How Can We Reach The Gate Of Tears?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It says that we have to reach the “Gate of Tears.” How can we be sure that we are not deceiving ourselves?

Answer: We will not be able to deceive ourselves because we are shaken so strongly from above that we will have to come to the Creator with the right request for spiritual salvation. We simply have to try as much as we can to perform all the requirements, to hasten the process of our evolution, and we will certainly reach it. I promise you since I know from my own experience how this method works.

This is how we develop. The majority of the people who participate in our development are advancing forward, and I hope that it will soon be revealed in us.

Today, when we read the Torah and other Kabbalistic books, it becomes clearer that we are on the right track. You begin to feel and to understand what it says in those books. So don’t worry, sooner or later you will begin to cry.

Tears is a feeling of powerlessness, a state of smallness (this is called the “Gate of Tears”), when it isn’t in my power to do anything and I understand that only the Creator can perform everything in my place.

Question: But how can I be sure that I have really reached that and that I am not deceiving myself?

Answer: Don’t worry, you will be given the chance to understand this. Do everything that is up to you, and then suddenly new states will be revealed to you. These are the new Reshimot (spiritual genes). When they are revealed, a person begins to have new feelings. Just advance forward and you will see how everything is revealed by itself.
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From the Bulgaria Convention “Dawn Of A New World” Day Two 11/2/13, Lesson 4

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Asking For Others

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we demand the filling of the Light for people who seem to be suffering and at the same time justify the Creator?

Answer: First you have to go through corrections. I pray differently to the Creator: “Just as You are revealed to me as the good and the benevolent and there is nothing evil in what You do, it is by all the evil that you reveal that you direct me to the good and you reveal it to me in suffering and much greater pain than the pain I feel. Although I understand that it is for the best, I ask You to reveal Yourself to them a little in order to show them all Your goodness.”

Let’s ask this differently: How can we justify the Creator if we suffer? We gradually acquire the understanding that everything is for the best by the experience we acquire. All the bad things, the flaws, the darkness, “and there was evening and there was morning,” are revealed as the matter of the next level. We need this and so we don’t only justify this, but we also bless for the evil like for the good.

So when it comes to others, we feel that the world is suffering now and that we have to come to the Creator with this, but we have to turn to Him knowing that people actually need only one thing – the revelation of the Creator. Only His revelation will solve all their problems. It is because the abundance comes from the Light. So only then will they feel that they are rich, healthy, and successful.

So I turn to the Creator and say: “Please do them a favor so that the goodness will be revealed in them.” It hurts me when they curse Him.

A person who suffers curses the Creator automatically, wordlessly. This means that every state that is lower than the circle, than Ein Sof (Infinity) forces me to curse the Creator to that extent. It isn’t about logical conclusions, but the feeling itself is an indication of that.

Question: So how can I depict the revelation of the Creator in them and me correctly?

Answer: I don’t ask for the revelation of the Creator for myself. I only ask for the chance to serve Him and them, or more accurately, to serve Him by them. This is the work I have to do as the link.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/11/13, Shamati #3 “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

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Falling To The Bottom

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from ITAR-TASS): “In the near future, millions of people around the world may be in extreme poverty, providing only their physical survival. The middle class is being eroded by the fact that there is an increasing stratification between the rich and the poor. This year, the unemployment rate will reach a record high of 200 million people. …

“Scientists point out that chronic poverty is characterized by the point of no return, after which the hopes for changes for the better are lost. Usually, it takes three years, spent in extremely difficult circumstances. Over the past ten years, the number of poor people who display extreme passivity with respect to life has increased dramatically. They accept their plight and do not believe that they can change things for the better; they do not even want to look for some kind of work.

“The situation seems hopeless to the poor segments of society, and they are not ready to rise internally.”

My Comment: That is why integral education, which can give relief to the masses through unity, is especially desirable for them. As Marx wrote and Baal HaSulam emphasized, that he addressed not the bourgeoisie, but the oppressed masses, calling them to change themselves, to change society (See Baal HaSulam “The Last Generation”).

But as they distorted religion, replacing the commandment “Love thy neighbor” with only carrying out the requirements mechanically (See Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose“), so they ignored Marx’s message about changing society by changing the human being, thinking that it was possible to compel people to be altruistic by the force of KGB pressure. We must bring the method of integral education to the masses, and proceeding from changes in themselves, they will rebuild public relationships.
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He Elevated His Heart In The Ways Of The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Shamati #26, “One’s Future Depends and is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”: It is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” that only the low can see the greatness. The letters Yakar (precious) are the letters Yakir (will know). It means that one knows the greatness of a thing to the extent that it is precious to one.

One is impressed according to the importance of the thing. The impression brings one to a sensation in the heart, and according to the measure of one’s recognition of the importance, to that extent joy is born in him.

Our basis is opposite from the Creator. There are two desires: a desire to receive and a desire to bestow, which are opposite to one another because one stems from something from something and the other stems from something from nothing. So the more humble a person is, the more he acknowledges the Creator’s greatness.

