“Israel” and the “Torah” are the same thing. 

[Initially the Torah is an instruction for correcting evil, called 613 pieces of advice for correcting 613 parts of egoism.]

1) The Torah is regarded as 613 counsels, 613 tips for subduing the evil.

[And after the correction, the Torah is the portions of the Creator’s light corresponding to each of the 613 corrected organs of the soul.]

It follows that while performing the Mitzva, one extends to its corresponding organ in his soul and body the degree of light that belongs to that organ and tendon (Rabash, “What It Means that the World Was Created for the Torah”).

Question: How can one most simply explain to a person what Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are, and what the meaning of their unity is?

Answer: We exist in an unchanging state, as it is said: “I did not change.”

This single state is called Malchut of the world of infinity. The Creator, who wished to bestow goodness upon the creation, made it in a matching state of benevolence.

But in order to feel this beneficence, creation needs to go through various transformations that develop  desire and appetite, that cause despair, troubles, and agitation within it, in other words, that cause sensations opposite to the sensation of the good who does good. Otherwise, creation would not sense Him.

However, so that the sensations of the good who does good, as well as their opposites, would not strike creation like a double blow, the Creator arranged it so that we gather unpleasant sensations drop by drop, gradually, in small portions. “Ouch!” and that’s enough. Again “Ouch!” and that’s enough. Thus, we move along the path, clarify our desire, and learn what is good and what is bad.

Overall, we must be sensitive and receptive to good and evil. The more sensitive a person is to recognizing evil, the higher their degree and the deeper they penetrate into the substance of creation.

Therefore, in the unchanging state that the Creator made, the desire to delight for the sake of bestowal already exists that is corrected by the proper intention, as well as the light that fills this desire and intention. There they are all united without any distinction. This state is called “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.”

Israel (ישראל) is a vessel, a Kli, with the intention to bestow to the Creator, in other words, “straight to the Creator,” Yashar-El (ישר-אל). The Torah is the entire light that corrects and fills it. And they are one because they have reached a state in which they are completely equal and exist in adhesion.

Equality and adhesion between the Creator and the creation is the only form in which they exist. Each creature gradually reveals this form once the desire to reveal it awakens within.

By revealing emptiness in our current state and in the matters of this world, the Creator gradually leads us to a sense of emptiness, purposelessness, and meaninglessness of our life. At the same time, He awakens the beginning of a spiritual Kli, the seed of recognizing evil, within us. My state is miserable not because it is dull in taste, but because I lack adhesion with the Creator.

I realize this gradually. At first, I do not understand at all what I need, like a child who doesn’t know why he cries. But little by little the details emerge, become clearer, appear within me, and I begin to hear something.

Then I come to a group, to a teacher, and for several years I undergo the influence of the light in various states that I experience together with the teacher, the books, and the group. The process continues, and I become slightly more sensitive to recognizing evil. And the evil lies in the fact that I do not want to connect to the books, the teacher, and the group. When I begin to feel that this is precisely my evil, then I take the correct course toward correction.

At the same time, I understand that I must unite with the friends, receive awakening from them, acquire their mind and feelings, merge into them. I include myself in them, in their desires and intentions directed toward the goal. And for this inclusion, I must draw the light that returns to the source; in other words, I need to study together with them and attract the light.

If this occurs, I accumulate the necessary amount and quality of effort and come to the correction of my vessels.

Naturally, this process consists of a whole series of actions. I cannot withstand major corrections or big leaps all at once. Therefore, there are many degrees, divided into steps and sub-steps through which I reach the state of which it is said: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.” I already exist in this state, but it reveals itself within me gradually.

We could not bear everything at once, because this unity is too opposite to our nature.
[35942]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/21/11, Rabash “What It Means that the World Was Created for the Torah”

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Question: Suppose a person feels that they lack some quality in order to advance. Can it be acquired?

Answer: You have nothing to complain about. A person is structured in such a way that everything within them is ideal for their advancement, no more and no less. Precisely these qualities, even the very worst ones are what help a person.

