Question: After the first integral discussions in circles, people who participated in them said that the more they use this method, the more egoistic they become.

Answer: They begin to see their nature as egoistic, begin to see themselves. This is good. That is, there is truly a reason to connect. Don’t be afraid of this. They will not have any negative phenomena, deviations, or depressions. Their ego is just being revealed in its integral form. And this is good. This says that a greater need to connect is appearing among them.
[111277]
From the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13, Lesson 3

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Question: Our virtual women’s group of ten gathers after every lecture. We share our impressions, read Shamati together and there is a feeling that we recharge one another. Is there anything spiritual in that or are women exempt from doing that?

Answer: First of all women need everything that men need. Second, a person is where his thoughts are, so you are doing a great job. Connect and think that it’s very important.

If you are not connected you will not be able to impress the men. Each woman is powerless by herself. Only if you are connected, at least in a group of ten, will you be able to impress the men. They will begin to subconsciously feel that you are pressuring them, that you demand of them just like a woman demands of her husband.

This is how we are made! And it’s very important! So encouraging and demanding at the same time is a woman’s work along two lines. We have to use that. Men who don’t perceive that will deprive themselves of the strongest means to advance! They mustn’t refuse that. Otherwise they will have no incentive.

It’s the female nature that can obligate a man to act. Even psychologists and historians speak about the fact that a man can do anything for a woman. Such mutual cooperation is part of our nature.

So you have to act together and to impress the men’s group together and actually demand that they pay attention to you and take your yearning seriously. It is serious work. I see that wherever there is a strong women’s group, the men are also successful.
[111274]
From the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13, Lesson 3

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Question: A person who is studying Kabbalah, with time begins to feel heaviness, in particular when he watches the morning lessons or reads something serious. The Creator gives us “intentional obstacles” like these, which we call disturbances. Why? What do they mean?

Answer: Apparently it’s so that life will not seem sweet like honey, even though this never really seems to be so. We say this all the time, that all of our ascents take place only above the growth of the ego. There is nothing else! You do something good, this is a sign that you can increase your ego, and so the system immediately adds this. You attract the upper Light onto yourself through your unity, through further yearning for the goal, and immediately the ego is added from the left again, and so forth.

You call the constant burdening of the ego “intentional obstacles.” And the person really feels: “What is this dirty trick?!”

I remember how I came to Rabash about this for the first time: “Look at what is happening to me! You see it’s impossible to endure this…” I worked as usual all the time, I did everything, and suddenly there was a descent for a few weeks. I really couldn’t see the light of day.

What do I want to say about this? The growth of the ego is compulsory. Imagine that you now have five grams of ego; in regard to spirituality it is not considered to exist. But in order to leave it, to hate it, to strangle it, you would need a few hundred kilograms. How can you attain such a state of hatred so you will be ready to flee from it, when “my death would be better than my life”? When you begin to feel like this, only then will you be able to carry out a transition to this phase.

This is really an internal revolution within you when you are ready to die just so you won’t remain with it: “Take everything that you gave me, I don’t need anything, just get me out of this ego!” Moreover, this is not incidental, rather it’s truly a serious decision.

How is it possible to reach this? In this way they bring you to it gradually. But you can hasten your advancement only on condition that the group helps you, and you will search constantly for a state contrary to the ego, meaning connection, bestowal, and love.
[111198]
From the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13, Lesson 3

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The topic of the first lesson of the convention in St. Petersburg is “There is None Else Besides Him.” This is the main topic that we always study.

In principle, we are in a special reality called the “Creator” and have to reveal Him. The “Creator” (Boreh) means to “come and see” (Bo-reh in Hebrew). If we already dwell in Him, in the upper white Light, then only He acts and there is none else besides Him. Only He “outlines,” forms us; He is the first and He is the last. All our thoughts and deeds stem from the actions of this upper Light. Nothing exists but Him.

We observe still, vegetative, and animate forms in which the Creator acts wholly, obliging them to make any movement. They have no freedom of will at all; they are entirely under His direct influence.

On the other hand, we ourselves have a certain point, created by Him, existing seemingly outside of Him. This point gives us the opportunity to know the Creator—the only one who affects us. In fact, in this way we do not go somewhere outside, do not become distant from Him, and do not violate any of His actions. The reality remains the same: There is no one else besides the Creator. However, due to this point that seems to be abstracted from Him, I can analyze myself and Him, I can deliberately and consciously lead myself to the only existing state in which there is none else besides Him.

I attain the Creator due to this work. I attribute every fragment of reality to His oneness, and thus I attain all His deeds, all the steps, direct and opposite Him, that He undertakes. So, returning to the state of unity and oneness of the Creator, I stand in all the power that He has given me and realize that really there is none else besides Him.

Thus, I bring Him pleasure, and this is the greatest pleasure that I can bring Him, and this means myself. After all, there is none else besides Him.

