Baal HaSulam “The Freedom”: It is said: “Harut (carved) on the stones”; do not pronounce it Harut (carved), but rather Herut (freedom), to show that they are liberated from the angel of death.

It is said: “I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as a spice.” What is the Torah? It is the tool that contains the Light that Reforms.

Thus, we can attract the upper Light, and it brings us back to the Source so that from the evil inclination we turn ourselves into the good inclination. In this way, we change from the receiving desire called “the angel of death” to the giving desire called “the angel of life.” This is freedom from the angel of death.

Indeed, in our receiving desire, we can perceive nothing but this world, that is, an animate existence. We live, suffer, and eventually die. We cannot even imagine how low and defective this life is.

Until we reach bestowal, all our life here is an escape from suffering for the sake of  such meager pleasures that they have no place in the spiritual world. The smallest spiritual degree is myriad times greater, fuller, and more whole than all the pleasures of this world at all times. It is impossible to imagine.

To sustain such a great spiritual pleasure, it is necessary to prepare the vessel with the intention to bestow. Be that as it may, we will be able to rise above the angel of death only in the property of bestowal.
[46362]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/2011, “The Freedom”

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Question: We say that excessive consumption is consumption at others’ expense. However, in order to see the evil contained in it, do we have to peek at the end of the movie?

Answer: No. The Creator does not have a shortage of minerals, vitamins, oil, gas, water, or anything else. He arranges troubles for you in this world so you would begin becoming aware of your loss. You are losing out.

The Creator does not show you that in reality you are letting the spiritual world pass by because then you would lose the freedom of choice. Instead He puts you under the blows of this world, from which you begin to realize the evil of your nature. You don’t reveal the Creator as being the cause of your troubles, but your own egoism.

Then, unable to correct it, you begin to regret having it. That is how you gradually come to the realization of evil. So what should you do with it? How can you climb out of the trap? Slowly but surely, you come closer to the solution.

Lack of resources, natural disasters, and people stealing from each other are all artificial things at the end of the day. This is “small change” intended to help us eventually reveal the fact that we are stealing the spiritual world from one another.

In reality, why should I share what I have with you and satisfy myself with the bare necessities? It’s only in order to learn from this and acquire the desires that aspire to spirituality. This is the goal, and everything is structured precisely this way from the beginning. Otherwise every person would have gotten his own planet.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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We are in an unknown reality, and to this day, while existing in this world we still do not understand exactly where we are, by what program we develop, and what goal we are moving toward. We do not understand anything in our life, and being sheltered by concealment, we consider ourselves smart and intelligent, as if we have knowledge, our own opinion, and freedom of will.

But when blows and suffering catch up to us, we understand that we are incapable of anything, that we don’t understand anything, and don’t have any chance to behave intelligently. Especially now, during a time of crisis, we see that we do not have any chances of relating to reality correctly, that we are facing problems and don’t even have the slightest ability to understand them. Even if we sometimes understand something one millimeter ahead of time, this does not enable us to change our state or to behave differently. Even if we decide that we really do need to change and start behaving differently, we don’t have the forces to change our behavior. So what’s the use of these decisions if we can’t change ourselves, influence one another, and the whole world?

Even when we see that we only inflict harm and misfortunes upon ourselves, that we are, in fact, leading ourselves to death, we are still unable to stop ourselves. What insignificance, what ignominy! We would simply finish our lives inside of our will to enjoy, which completely kills us if we did not receive the Torah, the means to correct the egoistic desire so that starting from the lowest possible point, a moment before death, we could start raising it to the top, to the level of the Creator, the higher, opposite quality—the will to bestow.

This means, called “Torah” is more important than anything. Without it there is no chance to achieve anything. We cannot develop through suffering. The influence of suffering only makes the will to enjoy develop. Blows make it search for all sorts of means to get rid of the troubles, and in the end it leads itself to death in order to avoid suffering. When the desire feels unbearable suffering due to its absolute opposition to the Light, it is willing to nullify itself completely, anything but to suffer.

If so, then the Torah is the only means leading us to life, correction, and existence. That is why there is no path of suffering, no path without Torah. The Torah has to become revealed to humanity so people would be able to use it. And they have to reveal it in the right form—as the Light that reforms. But if they don’t use the Torah correctly, meaning that they don’t realize it, that means they are following the path of suffering. If they use it correctly, then they follow the path of Torah, the path of Light. And if they are in the middle between one and the other, they advance by “the earthly path.”

Therefore, Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)” is very important since it tells us about how we can receive the Torah. There is a giving of the Torah from above, and there is a reception of the Torah from below. All of the suffering comes to us because we do not use the Torah correctly, the Light that reforms, that brings us back to the source of goodness. Everything depends on our efforts to become good. Therefore, we do not have a lack for anything besides this means. So let’s find out how to receive the Torah and come to goodness!
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/19/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)

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Question: What does Kabbalah say about original sin, and what does this lapse from virtue mean?

