The role of our general, international group is to give the world the method of correction. This group is in contact with the Light that Reforms—for itself and for the whole world. This group today is called “Israel.” What is special about it?

Let’s start from the fact that the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif or OM), meaning the Light that Reforms, is at the upper degree, and it is abstracted and concealed from us. But it can shine upon us to the extent that we awaken ourselves. Thus we can turn to the Light and it can respond to our request.

When does it answer our request? When the request matches the Light, that is, if we ask according to the way it is designated to respond. We are Galgalta ve Eynaim (GE), or Israel. And besides, we have to connect to AHP and to get a response from it. Together, GE and AHP make up ten Sefirot, meaning a spiritual Partzuf, or the general creature.

From this we can understand what is happening to us. We have to awaken the nations of the world (1) so that they will want change (2) To do that, we have to turn to the Light that Reforms (3) and to get its help (4) so that we will change ourselves and will serve AHP.

So what should we do in the meantime? Kabbalists say that in the meantime there is nothing we can do. Similarly, the wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed throughout history: People kept and passed it on in secret because the masses didn’t feel the need for it. But when the world went into a new era that requires the revelation of the wisdom of Kabbalah, then the “corporeal” people of Israel got their land back in order to carry out their mission and Kabbalists began to talk about this wisdom.

Everything exists for AHP, for the nations of the world, generality that essentially includes all of humanity. In this sense everyone is equal in the eyes of the Creator. And indeed, it says that in the end of correction all people in the world will know the Creator.

Still, before we perform the first action and turn to the nations, we have to be ready for that. Therefore, we are given the chance to make the first steps without any connection to them, without their knowledge, and so we develop during the first years, thus preparing ourselves for the job.

But at a certain point we cannot advance any further if we don’t become the means for the correction of the nations, that is, if we don’t bring them the method of correction. And while doing so, we don’t correct anyone—it is the upper Light that corrects everyone, including us.

So we should ask ourselves about our role more assertively. The answer is that we exist only in order to bring correction to the world. We can stay on the level of Hafetz Hesed, on the level of Bina, that has no desire for itself and is totally aimed at the needs of the lower one. For this purpose Bina is divided into GE that are aimed at the Creator and AHP that are aimed at creation, and the cutting line between these two parts is our free will.

This is the role of Bina. All our dissemination, all our attitude towards people should be determined by this schema.
[74893]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/2012, “The Role of Israel and the World” 

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Baal HaSulam, “One Commandment”: The essence of prophetic success is to extend the upper Light to the dwellers below. The one who brings it lowest is the most successful.

This is very important because the corrections are performed from the lightest to the most difficult. The light layers of the broken vessel have already been corrected in previous generations, while in our generation we begin to correct the lowest, thickest, and worst layer to which we ourselves belong.

The general desire is divided into five levels (0-4) of Aviut, or “thickness,” depth of the desire. In the drawing, they are marked on the time axis according to which we perform our correction, from the lightest to the most difficult one, as said before. The principle of the “descent of the generations” stems from this: Each generation is worse than the previous one in terms of its ego. As a result, we advance from the lightest Reshimot (reminiscences) to the most difficult ones.

Today we have reached the final stage of the generation of Mashiach (Messiah): the correction of the last layers of the desire to receive. Of course, this is difficult. The world is immersed in the ego, people are unable to be considerate of one another, they distance from one another: a person from a person, a man from a woman, and children from parents. Countries, nations—everything is falling apart, disintegrating.

So it says: “The essence of prophetic success is to extend the upper Light to the dwellers below. The one who brings it lowest is the most successful.” And so we should “descend” to the masses, not only to those who lead a good life, but also people who have the worst attributes and the greatest resistance. We are trying to reach everyone and to convey our message to them, considering, of course, the circumstances in each place.

Our success depends on this. It is measured namely by how deep we can dive. Baal HaSulam writes about this in “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 63: “Thus, in our generation, although the essence of the souls is the worst, which is why they could not be selected for Kedusha thus far, they are the ones that complete the Partzuf of the world and the Partzuf of the souls with respect to the Kelim, and the work completed only through them.”
[75104]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/2012 

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Question: As I see it, people left without a job sink into their problems and this gives them no incentive to find out where the problems are coming from.

