Question: Since ancient times people have wanted to know what awaits them in the future. There were prophets, seers, and oracles. And even today, people are very concerned about their future. What is “the future”?

Answer: The future is what we build in the present. The concepts of past, present, and future exist only in our perception. It is very difficult to explain the concept of time to an ordinary person in our world because to do so he must rise above time, movement, and space.

Everything must be examined with respect to the person, meaning we must understand that we are not studying what happens in the world, but in our sensation of the world. A person senses changes only because he himself changes, not because something outside of him changes. If I see a hurricane, rain, drought, winter, or summer, it means that I feel such states within myself.

I perceive this entire world within myself: stones, plants, animals, and people; those that were, are, and will be, all exist only in my perception.

Therefore I need to investigate why my sensation is divided into these three categories: past, present, and future. Once I understand this, I will be able to relate correctly to reality. Reality does not exist independently outside of me, but it is determined by my perception.

The wisdom of Kabbalah says that nothing outside of me changes. Everything happens only within me, in my perception, which changes day by day, moment by moment.

This completely changes the whole picture because if the world were outside of us, our ability to influence it would be very limited. Clearly predicting droughts, floods, and earthquakes helps us protect ourselves from an external threat by building dams or leaving the dangerous area. Yet this does not prevent the blow itself. If I understand that a flood does not occur externally, but in my inner sensation, then I can arrange myself internally so that the tsunami will not come at all. I can create a completely different world for myself where the sun shines and everything is wonderful.

Or perhaps I will even feel like I am in an entirely different dimension, in another world. After all, if everything depends on my perception, then I simply need to know how to manage my sensations in order to build a good external world within them. In other words, I divide the world into external and internal and say that I can change only the internal world, my sensation of the world, but not the external world.

The most important thing here is what to consider a constant and what is a variable that is subject to change. Either we consider ourselves constant and the external world changing, in which case we must protect ourselves from it.

Or we accept the external world as constant and unchanging, as the science of Kabbalah says, that the upper light is in absolute rest, and all changes and corrections occur within the person. In that case I can change myself and get the reality I want.
[219961]
From KabTV’s “New Life 934 – What Is ‘The Future?’” 12/19/17

Related Material:
From What “Point” Does A Kabbalist Make A Prediction?
Going Beyond The Limits Of Time
Liberation From The Shackles Of Time

Filed under: Perception - No Comments →

Nothing prevents us from constantly maintaining the best feeling that we have ever had in our lives, the one we experienced at the congress when we felt unity, the connection between us and the Creator, spiritual revelation. If I descend from this state, it means that it is my own fault because I did not add my own efforts.

We received an awakening from above, from the Creator, and it should not disappear. The upper one gives us an example of what we should be like, and we must continue it. The awakening should not depend on the physical location of the congress. If there is no awakening, it means that the greatness of the Creator and the greatness of the group is lacking, and this can be further developed precisely after the congress, during the normal times.

The breaks between congresses should be perceived as opportunities organized for us by the Creator to invest our own efforts in this world. The construction of the spiritual vessel takes place precisely in darkness, at night. We need to see all the events of our life as connected by this very principle, so that “There was evening and there was morning one day.” This is the only way to perceive our lives.

From above, we are given moments of unification and closeness to the spiritual so that we can continue them when the awakening from above disappears. We must preserve this inner feeling by ourselves, at least with the same strength that was given from above, as if we had not left the congress.

The Creator raised us to a certain degree and left us, and we must continue on it. It is not good if we fall because we already have an example of how to continue. And then the Creator will raise us to the next degree, and even higher, and so every time.

When the Creator leaves us, He reveals which places need to be filled with His greatness. The only thing that is missing is the greatness of the Creator.

The main thing is to make an effort to remain constantly connected with the others, like at the congress, and to not let this feeling cool down, to continue it by all means. And then we will see that all the events of our lives—our return to work and all ordinary activities—are organized by the Creator for this very purpose: to fill all these daily empty spaces with awakening, inspiration from the spiritual, and the importance of the Creator.

We must maintain this state and not allow ourselves to descend. This is precisely where all the work ilies. There is not much to work on during the congress. The awakening given from above is working there, and everything happens by itself. But today, through our own efforts, prayer, and all possible means, we must not allow this awakening to cool off. Now is the time for work.

Therefore, at the congress we did not “achieve” success, but “received” it. Today we need to achieve success. It is possible to say that the congress, that is, the gathering and unification, begins right now!

If we correctly understand how to use the time of the congress and the time between congresses, then we will correctly realize the unity we have achieved. Everything is tested precisely by everyday states where all the work lies. So let us continue!
[226477]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/8/18, “The Greatness of the Creator”

Related Material:
There Is No Emptiness!
After The Convention A New Day Begins
The Convention Is Never Over

Filed under: Conventions, Events, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Comment: It is easy to be inspired by a friend who treats me well. But it is difficult to be inspired by a friend who occasionally treats me badly.

