Question: How can we want to connect if we only seek what is pleasant for our ego?

Answer: We have to yearn for the corrected state or at least ask that we should find it attractive. You can study out of curiosity, out of a desire to know something, to hear; you are pulled from Above by some bait.

But when you are already in a group, your desire has to undergo some treatment, a change, a new manner. It isn’t just the desire to receive that wants to enjoy wisdom, to know the future, to become stronger and more dominant in this life. This egoistic desire is only the beginning to entice a person, but later it has to change.

When we begin to work with it from the outside: through the group, using the Surrounding Light, the desire begins to change and a person doesn’t know what exactly he should do with it. He suddenly loses all interest and doesn’t want anything. The group and his state don’t seem right and he doesn’t like them. He doesn’t see any nice reward for his efforts to come to the lesson every morning and to work in the group. He is not ready for that because in his heart and mind he doesn’t believe that he will get any reward, and so he escapes.

We have to work on changing our desire. You can only receive the power, the patience, and perseverance needed for this from the environment. The main thing in our work is not to ask for or demand changes from the Creator, but to actually establish connections in the group so that you will respect it and see that it is great and sublime, since otherwise you will run away from it.

The Light comes to you from Above according to your connection to the environment. If you are not connected to your friends in the group on its level, then you will not be allowed to advance from Above. If advancement comes from Above against your ego, you will simply run away. But if you are connected to the group and are under its influence on all sides, then the Upper Light can influence you to the same degree and perform changes in you. These changes are unpleasant, but thanks to your connection with the society, you don’t escape.

People who don’t work on the connection with the group usually leave, or even worse, they begin to see that the advancement is wrong and they blame the society. Since they have to justify themselves for leaving the group, they are sure that the group is bad. Because they are not connected to the group, the Upper Light throws them off the spiritual path.

So if you want to advance, you have to constantly worry about the connection with the friends, which is actually the whole exile in Egypt and the whole redemption from exile; it is the condition of mutual guarantee and unity, of being as one man in one heart at the gathering at Mount Sinai, all the forty years in the desert, and then the entrance to the land of Israel. All these states are determined only by increasingly stronger connection with the group.

We don’t have to think about the Upper Light and about the Creator now. All this will come if you connect with the friends and prepare yourself for the changes. They will not be pleasant because you are approaching the attribute of bestowal and detaching yourself from the attribute of receiving, which is totally opposite our nature. So it is possible only if the environment supports you.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: What is the “unleavened bread”?

Answer: Unleavened bread (Matza) is a connection between Malchut and Bina from which a person has nothing but the ability to revive his soul. And he is ready for this. The poor bread becomes fulfillment for him.

This means an internal readiness: You are still in Egypt, in exile, but are already ready for redemption. This illumination called Matza enlivens your soul, and you are ready and agree to it.

All of the efforts that are invested by us in Egypt are designed to give us the feeling of exile and to awaken the desire for redemption, as it is written, (Exodus 2:23) “…and the children of Israel sighed from the labor.” When we reach the end of the period of the exile in Egypt, either by way of “I will  hasten it” or by the way of “in its time,” for most this is through a combination of both called “land”; the Light comes from above and raises our desire to enjoy the sparks above. And this is redemption.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Baal HaSulam, “Shamati #41,” “What is Greatness and Smallness in Faith”: It is written, “and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.” We must know that the Lights of Pesach (Passover) have the power to impart the Light of faith. Yet, do not think that the Light of faith is a small thing, because greatness and smallness depend only on the receivers.

The whole issue of Pesach is that a person receives power from Above, because without it we are certainly unable to do anything. We are always driven by some force: either by the force of the desire to receive that we were born with, “I have created an evil inclination,” or by the force of the desire to bestow, “I have created the Torah as a spice.”

We behave according to the balance between these forces, although we are given freewill, so that due to the environment and the different actions we perform with the environment, we can draw the desire to bestow, which means the Light that illuminates upon me, so that it will give me its attribute. Thus, we acquire the Light of faith, faith is bestowal.

If more Light shines on me, I rise like a flower towards the sun, towards the rain. If the Light doesn’t shine, I wither. Everything depends only on how the Light influences me.

There are special times called an awakening from Above. Sometimes these are good times and sometimes bad times, which means that either Din (judgment) or mercy is revealed. This also depends on me, on how hard I try to take advantage of these times, of these special states.

Pesach is a time of special mercy according to its branch and root, a time of a great Light that raises us above the desire to receive and takes us out of Egypt. We have to try to make the best of this opportunity. Of course, the exodus from Egypt is achieved by great collective efforts.

But when we make efforts, we discover that we cannot do anything, not even the right effort. Although we decide to do whatever we can, the next moment we already forget about it or don’t manage to do it. So we gradually form the right request, about which it is written: “and the children of Israel sighed from the work.”

