Question: If a student is connected his teacher, can a student do something against the teacher’s will, consciously or by mistake, and thus turn off his spiritual tap? How does this system work?

Answer: The tap will be turned off in any case because the law of the lack of equivalence of form operates. In that case there cannot be a connection between us and there is a breach. Now this connection has to be renewed and it depends on what caused the breach, on how I caused it. Do I have to go through the four stages of correction, do I have to feel the depth of the upper’s greatness, the recognition of exile, which means the absolute disconnection?

I may have been wrong by mistake and I may have done it on purpose. The way the sin was committed makes the whole difference. There are cases in which after committing a murder a person escapes to a city of refuge or is sentenced to death, and there are cases when nothing is done to a person when it occurred during a military conflict or if defending oneself from an attack by someone armed with a knife. There are different cases, but this is related to correction, to the reconstruction of the connection.

If I don’t have the same desire as my teacher and I don’t delight him in any way, I am simply not connected to him in any way. If I want to delight my teacher in order to receive something in return, I am in contact with him but this connection is according to the Surrounding Light. I establish it, but in the meantime, in an alternative manner, not directly. I cannot relate to my teacher directly and delight him. I delight him only so that I will benefit from him, which means in order to receive, but in fact I want to delight him and through him to delight the Creator.

I plan this chain, but in the meantime I don’t know how to do it. It’s as if I have already chosen the right direction according to my capability, according to my attributes. This is called working indirectly, between GE and AHP, but in the meantime, I have no such connection. I don’t annul myself before the upper, but am connected to Him through the Surrounding Light. It is only if I cannot be in direct contact with Him according to my nature, which means that I am compelled.

But if it isn’t clear that I work against his will, there is no hope that I will receive anything from him. This is how we begin to feel that we have a different, new mind. It’s as if I stop making any accounts on the level of this world, according to my common sense, with my thoughts and my solutions, since this account is totally incompatible with our system.
[128514]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/14, Topic of Lesson “Teacher”

Related Material:
A Boomerang Always Comes Back To You
Internal Disagreement With The Teacher Leads To External Distance
The Connection Between The Teacher And The Student

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”: Now you can understand what our sages said (Berachot 7): “Serving in the Torah is greater than studying it, as it is said, ‘Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.’ It did not say studied, but poured.” This is perplexing; how can simple acts be greater than studying the wisdom and the knowledge?

But according to the above, we thoroughly understand that serving one’s Rav with one’s body and soul in order to bring contentment to one’s Rav bring one to Dvekut with one’s Rav, that is, to equivalence of form. Thus, one receives the thoughts and knowledge of the Rav by way of “mouth-to-mouth,” which is Dvekut of spirit with spirit. By that, one is rewarded with obtaining His greatness sufficiently to turn bestowal into reception, to become sufficient fuel for devotion, until one is rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator.

If there is a corrected intention, then certainly the study will be more important than everything. However, since the intention is not corrected, then necessarily the study will be for oneself. Therefore, the student must do everything possible to give contentment to the Elyon (upper) to the degree that he cannot make him happy by studying with the intention of giving contentment to the Creator. So, the maximum that remains for him is material actions.

Even though the action is also with an intention to receive, but the doing itself remains and therefore attracts the Light to it. In spite of this, in some way, the lower transmits to the higher what is in his power to transmit. As it is written, “Whatever your hand attains to do [as long as you are] with your strength, do” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). So, a connection is created between them in which each gives to the other. Therefore, Elisha did the right thing by pouring water on the hands of Elijah.

Serving the teacher in body and soul means acting according to the teacher’s desire. In particular, this relates to dissemination because this is the main thing that the Kabbalists recommended for us since they are our spiritual ancestors. Therefore, by involvement with dissemination, it is as if we are giving to them, are serving them, and to this degree, we attract the Light that Reforms to us through them. There is no greater bestowal to the higher than the continuation of his activities, his Torah, and his teaching, and bringing a greater and greater amount of souls to him in order to unite them and bring them to the Creator who will fill them; it is specifically with this that we give Him contentment.
[128440]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/14, Topic of Lesson: “Teacher”

Related Material:
Internal Disagreement With The Teacher Leads To External Distance
The Connection Between The Teacher And The Student
External Help For The Sake Of An Inner Connection

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Dissemination, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “The Rose,” Item 1  

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 11   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 1   

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_2014-03-04_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’4.3.14′]

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

Opinion (Leonid Savin, Chief Editor of the magazine and portal Geopolitics): “Many political analysts talk about the threat of fascism in the world. This is a new totalitarian ideology, but with softer methods of influence on their own citizens of people of foreign countries.

