Question: What example would you give of a person who is developing?

Answer: A doll moves by means of a small motor, beneath that lies a rheostat. As the rheostat is adjusted, development begins in the doll. The doll transforms, becoming increasingly driven by consumption, then by a desire for knowledge, and finally by a desire to understand the root cause of suffering, suffering that neither the development of consumption nor knowledge, nor attempts to escape suffering have been able to resolve. All of this brings the doll to a desire to understand where the suffering comes from. All of this happens according to the program built into the doll.

And it comes to understand that the suffering is purposeful; it forces it to change. The Creator begins to “disturb” those whom He wants to draw closer to Him.

The Creator shows a person through this that the person himself needs to change, rather than trying to change the environment around him or his way of life to suit himself. There is no escaping suffering through any of this, and nothing can truly be achieved that way. In this way, the Creator compels a person to change.
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Comment: In religious societies, things are coming to light that are no less bad than those found in secular society.

My Response: Ultimately, the will to receive bursts forth and grows unchecked. Then both religious and secular boundaries lose their significance for the person; they become unrestrained and frenzied.

Nothing can be done about this. Such things, of course, happen both here and there. But it is better to maintain at least something. Perhaps in ten years the conditions will change, but in our time, I think, it is worth it. The main thing is to minimize the damage.

Comment: But Baal HaSulam writes in several places that one who engages in the Torah in its external form causes the greatest damage. He warned about this before the Holocaust.

My Response: Baal HaSulam indeed writes at the end of the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” that one who engages in the external Torah and does not want to engage in the internal—not that he is unable, but precisely that he does not want to, neglects it, or hates it—causes all the damage, and brings about the worst things in the world. That is correct. But this does not mean that a person must distance themselves from the external Torah. He must engage in both the external Torah and Kabbalah.

Moreover, whether you like it or not, Baal HaSulam writes there as well that those who engage in the external Torah must begin to engage in the internal. He is not speaking about you, not about your guilt, not that you are causing the worst things in the world, not that you must begin to engage in the internal Torah. He is not speaking about you, but about them. Why?

You want to say the following: if they cannot engage in the internal part, then let them abandon the external as well, let them simply be secular; at least in this way we will harm no one. This will not help you. Already today, what they engage in cannot be called the external part in the true sense. Therefore the damage lies not in this, but precisely in the fact that they do not engage in the internal part.

Of course, it is easier to approach a completely secular person with a proposal to study Kabbalah. This will not work with a religious person. However, the problem lies in education, in millions of young people. If you completely free them from studying the Torah or from frameworks suitable for the people, nothing good will come of it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/26, Rabash, Article 14, 1984 “One Should Always Sell Everything He Has and Marry a Wise Disciple’s Daughter”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 215

How Can We Act in Order to Bestow Before the Barrier?

Before the barrier (Machsom), it is impossible to act in order to bestow. We cannot think in order to bestow and then fail to carry out an action in order to bestow. That is why it is called “before the barrier.” In spirituality, there is no possibility that we can be in one place while already fitting another place, because the moment we match a certain place, we are already there.

In spirituality, we have a kind of “engine” that moves us to the place that corresponds to us according to the changes in our qualities. It is like an electric charge in an electric field or a piece of iron in a magnetic field. It is the equivalence of form between something and its potential field. The Creator is the center of spiritual force, and from Him emanate the waves of the spiritual field. We exist within this field, within this space, as a soul. According to the soul’s potential, the more we resemble the Creator, the closer we come to Him, and the more our qualities differ from those of the Creator, the farther away we become. Thus, we ourselves determine our spiritual movement.

If we, throughout our entire corporeal life in this world, made absolutely no change in our relationship to the Creator, if we made no movement whatsoever, then we are called “one who was dead and remained dead.” If we made some movement, or at least wanted to make a movement, then we already have some relationship to the Creator, and it is possible that we truly made a movement. Our goal is to adhere to Him, to reach the center of that field and space where the Creator is. We need to increasingly progress to Him through equivalence of form, until we are actually included in Him. We do not become nullified. On the contrary, we become like Him. The qualities of the person become like the qualities of the Creator. Then there are two at the center of that field, not one.

