Question: What is the correct attitude to states of pride and arrogance?

Answer: These are two opposite feelings, and we have to learn how to work with them.

Kabbalah is a practical science. One who implements it begins to feel what is being said, and one who does not implement it remains a philosopher, and so nothing can change for decades.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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It is written in Degel Machaneh Ephraim: “One who truly wants to serve the Creator” meaning, to yearn for coming closer to the upper force, to build correct connection between people since it is impossible to work for the Creator and to come closer to Him in any way other that by building in practice the connection between us, such a person “must include himself with all creations.“

He should feel that he is in them just as the Creator is in each of us, but we do not feel it. He must “connect himself with all the souls, include himself with them, and they with him,“ that is, to reach a state where we are connected to each other so that we do not feel the difference between us at all.

In our world, there is such an example of this in a pregnant woman whose body works only for the development of the fetus. We need to imagine that each of us is impregnated with a group, and we want to develop it, to be in it so that it is in us to such an extent that we do not feel the difference between us; it is just one body, one desire, one yearning, one life.

“That is, leave for yourself only what is necessary to connect with the Shechina [Divinity].” A person should not have anything besides the yearning to connect with the Creator through connection with the friends. The Creator is attained as a common connection between us. He is not somewhere outside of us, but we are constantly creating Him out of the right connection between us. Try to imagine what the nature of the connection between you is today in order to create the Creator from it.

To the extent that you would yearn for connection, you will begin to attain the revelation of the Creator between you, which you reach through your actions. In addition, you will begin to feel how the upper force, the common upper light, is in you according to your correct connection with each other, and then you will call this animating force the Creator.

And in order to unite with Him “it is necessary to bring together many people, for the more people serve the Creator,” meaning work in order to attract this upper force upon themselves, “the more the light of the Shechina,” the light of the Creator (the upper light) “appears to them. For this reason, one must include himself with all the people and with all creations, and raise everything to their root, to the correction of the Shechina.”

So you must feel that He is in them. Just as the Creator is in each of us but we don’t feel it, so he needs to connect himself with all the souls and incorporate himself with them and they with him. In other words, to achieve a state where we are so connected to each other that we don’t feel any difference between us, that everyone is together.”

The correct connection between us is the one in which the upper light is revealed according to its similarity to the light.

Although our connection is between egoistic desires, if everyone rises above them a little and begins to treat his friends altruistically, then in these altruistic connections, which are like superstructures between our egoistic connections, the Creator begins to be revealed. Then this altruistic connection will be called the Shechina, the spiritual Kli (vessel) in which the Creator is revealed.

It all depends on how much we rise above the egoistic connections between us, which were initially created correctly in order for us to rise above them in the opposite quality, in the opposite relation, contrary to our relations with each other, and to understand that we must be opposite to ourselves, that is, to make a restriction (Tzimtzum), screen (Masach), and reflected light (Ohr Hozer), and to raise ourselves above egoistic relations.

To the extent that we create altruistic relations, the quality of bestowal, even, perhaps, love for each other, we create the Shechina, the place, the Kli, in which the Creator is revealed to the extent of our equivalence to Him.
[292313]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Question: What does it mean to rise above the restriction?

Answer: It means reducing one’s egoistic desire for oneself, not even the desire itself, but its intention, and trying to replace it with intention for the sake of others and then for the sake of the Creator.

In fact, there is no Creator as such. And what we can imagine under the concept of “for the sake of the Creator” is that we are all together and each one of us works to give back to the group and to the world.

We cannot escape from this! As a result, we will still be forced to change ourselves, if not now, then after a certain number of years or various events. The world will force us to do it, or the sufferings will.
[292354]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Question: What does the building of the Creator mean if we have no idea of His existence except for what we hear from Kabbalists?

Answer: We know what hatred, love, rejection, and connection are in our corporeal feelings. No supernatural actions are required of us.

We must ensure that all our concepts of distance, proximity, hatred, and love are directed at our friends. Why are we doing this? So that we elevate the manner our relations with the friends to the Creator.
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From the International Convention “Rising  Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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The Creator created the dependence of each of us on his environment. We see even in the evolution of humanity how people gradually unite and feel dependent on each other. It might have been through conquests, through negative relations between each other, but people are beginning to unite more and more, culturally, scientifically.

Look at the importance tourism has acquired in our time. Where does this desire to go somewhere come from in people? This wasn’t around even a hundred years ago. People didn’t have such desires. But they are gradually developing in us.

