There are many hidden treasures in that palace, one atop the other. Within that palace there are gates that were made for concealing, made to block the lights. They are fifty (Introduction of The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Lock and Key”).

When we study The Book of the Zohar, we must believe that this book is an intermediary between us, the lower ones, and the Creator, the upper one, and all this connection takes place through the group of Rabbi Shimon.

The gates are the conditions with which we have to comply. In order to pass through the gates you need to get closer to them and adjust yourself to certain qualities. Then some of the gates open, some are canceled, and some we need to correct by integrating with them.

After each gate we increasingly reveal the desire to bestow within ourselves, we come closer and closer to the Creator, and we better understand the entire system that connects creation with the Creator. Therefore, with each gate we go through we go further and further into the palace of the Creator.

Behind the last, 50^th gate absolutely everything is revealed, the entire Malchut, completely adhered with the upper force.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/1/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Comment: All spiritual work of men is done in the “seven years of famine” when the light is removed for him and he must advance independently.

My Response: In the seven years of famine our egoism does not receive any encouragement. A person should rise above his ego and try to continue working not on egoistic energy, but by developing the greatness of the goal in oneself.

Since this is an ascent from our world to the opposite world, to the world of bestowal and love, this state is very difficult. Usually at this stage many students cannot handle it and leave.

Question: And what is the success of those who stay about? Is it luck or something else?

Answer: Of course, there is always luck. But we cannot take it into account. We do not know what luck means. We know only one thing: with the help of the group, getting closer to the friends, good studies, and dissemination, when a person is actively working in the correct direction, everything works out for him. He advances with enthusiasm and realizes there is no other way.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Seven Years of Abundance and the Seven Years of Famine” 4/15/14

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In spiritual work, what is this narrow keyhole into which a key must be inserted?

The definition of “narrow” means a lack of Hasadim (mercy). If I have managed to make up for this lack, then I am ready to unlock this lock.

The whole path in front of us is a lock. At every step we need to match a certain key to it, i.e., the quality of bestowal, in order to reveal more and more and thus move toward the goal.

At each stage we reveal ourselves more and more and manifest an increasing quality of bestowal in ourselves, and thus we approach the Creator. And for this we need to find the key that exactly matches the lock.

The lock that hides the quality of bestowal from us is a group, and the key is the relationship in this group, the connection and love between friends. A person should disconnect from himself and stick to ten friends. Ten for me is a spiritual Kli. If I reformat myself correctly to get inside this Kli, I will open the lock with a key and get through to the Creator.

I need to find the key, study it, try to adapt it to the lock, and find out how to insert the key into the keyhole and how to turn it. When I have the strength to turn the key in the lock, I can unlock it.

Just remember that when inserting the key into the lock, you need to keep a very strong connection with your friends. If I connect with my friends and annul myself more and more, then eventually I will be able to insert the key into the keyhole in order to be ready to turn it.

But in order to turn the key in the lock, I need to turn to the Creator and ask Him for the strength to open this lock.
There are three stages of work: adjust yourself to the lock as a suitable key, then enter the lock, and finally unlock the lock.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/1/23, Zohar for All “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” “Lock and Key”

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Question: There is such a thing as shame in our world. How is the concept of shame, which Baal HaSulam writes about in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, related to the shame that we are familiar with?

Answer: The shame mentioned in Kabbalah arises when a person feels oneself to be the opposite of the Creator. In the world opposite to the Creator, a person feels incongruity with Him, and this is called shame.

The Creator is absolute bestowal. I want to be like Him, but I see that I can’t and I am ashamed. Just like in our world, I want to be like some great man and I am ashamed that I cannot become like him.

Question: Does spiritual shame remain or does it disappear?

Answer: Gradually, as you approach the Creator in your properties, shame disappears.

Comment: It seems that the closer you are to the Creator, the more you realize how opposite you are to Him.

My Response: If you are approaching the Creator in terms of properties, then why should you be ashamed?

Shame is a separate creation of the Creator. The Creator created shame in humans so that we would feel different from the Creator. Thanks to shame, we develop.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 12/4/22

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Kabbalah & Women

An insight into women’s inner quest and spiritual development

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Comment: In the classification of cults there is a condition that the teaching of the group is considered the only true eternal knowledge.

