Question: I’m Roman Catholic, and I’m currently teaching myself how to read in Hebrew so I can read the Torah in it’s original language. I feel that it will be very beneficial for my Kabbalah studies. My questions is: Would it hinder or slow down my studies in Kabbalah? Do I need to study Hebrew? I’m just a beginning student.

Answer: It will help you to the extent that we use the definitions in Hebrew, which is necessary. Everything else is according to your desire.

Question: What is preventing the World Kli from connecting? How will we overcome it?

Answer: It’s egoism, and even more than in the case of regular people!

Question: It seems that our only work is to reveal the evil inclination and ask for correction. How can one fight with the feeling of guilt and worthlessness, which is an obstacle in asking for correction? It starts to be unbearable to see each time the bad in oneself.

Answer: All thoughts except for a plea for correction are empty and confusing, and as they arise, one must immediately reject them.
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There are many paths for one to arrive at the question of love and unity. As a rule, the word “love” means something entirely different to us: fulfilling our egoistic desires with food, sex, family, wealth, fame, knowledge, and so on.

“I love” essentially means “I want.” When I want to receive something, it means that I love it, that I want for it to be mine, to bring it closer to me, and fill myself with it. This is what my “love” is all about. To sum up, the inner definition of the word “love” is “I want to receive it.”

This is because we exist in our world that formed after the breaking, as the wisdom of Kabbalah explains. Our entire world is completely egoistic, which is why we decode the notion of “love” as something aimed exclusively at oneself. If I love something, it means that I wish to bring it closer to myself, to feel it, and to fill myself with it. When I fulfill my desire, when I delight in something pleasant, I call it “love.”

By the same token, we have no regard for the other half, the other force existing in reality: the force of bestowal that also contains the same notion of “love.” However, there to love someone means to fulfill them, to bring to them what they want, rather than what I want. This is completely opposite to our understanding of love.

In the past, humans were close to nature and naturally felt that there exists another force in nature, the force of bestowal in which love meant that I consider others and bestow to them. Kabbalists, as do many other people endowed with high sensitivity to nature, have revealed these forces.

And there were many people besides Kabbalists who have felt and discovered for themselves in all kinds of forms that the force of bestowal is no less than the force of reception. They realized that in this other half of reality (in bestowal) the same actions exist as in the force of reception, only their interpretations are different, opposite to those we use here in our world.

We, however, exist only in one half of reality: in reception, the desire to fulfill oneself, as we are a consequence of the breaking of the desires (Kelim). And man remains largely broken, whereas the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature, as Baal HaSulam writes in “Preface to the Science of Kabbalah (Pticha),” rise and fall together with man, without any calculation concerning themselves, but only to the degree in which they have to facilitate the changes that man must undergo.

Religions and beliefs, from the moment of their inception, have also arisen from the fact that they revealed the other force existing in nature: the force of bestowal. At their core they speak of love and unity. So it was while they remained the lot of a few people. But after they’ve spread in the egoistic masses that are not as sensitive, they have become a set of ceremonies, rituals, and various other actions. At that point they started to be used egoistically: to fulfill oneself, rather than to bring people to unity, love, bestowal, and balance between the two systems.

As time went on and humanity developed throughout history, fueled by the constant growth of egoism in every person and in humanity in general, we have distanced greatly even from that natural understanding that humanity once possessed—from the understanding of bestowal and love inherent to the other half of nature.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/2011, Writings of Rabash

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The love that the science of Kabbalah reveals to us is a principle of nature. We have to view it as the fundamental force, without which no form of life would ever have emerged.

Two objects can exist only by virtue of mutual bestowal, mutual compassion, balance between them according to equivalence of form, attraction toward one another. Even on the still level of nature, opposite parts—protons and electrons—exist together in one system called an atom, a molecule, and so on.

When uniting more, they begin to work together on the vegetative level, with photosynthesis and other mechanisms inherent to it. There is an exchange of substances and systems accompanying it, and between them—mutual consideration of each other’s interests. After all, they also can’t exist without two forces: attraction and repulsion, reception and bestowal.

Next, on the animate level, these systems of reception and bestowal no longer co-exist within one object, but between different bodies, which have to unite to produce offspring. They depend on one another, help one another, and by virtue of that, life goes on.

Even if this happens instinctively, by nature’s orders for now, we already see how two opposite forces interact in balance with one another. As a whole, the entire complex of the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature is entirely balanced, and all its parts depend on one another.

However, man differs from these systems greatly: the force of attraction, of reception, stands out in him drastically, being an evil force that he does not balance with the good force. This separates man from the animate world. We stand out in it precisely by means of the evil force instilled in us, which wishes to consume more and more, to acquire and rule. As a result, we become stronger than nature, even though in reality this is a petty advantage.

After all, nature is wise and the two opposite forces in it are balanced. To cause general progress, it activates these forces one after another to develop them while preserving the general balance. On the other hand, man, with his sole, excessive egoism, towers above the animate level, above balance, like a steeple, rising exponentially higher and higher.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/11, Writings of Rabash

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It used to be that only those wanting to know the meaning of life and its purpose would come to Kabbalah. They wondered what we are born for, why we die, and why we undergo such difficulties in life.

