A person decides what to consider the day and what the night: what is good for him and what is bad. Sometimes, he is given awakening, raising of the spirit, great light, and he understands how wonderful it is to enjoy and come closer to spirituality. He calls it day, but in reality, it is light in his egoistic desire. Egoism enjoys, and this is not called spiritual advancement.

Or maybe he feels in the dark, exhausted, but his mind understands that this state is useful for advancement. And although in his desire to enjoy he experiences unpleasant sensations, it is said: “I sleep, but my heart is awake.” The desire to enjoy feels darkness, but the point in the heart—Light. A person understands that this darkness is useful for him, descent precedes ascent, and he needs to prepare even greater desires for this. And the desire comes from darkness.

That is why it all depends on what a person values, what he considers the day and what the night—in his sleeping egoistic heart or in the point in the heart, which is burning and yearning for spirituality.

If a person begins to separate one from the other, then he already has two points, according to which he can aim and direct himself exactly to the goal. One point is his ego. And it is good that egoism does not feel anything good. The darker I feel in my egoism, the greater my desire (Aviut) will be above which the point seeking the goal exists.

The main thing is to separate these two points and all the time hold them correctly against each other, finding out with what I identify myself. Do I choose the direction that leads me to the Creator, although my path lies in the dark, do I consider it good? Then, I can be sure that I move correctly because my egoism is not interested in rushing there, like a thief, running ahead of everybody else and shouting: “Catch the thief!”

My ego does not want darkness, and I rise above ego, above reason, and want my bestowal to be above reception. And this is a good state in which my day and the day of the Creator are the same day.

And if I suffer that I feel bad and have no interest in advancing, it means that I follow my desire to enjoy, my ego. I run there where my egoistic heart, but not the point in the heart, calls me: This is the difference.

We need to try to divide ourselves into two parts: the point in the heart, which faithfully adheres to the goal, to bestowal in any situation, no matter what happens, and the heart itself, which is always eager to receive. Its appetite is growing constantly. Darkness reigns in my heart, and there is a ray of Light in the point in the heart; this means that I directed myself correctly. And I achieve this through the environment, group, external force, which is needed to pull the point in the heart out of the egoistic heart and aim it at the goal.
[74550]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/5/12

Related Material:
The Wicked Have Their Own Truth
Night As Day
I Awaken The Dawn

Filed under: Body and Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Group Work, Perception - No Comments →

Question: Each time I go to a convention, I feel a kind of heaviness, a burden that pulls us to the ground. You said that this would soon pass and we would feel the unity. How is it possible to get rid of this heaviness? What can help us?

Answer: The only force that can help us against our ego is the importance of the goal, the importance of the group as a means of attaining the goal. But the most important thing is the goal.

If we work on the importance of the goal so that it becomes the most important thing, we won’t feel that the ego disturbs us. We will begin to feel that the ego is a sign of the places within us that we still need to correct. It shows us where you can still make efforts, where you can still correct something.

It’s like a broken car engine: In the place where something is knocking, the valve needs to be adjusted, in the place where something is whistling, the connections need to be fixed, and where it is heating, water needs to be added or something needs to be cleaned.

Your ego works in the same way, showing what is still uncorrected in you. If you advance towards the goal, if you want to direct yourself correctly, you discover the ego as “help against you. ”It pulls you by the legs, and this means that you don’t have enough strength. Here you must add strength and then advance forwards.

If you didn’t have this indicator, you wouldn’t know what you need to correct, just like in the engine or, for example, in our body. The biggest problem in the physiology of the body is the diseases that progress without us feeling it. During this period they don’t even cause pain or any other negative sensations. While if I feel unpleasant sensations, I immediately go to a doctor and stop the disease in the beginning of its development, and not when it already reaches a state where it isn’t possible to cure or to operate it.

That is, we need to relate to the ego correctly and rationally; we have to interact with it and not just annul it: “I don’t want you! I hate you!” No, the ego is support along our way.
[74108] 
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 1

Related Material:
An Opening For The Light
Not Good To Be Ignorant Of Your Illness
The Eternal Engine

Filed under: Conventions, Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, Q&A - No Comments →

Here are some pictures from the European Kabbalah Convention that took place in Vilnius, Lithuania March 23-25, 2012.

[Show slideshow]

Filed under: Conventions, Events - No Comments →

Question: In order to come out of Egypt our ego has to go through the “ten plagues,” what does that mean?

Answer: The ten plagues of Egypt are the ten plagues that a person feels on himself, on his ego, which help him get rid of the ego. If I didn’t feel the blows, I would want to stay in the ego. But because I feel the blows while in my ego, they help me break away from it.

