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Writings of Rabash “Shlavei HaSulam,” Article 12
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee,” Lesson 5
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A person is taught from Above to rise above his desire to receive. This world brings me different surprises, all kinds of states, induces me to do foolish things, influences me through my family and friends, and I must respond. According to my response, I am tested as to whether I keep the rule of “there is none else besides Him,” “the Good who does Good,” and whether I can confidently say that everything comes from the Creator and not retreat from this decision.
Other than that, I do not ask for any changes. I want everything to remain the way it is, I want to feel the worst states as the best states. I want to correct the actual state, not to escape it. I want to correct the desires in which I feel pain at the moment.
Otherwise I will not be able to justify Him. How else can I direct myself at bestowal, justify the evil, subdue myself, and bless the upper force if I have no contact with it? The shattering occurred in order to give me this option.
It is precisely for this reason that this whole world was given to me, like a tuning fork according to which musical instruments are tuned, so that I will attune myself to the Creator. Otherwise, without subduing myself and serving others, without the connection with the friends, I will not be able to do that. I have to feel that I receive all my thoughts and feelings through them, that I use the collective mind together with them.
I discover that the group is the vessel outside of my ego. My inability to connect with the friends shows me to what extent I cannot exit my ego. My fault is not my sophistication or my intelligence, but the hatred and the detachment, meaning the shattering. A person was given a group in order to give him a clear understanding, an example, a means to measure where he is with regard to the Creator.
You can feel hate, envy, pride, and ambition with regard to the group. You can annul yourself before it or not, you can shout at them or beat them, and they can do the same to you. But you cannot do that to the Creator since the Creator is the general, absolute force of nature. Only according to your equivalence to Him do you reveal the opportunity to be in contact with Him, to connect, since it is a perfect, fixed system.
So the preparation can only be by the influence of the environment, and it takes place on every level until the end of correction. Until the very end of correction we prepare for the revelation of the Creator in its fullest form.
[106072]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/24/13, Writings of Rabash
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Malchut feels reward or punishment according to its connection or separation from Bina. Generally two states exist: a good state (the corrected Malchut) and a bad state (the corrupted, shattered Malchut). The whole question is whom does it want to please, where does it find reward and punishment: in its own benefit or the benefit of the other?
It’s one of the two; there are no intermediary states: I either care for myself or for the other. The criterion for reward and punishment corresponds to it: “Do I enjoy or not?” or “Does the other enjoy or not?”
It is clear that in the shattered state reward and punishment are felt only within the shattered Malchut, and in the corrected state they are verified by the Creator. This is the entire difference.
Baal HaSulam writes in Talmud Eser Sefirot (The Study of the Ten Sefirot), Part 10, “Inner Reflection,” Item 15: The main correction of the world is through reward and punishment. And all reward of the righteous starts from there, meaning from an ascent, from attaching the AHP to Galgalta ve Eynaim. Certainly, the Creator could have created the world with one saying. However, He caused a shattering. What for? It is the meaning of the inclusion of the property of mercy into the property of judgment. Thanks to the shattering, there appeared multitude forms and ways of connection, joining, between Malchut and Bina.
The “one saying” includes ten complete Sefirot , and that’s it. But instead of this, there is a need for various combinations of properties so as “to increase the reward of the righteous.” Now that the evil shattered, egoists appeared, they are capable of becoming righteous. And their reward will be even higher because they, so to speak, “attained their names” in similarity to the Creator. By joining Bina, Malchut assumes its form, and this is the reward for the righteous.
“To attain the sacred names” is to be clothed in them, to be like the Creator in regard to others in one way or another. Thereby I adhere to Him. It’s because a “name” is a form, a manner of bestowal. It is as if I clothe in these garments, become like Him, and this is my reward.
The shattering gave a multitude of aspects to the Creator. It is correct that He created the world with “one saying,” but everything is concealed, closed, bound within these ten Sefirot, impenetrably. Ten Sefirot of Malchut of the world of Infinity or the four phases of the Direct Light don’t give anything. The creature doesn’t exist yet; that is, it cannot manifest or attain.
For a person to truly understand something he has to take on the appropriate form internally, “to clothe” in it. If I understand how an engine runs, it is as if I am within it and feel with my “nerves” all that is happening there. This is true knowledge, true attainment.
Therefore, before the shattering everything was wonderful, except for one thing: The creature didn’t exist yet. It remained motionless at the very bottom of the still level, similar to an angel, meaning a simple force, devoid of the evil inclination and feeling, and totally activated from Above, without any independence. The shattering made it possible for it to acquire various “garments,” “letters,” and “names” of the Creator, different forms of behavior, based on inner opposition to the Creator and external similarity to Him.
