First of all, let’s thank our ego for bringing up such questions as “Who” and “What.” In fact, they indicate that the Creator, Moshe, and the Pharaoh have met. The Pharaoh dares Moshe: “Who is the Creator for me to listen to His voice?” This is a revelation of the point of “Moshe” in you, the point that comes from the Creator to the “Pharaoh” and evokes these questions in you. Such questions belong on the spiritual dimension, not the corporeal one. Now, you have to move on and cultivate them further.

Do you recall how the Torah describes what happened as a result of these questions? Moshe is scared but has no choice. Time after time, he comes to the Pharaoh with the Creator, and the “Pharaoh” (our egoistic desire) is stricken over and over again. This is how a person evolves.

The Creator admits that He deliberately coarsens Pharaoh’s heart, our ego. Thus, we are suddenly pressed by various egoistic calculations. Our earthly fascinations get renewed, and we feel that this world is full of potential. We think that we can attain great success in it and don’t understand why we had left it behind. Besides, where are recognition, wealth, power, and a chance to establish ourselves in it as the others do?

More such questions will arise, and your advancement will depend solely on the environment. We see that, until all these “Egyptian plagues” have passed, the “nation of Israel” doesn’t become one in us. It takes place only before the very exodus. In the meantime, we must remain strong. We can receive all of the Creator’s Light, the Upper assistance, solely through the environment. It will come from nowhere else.

The Light comes from the Kabbalistic texts. However, if you are not connected with the spiritual environment, they won’t affect you. In order to find the Creator and go to the Pharaoh with Him, you need the environment and the authentic sources.

This is how we should answer these questions even before they surface in us. Don’t wait until the clock strikes and the Egyptian executions begin. Start right now. Plug into the group and build a solid foundation for yourself. If the group gives you the force, you will advance undisturbed by downfalls, and your vehicle will keep leaping forth fueled by this force.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, Article, “These are the Generations of Noah”

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From Baal HaSulam’s article, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”: Now you can understand their words (Sanhedrin 98a): “The Son of David comes either in a generation that is all worthy, or all unworthy.”…

Indeed, we should thoroughly understand that this matter of redemption and the coming of the Messiah that we hope will be soon in our days, Amen, is the uppermost wholeness of attainment and knowledge, as it is written, “and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, saying: ‘Know the Lord’; for they shall all know Me, from the greatest of them unto the least of them.”

When the Children of Israel are complemented with the complete knowledge, the fountains of intelligence and knowledge shall flow beyond the boundaries of Israel and water all the nations of the world, as it is written (Isaiah 11), “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,” and as it is written, “and shall come unto the Lord and to His goodness.”

Every person has to attain the degree called “Messiah.” This degree can only be attained by disseminating the knowledge of the Creator, meaning circulating Kabbalah in the world and to the nations. This has nothing to do with the power of the nation of Israel, but with circulating the idea of the correction of human nature, the idea which will be understood by humanity and will capture its heart.

This is referred to as the “king Messiah,” the kingdom of Isra-El, the intention to achieve the Creator by the way of equivalence of form, when everybody unites as equals in mutual bestowal, thereby revealing the Upper Force and eternal life. This work must be done by every person.

However, there is an added responsibility to complete it for the group of people that received this method of correction in Ancient Babylon. This group called the nation of Israel has already gone through correction in the past, then fell to the state of the rest of the “Babylonians,” mixed with them, and now must undergo correction first because this group contains the record of its past corrected states.

Circulating the method of correction in the world is called the time of the Messiah.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: During the Mega Congress 2010, many new participants will face the force, the desire called the “World Group” (the World Kli) for the first time. Why should someone who studies Kabbalah in the Ukraine or New Zealand matter to me?

Answer: This wisdom has to spread to all of humankind for it is written, “And they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them.” The Torah was given in order to correct all souls. The “nation of Israel” is only a connecting link, as Baal HaSulam writes in his article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee).” Correction has to take place in the entire world, but Israel is the first in line. This correction starts with Israel, manifests here first, and then “spills” over its borders filling the rest of the world.

Meetings such as this congress demonstrate how adoptable the method of Kabbalah is for all nations since it is the only wisdom that can bring all people to unity regardless of their corporeal, earthly differences of nationality, race, gender, and mentality. Within the spiritual system, we are initially connected through our “points in the heart.” Now, we only add to them our desire to strengthen this connection. I don’t pick with whom to unite. My “point in the heart,” my soul, is already tied with whom I belong. In fact, our relationship broke solely in our perceptions. We don’t wish to be related, but we already are. All we need to do is to see it and become its voluntary participants.

