A question I received: We have the World Zohar Convention that’s going to be meeting the second weekend of May. What makes this convention so different from the past conventions considering both the time we are in now and what we are being taught this time?

My Answer: We have already had many conventions.  This time it is very unique because first of all we’ve grown a lot; many people are beginning to hear about us. We’ve reached a point where people realize that they’re not really capable of exiting this global crisis. We reached a global crisis in every human engagement. Now we see that everything is broken: Family, education, the relationships between people, the way we relate to nature, to the ecology and our economy, the industry and what it does, even a person himself. This crisis is really global.

This state is actually a good state which we had to reach because only from this point of crisis can we find the point from which we can ascend to a really good life. Not just a good life here in this world but eternal life, a life of feeling and sensing the Upper World where we even transcend the point of life and death in our current perception and feeling of life. We actually rise above this feeling of life within the body.

It is not just getting out of the crises, it is acquiring a life that is essentially, fundamentally different then what we experience now. All of this is done by a very unique Upper Force that is hidden in The Zohar.

Everyone has heard about The Zohar. People have heard that it is some sort of special, unique book, a hidden book, or a book that contains secrets. People have heard about The Book, but in general, people are still just talking about it; they don’t really know what it is.

Today, we have the opportunity to actually use The Zohar; to use the power that it gives us; to raise ourselves above this crisis, to raise all the people from the situation they’re in whether it’s depression, or problems with children, problems with health, education, ecology, or the economy- everything that happens.

All of this can be corrected only by this Upper Force that is within The Zohar. This is why I am very happy that soon there will be a great  World Zohar Convention in America.

You know, “Zohar” literally translated means Light. And I hope that as a result of this meeting, of this conference, we can really bring the Light to all of America.

From an Interview with the Learning Center Director 4/5/10

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A question I received: What is the meaning of the law, “Nothing disappears in spirituality?” Does it mean that no matter how far away we move from the impure desires, Klipot, they still remain with us?

My Answer: We must discern: In what regard is it written that nothing disappears in spirituality? This law means that all the corrections we perform are saved. Thus, they accumulate, even though they disappear from our field of vision. It seems like I don’t have anything left from what I did yesterday. I went inside a treasure trove and left with a cupful of gold, but it was taken away from me. I was left with nothing! But now I’m told, “Come back in and start filling it anew!”

However, in spirituality, nothing disappears. Later on I will reveal that everything I went through was accumulated in my “account.” Thus, “nothing disappears” means that corrections or actions of bestowal do not disappear.

We talk about this because people think that everything they attained, disappears. Yesterday I was successful and felt wonderful. I felt a force driving me forward and felt love for my friends, but today I am empty and feeble. Yet, I have to believe that nothing disappears in spirituality; everything remains!

On the other hand, this entire world and all our successes in it do not really exist. They only appear to exist in order to enable us to find out what bestowal and love are, starting from the opposite quality.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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A question I received: First there was an earthquake in China, then a plane crash, and now everyone is talking about the volcano erupting in Iceland which left all of Europe covered in volcanic ash. There’s a feeling that we’ve entered a streak of global catastrophes.

My Answer: Tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions are natural phenomena. However, everything that happens depends on human beings or, rather, on our alignment with the Creator, on our balance with nature. Since we’re becoming more and more egoistic, we’re interrupting the balance of nature’s forces more and more. This is why we feel the negative influence of nature in us and on us.

The consequences of the spiritual imbalance of forces that we create are unknown. Our opposition to nature, the Creator, is revealed on all levels (inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking) of nature. An eruption can occur anywhere since we’re living on a burning volcano. Our entire planet is a fire ball covered by a thin layer of the Earth’s crust; there’s a blazing volcano within.

These occurrences are a slight hint at the fact that we’re not taking care of our home, the Earth. Human beings need to bring the forces of nature into balance. The science of Kabbalah discloses to us how to do this.

However, at the present time, humanity doesn’t want to realize that everything that’s happening is a consequence of our own qualities and that everything depends on us. If our imbalance with nature intensifies, more serious problems will occur.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, Article “The Freedom”

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Revelation is a result of efforts. When we read The Zohar, we only need to exert effort. By trying to discern the properties The Zohar is talking about within ourselves, we penetrate toward a more inner screen within us, toward a deeper picture of the world. This is where the revelation of the Creator occurs.

Personal interpretation and commentaries of the text do not bring revelation. To feel a new world within, to interpret The Zohar internally, in sensations, a person needs to direct himself toward an increasingly inner state when reading the text.

A more internal state means that a person connects the text with his internal properties to a greater degree. He sees them in himself; he discovers that every word points to a property or action within him such as the “twelve tribes,” “Jacob,” a “desert,” and a “well.” As a result of his efforts, he reveals their true meaning.

