Question: How important is women’s practical work? For example, how important is it for women to also take part in seminars on integration instead of doing their own thing?

Answer: Men will not be able to do anything on their own. Absolutely nothing!

They can get together, stand around, and sing as usual, these are good things, but it is just preparation. The real work cannot be without a strong women’s part generating its aspiration towards the same goal at the same time. It cannot be any other way! We see this everywhere, always. There are many examples in history. This comes from the structure of the upper Partzufim, the upper worlds; if we do not raise this desire to Malchut, it does not form, and without it, nothing happens. So women must take this very seriously.

First, I direct my attention towards the women’s part because everything starts with it. I really ask you to understand that here practically everything depends on the woman. Men can be “launched,” they can be manipulated, and women know this very well. The right way of manipulating men is based on seriously directing them towards the goal; a woman can literally do this with her desire alone, with just one word, with anything she does. It is very easy for her, and for men, it is very difficult, basically impossible, to advance on their own.

This is why there has always been a law in Kabbalah that unmarried men are not taken as students. This is because without the desire of a woman near you thinking about your succeeding, you will not be able to advance seriously.
[75171]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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According to our nature, the nature of a created being, connection exists only among men. Women don’t connect among themselves because their egoism is of a special kind. That is neither good nor bad.

It is important to work in our original nature without trying to damage it. It is important to work with the material we have been created with and understand that we’ll reach the goal only by using our nature properly.

By putting men and women into one group, in the process of working together we feel a different connection among men than among women.

It is not felt as much in real life as in our integral methodology lessons. Literally, in a half an hour to an hour of common studies, the men’s part starts feeling that their nature is ready to go forward and be connected with everyone while women’s part feels incapable of working toward getting closer to each other.

The best result is achieved by women supporting men with their intention and efforts while men get closer to each other.
[75180]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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Question: What is an internal preparation for the convention?

Answer: Internal preparation is a reverence for the property of bestowal as the force, property, value, that is above everything. On the basis of such preparation, you can then continue and work out various individual states, actions, and goals in order to reach the common goal and realize this property of bestowal within our matter, the desire to enjoy.

I am asking everyone to send their suggestions on how to conduct the convention in Brazil. We will discuss them during the lessons, and in this way we will learn from our common action and prepare our common desire. In other words, the convention will be a realization of what we will prepare together.

Everybody must prepare themselves, wherever in the world they may be. It cannot be that a person returns from work, does all the household chores, and when there is a little free time left, suddenly remembers that there is a convention going on, turns on the broadcast, and begins to watch.

Nothing will come out of it. A person should prepare in advance, anticipate, and plan what he will be doing together with us and how he will advance due to these actions. The action itself is worth nothing; everything depends on the preparation.
[74959] 
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/2012, “Questions and Answers Regarding the Brazil Congress”  

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Question: As I see it, people left without a job sink into their problems and this gives them no incentive to find out where the problems are coming from.

Answer: Our ego feels suffering within itself. The suffering is constantly increasing and taking different forms. Why do they push a person to ask about the meaning of life? It is because he is asking: “Why do I need to suffer?” Actually, they may bring him to the point of suicide.

What is the wisdom of Kabbalah doing? It says to a person: You have to replace this suffering with other suffering, the so-called “suffering of love.”

Indeed, when you love someone, yearn for him, but you still are not connected to him yet, or you are being rejected, turned down a little, or distance separates you and for now you can’t see him, then a big desire to come close, to connect, and to embrace appears, but it is impossible.

All of this is also suffering! But they are sweet for us; we do not want to get rid of them.

Personally, I cannot imagine such suffering anymore, but I remember them from when I was young, and they were sweet. So on one hand, you love, yearn, and anticipate that soon you will embrace your beloved one, but at the same time, you suffer because it still hasn’t happened, and this is pleasant suffering.

There is suffering that comes from the ego, and it is called the “shadow of the Sitra Achra,” meaning a bad shadow, darkness, which hides all the good in the world. And there is suffering that pushes you forward, and, on the contrary, you are excited, you are living in the expectation that it will happen soon: In front of you is the Light, the Light of love, the Light of the impending meeting. Light and darkness, this is the whole difference.

 

We need to quickly help the world replace their suffering, great hardships, and problems that will intensify more and more with a yearning for connection, for love, for the Light. Then, we will feel that the sufferings do not disappear. It’s because if you meet your loved one, and all the attraction you felt at the time of separation disappears, then nothing will be left for you except disappointment: You met, and after few minutes you don’t need anything else, and you can leave.

Therefore, it is necessary that this suffering, meaning this attraction, this appetite, this hunger, will stay, and at the same time, you will be able to enjoy it. Usually when you are very hungry and you start to eat, the appetite disappears and you do not enjoy the food. And what if the pleasure would not disappear?

