The “…seven years of great plenty…” (Genesis 41:29) are given to a person so that he can organize all the conditions of advancement for himself.   I try to be in bestowal, in connection with the group. I carry out actions and maintain various conditions. In the meantime, my evil inclination is not revealed. It is revealed, but on a human level, not on a spiritual level. Only after I prepare myself well do the “…seven years of famine…” (Genesis 41:30) begin. They don’t come just like that by chance, but rather as a result of a person’s effort.

A new king arises in Egypt. This means that I begin to identify that my desire, my nature, is evil. Until then, I didn’t think so. I didn’t understand that this was so. I heard that the ego is evil, and this is clear to everyone. However, I thought that I advanced, that I wanted to attain spirituality, and I didn’t understand that my nature is the evil inclination.

I, myself, must determine, recognize, that my entire nature, everything that is in me, is evil. It makes no difference what characteristic I pick.

But we are not talking about the desire itself, about the material, but about the intention. This means that I must understand and gradually reveal that the intention for every desire or all of my habits is the opposite of spirituality.

Seven years of famine is a critical understanding of the seven years of plenty. Now, I can examine and see that in truth there is not even one single characteristic within me with whose help it is possible to advance. Everything is under the control of an intention for the sake of reception. This is the work during the period of the seven years of famine.

However, I see this after I approach the Light, the Creator. I understand and feel what the spiritual world is more and more, meaning the intention for the sake of bestowal. There is a point in me called Moses that is connected to the force of bestowal. Thanks to that, I know that a force like this exists in the world.

Basically, I find it within me and not in other dimensions. This is my inner space, but, in the meantime, I don’t see it, I don’t identify it.

If I want to build an intention for the sake of bestowal on my desires that are found under the control of the intention “for the sake of reception,” under the dominance of Pharaoh—in other words, to have the Creator rule over them—this is called moving from slavery in Egypt to becoming a servant of the Creator. I see how difficult this is and that it is even impossible because in every desire and thought in mind and heart I am totally an egoist. I didn’t think this before!

Now, I constantly try to act for the sake of bestowal and see that everything goes out for the sake of reception. This is called the children of Israel passing through the 49 gates of Tuma’a (Impurity).

This is revealed to a person slightly, gradually, so as not to give him despair and so he would surrender. It is up to him to continue to check again and again, until everything is clarified to the end, and he would see that there is nothing in him that belongs to the sacred. So, his prayer will be complete, and his scream will be a true scream.

Only then will this be called MAN (prayer), and not before then, and help will come from above, which is called spiritual birth, the exodus from Egypt. Immediately, all at once, I will receive the ability to leave the dominance of the intention for the sake of reception that is called Pharaoh. I leave the control of Pharaoh and begin to acquire an intention for the sake of bestowal, and it is clear that this intention is clothed in the desires, in the characteristics, that were previously in me.

In the beginning, I only was preparing and had to be in a state of the “children of Israel,” in the immature state, in the right line (Kav Yamin) and even the middle line (Kav Emtzai). It is up to me to conquer Egypt, and I begin to be connected to it, in the meantime without understanding that this is the Egyptian slavery, and after that, the true Egypt is revealed to me with the seven years of famine, and then I get the power to escape. It is because I invested all effort in the right line, as it is written, “He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again…” (Job 20:15).
[133645]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/27/14, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
When You Get Close To The Creator, You Raise Pharaoh
Apparently I Am A Slave Of Pharaoh
Aliens In A Foreign Land

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: We cannot take an example from the group because I don’t see anyone around me that deserves it. The only person I can take an example from is the teacher. Is it correct to do so or not?

Answer: This is not correct. You need to make efforts to see the friends in a nice way, but you look at them in an incorrect form, according to your idea, they are stupid and lazy.

You describe them in such a way, otherwise the ego and your pride will not let you live. You will be disappointed all the time because your friends are higher than you, and there are those that already have crossed the barrier (Machsom), and you haven’t achieved anything. If you would see the truth, you wouldn’t be able to stand it. Therefore, you are not shown it, and you can disrespect all the others. You have no possibility of seeing them in their real form and receiving aspiration. You cannot work toward the teacher as you work toward the friends. Your work toward the friend is to make him great in your eyes.

Question: But you said that if the student does not adhere to his teacher, he will not learn anything.

