Question: When big problems and heavy states come to me, should I be grateful for them as well?

Answer: If you want to be above fulfillment, with the screen and the Reflected Light, you don’t care about the present sensation in your desire, whether it’s good or bad. You realize that all the states that you go through, whatever they may be, no matter how bad, are all necessary in order to develop your desire.

This may be difficult to accomplish if some misfortune or serious illness befalls you. But if you achieve the right correction, you will never feel any state as bad or harmful as long as in this state you merge with the Creator.

In your sensation you may feel terrible, but instead of identifying yourself with your sensation, you will identify yourself with the goal. In other words, you will understand why the Creator who up until now has been giving you good sensations and even more (five dollars instead of the usual one!) suddenly gave you zero and even less than zero….

Evidently, it was done so that in spite of everything, you could achieve correction in these desires, which is the feeling of gratitude. This is not simple, but that’s the way it works. That is how desires are revealed.

It’s hard for us to understand and justify this since we depend on our egoistic, corporeal, sensation, but it is what it is. It is written: “Even with a sharp knife pressed against your throat, do not lose hope in His mercy.”
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/2011, Writings of Rabash

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The giving of the Torah, the method of correction, is impossible without the mutual guarantee, which represents a model, the implementation of this method. You reveal the Torah, work with it, and realize this teaching only in the mutual guarantee.

Today, reading Baal HaSulam’s article “The Mutual Guarantee,” we try to find more and more ways to realize the goal of creation. We are in the egoistic desire and must convert it into the form of bestowal. Instead of remaining in egoism which assumes the form of the augmented desire to receive, we have to realize the evil of this form.

The realization of evil can come through troubles or through the mind. A combined variation is also possible. This depends on how much we can engage our mind to increase the awareness of evil without waiting for troubles. Trouble simply extends time and brings us to wars and casualties by the path of suffering, through really tragic conditions.

One way or the other, we must realize evil in full, meaning to become aware that we are in egoism, the receiving desire, and that everyone only seeks his own advantage to the detriment of fellow men. If we do not realize this now, imagine how much more we will have to work on the realization of evil alone.

How many additional blows do I have to experience to see and realize that all my desires are egoistic? They are egoistic to such an extent that I consider no one, including my relatives, close ones, and children.

This is an awful state. It is written in the Scriptures: “The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children.” That is what the recognition of evil comes to. We do not know what it is.

In order not to go to extremes, to save time, and be saved from great suffering, we can use the science of Kabbalah, the Light that Reforms, and the work in the group. That is why this tool was given to us. And then, in a combination of suffering and the Light that Reforms, we will realize evil sooner.

We need nothing except this awareness. Baal HaSulam writes about this in his article “The Essence of Kabbalah and Its Purpose.” Why did we receive it? We received it to accelerate our realization of evil. If I use its power correctly at every given opportunity, I will be able to conduct this analysis and draw conclusions, even if I have to go through some sufferings to advance to the state of analysis.

Baal HaSulam writes that we live at the time of the Messiah and therefore, considering opportunities available to us, we need to go ahead, start acting. Everything depends on us, on the degree in which we draw the Light that Reforms.

However, first it has to bring us the recognition of evil. And getting acquainted with our own ego is unpleasant. We need the support of the environment and studying; we have to become stronger internally to bear this ego being revealed to us. The key is that it is being revealed, and through this, I will without doubt move towards the goal. If I reject the revelation of ego because it is unpleasant to me, it will come to me through “the back door” and bring me really tragic conditions.

Humanity can advance along a beautiful path, experiencing very little evil. From a drop of poison, from a tiny bit of evil, I will build a huge structure of analysis. I see how this evil prevents me from connecting with friends in the group. If I fully use a small portion of evil, I need nothing else. One black point is enough, and I already understand what it means.

We achieve all this only by the force of mutual guarantee, when we want to build a system of mutual bestowal together, to unite as one man with one heart, and thus help each other. In this case, we recognize evil.

Now, imagine that the world recognizes a bit of evil today. Look at the developments: revolutions, demonstrations, and riots. Day by day, the situation is getting worse and drawing closer to Israel. No other country is under such external pressure. Yet, the internal pressure will soon be apparent as well.

Therefore, we must understand that the mutual guarantee, unity, and analysis leading to the realization of evil are a matter of life and death for us. We need nothing else but the recognition of evil because to the extent of your awareness of it, you want to rid yourself of it and no longer forget about the Light that Reforms. You are like a seriously ill person thinks about a remedy that can save him. The realization of evil prevents you from using it and pushes you to find the correct application.

