I. Kabbalah Facts and Fallacies. 2. Some Basics

Now that we’ve cleared up common misconceptions about Kabbalah, let’s see what it’s really all about. This chapter briefly presents the basic concepts of Kabbalah. The terms we present and discuss in this chapter set up the language of Kabbalah that we use throughout the book. This chapter also presents how and why your study of Kabbalah is not only good for you, but also for the benefit of society as a whole...

In Hebrew, the word Kabbalah means “reception.” But Kabbalah isn’t just that—reception. It’s a discipline of study, a method that teaches you how to receive. Kabbalah helps you know where you truly are in relation to where you think you are. It shows the boundaries of our five senses and opens up the part that they can’t reveal by helping you develop a “sixth sense.” This sixth sense not only enriches your life with a new dimension, but opens a door to a “brave new world.” There is no death in this world, no sorrow, no pain. And best of all, you don’t have to give up anything for it...

To understand the kind of pleasure that the Kabbalist receives, it’s essential to understand a basic concept in Kabbalah: In the whole of reality, there is only a single force—the force of giving. And because that force is giving, it creates “something” to receive what it gives. The giving force in Kabbalah is called “Creator,” and what it creates is called “creation,” a “creature” or a “created being.” The created being is us, humanity as a whole and each of us in person...

Kabbalah is really very simple, once you know it. It explains that the Creator is benevolent and that He wants to give us endless, infinite pleasure. Because the Creator is benevolent, He created us with an endless, infinite desire to receive the pleasure He wants to give. In Kabbalah, this is called “the will to receive delight and pleasure,” or, in short, “the will to receive”...

Kabbalah provides a method by which you learn to receive...