Entries in the 'Daily Kabbalah Lesson' Category

Please Put It down to the Creator

598We are all puppets, deprived of free choice. People circulate in this world, in material, “animal” life.

Meanwhile, their egoistic desire grows until it reaches special states of despair that are directed toward the revelation of the embryo of the soul, the point in the heart.

And perhaps not a point in the heart, simply suffering sends a person into search, and then he joins those in whom the soul has already “broken through.”

Within the common cauldron, desire continues to simmer, and at a certain stage a part of humanity acquires the possibility of free choice. This means that people act, so to speak, independently of the Creator. They are freed from their egoistic desire, and it is entirely and completely in His hands.

I acquire freedom from my egoism and become independent of it, that is, independent of the Creator who governs it. Together with others, we turn into independent acting beings; we want to understand and realize what is happening ourselves and to take part in the process ourselves.

I do not want the Creator to govern me—I want to act exactly as He does, but of my own freewill. Through this, I come to know His work, His actions, His goals. My “profit” lies in the fact that I become similar to Him, become a human (Adam), and perform exactly the same work that He performed over me.

In the end, all the benefit here is that I give pleasure to the Creator. There is nothing else besides this.
But there are also people who do not possess a soul of this type. Their souls can only join the development to one degree or another. As they become what is called “dust under the feet of the righteous,” they receive illumination and spiritualization through this, they understand the importance of the process, and they also acquire their soul.

Likewise, in our world there are leaders, “those who lead,” and “those who are led,” those who simply live their lives without questioning them. They constitute 99.9% of the population who earn their bread and do not feel a lack of anything more. However, in unity with everyone, each will reach his or her root in the common Malchut.

Through interconnection we all feel ourselves living in one world. Of course, great scientists, philosophers, and thinkers understand it far better than a street sweeper or a market trader who knows only how to sell watermelons and watch football on television. There is no need at all to despise him, he is not guilty of anything; it is simply that his desire has such a structure and acts in such a way. Another person, however, needs to attain the world from the height of Malchut of infinity, otherwise he feels unrealized.

All the difference between them lies in the desire that the Creator created and awakens to life. Everything comes from the Creator. And therefore the thinker must understand that in his realization he is in no way higher than the trader. For the circumstances do not depend on him at all. Thus it turns out that in this sense they are completely equal, because all their accounts are signed by the Creator.
[41714]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 4/28/11, Baal HaSulam, “The Acting Mind”

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Can’t You See Infinity? Put on Your Glasses!

294.1Our world is a copy of infinity, only at the smallest level of sensation. We perceive and feel reality only to an insignificant degree; we are as far as possible from complete perception.

It is like a person with poor eyesight who sees almost nothing without glasses. He barely distinguishes those around him, even though they stand right next to him.

Drowsy, blurred sensations, a tiny fraction of clear awareness of infinity—this is what our world is. Yet we always reveal a complete picture, just as each fragment of a hologram contains the entire image.

Even at the lowest degree, I observe the full spectrum of reality to the extent that I can see it without “glasses.” The better these glasses are, the clearer the picture becomes.

We exist in an unchanging state; we simply feel it according to the clarity of our perception. The clearest, most unclouded perception is the world of infinity.

To approach it, we must first correct our tools of perception (Kelim), to reveal a bit more light within them. And in order for that to happen, they must become similar to the light.

The advice of Kabbalists helps us in this correction, and when the light is revealed, we discover a “treasure” or rather, a deposit, a new layer of reality that was originally “placed” into our account.
[5120]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 10/2/09, Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book From the Mouth of a Sage

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 1/6/26

Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 23, “On My Bed at Night,” (1985) (6.7.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Recording of Rabash, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, “Table of Answers for the Meaning of the Words” Item 51

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3rd part of the Lesson — Studying with Friends

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Break Through Into the Anti-World

424.01Our world operates according to the desire to receive pleasure; that is, every part of creation instinctively makes an internal calculation about what is most beneficial for it, according to its understanding, inner makeup, inborn qualities, upbringing, and the influence of the environment. We are incapable of acting otherwise.

We are not even aware of how much each of us is locked into such an egoistic calculation every single moment. And even when we perform some merciful act, it is only in order to gain something through it; otherwise, we would have no motivation to act that way. This is how all of nature functions, from the smallest atomic particle to the most educated and developed human being.

But there is another intention: for the sake of bestowal, not for one’s own benefit, but for the benefit of the other. This is the anti-world, anti-matter, the complete opposite of everything that exists in this world.

There cannot be even a thought about oneself there; such a thought has undergone restriction (Tzimtzum) and is cut off. Everything is governed and moved solely by concern for the good of the other.

So how can we approach such a vision and such calculations? Naturally, this is not within our power because no such force exists in our world. We must draw it to ourselves from that other, opposite reality that exists beyond the boundary of the spiritual world called the Machsom.

But how is it possible for that force to reach us at all, if everything operates according to the law of equivalence of form, and like connects with like? Yet there is a special force called “the light that returns to the source,” “the light that reforms,” or “surrounding light,” that can shine on us to the extent of our yearning to be in that opposite world.