A person wants to know, and even if well-off in the material sense, he will continue having these questions because they come from the speaking, not animate degree. Man is not a dog; if we put him in a five-star hotel, he’ll still feel bad and want something more for the soul.

This is clearly seen in Europe. Before the crisis erupted, the most developed and affluent countries had the highest suicide rate. Now that these countries are experiencing a crisis, the suicide rate will drop. People will begin to appreciate life and new desires will awaken. Even a slight desire for improvement will give people a sense of life.

No matter what degree of wealth a person has, taste is always felt through contrast. People like to remember past suffering of hunger and the taste they found in a stale piece of bread because the taste depends on the deficiency.

Today Kabbalah is for everyone, not only for those wishing to attain sublime wisdom, but for all simply seeking a better life. The crisis has spread worldwide. Evil has become global, not local or national as in previous generations. And because of it, people seek to discover the cause of this evil.

Past generations also suffered greatly, but it was suffering on the still, vegetative, and animate (bodily) levels. However, today’s problems are worldwide and affect everyone, therefore it forces people to search for answers. That is why people come to Kabbalah to improve their situation. But here they are met with an explanation summed up in one sentence: You can only enjoy bestowal, only out of love of others!

A person would like to enjoy thousands of different things in this world, but is told: Sorry, the party is over, and you will not be able to enjoy it. In fact, before this, enjoyment was only being used as bait, to awaken you in order to increase your desire. To do this, you were given entertainment, cars, trips, and various other temptations so that you would want to enjoy more and more.

But now it’s all over. You will not have an opportunity to enjoy. The crisis will deprive you of all material acquisitions, and nothing will be left. Yet on the other hand, you already cease to feel any pleasure. Even if you could pay and enjoy all that is possible, you will not feel the taste in anything.

This is the stage of development we are approaching without even knowing it, and in the end it turns out that we are not able to enjoy. This is the real problem of the world! Everything is in full abundance, and we’re able to reach such material prosperity where everyone has everything needed: homes, vacations, good food, and so on. But people will not find taste in this kind of life.

We are nearing a state where satisfaction can only be collective, global. The mutual connection among us that is being revealed now is not in money but in pleasure! I will not be able to receive pleasure before I fill you.

But I hate you and am ready to tear you apart! How could it be that I will fill you before I fill myself? It means that I have to love you first? It is simply awful! Yet, without that I can’t enjoy life or feel, at least a little bit, that I have something more than a dog’s life. A dog’s life is a life in which I only satisfy my desire, but feel no taste. I have everything all day long, but feel as if I have nothing.

These states are being revealed to us because the human level of desire is being revealed within us, which is higher than the still, vegetative, and animate levels. Thus, we can have everything in the material world and feel that death is better than this kind of life.
[61747]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/25/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Opinion: (French President Nicolas Sarkozy): “He [Sarkozy] said France and every other euro zone country needed to enshrine a budget-balancing ‘golden rule’ in their constitutions, to force stricter fiscal discipline as the bloc strives to reform itself or get left behind.

“‘Europe is no longer a choice. It is a necessity. But the crisis has revealed its weaknesses and its contradictions. Europe must be rethought,’ Sarkozy said.

“‘Let us not hide it, Europe may be swept away by the crisis if it doesn’t get a grip, if it doesn’t change,’ he said, warning that a collapse of the euro would make France’s debt unmanageable and wipe out people’s savings.

“Sarkozy promised that reforming Europe would mean closer inter-governmental cooperation, not handing control to a supra-national body.” (Source: Reuters)

“‘The reform of Europe is not a march towards supra-nationality.’ …’The integration of Europe will go the inter-govermental way because Europe needs to make strategic political choices.'” (Source: Reuters)

My Comment: Of course, it is necessary to pursue a greater integration, as the times demand. The world is getting closer, while countries and people are not, and the lack of balance of society in relation to nature is manifested as a crisis—the crisis of society, not financial and so on. As soon as the EU will decide to unite fully and begin this long process, we will feel how the crisis eases and see new opportunities.
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Shamati #72: Confidence is the clothing for the Light, called “life.” This is because there is a rule that there is no Light without a Kli (vessel). It follows that the Light, called “Light of life,” cannot clothe, but must dress in some Kli (desire). The Kli where the Light of life is clothed is usually called “confidence.” It means that he sees that he can do every difficult thing.

This means that if we don’t attain the state called confidence, we won’t be able to reveal the upper Light. That’s because the Light is attained and perceived in this vessel of confidence, meaning, we have to be sure that it is in our power to do this and it depends only on us. If this inner sensation arises in us, we will definitely be successful and reveal the Light.