If today countries and all kind of organizations recognized evil, they would turn the world into the Garden of Eden right away. Why would they create the silly things that they do today? The current world events make it clear that we are approaching critical states.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/13/2011, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Shamati #122 “What Is Will Give Wisdom Specifically to the Wise″
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The Book of Zohar – Selected, Chapter “Truma (Donation) 2,” “The Letters,” Item 622, Lesson 26
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Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 1 “Table of Answers for Topics,” Item 88, Lesson 41
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Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 28, Lesson 20
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“The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” Item 19, Lesson 4
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Question: What should I do if I am able to cancel myself in my thoughts, but it’s very difficult for me to do this in practice?

Answer: That’s impossible! If I really cancel myself in my thoughts, then I also do it in the actions. The action reflects the intention.

But if I still haven’t reached the final decision to cancel myself, then I am unable to carry out this action and am only lying to myself by thinking that I am cancelling myself in the thoughts.

If we see that after an argument a group does not come to unity, until the next quarrel, this is a sign that its members do not cancel each other before one another and don’t have any chance of attaining spirituality.

By conducting an inner self-analysis and trying to cancel our egoism before the friends, internally and externally, we already carry out the spiritual work. The spiritual world can become revealed to us practically only on the condition that we entirely cancel our egoism according to the level of our current degree.

If you now attain the true self-annulment in relation to any person, you will be convinced that you feel yourself in the spiritual reality, in the quality of bestowal, united with the Creator to a certain extent!
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: How can I avoid taking pride in my bestowal to the Creator?

Answer: The only thing you can take pride in is that you’ve received support from Above, which enabled you to overcome the hardships, meaning your ego. In other words, you need to take pride in the Creator, the Light, His help, but not yourself!

What do we have? Nothing! Our desires and actions are not our own, and neither is the Light. Even the prayer is not our own, but we receive it from the environment. Therefore, the further we advance, the less we receive, and the more we are grateful.

And when we return back to Malchut of the world Infinity, we receive the same Light of Nefesh de Nefesh which was in Malchut in its very first state. However, we intensify its illumination by “613” times with our gratitude, attainment of the good, and sensation of the Giver’s greatness.

But the Light itself does not change since it has no measure. The Light itself remains Nefesh de Nefesh, merely a small illumination. It is we who turn it into a great flame.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Why is it that after so many years of study we still ask about its purpose? It follows that we always start from the beginning, from zero?

Answer: No, each time we start from an even greater “zero”! Indeed, the egoistic desire is constantly growing, as does understanding. Our desires become sharper and more precise, and thus our “zero” becomes deeper and more defined.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Over the last few days couples in Israel began a protest against the housing crisis. They are starting up tent cities in public places to protest against the skyrocketing housing prices. Will this lead to correction?

Answer: This is a good thing. However, what can our poor government do for them? We ascribe great capabilities to it, thinking, “They’ll decide something today and will carry it out tomorrow.” But that’s not so. Didn’t the government know about these problems? Don’t the ministers just want to get together for a conference and make a decision so that starting tomorrow, new, cheap houses will start being built?

This can’t happen because we are dealing with a great complex of interconnected social problems, and this is just one of them. We cannot correct any one of them unless we correct the connection between the people in the country. No one will be able to help: not the prime minister or the government, not the parliamentarians, and not the people who are sitting in tents on city streets.

It’s good that they are sitting there, and it’s good that the Prime Minster is concerned. It’s good that he’s afraid and they are making demands of him. Maybe this will finally push them to reach the right conclusion: that correction will not come from the Prime Minister. And even money won’t solve anything. There is a bigger problem concealed here. Even if there will be enough money in the country, the authorities won’t be able to make any useful decision.

We have to understand that in our times there are no separate, problematic situations. Now, when nature has closed us inside of an integral net, everything depends only on the connection between people. There is not one social problem, not even the smallest one, that could be solved without a social interconnection, without a connection within the nation and within the world. Without resorting to this means, you won’t be able to do anything.

The task might seem secondary or purely technical, “What’s so hard about it, really? Just give out an order, free up some land for construction, and let them start building.” But they cannot do that because they will come up against insurmountable barriers on the inside. That would be the same as demanding pure bestowal from a person when he is simply incapable of it. He just can’t do it.

So know this: Today there is just one solution to any problem: mutual guarantee. If there is no mutual guarantee, there is no solution. This is exactly what we have to bring to the people’s understanding. We can be sure that we will attain success and will overcome all the problems only by means of the force of the mutual guarantee.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/11, “Arvut”

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Since initially we lack the aspiration to bestow and we need to gather, form, and organize it ourselves, we are given work in the group to help us achieve it. In the group, we work with other people whom we, as it were, see before us as “help from the opposite side.” And essentially, instead of working with people and desires which appear to be foreign to me, I work with my attitude towards them. I need to learn to treat them like myself.

In working with them, I see opposite relationships: rejection, hatred, and alienation. However, at the same time, I must reach attraction, love, and closeness instead, and this helps me to rise above the animate degree, to the degree of the Creator.

