A question I received: What can I ask for society?

My Answer: If the question is posed fundamentally, then it is incorrect to even think that there is a society and that I have to ask for something for its sake. The problem is not lack of food or health. The Creator has an abundance of all of these things and everything comes from Him. What we have to correct is the breaking. We have to attain equivalence of form with Him, and then we will have everything! But if we don’t ask for the most important thing, the reason we are here, then we also won’t have the means to sustain our existence.

The sensation of all suffering, from the most insignificant to the global, comes to us only in order to bring us to the right request. The reason for all ills is the breaking of the common soul into particular souls that hate each other, and therefore, the true prayer of society lies in desiring to unite with everyone. It is when everyone desires to become as one man with one heart once again in order for the law of mutual guarantee to influence us in complete equality and brotherhood.

This should not happen like the Communists did for the sake of a better life in this world, but for the sake of unity with the Creator above our world. Then the Creator, the Upper Light will correct our egoism and hatred by transforming it to bestowal and love. It will unite us all, the desires of the soul, into one aspiration to become equal to the Creator.

By making this correction we revoke the ego that separates us and become equal to Him and unified like Him. All of us together become a vessel that He fills, just as in the beginning of creation in Malchut of the World of Infinity.

That is the prayer of the society.

From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 7/13/10, “The Importance of the Prayer of the Many”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. I promise to answer them. Commentaries in brackets are mine.

Why Is The Creator Concealed From Man?

Had He told them about the wondrous things in the essence of the reward [in merging with Him through our similarity in the property of bestowal and love], they would necessarily use and [unintentionally] assume His work [bestowal with intention] in order to obtain that wonderful reward for themselves. This would be considered working for themselves, for self-love. That, in turn, would falsify the whole purpose [of the Creator to make us similar to Him, eternal, free, independent from Him, and perfect].
– Baal HaSulam, Article The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee), Item 29

The Lord is the [property of] absolute benevolent goal. Accordingly, it is the law of the benevolent to do good, and that is what He desired – to create creatures so He could be benevolent towards them since if there is no receiver of the goodness, there is no benevolence. Indeed, in order for the benevolence to be complete, He knew in His sublime wisdom that it is worthy for the receivers to receive it from their own toil. Only then they would have that goodness, and no shame would remain as they receive the goodness, as would be if he were to receive charity from another.
– Ramchal, Klalei Pitchei Hochma ve Da’at (The Rules of Gates of Wisdom and Knowledge), Item 18

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I received a letter from someone who is complaining that he doesn’t understand anything in the lesson on the Talmud Eser Sefirot. He is outraged at the fact that we suddenly “skipped over” to the middle of the text, to Part 7 in order to study about the breaking of the Kelim (which is a custom Kabbalists observe before the 9^th of Av, the day the Temple was destroyed), instead of talking about correction. And generally speaking, he heard that the Talmud Eser Sefirot is intended for people who already have spiritual attainment and that Kabbalists wrote these texts only for each other.

And indeed, Baal HaSulam does say in Item 154 of Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot that Kabbalists write these texts for those who already have spiritual attainment and who understand what the text talks about. Otherwise you will not understand a word of it. If you do not feel the text inside you and experience it as actions taking place within, you won’t understand a word.

It is only possible to understand it with the heart, the desire in which all of this takes place. But if a person still doesn’t have the desire that is able to perform actions of bestowal, then obviously he does not understand a word of what is written.

Nevertheless, Baal HaSulam created Talmud Eser Sefirot in order for it to work as a remedy, on the condition that we desire to attain the state where we will feel it within us, when “man’s soul will teach him.” It is impossible to study the spiritual world theoretically, with your mind. Kabbalists can only advise us on how to ascend to it. When the student does, he reveals the Upper World for himself, and his soul teaches him. Only when a person attains this level does he begin to feel and understand what is being discussed!

It is impossible to study without feeling because man lives by feeling inside desire. We have to study what happens inside our desire in order to feel it inside. Then we will read the book and it will explain to us what we are feeling. It will also teach us how to discern a multitude of shades of feeling inside us.

