Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Law of Root and Branch

Kabbalists have found that the form of the four worlds, named Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya, beginning with the first, highest world, called Atzilut, and ending in this corporeal, tangible world called Assiya, is exactly the same in every item and event. This means that everything that eventuates and occurs in the first [highest] world is found unchanged in the next world, below it, too. It is likewise in all the worlds that follow it, down to this tangible world.

There is no difference between them, but only a different degree [quality of desire], perceived in the substance of the elements of reality in each world.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”
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We cannot imagine what freedom of will is. To a certain extent, we feel free, but, in fact, we are completely governed, which includes our thoughts about freedom. Therefore, we don’t understand what the spiritual world is.

When we face the Creator, we perceive Him to be a vital, defining, and implementing Force. At the same time we have a certain “point of preparation” within which we are able to detach ourselves from Him. This is when our freedom of choice uncovers itself; after this point, we repeat the restriction and begin to shape our freedom.

So far we are similar to a fetus in the mother’s womb. Is it in any way independent? No, it is the one who is being developed. Its reality is a reminder of the future; its freedom is still ahead of it.

In our world a person represents a collection of pre-set qualities. There are no conditions for freedom of choice, but only its illusion in protein matter. The initial condition for freedom is to become similar to the Creator without “hints,” from scratch. If something awakened you in advance, that isn’t freedom.

This is why a special point of the Creator wakes up in us. We develop it in opposition to our egoistic nature. “A point of desire” against “a point of Light,” they both emerge as a result of the breaking. By correcting a connection between them, we independently achieve similarity to the Creator. Without this “tool,” we wouldn’t be born and become equal to the Creator.

GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim), sanctity, is above, AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh), wickedness, is below, and Tifferet, the middle third, is in the middle. It is a special state that is called “Klipat Noga.” Above is the property of the Creator, below is the property of the created being, and the middle is my “neutral territory.”

This is where an equal fight between sanctity and wickedness is taking place. I am the one who defines the outcome of the struggle between them. It is the place where I can correctly control these two forces that the Creator made on purpose so that I can build my freedom and independence.

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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/10, Shamati #97

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The celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), like all other holidays, represents spiritual states that every person in the world will have to undergo while ascending in his qualities from our world to the World of Infinity. Ascent is defined as the strengthening of the connection between us and, through it, our greater similarity with the Creator. It could be described as our drawing closer to the Creator rather than “ascending.”

It is not a mechanical ascension, but a qualitative one through the senses and against our egoistic nature. This nature can be overruled solely by the force of the Light.

This is where the difficulty lies. The problem is not in defying egoism and not in struggling with natural idleness; we do this in corporeal life. The challenge of the spiritual path lies in the fact that it isn’t accomplished by our own effort. My nature cannot be changed by my own effort but only by some hidden force that I must ask to perform this action. That’s where the problem lies.

In fact, if I worked against my egoism alone, I would feel as a hero. Many people feel this way, and our very egoism forces us to defy it if the goal is worthwhile. We are willing to go against our egoism and its yearning for rest since we anticipate reward for our envy, lust, and ambition. However, on the spiritual path, it is necessary to annul the self and ask “something” that is opposite to me or “someone” whom I don’t know to come and reverse my nature.

When it is necessary to unite in order to defeat someone, we do so and return as heroes. However, to unite in order to convince the Creator to correct us or unify us is a huge problem. The issue lies in the fact that the Creator is concealed, and we can’t assess what we are working for and against.

Hence, many people start spiritual work and give up. They cannot overcome this concealment and reconcile with that part of our work which is not up to us. A person has trouble accepting that in order to correct himself, he must ask the invisible force for it. That is why the whole problem is not in our laziness, but the Creator’s concealment.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/10, Selected Excerpts For Sukkot

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We are accustomed to working in agreement with an egoistic mind and heart that together are regarded as the evil inclination (Yetzer HaRa). It is evil because when I discover how it operates, I realize how opposite my mind and heart are to love, eternity, and perfection. This is why I call my nature evil as it is preventing me from attaining good.

