Question: What should the music at the convention be like so it would really warm people’s hearts?

Answer: Joyful music is not mindless partying. Rather, it has to awaken a good feeling within me, sympathy for what is happening. At the convention, as well as every day, we must imagine our future state that we aspire to, from which we want to receive an illumination, a glow, an influence. Let the Light that reforms come from there and draw us there.

Looking at something beautiful, I am automatically drawn to it. But in this case I have to imagine the beauty myself, as an exercise before and during the convention. In December we will immerse ourselves in the world of the future for 72 hours. We have a single vessel in which a general bestowing force becomes revealed and we all dwell in mutual bestowal.

What do we discover by that other than a feeling of euphoria? What are our relationships? How do we interact in the family, among friends, at work (with our coworkers, employees, and employers), in the economy of the new generation, in ecology, in society? We are entering a new world and are starting to check its details: culture, upbringing, science, our attitude to all kinds of things…

And that’s where music can help us develop the right approach to life. And it doesn’t matter if it has words or not.

However, music should not draw me to any sad thoughts, to anything reminding me of a descent or despair. And this prohibition is effective in our day-to-day work as well. Sad music, the left line can only be used if I have built a strong right line ahead of time and am in it. As Baal HaSulam writes, only half an hour a day can be spent on critical self-analysis, on the condition that I worked in the right line for 23.5 hours.
[59439]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/1/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”: …when teaching the young, the women and the illiterate, they are taught to work out of fear and in order to be rewarded…

“The young” are people who haven’t learned wisdom yet. “The women” are those who do not have the force of the screen. “The illiterate” are those who understand only their own earthly, egoistic desire. And they are taught accordingly, in conformity to the reality. A person is not required to do something he is incapable of. He is promised a reward, “You will be well off. Just act and absorb others’ hopes that a special force will come and correct you, that it will unite you with others and by virtue of that, you will find yourself in the world of goodness.”

Now we must also conduct mass dissemination by the same principle, responding to people’s current desires. “Do you want to have money, honor, power, knowledge, a good life, health, a pension, and a vacation? Excellent. You will receive all of that if you unite.” They do not have to know about the Light that reforms because they do not have a point in the heart that originates from it. Therefore, in our explanations, we stop at mutual guarantee. But in reality, it is not what will solve all the problems; they will be solved by the Light that we will evoke when we aspire to the mutual guarantee. It will carry out all the changes for the better.

…until they accumulate knowledge and gain wisdom. Then they are told that secret little by little…

They will understand that bestowal in and of itself is the greatest and most important thing in the world. There is nothing more important than bestowal. There is no pleasure greater than being in pure bestowal, when its Light fulfills me. This is expressed instinctively in motherly love. And this secret is revealed by none other than the Light.

…and they are accustomed to that matter with ease until they attain and know Him and serve Him with love.

By virtue of multiple, repeated actions, the Lights influence the vessels and train them, meaning bring a different nature into them. In spirituality there is no pressure or compulsion. At every phase, everything is built only upon understanding, realization, and attainment. After all, the issue at hand is man’s formation.

Eventually, everyone will rise to the upper one, including those who are completely not disposed to that. After all, by virtue of the breaking, they have a part of the spiritual spark and therefore they can join the common work as parts of one body. Every cell in it carries out its own function, which is irreplaceable.
[59442]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/1/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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It doesn’t matter what item in or part of The Book of Zohar we study. Rabash used to do this: He would close his eyes, open the book at some page, and begin to read in the middle of the line. He read a few lines, and this was enough for him. And then he would continue to think.

It connects a person to the source that explains to him about the good and correct future state. After all, you don’t know what this source is in itself. You only know that in doing this, you open some faucet that brings you the force, and this force has to influence you. It is as if you open a faucet of water, and it flows on you.

This is the way we need to relate to The Book of Zohar. The “water” flows on condition that we “stand under the faucet.” “To stand under the faucet” means to be together, to yearn as much as possible for unity since this is the nature of the upper waters that pour from one unified vessel. Thus, according to the measure that we unite together, desire to connect, and strive to be as one man with one heart, to that measure the Light of the Torah comes to us, and we merit the reception of the Torah, the reception of the Light.
[59302]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/31/2011, The Zohar

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Question: What is the fear that needs to be felt before the large upcoming convention in December?