“Modern society has come to a state when little depends on the will of ordinary voters; they have become cogs in the machine of technocratic suppression of their viewing and listening. This friendly fascism operates more subtly than the usual one.

“It justifies suppression by the need to protect human rights and civil liberties, while destroying traditional values of society (the legalization of gay marriage and distortions). There are seven categories in the new form of fascism.

1. “The type of power structure. At the confluence of big capital and the state apparatus, there is a new ideology of the art of governing and duping people – of managing political processes in the form of the society of the spectacle, where attractive imposed images hide real meanings.
2. The method of suppressing opposition is through covert subversion.
3. The method of destruction of the unwanted is inciting ethnic conflicts, by seeking “external threats,” by organizing riots.
4. The methods of persuasion are the media, information warfare, which purpose is to subordinate the consciousness of the elite and paralyze the masses.
5. The methods of encouraging “good” behavior are measured awards in the form of ranks.
6. The distractions are the media, comfort, sex, psychoactive substances, religious sects, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, sports, scenes of extreme violence.
7. The type of survivability of the system is inner vitality.

“The new fascism is fascism with a smile – pretty to look at and to hear. The project of “Eastern Partnership,” which became the cause of the current political crisis in Ukraine is also one of such tools, initiated by Washington, but promoted by the EU under the guise of common values and using the “soft power” of Brussels.

My Comment: In any case, the current type of manipulation of the population will result in failure for its managers. The dissemination of the method of integral education will help accelerate the realization of what is happening and the smooth transition to a new integral community.
[128863]

Related Material:
Liberalism Today Is Fascism
Euromaidan: America Vs. Europe – To Wreak Havoc In The State
The Global Elite Is Against People

Filed under: Crisis - No Comments →

Question: Is the inner concern we feel regarding the public’s suffering the right indicator for building the spiritual Kli?

Answer: When we invest our forces in working with the public, we want to succeed for egoistic reasons. Therefore it’s easy for us to continue this work. We invest so much in these people that we already feel them as if they are relatives and we want their success. Therefore dissemination expands our vessels. If we are “cooked” only within the group, ultimately it will degenerate and remain in a static state. We will find it more and more difficult to take steps toward one another and to come closer to each other. This is really what happens.

But if we take care of people, we begin to be concerned for their advancement and success. It’s reasonable that we will advance together with our students, even though each one of them advances according to his level. And when you come from your students to friends, then you already relate to them differently, not like before.

It’s very difficult to reach an immediate and strong connection directly with people who are on the same level with you so as to be like one man with one heart. But only after you are concerned about the people who are on a lower level than you, do you soften and get the feeling of bestowal within your desire to receive, and as a result of this, you will pass to that inclination a desire to bestow toward the friends.
[128566]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/14

Related Material:
Working With Our Desires Independently
Looking At The World And Empathizing With The Suffering
All Who Feel The Sorrows Of The Public Merit Consolation

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

After the beginning stages of the right connection with the group, it’s necessary to continue through studying of The Book of Zohar with the same method that the students learned with Rabbi Shimon. They wrote this book themselves, revealed the levels, the spiritual states, and expressed them in writing. Rabbi Shimon taught, Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Elazar explained what he said.

The Ramchal described this in the book, Adir BaMarom: And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the secrets of the Torah, and the friends listened to his voice, and they joined with him in this connection, each one answering for his part. That is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai wanted, that a book would be written that would include the sayings of all the members of his Yeshiva, and the book would be written about the Torah, for other writings speak about particular ideas, yet The Zohar that is made about the Torah is called the great opening of the entire Torah. And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai commanded Rabbi Abba to be the writer and arrange all the things that the sages of the Yeshiva said, whenever and wherever they were, everything arranged according to the order in the Torah.

