Baal HaSulam “One Commandment”: There is no serving the Creator and keeping the Mitzvot (commandments) except in Lishma (for Her Name)—bringing contentment to One’s Maker. Yet, our sages have already introduced the practice of engaging in Torah and Mitzvot even in Lo Lishma (not for Her Name), since “from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma”…

Initially, we cannot “just” become similar to the upper force . After all, it is completely giving, and to reach the same level, we too must bestow upon it. As in the example with the guest and the Host, if I want to grow up to the best, perfect state, then I should become like the source of creation.

The Host is filled with bestowal and love, and if I want to rise to His degree of eternity and perfection, then I have to achieve equivalence of form with Him. And it means to delight Him just as he wants to delight me. The wisdom of Kabbalah is intended for this purpose; the method allows, by means of the Light that Reforms, the drawing of the force that corrects us so that we achieve equivalence of form with the upper force, the Creator.

The first and only Mitzvah (commandment) that guarantees the achievement of the aspiration to attain Lishma, is to take responsibility to not work for their own needs, in other words, strictly following what’s necessary to provide for one’s sustenance. In the rest of the time, one will work for the public: to save the oppressed and every creature in the world that is in need of salvation and benefit.

Since this is the “first and only” principle, do not look for solutions elsewhere because there are no other options. It’s clear and certain that, first of all, one has to provide for his existence, and, as soon as his basic needs are met by all means, to take care of others’ well being. This is the correct form of similarity to the Creator.

By providing his basic needs, a person “fulfills” himself on the still, vegetative, and animate degree. We should be like nature on these three levels.

And the human degree that has been growing above the animal degree during, let’s say, a hundred thousand years, belongs not to the body; it’s all within. You will not see it with the material eye, it extends in the mind and feeling, in the inner development. And the person’s entire inner world must be turned to bestowal upon the other.

The earlier, “natural” degrees differ by treatment of the material, the method of communication. But the human degree is clouded, confusing, and incomprehensible to us. What is a “human being”? Sometimes when looking at a person, we say: “This is not a human, he acts like an animal.” Overall, however, we do not have a clear definition of clear external signs by which to identify a true human being. In what exactly is he different from an animal? The criteria are vague.

So, if today we are looking for an internal expression of the human degree, then we call it so by the future state, by the goal to which it’s directed. This is the form that must be turned, likened to the Creator, and then it will be called the “Human Being” (Adam). For now, this is a formal designation on account of future merits.

So, the first principle on the path to the goal is to work for oneself no more than as required by basic needs and to take care of others in everything else. This bar is now before you and if you do so on your own accord, then you will achieve equivalence with the Creator.

Moreover, basic self-care is also part of caring for the other, provided that you hold that intention from the very beginning. After all, “the end of the action is in its initial thought.”
[117263]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
I Am Dreaming Of Becoming A Slave Of Bestowal
Learn To See The Light In Bestowal
The Sign Of A Developed Mind Is Caring For Others

Filed under: Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

We speak the language of emotions of feelings in our desire to receive, in the matter of creation. But if we could use the language of forces as does the wisdom of Kabbalah: in terms of Masachim (screens), Aviut (thickness), and the forces of attraction and rejection, that is, about how nature operates and not what we feel as a result of these forces operating on our matter, we would speak more concretely.

What is the “importance of the King” for example? It is a force that allows a person to perform certain actions in a certain direction; it is the force of attraction of the Creator, His greatness, importance, the power of faith, the force of bestowal or the force of receiving. And if we used this specific language, we wouldn’t philosophize and get confused.

Kabbalists explain that it is possible to speak about reality in four languages that correlate with the four levels of our matter because it is all only with regard to Kabbalists and their revelation. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the deepest language because it doesn’t speak about feelings but about forces.

Conditions such as the prohibition to add to or subtract from the work and the faith in the Creator’s greatness and importance translate into the language of vectors of forces, the relations between the forces and the way they interact. By connecting in different forms, they generate different phenomena.

But if we refer to our attainment, to our penetrating more deeply and using these forces, and not to our external study, then we have no choice. We cannot use these concepts automatically like in our world where we are on the same operating level as they are. In the spiritual world, we have to first start using these forces, and so we need a different language, the language of feeling, the language of working with them.

We need to rise to the level that the spiritual forces operate in our feelings in order to know how to use them. This wisdom is called the wisdom of Kabbalah, reception. When we begin to study the true reality as a set of operating forces, we discover that behind the two forces: the force of bestowal and the force of reception, there is actually only one force of the Creator, and that there is none else besides Him.

The Creator uses these two forces to lead the creation, and if we want to attain Him, Who is above that nature of receiving and bestowal, we have to acquire these two forces in the right combination, in the right balance, and thus attain Him. Then both the physics of the upper world, the wisdom of Kabbalah, which speaks about these forces, and we who attain these forces in the language of the Creator’s work, which means in the languages of emotions, are connected in us. By these two languages we expand our vessels of perception and are able to feel the true reality.
[117255]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/13

Related Material:
Paint The World We Want!
Physics And Lyricism
The Language Of Branches That Connects The Worlds

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Kabbalah Study, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: Sometimes a person loses all his powers during a descent and tries to escape from working in the group. How do we hasten the transitions between the descents?

