Question: During the last workshop there was a very strong feeling of absolute confidence and joy among the friends. Is this the essence of the male mutual guarantee? Do all my actions regarding the friends have to make them feel this way?

Answer: The right awakening of the friends to the upper spiritual goal is when you show that you are in it and it fills you with great joy, pleasure, and enthusiasm; it gives them a huge charge of energy when you are serious and happily value the group you are in; when you fill the friends with great attentiveness, and all this comes back to you. What is more, it comes back to you in a much greater form.

You shouldn’t make any other calculations here. Try to feel this all the time. If you feel that they treat you disrespectfully, what difference does it make? The Creator arranges things that way for you on purpose. You should work and that’s it. Be smart and outwit the Creator.

Question: Still, I want to understand the concept of mutual guarantee more deeply. What is it?

Answer: Mutual guarantee is when you feel that you are responsible for the fact that all the friends should reach the goal. You feel that you can do that and that it depends only on you.
[114106]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Attaining the Creator depends on the tightness or density of our connection. What does the density refer to? To how compactly and tightly together we are connected. We have to enter one another so that there will be nothing left in me and I will be in the others. This is what everyone should do, each of us in everyone else. There is nothing that is left behind except for the body. Everything that we call the soul, the point in the heart, our yearnings are all in the group.

The environment that absorbs me helps me dissolve in it. Does the group have to think about how to do this? Frankly, we have never spoken about this issue.

For the first time in this convention I feel that I can already start talking about how to establish such an environment, when by artificially drawing away from one another we expand the distance between us in order to fill it with the Light of Hassadim. Then we do the opposite as we contract by tightening the connections between us, this time in order to fill it with the Light of Hochma. We have to gradually reach this type of breathing by the actions we perform together, but it will be fulfilled after we connect. Then we will be able to perform it.

Can you imagine the work that is done in the group? We should all work together, to understand one another, to feel one another internally. Words cannot express this in any way. This is how Kabbalists work, by creating a space inside them for the revelation of the Creator as they expand and contract each time.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Specifically when I am found within the group, very close to the friends, we need to awaken the “Surrounding Light” on ourselves, which appears to the degree of density between us, the degree that the power of connection appears between us despite weaknesses, lack of desire, and even our laziness when we are swimming within some kind of indifference.

Even so, it is up to us to attract the Upper Light upon ourselves, and it is attracted only through unity, not through anything else!

Have you already felt this? So, continue to realize the unity even in states where you don’t want anything, for specifically when you don’t want to come close, your efforts will be most useful for prayer is created here.

You will not be successful at all, but you must reach the same state as in a convention, but already with today’s Aviut (thickness), with the newly discovered denseness of ego, when you seem to yearn for this but with a new deficiency, then the new level appears in you.

How does this happen? We know that when the Partzufim begin to be extended from above to below, then first Partzuf Galgalta goes out, and it is clothed Partzuf AB and after it, Partzuf SAG.

In Galgalta was Reshimot Dalet-Dalet (4/4). After that, when it is refined, clarified, then the Reshimot Dalet-Gimel (4/3) is left, and, within the SAG, the Reshimot Bet-Gimel (3/2) is received.

What does the gap between Reshimot de Hitlabashut and Aviut of Dalet-Gimel (4/3) give us? Dalet is a Reshimo of the Light because it is clothed on the Partzuf, and Gimel (3) is a Reshimo of the Kli, the desire (Aviut).

If we advance from above to below, then there is a Tzimtzum of the levels or Partzufim, the states.

What happens if we advance from below to above? Suppose I was at the Saint Petersburg convention and arrived there in state “1.” Let’s symbolically call it “Saint Petersburg Convention 2013.”

At the time of the convention, I received good fulfillment, and now it is up to me to rise to the next state which must be more intense.

In the previous state, I had Reshimot 1/0, where 1, is something illuminated from my future state depending on my Aviut, and now I need to rise to a level in which I will receive 2/1 fulfillment.

For this, I must transform the previous Light (1) that filled me into a Kli, this is to say, the previous Keter (the Light) transforms into the next Malchut (Kli, desire).

