Rabash, Dargot HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder), “The Matter of Tu Bishvat”: The Creator wishes for a person who observes a commandment, which is a fruit, to have both the tree and the fruit taste the same, in other words, for his intention to also be “Lishma,” for the sake of bestowal.

We must go through several stages in our work. First of all, we need to descend to the degree described as “I created the evil inclination.” Here, a person becomes acquainted with his nature, and he sees how bad, opposite to goodness, he is.

Goodness is Light, the property of bestowal. Where can I see the property of bestowal so as to measure myself in comparison to it and determine the evil wherein I exist? Where is this evil and the Creator who created the evil inclination? I must attain the Creator who created the evil inclination in me, and opposite to it, I must have the Torah as a spice.

After all, there can be no darkness without light, and no light without darkness. We do not attain anything on its own, but only in comparison to its opposite. This is why man attains the bad nature in him only to the extent of his good deeds. This is the only way we can comprehend evil.

So, the sinners that the Torah speaks of are special and great people. The degree of the sinner is a very high degree. One works in relation to goodness, trying to overcome the evil in him and attain goodness. Then, he comes to understand evil, reveals the sin of Adam (Man or Human), and begins the process of correction. In this way, the revelation of evil is a part of this process.

Only after having understood evil, one begins to test whether the “tree” and the “fruit” are the same and whether they are in one direction, toward bestowal. After all, “fruit” is bestowal, not self-fulfillment.

One tries to be above his egoism. He determines it to be evil which he needs to rise above. Over and over, he discovers that he wants and is able to enjoy and determines this to be a “plague of Egypt.” He is ready for anything but self-fulfillment.

Then, he rises above all the possibilities to receive pleasure and comes to the real fruit: bestowal. Pleasure from bestowal is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. This is faith above reason, the faith grown on the Tree of Knowledge. The only way one grows is by rising above evil, above the property of reception that is being revealed in him, and refusing to use it in any way. Then, fruit grows within him.

This symbolizes Tu Bishvat, the “New Year of the Trees.” Why is it trees instead of fruit? It’s because for now, one is still acquiring the property of bestowal and he is still to learn to receive for the sake of bestowal.

On the spiritual path, we constantly keep discovering incorrect forms in us. As Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction of Talmud Eser Sefirot,” only those whose degree of patience has withstood merit to enter the King’s palace, the “garden” with the Tree of Knowledge in the middle.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/20/2011, Writings of Rabash

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The entire universe divides into three parts:

1. The root of the Light to which everything pertains beginning with the world of Infinity, the four stages of the Direct Light, and the initial point of creation all the way until Atik and Arich Anpin of the world of Atzilut. All of this is called the root or the source of the Light of Mochin (Hochma, Wisdom).

2. The actual Light of Mochin (Hochma) intended for the created beings, for which we dearly yearn, exists in Aba ve Ima (father and mother) of the world of Atzilut.

3. All of the following pertains to the created beings which receive the Light of Mochin: ZON (Zeir Anpin and Nukva) of the world of Atzilut as well as everything located beneath it. Essentially, all the worlds of BYA (Beria, Yetzira, Assiya) and all the Klipot (shells) are also parts of ZON.

We need to understand in all its detail the differences between the source of Light (Atik and Arich Anpin, and Aba ve Ima) in order to really be able to connect to Aba ve Ima. After all, the root of the created beings is contained within them, and we have to attain them. They are called the upper “Father and Mother” in the state of never-ending mating (Zivug de Lo Pasik).

For their creation, Atik and Arich Anpin take the parts of desire after the breaking, which did not have any connection with it. This is why they turned out to be so infinitely high for us, and they serve as the source of the Light of Mochin.

Atik takes GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim) from Keter of the world of Nekudim. Regarding Arich Anpin, besides taking the lower part, AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh) of Keter of the world of Nekudim, Arich Anpin also “steals” for himself the upper, the best, parts of all the remaining Partzufim which contain the entire Light (GAR de Aba, DAR de Ima, seven Keters). He takes everything for himself and remains independent from whatever happens below with us, the created beings.

It turns out that Aba ve Ima of the world of Atzilut only receive the lower part (ZAT) from Aba ve Ima of the world of Nekudim, the parts that led to the breaking. This means that they have been damaged by the breaking; they are to blame for it. They had to cancel themselves, and even though they themselves did not break, they still suffered.

Now, it is precisely these Aba ve Ima gathering new Partzufim from the broken vessels, desires of the world of Nekudim, that really help us with correction. This is because they attain the “never-ending mating” (Zivug de Lo Pasik) and the “Holy of Holies” (GAR of the Light of Hochma), but all of this they attain in the desires that suffered and led to the breaking.

Now, as they attain the “Holy of Holies,” they are able to take care of us because they have gone through all the defects and corrected them. They are ready to take care of us and save us from making mistakes. They can be a real upper “Father and Mother” to us. We are very lucky that such high desires are now heading up our entire process of correction.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/10/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: How do we pass an additional view of reality to a person so that he would notice that there is something else out there, beyond his usual perspective?

