Baal HaSulam, Shamati #190, “Every Action Leaves an Imprint”:  And certainly, tasting from the next world requires great preparations during the six days of action. To the extent that one has prepared, so is one’s sensation.

But without any proper preparation to extend the spiritual taste of Shabbat, it is to the contrary: He grows worse due to the corporeal pleasures. This is so because after corporeal meals one is only drawn to sleep, and nothing more, since after eating comes sleep. Thus, his eating brought him lower.

Sabbath is a special state; it is a kind of a next world, a special day which is a corporeal sign of the spiritual end of correction, which we will reach in the future, called “Sabbath.” It is a spiritual state and not a specific day on the calendar that is printed on paper or that appears on the computer.

We yearn for this special state called the Sabbath and this day comes when we arrive at the state that we want to arrive at. The corporeal states arrive regardless of our desire in the time that they are meant to, which is called the natural process of evolution, “in its time.” But the spiritual states come only according to our inner preparation. If we make the necessary inner preparations then we are incorporated in a state called a new “day.”

So a “day” has nothing to do with the calendar but rather depends on our preparation. If I complete the preparation, I am incorporated in that “day,” and if I don’t, then an endless number of corporeal days can go by, but the spiritual day doesn’t arrive and so a new state doesn’t begin.

The spiritual state totally depends on the preparation, but the preparation is by corporeal actions. It means that I have to do everything that is in my power, as it says “everything that is in your power, that do,” and “he who doesn’t work on the eve of the Sabbath, what will he eat on the Sabbath?” So everything is determined by our preparation.
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From the Talk About the Preparations for the Congress 6/26/13

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Rabash, “The Generality of Man”: “Now let’s talk about the love of the Creator. First a person has to know that love is acquired by actions, by giving his friend presents, so each present that he gives his friend is like an arrow and a ball, which makes a hole in his friend’s heart. Even if his friend’s heart is like stone, still every ball makes a hole in it, and the many holes create a space in it. Then the love of the giver of the presents enters that space.

The warmth and love attract the friend’s sparks of love and then an attire of love is woven by the two loves that covers the two. This means that one love revolves and surrounds the two of them and they become one man, since the attire that they are both covered by is one attire. Thus they are both nullified.”

If two people feel mutual love then they mutually complement one another. Each of them is incorporated in the other and then a third party appears between them, the Creator, who testifies for their love and sustains it.

One sided love cannot be sustained for a long time. It takes two who feel some mutual love connection, even if it is in different levels of intensity. If one of them is greater than the other, he descends to the level of the second since it is much more difficult to ascend than to descend. So he creates a special spiritual Partzuf for himself which is his expression on a lower level and by that helps his smaller friend fulfill their mutual love. Thus he helps his friend rise higher each time.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/19/13, Writings of Rabash

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Communication in cyberspace is not full communication. This may be how our world still retains its balance; as for myself I would not describe it as possible to truly unite virtually.

To learn, yes, to finish the college courses and the rest of the possible virtual integral courses. But truly to unite? In spite of it all you need to see your friends. I don’t know what the future will be, but it seems to me that you cannot avoid this. There may not be any other solution.

We find ourselves in the physical world precisely to see faces in front of us and in spite of the faces, to enter the hearts, so to speak.
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From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 6

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Question: At a convention a sensation is created that cannot be described, a sensation of a single family. But many individuals are present here. Tomorrow they will disperse and will again find themselves under the influence of the external world. What must they do in order to maintain an intention all the time, at least until the convention in St. Petersburg?

Answer: This depends on all of you and not on them, a person cannot fight alone. A person cannot hold himself in the right state for a long time without the friends and the right environment; this is very difficult. We give all due respect to those individuals who can hold their position in conditions like this, without the friends, but in general, this is very complicated! In every place where you live, you must find at least one other person or a number of people, and at least on weekends and during vacations meet with them for a few hours. This will be a spiritual outlet for them. And for the rest of the days connect with them by Skype or in some other form.

