Question: What is the difference in intentions when we are learning from The Book of Zohar or the The Study of the Ten Sefirot?

Answer: In principle, there aren’t any. The two books were written from the level of GAR of the world of Atzilut. These two languages simply complete each other and help us in that way.

If we read books that were written only in the language of the Midrash, then it’s not clear to us as to what to attribute to them. One person might be caught in isolated details and would search for meaning in them, another would try to draw parallels, and so forth.

Therefore, in order to establish, to stabilize us with the right approach and not turn The Book of Zohar into what has been done with the Torah where everyone finds what he likes: psychology, sociology, history, law, and so on, Baal HaSulam inserted a kind of “physics” or “mechanics” of mutual spiritual activities into our learning. Thanks to this we know what he was really speaking about. His books describe a spiritual system of concepts methodically, and even though I am not there emotionally yet, I can already basically imagine the essence: the ten Sefirot, the relationship between them, their actions with regard to the upper Light found above them, how they identify with it and are filled by it.

So from the start, I can hold to the right direction without running away; after that, I can begin to clarify why the author writes like this, conveying emotions like these, using words like these of our world. Baal HaSulam communicates the upper system to me where everything is determined according to the nature of things found in the lower system, where I see the nature of the still, the vegetative, the animate nature, and humans in all their diversity and richness and all the mutual connections between them. My feelings are derived from the world in which I am found, but simultaneously Baal HaSulam describes the upper world for me: “See how it is constructed.” And so without choosing to do so, I begin to receive some kind of stimulation, begin to connect seemingly separate details, and so I advance forward.

There are many things hidden there that we do not know. When we begin to become a little more sensitive, even subconsciously, with slightly greater feeling, we receive an illumination that develops us…
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/29/13, The Zohar

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Question: How is it possible that in the world that is “made out of nothing” there appeared a methodology that describes the real nature that is opposite to the nature of creation? What serves as a bridge between the worlds and connects them?

Answer: 5772 years ago, there lived a man who was the first human being ever to ask himself: “What is going on in the world? Where does it come from and for what was it created? Who is the “boss” that governs this world? Why is it rotating around Him and together with Him?”

This person’s name was Adam. By asking these questions, he tried to solve the mystery and not only did he unravel the “secret,” but he also wrote a book, “The Secret Angel,” which means a “secret force,” since the word “angel” means “force.” From this book, we see exactly what he attained, felt, saw and described in his allegorical stories.

Adam started a whole galaxy of Kabbalists who described spirituality in an unprecedented and thrilling way. We feel the same things while reading their books, since the upper nature is unchangeable. It means that today contemporary Kabbalists who reveal the system of nature and the ones who lived five hundred, one thousand, fifteen hundred or even five thousand five hundred years ago (like Adam) talk about the same things.

They describe one and only one force that falls into many sub-forces which influence us and define everything that happens to us. This science is called “the wisdom of Kabbalah.” If I read a book that was written fifty, five hundred, fifteen hundred, or twenty five hundred years ago (for me, it’s the same!) there is no difference between them whatsoever. All of them describe the same things.

So, if I met the author who wrote a book four thousand years ago, let’s say Abraham, I would be able to easily speak with him about these topics and he would answer my current questions about what we should do and on what to concentrate. We would have no problem speaking with him since our questions and clarifications would be exactly the same and we would easily understand each other’s concerns, thoughts, and aspirations. He would understand our questions and give us thorough explanations that would be very apparent to us since we are dealing with eternal matter, the everlasting force, and perpetual movement. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah is all about.
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From the Virtual Lesson 3/3/13

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In Kabbalah, the historical aspect plays a minor role. It doesn’t matter when or in which generation a certain Kabbalist operated; what’s important is what he did and what he fulfilled in the general system of the worlds, which corrections he made, so that thanks to this, those who come after him would be able to advance in a better, easier way. I cannot assess the Kabbalists or compare them until I am in the upper system myself. I judge according to what I see today. Suppose someone has left wonderful writings that light my emotions and my mind and enable me to advance. Accordingly I see that Kabbalist as great.