This is the reason for the creation of the evil inclination—everything begins from this.…
[105872]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/2013, TES
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All of our work is to acquire the property of bestowal above the property of reception so at every moment I clarify that all that happens within me and around me, in all my thoughts and desires, in the entire picture of reality, comes only from the Creator. I clarify this despite all the disturbances that come to me from the world. The world shows that, allegedly, a multitude of various extraneous factors and forces work in it, establishing my state and affecting me. But behind all of this I have to see the Creator.
It is easier to do this if the world relates to me with hostility and I try to flee from it. But when I become strong enough, I’m being sent forces that seem good, attracting me to this world. I have to oppose them saying that this is evil, even worse than what was before.
I need to at least be as thankful for the evil as for the good and to be grateful for the suffering more than for the temptations that attract me to this world. Behind it all I must see the rule of one Creator, the Good who does Good.
This work is called the work of the Creator because, through it, I learn how the Creator relates to me, teaching me his “customs.” I discover that the Creator surrounds me with all this virtual reality so that through this world, above this reality, I will discover the force that activates me and creates all of reality for me.
I need to always see that this is the Creator’s finger that directs me to choose, to be in the Klipat Noga, in the middle third of Tifferet. With this I recognize that everything comes from one source only, from Keter, from Sun. I must adhere to Him like Moon, to reflect to Sun the Light that I received from it.
But I bless the state of the new moon, which is completely dark and doesn’t shine. It is enough for me to remain in faith above reason, in bestowal above reception. I bless this form specifically, the form to which I aspire in my work.
[106078]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/24/13, Writings of Rabash
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To the degree that a person feels the importance of the goal, he is ready to forego everything that prevents him from reaching it. But it takes time until he begins to hear what is being said because the heart is what hears and not the ears. He can go over what is written in articles many times, yet he doesn’t hear. Then he begins to hear, but doesn’t understand. After that he begins to understand something, but doesn’t absorb it. After that he begins to absorb it, but meanwhile it does not touch his desires.
When it finally penetrates into his desires, he begins to compare what he had with what enters his desires now. He begins to calculate and decide what to do, to clarify which desire is preferable: Which is more worthwhile, eternal, equal, and so forth. So, he decides whether he is able to abandon his current self, his ego,whether he can empty a place for another within himself—is he obliged to do it, does he want this or not?
After this he already begins to act on his choice, wanting the external environment to influence him as much as possible so that he can make a calculation within his heart regarding the good of the other and not his own good. All this has to be with his agreement, by his free choice, above his previous egoistic desire. In this way he advances towards the goal.
Therefore, we see many people who learn are allegedly together with everyone, but they still hear only with “external hearing.” It may take years before this enters them. Some begin to hear only after 10 – 15 years, and others much faster. There are all kinds of reactions from the soul for essentially it has to do with its correction.
So until a person realizes the need to transform his private inner essence to the collective much time will pass. This constitutes the hardest part of our work, the most difficult first step. After this a person only increases the desire to bestow, but first he needs to establish and consolidate it, to put it on top of the mountain, above his ego, and this requires great work. One can only ask here for patience and a little submission, which is what helps us.
Thus, we have no basis to be angry at people who hear about this method of integral education yet don’t know how to implement it, to explain it to people. It’s not yet the time for them to absorb it internally. There is a difference between an ability to hear and the ability to carry it out.
[105651]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/13
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Question: Quite often I don’t understand what the lesson is about: Whether it is about spirituality or about the corporeal life. How can we distinguish between the corporeal life and spirituality?
Answer: On the whole, what enters me through the five senses, through the “inlets” of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, is called “this world.”
If I develop an additional sense in me, meant for feeling others, then in my perception this sensation is divided into five parts: Ketter (K), Hochma (H), Bina (B), Zeir Anpin (ZA), and Malchut (M). I develop this sense from the point in the heart, by wanting to exit myself and to exist in the group together with the friends. It is among them that I discover the five senses that are outside the body, that make up my spiritual “body.”
This transition requires a period of preparation that is carried out by the Light. We cannot attain this by ourselves, but all our efforts summon the Light that Reforms, and eventually we acquire the new vessel of the soul.
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A group is an assembly of friends, a gathering of desires that reject themselves in order to unite. And only in this unity do they find the right means, the right attitude, necessary for the revelation of the Creator.
This is the law: The Light is at absolute rest, but to experience it, I need a suitable vessel that is being filled to the extent of my integrality. I have to form this vessel, which is the sum (Σ) of all the friends’ desires.