That is, we need to keep our suffering and only transform it. Hence under no circumstances should we ask the Creator for anything except correction. We must not ask Him to take away our suffering, but only to change it so that we will feel the suffering of love instead, eagerness to go forward. Then we will live in excitement.
[74574]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/24/12, Lesson 4

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Question: Disturbances come in order to help us in our progress toward the goal. How is it possible to understand what the upper force is trying to tell me by sending this specific disturbance? What does it want from me by sending it in particular?

Answer: So that above this disturbance, you will not forget the Creator and yearn for Him.

Question: Is there a certain, specific recipe, or does one need to work separately with each disturbance?

Answer: Do not work with the disturbances! You need to rise immediately above it. There is no need to pay attention to the disturbance itself; the main thing is to rise above it.

Treat a disturbance that comes to you as a support, as a springboard that is bouncing you up. Try to look at it in this way and you will see that it was done in this way purposely. It seems to us as a disturbance only psychologically. Actually it is not a disturbance, but rather a means for ascending.

Question: But how to nevertheless hear what it is trying to tell me? What do I have to correct, above what do I have to rise?

Answer: You don’t know it now. But if you work above the disturbances, you will see what is being corrected in you. And from the new, already corrected qualities, you will start learning the language of the Creator.
[74658]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/24/12, Lesson 4

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Question: Most of us have relatives and friends who are dear to us who have not yet manifested an interest in spirituality. We care about them a lot and intend to rid them of suffering; is it worth waking up their points in the hearts?

Answer: That’s true, each of us has many relatives and friends to whom we would love to explain what we are preoccupied with. Possibly, it would help them too. At least, it could brighten up their lives interesting and think differently about their troubles and problems. However, we all know that it is a very difficult task, as a rule, to explain such things to those people who do not comprehend them. Why is this so?

Our methodology applies only to those who have awakened the aspiration to the goal of creation, those with the so-called “point in the heart.” Everybody has it. Modern day Kabbalists came from the first Kabbalist: Adam. Before Adam was born, for thousands of years, numerous generations possessed a latent point in the heart. Adam was the first man in this world whose point in the heart was awakened. It goes on from then. Before, each generation had very few people whose points in the heart were not dormant.

When a person’s soul (inner desire) matures (ripens), he starts to explore “Why do I need this life? What for? Maybe I should do away with all this? Or finally to find what makes life worth living?”

Such questions arise in everybody, but to different extents. Each person (especially in childhood) asks him or herself: “Why do people live?” Later in life, everyday routine suppresses this quest and people forget about it.

Nowadays, we see that due to crises and various problems, the question of the meaning of life spreads to millions of people around the world. However, people still restrict their search by questioning: “How can I get rid of the pain?” How do I get away from pain, not how do I move ahead.

Nevertheless, at this time we see millions of people who have a point in the heart. Look how many fellow students you have around the world and how many people we don’t even know but who study together with us. They don’t have an obvious desire to contact us as of yet, that’s why our task is to treat them with a lot of thoughtfulness, to never push them too much, and to find suitable reading materials for them.

I think that spreading of our methodology together with the materials we create for the 99% of the world population will gradually lead people ahead and will help many of them (millions!) to reveal their points in the heart. Others will simply follow; they will advance mainly because they tend to escape from pain somehow.

I am sure that you should search for interesting materials and give them to your friends. If you see that words do not work, then don’t talk. Printed materials are more persuasive. Try them. Be patient! Personally, I don’t know how to address those people who do not look for answers to these questions. Why do we need to force them? You have to tell people something that they are willing to hear.
[74101]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 1

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All of our many years of study (we have people who have already been studying for 10-15 years) are only intended to make you reach a state when you begin to work in the group, as you realize that there is nothing else. And everything that you have done over the course of many years was only intended to finally make you understand that the only thing that can change you and reveal to you that what you want is right in front of you, even though it is the very last step.

We usually take a very long time to get there, convincing ourselves and trying to somehow wriggle out of it, go somewhere aside. We study Kabbalah, do anything we need to do in regards to dissemination—anything at all—just to avoid working in the group.

And even once we already understand that there is no other solution, still, at the very last moment, we escape finding reasons to not participate in this process. We cannot allow ourselves to close our eyes, throw ourselves into the group, like in water, and completely disappear in it. A lot more time passes, months, sometimes even years, until a person finally enters the group.

But we can shorten this time with our joint effort, and we will try to do it.

The length of time a person has been studying does not matter, neither does his knowledge, whether he is smart or not, strong or weak, persistent, stable, or lazy. When you enter the group and join its common force, we “disappear” in it, you dissolve in the common qualities of your friends to such extent that you acquire the integration of all their abilities, and they all become yours.

No need to come up with excuses for yourself, such as I am still young, I am not yet ready for this, maybe after some time, at the next convention. Now! There must be no other thoughts! There is nothing else beside this place and this action that we must take.