You need to be concerned about the individuals, to prepare a schedule for when you will connect with them, speak with them, bring them into some kind of work, give them little chores, processing materials, and the like. You need to include them in the collective gatherings of friends so they can participate in them virtually. This is to say they must be considered friends of your group.

If for a long time they haven’t succeeded in finding partners for themselves and are removed from the collective stream, then it is necessary to try as much as possible to move them as close you as you can, and to find work for them, to help. If this is a serious friend who proves that he is adherent to the goal and he needs you, then it is necessary to do this.

But it is quite possible that if you delve into your memory, then through their friends or by sending through the Internet (not sophisticated Kabbalah, but correct) you will find friends for them in those cities where they live. It is necessary to try to do this so that around each one of our isolated friends, wherever they may be, you will organize a group. But if this kind of possibility doesn’t exist, you must help them move closer to you.
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From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 6

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Nothing can be achieved without effort. Until we finish our work, we will not finish forming our vessel and therefore will not be able to reveal the final state. Our states are programmed from above so that is why Kabbalists could tell in advance when it should happen to us.

They have asked us to perform actions with “the acceleration of time,” as Baal HaSulam called for in the1920s. But people did not want to listen to him and therefore they went through the path of suffering: through the Holocaust of world’s Jews and all the problems of the wars that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel. Imagine, how much suffering could have been avoided if they had listened to his warning and had begun to build the state of Israel 30-40 years earlier, avoiding the Holocaust and all its implications, and had built on the principles described in his article “The Last Generation.”

We have to do this today, after we have gone through the path of suffering, of natural development. This is a good example of what we could have done and how as a result we went through this state, surviving the crisis, the difficulties, the Holocaust, the terrible suffering to come to the state where we are today. This is called neglecting preparation!

Today, we are once again given the opportunity: after the revelation of the wisdom of Kabbalah, the establishment of the world Kabbalah group, and the revelation of the method. Once again, we are in the preprogrammed state that has a schedule according to which it will develop naturally (Beito). Or in every square of this schedule, at every stage, at each step, to which we have to rise, we act with the help of the Light (Ahishena). If not, then we will have to go through the same stage by the path of suffering. It all depends on our preparation.

That is why you need to take it seriously in anticipation of this large convention that will take place in St Petersburg in July 2013. We can be very well prepared for it. We already have examples of the states to which we have to come, the experience of physical activities to which we have to add only intention: What do we do this for, what we want? This is what we need to clarify.

There is still plenty of time ahead: We have two weeks and we must apply efforts. Because our state depends on it, on whether we will go through the path of suffering or the Light. And besides, you finally need to switch from calculations for yourselves, your suffering or pleasure, to the thoughts about the Creator and to evaluate relative to Him, whether we bring Him joy or we do not care.

I hope that everyone will ask himself how he participates in the preparation. It does not matter where you will be physically during the convention physically—most important is how you will prepare yourselves to become connected with everyone in collective unity, without any difference or distance, eliminating any external influence. According to this, you will be awarded advancement or even revelation.
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From the Talk About the Preparation for the Convention in St. Petersburg 6/26/13

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Question: You said that great expectations for the conventions are not to be confused with the preparation for it. What is the difference between preparation and expectation?

Answer: Expectation means that I am sitting and waiting idly dreaming that the conventions will happen soon. It will be nice there, I will see my friends, we will dance and sing. I will visit a beautiful city where I have never been, etc. That is all expectations, dreams. I do not really invest my efforts in their realization, but just wait when the good time comes.

Preparation is when I understand that I have nothing to hope for, nothing to expect because there will be only what I prepare. Sabbath comes at the end of the week when all the work stops and as much you have prepared for this day, that much you will have. People save the most delicious things for Sabbath, they buy and save it especially for the Sabbath.

These are external symbols that indicate internal actions. We ourselves make a convention. At the convention, we want to reveal unity, connection, mutual guarantee, the intention of mutual bestowal that will connect all these forces together and tie us by a collective network in which we will begin to feel the general integral force. We will call it the upper force because it will be higher than us, but we build it ourselves.

The Creator (Bo-reh) means “come and see.” If we come, we will see! Now, in fact, we are building the convention. Otherwise, we will just have a festival in the material world and no more.

