Before my entry into the world of Kabbalah in 1962, I was an Orthodox Jew, an adherent of Judaism. In the Orthodox program of observance, one Jewish holiday seems largely identical to the next aside from the customs distinguishing them. But the one holiday where we observed the giving of the Ten Commandments, known as Shavuot, stood out in particular from the rest. This holiday required that we study biblical or Talmudic text all night until sunrise, then we would pray the traditional holiday service and go to sleep. This was the way I performed the holiday from the time that I could affect my body to stay awake all night. What I understood then was that we observed this holiday in commemoration of the event on Mount Sinai. The reason for studying was to display our connection to the event. And that was all there was to it. It was an observance, a traditional ceremony for one who felt akin to his/her Judaism. Was there anything in it for me? No, other than registering brownie points with God.
So you can imagine the confusion I experienced when I shared my first kabbalistic Shavuot with my master, Rav Yehuda Brandwein. It seemed by strictly practicing observation that we were practicing the holiday no differently than when I was a child. However, the “why,” the explanation of the Revelation event, and more importantly why it is relevant to any person today, 3,500 years later, was truly a revelation. I was amazed at what my master was telling me.
“Kabbalistic teachings can be a useful tool in achieving a life free from chaos.”
He first reminded me that anyone referring to this holiday as the giving of the Ten Commandments, as the start of a new religion, specifically Judaism, was completely mistaken. Furthermore, he explained that the entire traditional practice omitted the most significant aspect of the event. Those were strong words and certainly foreign to one who had been steeped in the “religious” and traditional practice of this event. I believed that I had been taught all there was to know about the Ten Commandments.
What had Jewry throughout the millenniums missed? Firstly, my teacher said, “Never, ever, again refer to the event as the Creator’s Gift of the Ten Commandments. There was never a remark nor an event that signified ‘commandments.’” If my master had not been such a great rabbi, scholar, and kabbalist, I might have said, “Have a good day. I really do not want to hear any more,” and departed for good from his presence.
He began reciting from the Talmud a statement which I faintly recalled that what happened on Mount Sinai was the Revelation of the “Ten Utterances.” Now why would the Talmud make use of the word “utterances” when most of the world considered the Revelation on Mount Sinai the Revelation of the Ten Commandments?
Every movie-goer is familiar with the spectacular movie by Cecile B. De Mille, The Ten Commandments. He literally immortalized—this pun is intended, as reference to immortality is frequently used in the film—the Revelation event. However, once I learned that the term “commandments” was incorrect, I asked my master how such a misunderstanding could take place and, furthermore, why this mistaken interpretation has been permitted to persist for millenniums.
The answers to both questions were shockingly concealed but profoundly informative. After all my years in rabbinic study, my master’s response came as a complete deviation from the existing methodology used in explaining the more important events of Scriptures. He replied that behind every misunderstanding of the significant event of Revelation lay the sinister hand of Satan and it was his continued presence and effort that perpetuated this gross distortion. Understandably so, continued my master, since Satan places great emphasis on maintaining this mistaken interpretation. His very essence is on the line. He knew the real meaning of Revelation and the Ten Utterances. The Thought of God and the purpose for revelation is Immortality, stated my master.
Revelation was not about the Ten Utterances, it was about the revealment of the total embodiment of the Lightforce in our universe, he explained. It was a complete and universal communion with the Light which left no space where darkness could conceal itself. The result was the demise of death, which had ruled and affected every universal entity including man since the sin of Adam. The world had achieved the most sought-after gift mankind could ever have longed and hoped for—immortality.
Then what was the Decalogue or Ten Utterances about? I wanted to know, now that I had discarded the remnants of a corrupted Ten Commandments. “The Ten Utterances,” stated my master, “were nothing more than the instrument by which the Immaterial Lightforce of God became physically expressed in our universe. No different than a light bulb which reveals the concealed potential of electric current, or for that matter the physical body which reveals and makes manifest the immaterial, eternal soul.”
The Hebrew letters in the Utterances, the configuration of words made up of these letters, together with the verses, were nothing more than a vehicle whereby the full impact of the Lightforce made its presence known and felt in the universe and more specifically directed towards Satan/Murphy’s Law of Chaos and mortality.
What seems to emerge from the Zoharic interpretation is that Revelation was about the Lightforce becoming fully and totally manifested and revealed. The instrument by which the realization of Revelation came to manifestation was the Scroll, or the Torah. This was indeed a very dramatic and beneficial moment in the history of human civilization which brought to an end the chaos and mortality that had afflicted mankind since the sin of Adam approximately 2200 years previously. Death and chaos no longer remained a part of the human landscape.