Answer: Uneasiness before the convention is the anxiety and fear that I will not carry out what I have to according to the program of creation, which defines who I am, the qualities with which I have been created, and how I can participate and invest the most of myself to accelerate the development of the entire spiritual vessel.

Every person must feel responsible for the development of the entire common vessel, and this is referred to as the measure of my bestowal to the Creator. We need to concern ourselves with this and understand that everything only depends on me.
[59189]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Baal HaSulam, “Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”: It is said that anyone who buys a Hebrew slave, it is as though he buys a master for himself. It means that if one happens to have but one pillow, … one must give it to one’s servant.

“Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the second rule that we face after we have learned not to do to others what we hate. This condition has especially high demands.

At the stage of “love thy friend as thyself,” it is not enough to refrain from criticizing or considering your friend as lower than yourself. You must raise your friend above yourself so that he will become the most important thing in the entire world for you. From now on, I must worry about him first, like a mother who devotes herself naturally to her child and renounces herself in order to provide him or her with everything necessary. We must relate to everyone this way.

Of course, we are not able to even think about that. This condition is so hateful and repulsive to us that we can’t even imagine to ourselves how we would come to realize it.

However, the Light that Reforms exists in the world. It operates at its own pace, according to the plan of creation, and it draws us closer so that we will accept this condition. Whether we want it or not, in the end we will need to fulfill it either willingly or through pressure by suffering. One way or the other, we are speaking about the law of nature that today is bringing everyone to the first stage of the spiritual path, to the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

We all need to feel that we are together in the same system, we are mutually connected to each other, understand each other, and are dependent on each other. The integral system unites us in all intentions and meanings. We yet will discover that each desire and thought of a person is connected to the rest of the souls.

Of course, we are not able to fulfill this condition, and we surely don’t want to. Instinctively, we reject and ignore it. I don’t agree with this condition to such an extent that I immediately forget it. So, what am I to do?

One needs to carry out exercises in a group by which he will want it nevertheless. No one tells me that I need to realize the condition that I forbid myself to do to others that which I myself hate. I can’t perform that against my desire, and even more so I can’t love others as I love myself. It is impossible to force me since I have no control of my heart. However, I am  able to perform actions that will change my heart.

Questions arise here: How can I want something like this? What do I need it for? This is where a point of choice is: I can invite the Light that Reforms for either good or bad, one of the two. In the end, I will want it to come, but what will cause me to want it?

On one hand, we can build an environment that will impress me with the greatness and importance of the goal and will direct me to bestowal and mutual love. Under the influence of the friends, I will want even what is not important to me now. Then, the Light will come.

Or on the other hand, we can feel the lack of our efforts as suffering, even a world war, until in the end, we will need to ask for the Light that Reforms anyway, to ask for correction, and ask for good relationships between fellow men.

For example, today, Israel’s existence is under threat, and this negative situation should awaken us to correction. Do you want to get rid of the threats? Invite the Light that Reforms, and it will do everything for you. Nothing will help except that. After all, a hero doesn’t win by force.

We only need to unite. Our unity will attract the Light into the world, and it will correct everything. It will do so gradually, in accordance with its program that we don’t know. But in any case, the manifestation of the Light in the world will bring us to good.
[59213]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/2011, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The sage Hillel formulated this rule for those who wanted to rid themselves of their egoistic intention, to come closer to the spiritual world, and to understand the revelation of the Creator and the benefits it brings.

Man is confused. He does not know how to approach this, and he usually relies on being able to use his current qualities and desires that pertain to our world. After all, he has learned things, received an education, and achieved something in life. He thinks that the ascent to the next degree is realized by following the same canon. And this is the problem.

