A person cannot raise a genuine inner plea to the Creator; they can only do so by drawing strength from the group because the importance of the connection with the Creator, which they absorb from the group, surpasses the power of their own pride.

In an ordinary state, a person with a certain degree of pride cannot independently realize the importance of connection with the Creator, since pride acts like Pharaoh within them, and it is impossible to get rid of it.

Only when, as it is written, the children of Israel sighed from the work (that is, when a person gathers all his strength and receives help from the group), can they raise the level of importance of connection with the Creator, which will become greater than the level of one’s own pride.

Then they subdue their pride and turn to the Creator with a request for the Creator to reveal Himself and give them the strength to truly keep their pride under control.

There is no other way to get rid of it except by truly asking the Creator for the strength to do so. Only the group helps to generate a genuine request.
[359148]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is “Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson” in the Work?”

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Question: Is it possible to escape from evil for a month, or at least for a week?

Answer: I do not think running away from evil for a week or a month would help, because you would very quickly find that you need the disturbances of this world. You have not yet absorbed enough of them.

How can you verify this? Go to some remote village, isolate yourself there, begin studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, study the authentic sources together with your friends, and you will see that after a day or two at the most, boredom will set in, and you will have nothing to do. I am certain that this is exactly what will happen.

Question: Do we not provide one another with enough material for internal work?

Answer: No. You will not even feel the need to work with one another. I must constantly receive the disturbances of this world. Then I will have the need to connect with my friends in order to overcome these disturbances and attain spirituality. Otherwise, I will have no need for society, let alone for studies.

Do you think your studies will become more productive if you isolate yourself by withdrawing from this world? No, they will not improve, and your studies will not become more effective—they will not truly exist at all. The studies will become completely theoretical, with no real necessity for them. We have no possibility of advancing toward spirituality unless we remain connected with everyday life.

I, too, never stayed away from Rabash for long. Sometimes it lasted three days, but only occasionally. Of course, during the day I spent many hours with him, yet I still did not separate myself from ordinary daily life.
[359189]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/14/26, Rabash, “What It Means that ‘Law and Ordinance’ Is the Name of the Creator in the Work”

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Based on an understanding of our animalistic nature, we begin to realize that no one can ever unite with another. Each person remains separate.

Today we see that the family, as it once existed, is disappearing. The former relationships between parents and children are no longer the same. The reason is that as humanity develops, its ego and its desire to receive continue to grow. As a result, each person becomes increasingly distant from everyone else, and all the bonds that once existed within the family, the extended family, the nation, and society are breaking apart. Egoism destroys every framework and leaves the individual isolated.

After making the necessary discernments, one can come to the conclusion that a connection between people is possible only through the Creator. If we wish to fulfill the law, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” it cannot be achieved by force, as was attempted in Soviet Russia. Only through our connection with the Creator will we begin to unite with one another.

Even the smallest group can exist only under this condition, and all the more so the whole world, when it begins to fulfill the law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is because every true connection can exist only on the level of the human. By “human” it means a connection with the Creator.

Everything else we do, apart from establishing a connection with the Creator, belongs to the animate level. These things require no correction, and we should pay them no attention, because it is a waste of time and effort.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”

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All the qualities that exist in a person that extend from the four qualities FWWD [Fire, Wind, Water, and Dust] have nothing to do with the evil inclination (Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”).

It does not matter what kind of character a person is born with, whether irritable, foolish, lazy, or proud. From my own experience, I know that it is not necessary for only one of these qualities to exist within me. I feel that I have all of them, and one does not exclude the other. In other words, all four foundations can exist together within every person.

We say that if someone tries to break or eliminate all these tendencies within a person, then he is engaged in psychology, and nothing will come of it, because these qualities are not subject to change.

A person can be a great Kabbalist and still retain all these qualities without paying any attention to them. In our approach, this is not even the alphabet, it is only the very first letters of the alphabet: not to engage in correcting the animalistic qualities within ourselves, but only to work on our relationship with the Creator.

The “human” within us begins to grow only in relation to the Creator. And only in relation to Him can we weigh the good inclination against the evil inclination, that is, determine everything that needs to be revealed and cultivated, or, on the contrary, uprooted. But all of this is done only in connection with the Creator, and not in relation to my “self,” my natural character.

I should look at the friend in exactly the same way. The problem, however, is that when we work together, my animalistic nature and his animalistic nature may find it difficult to coexist.

But that becomes the second stage of our joint work, after we have come to know our own character well: whether irritable, wasteful, lazy, power-hungry, and so on. Once we know our character, we begin to see how we can work together by combining these qualities in order to understand what exists above: the unique character of each person in relation to the Creator. And here, perhaps, true unity becomes possible.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”

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Question: A person is governed by desires. How can we make the desire for the Creator the greatest desire?