Please believe me when I tell you that it was extremely difficult for me to accept these interpretations of the Decalogue, whose primary purpose was to permit mankind to achieve the final and complete annihilation of Satan/Murphy and his army of chaos executioners. The idea that the Decalogue was the death knell for mortality to be replaced by immortality was shocking, unbelievable, and difficult for me to accept. My disbelief was noticed by my master. He understood my problem accepting the notion of immortality and cautioned that its acceptance would require an evolutionary and gradual process. The beginning of this process was to begin at once, he said. “How,” I asked with amazement? “I am so ill-prepared for this journey.”
He then opened the Zohar and turned to a passage which at first glance appeared very obtuse and difficult. He explained that this section dealt with the night the Decalogue was revealed. Rav Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, was carrying on a discussion with his companions. He revealed with excitement, for the very first time in history, that with proper meditations the secret of one aspect of immortality will now begin to enter the landscape of human civilization. Mankind will now again commence in restoring a chaotic world. Satan will no longer feel the comfort of a monopoly and manipulation of mankind. He will now begin to be on the defensive. No longer will people have to pray to God in order to be on God’s good side so that they can be lucky enough to avoid the chaos around them.
I waited patiently for my master’s interpretation of this Revelation. Did I understand him correctly that Death will be forced to take a holiday? I queried my master. “Yes,” he replied, “within this section of the Zohar, the Ari, Rav Isaac Luria, learned the secret of one aspect of immortality.”
Once Light is revealed within this universe, it remains forever. However, the Light stays in a potential state, like an electric current in the case of a wall socket or a switch. When the appropriate stimulation, in kabbalistic terminology a proper vessel, is applied to the Lightforce, then the Lightforce, as with electricity, is once again revealed. Inasmuch as the Lightforce of Immortality on Mount Sinai had once become revealed, continued my master, this energy of immortality can always be accessed again.
“Eternal events are as cosmically guided as the appearance of the sun, moon, and all other celestial entities.”
Rav Luria, in his voluminous work Gates of Meditation, provided the necessary vessel or switch for revealing once again the state of immortality originally revealed on Mount Sinai. However, this process or procedure, Rav Luria reveals, can only accomplish the revelation of immortality when applied at the appropriate cosmic time, its original revelation. The guidelines were included within the biblical code as deciphered by the Zohar. Eternal events are as cosmically guided as the appearance of the sun, moon, and all other celestial entities. The constellation of Leo does not make its appearance in the heavens in the winter time any more than Capricorn appears in the heavens during the summer months.
Glancing up into the sky with a high-powered telescope reveals each sign of the Zodiac configured by billions of stars appearing at their usual time of the year. Just as a TV guide is necessary for the viewer to know the exact time of a favorite program, so too does the Bible provide the exact calendar time when the cosmos is prepared to put on its particular program of events. The moment for the immortality event is the 6th day of the Lunar month of Gemini, the opportunity for mankind to view and tap its energy.
Similar to our TV sets, just turning on the set will not permit me to access prime time news at 7:00 PM Our sets have the potential ability to provide prime time news. However, if I turn the set on at 6:00 PM or 8:00 PM, I will obviously not see the news. If I turn on the set on a day when this program does not appear, again the TV set, as good as it might be, cannot access the program.
Therefore, explained my master, the Zohar states that the appropriate time to tune into the awesome energy of immortality is in the evening of the 6th day of Lunar Gemini. This is the incredible information that only the Zohar can furnish. The entire evening up to and including the early morning after sunrise must be completely devoted to accessing this unbelievable energy. The body must undergo deprivation and go without any sleep whatsoever. That, together with the special codes for accessing immortality provided in detail by Rav Luria, guarantees that a person shall not die at least for the next 3 or 4 months until Rosh Hashanah, when we have a chance to rewrite our destiny.
Frankly, I had never heard words or thoughts of this nature. “This is too good to be true,” I remarked to my master. “Has this ever been proven or substantiated before in history?” I asked. “No,” answered the master, “but that will be your task.”
Recalling this crucial, new understanding of the connection between Shavuot and immortality, Karen and I then decided to reestablish a long-forgotten experience that belonged to all of mankind, the Mount Sinai Revelation. It was precisely at this time that I recalled the prophecy of the master. We were now going to bring the mini-experience of immortality to the people by guaranteeing to all the attendees that, by fulfilling all the requirements as outlined by the Zohar and Rav Luria, they could enjoy the next four months without the fear of death stepping in and bringing an end to our life. This concept was just too much for the stomachs of many who had not taken formal classes at The Centre.
The guarantee was really stretching our luck too far, maintained many of the close friends of The Centre. However, Karen and I were determined that, if Kabbalah is indeed the solution and salvation for all mankind, then we were going to give it all we had. The beauty of Kabbalah was and is that, regardless of what one’s religion may be, kabbalistic teachings can be a useful tool in achieving a life free from chaos. And immortality, however brief it might be, is far better than the threat of mortality at any time when we least expect it.
In the twenty years or so in which The Centre has been providing the kabbalistic Revelation experience, there has not been a single death among attendees for a period of four months following the Revelation experience. This is what the master foresaw when he shared his vision of mini-immortality. Little did Karen or I have the faintest idea where that humble beginning would take us. Thousands of people around the globe are today reaping the benefits of the master’s prophecy.