By making the right request for acquiring the Light of faith, we are rewarded and ascend above the desire to receive. Now it doesn’t dominate us and we are actually the ones who dominate it. This is called the exodus from Egypt. We don’t leave it; we are in it, but we receive the power to make decisions, and from now on, the Light of faith determines everything, not the force of receiving. This is the exodus.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/14, Shamati #41

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Baal HaSulam, Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot, Item 10: The Torah was given only to men of heart. That is, those who have found the heart to love Him, whom the sages called the “wise of heart,” since they no longer have the beastly soul, pulling down, and the evil inclination does not rule over them, and their heart is open to wisdom. 

He interprets and says that the words are as corpses and the Taamim as souls. If one does not understand the Taamim, it is similar to exerting oneself counting pages and words in a book on medicine. This exertion will not yield a remedy.

He wishes to say that one is compelled to find the means to acquire the above-mentioned possession. It is because then one can taste the flavors of Torah, which is the interior wisdom and its mysteries, and the flavors of Mitzva, which are the interior love and the desire for Him.

We should be very careful that the study and our engagement in the wisdom of Kabbalah will be for the practical correction and not lead to idle actions. We have to demand the real and the correct change which means to get closer to the form of bestowal. The more we can change ourselves internally from the attribute of receiving to the attribute of bestowal, the more we can understand what the Kabbalah books say and the more we will be able to properly participate in creation and in the connection with the Creator.

There is nothing more a person can do in this world but attain the tastes of the Torah, the vessels of bestowal, as quickly as possible. This essential goal should be attained in every action we do and every breath we take. If you have reached the wisdom of Kabbalah, make sure that you only engage in it in order to attain the attribute of bestowal. Then you will understand the Creator’s actions and your state in the eternal world.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Shamati #23 “You that Love the Lord, Hate Evil”

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Baal HaSulam, Article, “This is for Judah”: That bread, which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.

Haggadah – “The Mitzva of eating Matza was given to the children of Israel even before they departed Egypt, relating to the future exodus, which was to be in haste. It follows that the Mitzva of eating a Matza was given to them while they were still enslaved….”

The Mitzva about eating Matza was given in advance because the Exodus from Egypt happened suddenly, in haste. Suddenly the order came: “In another moment go!,” “And what about the bread, how is it possible to leave without bread?”

So the Mitzva was given in advance to prepare everything so that at the moment of the Exodus, the escape, we would have everything necessary. Even now we are doing this because we are very happy about this, that all of the redemptions happen suddenly. Therefore, we are in hope all the time that at every moment the redemption could come.

Just as they said to them in Egypt: “You are leaving now!” that is what they will say to us today; indeed in a little while there will be a proclamation and we will all go out; we will begin to rise to the level of the redemption. Therefore we are so happy to celebrate this holiday, remembering this miracle every year.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why did we leave Egypt in haste, is it possible to go out without finishing all the clarifications?

Answer: Haste is when I don’t know from the start that I am approaching redemption. Even though at each and every moment I direct myself towards wanting to go out, in spite of it this, it happens to me suddenly. This is because this happens according to a calculation from above, according to relationships between Kelim (vessels) and Lights.

Therefore I cannot predict this from the start. This is not under my control. They don’t tell me all of the conditions that must be realized in me in order to create the right state for the next level called redemption.

This is not known to me from the start. I search and search, but I am still in the dark. I don’t know what exactly it is to bestow to this higher level. Therefore this is called escaping in haste.

It is so pleasant for us to celebrate this sudden salvation precisely because we hope that this will come at any moment.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/1, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: In what external form is it necessary to discover the “exodus from Egypt” today?

Answer: Exodus means reaching a new consciousness, knowledge, awareness, thought or desire. A person rises internally. This is called redemption. He begins to see that the whole world is connected. This constitutes a preparation for redemption, and today humanity is beginning to become aware of this already.

All of us are connected whether we wish to be or not. Its quite the opposite of our desire. On the one hand, most of the scientists, politicians, and economists talk about the world being a connected system. They simply see that this is how it is, but they don’t know what to do with it. How do we sever these connections that we don’t want?

This fact is being discovered more and more and we see that this connection works against us. We want to break these connections, but that won’t help us. That is how we discover the dominance of Pharaoh, and then no choice will be left for us except to agree that our connection is derived from nature.

For the first time in the history of humanity, it is beginning to be aware that it is managed by nature and is found within it and not above it. The person will understand that nature activates and manages him, and not that he manages nature. This is a change in paradigm, in the general ideology, that exists in humanity.

For the first time in all of history, we need to bow our heads and recognize that we are like the entire world of the still, vegetative, and animate nature. We are also animals activated by nature, and we must do something with ourselves: change ourselves.

Humanity still will need to reach an awareness and agreement that we must change our nature that was intentionally created against the collective integral nature. Attainment and recognition of our true state will be called the “years of the Egyptian exile.”

