We learn about Kabbalah by listening, reading, studying in groups and most importantly, asking questions and receiving answers. Following are some of the most frequently asked questions drawn from our Web site.

If you have any questions you would like us to answer, please write to info@kabbalah.info or visit our web site at www.kabbalah.info .

 I have been asking myself about my place in the world. I don’t know whether Kabbalah is for me. What is Kabbalah all about and what good will it do me if I study it?

Kabbalah gives one answer to one common question: What is the essence of my life and my existence? Kabbalah is for those who have been searching for answers; these people are best suited to studying Kabbalah. Kabbalah shows man the source and thus, the purpose of his life.

I have always thought that Kabbalah is a secret. Suddenly, Kabbalah has become the new, hot topic. How did this happen?

For thousands of years it was prohibited to disseminate Kabbalah. Only during the 20^th century, when the books of the Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag were published, have we been afforded the possibility of studying Kabbalah without restrictions. His writings are aimed at helping people like you, those without previous knowledge of Kabbalah. It is permissible to distribute Kabbalah widely and to teach everyone who is seeking the missing spiritual elements in his life.

Is it true that Rabbi Ashlag thought that Kabbalah should be taught to everyone, Jew and gentile alike? Do you think that the gentile has a place in the correction process, or is this meant for study by Jews alone? And what is the correction process all about?

You may have read in the Bible that at the end of the correction all will know God, from the youngest to the eldest, with no regard to gender or race. The Kabbalah is about man and the desire to receive, which God created. All creatures have this desire to receive. Therefore, all who want to participate in the process of correction may do so. The correction is a process of exchanging one’s intentions from egoistic to altruistic ones, i.e., from the benefit of oneself to the benefit of the Creator. It is hoped that all mankind will be involved in this process.

I am interested in learning more about Kabbalah. Isn’t it essential for a beginning student like myself to first study the Bible, the written and the oral law for many years, before I begin learning Kabbalah, or can I start now?

There are no prerequisite conditions to studying Kabbalah. All that is needed is one’s curiosity and the will to learn. Through the study of Kabbalah one learns how to be similar to the spiritual world in one’s deeds and thoughts.

I have heard rumors that a rabbi or Kabbalah student put a spell on someone so he would die. My questions: Is such a thing possible? And if so, is there a spell that can be said? Also, I have purchased several books related to “good” magical practices and would like to know if you can steer me in the right direction as far as some of these books go.

I do not know what books you have bought, but they do not deal with the true Kabbalah. Kabbalah is not about magic. Through study and reading you can gain a better understanding of Kabbalah. We recommend several types of readings, e.g., the articles we prepare in which we teach about the stages of man’s development along his spiritual course. While it is important to study with a teacher and in a group setting, you can access these articles through our Web site, and special prayer books that we produce.

Seven years ago, I began my search for God, the Creator, the Father. Along the way my entire life was destroyed and I lost everything I held dear. One day I told Him, “I will not give up until you answer me! You are all I have left.” Now I have begun to experience lights around people and animals. Isn’t this a manifestation of Kabbalah? I want to know God and to develop spiritually.

Your situation is precisely what motivates man to study Kabbalah. The way to know God is very difficult and requires specific study. And only after a spiritual feeling becomes revealed to him, does a man understand that his former feelings were just products of his imagination. One cannot feel God until he ascends to the upper worlds by turning all his egoistic characteristics into altruistic ones.

I understand that the word Kabbalah is from the Hebrew verb lekabbel, to receive. What does this mean and what is the purpose of receiving?

In the beginning, the Creator alone existed. He created a general desire to receive. This desire to receive is called The First Man (Adam HaRishon). In order to enable The First Man to communicate with the Creator, the general desire to receive has been divided into many parts. The purpose of the creation is to achieve communion with the Creator, because only in such a state can man achieve fulfillment, endless tranquility and happiness.

Does this imply that at some time in the distant future, there will be only one man, again?

The Kabbalah does not deal with our physical body, but only with our spiritual component. The upper world is like one creature, one soul whose parts are projected to a lower world (the one we perceive) in which we feel ourselves as distinct from each other. To explain this more simply: Because we are limited within our egoism, we feel ourselves as separated from each other, despite the fact that we are all of us actually one spiritual body. Therefore, the separation exists only within our mistaken perception, for we are all in fact one.