On the other hand, Baal Shem Tov, for example, didn’t leave any books, but all the Kabbalists that followed him rose thanks to his study. The Ari didn’t write anything either, all his teachings were written by his disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital. There were also Kabbalists who shortened the way for the next generations. It all depends on the root of a person’s soul. Only in the network of the connections between the souls can we discern what each of them did in the general framework, and what corrections he made in it.

Rabash says that the Talmud sages made the greatest corrections. On the one hand, they had attained spirituality on a very high level, and on the other hand, they were already in exile. This allowed them to write and to describe the states on a corporeal level and at the same time to make great spiritual corrections. In the “Introduction to TES” Baal HaSulam speaks about the requirements of those times: “You shall eat bread and salt, drink water sparingly, sleep on the ground, and labor in the Torah.” But by their spiritual work, Kabbalists have annulled these extremely difficult conditions and left us only one means, the Light that Reforms. Since then, it is enough in order to fulfill the goal of creation.

They, of course, drew the Light before that too, as it says: “You shall labor in the Torah,” but this was in addition to asceticism. Later the authors of the Talmud developed the channels of abundance to such an extent that now we can lead an ordinary corporeal life, needing no luxuries and settling for the necessities. The Light creates such a reality that we don’t need to think or to worry about that.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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All the Kabbalistic primary sources describe the system of higher management, meaning the forces that act upon us, but we do not feel.

We do not see the forces, but only feel the result of their impact, just as we do not see electric current flowing through wires. Only when a light bulb is lit or we are shocked by touching a live wire do we realize that there is current. Similarly, we do not know what happens to us, meaning what forces affect us.

We move, grow, think of something, and experience some events, something is happening around us all the time. And where do all these events come from? Who governs us? In principle, we do not know. We think that everything happens by chance or that I think about something. But where did my thoughts come from, I don’t know why I think they are mine.

That is, a person in our world sees only a small fragment of the whole world, the whole system, and thus he is in a state of detachment from the real world.

The real world is much bigger. Where did we come from? Why were we born in such conditions, with these features, in this family? What is the origin of our universe?

We once thought that the universe existed infinitely. When I was at school, we were told that everything exists eternally.

Then, we suddenly discovered that the universe has existed only 14 billion years, starting with the Big Bang and spreading further, that is already a limited time. And what had happened before that? It is unknown. But we know that this date is the birth of our world.

Moreover, modern science shows that if we penetrate into matter, atoms, and then beyond atoms, beyond elementary particles, then everything disappears there: There is no matter, there are forces in the form of clouds. Electrons, protons, and neutrons are not elementary particles, but some cloud effects. It turns out that all that we ever considered unshakable: matter, energy, information, all of it is something that dissolves in some volume that we do not understand.

Today, science comes to this. And that is why it is difficult for us to communicate with it because we are not designed to communicate with such concepts. That is why, science is coming to a crisis, and against the background of the crisis, the science of Kabbalah is revealed.
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From the Georgia Convention 11/05/12, Lesson 1 

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Question: During the work in the integral group, we found a text that was arranged in a special way. It described what a group is and what “we” is, all the levels, etc. It is amazing that around this text there began a creation of some kind of field, to be specific, some kind of shared feeling. What is your opinion of the work with the text?

Answer: I think that this is the most important thing! When a group assembles, a text should always be presented to it.

These texts can be repeated. With time, the group goes through all kinds of states, and each time even the previous text will be grasped differently, in a new way. Since, after all, we all change, and thus the entire group is different each time, and it will discover within its combination, all kinds of aspects of unity, connection, integration, etc.

This is creative work. The people in the group will feel the direction they were brought to and attracted to, yesterday and today. According to the situation of each one of them, they will feel a general, shared desire, an over-all attribute of mutual attraction, bestowal and love, an ascending of the ego which usually separates people, which positions each one in a certain relation to others. And here they must rise above this state in spite of their ego.

Question: During one and a half hours we were able to go through only two paragraphs of the article, because it’s actually possible to hold a one-hour discussion on each word.

Answer: That’s really so. Suddenly one word invites a full variety of sensations! This happens since it is specifically this shared field, which creates an unusual abundance of variation.

Question: What do you think? Is it worthwhile in the beginning to read the entire article and then to divide it into paragraphs and discuss them?