We have become accustomed to the relationship mechanisms familiar to us from early childhood, their recognized laws and traditions. The body subconsciously directs us and brings us to thoughts, actions, movements, and solutions set by the system. We do not understand that the spiritual world requires absolute reevaluation of all foundations. I do not continue the previous path. Instead, I end it and rise to a new vector, a new dimension that I could not even imagine before. This is not just a turn, it is a leap into the unknown.

Once, there was a person who wished to attain bestowal, to go from an egoistic intention to an altruistic intention, from the corporeal world to the spiritual world. He came to Hillel. The person already understood that he was not able to do it on his own and that he could not advance through his own comprehension. After all, spiritual learning is not a university course. It cannot be mastered through books or self-teaching guides.

Hillel’s guest understood that he needed to listen to the sage’s advice and follow it “with his eyes closed.” He understood that this was the only way he could be successful, being that he was unable to see the path unfolding before him, which cannot be seen with egoistic vision. This is why he went to Hillel with his question.

Hillel personifies the collective body of laws, Halacha, in other words, the rules for completing the path (Alicha) toward the purpose of creation. His response was simple: “There is only the main rule: ‘Do not do unto others what is hateful to you.’”

In order to test whether you are on the right track, you constantly, every single moment, need to test yourself in relation to your friend. Can you think about him as much as you think about yourself? Can you pure-heartedly switch places with him and care for your friend the same way you care for yourself? Can you care for your friend the same way you care for yourself? Even if you are criticizing him on the inside, you must rise above it, be above your negative attitude toward your neighbor in all its manifestations.

This is the first half of the way, when you begin to establish contact with the others. This manifests in your ceasing to be a disturbance. You become ready for a connection, but you are simply not yet able to realize it. This way, you evoke the Light that Reforms, and it advances you.

Clearly, the realization of the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” divides into many stages. Every stage is something different, new, and special. Over and over, you will keep discovering larger fragments of the general picture. Right now, you think that it is enough to just not interact with your neighbor. However, your egoistic desire will constantly touch him. It will touch him a lot. You will want to object to him, contradict, crush, and murder him.

There will be plenty of options. Then, you will begin to attain your inner mechanism in relation to the rule of “love thy neighbor as thyself.” The neighbor is not as much of a problem here as your ascent over your egoism toward the degree of Bina, the state of Hafetz Hesed (delighting in mercy).

Your “neighbor” is your exercise equipment, the sample, the criterion, in relation to which you can control the spiritual approaches, laws, and conditions here in our world. After all, we must reveal the spiritual world specifically in our world, and not far beyond the horizon. Yes, the spiritual dimension will bring new parameters with it, but they will be revealed in the relationships between us, between all the people. This is why it is written: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

This principle is clear to all, and anyone can realize it. It does not have any preliminary requirements for a person. Act as you are. There is a group before you, and you can work on this condition together with your friends. Stop searching for other things. You do not have another method that leads to the revelation of the Creator. Such is the first condition on our path.

There are a total of two conditions, and both are directed toward the “neighbor” before you. The second and last condition is “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
[59221]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/2011, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Question: If I read the Psalms or other Kabbalisic texts, I can be moved to tears. These words are very close to my heart. I understand that it is about me and my feelings, and I can identify with the text. Besides, I understand these texts. They penetrate my heart and bring me to tears.

The Book of Zohar, however, is something unclear, dead, colorless, and tasteless, and I cannot be moved by it. So why is The Book of Zohar considered the highest source by which the upper force affects us? It is impossible to feel that.

Answer: It is indeed so. We have to understand the main principle here. It is when I reach a state of feeling totally helpless to reach the spiritual goal and when I understand that all my praying, crying, and begging hasn’t helped that I begin to find the powers hidden in The Zohar and to understand why it was written the way it was.

If certain Kabbalistic sources move me emotionally, these emotions are on the beastly level, not on the level of man who is similar to the Creator. These are typical, corporeal feelings such as, “I feel bad,” “I really want to, but I can’t attain it,” and so on. These are ordinary human feelings that are very far from spirituality.