Answer: Suppose I have to choose what I am going to drink. The doctor has told me that it is good for me to drink a medicinal tea. If I believe him, then I will drink the tea. Besides, the Torah says that a doctor has permission to heal. Perhaps this tea is not tasty. I may not like it and feel no “taste of life” in it at all. Yet I drink it and enjoy it because I feel the light of my future health, for I believe it will come! In other words, I myself determine what is pleasant for me and what is not. This medicinal tea becomes more enjoyable to me than ordinary tea, even the finest variety.

From this example we see that all we need to do is ascribe importance to the Creator. We are capable of giving importance either to ourselves or to the Creator. This is the only thing we can do.

Question: But what if I have no taste for the Creator?

Answer: That does not matter at all! Enter a certain society and constantly listen to what the people there are talking about. Disconnect yourself from everything else! Turn off the television, do not watch football. Listen to what is being said in the group.

Of course, this alone is still not enough. You must work together with the group and make your own efforts so that the opinion of the friends becomes important to you. You need to unite with them in such a way that their thoughts will carry weight for you.

After all, you listen to what your children say. It is important for you to know what they think of you. I know this from my own experience. For example, the day before yesterday my daughter told me that she wanted to start driving lessons. I answered that I did not have the money for it. The very next day she booked the lesson! So yesterday, after the night lesson, I rushed home so that I could give her the money in time. It was so important to me that she would be able to pay for the lesson.

Would I have done that for someone else? I do not know. Just for anyone? Of course not. That person would have to be just as important to me as my daughter. But for that to happen, I would have to work on it. It does not come by itself. For this, I would have to invest in that person as much as I have invested in my daughter over the past twenty years. For twenty years I have been giving, giving, and giving to her. And now I see that everything I have invested is within her, it all came from me.

If a baby were taken away from its mother immediately after birth, then despite everything, in the end she would forget about the child. Everything depends on how much has been invested.

As for my daughter, yesterday I simply could not calm down. I kept thinking that she had already booked the lesson and how uncomfortable it would be for her to tell the instructor that she did not have the money and would pay later. That is why it was so important for me to get the money to her in time. And when she thanked me, what great pleasure I felt from it! Can I relate to my friend in the same way? It is not so simple.
[358930]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/5/26, Rabash, “What Does, ‘Everything that Comes to Be a Burnt Offering Is Male,’ Mean in the Work?”

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When a person connects with others in physical work and invests their efforts in a fellow student, they achieve a state where their own yearning for the Creator is supplemented by that of their friend, effectively doubling it. If the friend shares the same desire for the Creator, then the person’s own strength is doubled.

You double the power of your positive desires and strivings, despite the many obstacles that exist. One can give the example of a rocket that, while maintaining the same weight, gains what is essentially double the propulsive force. With the same “weight,” with the same will to receive, a person’s strength doubles, thereby cutting their path to the Creator in half. For example, instead of ten years he will need only five.

If a person chooses a group of friends and is confident that they are true like‑minded companions who provide the additional forces needed to advance, then there is nothing better.

But if, after constantly checking the connection, they become convinced that there is nothing more to add, they can of course stop there. However, if it is possible to “press on the gas” or switch from  a “dirt road” to a “wide highway,” then they should look for the means to do so.

Possibly, by improving their connection with his friends or by changing groups, they will be able to advance further. This is precisely what is meant by choosing the right environment.
[359367]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is ‘Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson’ in the Work?”

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Question: How can a person ask the Creator for help and wish only to bestow without receiving anything for oneself?

Answer: That is exactly what we ask for. I ask the Creator to give me the ability to bestow. To bestow upon the Creator means to bestow upon the group, as it is written: “I dwell among My people.” It is one and the same.

There is no other Creator. “I dwell among My people” means that He is revealed within the group. The collective force of the group is called “The Creator.” To bestow upon the group as a whole is to bestow upon the Creator.

We tend to think about this in ordinary, earthly terms, and so it seems to us. “What is so special about the group? What can I possibly give them? This is nonsense!” But if you were truly able to come out of yourself and bestow upon others, you would reveal the higher reality rather than this world. We simply have not yet attained it.

One might ask: “Haven’t many philosophical movements also promoted devotion to society? Have they not claimed that the voice of the people is the voice of God?” But that is not the same because they did not use the reforming light, the inner force contained within the collective.

So what does the wisdom of Kabbalah ultimately say? You have nothing but desire. Within that desire lies a unique force called “the Creator” concealed there from the outset. You can awaken this force within the group if you genuinely wish to advance toward it by bestowing upon the group. There, within the group, you resolve all your relationships—with yourself, with the group, and with the Creator. Everything takes place within the group, in the bestowal that you acquire outside yourself.

There is no difference between bestowing upon the group, and bestowing upon the Creator. Bestowing upon the group refers more to bestowing upon the vessels (Kelim), the desires of others. Bestowing upon the Creator means becoming more integrated into the general force of bestowal that reigns within those desires.

