The answer is that he wishes to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, called “equivalence of form,” meaning not to think of his own benefit. Thus, why is subduing a difficult thing? The reason is that he must revoke his own worth, and the whole of the life that he wishes to live will be only with the consideration of his ability to work for others’ benefit, beginning with love of others, between man and man, through the love of the Creator (Rabash, Article No. 30 (1988) “What to Look For in the Assembly of Friends”).

If I want to achieve adhesion with the Creator, and adhesion with Him can be according to the form, then I must completely annul my “I,” and do everything I do in life with the intention of loving everything that surrounds me. Only in this way will I achieve love for the Creator and gradually reveal Him to the extent of my love for others and be able to reach adhesion with Him.

We understand that the replacement of our egoism with the quality opposite to it is mandatory, necessary. Therefore, our work in the group is salvation for us! If it were not for the group, we would not have a transitional state—from love of the created beings to love of the Creator. I would not be able to do anything. I would be absolutely opposite to the Creator without any ability to come closer to Him and to start moving toward Him in any manner.

The group exists precisely so that I can start connecting with it, enter it, and annul myself toward it. To this extent, I begin to come closer to the Creator.

I have every possibility to control myself and be aware of how I am coming closer and what I am doing with this. And all of this is thanks to my connection with the friends.
[292726]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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The most important is for each and every one to annul himself completely and not think of himself as righteous or that he counts at all among the friends. He should only see that his actions do not blemish the society. Although it seems as though he is a great person, he should nonetheless look into his actions and think, “What make me great?” and annul himself completely.

It is known that in every ten there is Shechina [Divinity], and this is a complete level. In a complete level, there are head, hands, legs, and heels. It follows that when every person regards himself as nothing in society, then he regards himself as a heel compared to the society, while they are the head, the body, and the higher organs. When each one thinks of himself in this way, they make the gates of abundance and every lushness in the world open up to them. (Maor VaShemesh, “Ekev”)

If people annul themselves before each other, each one toward the group, then they create conditions in it for the revelation of the Creator. This is how we should act.

After all, by annulling yourself toward the others, learning from them, looking at them, and inspiring them, you create such a condition that the Creator is revealed within you. He will not be revealed within one person, but only in the attitude of a person to the group, and only to the extent that this attitude is correct.
[292777]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Question: If everyone in the group annuls themselves, who will take the initiative during the nine months of our spiritual development?

Answer: The initiative is precisely to show how everyone annuls himself. This is a movement toward absolute zero, but it must have a clear vector and its own heroes.

Question: And what is the difference between the spiritual egoism that should be born in us and the egoism that we have now?

Answer: Spiritual egoism is directed toward the Creator.

Question: If the nullification occurs consistently, how can I keep annulling in the ten?

Answer: Get involved in the ten, start annulling yourself before it and you will see what powers you will have and how you can do all this.
[292672]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Question: How can we increase the pace in the ten?

Answer: The pace of our advancement depends only on the mutual state between the friends and how much each one helps the other.

I cannot lift myself by my own hair, but I can do that through friends. To the extent that I help them, I elevate myself. It is much more efficient than if I could elevate myself on my own.

Helping others is the only means to rise. There is no other method. Therefore, we have a tremendous opportunity to rise. We are in a group where everyone understands what he should do and what others should do. Let’s help each other.
[292720]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Question: You say that we attain the Creator in our sensations through our connection. I’m trying to take into account the two principles “there is none else besides Him” ​​and “good that does good.”

But the more I get closer to these two principles, I see a reality full of darkness, as if I were in a black hole. How can I come from this darkness to a state full of the glory of the Creator?

Answer: The feeling of darkness is a wonderful state; that is, you do not have any desires for bestowal, love, and connection with others. I understand you well.

But at the same time, from this inverse property, you can also feel the opposite, inverse state. So imagine it.

The fact that you feel egoism means that you are already beginning to perceive the creation, what the Creator created. He did not create anything other than egoism. And you, from this state, which you begin to attain, can come to the opposite: “What does it mean ‘the reverse of Him’”?

So it is said: “The manifestation of light from darkness.” The advantage of light out of darkness, the greatness of light out of darkness. So go ahead.
[292662]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Question: How do we know if we have received the gift of thinking in faith above reason or if it is being activated through our work from below upward?

Answer: There comes a time when we begin to hear that we must go with faith above reason.

And although this is not practiced at all in our world, we must act this way because this is the only way to develop the property of bestowal in ourselves, in which we will begin to feel the higher world, the Creator and ourselves, our soul, on a completely different level.

