Discovering Our Connection with the Upper Force

Awakening to Kabbalah, Rav Michael Laitman, PhD

If we were aware of the Upper Force that's always influencing us and arranging everything in our lives, then we would know the secret of life. We would know what life's grand purpose is and how everything in our life is led by that purpose.

So how do we reveal this Upper Force? We have to learn from the people who've already revealed it. Such people are called Kabbalists, and they have written books that can help anyone discover what they have discovered. By reading their books, one gradually begins to feel and understand how the Upper Force motivates his life and why it brings about the things that happen to him in life.

The authentic wisdom of Kabbalah deals with this only: revealing the Upper Force to a person in this world. Or as Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam commentary on The Book of Zohar, puts it: "This wisdom is no more and no less, than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and consequence, in fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as-"the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world." (The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah)

Authentic Kabbalah has nothing to do with temporary distractions like lucky charms and magic spells, red strings or holy water. Rather, it is an ancient, time-tested wisdom that helps people open their eyes and discover their interrelation with the Upper Force.

This is not something you will feel in your imagination one moment and forget about it the next instant. It is a discovery of a whole new reality that you did not feel before. Kabbalah explains that there is a vast spiritual world concealed behind the picture of reality surrounding us. And this hidden reality is intended for us. Once we discover it with the help of Kabbalah books, we will feel life's perfect and eternal flow, and experience genuine, lasting joy.

Studying Kabbalah, one suddenly realizes where everything comes from and that life has no coincidences. One tangibly feels that everything in our world comes from the Upper Force. As a result, one begins living in harmony with the Upper Force and avoids making mistakes in life.

In practical terms, learning about the Upper Force gives us real knowledge about how to live correctly. We become conscious of what is harmful to us and are able to avoid it. One gains a spiritual vision, where he sees the full scope of existence, the entire system of reality and how to use it to benefit the world. Hence, Kabbalah is a practical and essential wisdom.