Before the spiritual ascent humanity goes through a period of preparation without understanding the laws of evolution. There are several theories regarding that, but we see that the process is driven only by the evolution of our egoistic desire that operates only for our benefit. It is particular to each person and has determined our behavior throughout the eras of humanity’s evolution.

In mankind, there are several outstanding civilizations each of which has developed in their own way, at their own pace, and in their own direction. During the times of ancient Babylon and the tower of Babel, a certain part of humanity broke off from the rest and started to advance in a special way, since in addition to the desire to receive, a desire to attain the goal of reality was also evoked in them.

This desire needs a method in order to be fulfilled and this created a problem. It is because a person actually wants to know why and for what he is living, what the goal of his life is. But suddenly he discovers that the answer to this question is fulfilled according to the principle of “love thy friend as thyself.”

It is commonly believed that the meaning of life is to be revealed after the death of the body or in some mystical reality that is beyond the corporeal nature. But suddenly I am told about the love of others and that if I begin to love the other like I love myself and develop such relationships, I will discover the upper world, all of reality, the whole depth of creation and also the eternal, whole concealed force called the Creator.

I don’t understand this. Is it enough to love just anybody I see? Do I have to subdue and annul myself so that I will not see the difference between us? This is called “to bestow in order to bestow.” Then, I also acquire the other’s deficiency and care for him like for my dear baby, like for my own soul, which he is actually part of. I am told that thanks to this love I will find and fulfill the goal of my life. The main thing is to do good unto others.

But this is totally contrary to my view! What can be more repulsive than that?!

I exaggerate and emphasize this point on purpose, but it is really so. A person needs time in order to understand that this is his self-realization. It is in the relationships with others on the current level when we hate one another, disrespect and spit on one another, kill each other without thinking twice, and in addition also enjoy harming the environment; it is here that the infinite depth of the spiritual world is revealed to us, the true reality. At first it is simply incomprehensible.

Therefore, it is a long way. A small group started to fulfill the method back in ancient Babylon and had to go through many ups and downs, while everyone else continued to advance along the egoistic path.

Eventually, a small part of humanity reached the final ego through the shattering, through the destruction of the Temple, while most of humanity advanced linearly within the ego. On the way, the two parts are integrated and reached the current phase, which requires the final fulfillment of the correction.

So, the preparation begins to correct the distance. A small group called the “nation of Israel” goes through special states, falls from the spiritual levels, and then goes through gradual corrections that are deep and slow. It corrects its shattered vessels, desires, and this requires preparation; it requires the transition from the intention of “in order to receive” (Lo Lishma) to the intention of “in order to bestow” (Lishma) and from to bestow in order to bestow to, to receive in order to bestow. All the stages along the way are gradual and organized, and the nation of Israel corrects itself by the Light that Reforms, which is called the “Torah.”

On the other hand, the parts of the general vessel called “the nations of the world,” were not shattered, and so they do not need the gradual correction. In fact, they have nothing to correct. The nation of Israel has to raise all the shattered vessels back to spirituality from which they fell in order to put them back together into the ten Sefirot, each one separately and all of them together, to reconstruct the reality of the common soul. For all the others it is much simpler as they receive an illumination that provides them with a Masach (screen), which is their correction. They participate in the process and connect to Israel who correct themselves gradually through many hardships.

Eventually, the vessels of the nations of the world reach corrections on such a level that they take the children of Israel on their “shoulders” and bring them to the “Temple,” the nation of Israel cannot rise to these levels by itself, but the nations of the world can because they don’t have shattered vessels.

So, the last phase of correction is fulfilled, not simply with the nations of the world, but thanks to their help, and support “on their shoulders.”
[104610]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Rabash, Letter 59: The Zohar says, “Everyone is what his heart presumes, to that extent the Creator’s Light illuminates on him and this is called the phase of faith.”

We speak about the human level here, which values the Creator’s greatness in one’s heart. To that extent I acquire the level of equivalence to the Creator, and discover the upper Light in me.

