Question: If Kabbalah offers us a means to grow an eternal soul in us, it’s as if we choose from two possible conditions: One is the “I” who is handsome, rich, healthy, young, and eternal, whereas the other “I” is weak, transient, and mortal. Then why do people have such difficulty agreeing to study it?

Answer: Is this choice really up to us? If your egoism were given a choice between a good and bad condition, you would undoubtedly choose what is good. If you were given an empty and a full glass, you wouldn’t hesitate to pick the full one.

It isn’t a choice per se. You simply act instinctively as Nature dictates and you cannot do otherwise. If you chose incorrectly, it means that you either made a mistake or were sick. In other words, there isn’t any free will here.

However, the problem is that this opportunity to become healthy, handsome, perfect, and eternal is blocked from you by a wall, a concealment. You don’t see this state; you don’t feel it in your egoistic desire.

In this corporeal life, I feel and see what can give me pleasure, and even though it is temporary, at least it is clear. Such pleasures are approved by my ego, my animate body, my “Self,” all my family, all that I am connected to, and public opinion. This is how the entire world is living.

Suddenly, I am offered something that I have neither desire for, nor support from the others. How, then, may I choose it? Clearly, I will go with my beastly interests.

Therefore, we need to cultivate the desire for this hidden part called “the desire for bestowal.” It is something totally new, and when you get to know it, it will be a completely different world, a new reality. You, yourself, will be different because you will grow new organs of perception and new desires within you.

You will simply split yourself into two with a clear-cut line: On one side there will be everything that you have today and, on the other, everything new, without any connection between them. What you will have on this new side will be called your soul. However, you will have to cultivate this system from only the point you possess at the moment, which doesn’t have any aim or direction.

The problem lies in the fact that you don’t see what your benefit is. It is impossible to see it in your ego. And if you think that you picture and desire some spiritual world in your ego right now, it means you are seeing the same material world. You just think that it is part of spirituality, but, in truth, all of it is nothing but matter.

Yet, all this deceitful, illusory picture is needed solely to build the authentic one specifically with its help.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/24/10, “Body and Soul”

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Question: Why are we given the illusion of freedom in this world?

Answer: We consider ourselves free for as long as we do not think about it much and identify ourselves with our animate body. But if we rose above our body a little, we would see that it strictly obeys the laws and processes it is subject to.

I think it is up to me when to go to sleep and when to go to work. But who is it really up to? I am placed in certain conditions and given certain internal qualities. Meanwhile, our will to receive pleasure (desire) acts as an engine that works according to a simple principle: maximal pleasure at minimal effort, that is, maximal gain at minimal investment.

This is the calculation we perform at each moment of our lives, in every aspect, any direction, any place, and in relation to everything there is. This is how our nature works, taking into consideration various conditions: how tired and healthy I am, how big the danger and possible pleasure are, and so forth. Understandably, as such, we remain inside our ego, and there is no free will there.

We have to realize that free will is possible only if I control my desire and am above it. For as long as I remain in my egoistic nature, I will always be an obedient puppet, fully controlled by my egoism.

If, however, I wish to take control in my own hands, I have to manage my desire, rise above it. In other words, free will is possible, but only above desire. And the only question is: How do I rise above my nature, by what means?
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: If I once chose the path and rose above my egoism, am I free for good or must I keep choosing anew?

Answer: In order to reach the purpose of creation, we have to attain the state of “Israel (those who aspire to the Creator), the Torah (the Light of correction), and the Creator are one” and experience it in all our properties and desires.

Therefore, each moment of our evolution, we have to aim ourselves at oneness with the Creator, which constitutes our free choice. From all of these points of adhesion, we build one line and arrive at the final destination.

In other words, it isn’t enough to make a choice once so that later you may do whatever you want. You make a choice based on the conditions that are revealed to you at the moment. But next time, you will be completely different, a new creation, new world inside and out.

It’s because you keep uncovering new, stronger, desire to feel pleasure, which has different properties. And you have to discern yet again what conditions you are placed in, find the point of free will, decide what you are choosing, and move on with this new choice.

Conversely, at each point of the journey, you need to perform the work of clarification in order to “distance yourself from evil and choose the good” and realize that point of adhesion fully.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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The point in the heart, which has no form or direction, is similar to my spiritual “stem” cell, from which I can freely build myself up. It is the end of the rope thrown to me from the final state that I must reach. Grounded in it, I can now build everything else around it by exercising my free will.