Why did the Creator create a person’s dependence, starting from his small environment, home, family, city, country, to a huge environment where I feel the whole planet, all of humanity, and understand that, in principle, I am dependent on them?

We are beginning to feel this, especially lately. We depend on oil and gas supplies, on what kind of harvest there will be somewhere, etc. And then we will move in such a way that we will feel dependence on the whole planet.

And this will lead us to the need for good relations with each other. We will not be able to cancel the dependence between us, but we will be forced to change it from negative to positive. And then we will be cured of all pandemics, from all the problems and viruses that harm us—from anything.

As a result, we will come to the point that we will need all the billions of people, and all this is actually the structure of my personal soul, your personal soul, his personal soul, and our common soul because it is one for everyone.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Deriving the Greatness of the Goal from the Friends” Lesson 4

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Question: What can help us increase the importance of friends in practice?

Answer: Practically, we can increase the importance of friends in our eyes only through our efforts when we understand the need for it. Only to the extent that my friends are above me will I be able to reach the state when I discover the Creator.

I am constantly fighting with the fact that my friends are diminished in my eyes because automatically, every moment my egoism throws me down, and by disregarding them, I also disregard the Creator even if I am not aware of it.

The Creator is behind the friends, and to the extent that I elevate them in my eyes, to that same extent I come closer to Him
[292363]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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Question: I understand that it is necessary to annul yourself. And what if one of the friends criticizes and continues to do so? This complicates the work. What should we do?

Answer: We must understand that nothing happens in vain. If there is a person in the group who does not yet accept this, show him or her an example of how you annul in front of each other.

Awaken envy in him of how connected you are with each other, understand each other, how close you are to each other so that he sees it from the side, in his egoism. And then he will understand that he has no other way, that he must also annul himself like everyone else.

Play on egoistic properties. Our egoism is created in such a way that we can—with its help—re-educate it into altruism, because it is envious, looks at others, wants to be better than others, higher, stronger, and so on. Egoism can be played with.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Question: How can we annul ourselves before the ten if we are part of it?

Answer: So, annul, each one in relation to the others; without this, nothing will happen. You can, of course, continue to be a part of our large international group, but nothing will happen.

All in all, you must realize that there is no spiritual correction except by replacing our animal egoism with a spiritual property, which is the property of bestowal, connection, and love.

Question: Should every desire that appears in us be reduced to zero?

Answer: There is no need to bring anything to zero. We cannot do anything with desires, they are our essence. We just need to understand that desires lead us to correction, to similarity with the Creator, to merging with Him, to revealing Him, and we must use them in that manner.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Rabash. Article 21 (1986) “Concerning Above Reason”: And as was said, the same can be obtained by adhesion of friends—new qualities by which they will be qualified to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. 

I do not have properties with which I can come to the revelation of the Creator and merge with Him. These properties are in my friends. I am Malchut, which must absorb the properties of the first nine Sefirot. And this can be achieved only if Malchut reduces itself, that is, limits itself in its egoism and gives itself over to serving the connection with the first nine Sefirot. This is the work of Malchut. Therefore, we have no other way to come to creating the vessel that can reveal the Creator except from incorporation with friends to incorporation with the Creator.

And all this can be said while he sees the merits of the friends. At that time, it is relevant to say that he should learn from their actions. But when he sees that he is better qualified than they are, there is nothing he can receive from the friends. 

And he cannot come closer to the Creator naturally. He will not have those properties with which he can approach the Creator. That is, I cannot reveal the Creator in my properties, but only if I annul myself before my friends and absorb their properties into myself. And it is so for everyone.
[292259]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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It is important even for a great sage to nullify himself toward his disciples. He has, of course, a million times more wisdom than they do, but he does not have the properties of mutual connection and bestowal, which they cultivate among themselves because there are many of them, and he is one. Therefore, he is ready to lower himself toward them.

That is why a Kabbalistic group in its spiritual value is higher than any single Kabbalist, higher than any sage, because the property of mutual bestowal is manifested in it.

The most important thing we need is the maximum nullification of ourselves toward the group, before its internal setting, in internal connection, and thus bring ourselves closer to the property of bestowal, the property of the Creator. The Creator is in the center of the group, and as far as I can approach this center and begin to feel it, to this extent I can reveal the Creator.

A group is a collection of small, but goal-oriented people. They still cannot do anything spiritually and do not understand where they are, but they have gathered together. Therefore, their assembly is higher in spiritual construction than a great Kabbalist who is alone.

After all, they build the Creator within themselves, that is, their state is more promising, and therefore the Creator is more concerned with them.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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