Therefore, we must awaken everyone in the whole world. And congresses such as ours demonstrate how close we are to the truth. Actually, if we disseminate the method of correction, a person who has this “point in the heart” will understand and feel our truth. He will join us as an equal part in all our actions. In this way, all nations will join together in collective correction. This is what is called the complete correction or “complete redemption” (Geula Shlema) from spiritual exile. “Complete” means not only for the nation of Israel, but for all nations.

The wisdom of Kabbalah was written down for our generation, and the history of human evolution is coming to its final chapter. The nation of Israel must complete this correction first and pass the Light on to the other nations. If we don’t strive to carry out our mission and correct ourselves and the world, we will become the object of hatred.

The dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the world is called the voice of the Messiah’s Horn. As soon as we come out into the world with this method of correction, we will immediately receive a sympathetic and kind response of love instead of hatred.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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The world is developing and entering a new era called “The Time of The Messiah,” a time when the science of Kabbalah is being revealed to the masses. Many are beginning to understand the plan for their and the world’s development. No longer is there one Kabbalist developing the desires without the consent of the masses. Now people are demanding conscious development on their own, like grown children. The Light of Hochma (the revelation of the Creator to the creatures) is beginning to be revealed in the world.

Before there was just one Kabbalist and many other individuals, but now they are beginning to come closer together. In the past, a Kabbalist would correct the desires of the masses on his level, but now in order to work together with them, he needs to descend to their level. Due to the Kabbalist’s preliminary correction of their desires, people ascend, and the Kabbalist descends toward them so that they can understand him.

For example, in his prophecy, Baal HaSulam asked the Creator to descend so that he could talk in a language that the people would understand. And although the masses and the Kabbalist are now connected by common work, the Upper Light still comes only through him due to a conscious desire from the masses. As a result, positive changes occur in the world. Without the Upper Light the world could not exist at all. Therefore, from generation to generation, Kabbalists (Yechidei Segula) worked discreetly.

However, now everything is different. Due to the preparations that were made over the course of all the generations until today, we need to begin the common conscious actions so that “All will know Me, the small and the great alike.” Humanity needs to learn that the nation of Israel has the science of Kabbalah. We need to help reveal this all together so that “the nations of the world will bring the sons of Israel on their shoulders to build the Third Temple,” the common broken soul.

We need to attain the method of correction (unification) of our souls together so that the Creator will fill us with His revelation. Mutual work is required for this, and therefore, we need to turn to all the nations of the world to explain our common task. We need to reveal the science of Kabbalah from concealment according to their demand, and all together – they due to us, and we due to them – we realize this method.

Therefore, today there is a worldwide community of people who study Kabbalah. In fact, they will bring us to this correct relationship in the whole system of the world. Everyone studying with us today is referred to as “Israel” (“Yashar El” – directly to the Creator) since everyone has a point in the heart. However, through them, we will come out to the true nations of the world, to those who are unable to awaken to spirituality on their own. As Baal HaSulam says, “The wisdom of Kabbalah will spill out of the boundaries of Israel and fill the whole world.”

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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If a person’s actions are directed at uniting with the friends, he very quickly discovers the need for direct connection with the Creator who should aid this unification. Every action should lead us to the correction of the breaking, to unity among us, and then the need for the Creator’s influence for the quality of bestowal and love will manifest in it.

Thus, three components of our state – the Torah, Israel, and the Creator – are revealed. The Torah is the force that creates the desire (the world is created through the Torah), the force that corrects the intention of the desire ( the Light that Reforms), and the force that fills the desire (pleasure and wisdom, the goal of creation). “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the general rule of the Torah. Israel (one who aspires to the Creator, the soul) is the common Kli (the unification of souls, Shechina). The Torah is the Light, the force that corrects. The Creator is the inner source of this force.

Together we create the condition for unification and a mutual guarantee. We prepare the place for the revelation until “the sons of Israel cried out from the work,” that is, when we require His help. We see the comparison of the society and the Creator in almost all of the descriptions in the Torah. Without the society, we are unable reach the Creator. Therefore, the group is the means. It is the Shechina, Knesset Israel (Assembly of Israel), the collection of souls which ask not to stay in the dust (egoism). All the articles state this.

A person forgets about the need for connection with the Creator since this goes against his nature. However, this connection will appear in our nature if we unite into a group. If I am not connected to a group, then I am not aiming at the Creator and will not find the direction to Him.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, Article, “On My Bed At Night”

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Everything that the Kabbalists of the past did, each acting according to his own conditions and time, was the preparation to our present state. Thanks to it, we have all the primary sources necessary today, which enable us to advance: the writings of the ARI, The Zohar with the Sulam Commentary, the writings of Baal HaSulam and RABASH.

There has never been a time like ours before. The Kabbalists of the past were not given the opportunity to work in similar circumstances to what we have today: a global crisis that resembles the crisis of ancient Babylon and reflects the breaking of the common soul in the Upper world.

