A person thinks that he has to independently overcome his ego, advance toward spirituality, and aim himself toward “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.” This, however, isn’t so!

In our world, we are always waiting for a small child to complete an action independently by either following our example or thinking of something on his own, such as building something out of blocks.

In spirituality, we are developing on a degree that is above the physical world. There, we must obtain a second nature, while in the physical world all we have to do is advance, learn about what is already within us, and realize what is ahead. This is because everything already exists in its final state; the entire reality is disclosed.

We have to somehow “grab on” to spirituality, begin sensing, seeing, and revealing it. For now the spiritual world is unclear to us.

We have to understand one very simple notion which happens to be extremely difficult to implement: When we speak about overcoming, aspiration, attaining the goal, revealing the Creator, and our efforts, all of these things must be in our plea to the Creator in order for them to be heard. We can’t do anything except correctly ask the Creator.

For now we haven’t reached the point of realizing that “there is none else besides Him,” that He is in charge of all actions, and that we are simply the objects of these actions. We can only raise MAN (Mayin Nukvin – “female waters”) so that the Creator will carry out these actions.

We’re still relating to spirituality in the same way that we relate to this world, where we feel we can do things with “our own hands.” We scatter our efforts in different directions instead of appealing to the Creator.

If we aren’t formulating an inner plea to the Creator, then we aren’t aspiring toward bestowal. After all, it’s quite evident that we aren’t capable of bestowing on our own. This is why we have to appeal to the Creator. The group can’t correctly realize and explain to each person what action we must all make together.

It is said: “The sons of Israel cried from this work.” They wanted to build the beautiful cities of Pithom and Ramses themselves. After building them, they saw that everything was consumed by their egoistic desire to receive pleasure. That’s when they called out to the Creator so that He would make changes.

In other words, we’re only expecting it to happen. But the executing force that will change us will come only if we ask it to come. We can hear these things hundreds, even thousands of times, but only the Upper Light can give us the ability to perceive them.

However, the group’s opinion can bring us closer to this. If each person will constantly try to remind himself and even force himself to think that we have to unite in our plea to the Creator, then this is considered to be everyone’s effort. It is the prayer of the many (Tefilat Rabim) that will open the path to spirituality.
[27533]
From Preparation to the Lesson, 11/19/10

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From ancient times and almost to our present day, the Kabbalists walked parallel to philosophic thought, until its flame died out. Throughout all our history we have been propelled by our growing will to enjoy which pushes every new generation to accomplish increasingly greater deeds in the field of the ego. By actualizing our desires, we utilize our sound egoistic reason in order to acquire, amass, capture, develop, and so on.

But today egoistic development has come to an end; the time has come for correction. The ego in our world has exhausted itself, having been revealed to its full measure as was needed.

Now, looking at the world enclosed in this “wrapper,” we cannot find anything else with which to fill our lives. And when this renewal ceases and there is nothing else to enjoy, man finds himself in trouble.

This is the present situation in the world. What direction do we develop in? Should we fly to Mars or at least to the Moon? What for? Submerge to the ocean floor? What for? Look for species unknown to science? What for?

These days we don’t need anything anymore. The egoistic desire has been fully manifested, and no new whims or aspirations emerge in us. The game is over. This signals the end of philosophy and, in general, the end of the entire rational consumer approach which calls for us to use our reason so as to fulfill our desires. The desires fade, and the mind, which is their direct consequence surrenders its position.

Soon we will see humanity grow increasingly dumb. Looking at it from the standpoint of Kabbalah, it will be downright shocking to see what people are saying, what they’re writing, what TV shows they’re watching. We will come to a point when people will turn into little kids, playing “games” the likes of which would have been considered demented 50 to100 years ago.

This is why philosophy is dying out. Over the past several decades it has been desperately trying to save itself, having been left on the roadside of history. It is no longer being taken seriously since our supply of desires has run out.

We’re no longer seeking any great achievements. Hence, we don’t need human reason, and so the majority are quite happy limiting themselves to the level of the animal one. The cycle is complete and now we must give a faithful account of the “work completed.”

So, while the philosophers were “on top,” the Kabbalists kept quiet, waiting for the egoistic development to conclude. And now that it has, we find ourselves at a breaking point: With the old behind us, we must now reveal the next stage.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/24/10, The Zohar, Introduction, “The Night of the Bride”

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We began our preparation for this convention many months prior to it; we anticipated uniting with one another, breaking our ego, and attaining unity. In spirituality, one always needs to strive for perfection; anything less is impossible. After all, if you want to jump on the table, you need to prepare yourself to jump higher than the table, and then you will land on it. This applies to everything.

We set a goal for ourselves at the convention: to attain the revelation of the Creator. Naturally, every day this needs to be our goal. But this time we really aspired towards it, and this is why we have taken a big step forward. We have acquired a new status. We created a new Kli (vessel) in which the sensation of connection, unity, the goal, and the way of reaching it has already manifested.