Answer: Our ego feels suffering within itself. The suffering is constantly increasing and taking different forms. Why do they push a person to ask about the meaning of life? It is because he is asking: “Why do I need to suffer?” Actually, they may bring him to the point of suicide.

What is the wisdom of Kabbalah doing? It says to a person: You have to replace this suffering with other suffering, the so-called “suffering of love.”

Indeed, when you love someone, yearn for him, but you still are not connected to him yet, or you are being rejected, turned down a little, or distance separates you and for now you can’t see him, then a big desire to come close, to connect, and to embrace appears, but it is impossible.

All of this is also suffering! But they are sweet for us; we do not want to get rid of them.

Personally, I cannot imagine such suffering anymore, but I remember them from when I was young, and they were sweet. So on one hand, you love, yearn, and anticipate that soon you will embrace your beloved one, but at the same time, you suffer because it still hasn’t happened, and this is pleasant suffering.

There is suffering that comes from the ego, and it is called the “shadow of the Sitra Achra,” meaning a bad shadow, darkness, which hides all the good in the world. And there is suffering that pushes you forward, and, on the contrary, you are excited, you are living in the expectation that it will happen soon: In front of you is the Light, the Light of love, the Light of the impending meeting. Light and darkness, this is the whole difference.

 

We need to quickly help the world replace their suffering, great hardships, and problems that will intensify more and more with a yearning for connection, for love, for the Light. Then, we will feel that the sufferings do not disappear. It’s because if you meet your loved one, and all the attraction you felt at the time of separation disappears, then nothing will be left for you except disappointment: You met, and after few minutes you don’t need anything else, and you can leave.

Therefore, it is necessary that this suffering, meaning this attraction, this appetite, this hunger, will stay, and at the same time, you will be able to enjoy it. Usually when you are very hungry and you start to eat, the appetite disappears and you do not enjoy the food. And what if the pleasure would not disappear?

That is, we need to keep our suffering and only transform it. Hence under no circumstances should we ask the Creator for anything except correction. We must not ask Him to take away our suffering, but only to change it so that we will feel the suffering of love instead, eagerness to go forward. Then we will live in excitement.
[74574]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/24/12, Lesson 4

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Question: Disturbances come in order to help us in our progress toward the goal. How is it possible to understand what the upper force is trying to tell me by sending this specific disturbance? What does it want from me by sending it in particular?

Answer: So that above this disturbance, you will not forget the Creator and yearn for Him.

Question: Is there a certain, specific recipe, or does one need to work separately with each disturbance?

Answer: Do not work with the disturbances! You need to rise immediately above it. There is no need to pay attention to the disturbance itself; the main thing is to rise above it.

Treat a disturbance that comes to you as a support, as a springboard that is bouncing you up. Try to look at it in this way and you will see that it was done in this way purposely. It seems to us as a disturbance only psychologically. Actually it is not a disturbance, but rather a means for ascending.

Question: But how to nevertheless hear what it is trying to tell me? What do I have to correct, above what do I have to rise?

Answer: You don’t know it now. But if you work above the disturbances, you will see what is being corrected in you. And from the new, already corrected qualities, you will start learning the language of the Creator.
[74658]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/24/12, Lesson 4

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Question: Most of us have relatives and friends who are dear to us who have not yet manifested an interest in spirituality. We care about them a lot and intend to rid them of suffering; is it worth waking up their points in the hearts?

Answer: That’s true, each of us has many relatives and friends to whom we would love to explain what we are preoccupied with. Possibly, it would help them too. At least, it could brighten up their lives interesting and think differently about their troubles and problems. However, we all know that it is a very difficult task, as a rule, to explain such things to those people who do not comprehend them. Why is this so?