So now we need, against our desire, to reasonably and deliberately become included in the concept: “There is none else besides Him.”
[111373]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/3/13, Preparation the St. Petersburg Convention, Lesson 1

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Question: How can we acquire additional deficiencies that we need in our preparation for the convention?

Answer: We shouldn’t ask for deficiencies but for their correction and for the completion of those that we already have. You are asking how you should prepare and enlarge your vessel, but what we have is enough and we don’t need additional deficiencies. We only need to connect what we have now in one integral manner.

We don’t need anything else but that, and this is the only thing we should think about. Then different thoughts, disappointments, confusions, rejections, and other interruptions will come along that will help us grow stronger and complete the general connection into one whole on the first level.

We only have to connect, to unite Israel, the Torah, and the Creator; that’s all. The deficiencies that we already have are enough and we don’t need any more. We don’t need to look for new troubles and confusions or unpleasantness, leave this work for the Light. Our work is to yearn to unite everything into one concept.

Then we will suddenly encounter new interruptions, which is a sign what they were missing in order to complete the Aviut (thickness) for the first level. Then we will work with them too as we acknowledge and are grateful for the help we have received. This is called “being grateful for the evil as well as for the good,” to thank and to bless both the Light and the new deficiencies.

Question: How should we prepare for that?

Answer: I want everything in me to unite in one direction, I prepare myself for that and don’t sit and wait for the beginning of the convention. The right preparation wants it to happen now and not leave it for tomorrow. I expect the Messiah to come at any moment and bring us to the end of correction. This is called preparation.
[111233]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/30/13, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Before we attain love is it necessary to attain hatred regarding a friend? What is this hatred in spirituality?

Answer: We never yearn to discover hatred. In no way or manner! Not in a family, not at home, not with the children, not with anyone!

We don’t need to yearn for anything bad! Only through yearning for good can we understand our true nature. By trying to love a friend, we begin to discover that we hate him. Therefore on the path to “And you shall love your friend as yourself,” we discover big problems. And all the time by overcoming them, we fall into hatred again.

If you want to know your nature, you need to direct yourselves only towards love, which is to say, to be incorporated maximally with the other: “What do you want? What are you missing in order to attain the goal?” You try to push him towards this goal, even though you yearn for it yourself. It is not according to your egoistic calculations; rather, it is specifically because he wants this.

By trying to do everything for the sake of a friend artificially, you begin to discover that you hate him: “Why do I need to help him? How can I wish that he achieve this? Where am I in all this?” The hatred appears here very quickly and we need to work on it.

But this first discovery of true hatred beyond the efforts that we made in approaching each other, this is already spiritual hatred. This is not as it is in our world. In our world we don’t take positive or negative emotions into account.

Everything that is in our world comes to a person through his ego, so we don’t take this into account in the spiritual world. And working on approaching the friends in a group, to the degree of our effort to approach them, to fulfill them, and to elevate them, we begin to see how much we are completely the opposite of this; this is our work. And hatred will appear there and this will already be spiritual. All spirituality is attained only beyond yearning for unity—solely and only—both positively and negatively.
[111203]
From the Preparation for the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13

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Question: Are there degrees during the period of preparation or is it one degree in total, and only by entering the spiritual world, will we begin to ascend the 125 degrees?

Answer: Even on the zero degree from which we start, we go through different stages. Every degree consists of ten Sefirot, no more and no less. And each Sefira has its own ten Sefirot and so on to infinity.

There is no such condition which is completely solid and does not include all the elements, the entire reality. There is only one picture of the universe but it is seen in a different resolution as if on the map with a different scale.

For example, we are going to the convention in St. Petersburg. If you look at the map of Russia, the city is just a point. But if you get closer and increase the scale, then this point turns into a big city. You get closer and see all the streets, even every building, etc.

Thus, our current state seems to us just a point. But in reality it includes the entire universe. Everything depends on the scale in which we view it and see all the details in it. The revelation of all the details is the ascent of the 125 degrees.
[111211]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/30/13, Writings of Rabash 

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It all depends on our efforts. We have reached such a level that we are able to prepare ourselves by the path of Light with accelerating time and by helping each other, as is said, “Help a fellow man.” But this requires unity, inner mutual demonstration, total inspiration, and passion.

Everyone should try to be impressed by others, even artificially. You are watching a lesson and it does not touch you today. But make even artificial attempts to cling to what is said there and this will happen. Thus, we achieve a common desire.

The path of Light means that I received the ready desire from friends because my soul is in them, and I, myself, have only the point in the heart of my soul, everything else is egoism. I do not have to use it all but to be constantly above it. This is called faith above reason when I am in the group instead of my mind and egoism, and I absorb all their desires and fulfill them.

Today, we can talk about these deep things because you have been in good preparation for a week. There is the desire to reach the spiritual vessel, even if it’s not very clarified, but I feel that your efforts give me the opportunity to reveal some details of preparation, connection. Thus, we will advance, we still have time before the convention.

