Baal HaSulam, “One Commandment:” “…by accustoming oneself to serving people, one benefits others and not oneself. Thus, one becomes gradually fit to keep the Mitzvot of the Creator with the required condition—benefiting the Creator and not oneself.”

I do not follow, do not understand, and do not grasp this principle. If I need to work and to unite with humanity, this is clear to me. We are here together; the gap between me and others appeared only due to the breaking, and I feel myself as separate from them. So, I have to overcome, correct this force of the breaking and become united with them.

But what about the Creator? Perhaps He is somewhere outside and I can reach Him through humanity. Or, by uniting with others in the group, I discover that He is inside, among us, and even fills all that space.

Nonetheless, it is difficult for me to pave the way, directing myself at the group for the sake of the Creator. What does this mean? This is a vague requirement. I understand relationships with other people, but how can I build a relationship with somebody in addition to this? Our problem is that we cannot imagine the correct picture, and therefore we remain confused for a long time.

”The Creator” is the quality of absolute, final, perfect bestowal. The unity between me and the group is the vessel for receiving the quality of bestowal. We want to achieve love and oneness between us so the world becomes “round,” global, integral. However, it has to be done for the sake of the Creator, which means, in order for the quality of bestowal to connect to us, to dwell and reign inside of us.

Thus, it is forbidden to ascribe any individuality or image to the Creator. This is “idol worship” or, literally, “foreign work” because it leads us aside, in a completely different direction. The Creator, Boreh, means “come (Bo) and see (Reh). If you enter a group and reach unity, then, by virtue of the friends, you reveal the quality of bestowal, which is called “the Creator.”

That is why it is written: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one” where “Israel” is me with the friends (or humanity) and the Creator. In other words, the friends and I together are called “Malchut” or “Shechina,” and I reveal Zeir Anpin, which becomes expressed inside Malchut, according to the oneness which is achieved in it.

Hence comes the meaning of the formula “to serve people to bring contentment to the Creator.” Under no circumstances should you imagine somebody or something as the final recipient of your efforts. The Creator is neither a person nor a phenomenon, but the property that becomes revealed in us. To draw yourself such a recipient means to be engaged in idolatry, to create an idol. If we always stick to this rule, we will have no problems.

After all, we want to eventually build the system which will embrace all vessels and Lights. This is Malchut of the world of Infinity, where we are in unity and cohesion, where the Light is revealed in the vessel. We came from there, from the First state. In the Second state, we correct our attitude and nothing more, and come to the Third state, becoming conscious of and understanding the world in which we exist from the beginning.

There is no image that exists outside of us, for whose sake we should work and to which we should come. Just schematically, our intentions and calculations are added to this sequence: first we create a vessel, and then, to the extent of its ability to unite, according to the law of equivalence of form, we reveal the Creator in this vessel, according to the principle “come and see.” Thus, we reveal Malchut – the desire, which remains unchanged.
[52696]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/11, “One Commandment”

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Question: How is it that even in the spiritual world intention and desire don’t merge into a single whole, but remain two separate things?

My Answer: We must always be concerned with the intention. The desire will be revealed in compliance with the intention, but no more. The desire is revealed in accordance with the screen and the Reflected Light.

Indeed, my desire is very big—it is Malchut of the world of Infinity. But my screens can be different: from the smallest to the largest. The size of the screen is split into 125 “portions,” and if I reveal the desire along with them, then I am always in balance in that I have one intention.

Every one of us contains Malchut of Infinity, unbounded with all its Reshimot. Only a restriction is placed on it, and now it gradually reveals itself to us, but only in accordance with the size of the screen, or the intention.

Our behavior must be similar: Our whole work is done in the intentions, which determine the revelation of our desires. If the desires are revealed before the intentions, then we suffer. And conversely, if we care to develop the intentions first, then we walk the good path. In other words, if I cultivate the intention, then I walk the path of the Torah. But if the desire is revealed before the intention, then I develop by the path of suffering.

Our destiny lies between these two opportunities.
[52688]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/11, “One Commandment”

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Our task is to raise up all the sparks left from the breaking. They seem foreign to us now, as though they don’t pertain to us, but we need to choose them, bring them all together, and raise the collection of all souls or sparks to Malchut of the world of Atzilut. We join all of them to ourselves, since “every person is a small world.”

Due to such unification with friends, the world, and all the occurrences and events, we all unite and raise Adam HaRishon, the first man, to a single bestowal for the sake of the Creator, like it was before the sin. And then one great MAN, prayer, is formed, which is the final action of “Zivug Rav Palim UMikabtziel” (universal adhesion) that leads to the final correction.

We just need to collect all our actions, thoughts, and scrutiny for the sake of turning to Him with a prayer. This whole process occurs within us, but we don’t feel it or understand it now. This is our state until we enter the spiritual world and begin to raise MAN consciously, with understanding, feeling these spiritual acts, and making calculations.