About 80-90 years ago, Baal HaSulam wrote that we would live in the generation of the Messiah, at the era of spiritual redemption. As the nation of Israel has already acquired their land and established a state, it means that we now have an opportunity to build everything according to the spiritual law of love thy neighbor as thyself and unite together as one spiritual nation.

However, it is impossible to reach this state without the realization of evil, and for this we need either great suffering, or for the Light to reveal our evil. Today we have an opportunity to draw this Light, to see that we are opposite to bestowal and love, and to begin the correction by uniting with society and the nation. Let’s hope that it happens soon!

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/10, Pri Hacham, Igrot (Letters), Letter 38

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Religion was given to the nation of Israel during the exile so that the nation would realize the evil nature of egoism and develop the need for the Light that Reforms. All other nations had to evolve by means of their own religions and beliefs. Back in ancient Babylon, Abraham “gave presents (belief systems) to the children of his concubines and sent them to the East.” The nations nearby received these “presents” in the form of the world religions Christianity and Islam. They are considered presents because they stem from the Creator and their mission is to bring people closer to Him. Their followers, too, are called to help man realize the evil nature of his egoism.

All religions are a “reverse” connection with spirituality. This link ultimately shows us that we are opposite to spirituality. Gradually, we reveal that our egoism has developed to the point of no return; it is like a cancerous tumor that consumes us. This is revealed with the Light’s help. All of our historical development occurred by the influence of the Upper Light. The Light does everything by acting toward us directly or in its reverse form.

The Light develops our egoism and gradually elucidates its own nature to us. It lets us see that we exist in the evil, egoistic nature and that we distinguish only darkness which is only what is beneficial to us. We slowly realize egoism to be evil, as the reason for all evil in the world. By seeing all of it, we then strive for goodness.

These are all necessary stages of our development.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/29/10, “Preface to the Sulam Commentary”

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According to the Kabbalists, The Zohar is the most effective part of the entire Torah and of all Kabbalah books. Why? These books are called holy (the property of Bina) because they are written from the heights of spiritual attainment. Therefore, by reading them, we can attract upon ourselves the Light that brings us back to the Creator (to similarity to Him).

However, we can correct the desire to receive only by the desire to correct ourselves for there is no Light, no fulfillment without a desire. Hence, we have to demand for the Light to act upon and transform us. This Light is called the “Surrounding Light” because it shines on us from afar. Under the influence of the Light, our “evil intention” turns into a good one. Then, to the measure to which the desire resembles the Light, the Light fills it.

Hence to prepare for the study of the Torah means to acquire the desire for correction. This desire is preceded by realizing that our nature is evil (for us). The evil in our nature is our inability to unite with each other! Our unification is precisely the vessel where our Upper, spiritual life can be revealed.

For this reason, we have to try to establish a connection with each other and to unite together. This is described in the writings when Israel stood at the foot of  Mount Sinai: “as one man with one heart,” “all of Israel are friends,” and  “love thy neighbor as you love thyself.” After we discover our inability to unite and start feeling what prevents us from achieving our good state, then MAN, a true prayer, the wish to become corrected, will emerge within us.

That is, preparation for studying the Torah amounts to our efforts to unite, feeling how incapable we are of doing it, and realizing this state as evil, as an obstacle on the path toward good. That is, the Torah study comes after the correct preparation; MAN emerges itself.

We can think and clarify all of it already while we read The Book of the Zohar. Meanwhile, the Light will help us in our work.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/9/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: From time to time I witness your discussions about the state of the group and everyone. I am amazed that you are still so uncorrected and low; that the group is not a group yet, and there is no feeling of solidarity. Where is your advancement?

My Answer: Thank you for the question. Perhaps it will help you understand your own state. The higher a person rises, the more corrupt and weaker he sees the group and himself. This is because the Upper Light (Ohr Makif) shines on a person and he and the group see themselves in relation to the higher levels. When they talk about themselves and a stranger overhears them, he thinks that he is at the same level with them and even higher. The stranger does not see such problems in himself because he is measuring himself against the level he is currently on.

With regard to this, it is said that "only righteous people can follow the straight paths of the Creator." After they discover all the corruptness in themselves they justify the Creator who reveals such states to them because "There is none else besides Him."

For example, look how the people of Israel sin with every step they take towards the Torah on their spiritual path. Yet a stranger believes that he is better than those who have devoted themselves to spiritual advancement. This is because he does not have the three lines to go above oneself, against common sense. As it is said, "Torah’s view is opposite to that landlords." (Da’at Torah Afucha Mi Da’at Baal-Abaitim). Their incorrect (earthly, egoistic) understanding of our states distances them from us and this is best for all of us.

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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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