That is also how we must get along in groups in order to study The Book of Zohar, and then its Light will influence us. If we make an effort to be like the students of Rabbi Shimon in order to connect together so that all of us will be like one man with one heart and with love of friends, then the Light will influence us and will give us a greater sense of connection. And within this, we will begin to discover the network of connections between us called a Partzuf of ten Sefirot.

First within these ten Sefirot, the smallest Light will appear, Ohr Nefesh de Nefesh de Nefesh. But this is already a breath, some kind of feeling of the spiritual world. Although I still cannot act independently, I am found and exist in the spiritual world. So we develop the relationships between us more and more; we discover Ruach de Nefesh de Nefesh, and so on.

We begin to understand more and to feel the connection between us. The quality of our Partzuf gradually grows, and the general Light will begin to be clearer and clearer within it, in that it reveals its relationship to the Kli. This is how we reach a feeling for the general program that operates between us and we understand what is happening between us, what is happening in all of reality, in the entire world, and in all the worlds.

All this will be revealed within the ten Sefirot of the connection between us, exactly as the ten students of Rabbi Shimon discovered it when they were connected only within their group. They weren’t connected with the rest of the world at all nevertheless they discovered all of the infinite reality.

In other words, all of the means are in our hands. And in the meantime, the world deteriorates becoming darker and more sinister. It is written about these times that insolence will be multiplied beyond measure and all the problems and all kinds of misfortunes will befall the world. But we must understand that all of this is happening specifically because the Light is approaching our world, and the world must be more and more adapted to the Light. And if it doesn’t accommodate itself to the Light, then instead of Light, it will see Darkness, because it is in properties opposite to the Light. And therefore our obligation is immediately to begin to explain to the world what our best future depends upon. That it’s only through connection between us and thanks to The Book of Zohar that all of us can go out from the exile, from this Darkness.

Therefore, I am happy that we have begun to translate The Book of Zohar into several languages. We hope that this convention will be a good beginning for the acceptance of this gift that we have received: The Book of Zohar, and from here on we will continue with the correction with a much greater power than we have had until now.
[128545]
From the World Zohar Week “World Zohar Convention,” Day One 2/5/14, Lesson 2

Related Material:
Opening The Book
Not Just A Book
The Book of Zohar And The New Generation

Filed under: Conventions, Dissemination, Group Work, Spiritual Work, Zohar - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 64: …with respect to the wisdom of the Torah, it is increasingly revealed in the latter generations. This is so for the reason we have mentioned, that the overall measure is completed specifically by the latter ones. This is why more complete Lights are extended to them, although their own essence is far worse.

This stems from the reverse order of between vessels and Lights. The purer and more refined the vessels are the less Light is in them, even though these vessels are expressed and corrected by the vessels that precede them. And conversely, the greater and deeper the “thickness” of the vessels, the more difficult it is to correct them. In contrast to this, the Lights in them are greater and are revealed by means of their correction.

These lights are specifically clothed in the finest and most refined vessels, being that the Lights are implemented in the order of NRNHY, while the order of the correction of the vessel is KHB ZON. In other words, the vessels are revealed from Keter to Malchut, from the highest to the lowest, whereas with the Lights it’s the opposite, from Nefesh to Yechida, from the smallest to the greatest. They are linked between them in such a sequence.

This principle is not simple and confuses us and it’s very difficult for our understanding of the reciprocal relationships within the system in general, in every world and between the worlds. Sometimes we simply need to accept this as a general rule, as a law, until this gradually “settles” and is integrated with new internal vessels. And only after a person feels the essence does he begin to understand it. In the beginning the feeling comes within the corrected vessels to a particular degree; after that, understanding comes. So intellect always follows feeling.

People who are not linked to the inner essence of the Torah and are guided by their external intellect don’t understand this principle and therefore don’t see the uniqueness of our time and generation. They are familiar with the process of general deterioration; yet together with this, they remove themselves from the responsibility to correct the world. They suppose: “If we have deteriorated so much already, then all that is left for us is only to hope for the coming of the Messiah.”

