Preparation to the Lesson
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Lesson on the Topic: “Faith Above Reason”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Body and Soul”
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Selected Highlights
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Going by faith above reason means going above one’s own perception, above one’s own feelings.
I see my friends in their usual way. I have a certain idea about them. But in order to pull myself closer to the Creator, I have to imagine them, not the Creator or myself, but them being on a higher degree and to try to connect with them at the level that I imagine them at. This is called going by faith above reason.
And so it is every time: higher and higher and higher. It does not matter to me what I see. It is written about this: “They have eyes, but they will not see; they have ears but they will not hear.” That is how I imagine them: higher and higher!
I want to be together with them, in adhesion with them, and thus I bring myself to a state where I begin to see the Creator through them! That is all.
Knowledge is what I see and hear, and above knowledge means that I imagine my friends being at a degree higher, better, and purer.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3
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Why has Russia failed to build a society based on love for others? Could have they done something in a different way for this experiment to be successful?
It is impossible to change history. History is given to us not to learn from and correct ourselves, but so that we understand that it was impossible to do what they tried to do.
They wanted to build egoistic communism. Instead of being directed to benefit the Creator, it was directed only to benefit people.
It is not enough to think only about bestowing to people. Rather, we need true, spiritual bestowal. It means that we must rise to faith above reason and acquire the property of bestowal, which will operate in us instead of the property of reception. However, this can be done only if we implement the method of Kabbalah.
Similarly, kibbutzim were created with the intention of doing better for themselves. The fact is that there is an egoistic intention behind everything. But we are talking about bestowing outside of ourselves. This is what humanity must come to—adhesion with the Creator. Therefore, it is impossible to do this without the wisdom of Kabbalah and all its conditions intended to attract the upper light and for it to influence us.
That is, it is absolutely necessary to study and implement the method of Kabbalah that can attract the upper light, which will change our nature. The light should change our perception of reality so that we would see before us the world we want to bestow to and we would live outside of ourselves.
All forms of communist societies were built on the opposite principle: the desire to isolate themselves, to group together in one camp against all the rest, and become stronger than everyone. This approach is the exact opposite of true bestowal.
[292524]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/17/22, Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”
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Question: How can we annul before our friends if the ego pulls us away from unity?
Answer: We should do all kinds of physical exercises in the group: unite, talk, discuss, write, and disseminate.
Dissemination is very important because it promotes unification. If several people engage in dissemination together, then this unites them.
At the same time, the upper light influences them because they are doing something necessary for the Creator. That is how you have to act. Try. It is very important.
[292623]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2
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We need to imagine a world filled with the Creator’s qualities—bestowal, love, and connection—and in this state interact with each other in the group. The more we express ourselves in such a way in relation to our friends, the faster we will move toward the revelation of the Creator.
And we will always have to imagine the Creator in faith above reason, never in reason itself. He will always reveal Himself to us only from the state of concealment.
Therefore we say that there is a restriction (Tzimtzum), a screen (Masach), and reflected light (Ohr Hozer). We create such conditions in ourselves that even if the Creator were revealed to us, we would not want to openly reveal Him between us and within ourselves.
Only under such conditions can we truly attain Him and are already prepared to reveal Him only in the direction of bestowal.
Therefore we will constantly try to establish a connection in faith above reason and realize it as if the Creator is between us; we want to be like Him in this connection.
[292583]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5
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Preparation to the Lesson
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Lesson on the Topic: “Faith Above Reason”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”
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Selected Highlights
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Question: What is the intention of an annulled desire?
Answer: The intention of any desire if we try to start to scrutinize it is aimed at feeling the Creator in it.
To do this, you need to change its form, content, maybe even its strength. But in the end, this is where we start.
How does a person begin the path of spiritual development? With the purpose, the goal, to reveal the Creator.
[292451]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2
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Question: Do I understand correctly that we start working in faith above reason and then after processing our desire we see the friends within reason in our corrected properties? Then a newly revealed Aviut (layer of egoistic desire) again erases everything and we again need to go by faith above reason?
Answer: Aviut does not erase but simply raises you to a higher egoistic mountain, and you must again go by faith above reason, but already a new reason.
Question: If despite my egoism I keep convincing myself that my friends are superior to me, is that enough? Or do I need some more help?
Answer: Start with that and then you will see how to proceed. You will be guided from above. But this is the most correct attitude toward the world. You will begin to see the world correctly, not distorted by your egoism.
[292455]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3
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Question: All the needs of a baby are provided by the womb. Should the group also provide for all the needs of a friend?
Answer: Not all the needs of a friend, but rather his spiritual needs.
Above the group is the Creator. And if a friend annuls himself before the group, the Creator will clearly take care that he receives everything that is necessary for his spiritual development from it. That’s how everything is arranged.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2
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Rabash, Article No. 21 (1986), “Concerning Above Reason”: This is why they said that when the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason that the friends are at a higher degree than his own.
I must not forget that everything that I feel in my five senses is depicted by my egoism. It shows me what kind of world surrounds me and what the group is. And I perceive it only through my egoism.
Therefore, if I yearn to see the world differently than my ego depicts it, and I can do this only with an external effort, with the effort of the group, then I can rise above this egoistic picture and begin to feel the world of the Creator instead. And this is very simple to do.
When the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. That is, above what he sees, although he can see each friend in an unattractive form, he must use his efforts to raise his friend as high as possible.
But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason—within his reason—that the friends are at a higher degree than his own.
But if he does not see this in his reason, then he must imagine in faith above reason that his friends, contrary to his opinion, are above him.
Hence the conclusion: the only correct way out of any state is to raise the friends in your eyes. At any given time, I have to think about how to keep them higher and higher in my feelings, mind, and impressions. This should be our permanent work. And then I will reach the state where I see the Creator through them.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3
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