The science of Kabbalah is the science of knowing yourself. Therefore, it is natural that at first a person does not understand anything. You have to try to attain the sensation! We do not study in order to memorize the text by heart or to understand it theoretically. Our only goal is to attract the Light that Reforms.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/13/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “The Importance of the Prayer of the Many,” Lesson 2
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Lech-Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 6
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 2, Part 7, Item 13, Lesson 9
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 18, Lesson 14
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“We come into the King’s city [this world] all together.” Those who work faithfully for the Creator turn His “magic powder” into sweet, refined seasoning. And those who do not do the work keep tasting the bitter powder and they cannot enjoy His feast.

Everything depends solely on the correct effort of a person. There are many who come to study Kabbalah, put a lot of effort into it, but eventually leave. They realize that this feast doesn’t satisfy their tastes, and instead of blaming themselves, they blame the King, thinking that the method of Kabbalah, as well as, the group and friends give them a bitter taste. As a result, they leave thinking that they can find more pleasure elsewhere by either taking it easy or using some other methodology.

It all depends on whether a person realizes what ‘’place of work” he has entered, what responsibility rests on him, and what he should aim at in this work in order to taste the sweet flavor. The feast is set before us! It is written: “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” We only need to “taste” Him, meaning that we must prepare our vessel for His Light and receive this “supplement,” a sweet flavor.

But people do not labor in the correct place, and later they look at the clock to see how much time they have spent and they weigh how much effort they have exerted. But they did not put their effort in the most important work: in uniting with the other souls. This is why the work does not taste good for them. As a matter of fact, the sweet taste comes solely through connection, which is that very vessel where the Light is revealed.

Instead, they labored elsewhere in vain. It is as if you worked for one company for a month and at its end, you went to another company to collect your salary. Do you think they will pay you? You haven’t earned the right Kli, the vessel needed to receive the reward. The reward can only be received in the collective vessel because only there is the Creator, His feast, His Light, revealed. And if a person has not exerted an effort to earn that, his work is worth nothing.

We must be focused and alert regarding this. Everyone should examine himself: Does he understand that all his effort should be concentrated solely in achieving inner connection, and uniting toward one goal, one desire, where the Creator will be revealed? If a person aims at this, the “feast” will gradually begin to taste sweet for him. And if not, he will eventually get tired and disappointed in this work because instead of the sweet taste, he will taste “dust,” the “bitter powder,” and leave.

Such a person wonders, “How long can one work without receiving something in return?” But he does not see that he labors in the wrong place, that he is not working where he is supposed to be. It becomes evident in one’s attitude to the group and friends whether or not he is present in the group and works in it.

This effort cannot be substituted either with money or with professional skills. Only if you work for the unity of the souls, does this “bitter powder,” the concealment, fall away, and will you uncover the spiritual world which is right here, next to you. Until then, you simply have not gotten the inner device, the Kli, that allows you to tune into the spiritual world, like a radio that can tune into the right frequency.
[#16981]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/9/10, Baal HaSulam, Letter 26, pg. 85

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People think that prayer relates to religion and religious people, and that it is removed from regular, secular people. But that is not true! All of our external garments, physical bodies, and objects surrounding us in this world are expressions of desire. There is nothing but desire, which creates all these clothings for itself.

Therefore, without being aware of it, we determine our entire lives with our desires, including what state we will enter in the next moment and how we will experience this reality! Whether we want it or not, we are all always praying, or asking for some kind of fulfillment for our desire. We do it completely unconsciously. I don’t have to pray for someone or something intentionally. Desire comprises our entire inner essence, and my sensation that I lack something is called prayer.

We want something at every moment. That is how we influence reality, which contains nothing but desire and the force of desire. This means that at every moment I want something and I pray for it. Our desires connect with one another and control the entire universe, continually producing new pictures and new states for us.

We build this world with our prayers! Therefore, the only thing we need is to change our requests, despite the desire of our heart. Then we will reveal a new world because the whole world is the sensation inside my desire.

