Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 8, Item 53: All ten Sefirot have Zahar and Nukva (male and female parts), divided into two different realities. ZON, which contains most of the notion of death because it had seven kings who died, has male and female qualities, divided into different Partzufim. Sometimes it appears as if they are connected, but that is not so because they are attached to each other back to back through a shared wall (Ahoraim de Ima).

The Zohar says, “Until Hesed came and divided them,” meaning Hassadim and Gevurot from the union of Aba Ve Ima that descend into ZON, severing and separating ZA and Nukva from each other. That’s because they can unite only by becoming separate, big Partzufim.

First of all it is necessary to reveal the flaws separating Zeir Anpin and Nukva (the Creator and creation). Then we see that this wall between them (called Kotel) has to exist and be felt! Without it we will not find out how to make a calculation, what to ask for, and where to make efforts in order to revoke this wall and turn it into a place of union.

Perfection can only be reached out of the sensation of deficiency. I have to reveal this wall separating us. That is why there is a custom to come and pray by the Temple Wall. We pray for the wall to disappear so we would be able to enter the Temple, the place of holiness, the unification of Zeir Anpin and Nukva that ascend into Aba ve Ima and become as one whole. Aba ve Ima is the “Holy of Holies” of the upper spiritual Temple – the level of GAR of the Light of Hochma.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: What is Segula (a miraculous remedy or force)?

Answer: Segula is when the outcome is not evoked by my direct actions, but rather happens indirectly. I don’t know exactly how this works; I was simply told that this is so and based on that I act.

I view the connection between my actions and their outcome as a fact because I rely on the upper one’s mind. In other words, I don’t work based on the principle: “A judge has only what his eyes can see.” On the contrary, I follow the principle: “They have eyes but cannot see.” I can only use the mind (Rosh) of the upper one who told me: “Do it this way.” And when I do, Segula occurs.

It is a law since nature works only through laws, but this law isn’t fully discerned in my attributes, my intelligence, yet; it isn’t evident to me and this is why it is called Segula with regard to me. It affects me, but I don’t feel it in my egoistic desires, not in what is revealed to me. Hence, it is called Segula, a miracle, an unexplained natural phenomenon.

We witness such phenomena in our world. Suppose one person suggests to another person to do something in order to obtain a desired result. But the latter refuses since he doesn’t see how one thing results from another. But if, despite his own desire, he followed the first person’s advice, meaning that he had understood that the other person could see the cause, effect, and the action necessary to achieve the desired result, it would mean that he would use the other person’s mind or the miraculous force, Segula.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/31/10, Shamati #4

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Question: What does it mean to make efforts while reading The Book of Zohar?

Answer: While reading The Zohar, we have to identify with the book’s narration as much as possible. The Zohar talks about ascent up the spiritual degrees, about the qualities that a person must have in order to be on those degrees.

We want to attain these levels in order for them to be revealed in us. While I read The Zohar, what do I want to be filled by? What are all of these qualities that I read about, such as HaGaT, NeHY, Tifferet, and Malchut? What should I identify myself with?

This is called a desire to know what I study, meaning to unite with it. That is how we awaken the Light from these high states, causing it to influence us.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/11, The Zohar

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Question: What do we have to do so The Zohar will find its way into the deepest recesses of the heart, into our desires and thoughts?

Answer: Open your heart. Nothing else is needed. The most important thing is not to despair and not to relax, and to make efforts precisely when the going gets rough. The article “Donkey Driver” in the Introduction of The Zohar is exactly the place where it explains that when you are walking along and your “donkey” (in Hebrew “donkey” is “Hamor,” originating from the word “Homer,” matter, the will to enjoy) can no longer carry its burden, you are sent a “donkey driver” that helps your “donkey” to ascend.

This driver stings the “donkey” with a sharp stick and it’s unpleasant. However, it makes you move forward. Therefore, if you agree to have a driver like that, you will receive him. But you have to ask for these “stings.”

