All the work is only where there are two ways, as we have found, And he shall live in them, and he shall not die in them (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 188 “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 2”).

Question: Why is it said that we have two ways? After all, we only have one way, the way of Kabbalah.

Answer: The point is that we must observe the laws of the higher world that governs us. Within it, there are conditions that allow transgressing various requirements except for the three commandments.

The main one is that the Creator is one, unique, unified, and there is none else beside Him. Therefore, first of all, one must adhere to this and work on this commandment. And everything else depends on the states a person inhabits.

Therefore, it is written that all our work is only in the place where there are two ways: whether to fulfill the commandments or not. As it is said: “And they shall live in them, and not die in them.”

This means that we cannot approach the sanctification of the Creator in things that do not require it, and the notion of “die but not transgress” applies only to the three commandments called incest, bloodshed, and idolatry. We find that the first righteous ones gave their lives to fulfill them.

That is, everything a person must do, and he stands by it, is to devote all his efforts to fulfilling the commandments or even go even to death. This is our entire work because at the time when a person must observe the Torah, the heavy burden is revealed, i.e., the entire weight of its execution. And at the time when the Torah protects a person, it is not so difficult for him.

As it is said, a person’s soul shall teach him. When a person moves forward and various means for further advancement are revealed to him, this is called the Torah teaching and protecting him.
[326997]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/19/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 2”

Related Material:
Living by the Laws of the Torah
Are We Guarded From Above? Part 8
Torah—The General Laws of Communication

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

Question: How do we reach a state when our soul begins to teach us?

Answer: In principle we should already begin to determine this. A person needs to understand that everything he receives comes from the Creator is aimed only at his development, and he needs to figure out how to react to the revealed circumstances.

If you correct your soul, i.e., the point of connection with the Creator, then it will lead you forward, as it is said, a person’s soul will teach him.

Question: It is just that the moments of connection with the soul are short-lived, and this world captures all your attention. How can we make it so that the point of connection with the Creator would subjugate us?

Answer: You must divide yourself into two parts. Follow the instructions of the Torah in the one part and work with the outside world in the other.

Question: But the outside world does not feel these instructions. Why then should we divide ourselves into two parts?

Answer: The point is not that the outside world does not feel but that it is about your fulfillment of the Torah and Mitzvot. And they must be fulfilled.
[326943]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/19/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 2”

Related Material:
The Soul Is a Property of Similarity to the Creator
What Is The Soul?
A Person Is Not Born With A Soul

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

The issue of “shall die and not breach” applies only to three Mitzvot [commandments]: idolatry, bloodshed, and incest (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 88, “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 1”).

Idolatry (Avodah Zarah) means that a person is forced to worship some idols, i.e., to magnify someone or something as if it were the Creator or a part of the Creator.

Incest (Gilui HaRayot) is when a person is compelled to commit adultery with, suppose, someone else’s wife. From the spiritual point of view, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” means do not be jealous of another person.

Bloodshed (Shfichut Damim) is when he is compelled to kill others. But we must not harm anyone. In these three cases, a person is obliged to restrain himself and not violate these conditions, even if he is threatened with death.

Question: Is it possible to disconnect from the Creator in these cases?

Answer: No, all three conditions consist precisely of not disconnecting from the Creator under any circumstances.

A person is responsible only to himself and to the Creator for observing these three commandments.
[326431]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/6/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 1”

Related Material:
Your Reward For Keeping The Commandments
The Mechanism of the “Torah and Commandments”
The Commandments Are Heard Only When We Reach Connection

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

Question: What does it mean to live by the laws of the Torah?

Answer: Everything we should receive from the Torah is intended solely to help us live better.

Question: When the Torah helps people, they fulfill the commandments. But how can one check whether the Torah is helping them or if they are performing actions of bestowal to receive?

Answer: One must progress further and gradually will begin to see.

Question: Is it possible to reach a state where the Torah constantly protects you on the path so that you are always in joy and ascent?

Answer: We cannot achieve the ideal state because we are not in final correction (Gmar Tikkun), but gradually get closer to it.
[326338]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/6/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 1”

Related Material:
Torah—The General Laws of Communication
Love As The Law Of Nature
The Torah Is A Program And A Guide

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

Question: Should I feel guilt for not observing a commandment and ask for forgiveness from the Creator? Or will efforts in the work be a better apology?

Answer: Generally, both are good. You don’t have to apologize, you just need to feel your mistakes. That is already good. The Creator understands everything.

At the same time you should have a sense of guilt, but one that does not hold you back in your development.
[326341]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/6/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “All the Work Is Only Where There Are Two Ways – 1”

Related Material:
The Creator Precedes Everything
The Creator Knows Best What to Give to Everyone
Submit Yourself To The Creator

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

Commandments are actions that bring the upper light upon us. Therefore, we should know which of our actions are considered commandments and which are simply actions that have no relation to the Creator and are called prohibitive.