Answer: Kabbalah asserts that the entire tale of Adam and Eve and their lapse from virtue is an allegory. It refers to the events that took place in the upper Sefirot before the creation of this reality: our universe and us inside it.

There is no “sin” in any of this. We call it so because we fell from the spiritual degree on which we were initially created to our current degree, this world, across the entire 125 degrees. This is called the “sin,” but it was not our doing. It happened in our root.

Later, when we developed over thousands of years at the level of this world, this also was not our doing. We have developed unconsciously this entire time, without knowing how and where we developed. Egoism pushed us forward.

However, now is the first time in history that we have come to our freedom of choice. Either we will develop consciously and correct ourselves because we see and feel a benefit and purpose in it, or very big problems will come which will force us to do so through enormous suffering. In other words, at this point, we stand at the crossroads. We can choose the path of suffering or the path of attaining the entire reality. Naturally, there is a huge difference between these two directions.

In any case, we must attain the complete correction of the world before the expiration of the 6,000 years which began with the first man, Adam. So, we have approximately the next 230 years. In other words, all of us must complete the correction and every person must acquire a soul. Then all these souls connect into one common soul and rise to the next degree.

If we follow the conscious path as we attain the universe and do the work ourselves, we will be able to complete this correction in several years, here and now! If not, we will still advance, but in the bad way, which will not last more than 230 years.

This is determined by the spiritual structure of the six upper Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, and Yesod. This is why we must attain correction over the course of 6,000 years.
[44665]
From the Lecture in Rome 5/20/2011

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Question: What do we celebrate during holiday Shavuot?

Answer: During Shavuot, we celebrate the giving of the Torah. It’s the day when all who are regarded as “Israel” (“Isra-El,” meaning “straight to the Creator”) were given the Torah, the method of self-realization through free will, rather than coming to the pre-programmed state of fulfillment under the impact of the Light pushing them to it.

On the contrary, they are able to see themselves, the entire reality, and even the Creator. Instead of Him doing it, they can decide that they truly desire to reach this goal, as if He wasn’t the one who supplied it.

We celebrate that we are able to understand, feel, and attain the upper force that works within us and can identify ourselves with its acts. Clearly, this upper force, the Creator, works either way. However, we attain how He works; we desire for Him to work on us, and even before He takes any action, we already strive toward Him. This is how love is measured.

Question: So, only with the giving of the Torah did we obtain free will, the freedom to accept the method and realize it willingly, whereas previously, we didn’t have any such free will, did we?

Answer: Correct. Hence, it is regarded as freedom from the angel of death, “being a free nation in our own country (our desire),” being free. What does such freedom entail? Now I am able to express my own view of the purpose of creation and our path.

Can you switch to another purpose? You can’t. Can you choose a different path? No. What is so unique about it then? I take my part in it; I make a decision; I choose this desire; I am present in this process. Otherwise, I’m not. The Creator gave us a chance to participate. This means I assert myself and my independence, which happens in the degree I identify myself with the Creator by becoming similar to Him. I am either a beast or a human.
[44582]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/29/2011, Shamati #40

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The science of Kabbalah is special because it allows us to reveal how to control the two forces of nature: the force of reception and the force of bestowal. All of nature is comprised of these two forces. We see them everywhere: plus and minus, bestowal and reception. Their combination is what creates the essence of our lives.

On the still level they build atoms and molecules, dipoles, crystalline patterns, and so on. On the vegetative level the combination of a plus and minus produces life: a plus provides useful things whereas a minus excretes waste, which enables a body to live and develop.

On the animate level a plus and minus become even greater and their interconnection not only causes useful things to be absorbed and harmful things excreted, but also brings about movement, reproduction, and the individual life of a separate animal. This is already a special sum of two influences.

However, as paradoxical as it may be, on the human level only one of two forces was operating to this day. As a result, any pleasure that entered us immediately waned. That’s because our desire is egoistic and we did not have any chance to oppose it, to add a second force against it so we could excrete the harmful things from our desires and thoughts, from our hearts and minds, which belong to the human level.

Now a second force is being revealed in us—the point in the heart, which stands opposite to egoism. It enables us to form ourselves, to decide which thoughts and desires to bring inside and which to take outside. As a result, out of thousands of thoughts and desires, we can gather a new structure and build a special level inside of us called “human” (Adam) or ”soul.” It consists of ten Sefirot and is also called “Partzuf”—a spiritual structure.

This is what we form inside of us by virtue of the fact that two forces have finally begun developing in us. For hundreds of thousands of years, only one force operated in us on the human level. We were constantly activated by the desires and thoughts that awakened in us. That is how we lived.