Question: I know how to ask for good things, but how can I ask for the “stings” of the donkey driver?

Answer: If I don’t identify myself with my ego and want to be liberated from it, then I think the opposite: The more “stings” it receives, the more able I am to distance myself from it, to run away from it and ascend above it.

These “stings” do not wound me, but my ego. If I separate and detach from it, then we are separated by a distance and I therefore do not feel the “sting” that passes over it. The sting comes only in order for me to part with my ego. Then I don’t perceive these blows as happening to me, but to my “Pharaoh,” and in the meantime I ascend.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/11, The Zohar

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Question: How do we achieve “a plea from the depth of the heart”?

Answer: Depth is when from our present state, we dive into more internal, exalted states, where our interconnection gets enhanced, until “one heart” is formed. This is what the “depth of the heart” is since in spirituality, each more inner degree is the more exalted one.

If in our work we strive to get to the “depth of the heart,” we have to find oneness there. And it isn’t just some desirable supplement, but rather a Kli (vessel), our correction. Nothing else is up to us since fulfillment, according to the law of equivalence of form, will unfold in the Kli to the degree that the Kli corresponds to it.

Therefore, we should think solely about unity. It depends on mutual agreement of the group and provides a positive effect even if it lasts for just a little while. Since habit becomes a second nature, it is worth making a deal that everyone will think about unity for a certain period of time during the day.

In our world, any phenomenon eventually declines and expires because the notion of time affects it. Since we haven’t yet reached a state where time doesn’t influence us, it is advisable to make an effort to hold an unbroken thought of unity for a few hours a day, to the extent that everybody will feel how everything is up to him since all the others are already connected.

As a result, he will unveil new phenomena which will be approaching the Light; it is quite possible. It is very likely that while at it, a person will discover resentment, reluctance, and inability to bond. At the same time, a person can feel that with the help of some external force, he is able to rise above himself and unite, as if rising above matter. If this force comes to surface, he will feel it for sure.

Inside the matter (desire to receive), he can do nothing. But since he desperately wants to ascend and unify with the others, he feels that there has to be a certain force which can help him. Passing through the chain of revelations and sensations, a person feels where and what has to happen. He understands the causes of the events and uncovers them step by step.

Our nature, Pharaoh, sits in us not allowing us to unite. In order to rise above it, we need strength, and we have to ask for it all the time. As a result of these revelations, we will want to turn to the Creator to build a connection in us. The first degree of such network is called exodus from Egypt.
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From the Talk “Questions about Unity” 12/31/2010

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Question: What were the final efforts you made before the Creator answered you? What did you do before passing the Machsom?

Answer: The question is incorrect because this happens unexpectedly. What works is the sum of all the different efforts, some of which you do not even suspect are there. Only later, when you sort out the “accumulated collection” do you start to understand that everything you went through was necessary for you to attain what you just attained.

However, as long as the end result of all the efforts is not revealed to you, you do not know how much is left. That is why it is impossible to say that some specific effort brought you to completion.

Question: What was special about your efforts?

Answer: I think nothing besides patience, persistence, and consistency (of course, with the background of worries and everything related to them). Baal HaSulam writes about this in the famous example in Item 133 of “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot“: “And only the heroes among them, whose patience endured, defeated the guards and opened the gate. And they were instantly awarded seeing the King’s face….”

Who is a hero? It’s a person who had enough patience, who did everything possible not to veer off the path.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: On one hand, you say that the Torah is not a historic narrative, but on the other, you refer to our forefather Abraham as a real person who started disseminating Kabbalah at a certain point in life. So, is Abraham an actual person from history or some special force?

Answer: The Torah describes to us the path of spiritual development of a soul, any soul. Moreover, everything described in it also manifests at the level of our world once, according to the principle: “The spiritual root must manifest in corporeal consequence.” For this reason, all these spiritual degrees have also manifested in our world in specific people and events.