Answer: But what exactly does one need to learn? One learns from the teacher (Rav) how to adhere to the friends in order to reveal the Creator between them. The teacher is the guide that points to the direction to go. He does not call you to come to him; rather, he tells you to go in a certain direction! This is his role.

In our days we have reached a new and special situation that does not have a holy leader as was customary with the nation through generations because today the entire nation must reveal the Creator.

People need to be directed to the Creator and not worship their leader. This was once, but now completely different times have arrived. Before, there was no other way. The nation needed some leader that would take care of them so that a person would know that someone great prayed for him and would arrange his life.

However, today times are completely different because now we all must recognize the truth at least a bit. Someone at the level of first grade and someone at the level of fourth grade and someone at the level of university and someone at the level of a professor—it doesn’t matter which level—each one needs to attain the truth somehow.

We already exited those days, and the past will not return. There will be no other leaders for the spiritual correction of the world because everyone needs to reveal and know the Creator. Therefore, there is no place for Hassidism because, as it is written, “…for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them…”

One comes to adhere to the Rav by constant and internal devotion and not by ritualistic actions. There is no room for that in our times. Or, you perform virtues, use amulets, or you help people to understand what the work of God is for them. The world needs correction, and for that we all need to work according to the same system, one for all.

The time of exterior effects is over because everything is concentrated internally. Of course for the simple person it is hard to stay on the road if he does not have the help of the influence of a “holy man,” including all his exterior signs. A person needs someone to take care of him like a big and important father, but this deflects him from his path. Therefore, there will be no more exterior effects because with them it is possible to attract those that are not capable of working on their correction.
[132176]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/2/14, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
A Stable Base For The Group
You Shall Not Make Yourself An Idol
Desperate Attempts To Decipher The Rav

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: Where do the “seven years of satiety” end and the “seven years of hunger” begin?

Answer: Seven years of satiety belongs to spirituality and not to corporeality. In the beginning of the study a person is happy that he found the friends, the study, the teacher, the goal. All of it illuminates to him and that is why he is happy, full of strength, and ready for all the heroic actions.

But after that he must understand in an emotional manner that his progress depends on connections with the others. Seven years of satiety in exile is not a simple state. He didn’t even enter Egypt. Seven years of satiety begins when a person understands that he must progress and meet all the conditions indicated by the Kabbalists and agree with them.

He is willing to connect with others, willing to study, to disseminate with the understanding that only if he reveals unity inside himself will he find the spiritual world. This means that Joseph brings his brothers, the sons of Jacob, to Egypt.

There is no other way. There are no different paths because there is only one law of equivalence of the Light with the desire. Everything is determined by the four phases of direct light and nothing else can be.

Question: If I am now satisfied with everything and I am in the period of seven years of satiety, what should I do: to want it to be over as fast as possible and that the seven years of hunger will come?

Answer: To yearn only for realization of what is written, that we will find ourselves in our unity that comes in the study, in dissemination, and all of it directed to bring contentment to the Creator.

Think only about the connection, and Joseph will bring you to Egypt. Joseph is the point of connection between us and the Sefira of Yesod. When after all your search and experiences to avoid connection, you will agree and will start to connect, meaning correct your soul, then you will find yourself in Egypt.

The brothers of Joseph come to Egypt only when the famine starts in the land of Canaan; it means that they cannot progress. Each one of them grew, but the future growth is possible only thanks to the connection.

It is similar to what is happening with our world that grew in our ego, achieved full abundance, but it is not understood what to do next. Now only the general connection can save the world, but we see how difficult it is to reach it.

We will need to go through the state of famine in the world, also in the physical aspect, the corporeal, and the spiritual. Then it will be ready to connect. The descent to Egypt is a descent for connection. And this is not desirable for a person’s inner qualities and for all the people. The brothers agree to accept Joseph’s advice but with many doubts; they have many fears.

They don’t want to enter Egypt because it obliges them to be one nation, one group, one family, united, because they will live among the Egyptians, meaning, we must be ready to work so the connection will flow from the desire to bestow.

Yesod is a point that bestows upon Malchut and can bestow only when all the previous qualities and all the Sefirot connect to her. Let’s ask ourselves if we are in such a state or not? Do we want to connect in order to be the bestowers, that this is the field where Malchut will be revealed between us?