Our egoistic nature is defined by our striving to receive for our sake, to fulfill ourselves. However, the good desire or inclination (Yetzer HaTov) is love and bestowal. These two opposing forces of reception and bestowal are revealed to me by the Light which I attract by studying Kabbalah and uniting with the friends.

To ascend from our nature to the upper one is possible solely by switching the importance from reception to bestowal. The unimportant is regarded as waste, and the important as sustenance. According to this principle, we build the Sukkah (booth). My state of existence is regarded as “home” or a solid and reliable dwelling for egoism. Bestowal is regarded as a “temporary dwelling” or Sukkah. So, I choose in what property am I willing to exist: the egoistic home or the altruistic shelter.

There is fulfillment in both of them. In the former, I am fulfilled through receiving and in the latter through the act of bestowal. Hence, the key is what I view as sustenance and what I consider waste. I build my home from what I value the most.

This kind of discernment can be achieved solely by way of studying Kabbalah and through the group. Hence, it is written that the roof of the Sukkah is built from the “waste of barn and winery.” Wine represents the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), and the barn (bread) represents the Light of Hassadim (Mercy). The waste of the barn and winery are not important to us. But if I desire to bestow in order to become similar to the Creator, then they become more important to me than bread and wine.

We need to build our new state of existence from them in particular so that they become our head, roof, and the compass that sets the direction for us. Then, we will attain spirituality. Everything else loses its importance for us. That is what the Sukkah represents.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/10, Selected Excerpts For Sukkot

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In the News (from Telegraph.co.uk): Ask Jeeves, the British Internet search engine, has published its Top 10 unanswerable questions that have bothered humanity during the last decade. Here are my answers to them.

1.  What is the meaning of life? In getting to know the source of life, the Creator, through which we find eternal life and its meaning.

2. Is there a God? No, there is Nature or the law of equivalence to the Creator, the property of love and bestowal.

3. Do blondes have more fun? Because they are dumber?

4. What is the best diet? Eat like animals do: what’s good for your health.

5. Is there anybody out there? Yes, there is, but at a higher dimension, in the will to bestow, contrary to the corporeal life which is lived in the will to receive.

6. Who is the most famous person in the world? For each person, it is his parents.

7. What is love? Fulfilling the desires of the other person.

8. What is the secret to happiness? To give instead of taking since then you are unlimited and happy.

9. Did Tony Soprano die? I don’t know who he is, and it doesn’t matter to me anyway.

10.  How long will I live? The point is to attain eternal life before this one expires.
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The Zohar, Chapter "VeYechi (And Jacob lived)," Item 442: At the end of correction, when the whole of Malchut is corrected, the Zivug of GAR de GAR will return, meaning that [the Creator will enter] Jerusalem above, and this explains, “I have sworn to David My servant,” the oath that the Creator will not enter Jerusalem above until Israel enter Jerusalem below.

This is talking about the correction in three lines. We receive two lines or forces from Above. But the ability to cut off the left line and attract the right line, and then to combine the right and left lines the right way in the middle line – all of this happens only through the model or formula that we reveal between us.

I don’t know what the middle line is. No one brings it to me ready-made and it does not come to me from Above because otherwise I wouldn’t have a place in which to recreate myself, to conduct my search, to make efforts, and to make revelations on the path.

The middle line is very unclear. You were given two forces and they are at your disposal. However, you can destroy the world using either one. How then do we reach the state where we find the right combination of two lines – in the screen de Hirik, from below upwards? How do we even start to connect these two opposite lines?

This is the work done between the souls because it can be actualized only in the connection between them. The right and left lines exist in the form of natural forces, while the middle line can only be created in the connection between the souls.

This can be called "group psychology." Here, through the search between us, we have to find how to create the eternal state, the right combination of these two lines through the connection between us.