The science of Kabbalah is named after the word “Kabbalah,” reception, because it talks about what you will receive the next moment. Only you determine what the next moment will be, what you will receive and feel in it. Will you be able to change your vision of the world, directing your desire in the necessary direction (which is called prayer)? If you change your prayer so that instead of desiring what you desire now, you desire the right thing, then you will change the entire picture of the world and all of reality.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/10, “The Importance of the Prayer of the Many”

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A fable from Baal HaSulam’s Igrot (Letters), Letter 26, pg. 85: A great good King had one purpose: to give pleasure to the citizens of his kingdom. He gave them an order to do work for him for a year and designated a special place for it in his palace. The reward was set up at the place of work where the King prepared meals with an abundance of various delicacies.

They all started to work and thought that the King would put guards over them to watch their work, but the King hid himself, and they could do as they pleased. They were not aware of the King’s invention, a seasoning, the healing powder that gave all the dishes filled with delicacies and sweets a bitter unpleasant taste. But in the place where people did work, this seasoning made the food taste divine!

Those who where loyal to the King, did the work as they were told and carried out the orders precisely, even without being watched. Thus, the healing dust filled their bodies. When the time of feast came, the workers were able to taste countless flavors and the sweetness they had never known before. So they constantly praised and thanked the King.

But those low workers who didn’t recognize the greatness of the King and that they should love him faithfully (because no guards were watching over them), disregarded the place of work and chose to work where it was more pleasant. So when the time of feast came, the food tasted horribly bitter because of the magic dust. They started to curse and berate the King and his feast because he prepared such a bad reward for their exertion. And for them, the King became a great liar for he gave them bitterness and salt instead of delicacies and sweets.

From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/9/10, Baal HaSulam, Letter 26, pg. 85

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Everything that the Kabbalists tell us about occurred in their sensations. However, it is also happening within me, within my matter (Kli), yet I don’t perceive it! I need to receive the properties of the very processes that I wish to perceive, and then I will be able to sense them.

All actions described in The Study of the Ten Sefirot occur within us; infinite numbers of actions take place each moment. And yet, we don’t perceive them for we exist “without (spiritual) consciousness.” Likewise, in the corporeal world, I am being washed over by countless waves. Transmitted by numerous electronic devices, millions of telephone conversations and all television and radio channels pass right through me. We can recognize these frequencies with the help of various devices.

Similarly, we reside in the spiritual environment where activities described by the Kabbalists are constantly occurring. We have to learn to perceive them. We have to develop a sensibility toward bestowal. We need to be able to determine what it is, whom to bestow to, based upon what, what reward comes with it, and whether it is worth doing or not.

If I start analyzing it, I will develop a sensor within myself which will be able to recognize the properties of bestowal. As a result, I will begin to “hear” frequencies of bestowal like radio waves. I will “grow” a transmitter capable of receiving various types of frequencies of bestowal that are called the Lights. Through these Lights, I will start perceiving the sources they are coming from, where they are headed, toward whom, and for what purpose. And last but not least, I will come to know that this broadcasting station that is generating these waves is the Creator! But this will become possible only if I build a receiver (“radio”) within me, which can “read” such properties.

As a matter of fact, according to the law of equivalence of form (resonance), in order to receive these frequencies, I have to create a similar one within myself. In these internal and external waves, there is one common characteristic: “the carrier wave.” In the external wave, however, there is one more, accompanying wave, which is embedded into the main one; it is the latter that carries information to me.

By creating a wave of the same frequency (for instance, 93 MHz) in your “radio” (your soul), you will be able to receive the external signal (the Creator), to discern the “valid signal:” a wave (a voice, song, or message of the Creator).

The spiritual radio runs on the same principle as a corporeal one does since nature doesn’t change. We and the Creator need a common ground, this (93 MHz) frequency wave, the force of bestowal, overlaid with a tiny signal for your reception. This signal enters you, and you receive it. When you align yourself with the incoming wave in its property of bestowal, it brings a minor additional attribute for your ability to receive, the Light of Hochma that fills you.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/8/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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