Question: How do I manage my states? Do they develop automatically or can I evoke them?

Answer: I manage my states when I am with the friends sitting in a circle with them and discussing different problems and options regarding the connections between us: When does the ego help us and when does it distract us? How can we attract the attributes of bestowal and love, connection, mutual guarantee, and so on?

When we discuss these issues, I am involuntarily in different contrasting states, such as “I don’t want to listen to a friend, but I have to listen to him, “he is higher or lower than me,” “I agree with his answer or disagree,” and so on. Why do I agree with him? It may be because I simply like him, but someone else not, so I don’t want to listen to him and I didn’t even hear what he had to say.

So, it isn’t just the process, but the issue itself, the words, and the interactions, everywhere at every level, when I overcome the egoism and the altruism. Eventually there is a revelation, an intensive clarification of these two opposing attributes inside me.

What is more, when I am in a discussion with all the friends, I first intensify my attributes and, second, I expand myself by absorbing them. Thus, a person develops in many aspects by the integration of and communication between the two opposing forces.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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There is an increasingly growing need for connection in the world today. On the one hand, the integral connection in the world is revealed, and on the other hand, the lack of our adaptability to it is expressed in the form of a crisis.

In order to help people who have the urge for spiritual development, which means for connection and unity, in this unity, in resembling nature, we will be able to reveal the upper force that manages it, to feel, see, and learn to master the system that controls us, the so-called upper world—for this we gather and want to gradually adapt ourselves to the state of balance with this system, with nature. Such a gradual, step-by-step approach is called the levels of the spiritual ascent, a spiritual equivalence.

These are serious, complex levels since we must overcome them and resist our ego. It is by resisting it that we get to know and attain this system.

Just as every system in our world operates on two counteracting forces (plus and minus, contraction and expansion, and so on), in between them there is a mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, or other mechanism, and these two forces are the forces of the development and motion of this mechanism, and in our bodies there are two constantly opposing forces. On the whole, they can be reduced to forces of absorption, absorption and secretion. We exist on the basis of these two forces. They more or less counterbalance or alternately act on levels of nature except for one interesting object: man.

A human being is under the influence of one force only: the egoistic force that controls, manages and rules him, and does whatever it wishes with him. There is no other force that is opposite to our ego, and this is our problem. So, we cannot be balanced, wise, and do what we want, but constantly do what the egoistic force compels us to do, even though it may harm us.

Look at what is happening in the world now! We are sawing off the branch that we are sitting on. We are polluting the air we breathe, cutting down forests, turning large areas into dry deserts, causing icebergs to melt, and bringing about disastrous changes in the climate so that soon it will be impossible to exist on this planet. The pace of this crisis is accelerating threateningly, and we cannot do anything about it.

Why is nature doing this? It is to show us the extent to which we are managed by this one egoistic force and how much we lack the other force that is opposite to it to at least reach a balance. Even if we were totally opposite to the egoistic force, even if we were absolute altruists, we couldn’t exist either. After all, there must be a balancing force between these two forces, the law of equilibrium, the law of the correct switching.

So, we need the other force, and we don’t have it. However, it is found on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate natures. It is instinct!

Instinct causes animals to perform certain actions and not others. It restrains them and doesn’t push them to perform misguided actions. If a lion sees a stronger lion, he will retreat. There is a clear chain of command, check the strength and instant retreat. That is, there are restraining forces with regard to nature and to different phenomena, no matter what. Animals operate according to the simple principle of the ordinary animal ego that is balanced by a protective instinct.

We don’t have that. We are deprived of it, but we need to acquire it since otherwise we will find ourselves in a condition that threatens our existence!

The wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed in our times so that, somehow, we will be able to acquire this second force that restrains and balances our ego. It is opposite to the ego. It is called altruism, the force of bestowal, the force of love.

If we can discover this force in nature and, in some way, perceive it inside us and begin to mutually balance the two forces, we can be sure that that our existence will be secure, comfortable, good, and desirable. Otherwise, our future development will be simply disastrous. We see how we are lost in the ego from day to day and that it will begin to consume us while we are still alive and eventually leave us no hope of survival.

