Question: Suppose I want to determine my next action in accordance with the Creator, and there are two possibilities where one suits my will to receive more and the other less. Can I combine the more suitable ones and say that I am thinking only about the Creator?

Answer: It is not for nothing that it is written: “I the Lord, who dwells with them in the midst of their Tumaa [impurity].” The question is: If He really is present in your impure matter, and you are fully aware that you are engaged in such an act, then the presence of the Creator sanctifies your impure action. These actions turn into corrections.

And even though you see that for now you cannot rid yourself of these actions and you remain in them, you do not merely settle into complacency, you simply use them for advancement.

Comment: But this negates the advancement, it shows how much I am not on the path.

My Response: Who told you that if you see to what extent you are not going the right way that this is not advancement? Even the fact that you agree to remain in a lowly state, provided you remain with the Creator, that you reveal these matters, that they are important to you, and that you are capable of connecting the sacred with the Klipa and saying that there is a connection, it is as if you enjoy twice—from the Creator, who is together with you, and from the very action.

If you clarify that it is precisely He who is inside, then you have a connection that saves you and pulls you out. There is nothing more terrible than you forgetting about the Creator. This is the worst thing! And the fact that a person cannot rise above his Klipa is a result of the connection between the surrounding light and the person’s Reshimo (informational gene). Such is the state, and you cannot change it.

Only after you have finished the clarification of your Kli and have thoroughly verified it, do you begin to move away from evil, because you simply are unable to be in the bad. And as soon as you feel that this really is evil, you naturally move away from it.

Comment: But I do not feel this.

My Response: Excellent! You do not feel it now, but you will gradually feel it! You have no choice. If the Creator is not with you, if you do not feel His presence, if you do not somehow connect Him with your spiritual advancement, if you understand that the state in which you are is opposite to spirituality, but you agree with it and are now gnawing yourself over it, you will never be able to come out of this.
[356651]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/11/26, Rabash, “The Meaning of the Strict Prohibition to Teach Idol Worshippers the Torah”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 7 “What Is ‘Man’ and What Is ‘Beast’ in the Work?” (1991) (1.27.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Preparation for Convention

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Question: Is annulment before the upper a path of coercion?

Answer: It is said that there is no coercion in spirituality. Yet, it seems that annulment before the upper is coercion from the upper toward us. If we look at it through the lens of the Passover Haggadah, the Creator adds the evil inclination to Pharaoh and then strikes Pharaoh.

The poor Pharaoh does not know where to escape. He cannot go anywhere, because he is 100% made of opposite qualities. So, where can he run?

Thus, it appears that there is no more miserable or terrible state than the way the Creator treats Pharaoh. Is it fitting for the Creator to relate this way to His creation with all its qualities?

Question: I am asking not from the side of the Creator but from the side of the created being. Is choosing the opinion of the upper an act of coercion, opposite to my own opinion? After all, with that tiny force I draw from the group, I force myself to go against myself.

Answer: From the side of the person, it is exactly the same. Pharaoh is everything within us, our entire nature. Can I do anything with it if it is 100% this way? You say: “My so-called choice of the Creator is not really my choice. It is simply an action I take out of helplessness.”

When I receive blows, and as a result begin to see even slightly that if I move into another state, perhaps even acquire another nature, I will be able to escape these blows, then it is precisely this that compels me to make a certain choice. But is this called free choice?

That is, the desire to receive seemingly “chooses”: it would rather die than continue to feel the blows, to the point that they are worse than death. Better not to feel myself at all, as if I do not exist, just not to feel this suffering.

A feeling of such despair is created within us that it becomes easier not to feel anything than to endure the blows. Can this be called choosing connection with the Creator, with spirituality, with eternity? Who says that this is free choice, that there is freedom of action without any coercion?

On the contrary, it is said: “You have not a blade of grass below that does not have an angel that strikes and tells it, ‘Grow!’” or “He is forced until he says: ‘I want.’” There are many such expressions describing states where only through blows and suffering does the desire to receive agree to renounce itself, to annul itself. In this, there is no free choice.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/4/26, Rabash, “What Is Heaviness of the Head in the Work? ”

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In Rabash article, “The Meaning of the Strict Prohibition to Teach Idol Worshippers the Torah” it is stated that “it is forbidden to teach Torah to idol worshippers.” This is not very clear. After all, the Creator created creatures some of whom are smart, some stupid, some of bad character, some of good character, some are lazy,  and some are energetic.

Is it man’s fault that he was created with bad or good qualities? Before the Creator, everyone is the same. What difference could there be? We know that the laws of the Creator are straight and just. He had to have given everyone equal opportunities to advance toward Him because no one is superior to another.

