Question: Since Kabbalah speaks of the spiritual world, does this mean that it does not recognize the reality of our corporeal body?

Answer: Your current feelings are true. If you do not believe it, pinch yourself and you will feel immediately that you are living in a body. However, by specific actions that help you correct your perception, you can feel yourself exist in a completely different state.

Your image of the world is very relative and depends on your sensations. You even perceive the existence of your body through sensations, through the sense of touch. It embraces the inner organs and everything you touch.

Overall, we can imagine that we are certain sensory mechanisms tuned to a certain pitch, so let us expand this scale. Let us spread the limits and the depth of how much our senses can be penetrated.

If you do this, your world will change, and you also will perceive your body in a different way. Everything depends on sensations, and Kabbalah teaches you to shift your senses to the unlimited mode of perception, referred to as the world of Infinity.

Today, you are limited by the perception of a limited reality. You perceive this world, yourself in it, and the seven billion other people, animals, plants, and so on. These are your limits.

Moreover, you are limited by the fact that you fail to see causes, consequences, and active forces, just like a child who sees pieces of a puzzle and fails to notice the logic in and interconnection between them. Bank robbers spray a special gas in the air in order to see the security laser rays. We also wish to see the strings that stretch to the spiritual world.

Once you uderstand these interconnections, you will be able to fix your life, at least in this world, at first, but this is not yet it. Your body is “sketched” in your senses. Change them, tune them to a new wave, and possibly the body will change, will take another, eternal form.

Everything depends on what your senses are tuned to. You can raise them to the level of their spiritual equivalents, which are called Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. Then, instead of working to receive, to absorb, they will work to bestow, to give, and they will become eternal.

Thus, perception of reality is a very important thing. There is a reason that we first want a child to become acquainted with the world in which he lives. Before experimenting, let him first find out what is harmful and what is beneficial, to what he should strive and from what he should stay away. We first put him in the right position before the environment.

This makes it clear to me how I should act. It is best for me to reveal the true reality, to position myself correctly in relation to the forces that operate in it. Today, I am like an infant flailing my arms and legs without being able to see or hear anything, and this is why I need to acquire additional senses.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/31/12, “Body and Soul

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Question: Can we come to a mutual prayer before each Zohar lesson?

Answer: We are learning how to tune ourselves. In reality, the only thing that exists is a person’s desire and how he tunes that desire toward correction, that is, the Light that Reforms.

In order to come closer to the Light, we must unite with each other. Also, if we understand that we must unite despite our egoism, then we ask that the Light unite us. Therein lies the entire method.

The most important thing is to keep the intention. Your appeal to the Light is for the Light to affect you, and that’s the only true prayer. If you study and carry out all actions with only one goal, which is to come to a true prayer, then these will be the most effective actions.

This will mean that either you already possess the correct intention or that you’re preparing yourself for this prayer or appeal. The only formula by which we should act is to ask for the Light that Reforms, which will help us obtain the quality of bestowal and give pleasure to the Creator.

Each person must strive to make a single, homogenous body out of the group, without any distinctions between its parts, and try to feel the friends as a single organism. This will be one’s personal prayer. When these individual prayers connect, they will be on a higher level, a level of connected intentions where a mutual prayer is formed.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/12, The Zohar

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Rabash, “Lishma (For Her Sake) and Lo Lishma (Not for Her Sake)”: There is only one thing we can do and that is to try to attain the greatness of the Creator.

This means that by all our dealings in the Torah and the commandments we want that our reward will be to feel the greatness of the Creator. And all the prayers that we pray should be to “raise the Shechina from the dust,” since the Creator is concealed from us because of the restriction that took place, and we cannot evaluate His importance and His greatness.

…and for this reason a person should try not to forget the goal while studying the Torah, and to constantly keep it before his eyes that he wants to receive this from the studying, that the studying will influence the greatness and the importance of the Creator…that by that he will be able to get closer to the Creator, so that he will be able to bring Him contentment since the Creator is important, and that will be his reward; and he has no desire for another reward for his work.”

This is how the right kind of work is determined: working because of the greatness of the Creator and to bring Him contentment without any account for one’s self, but only in order to be fueled to bestow. This is possible only by bestowal upon others, in preparing the whole general vessel for the revelation of the Creator. It’s impossible to do it directly, since we have no contact with the Light except for one option, to let it be revealed by our help in corrected vessels.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/12

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A few years ago we published a wonderful book called The Future Generation. The book is based on three articles by Baal HaSulam that relate directly to our times and especially the “Writings of the Future Generation.” I suppose that the time in which this book will become the basis for establishing a new society is very near.

The writings of Baal HaSulam are kept in our archive. The “Writings of the Future Generation” was originally written as a rough draft, and in the book they are presented in an organized form. We have to see it as the guide for the new era.