My Response: Do ordinary Judaism, Christianity in all its manifestations and parts, Islam, Hinduism and other movements not think so? So, everything in the world is a cult.

Question: Why do people call something a cult when it is beneficial for them, and something else is either teaching, or wisdom, or religion?

Answer: But they are people! What do you expect from them? They use what is beneficial for them, convenient for them, and raises them above the rest. It is like politics: Today I need to scold someone, so I scold; tomorrow I need to praise him, so I praise him. We do whatever is beneficial for us. This is genuine human nature.

If you do not study Kabbalah, then not understanding how a person is arranged can, of course, irritate you. But when you study Kabbalah, you understand that a person cannot do it any other way, this is how he is arranged, and this is how he must act because egoism compels him.

Therefore, I am in no way offended by anyone who slanders me; such is their nature until they begin to correct themselves. When they finally come to this knowledge, they will see how wrong they were.

I will be happy to teach those that hate me today, and in no case will I remember anything hateful they used to say about me. This is how we are arranged from the very beginning, and we must turn evil into a good inclination. For this we have been given Kabbalah. To the extent that a good inclination, altruism, and the qualities of bestowal and love are formed in us, we begin to feel the upper world, the upper system of governance.

If people do not feel this, then what opinion can they form about Kabbalah and about me? Naturally, anything goes, the main thing is to denigrate, to slander, because by this they somehow justify themselves. It is very difficult for a person to live without justifying himself; it does not even make sense for him to exist. Therefore, all his actions are aimed only at raising himself or lowering others.

I have no complaints about them; they just work according to their nature.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Kabbalah about Cults” 12/18/13

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Question: In some movements they promote not pondering over the group’s teachings. The members say: “It’s impossible to explain, come to us, you have to experience this.”

Answer: That is correct. There are things that you can’t appreciate from afar, even music, until you get used to it, understand it, receive explanations, and get trained. This is the same as culture that teaches a person how to perceive paintings, sounds, dancing, and ballet.

If they take you now to the opera, for example, you will run away from there, because you have a clip-perception. And here in front of you on stage for two or three hours, they will be singing about love, and you will be admiring and crying. You must be ready for this.

Comment: Often such misunderstanding is used as criticism.

My Response: Of course there will be criticism. How is it possible not to criticize what I don’t understand? It is easiest to say: “Ah, it’s worthless, empty.”

Personally I have no complaints about such people. They are just shallow, small people who, without being able to figure something out, talk about it.

Likewise, the lyrics philosophize about physics. But they have nonetheless the opportunity to ask around and understand something in an easy way, but this is impossible in Kabbalah. In Kabbalah, you must see it and feel it, because this attainment is not from our world, not in our senses. We do not have adequate perceptions about what we feel when we acquire spiritual sense organs.

That is why I have a problem explaining this to a person. My parents asked, “What are you doing anyway?” I couldn’t explain it to them.

I am engaged in Kabbalah.

What is this?

This is the science that speaks about the upper world.

And what is the upper world? Is it the world we get after death?

We get nowhere after death.

Where do the souls reside?

Souls don’t reside anywhere, there is no place.

Where then is the upper world?

And it doesn’t exist until I create it with my changed qualities.

“It looks like our child skidded off somewhere. It’s a pity, he gave such hope both for science and business. He gave up science, then opened his own business. Quit business and went somewhere into Kabbalah, and really got enslaved with Kabbalah,” my parents said and they left for Canada.

That is all.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Kabbalah about Cults” 12/18/13

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The center of the group is not in any of the members of the group, but only between all of them. If we all tried to unite with each other in such a way as to feel everyone together as one single whole, this would be the center of the group, the point of complete connection between us.

Question: In order to concentrate in the center of the group during a workshop, do we need to depict this state you have described to ourselves?

Answer: Yes, of course. After all, when we connect, everyone’s personal “I” disappears, and “We” remains instead of “I.”
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Where is the Center of the Group?” 5/14/14

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Preparation to the Lesson

Zohar for All “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” “You Are Partners with Me”  

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

Selected Highlights

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