Lag B’Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer) is a special day, when the Light starts to enter Malchut from the Upper Sefirot. The Light comes to us from Infinity, passing through the World of Adam Kadmon, then the World of Atzilut, then through Partzufim Atik, Arich Anpin, Aba ve Ima, and Zeir Anpin, until it reaches the souls.

Zeir Anpin contains seven Sefirot, each of which contains seven Sefirot. Altogether, 7×7=49. Malchut is the 50th Sefira. That is how we count the days of the Omer, the entrance of the Light into Zeir Anpin, and on the 50th day, into Malchut. That is when our souls, which are included in Malchut, begin to receive the Light.

The unification (Zivug) of Zeir Anpin with Malchut takes place on the 50th day, but the Light enters Zeir Anpin completely on the 33rd day, when it enters Sefira Hod de Hod. Thus, there is Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, and Netzah, with seven Sefirot inside each one of them. This adds up to 28, and there are five more Sefirot in Hod (Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, and Hod), which equals 33 (Lamed Gimel – Lag).

On this day we celebrate the entrance of the Light into Malchut of Zeir Anpin, meaning the Upper Light enters the system beneath which it already relates to the souls. If it reaches this place, then there’s no doubt that we will receive this Light. We begin to feel it and to prepare for its revelation.

The time from the 33rd day until the 50th day is already preparation. The Light continues to descend lower down and adapts itself for entering the souls. A person who is already in the spiritual world feels this preparation, which takes place before the reception of this special Upper Light, called Zohar.

That is why we celebrate this day. Rabbi Shimon left this world because he completed his mission. He no longer had anything to accomplish in this world because he passed the Upper Light through all the Sefirot down to Malchut de Zeir Anpin. With this, he completed his work.

Together with his students, he conducted the entire Light of Infinity through himself like through a special filter, preparing it to be received by our souls. This is the main work they accomplished. Now, when we look inside this book, even without understanding the words, with our desire we unite with the system they prepared for us, and through it we receive the Light.

From the lecture in honor of Lag B’Omer 5/01/10

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On Lag B’Omer we celebrate the passing of the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of The Zohar. He was a special person and the revelation he made signifies the giving of the Torah, the science of correction, to the whole world.

Humanity developed from one generation to the next in birth pangs until it reached Abraham, who revealed the science of Kabbalah above the crisis that developed in Ancient Babylon. Then the nation of Israel waited for the Egyptian slavery and the Exodus from it, followed by the construction of the First and Second Temples, as well as other ascents and descents. All the horrible events that befell this nation and all human history in general appear to be one never-ending trial.

However, the entire path that we went through until the arrival of Rabbi Shimon was just our preparation for correction. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the nation of Israel finally lost the sensation of spirituality and entered exile from it. But then we received this gift from the heavens, marked by the arrival of a sage from the times of the Temple (a Tana), a Kabbalist of great stature. His special soul incorporated all the previous souls and united them within itself. That is why, together with his students, he was able to attain an extraordinary height, the final correction in his generation.

Baal HaSulam writes that never in history has there been any attainment higher than the one achieved in the times of Rashbi and his generation. The likes of it can only happen again at the End of Correction, and we are now standing at its threshold.

Zohar is the name of the Light that becomes revealed in GAR of the World of Atzilut, in its root, which is a special place – the "concealed mind" of the system of Arich Anpin. Rabbi Shimon was unique in that he was able to connect this incredibly high level with our world. His attainment placed him on the level of the Final Correction, just as before the destruction of the Temple, yet at the same time, he lived a regular, material life in the times after the destruction of the Second Temple. This was when the nation fell completely from the level of brotherly love to unfounded hatred, and this fall caused a complete disappearance of the spiritual sensation.

Because Rabbi Shimon united these two entirely different poles within him, he was able to write this great Book, meaning to make a revelation. Without it, we would not have the opportunity to correct our souls and attract the Light that Reforms.

From the lecture in honor of Lag B’Omer 5/01/10

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Baal HaSulam, Introduction to the Book, The Tree of Life (abridged): “Deliverance from suffering” and the “arrival of the Messiah” means attainment of the Creator, as it is said: “and they shall teach no more every man to his neighbor, saying:  Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”

When the children of Israel receive complete knowledge, the fountains of intelligence and knowledge will flow beyond the boundaries of Israel and water all the nations of the world, as it is written, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord…. And shall come unto the Lord and to His goodness.”