I strongly recommend studying it. By the way, it was warmly acclaimed by leading members of the Israeli Academy who said that Baal HaSulam preceded his time and speaks not only about his time but about our days. Professor Eliezer Shveid from the Hebrew University wrote, “Much of what he foresaw is happening in our times and his explanations are valid, like an instrument that enables us to overcome the future problems of humanity.”

We will find a great part of his innovations here and so I think that this is an essential book for everyone. Even those who are far from our studies can look into the future of the world through this book as a Kabbalist sees it. It’s because his perspective is much deeper than ours. Even if he writes about it very succinctly and laconically, it’s still interesting to learn about his opinions.

Among other things it’s about what will happen in a couple of years. Isn’t it interesting to find out where the world is headed without using horoscopes, fortunetellers, soothsayers, etc.? After all, everything that is written in Kabbalistic sources has been fulfilled to this day, so this is also part of the plan. It isn’t fantasy nor science fiction Jules Verne-style, who actually foresaw many things. A Kabbalist sees the future that already exists and radiates it in our times so that we will know how it will be fulfilled.

Besides, by our inclination to what is to come we summon the Surrounding Lights from there, which correct us. It’s very useful to read about the future. It isn’t by chance that children love to read adventure books and to see movies about the future. It stems from their natural desire to develop. So by reading about the future, we draw Surrounding Light from the same model that is about to appear and which Baal HaSulam describes. It’s very helpful for our advancement.

The book “The Future Generation” was written in a simple language. I suppose that Baal HaSulam intended this book for the general public. He hardly mentions the wisdom of Kabbalah, but he does speak about the principles of just distribution, about organizing mutual relations between people, and it touches such things that thanks to them the reader immediately sees to what extent he agrees or disagrees with the writer. At the same time, from the first words a person reads, he already starts the spiritual work.

Another thing is that this book will help those who find it hard to tie the wisdom of Kabbalah with our message of mutual guarantee, those who contend that it’s useless to bring this message of unity to the masses. Here we see that a Kabbalist actually pushes us to do so and the faster this is fulfilled the more we will succeed.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/27/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Igrot,” Letter 21

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpt “Safra de Tzniyuta,” Lesson 11

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpt “Aharei Mot,” Lesson 1

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 1, Part 3, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Chapter 2, Item 3, Lesson 31

Kabbalah for the Student, “A Handmaid that Is Heir to Her Mistress,” “A Slave and a Handmaid,” Lesson 2

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Baal HaSulam, “A Handmaid that Is Heir to Her Mistress”: This is similar to a heavy load, which none can lift or move from place to place. Hence, the advice is to divide the load into small parts and subsequently transfer them one at a time.

The Creator has created a big, strong, thick desire to receive exactly according to His measure of bestowal and His desire to bring contentment to the created being. The Creator made this desire very complex, so that it can feel and understand Him and become similar to Him, so that it will accept and internalize the whole thought of creation and will process it in response. It is the same with the rich host, who although being first, wants the guest to become just like him without any limitations.

Many gradual corrections are required in order to do that. It is impossible to transfer the “load” at one time, meaning to correct the vessel that was created by the Creator. We have to clarify and to examine things in this vessel, to understand and to accept the process and to fulfill it on our part, in order to reach the identical form of the Creator. We have to do all that with attributes that we don’t even have.

A person is actually a machine, except for one point that comes from the Creator in the form of a spark. We don’t know what this spark is, but this is what brings us to life on the way to resembling the Creator. Something from inside doesn’t let me rest until I become like the Creator. If a person has such an urge, he must fulfill it without any questions. Only on the way, when he begins to understand something does he have freewill.

So it is about gradual actions through which we gradually add all the desires to receive to our spark, thus creating around it the form of the Creator. We build these forms from the desire to receive according to the plan that is in this point. All our Reshimot (reminiscences) from here until the end of correction are in this tiny “ball.” It is like a drop of semen, but this drop determines how and in which order parts of the desire will be added to it until a whole man is created around it.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/30/12, Article “A Handmaid that Is Heir to Her Mistress”

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According to the wisdom of Kabbalah the ideal is to “please the Creator.” This means that we have to restrict ourselves and receive the Returning Light, which in turn means to be ready to accept His form in order to bring Him contentment. This is our goal; all the clarifications and all our actions are meant to “please Him.” It’s the same in our world when by wanting to please someone I accept his desires as my own.

But on the whole, the ideal in our world is to “show off” before others, according to their values, whether it’s wealth, respect, control, or knowledge. How do people want to attain success and greatness? They do so by feeling that “I” am important. We can see this clearly in the younger generation that grows with its natural instincts in search of values. By discovering everything that is important for others, the young yearn for success according to the scale of values that society dictates.

So whom do we want to boast before, the environment or the Creator? This is the difference between the world and the one who yearns to correct himself with the help of the wisdom of Kabbalah. We want to advance and to be compatible with the Creator, to be equal to Him, and by that to bring Him contentment. The resemblance is possible only thanks to His force. We have to perform the right actions so that His force will influence us and make us resemble Him.

