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There Is No Way Out – No Entrance

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe have said many times that advancement depends on the sense of the importance of the goal. The problem is that our egoism diminishes this importance all the time because of its opposition to it. But it is not the goal that is opposite, but the means of achieving it. The goal of creation is to delight the created beings. Our egoism wants to enjoy, and the goal is to get the maximum enjoyment, both in quantity and quality.

So, what prevents us from achieving this goal? What prevents it is the means by which this maximum pleasure can be achieved. This pleasure can be received only in unlimited vessels, but such a vessel cannot be receiving. The vessel of reception is limited by definition and receives only to the extent of its capacity.

Only if a vessel passes fulfillment through itself, receiving for the sake of bestowal to the other or the Creator, which is essentially the same, under this condition it opens itself for infinite pleasure and can achieve the purpose of creation, a sensation of the infinite goodness of the Creator.

The Light, by the initial conditions, cannot enter the receiving vessel, which leaves all the content in itself. There is no way out—no entrance. That is why the task is not to stop seeking pleasure. It is necessary just to change the character of fulfillment: What do I enjoy? Or more specifically: “Who do I bring pleasure to?” Pleasure should come from bringing pleasure to others, from bestowal. In this case, my vessels will become unlimited and I will reach the goal.

It is important to understand that this is a subtle distinction that separates desire and intention. Desires can grow as much as you want! We do not have to suppress them, go on a diet, or torment ourselves. On the contrary, we need to enjoy life! Otherwise, you seem to ignore what the Creator has prepared for you. The only question is whether you desire all this in order to delight the Creator. To do this, we need to discover new desires.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/20/13, Writings of Rabash

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The Passage In The Wall

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence”: According to the above-mentioned power in the Torah, that is, considering the measure of Light in it, it is certain that the Torah should be divided into degrees, according to the measure of Light that one can receive from studying it.

The “Torah” is the means of correcting the primordial desire. The Light, “something out of something,” created the desire as “something out of nothing” and develops this desire to correct it to the required state. Thus, the whole influence of the Light on the desire during its development is called the “Torah.”

Thus, the “Torah” is the method of correction of the desire until it reaches the required state. Individual Lights “shake” vessels of desire, align them, connect, and disconnect, and all this is the Torah.

We are talking about it and coordinating ourselves to the extent that we are able to engage and draw the Light. The part that we attract is called the Torah for us. We can draw it according to one of the fives layers of desire (stages of Aviut), from zero to the four. Accordingly, the Torah is divided into five parts for us.

By studying it, we study the relationships of the broken fragments. Today, we observe their egoistic interaction; they depend on each other, but their connection is bad, and we study how to connect them correctly. For this we need the Light that Reforms to create good relationships with the various desires, parts of creation, and all the interconnections between people in the systems they have built. We want the Light to organize us in the correct connection; otherwise, all the achievements of humanity will end in failure.

That is why we need the wisdom of Kabbalah, the means which allows us to attract the Light. It will bring us back to the source, and then the general Light, the Creator, will be revealed in our correct relationships.

When I am studying, I align all these components—moving them from the broken state to the corrected one, from the crisis to unity, from an egoistic reception to general altruistic relationships, to connection and mutual guarantee—then the correct connection, the correct system will be revealed to me.

Moreover, they are revealed in stages. If I act only in the first layer of desire, I reveal the “secret” (Sod). The second layer shows “allegory” (Drush), the third one is the “hint” (Remez), and the fourth layer is the one where all connections are aligned correctly, it reveals to me the “simple meaning” (Pshat), here everything is simple, open, disclosed.

Thus, the Torah is the means for the correction of the vessels; the correction of the human being is the fourth stage (Behina Dalet) because it contains all the previous ones. When the human being is corrected, all the other levels are corrected as well: the still, vegetative, and animate.

Therefore, everything depends on the study of the Torah. This means that I want to learn the correct components and connections between the vessels in various forms, which bring me to the correct, true system where all the desires are connected with each other in mutual bestowal. And this makes it possible for me to reveal the Creator.

Thus, due to the connection of different desires and their interaction, through mutual bestowal to each other, I reveal the Creator. Why? Because in the desires that are connected correctly, in the spiritual Partzufim, in the “circles” and “straight lines,” TANTA (Ta’amim, Nekudot, Tagin, and Otiot) is manifested, all of the details of perception, all the discoveries that come to me from the Light. Thus, I disclose the vessel and the Light supporting each other, and this allows me to feel, to reveal, the root according to the principle “From Your actions we will know You.” It expresses itself in the Light and the vessel, in the structure of TANTA, HaVaYaH, and thus, is manifested in us.

