When a person is not tightly connected to the right environment he begins to draw away from the spiritual work, since the left line is so tempting!

These are not only physical temptations that temporarily distract you, that you can work out and return to the spiritual work, but also are temptations such as control, wealth, respect, praise, and knowledge.

You can probably imagine that if people who study the wisdom of Kabbalah were allowed to receive great wealth, it is doubtful that anyone could resist this temptation. If they were given palaces, yachts, and an army of servants, it would precede any other desire they may have. This is how a person is simply brainwashed. He turns into an animal in a golden cage.

He may also be given unlimited control. Suppose someone tells you: “We need you to be the president of the world. We want one person to manage everything. Anything that you desire will immediately be carried out in the world, through the whole human hierarchy.” At the same time it isn’t about the correction of the world and of people, but about ordinary technological evolution.

What can stop a person? Nothing.

You may also be tested not by wealth or domination but by fame: You are told that you are awarded the Noble Peace prize or that you are invited to speak before a prestigious forum. You are surrounded by flatterers who praise you and compliment you. Everyone looks up to you and is impressed by you! The Creator can present this kind of a show before you.

And the most important is knowing that society sees you as the wisest, smartest, most talented person of all. Knowledge is not wealth, nor power and glory. Ordinary human knowledge is to cover the whole universe; everyone looks at you as the only one who understands the secrets of the universe. Here the worship is much more significant since it is actually between the ego and the next level.

It is very hard to avoid temptations such as domination, wealth, fame, and knowledge along our spiritual path; in fact, it is impossible. We have to guard and protect students who are attracted to this. Therefore, in all the religions and in many societies, the son is usually next to his father so that he can pass down to him his life’s occupation. The son will never object and will always support and keep his father’s line since he wants to preserve his name and the character.

Educating students so they will be as loyal to you as your sons is very complex. In order to do that, one must tyrannize them, so that they will not break away from you, so that they will receive as many blows as possible during the years they are with you, and begin to realize why they get closer or draw away: for respect, for knowledge, or for wealth? So they will at least begin to feel these things.

I feel that students divert from the right path according to their internal distance from me, and according to the contempt they feel towards themselves. In that case I have to show them that it isn’t they who draw away from me but that it is I who draw away from them. If a student develops this correctly, he will understand that it isn’t actually drawing away but getting closer to me and then he will overcome everything. If he doesn’t, then nothing will happen.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/24/13

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