The way to check our work is by revealing the right intention between us, "for the sake of the Creator." Then revelation takes place, we attain the middle line, and acquire the opportunity to use these two lines correctly.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/27/10, The Zohar

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Question: It is written that we have to be joyous on Sukkot. What does that mean?

Answer: Joy is an effect of attainment and unification; it is joy from bringing contentment to the Creator. There is the World of Infinity, the vessel of the Creator, which is empty. I fill the Creator through the group, and this act of fulfilling Him causes me to feel joy.

At first, I felt empty and demanded fulfillment from the Creator. However, thanks to studying with the group, I realized that fulfillment comes solely from fulfilling the Creator. I am filled with bestowal to the Creator in the same way as a mother is filled with joy when her child is fulfilled.

Ultimately, it makes no difference to me whether I give or receive. The goal is to be fulfilled which I can achieve solely by way of fulfilling Him. When I fulfill Him, I fulfill myself. However, if I fulfill Him for self gratification, it is egoism (Klipa, shell); it’s similar to working for a reward.

However, if I fulfill myself in order to fulfill Him, it is bestowal (holiness). If I fulfill Him in order to fulfill myself, it is reception (impurity).

Diagram: Impurity: 1-2) I fill Him, 3-4) in order to get filled myself. Holiness: I) I raise MAN to Him, II) to make Him fill me, III) so that by filling myself, IV) I could fulfill Him.

In either case, we are both fulfilled. Still, everything is determined by the intention: For whom do I perform these actions? If there is love between us, the more I get filled, the more I fill Him. In our world, there are no other models for this than a mother and her child. [21803]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/10, “The Agenda of the Assembly”

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A person who disregards his friends does not receive desire and the importance of the goal from them. A singleton has no Kli.

We, as if, are sitting at a big table together. This table is Malchut of the World of Atzilut (Shechina, Divinity). What a person lays on the table or what he contributes to the connection between all of us is what he is going to collect in spirituality. In this manner, he has to perform multiple actions until they are accumulated and revealed to him.

If I don’t participate in the life of the group, then my force is in opposition to it. As a result, my own force bounces me off and away from the table (P1) and so does the collective force (P2) which is much more powerful. I am simply cast out for I neglected the only opportunity I had. This is highly undesirable.

How do I override this force of rejection that makes me “brush aside” the group and causes the group to “bounce off” me? The reason they reject me is in order to show me what effort is required, here and now, in order for me to keep myself in.

Here is where the evil is revealed. After the question mark (in the diagram below), if I am actually tossed aside, it means true rejection. However, if after having asked myself the question, I exert effort and return to the table, then this rejection turns into an invitation to unite.

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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/10, “The Agenda of the Assembly”

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As a person climbs the spiritual ladder, he simultaneously descends into his ego. Suppose I have discerned and corrected only the thinnest, surface layer of my desire. At this level, I have connected with the group, realized the importance of the goal, and drew the Light that Reforms onto myself. However, in order to ascend to the first spiritual degree (one of 125), I need to undergo two more stages.

The second layer of desire is revealed to me finally, and here, I am much worse or “coarser.” Here, I condemn, ignore, deny, and despise. Compared to this state, I was previously as a little child; now, I am being rejected more strongly. What for? It is done to provide me with an opportunity to attain greater unity and draw stronger Upper Light.

This is how I advance time after time, disclosing greater and greater egoism. No matter how high a person may rise, the evil inclination always precedes him. He is prepared for it, of course. Yet, during the descent, nothing helps, and he falls into “minus Infinity.”

In truth, descent is not really a descent, but a state of ascent that you are not yet ready for. It is as if you are transferred into the championship team because your coach knows that you have the capacity to join the top players. The necessary conditions are provided for you. Now, you just have to exert your best effort and take your position next to them as an equal.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/10, “The Agenda of the Assembly”

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Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “What is Silver, Gold, Israel, the Nations in Work”
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYechi (And Jacob Lived in the Land of Egypt),” Item 450
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 15, Item 105
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings,” Lesson 2
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