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Question: What is the connection between our animalistic qualities and our attitude toward the Creator?

Answer: I do not connect my animalistic qualities with the study at all. I do not expect or hope that the light that reforms will change them. You know how hot-tempered and impatient I am, and I can suffer from these qualities, but I do not see a connection between them and my connection with the Creator. Although if I were not so fiery, perhaps I would not be so passionate toward the Creator either. So, it is better to leave it as it is.

Take, for example, a quality such as laziness. If I were not lazy, I would be busy right now with a thousand different things that everyone in the world is involved in. But I sit here because I am lazy, and if I do something, then it is something worth doing.

There are people who are in business, and when you offer them some kind of deal, they say: “I make two million dollars a month, and nothing less. If you have something to offer me, then I will listen to you. If not, I don’t even want to waste my time.” This is called a measure of laziness.

So with what measure is it possible to come to you? Do you know? No?! It is clear to me that if you come to me with this or that, I will not deal with it, but if you offer me a little more than that, then yes.

In other words, a person should be clear about what he engages in and what he does not. Otherwise, he will be like a child running everywhere. Take a child into a toy store and you will see how he starts grabbing everything indiscriminately.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”

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Living in spirituality means living with the intention to bestow. That is, the Creator gives me a Masach (screen), and this is called crossing the Machsom (barrier). Before this, I had no screen and no intention to bestow.

Now I have acquired a minimal correct intention. My will to receive together with this intention is called my first spiritual Kli. This means that I must receive a screen (Masach) from Him.

But then, what is the previous degree before receiving the screen? Obviously, the need for a screen. And since the condition for receiving anything is the existence of a desire (Kli) to receive it, it means that I need a Kli for the screen, a need for a screen.

What should the need for a screen be? Can I now imagine a situation in which I need a screen? Let me take a step back. To have a need for a screen, I need to know what I will get out of it, what I stand to gain through the screen.

What will I receive through the screen when I act for the sake of bestowal? When I see the Creator, that is, not that I see Him and enjoy Him, but I see that I bestow upon Him, while at the same time what I bestow upon Him is not a form of personal gain; otherwise my action would be impure. Acting for the sake of bestowal means bestowing upon Him without even feeling Him, without having any revelation, but simply being aware of myself as bestowing.

There are many more subtleties within this, but in the end, I come to a state in which I need some simple force that is completely absent in me now. The question is, can I have a desire for it?

If I examine what a true desire for a screen is, then I probably will not find such a desire in myself. Perhaps I do not want the screen itself at all, nor what it will give me in the spiritual world: pure bestowal without any connection to me. I still cannot sense these definitions (Avchanot), because they are completely detached from my reality.

I can only speak about it, but this gives me nothing! After all, this is not a prayer from the depth of desire. A deep desire is a desire that exists even before it is recognized and expressed in words. Obviously, I cannot arrive at this, but I can arrive at some states of despair around it.

So let’s proceed in this way. Let us clarify exactly what I can clarify within my will to receive, and do so in such a way that it would be the maximum of what I am capable of before the barrier. This is similar to what precedes the final correction (Gmar Tikun), when we can examine absolutely everything: Galgalta ve Eynaim, GE in AHP, AHP in GE, every property without exception, except for the “stony heart” (Lev HaEven).

It is as if I had a bone with meat on it, and I ate all the meat, leaving a clean, polished bone. In this way I clarify what is “yes” and what is “no”!
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called ‘Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

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The fact that the level of the people a hundred years ago differed from today’s illustrates a global regression across generations. For example, in the times of the destruction of the Temple, people were very pure. Even the destruction and hatred we speak of back then were then very subtle and pure.

Subsequently, over the course of two thousand years, the desire to receive has increased in every generation; people become more egoistic, and all this evil has surfaced, especially at the advanced stages, because the process develops, not arithmetically, but geometrically.

A leap occurred at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Educated people emerged. Why did they suddenly stop being religious? How could this happen? A desire to receive was added from above, which led to a new stage in the soul’s development, and the individual saw how hollow the restrictions dictating their actions and speech truly were.