This is why we hold conventions. We do this in order to acquire the force that is opposite to the ego, to try to balance the two opposing forces inside us, and to attain the middle point in which we can be free—with freewill, freedom of choice—so that we can manage ourselves and advance. This is what we want to achieve.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #13 “A Pomegranate“

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpt “Aharei-Mot,” Item 202, Lesson 15

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 3, Part 8, Item 19, Lesson 9

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator,” “The Second Concealment,” Lesson 2

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Question: History demonstrates that major wars always happen at the borderlines between epochs when old stereotypes are being destroyed. On one hand, wars always triggered destruction; on the other hand, they pulled humanity to a higher level of evolution. Is it possible for us to skip the next war?

Answer: First of all, I don’t try to outsmart anybody. I do what I am supposed to do according to my mission, using all my means to the end. We do not know start and end dates.

Egyptian exile experience suggests that suffering tremendous pain and misery preceded the birth, the escape from Egypt. Labor contractions are extremely intense. Overall, there is what is called the ten plagues, ten labor contractions, that form the need for correction in us. So, we have to go through them anyway.

I don’t know when they will be over, nor can I identify each attack. I’m not so wise to know how things will unfold this time around. There are no exact directions, and I myself have not yet passed the process; I go through it together with everyone else: What can I say? Especially because it is about the plane of this world with its layer of egoistic thickness. So, we simply do our job.

As to a threat of war, wars vary. The main thing is to keep the people of Israel in the land of Israel and initiate dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah for the sake of correcting the world. Everything that opposes this purpose goes against the goal of creation. This is how we should regard this issue. In accordance with the law of root and branch, correction is possible only in this land. Although, according to Baal HaSulam’s writings, Jerusalem today (after the shattering occurred) is merely a source of evil.

Question: A cancerous tumor destroys processes in the body of humanity. In medicine, they use chemotherapy in this case. If we translate it to society, is this equivalent to nuclear war?

Answer: No, I don’t think we will really come to this point, not if we manage to embrace the world with the methodology of correction and have more people accept our thoughts and desires. Nor will it happen if people start understanding us better, mainly through our internal lines of connection that “thread” through the all of humanity.

In any case, our core activities should be held in the land of Israel. With all the pressure and our giving the people the wisdom of correction, it will spread throughout the world without any problems. Baal HaSulam writes  in the Introduction to The Book of Zohar that it is written in many sources. I repeat, according to the law of roots and branches, the main correction is here.

This is our job. Therefore, all our groups wherever they are and whichever language they speak, besides disseminating the wisdom, should use every opportunity to influence what is happening in Israel. This land is at the very center of the world map and is the most problematic place.

Question: Contemporary Jewish people include people who have come from all over the world bringing their traditions and stereotypes. Will they be able to rise above their “baggage” and fulfill the part of the work that is assigned to them? Will they be able to unite the world and raise it to a new level of evolution without revolution and war?

Answer: It’s not about country of origin, although it of course plays a role, above which they have to rise for the sake of unity. In general, the ascent will spread the upper Light among everybody and will allow It to reach the parts of the world with which we already have established connections. The dispersion of the Jewish people happened only for the sake of making them bond with other nations. So, when the people of Israel are united, the power of their unification transmits through the lines of internal connection with the nations of the world, thus making them sense and accept what is going on here in the land of Israel.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/19/12, “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash, Article 11

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpt “Aharei-Mot,” Item 190, Lesson 14

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 3, Part 8, Item 17, Lesson 8

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator“

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Question: What does it mean “to develop the state of unity that we have passed?”

Answer: To develop a state means not to be afraid that it will disappear and at the same time to be afraid it will, to try to pull it and to try to push it away, to flirt with it, to study it. Similarly, when tasting something new, you do not swallow this piece, but want to know what it is: how much salt, pepper, and sugar it contains, what the sweetness, moisture, texture of this product is.

You want to feel who it reminds you of: your mother, your grandmother who prepared these dishes or something else for you. That is, you have to play with it, you have to produce various information records in yourself: what it looks like, what it can be compared to, how I can hold it, let it go, and return again. These states allow a person to expand his soul.

The soul is the element that contains two opposite forces: egoism and altruism. When a person has only one ego, he has no soul. One force can exist only as a point. When he starts to develop the second force and contrast it with the first one, then these two opposing forces form some volume between them.
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From a Virtual Lesson 9/23/12

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The only way to survive a descent is to prepare in advance. If the descent already has occurred, there is nothing that can be demanded of us since what can you demand of the dead? As it is written, the “dead are free.”