Everyone has something of their own that seems negative, but in the end, you will see how this very quality, and even what appears as a deviation, is the most useful thing. After all, it is the result of the forces of the soul, and without this quality, one would not be able to correct it.

It does not matter what you feel along the way, all these things are useful. You are not required to figure out whether you have stopped advancing or not, you do not know that. Only one thing is required of you: to realize your freedom of choice. to draw from the group forces for advancement that are greater than those given to you by the Creator.

At first, we do not have such forces. We are given an initial push, the rest we must obtain from the group ourselves. If we can do this, we advance; if not, we do not advance. The problem is that we acquire various kinds of knowledge and sensations, and it seems to us that this is an advancement. But it is not. One can continue like this for 20 to 30 years, and there will be no advancement at all if we do not receive additional forces from the group.
[352158]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/18-19/26, Rabash “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Question: Is it even possible to “buy a friend“? Or will we need to work with each person individually?

Answer: I do not think you need to treat someone or something individually, or choose three or four people for yourself. Let us say I work with several people here. There are several colleagues at work from my department, for example.

I know them better since I am in the same group, but that does not mean I relate to them as if they were spiritual friends.

My spiritual friends may be completely different, those from whom I draw more inspiration, those who can influence me in their own way, by how they relate to spirituality, how they influence me, and how devoted they are to the work. Maybe this individual is different from the people I work with although they do the same things; it depends on the character. It depends on the way the person does it.

Let us say one of them works here from morning to night, does everything, and I am in constant contact with him, but I admire the other more. One has nothing to do with the other.

The form in which he does this seems to affect me; it depends on my character, on certain qualities I have. He influences me more than anyone else. What can I do? This is how it is.

In general, you should not focus on any one person but only on the group. This will give you more opportunities to give to it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/20/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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When we get together, the agenda should be defined from the outset. In other words, everyone, to the best of his ability, should speak about the importance of the group, about what benefit the group gives him. In accordance with his expectations that the group will give him something important, something that he himself cannot achieve, to that extent he listens to the group.

And the reason for this is to initially build the greatness of the group, the goals of nature, and the necessity of achieving it. For it is precisely to the extent of the greatness of the goal that he will be able to make efforts above his ego, cancel his opinion before the opinion of the group, and act not only for the sake of the group but also for the sake of nature, its wholeness. With such direction of his thoughts, he will feel the help of all the forces of nature.

The same applies to love of friends. Before we gather, it is necessary to build the importance of the friends, the importance of each of them. And to the extent that he appreciates the greatness of the group, he can treat the group with respect. And after that, check himself to see how much effort he is making for the benefit of the group. And if he finds out that he has no strength to do anything for the benefit of the group, then there is a place to turn to the group with a request for strength and desire to work toward achieving love for one’s neighbor.

And if he turned to the group even in thoughts, he must be sure that he will receive the strength to unite and check himself whether he is in joy, as an indicator that he believes in the power of the group and the willingness to help him to achieve correction.

And, since in this case all the friends represent one desire, he wants to see everyone in enjoyment. Therefore, after all the calculations, the time comes for the joy of love of friends. And each one should feel happy as if he has just done a good deed and by this earned a lot of money. And now, as is customary in this world, he treats his friends.

Similarly, it is here as well: each one should make sure that his friend is being cared for, because now he is happy and wants his friends to feel good. Therefore, the conclusion of the meeting should take place on a joyful note and in inspiration. And then everyone will feel perfection.
[73126]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Rabash, Article 17 (1984), “The Agenda of the Assembly – 2”

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Comment: Rabash writes that in faith, one must follow the path of “penny by penny accumulates to a large sum.”

My Response: Of all the actions a person supposedly performs in life, there is only one that he actually makes, and it remains forever. All others are temporary. A person commits them, enjoys them, or suffers from them, and that is it.

There is only one action: to correct my Kli, my desire to receive. It accumulates from moment to moment or from cycle to cycle, and everything I have done stays in my “bank account” to my credit and for my benefit. Each time I add another penny to my account depending on the number of corrections made.

And what are my corrections that we already know? This is an increase in the force of bestowal with the help of the group and study; that is, it is the realization of free choice. If I perform an action in accordance with my free choice (when I do it, and not the Creator), it is credited to my account.