Answer: One mustn’t run from the group. Anyone who stops coming to the group during a descent harms the whole group. Others simply have to carry him on a stretcher. The friends have to be very sensitive to what is happening in the group. If they don’t pay attention that their friends are falling and that they don’t come to the lesson, it is a sign that they are not serious enough and lack the right spirit for attacking.

If we feel that everyday is the day of the attack, like on the front, then we will understand that we cannot win if we lose even one friend. A friend who falls in battle disrupts the wholeness of the army and destroys the lines, but we are not aware of that and even the friends who fall are not aware of the damage they are causing the other friends. This means that we are not working on the connection between us and are slowing our progress.

We perform many actions, but they should all be focused on our sense of unity between us that is at the center of all our efforts and our reward. The center, the focus of the revelation of the Creator, and of the end of correction is all concentrated in the point of our connection.

Only if we look into this central point of connection in the group will we discover the mutual hate, rejection, and separation, and then also the connection, unity, and revelation of the Creator. It is the same point we constantly have to reach and be drawn to, and the only point we should focus on. But instead each one looks into his own pocket.
[117153]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/13/13, Shamati #33 “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and Haman”

Related Material:
Everyone’s Salary Is Transferred To The Group’s Account
Safety Belt For Ascent
Don’t Make Us Carry You On A Stretcher!

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot“

The Book of Zohar — Introduction

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9

Writings of Baal HaSulam “One Commandment”

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

From Rabash’s article “Faith”: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say: “The day is short, the labor vast, the toilers are idle, but the reward is great, and the Master of the house is insistent.” (Pirkey Avot 2:20) If one believes that there is no capital without a Ruler and is confident that the Master exists, one feels constrained.

We are unable to wake up on our own unless the Creator awakens us because we are made of material that has no spirit of life spirit. Therefore, we are called creations; that is, we are ruled from above. Only after the Creator awakens us, we see that the labor is vast, the toilers are idle, but the reward is great, and the Master is insistent. Then, we start working.

At this point, our freedom of will turns on. The Creator places one’s hand on the good fate and says: “Take it!” In other words, the Creator’s action comes first; then it is our turn to continue the work, meaning that we take what the Creator gives us. We have to organize our environment and study so that everyday is structured to allow us to make efforts both on one and the other.

Regardless of our usual workload and dissemination responsibilities, we should never break our connection with the original sources. Only if we manage to constantly maintain connection with the sources, will we arrive at the desired and anticipated result. The labor is vast, but the reward is great, so we have to prepare our vessels to receive it.

All this requires us to distribute our time into several segments: a normal life, study, and dissemination. We should consistently attend to all three and never avoid or overlook any of them. If we neglect even one of them, we won’t keep to the middle line. Even if we don’t allot time in equal shares between them, we still have to take care of all three parts.

We should pay particular attention to these issues. Even when one has a very important dissemination assignment, one shouldn’t forget about studying. There is no excuse for missing classes just because one is busy with dissemination. It’s really bad, since it is said: “If you abandon Me for one day, I’ll leave you for two.” It’s dangerous. If you discontinue studying because of dissemination, our gains will eventually turn into losses.
[116465]
From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/10/13

Related Material:
Under The Saddle Or In The Saddle?
What Can You Get From One Day Of Study
Two Methods Of Dissemination

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Free Will, Spiritual Work - 1 Comment →

Baal HaSulam “One Commandment”: There is no serving the Creator and keeping the Mitzvot (commandments) except in Lishma (for Her Name)—bringing contentment to One’s Maker.

“Serving the Creator” is pure bestowal and “keeping the Mitzvot (commandments)” is self-correction toward bestowal by the Light that Reforms or the “Torah.”

I shall act only in order to bestow, without any benefit for myself. This is why I need the Upper Light; due to it, I can perform actions not on my selfish “fuel,” not based on self-interest. I need the higher force that will give me the opportunity to bestow without any reason, without justification from the point of view of my nature, my logic. And then I can give “for the pleasure of the Creator.”

The “Creator” is something outside of me, be it a person, all of humanity, or the Creator. I do not care who exactly: Everything that goes out of my “body” seemingly disappears and no longer exists in my eyes. This is how I feel. It turns out that “bringing pleasure to the Creator” is like throwing something, losing something forever.

Yet, our sages have already introduced the practice of engaging in Torah and Mitzvot even in Lo Lishma (not for Her Name), since “from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma”…

That is, even if I am unable to bestow now, I have to act to the best of my abilities, do what I can in the group, in the classroom, etc. And then, after passing a series of states, I will achieve bestowal. Why? Because the actions that the sages recommend to me, even without the right intention, attract to me the Light that Reforms.

It would seem, how could this be? Why by carrying out the advice of the sages, do I attract the Light? In fact, I just read in a book and heard from the teacher that I need to do this and that. How then do I get from this the spiritual force that changes me? Exactly how does this mechanism work?