However, we see a wide variety of creations. Why are idolaters forbidden to study the Torah?

There is Israel and there are idolaters. Israel is “Yashar El,” one who is aimed straight to the Creator, wants to be connected to Him, does not run away from this connection, and wants to see the Creator constantly as a goal before him, as the most important and the greatest.

An idolater (Ovdei Kohavim uMazalot) is someone who worships the stars and fate, looking for reasons for everything that happens in all sorts of places and things around him. But you cannot blame a person for that. It depends on what stage of development he is at.

So why is there a strict prohibition on idolaters to study the Torah? It is because the Torah can be both the elixir of life and the potion of death. After all, if a person takes this force and uses it in the wrong direction, he moves away from the goal. But the main thing is that he strays from the path. The more he moves away, the more confused he becomes, the more troubles and obstacles come his way.

Of course, these setbacks and obstacles are designed to bring him back. But he no longer understands what is happening since he is moving in the opposite direction with a large deviation from the right path.

It is simply salvation from above that he is brought back to the path, given an awakening in the right direction again, but in any case, this is a path of great suffering. It may take a long time for him to come to his senses again, return to the right path, and discover once again that there is a goal to strive for.

But until he has built the right intention toward the Creator, toward the goal of creation, until this is fully clarified, he is forbidden to use the force of the Torah for advancement. It is like an aiming device that lets you accurately aim a gun at a target to avoid causing harm instead of helping.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/11/26, Rabash, “The Meaning of the Strict Prohibition to Teach Idol Worshippers the Torah”

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We have one single Kli (vessel), called Malchut. This Kli is incapable of receiving in the form of bestowal. One may use it in a manner resembling a vessel (Kli) of bestowal, but in order to truly transform the Kli into one that receives for the sake of bestowal, an enormous amount of preliminary work must first be done. This preparatory work is called the general correction of the Kli.

For this purpose, a screen is built over it so that all the desires within Malchut operate in the mode of not receiving for one’s own sake. In each desire, the greatness of the Creator and the greatness of the goal must become so significant that none of the desires would wish to remain in a state opposite to connection with the Creator.

When you feel within all your desires that not a single one wants to detach from the Creator, then in each of them, you sense that separation lies in receiving for oneself. The moment you take for yourself, you instantly become separated from the Creator. Then a fear appears within you, like a burning fire, and this is called being under the power of the restriction.

After you are equipped with such a shield, it becomes possible to begin giving each desire the form of bestowal. What does this mean? You ask the Creator to learn the manner in which He bestows upon you from Him. You learn, not what He gives you, but precisely how, in what way. And the Creator explains this to you through His actions. This is called: “From Your actions we shall know You.”

How does an infant behave? He only wishes to receive milk from his mother without knowing how it happens, what is done for it, or how it is fed; it makes no difference to the infant: “This is simply what I deserve.” Later, the baby begins to understand where all this comes from and how it is carried out. If a child wants to resemble its parents, he or she first examines exactly how they act and what they do.

Likewise, you must study the actions of the Creator. It is not simply that the light comes to me from the Sefirah of Yesod; before that, there are many different actions through which the Creator influences me. Then, from my former desire (when I wished only to receive the light) a new desire develops: to use my natural desire to receive in order to build a system like the one the Creator possesses when delighting me.

The Creator has nine systems through which He delights me with pleasures suited to me. And my system, the tenth point called Malchut, receives these pleasures and enjoys them. Now, based on the fact that I enjoy them, I want to build a system that functions exactly like the system of the Creator.

Thus, I must acquire this entire system from Him, only in reverse form, reverse relative to my desire to receive.

How does Malchut, after having received one of the many pleasures corresponding to a specific desire and using it, perform an act of bestowal? It literally acquires the first nine Sefirot. But what does “acquires” mean?

It is not as though the first nine Sefirot are simply attached to Malchut and then used together, as we usually depict. All these first nine Sefirot must become integrated into the system of the desire to receive, which must absorb this form within itself. In other words, the desire to receive adopts the inner form of the system of the Creator.

We are not speaking about Atzmuto (His Essence), but about the Creator (Boreh), meaning His relation toward me. Thus, I truly absorb all His systems into myself and, according to my desire to receive, transform them so that they operate for the sake of bestowal from within it rather than from within the desire to bestow.

The desire to bestow begins from Keter deYesod. But I begin from Malchut and invert these first nine Sefirot into reversed nine Sefirot, and thus, there are now direct and reflected light. Now I possess ten Sefirot of reflected light. This corresponds to Malchut becoming Keter, while Hochma turns into Yesod, which now influences Keter that has become Malchut for it.

