The Writings of the Maggid of Koznitz, “The Work of Israel”: The sages said: “Dispersion is good for the wicked and convention is good for the righteous.” That’s because a wicked man separates himself from the Creator, thinks that he manages himself according to his own desire, and thus says “I will rule,” which is the source of the shattering.

Thus the wicked, each feels that “I will rule” and so they are in the world of separation and cannot connect like the circles because they cannot sit together, and so the dispersion is good for them. However, although the righteous each work the Creator in a different style, they all still aim at one thing: at their Father in Heaven, and they gather and assemble as one man with one heart.

When each one lowers himself and praises the work of the Creator, it gives him power and the mind to work for Him and so he doesn’t feel superior to his friend, and in the world of truth they unite with one another.

A person must convince himself as quickly as he can and not let time go by until he finally listens and believes that the spiritual world is not beyond some distant galaxies or in some faraway dimension. He is indeed in a different dimension, but this dimension is in his heart, in the desires and thoughts of his heart. Everything is in a man’s heart, in his desires: “the heart understands,” the heart thinks.

Only by controlling the desire is it possible to reach the upper dimension in which the upper one dwells, where He is the one who bestows with regard to the lower one, the one who receives in his thoughts, desires, and intentions.

One can have thoughts that are aimed at and operate for unity only by self-annulment and submission; that is, the thought of the righteous can unite since they are all aimed at one source, towards their unification with the Creator. The thoughts of the wicked, however, are each for his self-benefit, and so they all are separated and cannot attain anything.

Therefore, we should discover as quickly as possible in a true and decisive manner that the first spiritual level stands for self-annulment, connection with others in any way possible. We shouldn’t fear that it’s too honest and that someone may get scared and run away. The Creator gives us an example by showing us that the entire world is in a terrible crisis that spikes despair and helplessness in people’s hearts.

Thus, as a result of all our efforts to connect egoistically and to find spirituality not where it actually is, we must discover this helplessness. Then, out of helplessness, as it is written, “and the children of Israel sighed from the work,” we will be forced to turn to the upper force and demand that He save us.

The faster and more correctly we discover the fact that it isn’t in our power to reach self-annulment, the faster we will be able to reach the truth. This is possible only through connection, unity, and the strive for one root.
[105708]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/13

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Question: Why does Baal HaSulam hardly mention the group in his articles?

Answer: There is hardly anything to say about the group since it is an obvious condition. If you don’t work on the connection with the group, you don’t have a spiritual vessel.

So Baal HaSulam has only several articles about the group. A Kabbalistic group is a concept known since the days of Abraham, who was the first Kabbalist who had to work in a group. Before him, there was no need for that since the idea of the connection of the souls was not revealed. The souls were so pure until then that they didn’t need to connect to one another in order to connect to spirituality.

Although we know the history of Cain and Abel, this connection is still on the level of the roots of the evil inclination. So, Abraham was the first who needed a group although he had already attained spirituality.

He was the first link in a chain of twenty generations from Adam Ha Rishon (the First Man) until Noah, and from Noah until Abraham (ten Sefirot of the Direct Light and ten Sefirot of the Reflected Light). He was the first who started to organize a group, and so he is considered the father of the nation of Israel. This nation is a Kabbalistic group.

The concept of the group was then formed, and it is impossible to reveal spirituality without it. The more we advance, the bigger the groups become. First, the groups were only a teacher and a student, as it says: “The minimum of many is two.”

There were different stories throughout the time periods in history, but the end result is they are all eventually meant to be as one. During the events before Mt Sinai, when Egypt’s desire to receive was revealed, the unity of the group of the whole Israeli nation as one group was crucial. The conditions of the gathering before Mt Sinai were the conditions of a Kabbalistic group: To be “as one man with one heart,” “each man shall help his friend,” “don’t do unto others what is hateful to you,” “love thy friend as thyself,” and “all of Israel are friends,” connected in mutual guarantee.

These are the conditions for the existence of the group because the “nation of Israel” is a Kabbalistic group.
[106248]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13, Shamati #25

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After a very powerful Men’s Convention, we feel great heaviness. But I think that it should be the opposite since we have ascended to a new level, have received new desires, and now have to go out and fight the narrow-minded world we have returned to. We have to fight so all the confusions and the hardening of the heart that we will feel will not wane our feeling of awe and elation. If we won’t let things calm us down, then all the locks will become openings and the gates will open up.

If you feel heavy and indifferent, it is a sign that you are working with your primordial raw egoism. It is the way it operates in its pure form, as a feeling of a dark extinguished desire that doesn’t care about anything. Now you have been given another ten pounds or ten ounces of desire, it doesn’t really matter how much, and you have fallen under this load.

You mustn’t refuse to receive the new desire since doing so is considered disrespect of the chance to advance, of the gift you are given from Above. But you should ask for two things: From the group, you should ask for support, empowerment, mutual guarantee, and mutual responsibility; and from the Creator, you should ask for correction, awakening, elation, and the Light.

You have to ask. There is nothing you can do other than that! If you stop asking, then you immediately fall into a state of unconsciousness. So you must constantly ask and pray internally, focusing on the group and on the Creator, holding on to this prayer. Otherwise, you fall into a deep sleep.
[106251]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Writings of Rabash, “The Consecration of the New Moon”: The concept of the moon indicates Malchut, the idea of accepting the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. It was difficult for Moses to tell the people of Israel that they should accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven while they felt its concealment. And common sense tells us that if he had come to the people of Israel with some kind of revelation of divinity, they would have accepted the kingdom of Heaven. Then there would have been room to talk with them.

But the moon must specifically be blessed, not when it is full, but at the new moon, when it is not evident how it receives the light of the sun, when it doesn’t shine. And then it is time for us to sanctify it. That is, a person must accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven upon himself during the lowest phase, and say that it is even in this state, which cannot be any lower, entirely above reason, without intellectual and emotional support, where he builds his foundation.

A new moon, which must be blessed, symbolizes Malchut that has nothing of its own, meaning our substance, a human being who receives everything from outside. It is precisely when I feel that nothing depends on me—this is the most blessed state for which I need to be grateful. I no longer rely on my power, like the new moon that is temporarily totally invisible.

The moon begins to shine only in the middle of the month, and not with its own light, but with light reflected from the sun; that is, the moon depends entirely on the sun—precisely as a person depends on the Creator. It is necessary to connect yourself completely with the upper force, understanding that everything is done only to help the Creator to be revealed to the created being, and for this revelation it is necessary to reach equivalence of form.

To reach the full moon that shines like the sun, that is, to become the human being similar to the Creator, I must accept all of His properties and embed them within me so that “darkness will shine like the light.” Then I will discover that I have all the necessary parameters, I only have to use them correctly, and that’s why I need the Light that Reforms.

Therefore, I bless specifically the beginning of the month, when the complete restriction is in effect, and my nature is not revealed in any way. This makes it possible for me to reveal myself only to the degree that I am identical with the Creator. If my desire to receive were more apparent, I would not be able to begin this work.

But as long as the desire is restricted, I can work on attracting the Light that Reforms to myself. And as I work and advance, the desire becomes more revealed, constantly showing me new strata of my incompatibility with the Creator: These are my attempts to use all kinds of desires, thoughts, and intentions that do not suit the good relationship with which the Creator turns to me.

I bless the restriction of my desire to receive and the possibility to receive a screen on it; after that I gradually open this desire to the degree that I am ready to control it and use it to bestow to the Creator so as to be like Him. In this way I bless this whole renewal (Chidush), my new state, the new “month” (Chodesh), and gradually begin to build my spiritual Partzuf: This consists of the ten Sefirot of the Rosh, ten Sefirot of the Toch, and ten Sefirot of the Sof, a total of 30 Sefirot, 30 days of the month.
[106081]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/24/13, Writings of Rabash

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash “Shlavei HaSulam,” Article 12

The Book of Zohar, Introduction “The Rose,” Item 2, Lesson 3

Talmud Eser Sefirot,  Vol. 3, Part 10, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Item 22, Lesson 40

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee,” Lesson 6

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We receive all the spiritual information from Above through a chain of Kabbalists’ souls. The order of these levels does not change. It begins from Adam HaRishon (the First Man), who was the first to discover the upper force. This chain begins from him and descends from the top down like a cone until all of humanity joins it and reveals the Creator.

This is the way the upper Light, the upper wisdom, the Light that Reforms, the raising of prayer, MAN, and the response for them, MAD, come from. Everything is transmitted and descends only through this chain since we are connected to one system.

So, we must cleave to the spiritual legacy that the great Kabbalists have left us and to respect them as we respect the Creator—to the same extent and even more. Most important is to reach adhesion with the writers and the books (the writers are the sources of the Light of Hochma, and the books are the means of communication that they have left us).

If a person tries to develop in himself a sensation of the importance and the value of these sources then, naturally, he will become attracted to them and will get closer to them. He will begin to respect these great Kabbalists and will connect to their writings and, with their help he will reach adhesion with the Creator.
[106176]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13, Shamati #25

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In order not to fall, not to descend in the work, I need to search for deficiencies in it myself even during an ascent. As the sages said: “An old man walks around bent over, always looking at the ground as if he is looking for something and is afraid of losing something in advance.” Further advice about this is to fill our time with the order of the day, to bind oneself to additional commitments: to do dissemination work, translate, write articles, work on texts, work in the kitchen, and so forth.

If a person is constantly involved in some kind of mandatory work, no matter what that work is, it will prevent him from falling because he will be obliged to do something related to spiritual advancement regardless of his state. Otherwise, he will be occupied with this only when he feels an ascent.

Then a descent comes, which he doesn’t feel at first even though he has already begun to descend. It is very easy to descend, and it seems to a person that he is still in ascent. It is the same in corporeal life when you come down a hill, which is always easy. You still feel that you are above, but essentially, you have started to descend. And when you are descending, you no longer have a desire to open a book, read something, hear, or learn. The state of apathy descends upon and dominates you, and then it’s very difficult to come out of it.

Therefore, it’s necessary to come up with a precise schedule that will protect a person for sure. And any other advice is certainly correct but just about impossible to realize practically. This is the law, but in order to keep the law, we must organize a strict daily schedule for ourselves where we commit ourselves to be occupied with spiritual work all of the time. This is what I recommend to you from my experience.
[106173]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13

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There are continuous problems along the spiritual path, but we accept them as help along the way, as constructive problems and not destructive ones.

Let’s suppose that I’m building a second floor in my home. This means that I have to carry all the materials to the second floor, which is definitely much more difficult than building the first floor. So, what can we say about the 15^th floor or about the 125^th floor of the spiritual building?

The higher a person climbs, the more his evil inclination grows, becoming heavier and crueler, as it is written, “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is greater than his.” However, if my aspiration is correct, I see in this heavier load a great benefit for my construction. I see the evil as good since I see that it will lead to positive results.

If I am given ten pounds of gold, for example, will I feel sorry that I have to carry the ten pounds home? However, if I need to carry bricks of cement I will relate to it and value it differently. So, everything depends on the value that I attribute to certain objects, and the value and the appreciation depend on the preliminary preparation.
[106163]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”: Only when they came out of Egypt and became a complete nation, only then was there a possibility to guarantee everyone’s needs without any care and concern. … as long as the individual is troubled with concerns for himself, he is unfit to even begin to keep the commandment, “Love thy friend as thyself.”

Thus, we begin to understand the meaning of the “Egyptian exile.” After all, the fulfillment of the conditions of mutual guarantee starts from the receiving of the Torah, according to the amount of the Light that Reforms that we draw. Until then, the children of Israel were not able to accept these conditions but were in the of system of establishing mutual guarantee.

On the whole, having come out of Babylon and set off on this path, we are constantly establishing the mutual guarantee relationship between us. First, our egoistic desire is still weak and we really feel that we are one family. But later, different conflicts begin; then, the hate builds up between us and we find ourselves in Egypt, that is, in different egoistic accounts. Here, “Pharaoh” becomes revealed to us and we gradually discover that there is no mutual guarantee between us.

Eventually, we reach the exact polar opposite of bestowal of the level of Bina. Instead of mutual guarantee, the force of bestowal, we acquire the force of receiving. This is the last phase before the exodus from Egypt. We discover all the evil among us in the group—and there is nothing else for us to do in Egypt.

Now, we need the Torah, the method of correction. Eventually, after the parting of the Red Sea, we receive it before the mountain of our hatred, Mt. Sinai (“Sinah” means “hatred” in Hebrew).
[106166]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee”

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Question: Can we expect to cross the Machsom at the New Jersey convention May 10^th – 12^th?

Answer: If you know exactly what it means to cross the Machsom and you want to do it, then you will surely succeed. To cross the Machsom means to enter into the group and to be born into the spiritual world.

In order to be born, the point in the heart, the drop of spiritual semen, has to be moved upward and turned into a “white drop,” the embryo of your soul that belongs to the Light. Through it you will feel spirituality and in it you will feel self-annulment: first, in regard to the group; next, in regard to the attribute of bestowal; and then, in regard to the Creator. This will be the first feeling of the spiritual world: self-annulment.

Then, from this drop of spiritual semen, the embryo will begin to develop and more and more ego will be added to one’s self-annulment, which you will correct and turn into a matter for connection to the group. Then you will build your vessel, meaning the spiritual body, and will continue to move your entire ego to the other side, beyond the Machsom.
[105806]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/23/13, Writings of Rabash

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