This is why Kabbalah is called “Torah Emet” or the true Torah. Such understanding of the text cannot be conveyed in words. Rather, it can be revealed only within a person, in his new properties which appear as a result of efforts.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, The Zohar

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No one knows how much more work we will have to do in order to realistically see the new, corrected world. But the results of our work can already be seen by the awakening of the nation of Israel. As a result of this awakening, there will be great, qualitative changes and people will begin to feel the spiritual reality. But to achieve this, we will have to attain a common might called “six thousand souls.”

We have to achieve this might in quantity and in force, meaning according to the amount of people aspiring to the spiritual goal, as well as the might of their undertsanding, the connection between them, and the importance they attribute to this. As soon as we achieve this might of “six thousand souls,” the spiritual world will be revealed to us. This constitutes the goal of disseminating Kabbalah: to have as many people join this movement as necessary to reach “the first stop” in the spiritual world, which is the spiritual revelation.

When we unite together with this force and this quantity, where the quantity multiplied by the quality will give us the necessary might (P=UxI – power equals pressure times the force of electricity), then a spiritual vessel emerges, in which the Creator becomes revealed. Then, everyone who participates in this common vessel will feel the revelation of spirituality. This is called the revelation of the Creator to the creatures.

It depends only in the importance that we attribute to spirituality in relation to corporeality. We are already building this common vessel of revealing the Creator, but until we complete it, we won’t be able to discover it. It will become expressed in our sensations, along with the Creator inside it.

From the Independence Day lecture 04/20/10, “Preface to the Book of Zohar”

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A question I received: What does it practically mean “To value the inner part of me more than the external part?” Baal HaSulam writes that this is necessary in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar.”

My Answer: To value the inner part of you means to respect your mission and responsibility to attain mutual bestowal and to unite together “as one man with one heart” through brotherly love, for the sake of revealing the Creator, the general force of bestowal and love that rules in nature. This has to be the most important thing to a person. We are talking about the Upper Force of bestowal, which fills everything, but which we don’t feel because we nullify its manifestation with our egoism. The right intention for us to have is for this force to become revealed within us to the fullest extent.

I make a simple calculation: that this is the only thing that is important to me in this life. This is why I was born and what I live for. This is what I have to achieve as long as I live in this world. In addition, all of humanity depends on the work I do in this regard, because we are all connected together inside one net.

Baal HaSulam writes that “a person from the nation of Israel,” meaning a person who has a point in the heart (Isra-El means the aspiration to the Creator) determines the direction and state of the whole world with his intention. He can say, “I don’t want anything right now. I’m in a state of descent so leave me alone. I don’t want to hear about spiritual work. I’m going to rest!” In that case, where is his responsibility and the understanding that there are millions and billions of people who depend on him? He is now determining their fate and how they will advance toward correction – whether through painful blows or through realization and goodness.

If these people depend on you, then you have a very strict responsibility to make the right choice because you are leading everyone, be it in a good direction or a bad one. You have no choice about the matter; this is how the worldwide network is built and this is the place you have been allotted in it. Therefore, you must always be in a state of upper fear and remember that you decide what will happen to the whole world.

Later you will reveal that all the people are your children, the closest thing to you! But you have to think this way even now, by faith above reason. Everything that you do is not being done to you, but to the whole world!

How important we deem spirituality directly determines the fate of all humanity. What’s important for us will be important for everyone else. That is the structure of this entire system, in which we are connected with strict connections. A person without a point in the heart does not have the ability to change anything. Only you do, who are called “Isra-El,” or “Li-Rosh” (I am the head).

From the Independence Day lecture 04/20/10, “Preface to the Book of Zohar”

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Preparation to the Lesson, Shamati #29 “When Thoughts Come to a Person”
A person has to continuously elevate the importance of the spiritual goal above the ever-arising thoughts and desires.
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 324
The disturbances appear only for the purpose of keeping me from being content with my current situation.
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Beit Shaar HaKavanot, Item 85, Lesson 30
All of my desires will be realized when I learn to use them in accordance with the laws of nature; that is with an altruistic intention.
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag “Peace in the World,” Lesson 1 
The correction process occurs in stages: With each step I reveal only what I’m able to attach to unity.
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I read The Zohar and wish to penetrate into its inner picture. What desires and qualities are these? I want to erase this material, dreamed-up world, this imaginary picture completely. I want to imagine the true picture instead. What would I see if there were this revelation right now? I want to aspire to it like a child that wants to be a grown-up. Then, I will see the connection of qualities and desires within me, rather than these corporeal images.

With this aspiration, I rouse the Light that Reforms that equalizes me to the Creator. I don’t need to think about this Light; the aspiration to see the true picture awakens it. Really, there is no "Light that Reforms;" there is only an advanced picture of the world in the next, higher degree, which in comparison to me right now, is called the Light. If I am impressed by a more inner picture, this is called the Light in relation to the present picture.