First we are all in an egoistic desire, and for a long time we assume that we can attain something. This period is called “the seven years of satiety.” Then we begin to understand that the ego will not give us anything, and feeling disappointed in it we turn to the desire to bestow.

This is already a great revolution, “and a new king rose in Egypt.” In other words, the egoistic desire in which I saw everything that is good now showers blows upon me. What are these blows? If we look at the modern world, we see that it is full of plenty for all. In the exact same way the children of Israel didn’t lack anything, they had more than enough “meat.” So what was the problem? What was lacking? What is this new domination?

The point is that I begin to understand and to feel that my ego is not me. It becomes a new cruel king for me. I don’t identify with it anymore and look for something above it, but it holds on to me and doesn’t let me go…

Today, even the poor live much better than most people lived two centuries ago. A simple worker enjoys what used to be luxuries for a few in the past. But the problem is that I feel bad and cannot do anything about this feeling.

The moment we feel this new dominion we begin to look for a way out, since this kind of life is meaningless. But it turns out that we cannot escape. I hate my life, I feel helpless, in exile, imprisoned. I feel that I am “cornered” by my family, my work, my debts, and by consumerism. From birth to death I am a slave that imagines that he is free and at the same time discovers the yoke on his neck.

I want to escape this slavery but encounter an even more difficult question: “What am I living for?” The simple pleasures of this world and its “animal” existence do not satisfy me anymore, and so I look upward to see if there is something there.

Then, I get a chance to rise above this life. I begin to understand and feel that we are actually living in a different reality, and that the current perception is simply unreal. This is where the work begins, the search thanks to which we discover that the only way to open our eyes and our emotions widely, in order to open the door to the real life, is through unity.

There is the personal individual perspective and there is the general perspective that goes through the general connection. By connecting we discover a totally different picture, but it’s very difficult to discern this picture. After all, I have to annul myself, and to refocus my perception of the world and my attitude to life in order to see everything through the group, though a collection of people whose opinions and desires become a “magnifying glass,” a “lens,” through which I see reality.

It’s very difficult to lower one’s head before the friends and to acknowledge the fact that they are great and to allow them to form the picture of the world for me in my mind and heart. If we do these exercises often enough, according to the method that we have, we see the results, and it’s as if we “regain our sight,” which means that we begin to see the current system in which we live, a system that was previously out of my sight.

So, the initial correction during the phase of preparation begins when I “lower my head” before others. The first phase of the annulment is called the “exodus from Egypt.” If before the ego subdued me and prevented me from connecting, now I leave its domination and I can already connect. Thus I escape the ego, detach myself from it and leave it.

But in the meantime it’s only an escape. Later I make greater efforts to annul myself and in the time of “smallness,” during the “counting of the Omer:” I am small and only want to connect to the friends as much as I can with all my might.

This is what we are going through now. If we try we will reach the giving of the Torah, which means the Light that Reforms, even if we don’t see anything and if we don’t understand, but we make efforts, wanting to connect above Pharaoh, above everything that is in us, we attain connection in which the Creator is revealed. This is called the giving of the Torah. Then we continue our connection in practice.
[104388]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/5/13, Writings of Rabash 

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From Rabash’s letter (No. 8): …at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them.

Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

These words are said about the internal war that takes place inside us, as it is written, “There will always be a fight between good and bad inclinations.” The more we kindle this internal battle, the sooner we will understand that we have to exit from our ego, overpower it, escape from it, and rise above the materiality that we now sense.

There is no other way to escape from this world and attain the higher level other than by being under constant pressure, fear, and troubles that lead us to a condition that is defined as the “exodus from Egypt.” We begin revealing these qualities in us, and they make us come “out of our skin,” meaning to leave our bodies.

Only these conditions allow us to rise. It happens by a single circumstance: We should retain and work with our internal properties that are opposite by nature. One doesn’t escape by soaring into spirituality. We can’t do it by floating in the skies or leaving this material world below, nor is it about detaching from this corporeality. At the same time, we shouldn’t submerge into this realm or consider that this world as something that exists on its own.

