Usually it is customary for different nations to hold holidays as a way of honoring certain historical events that took place in this world. But since the nation of Israel once separated from the other nations to carry out a special mission, to realize the correction of human nature upon itself and then to bring all of humanity to this, its holidays, therefore, have a special meaning related to that.

The Scroll (Megilat) of Ester, which is devoted to Purim and which talks about Mordechai, the King Ahashverosh, and Queen Ester who saved the Jews from destruction after the evil Haman planned to kill them, actually explains how to attain that goal. That is why it is written that all the holidays will be canceled in the future with the exception of the holiday of Purim because on that holiday, on that level, the greatest Light shines, which includes all of the previous levels.

All the holidays of the nation of Israel are symbols of special states on the ladder of the spiritual levels which we ascend from this world to the world of Infinity, attaining increasingly greater equivalence to the Creator through bestowal, love, and unification among us. Therefore, every higher level includes all the lower levels as its constituent parts. Purim, the highest level, obviously includes all the previous, smaller levels which are canceled before it and enter it. In the end, not a single holiday remains besides the holiday of Purim.

How do we reach this holiday? Our entire work is based on raising a prayer (MAN) for unification and love among us, which we are trying to attain. All of our work is devoted to correcting the division. At first we have to unite on the level of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal,” which means the quality of Mordechai.

When we reach “the king’s gate” (as the story tells about Mordechai who sat by the king’s gate), there we meet our Haman, the huge and horrifying egoistic desire that becomes revealed to us. Then we have to correct it and receive Light into its Kelim with the intention of Mordechai, “for the sake of bestowal.” That is how one can receive the Light of Mordechai into the Kelim of Haman and attain the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun).

We have to take the force, the “spiritual vessel” from our nature, our egoistic desire, and add to these desires the intention “for the sake of bestowal” so it would begin to rule over us, “to saddle the desire” like Mordechai who rides on top of a horse.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/11, Shamati

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Holidays, Israel, Prayer and Intention - No Comments →

Filed under: Laitman Unplugged, Q&A - No Comments →

The difficulty lies in the fact that a person has to start feeling the need to turn to the environment and ask for the greatness of the goal; otherwise, he won’t reach it. This act is regarded as “Lo Lishma” (not for Her Name) that everything begins with.

A person wants to reach the spiritual world and, having no other option, turns to the environment and seeks in it the greatness of the goal; if not, he will withdraw from the goal for good. Then he begins receiving all kinds of impressions from this greatness, although he first turns to them egoistically and doesn’t feel the need for the environment itself except for the goal. A person only wants to use the environment to reach the goal and for now doesn’t link the former with the latter.

But gradually, he begins to realize that the environment contains all his Kelim, desires, within which he attains the goal, the fulfillment. As he studies and the Light works on him, he begins to feel that the goal itself exists in those very desires which he received from the environment by having united with them. In other words, his bond with the others is the place where the Creator is revealed.

Then, the force of bestowal gradually awakes in his relations with the others, and he realizes that they are that same very Kli, the property of the Creator, thanks to which one becomes similar to Him. There, within these relations with the other people, a person and the Creator meet and become one whole by achieving adhesion.

Egoism that the Creator created as His reverse imprint within the desire must stay! In fact, above and in opposition to it, a person holds himself in the equivalence to the Creator. If he didn’t possess this reverse form, he wouldn’t be able to reach the property of bestowal and recreate himself in the image of the Creator.

Thus, attainment of the greatness of the Creator is our Kli, the soul of each of us, which we receive from the environment and within which we experience our spiritual life.
[38208]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/2011 on Attaining the Greatness of the Creator through the Environment

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Inner Work - No Comments →

Question: The holiday of Purim symbolizes the opposition of two forces: Mordechai and Haman. Then why are we commanded to get so drunk on this day that we can’t tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai?

Answer: This happens after the analysis where you use all of the Kelim, when everything is already clear to the utmost. You have hung Haman and his ten sons on a tree, or in other words, on the tail of the letter Kuf (ק). No more illumination comes beneath the Tabur in order to give life to the impure forces (Klipot). There are no Klipot since you have destroyed all the egoistic intentions.

Previously intentions for the sake of reception, Klipa were below. Klipa lives by virtue of the illumination from above. Above the Tabur are the letters or qualities of Kuf (ק), Reish (ר) , Shin (ש), and Tav (ת). Previously the tip of Tav also descended down, but its “leg was cut off” and now only Kuf descends beneath the Tabur. This means that the Lights descend down, giving life to the Klipa.

This is necessary because the Klipa helps us. It has to exist in order to give us the opportunity of free choice, to place us between good and evil.

Here, below, are Haman and his “family”—all of the egoistic qualities that have joined him. It is important to remember that this is talking precisely about intentions for the sake of reception, rather than about desires. After all, desire is just matter.

After that, from Yesod of Zeir Anpin to Nukva comes the illumination of Mordechai. It comes as a result of the ascent of a plea (MAN) from the souls of Israel, which are below, under the rule of Haman. Then they are all able to ascend upwards with the help of the illumination called Purim—the illumination of Mordechai.