We perceive the Light as a special stimulation in the desire. We record the Light with letters in the same manner that we record desires. "I aspire to the Light," means that I aspire to a more advanced state of bestowal. This is what the Light is for me.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: If I hate the “Egypt” within me, how do I handle this, since it is also a part of me?

My Answer: The whole world is a part within me. I need to examine with what desires, aspirations, inclinations, and forces I can work now in order to advance to the goal; and with what desires, thoughts, and qualities I need to part, to separate myself from, in order to come closer to the goal. I need to elucidate what to draw away from and what to draw closer to. My movement is determined by what I separate myself from and what I connect with.

Since we are talking about our whole, common desire, which I don’t know what to do with, I need to clarify with which desires I wish to unite and which I do not. Our picture of the spiritual world, which we imagine to ourselves, seems similar to our world where we move from one object or place to another. However, in the spiritual world, I exist within one huge desire comprised of many different desires. I am situated in a space filled with desires with no empty spaces between them. There is no space without desires. Therefore, while I am in the uttermost depth of this field of desires where nothing except them exists, I merely need to sort through those desires: which do I wish to connect with and which I do not. This is called movement.

After all, the whole reality is a desire, a Sefira, within which I exist. There is nothing else. There are some desires, with which I am more connected, and others with which I am less connected, and some desires I reject. This is movement in the spiritual world. As I clarify more and more desires and unite with them, this is an “ascent.”

I exist among all of these desires, within matter where I was placed along with a small spark of Light. This spark allows me to scrutinize the desires. Our whole work consists of clarifying the desires within which we exist: which desires I can use for the sake of bestowal and which desires I am incapable of using for the sake of bestowal and need to reject using.

After all, we cannot come out of this field of desires; there is no empty space between them. Free space is what we call a desire that is not clear that has not been elucidated, which you do not see and cannot make out anything in it.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar, Chapter “Shemot (Exodus),” Item 250: And when the Creator saw the great joy of this world when it improved to being as above, He said, “Let not the twelve tribes mingle with the rest of the nations, leaving a blemish in all the worlds.” What did the Creator do? He shook all of them to and fro until they went down to Egypt to dwell in their abodes inside the obstinate nation, which despises their conducts and degrades them by not marrying with them or mingling with them, and by considering them slaves. The males were loathsome of them and the females were loathsome of them until everything was bettered by the holy seed without mingling with strangers….

There is a scrutiny of one’s state as one attempts to rid oneself of egoism, and then there’s a scrutiny of one’s state when one wishes to remain in (adapt to) his egoism. If I wish to remain in my egoism, then the egoism pushes me out through its hatred for me as it senses within me the point in the heart that is opposite to it. As it is written: “The Pharaoh brought the nation of Israel closer [via pointed oppression] to Israel,” and “I have created the ego as help against you.” It opposes you, and precisely therein is its help.

Similarly, when the Soviet government pushed a hard anti-Zionist agenda in the 1960s-70s, in so doing, it actually boosted Zionism. It is precisely the evil forces (the reverse side of the Creator) that help elucidate the evil, and not the Creator or the Upper Light, openly or directly.

Exile is one’s interim state between the degrees when both the Egyptians and Israel are revealed within him, opposite one another. He is in the middle scrutinizing these qualities. He is an exile, under the Egyptians’ command. On the one hand, he is drawn to Egyptians, but they reject him over the “seed of Israel” that is within him.

In other words, the desire to enjoy despises and rejects the intention to bestow for it wants only to act for the sake of reception. This is the hatred of the nations of the world toward Israel. And then there is the opposite discernment, when one has already advanced to the desire to bestow and identifies himself with it, as he nears the exodus from Egypt and is unwilling to mingle with the Egyptians (the nations of the world).

The Egyptians’ rule over him has ended; he no longer strives to be like them, no longer does he wish to unite with them, although he still lives among them, for now. In his eyes the Pharaoh receives blows, and these blows help him to rise above his relationship with the Pharaoh. Then he distances from the Egyptians, not because they spurn him, but because he is the one rejecting them as he nears the exodus from Egypt.

The Creator conducts these scrutinies in everybody (every person in this world) from both sides, in order to help us understand to which we are drawn more: egoism or bestowal. The nations of the world feel hatred for the spark of bestowal that has remained in the nation of Israel from its previous spiritual level. They reject Israel, which is precisely the reason the nation of Israel has remained intact.

Israel did not somehow manage to survive on its own; but rather, it is the opposition to Israel that held it together. As Baal HaSulam writes, Israel exists like nuts in a bag, united not by love, but forcefully, by the external hatred that surrounds them.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, The Zohar

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