How do we do this? We don’t need to think about it. The Light will do this instead of us, but it is up to us to understand that it transforms previous fulfillment into a new deficiency, into a deficiency of the new level. Therefore, it is up to us to advance with “faith above reason,” specifically to yearn for connection just as at the convention.

“2” is the attraction of the Creator because this is a greater Light than before. It is forbidden to confuse this Light with the Light of the Torah, the correction, because this is specifically the light of fulfillment, the discovery of the Creator in us according to equivalence of form with bestowal.

Therefore, every friend included in a group discovers the Creator within connection. In this kind of form, we advance. This is called advancement with “faith above reason.”
[113118]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/13, “Faith Above Reason”

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Question: What does it mean when you say that the Reflected Light (Ohr Hozer) is realized in the group?

Answer: The Reflected Light is realized in the group since we are unable to imagine spirituality, the soul, or the Upper Light, as of yet.

If we take seven billion people, and ask each them very seriously and carefully what they think spiritual work is, it will become clear that each one of them has a different opinion, and no one has a clue what they are talking about, yet, all of them have some idea about it. That’s why we never want to act theoretically, only practically.

In other words, we are not interested in fantasizing. Kabbalah is a purely, practical science, a science of understanding the true system of the universe through the tools that are in my hands. Anything that is spoken theoretically, I don’t care about, because anyone can say anything they want.

Today, we agree with some things, “Yes, that guy is surely right!” Tomorrow, we realize that it was nonsense. That’s why we don’t “buy” any words, hypotheses, or theories. We refuse to take them into account. It is a prerogative of philosophy that, nowadays, already has turned into a household name.

I remember my meeting with physicists in San Francisco, the authors of the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? I brought a friend of mine, a professor and doctor of philosophy, to this meeting. At that time, I planned to write a book together with him. These physicists did not even look in his direction. They could not hide their contempt. Physicists research reality and we respect them for that and look forward to further contact with them.

It is exactly the same practical approach that we should have. With it, we need to approach the world. Only then would we be able to persuade others that this methodology has practical value. Baal HaSulam writes that we should make a space where we would show the entire world how this methodology works, what happens to people who are involved in it, and what kind of future they can anticipate. The only way to achieve this state of affairs is to show it to them as a model! That’s why there is no place for theoretical speculation.

You can object to my words by saying, “You only sit for three hours a day with your students, and all you do is read, and read, and read.” I do it only to attract the Upper Light. It is outlined in Item 155 in the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot. We do it solely to attract the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif), and there is no other meaning behind it. That’s why, in my eyes, those who are very knowledgeable and those who know nothing are absolutely equal.

There are people who remember many quotes by heart and know how to use them. They help me in my group work and assist me in preparation for the lessons. However, in spirituality, it doesn’t matter if a person is hardworking or very able. One’s realization is possible only within a group!

It is said that studying is available not only to wise men since one’s advancement doesn’t depend on their aptitude. Only one factor, a strong group, defines everyone’s success! It is the only criteria of attainment.

When one grinds one’s teeth and forces oneself to join the group against one’s egoism, one eventually begins rejecting his group-mates, “I don’t want to be with them! It’s disgusting! I am ready to do anything, but I don’t want to go to friends’ meetings, and I don’t want to do anything together with them.”

Why do we need to disseminate? Do you think that we do it in order to tell the world about us? No! We do it because it is our joint work, our common mission. While working together, we attract others and, thus trigger even greater Surrounding Light onto us. However, the real Surrounding Light that connects us with each other and organizes us descends to us only when we disseminate.

If, in the process of dissemination, someone experiences multiple predicaments but continues one’s work, one attracts an even bigger surrounding Light.

Consequently, first of all, people reveal their egoism; that is, they clearly realize that they don’t want to be a part of a group. In the beginning, our resistance is quite small. Then, it gradually grows. Contrary to our ego, we begin searching for various methods to join the group. Our inclusion into a group that happens against our egoism is, in fact, reasonable. We already understand why and for what purpose we do it; that is, we go by “faith above reason.” One should find strength to act contrary to what is on one’s mind and in one’s heart.