Their inner part strengthened while their outer part weakened; they were unable to restrain themselves.They cast off these constraints. They were no longer content to remain at the still (inanimate) level of holiness. All this stems from the growing will to receive within the souls.

What is respected among ordinary religious people? A person who faithfully attends the synagogue, observes all the commandments, and presents himself to the public as free from any anxieties, as someone whose life consists of nothing but “simple faith.”

In religious circles such a person is deemed good, wonderful, or even holy. Yet we say that they lack the will to receive and are merely acting according to their nature. Add a bit of ego, a will to receive, and you will see them abandon it all. Thus, whether you like it or not, you cannot leave them as they were 500 or 2,000 years ago. The will to receive is growing, and nothing can be done about it.

Consequently each new generation is worse than the previous one, to the point that “the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog” that barks: “Give me! Give me!” It is impossible to resist this; it is bound to happen, and for now a process of searching and struggle is underway.

However, knowing what happened in the 20^th century allows you to foresee what will happen in the present one, what inner development will take place in people. You will see how with each year the world focuses increasingly on this direction, while everything else collapses. People will suddenly begin to sense that the entire world depends on their inner state.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/26, Rabash, “One Should Always Sell Everything He Has and Marry a Wise Disciple’s Daughter”

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Question: It is written that the Creator does not make [false] claims against His creations. What does this mean?

Answer: It means that He does not deceive them or intentionally cause them harm. He is not a source of evil for you. So where do bad sensations come from if not from Him? You feel that way solely due to the disparity of form between your qualities and His. It is a mark of great wisdom to realize that all heaviness is caused by the disparity of qualities.

We are prepared to overcome obstacles, dissent, and fight to the death—anything to achieve a what we desire. You see how people burn through their lives trying to achieve something. But here a person can be seized by such weakness that they cannot budge, even under the threat of death.

There are states where others can do whatever they want to me, but I am powerless to lift a finger. This is a spiritual matter. Such a state is caused by the disparity between the lights and Kelim (vessels), where the Kli is unable to make any movement whatsoever in relation to the light.

There are even worse states. A person must gather these experiences and use them to build the correct attitude toward the Creator. Only then do they establish a connection. However, one has to understand that in all these states we do not have any free choice other than to use the group.

Above the Machsom (barrier) we have free choice: lights, vessels, states, Klipa (impurity), and holiness, everything is in front of the person. When a person acquires the screen, they become free of the desire to receive, and they gain power. Let’s say that he has acquired a screen of ten kilograms, then he is free from at least ten kilograms of the desire to receive, and no longer feels the heaviness.

The sensation of heaviness arises from the fact that the desire to receive that has control over us, and at the same time we can compare it with the light. If it were not for the light, we would not sense this dominion and we would live like everybody else. However, now that we are under the power of the desire to receive, we feel it as intolerable coercion since the light has shone upon it. We have no choice; we need either the light or the desire to receive to disappear. It is impossible to exist with both.

Such a state is worse than death. When a person comes out of it with faith above reason, gets rid of his ego, and stops thinking about himself, he becomes free. Then he really has an ability to act freely, and instead of a burden, he feels lightness, and everything becomes open in front of him.

However, in our state, below the Machsom where there is no screen that gives us freedom, we have only one freedom. As Rabash writes, from all the actions that you can do in your life, you have only one free action.

You exist at the center of a sphere of your own possibilities, of all the things that you want to do; there is only one line, one direction that allows you to really determine something; it is not dictated by others, by society, by your education, or by your nature. There is one thing that depends on you: to experience the influence of the good society that advances you to the goal or not. There is no reality in everything else; it only seems to you that you decide something there.

Why does it only seem to you? This is because you act only according to your desire to receive. Its Reshimot constantly float to the surface from inside, and push you toward certain things. At one point I want something. After that I want something different. I do it, and it seems to me that I act according to my own program, and for my own goals.

When I look at people from the side, I see that every one of them is programmed, and has nothing that is called “human being” (Adam). All are like animals that run around and bustle about. And what is the result? Nothing. But one cannot observe this in himself.