This is why our approach to the study of the Torah has to be based on two aspects: On one hand, we study our history. All these people, such as Adam HaRishon, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and so on, really lived at different times. But on the other, the fact that all these historic events really took place does not matter to us. More important is the fact that this refers to the inner properties of our souls. When we begin correcting ourselves, we reveal these properties, forces, and states called “Abraham,” “Egypt,” “Isaac,” and so on within us.

Question cont.: Are these forces present in every person?

Answer: Absolutely in everyone.

Question cont.: So what is “Abraham?”

Answer: It is the property of bestowal, Hesed, the right line. The property of “Hesed” in man is called “Abraham,” while the property of “Gevura” “Isaac.” “Tifferet” is “Jacob”; “Yesod” is “Joseph” in the state of Katnut (the small state) or “Israel” in the state of Gadlut (adulthood), and so on.

Question cont.: Does this mean that I suddenly begin to feel Abraham within me during the process of my spiritual development?

Answer: You feel the property called “Abraham” within you. You stop connecting the text of the Torah with actual people and events. Instead, you begin to feel these actions happening within you, you reveal your inner properties and changes behind all the historic characters. This is how you read The Zohar, the Torah, and all the other holy books.

Looking at the words: “First God created heaven and earth,” you understand that this refers to Bina and Malchut, and God or Elokim is the general force. You feel all these properties!

Question cont.: What does this feeling give me?

Answer: You experience the entire Torah internally. You correct yourself in such a way that you begin to perceive the tale you are reading as happening within you. And this goes on until you “finish the entire Torah,” that is, attain your individual final correction by completely correcting your soul.
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From a TV Program “Ask the Kabbalist” No. 186, 7/7/2010

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The purpose of creation is to do good to His creatures, to make them similar to Him. Anything less than that is not considered good.

To realize that goal, we have to observe two conditions: On one hand, the creature has to be separate from the Creator, being seemingly a reality of its own. On the other, the creature has to be similar to Him.

How can we combine the two opposites into one? For that purpose the Creator created an attribute of reception that is opposite to Him and then imparted this receiving desire with His own attribute of bestowal. Thus, a creature has two attributes: desire to receive and desire to bestow.

But a person doesn’t know what to wish for. Caught in the middle between the two equal desires, he won’t be able to do anything, to choose any of them. That’s why the Creator always awakens the desire to receive, the primordial, fundamental nature, which separates man from Him. As for the desire to bestow, one should be asking for the Creator to awaken him, to give him strength.

Being on ‘”friendly terms” with desire to receive, a person is at peace with himself, while remaining opposite to the Creator. If he demands that the desire to bestow reigns in him, he prefers to be like the Creator. That’s how we grow, not as a “function” of the two desires, but by constantly preferring an even greater similarity to the Creator. The key for us is not to shift from bestowal as the goal all the way along the path.

Let the Creator constantly stir up the desire to receive. Our work is to “bypass” the Creator, staying ahead of our egoism, and agree with its growth only under the condition that the desire to bestow will prevail.

It turns out that we are in competition with the Creator: He raises Esau in us, and we demand that He raise our Jacob. In the course of that race a person grows and achieves his or her purpose. At the finish line one will achieve a fully-blown desire to enjoy and a full clothing upon it: the attribute of bestowal.

The result of the contest is a victory over the Creator, as it is written: “My sons have defeated me.” And then comes the universal rejoicing described by Baal HaSulam in the parable about the raising of the slave.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/4/2011, “What Does It Mean That if the Good Grows Also the Evil Grows at Work”

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Writings of Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “What Are the Powers Which Are Needed for the Work”
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The Book of Zohar — Introduction: “Yitro (Jethro),” “You Will Behold the Secret of the Lines in the Palms,” Item 154, Lesson 7
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The Book of Zohar — Introduction: “The Donkey Driver,” Lesson 1
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Talmud Eser Sefirot 3, Part 8, Item 52, Lesson 29
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy,” Lesson 10
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