"A judge has nothing more than what his eyes see." This is a very strict law that must be observed very precisely. We cannot follow even the very best advice unless it comes from our own corrections, our similarity to the Light.

Also inside yourself you must ask at all times: "Who am I hearing now? A person who lives inside his own fantasies, or one who looks at things as they really are and knows his exact place, not jumping any higher?"

Then I don’t perceive the things I hear from Kabbalists as laws or even advice, but as "Segula," a miraculous means. I want it to influence me and change me! Once I change, I will then see the truth.

"A judge has nothing more than what his eyes see," meaning that I will actually hold the fulfillment in my "hands," in my Kelim of reception, and I will "see it with my eyes," meaning inside the Light of Hochma. That’s when I will be able to act!

Until that happens, you can memorize the entire Torah by heart and it will do no good; yet the Torah can work as a "miraculous means" or a "spice." You will be able to correct and use your egoism only to the extent you can add this "spice" to your egoism.

Then you will see exactly which desires you can use and to what extent, or how deeply (with which Aviut). This approach, first and foremost, requires correction.

A completely different approach to teaching follows from this, namely, that we have nothing to say to a student. We can only awaken him so he absorbs as much Light that Reforms as possible. It is impossible to give him ready-made behavioral models, but only "miraculous means": the need to unite in the group among friends, and then to wait for him to change on his own.

If this doesn’t affect a student, if he does not change and does not accept the teacher’s advice, then nothing can be done about it. It is impossible to coercively give him exercises that are above his level, but only to the degree he has corrected himself and understood that he has to make the calculation, change, and then start to act.

This greatly restricts the teacher’s possibilities when teaching a student compared to our world, regardless of whether the student is an adult or a child.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, "Body and Soul"

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The Zohar, Chapter “The Rose (Shoshana)“: Rabbi Hizkiya began [his speech]: “It is written, ‘As a rose among the thorns.’”…

The rose is Malchut and it includes all the souls that desire to reject their egoism and unite. This is possible only with the help of the Light that Reforms. Every person who aspires to attain the Upper World, to reveal the Creator, essentially aspires to the general unification inside Malchut. She is the place where the Creator becomes revealed.

The Book of Zohar talks about how this place becomes built from desires that are aimed at revelation, from the spiritual aspirations of people who are ready to unite on the path to the goal. We understand that we are unable to do this. However, the Light acts inside Malchut, inside “the rose,” despite the thorns that stand in the way of unity. Whoever desires to reveal the Creator is willing to live with these “prickles” and to make his way through them towards “the rose.”

This is what our efforts should be aimed at in spite of the egoism that pushes us away from the goal over and over again. We must nevertheless overcome the thorns surrounding the rose and unite all our desires into one.

We will thereby evoke the Light that Reforms and reveal the Upper One.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, The Zohar

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Question: Why are we given the illusion of freedom in this world?

Answer: We consider ourselves free for as long as we do not think about it much and identify ourselves with our animate body. But if we rose above our body a little, we would see that it strictly obeys the laws and processes it is subject to.

I think it is up to me when to go to sleep and when to go to work. But who is it really up to? I am placed in certain conditions and given certain internal qualities. Meanwhile, our will to receive pleasure (desire) acts as an engine that works according to a simple principle: maximal pleasure at minimal effort, that is, maximal gain at minimal investment.

This is the calculation we perform at each moment of our lives, in every aspect, any direction, any place, and in relation to everything there is. This is how our nature works, taking into consideration various conditions: how tired and healthy I am, how big the danger and possible pleasure are, and so forth. Understandably, as such, we remain inside our ego, and there is no free will there.

We have to realize that free will is possible only if I control my desire and am above it. For as long as I remain in my egoistic nature, I will always be an obedient puppet, fully controlled by my egoism.

If, however, I wish to take control in my own hands, I have to manage my desire, rise above it. In other words, free will is possible, but only above desire. And the only question is: How do I rise above my nature, by what means?
[27782]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: If I once chose the path and rose above my egoism, am I free for good or must I keep choosing anew?

Answer: In order to reach the purpose of creation, we have to attain the state of “Israel (those who aspire to the Creator), the Torah (the Light of correction), and the Creator are one” and experience it in all our properties and desires.

Therefore, each moment of our evolution, we have to aim ourselves at oneness with the Creator, which constitutes our free choice. From all of these points of adhesion, we build one line and arrive at the final destination.

In other words, it isn’t enough to make a choice once so that later you may do whatever you want. You make a choice based on the conditions that are revealed to you at the moment. But next time, you will be completely different, a new creation, new world inside and out.

It’s because you keep uncovering new, stronger, desire to feel pleasure, which has different properties. And you have to discern yet again what conditions you are placed in, find the point of free will, decide what you are choosing, and move on with this new choice.

Conversely, at each point of the journey, you need to perform the work of clarification in order to “distance yourself from evil and choose the good” and realize that point of adhesion fully.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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When we build ourselves in the middle line, we must connect the property of bestowal, Bina, the right line, and the property of reception, Malchut, the left line, correctly. Their unification forms a Kli (vessel) called a “cave,” and this cave is double (Machpelah). In the “earth,” Malchut, there is space suitable for living, while life is Bina.

But before Bina can enter Malchut, a reverse action has to take place: Malchut has to enter Bina for Bina to know how to accommodate Malchut and for Malchut to know how to demand Bina’s participation. As a result, mutual penetration of Malchut and Bina or a “double cave” gets formed, and it is the foundation of the general correction of the created being.

Since this is the place of correction, the forefathers, the desires corrected by the intention to bestow, reside in it. They had attained the correct connection of Bina and Malchut: They receive in Malchut and bestow to Bina, meaning that they work with reception and bestowal.

But what gets buried? We bury the intention to receive that envelops the desire like a shell (Klipa), thereby turning it into the evil inclination. Therefore, burial is regarded as the act of correction.

We don’t touch desires: The greater they are, the better. But at each degree, or in each generation, we bury the “intention to receive for self gratification” and get corrected by establishing balance between reception and bestowal.
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From the Lesson on Weekly Torah Portion 10/29/10

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Question: We talked about feeling joy from fulfillment, but what about feeling joy while exerting effort to achieve it?

Answer: I feel hate and resentment toward someone, and I have to build the attitude of love above it so as to fill him, thereby fulfilling myself. To achieve this, I exert certain effort for I must work above my egoism. If I channel the Light through me in order to fill the others, I transform my egoism into “help against it,” and instead of receiving, egoism works in bestowal. For me, this is a challenge, and I must convince myself that it makes sense.

On one hand, thanks to the fact that I channel the Upper Light through myself to someone else, my egoism gets pleased. On the other, I am attaching the desire that I am fulfilling to myself, and it becomes part of me, which also pleases me. I receive the Light from the Creator and the Light that returns to me in the form of spiritual feedback from fulfilling the other.

If I attached another’s desire to myself, it is called “love another as you love yourself.” This is described as “the righteous get rewarded twice.” Beside the fact that their own will to receive gets filled, they take pleasure in fulfilling the desire of another.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Happiness” 10/28/10

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The Book of Zohar — Selections, Chapter “The Rose (Shoshanah),” Item 2, Lesson 13
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The Book of Zohar — Selections, Chapter “Tzav (Command),” Item 144
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Baal HaSulam, “Beit Shaar HaKavanot,” Lesson 58
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, “Body and Soul,” Lesson 5
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