Answer: Until a person has evolved to a certain degree and tried all types of philosophy and methodology that derive from his innate egoism, there is nothing you can do. To clarify, he must first arrive at a deep disappointment and dissatisfaction with the world he lives in.

1. First, I discover that I feel bad. This is a mandatory stage.
2. Moreover, I must clearly feel that it won’t get better.
3. Most importantly, I should realize that the cause of all evil is my own egoism.
4. Therefore, all my actions only make it worse for me, as it is written: “Sit and do nothing—better.” It’s better if you keep your mouth shut and don’t move since any move you make is rooted in your egoism and leads to more evil in the world.
5. Then, a person starts looking for a solution and how to continue living. Such discernments have to include all of the previously walked paths and experiences such as religion, philosophy, and science. After all, even science was developed egoistically, and it won’t help us step out of physical reality. Thus, we examine this all and conclude that nothing can solve it.
6. At last, we might finally be willing to heed the Kabbalists’ advice.

This is how long the path is, which definitely requires the existence of the Kabbalah circulation system. Otherwise, we will never see humanity undergo this evolutionary path and reach some positive result. One may wonder:

• How many times a person needs to feel pain before he decides not to take it anymore?
• How many times is one supposed to say that he or she doesn’t want to suffer any more until they finally admit that they have to change something?
• How many times does one need to understand that something needs to be done in that direction?

Thus, to achieve some result, we have to go through multiple actions that all bring us problems, pain, and suffering.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/10/2011, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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Every science is a language. However, in regular science you explain your attainments on the same level as you attain them (in the same world), whereas using the language of Kabbalah you explain what you attain in relation to the root. This is the difference between regular science and the science of Kabbalah. You record any phenomenon that you study and attain in this world on the same level that you attain and research it. However, in Kabbalah you do not attain matter itself, but its connection with the root. This is the most important thing!

Baal HaSulam writes the following in the article, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”: …physics is mere knowledge of the arrangements of a particular kind existing in a particular world. It is unique to its subject, and no other wisdom is included in it.

This is not so with the wisdom of truth, since it is knowledge of the whole of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking in all the worlds with all their instances and conducts, as they were included in the Creator’s Thought, that is, in the purpose. For this reason, all the teachings in the world, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, are wondrously included in it….

The connection with the root is unique to the science of Kabbalah. That is what enables it to include all the other sciences in itself. You can explain the qualities of a certain matter at this moment or the connection between phenomena, but this does not explain the essence of things and phenomena.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 2/10/11, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Writings of Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “What Does It Mean that a Woman that Impregnates First, Gives Birth to a Male in the Work”
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The Book of Zohar — Introduction: “The Second Commandment,”  Item 203, Lesson 2
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Talmud Eser Sefirot 3, Part 8, Item 77, Lesson 44
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” “Conveyance From A Wise Kabbalist to an Understanding Receiver,”  Lesson 10
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A person is faced with a big problem: How does he know what world he is living in? How is he supposed to view reality? What perspective should he choose? How does he detach from the inner deception and see not what he wishes to see in his egoism, but rather an objective view devoid of ego’s attributes, desires, and emotions?

We know that we judge according to how corrupted we are and look with subjective, biased eyes which fully distort our perspective of life. The world does the same. We witness how throughout history people were deceived in their perception of reality, their approach to life, unable to comprehend the world they were living in and why.

A person who studies Kabbalah has an opportunity to see the truth, but a person who is locked in the internal sphere of our world, bound by this small circle, cannot see anything that goes beyond its boundaries. Inside it, he sees everything according to his ego, based on his personal benefit, and is unable to think about anything else.

Either way, all his aspirations are aimed inward, solely toward his inner point. Hence, it can’t be that he can develop a desire or thought to see something outside of his own, innermost interest. He is made initially in such way so as to be unable to see or feel anything that does not correspond with his inner point. A person cannot even start thinking about it since it is completely outside the realm of his perception.

There may be another reality next to him that is billions of times greater and more powerful than the one he experiences in his inner egoistic point, but he has absolutely no interest in it and, therefore, can’t see it. His information genes (Reshimot) dictate that he should care solely about things that involve only himself, and that is exactly what he does.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/10/2011, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “And Jethro Heard,” Item 73: A black hair that is not yellow sometimes succeeds and sometimes does not succeed. It is good for partnering with and for exerting with it for a short time, not for a long time, since for a long time, he will think thoughts. And to not part from him, he is good for a short while. He will succeed in the Torah if he exerts in it, and others will succeed in him. He has no secret for a long time, his heart is narrow, fear in his enemies. His enemies cannot overcome him….

As it is written in The Zohar, when a person does not have a clear perception of the spiritual world, he understands The Zohar literally. He is convinced that this Book is full of miracles and secret knowledge and that one can use it to read his fortune, predict the future, distinguish good and bad people, give everyday advice, and make money with it.

