Try To See The Truth Behind The Illusion

"Preface to the Sulam Commentary," Item.61. "A Great Rule in Time and Place," Know that everything in the wisdom of Kabbalah that expresses time and place does not refer to the imaginary time and place in corporeality, since everything in spirituality is above time and above space. Rather, "before" and "after" refer to cause and consequence. We refer to the cause as "before" and to the consequence as "after," since every cause precedes its consequence...Аlso "above and below" and "ascent and descent" are measures of coarseness and purity of the desire because "ascent" means purification of the desire, and "descent" means the coarsening.

And when we say that a lower degree rose, it means that the lower one has been purified and became as pure as the Higher Degree. Hence, it is considered to have clung to it because equivalence of form attaches the spirituals to one another...Study them in this manner, that is, in spiritual meanings, according to the issue."

Kabbalah uses the language of roots and branches, which uses words from our world to describe what takes place in the spiritual one, the Upper World. In the spiritual world, meanings of our world such as time, motion, space, distance, and direction don't exist. But the very same names that we use to identify some objects and actions in our world signify, in the spiritual world, forces, qualities, and their actions.

Therefore, we need to do our best to try to imagine spiritual actions behind these words. Such efforts are very useful because they create a request (MAN), the desire, the need to understand and perceive the Upper world, and begin living in it. Through such actions we help ourselves to enter it.

Thus, in Baal HaSulam's article "Preface to Study of the Ten Sefirot," Item 155, it is written that even though we don't understand what we are studying, due to our strong desire and will to understand the studied material, we draw the Light that surrounds our souls. As a result, it brings to us qualities that we need in order to perceive the spiritual world.

It doesn't mean that some new external picture is revealed to us. Rather, our desire brings about a change in our perception, in our inner qualities, in which we begin to see what we are reading.

It's okay if you don't know what purification and coarsening of the desire means or what the ascent and descent of the screen is, but you must try to imagine this in the form of desires and intentions. This is all there is: a desire, its intention, and the Light which works on them. This is how I should connect these words with what I know, and how I should be impressed by what is written.

This is already enough to connect with this system. Let it be incorrect; it doesn't matter! What matters is my effort, my desire to enter this system however artificial it is. Granted, I don't feel a sensory connection, but this is natural. Above, nothing more is expected of me.

 -from the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/10