In the spiritual world a person already uses the screen and engages in practical Kabbalah, working actively with the desire to receive, the screen, and the sparks. One knows precisely what he elucidates, to what degree he plans to rise, what types of Light affect him, and which forms of desires he puts into force. Talmud Eser Sefirot becomes a real instruction book for him.

We may think that compared to that state, our present state is completely unimportant. However, this is not true at all! In actuality, these preparatory states that go by unconsciously are the most important. It is like a child who grows most rapidly during his earliest stages of life. While he is a baby, certain changes occur in him every day. Then he begins to change from month to month, then year to year, until he stops growing completely.

Much the same way, while we work unconsciously, we go through the greatest stages of changes; we just are unable to recognize them. Therefore, we need to place great importance on our state in spite of anything, understanding the enormous benefit of each thought, action, and word that is directed toward the goal, and in particular, those that are performed for the sake of the studies, unification, and dissemination. Consequently, we will reach a conscious prayer.

A prayer, request, or a desire is our only action. Everything else is done by the Light. And if we wish to reach bestowal so that the “guest” would give to the “Host,” we only need to desire this! How able or unable we are doesn’t matter; the most important thing is for our actions to be directed properly.

Therefore, it is written that a person has no other work except prayer. All the strength and fulfillment come from Above, while all the demands and requests come from below.
[52514]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/24/11, “Shamati“

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Shamati #22 “Torah Lishma (For Her Name)”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “VaYakhel (And Moses Assembled),” “The Ascent of the Prayer,” Item 145, Lesson 9
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Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 2, Chapter 2, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Chapter 3, Item 23, Lesson 18
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Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 92, Lesson 43
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Nation,” (start with: “Indeed, the spark of nationalism was kept within us…”), Lesson 6
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[52552]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, The Book of Zohar

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Man begins with the unity of our thoughts and desires into the smallest possible vessel. And then it keeps growing larger as a result of the addition of newer and newer parts. In this way, he becomes man, Adam, stretched to the ends of the universe. And his connection, his mind and heart, is being built from all the broken pieces contained in each of us because each piece contains the mind and the heart inside of it.

The connection of these forces is similar to how matter forms in our world throughout the whole of the evolution on the still, vegetative, and animate levels. Matter started to unite in the same form. And when we start to unite our parts, we also go through the same steps, the still, vegetative, and animate, in the unity between people. These are called the spiritual states: embryo – nurturing – maturing (Ibur – Yenika – Mochin).

That is why all of our work depends on for the sake of what we are uniting—for the sake of the quality of bestowal to rule in us, meaning for the sake of the Creator, for the sake of His pleasure, or for the sake of ourselves in order to make it better for ourselves when we only think of our own condition in this world and about our bodies. Meaning that we are concerned with our bodily existence and not about gathering the image of man from our pieces.

That is why the “prayer of the 18 blessings” describes the spiritual path so well, the direction, the intention, the urge towards the next step, onto which the world, the human society has to rise to now. That is why the necessity for unity is being revealed. The only question is: For what sake does it happen?

And here, humanity divides into two parts. Those, who understand that unity is necessary for reaching the human level, the image of man. They are actively building this image. And the rest are related to the desire, and unite for the sake of a good life in this world.

This is the way they divide: the screen is called Israel and the desire is called all of the people who only need to connect to those who will do the work that is laid upon Israel.
[52557]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Shamati

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We begin to develop and grow from this world, from the lowest possible reality, which descended from the world of Infinity through 125 degrees, through 5 worlds, to the very lowest point. Having reached this low level, the spark of light broke through to the very last spiritual degree into this world and began to form matter in it.

Matter began to concentrate, form, and unite one particle with another. In this manner began the return to the source—the correction of the breaking. From thereon began our Universe: the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature.

All these degrees are a result of the unification of matter into more and more complex structures, all the parts of which act in benefit to each other. The power of Light, the power of nature, unite separate elements, and thus form inanimate matter in all its inner diversity. Matter is formed due to the unification of opposite particles according to particular laws.

And then even vegetative matter arises, where opposite particles connect into even more complex structures. They are much more spread apart from each other, but they unite nonetheless. Then animate nature emerges, each part of which feels separate and wishes to maintain its existence in an egoistic form. However, due to the force of nature, each of them still unites with others, and all together they create the animate—an animate body that is able to exist in spite of the fact that inside it exist a contradiction and unification of polar elements.

They are united by a special force—the force of Light, the force of the Creator, the force of mutual bestowal, in spite of the force of creation, an egoistic force that exists inside each. These two forces begin to act in common harmony.

Harmony is impossible if there are not two opposite forces that nonetheless unite for the sake of one goal, a common interest, and some higher state. A higher state means common interests of the body: the vegetative or the animate body. And then, due to development of matter on the animate level, it reaches the level of the human being of this world, which is an even more complex creature—a more aggressive and egoistic one. Every creature from this degree “human being in this world” finds that he is opposite to all other people.