This is because there are only two kinds of relation to others: reception and bestowal, which are opposite to one another. Hence, I can test myself only by my relation towards my neighbor and try to build, form, within myself a need to come closer to another, a need for love—above all the hatred and rejection that are being revealed to me towards the others.

The revelation of evil can only be discovered in one’s relation to one’s neighbor. This also involves a lot of learning which can happen under the condition that I want to become closer to him, and I use all my strength for this. And then I discover that I am moving in a completely opposite direction; I get further away, reject, and hate. These are the qualities I refer to as the “evil inclination” since I understand that union, proximity, connection, and love are the “good inclination,” the quality of the Creator (if it becomes revealed to me).

Everything is attained through one’s relation to his neighbor. And this is why this world has many people. If I were to regard the entire world and everything in it, meaning humanity, the still, vegetative, animate nature, my life, my relationships with other people, commerce, family, relatives, and other people, either near or distant, as a means for attaining the quality of bestowal, I would be using this world correctly. Then I could say that everything is there to serve and help me, and I am there to serve the Creator. The entire world is created for me.

If a person agrees that the entire world is created correctly from Above, and everything is arranged to properly suit and help him arm himself with an aspiration, to allow him to make an effort and use it to acquire the desire to bestow above the common desire to receive pleasure (which was given by the Creator), he will succeed. The law of “I labored and I found” or “I labored and did not find, do not believe” states that everything is already in front of you, everything is there, and the rest only depends upon you.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/2011, Shamati #117

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If the Creator has created the desire to receive and wishes to please it, then it is unclear as to what else is expected of us? Why does He not just reveal our desire and fulfill it?

But the point is that we must add our own aspiration, hunger, appetite, to the desire created by Him and instilled in us by nature. The common desire for fulfillment does not give us a sense of existence. This is similar to the way the still, vegetative, and animate levels, including humans who lead an unconscious animate existence, do not feel that they exist.

But the aspiration to perceive the Creator, revealing the quality of bestowal within, is a vessel which is the opposite side of the Light in which this quality becomes revealed. And then this vessel becomes filled with the Light. This is why you should not believe that it is possible to “make an effort and fail to find!” Everything is in front of you: Go ahead, you can reveal anything; nothing is hidden from you. Only the lack of your own aspiration conceals the Light from you.

We only lack the vessel, our own desire, the sensation of hunger, thirst, lack of fulfillment, and suffering. But this must be suffering for the absence of that specific quality, phenomenon, which must be revealed. In other words, we only lack one thing: aspiration towards bestowal!

This is why desire created by the Creator is not enough. This is nature, a common quality. And it’s not enough to simply develop this desire. We see that the desire develops beginning with the still level and begets the vegetative and animate nature, but this doesn’t let them experience the essence of life because each one of them exists within themselves.

This is how humanity keeps living throughout thousands of years of development as well since this development is only of the simple desire to receive pleasure, and nothing else. In this manner one cannot go beyond the interests of one’s existence, the animal life. In this way we only maintain our life, but we don’t attain its source, cause, and purpose, which exist above the simple desire to receive fulfillment.

All of this is contained in Him who gives us the desire, the One who begets it, the Creator. And this is why we need to find in our animalistic state a way to arm ourselves with an aspiration towards Him, a vessel for the revelation of the Creator: the source of life, the most authentic life on the human level, and its purpose.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/2011, The Zohar

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Question: What does it mean “to maintain the intention”? I get an impression that one does not move or develop this way. How can one develop the intention?

Answer: While reading The Zohar, I play a game with my friends. It doesn’t matter how well we understand or fail to understand these words, whether we hear part of a phrase, a quarter of, or the entire sentence, all of the words, and whether we delve to a greater or a lesser depth—everyone does what he can. The game is in correlating all these words with the connection between us.

Indeed, The Book of Zohar tells us about the way we should connect with one another. I don’t know what this connection is like, but it is described here. And for this reason, while I am reading The Zohar, I try to think about what it’s like to be connected one way or another, in one form or another.

For example, it is written: “‘Time to act for the sake of the Creator’ …since ‘they have transgressed against their Torah.’” What does this refer to? When a person forgets about the intention for the sake of bestowal, it means that he has “transgressed against the Torah.” And then “time to act for the sake of the Creator” means that you must once again return to the same intention, the same strong connection with your friends in mutual bestowal, because this way you aspire to build a “place” for the revelation of the Creator. And you do this to give Him the opportunity to reveal Himself. He receives pleasure from this like a Host who reveals treats to his guest.

So why do you read The Zohar? Where do you realize what you have read and reveal it? It can only be revealed in the corrected relationship between us. There is no other “place.” It is only revealed if we are able to create a correct connection in mutual bestowal.

For this reason I try to find the threads, the net that connects our desires, thoughts, and the strength of the aspiration between us. What forces operate this connection? What is the formula of this network? I want to know about it! And The Zohar specifically tells us about it.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/2011, The Zohar

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