Our methodology applies only to those who have awakened the aspiration to the goal of creation, those with the so-called “point in the heart.” Everybody has it. Modern day Kabbalists came from the first Kabbalist: Adam. Before Adam was born, for thousands of years, numerous generations possessed a latent point in the heart. Adam was the first man in this world whose point in the heart was awakened. It goes on from then. Before, each generation had very few people whose points in the heart were not dormant.

When a person’s soul (inner desire) matures (ripens), he starts to explore “Why do I need this life? What for? Maybe I should do away with all this? Or finally to find what makes life worth living?”

Such questions arise in everybody, but to different extents. Each person (especially in childhood) asks him or herself: “Why do people live?” Later in life, everyday routine suppresses this quest and people forget about it.

Nowadays, we see that due to crises and various problems, the question of the meaning of life spreads to millions of people around the world. However, people still restrict their search by questioning: “How can I get rid of the pain?” How do I get away from pain, not how do I move ahead.

Nevertheless, at this time we see millions of people who have a point in the heart. Look how many fellow students you have around the world and how many people we don’t even know but who study together with us. They don’t have an obvious desire to contact us as of yet, that’s why our task is to treat them with a lot of thoughtfulness, to never push them too much, and to find suitable reading materials for them.

I think that spreading of our methodology together with the materials we create for the 99% of the world population will gradually lead people ahead and will help many of them (millions!) to reveal their points in the heart. Others will simply follow; they will advance mainly because they tend to escape from pain somehow.

I am sure that you should search for interesting materials and give them to your friends. If you see that words do not work, then don’t talk. Printed materials are more persuasive. Try them. Be patient! Personally, I don’t know how to address those people who do not look for answers to these questions. Why do we need to force them? You have to tell people something that they are willing to hear.
[74101]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 1

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“And here is the ladder standing on the ground and its head stretched to Heaven, and here are the Lord’s angels going up and down” (Jacob’s Dream, Chapter “VaYetze” ).

Rabash: “Angels” who go up and down the ladder are people who say that they were sent into this world to perform corrections, and that is why they are called angels. If they see that they are in a state of descent, darkness, they should “descend.” But first they were in an ascent, otherwise it is impossible to feel that one is in a state of descent.… So only as much as you aspire to do good will you see how much evil is in you.

It mainly relates to the work in the group. The more a person tries to do good in it, the faster he discovers that he is not able to and he has no chance to advance. To discover the real darkness, we must rise first. It’s just like it says: “The advantage of the Light is from the darkness.”

First you need to rise, to receive new attributes and discernments, and to be closer to bestowal in order to later see what is going on in you. Then you will always see greater darkness inside you.

Of course, the darkness wasn’t created now, you simply didn’t notice it before. By rising above it and being able to compare different attributes and values, you can now see that you were in the dark, in your egoistic desires.

This is why we should aspire only to the good and the evil will be revealed by itself. There are people who are looking for the evil, digging into it, and drowning in it. However, the real evil is revealed only by ascending and experiencing joy, by understanding how good it is that the evil has been revealed. Even when a person reveals the evil, he is happy. It is a sign that the evil is purposeful, that is revealed along the way, and that an ascent is constant.

But if a person falls and despairs, if he tortures himself, it is a sign that he isn’t on the right track yet. A person should advance by the left line too, and not only by the right line—by walking on two legs forward. But he shouldn’t sink into the left line, into a descent.

If a person receives support from the environment and the books, if he listens to the teacher, learns, and understands that he must only think about the positive advancement that is awaiting him ahead, and not about anything bad—only about the greatness of the Creator, then he saves time and advances constantly.

On the way upward there are dark and bright moments. And specifically where everything first seemed totally bright he now discovers the darkness, and more and more each time. This means that he discovers the left line in an ascent.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/2012 

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The Zohar, Chapter “BeShalach (When Pharaoh Had Let the People Go),” Item 11: And she said, “I dwell within my people.” What does that mean? When judgment is hanging over the world, a person should not separate himself from the public, and he should not be distinguished from Above, and he should not be known separately.

Because when judgment is hanging over the world, those who are known and registered separately, although they are righteous, are caught first. And so a person should never detach himself from the people. Because the Creator’s mercy is always with all of the people together. And because of that she said, “I dwell within my people and I don’t want to separate from them, like I did until this day.”