This is the purpose of creation. Indeed, I am able to reveal Him only by adhesion, which I reach in the end. I reveal the Creator in the corrected vessels, the main TANTA, HaVaYaH is revealed, and by this I bring Him pleasure in the same way as He does. Due to this reciprocity, we come to adhesion, the final state.

In fact, all these facets are very close to each other, and the main thing for us is to try to link them together. The crisis, the current problems, the enemies that stand against us, and the Creator who saves us from them, the whole process that we go through, we must bring all of this together and view it as a single system.

For the time being we turn to the Torah as the book written by Moses. In it, he described and presented the very process that lies before us. It is said that in every generation, a person must view himself as if he came out of Egypt. The entire history up to the present crisis can be compared with the seven years of satiation. In general, we were pleased with our egoistic desire, our development, the “American Dream” which seemed about to come true. Competing with each other, we expected to rise higher and higher, to take more and more, to reign over nature…

Then, suddenly the seven years of famine arrived, the promised rewards were no longer satisfying; on the contrary, they humiliated and belittled us. The work turned out to be too hard, like slavery. Despair is rising; we groan under the unbearable yoke, and find no exit. The entire world is “floundering” in turmoil, and in essence these states herald the escape from Egypt. We are getting closer to the realization of complete helplessness, and the only way out is to show people the door to spirituality. This is truly a passage through the wall into a new world. However, the condition for passing through it is that we cannot see the wall. We will try…
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/19/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Arrow Of Development

Dr. Michael LaitmanRecently, thanks to our outside activities, we feel as the lessons are taking a new shape. Kabbalah no longer seems to us as something speculative, theoretical, and detached from life, hovering somewhere in interstellar space or in an unknown dimension.

No, it comes in the form of practical, applied science, which is given to our world so that we reveal the Creator here between us.

The current crisis is intended for this. It will not end no matter how much we may try to gloss over it, on the one hand, legalizing drugs, and on the other, handing out promises of its imminent end. The crisis persists. As the Kabbalists say, it will end only when, in the easy way or the hard way, we correct nature and reach the stage of adhering with the Creator , i.e., realize the purpose of creation.

In this process, we are pioneers, the vanguard of humanity. Be proud of that and give all your strength to this work. You were given a chance that no Kabbalist of the previous generations had. Millions of years of evolution, all the worlds and our world, everything that has been experienced, all that exists is aimed to the present. And you and I are at the point of this “arrow” of development, which we should aim at the purpose of creation.

Everyone should be proud of it and full of energy to carry out this great task. And accordingly, we must attach great importance to everyone in the group because the Creator chose each friend out of billions of people.

Let us respect each other, love each other, and by this love between us, we will provide the Creator with a place for revelation.
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From One America “Virtual Convention” Day One 11/16/13, Lesson 1

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In The Desire For Peace

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe goal of creation is to reach a state in which the the Light fills us in the world of Infinity. This is our duty because we are in a system that requires us to reach this.

Two possible ways of reaching this are before us:

  • Either a good way, if we are drawn forward towards this and the Light illuminates the Kelim, (vessels) of our desires that have been prepared for this.
  • Or a bad way if we are not ready and the Light turns to darkness making escape from unbearable misery and suffering impossible.

To keep to the good path, we must realize the method of correction in a group by complying with the Light within that group. Today, one group is not enough; it simply doesn’t have the power to reach the Light. It must supply itself with “additional” deficiency from the general public.

Therefore, through connection between us, we must remember that acquiring a correct deficiency directed towards the Light is possible only if we go out to the general public and take care of it, if we see what it lacks. In this case we take on additional deficiencies from there and then with them we can achieve a sufficient deficiency for which the Light will illuminate us in response.

In this manner, work with the general public is not required just because we need to take care of them, rather first and foremost, it is in order for us to reach the Light; we begin to work with it, to attract it to us, and after that we bring it to the world. The unity between us will take on a form similar to the Light only if we accept the deficiencies of the external public.
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From the One America “Virtual Convention” Day One 11/16/13, Lesson 1

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The Power Of The Female Desire

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe’ve heard about the groups of Kabbalists throughout history. They were special and got along very nicely together in small groups that consisted of only men.

There were cases in which a father would teach his daughter, like Rambam, for example. Or a brother who taught his sister, like Moses and Miriam. There were female prophets, women who reached very high levels of spiritual attainment by themselves, but in all the previous generations it wasn’t customary to let women join the group work.

In our times however, we are witnessing very interesting changes. We already discovered, during the time of Rabash, that women are also attracted to the wisdom of Kabbalah and integral education, they are driven by an inner desire. If a person has an inner desire, then everything is open in front of him.

