Question: How is it possible to check that I am working specifically on spiritual adherence with the group and not on a materialistic psychological approach?

Answer: You must feel this in yourself according to getting closer to the group.

The yearning of the person for the center of the group in order to grasp the source of life within it signifies that he is correctly involved with external dissemination.

You often ask me: “How is it possible to check if we are disseminating correctly?” When you begin to yearn for the center of the group, this indicates that you are disseminating correctly on the outside.

Question: What does dissemination signify in spirituality?

Answer: Dissemination that is not egoistic is going out to the general public with the goal of connecting and uniting them, attracting them to the Creator, making for them that support, that base upon which the Creator is revealed.
[121158]
From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/22/13

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Question: Your recommendations regarding integral education projects are expressed very clearly in writing, but what should we do if in practice they are not fulfilled in the same manner and not according to your recommendations?

Answer: The point is that as we grow the group goes through different states. This is what we often call childhood diseases. When a child develops he has to catch the childhood diseases because otherwise his body will not build up the special protective properties and will not be able to mobilize the inner system to resist the external environment.

We are under the harmful influence of the external environment all the time and our inner systems continuously work on that so as not to be influenced by its negative effect or to neutralize it somehow. This is how every living organism works.

For example, how much can a stone perceive from the outside? Very little, and therefore it retains the same form all the time. A plant gives and takes more, and an animal even more. A person perceives a great amount of information, a lot of psychological influences, and we have to respond to all that; otherwise, our body will not be able to hold on! This is how we stabilize ourselves.

So we go through childhood diseases: We do something right and something wrong, we express our opinion, we keep quiet, we shout, and we curse. Let people experience all that! We have to go through such states. As a result many people will leave and so gradually what has to be will be stabilized.
[121156]
From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/22/13

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Question: Why does a person sometimes feel a shower of corporeal problems and blows hitting him? What is the reason? How can he overcome this through the connection in the group?

Answer: There are people who really feel they are under a barrage of corporeal, physical, or family problems. And there are those who go through everything easily. It depends on the structure of a person’s soul, on its orientation with regard to the other souls, and on what he has to correct.

The only thing we can do is to accept everything as essential for our advancement. If we do our best to engage in the study, in the center of the group, and in dissemination as we deal with the problems, we will overcome everything easily, although at first it seems very hard.

However, we must solve all the problems and under no circumstances try to ignore them.
[121154]
From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/22/13

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Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1]

[media 2]

Writings of Rabash, “Shlavei HaSulam,” “Come Unto Pharaoh – 1”

[media 3]

[media 4]

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet”

[media 5]

[media 6]

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 2, Item 4

[media 7]

[media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence“

[media 9]

[media 10]

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”: The names, appellations, and Gematrias belong entirely to the wisdom of Kabbalah. The reason they are found in the other languages, too, is that all the languages are included in the wisdom of Kabbalah. This is so because these are all particular cases that the other languages must be assisted with.

The language of Kabbalah is the main language of revealing the Creator. In principle, all four languages of attainment are intended for this. However, the other three languages (Tanakh , Halachah and Haggadah) are “accompanying,” they are included in the language of Kabbalah but exist by themselves to add different touches by their presentation.

Thus there is one language for the revelation of the Creator, containing four facets; the most important one is the language of Kabbalah. It includes everything, it is higher than the rest, and it is included in everything. All the symbols, all the forms of presentation, everything we read in the books of Kabbalists are written by the language that they had created to explain the revelation of the Creator to the human being. Everything is intended only for this.

Therefore, as Baal HaSulam writes in “The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” the one who opens books written by Kabbalists of different generations, i.e., by people who are in spiritual attainment, and use it not for this purpose, he brings adverse consequences upon himself. Instead of praising the approaching dawn like a rooster, he becomes like a bat, living only in the darkness and strongly resisting the light of day, which is already approaching for us.
[121122]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/21/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: You said that people who actively disseminate must be those who possess a special yearning for connection and unity in a group. Do we need to work on creating special conditions for this purpose or is it possible not to pressure those who don’t see special meaning in connection?

Answer: There are people who have a skill for dissemination, but they don’t have a skill for work with connection. Dissemination is realized widely, and people who are extroverted are particularly involved in this, while connection, this is work for introverts. These are absolutely different vectors, different directions.

I can even bring specific examples of who among us is inclined to what. There are people who can disseminate wonderfully by going out to the external public, yet they cannot work on connection in the group; others are involved with this much better. Everyone has different traits and we must use both of these and others.  As a result, the Upper Light will create a common property between them in which the first spiritual phenomena will begin to be felt.
[121104]
From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/22/13

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Question: How will my impression of the Creator be different from the sensation that I have today in my connection with the friends?

Answer: There is a qualitative difference between the mood of a simple unity with friends and the unity within which you will reveal the Creator. This is the difference between the Soviet-style communism and the altruistic communism about which Baal HaSulam writes.

We must strive for connection, equality, up to complete unity and mutual guarantee as one man with one heart. And this mutual bestowal between us must not be in order to improve our own lives. We should not turn into a “mafia.” That is why Baal HaSulam writes that communistic principles in an egoistic manifestation, as it was in Russia, were very close to Nazism.

Indeed, Russia and Germany had a very good relationship before the war. If they had not shared the border, they would have become allies in this war, like Germany and Japan. Indeed, by their nature, these regimes were very similar. Only due to the proximity of their borders and the plan to capture that territory, they turned into enemies.

Therefore, it is so important to aim oneself at “Israel, Torah, and the Creator” in connection within the group. The Creator is the ultimate goal, that is, this whole world, the entire human society, still, vegetative and animate nature are included in man; this entire common general image of the human being as a small world should be directed to a higher force, the source of our life.