All reality is divided into me and the external world. And if I know how to use the external reality correctly, I can change myself, thereby realizing my free will. Freedom lies solely in the ability to change oneself and not the world! The world is just the imprint of my properties.

I only need to know how to correct my properties, how to change the combination of these initial, natural qualities in me. To do this, I am given a “Kli” (an instrument), a lever, a “crane” that I can use to turn myself upside down and lift myself up! Then, the entire reality will change. I see that everything is different now, as if I were born into a new world.

So, do I replace my view of reality or the reality itself? I change the reality! After all, reality is what resides within my perceptions.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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All souls root in one creature, one soul of Adam HaRishon. All of the events unfold in it. The soul was divided into multiple parts upon introduction of the will to receive into it, which is opposed to unity. The breaking is necessary for correction, and otherwise, it was impossible to break the soul into pieces.

Following the example of the king who transferred his treasure overseas by handing a coin to each of his couriers to assure success of the delivery, the soul of Adam HaRishon also gets corrected (transitions from the corporeal world into the spiritual one) part by part.

Breaking into parts is regarded as a “sin” although in truth, nobody sinned. In fact, a force aimed at receiving entered the collective soul in order to saturate each of its parts and separate it from the others. From that moment onward, each soul’s work lies in overcoming this force and reattaching its part of the common treasure to the unified interconnection.

In relation to me, all other parts are complete, and their seemingly broken and corrupted state is the effect of my own flaw. This is how a person should view the world, not fantasizing but inwardly working on himself. In that case, his outlook will change, and he will see that the surrounding world is filled with perfection and only he is corrupted.

Thereby, a person gets to know the initial breaking of the unified soul. By correcting himself, he returns to its parts as Adam, meaning that he acquires the collective intention toward all parts, all “transgressions,” and toward the entire force of detachment that penetrated the system and cracked it into 600 000 souls.

The correction is performed from light to heavy, according to the unfolding of the Aviut (coarseness, thickness) of the given part or, in other words, according to resentment it feels toward the others. After all, no matter how high a person ascends, the evil inclination rules over him anyway. However, a person is always given the exact measure he is able to correct. We need to realize free will by way of unifying with the group.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, “Which Degree Should One Achieve so He Will Not Have to Reincarnate?”

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Question: If I am the one who creates and projects the film of my own life, this entire reality, then why do people create unpleasant films for themselves?

Answer: Creating a film is not yet in your power. You cannot yet be a producer. You need to rule over your desire, the Light, and be able to determine exactly how they can vary according to strict laws and not just the way you want them to. This way, you gradually build a better reality.

This is your only freedom of choice, and this is exactly why we study the wisdom of Kabbalah. Until you gain power over the film of your reality, the Creator is in charge of it in order to obligate you to create your own film. This is why our entire life and all our reincarnations are meant to “inspire” us to make the proper film, an authentic one, not an imaginary one.

This is what makes the perception of reality in the wisdom of Kabbalah so interesting. It is because this is neither a theoretical study nor a scholastic discussion, but a special method which I can use to really change my world, to escape to different dimensions, as it were.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Perception of Reality” 10/26/10

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We have a single free action in this world in our life, and everything else unfolds absolutely inevitably, upon the orders from Above. But it isn’t easy to find this freedom that had been left to us since we are strictly governed from Above by pain and pleasure, being tied by a thousand strings that control our desire, thought, body, words, and acts.

We are the obedient puppets that are being pulled by these strings from Above. We are complete slaves to our nature, from the moment we are an embryo’s cell developing in the mother’s womb and up to the age when we think that we are finally able to act and live independently.

Man is governed by the forces of Nature, so if everything is Nature, how can something new emerge in him? Therefore, there is no freedom of will in this world. A person always picks what pleases him most and flees from suffering as any other creature, be it vegetative or animate.

Despite this illusory freedom that man was initially bestowed with (since we think we can do whatever we want!), it is still an illusion. The true freedom lies in stepping out and rising above our nature, which means stepping out and rising above egoism.

It is written in the Torah that this is the “freedom from the angel of death.” No man can disregard such words! Freedom from death doesn’t imply that our animate body will live forever to infinitely languish in this corporeal life full of pain and so very little pleasure to enjoy.

Freedom from the angel of death replaces this life with attainment of perfect and the most comfortable existence, which is eternal and complete at the same time! And this can be achieved by what we refer to as “freedom of will.”