Only then will the Surrounding Light descend.
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Question: How can I include the friends in me so I will always feel what they lack in order to be able to constantly fill them?

Answer: I should simply think about what else I can give the friend. Have you seen how a mother treats her small child? She constantly looks at him and thinks only about him and about what else she can do for him. She can talk to you and at the same time not let him out of her sight.

This is how we should see the group, since it is the only valuable thing we have in order to attain something in this life.
[114110]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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The Kabbalists who attained an inner understanding of the world, described the entire creation as multidimensional, composed of many “worlds”: basically this is what both physicists and psychologists are beginning to talk about today.

The “multidimensional” world is composed of concentric circles which we investigate from within our small world which is found in the middle of their central point.

The great Kabbalist, the ARI, writes that after everything was contracted, a ray of light was drawn and created all the worlds up to our world, which is the last of all and is found within the empty gaping void. And only a narrow channel of Light passes from the world of Infinity (symbol ∞) to our world.

We began to be developed from its most central point, which within it, according to astronomy, through the power of an explosion that all matter was created. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, matter was created as a result of a contraction even before the explosion.

Our world is absolutely the opposite of all that exists outside of it. And therefore we don’t feel all that exists outside of it. Together with this, we feel only what enters by way of our five senses, and from this we describe to ourselves the picture of the world. This is what we have.

The entire creation was formed through a consistent contraction from above to below. This is to say, all the circles were gradually contracted until the area of the contraction was shattered into a multitude of parts under the influence of the Light. And therefore within matter (the desire to receive), the characteristics of the Light appeared, except in an opposite form.

If the characteristic of the Light is to bestow, to fill, to love, to connect, to enrich, and to create, which is to say, to create everything so that it will be beneficial, good, and eternal, then when it enters and shatters matter, it divides it into a multitude of parts, and in itself produces in this place characteristics which are its opposite, characteristics of reception, egoism, coercion, hatred, and rejection; these are within our negative emotions, although we use them because it has become our nature, and that is how we are.

Everything that separates us (the so-called “Pharaoh”) is the negative characteristics of the Light, its opposite. And from them we can learn, we can explain them in reverse all the time and can see what is happening.

Therefore, our work is realized with “faith above reason,” which is to say with bestowal above reception, with yearning for bonding, connection, and love, rising above ourselves, above our nature. In this manner it is possible to go forward.

But we ourselves can only make small efforts, and also, those who are ready for this are only people who have a “point in the heart,” the beginning of the characteristic of bestowal.

In principle, this spark exists in everyone; only it is discovered gradually, beginning with people who are more subtle and after that in those who are coarser. At the same time, the coarser the person is, his potential is greater. Even though it is more difficult for him to correct himself, but accordingly, the intensity of the discovery of his spiritual height will be greater also. Therefore, those who will be corrected after us will add immense Light to our perception.

Let’s say that in sum we attain the level of Nefesh, and after that, when this passes to them, the attain the levels of Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida. Every generation attains some particular level and the following generation that replaces it reaches even greater heights. And we develop in an identical manner.

Our development is gradual. Those in whom the point in the heart is awakened are inclined to search after the meaning of life. They are not influenced by any religion, what interests them is attainment, which is to say a real filling of knowledge, emotion, and ability to “take” the whole world, to discover it fully, to feel it within them, and in a real, tangible manner to feel themselves within it. The point in the heart pushes them towards this.

But the point in the heart alone is not enough for this, rather the mutual help of the rest of the shattered parts of the collective desires is required, or at least a part of them. Thus the group is gathered.

What is more, it is not we who gather the group. It is created as if by chance. The idea is that around us there exists a higher Light that fills the empty void that was formed (we call this an empty void because we don’t actually feel the Light), and it acts on us to the degree of the inclination of our yearning for its characteristic.
[112702]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 3

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Question: When the friends are incorporated properly, I feel delight that I bring the Creator pleasure. How can I keep in mind that it is the Creator, that everything is under His control, and that it has nothing to do with me and my pride?