We have only one point of contact with the higher force: it gave birth to us; creation, if we are not directed to the Creator, will eventually arrive at the same picture as in Nazism or Soviet communism, because this unity would be just for our own benefit. We will not come out of the egoistic properties, but will only organize life in our neighborhood, city, and the world in the form in which we all feel good.

But it never ends well. We have already seen such examples in history: utopians, kibbutzim, etc. After all, if this force does not come out of our plane, then to whom will I give? It will turn out again: “You to me and me to you.” This will have no real result.

I cannot give to you, and you to me because our difference will be manifested immediately. As the saying goes, “there is only one step from love to hate.” Even people who love each other should quarrel sometimes to add a bit of “pepper” in their relationships. The problem is that we lack the middle line.

Even if we achieve complete mutual bestowal where everyone gives to everyone else, we will not be able to balance these relations without the participation of a certain higher component from another level. We need the middle line, otherwise this illusion will explode and end in war.

We can perform an experiment with a loving couple, create conditions of a heavenly life for them and after a while see what happens to them. This form of relationship is not viable and cannot exist for a long time. To do this, you need to be angels and not people, that is, to not have egoistic desires.
[121149]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/21/13, The Zohar

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Question: What should we do about friends who don’t come to the lesson and who don’t want to disseminate?

Answer: When I just started studying the wisdom of Kabbalah and began to read the articles “The Giving of the Torah,” and “The Mutual Guarantee” calls for unity, like “love thy friend as thyself” etc., didn’t impress me at all, since it reminded me of the times of the old Soviet Union. Humanity has been through everything, Communism, Socialism, and Kibbutzim and has realized that there is nothing in these ideals.

This is how things had to be historically, so that we will begin to establish a new approach: On the one hand, we should feel repulsed by the unsuccessful past and on the other hand, reexamine it.

Now such criticism of the past should already be done through the group, through the wisdom of Kabbalah, through workshops, so that we will find out that there is a wonderful special attribute in the unity and connection between people.

Friends who can’t hear that yet, who are repulsed by our dissemination and our unity in the group but who want to come and study the wisdom of Kabbalah should come and study. First they will participate in the work in the group formally, and help out somehow, do something, and gradually they will be incorporated in it.

The main thing is that they shouldn’t cause any harm and that they shouldn’t force their opinions on everyone else. It is because our group works exactly according to the method of Baal HaSulam and everything connected to his study is holy and no one can counter it.

If at the moment a friend cannot understand to what extent the calls for unity and connection are necessary for spiritual attainment, he should sit quietly and listen, or leave the group.

We understand that a person develops slowly, it will take a while until gradually, under the influence of the Surrounding Light, he will begin to change his perception and the feeling in his heart and mind. But he shouldn’t resist or interfere with the advancement of others. He hasn’t matured enough and hasn’t ripened yet.

We cannot force people to participate in the group connection and in dissemination with all their heart and soul, although both Baal HaSulam and Rabash speak about this. A person may not feel this awakening yet, and it may come even after 10 or 15 years; this is how people develop.
[120999]
From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/22/13

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Question: How can I be sure that I will eventually succeed? Are there any guarantees?

Answer: This is called “faith in the sages.” But the one thing you can really trust is the Light of confidence that shines for a person to the extent that he reaches the attribute of bestowal. He doesn’t have it yet because the only means to attain it is through the incorporation in the environment.

I have nothing but the environment; I can be part of an environment that prefers corporeal values, and I can be part of an environment that prefers spiritual development, through bestowal. There are two alternatives: the path of receiving or the path of bestowal. There are two forces operating in nature, and we can prefer one or the other: either to bestow in order to receive or to receive in order to bestow, either one. This is how this world operates. Everything is very simple and is determined by the environment that we choose.

But if I have already chosen an environment, that is a teacher and friends, a path, and a goal, I have to feel that it is what I want. I shouldn’t force myself. If I have a point in the heart and if I feel that this path is for me, I join the environment.

But after joining it I have to be incorporated in it with all my heart and soul. I cannot be in an environment that is totally plus (+) while I am totally minus (-). I will be thrown out of it. The Light that Reforms will influence me and I will be thrown out after a year, two years, or even five years; it makes no difference. We see how this happens. Then a person begins to hate us because he is not incorporated in the environment, in the group.

But just like you are influenced by the media in our world whether you like it or not, here too, when it comes to our spiritual development, you have to be under the influence of the environment. This is where we are given freewill, and so we have to make constant efforts. It has nothing to do with a person’s character but with the gentleness of the soul. If a person is lucky, he stays, and if he isn’t, he doesn’t stay, and is kicked out…

You are incorporated in the group and you are told: “Did you choose to be with us? Welcome, but you should know that there are certain conditions that you have to fulfill. If you agree you can stay, and if you don’t, then leave.” There are many such groups, parties, and movements; choose whatever you like, these are our conditions. We rely on the writings of Kabbalists and this is what they say. We don’t care what others have chosen and what values they prefer and accept. We accept and follow the advice of Kabbalists that have reached us through a chain of Kabbalists through the ages, starting from Abraham until today.

They implemented these conditions and reached spiritual attainment. According to their books, we see that they reached the inner essence of nature, the upper dimension. We want to attain the same things and so we listen to their advice.
[120655]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/13, Shamati #64 “From Lo Lishma to Lishma”

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Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1]

[media 2]

Writings of Rabash

[media 3]

[media 4]

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet”

[media 5]

[media 6]

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 2, Item 3

[media 7]

[media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence“

[media 9]

[media 10]

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →