Question: What does a person feel when he is receiving the Torah?

Answer: He feels that his attitude toward others is changing. He begins to understand that precisely in relationships with others, there, in the middle between them, is a place for the new world, new states, new development above at a higher level.

By establishing a mutual connection, we form between ourselves the third factor: the upper one. This is the soul; this is the Creator whom we reveal. This is the upper world, which lies not just anywhere but precisely between us in the form of the middle line.

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash “Igrot,”  Letter 8

The Book of Zohar – Introduction “Who Created These of Elijah,” Item 14, Lesson 10

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 10, Item 64, Lesson 43

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee“, Lesson 11

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #161 “The Matter of the Giving of the Torah”

The Book of Zohar – Introduction

Writings of Rabash “Igrot,” Letter 41

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Question: Kabbalists write about the category of Israel in which everyone is connected so strongly that it’s impossible to separate them, and they totally depend on one another. What is this category and who belongs to it?

Answer: I will tell you a secret: At midday yesterday I was not “Israel,” but towards the evening my state changed a little and I managed to reach “Jerusalem”; then I descended into the “valley,” afterwards I met with the “lions,” and then I went up to Heaven and flew….

This morning not only did I not belong to “Israel” when I woke up, but I didn’t even belong to the “nations of the world.” I was simply an “animal”….  In general, “Israel” (ישראל) is the desire to receive that is aimed at Yashar El (ישר-אל, straight to the Creator).

But if you are asking about some protein substance, I don’t know to which category it belongs. First we have to check the desire and its intention, and then I can find out if it’s “Israel” and, if so, on what level. Suppose a Greek by birth and a Jew by birth are sitting before you: If you look inside them you may find that the Greek is “Israel” while the Jew is “wicked” on the “animate” level.

Everything is determined by the desire and the intensity of its intention. Of course “Israel” corrects itself first. If there is a part in me called “Israel” and a part called “the nations of the world” then, of course, I correct the purer vessels first.

This order is also reflected in our world: Here, whether we like it or not, we belong to “Israel” and we have to correct ourselves now. But in the spiritual sense, the Jews are also divided into these two parts: “Israel” and the “nations of the world.” How many representatives of “Israel” are there among the Jewish people? They can be a thousand out of 12-14 million….

Question: So who should take it upon himself to become a “member of the nation” as “one man with one heart?”

Answer: Whoever feels that he is a member of the nation. These are a person’s inner discernments which cannot be assessed in words or determined by one’s passport.

Question: Weren’t you with this nation yesterday?

Answer: No. Last night I was part of the “nations of the world,” and this morning I woke up an “animal.” I hope that I will be a “good boy” during the day and will grow to the level of the “great priest.”

However, the way things are going I will probably have to fall, to deteriorate to practically the state of “Haman” and the other wicked. They will “clothe” in me and I will feel like them; I will actually enter the figures that are described in the Torah.

This is because the Torah depicts inner figures and describes inner roles that we have to play on the way to resembling the Creator. I can’t resemble Him completely unless I experience the soul of “Haman,” “Hitler,” “Pharaoh,” etc. I have to be incorporated in them and also in the pure figures of bestowal that are opposite them. Then I will be truly corrected.

So it isn’t only about waking up as an “animal.” If everything comes down to only this, then I am “out of the game.” In general, we must never tie the spiritual path with the body that you now see in your corporeal eyes. It’s a grave mistake. Never judge by the external “pictures” and the bodily sensations—judge only by desires and intentions.

In all of reality there are desires to receive, desires to bestow, and an intention that corrects the desires to receive so that a person becomes the one who bestows. That’s all. Besides this, here is nothing, only three parameters: the Light, the vessel and the Masach (screen) between them.

Question: What about the 600,000 guarantors that Baal HaSulam speaks about in the article “Mutual Guarantee”? Do they have to wake up and to unite on the way to correction?

Answer: I will tell you another secret: The moment you reach the states in which you need 600,000 guarantors, you will find them. They will suddenly appear before you, as if nothing has happened.
[106924]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/7/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”: Therefore, the Creator did not find a nation or a tongue qualified to receive the Torah, except for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose ancestral merit reflected upon them, as our Sages said, “The Patriarchs observed the whole Torah even before it was given.”

The “Forefathers” are the first, most pure level where the desire to receive is still very small. Therefore, they didn’t need to overcome the evil inclination because true evil had not been fully revealed.

At that time, the work amounted to a separation, a rejection of evil, but not discovery and clarification of evil. This was easy: On one side, there was Abraham, and on the other side, there was Ishmael; on one side, there was Jacob, and on the other, Esau. All these states were simple, “transparent”—they were small Lights, Aviut of level zero. Therefore, the forefathers acted according to the entire Torah, meaning they realized the principle of “and you shall love your friend as yourself,” and from this they discovered “and you shall love the Lord your God.” The work was easy because it was done on the highest “strata” of desire, with refined density, in which all serious problems had not yet been discovered.

Then this corrected network helped to correct Aviut of the first degree, deeper “layers.” Of this it is said that the merit of the patriarchs stood with them, even for their descendants. So the process is as follows: We always stand and rely upon corrections that our spiritual predecessors performed.

Further, as Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” the Talmudic sages made new and additional corrections. With this they inserted the Light that Reforms into the method for us. Then, we advanced forward specifically through the Light, whereas previously penances had been more or less sufficient, as it is written: “Eat bread with salt, drink little water, sleep on the ground, lead a sorrowful life, and labor in the Torah.” Which is to say, in spite of all this we needed a method, the Torah, but this was along with physical torments since they are connected to Aviut of zero, first, and parts of the second levels.

And finally, from the time of the exile and on, the sons of Israel, who became the GE, began to mix with the nations of the world, meaning the AHP, and then we required the Light that Reforms in order to carry out corrections. The Talmudic sages supplied us with this possibility, removing the need for penances and giving us the Light that Reforms along with the merit of the corrections that they made in the common network. Its help is sufficient now and we can correct ourselves.
[106928]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/7/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”: Death is necessarily an absence and negation of the existence of a certain object. But only while there is a spark that wishes to exist for its own pleasure is it possible to say about it that that spark does not exist because it has become absent and died.

However, if there is no such spark in man, but all the sparks of his essence clothe in bestowal of contentment upon their Maker, then it is neither absent nor dead. For even when the body is annulled, it is only annulled with respect to self-gratification, in which the will to receive is dressed and can only exist in it.

However, when he achieves the aim of Creation and the Creator receives pleasure from him, since His will is done, man’s essence, which clothes in His contentment, is granted complete eternity, like Him. Thus, he has been rewarded with freedom from the angel of death.

We have to provide the deficiency, the vessel, the need to bring the Creator contentment. From our place, from our nature, there is only one way we can express such a desire: In an aspiration to connect to others, to be incorporated in the desires of others, and to help these desires to be filled with the Creator.

This is the level of Bina, the level of faith, of bestowal, which works this way with its upper and lower parts: GAR (the first three) and ZAT (the seven lower). The lower part, ZAT, is incorporated in the desires of the lower one, and the upper part, GAR, can reach the Creator. This is how we have to receive: Malchut must receive its form from Bina.

So, if we connect in groups of, let’s say, ten people, in which we are now working, each one loses his egoistic self and is incorporated in others, then through that, he exits himself and becomes part of our connection. Thus, he already has a new point of birth, freedom from his ego.

However, on what account can he be born? After all, he doesn’t have a deficiency of his own. Everyone thinks: “When will I finally reach the state of spiritual embryo and then that of suckling, when I will feed on the Light? How will I advance a bit more?” However, this is only possible if we receive deficiencies from others, from AHP.

By annulling myself before the group, I annul only my ego and become like GAR of Bina that doesn’t need anything. We are in mutual bestowal, but how can we bring the Creator contentment? We can discover His Light only in the vessels of reception, and these vessels must be foreign to us. It turns out that we have to turn to the external world and contact the general public, as it is written: “I dwell among my people.” This is how we discover the right vessel for the revelation of the Creator.

We have to accept this, live with this thought, and understand that we will reach a special state precisely in this way. It is special since we totally leave ourselves, when our desires to receive are completely empty of all the material acquisitions, and we merge with the Creator by our equivalence of form. Thus, there are no thoughts left about one’s own existence, but we have only the thought of bringing contentment to the Maker.
[107072]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/7/13

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We gather in order to unite and help one another overcome self-love. Everyone has to think about canceling their egoism, stop worrying about their own fulfillment, and strive only toward loving their neighbor when it is possible. In other words, throughout the entire convention, from this moment forward, we need to think about rising above ourselves and exiting our egoism. This is the only way for a person to feel the need and the desire to acquire the new quality called the desire to bestow.

When egoists like us connect and I look at others, I begin to realize that my egoism is very wisely made. Essentially, it is made in a way that helps me come out of it. In reality, nothing in my personal life interferes with spirituality. With the right attitude toward my nature, I will reveal qualities in it that help me attain the spiritual world.

The rejection I feel for others is given to me to show me how far I am from having spiritual qualities. Moreover, there is envy in me. When I see how others connect, and how every person tries to come out of himself and become closer to others, I envy them. Envy is a huge, egoistic force but essentially, it begins to work to my benefit, helping me to rise above my egoism.

Also, ambition—my desire to be higher and more successful than others—works to my benefit. I see the success of others and feel ashamed. I want to have what they have, at least not to fall behind, but to surpass them. It turns out that there is not a single quality in our egoism that we could not use to liberate ourselves from our egoism. This inner work is called “help against him.”

We need to delve into this work with our friends, but in reality we discover that there is nothing in our lives that we need to fight. Overcoming is spending every moment trying to be sensible toward heading in the right direction. Then, we will see how all our natural qualities help us attain the goal in a direct or an indirect manner.

There is no need to fight any of our inclinations. Instead, we need to study how nature plays us. If we use all our impulses wisely, we will be able to break through into the spiritual world.
[107207]
From a Talk on The Importance of Gathering 5/10/2013

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Question: How can I become more sensitive to the fact that I am a component of the integral system?

Answer: This sensitivity develops when a person tries to devote more and more attention to his connection to the group. He checks himself whether he sees the friends as his beloved children, whether he has sweet thoughts about them, and whether he wants to feel their suffering as if it were his actual, physical pain.

A person must try to increase his sensitivity and his attitude and decipher the concept “as yourself.” It isn’t easy since a person manages to do that for a moment and then, the next moment, he falls and is detached from this feeling since our ego doesn’t want to suffer for the whole world. However, a person still advances time after time.

The Masach (screen) he acquires helps him to share everyone’s suffering and at the same time, justify the Creator and rejoice. The spiritual Masach works that way, giving a person the endurance without lowering his sensitivity to suffering. Thanks to that, he can experience very deep feelings that can be both good and bad.

In our work, we either sweeten or cover up our suffering through the mind, through the thought that many suffer from the same things that we do and that it isn’t our personal pain. In a time of war, for example, when many are killed, it is easier to bear the loss. It isn’t by chance that it is said, “Misery loves company.”

That’s the way it is in our world, but in spirituality, it is impossible to reduce your worries this way since you feel everyone as yourself. However, the Masach brings you closer to the Creator. It is absolutely impossible to advance if you don’t identify with the Creator since your perception becomes very sensitive. The depth of the good and bad feelings in your soul is unbearable, and they overflow beyond the boundaries of this world.

Although there is also such terrible suffering in our world that can drive a person mad, our sense organs cannot bear that. So, only in the connection with the Creator, in the Light of bestowal, can you be so greatly impressed that it exceeds the boundaries of the corporeal world. Thus, the connection is an essential precondition for the spiritual revelation.
[104956]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: What should my prayer, MAN, in the group of ten be?

Answer: A prayer, MAN, depends upon the state that you are in. You may be asking something from them and they may be asking something from you, and you operate mutually in relation to one another. Or you may be already connected and together ask from the upper one who is in the group of ten.

You say: “The Creator is in the connection between us.” This connection between us is the mother’s womb, it’s ZAT (the lower seven) of Bina, our upper one. There is no other upper one but our connected group. But we are not connected yet, and so we turn to our future, connected, and corrected form that is our next, higher level. We turn to it and to the Creator who is concealed in it. This means that the prayer, MAN, can be aimed from each of you to others, or from all of you towards your future upper form.
[107009]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/13, TES

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Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder), “The Purpose of Society” (1984 part 1): And this is why we gather here—to establish a society where each of us follows the spirit of bestowing upon the Creator. And to achieve bestowal upon the Creator, we must begin with bestowal upon man, which is called “love of others.”

Thanks to this we will be able to bestow upon the Creator, the general force of bestowal. This is what we call the attribute by which we rise above our ego.

Mutual bestowal is love of others. If I love someone, I want to give him everything and I make sure that he feels good. It is as if I am constantly in him and I see myself only as a means to bestow upon him, which helps me transcend myself.

This is the reason that such a big world with so many people in it was created. It allows us to gather and establish a group where by the mutual connection between us everyone will be able to transcend his ego and see that he has the means to acquire a second nature: bestowal. In fact, this is what we call the exit from the ego, from its limited system.

And on the other hand, be proud that the Creator has given us the chance to be in a society where each of us has but a single goal—for Divinity to dwell among us.

Our goal is that the revelation of the upper world will fill us. This is called “the revelation of Divinity,” which takes place namely among us. Each of us is an egoist, but when we exit our nature and begin to rise above ourselves, a great collective force is created between us, full of mutual bestowal. We make sure that we achieve this mutual force when we mutually bestow upon one another, and our concern is called mutual guarantee.

We all feel the upper world in this general force. There we discover the forces of all the people who lived before us and who live in this world together with us, of all the people who transcend themselves and live in an eternal state.

This general force is one collective soul. There are no separate individual souls, but only one soul for everyone. But in it everyone feels the eternal world in different depth and width, to the extent that he rose above his ego.

We go through ascents and descents along this road that summon different states in which the eternal world seems to be changing. The truth is that it doesn’t change, as it says: “The Light is at absolute rest.” But we feel as if it changes since we are actually changing. Our ego is transforming all the time, we overcome it in different ways, and accordingly, the picture of our world and the feelings we experience are very dynamic.

Thus we advance until everything is totally revealed and this is the end of correction. All the people in this world must reach that. Even if the bodies change, our spiritual parts remain the same. The bodies separate us from the general feeling into individuals, but if we leave the body, we immediately feel one world and ourselves as one. This is precisely where we are headed.

The efforts that we make in the convention depend on us. We may experience this eternal sate for a couple of minutes. It may be temporary and it may disappear, but the actual phenomenon will remain and will draw us forward forcefully helping us overcome the future phases.

If we really make great efforts, then besides this world we will feel the spiritual world and live in two worlds. It is all up to us. If we can initially think about this and are getting ready for this, then whoever comes to the convention will join us and we will all advance together.

So let’s hope for the revelation of the upper world, which we must always see as the goal that is attained by our unity.

And although we have not yet achieved this goal, that is, we have not felt the upper world by exiting our ego, we have the desire to achieve it. And this, too, should be appreciated by us.

It is true that we have just started, but we hope to reach the goal, and it should be appreciated by us. It is up to us and depends on our efforts. It says: “A person can buy his world in one hour.” If people, who are part of a group, really want to transcend themselves, they will really feel this ascent.
[107176]
From a Talk On Preparation for the Congress in New Jersey, 5/10/2013

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