We have to stay in the middle and realize that both forms are given to us by the Creator and that we are supposed to combine them together. By no means should we run away or hide from the desire to be pleased; rather, above this desire we have to stay confident that it’s the Upper Force that governs everything around us. It’s a unique and complicated approach for which we need an internal inborn readiness that is called “the root of the soul.” As well, we also need a group that is ready to follow this path, as it is written in Rabash’s letter: At the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together.

There are not many such groups. On the contrary, the farther we advance, the more will be the supporters around us and the fewer the people inside the group. The more precious a quality is the less it’s found in nature. Our goal is to rise to a “superhuman level.”

We can achieve it only by leading a merciless war against our egos. This war is called a “Holy War,” meaning the “war for the sake of the Creator.” In order to lead this war, we should connect both worlds with the Creator, agree to live in two parallel realms, and thank Him for everything that He sends to us. We should understand that everything is originated from one place and is given to us to make us grow.

Rabash writes to us about these issues: …at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them… This implies our internal problems. Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch…meaning that they won’t move towards materiality. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

This explains why we have to strengthen; if we manage to achieve everything that we spoke about and attain the states that we went through during this Passover, there is no doubt that we will end up being at the doorstep that is already in front of us.
[104062]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/2/13

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In the News (from Phys.org): “’The vervets show us that tolerance towards group members and patience while others are learning how they can improve things individually can go a long way in solving coordination problems,’ said Ronald Noë of Université de Strasbourg in France.

“In the study, the researchers had groups of vervet monkeys, two living freely in a South African park and another in captivity in France, play a social game without offering them any training on the game or how to play it. In each ‘forbidden circle’ experiment, a single low-ranking female was trained to open a container holding a large amount of food only when other monkeys dominant to her stayed outside an imaginary circle. If anyone was to get their treats, everyone had to figure out the rules and show enough restraint to follow them.

“And sure enough, the vervets did. One by one, without any guidance from humans, the dominant monkeys learned to control themselves. As soon as all of them showed restraint, the provider monkey in the middle opened the bin of food right away, saving everyone precious time.

“Remarkably, the vervet monkeys each learned how to ‘play’ on their own, in order of dominance and by trial and error. Higher-ranking monkeys figured out the rules most quickly because their status allowed them to reach the food dispenser first and to see the provider’s response that their actions provoked. With the rules to ‘back off’ understood, those more dominant individuals watched on patiently until each of their peers followed suit. The monkeys showed no evidence of communication or coercion at all.

“Noë said the findings represent skills that the vervets probably use all the time, in coordinating movements for protection of the group or their territory, for example. Their behavior shows that higher cognitive processes, such as insight into the thoughts of others and complex language, aren’t always needed to solve complex social puzzles. ‘These capacities do help us a lot, of course, and the fact that humans are so often confronted with such [coordination] problems may well explain the evolution of language and higher cognitive capacities,’ Noë said. ‘But individual learning and a bit of patience while others learn can go a long way too.’”

My Comment: How would adults and children behave in this situation? Our egoism makes us different from primates; it makes us blind! How much suffering will we have to bear before accepting the orders of the higher nature?..
[104271]

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A mature approach to problems is when you know that you can reach the goal only by overcoming the problem. You overcome the unpleasant feelings in your desire to receive, above the darkness, and there you ask for connection with the group, with the Creator. Even your prayer is false, and internally you only wait for the problem to go away, for the darkness to dissipate at least a little, so that you will be able to rest, to relax, and to feel secure to some extent.

But you hold yourself and look for a connection and adhesion with the group, with the books, and with the teacher. You are like a baby who wants them to hold you in their arms. You look for all the support you can get that allows you to ask not for the darkness to dissipate, but rather to rise above the darkness and to think about the Creator, and not about your own feelings. Your concern is to bring Him contentment and not yourself.

If you can think this way, then to that extent you already feel joy. When you can yearn for bringing the Creator even greater contentment through the group and all the other means, then you feel even greater joy. If you cannot, then you should ask for that so that you will feel life in the external vessels, in the foreign vessels, which means “outside your own skin,” where your soul is.

