…there is only one counsel then: to cling to his teacher and to the books. This is called “From the mouth of books and from the mouth of authors.” Only by clinging to them can he change his mind and will for the better. However, witty arguments will not help him change his mind…

In other words, all the concepts upon which he builds his building, saying one must always follow in the path of the Creator, is founded in Dvekut with his teacher. Thus, if he loses the foundation, all the concepts are powerless since they will now be lacking the foundation. (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 25, “Things that come from the Heart“)

When after many hardships, searches for the meaning of life, or attempts to suppress the inner questioning with antidepressants a path is finally revealed to a person, and he is brought to a Kabbalistic group and a teacher, he faces the task of changing how he sees himself and the world, transforming his perception.

To do this, he must follow the advice of the Kabbalists: “Make for yourself a Rav and buy yourself a friend.” In other words, he must attach to something outside of himself. If he replaces his own desire with the desire of another—of the teacher, the group, the friends, those close to him in spirit—he acquires a spiritual vessel through this.

He then moves from an egoistic approach where he perceives nothing more than this so-called world, to a perception through the group where he begins to feel the spiritual world.

Here, unity with the teacher is of great importance, because someone must bring the person into the group where he will acquire his spiritual vessel. Just as in life, there are childhood years before one grows up, and during this time one is guided and supported by parents, society, and an entire system.

When a person matures and enters life, he finds his place in this system and can exist independently. But first, someone must give birth to him, guide him through childhood, and help him stand on his own two feet. This guide, this educator, is the teacher—or as he is called in Kabbalah, Rav (great one). This is a spiritual concept and not a physical body.

Rav is the higher part of the general system, who cares for the students just as the spiritual Partzufim Aba ve-Ima care for ZON in order to raise them upward. Why are we given the sensation of this higher part of the system in the form of a physical person living in our world? So that we can be awakened in some way through events of this material life and feel that we have support.

The measure of a person’s spiritual advancement is how closely he follows the teacher’s advice regarding spiritual actions, how much he acts with faith above reason, that is, replacing his own opinion with the teacher’s, his own values with the values of the upper one. Along this path, there are many ups and downs: from love for the teacher to hatred toward him, many doubts, questions, and clarifications.

A person goes through many states and must experience them all. But the key is to hasten the process and realize that he has been given the opportunity to rise above himself and cling to the upper one even in a material way: through a physical person, through that person’s desires, thoughts, teachings, help, and submission to his advice, which is often contrary to one’s own opinion, calculations, and pragmatic logic.

Ultimately, he realizes that he cannot pass the exam of devotion and union with spirituality if he does not first pass it in relation to his teacher.

As Baal HaSulam says in his Speech for the Completion of The Zohar:

“Serving one’s teacher with body and soul leads to unity with him—that is, to similarity of form. In this way, the student receives the thoughts and knowledge of the teacher ‘mouth to mouth,’ through the merging of souls. By this, he attains the greatness of the Creator to such a degree that bestowal becomes reception, turning into the energy sufficient to place his entire soul and being into achieving adhesion with the Creator.”

Thus, merging with the teacher is a means for spiritual advancement. Through it, one transitions from learning “mouth to ear” to the spiritual transmission of information “mouth to mouth,” through an internal channel that arises between the student, the teacher, and the upper system.

Of course, this is merely a means for attaining adhesion with the Creator. Just as a father and mother are the means through which a person is born, grows, and becomes ready for independent life, so too are these systems—the teacher, the group, and the books—absolutely essential. One cannot do without them.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/1/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Things that Come from the Heart”

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“From above they give giving, and take, they do not take” (as all that is given from above is not received in return, but stays below). Hence, if one extends something from above and then blemishes it, it remains below, but not with the person. Instead, it falls to the sea of the Sitra Achra (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 35 “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha”).

I drew the light, but I am unable to retain it. In the first moment, I reached equivalence with the light, and it was revealed within my desire. But already in the next instant, a new, uncorrected informational record (Reshimo) was revealed in me, which needed to be adjusted anew to the light.

But I didn’t do that, and therefore the previous light disappears from me. In truth, the light remains; it is just that I cease to feel it because my desire has been renewed.

From the illumination I received, I must learn how to continue next time: to prepare the desires, the foundation, the forces, the mutual guarantee, the confidence, in order to draw the light for the sake of bestowal. Each time, my participation must grow greater and greater.

At every following moment a new Reshimo is revealed that no longer matches the previous state. A stronger desire emerges, and opposite it a greater light. I must align the desire to the light by applying greater effort. But I did not do this; I was not prepared, and therefore I lost the illumination of the previous state.