It helps us even if our yearning is false, even if we do not understand that world or feel it, as long as we have at least some relation to it, a single point of contact with it, the “point in the heart,” a spark of the spiritual world.

If we work on this spark, then to the extent of our efforts, the spiritual force shines upon us and turns these efforts into “spiritual flesh” around that point, which begins to grow. Until it becomes a complete spiritual vessel through which you break through into that very anti-world, and then you find yourself in the “opposite reality.”

The request for the force that brings changes—for the light that returns to the source, that corrects our intentions from egoistic to bestow upon the other—is called prayer. And to the extent of our yearning, our demand, our persistence, this wondrous force acts upon us and carries out changes within us.
[37159]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/6/11, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work?”

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By Command and by Choice

703.04All our actions in this world are carried out by command from above, except for those in which we are free. My freedom of will lies only in rising upward, that is, in correcting the soul to resemble the Creator.

Everything else in me and around me is dictated from Above by the laws of the higher world. If I have no freewill in anything earthly, if everything is dictated from above, then there is neither punishment nor reward for any earthly deeds! After all, I didn’t do any of it, it was done through me from above.

Therefore, it is said that we are all like animals, until we become similar to the Creator. To the extent that we resemble Him, we are called “Adam” — “similar” (Domeh in Hebrew).

Similarity to the Creator begins with a tiny desire, a yearning toward Him, called “the point in the heart.” If it exists, if it has revealed itself, a person will inevitably come to Kabbalah; it will lead him there.

The point in the heart is like a drop of semen from which you develop. But the spiritual body, the soul, can be developed only through one’s own efforts. In this lies our only freedom of will (see Baal HaSulam’s article “Freedom of Will”).

Push the whole world into the background and begin to develop it, raise yourself into the higher system. Be ready to give up everything just to remain there.

This is the only choice, the only action that can be recorded to your credit. The reward is life within the soul!
[5628]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/09, Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book From the Mouth of a Sage

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 1/5/26

Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 11, “A Real Prayer Is over a Real Deficiency,” (1986) (4.14.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Recording of Rabash, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, “Table of Answers for the Meaning of the Words,” Item 44

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3rd part of the Lesson — Studying with Friends

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 1/4/26

Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 9, “What Does It Mean that the Righteous Suffers Afflictions?” (1988) (3.1.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Recording of Rabash, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, “Table of Answers for the Meaning of the Words,” Item 40

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3rd part of the Lesson — Responsibility

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 1/2/26

Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Lesson on the Topic “Work with Faith Above Reason” (12.13.2020)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Recording of Rabash, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, “Table of Answers for the Meaning of the Words,” Item 30

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A Fantasy that Helps You Grow

506.2The Creator makes us believe that we are not the only ones who feel ourselves from the inside, but that there are other people around us who perceive and evaluate us. This is an illusion, a deception! There is nothing outside, everything is only within me.

With these additional impressions, He expands our Kelim, builds our new level, and lifts us above the animal level to the level of “Adam” (“like the Creator”) in order to become like Him.

It seems to us that the Creator is outside and we are talking, interacting, and cooperating with someone outside of us. I imagine Him before me, and then bring Him in and merge with Him. Then there is nothing before me, He and I become one.

But for now, I imagine Him outside myself. This is a deceptive fantasy, but because of it, as I consider my Kelim to be “external,” I gain additional Aviut of desire, egoism (a desire in which I feel myself relative to others or others relative to myself), which helps me achieve the upper property and become like the Creator.

I just need to bring this image from the outside in, and I will merge with Him!

What happens after this final correction called Gmar Tikkun? Kabbalists say the end of our correction is only the beginning of a new state. Once I have corrected my desires, a new stage will begin. Let us wait and see.
[8834]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 1/4/10, Baal HaSulam, Preface “Foreword to The Book of Zohar

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The Great Illusion on the Scale of the Entire Universe

409Every soul is connected to the world of infinity by a chain, a ladder of spiritual degrees, with a gradual weakening of the lights and the Kelim (vessels). The moment I establish a connection with infinity, I awaken this system. In fact, it exists within me, and only seems to be external to me.

There are two in the universe: man and the Creator, and it is necessary to somehow give man the sensation that he exists outside the Creator so that I may understand what separation from Him is, opposition, distance, rapprochement, and adhesion with the Creator. Therefore, I was deliberately created in such a way that I perceive reality as divided into what is inside me and what is outside.

Then it becomes easier for me to understand what “I” and the Creator are, what breakage and connection, an unconscious state and concealment are, or conversely, what approaching Him and adhesion into one whole are.

The Creator throws out everything that I feel within myself, and it turns out that my perception is divided into two: the inner, which is everything that I receive, and the outer, what I give, but without the correct intention. Thus, the external world is my Kelim that are deliberately presented to me as alien and foreign so that I may understand what bestowal is. If I begin to relate to them as a part of myself, then I will understand how distant bestowal is from me and how opposite and undesirable it is!

Try to love your neighbor as yourself; it is not simple at all. I cannot. And this means that I cannot bestow, I cannot draw closer to the Creator. No wait, I do want the Creator! But how do you want Him? You must demonstrate it, and this is precisely the only correct way.
[8847]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/4/10, Baal HaSulam, Preface “Foreword to The Book of Zohar

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