[106028]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/23/13, Writings of Rabash
Question: What is my free choice in relation to my thoughts?
Answer: All thoughts that are within me at the moment, all sensations and understandings, all data that I as if “scan” and then process, through synthesis and analysis, all these parameters are given from Above. What I feel, how I feel, what kinds of decisions I make, all this is already predetermined from Above, right up to this moment. One can ask now: What will be from this moment on? In this “from now on” there is a parameter called my free choice.
With regards to thoughts, free choice is in the external desire and the external mind that belong to the group. After the shattering I am divided into two parts. In my sensations, one part is outside of me, whereas I perceive the second part internally as myself. Thereby my inner heart and mind appear, meaning myself, as well as an external heart and mind, meaning the group. All that I need to do is to begin to connect these two parts together, into one Kli.
Here my struggle and problems begin, and this comprises the order of the work and all corrections. By trying to come to terms with the part that constantly demonstrates to me its confrontation and opposition, I feel that I need the Creator, the only one who can connect these two parts together. The stronger I need Him to reconcile these two opposing parts together, to that degree I agree with the Creator, with His nature, with His existence, and with His rule, I agree that this property would govern me.
The more that I try to annul myself before the group, the more obvious it becomes to me that I am not ready to subdue myself before the others. Ultimately, I will “beat myself black and blue” to finally clarify that I’m not ready to yield under any circumstances. I reach such hatred that it’s like Mount Sinai (“Sinah” means “hatred” in Hebrew). But because I’ve tried to annul myself so many times I realize that I must do this, and therefore I feel the need for the help of the upper force.
[105639]
From the 1st part to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/13, Shamati #68
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We come from the place of shattering, starting with the desire that has no idea of what bestowal, sanctity, spirituality, is. We build this understanding gradually, over time. The words that we use in the beginning and in the end of the path are the same: bestowal and love, but as we advance, we feel more depth, more accurate form in them.
It is as if you take a fruit covered by layers of skin and gradually peel one layer after another. It is only in the very middle, in the core behind dozens of coverings, that we find the fruit. We do the same when we peel shells from words, feeling what exactly each notion means and what is hidden behind them.
When we clarify one word or notion, it sheds light on other words as well. After all, everything is interconnected. Thus, we gradually begin to understand what Kabbalists write about.
We already comprehend these ideas with our mind, but we don’t feel them yet. It awakens in us a very strong desire to attain. As we advance we become “less smart.” If we didn’t strive to reveal spirituality and had no pronounced, burning point in the heart, we would continue our studies by using the power of our minds and would learn the theory pretty well. We even would think that we sense something. We would never go through the state of internal confusion, nor would we feel that there is a confrontation between our feelings and mind. Thus, we would progress in accordance with a stiff, one-way path and would be led solely by our intellect.
However, if our heart and mind act simultaneously and we develop our spiritual vessel, we will always be confused. We would feel that we lose the sharpness of perception and that our brain doesn’t progress as we study, but rather expands proportionately to our sensations.
Mind becomes a consequence of sensations. A person’s mind only works in accordance with the development on his feelings, the spiritual vessel, outlined only by sensations, desire. In other words, we become very primitive as opposed to highly intellectual people who think of complex matters and love to philosophize. We are smart to the extent that our heart can feel. It is called “being wise in the heart” since it is the heart that obligates us to be clever only at the level of the heart and no higher than that.
What’s good about it if we lose the sharpness of mind and become absorbed by our internal experiences, trying to develop only our sensations? By all means, we will do everything that is in our power to develop our hearts. Otherwise, we will stay obscure and incomplete since everything we receive comes from our spiritual vessels, through our sensations. In this world, no one considers a person who is driven solely by his sensations to be intellectual.
In the end, this ambiguity forces us urgently to expand our feelings since we understand only what we feel in the heart. The heart doesn’t feel much, and only in a very egoistic, primitive, one-way, and narrow form.
This explains why we don’t have a choice: We understand that we must open the heart. We experience a huge pressure that is getting stronger due to our jealousy, passion, and ambitions that push us to spiritual revelation in the heart. Our situation is hopeless since the Creator blocks all other forms of our development.
It is as if we lose our sharpness: We no longer hear or feel. There are people who have a very sharp mind and who know a lot about politics, science, about how to make good deals and so on. They turn into straightforward people who are driven solely by their hearts. In our world, it is called an animate level, whereas a human being is someone who is driven by intellect. But this limitation forces a person to open his heart and expand his spiritual vessel at any expense. Otherwise, he feels bad because he has no clue as to what bestowal is.
[102749]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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