Some felt that they have come a lot closer to it, while others not as much. Some experienced it from the side of the Kelim (vessels), and some already from the side of the Lights. The people who felt that they are not yet part of it acquired the realization of evil; they discovered how much they are yet to correct.

We have experienced a multitude of different states together. We discovered that the environment by acting upon a person can do anything with him because a person is completely susceptible to its influence.

Of course, we lack the environment’s constant influence. Of course, for now we are unable to cancel ourselves in relation to it. And, certainly, the environment is not displaying a force strong enough to determine everyone’s direction.

However, we have definitely developed a connection between us. And I think that soon we will also begin to reveal more and more fulfillment in it.
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From the Talk during the Closing Ceremony, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/11/10

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Studying Kabbalah provides us with a connection to the Upper World. The split between our and the spiritual worlds is an abyss, a barrier, an iron wall, which is impossible to move. Only the Upper Light is able to break it.

Therefore, we cannot connect to the Upper, spiritual world other than by studying authentic primary sources: the writings of Rashbi, the Ari, Baal HaSulam, and Rabash. Only due to this will the Light that Reforms come to us.

We need to constantly study their writings, thereby giving the Light an opportunity to continue its work. You will feel that the unity we achieved at the convention will spread out from its beginning to the ten Sefirot, and it will obtain fulfillment. I expect this to occur very soon, and in regard to every participant of the convention.

We have yet to feel what kind of mutual inclusion into each other we have achieved, the men, women, and even the children. Each of us acquired a broader, multi-layered, and complex Kli (vessel), in which one can already prepare himself to receive the Light.

Now, after the convention, if we all live in one theme by studying the works of the Kabbalists at the lessons, we will be connected to the Light that they contain. In addition, we will unite with all the friends who are going through the same material as we are, the same day, during the same 24 hours. Nothing can unite us more than daily presence at the lessons.

Because we will draw continuously new portions of the Surrounding Light every day, what was born between us at the convention, that for which we laid the foundation, that seed which we sowed into the ground, will continue to develop, and it will give its ten Sefirot. We will feel the Upper Light, the revelation of the Creator, in them.

We are now at the threshold of this. It is an accumulative process, as it is written: “Penny after penny accumulate into a big account.” Unity that arose at the convention, a connection that took place between us is a great achievement. It is the beginning of a new stage of our spiritual development.
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From the Talk during the Closing Ceremony, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/11/10

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Someone once calculated that there are 3,800 different religions and beliefs in the world, but all of them circulate around two notions: body and soul. Indeed, if we did not perceive anything besides the beastly body, we would exist like animals. It seems to us that we have a soul, some kind of life “beyond the body.” A person wants to know what is the purpose of my life? Why do I live?

Even though we are given these aspirations and questions in order to search for answers within the system of laws of nature, we turn them into mysticism, groundless assumptions, and take them as the foundation for our view of the purpose of life, its end “here” and continuation “there.”

The question of whether our life will end bothers us. This is because we perceive time, and we are not attached to one given moment, as are animals. We think about the future, and we want to know what will happen a moment from now. However, the questions of “What do I live for, and what will happen after I die?” are already above nature.

This is why humanity has invented beliefs and religions: It has to compensate the lack of knowledge or facts with faith, meaning assumptions without proof. We are not even aware of it, but this works on all the levels, in the smallest things, every moment, every step of the way, in every direction and level of life.

I complete every lack of facts with faith, and I think that this is exactly how it is going to be. Sometimes, it happens, and sometimes, it does not. This is how our life passes.

In every particle of our existence, in every part of time, movement, space, and existence of reality, there is an enormous unknown share, namely:
1) The cause, which descends from Above,
2) the consequence, determined from Above, and
3) we, determined by cause and consequence in a narrow gap of the perception of life.

This is why we are obligated to compensate all the unknown with faith. People believe that there is an Upper Force, “a spirit,” which turns into everything that exists, gives it life, and determines destiny. That is, the essence of matter is determined by the “soul” which gives it life.

This is because our egoism wants to think that it belongs to eternity. There is no proof of this, but it benefits us to think this way. The organism’s defense mechanism does not allow us to agree that things can be different.

Otherwise, this life would be impossible. If a person did not feel eternal, if he absolutely felt that his life is finite, he would not be able to live. Imagine that you are told the exact date of your death. This puts a cross on your entire life beginning with today. This is because, from then on, you will continue living with the precise comprehension of your imminent death. A person is not capable of living like this.

The most natural sensation given to us by nature is that a soul, which somehow lived before our birth and will continue to live after our death, robes in our body, and the main reward and punishment is in the future world, and not here. We await our reward for all our current work.

A person does not even need to be taught this. He will think this, regardless. We are not able to part with these illusions, the same way as we are unable to part with our egoism until we rise to the world of truth, not after the death of the body, but after the death of egoism.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/25/10, “Body and Soul”

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