That is why The Zohar says: “Because of this Book, the sons of Israel will be redeemed from exile.” Only through the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah to the masses will we be granted a complete redemption. As the sages said, “the Light of this book Reforms.” Only The Zohar contains the Light that enables a person to return to his Source.

Therefore it is our obligation to first disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah to the masses so as to become worthy of the arrival of the Messiah. The dissemination of Kabbalah and the appearance of the Messiah are interconnected. This is why we have to open schools and write books in order to accelerate propagation of this wisdom among the masses.

The Creator’s actions are laws of nature and cannot be changed. According to our sages, “If they do not attain it on their own, suffering will help them,” and whatever reason doesn’t do, time will. In other words, the path of suffering helps us to detach ourselves from our egoistic behavior and climb the ladder of perfection.

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaEra (And I Appeared),” Item 6: …each degree comprises GAR and ZAT, which is ZA, and there is attainment only in ZA of each degree, even in ZA de [of] GAR, called Daat. However, no one can attain in the GAR of each degree, even in the GAR of the degree of Assiya.

We perceive everything inside of Malchut. Malchut is called “the Creator’s image.” Presently we do not see the true picture of the world, but only what enters our five senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch) and is presented in our brain. We receive an impression from the information delivered to us by our senses, and sense reality that seemingly exists before us within, in the back of our brain.

The same happens to Malchut. Baal HaSulam explains in “Preface to the Book of Zohar” that along with Malchut, there exist the first nine Sefirot; however, Malchut does not know what those nine Sefirot are. She attains these Sefirot after including them within herself, sensing them as something that appears before her.

Thus, Malchut discovers the first nine Sefirot to the extent that she is able to act like them, from below upward. When Malchut becomes like Keter by repelling the Direct Light and forming the Reflected Light, from within the Reflected Light, she attains the fact that before her are the first nine Sefirot, that is, the lower one begins to act outside of itself, outward, and sees what is happening in the Reflected Light.

The same applies to us in this world. We see something that exists before us in accordance with our ego, depending on what is beneficial to us and what isn’t. Whatever doesn’t affect our ego, cannot bring us benefit or cause harm – we do not detect.

This stems from the spiritual roots: Malchut senses the first nine Sefirot only to the measure of the Reflected Light, which the Direct Light imprints within itself. This is the picture that appears to Malchut as though existing before her. Nothing else exists as far as she’s concerned, for she doesn’t sense anything above that.

If Malchut were to have the desire to enjoy of the Root (0) phase, she would not detect before her anything other than the Root phase. If Malchut were to have a greater desire to enjoy, she would see before her a wider picture of reality. Everything is determined by the thickness of our desire (Aviut) and the Light it reflects. That is why nothing in Kabbalah speaks of what truly exists in reality, for everything depends on the measure of one’s attainment.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 4/28/10

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A question I received: What does it mean that the Partzuf (soul) "lightens?" Does the desire disappear?

My Answer: “Lightening” of the Partzuf indicates the weakening of the screen, not the desire. Desire itself is never taken into account. The presence or absence of the screen determines everything.

Therefore, we only consider the screen. As for the desire, it becomes included in the act as long as there is a screen over it, since without a screen the desire is under restriction. Only the screen determines the degree of similarity to the Creator. It defines the character of the spiritual Partzuf, its magnitude, and height. Hence when we talk about a desire, we mean a desire covered by the screen, not simply a desire.

In our world, a person evaluates everything within his or her desire as well. However, other people are not interested in the desire itself; rather, they want to know how much the desire can be realized. You can’t simply scream, "I want!" You should pay and then you’ll receive.

The Hebrew word for "money" (Kesef) comes from the word "cover," or "screen" (Kisui). In this way, the desire is evaluated according to its screen.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/30/10, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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A question I received: How can I bestow to the others if I have to feel their desires as my own? Won’t I be giving to myself?