Rabash was the first to change the ordinary framework, he arranged the wives of his students into a group that received his articles about the society, about group work, connection, and they used to clarify them with the other study materials. Rabash arranged for a place where the women could gather and listen to the lessons of the men’s group.

It was a real revolution. In the past women could never come near someone who studied Kabbalah, but Rabash opened this study for all women. He discovered that they have the same deficiency now, the same point in the heart like the men. We actually see that women today are even more determined to adhere to the spiritual path than the men.

This together with the global crisis gave us a global opportunity for the correction of the world. Today there are no differences between the men and the women in the group. They have the same roles in disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah and especially the integral education. These roles are becoming more similar every year and the differences between them are blurred and actually disappear; I am very happy about this. The more strong women we have participating in our work, in our dissemination, and in all our social life, the more stable, and loyal to the spiritual path we are.
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From the One America “Virtual Convention” Day One 11/16/13, Lesson 1

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There Is No Death

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from True Activist): “Debate regarding religion and spirituality has caused more discord than any other topic throughout history. While belief in synchronistic design has helped some reach unimaginable heights, others outright reject the notion of a supreme being – or an eternal life.

“From a scientific aspect, many prefer to suppose the notion of an after-life either ridiculous – or at least improbable.

“However, one expert claims the proof of life beyond the grave lies in Quantum Physics. Professor Robert Lanza believes the theory of biocentrism teaches that death as we know it is an illusion created by our consciousness.

“A variety of spiritual texts teach that ‘existence’ on this plane is an experience of the limit-less, immortal soul. However, faith in the unknown has been the foundation which has molded spiritual tradition, not science. The professor’s findings may change this.

“’We think life is just the activity of carbon and an admixture of molecules – we live a while and then rot in the ground,’ said Lanza on his website. …

“Biocentrism, then, is the belief that life and biology are central to reality and that life created the universe, not the other way around. This suggests a person’s consciousness determines the shape and size of objects in the universe.”

My Comment: Kabbalah talks about this since the days of Adam. A sensation of the world is subjective. For the time being, we feel existence through what we call our body, i.e., in our five sense organs. Kabbalah allows everyone to develop additional sense organs and thus to experience another world, higher than the existence in the animal body.
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Engaging In One Thing Only

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere are two paths: the path of the Torah and the path of suffering. However, these are actually not two options because along the path of suffering, we receive blows that put us back on the path of the Torah.

So, we must realize as quickly as possible that there is actually only one path and that we need to advance by the Light that Reforms since the sufferings don’t correct us. Only a prayer, a request for correction, draws the Light, and then after going through several corrections, we reach the goal of creation.

The Creator is the absolute goodness that illuminates on us, and we have no choice but to advance toward the goal that has been prepared for us in advance. The goal is to do good to His created beings, so adhering to Him is the real benefit. This is what we should reach.

The good and benevolent Creator is revealed according to the law of equivalence of form to the extent that we are equal to Him. He is in absolute bestowal and love, and we must reach the same attributes, too. However, we approach this state gradually, discovering, time after time, the evil in us, trying to draw the Light that Reforms that is called the Torah. It corrects us and these portions of correction that are called “keeping the Mitzvot (commandments)” push us forward, one by one, until we become like ripe fruit that is ready for the “complete coupling” (Zivug).

This is how the Creator’s attitude toward us is revealed according to the purposeful providence. It operates that way in order to spur in us its different forms time after time. Thus, we know Him according to the principle of the advantage of the Light from the darkness.

So, he who is greater than his friend, his desire is also greater. When we ascend toward the Creator in the attributes of bestowal and love, we can better clarify how opposite we are from Him, and can clarify things more deeply as the picture becomes clearer and finer. Thus, we get closer to the Creator all the way to the last level of the clarification of the connection between us.

Baal HaSulam asserts that religion is a means, a tool for attaining the Creator, the goal of life. The means are given to those who work on themselves, and all the others are confused by their own ideas about religion. Instead of establishing the right order and the correct system, they are building an “idol and an image,” false images, as long as they have something to engage in without correcting themselves for the sake of love and bestowal, without yearning to reach the level of “from the love of the creatures to the love of the  Creator.”

According to this sign, we can differentiate between the wisdom of Kabbalah and all the other methods because none of them enables a person to change his nature from hatred to love. Therefore, they are all unacceptable.

This is why we study, disseminate, and work on the connection in the group, and by that we reach the recognition of evil. It turns out that the evil is our nature and we must get rid of it and change it to a different nature.

