A question I received: Baal HaSulam wrote that the spiritual worlds differ only with respect to their material. What does that mean? Is it because the same exact forms are imprinted into different material?

My Answer: Yes! We think that desires differ in size, that they can be big or small, but in reality, the desire only changes with respect to its essence or quality. Looking at the four phases of creation (the four phases of Direct Light), we see that desire develops not in size, but in quality.

We do not assess the size of desire according to its volume. We’re always looking at its quality, the extent to which it is similar to the Creator; this is why differentiates the level of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. The size and quality of a desire are actually inversely proportional. The higher a desire’s quality, the smaller its size, much like the shape of a pyramid.

There is a great quantity of ordinary materials, qualities and people in nature, while their premium counterparts are rare. In spirituality we focus on the quality of the object rather than its size, and on acceleration rather than speed. The size of a desire is determined by its quality, not its quantity. This raises the question: If a desire does not change quantitatively, then what makes it change qualitatively? The answer is that it’s because of the Upper Light that influences it from within!

What is the difference between a great desire and a small one? The only difference is the extent to which the desire is similar to the quality of bestowal. If I’ve grown over the course of a month, it means that I’ve become more bestowing, not larger in size. But we can also say the opposite: The more a person grows in spirituality, the less he “puffs up,” as it is written: “Wisdom is for the humble.”

Spiritual changes are exclusively qualitative, both with respect to objects and time categories. Qualities are determined exclusively by intention – “reception” or “bestowal.”

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A question I received: If I come to know this entire world, then I’ll be able to earn all the money in the world and use it to disseminate Kabbalah to the entire humanity. As a result, the whole world will attain the spiritual world, myself included. Does it follow that I can use knowledge or even wealth to attain spirituality?

My Answer: Even if the whole world were to attain spirituality, you wouldn’t attain it along with them. You would need to exert efforts in accordance with the root of your soul in order to correct it. Otherwise you won’t gain the sense (vessel, Kli) to feel the spiritual world. The spiritual world cannot be served on a platter to anyone.

Even if everyone were to correct themselves and take you into the spiritual world with them, you would remain a mere dot among them, unable to sense anything. After all, you are in the spiritual world even now, surrounded by the World of Infinity, but you do not sense it because you don’t have the means with which to do so.

The only one who can develop you is you. This development will take place only under the influence of the Upper Light and to the extent you will aspire for it. Only the collision between the Light and the desire, the entrances and exits of the Light, make it possible for you to feel it. Who else can do that, if not you?

Naturally, if you bestow to others by participating in the dissemination of Kabbalah, this helps you. But your personal efforts are necessary. Spirituality is not earned with money, but with individual work. Where else would you sense the spiritual world? You must be hungry for it and nurture this hunger within yourself – the hunger for bestowal, for connection with others, for merging with the Creator. Do you think someone will just lift you up and carry you along with them like a suitcase?

You can receive a sense of the spiritual world even now! The World of Infinity is all around you, so what’s stopping you? A lack of desire, that’s what.

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