It is very easy to see what the desire to receive appreciates. We are ready to bow before an important person, to admire an important phenomenon, only if our ego feels that they are important. A person spends his whole life searching for the feeling of stability, confidence, support…

However, if something is external to the desire to receive, it isn’t felt as an important factor that can bring desired pleasure or as a threat to what one already has; if it is not in contact with the desire to receive, then I need to create the awareness of its importance, a new awareness. How do I do that?

The condition, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” tells us that we must change.

After all, at least we have a desire to receive. So when we work persistently in order to identify its lowliness, we will be able to identify the greatness of the force of love and bestowal to the same extent. We see that one stems from the other, according to the principle of “the advantage of the Light from the darkness.”

We can do that only in the relations between the friends. The relations with the external world are not suitable for that because there are other standards there. In the group a person can make efforts in order to annul himself in a simple way, as much as he can, even without the right intention.

Then he sees that he isn’t any better than the others. On the contrary, it turns out that he is even worse than them in his attributes. The Light that Reforms influences him through the group and although a person doesn’t understand, he sees that the friends are more successful, have greater strength in annulling themselves, and more force for participating in the lessons, in connection, and in adhesion for the goal. At the same time, he sees that he can also do it. This is where the feeling of importance stems from, since it turns out that the Creator relates to him personally.

Thus, time after time, only when he measures himself in relation to the friends, can a person understand that on the one hand he is low and on the other hand he is worthy of something that he doesn’t deserve at all. He sees that all the other people are detached from the upper force, while he was rewarded with a special attitude from Him. This evokes the development of the vessels in him. He becomes more responsible for what he has received and feels that he is already responsible for others. It’s because he didn’t receive it thanks to his efforts or his personal achievements. No, the Creator has invited him to perform this special work and from now on he is responsible for the correction of the world.

This is how everyone should see himself because the correction of the world depends on him. No one else can correct what he will correct.

So a person feels that he is low and at the same time he understands that he has received a very important mission. The Creator, of course, only expects a person to be able to fulfill the mission and He is ready to help him in any way possible. A person needs only to prepare a prayer so that the Creator will complete what he has started (“The Lord will complete it for me”).

Thus he advances. When a person looks at the past, he understands that the Creator has prepared the whole way for him. He cannot do anything by himself, or expect anything in advance, since he doesn’t know how to advance. On the contrary, everything was prepared for him in advance from above.

Then a person feels gratitude for being in a group, for the fact that he has support from above, for the guidance that he has received up until now. It’s on this basis that he can be sure that if he advances and each time recognizes the lowliness of his nature, then he will feel the “Lord’s greatness” instead and that will fill him. Instead of empty pride “he elevated his heart in the ways of the Creator,” and thus advances.

This is why Baal HaSulam says that “one’s future depends and is tied to gratitude for the past” for his nature, of the progress he has made and of his current state. He sees that he hasn’t chosen his nature, his fate, and that he hasn’t planned his path, and didn’t design himself the way he is. Everything actually comes from Above, and so if he continues to advance he will subdue his ego and from that point onwards there will be a wonderful path to the future spread before him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/6/13, Shamati #26 “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”

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No Desire, No Thought

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Did I understand it correctly that thought precedes emotion?

Answer: We measure thought by the magnitude of desire to which it applies. Desire is experienced in the heart, and a thought in the mind. What is primary, and what is secondary?

On our side, desire precedes thought since when a person starts wanting, he experiences a thought about how to obtain what he desires. If I have no desire for something, I will never think about it.

A person is constantly bombarded by the desires of this world and he is in turmoil because they pull him in different directions. How do we check the thought so we don’t get confused?

A thought can be discerned only when a person becomes part of the group and receives greater desire from it. The group gives him certain values, its own values, and if he is included in the group, he accepts its values and desires, and then the desire awakens to realize the new thought he received from the group. Desire always precedes thought.

Basically, we don’t possess a thought per se; we desire! If there are desires, there are thoughts; if not, there are no thoughts. The greater the desire is, the greater the thought.
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From Kab TV’s “Kabbalah for Beginners,” 10.21.10

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Becoming A Part Of The Creator’s Thought

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If the Creator is a thought, then having attained similarity of properties with the Creator, do I also become a thought?

Answer: When we fulfill the Plan of creation, we also become part of this thought. The Creator created desire in the created being in order to give it an opportunity to exist, to be tangible and real. In order to exist outside the Creator, we need matter, which is called desire. But the possibility to become similar to the Creator, merge with Him, and achieve adhesion is accomplished solely by way of thought. The Creator wishes to delight us and He does by means of thought. If we wish to bestow to Him, we also do it by way of a thought. Thought prevails over everything. This regards man as well. In every one of us, there are various desires but we evaluate a person based on his ability to think.
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From Kab TV’s “Kabbalah for Beginners,” 10.21.10

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11.14.13

Preparation to the Lesson

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Shamati #56Torah Is Called Indication

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The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet (Genesis),” Item 289

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 2, Item 5

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Writings of Baal HaSulam,The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 11.13.13

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
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Although You Cannot See Anything In Advance …

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Letter 57: I haven’t revealed this truth to you so you would not weaken and give up on the mercy. And although you don’t see anything, for even when the measure of labor is complete, it is the time of prayer. But until then, believe in our sages: “I did not labor and found, do not believe.”