It is spoken about the group called “the sons of Jacob” that they go and progress towards bestowal, they don’t want to enter Egypt, and therefore, they must enter such states.

But the goal must remain constant through the whole path, and it is to reach bestowal, mutual connection; in it we will reveal the Creator and then we will feel how to bring Him contentment. And by that we will reach adhesion with Him.

About these questions I can answer only one thing—do the effort in order to exit your Egypt and you will see that everything will succeed.
[132389]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/14, Shamati #54

Related Material:
Paving The Path To The Light
Our Victory Depends On Our Faith
The Escape To Unity

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: A person should feel the darkness of Egypt as an intolerable state so that he would want to exit it. What should he do so as not to simply escape the unpleasant feeling but to accept the domination of the Creator?

Answer: According to our nature we are not able to remain in an unpleasant state, unless we have no choice: if someone pressures me and holds me. I want to run away but can’t, so I remain in the unpleasant condition. This can be physical when someone holds me to give me an injection, for example, like we do with babies. Or society can put pressure on me, and then having no choice I do what is required of me. That is, I am in a condition that I suffer, but I am being pressured and cannot escape.

By nature I run away from anything that I don’t like. This is the desire to enjoy. If I feel even “one gram” of discomfort, I want to get away from it. However, there are different compelling circumstances, problems, and calculations that force me to continue to suffer, having no choice not because I wish to, but because of the pressure that is put on me. This pressure is called exile; I am under pressure and remain in that state and suffer.

You are asking is the opposite: How can I feel greater suffering so I could feel I am in the Egyptian darkness, in such great evil, so I will want to exit it? Then it seems to be no problem if I put myself into a state of suffering.

But I can’t bring myself to such a state of suffering; it must be justified somehow: by public pressure or a cause that illuminates from afar, like a gift or reward. If I am a desire to receive, I cannot cause myself harm unless I will receive a reward that exceeds the pressure I experience or the efforts I make in return. How can I bring myself to feel the exile in Egypt?

First, I bring myself to the exile in Egypt in different ways that are not related to spirituality. This means that I don’t inflict pain upon myself or live a hard life. I cannot do that. Egypt must be a very special state for me in which I suffer because I cannot connect with the other shattered parts of the one soul because Pharaoh dominates us. This state pressures me and there is nothing I can do. I cannot get rid of its presence in the connection between us despite all my efforts. This is called Egypt when I am ready to give anything to kill Pharaoh, to get him out of my system, or to rise above him.

There are many inner discernments here: inside him, outside him, why does it say “Let my people go,” why is it impossible to be free in Egypt, how do we come out of Egypt, and why do we take the vessels with us and only Pharaoh remains in Egypt? Indeed, nothing remains in Egypt except Pharaoh. Everything else is taken out of Egypt. These desires die there or are taken out.

All these definitions have nothing to do with earthly sufferings, but are about one thing only, the connection between us, in order to discover the Creator in it and thus delight Him. After all, the Creator wants us to discover Him. Therefore, we must work continuously on this point in the group and feel that the only thing we lack is connection. If you simply want to exit your ego (and perhaps this is indeed what you want), it is only because it brings you many troubles. Then, you try to switch the small ego to a bigger, more sophisticated ego, but you still want to work for Pharaoh.

Working outside Pharaoh is possible only if you yearn for connection in order to discover the Creator’s attribute and thus delight Him when you take on His form and wish to resemble Him. You must examine this point carefully.
[133356]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/14, The Zohar

Related Material:
The Black Light Of Egypt
Break Out From The Snakeskin
Redemption Under Cover Of Darkness

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work, Zohar - No Comments →

Question: How can we acquire the force called Moses? After all, you say that it doesn’t exist in nature.

Answer: Moses (from the Hebrew word “Moshech” –  to pull) is the attribute that awakens in us and raises us from the bottom of Mt. Sinai to its summit, to the peak of the general hatred. When a person climbs above it, he attains the Creator who is at the peak.

It is impossible to bypass this mountain; we must climb it. This is the way for the entire world. Today, all of humanity is at the foot of Mt. Sinai, surrounded by the enormous hate that separates us. But at the same time, the method called the Torah is revealed. The Torah is the Light that Reforms at the summit of the mountain.

We don’t have to make any special efforts, and there is nothing to fear. When we acquire the enormous hatred, we are at the bottom of the mountain where we receive the method by which we gradually can ascend by mutually complementing and helping one another.