My free action can only be one thing, to make the group stronger every time so that it influences me and strengthens the power of my desire, so that with an even greater desire to give, I turn to the Creator and demand an even greater force of giving from Him.

Thus, another number appears in my account balance. So I turn to the group again, change it again, and again it raises me and inspires me to advance and bestow. Once again, I turn to the Creator. I ask Him for the force of bestowal, and my account balance grows once more, etc.

There is nothing else because this is my only free action. Everything else is not done by me but by the Creator. But this is done by me, and therefore it is credited to my account. Each time, only this remains as a result of our lives. Only this account remains. Therefore, Rabash writes that after a person departs, only the Torah and the good deeds he has done during his life remain with him.
[352154]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lessons, 1/18/26 and 1/19/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Question: In his articles about the group, Rabash writes that first it is necessary to strengthen the greatness of the Creator in the eyes of the group and only afterward to speak. Shouldn’t we think carefully before opening our mouths?

Answer: Yes, Rabash writes that first you need to think about the greatness of the Creator. But you see that not everything in life goes according to what is written; life is life. So as it turns out on our level, that is how it is, and if not, then not.

What does it mean to “think first of the greatness of the Creator”? What does it mean to think or not think? This is in my external mind. But is my heart ready for this? Is it in such a sensation, at such a level that I feel the Creator, that I think that He is in my heart, and from this level I begin to judge or not?

This is not simply to sit and think. So I am sitting and thinking, and then I close my mouth for some time, and I do not criticize anything. So what? Everything depends on the correction in the heart, on an ever higher and higher level than the one on which you are.

I do not think it is possible to advance without contradictions, without disputes. People should reveal their attitude toward the group. And of course, they need to arm themselves with the intention that without the group they are not capable of moving forward, that without it they will not succeed at anything.
[352129]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lessons, 1/18/26 and 1/19/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Question: The flapping of each goose’s wings creates an updraft that supports the birds flying behind.

If people move toward a goal, let’s say that they understand that they must move together. What are “wingbeats” for people?

Answer: For people, this can exist if they define a single higher goal and understand how to achieve it.

Question: It says here that this updraft from the movement of wings supports the birds flying behind. How do they support them? With what?

Answer: The same applies in battle: those who go in front set an example for those who follow. That is, the wingbeat is the example you show.

Question: When a bird breaks formation, it begins to experience sharp air resistance, which forces it to quickly return to formation and continue flying with less effort.

Suppose people set high goals and can’t endure it, they drop out, leave. How can it be made so that in their mind and heart there is the thought that a lone individual won’t break through, that to do so one must be in this group?

Answer: They must all be preoccupied with one goal. Then some will go in front, stay together, and others will hold on behind them, and in this way they will all reach the goal together.

Question: And those who hold on behind understand that they are weaker, so they hold on to their friends; will they have the thought that “I won’t break through alone”?

Answer: Of course.

Question: That is if the importance of the goal is constantly maintained?

Answer: Yes.

Question: When the leader gets tired, it flies to the back of the flock, and another bird replaces it. In life, leaders—politicians, those who lead people, states—don’t feel responsibility. They leave only at elections. There isn’t such a thing as “I’m tired, I give my place to another.” What must a leader have for this thought to arise?

Answer: The importance of the goal of the entire flock.

Comment: I see, the importance of the goal is the peak, the foundation.

My Response: Yes. He must understand that he is responsible for ensuring that the flock continues the path and reaches the goal.

Comment: Even if he won’t be there, even if he…

My Response: That doesn’t matter.

Comment: Meaning his thoughts are not about himself at all, but about the flock.

My Response: Yes.

Comment: That is the most important thing! We seem to have had such an example. Begin left that way, on his own. He suddenly stood up in the middle of a meeting and said, “I’m tired.”

My Response: Yes. That was a great decision.

Comment: And then he sat quietly for ten years, gave almost no interviews. And that’s how he departed.
[351659]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 1/5/26

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Our path consists of ascents and descents, deviations and contradictions, despite the fact that it is straight. You think: “I fell, I was thrown out.” But even if you are walking along a straight line, you are constantly forced to endure blows, falls, problems, and confusion. Apparently, it is impossible without this.