You are asked only why you haven’t prepared yourself for this situation. You must fill all the reservoirs and charge all the batteries. When a descent occurs, there is nothing we can do.

It is like the phases in alternating current that change like waves, one time up and one time down, and one part is filled on the account of the other part. One time, the vessels are revealed, and one time the Lights are revealed.

It is an excellent situation as the Creator has taken our ego and has helped us. It is written that the Creator created the evil inclination, but you have complained that it is evil, so He takes it away from you.

So, go ahead; act now! However, you can’t take even the smallest step without it, not even lift a finger. If your ego were to be taken away from you, you would lie like a corpse unable to move.

So, where can you find the power? Why aren’t you asking for it, and why doesn’t it come? It is because you haven’t prepared yourself for such days in advance.

If the newspapers write that there may be a food shortage, everyone stocks up with three months of food supplies at home. So, why don’t we think about storing energy in advance in case of a descent? This is exactly how we must act in accordance with reasonable, sensible logic, but it is difficult for us to do that because it is following the path of correction.

There are people who enjoy the fact that they have fallen so low and think that by their suffering they will achieve something, but this is a total lie. We only advance by exertion, by labor, and not when I have been thrown into a swamp and peacefully sink into it.

So, any moment that a person delays his ascent it is a sin. How can one ascend? Suppose you begin to sing a cheerful song in front of everyone. While you are singing, everyone wakes up, and then they must constantly try to store the energy, everyone’s power, the power of our unity, but not from the fact that I woke up by myself.

If you think, “How good it is that I have woken up now and how good I feel,” you will fall immediately. However, if you think about how we all have woken up now toward bestowal, toward the Creator, it will remain. Then, you will begin the new level, the next state.

The power that later can lead us to redemption is accumulative, and it is stored in the general desire. None of us has the vessel to store energy.

Now, when you have managed to feel an awakening, at least a physical one, think about how to worry about the friends and not let them descend. Everyone should worry about others. That way, there is no need to think about oneself.

The shame must burn in me for not worrying about my group. This means that I am betraying it. This is where the feeling of responsibility comes from and where the mutual guarantee stems from. I only need to think about how to provide the group with everything that it needs, as if it were my baby and I only worry about its wellbeing, so that it will keep on rising and growing.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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A very strong congress has just ended; we feel tired, indifferent, sleepy, as if a heavy cloud embraces us and converts us into pessimistic elderly people.

The Creator took our egoistic desire away, the fuel that pulled us ahead. Before, we were burning with desire; we strove to get spiritual rewards and were ready to fight to attain spirituality. Each one of us considered himself a hero, although we felt like “supermen” only because our egoism was quite “hot” and was pushing us towards new achievements.

The Creator wants to help us; thus, He takes our egoism away so that we replace it by another power. Now, instead of being pushed from behind, we get inspired by the greatness of the goal and are hauled forward by it.

Now, we really have an opportunity to move ahead, but instead we complain that we do not have any energy or desire any more. Do you remember how “hot” and huge your desire was? However, it was not yours; it was given to you from Above. You were simply pushed from Above, and as a result brought to the group of Kabbalists.

At this time, your desire disappeared and you think that it’s better to leave the group and drop Kabbalah since it doesn’t attract you any longer. Do you really think that if it doesn’t appeal to you any more, it means that there is something wrong with Kabbalah? Everybody judges to the extent of their own corruptness. It’s obvious that without motivation one cannot advance. Even machines cannot work without fuel.

One should turn to the group, the books, and the study; he should demand help from them! Plead to the Creator!

If you have no power for this kind of appeal, it means that you experience deficiency of the general force, mutual guarantee. If there are friends of yours who lost their “life-force,” you should at least cry for them; it’s as if you are at their funeral; mourn over the wonderful friends that you lost! Look at the heavy tombstones that lie on their chests, that is, the stony hearts that they cannot rid themselves of.

At some point they were shining with a desire, but now we can only cry for them. Soon, you yourself will descend into the same pit. However, if we are ready to help each other before it happens, we’ll be able to rise from any kind of downfall. Not only will we be able to overcome our indifference, we will cope with genuine hatred should it arise among us.

