Your Ticket to a New World

A first person account: Finding Bnei Baruch’s Online Kabbalah Learning Center, “I liken the course to the beginning of a journey to a magnificent new world, to a free ticket onboard an express train!”

It was August 2008. I did not know what Kabbalah was nor did I have any idea why the word intrigued me as it did. In regards to Kabbalah, I was pretty much a blank slate. There was something that I did know, however. I sensed that there was a hidden message in the word “Kabbalah.” The feeling came from the very depth of my heart, from a small, tiny point.

“I Wanted to Know How Exactly you Use this Wisdom”

I started to read more. I devoured a few issues of the newspaper Kabbalah Today. Then, I turned my hunger toward the website Kabbalah.info. There, I found an immense amount of information in the form of articles, books, videos and animations.

But as most of my friends will tell you, I am not easily impressed or satisfied. I wanted more. I wanted to know how exactly is it that you use this wisdom, what makes it so special, and why should I be reading about it and not doing something more productive (or fun) with my time. The website said that Kabbalah was a practical wisdom that will help me attain spirituality. “Ok,” I said to myself, “I want to attain spirituality.” Who doesn’t, right? All of us, consciously or not, yearn for connection with the spiritual. I later learned that connecting to the spiritual is actually the purpose of our lives. This is why so many people today are dissatisfied and question the meaning and purpose of their lives.

“I Realized that I Wasn’t Alone. There Were Many People with the Same Questions About Life”

So, back to my question: How? Where do I start? Then, I noticed a link to a free, live and interactive course starting September 2008. I signed up immediately and began reading preparation materials provided in advance of the course start date. At the first lesson, I realized that I wasn’t alone. There were many people with the same questions about life. It was a very international group with people joining the twice-weekly lessons from places as remote as Japan, Australia, Argentina and Iraq. There were business people, students, lawyers, housewives, professors, scientists, retirees, and more, ordinary people from all walks of life.

“They Had Answers”

The lessons were presented by two teachers. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was happy to see that they were regular, normal people, like you and me. What did set them apart was that they were able to provide answers to questions which had been floating in my head unanswered for years. They had answers to questions like: “What is the meaning of my life?” “Who am I?” “What is going on in the world?” You get the picture. Normal people with answers. So far, so good! I continued on and finished the course.

“It’s Hard to Describe What the Course Has Done for Me”

It is now August 2009. It is hard to describe what the course has done for me. What I can say is this: Remember that little point in my heart, which I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the one that led me to Kabbalah? Well, the course helped me understand what the point was. The course described the process by which this point grows and connects to other similar points. Once it reaches full development, it becomes the mechanism by which we can perceive a completely different world. This world is the spiritual world with which we crave to connect. Without connecting to the spiritual, we do not attain the purpose of our lives. Therefore, I liken the course which I signed up for last year to the beginning of a journey to a magnificent new world, to a free ticket onboard an express train!

I have some great news for you, dear reader. There is another train departing September 2009. Consider this your official invitation. See you in the new world.