Such freedom becomes truly enticing and desirable since in the ordinary life, we don’t usually need any freedom, and we are the most satisfied when life is steady like a well tuned clock: home, family, and work. The less freedom, the less headache there is. But if we can attain eternal life and perfection, having freed ourselves from the angel of death, what can be better?

Moreover, it is necessary to understand that the angel of death is our own ego that is digging us into the grave. It gives us a horrible feeling that it’s impossible to become fulfilled and that life is limited and transient.

Freedom from the angel of death signifies attainment of bestowal, its infinite fulfillment and engagement in the eternal flow of life. Knowing this, let’s try to clarify from the writings of Kabbalists: How can we attain such freedom?
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, “The Freedom”

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A question that is arriving from all around the world now: How can we attain the right connection at the upcoming Convention and receive a good influence from the environment?

Answer: Every person is coming there without any obligations. There is no pressure. The most important thing is to feel as free as possible. I am coming to the Convention having left all my worries behind. When I am there, it’s as if I don’t have any problems. You should prepare as if you’re going on a picnic or on vacation, without a worry in your head.

Of course, it’s good to learn the songs and familiarize yourself with the preparation to the Convention site. But the most important thing is to come there feeling completely free. You should arrive at a place that does not pressure you in any way and promises you only pleasure and freedom. And in fact, that is exactly the state that signifies being close to the Upper Light.

In the spiritual world there is no pressure, problems, or difficult responsibilities. There’s nothing! Therefore, a person has to come to the Convention open to being happy!

Right now I am receiving many questions and letters from people who are experiencing difficult states and feeling stressed. They are unsure whether they should attend the Convention or not and whether it is the right thing for them. Some people get scared when hearing about mutual guarantee, thinking they aren’t capable of it. Some people have heard that it’s the place for receiving “Light” and they don’t know what that is.

People don’t understand that it is talking only about unity, which the whole world now has to reach! We wish to accelerate it before nature’s blows come down on us. The unity between us that we are trying to reach will enable us to reach the sensation of the Upper Light, the Upper Life. This unity will heal us of all the afflictions and problems.

Baal HaSulam writes at the end of the “Preface to the Book of Zohar” that our separation from one another is the source of all evil, suffering, diseases, and misfortunes. And vice versa, when we start to come closer to each other, we will purify ourselves of all problems on all levels, material and spiritual.

Therefore, come to the Convention freely and joyfully; no one obligates you to do anything! You don’t even have to bring a smile; we will organize that for you there. You just wait and see.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, “The Freedom”

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During a descent, a state of darkness, helplessness, and separation from the Creator, the most important thing is to try to combine all the means correctly. In a descent a person has to build everything just like it happened to him during an ascent, when the Creator gave him a clear example. Then the two of them will be equal.

The Creator gives a person understanding, sensation, closeness, adhesion, the right mood, confidence, faith, the ability to bestow, the impulse, and the willingness to bestow. When a person feels all of this during an ascent, he must check his feelings very well so that he doesn’t just enjoy, but also performs a constant analysis of the situation.

Now this state came from the Creator as an example, and later, in a descent, a person will have to understand that the Creator has left him, similar to how an adult leaves a child so the child would do something on his own. It is time for the little one to recreate what he saw.

That is how we learn to keep the covenant we took upon ourselves during an ascent. Now, in a descent, we understand that it is for our own good. This state will enable us to create conditions of being independent of our sensations and thus we will reveal all the means to come to the Light. We just need to make our own efforts.

We never succeed without the Creator’s help, yet we act independently because we ourselves use all the means He has given to us. That is how creation makes itself equal to the Creator.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/10, “All of Israel Have A Part in the Next World”

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A person who is thrown into darkness loses all connection with the previous state of ascent. If the Creator then shows mercy on him and awakens him with Light, this does not mean that the person performed a correction. If, however, he awakens on his own with the help of the group, then he really does become corrected.

During an ascent a person prepared the right way: He put everything he possibly could into the group, using it as an “inspiration fund.” The efforts he made enable him to keep the connection during a descent. Now, by grabbing onto the end of this string, a person can awaken and through the group attract Light, energy, understanding, and faith above knowledge. Thus, he will start coming out of the descent towards a new ascent.

By means of the group a person always has the opportunity to renew the unity. Unlike the unity of the forefathers who were unable to receive the Torah yet, our unity directly connects a person to the group. This is where one’s free choice lies: to start working with the help of the group and equalize the descents with the ascents.

It turns out that at the end of the day, our entire freedom is realized in the group. A person actualizes unity only with the help of the group.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/10,  “600,000 Souls”

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