The symptoms of the “illness” will go away since you will stop thinking about them and will adhere to the Creator and not to the bodily symptoms. You will come out of your skin, as if you die, and adhere to the Creator, to the soul and not to the body. This is called living in faith above reason, coming out of yourself, the transition between life and death, at least to some extent.

Then you gradually add to this transition and thus beat death. We have to at least understand the pattern of this transition, and then everything will be according to the same principle, in the same manner.
[104528]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13, Shamati #36

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Question: Won’t rising above physical problems lead to apathy regarding physical life?

Answer: You specifically build your spiritual life above this physical life. Spirituality is built only above this world. Our world was created for this; it was not given to us by chance. The life of our physiological body is wondrously arranged in the same pattern as the upper world, as a branch resembles its root, so that in all events in this world you will begin to feel what stands on a higher level behind them.

We see how much the ten plagues of Egypt differ: blood, frogs, lice, and so forth, to the plague of the firstborn. Every plague is an unpleasant blow, but they all differ from each other. According to your place in the general system of the soul of Adam HaRishon, you pass through everything that happens in this world personally, as blows to your ego, inside your skin.

Specifically these blows help you to get out of your skin more and more, thanks to your overcoming every time. And you bless these blows, for without them you have no chance to become free. The ego holds you within the skin; only through a blow will you decide to flee from there.

The blow builds the human being in you, meaning Klipat Noga, the middle third of Tifferet, giving you the opportunity to think about why you want to get out. You don’t want to hide and flee from the blows, you are ready to stay in the dark; rather you want to adhere to the source, to the Creator, with great thanks that He gives you the opportunity to exit this body a little and approach Him.

In this condition, you begin to see and feel an enormous amount of subtleties and nuances, and in this form you build your spiritual body, namely the first ten Sefirot of the Returning Light. This really will be the Returning Light, for you no longer ask for yourself, rather you rise above the darkness felt in your will to receive, which transforms into the contracted Malchut.

You overcome this darkness and begin to build a screen above it. And your yearning to satisfy the Creator is called the Reflected Light, for you think only about His benefit. Thus you take on the initial structure of your spiritual Partzuf from which begin states found above our substance, our desire to receive in order to receive. You are detached from your “Self.”
[104524]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13, Shamati #36

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To be a Tzadik (righteous) means to justify the Creator in all circumstances. A person is given every state to help him to want to go outside of his skin to such an extent that darkness thickens around him, and this is a very great help that the Creator sends someone ready to be a Tzadik.

A person is placed in situations that are unacceptable to his ego so that he will be ready to come out of himself. It is clear to us that the spiritual world is above this physical world. Therefore, everything physical must die, but this is not about the usual death of all humans, but rather, that a person, himself, will agree that all of his worldly values will die. And thereby, he acquires the next level: spiritual life.

He exits his body, being released from all self-interest in what will happen to him, above all the situations into which the Creator puts him. He concurs with these circumstances, accepting them happily as builders of his new, spiritual level, for they raise him above his physical conditions, take him out of the limits of his skin and, particularly, make it possible for him to ask for adherence with the Creator from within the darkness. The only inclination this person will have is to give the Creator contentment while he, himself, is found in the dark.

In this, he sees his salvation, his departure from exile. Outside of his skin, he feels true life because he can satisfy the Creator without any consideration of self. Thus, he defeats the darkness, the suffering, the fear, the anxiety, and the shame that he feels, which were revealed intentionally to indicate to him his corporeal limitations and to help him rise above himself.
[104427]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13, Shamati #36

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Spiritual vessels are made of the desire to receive and its restriction, the Masach (screen), and the shame that is contained within it. The shame is for not being able to turn myself to bestowal and of being afraid to tie every state that I go through to the One who bestows.

When I rise after a descent from the sensation of evil and from that height examine the previous state, I see that it wasn’t bad. I understand that the descent was the preparation for the current ascent. I begin to love and to value the previous state and to be grateful for it since without that descent, I wouldn’t be able to ascend now.