When a person completes all this work, they truly become like the Creator, not only in their actions but also in spiritual status.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/17/26, Rabash, “What Is the Difference between Law and Judgment in the Work?”

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Comment: Sometimes a person’s perception becomes so sharpened that it seems to them that they have adhered to the upper one and truly feel it. But they do not know whether they have actually adhered to the upper one or simply has “closed their eyes.”

My Response: Until the Creator is revealed, we will always have doubts. And if someone else resolves these doubts for you, you will only lose from it. Therefore, let everyone remain with their own disturbances, while we should give each person the opportunity to resolve their problems more effectively and more quickly, so that they will have more strength and energy.

But in truth, everyone must resolve their own problems. This is precisely the reason why we are in darkness.

I understand that you want me to answer all your questions. Do you know how many years I came to Rabash and asked him questions, and he answered: “I am sorry, but I cannot help you”? I would feel like tearing him to pieces! I thought: “What is this?! Don’t you see how I am suffering?! Is this what it means that I am your student, that you love me?!”

But as it is said: “Salvation comes from the Creator in the blink of an eye.” I heard this phrase for years. Wait for it every single moment, and it will come.

I remember that once, when I had some first illumination, I came to M., who lived not far from our old location, and I asked him: “Well? What do I do now?” He answered me: “Just wait, everything will be fine, now everything is open before you.” But after some time, everything closed again, disappeared, and for a long time nothing happened.

I came to him again. He said: “Well what did you expect? That is exactly how it happens.” It was so difficult to speak with those elders. Nothing helped. There was no choice! Alongside Rabash there were two others who, of course, could not be compared to him in greatness, but they also had spiritual attainment. None of them gave any answers.

Simply, nothing can be done. A student must personally go through all the vicissitudes and receive their own impressions from them. Otherwise, if you were to tell them everything, they would perceive it only with the intellect, through knowledge. But with knowledge it is here today and tomorrow it is gone. That is not spirituality. The intellect is merely a machine.

Everything must pass through a person’s feelings, in which, according to their desires, there will be attainments, failures, disappointments, and discoveries. But all this must happen specifically within their desires. It is forbidden to replace feelings and sensations with intellect and knowledge.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/11/26, Rabash, “The Meaning of the Strict Prohibition to Teach Idol Worshippers the Torah”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 9 “Jacob Went Out” (1985) (1.30.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Comment: Difficult events happen to us, but we come here, begin to work with faith above reason, and say that what happened is not so bad, and that over time everything will work out.

My Response: This is incorrect. Baal HaSulam writes that If everything that happens to you is perceived as good, even though you feel it as bad, it is simply a lie. This is called Hasidism.

Herein lies the difference between the knowledge of the landlords and the teaching of the Torah, between religion and the wisdom of Kabbalah. You are simply deceiving yourself: “Whatever the Creator does is for the good, and the blows that come are good. In fact, they are not blows at all, but positive things, I just don’t feel them that way.” All of this is false.

Do you feel bad? Yes! So why deceive yourself? Whom are you lying to? Your heart is in the upper Partzuf. As we study, Ima Elyia (the upper mother) has now turned her back to Aba (father) and does not accept your prayer because it is not genuine. If you continue deceiving yourself, you distance yourself even more from the truth.

If I receive blows and claim that it is good, and even thank and pray for them, what greater deception can there be? How will I reach the recognition of evil and faith above reason? This is exactly what Baal HaSulam speaks about. It means that you are perceiving reality incorrectly.

“A judge has nothing more than what his eyes see.” After you feel bad, you must relate to it according to the principle: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”

Your problem is that you do not want to feel the clash of opposing concepts. You do not want to exist in inner tension. Of course, it is easier to say: “Thank God, everything is in the hands of Heaven, all is good,” or “There is none else besides Him, I live by this, and nothing else concerns me.” Or to be like the religious population that supposedly relies on the Creator. I emphasize “supposedly” because they do not analyze the states they go through. They relate to life this way not because they truly feel it differently, but because they erase reality and cling to a single idea: There is a Creator, and therefore one can remain calm.

They do not live within the real reality through which they must rise, from the level of this world to the level of the final correction (Gmar Tikun) by their own effort, because they do not connect these two points. They seemingly cling to the upper force and think that by this, they have completed the correction.

There is also a completely different life lived by secular people. They believe there is nothing above, we live on this earth, and that is all there is. Between these two poles all of humanity exists. If you are at one of these extremes, you can arrange your life quite comfortably by closing your eyes either to one side or the other, like a non-believer or like a religious person, and have no inner conflict. It becomes a kind of life philosophy.