It relates to both the external, corporeal perception and to the inner, spiritual one. Let’s start with the latter.

A unified soul was divided into many parts. “Within my people” means within the commonality that was created from the combination of the disconnected parts, which correct themselves by connecting with one another. They overcome their individual ego that repels them from one another and form “the Creator’s people.” After all, these parts share the intention of in order to bestow and by that they resemble the Creator. That is why they are called “My people.” It refers to a collection of individual, shattered vessels that gather with the intention of in order to bestow, which the Creator also has.

These parts connect with a mutual intention of in order to bestow in order to become the support, the vessel for the revelation of the Creator as the general attribute of bestowal. And of course, the phenomenon called “Creator” (Bo–Reh), which means “come and see,” is revealed in this assembly. This is the formula for the revelation of the Creator in the corrected vessels: “I dwell within my people.”

On the corporeal plane, it means that the great masses of people are under the general Providence, which sets them in motion.

Later on The Zohar speaks about judgment that “depends on the world.” “The world” means concealment, an egoistic connection, in which the general collective ego is revealed.  And “a person should not retreat from the collective.” We may ask why? If the attribute of the ego, “judgment,” is revealed in the people, then why shouldn’t I escape it?

The fact of the matter is that looking through the spiritual prism, I see a totally different picture. I see all my desires that depict the imaginary “external world” for me. If I discover the attribute of judgment in them, I have to correct them by the attribute of bestowal and lead this rule to the attribute of in order to bestow. This is the mission of Israel: Instead of running away from the collective, I should be inside it trying to correct it.

The Zohar continues, “when judgment is hanging over the world, those who are known and registered separately, although they are righteous, are caught first.” Why? Because if a certain attribute of a person is aimed at bestowal, it is “caught first” and begins to operate in order to receive as the source of the Light lies specifically in it.

It is the same in our world, as Baal HaSulam says at the end of “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” that “judgment” strikes the best of us. Therefore people who reach the heights of attainment live in distress.

“The Creator’s mercy is always with all of the people together” because this is where correction is performed. So if we want to be corrected and to advance, we mustn’t detach ourselves from the public. We must do everything possible to be in it, to feel it as much as we can although it isn’t pleasant, and to worry about people, introducing knowledge, sensation, and everything possible to them just to make sure they advance. They are the Creator’s real goal and He is revealed only in our connection with the people, like the spark in the desire to receive.

Therefore it says, “I dwell within my people and I don’t want to be separated from them, as I was until today.”
[75107] 
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/2012, “The Role of Israel and the World” 

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For thousands of years, our development continues on the inanimate, vegetative, and animate stages, which are not simple at all since they are based on the shattering of the first spiritual entity (Man), meaning the split souls. Since the moment they were shattered, each broken element includes all others in it. Each particle acquired a chance to live: to receive and to bestow, to consume and to discharge.

All forms of existence emerged from two forces, receiving and giving. The desire for pleasure in its pure form cannot subsist on its own. It needs some force that acts against it, meaning that it requires the desire to bestow.

This is how matter (desire) develops until it reaches a human (speaking) phase, which in its turn also starts to progress. The human level of advancement needs special “treatment” in that it requires a higher intensity of spiritual power. That’s why a specific group of people called “Israel” transpired; the direct translation of the word “Israel” is “Yashar-El,” “straight to the Creator.”

After exiting Babylon, this group of people descended to Egypt in order to absorb additional, powerful desires while still being in a state of immense aspiration; it was called the “Egyptian exile.” After getting an additional portion of the desire to receive, this group was granted a chance to work with it in order to transform it into the desire for bestowal.

At that time, the world’s nations used to be at an average level from which this particular group of people fell to the degree of “minus four hundred (400) years, which stands for “Egyptian exile.” It dropped 400 steps in accordance with the full circle of development, four phases of the Direct Light.