To reveal the Creator between us means to treat each other as He does, benevolently and doing good. And then in the similarity of properties, we will reveal the Creator who fills everything.
[292739]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5

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Question: What makes this lesson part of the convention? How is it different from any other morning lesson?

Answer: The lessons at the convention are one single connected chain that is aimed at a specific intention and at a specific purpose. In this respect, the convention is a serious moving organism.

Yesterday we were studying how to annul ourselves. We are studying it today as well, but according to a completely different principle. How I connect with the group in order to change myself? Meaning, I begin to relate to the group as a means through which I can change myself.

You can say, “But this is an egoistic use of the group.” Of course I am using the group. But I would not call it egoistic, because with the help of the group I want to get rid of my egoism, to suppress it. This is a completely different condition.

I have no other option if I want to change myself. I just cannot do anything else. What should I do if I want to come closer to the Creator, to become like Him, to reveal the Creator, to feel Him, and to enter the quality of eternity, infinity, and perfection? I want to know all this. It sits within me. This desire is given from above to each of us.

In order to actualize it, I have to do an action that is opposite to my nature, and only the group can do that. If I try to become gradually incorporated in it, even though I cannot and do not want to, then some kind of illumination descends upon me, this is what Kabbalists say. I begin to receive the upper force and it changes me. This is how I come closer to the Creator.

Therefore, the group stands between me and the Creator. It is necessary in order to rise to Him, to become more similar to Him. How do I become like Him? Through the fact that I form myself within the group by annulling myself before it.

Then I begin to see that the Creator is within the group. This is called “I dwell within My people.”

The people are the group that aims to become closer to the Creator. That is how we advance.
[292808]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Question: It often turns out that everyone understands the material in their own way. Should we consider these differences?

Answer: I do not think we need to pay attention to how everyone acquires the material. We need to talk only about the right actions between us, which nature, the Creator, requires from us. And then we will really rise.

But to check each one himself and convey it to others, no. We need to show each other inspiration, the right actions.

I do not think we should be the same. On the contrary, we should be different, but should all strive to set the right example for others. Only the right example on the part of my friends can raise me up. This is how we act.
[292774]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Our virtual lessons affect us well, if not even better, than the physical ones. They help us feel that we can indeed be close to each other despite physical distances. We can feel how much we are coming closer virtually and spiritually. And the physical distance we simply do not take into account.

But, on the other hand, we need to reach a point where we connect together and are what we call in adhesion with each other, glued together.

Therefore, we constantly have to measure the distance between us and try to fill it, not just annulling, but filling it so that the desire to attract friends to ourselves fills the huge hollow spaces between us, which will be appearing constantly.

So, the result of our development is feeling the distance between us all the way to the point of the abyss and understand how we can fill it so that it does not separate us, but unites us. Precisely because of the fact that we feel the differences and the distance between us, we develop the sense of attraction between us, as it is written: “Love will cover all crimes.”

This is the most important advantage, the most important result of all our efforts: discovering the distances, the differences, between us and filling them with love.

Moreover, these differences will be huge and we will see more and more of them between us. This is not like in our world when children practically do not differ from each other, but as they grow, they show their own character, their habits, and natural inclinations, and we see in each of them not only their parents, but maybe even their distant ancestors.

We must reveal all this and through connecting above it, create a perfect Kli (vessel) in which we will be connected in good connection despite all our differences and despite the fact that we initially reject and even hate each other.

Then we will feel glued to each other so much that if at some moment I do not feel an inner drawing, connection, or adhesion with my friends, I will feel lost and will fall from the degree of the spiritual world into our world. This is a disaster.

Therefore, our entire work is to ask the Creator to fill the space between us. According to this, we will begin to feel how the distance between us is shrinking. This sensation of coming closer will be called movement in the spiritual world.
[292699]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Asking the Creator to Fill the Place Between Us” Lesson 7

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Question: You said that if each friend is included in the system of the ten, then at some point it becomes the system of ten Sefirot. How can we do it?

Answer: If each one of you starts canceling yourselves before the others, you will reach the state where the system of your interconnection will take some definite form. This will be perceived by you as a system of ten Sefirot.

You will begin to feel and sense in the properties of bestowal between you that a completely different form of interaction is being organized, interaction through bestowal, not through receiving, which you have always had and are accustomed to.

This form will be called the spiritual form of your state or your soul, and what you will begin to discover among yourself is your spiritual world, the upper light, in which its source, the Creator, will gradually manifest itself.
[292579]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Deriving the Greatness of the Goal from the Friends” Lesson 4

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