And when he reaches the end of his egoistic development, he reveals that if he wishes to exist further, he needs a second, opposite force—the force of bestowal. The force of egoism developed in him, but what is he to do it with it now? It only destroys us.

At this point we understand that we must receive the force of bestowal, the force of unification. The feeling of the lack of the force of unification, without which we cannot continue, is in fact that feeling of a crisis, the breaking, the destruction of former values. It is revealed directly inside our existence, our life. We discover in absolutely all areas of life, in all the activities of a person in this world, that we cannot reach balance, harmony, and so-called “life.”

After all, life is built on the basis of two forces: reception and bestowal. We cannot exist by acting only with the one force of egoism. Therefore, as a result of our development, our gradual evolution, step by step nature brings us to the conclusion that we also need a second force: the force of unification.
[52548]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Shamati

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Question: If there was a restriction on reception, why don’t we feel shame raising requests and prayers (MAN) above?

My Answer: We don’t feel shame because we ask for help for us to achieve bestowal, and not for our own sake. That’s nothing to be ashamed of!

You can counter, “but the entire correction occurs because of the shame felt by Malchut of the world of Infinity!” However, I don’t feel shame raising this request because I don’t demand for myself; rather, for myself I ask only the bare necessities, so that I could bestow the rest!

There is no shame in this. Just the opposite, there is honor here for me, because I will be able to bestow to others what no one else can give them! Everybody has such unique abilities in that the work performed by a particular individual cannot be performed by anyone else. That is because everyone has their own personal root in the common soul.

Therefore, it is allowed to ask for strength to live and be healthy, to receive knowledge and abilities—if these things are needed to carry out actions of bestowal. This is precisely what “life” is in the world of truth.

Such is my existence: My life is possible only to the extent that I can bestow. My actions are exclusively bestowal. And the spirit that flows through me sustains my existence, which is intended for bestowal. This is what is called a spiritual state.
[52522]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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Shamati #115 “Still, Vegetative, Animate and Speaking”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “One Commandment,” “Serving People by God’s Commandment,” Lesson 3
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Today we are finding ourselves in a special state where we are discovering that we won’t survive unless we attain the force of unity. But at the same time, we have to discern: Why do we need this force?

Is it in order to make our lives more comfortable on the level of this world, so instead of the evil force that rules over us, we would arm ourselves with the force of goodness and achieve balance on our current level? Or do we want to rise high to the force of bestowal so it would rule over us and reveal the greatness of that bestowal in and of itself?

Perhaps we aspire to the force of bestowal in order to simply use it to balance the force of reception and peacefully live in this world. In that case, we want to use the force of bestowal to help the force of egoism, which is called bestowal for the sake of reception. Or, do we want to attain reception for the sake of bestowal?

This is the question: Do we want the quality of bestowal to rule, or the egoistic quality? Therein lies our entire freedom of choice. This is described in the prayer called “the prayer of 18 blessings”—which mercy do I ask for?

Do I want to rise to the level of bestowal and give pleasure to the Creator, attain faith above reason, use all of my desires for the sake of bestowal, and even to receive for its sake so my entire desire would work for bestowal? Or do I talk only about life in this world and want to make it better?

This makes all the difference: Will I exist on the animate level or the human one? The difference between them is one of quality. On the animate level we perceive our life as the life of the body and feel this world the way we do today: our body and the surrounding world with everything taking place in it.

We live for the sake of this body’s existence, each person for himself. That is why we are willing to balance our lives with the force of bestowal in order to attain a more pleasant, comfortable, and peaceful existence. Or, do we rise to the human degree and obtain an eternal existence, above the world of matter?

Matter ends lower down, on the levels of still, vegetative, and animate. In our world there is no other degree, no human level. A human is a degree that includes the mind and the heart, meaning desire and thought, analysis.

This is what grows from our mind and heart, but not the bodily ones. Informational genes (Reshimot), data from the breaking, unite together: all of the hearts, all of the desires unite into one heart, like one man, and all of our intentions, meaning thoughts and the mind, unite as well. This unity creates the image of man—a certain virtual being that does not exist in matter, that does not consists of electrons and molecules that unite into a body.

We create it ourselves, uniting all of our thoughts and desires. That is how we start to exist on a higher level, called the human degree (Adam), which means “similar” (Domeh) to the Creator. Then all of our desires and intentions begin to operate as a spiritual vessel, with a desire inside and a screen above the desire.

This is the meaning of being human, or “prehuman” (Adam Kadmon), the man of the world of Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya. But our body is not called human. We call it human because we anticipate the future, expecting it to bring us to the state when we will become human.

This is what the prayer is about: to help us unite our hearts together, meaning our desires, thoughts, and intentions, so we would compile the complete image of man out of them, of an independent individual.
[52560]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Shamati

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