We must free ourselves from religious concepts, from the lingering belief that there is some Creator ruling somewhere in the heavens and influencing us from there. Notice how deeply rooted this stereotype still is within us! But there is no higher force outside of us! That force exists within the group, in the connection between us. There is nothing beyond that reality that you reveal. Outside of reality, there is nothing.

As you delve more deeply into these concepts, you begin to understand that this is, in fact, a very materialistic approach.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/11, on The Book of Zohar, Yitro (Jethro)

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Question: Can I receive discernments (Avchanot) and a sense of their nuances from the group?

Answer: No, you cannot. You receive the general feeling of the greatness of the upper from the group. That is the group’s power. In fact, even this you do not receive from the group itself.

You receive this feeling from above, but through the group. Everything you receive comes from the world of infinity, either directly or through the friends, that is, through the souls with whom you are connected in infinity as one soul. Because there you are one soul, each of you receives additional Avchanot and additional illumination for each of you.

For example, suppose there are ten of us connected in infinity as one soul, and each of us has ten Avchanot. If all ten possess them, then each one has ten from everyone.

In this way, through the friends I draw an additional ten Avchanot because here in our world I want to become similar to the corresponding state in infinity where we are all united. By wanting to unite with them here, I as though draw that state in which we already exist there through them. “As though” because this is not yet the light itself, but a small illumination, an addition. There however, each one gains from everyone.

But this depends, not on the friends, but on me, on how I relate to them. Whether we want it or not, we are already connected there. Therefore a person should not criticize the friends. On the contrary, let them do whatever they want—let them resist, or argue. He simply draws upon himself the forces from that place where the common source of all forces exists, and through this he draws upon himself the forces of bestowal, that is, he draws himself toward that very same place.

Everything is very simple. You need to imagine the picture where, in the upper world, everything is already connected, while below it is not. And if here below you make even the slightest effort to build the same picture, then, according to the effort you invest, you draw that force upon yourself.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/5/26, Rabash, “What Does, ‘Everything that Comes to Be a Burnt Offering Is Male,’ Mean in the Work?”

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A person can only learn from the experience of their past states, from what they have personally lived through. They cannot learn from their current state, because they are held in its grip.

In the current state, one cannot determine anything within oneself, because one’s current thoughts and desires completely occupy the person and one acts based on them. What can a person do? They must raise a prayer, cleave to the upper, and surrender themselves to the upper one’s dominion, so that He will decide what a person will do now. So how does one do it?

A person cannot summon the strength to view their state from the outside and resist it because we are not able to split ourselves in two. However, I can know what my Reshimot (spiritual records) are from the past and how my current state compares to them; I can receive illumination from the upper, raise a prayer to Him, and ask Him to rule over me.

That is, I have only two options: either my current state controls me or the upper governance controls me, and I have to choose. If I take the feeling of the upper’s greatness from the group—which I can only obtain from the group since I cannot find the strength within myself—then I can use the desire obtained from the group, turn to Him from my current state, and surrender myself to His authority.

But if it were not for the group, I would not be able to turn to the upper. I would have no way of realizing that the upper is greater and more important than I am. After all, my current state determines what I want, think, see, and understand.

Of course, one might argue that a person still learns and feels something. This is true, but it only helps a person realize that they need to turn to the group, but it does not give them the strength to turn to the upper. In any case, a person first turns to the group, draws strength from it, and then turns to the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/5/26, Rabash, “What Does, ‘Everything that Comes to Be a Burnt Offering Is Male,’ Mean in the Work? ”

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When a person begins to study [Kabbalah], he suddenly discovers every time that they see new things in what we study. And this will always be the case.

Suppose you are sitting and reading an article right now, and I am sitting and reading the article, and then you ask me: “Well, can you tell me something?”

Why do I tell you more than you know? Because I read and see a bit more deeply than you. At the same time, I cannot transmit to you what I feel, and so I tell you in other words what I see.

For you it is open to a certain depth; for me it is open much deeper, and there are those for whom nothing at all is revealed. They may read the same article, but feel no reaction in the heart because they have no spiritual Kli, while yours is already beginning to form.

So what is the difference? The difference is that when I speak to you, I give you a bit of light from the depth where I am, and this helps you. In addition to the surrounding light that you awaken during the study, I also add from myself.

But the group can also add to you. Each one understands according to a certain depth because no one here is a random person off the street. There are those who are truly in a good, sensory understanding.

Therefore, when we study together with the intention of passing the incoming light to one another, these surrounding lights from each of us unite and act upon everyone. Do you understand what kind of amplifier of spiritual power there is here?

And it does not matter if each one knows very little, some more, some less. Even if I am here, and you know less than I do, each of you has his own root of the soul. So I enjoy this. From the inclusion of one in another, I receive an addition because there are things that, without you, I will not understand, and without this one, and without that one even though you might be a “0.001 compared to my 1 followed by some zeros.” It does not matter. Every person is unique.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity in the Work?”

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