In that case only Haman with his family remain below. After that the leg of the letter Kuf is annulled so the Klipot would no longer receive an illumination, or in other words, Haman is hung on the tree. Then the Klipot inside each of us die because they no longer realize or feel the opportunity to steal or to attain anything.

That is where it all ends. All the egoistic intentions disappear due to not having a footing and everything shifts above the Parsa, into the intention for the sake of bestowal, into the approaching end of correction. Now all of your Kelim are covered by the altruistic intention and you fill them with the Light of Hochma without any restrictions. That is because you have created great, perfect screens which free you from the necessity to make calculations.

The entire matter of Haman, who is under the power of the egoistic desire, has shifted to the altruistic intention. Stated differently, all the desires that were below have ascended upwards. They divided into two groups of 248 and 365 desires, and now even the lowers ones are above because you have cut off the egoistic intentions from them. Thus, nothing remains below.

And since there is nothing below, holiness (Kedusha) expands from Raglin until Sium, until the Mount of Olives.
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

Related Material:
The Contours Of Spiritual Combinations
Instructions On Canning Egoism
The Hidden Meaning Of The Scroll Of Esther

Filed under: Egoism, Free Will, Holidays, Prayer and Intention, Q&A - No Comments →

The first principle of upbringing: “Nature is unified, and we are opposite to it.”

Part two: “Reciprocity as the ground for balance”: Each component of nature strives for balance and harmony (in the language of science, to homeostasis). So do we, being part of the nature’s system, must reach equilibrium and harmony.

Unlike the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature that aspire to balance instinctively, we have to come to oneness and mutual consideration of interests based on conscious development. This constitutes the unique difference between man and all other elements of nature.

A person must disclose the imbalance—mindfully, consciously, experientially, and logically. He must see all the positive and the negative aspects: how opposite to and how balanced with nature he is. He must feel and cultivate his receptivity to it, developing it to such a degree when his sensitivity to being in equilibrium with nature in particular would lead him to the very top of the spiritual ladder.

As Baal HaSulam states, we received the method of Kabbalah in order to become aware of our evil. We approach a new way of upbringing so we may become conscious of our evil since there is nothing else we need to do. Having experienced evil, we naturally flee from it and withdraw just enough so we don’t feel it any longer. Hence, cultivating within ourselves sensitivity toward evil, we will walk further and further away from it, always to such a distance where we can feel it no more.

Evil unfolds in our mutual hatred which makes us opposite to the nature of creation. This is the problem we are facing today: to connect all pain and misfortunes of the modern world with the lack of our interconnection, our discord with the global nature.

Our major issue is the absence of connection between us. The problem is not in shortage of natural resources and pollution. In truth, it doesn’t matter. Nature is able to clean itself up and return to the corrected state, but even this depends solely on our good interconnection.

We must look not at nature but at what is going on between us. Thereby, we will reach similarity to it.
[38224]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/2011 on The Principles of Global Education

Filed under: Crisis, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Education - No Comments →

We are inside of a screen on which our qualities are depicted. And if they are egoistic, then accordingly they are depicted before our desire to enjoy on the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels (in sizes 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4). Thus, we see them as the world around us. That means the reality I see, feel, and in which I live is an imprint or reflection of the desires and thoughts that are inside of me.

If in addition to my general nature, the qualities of reception, I also acquire a second nature, the quality of bestowal, then just like on a computer screen I reveal one more window on which I see the upper world—the force of my soul. Now I recognize that what I see in the first window is a projection of my receiving forces, while in the second window, I depict the form of my unification with other people for the sake of bestowal.

To the degree I am able to unite with others at least on the level of “don’t do to others what you hate,” to that extent I can recognize the spiritual world. And now everything depends on the calculation I make, on how I continuously awaken myself to transfer reality from the material world to the spiritual world.

The most perfect spiritual state is Purim, which comes from the word Pur—lot. In this state my desires are corrected and I am united with all of the souls, thus fulfilling my soul with the upper Light according to the law of equivalence of form.

Purim is the celebration of the final correction. When we celebrate this holiday, we attract the force from that corrected state which corrects and unites us.

The custom to wear masks and dress up in costumes on this day came to us because Haman (the egoistic desire) dresses into the clothing of Mordechai (the altruistic desire), which means that we can receive Light into the great desires of Haman through the qualities of Mordechai.

This is also why on the holiday of Purim there is a custom to eat cookies in the shape of a triangle called “Haman’s pockets.” A pocket symbolizes the desire to receive. We have to receive these desires from Haman and then, with the help of Mordechai, by means of the Light of Hassadim, the quality of bestowal, correct them by the intention for the sake of bestowal. Then we will be able to receive the Light of Hochma, the revelation of the Creator, meaning the state of the final correction.
From the lecture on 3/15/11 on Purim

Related Material:
Purim: The End Of Correction
Purim Signifies The Birth Of A Corrected World
The Hidden Meaning Of The Scroll Of Esther