The fact is that by following the instructions of the great sages, I establish a connection with them and then get spiritual fulfillment from them. I just feel this as the Surrounding Light because I cannot yet tolerate it in my desires. In fact, it fills me, is with me, but I cannot “process” it yet in clear vessels, to really work with it. Nevertheless, it already corrects and “formats” me.

Thus, following the advice of teachers, I connect through them with the Malchut of the world of infinity.
[117260]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
The Commandments And The Laws
Lo Lishma: Having Something To Correct
An Operation In “Faith Above Reason”

Filed under: Commandments, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

The only difference between impurity and holiness, between exile and redemption, darkness and Light, is the presence of the Creator , but it all depends upon the person. Everything is arranged according to the general plan and my place in the system, but at every moment I am given freewill and the ability to turn the darkness into Light.

Of course, I keep forgetting this and fall into darkness over and over again, but I have to make efforts and try to reach the Light. The moment I reach the Light, I fall into darkness again and thus I have to rise over and over again. This process continues until the end of all the clarifications and the corrections.

Therefore, the difference between exile and redemption is a tiny addition, the letter Alef, which stands for “the head of the world” (Aluf shel olam), the Creator. If I draw Him into the state I am in and realize He is the cause, that there is none else besides Him, that everything stems from the good and the benevolent, and that I have to correct myself so I will accept every state this way, then the Creator dwells in me according to my corrected vessels. It’s then that I turn the exile into redemption, the darkness into light.

If I don’t manage to do that, then I remain in the corrupt state and have to look for a way to strengthen myself and to carry out the correction. This is actually all our work. We need to strengthen each other in the group in order to enable each one to raise himself from the darkness to the Light, by attributing everything to the Creator.

We will certainly be pushed back again each time and will be forced to fall. It’s the Light that does it all.
[117207]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/20/13, Shamati #127 “The Difference Between Kernel, Essence, and Added Abundance”

Related Material:
A Brave Diver In The Waves Of Light
The Light Of A New Candle
Night Will Turn Into Day And Day Will Turn Into Night

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot“

The Book of Zohar — Introduction

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9

Writings of Baal HaSulam “One Commandment”

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

Rising up and reaching a certain contact with the Light, I seemingly emerge from the water, appearing above its surface. And then the same Light begins to work on me and drags me back so I will find my new corrupt parts and desires.

Again I make my effort and rise to the top, and again the Light drowns me deeper. This goes on all the time until I complete all my corrections. So, there is no need to think that there may be something else: Our task is to try to constantly rise, come up, and the work of the Light is to drown us again. The same Light that we reach during ascent causes the next descent.

So, the Light and darkness interchange allowing us to work. Therefore, all our work is only to make an effort and try to swim to the top. And of course, we will get nothing else but falls and so on until the end of correction when the day comes in which there will be only the Light. That is, we raise ourselves and the Light will not have to drown us, but only fill our desires. Thus, we remain adhered to the Light in the state of the final correction.

The main thing is to remember that all actions come from a single force besides which there is nothing else, and only the Light acts. And even our efforts, due to which we raise ourselves up, are only possible because of the Light. Rising means to become more and more attached to the single upper force that carries goodness, having realized that everything comes from one source.

Everything that I see now is the clothing of the Creator in my desires, but only because of their corruption, I cannot feel Him in them yet. I need to try to reveal Him because this will give Him pleasure.
[117203]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/20/13, Shamati #127 “The Difference Between Kernel, Essence, and Added Abundance”

Related Material:
Underground Water That Changes The World
We Are Rewarded According To Our Efforts
Can Internal Efforts Be Measured?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - 1 Comment →

The problem is that we don’t exit the descents correctly, not realizing the fact that the descents are the same places from where everything grows and flourishes. We don’t relate to them as new construction, as desirable states.

There is a coupling that takes place at midnight from which man is born, so we have to understand that all our work takes place during the descent, during clarifications in the dark, when we reveal our true and undisguised nature. The darkness forces us to demand the Light: not the daylight that provides knowledge, but the Light of Hasadim that allows us to see our shattered vessels that are revealed at night. Because they are in contrast to the Light, they seem as darkness.

We begin to see these vessels, compare them with the vessels of bestowal, and prepare new vessels. This is called the coupling of Aba and Ima, the preparation for the birth of man in the spiritual world. We simply have to be creative in working with what is revealed in the dark, to work joyfully while feeling the importance of the goal, by understanding that we advance towards it is in the dark.

The descent provides us with the building material. The form of the darkness is the vessel for the revelation of the Light, like the walls of a house. The darkness is the bricks that we have to turn into the building tools, and it is from them that we build ourselves. Other than a desire to receive, we only have an intention that determines how we use this desire.

A desire and an intention is all there is in creation and so we have to relate to the descents creatively. It is crucial now.
[117198]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/13/13, Shamati #33 “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and Haman”

Related Material:
Following The Evening Comes The New Day
A Descent Is The Momentum For The Leap Upward
The Morning Starts In The Evening

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →