Today, we have to admit that all of us—humanity, the still, vegetative, animate nature, and the Creator—are parts of a single system. The more we correspond with this system, the better our condition will be. If, however, we don’t agree or can’t harmonize ourselves with it to the degree that matches the level of our development, in that same degree we will experience suffering, including our demise.

In fact, we exist in one integral system that becomes revealed to us more and more. The system per se is constant; however, since our egoism is evolving, we perceive its previously hidden forms. We think that it is nature which changes, while it is we who do. It is as if we are looking out the train window: It is not the platform but the train that is moving.

Until recently, we have been evolving at the levels of still, vegetative, and animate nature, and have not sensed our opposition to nature. These were my inner desires that have been developing (Shoresh, Neshama, and Guf), and everything was aimed at satisfying my egoistic needs.

But now these desires were joined by two additional types of desire that I sense as external: “garments” (Levush) and “palace” (Eichal). I have to accept them as my own internal desires, which means I have to accept that the whole world is mine, that it is I, while I only perceive it as existing outside of me.

So it follows that this entire world, the universe, all of nature, belongs to me, doesn’t it? And it is my responsibility to take care of it all, as I do for myself, isn’t it? So, I shouldn’t use it for my own benefit, but specifically in order to take care of it “as I do for myself” since all of it eventually unfolds as my integral part?

This is what we call a new global world. “Garments” and “palace” (Aviut 3 and 4 of my desires) that I viewed as external become internal in my perception and unfold as my own desires, while I, due to my egoistic nature (in my GE, Aviut 0,1,2), reject them, see them as outside of me, and therefore damage them, thereby doing harm to myself.

And when I begin attaching them to myself, I will be able to feel the upper reality in them. It’s because the reality felt in the “garments” and “palace” that become my parts will turn out to be the spiritual world. In other words, I have to attach all of nature to myself and feel within everything there is, to the very last atom! After all, the universe is the world of Infinity that will be revealed to me when I feel that everything around me is mine.

That is how I am going to perceive it. Instead of the material world that unfolds in my egoistic desires, I will start experiencing the spiritual one.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/2011, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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All of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking nature unify toward one upper force that gives life and governs everything. We are all parts of one plan. This is precisely the reason why our world is global, and all its parts are interconnected. After all, everything is governed by one force, and we are joined together through it. All events taking place in absolutely isolated parts of the globe are connected through the common force of nature.

A direct connection doesn’t exist, so we can’t find it since we see only consequences, manifestations of the integral connection of all parts of the universe. The connection itself is run through this one upper force, the only one which governs us. This is why we can understand the world only by revealing this singular governing force.

As the body has only one brain to which all organs and body parts are linked to, everything is connected to the brain and is governed thereby. So are we connected with one upper force existing in nature, wise and kind, which governs all and is called “One” Creator.

It if weren’t for this upper force, we would have nothing in common. At this time, if this force descends and approaches us, we start feeling “connected” with each other and with it against our will. We feel not the force itself, but rather the result of its approaching us, which is expressed in our even greater interdependence with each other and nature.

It is a problem for us since we don’t want to be tied. We thought that in the material world we would gain independence from nature; we hoped that our home with a full fridge, microwaved food, artificial climate, and virtual connection with the world via the Internet would completely shelter us from nature.

Yet, we feel that we depend upon nature even more since it (the Creator) is drawing closer to us. If we recognize the importance of His approach and revelation, thereby choosing to approach Him as well, we will be able to treat bonding with people as the means to meet the Creator half way. Turn the means into the goal and the goal into the means!

Now as the Creator is coming closer, we feel bad. Let’s turn it around then! As He approaches us, we feel how strongly we are pushed toward each other. Let’s then become so close by our own will that He would descend right into us and fill us!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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Writings of Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “A Prayer of Many”
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A supreme notion states that the Creator is One, Unique, and Unified. One, singular, upper force created all of creation: It existed before the creation came into being, exists along with it, and will continue to exist after the creation no longer does; that is, this force exists in all states.

We can discuss it from various points of view, which only demonstrates our lack of perfection; hence, we define it as One, Unique, and Unified, but various definitions of the Upper Force, the Creator, exist only relative to us.

• One means that there isn’t any other force that could govern the universe, as it is written: “There is none else beside Him.”
• Unique means that He is united in all of His acts and has no other intention.  
• Unified means that even if His actions seem irrelevant and contradictory at times, it is only because we all exist in different states that are opposite to Him. Hence, we each have different perceptions, as it is written: “Everyone judges according to his own flaws.” But as we continue to correct ourselves, all of these cardinally different states and attributes eventually come together into one notion.

“One” means perfection. If there are two, they are somewhat different, and one lacks the qualities of the other; together, they complete each other. And if there were a million instead of two, then each of them is even less complete; he or she has only a millionth part of perfection and lacks the other 999,999 parts.