But now, together with several million people from the whole world, we have received a true gift from above—the bestowing desire in addition to the receiving desire. And now we are forming a new creation inside of us. We must build the human in us ourselves. This is the entire purpose of man’s existence in this world. Otherwise, why does he exist here? What can he possibly do here?

Today we are advancing together with all humanity. We are the first, and others will come after us. From one day to the next new people are awakening and joining this process of building a person inside of each one of us. You and I are learning how to become human in the true sense of the word.
[44840]
From the 1st lesson at the Madrid Convention 4/6/11

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Comment: As a rule, prophets talk about two options of development: hard and easy….

Answer: Suppose your son is lazy and stubborn. He is smart but has no desire to realize his potential properly. What would you like to see him as in the future?

Comment: A famous soccer player.

Answer: I see. It is the modern dream of a father.

Well, you take him to a soccer school, but he is lazy and does not want to work. He is required to have a daily regimen, exercise regularly, and sleep well at night without any parties. The life of athletes is a hard life indeed; it follows a strict schedule. People sacrifice their best years to become professionals. In this case, the body becomes a machine that is pushed to work at full capacity.

So, your son does not want to practice. What can you do? But you are sure that soccer in particular is his future. Then, you take a belt. Here, the question arises: Whether beating can make him a soccer player? Does this move him in the right direction?

Comment: No, this simply hurts him.

Answer: It means that the belt does not help. But after this “educational work” your son makes a calculation: What should he do? He suffers both from the beating and the training. Where is suffering greater, and where is it lesser? His egoistic desire compares the outcomes, and he decides: If his father makes him suffer more than the coach does, he goes to soccer practice.

On the soccer team, he meets other boys and gradually acquires a taste for the game. If he does not, you continue to punish him until he fulfills your program.

We see from this example that suffering simply takes one closer to realization. How can we manage without it? We are lazy and stubborn, each of us. It is not just about physical activity; we are obstinate in the mind and heart, in perception and sensitivity. Every second, we shrug aside important things, take a smoke break, sleep with our eyes open.

How can we use every moment of our life for spiritual training? To do that, we constantly have to ignite ourselves with our friends’ burning desire. Otherwise, the Creator will inflict blows upon you, and you will come out of your daze because of fear or pain, one or the other. However, you must realize the entire program because without it, you will lack desires.

Consequently, you face only one opportunity: to fulfill the desire of the Creator. You will do it in any case, but you have two options, two paths, leading to this realization. You cannot escape training and awakening; however, you can take the long path of suffering, during which you sleep (although not like a baby). Or, you can take the short path, where you are given a chance to realize yourself quickly by receiving additional desire, additional awakening from the environment. They stir your enthusiasm, and you run to your practice.

It does not matter which way you come to the practice: This is your choice.
[44466]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/31/2011, “The Peace”

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Question: What is so special about the Torah that even The Book of Zohar is just a commentary on it?

Answer: The records that Moses made on parchment are the earthly expression, through material symbols, of spiritual actions of Light on desire. Moses wrote down everything he taught his students in a book. Over the course of 40 years of wandering in the desert, they wrote down the whole Torah, going through the entire process in record, as well as in bodies, and in spirituality. This is the entire path from the Egyptian exile (earthly and spiritual), through the desert (earthly and spiritual), and into the land of Israel (earthly and spiritual). All of this came true in the connection between the root and the branch. Moses expressed this entire process in this concrete, symbolic form.

The Zohar expresses the same process on a different level, in a different form because the general desire to enjoy that the Creator created had by that time advanced several steps forward and was perfected by the influence of the Light. Therefore, this desire, which went through ascents and descents, the destruction of the First and Second Temple, the exile, and then reached the last breakage before the last exile, had to be given the method that is appropriate for the end of the exile, for our time.

That is why The Book of Zohar was written, whose authors were the successors of many generations of Kabbalists, starting from Abraham until the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Shimon was the student of Rabbi Akiva, who revealed a great Light, and therefore he was able to express this in The Book of Zohar.

The Torah itself is divided into two parts: oral and written. This comes from the difference between Zeir Anpin and Malchut. Zeir Anpin of the world of Atzilut is the “oral Torah,” while Malchut of the world of Atzilut is the “written Torah.”

The Torah is the revelation of Light. The Light that comes to Malchut contains everything that is necessary for changing Malchut. But this Light still hasn’t come true in practice, and is therefore called “the oral Torah.” For now this is work with the screens.

Under the influence of the same Light in Malchut, inner changes take place and are impressed in Malchut, this is called “the written Torah.” This is talking only about actions of the Light in the desires from the beginning of creation and until its end. That’s because there is nothing in existence besides desires.

Among these desires some feel that they exist by themselves, separate from all the others. This is us. These desires contain qualities that can help them on the path of correction. And that is why we receive a sensation of lacking, our own lack of correction, the realization of evil. This is how we perceive ourselves.