Answer: It is written: “I am the first, and I am the last.” This means that no matter what you do, it is the Creator who does it. Everything that you start, no matter what state you and your environment are in, it is He who arranges everything. Whatever happens in the end is also arranged by the Creator.

What doesn’t he arrange? There isn’t such a thing! Everything stems from Him!

So where am I? You are only the one who does his best so that everything would work out. But what for? After all, He arranges everything? When you make such attempts, you adhere to Him, that’s all and there is nothing but that.

The illusion that you exist separately and independently, that you do something, that you think, etc. is given to you only for your sake. It is so you will attain the revelation that you are totally adhered to Him anyway and that you constantly move together in your desires, intentions, and actions in everything
[114027]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Question: How should a group behave if it notices an eruption of the ego in several friends, or disrespect of one friend toward another?

Answer: You should set a quiet example with a hint. Suppose I see that one friend treats another disrespectfully. I will try, as if by chance, to speak respectfully about the one he disrespects, in a conversation that we may have. I will do that without hurting or humiliating anyone. It only relates to the spiritual work.

If we speak about our work with the public or here at the center, which is not related to spiritual contact, then we can object to one another and not agree with one another. But then again, it has to be totally detached, and absolutely clear that it has nothing to do with our spiritual adhesion.
[114025]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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In a Kabbalistic group, love for another is attained when we stop paying attention not only to the externality of the friends, not only to their physical appearance, but also to their inner potential, because all this mixes together and each one works within the other.

We have already spoken of this not just once, that I don’t have those desires in me that I can fulfill through the Upper Light, through the Creator, through attaining the upper world. They are all found in you; whereas in me, they don’t exist. There is only a point in me and no more than this.

To the degree that I acquire your desires as mine, “and you shall love your friend as yourself,” so I acquire that spiritual Kli, those desires, that I can fill. And through their fulfillment, I fulfill myself.

Together with this we transform into very big egoists, only this is no longer called “egoism” because you see I overcome my small physical ego in order to acquire a gigantic desire that is filled by the Light through the presence of the Creator. And all of this is mine!

Therefore don’t separate from anything, don’t escape anything, don’t sacrifice anything, and don’t pretend you are heroes. On the contrary, you are approaching very great reception of Ein Sof, therefore this wisdom is called the “science of reception.”

The one thing, as Baal HaSulam says, is that there is a small psychological trick here where we must overcome a psychological barrier that I “as if” fulfill others relative to my present self.

But as soon as I gradually begin to feel the way a mother feels towards her child with the group, that this is mine, then immediately it becomes understood by me that it really is mine. This is my acquisition, my Kelim. And that’s it! This is your world of infinity. Please, be like the Creator, take control of it, you will get it, and enjoy it!

Because what is the goal of creation? To enjoy! Therefore don’t try to make of yourselves holy martyrs. We sacrifice the smallest most nothing ego in order to leave it and acquire a truly limitless Kli filled with infinite pleasure.
[113923]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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The main thing is the group. I heard much about Baal HaSulam dreaming of creating a Kabbalistic community. He brought tannery machines with him from Poland, thinking that he would open a small factory where he would work with his students and this would be enough for them to survive. And in a small and compact circle like this they would learn the wisdom of Kabbalah. He had many similar programs. From his articles one can feel how much he dreamt about this. He was an immense spiritual romantic.

But this was still impossible in those times. Even in our times we see that in the meantime we are only on the way towards it. I could put it that this will be possible, but in what way we still don’t know. It’s not necessary to override time.

Anyway, we see that in all times, all the Kabbalists learned specifically in groups and related within it very fundamentally to its constitution, laws, and general rules of conduct.

All the laws that are described in the Torah and in the rest of the sources are laws of behavior within a group. They are not meant for a nation, nor for the masses, but only for Kabbalistic groups. Even though the impression is apparently created that this is how the masses should behave, all this is very conditional. Basically this effects only those who want to “go outside of themselves,” from their ego.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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