That is why our teachers who show us the way tell us that it is futile. Do you want to perform the only real action in your life, an act that defines you as you rather than merely a programmed executor? Then choose a society that will help you become closer to the goal, to the Creator.

When you choose such a society, you act in a unprogrammed way. However, if you cannot do this, it means that in this life you have not done anything outside of the animalistic nature. Whether you exist or do not exist, there is no use or difference. You simply are executing a program, but you are not truly yourself.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

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Question: What does “spending half an hour in the left line” mean?

Answer: Spending half an hour in the left line (and the rest of the time in the right line) demonstrates how challenging it is for us to connect with the right line, that is, to absorb and gain an impression of the greatness of the Creator, the importance of the goal and of His work because He is good that does good, and He truly wants us to know this. There are many different nuances here. Yet everything is clear—half an hour versus 23.5 hours.

Question: What if a person is unable to maintain that connection?

Answer: If a person cannot properly work on maintaining themselves between two lines—right and left—it means that they do not have sufficient control over themselves and are under the influence of their own nature. This is called “kaf ha kela” (the sling), where you are abruptly thrown from one state to another. One moment you are thrown to the right: “How amazing and grand everything is!” The next moment, you are in complete despair—who or what am I, everything is worthless, and so on.

Thus, you are neither here nor there; you can neither be under the force of the Creator’s nature, nor under the dominion of the nature of creation. These are simply two angels that rule over you. You yourself become such an angel.

The moment that you sit and cry, you are an angel. The left line rules over you, and you are sitting immersed in it, stuck in it. Or conversely, there is the right line, where you are just missing wings or you would already be flying. Neither of these is what we need.

You can only be at the intersection of these two lines to advance and create something completely new. You take part from the animal nature (the desire to receive) and part from the nature of the Creator (the desire to bestow), and you want to build something else, something new, something that has never existed before.

The desire that exists in spirituality is the desire to receive that was created by the Creator. But here, a completely new desire is born; it originates from the merging of the two previous ones, yet it is itself new. It turns out that you are, in effect, giving birth to your own soul, your new state. You are the master of the action.

Naturally, the Creator gives you the strength and all the components of this new Kli (vessel), but you build it yourself. After that, you no longer feel shame because you initiated the process, acted, and brought it to fruition.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/13/26, Rabash, “What Is Do Not Add and Do Not Take Away in the Work?”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 214

Is the Degree of Receiving in Order to Bestow Higher Than the Degree of the Creator?

The Creator has no problem with bestowal. He bestows according to His nature. We, however, must be those who bestow in order to bestow, which is a rather strange combination of words. The created being is a desire to enjoy, and if together with the pleasure it feels, it intends to give pleasure to the Giver of that pleasure, to the Creator, then it is bestowing. This is the sum total of the nature and essence of the action. However, in practice, it always receives; it has no other possibility. We always use our desire to receive, our appetite, and the foods set before us in order to connect with the Host. We have no connection with the Host except through the foods and through his hunger. These are the means of connection.

We cannot speak about the Creator, who bestows according to His nature. Certainly, He makes no effort to bestow. Bestowal is His desire, and it is what He carries out. We do not speak about the upper force or about the degree of His separation from us. We cannot say what He is, only what we receive and feel from Him, whether they be good or bad things, shame or pleasures. We cannot imagine what the Creator is, what the desire to bestow is in itself, even if we were a created being on the highest degree. Although on such a degree we receive certain kinds of gifts from the Creator, hints that somehow make it possible to understand what the desire to bestow is.

What we understand, we understand within our vessels of reception, and then through the act of reception we can describe our understanding. We cannot understand beyond what our vessels allow. We can never step outside our vessels. Stepping outside the vessels means abstract light, which is something that has not been created. Nor do we perceive this abstract light. If we perceive abstract light, it is simply because we have reached a state in which we feel that the light is abstract, and even this takes place in our vessels of reception.

Therefore, we do not engage in what exists above the created being, because that is merely philosophy. No one has any experience of it, nor is it possible for the created being to attain it. The sole kind of attainment possible takes place when the Creator grants a kind of understanding that is above the vessels of the created being, on very high spiritual degrees. But Kabbalists do not even write about this. It has no significance.

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