Answer: No. There is no need to load people with this information, since it is sensory, mental, and it will be difficult for people to deal with this bulk.

Whereas, if they listen to one or two sentences in a relaxed manner, then suddenly they begin to see in the text: ‘’How do we implement it? What is it for? Why? For what reason?’’ And even if some phrases that you haven’t read yet, explain previous ones, it’s not important if you get stuck in them, since in this way you will understand the importance more, by getting confused in presenting them.
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From a Talk on Integral Upbringing 3/4/12

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Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”:

This wisdom is no more and no less than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and consequence, by fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as “the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world…”

Indeed, if you take the body of a small animal, whose only task is to nourish itself so it may exist in this world for enough time to father and carry on its species, you will find in it a complex structure of millions of fibers and tendons, as physiologists and anatomists have discovered. And there is much there that humans have yet to find. From the above, you can conclude the vast variety of issues and channels that need to connect in order to achieve and to reveal that sublime goal.

The systems are complicated in this world too, because of the infinite items that are connected. We cannot even imagine the complexity of the connections that sustain life in a body, although if only for a limited length of time. This complexity doesn’t stem from the fact that someone just felt like it. It started from the essential form of the atoms and the molecules that connected so that other connections can be formed through which the systems of the body are stabilized: the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the nervous system, etc. Eventually all these systems operate in mutual cooperative harmony.

Thus, the body develops as it should. In order to sustain the physiological life on a minimal level so that it will be possible to rise from it to the spiritual existence, there is a need for a complex, elegant system.

It is the same in spirituality, but here the complexity, the mutual incorporation, is infinitely greater. Conventional science explores only a small part of our world, while Kabbalists attain different phenomena by penetrating to their depth, all the way to their roots, reaching the basic Light and vessel.

Since it is impossible to express this in words so that you will be able to imagine something, Kabbalists limit themselves to the basic rules by describing Partzufim, lines, circles, Lights, vessels, Sefirot, Reshimot, etc. They tell us about the worlds, about the system of Holiness, and of impurity because they don’t want to confuse people by going into great depth, and only tell us about the basic connections with the sources in a suitable language that is understood only by those who have attained spirituality.

Even without this, the Kabbalistic sources that were revealed have caused confusion and brought about great harm since people quoted them out of context and depicted images by trying to connect them to our world. Thus various books describing all kinds of charms were published, which seriously interferes with the correct, serious, and pure understanding of the spiritual world. Eventually, it only confused the general public. The knowledge and the understanding that Kabbalists wanted to convey to one another reached the wrong recipients, were distorted, and became all sorts of different “surrogates.”
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/08/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”: To avoid having to use both tongues from now on—nature and a supervisor—between which, as I have shown, there is no difference regarding the following of the laws, it is best for us to meet halfway and accept the words of the Kabbalists that HaTeva (Nature) has the same numerical value (in Hebrew) as Elokim (God)—eighty-six. Then, I will be able to call the laws of God “nature’s Mitzvot (commandments)” or vice-versa, for they are one and the same.”

This is very important and leads to numerous consequences. In the past Baal HaSulam was accused of being close to Spinoza in his views and that he didn’t consider the upper force as “God” in the conventional religious sense, but rather compared the Creator to nature, which is mindless and lacks any feeling and develops according to “mechanical” laws.

Actually it is very interesting to see how Baal HaSulam describes his attitude to the Creator and to nature. This should also be our attitude. If we combine these two concepts, we will achieve the greatest thing in life, revealing the Creator as “nature” and in all things. Indeed, we are part of nature, which is the Creator.

“In general examination, we find that there are only two Mitzvot to follow in society. These can be called

1. reception
2. and bestowal.

This means that each member must, by nature, receive his needs from society and must benefit society.”

Science confirms the fact that on every level in nature there are two opposing active forces: In the inanimate it is in mutual physical chemicals and mechanical actions, in the vegetative world it is photosynthesis, and in the animate level it is in the cells and the organs… these forces are revealed especially on the level of man, that belongs to the spiritual world. The higher we rise, the more they diverge from each other as a result of the differences in creating the wealth of attributes that separate the human race from the inanimate, vegetative, and animate.