Question: When do we begin to fulfill the commandments? Is it when we already acquire the screen?

Answer: No, even before acquiring the screen. Even if you do not know what a screen is, you can consider your actions toward a spiritual goal as commandments.

If our desires coincide with the desires of the Creator, then the upper light helps us perform spiritual actions.

We must bless the Creator for allowing us to evoke the upper light and, under its influence, get closer to Him. Blessing brings a person closer to the Creator as he is honored with greater fulfillment.

Question: How can I remain in implementation of the commandments so as not to fall into the mechanical implementation of some actions in our world?

Answer: Connect your heart to your actions. Do not be greedy thinking that you will waste it on others. On the contrary, in this case, it grows and expands.
[325464]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “And You Shall Keep Your Souls”

Related Material:
A Blessing In The Heart
Blessed With Bestowal
The Main Task Is to Fulfill the Laws of the Creator

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

There must be a “small stone,” but it must be “complete,” meaning sufficient to keep the whole of the Torah and Mitzvot based on the “small stone,” and only then is it called “complete” (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 170, “You Shall Not Have in Your Pocket a Big Stone”).

A small stone is small faith (above reason), and a large stone is great faith (reason).

A person must have a “small stone.” For him to fulfill the Torah and Mitzvot based on faith, this stone must be whole. It means we must strive for faith, whether small or large, but complete, not broken into parts.

Therefore, we look not at the size of the stone, but at its integrity—how much the integrity of faith allows us to fulfill the Torah and commandments together.

When we strive for one goal, strength, faith, and action, we see how the Creator unites and turns us into one solid stone.
[325609]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/20/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “You Shall Not Have in Your Pocket a Big Stone”

Related Material:
A Clear Definition Of The Goal
The Kabbalistic Group Is A Spiritual Booster
The Ten—A Device For Revealing The Creator

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

Question: What is the connection between the Holy Shechina and Adam HaRishon?

Answer: There is a significant difference between them. The Shechina is a part of the Creator, while Adam HaRishon is the general form of all created beings.

Question: We always begin the fulfillment of commandments with some transgression. What changes when we have the opportunity to put intention on this commandment?

Answer: Your attitude toward the action changes, the correction of intention occurs, and then the action becomes a commandment.

Question: What does it mean to attain the upper abundance in practice?

Answer: The upper abundance is the revelation of the Creator. If you want the other souls to receive it through you, they do it with the light you received from the Creator.

Question: Can we say that in spirituality, the forces of good and evil stand before each other and are somehow equal?

Answer: No, because even the smallest particle of egoism corrupts everything completely.

Question: If the Creator wants to delight His creations, why does it say in the sources that He does not need practical realization?

Answer: The Creator needs nothing, not even to fill us. We need this to become like the Creator.
[325691]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/22/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “A Mitzva that Comes through Transgression”

Related Material:
Questions about Spiritual Work—87
Questions about Spiritual Work—86
Questions about Spiritual Work—85

Filed under: Adam-The Common Soul, Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: How can I check the correctness of my intention?

Answer: Usually, this check occurs when we perform an action, add an intention to it, and see from the result that the intention coincides with the action. For this, we deserve a blessing.

Question: If there is a result at the end, then the intention is correct. But how can we avoid deceiving ourselves in the process of acting?

Answer: There is no way to do that. You must complete the entire action, and only after its completion, see the result and understand whether you have fulfilled the commandment or not.

Commandment (Mitzvah) comes from the word “instruction” (Tzivui), which means an instruction from the Creator.

Question: What internal checks can we use to ensure that the actions of keeping the commandments are not superficial but contribute to spiritual growth?

Answer: This is clear from what we are studying. Everything that concerns coming closer to the friends, connecting, and turning to the Creator are positive and necessary actions. Everything else, as a rule, are negative actions.
[325511]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “And You Shall Keep Your Souls”

Related Material:
The Role of Intention in the Work for the Creator
Intention Is Action
The Main Thing Is Intention

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

Question: Should a person, as he approaches the Creator, come to the understanding that he would perform the commanded actions even without instructions from above?

Answer: No, without instructions from above one would not have fulfilled the commandments. These instructions prompt a person to take spiritual actions because the commandments are the desires of the Creator, which He commanded to people.

Question: Must a person feel himself what actions are commanded to him?

Answer: No, he gets knowledge about them from the primary sources.
[325508]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “And You Shall Keep Your Souls”

Related Material:
The Mechanism of the “Torah and Commandments”
The Main Commandment
Your Reward For Keeping The Commandments

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