Time in spirituality is a number of actions applied to the creature. Indeed, even in our world where we live by the clock on the wall and navigate by the sun, the moon, and the globe, we still have a personal sensation of time dictated by the intensity of actions.

Sometimes, time freezes and doesn’t move in our eyes. On another occasion, it flies with supersonic speed. Time is our personal impression that depends on the number of transformations occurring in us. Therefore, time per se doesn’t exist.

The number of changes we are supposed to experience within us from this moment to the end of correction is regarded as 6,000 spiritual degrees or years, 2000 + 2000 + 2000. Alternatively, it can be viewed as the three worlds of BYA (Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya), which we must raise to the world of Atzilut.

Ascending to the world of Atzilut is what we call the flow of time, step by step, from one year to the next. A “year” (Shana) is a transformation (Shinuy), the same circle, a revolution, only at a higher degree.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/19/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: Is it possible to go back in time? Can I return to the states where I have already been?

Answer: Certainly! After all, time is defined as a chain of the informational genes (Reshimot). You can travel along this chain from the beginning to the end and go wherever you want. If you possess the anti-egoistic screen, meaning the ability to exist in any state, you can choose any Reshimo and realize it.

Obviously, no one would want to descend back from an advanced state. This wouldn’t make any sense unless you had to descend for some period of time in order to help others, that is, to go back in order to establish a connection with them.

However, I would perform this “reversing” through the special Partzuf called “hair” (Searot). I myself stay in the advanced state, but I make a “smaller” copy of myself through which I communicate with those who are below me.

However, one cannot descend for no reason because it contradicts the purpose of creation. How is it possible for a spiritual individual to do such a thing?
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/20/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words”: Question 16: What is Time? It is a certain sum of Behinot (phases) that derive from one another and are mingled with one another by an order of cause and consequence, such as days, months, and years.

There is no time. There is only a sensation of changes that cause us to experience the flow of time. In spirituality, it is evident, whereas in corporeality, it is camouflaged. This is why many phenomena, effects, and transformations get intermixed in the corporeal world and seem not to be directly connected with spirituality, meaning not dependent on our effort and advancement.

Hence, in the corporeal world, time is not alive and flows “mechanically,” separate from our inner transformations. However, in the spiritual world, time is an internal sensation of the changes that a person is going through.

Therefore, corporeal and spiritual time have completely different meanings. Spiritual time can flow faster or slower, contract or expand, depending on the number of changes occurring within a person. In the material world, time depends on the point where we are. If we moved to another dimension, we would experience a different time there.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/20/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: The thoughts about spirituality cause sadness and suffering in me because I do not feel the Creator. What can I do?

Answer: If a person feels real sufferings in his life, this pain hides the Creator from him. This is done purposefully so that we do not damage our relationship with the Creator and yet remain connected with Him rather than starting to hate and reject Him.

There are various states, but to the extent that a person feels bad, to that extent the Creator is hidden, we have to attain mutual support and guarantee from the environment. In this case, even at the time of greater troubles, the environment will help us rise above a bad feeling to its cause.

Then I will understand that the feeling of evil comes not from the Creator, not from the upper force, but from the force of my own egoism. I will start to divide my feelings in two parts: 1) my desires that are not corrected and make me feel bad in them, and 2) the Creator, the upper Light, that radiates good upon me.

Precisely because the Creator emanates good upon me, while I am opposite to Him, I sense good as evil; that is, for me His good turns into its opposite. Therefore, the Creator cannot be revealed to me more because I will feel so bad that I will not be able to stand it.

As long as we remain uncorrected and feel the Creator in His opposite form because our ego turns Light into darkness, the Creator is revealed to us to the extent that we can bear this. And to the extent that we cannot tolerate, He hides.

He reveals Himself only slightly to disclose just a bit of evil to us, so that we do not disconnect from our mind and can analyze our feelings. Then, I begin to check where this evil comes from and what causes it. Consequently, I come to the group, the books, and the teacher who explain to me that I evoke evil myself because of my oppositeness to the Creator.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/2011, Shamati #241

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The wisdom of Kabbalah is the means that allows us to rise from the animate to the human level. If we do not use this means for transforming our egoistic nature, we remain animals, as it is said: “All are like animals.”

Indeed, in that case, we develop only within our ego; we have nothing to correct it with and nothing with which to rise above it from the receiving desires to the giving desires. Then, we sense only this world; we live and die like animals.

While at the human degree, I become similar to the Creator (“man” or “Adam” comes from the word “Edome” or “similar” in Hebrew). With the help of the tool called “the Light that Reforms.” which I attract to myself by reading Kabbalistic texts and especially The Book of Zohar, the strongest source of the hidden upper Light, I can correct myself and ascend from the egoistic nature to the altruistic one, to bestowal and love for a fellow human being.

Then, instead of the desire to use the other, I bestow to him, and instead of hatred, I feel love towards him. To the degree that I attain this nature, I begin to discover the upper force in my altruistic desires, in my properties of bestowal and love. I sense what fills my new qualities, and this is called “the upper Light” or “the Creator.”