When the measure is full, your prayer will be complete, and the Creator will grant generously, as our sages instructed us, “I labored and found, believe,” for one is unfit for a prayer prior to it, and the Creator hears a prayer.

Our desire is able to achieve everything it desires. The only question is whether it wants this. This is the state that we should bring it to, having developed it to a complete perfect desire, because only this desire works in spirituality.

In the material world, it is possible to pretend, to play some games as if we want to because this world is false. In this world, everything happens within the desire itself, instead of being clarified in the confrontation between the two desires: the desire to receive and the desire to bestow. And if everything is taking place within the same desire, then we are free to fantasize anything we want. After all, in essence, it does not change anything.

All the creation is evaluated only in the area of the interaction between the two desires: receiving and bestowal, the created being and the Creator. And there, in any moment, in any state, in every part of the desires, only one true desire acts, that is, the desire that has reached its fourth and final stage “Behina Dalet.”

So, if you have not been rewarded the correction of your desire to enjoy bestowal this means that you have not reached the last, fourth stage of the desire and you should work more. It is all determined by whether you ask with the true prayer, that is, have reached the fourth state or not.

And this depends on your efforts; you are obliged to “All that is in your power, that do.” That is why we need to check whether we carry out all the advices of Kabbalists and work according to this. And if not, of course you will get nothing. Strict laws act here. In the spiritual world, there is a full HaVaYaH (complete desire). If you have not reached the full HaVaYaH, the fourth stage of desire, then this trigger does not work; you do not attract the Light that Reforms that will change you from egoism to bestowal. It is possible to rise to the next level and achieve revelation only with the help of the Light.

The revelation of the Creator is the revelation of the desire to enjoy in a person that turns into bestowal. This is what is called the revelation of the Creator, because the Creator is the property of bestowal that is manifested in the person when he wants to bestow.

But do you truly want that? It cannot be that you have made every effort imposed on you and it did not happen. According to the law, it has to happen! Therefore, even if you cry out, you need to check whom you are addressing. It is as if the Creator does not hear your cry because it is a law that cannot be transgressed. All these cries are only to awaken yourself, force you to work, to make efforts, and eventually to complete the measure assigned to you.

Baal HaSulam says that you need to know about it in advance so as not to despair and to not give up. Until the very last moment, even the moment before you complete the entire measure of your efforts, you will not know that you have come to the finish. That is why it is called a find; you will obtain the force of bestowal, which you did not know about. Even then, on each next degree, you find something completely new.

Therefore, it is said, “I labored and found!” But this find is a result of all the labors is revealed according to the strict law, which cannot be transgressed.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/11/13

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Cultivating The Land The Seed Was Planted In

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Freedom”: If he were to leave the good environment he had chosen and fall into a harmful environment, in a city where there is no Torah, not only would his former concepts be compromised, but all the other forces hidden in his source, which he had not yet revealed in action, would remain concealed. This is because they would not be subject to the right environment that would be able to activate them.

And as we have clarified above, only in the matter of the choice of environment is man’s reign over himself measured, and for this he should receive either reward or punishment. And so our sages warned, “Make for yourself a Rav, and buy for yourself a friend.

A person has only a Reshimo (spiritual gene), a spiritual seed. But if we don’t plant it in the ground, if we don’t put it in the right environment, it will not develop. So Kabbalists first and foremost always took care of the environment, so that there would be at least two people, as it says, “the minority of many is two,” which means a student and his teacher. If there are several students then a group of friends is formed in which everyone works equally.

So first we should make sure that the environment is right: that everyone is equal, that everyone annuls himself before the others, and that there are no other external goals, only the goal of connection in order for the Creator to be revealed between us. The goal of the wisdom of Kabbalah, the purpose of creation, is the revelation of the Creator to the created beings, as the good and the benevolent, and His desire to delight the created beings.

So our advancement depends on how much we worry about the right and real environment. In a big environment such as ours that manages many different projects, there are several societies and the same people are in different relationships with one another.

We have to make sure that all the forms of external relations are only for external dissemination and external work. The main thing is that in our united inner group everyone is equal, everyone nullifies himself before the others, lowers his head before one goal, and increases its importance. There is nothing more important than this, our general unity and connection as one man in one heart.

This inner connection in a group has to be the most important thing for us. All the other connections, whether according to our professions, to fulfilling different goals, individual jobs or tasks, are arranged according to another principle, like a company. But this external attitude has nothing to do with the group. The group is something that is based on spiritual rules alone, and we need to constantly take care of it.

There is a some external life without which we cannot exist in our corporeal bodies, and there is a sublime goal that is eternal and whole for which our soul exists. We have to worry about the internal group so that it should be clean and accurately built according to the principles Baal HaSulam, Rabash, and all the other Kabbalists through the ages wrote about.

It is very important not to confuse the two. We can stop or change the external engagements in a moment, but the main thing is to keep the inner structure of the environment in which everyone is equal and united. This is how we advance.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/10/13

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