Question: What is the reason for the fact that when we read The Book of Zohar and keep a very tangible intention, it suddenly disappears, and we understand that it has disappeared only once we remember about it?

Answer: That’s obvious! This is given to us so we would demand the sensation. We are unable to keep two thoughts in our mind. What can be better than attuning myself correctly before reading The Book of Zohar, together with the friends, in a circle, and inside of it desiring to reveal what we are reading?

However, what happens is that I attune myself and start reading, and suddenly I become immersed in the text slightly more deeply. Then I no longer use it as “Segula” – the special quality of the Light, wishing to reveal it in the connection between us. Instead, I switch my attention to the text itself, aspiring to understand it and to attain it, the way I read regular books, wishing to find out what they’re talking about. I don’t perceive what is written there as something that happens inside of me, between us, inside of us, but as something that exists outside of me. I immediately shift to the external picture.

After that, all kinds of alien thoughts come to me and I start “traveling” in these fantasies and calculations.

This happens until a person sees that he is unable to come out of this and it deprives him of the right approach where he would literally be able to “latch on by the teeth” in order to hold on to the right attitude to the reading.

What should he do? Eventually he reaches a demand that he needs the sensation—not to get to know the text or hear it, but to enter this picture, to attain it. He wants this to happen, for this picture to become clear to him. Just as he is in this earthly reality now, so he has to find himself inside of that spiritual reality.

Therefore, this entire confusion, all of these states have to bring us to such despair that we will desire only the sensation, while clearly realizing that we are incapable of anything on our own, even of keeping the intention. But nevertheless, we will clearly discern exactly what we do need.

Then, on one hand you understand that there is nothing you could do and there’s no point even in opening up the book. You reach total despair. But on the other hand, you know that you are unable to leave this path because your entire life is in it. And then, you receive it….

This point is truly critical because from it, you can enter the spiritual world. And that is what really happens.
[49094]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/24/11, The Zohar

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Influence of the Environment on a Person

"Make for yourself a teacher and buy for yourself a friend" means that to reach the goal, one has to make a new environment for oneself: the Teacher and and the friends who will help him obtain the greatness of his Teacher. And then bestowal to the Teacher would turn into reception from him so much so that it would give rise to actions for the Creator’s sake. And since the greatness of the Teacher completely depends on the environment, a person alone cannot reach the goal: revelation of the Creator.
– Baal HaSulam, "A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar"

And since one does not have the basis for obtaining His greatness, he will obviously not be able to bestow, but only to receive for oneself since bringing contentment upon the Creator will not bring pleasure for him.
– Baal HaSulam, "A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar"
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Influence of the Environment on a Person

A person has qualities that his parents bequeathed to him, and he has qualities that he acquired from the society through the envy that he feels toward the friends when he sees that they have better qualities than his own. Through the society, he gains new powers that he adopts by seeing that they are at a higher degree than his, and he is envious of them.
– Rabash, Rabash—the Social Writings, “Concerning Above Reason”

If one does not have any desire for spirituality, if he is among people who have a desire for spirituality, if he likes these people, he, too, will be imbued with their aspirations.
– Baal HaSulam, Shamati (I Heard), Article No. 99, “He Did Not Say Wicked or Righteous”

One cannot raise oneself above one’s circle. However, if one chooses for oneself a good environment, one saves time and efforts, since one is drawn according to one’s environment.
– Baal HaSulam, Shamati (I Heard), Article No. 225, “Raising Oneself”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Influence of the Environment on a Person

Everyone has his own spiritual root, but its forces are revealed only through the environment one is in. This is similar to the wheat sown in the ground, whose forces become apparent only through its environment. Thus, only in the matter of the choice of environment is man’s reign over himself measured, and for this he should receive either reward or punishment.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

The measure of the greatness of the Creator and the goal does not depend on the individual, but on the environment. And even if one is filled with virtues but the environment does not favor their development, one will be unable to develop them.
– Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Influence of the Environment on a Person

From the very beginning of one’s life, one has freedom to choose such an environment, such books, and such guides that impart to him good thoughts. If one does not do that, he is bound to fall into a bad environment, which is abundant and attractive and which will induce him to a misdeed. He will certainly be punished, not because of his evil thoughts or deeds, in which he has no choice, but because he did not choose to be in a good environment, for in that there is definitely a choice.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

He who strives to continually choose a better environment is worthy of reward. But here, too, it is not because of his good thoughts and deeds, which come to him without his choice, but because of his effort to acquire a good environment, which brings him these good thoughts and deeds.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Influence of the Environment on a Person

All of man’s merit depends on the choice of the environment.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

Only in the matter of the choice of environment is man’s reign over himself measured, and for this he should receive either reward or punishment.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

Obtaining the importance and exaltedness of the Creator and the goal depends entirely on the environment.
– Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

Only in that is one rebuked or praised—in his choice of environment. But once he has chosen the environment, he is at its hands.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Does a Person Have Freedom of Choice?

The meaning of their words, “Therefore, choose life” is that the Creator Himself puts one’s hand on the good fate by giving him a life of pleasure and contentment within the corporeal life that is filled with torment and pain, and devoid of any content. He flees there from this life, which is harder than death.

And one’s choice refers only to the strengthening of the path and the goal and the correction of the ego to bring contentment to the Creator, Lishma. Only in this manner is one endowed with a life of happiness and pleasantness.

However, before one comes to complete correction, there is certainly a choice to strengthen in the good way by all sorts of means and tactics until he completes the work of correction and will not fall under his burden midway.
-Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” 4

All of the indecent qualities in our nature, the Creator engrained in us and created us with all the lowliness.
– Rabash, “Letter No. 29”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Does a Person Have Freedom of Choice?

We are all like machines, operating and creating through external forces, pleasure and pain, which push and pull us to their will, to where it sees fit. It turns out that no one here is free or stands on his own two feet.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

When we examine the acts of an individual, we find them compulsory. He is compelled to do them and has no freedom of choice. It’s because the upper governance has placed him between pleasure and pain. And there is no difference here between man and animal. And if that is the case, there is no free choice whatsoever, but rather the upper governance leads everyone wherever it wants, without asking their opinion in the matter.

Moreover, even the type of pleasure (what to eat and how to dress) is entirely out of one’s own free choice, but follows the will of society. Furthermore, in most cases, I do all of it against my will, which is to behave simply and dress comfortably. So you tell me, where is my freedom of will?
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Two Ways to Discover the Wholeness

There are two ways to attain the goal:

• Through exerting effort in correction, one hastens time and eases one’s path. And when one refines himself from egoism, the correction ends.
• If one does not wish to exert effort, suffering will force one to raise one’s head out of the beastly crib, to soar and climb the rungs of correction.

– Baal HaSulam, Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot, item 7

The law of gradual correction guarantees the end of correction in its time, meaning it is completely dependent on time. However, by exerting effort in correcting oneself, one completes the correction easier and earlier.
– Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Two Ways to Discover the Wholeness

If people realized that everything opposite from the path the Creator is only the evil kind that the Upper Will desired and created while concealing the face of His benevolence, they would loathe this deception of their eyes and will choose the hidden image. And if they did so, His uniqueness would be revealed to them quickly and easily since indeed, what needed to be done would have been done, as the intent is only that this matter would be verified for them, so that henceforth, they would delight in the truth that has been revealed to them.
– Ramchal, Daat Tevunot (Knowledge of Intelligence), 40

The natural law of development, acting according to the plan, is guaranteed to return all evil to good without asking permission from people. However, the Creator placed knowledge and authority in the hands of man to hasten the process of natural development.
– Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”
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