However, all this is attained in the force of bestowal. How can we achieve it? For this purpose, before the lowest level of the world of Assiya, “this world,” was made, the creature created by the Creator, called the common soul Adam (Man), was shattered into many pieces. Now, in order to attract the Light, these pieces must unite with each other in the previous state before the shattering when the Upper Light filled them.

Although we cannot unite with each other ourselves, by desiring this, yearning and striving with all our power, by our efforts, we draw the Light from that state of unity. This Light does not come to us and doesn’t clothe in us because we have not united yet. But it shines to us from afar, to the extent of our aspiration for it—for the Light of bestowal and love for the other.

But do I really aspire for this?…I imagine that I yearn for this Light, for something very nice for my ego. But if I interpret this correctly—as the Light of bestowal and love in which I enjoy by bestowing to a fellow human being and acting solely for the sake of bestowal—then I do not particularly want it.

Hence, first of all, in order to strive for the Light, for correction, in order to become a giver and love the other, I must acquire the importance of this. I can obtain the importance of correction from the following two sources:

1. If I suffer and feel pain, I strive to change my condition. I am even willing to give just not to feel bad. This is called advancement by the path of suffering.
2. I can receive the importance of bestowal and love for a fellow human being from the environment that will begin “to brainwash me,” convincing me of how important it is to bestow, how much we can win, how good it is, and what pleasures bestowal brings.

One seems to contradict the other: “Bestow and you will receive pleasure! Bestow and you will feel the upper World!” This is called “Lo Lishma (for oneself),” but anyway, this is an intermediary phase of advancement. In this case, I strive to advance by the path of “Lo Lishma,” the path of Light. We all are egoists and have to imagine an understandable self-gain ahead of us; otherwise, we will not be able to do anything.

Therefore, I am in the group, together with people who also want to attain spirituality. It is not important that all of us envision the spiritual world as a good prize: We want to be above others, to earn more, to rise above this short life filled with sufferings, to reach something worthwhile and great.

Even if we promote the importance of this goal to each other, then something exalted, great, eternal, perfect, and worthwhile will be revealed in the connection between us, and we will have strength to advance towards the inner connection between us at least slightly. If in the connection between us, we discover the common internal force called the spiritual vessel, the will to bestow, then in this vessel, to the extent of this will to bestow, we will reveal the Light: the Light of bestowal, the upper Light, or the Creator.

So, before we start reading The Book of Zohar and thus draw the Light, we have to imagine that we aspire to be in the inner connection between us when each nullifies himself and feels only others: everyone together, the whole inner group, where we are connected with each other in our souls. And in this connection between the souls, we reveal the Light, the common force of bestowal and love—and the Creator within it. If this is our line of thinking during the reading of The Zohar, it influences us in the most effective way.

It does not matter how much we understand the text and know the words. It is important to think about one thing only all the time: “Now, I am taking medicine. I want to connect with others, and then, in the unity between us, I will get everything: the entire spiritual, upper world. I am looking forward to this!”
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/2011, The Zohar

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Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words”: Question 26: What is “above”? Hishtavut ha Tzura (equivalence of form) of the lower one with the upper one is a “rise above.”

There are no rises and falls, nor movements to the right or left. All of this is evaluated only relative to qualities, and we are talking about their transformation, reaching the similarity of properties of the lower one and the upper one.

However, what happens when the lower one “rises” toward the upper one and becomes the same? Does it disappear completely and turn into the upper one, or does the lower one exist next to the upper one?

Each one is left with their desires, aspirations, and natural qualities which do not change. The matter of the will to receive remains unchanged. It is said: “The way their faces differ, their souls differ as well.” Nothing changes in a person besides the intention with which he uses all of his desires and qualities.

If we are the same in our intentions, in their level and strength, then this means that we are on the same level. If one is lower and the other is higher, this means that the intentions of one person are still weaker than the intentions of the other.

The lower one is rising toward the upper one, “becoming like Him,” but not Him Himself. Of course, the difference between them remains.

When I ascend toward the Creator by the 125 steps of the ladder of equivalence of form, I feel Him on each step, even on the smallest one, and I become attached to Him in some form. With each following step, I connect with Him and come to know Him more and more. Nevertheless, the Creator and the creature remain, as well as the connection between them, Dvekut (adhesion)—one does not disappear inside the other.

So, a “rise above” is the equalization in terms of the qualities of the lower one to the upper one. They are equalizing only in terms of their form of bestowal, while each one remains with their natural qualities.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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At the end of “The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 156, Baal HaSulam writes that adopting the right definitions is of primary and paramount importance in the study of Kabbalah. They must be at our disposal, placed in our mind as if on book shelves so that I can pick out the right term without even thinking how I need to understand, to feel, and to picture the meaning concealed behind each word in the text.

Otherwise, I will be confusing myself and generating in myself the wrong impression and perception, which doesn’t correspond to the truth. This is a very important key to studying the wisdom of Kabbalah. If you do not correctly decipher what is written, you will become completely confused.

