Question: What does the external part of the Torah mean?

Answer: The external Torah does not address correcting the intention to receive for oneself into the intention for the sake of bestowal. In other words, a person performs external actions while neglecting internal ones; they do not work on their desires. Their actions are purely external.

Unlike Kabbalah, all world religions invariably include certain external actions, such as rituals. I say unlike because we have complete correspondence between external actions and holiness (spiritual actions). Each external commandment corresponds to a specific spiritual action and has a spiritual root.

Yet, external actions alone do not bring any correction to this world. Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes that if we added internal correction of our desires to our external actions, as it is written: “I created the evil inclination and the Torah as a spice,” and used the Torah for its intended purpose of correcting our egoistic nature, we would transform from mere Jews into the people of Israel.

Currently, we are not yet a people. The nation of Israel (Yashar El—straight to the Creator) is a group of people connected to the Creator. By becoming the nation of Israel, we would receive the place intended for us and belonging to us according to our spiritual root.

The spiritual forces currently descending upon this land do not align with our spiritual state. Today, we are worse than all other nations in terms of our behavior. This means that our place is not in the land of Israel, but among them. They are oppressing us, and we deserve it. This is why we feel so bad on this earth.

Today, this geographical location does not correspond to our spiritual level. We are not corrected to correspond to this place and have no choice but to correct ourselves. There is no other way. In other words, we cannot exist—not as a nation nor can we organize ourselves as a nation in this or any other place—unless we correct ourselves.

The concept of GE (Kelim of bestowal) can only exist in a corrected state, for the sake of giving. AHP can function in any state: corrected or not. Uncorrected GE is impossible; it simply does not exist in reality.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/26, Rabash, “What Is the Importance of the Groom, that His Iniquities Are Forgiven?”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 168

Chapter 17. Slander

In this world, at our level, we are in concealment with respect to the next level, which is already beyond the barrier (Machsom). It should be understood that at every level, the lower one is in concealment with respect to the upper one. The concealment is intended to let the lower one acquire vessels of bestowal. If there were no concealment, and we saw the enlightened and complete state in which everything is known and revealed, we would certainly have no way of detaching from the will to receive. It would be like thinking about something very attractive, detaching from it, and then thinking about that same thing only in order to bestow. How could that be possible?

Therefore, the pleasure in Kedusha (holiness) is concealed, but holiness itself is not concealed, and we can feel it. The moment we give up on the pleasure for ourselves that exists in Kedusha, we immediately see Kedusha and feel it. In other words, Kedusha itself, spirituality, is not concealed; only the direct pleasure that can be received from it in the vessels of reception is concealed. This is all that is under restriction (Tzimtzum). This is because when we correct ourselves and wish to not use the vessels of reception, we immediately discover spirituality, and we realize that it was not concealed even beforehand. Instead, since the vessels were aimed at receiving for ourselves, it appeared concealed.

This means that within us there are, as it were, two channels. We can perceive spirituality through one, and the disturbance exists only in the second channel because we want to draw spirituality for the sake of receiving. However, if we wish to perceive spirituality not for ourselves, but in order to work with it as it itself deserves, in equivalence of form with it, then it becomes possible to see it and to work with it. Accordingly, we learn that the vessels of reception conceal spirituality from us.

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 33 “What Does It Mean that the Creator Favors Someone, in the Work?” (1991) (7.8.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom” (5.31.2001)

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Question: It is said that Abraham received an instruction from the Creator to perform a commandment. But he was not certain of himself and went to consult with others. Doesn’t he trust the Creator? After all, Abraham already senses Him.

Answer: We are speaking about how a person assesses their own forces. A person lives like an animal for thousands of years, from one incarnation to the next,  just like the rest of the world.

We have lived through many cycles of reincarnation, in all kinds of forms and in various places. Throughout these cycles of the soul, we have developed in terms of our desires and demands. We see the nature of this development: the soul evolves and demands more and more.