The system is initially built in such a way that I am never immediately ready to receive the light. Since my vessel is broken, a corrupted desire is revealed along with a light opposite to it, which, of course, I am unable to receive at that moment. It is written about this: “There is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin.” And after every transgression, a correction, a commandment, is revealed, because “It is impossible to perform a commandment before transgressing it.”

First, there is always a revelation of the shattering. That is how we advance, we fall, and we rise. Without a descent, there is no ascent, no correct use of the desire to receive, because the desire is only revealed through the feeling of descent.

The desire becomes suitable for work only after being impressed by the qualities of the light. This occurred at the time of the shattering. Due to the light entering the desires, the shattering happens, the boundary between the desire to receive and the desire to bestow breaks down, and these desires intermingle.

Within creation, the qualities of the light and the qualities of the vessel mix. Thus, through the shattering, creation acquires the attributes of the Creator, even though it perceives itself as corrupted and broken. But this unpleasant feeling stems precisely from the sense of being opposite to the Creator, that is, because the Creator is present within creation and is revealed in it.

This is already their meeting, contact, and revelation. Therefore, only after the shattering can we truly speak of a creation that stands opposite the Creator. The creation can now neglect the Creator and desire to rule independently: this impure force (Sitra Achra) is our true nature, the sense of our opposition to the Creator.

This is an advanced state, because now there is a connection with the Creator and an awareness of its opposition within creation. The creation knows the Creator and knows itself, and still insists: “I will rule!” From this point on, correction becomes possible, but not before. This occurred during the shattering of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile, and therefore, only now, today, have we become ready for correction, and not earlier.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/4/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha”

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Question: The ARI lived 500 years ago. At that time, there was a certain awakening. Today too, an awakening is taking place, as many are beginning to study Kabbalah. What is special about our time, 500 years later?

Answer: In the time of the ARI, his books did their work and attracted many people. Then Baal HaSulam hurried to meet the people with the commentaries he wrote on the books of the ARI.

It is the same today. We can go out to people and feel how the books of the ARI have become part of their daily use, they study them.

Essentially, there is nothing new here. The only thing we want is that the attitude of the ARI toward the wisdom of Kabbalah, toward the attainment of the Creator, toward ascending the steps of the spiritual ladder, could be realized by us.

That is why we study the conditions by which we must draw closer to the Creator.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/29/2025, “”Memorial Day for the ARI””

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #39 “And They Sewed Fig Leaves” (10.30.2021)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 74,(7.16.2006)

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3rd part of the Lesson — Lesson on the Topic “Correction of the Heart”

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4th part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” “The Donkey Driver”

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The Creator created concealment that distances, separates, repels, and confuses, instead of appearing immediately and openly; He hides in order to awaken in us the yearning, passion, and desire to reach Him!

This is the whole purpose of concealment—the necessity of creating impure forces (Klipot) that preserve us until we achieve the correct desire for the Creator.

They are holding us back like dogs straining on a leash, ready to pounce on someone.

He hides until we acquire the only true, completely bestowing desire, which can no longer be extinguished by encountering Him.

After you reveal the Creator within you, it will not disappear, unlike the desires of our world where—after we receive what we longed for, we immediately cease to appreciate it.

On the contrary, we should increasingly appreciate and love this pleasure, because it carries within itself the attitude of the bestower towards us.

Therefore, in all these concealments and rejections created by the Creator, we must see a flirtation, a game leading us to the correct desire.

Not just a desire of great power, but the right form, so that we seek not the pleasure from the encounter with the fulfillment, but the pleasure from the encounter with the bestower.

It is like a woman demanding an internal connection from a man in an external action. We need to learn spirituality from the psychology of our life.

We need to understand the essence of concealment, of flirtation, of this entire game in which the Creator sometimes draws us closer and sometimes pushes us away.

And until we begin to appreciate Him and with His help build the right attitude toward the encounter with Him, perceiving pleasure as a means to connect with Him, we will not attain revelation!

He is waiting for us to desire Him more than the pleasure He brings. Then we will be ready to receive this pleasure and, within it, reveal the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/1/2009, Writings of Baal HaSulam Preface “Introduction to A Sage’s Fruit (Three Partners)”

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Question: There are people who study Kabbalah who have previously tried many paths, including drugs. But when they come to study Kabbalah, most of them automatically stop using them. Does it turn out that this is a side effect of Kabbalah? In theory, does it cure drug addiction?

