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What Is Todays Significance of the Story of Abrahams Conflict
with Nimrod?
The Pyramid of Desires
The top of the pyramid is also the part that governs
it,
and hence the part that has free choice in how to do
it,
and the responsibility to do it right.
Mesopotamia, the Cradle of Civilization, was also the birthplace of Abraham, the harbinger of Kabbalah. The
conflict between Abraham and Nimrod, ruler of Babylon, stands for much more than a conflict between a ruler and a
defiant subject. It is a conflict of perceptions. To Nimrod, reality is a federation of forces that he must please, serve,
and appease by sacrifice. To Abraham, there is only one force, and worshiping it means living by its lawthe law of
giving, as simple and as straightforward as that. Considering this contrast of views, it is no wonder that Nimrod had to
either destroy Abraham or expel him.
But Abrahams departure from Babylon did not quiet the polis. The trends that had prompted Abrahams search for
lifes secret continued to intensify and to spread through the bustling city, fueled by the same forces that power the
process of evolution. Yet, in Babylon, these trends began to manifest a conduct that is uniquely humanegoism.
Baal HaSulam explains that egoism is a natural trait for humans. He declares that it is human nature, and that
Kabbalah offers a way to turn its evident detrimental consequences into positive ones. In Peace in the World, he
writes, In simple words we shall say, that the nature of each and every person is to exploit the lives of all other people
in the world for his own benefit. And all that he gives to another is only out of necessity; and even then there is
exploitation of others in it, but it is done cunningly, so that his neighbor will not notice it and concede willingly.

The Need to Learn How to Govern & Nurture the Pyramid of Desires
But before we delve into the solution that Kabbalah offers to human egoism, we need to understand how the desire to
receive, initially created by the desire to givethe Creatorhas become egoism. The reason for it, continues
Ashlag, is that mans soul [desire] extends from the Creator, who is one and unique. Hence, man, too feels
that all the people in the world should be under his governance, just as the whole of nature is governed by the law of
bestowal, the Creator.
Moreover, unlike all other elements in Nature, which are forced to behave in congruence with their environment,
human beings have the power to change the environment. This gives us something that no other creature has: free
choice. Put differently, human beings can choose to be like the Creatorgivingand acquire the power and
cognizance that come with it, or remain as we were bornself-centered and limited.
When the stages of desires cascaded from the desire to give, the desire to receive evolved with each new stage. In
the physical world, too, the evolving desires manifest in the different stages of evolution (see Pyramid of Desires
image at the top of the article): At the bottom of the pyramid are the minerals and the inanimate materials. This is the
Still Level, corresponding to Stage One. Above that is the floracorresponding to Stage Two, topped by fauna
Stage Three, and above all is man (speaking)Stage Four.
Considering that all that exists are the desire to give and its offshoot, the desire to receive, it is evident that the
speaking level (us), possessing the most intense, sophisticated and complex desire to receive, is not just an
inseparable part of creation, but is its apex and governor. And just as the brain governs the entire body, yet is also
completely dependent on it for its survival, we must learn how to govern and nurture the whole of the pyramid of
creation if we are to survive.

Here Is a Model that Can Help You Overcome Any Problem & Reach Harmony
The reason why Abraham was the only one of his generation to discover lifes creative force is that he was a piece of
Adams Partzuf that was ready to reveal it. But the goal of creation is not for only one person to achieve the Creator-
like state, but for all of humanity to achieve it. Therefore, Abrahams discovery was not a one-time-thing, but an
antecedent to a new stage in the spiritual evolution of humanity.
Abraham realized that life is a pyramid whose peak is the Creators trait of bestowal. He also realized that human
desires would only intensify, as they have done since the dawn of creation. And finally, Abraham knew that this
awareness, along with having the correction method provided by Kabbalah, were the only ways to avert the collapse
of the system due to the heightening egoism. But in the absence of tangible proof, only a handful followed Abraham
and united around the goal of attaining the Creator. When those who went with him grew and became a nation, they
were named after their goal: Ysrael (Israel), from the Hebrew words Yashar El (Straight to God).
Historically, Babel did not collapse immediately or even soon after Abrahams departure. It continued to fluctuate in
dominance and prominence for more than a millennium following his leave, including the resettlement of Hebrews in
Babel after their exile following the ruin of the first Temple. However, from the spiritual, Kabbalistic perspective,
Nimrods triumph in Babel sealed its doom because it perpetuated the rule of egoism rather than altruism.
What Is Todays Significance of the Story of Abrahams Conflict with Nimrod?
is based on the book, Self Interest vs. Altruism in the Global Era: How Society Can
Turn Self Interests into Mutual Benefit by Dr. Michael Laitman.
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