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Who can study?

Mention Kabbalah and you'll hear: You can go mad, its only safe to study after the age of 40, a man must be married and have at least three children and women are forbidden to study Kabbalah etc. In the 16th century The great Kabbalist, the Ari, wrote that from his generation onward Kabbalah was intended for men, women and children and that everyone could and should study Kabbalah. The greatest Kabbalist of our generation, Yehuda Ashlag, Baal HaSulam, left a new study method for this generation that's suitable for anyone wanting learn. A person finds Kabbalah when after serious searching he can't find solutions to the significant questions: Who am I? Why was I born? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why do I exist in the world? Have I been here before? Will I return? Why is there so much suffering in the world? Can it be avoided? How can I attain pleasure, completeness, peace of mind? He feels these answers could only be found outside the bounds of this world. Often he may not consciously realize this is the case but feels a deep need for a pleasure that he is certain must exist beyond the worldly physical rewards that no longer satisfy him. He may not know why but simply feels the importance of Kabbalah. Kabbalah is open to all. Its for those who truly want to change themselves in order to attain spirituality. This is an inner need that comes from the soul itself and that's really the only test to determine if a person is ready to study Kabbalah. People who want quick cures, to learn about magic, meditation and healing associated with Kabbalah are not truly interested in the revelation of the upper worlds or in learning the method of reaching spiritual realms. This does not qualify as a genuine desire to study Kabbalah. It comes down to the desire to correct yourself and it must be genuine and free of outside pressure, because only you can discover your true desire. The one answer to these profound questions is to know and feel the upper worlds and the way to do that is through Kabbalah. Through its wisdom a person enters the upper worlds with all his feelings. These worlds contain the reasons for his existence in this world. By doing this he takes control of his life and attains his goal - tranquility, pleasure and completeness - while he is still in this world. In the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sephirot by Baal HaSulam, it is written: "If we put our hearts into answering just one famous query, I am sure that all questions and doubts will vanish from the horizon and we will find they are gone. And that little question is - What is the meaning of our lives?" Anyone attracted to the study of Kabbalah because of this question is welcome to study. The person who reaches the highest levels is the one constantly fueled by this question. Everything depends on the root of man's soul, the point in the heart, which is a true desire to discover and feel the upper worlds. It is this that will lead him to the way of Kabbalah. - Rav Michael Laitman The one answer to these profound questions is to know and feel the upper worlds and the way to do that is through Kabbalah. Through its wisdom a person enters the upper worlds with all his feelings. These worlds contain the reasons for his existence in this world. By doing this he takes control of his life and attains his goal - tranquility, pleasure and completeness - while he is still in this world. In the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sephirot by Baal HaSulam, it is written: "If we put our hearts into answering just one famous query, I am sure that all questions and doubts will vanish from the horizon and we will find they are gone. And that little question is - What is the meaning of our lives?" Anyone attracted to the study of Kabbalah because of this question is welcome to study. The person who reaches the highest levels is the one constantly fueled by this question. Everything depends on the root of man's soul, the point in the heart, which is a true desire to discover and feel the upper worlds. It is this that will lead him to the way of Kabbalah. - Rav Michael Laitman

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What do we study?

Throughout history Kabbalists have written books in order to communicate their discoveries in the upper worlds with other Kabbalists, people who already had attained entry to the spiritual. These books were written in different styles corresponding to the needs and nature of the of souls living in our world at those times. Humanity as a whole had not yet developed to the point that it could make proper use of the Wisdom of Kabbalah, so Kabbalists restricted the study to the small number of people who were born with special souls already prepared to grasp the nature of higher reality. While many of these books still exist today, some dating back thousands of years, almost none of them are truly useful or suitable to the souls found in our generation. In our generation a large portion of humanity has a new but as yet unconscious ability to transform their relationship with the upper world. We are capable of passing the threshold between the physical and spiritual worlds en mass. The kind of instruction we require is not like the Kabbalistic instruction of the past. We need the methodology of correction or transformation. Therefore we study only those authentic works by ancient and modern Kabbalists that were prepared and aimed at our time, at bringing human experience and all of creation into a balanced harmonious relationship with the single governing law of life. We learn a system designed specifically to take a person from this world to the first rung of the spiritual ladder. The study requires that we develop and integrate two modes, that of heart and science in our own way. We don't need any special talent. Success does not depend on intelligence or any formal education, on gender, race, age or religion. It is a law in Kabbalah that there is no coercion in spirituality. It is after all the discovery of what we actually are. By the study of the right books in the right environment under the guidance of the right teacher we attract the surrounding light that corrects and raises us to the Upper Worlds. This method combines learning technical works as well as writings guiding the work of the heart. The compendium consists of the Book of Zohar, by Kabbalist Shimon Bar Yochai (RASHBI), the writings of Kabbalist Isaac Luria, (ARI), Rav Baruch Ashlag. (RABASH) and Rav Yehuda Ashlag, The Master of the Ladder (Baal HaSulam). His books are the Study of The Ten Sephirot (Talmud Eser Sephirot), a commentary on the Tree of Life by ARI., Introduction to the Zohar and His Commentary on the Book of Zohar These convey a tremendous amount of light from the highest levels of reality. This course of study guided by Rav Laitman comprises a living method of spiritual ascent, the science of Kabbalah. In the work of the heart we study a unique collection of writings, those of Kabbalist Baurch Ashlag and a book of articles and letters called "I Have Heard" (Shamati) recorded by him from the words of his father Yehuda and passed on only to his direct disciple Kabbalist Michael Laitman. The writings guiding the work of the heart deal with a person's feeling states to inspire and help him integrate new states of awareness. The technical books describe the origins and structure of creation. It is the goal of the student to relate this to his grasp of the higher reality, connecting it with his inner state.

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