Answer: Yes, Kabbalah works precisely as a side effect. After all, it affects only the person who wants to study it, who finds a purpose in life, but at the same time his body pulls him toward drug-related fulfillment. And then an internal struggle arises in him as a result of which he leaves drugs. But there are those who are unable to overcome it.

I do not keep track of my students. I am completely indifferent to what a student is like, what he comes to me with. These can be people with any inclinations, with any distortions. Today, all of this is generally considered the norm. So I do not look and do not delve into it. I am not interested in it.

It is said in Kabbalah that it is a remedy for all the problems of humanity caused by our egoism. And since it cures egoism, it should cure almost everything—from common illnesses to all kinds of distortions that exist in our time and are already accepted as the norm.

I teach Kabbalah, and to the extent that people adapt to it and are able to apply it, it affects them.

I had a severe ulcer and other problems. I suffered a clinical death, with great losses of internal organs, and saw how all this gets restored; how the more a person advances in Kabbalah, the younger, more vigorous, stronger, and more resilient one becomes, because the person is supported by the fact that one is dealing with the upper force, with the light.

This is not just some kind of personal faith, but a real upper energy. I feel it in myself. It does not let you do foolish things or strive for unnecessary achievements in this life in order to become, for example, a great athlete or someone else. But this energy gives you the opportunity to function day after day for many years, to lead people toward something exalted.

That is, Kabbalah is indeed a source of great power. I think that by studying it, humanity will see how it is cured of all problems.

Baal HaSulam writes at the end of the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” that all the problems in the world: murder, theft, drugs, terror, diseases, mutual hatred, betrayal, family discord, problems with children, basically everything that separates us from perfection by even a single gram,—all of this is born out of our egoism. Only Kabbalah is capable of correcting it and bringing us to absolute perfection, eternity, and peace.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Kabbalah and drugs” 8/27/10

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Our sages have already said, “You have not a generation without such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Indeed, that Godly man, Rav [teacher, great one] Isaac Luria [the ARI], troubled and provided us the fullest measure.

He did wondrously more than his predecessors, and if I had a tongue that praises, I would praise that day when his wisdom appeared almost as the day when the Torah was given to Israel (Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”).

Indeed, the whole method of correction came to us from the ARI. He realized everything that had been laid down by all prior Kabbalists.

The soul of the ARI occupies such a place in the general system of souls that from it onward, the light begins to influence all souls, leading them to the final correction (Gmar Tikkun).

Before the ARI, all development took place at stages 0, 1, 2, 3, and only the ARI with his corrections in the system of souls entered into the 4th stage and began to build the authentic Malchut in its final form.

He is Sefira Yesod (the last one before Malchut), and he is therefore called Moshiach ben Yosef (Yosef means Sefira Yesod) after which Malchut begins to correct itself.

All prior souls were part of the souls of the preparation period of correction. And only starting with the ARI does the general awakening of all souls begin.

Of course, this process takes hundreds of years, but the ARI opened the way to the light from the previous three stages to the last, the fourth, and the correction has begun!

Moshiach is the revelation of the light in the general system of souls. This light enters Malchut through Yesod. The ARI opens the gates for the light and is therefore called Moshiach ben Yosef.

The Messiah is the force of correction. The ARI portrays this force running through his soul. Being in the general system, he makes corrections in his soul, and now light flows through it into Malchut and affects the souls.

But now, it is on us to prepare our souls for the ascent from Malchut to Bina. This process already relates to the correction of Malchut—Moshiach ben David.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/5/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam Preface “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: What is special about our implementation of the method of the ARI?

Answer: What is special is that within the connection between us, we strive to reveal the force called the ARI, the force that connects us and forms us into a single unified whole.

In doing so, we receive from the Creator what we are able to receive—a new, corrected state, a new desire.

The light that we draw reveals our souls in a single movement toward the Creator, and we feel the Creator as one single bright whole above us.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/29/25, “Memorial Day for the ARI”

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It is customary to give presents to a person you love. And it is also customary not to love one who is deficient. Hence, at a “time of Torah,” there is no room for thoughts of correction. Thus, when leaving the assembly, it should be as in the last three of the “Eighteen Prayer.” And for this reason, everyone will feel wholeness (Rabash, “The Agenda of the Assembly“).

One has received everything he has. He has no deficiency, nothing to fill, nothing to correct. With this, he leaves the gathering of friends.

Comment: We very often get this state after a lesson, but during the day, we begin to lose it.

My Response: That is bad. You need to resist that; look for a way to do so. This is your job.
[238849]
From KabTV’s “The Last Generation,” 6/13/18

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