Each blow is stronger in quality than the previous one. Suppose I lost everything that I have in gambling, (although it isn’t about that at all), the next blow can be the loss of someone dear, etc. Actually nothing in the world happens with money and not with one’s relatives and not with anything, but the inner feeling is as if you lose everything.

There is an article in the book Shamati about that, when a person enters spirituality he thinks that he leaves the whole world, his family, and that he is detached from everything. This detachment is necessary. The ten plagues help us rise systematically above certain layers of our ego until we totally exit it, which means that we escape it.

Above the last level we are in total darkness making one more effort. The darkness symbolizes that we don’t know what is expected ahead. But since we are headed towards the attribute of bestowal, the darkness helps us.

If you are moving forward towards the Light, your ego is only too happy about it. But when you are moving forward in the dark, you can be sure that the ego will not disturb you, won’t do you any evil, and won’t take everything for itself afterward.

Question: That means that this is some kind of a trick?

Answer: This “trick” was in Egypt before the ten plagues, when no matter how hard we tried, everything was aimed at the ego. Therefore, “The children of Israel cried from the work” in building the two cities Pithom and Ramses.

Here, however, this is it, here we are headed towards the dark and not towards the Light as we were used to saying. What is more, all these blows and all the advancement are based only on our growing connection, which brings the group to this state where on the one hand the ego is revealed, the great internal hatred, and on the other hand, the clear recognition that only mutual guarantee can lead the group forward. What does that mean?

When you see that there is great hatred, you are ready to connect with everyone in order not to ever worry about anything for yourself, but only about others. All your enemies are also ready to care about one another. This readiness is revealed despite the great hatred, when you can’t even imagine how it is possible to wish these people good, and that you now have to think about them as the most important thing and in no way think of yourself. A serious, juicy detachment from the ego is taking place here!
[74545]
From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 4/1/12

Related Material:
There Is No Advancement Without Obstacles
Only The One Who Is Ready For Everything Will Be The One Who Escapes
The Ten Plagues Of Egypt Redefined

Filed under: Egoism, Inner Work, Mutual Guarantee, Q&A - 1 Comment →

Question: Can the Book of Exodus help us get out of egoism?

Answer: The fact is that any spiritual action must first be reflected in our world. That is why the story of getting out of egoism was first shown in a small group of people, and today it is repeated in the whole world.

No book in the world can help us with that. Only by passing the stages of correction, will we be able to understand and comment on it correctly.

This is a problem because people read it like a historical novel. But I see in it the description of the most serious internal changes in a person, which he must pass through in relation to the group and together with it, finding within himself a force that is called “Moshe” (Moses) from the word “Limshoch” (to pull out). This force pulls the group out of egoism and raises it to the revelation of the Creator.

Moshe is the point of connection that we reveal between us, and which guides us. The upper Force is revealed inside this point.

Thus, we come to Mount Sinai, to the mountain of hatred, around which we stand. It divides us, and we see only hatred in front of us, but we stand around it because we have nowhere to go.

In spite of this hatred, we have to guarantee for each other in our collective mutual guarantee. But if we get stuck in hatred, in egoism, that will be the place of our spiritual death.

Question: But after the exodus from Egypt, there was no state when a whole group got out of egoism. Next, only individuals exited, but not groups. There is no such experience. What should we do?

Answer: You should continue to work. And we are doing it. What is the difference? The work in the group was described then, so it came from there: “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” “from the love of friends to love for the Creator.” That is all described in those sources.

That is why there are no other principles. The spiritual system, the system of all the worlds does not change; it is manifested in the same way just on the lower layers of egoism, which must be corrected. But the laws remain the same.
[74543]
From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 4/1/12

Related Material:
The Escape To Unity
A Leap To Freedom
Exile Is Separation From Brothers

Filed under: Egoism, Group Work, Mutual Guarantee, Q&A - No Comments →

Question: It is written, “I, HaVaYaH, do not change.” What does this symbolize in our work?

Answer: The Light comes from Above, and it is all bestowal. It is good and benevolent, and it created “existence from absence,” something from nothing, a desire that is absolutely controlled by receiving. It only wants to feel good.

Then, the Light begins to develop the desire by putting it through four phases. As a result, it doesn’t feel itself simply as Light, but as the one who receives, who is opposite to the source. This summons shame, a terrible feeling, and it has nothing more than that.

It turns out that receiving is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong in being the opposite, but these two factors together create a feeling in me that I cannot bear. It tears me to pieces, and I am ready to do anything just to not remain in this state even one second longer. I am ready to do anything. Even committing suicide is no problem. The main thing is not to suffer, not to bear this oppositeness.