It doesn’t mean that I must destroy myself or hate my nature, although it is evil. No, I see what the Creator has given me in it, and I only must correct it gently and with great care. I have no other engagement in life, except for the correction of my nature. I mustn’t disrespect it, but I must study it deeply, accurately, and in great detail and then, from these corruptions, I understand what the correct form should be.

Therefore, the Creator is called “Boreh” (come and see). I turn my ego to “in order to bestow” and establish a restriction above it, a Masach (screen) and the Returning Light, and gradually form the Creator’s image from the corrected parts. I build Him in me.

Otherwise, He remains an invisible force that cannot be revealed in our senses. It is because He is revealed only according to our adaptability to Him, according to the law of equivalence of form.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/8/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Don’t Fall Under The Influence Of The Masses

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When we are great distances from each other, as in Scandinavia, then most of the time our environment is composed of ordinary people. We, like the others, fall under their influence and pass through all kinds of emotions and states. How can we build the right relationship towards the goal from this and take advantage of our unity?

Answer: You must detach yourselves from all of humanity, as if you are looking at it from the side; don’t fall under the influence of the masses; grasp their suffering only in order to heal them, like a doctor heals someone who is ill.

A doctor is unable to cure people who are very close to him; he cannot look at them objectively. So he must be objective, weigh the “pros” and “cons” without entering into this with his heart. This is because even though he feels those who are close to him, he must act with his mind.

And in our work with humanity, we must understand who they are, why they suffer, and that this is a projection of our inner characteristics outside of us, where each of my inner characteristics is portrayed outside as a particular object: still, vegetative, animate and even human. I must direct myself this way all the time.

Disregard anything extraneous, as if it is happening on its own; the Creator is playing with us. Why should I be influenced by the masses? I must detach myself from this, be weaned from this, be distanced. Don’t patronize them, don’t dance to the tune of their ego, pride, and arrogance, rather simply look at the world in the right way.

Everything around is material that is managed by a single power, and that is how I want to look at it; it is only in my power to bring the human material closer to the truth. I must do this like a doctor who sees a patient and examines the best way to cure him. He cannot sit and cry compassionately with the patient; rather he must work realistically and deal with him properly.

We cannot allow ourselves to be influenced by the masses, like little children who are thrown into a toy store and lose their heads through the influence of the toys. It is necessary to try to balance all of this within ourselves; this includes everyone, even our relatives. Work it out; otherwise you will not feel the Creator. You must look at the world through His eyes.
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From the Bulgaria Convention “Dawn Of A New World” Day Three 11/3/13, Lesson 5

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The Middle Line Of Our Behavior

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When I go out to disseminate, I encounter specific examples of hatred and violence toward us. Of course, I react externally as is customary in our world. But how do I realize this internally by performing internal correction?

Answer: Internally, you should only accept the fact that everything stems from the Creator, which means to react to it only spiritually. However, since you are in your uncorrected world, then as it is written, “blunt his teeth,” which is a concept in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

You must behave according to the accepted laws in our society since it is also under the Creator’s control. I understand that, at the moment, it is hard for us to connect our inner attitude, the understanding of what is going on, and our external behavior. I see my students who say, “How can we blunt the teeth of someone who attacks us?” Then, we need to expose our own teeth, too.

We are not on the level of the world of Ein Sof (Infinity) at the moment, but we are on the level of our world, and so we must react to everything accordingly. If someone attacks me, I could knock his teeth out,or I could let him beat me. So, how is it possible to resist this if the Creator operates this way?

There must be a middle line here, not the right line and not the left line, but only the middle line of our behavior! It is because you are not corrected yet, and there isn’t just one line in you. It will appear later, at the end of correction, and then too, it will be only in the form of the connecting point, the point of adhesion.

You must act according to the laws of this world, which is the external wrapping. However, at the same time, you should know that everything that we undergo is determined only by the Creator, which is the internal wrapping.

When our world rises to the level of the world of Ein Sof, you will feel that everything is connected. Until then, you will be constantly between these two opposite lines and will wonder constantly, “Is it from the Creator or from me? Where does it stem from? Whom does it go through?”

It is permanent oppositeness. In the Torah, for example, the Creator promises Abraham that the world will be corrected through his son, and then He says,  “sacrifice him”. How can we understand the command to kill his son if it is through him that the method of correction should be passed on to the world? We cannot understand that, and we will not understand it until we experience the first contact with the upper world. Then we at least will have an example as to how two lines connect into a middle line. Then, an even greater ego will appear which will nullify everything there was before. This is called following the spiritual path in faith above reason.
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From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/21/13

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