These remaining days are the most important, not the convention itself. You will later understand what it means “to eat what has been saved for a long time,” that is, to be nourished by what you have revealed during the preparation. As egoists, we think now we’ll reach the spiritual world and get everything there. But we will come to the revelation of the feeling to what extent we were in the perfect state before, although it seemed flawed to us. Exactly as The Book of Zohar describes this, “The holy Zohar also spoke about it, saying that one who is rewarded with repentance, the holy Divinity appears to him like a soft-hearted mother who hasn’t seen her son for many days, while they made great efforts and experienced ordeals in order to see each other, because of which they both were in great dangers.” (Baal HaSulam, Letter 25). Then, time disappears and all the states come into one because what we reveal is that we initially were in the most perfect state.

So, do not forget that your desire is in the other, in the collective vessel. Now, everyone is getting ready for the convention and if you are integrated with them and want to receive a desire, hopes, and inspiration  from them, then it’s in this way that you discover your true spiritual vessel. You need to look inside yourself less, if possible do not look there at all, and take your emptiness as salty appetizers or spicy seasoning and become included in the friend right away. He contains all the main courses, fulfillment, both the vessels and the Light. And I have only additions that incite my appetite from my inner emptiness.
[111141]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/28/13, Shamati #117

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Question: You said that you can talk for ten hours and not get tired. How can we make sure that we do not get tired and do not fall asleep during the lesson?

Answer: It depends on importance! If this is important to me, then I will not fall asleep. So, you constantly need to excite yourself. Importance is taken on purpose from above, or rather egoism is raised, and that is why it is “jammed.” And we need to raise it again in our eyes. This depends on the environment.

It is not a problem to stay awake in class after a good rest. The problem is to raise oneself in spite of fatigue. This is very important! One needs to work on this.

The friends around you also have to charge the atmosphere. Now, I am saying familiar words that you have heard many times before. Do you see anything new in them? If not, then it is a problem. A person should not remain indifferent to the fact that he does not feel novelty. It depends only on him. And the words are all the same. We must be angry with ourselves!
[111117]
From the Preparation to the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13

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Question: If we do not know the next state, how can we prepare for it?

Answer: We will never know the next state even when we are already on spiritual degrees. Let’s say you are on the 80^th rung of the ladder. This is a wonderful degree, believe me. But before you get up to this degree with the previous one, you are in a state a million times worse than it is now.

You have no desire, no interest, you do not hear a single word of what we are talking about now during the lesson, you are sitting just like a piece of wood, even worse, like an impenetrable rock. You cannot think at all about spirituality, you cannot even remember when it happened to you, where and how. What is the spiritual world anyway? You cannot recall a single feeling, any word from there.

Instead of this, you are overcome by the most primitive thoughts: What is in my belly, in my bank account, in the fridge. You are turning into a real animal. How can you get out of this state to rise to the 81^st degree? Only through very gradual and difficult movements.

No one from above will give you energy, the importance of the goal, so your eyes will open wide and sparkle. On the contrary, you are totally deprived of the spirit of life. You will fall into egoism, will hate the friends. Now, you start getting out of this inner state if you even remember what it is about. They talk and you do not even hear. It is not that you are “for” or “against,” you just do not react, it’s as if you are made of stone.

It is written about this, “Everything in your power, that do.” The greater a person is, the more egoism he has. Therefore, he experiences a terrible burdening of the heart that leaves him no opportunity to do anything. Now, you do not depend on anyone: You have neither a good nor bad connection with the friends. And then you will fall together because of your connection and the fall will also be global, of the group.

What can you do? Take advantage of the mind? But there is no mind; you have turned into a stone. Playing artificially does not work either. Bow to the environment? But you have nowhere to bow; you have already fallen so low and you cannot fall from the floor. Turning to the group? But you do not see it in front of you. What can help you? Only a prior preparation! If you have approached a spiritual state without the necessary preparation, you have no chance to advance.

And if you still were not able to prepare, the only thing that helps you in this situation is a daily schedule. If you are accustomed to a particular routine, a habit becomes a second nature. You need to use it and make it a habit as much as possible because a habit enters your nature, and if you feel that you are even dead, habits revive you. You must get up for the lesson because your body is used to waking up at this hour. You must perform certain habitual actions. It does not refer to the soul, the body got used to the physical activities that you do at the same time and under the same conditions.

Therefore, it is very important for a person to accustom himself to a daily schedule. Nothing will help but habits. Since I have included in my nature habits related to spirituality, then now, when I am doing these physical habitual actions, they remind me of spirituality. I developed them in myself because of the spiritual goal, and now when I have to abide by them in the physical form, they bring me back to a spiritual state.
[111030]
From the Talk About the Preparation for the Convention in St. Petersburg 6/26/13

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