This is true shame. We don’t know it. We use the word, but we don’t know what it means. In Part One of The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Reflection,” Baal HaSulam says that shame was prepared for the high souls, and they are the ones that discover it. This is because, in order to do so, one has to feel the Creator, His pure bestowal, and one’s own pure receiving to the fullest. One contradicts the other.

The process that is described here flows from the top down and is called “the four phases of the Direct Light.” So, by its influence, the Light leads the created being through his development.

This is the structure of HaVaYaH: the tip of Yod, Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey. This structure is fixed, and it appears this way from the top down.

Until now, the development was done by the Direct Light. From this point onward, it is your turn. However, you feel terrible shame. It simply burns you from the inside, and you can’t bear it. Therefore, from now on, you won’t be able to relax until you balance the shame.

First, you want to escape it, but that doesn’t change anything. Everything remains the same. It isn’t possible to relax, and you have to change yourself, but how can you do that?

The created being simply “goes crazy.” The shame tears him from his place, tears him from his desires, and keeps on pushing him forward to end of the road. He cannot rest until the one who receives and the one who bestows become equal in their bestowal.

Only when we reach Gmar Tikun (the end of correction) will we stop changing. Then, the shame will disappear, and the oppositeness between the Creator and us will disappear.

So, the Creator says “I, HaVaYaH, do not change,” which means only that I brought this process down. However, this is enough to not allow us to rest until Gmar Tikkun.

Only then will we reach harmony and begin changing together with Him, according to Him. The Creator won’t be the first. We will merge with Him into one to such an extent that all the differences in thought, in our desire, and in every other way will disappear. We will start everything together in cooperation.
[74047]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
Shame Is The Opposite Of Perfection
Shame Of Inequality
Four Steps Towards The Light

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, My Similarity to the Creator, Q&A, Suffering - 1 Comment →

Until the “Exodus from Egypt,” we go through many different periods, adventures, and states that are quite dramatic where we stand before the egoistic force trying to do something with it. On the whole, we don’t need to fight it; we should only aim ourselves at the right connection among us. Then this force will help us.

It is constantly evoked, creating interruptions and problems, which you should solve by mutual cooperation with others. You solve them by rising above them; you are building love above hate.

It is impossible to reach anything without obstacles. They are what help us unite, just as other obstacles and minor problems give a taste to love. Otherwise it would be one continuous feeling, which would be tasteless and totally not understood.

We should prepare ourselves for these states, so that each time, when we are repelled by the unity among us, we will immediately respond to it correctly.

If a person is depressed, feels dissatisfied, disappointed, powerless, he should understand that he must forcefully “bring” himself into the group and then his eyes will immediately open up. And he will feel life and different emotions.
[74483]
From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 4/1/12

Related Material:
Working With Disturbances
Using Obstacles For Our Benefit
Working With Disturbances

Filed under: Egoism, Group Work, Holidays - No Comments →

Preparation to the Lesson
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Shamati #159 “And It Came to Pass in the Course of Those Many Days“
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Zohar for All – Passover “Bo (Come Unto Pharaoh),” and “Pass Over the Lentil and the Two Mezuzahs (Doorposts),” Item 75
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 15, Item 37
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Writings of Rabash, “True Prayer Is for True Luck”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2012-04-07_declamation_blog-rav_full_mus.mp3 title=’7.4.12′]

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog - No Comments →

Now we are in a state when our whole group is coming out of Egypt, and the entire humanity is following it. We must realize our group’s exit from egoism. Once we are able to do that, all of humanity will rush after us automatically.

Humanity will feel that none of them have a method of salvation. People will feel that they cannot exist any longer if they do not follow us.

Every day, it will be manifested more and more. People will begin to discover that the world is actually empty, that it has no idea. That is what is interesting: The world was always full of various ideas: socialist, communist, scientific, political, and so on. And today, everything is gradually fading away.

And we begin to grow ourselves against the background of this picture. The spiritual group will radiate strength, method, and the goal—absolutely everything! No one else will have anything like it.

Nevertheless, due to powerlessness, due to uncertainty, more reactionary forces will awaken, and all sorts of crises, conflicts, and, possibly, wars will arise.

But it depends on how soon we rise and how quickly we can succeed in dissemination so that everyone sees that there is a precise method of salvation and it is not so unrealizable. Anyway, there is no other choice—we must be under this eternal force of nature, which is ready to help us only if we work in harmony with it.
[74541]
From a TV Program “Foundations of the Integral Society” 4/1/2012 

Related Material:
We Are The First!
A Buffer Between Nature And Humanity
Freedom From Exile For The Entire World

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