This allows me to value my ascent even more since it comes to correct the previous flaws. So, I correct this ascent by my new attitude toward it and learn from this experience for the future. Now, I know that I must prepare myself for the next state, for the next descent, so that I will be able to control it as much as I can and to work above reason.

There are very few chances to work above reason in a state of ascent, but the descent helps us here. The descents are actually the most helpful states, not the ascents.

A person’s work is to be grateful for the past and thereby prepare for the future. We should always say that everything that has happened up until now, whether a conflict with the friends or whatever it may be, was done by the Creator and that there is none else besides Him. You must add all these states toward the revelation of the Creator to you whether it is in the form of His “posterior” if it is a descent or in the form of His “face” if it is an ascent.

In the future, we must be prepared for whatever happens. This is called total devotion. This is what we prepare ourselves for in the group through investing our efforts in it in mutual guarantee and mutual help, which eventually return to the person himself.

Everything depends on our preparation. If we sit idly and do nothing, we hardly will feel any descents and ascents, but only mild changes in our mood. However, if we prepare ourselves in the connection with the friends, then we will be able to manage the pace of our advancement and see all our advanced states positively: both the ascents and the descents.

It is harder to relate decisively to an ascent than to a descent. In fact, when we are in an ascent, we are under the influence of the pleasure that totally fills us and doesn’t allow us to clarify the state we are in and to control the desires.

During a descent, however, it is your desire that forces you to look for help and even for salvation. Therefore, as it is written, “Pharaoh has brought the sons of Israel closer to our Father in Heaven.” The desires that are revealed during a descent—in exile, in suffering and in feeling bad—are those that bring a person closer to the goal, while the ascents don’t really help us advance.
[104233]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/2/13, Writings of Rabash

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Question: I am very excited about your statement to women and I think that it is right, especially after the experience I gained as a result of the exercise that you suggested: try to get closer to unity and if you find that you criticize your girlfriends, attribute this to the Creator.

As a result of this exercise, I discovered that my attitude not only to my friends but toward absolutely everyone (except my kids) is criticism. It is like an instinct, like breathing, which you do not notice. And the more you do it, the more it persists. Despite the fact that I continue to attribute this to the Creator, it is growing, and I just don’t have strength up to the point of nausea. Sometimes there is a desire to have someone wipe me out.

What can I do with this if it is my nature? Men do not have it; they are much purer. How can we, women, help each other find and correct this quality?

Answer: Only when a person applies efforts to unite in the group according to the method of Kabbalah does one discover in herself or himself the forces that oppose this. These forces are called egoism. And all the other desires to “grab” more for oneself exist in everyone, even in animals, and from the point of view of Kabbalah are not considered egoism.

What to do: the same as the men do, who also have this but in a different form. The revelation of egoism (Pharaoh) is the highest gift of the Creator because this brings the need to turn to Him for help! And turning to Him leads to His revelation!
[104060]

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Overcoming is not fighting like a hero. Overcoming is to discover our weakness through the environment, through everything that we have learned. The wisdom is not to look within myself for the powers to overcome, but rather, to understand that everything is arranged by the Creator every step and each small detail. All this is in my favor, for my advancement, in order to help me reach adhesion.

Therefore, I am happy about every state that comes along. As it is written, “Even when a sharp sword is placed upon one’s neck, one should not despair of mercy.” He should not despair of mercy since everything is calculated.

If a person holds himself above all these trials, which we even may call “surprises,” then he has nothing to fear. He feels secure and in adhesion with the Creator.

Overcoming is when I quickly overcome all the thoughts and all the inclinations to one side or another and reach a request. I leave all the worries and being thrown side to side and reach a request to the Creator. I don’t ask Him to change my state, but rather to have the powers to remain adhered to the Creator, not in order to ease things for myself, but in order to bring Him contentment.

By that, the state ends, and I go on to the next state where an even greater surprise is prepared for me. So, it turns out that life is full of surprises.
[104251]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13

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