead that he allow Binyamin to return to his father. We find this term again a bit later, after Yosef reveals his identity to his brothers, when he says to them, “Geshu Na Elai” – “draw near, if you will” – and they obliged – “Vayigashyu” (45:4). This Parasha is about “Vayigash” – Yosef and his brothers “approaching” one another, drawing near to each other, after many years of separation. Just before the brothers threw Yosef into the pit, the Torah writes, “they saw him from afar” (“Va’yiru Oto Me’rahok” – 37:18). As long as they saw each other “from afar,” as long as there was a distance between them, there was hatred and animosity. This distance is rectified in Parashat Vayigash, when Yosef and his brothers draw near to each other, and bond together in peace and harmony.
For good reason, Rav Alpert commented, the word “Goshna” – which alludes to the theme of closeness between Jews – is equal to “Mashiah.” The Messianic Era will arrive only at the time of “Vayigash,” when we, like Yosef and his brothers, set aside our petty differences and come together in peace and unity. When we are able to eliminate the distance between neighbors, between family members, between spouses, and between business associates, and work together with goodwill and mutual respect, then Mashiah can come. As long as we “see each other from afar,” if we keep our distance from fellow Jews with whom we have differences, our nation will not experience redemption. The redemption will come once we achieve “Vayigash Elav Yehuda” – closeness between Jews, genuine feelings of camaraderie and goodwill that overshadow the differences and disagreements that unfortunately separate us from one another.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Audio Length: 48:05
Listen Download MP3 (11.01 MB) Download WMA (44.27 MB)
Torah has many levels – the deepest one is called Kabbalah. The lesson below shows amazing Kabbalistic insights into this week’s parsha. Many secrets of Creation are reveled here based on teachings on ARIZAL, CHIDA and other Kabbalists
All the elaborate proofs, all the philosophical machinations, none of that will never stand you firmly on your feet. There’s only one thing that can give you that, and that’s your own inherent conviction.
For even as your own mind flounders, you yourself know that this is so, and know that you believe it to be so. It is a conviction all the winds of the earth cannot uproot, that has carried us to this point in time, that has rendered us indestructible and timeless.
For it comes from within and from the heritage of your ancestors who believed as well, back to the invincible conviction of our father, Abraham, a man who took on the entire world.
The doubts, the hesitations, the vacillations, all these come to you from the outside. Your challenge is but to allow your inner knowledge to shine through and be your guide.
Inside is boundless power.
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman.
Now days with modern science it seems that anyone who has belief in demons is considered a fool; yet it’s not that simple…
Many Kabbalistic texts, Torah, Mishna, Talmud are full of description around demons and their powers, yet we don’t see any proof to their existence. How come?
Kabbalists teach us that Creator in His infinite wisdom created two systems – System of Kedusha (holiness/desire to bestow) and System of Tumah (impurities, desire to receive for the sake of receiving) as it’s explained in depth by Baal HaSulam. These two systems were created to give us – the creation – freedom of choice. A lot is already written on this topic, so I won’t go further into this.
For these two systems to co-exist in harmony and provide us with true freedom of choice there must be balance – i.e. the forces must be equal in power. Therefore when Sanhedrin requested from the Creator to take away from us the nisanyon (test) of idolatry we immediately lost the ability to prophesy in the same moment as idolatry was taken away from us.
Thus in our time we can’t even comprehend how one would be servering a stone – yet our ancestors were far from fools – they had tangible benefits from serving idols and the closet desire that we could somehow compare their hunger to work the idols can be only compared to our nowadays sexual desires for intimacy (but even that is far from what they felt).
Thus, just as prophesy was taken away from us once we asked to be absolved from idolatry so the power of demons diminished once our level of Kedusha started to decline. Ben Ish Chai – widely accepted Kabbalist – wrote about this in several of his commentaries. I also would like to share a link that can give an insight to how our ancestors were able to interact with demons when their level allowed it
http://www.communitym.com/article.asp?article_id=101388
Very nice articles from Zohar in Hebrew.