With the growth of The Centre, the criticism and hate intensified from all walks of life. Antagonism toward The Centre became irrational. Opponents’ dislike for The Centre was illogical and almost frenzied, way beyond any basis their arguments may have had. Strange as it may sound, though, the more the opposition intensified, the stronger and more widespread The Centre became.
The idea that a mini-immortality was possible spread like wildfire. The notion that a time travel machine was available defied the imagination of scientists. While The Centre’s findings could not be verified by conventional scientific means, this did not deter students across the globe from attending the Mount Sinai Revelation experience.
To achieve immortality, albeit for four months only, requires traveling back in time. What this means for the layman, says the scientist, is that time slows down in actuality. When the years go by, in real time we have not aged. When we achieve permanent immortality, the clock stops for all time. While our rationally-minded consciousness cannot grasp the concept of how time slows down or stops permanently, the fact has already been established. This might be compared to a discussion held one hundred years ago as to whether there could ever be an aircraft, but the aircraft became a reality. Whether our minds grasp the full implication of immortality or the slowing down of time, the fact remains that its existence has already been confirmed and is not awaiting the confirmation of anyone who does not grasp the concept. The days of “I’m from Missouri, show me” have long been buried.
Time travel simply means that one can travel faster than the speed of light. Einstein claimed that this was impossible, to travel faster than the speed of light, because if one could, then there was no past, present, or future. Everything would be in the here and now, the present. There would be no aging. Einstein never proved that one cannot travel faster than the speed of light. He only reasoned by his rational mind that it cannot exist because then anyone could travel back in time and presumably choose a nice, preferable age, say seventeen.
Einstein must have been from Missouri, and did not believe in time travel simply because he did not see the theory in practice. Consequently, he could never accept the theory of immortality inasmuch as he did not personally witness this reality. Today science has already confirmed that there are particles that exist that can travel faster than the speed of light. Science is catching up with Kabbalah. Furthermore, the whole concept of speed of light is incorrect. I have no desire to turn this work into a scientific refutation of some of the basic principles acknowledged by science. Suffice it to say that kabbalistic knowledge is eternal and consequently truth. The accepted “uncertainty principle” is a perfect example of how far behind physics is, relative to kabbalistic knowledge. This work has already established that one of the underlying causes for chaos is Satan’s infusion of the principle of uncertainty into human consciousness. We are going to change all this.
To achieve mini or permanent immortality requires certainty that the Revelation on Mount Sinai will accomplish this long sought-after reality. As we stated previously, there is nothing to reality aside from consciousness. If, in our consciousness, we have doubts as to whether the Revelation on Mount Sinai accomplished immortality, then all the kabbalistic meditations and connections in the world will not serve the individual to achieve immortality.
Furthermore, the act of traveling back in time was already known by the Zohar. On the night of the Revelation, we are provided with the methodology that assists all those who participate in the kabbalistic experience of Revelation to connect with the cosmos that embodies and perpetuates the energy of mini-immortality.
I recall the most recent encounter with mini immortality that only reinforced my conviction that immortality of an eternal permanent nature was not far into the future. I vividly remembered what the master had spoken when he addressed the Revelation on Mount Sinai. He mentioned that, at a time in the not-too-distant future, the circumstances would appear by which I would receive my confirmation that immortality was an actual reality. The opportunity presented itself when we decided to arrange international Revelation gatherings in the late seventies with scholars who were Kabbalah educated and initiated. The conference experience was open to all those who could raise their consciousness to the level of accepting the actuality of immortality.
Many of the established Jewish communities were strongly opposed to our putting this label on their sacred holiday of Pentecost. They demanded that we designate the event as the “Giving of the Ten Commandments” and omit the word or idea of immortality. When I made a point of stressing that it wasn’t my idea but rather the conclusions reached by the Zohar, the hostility became even more intense. As far as I was concerned, there was no turning back to the old, traditional, formal way of interpreting the Revelation. This was an old wine in a new, modern, compelling, and appealing bottle.
“The only purpose of Revelation was to reestablish the universe from a world full of chaos to an orderly, structured entity.”
In the opinion of the master, somewhere along the road, something went wrong. The turn toward a dogmatic form of religion was never the original intent of Revelation. Neither was it intended as an event where the Jewish people became a nation shaped from a horde of slaves. Its only purpose was to reestablish the universe from a world full of chaos to an orderly, structured entity as it existed before the sin of Adam.
To any rational mind, this new approach was exactly what humankind wanted and needed. Why in the world would this new interpretation of Revelation bring down the terrible wrath of the Jewish establishment and a hostility between Jews not seen since the destruction of Temples One and Two? What was even more incomprehensible is that immortality and resurrection are concepts accepted within all major religions.
This is an excerpt from the book
Immortality: The Inevitability of Eternal Life by Rav Berg