If we say that there is only one, it means that everything is in him. But I don’t think He has everything because I am opposite to Him, and that means that the problem is in me rather than in Him.

If He is one, and everything is in Him, then it doesn’t matter how I view Him: as good or evil, light or dark, cold or warm. I have to understand that these opposite attributes are not in Him. He is neither good nor evil; these opposite notions exist only in my perception.

If I say that the Creator is always good, it doesn’t constitute the definition of “One” either. “One” means that neither good nor evil exists in Him. I am the one who judges His manifestations relative to me. Meanwhile, He is One, something totally abstract, beyond what is even called good.

A person is inspired by the meaning of “One,” its perfect purity and sensation of attainment. In this “One,” the heart and mind come together as one.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/2011, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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In the article "The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy," Baal HaSulam mentions a tale of the wise King Solomon who was deceived, exiled from Jerusalem, and left without money and personal belongings; he went from door to door in his kingdom, but wherever he went, no one believed he was a king.

The question is: Why didn’t anyone notice that he was a sage, and why didn’t he demonstrate his wisdom to them? The answer is that there are “three obstacles” in detecting the wisdom (of Kabbalah):

1. Because Kabbalah contains the truth, it is impossible to comprehend it without having gathered all of its parts and studying it in full. Without having achieved this, one can’t discover its universal and integral nature. But in order to achieve this, the knowledge about its authentic truth must be spread throughout the masses.
   
2. The demon Asmodeus (the egoistic, reverse image of truth and bestowal) dressed in King Solomon’s garments and took over his throne. Similarly, philosophy has placed itself in Kabbalah’s throne. Hence, the difficulty of revealing the truth to the masses grows. After all, the wisdom of Kabbalah is deep and requires exerting effort, whereas philosophy is false, easy to absorb, and accepts anybody’s notions. Therefore, egoism, the heart, gravitates to the opinion that there is no need to study Kabbalah and it is quite enough to be satisfied with philosophy.
   
3. Asmodeus claimed that King Solomon was insane, just like philosophy ridicules and attempts to challenge the wisdom of Kabbalah.

In other words, to acknowledge the truth of the wisdom of Kabbalah is challenging. When we wish to present it to the masses, they say that they don’t need it since they have everything they need. People think that they are wise enough, and whatever Kabbalah says about the upper world is a fantasy, not an authentic truth, for man doesn’t see it.

So, it looks like it is impossible to reach the masses with Kabbalah in order for them to understand that it is right and that it contains the truth and a solution. After all, they are in a state where they are unable to see and acknowledge that it is the only means of salvation.

And so, until King Solomon reached the supreme assembly of sages (the Sanhedrin), who were Kabbalists themselves, and while he walked among his people, as the tale narrates, nobody managed to recognize the king in him, the greatest and the wisest of all. After all, in order to understand it, you yourself have to have the same wisdom and attainment as he does. And if you don’t possess it, you will understand nothing.

The sages of Kabbalah of the Sanhedrin were the only ones who were able to detect deception. But where will you find them today?
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/2011, "The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy"

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As we read the works of Kabbalists, people who have revealed the upper world, the super-reality, we do not understand or feel what they talk about, but simply follow their words. They tell us that there is an upper force which is unattainable by itself. On our part, we attain it as the Creator, the Good who Does Good. Coming from this quality, the Creator made creation and desires for it to develop and receive His goodness.

The goodness lies in becoming equal to the Creator. There is nothing better or higher than that. Therefore, “doing good” means bringing creation to the level of the Creator. To do that we have to acquire two parameters, which are inherent in Him: perfection and independence. In principle, independence is part of perfection, but for us it has a special meaning and is of prime importance. We must be independent like the Creator. Just as He existed by Himself before creation, so must we reach the same degree of independence despite being His creatures.

Besides, we have to be able to attain the degree of the Good who Does Good ourselves and acquire this quality as well. In order to give us this opportunity, the Creator made a perfect state where we are identical to Him, similar, united, and unified in every way—in qualities, in perception, in independence, and every other regard.

From this initial and final state, He lowered us into various details of perfection until we reached total oppositeness. Then, from this opposite state, He gives us the opportunity to return to perfection with a valuable possession. All we need is to come back home.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: During the Second Temple period Kabbalists would sit for two hours preparing to read the prayer, “Hear, O Israel.” Why is it that we, who are so small compared to them, are presented with a much more complex reality where we come to the lesson totally disoriented and confused, and struggle for a few minutes to get some kind of focus before reading The Book of Zohar?

Answer: In those times Kabbalists had to enter the spiritual states that The Zohar talks about. They had to ascend up the levels from a total lack of spiritual sensation because every level begins from zero. It takes time for people to unite in one intention, to reach unity at the appropriate level, and to enter this state through the common sensation.