The degree of life is defined by the degree of one’s confidence, and the stronger is the sensation of confidence, the more the Light becomes revealed inside of it. We are in an ocean of infinite Light even now, but due to the lack of confidence, the vessel for the Light’s revelation, we sense ourselves in this miniscule state – in a black central point, giving us the weakest possible sensation of life called “this world.”

If we want to acquire a greater sensation of life in ever-increasing spheres, until the last, infinite, unbounded sphere, this depends only on how sure we will be that we can attain it only inside of our unity.

There cannot be any doubts and lack of confidence, such as thoughts of this not being the right time to do it, that maybe we can do it tomorrow or the next day. The moment we attain this confidence all together, we will immediately break through the Machsom.

Even the sensation of our life here, in this world, also depends on the feeling of confidence. The greater the confidence, the greater the sensation of material life.

The Light and our ego are playing with one another, and we are in the middle, between them. Everything depends only on the level of our confidence: whether we will be able to rise above egoism at every moment and cleave to the Light, aspiring to be equal to it.

This war does not stop for a moment because as soon as we rise above a certain state, a greater egoistic desire is immediately revealed to give us the opportunity to rise above it to a higher level. This is why we need to be doing constant inner work: descents and ascents, alternating non-stop.

We have to understand that all the descents are given to us to overcome them and this way to attain unlimited confidence. And the only solution here is to separate from ourselves and cleave to the group. In it I must find the great force that can swallow me and bring me to the next level, like a mother’s womb, the AHP of the upper one.

To the extent I am able to cleave to this elevator, it will continuously elevate me to higher levels. I just need to cleave to it all the time above my egoism, which will get in my way less and less.

My task is only to rise above reception in bestowal, faith above reason, and this action is only possible in the group. I will continuously try to do this, while my ego will throw me to the side, distracting me with trivial matters, and then with matters that are larger and more serious, until I finally detach from it and will even stop feeling how far I have gotten.

Our entire work comes down to this. And if at every moment I don’t experience myself deeper inside the group, the society, and the common confidence that we acquire together, then I come out of my vessel, our common desire for revealing the spiritual world, and I don’t attain anything. That is how I lose confidence.
Our entire confidence is based on a person cleaving to the group and there finding the force that lets him continuously attain greater spiritual levels.
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From the preparatory lesson to the Arvut Convention, 12/4/11

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Opinion: (Alain de Benoist, a French philosopher and political scientist, from gazeta.au): “A market economy is based on constant growth: more production, consumption, and profit. It cannot stop growing because then it will collapse. This mentality was forced upon people: work harder, consume more, and have a higher profit.

“This is the logic of capitalism: increase capital by any means. Material resources are limited, so the problem of the growth limit arises. This is an ecological limit: Economic growth can lead to an environmental disaster….

“Consequently, the crisis will be global. It will go beyond economics and finance and change the world completely. We must rethink our economic principles and make a clear division between private and state, public, economy. We need more ideas and the decolonization of thoughts as the economy is already deeply ingrained in the very mentality of people.”
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Question: I am trying to imagine 72 hours at the convention. How will this process bring me to the One, Unique, and Unified?

Answer: I enter the convention hall like a holy pool (Mikveh), a place that will purify and correct me. This is a place filled with holy water, the quality of Bina, the mother’s womb that I become included in and grow in. I don’t need to do anything besides settling in there like a drop of semen inside the womb. I must only cleave to it, and everything else will be done by others. I must simply become part of what is happening.

It is written, “The Creator dwells inside of his nation,” where “inside of the nation” means the place where everyone gathers and each person annuls his egoism as much as he can for the sake of uniting together. Then we reveal that there, inside of this unity, the upper one is present—Malchut, the Shechina. And inside of it—the Shochen, the Creator.

We don’t need anything else! Just come there and don’t be a smart alec. Lose your “I”: You come in and dissolve. Someone asks you to do something, so do it. Just connect to it, without any clarifications. The most important thing is to go with the common flow.

That is why the convention is appropriate for everyone, for every person. If a person can just come there, then a powerful force will arise there that will take us over and will spin us all in one whirlpool, like one whole. And we don’t need anything else. We won’t need a special mind or lengthy studies, but just that force. With it, you will already receive an impression of the upper one, of the upper level. So come!

You came there and you’re singing, dancing, eating, and preparing food, and you annul yourself before what is happening as much as you can. This will bring you to the upper level because it is there, inside, in the connection between people.

The tradition to hold mutual meals, to sing songs, and dance was established by Kabbalists. All of this leads to unity, and without unity, it’s impossible. Abraham once invited guests to his tent and first of all, he sat them down at a common meal, while explaining that it is necessary to unite and love the neighbor.

We won’t manage anything without unity. I understand that our egoism, our nature is against it. I was also opposed to unity once, and even more than you are. But that doesn’t scare me: For any egoism, there is a force capable of defeating it. Most importantly, try to be as determined as you can and set your mind to coming there and losing yourself.

Get lost in some unknown place, like a wallet that you had and is now gone. There’s just nothing you can do about it: It was there, and now it’s gone! Try it!
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/28/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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