Why the soul? Because the animalistic part within us does not develop. Our body remains the same body. Were it not for the spiritual part in a person, we would be just like an animal. Do animals evolve and suddenly demand television, automobiles, rockets, or music? Nothing of the sort. An animal remains an animal. As it is born, so it remains. An animal has only one law: to care for its existence.

Therefore, what develops within us is the spiritual aspect, which evolves in two stages. The first stage is material, animalistic, or a kind of animal-spiritual phase. We pursue sex, honor, money, and knowledge. The soul develops in this way, but this development takes place through the pursuit of pleasures found in this world.

After it has developed in this manner over many incarnations, a Hisaron, a lack or yearning for spiritual pleasures, is revealed within it. A person begins to sense the “point in the heart”; they desire something that is beyond this world, beyond the pleasures they can receive in their corporeal senses.

The spiritual pleasure one lacks is called Ohr (light), and the medium through which one can receive and perceive it, is called Neshama (soul)—a spiritual vessel, or Kli.

When a person begins to develop this Kli, even if gradually, through being granted this lack (Hisaron) that emerges within them after all the animalistic development spanning many incarnations, they become similar to Abraham.

They begin to feel an aspiration, a yearning for spirituality. This is akin to the Creator telling them: “Develop yourself, come to a new, special, better state.” And then a person begins to sense various forces, thoughts, and impulses that are either for that state or against it.

Rabash explains that this is like a theatrical play, where each actor portrays a certain quality within the person. Thus, Mamre is one quality within the person, Sarah is another, the whole household of Abraham with all his cattle, his field (in short, all the trappings of a Bedouins lifestyle) represent the forces of their soul that are either for their development or against it.

Why must it be this way? After all, the Creator says: “Lech Lecha!” “Go forth!” The road is laid out, go forward! So why should there be doubts? Why should you oppose it?

Because the intention is for you to become a human being, to develop into a human being, and not remain an animal. A person could be left as a puppet and improved, made into anything desired, without their own awareness or participation.

But in that case the created being would remain on the animate level, whereas the purpose is to delight the created beings by bringing a person up to the Creator’s degree, since delighting them on a lower degree is not considered delight from the Creator’s perspective. If there is something good, it can only exist in its fullest form. That is, to give anything less than the “greatest good” is not truly “to delight.”
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/6/26, Rabash, “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

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Question (from Facebook): What is the most important question you ask yourself that you have not yet found an answer to?

Answer: The most important question I have not yet found an answer is this: How can I personally bring you to the state where you reveal the Creator and then explain it to everyone else?

I am not joking. In fact, my greatest concern is how to bring the method of correcting the world, the method of attaining happiness, to everyone.
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From KabTV’s “Answers to questions from Facebook”

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Comment: At different times you have emphasized the importance of different topics. First it was children’s education, then working through crises, then the writings of Baal HaSulam or the articles of Rabash, then The Book of Zohar, then The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES). Each time, people tend to think that this is now the final and most important subject they should focus on.

My Response: Yes, in this way, we gradually study the material until eventually everything comes together into one unified whole.

In Kabbalah, there is essentially no separation at all. The difficulty is that we are unable to grasp everything simultaneously, so we study it one topic at a time. Later, all of these separate topics merge into one unified science, one comprehensive method.

The same thing happens in our world. We study reality by dividing it into physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, into thousands of different subjects and specialties.

But where does all this division come from? The world is one single reality! Why have I divided it into so many separate parts? Inanimate matter is one field, plant life another, animal life another, human beings yet another.

Why do I need these divisions? Because I am incapable of integrating everything into my mind all at once. I cannot contain all of these sciences within me simultaneously. That is why there are different professions and why people become specialists.

In Kabbalah, however, such separation does not truly exist. Yet, in order to embrace the entire science of the upper world, we must study it piece by piece. Over time, it becomes integrated within us because we will merge and unite into one common soul, and there will no longer be any separation between us.