This can be compared to how parachute jumpers prepare for a common jump: They wrap up their parachutes, get into a plane, fly up beyond the clouds, jump from there, and while in free fall, without opening up the parachute yet, they connect with each other, creating different forms in the air.

This is a huge preparation for new unification on high spiritual levels. That is why it takes so much time, in accordance with the height of the level. The level obligates them to this.

On the other hand, if you are playing around here below, by yourself, without feeling others, then it’s enough for you to grab on to some thought “by the tail,” and that’s all. Let us hope that we will come to need the same preparation as the Kabbalists of the past.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, The Zohar

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Coming closer to others means bringing their desires and thoughts closer to you so you will feel them as the desires of your own children. In the same way, the whole world has to become important to me as if they are all my family.

Then I will feel this “familial” connection more and more until I start to feel that they are parts of me, and even more than that—that they are actually me! This is a purely psychological problem.

To the degree I come closer to others, I feel the force that fills the space between us. That is where the Creator becomes revealed. The more concerned I am about every person in the world, the closer I come to the Creator and the more chances I have to reveal Him.

However, if I repel others and the opportunity to come closer to them, surrounding myself with my egoistic interests, I thereby shut myself and everyone else off from the Creator, from goodness and abundance. Thus, I evoke all of the evil and suffering in the world.

If people don’t start using the science of Kabbalah, then they will start separating from each other, and that includes separate individuals as well as entire nations. Then darkness will close in on people, being much more powerful than it is now. The Creator will distance Himself from us more and more, and when He reaches the critical mark, that is when a world war will begin. Everything depends only how close or far this upper force is. Its distancing will evoke all the explosions, catastrophes, epidemics, and wars, including a world war.

For now we are simply in “exile” (the loss of the sensation of the Creator). He is pretty close to us and is deliberately coming even closer in order to reveal the world’s global connection to us. It is still not too late. We have to understand that we are responsible for bringing this knowledge to everyone, and in this regard everything depends on our desire.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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There is a triangle and we—all seven billion of us—are at its bottom. The closer we come to each other, the more we reveal the Creator. Everything depends on whether we match Him or not.

We can repel Him by repelling everyone else. To the degree I repel other people, I repel the Creator and then experience Him as evil and suffering. To the degree I desire to come closer to others in order for all of us to be together, I begin feeling the good that comes from Him.

I cannot influence the Creator directly. He is concealed from me and I cannot reach Him, grab onto Him, bring Him to me, or force Him. The only thing I can do is make actions in my realm below. If we act together here, below, then we influence Him to the same measure. This is the entire wisdom of Kabbalah: to work with each other, coming closer together, and to the degree we succeed, we bring the Creator closer to ourselves.

The Creator is the constant force of goodness that does not change, as it is written, “I did not change my name HaVaYaH.” This is a force of nature that has an unchangeable desire and thought. It is like a constant field of memory in a computer (ROM) that we cannot change. It is attached to us and influences us automatically to the degree we influence others.

We all influence one another, and according to this the upper force influences us without changing by itself in the slightest. We can also say that He is already among us and by coming closer and uniting with each other, we make Him become revealed, as if bringing Him closer to us. And by separating from each other, we repel Him and don’t let Him be revealed.

The closer this force is to us, the better we feel because it is the force of goodness. The more we repel each other, repelling the Creator to the same degree, the worse we feel because we repel the source of goodness and prosperity. This is a very simple mechanism.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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Question: In the corporeal world, I have to see and draw a line between two points in order to connect them. How can I connect two souls with the help of The Zohar’s text?

Answer: I don’t know what my soul is, and I know even less about what the other souls are. Moreover, I will never know this. I only need to develop the correct attitude towards them called “bestowal,” and that’s it.

I have no awareness of who I am, nor do I know who my friend is. All I need to do is love him, and that’s enough. It means that I attain the force of the Creator, which rules between us. My open attitude towards the other person, my ability to like and love him is the Creator’s force, the force of bestowal. It is the Creator since He is omnipotent, and I become His part.

We don’t know who anyone is right now; it will be revealed later on. All I need to do is accept the conditions as they unfold. But all of my attention should go towards connection without contemplating who I am as I am the one who is supposed to make the effort to love the others right now.

Yet, to the degree of my effort to bring myself to love and bestowal, I will know my friend and myself even more. I will attain it only if I tie myself and him together with love, then both of our souls will be revealed. It will happen only under this condition.

Therefore, I should focus on the correct attitude towards others, the point where I can exert my effort, my desire, in order for it to be revealed. But how can I create and achieve such desire? Where does it come from? It comes from the group; it is where I influence my friends and they influence me. I have to feel my lowliness in order to receive the importance of the goal from them, and the Creator will be revealed between us.

Thus, I unveil this point more and more using the force of one gram, and all of the worlds light up. Why do I do it? In order to attain this entire labyrinth, to pass through it, learn the whole program of creation, and attain the entire wisdom.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/11, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Donkey Driver”

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