If I really yearn for bestowal, connection, unity, and love, which are contrary to all my powers, motives, and desires because I can’t just awaken them by reading a text or be impressed by imaginary images or my understanding of what’s written, then I begin to feel that The Book of Zohar is the source of power that exists namely in the upper dimension, beyond my ordinary feelings, motives, and sensations.
[58892]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/27/2011, The Zohar

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In order to allow us to attain the spiritual goal, we are brought to a special place with special books and a special environment. This is because the meaning of life can only be attained when a person transcends its boundaries.

Thus, we have to discover the forces, the abilities, the attributes, and the emotions that are beyond the boundaries of our life—beyond the boundaries of the universe. These are totally different attributes that can only be attained thanks to a special environment in which everyone else also wants to transcend the sensation of this corporeal life.

A person is initially given very little power, a very small desire. In order to transcend the boundaries of this life and to rise above it, he needs great powers. These are not egotistic powers, but rather the powers of bestowal that are contrary to everything that is in him.

So, a person is brought to a special environment in which he builds a special relationship and discovers his desire to bestow. Although bestowal doesn’t seem attractive at first, with time, he gets the right impressions and understands that with the help of the power of bestowal, he can fulfill his desire to feel life outside the body.

In order to fulfill his dream, a person needs to have a great power of bestowal. This is why he is given a chance: “Please, act! You are among other people, you don’t want to have anything to do with them, and you don’t want to bestow upon them. This is clear. So you should regret that you can’t do that because without it, you will not have control over your own life.”

Thus, a person begins to think whether this is a good deal or not. Sometimes, he agrees because he sees that it is the only possible way, and, having no other choice, he is compelled to accept it. He is ready to reach bestowal if only in order to rise above this life.

Eventually, however, one begins to understand that the power of bestowal he receives from the environment is the essence of his spiritual life. It isn’t some down payment that he is ready to make in order to later receive spiritual life in his egotistic desire. No, it is the power of bestowal itself that gives him the upper, spiritual life and new sensations.
[58917]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/27/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Writings of Rabash “What Is the Oil Is Called Good Deeds in the Work”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Pekudei (Accounts),” “The Place of Noga, Netzah,” Item 537, Lesson 22
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Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 8, “The Eser Sefirot of Olam ha Atzilut,” Item 19, Lesson 8
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings,” “Why Was the Torah Not Given to the Patriarchs?,” Lesson 6
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Man only advances through the Light. We cannot advance in spirituality through our own efforts.

In our world a person progresses through his mind, feelings, society, books, teachers, different teachings, and learning by example. Although in reality, the Light that Reforms also operates within all this because a person puts effort into development, even if the reasons are egoistic. This way we advanced over thousands of years.

But if we want spiritual advancement, we must consciously awaken the influence of the Light over us. Otherwise, without this intention, we will be advancing in the same natural way as the entire world. This is why it is written that everything depends on the intention.

We need to organize ourselves, the goal, and the means to attain it step by step. On every stage of my advancement there needs to be a change made through the Light that I attract, which operates and changes my inner qualities, desires, and thoughts.

Thanks to being in this world, due to his detachment from the spiritual world and the concealment, man receives the opportunity to be free and to evoke the influence of the force of Light that Reforms through one’s own choice and desire.

This can be done through actions that do not require us to have a correct intention and be in the spiritual world. This is because even if I do not have much of a desire or understand this fully, I can do these actions and organize myself an environment that will influence me. It is specifically through love of one’s neighbor, following the same line, that we attain love for the Creator.

We awaken the Light and come closer to adhesion with the Creator through the strength of our unity. This is why there is no place more important where we can make an effort, but our environment. Even study, dissemination, and all other business are nothing more than auxiliary means, even though they are necessary on the path towards group unity, where the Light will be revealed according to the strength of the group’s connection.

We accelerate the revelation of the Light with our actions in our world so it would manifest sooner than it would if we develop naturally, which is called “at its own time” (Beito). We attract the Light with our connection in the group, and the more we strive to unite, the more it manifests. This development is called “hastening time” (Achishena), according to which we advance.
[59193]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/2011, Writings of Rabash

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