The data of the wisdom of Kabbalah aren’t different in any way from scientific data. Thus the “Creator” and “nature” is actually the same thing.

But there is another question here: Is there a preliminary goal in nature which determines the process of evolution and the final state? According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, “the end of the act is in the initial thought.” Let’s call it not a plan, but by the scientific term: “law.” So is there a general universal law? In this case Einstein also spoke the same language as Baal HaSulam and Spinoza. He also spoke about the unity of nature. Thus the views of people separated by three centuries come together.

Let’s come back to our times. Today we speak about mutual guarantee, adhesion, love, unity, common fate, mutual incorporation of desires, and the influence of the environment on the individual and the influence of the individual on the environment…. If we could explain all these concepts on the level of nature’s laws, it would be easier for us to disseminate. We will also feel more strongly to what extent it obliges us. After all, we are talking about a law and there is nothing one can do against a law. Everyone understands that there is no point resisting nature.

We have to adapt our language. Terms that seem religious, spiritual, and mystical should be changed to scientific terms and definitions. Thanks to this, our message will flow in the right channel and we will be regarded as researchers of nature. Humanity’s general situation today requires us to do that.

We must shift from the terms Kabbalists used to parallel scientific terms. We won’t be able to tell people about Reshimot (informational genes), the direct Light, the returning Light, or HaVaYaH…. We have to try and express all that in modern scientific terms, and then we will be able to approach humanity.

The second system for this approach is to translate the language of Kabbalah to psychological terms.

Thus, through the mind and feeling, we will convey our message to people. The technical terms, the “mechanism” of the forces, and the laws will pass through the brain and the emotional part will be expressed in psychological terms. Thus we will free the wisdom of Kabbalah from this complexity that stems from being “lost in translation.”
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/6/12, “The Peace”

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Question: How was Abraham able to unite a nation back in his time if there was no Torah that united them yet?

Answer: The Torah is not a book or words, but the Light that reforms, the force that becomes revealed on the condition that we perform special actions. But all physical objects and words are just symbols.

The science of Kabbalah is called the true Torah, its inner part. But a Kabbalah book by itself is still not Kabbalah. A person can use it to gain the notion called the wisdom of Kabbalah. Everything depends on one’s approach: If he wants to use this wisdom for his own sake, then for him this is abstract information. But if he wants to use it to attain love for the neighbor, it is called Torah.

And this does not even depend on the book so much. Other books, such as the Talmud, Torah, and Psalms also contain the Light that reforms. But the Light contained in Kabbalistic books is closer to us, stands out more, and is much easier to extract. That is why we should use precisely these books.

By virtue of these books, even modern people like us who are small and confused, having no understanding, can imagine that we are coming closer to another state, to a different, new world. The author intentionally placed Light that is close to us into the book.

In contrast, the Light contained in other books, such as the Torah and Talmud, is contained deep inside. But in Kabbalistic books, it shines as if from the very surface since it is closest to you.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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The entire Torah (correction of our egoism) serves a single purpose: to help us merge with the Creator. The purpose of positive commandments is to merge with the Creator through them. And all negative commandments relate to what separates us from the Creator.
– Avodat Israel, Pirkei Avot, Chapter 3

It is said (The Torah, Exodus 27:20): “And you shall command….”  The word “command” (Tetzaveh) comes from the word “unity” (Tzavta). When you unite, you will become the head, and the Light of reason will be revealed in you.
– Pninei RAAM
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Each commandment entails another commandment. A commandment (Mitzvah) means merger and union, and derives from the words “single joining, togetherness” (Tzavta Hada). And this is the essence of commandment, that is, adhesion with the Creator on one occasion brings about another commandment, meaning an even greater adhesion. [The entire correction amounts to an increasingly greater unity of the entire humanity.]
– Moshe Chaim Ephraim, Degel Machaneh Efraim, Chapter “Korach”

The 613 commandments and seven commandments of the sages constitute 620 sparks of the Light. Baal Shem Tov said that a commandment (Mitzvah) derives from the word “joining” (Tzavta). It means that when we fulfill a commandment (unify), we merge with the Light of the Creator.
– Tzror HaChaim, 38
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