This is precisely how you want to relate to your friends: “My friend is an angel, the Creator, and I must treat him accordingly.”

But one must see everything at once and examine reality from both perspectives simultaneously.
[356336]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/4/26, Rabash, “What Is Heaviness of the Head in the Work?”

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Aaron is Israel’s right arm… We need to know that the right arm is regarded as Hesed [mercy], which is the vessel of bestowal. That is, he wants only to do mercy and bestow. By his power, Aaron drew this power to the people of Israel (Rabash, Article 1 “Moses Went”).

The spiritual degrees of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are Sefirot Hesed, Gevura, and Tiferet. Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David are Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. This article discusses a state in which it is impossible to advance in accordance with the guidance provided by Aaron (the quality of Hesed, the altruistic desire in a person).

It is written that Aaron is Hesed, mercy. But why? He is the left line, the domain to which the concept of Cohen (priest) pertains.

Consequently, it is believed that the Kohanim (priests) have a difficult, irritable temperament. But here, for some reason, it talks about the property of Hesed?

Rabash wanted to explain the path that Moses must traverse. Indeed, the article is called precisely that: “And Moses Went.” Where and how should he go? It is about advancing by faith above reason, because it is impossible to go by faith below reason.

What does faith above reason mean? It means that I accept knowledge, rise above it, and based on this, build my connection with the Creator in such a way that I treat all obstacles that come my way as if sent by the Creator. I make the correction of Hesed (mercy) on them and ask the Creator to help me use them, be above them, and stay connected to Him. In other words, I seek to build my connection with Him upon the foundation of these obstacles.

It turns out that all these hindrances are exactly the material with which I connect myself to the Creator. It says, “Bind the sacrifice with ropes until [it is brought to] the corners of the altar.

The altar represents the correction of the desire to receive at a high spiritual level. The cords (ropes) signify Aviut, spiritual coarseness or intensity of desire. This Aviut manifests specifically through the disturbances that arise from the desire to receive, from the side of reason.

Therefore, anyone who does not suppress their reason, but rather, while remaining above it, establishes a connection and demands correction from the Creator, ultimately achieves adhesion with Him.

Naturally, true spiritual work cannot take place in a state where a person merely experiences pleasure, for that is not work and does not require any exertion. It is only when a person reaches the level of Hesed (mercy) that we can say one rejoices from their work, because one has made the correction of Hafetz Hesed, the correction associated with Aaron.

This is why Moses always told Aaron, “Let us go to Pharaoh together.” This refers, of course, to approaching the Creator, but primarily, it signifies going together with his brother.

He performed the correction through the property of Hasadim and reached the degree of Hesed (mercy) through correcting the disturbances; he united with the Creator by faith above reason and reached the degree of Pharaoh, the capacity to wage war against his own desire to receive.

In this manner, you can advance forward time and again; it is by using and conquering Pharaoh, returning to him repeatedly until you pass through all ten plagues and merit to break free from Pharaoh’s dominion.

If a person does not become resilient in the face of obstacles, armed in advance with the quality of mercy, one will not need the Creator’s help to cope with Pharaoh. When one has no need for the Creator’s help, one has no means of getting closer to the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/26, Rabash, “Moses Went”

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Question: Why is our work called work in Lo Lishma if the goal of this work is the Creator?

Answer: A person who is in Lo Lishma, whether they want to or not, works for themselves. This means that both their work, their goal, and their effort is all only for themselves. When they attain Lishma, both their work and their goal change, and no longer the goal, but the work itself becomes the reward for them. Then everything changes.

I have exerted various efforts in order to bestow upon myself as well as upon you because I see benefit in it. Even if that benefit is of the highest order, so what? After all, I do all this because I feel it, me, myself. All this is connected with my “I.”

If, as a result of these efforts, correction comes from above, then everything within me changes. Bestowal for the sake of my own fulfillment disappears completely. What remains are “bestowal for the sake of bestowal” and “reception for the sake of bestowal,” and that is what I do.

Now the effort itself gives me satisfaction; I want to have the opportunity to exert it; I want this work, rather than having some other goal apart from the exertion of effort.

Question: What does a person who works for themselves in Lo Lishma think about? What must they reach?

Answer: A person working in Lo Lishma has many possibilities. There are many degrees within the state of Lo Lishma. We studied what it means “to mock,” and what it means “to hate.” There are different degrees here: working solely for oneself, working only so that another will not receive, and so on.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/2/26, Rabash, “What Are Banners in the Work?”

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