For me, everything will become one. Moreover, it will continue to simplify until it is reduced to a single vessel containing the simple light. In that lies the whole of creation—including our own tiny world.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Laitman’s Bullying” 10/13/10

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Question: Are my desires predetermined by the Creator? Right now, I am acting on my intentions. Are these intentions mine, or do they also come from the Creator?

Answer: There is nothing of “you” within you. This applies to all of us; everything comes from the Creator.

Sometimes the Creator places very unpleasant situations in our path so that later we will realize they were actually good and in this way learn from them.

But when we judge our past actions and suffer greatly because of them, these too are the actions of the Creator passing through our desire, through our egoism. We merely feel what the Creator is doing to us and accumulate these impressions.

Question: When a person turns directly to the Creator, does that mean he is actually turning to his own egoism?

Answer: Of course. But even that is good. In reality, a person is talking to himself while projecting some image before him.
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From Kabbalah Lesson in Russian on 1/21/18

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 167

In Spirituality, “Female” Refers to the Will to Receive That Requires Correction, a Deficiency, a Vessel Ready to Be Corrected and Filled With Light. So Why, Traditionally, Do Men Study Kabbalah and Not Women?

The distinction is not about biological superiority, but about different inner structures and roles in correction.

A woman, by nature, is generally more connected to concrete reality and to the natural order of this world. Her desires are more grounded in life itself, that is, to the home, family, and stability. Due to this deep connection to nature, it is more difficult for her to detach from it.

A man, on the other hand, is naturally more detached from the immediate reality. This detachment causes him to make more mistakes in worldly matters, but it also enables a greater capacity to abstract, to disconnect from nature, and to yearn for something beyond it. In general, women tend to function in this world more stably and realistically than men.

Therefore, the deficiency for spirituality does not depend on physical gender, but on the extent to which we can rise above our nature and long for adhesion with the Creator.

According to this traditional view, men are obligated in spiritual work because their nature allows (and requires) that upward striving. Women are not obligated in the same way, unless a genuine spiritual deficiency awakens in them.

There is a kind of “test” described:

A woman is first given what corresponds to her natural framework, that is, a husband, home, and children (what is called “a woman of the home”). If, after having these, she still yearns for Godliness, then the spark is considered authentic. If she seeks spirituality while lacking basic natural fulfillment, it might be that she is trying to compensate spiritually for unmet natural needs.

Why is a different test applied to men?

It is because a man does not naturally experience attachment to home and family in the same way. Therefore, he must also be grounded (married, responsible, and working) before engaging seriously in spiritual work. He too cannot escape worldly responsibility. A man without burden and responsibility is also considered unready. Therefore, both are tested according to their different inner structures.

Even when women study, traditionally the method is different because male and female souls represent different modes of spiritual structure. For that reason, serious study was not historically conducted in mixed settings.

An illustrative story is told about RABASH’s eldest daughter, who intensely desired to study. Baal HaSulam even taught her before her marriage. Yet once she became pregnant, her desire to study disappeared completely. Her thoughts became fully directed toward her child. RABASH reportedly observed this with amazement. This is presented as an example of how strongly nature operates.

Today, however, the situation is different. Many women who have stable lives, with a family, home, and fulfillment in this world, still feel a strong pull toward Kabbalah. This is considered a relatively new phenomenon. Sometimes the awakening could be influenced by environment or social context, but even that can accelerate the development of the point in the heart until it ignites independently.

In any case, if a genuine spiritual desire exists, a woman may certainly pursue spirituality. However, the traditional view maintains that the form of study and inner work differs, because the spiritual roots of male and female souls are different.

Ultimately, in spirituality, “male” and “female” are inner qualities present in every person. The female aspect is the deficiency, the will to receive. The male aspect is the intention to bestow. Both are required for complete correction.

From a Talk on the Article “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?” 6/11/2002

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 16 “The Difference between the Work of the General Public and the Work of the Individual” (1987) (6.18.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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