My Answer: No, I will feel them specifically “as” my own. The distinction between us, the hatred, will remain, and above this hatred I will build the bridge of love. Within me, there is an egoistic desire against the others, and above it, the screen and the Reflected Light, a desire to fulfill them rather than myself. When I fill these desires, it will be with the intention to bestow.

Sensing myself and others opposite to me, as well as  sensing their desires as my own, turns into a spiritual Partzuf of my soul. All desires that were outside of me enter the “body” of my soul now, because I fill them for the sake of bestowal. As the head or “Rosh of the Partzuf,” I can only fulfill these desires. The rest of my body is the desires of others.

If we were to picture a spiritual Partzuf, the head is the original “I,” while its body is the desires of all other people. Otherwise, who would I be fulfilling, myself?

I attract the Light to pass it on to the others; that is, I am the head which decides to take this action. When I fulfill the others, I become similar to the Creator in relationship to them.

This is why I feel that the Creator manifests inside the soul’s body, inside the desires that have become my own. This Creator is me, and it means that I merge with Him. The desires belong to the others and by fulfilling them I become similar to the Creator.

This is how a spiritual Partzuf is built: The head contains its thoughts, desires, the desires of the others, and the decision of how to act, while the body consists of desires of the others that have become as its own. Loving "thy neighbor as thyself,” it feels the merging with the Creator and its new world.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/27/10, Article “Matan Torah”

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If I don’t reveal a new “letter,” “word,” “sentence,” or “page” in my “Book of Life” at every given moment, I should be worried: Why don’t I have any sense of renewal, and why did I descend to an animal existence? Humanity is constantly looking for new fulfillment (by developing science, technology, and different kinds of entertainment) just to feel as though life goes on and everything changes. However, when a person receives something new, he sees that it fails to fulfill him. This is because nature pushes us to develop new Reshimot as we approach a new world.

Our story will be renewed and will move ahead. There will be new skies, which also means a new earth, or a new desire. The skies mean Bina, and if this force that comes from the skies (the force of Bina) rouses the Light in us, within Malchut, this will bring us the sense of renewal in life.

Everything advances only due to the Light that comes and reveals new desires, Reshimot, in us. We need to make sure that the environment and the books constantly rouse new desires in us, and that new times come to us. This should become a normal routine for us: Something new should be revealed all the time.

We cannot allow ourselves to simply drift with the flow of life; we need to constantly rouse it ourselves. Don’t wait for changes from Above. Every change should occur from a person’s demand; this is the only way for one to open the Book from the start. “Not the dawn awakes me, but rather I wake the dawn!” All the Light needs to come due to my request. Otherwise, darkness will force me to act, rather than Light….

From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/10, Shamati

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The Creator created us with the desire to receive pleasure. The fulfillment that we feel in it (either within it – egoistic fulfillment, or in others – for the sake of bestowal) is in fact, called our life or to be more precise, “our book of life” since it constantly needs to be renewed.

This “book” is renewed according to the data (Reshimot) that are instilled in us. If they are revealed on their own through natural means this is called that we are advancing through life “in due time” (Beito). However, if we ourselves rouse the force that hastens the revelation of new occurrences (Reshimot), this means that we are advancing through life by “hastening time” (Achishena).

Whether we wish to be successful in this world or in spiritual development, we need to hasten the revelation of the corresponding events (Reshimot). Spiritual development starts when a “point in the heart,” a spiritual Reshimo, awakens within us. Then gradually a person switches from natural development of this Reshimo due to help from Above to beginning to hasten the development of this Reshimo on his own with the help of an external force, the influence of the environment. In this manner, one switches to the path of “Achishena,” the path of Light.

We do not reveal a “new book.” The whole book already exists and it includes the whole World of Infinity, a desire that is infinitely filled with the Light. Yet everything depends on how quickly we “read” it, meaning to what extent we reveal the Reshimot of this infinite reality, which is called a “book.” And I become its “author,” since in order to open it I need to “write” this “story of “life” in my heart, meaning on my desires.

The “story” means revelation. I demand the Surrounding Light which rouses the next Reshimo in me, and I advance myself to the goal on my own. Therefore, I see everything in the Light of development, rather than as forced steps due to lack of choice, through darkness.

From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/10, Shamati

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