These are exactly the desires that need to be given “the Torah”—the instructions explaining how they can participate in their own corrections out of their own free choice, how they can attract the Light by wishing to become corrected faster, instead of waiting for the Light to come and shake them up.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/29/11, Shamati
[44585]

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Question: If the Creator has a certain program of our development, why should we be interfering in it and trying to go around it?

Answer: There is a natural program of evolution regarded as “nature.” Nature has a built-in engine that spins and unwinds the entire development, while we obediently follow it for hundreds of thousands of years and thereby evolve. And so it has been over the whole human history on earth.

But at the same time, the program stipulates that man gradually reaches a state when he will start participating in its work himself. The force underlying nature keeps influencing and developing desire. And inside desire, it also cultivates the point that originates from the soul’s root. At a certain moment, besides the will to receive pleasure, we start hearing the voice of this point in the heart. The time comes when it makes itself known and demands man to actualize it.

Realization of the point occurs above desire. Hence, man feels split into two and finds himself facing a choice: to follow his ego, which is his corporeal desire (for things such as food, sex, family, wealth, power, and knowledge), or to keep raising this spiritual point and get the answers to the questions: Who am I? Where did I start? Where is the upper force? What is this life all about? What is the purpose of existence?

The point in the heart begins asking these questions and plunges one into confusion. Then he or she somehow finds the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is programmed as well! Life is not accidental; everything that takes place in this world descends on us from the upper world. Whether you will choose the second path or not, get all the opportunities to have it actualized, this too is subject to the same program of creation.

Today, you come to study not at your own will. It’s just that there were forces which worked on you and made you realize that you should come. Your freedom starts only where you are clearly facing a choice: to enter a Kabbalistic group or not, and even at the deeper level within you, are you willing to sacrifice your ego so you can become vital part of it or not.

The choice lies only between two desires: one aimed at oneself and the other directed outward. Here is where you really have to choose. Desire directed at oneself is AHP (the lower part of the Partzuf). Desire turned outward is Galgalta ve Eynaim, the upper part of the Partzuf. And in between, there lies an area regarded as “Klipat Noga,” where you seem to be making that choice. Yet, new questions arise: What do you base your choice on, and how are you being manipulated from Above so that you make this and not the other decision?

The same program dictates us to circulate Kabbalah all over the world. Without it, it won’t come to correction since it follows only a natural program of development, just like all other levels of nature. We need to use these levels correctly, meaning that we need to use—in thought, action, and intention—the rest of humanity, as well as the animate, vegetative, and still levels of nature, in order to adjoin them to ourselves and together, as one creation, ascend from the level of this world to the upper world.
[44147]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/27/2011, “General Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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We shouldn’t criticize the states we experience every moment. After all, we don’t know what they are given for and where they come from.

All we need to do is try to understand how to use the state we received right now. We should acknowledge it with the understanding that there is no better state for our advancement, for the correction of our soul, than the one we are presently in. We should thank the Creator for the bad just as we would for the good.

After all, I measure my state according to my flaws. If I were reformed, I would feel infinity in each state. However, if I experience an opposite feeling somewhere, it means there is a certain flaw that I need to feel, work through, and to correct this sensation until I feel perfect.

Hence, it follows that it is the Creator who causes a person’s prayer. He is the very cause. However, between His calling and a person’s action, there lies free will of the person himself, which consists of the way he responds and clarifies the following:

• from whom he received this condition,
• what he is supposed to do with it,
• what will help him reform himself,
• what state he should come to next.

All of this is up to a person himself. He discerns the difference between the state he is going through and the one in which he would like to see himself. Indeed, the sensation of deficiency will determine his subsequent state.

As for us, we are not expected to provide anything else except the correct desire, until it is aimed directly at reaching the final goal: bestowal, the degree and might of which equals that of the upper force as in the root of our soul from where we all came.

Thus we work together: The Creator awakens us, while we, at each moment of our life, first have to understand that everything is supplied by Him. We must aim ourselves at the right work: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.” Thereby, we develop a prayer that expresses our personal desire.

That is, both of us, the Creator and I, are working on desire. As for the Light, it’s not our concern. I worry solely about desire. He gives it to me, and I start working with it, having done so and exerted sufficient effort to bring the desire received from Him to another desire which is now called a prayer. To the degree of my desire being correct or corrupt, the Creator reforms me and provides me with a new desire. With its help I have to correct myself again, defining my desire more accurately and precisely, which will become my new prayer.

Thus, the Creator and I keep working on my desire together, until it acquires the right shape in value, power, character, and form, thereby reaching Malchut of Infinity which includes the desires of all souls. Then, to the extent of my attained caliber of bestowal and my own lowliness, I formulate my prayer, my authentic will to receive, in the proper manner, and, there, reveal the purpose of creation.
[43842]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/2011, Writings of Rabash

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