While in Egypt, the group acquired additional desire, and along with the additional desire, the group exited Egypt, received the Torah, and rose to the level of the First Temple. However, it ws destroyed and fell; the Second Temple was constructed, but it again was destroyed. As a result, the group descended to the depth of the last (current) exile where we are all at this time.

The degree of the fall that happened during Egyptian slavery equals the level at the time when the Temples existed. All of the above happened to make us drop from our prior height and reach the final shattering (exile) that continues to this date. The downfall we are currently in is so deep that we simply cannot fall any lower. From here, we can rise together with other nations and complete our correction.

Each spiritual action triggers material consequences in this world. Thus, we are obligated to continue working in this material realm during the whole period of exile. Exile means separation from spirituality and the inability to produce any spiritual actions. However, since we act materialistically and pursue egoistic desires through our bodies rather than souls, we still fulfill preparatory work that is associated with the period of exile.

The last exile is coming to an end and we all have to transition to freedom. The difference between exile (Galut) and deliverance (Geula) is only in one letter “Aleph,” which stands for “revelation of the Creator.” This means that we have to attain the upper world to reach the state at which the Creator fills the whole universe.

The reality we live in today will stay intact. All we will do is add the upper Light, the power of bestowal, to our prior sensations and thoughts. They will fill the whole world in which we will discover the upper reality since we will obtain different corrected properties.

At that point, we will understand the essence of the preparatory work that we did previously by fulfilling material commandments since we were incapable of doing anything else while we were still in exile. Thus, after we manage to return to the physical land of Israel, our present day task is to rise to the spiritual land (desire) of Israel.

It is said: “Each action leaves a mark.” This applies even to material actions since we build spiritual acts on top of them. Prior generations were supposed to fulfill material work in this world, whereas our duty is to pursue spiritual activities. That is why we concentrate only on spiritual work: human intentions and desires, attitude to concealment and revelation, and the property of bestowal that we’re about to acquire.
[74092]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/12, The Zohar

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All of our many years of study (we have people who have already been studying for 10-15 years) are only intended to make you reach a state when you begin to work in the group, as you realize that there is nothing else. And everything that you have done over the course of many years was only intended to finally make you understand that the only thing that can change you and reveal to you that what you want is right in front of you, even though it is the very last step.

We usually take a very long time to get there, convincing ourselves and trying to somehow wriggle out of it, go somewhere aside. We study Kabbalah, do anything we need to do in regards to dissemination—anything at all—just to avoid working in the group.

And even once we already understand that there is no other solution, still, at the very last moment, we escape finding reasons to not participate in this process. We cannot allow ourselves to close our eyes, throw ourselves into the group, like in water, and completely disappear in it. A lot more time passes, months, sometimes even years, until a person finally enters the group.

But we can shorten this time with our joint effort, and we will try to do it.

The length of time a person has been studying does not matter, neither does his knowledge, whether he is smart or not, strong or weak, persistent, stable, or lazy. When you enter the group and join its common force, we “disappear” in it, you dissolve in the common qualities of your friends to such extent that you acquire the integration of all their abilities, and they all become yours.

No need to come up with excuses for yourself, such as I am still young, I am not yet ready for this, maybe after some time, at the next convention. Now! There must be no other thoughts! There is nothing else beside this place and this action that we must take.

And the action is very simple—try to perform the so-called First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph), rise as much as possible over our egoism without taking any of its persuasions, reasons, catches, and quirks into consideration; we must understand that this points to the faults in our aspiration, our intention.

When my intention and aspiration are not strong enough, I will feel something distracting me. And this every disturbance points to what I need to add to my intention to seriously direct it and make it strong enough in its size and vector. In other words, I need to be aimed straight towards the goal and to have enough strength to direct me towards it.

This is why we perceive disturbances as a given. We never resent them, we never become mad at ourselves; on the contrary, every time they appear, we rise above them, and invest ourselves even more into becoming closer with others.

The main thing is to have patience towards our friends, like we are patient with small children, our favorite small child. There is nothing we can do about it; it is also our egoism, which does not allow us to connect with others and shows us where we must bring ourselves closer and position ourselves.
[75085]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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