Only the power of the group can initiate a desire out of “thin air.” At this time, we don’t have this kind of desire, nor can it emerge from anywhere. However, we have to “ignite” it artificially, as if we are starting a new business and advertise our new goods. It should become our common spiritual business; as a result, it will trigger such a strong need in us that we will simply be “burning” with desire. Underneath this desire, there can be nothing at all!

People are waiting all night long at the doorsteps of the stores to buy a 5th generation iPhone. Learn how to advertise your “goods” by escalating artificial needs. After all, the goal that we pursue also seems “artificial” to our egoism.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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The created being’s correction is to connect with others, since this is the correction of the shattering that took place as a result of the great bang that shattered the one created being, the only desire that was created, into many parts.

All our work is to connect all these parts. Of course, we don’t have the power to do so, but we can shift this state around. At a certain point in our adhesion we arrived at separation and now by feeling that we are separated we want to return to the state of adhesion.

The previous adhesion is recorded in our Reshimot (reminiscences), and if we turn them inside out and instead of receiving for ourselves and rejecting others we will reject ourselves and accept others, we will attain adhesion.

We can do that thanks to our existence in this world where we can act even against our will. In this world I can hug someone without feeling any love towards him and even while hating him. This is a lie, of course, but if I know in advance that I am not lying to him, but rather to myself, it wouldn’t be a lie. I know that I am performing actions that are hated by my desire, but I do it in order to attain a state in which I will actually want this. So whom am I lying to except to myself?

We have to act this way in order to connect, although initially we don’t want to connect and don’t need one another. The harder we try, the clearer it will be to us to what extent it is against our desire. The students of Rabbi Shimon, the great Kabbalists gathered to study The Zohar and discovered a burning hate, a true shattering in the root itself.

But if at the same time we perform actions that are aimed at connection, by understanding and trying to rise above our nature, above the shattering, and by physically doing everything possible, then it is enough to gradually approach unity.

These actions are called Lo Lishma (not for Her Name). Our intention is to attain Lishma (for Her Name), bestowal and connection. We account for not being in this state yet although we are trying to advance in every way we can.
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From the 1^{s t}part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/20/12, Writings of Rabash

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If we prepared for the descent, we could say now that we have done so much, that we prepared for it. But it turned out that it is stronger than us. We held on as much as we could with the power we built up in advance, and still, for a moment we couldn’t hold on and it happened. But we could already clarify our weak points and understand why it happened.

The Creator “trips” us somewhere, but why? He may want to show us deficiencies on a different, more advanced level, more deeply in the creation. But we learned nothing and simply fell dead.

There is actually no ascent without a descent, so we have to remain loyal to one another, like cells in one body in which each cell is responsible for all the other cells and if all the other cells are not responsible for it, it will die.

It may be like an oxygen pipe between us. The pipe reaches me after it has passed through a thousand friends before, and what is more no one knows who they are exactly. Everyone can turn off the tap without anyone noticing and the oxygen will not reach me and so I will die.

The tap is our lack of attention, lack of desire. It can open the valve more widely or close it; it all depends on the friend’s desire with regard to me: Does he think about me and about the whole system? If he adds such a deficiency, the valve opens, and if he diminishes the deficiency and it disappears, the valve closes, clogs the pipe, and we all die.

Do you understand that everyone dies because of you? It is all because the valve in your heart is closed. Ask the Creator to help you, to become your partner if the friends are dead and cannot help you. Turn to the Creator for help like to another human being. At least He can be like a human being,

Question: Can we turn to the Creator like to a human being?

Answer: You are not afraid to curse Him are you? So why can’t you turn to Him like to another human being so that He will intervene and help you? Do you think it is forbidden?

Turn to Him and say: “I am asking You to help me! Let’s go to the group together and revive the dead so that they will be resurrected!” say it several times in your heart and you will see how helpful it is.

The Creator is ready to work with you and to cooperate with you in everything. There is nothing that prevents this. You can turn to Him at any moment, with any demand.

We know that the request from Him should go through the group since otherwise it will not be heard, but it is when the group is ready to respond to you and work mutually with you. If you have no choice, turn directly to the Creator in order to go with him to Pharaoh. Don’t wait for those who are busy with the pots full of meat and who are full of the onions and the garlic.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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