It is only important to see whether you become “older” from this, that is, whether you acquire wisdom (Hochma), whether you see the source, the cause. Do you relate to this in such a way that behind all these blows you see a future structure that is even more beautiful than the present one?

Sometimes it is impossible to build a new building on the site of an old one; it is necessary to clear the place and build anew. This is how to relate to these things. The main thing is whether we are building or not building. A group that begins to discuss this should be ready to enter a state of criticism of its actions and of everything that is happening to it, but it emerges from this more united and strengthened.
[352126]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/18-19/26, Rabash “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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We constantly work with our egoistic desire, which acts according to its natural property, the desire to receive fulfillment, our only matter. We await the light of correction to come and add an intention for the sake of bestowal to this desire.

We must separate desire and intention. With the desire to enjoy, I always have the opportunity to work and advance. As it says, “Do everything within your power.” But the intention to give to others or to the Creator comes as a result of the influence of the surrounding light. That is what we need to ask for.

That is, I already have half of the spiritual vessel, the desire to enjoy. I am not neglecting or annulling it, I just want to change its intention. If a person correctly separates his attitude toward action and intention, he will always be able to perform some actions and do work, both when spirituality attracts him and when it does not. But the force of unity that was formed in the past helps him.

He will always be able to raise a prayer, a request, for the right intention, so that it joins his action, and determines his spiritual quality. That is how a person advances.

Once he begins to understand more, feel more, and enter the spiritual world, he sees that there is not much difference between the spiritual and the material. It only takes a psychological change in a person to experience the spiritual.

We are not required to cross out our entire past life or override all our basis. We just need to extract the intention from all this and try to bring it to correction.

Therefore a person is happy that he came out of Egypt and brought with him many vessels, desires, and much strength. On the other hand, he is full of selfish intentions, and feels that they are the opposite of the truth. That is what he is starting to work on now. From this state, work begins. Therefore it is considered the point of spiritual birth.

We feel as “You Stand Today, All of You” before the Creator, with our corrupt desires, which we can present to Him as ready for correction.
[58790]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 10/26/11, Rabash, “You Stand Today, All of You”

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A person goes through various stages in their spiritual development. Initially they are like something lifeless; they join a group that begins to influence him and develop them,  but they are not yet capable of independent actions and do not understand where they actually are.

Several years pass this way, until they realize that there is work to be done and they need to act actively, and constantly clarify which direction they are looking. From that moment, they cease to be inanimate and turns into a plant. They begin to grow on their own, through self-care, thanks to connection with others, following the teacher’s advice, and attentiveness to the path.

They try by themselves to put themselves under the influence of the environment, as they have realized that this group is not merely a gathering of people, but that it possesses a special inner force that is necessary for their development. Thus, they become a “plant,” and they begin to draw forces from the group, like from soil, in order to integrate with them even more strongly. They understand that fruit appears on a mature tree, and the tree grows only on the condition that a person integrates into the group.

And as they grow, they desire to receive the fruits, which are connection, love, mutual bestowal, and the revelation of the common force of bestowal in which the Creator is revealed. All of this is still on the vegetative level.

But then there is also the animate level, when they are already able to govern and take on part of the responsibility for the connection among all. This is no longer a “tree” rooted in one place and passive relative to the person who tends it.

The human degree within a person is the one who tends the tree. Yet the animate degree within a person is already not just a tree, but one that itself strives to grow and tries to actively participate in the entire system. A person sees the common flaws and tries to correct them. He sees not only how to correct himself and passively integrate into the system, but also how to help others, through which he becomes included in the general connections and corrections. This can be attributed to the animate degree.

And then there is the human degree, when, according to his actions, he already adheres to the Creator. It turns out that the foundation of all our development is the tending of the “tree.”

To begin with, this is enough to divide life into the material and the spiritual. To the material world one should give what is necessary—no more and no less. And to spiritual work—all the rest, without limitation.
[69196]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/8/12, Rabash, Letter 46

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