My Response: There are friends whom I tolerate with difficulty or perhaps cannot tolerate at all. There are those whom I barely notice; they neither anger nor delight me. And finally, there are those with whom I feel wonderful and joyful, among whom it is pleasant for me to be. So which of them should I see as the target of acquisition? After all, it is said: “Buy for yourself a friend.”

It is impossible to give a universal answer to this. I would say it this way: each time you will see what you are capable of, and that is what you should do. No one will tell you that you must specifically focus on the one you hate, with whom you cannot be together, even though he is in the group. That is incorrect. Rather, each time you should be with those friends through whom, as you feel, you are able to invest effort.

But this is not based on “pouncing” on someone, on beginning to bestow to him, to unite with him, and immediately go to drink beer together in order to become closer. No. To invest effort in acquiring a friend is a general investment in the group.

It is not about some personal connection with a specific individual upon whom I am constantly focused. In accordance with the state a person is going through at any given moment, those around him appear differently each time. Sometimes you are in a good state, as though elevated in the spiritual sense, and then suddenly you find yourself ready to embrace and kiss the very one you usually hate.
[353241]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/26, Rabash, “Make for Yourself a Rav and Buy Yourself a Friend – 1”

Related Material:
An Individual or a Group?
Correlation Between The Correction Of The Individual And The Group
An Individual Is Worthless Without The Others!

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

1st part of the Lesson — Lesson on the Topic “Purim“

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 6, Part 15, Item 200-229 (3.1.2018)

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3Audio

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

Question: What is the correct form of self-annulment?

Answer: If you want to attain adhesion with the Creator, then you come to the group and use its forces in order to develop the intention for the sake of bestowal. Then the group becomes very important to you; you annul yourself before it in order to come to the recognition of the Creator’s greatness, and correcting the disturbances that arise on your path toward self-annulment becomes additional strength.

Question: How can I convince myself to annul myself before the friends?

Answer: I am not capable of convincing myself. It happens only if I feel that it is necessary. Reaching a state where I have nothing else to rely on and only the group can help me on the path does not come solely from my own efforts.

I can work in the group, be close to my friends, and do a thousand things, but if I do not keep in mind (even slightly) that I am doing this in order to attain the goal, that the group must help me, and that I am working in it only for this, then I will not receive a single thought, not a single clarification. This will happen only when I bring a bit of my intention, my desire. Then it will begin to work.
[353343]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/26, Rabash, “According to What Is Explained Concerning “Love Thy Friend as Thyself””

Related Material:
Creative Annulment Before The Friends
Humiliating Pride And High Self-Annulment
Annul Yourself Only Before The Friends Along The Spiritual Path

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

There are three conditions for spiritual work in a group.

First, “make yourself a Rav.” A Rav (teacher) is someone greater than me who gives me direction. What he says defines my path. While giving directions, he must always give a student a certain amount of freedom, appear weak, sometimes confused, and sometimes contradict himself. This provides the student with obstacles, various doubts and thoughts about whether the teacher is right; this leaves the student room to perform the action “make for yourself a Rav.”

Second is “buy yourself a friend.” I have to find people who, just like me, go through the same process along with me, and through my investment in them, I will gain strength from them. Because I invested efforts into my friends, these forces become mine—I bought them; I acquired them.

And the third is “judge everyone to the scale of merit.” This means that when I see obstacles from various people, I must interpret it as coming from representatives of the Creator, who are meant to confuse me with various situations that are optimal for the gradual development of my soul toward the Creator.

Thus, there is a teacher before me, toward whom I must act according to the principle of “make yourself a Rav,” there are friends with whom I do work according to the principle of “buy yourself a friend,” and there is the external environment, the whole world, all the others, whom I judge to the scale of merit, to the fact that they themselves do not perform any action at all, but the Creator influences me through them. Thus, I see them only as puppets rather than as characters who are either guilty or righteous in their actions.
[353208]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/26, Rabash, “Make for Yourself a Rav and Buy Yourself a Friend – 1”

Related Material:
“Buy Yourself A Friend”
Judge All of Humanity to the Scale of Merit
Three Conditions for Acquiring the Quality of Bestowal

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

Question: What is required of us in the group? Should we scrutinize each action for whether it is for our own benefit or our friend’s benefit?

Answer: In a group, we must demand that each person maintains their inner thought of reaching adhesion with the Creator, and from this thought, as if to move backward: “I can achieve this only by developing the group.”

Developing the group means that, despite everyone’s personal state and our current common state, we direct all our thoughts and actions to reaching the Creator.

To achieve this, we must build a Kli, a common, united desire between us. To come to the Creator means to come to similarity of form with Him, i.e., to the force of bestowal. This is called love.