What are some of the concepts I will find in The Zohar? And who wrote The Zohar?

The book of The Zohar explains how a man in this world can reach the source of his soul. This road, or ladder, consists of 125 steps. The author of The Zohar must have passed through all of these stages. The soul of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag had reached the same heights (and spiritual place) as the author of The Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. This is why Baal HaSulam was able to complete the commentary on The Zohar, which we can use today.

Are you affiliated with other rabbis and other Kabbalah centers?

Bnei Baruch is not connected in any manner to any other groups or organizations that deal with Kabbalah.

Do you have a list of books or study materials that you could send me in English, French or Spanish?

Unfortunately, there are no reputable, serious Kabbalah books written in any language other than Hebrew and Aramaic and based on authentic sources, i.e., Shimon Bar Yochai, the Ari, Yehuda Ashlag, etc.  Bnei Baruch has created a basic course in Kabbalah through its Web site, and is publishing books for beginners in several languages, including Spanish, German and Russian. The latest publication by Bnei Baruch, A Comprehension of the Worlds Beyond, is available in English and Russian.

I was raised in a religion other than Judaism. It is my belief there are more gods, more holy spirits, etc., than are mentioned in Kabbalah. And isn’t the purpose of creation to give man a better life in this world, as well as the world to come? I look around me and see what a terrible place this world can be.

There exists only the Creator and man. The purpose of creation is to ascend to the upper worlds while being in this world. This can be done if man’s thoughts and desires are equivalent to the desires and thoughts of the upper worlds, a subject taught in Kabbalah. One who wants to ascend and reach the goal of creation (which is each man’s personal goal in life, or he must return to this world after his death) must think positively about all creation.

I am beginning to understand that I must take responsibility for my own actions, my own ego. I want to attain a more spiritual level in my life. Where do I start? And if I study Kabbalah, will I be able to act freely?

Man must always imagine that he stands in front of God, the Super Power. Everyone who studies Kabbalah and rises to a certain spiritual level can acquire such capabilities from this Super Power that allow him to use them as he wishes. And the greater his spiritual level, the more Creator-like characteristics and powers the Kabbalist achieves. Because of this, we may also say that the Kabbalist is able to act as freely and independently as the Creator. But no true Kabbalist will ever share these intimate experiences with others.

I read somewhere that there is a portion of the Kabbalah that contains the 72 words or names for God and when read, the scripture makes known a message. Also, when the Hebrew characters are viewed vertically, they appear in columns of three characters and each column contains a word for God. I don’t know if you ever noticed that God hides things in plain view, as is the case here.

Kabbalah utilizes many mathematical concepts such as matrices, geometry, numbers, graphs, characters and letters, etc. These approaches are codes, shown in the Bible, which inform us of spiritual objects and the connection between them. Each spiritual level has its own name or number equivalent based on the sum of all letters in the name. The transformation of a name to a number is called gematria. These codes refer to spiritual levels that we should attain.

I live in London. I am not Jewish but over the past few years I have become interested in Kabbalah and have also developed an increasing, personal interest in Judaism. Are you able to provide any guidance whereby I can increase my knowledge? Do you have any representatives/members in the U.K. whom it would be possible to meet?

There are no Kabbalists of repute living outside of Israel. However, we recommend that you begin to study, access our web site, and send us questions and requests.

The Kabbalah seems to have ideas similar to all the major mystical traditions, such as Buddhism. Is there an important difference? If so, why should one choose this way and not another? If there is not, why isn’t it acknowledged by Kabbalists?

The general idea of all religious and mystical teachings is to commune with an upper entity. Every person comes with his own reason for seeking communion with this entity. For example, some people wish to enjoy an enriched and happy life in this world, to merit prosperity, health, confidence, a better future. They want to understand this world as much as possible in order to better manage their lives. Others wish to learn how to manage in the world to come after death. All of these goals are selfish and arise from man’s egoism.

Kabbalah does not deal at all with these reasonings. Rather, Kabbalah aims to change man’s nature in order to enable him to have qualities similar to those of the Creator.

The Kabbalistic method states that man must use everything he has in this world with the intention of giving to the Creator. To reach this intention, however, man needs to sense the Creator and must feel that the Creator enjoys his deeds. One who studies Kabbalah begins to understand its meaning through the sensing of the Creator.