This work is called “the Torah and commandments.” Torah is the Light that Reforms, which means the Light that corrects us. In other words, we want to correct ourselves and not the world. This is the whole difference between those who deal with the wisdom of Kabbalah and those who deal with any other method.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is the method for the correction of man. A person advances to the level that he corrects himself by becoming similar to the Creator. This is why he needs the wisdom of Kabbalah, the wisdom of the Light. If he doesn’t have the goal of self-correction, he doesn’t deal with the wisdom of Kabbalah, but with something else.

This is where the great difference between all the dealings in the world and the work of people with the “point in the heart” who study and fulfill the wisdom of Kabbalah lies. For them the important thing is the constant internal changes. Others try to improve their lives by using those around them. There is a very big difference here. While the world presents the “moral perception,” we advance according to the method of the Torah, which means according to the Light that Reforms, or in other words according to the method of Kabbalah.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/29/12, Article “Exile and Redemption”

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The more strongly we are drawn to bestowal, the more our vessels of reception are enlarged for us. If our vessels of reception get bigger, we suddenly fall and find ourselves in darkness, needing to correct these desires. And that’s why we need the vessels of bestowal again.

So if we yearn for adhesion in bestowal, this is enough in order to constantly sway up and down, like on a swing: once in reception and once in bestowal. Each time you advance by enlarging both the vessels of reception and the vessels of bestowal.

But if you only think about your vessels of reception and about their corruption, constantly checking what is in them, it will lead to nothing. You will only discover their greater emptiness and nothing more than that.

The shattering occurred so that we won’t be left with our egoistic desires with no hope for correction, and as a result sparks of bestowal entered the receiving desires. Thanks to these sparks, the desires to receive can connect to the desires to bestow and disturb their peace. Thus they insert their ego into the desires to bestow, Galgalta ve Eynaim.

This way the desires to receive, AHP, also get a chance to be corrected. By that we can understand how important the broad dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah is.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/30/12, Shamati #45

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Eventually a person will acknowledge the fact that he is the one who has to change. This understanding is not immediate because who would want this from the start? But gradually it becomes clear that the crisis continues unabated and troubles are only getting more serious. Today we already see: in all of its activities humanity has committed a sea of mistakes and it is collapsing. This begs the question: Why? Why does all that we have built work against us?

Defects in all the systems are disclosed every day, in fact our ego increasingly destroys and distorts them. If we take the health care system for example: There are an enormous amount of medicines that are essentially poisons that destroy our body. They are specifically designed so that we become addicted to them and will consume them all our lives, calling them by new names.

Specialists produce the latest medical instruments and apparatus for testing and analysis. And yet, they are not needed for people who are so debilitated and destroyed that they don’t know where to go with such a life. Is this “mercy?” We don’t know what we want.

It’s the same in every field of life: in the family, in education, etc. Initially we wanted to do good things, and then we discovered that the ego distorts everything we start and turns them against us. This is why it’s called “help against us,” meaning that whatever you do it operates against you, obliging you to correct the situation.

This process has become global today. In fact, none of the systems we have created operates in our favor. The conclusion is that the only solution is to change human nature and not the external circumstances. Gradually it’s becoming more evident and as a result, the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed.

Humanity will discover that the cause for all the global problems is human nature, but no one knows how to correct it. Here comes our turn. We have to work seriously in order to show people the solution: Despite the deadlock, it is possible to correct man and to balance his nature. The method exists and is ready for use.

This is the message that we have to bring the world. Otherwise, it will deteriorate to even worse conditions and only then will it come to the same solution. We have to try to show it to the world now.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/29/12, Article “Exile and Redemption”

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We have to bring the world to the moment of truth, to the understanding of the fact that only man himself needs correction. We have to change our nature to balance the evil within us. Otherwise we’ll continue to destroy the environment. Today this inclination is becoming illogical: We sow death in our homes. This is common knowledge, it is repeatedly written about, and we see it with our own eyes, we experience it ourselves as blasts of heat and cold, tsunamis and storms. And there’s more to come in the future.

And yet, as in a state of unconsciousness, we keep indulging our ego time after time, just able to suppress the natural instinct in a man’s voice of reason, that he is stuck in the same dead end under the continuing barrage of blows. Looking from the side it’s impossible to understand how it can be.

Yet, this is what the Creator has prepared for us, a series of misfortunes, until we reach the recognition of evil, until at least we begin to ask the question: Where is it all coming from and why?

The problem with today’s leaders is that they are deaf to the sound of reason and want only one thing: to continue the chase after wealth and control. And most importantly, they don’t see a workable solution. Many already understand that the whole thing is about human nature, but they all throw up their hands in despair when confronting this problem. They only know two means: military might and money, which enable them to hold on to power. No other options to rule are taken into account.

I tell them that it’s possible to change people through integral education; within a few years they will see improvement and prosperity. They listen, but they don’t hear. They can’t hear for all their intelligence.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/29/12, Article “Exile and Redemption”

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