Every time, we approach a more internal state. We have little concern where this happens and how beautiful the place is; we increasingly concentrate internally on the inner content.

The main thing is not even the lessons. Of course when we listen to them together and get impressed we unite in one thought in one desire. This is necessary but the most important thing is to constantly prepare ourselves for the state that we have to create. Coming to the convention everyone has to bring his “brick” from which we will build a common vessel.

This brick has to be obtained in advance and be ready for connection. I already now aspire to this connection and imagine it.
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From the Talk About the Preparation for the Convention in St. Petersburg 6/26/13

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Our “New Home” project was born of necessity. We didn’t even dream that we would be able to acquire such a gigantic building. But it turned out that this was possible thanks to the power and the readiness of our groups. It turned out that both among the women and among the men there were forces for collecting and helping, not only to collect the means but everything else as well.

We need to understand our intensity and greatness. Describe to yourselves how many friends we have throughout the world! If we want something, we can awaken a very great intense wave! Seemingly we feel ourselves to be powerless, exhausted, unable to function, and weak, but in fact there is no other organized ideological power like ours in the world.

Today everything is dwindling, extinguishing, and dissipating in the world due to lack of purpose, lack of hope, and lack of escape. Whereas we are the opposite, we are going and growing and our power is becoming revealed more and more. It must be used.

Now we will have a new center. We will be able to prepare serious projects, invite experts here from every area, prepare programs of dissemination and unity for children and adults. We will have the basis for all kinds of work, for every kind of communication and communications media.

Therefore I very much hope that within the next half year we will arrange everything and that by next spring our center will be working full force. There will be television studios and a multitude of different departments.

In the summertime we can have our kids with us to teach them the foundations of integral education, languages, and our general view of the world. The entire third floor will be devoted to dorms for men and for women. Therefore it will be possible to come here, dwell here, and have an internship with us. This place will truly become our shared home.
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From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5

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Question: You said that it is necessary to invest a small amount of effort to feel my joy in another. What does “a small amount of effort” mean?

Answer: Describe to yourself a state like this, that you now find yourself with feelings and thoughts about another and want to see him joyful, happy, and fulfilled. And now think about what you could do to attain this. This will bring you to the possibility of acting in some way for the sake of a friend.

You need to learn what makes him happy, exactly what he needs, and in this way you combine his desire to yours, and his desire becomes yours. That is to say you have already acquired another part of your soul.
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From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5

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Question: In all three days of the convention we have said that only dissemination to 99% of humanity will truly help unite the group. Do we unite in order to go out to disseminate or do we go out to disseminate in order to unite?

Answer: This takes place reciprocally. If we are not involved with dissemination, then we will have no reason to unite and continue inner work in the group; it will all fade away. But when you begin to work with the others, you will begin to discuss all of this, “give birth” to this, and unify this among you. You must show them everything by your example, that is basically the students make the teacher.

On the other hand, you must give birth within you to whatever you teach them. Therefore advancement of the individual and advancement of the masses are phenomena that depend upon each other reciprocally. You are for them and they are for you.
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From the Conventions in Krasnoyarsk 6/16/13, Lesson 5

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Question: Do you recommend women organizing a special preparation before the convention in St. Petersburg?

Answer: Of course, the women still support the men externally; this work must continue. At the same time, I recommend women organizing a qualitatively new preparation in their environment.

First of all, before the convention, they can prepare together with the men, or without them at their discretion. The essence of preparation does not change because of this, the intention is still the same.

In his time, when Rabash wrote articles about the group, I gave them to the women’s group. Thus, the women discussed and seriously worked through the same material.

Further with regard to Israel, during the convention, the men’s group will gather in our new home and the women will meet at the local centers. So they need to think about how to—all together as a group, as a whole, no matter how many are at a particular center—reveal between themselves the spiritual integration with other groups and with  the convention in St. Petersburg.

There is no need to think of a women’s “circle” around the men, you act entirely on your own. So, it will be more correct, healthier, and more practical.
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From the Talk About the Preparation for the Convention in St. Petersburg 6/26/13

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