At first, it would seem that it is good to be in exile, absolutely tolerable, and, in the end, it has become clear that this is very bad and that we must change. So, we need to work on this change, and we see how much it is impossible and isn’t attainable. So, Pharaoh will be revealed to us as the power of evil. We will want to flee from him, but we will not be ready. This is a long way to go.

I think that we, those who are drawn toward correction, will pass through this process like our ancestors, and all the rest of humanity will pass through this through mutual integration and supporting our work. They will not need to go through all of these stages, for they don’t belong to Israel, but to the desire to receive, which is called the “nations of the world.” Therefore, they don’t need to carry out the big corrections. They will get everything by joining with us.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The most common mistake is “eating yourself up” over your shortcomings, and this could continue for years if we are not prepared to be freed from it through mutual guarantee. To do this, pressure is required from the group to influence my mind and free my head from self-concern, from concern about what I did, what kind of damage I caused, what kind of wicked person I was, and what mistakes I have made.

This is a Klipa that takes over a person, and only with the help of mutual guarantee is it possible to be freed from it. The group must influence me so that I will stop thinking about myself, so that it will obligate me to think about it.

All of us pass through the same states—not simultaneously, but one after the other—but everyone must go through this. If you see that a friend is eating himself up and blames himself for his deficiencies, then you need to tell him that there is nothing to be sorry about. Rather, he must be concerned about the group. The spiritual vessel is specifically within the group and not within himself.

In general, regarding everything that happened in the past, it is necessary to say, “There is none else besides Him,” and everything happened according to a decision of the higher supervision. Until this moment, I didn’t do and didn’t decide anything, and from this moment, “If I am not for myself, then who is for me?”

However, the person on his own is not prepared to be detached from these thoughts. The Klipa will always draw him toward that same swamp, in repentance and remorse, and on the higher levels the condition is much worse. Only the power of the environment can strengthen the person and hold him above all the calculations. Otherwise, he will fall into the Klipa and will suffer severely for a long time.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/14

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Question: A person who lives in society has many kinds of connections: at work, in the family, and so on. What is the type of connection that he must correct?

Answer: It is understandable that we must maintain and work on good relationships in the family. However, the main correction is among the friends in the group. Through it you get the Surrounding Light. You need to correct the connection with those whom you are building Divinity.

Question: But, I come into daily contact with only a number of people, whereas the rest are not included in my sphere. How can I correct my connection with everyone? Does it follow that it is up to me to correct something that I haven’t felt yet?

Answer: You must ask and pray to feel the connection with all of our friends throughout the world. I need to see people with whom I am building the Divinity, the place for discovering the Creator. Who are those with whom we share an important part in the discovery of the Creator? I think that this is everyone, for otherwise the Creator would not have brought them here.

The Creator gave me these people as a group, so I want to connect with everyone, no more and no less. They always will give me the optimal number of friends, according to external conditions that we don’t understand. I am not responsible for this, and so, I accept it as it is. The Creator brings them to me, and it is up to me to think about how to construct them into a network of mutual connection. This is the spiritual connection and the material connection, as needed, in order to build the Divinity together with them.

It is up to us to connect with mutual concern for each other so that each will help everyone. This is how we build the center of the group between us, a mutual connection, concern according to the laws of “Love thy friend as thyself” and “the one who prays for his friend receives first.” If we act this way, then a network that takes on the form of mutual bestowal is discovered between us.

Even though this bestowal is egoistic, Lo Lishma, it attracts the Light that Reforms. It is not important that we still don’t have an intention to bestow. The main thing is that we yearn to attain it. We want the Creator to be discovered through the connection between us because we yearn to know, to understand, to feel Him, to go out to the upper world.

Our intention is incorrect and egoistic, but we are connected. In our condition, we are not ready yet to not to think about personal benefit. This is called Lo Lishma. Therefore, the Light that Reforms illuminates us from a distance, even though we are damaged. The main thing is that our group becomes like Him, meaning we build the connection between us.

Question: However, what exactly must I correct in relation to the friends?

Answer: What must unite us is mutual concern to discover the higher power in the connection between us, meaning bestowal and love. Mutual concern is a shared desire for the Creator. The desire for the Creator is not found in any one of us, but it is found among us. It doesn’t exist at all; it is up to us to build it. There is no vessel! There are only the personal desires of each, but there is no shared desire called Divinity.

Question: What about the correction of my characteristics, my qualities?

Answer: Only the connection with the friends requires correction. There is nothing to correct in me; I am a beast there, and a beast cannot be corrected. You already tried to connect with someone and discovered your ego. Have you already entered Egypt? If someone just annoys you, this is not connected to spiritual work.

Only if I invest effort in a connection with other people to reach a connection between us called Arvut—within which our concern for discovering the Creator, the characteristic of bestowal and love, is discovered—then I will feel how I hate everyone and am not ready to connect, and this is what is up to me to correct.
[131075]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/14

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