We are not studying for the purpose of getting to know how many angels there are in the sky and what their names are, and we are not memorizing which spiritual objects (Partzufim) exist somewhere out there. We need to apprehend that everything that has been written about is inside of us, inside our soul, which we have not revealed yet.

Let this spiritual system be concealed from us for now, but it is inside of us and not somewhere out there. We are not talking about angels in the sky, but about man’s inner forces. Everything is inside man, and there is nothing else besides him. It only seems to us that other people exist around us, but in reality, all of them are parts of myself. That is why the phrase of “love thy neighbor as thyself” seems to be speaking about another person until you come to understand that this is actually you, yourself, and everything belongs to you.

Kabbalistic terms need to be known by memory, meaning that you need to be attached to their true spiritual meaning and not to imagine it in your current perception. When I come across words like “sun,” “moon,” “up,” “down,” “entering,” and “leaving” of the Light, all of the most technical terms, and even the ones that are barely related to this world, I still need to check myself as to whether I am keeping to the right definitions. This will eliminate 99% of all confusion and mistakes.

Furthermore, I will not need a lot of long explanations if I adopt the correct definitions. That is why it is so important to study the appendices to each chapter of The Study of the Ten Sefirot: “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words.” This is even more important than studying the main text of the book.

Even though we cannot remember all of these definitions yet, to understand and to feel them, we at least we need to look at how these spiritual definitions differ from those inside of us because we  usually already have a certain material picture about each of the words and concepts.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/20/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: How can people who don’t feel any aspiration for spirituality be able to reach it if this requires a latent memory about it, a forgotten taste? Why do they suffer uselessly?

Answer: People do suffer uselessly, and that is why we have to bring to them the method of development without the blows. Then even if a person does not have spiritual genes (information about previous states), he will receive them from others thanks to the mutual inclusion.

It’s like in our world when you are resting in an armchair in front of the TV with a cup of coffee, watching a soccer game, and you think that you don’t need anything more. But suddenly they show you some commercial that convinces you that you absolutely need some object. You immediately forget all about soccer and start thinking about how to buy that thing. The advertisement takes away your sense of tranquility and awakens your desires.

We do not understand just how dependent we are on the influence of the environment. If we did not have that influence, we would be like animals in a forest. After all, according to the desires of our bodies, we don’t need anything besides the vital necessities.

Everything that is beyond the boundaries of necessity are things we wish for only due to the influence of society, which pressures me and convinces me that I need one thing, and another, and a third, and then I feel like I have to obtain those things.

If from every direction, via all the means of mass information, society now starts telling me that I need spirituality, then besides the simple necessities of this animate body, all I will need is spirituality. This is all we have to do—place ourselves under the influence of the right environment. And I don’t need anything else! It’s not necessary for the spiritual gene to awaken in me because the external environment will perform all of that work.

Spiritual genes awaken in special people who suddenly receive that kind of infusion from above and dash forward. This is special care from above. But others have to develop only by virtue of the environment.

Therefore, if we don’t build the right environment around all of humanity, if we don’t disseminate this knowledge across the whole world, then the world will have to advance only by the price of enormous suffering.
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/11, “General Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: What do we need in order to realize that all the problems and blows that we experience in this life are, in fact, the Creator’s messengers?

Answer: We need the opinion of the environment, public pressure. It is necessary to link the two opposites: on one hand, to feel strong fear and on the other, to be a hero, to simultaneously be both very naive and very smart, depending on what is being discussed.

We usually get confused between them. When we should be naïve, to lower our heads, and just trust, we act like a “smart aleck” and take pride in it. When we should be clever, we act like fools.

A great deal of our energy and time is consumed until a person gets straightened out. Sometimes, a tiny little mistake made in only a moment or over a few days costs us ten or twenty years of hard work.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/26/2011, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why is it that I understand what needs to be done, but I don’t always have the strength to remain dedicated to the goal?

Answer: This is because understanding happens only in reason, whereas a dedicated attitude toward unification and connection must be in the desire. However, reason and desire are two different things. I can say lots of smart and great things with my mouth. My mind would agree with all of them, but I cannot find the desire within to carry out even the simplest action.

The desire requires correction, and in order to correct it, first of all, I have to annul myself before the friends so as to receive through them the Light that Reforms, provided that we study correctly in the right group. Then, in this partially corrected desire, I’ll be able to carry out some tiny action.

From my head, I can talk about the highest possible states even now, but in order to manifest them within the desire, I need to labor hard and persistently. I still need to find the form in which to draw the Light that Reforms and how to accept and use it correctly. Words are not enough for this.

There are plenty of wise guys in this world if you only judge by words. It is said: “Believe the wisdom of the nations,” but the difference between a “nation of the world” within man and “Israel” (aimed “straight to the Creator”) is that the former only understands with reason the entire spiritual world; it doesn’t want to correct itself. However, “Israel,” aimed straight to the Creator, corrects its desires.

These two parts may contradict one another completely. A person may appear to be an angel in terms of what he says by showing thorough knowledge and a strong grasp of the theory.  (Like the “Kabbalists” that Baal HaSulam once met in Jerusalem did who knew all the books by heart.)
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/26/2011, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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