Yet this is not right. Our generation is the most important for the general goal. And even though we are bent under the heavy burden of our ego, it is intended that we will work on it and will not be rid of it. Through work like this, we attract very great Lights for the highest souls that are beginning to correct humanity, and these souls are Adam, Abraham, and so forth. And we receive a thin and small Light according to our place in the general system, and we advance in this way until we reach the complete ten Sefirot of the entire creation.

Then in fact, we reach attainment and understand what difficult work we have carried out. Even if we were to make a mistake and be confused, even though we don’t succeed in solving and interpreting, even though we have erred and violated, this is unimportant. Otherwise it is impossible. In the end everything will reach the right analysis, the true account, and only then, on the highest level, can we correctly evaluate our state and discern its significance. And in the meantime, it’s up to us to proceed with “faith above reason” and believe in Baal HaSulam who wrote that the first generations were significant because of their refined desires, whereas we are significant because of our “thickness.”
[128454]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
And The Main Illumination Is Left In The Root
A Hundred Years Of Suffering
The Era Of Excessive Fermentation Of The Ego

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

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Section 63: ….this is the rule in all the Partzufim (plural for Partzuf) of the worlds and of the souls, that the purer one is the first to be selected into the Partzuf. Therefore, the purer Kelim, HBD, were selected first in the world and in the souls.

Thus, the souls in the first two millennia were much Higher. Yet, they could not receive the full measure of Light, due to the lack of the lower parts in the world and in themselves, which are HGT NHYM.

Baal HaSulam explains the gradual decline in the generations, as a result of it, our generation is the lowest and has sunk to the bottom.

Today we don’t know where we came from, where we are going and why. We don’t know our root or our purpose, or what we need to do in our lives. We have no connection with the sources; essentially we have no concept of what the Torah and Mitzvot are in their true and inner sense.

For what and why we are alive? What is the reason for our lives? All this is unknown to us. There are no longer any of the great Kabbalists who could lead us as shepherds, guides. But the main thing is that the connection with the source, with the foundations of the nation, is lost; it has disappeared. And therefore, we are found in total darkness.

It’s not by accident that we find ourselves in this darkness. This is because the revelation of the Creator to the creature, from beginning to end, is divided into six thousand levels that are called the “six thousand years.”

We begin to count these levels from the first revelation of the Creator to the creature, who is called, Adam HaRishon. This was the first human who discovered the Creator; this was the first Reshimo to be realized, meaning that he corrected himself. And further, from him until the last Reshimo that must correct itself, six thousand levels must be traversed which are divided into three periods of two-thousand years each: HBD, HGT, NHY.

From this it’s understandable to us that the decline of the generations is not derived from anyone’s fault. From the start, we had to descend to the present state, until our present life. And precisely from this wretched life, from the deep abyss, we can begin the ascent to the summit. Then we will understand how great the difference is between the vessel and the Light, and thanks to this we can truly appreciate the Creator.
[128364]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
A Hundred Years Of Suffering
The Guides Of The Last Generation
The Era Of Excessive Fermentation Of The Ego

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Israel, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: It says that the Light is revealed according to a person’s need and desire (yearning) for the Light. But how can we long for it if we don’t remember anything about the shattering?

Answer: We can long for something that we never had and not necessarily for something that is lost. I can long for some special car that costs a lot of money. This means that I feel pain because I don’t have the Light and constantly feel a hunger, a deficiency, a desire for it.

It can also be interpreted as longings for a past filling since we have its Reshimo (reminiscence). We don’t awaken to anything if a new Reshimo isn’t wakened in us because we are in a closed system of all of reality. There was a desire to receive that was shattered and all its parts drew away from one another, but there is a chain of Reshimot in each part that should recreate its connection with the other parts, until they are all connected into one whole vessel.

If we feel a yearning, if we feel sorry about something or long for it, then it means that we already had it before. Whatever I can imagine stems from the shattering of the vessels. Otherwise it couldn’t be revealed, not in our feelings, not in our mind, and not even in our imagination.
[128265]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/14

Related Material:
The Light Operates Without Any Days Off
Not A Magic Trick, But Precise Spiritual Physics
Remembering The Light

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