On one hand, this is incorrect. Material explanations of these texts serve as the basis for all confusions. On the other, when we look at this through the perspective of thousands of years, we see that people will not attain the truth without these confusions. They must become confused and “un-confused.” This way, they will acquire knowledge.

For the last two-thousand years we existed within the religious framework, and we had to live this way. This applies to all of humanity with all its beliefs and religions. We must go through this entire confusion because without it, we cannot connect together the properties of the Creator, Bina, and the properties of the creation, egoism, Malchut, on the level of the lower Malchut, egoism of our world.

What do all the beliefs and religions represent? They represent a certain spark of the spiritual world which needs to be introduced through force into our corporeal world, the desire to receive pleasure, and it can only be introduced in this form. It needs to be made into a mixture in the egoistic desire, Malchut.

The manifestation of the three lines of the Light, the descent of the three Klipot (shells) to the level of our world, was the reason for the origin of all the beliefs, the three religions, the multitude of spiritual methodologies, amulets, and so on. All of them are dictated by the desire to succeed in our egoism, Malchut, in this and/or the future world through Bina, the upper force, which allegedly exists in religion (spiritual practices).

However, without these “spiritual” activities, humanity would not be able to exist in the combination of Malchut and Bina, even on the level of our world. Bina must enter Malchut and give as well as absorb from Malchut everything it can.

After the end of the mutual inclusion of beliefs and religions (Bina of our world) into human egoism (Malchut of our world), the process of analysis, selection, separation, and correction begins. This is happening in our time when people begin to analyze the essence of religion from this mixture.

Those who joined Abraham had figured this out back in ancient Babylon; the rest are figuring this out now. This is why The Zohar, written with a language like this, can evoke absolutely different opinions depending on who is reading it.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/3/2010, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar”

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The only thing that can help us is self-annulment before the group, the teacher, and the Creator. This involves connecting to the environment and absorbing from it as much as humanly possible.

History presents us with many such examples. For instance, one of them is Joshua Bin Nun who merited becoming Moses’ successor. It is our internal force that leads a person to the final stage of correction, by lovingly bringing him or her closer to the final correction (Gmar Tikkun), after the force of Moses has done its part.

It is the most exalted rung of receiving in order to bestow! And how did Joshua merit it? He merited it by helping Moses while the latter was teaching the people: He cleaned the room and “straightened the benches.”

In other words, he cleaved to his teacher’s actions and wanted to be his inseparable part, thereby receiving Moses’ wisdom. It was he who merited and not the students who were studying. He didn’t even study, but rather received spirituality “Peh El Peh” (“from mouth to mouth,” through the common screen), by having adhered to his teacher.

And those who did study also received it, each at their own degree (they were great Kabbalists as well), but not as exalted as that of Joshua Bin Nun. Were they not aware of such principle? They were, but could not apply it.

It all depended on how strongly a person is trying to annul himself before the teacher and the group. I would also add that “good fortune” plays a part in this too. That is, additional settings provided a helping hand which we are not aware of that descend from Above, “dripping” downward (“luck” or “Mazal,” from the Hebrew word “Nozel” or “a trickle, drip”). It is strongly determined by the root of the soul from its predestination.

But there is no point in discussing what is not up to us. We have to do what is up to us, which is self-annulment.

It is described everywhere and isn’t news to anyone. What do we do if we are not succeeding? I know from my own experience how hard it is to achieve. Usually, a person stumbles over the simplest obstacles: They seem so easy to overcome, and yet he can’t. He even understands that it is beneficial in every respect, even the corporeal one, but something inside him prevents him from doing so.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/3/2011, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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The evil that we need to realize within is not the same egoism that accompanies a person in his daily life. The real evil only becomes revealed in relation to the friends in the group. When you try to connect with them, you reveal how hateful and repulsive this idea is to you.

Evil is when you are indifferent to unity, when you constantly forget about it. Consider this evil! This is because you evaluate your evil egoistically; you judge it according to your full stomach or pocket, even though this is not evil but simply an animal body. Evil only becomes revealed against connection, which is where the breaking occurred.

The realization of evil in the “preparation period” begins with the moment that you begin to treat the group as the place that has the border (screen) before the spiritual world. The first contact with others is the crossing of the Machsom, the bridge that opens up from you towards the others. When you connect with the others into one whole in the very first property, the smallest Reshimo (the spiritual gene), this then becomes revealed as the crossing into the spiritual world.

Evil exists only here in the connection with your neighbor; everything else is not evil but just “weaknesses” of the animal body. One needs to completely transfer his attention from a polite treatment and an “intelligent attitude” towards the actual evil, where the breaking took place. Otherwise, you will think that a wolf and a lion are evil and birds are good. We are used to looking at creation in this twisted way, and it prevents us from seeing the truth.

As soon as you transfer your attention to your connection with your neighbor, you localize the spiritual area which only lays in the connection with your neighbor, and then the Creator becomes revealed between you.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, "The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy"

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