And the action is very simple—try to perform the so-called First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph), rise as much as possible over our egoism without taking any of its persuasions, reasons, catches, and quirks into consideration; we must understand that this points to the faults in our aspiration, our intention.

When my intention and aspiration are not strong enough, I will feel something distracting me. And this every disturbance points to what I need to add to my intention to seriously direct it and make it strong enough in its size and vector. In other words, I need to be aimed straight towards the goal and to have enough strength to direct me towards it.

This is why we perceive disturbances as a given. We never resent them, we never become mad at ourselves; on the contrary, every time they appear, we rise above them, and invest ourselves even more into becoming closer with others.

The main thing is to have patience towards our friends, like we are patient with small children, our favorite small child. There is nothing we can do about it; it is also our egoism, which does not allow us to connect with others and shows us where we must bring ourselves closer and position ourselves.
[75085]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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We are usually on one of three levels in relation to our friends:

1. When the friend and the group are greater than us, in other words, we regard our friends and the group as higher than us in order to feel their greatness;
2. When friends and the group are beneath us;
3. When they are equal to us.

When I regard them as those greater than me, I put myself in a state when I am able to learn from them, receive from them what they have, like someone small learns from those greater than him. They are able to influence me. I receive their energy, strength, and excitement.

If I perceive them as being smaller than me, then I am able to give to them like a big one gives to the small.

I have a certain kind of communication with them in either case, when I either receive the greatness of the goal from them, or ignite it in them by introducing my might, my investment into the greatness of the goal, the greatness of unity. And all this is in order to reach a state of being equal to them. And then we will really be friends.

In the case when they are above me, they are my teacher. When they are beneath me, they are the students. And only when we are equal are we friends. This is the way we attune our thoughts in regard to the group. And I always see: where I can add, what I can receive, and where I can become completely equal with them.

The comparison must always be the goal. And the state of being below or above them is the state when I adjust myself in relation to them.
[75081]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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In relation to our friends, we take into account not their personal properties, but rather something that belongs to our spiritual path. I don’t care about their everyday problems. We sweep all of this aside and forget everything that exists around us. We are interested only in one thing—their aspiration upward! This is their point in the heart and I am dealing with it! This is my tuning point!

It absolutely doesn’t matter to me what properties they have. They may be impatient, good, or not so good: It doesn’t matter! All of these are our animal earthy properties. They all stay at the level of our world. The most important thing for me is to unite with their point in the heart. This is what they aspire to the same way as I do.

The tuning in the group is a very special and fine action.
[75078]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 2

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Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam (The Steps of the Ladder), “What is a Blessing and a Curse in the Work”: Each day, man needs to start anew and say that today he will be awarded to see “I am your God” and that he will not escape from the battle. He should not say “I already prayed many times that God will give me the vessels of bestowal, and I will exit the desire to receive for myself, and I did not receive any answer for my prayer, so what is the benefit of praying again?”

The truth is that we never request vessels of bestowal because it is impossible.

Yes we ask for what is called “bestowal.” We ask to be able to love the other, but that is how we call it; this is not bestowal; it is not love for the other or bestowing desires. We never truly pray for the spiritual world, or the spiritual state, or spiritual vessels. In our current desire, in our current mind and feeling, we simply are not capable to request it, and we do not even know what it is.

Therefore, it is said: “I labored and I found.” One needs to put effort in what Kabbalists tell us to do, to follow strictly their recommendations, and to understand clearly that we do not have any chance to come directly and independently to the correct prayer; we cannot break our heart and raise a request for correction (MAN).

At first each one of our prayers is based on how to receive, to gain, and to take advantage of the friends, the Creator, of any one. That is the fact and there is no place to escape from it. But above us, there is a system of breakage that translates our actions, our broken requests, to correction.

On the way from above downward, the desires broke, and on the way back, when I rise from the broken state, they are corrected in this system. They rise as if I requested what is needed, as if I really plead for love and bestowal to the other and for connection with the friends and the Creator whom I am ready to accept as goodness.

This system is the broken world of Nikudim and the world of Atzilut that was created later is the adapter: On one side of this system, there are the false world, the worlds of BYA that are disconnected from the Creator, and the states opposite to bestowal, in which we exist. On the other side, there is the Creator, perfection.

My plea for love is a lie, but we all arrange this lie in a correct form as if we really want something besides self-benefit. If between us, we come together in the correct form, if we arrange the study and all our actions correctly, then our request goes through this system that corrects it, and this is what is called “I labored and I found.”

Although we don’t know the world of Atzilut, it does its work. And that is why we need to do exactly what Kabbalists tell us without lying to ourselves or being ashamed. It is true that we do not request spirituality, but scream like a baby and mother knows what he needs. Mother needs only a tiny scream from the baby to know what his needs are.

This is what is required from us. “Do everything that is in your power to do,” and this will bring good results.
[72041]
From the Arava Convention 2/25/12, Lesson 7

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