If I love someone, then in my care for him I will reveal the Creator. He becomes important to me, as a one against several zeros, to the extent that I need love for the Creator more than love for myself.

Why should I respect a friend and think that the group is greater than me, that they are a one and I am a few zeros? Striving for the Creator should oblige me to do this. If I just set myself to raise the realization of the group’s importance, it would become egoistic.

Only if the realization of the Creator’s importance obligates me to regard the group with importance, only then can the group help me and give me the right vessels (Kelim).
[353337]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/26, Rabash, “According to What Is Explained Concerning ‘Love Thy Friend as Thyself’”

Related Material:
The Secret Of The Group
To Nullify Yourself And To Know = To Reveal = To Connect
The Group: A Structure And A Connection

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

Our entire spiritual path consists of merging with the Creator—“There is none else besides Him.” Upon attaining the first point of adhesion with the Creator, a person must cling to it. Naturally, as soon as he reaches it, new shattered Reshimot (informational records) immediately arrive although one does not yet understand or feel it.

One must be very sensitive to them and recognize them as early as possible, so that a person does not find themself somewhere far away several days later.

Your work must be continuous. You must constantly sense that Reshimot awakening, and these Reshimot appear as alien thoughts and desires that seek to tear you away from the point of adhesion you have attained.

A person begins to struggle with them, tries to cope on their own, with the group, through mutual guarantee, and ultimately in prayer to the Creator. And if so, then all these alien thoughts and desires that awaken after the point of adhesion push one to connect with the Creator, to be in contact with Him.

Then a person no longer considers them alien thoughts and desires, but considers them useful, sent by the Creator so that they may expand the point of adhesion, give it volume, and transform it into an embryo.

Thus, time after time, a person nullifies oneself based on of all kinds of alien thoughts and desires that arise within oneself. “Alien” means that they disconnect you from adhesion, and they do not necessarily have to be “dirty.” If, on their basis and in spite of them, you strengthen the adhesion and attach them to holiness, then they become “holy,” bestowing. In this way, you advance.

A person’s advancement does not depend on entering a state of enlightenment, but on the constant occurrence of alien desires and thoughts that one recognizes as interfering with adhesion, with connecting to the Creator, to “There is none else besides Him,” and the person wishes to overcome them through the power of prayer.

After all, one wants to merge with the Creator, so the means for this must also be the Creator Himself. A person turns to Him, asks for the power of adhesion beyond all obstacles, and thus expands the domain of holiness.

A person must establish in one’s heart and mind that the greatness of spirituality is attained on the basis of ever-increasing self-nullification. The more one is able to nullify oneself, the more one advances and grows, on the basis of all the alien thoughts and desires. They are constantly increasing, like a mountain of doubts, and one rises above them each time, and thus grows by not detaching from adhesion.
[217970]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/8/17, “Holding onto the State of ‘Entering Ibur (Conception)’ Above All Disturbances”

Related Material:
How The Spiritual Embryo Grows
Conception Is The First Level Of The Spiritual Reality
A Healthy Diet For The Embryo

Filed under: Spiritual Work - No Comments →

A few words about the recent international Kabbalah congress as it was taking place: I sense a completely different spirit at this congress compared to the previous ones; there is a special aspiration by everyone toward universal unity, and I am within them. This does not require my external participation; the inner striving of all the friends is sufficient.

At the opening of the congress, each participant composed a prayer from the center of the group, and the friends asked that all the prayers include the teacher’s prayer.

My prayer is that we all feel ourselves gathered in one place, included in one heart, and we feel no separation. I do not think it takes enormous efforts to unite because we are already together.

There is no need for excessive tension; let everyone feel good and at ease. After all, we have done extensive preliminary work and lessons. Now we just need to slightly sense the connection, the unity, that we have already attained. We can enjoy this state precisely because we have earned it through the efforts we invested.

The congress is a consequence, not a place of work. It is an opportunity to thank the Creator. But nothing should obscure our desire for connection. For the three days of the congress, we can enjoy the fruits of the work we did beforehand.

However, the connection must be correct so that we do not begin to enjoy egoistically and fall. This is the enjoyment from unity in which we wish to unite with all our friends, the enjoyment from the connection that is being revealed.

Is there room for prayer in such a state? Certainly, for the feeling of unity reveals how insufficient it still is.

We thank the Creator for bringing us, through all our attempts and efforts to connect, to the feeling of how “pleasant it is to sit together.” This is a prayer of gratitude. The gathering of friends, the meal, everything should be in gratitude for the fact that the Creator gives us the opportunity to be connected with everyone, that He brought us to this congress and awakens the connection between us. Our gratitude itself will be the prayer.
[353391]
From a Conversation at a Meal 2/19/26

Related Material:
Everything Starts From the Connection of the Hearts
What Should We Focus on during a Kabbalah Convention?
The Congress Takes Place in Our Hearts

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