Then, Mt Sinai becomes the temple mount, at the top of which there is the temple, the place where the Creator is revealed.

This is basically the essence of Pesach (Passover). This is the reason that the calendar of the nation, of the new humanity, begins on this holiday.

Before the receiving of the Torah, mankind developed like animals, but from that moment onward, there was a connection with the Creator, with the force that can raise us continuously above the ego and help us climb the mountain of hatred by getting closer to one another.

At the same time, we attain the Creator to a greater degree, because two forces already appear in us, the egoistic force and the altruistic force. When we build ourselves from these two forces a state called the attainment of the Creator or the soul appears between them.

The two forces descend from above, and we make efforts not to mutually annul them but to connect them by placing our resistance between them, trying to recreate the harmony between them by connecting and adding all the disconnected parts. Then this harmony creates our soul, our upper existence.

This is the reason that we consider Pesach to be the major and most important holiday, because symbolizes the beginning of the creation of man, Adam, (from the Hebrew “Domeh” – to resemble the Creator).

There are, of course, many subtleties, laws, and different nuances that only speak of how to properly cover the ego with the attribute of love, and that’s all. Everything comes down only to this!

We can study this holiday down to the smallest detail, about why eating certain things is allowed and why eating other things is forbidden, about why Pesach is seven days, why we drink four glasses of wine, and why there are other customs that are described in the Haggadah.

However, these are merely actions that we must perform on every level to create the right connection between plus and minus, which are the attributes of receiving and bestowal, hate and love. We cover the hate with love, and together they will give us the sense of attainment, adhesion to the Creator.

Thus, we don’t simply come out of a small ego to love, but from our world to a perfect eternal world. This is the reason that Pesach is indeed a special holiday.
[156970]
From KabTV’s “A Talk About Passover” 3/18/15

Related Material:
Pesach Is A Holiday That Is Always With You
Pesach: Brothers In Spirit
Pesach From Different Perspectives

Filed under: Egoism, Group Work, Holidays, Spiritual Work, The Creator, Unity - No Comments →

The beginning of this post can be found in: Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future

Abraham’s group moved to Canaan.The ego then grew from one generation to the next, but the main thing was to keep the general connection, the spiritual brotherhood.

Later, the disputes and conflicts grew to such an extent that even Jacob’s sons, the brothers, couldn’t overcome them. This process is described in the Torah as the beginning of the famine. The brothers sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt, (Mitzrayim), which symbolizes one’s evil nature (Yetzer-Ra). When they fell from the level of brotherly love, they found themselves under the domination of the ego, Pharaoh.

At first this domination was good: Pharaoh raised Joseph and life was full of different pleasures, but then things changed and people began to feel that corporeal benefits and pleasures were not everything in life.

They felt a deficiency for a spiritual connection, which Pharaoh, of course, objected to and resisted. Now all the ego’s efforts were not to allow them to maintain even one bit of inner unity.

It seemed as if there was no way out, but it is actually the despair that generated the force that pulled them to unity—Moses. He was brought up in Pharaoh’s home, the ego, and was therefore ready to confront the king of Egypt. This spark that kept the essence of the Jewish soul lives in each of us. It is the general, inclusive perspective of a united world in which there is no room for separation.
[156351]

Related Material:
Pesach: Brothers In Spirit
Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future
Short Stories: Crossing The Egyptian Border

Filed under: Ancient Babylon, Egoism, Group Work, Holidays, Inner Work, Spiritual Work, Unity - No Comments →

The beginning of this post can be found in: Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future.

Pesach symbolizes the birth of the Israeli nation, which was born out of unity and despite repulsion. As long as we are divided and separated, we are not a nation, but are in exile. Only the good connection and unity between us makes us one community, which is rightly called “Israel.”

When we prepare for this ascent, we clean our homes and we break away from disputes and from being divided. The Seder symbolizes the order of the renewal of our corrupt mutual connections.

When we rid ourselves of this egoistic sourdough, we eat Matzo (unleavened bread) for seven days as a symbol of our ascent to the level of mutual bestowal, which in Egypt was perceived as tasteless. We start off along this path as slaves of separation, as slaves of our nature, and we end the journey as free people, freeborn, and as one nation.

It isn’t at all surprising that we have to relinquish our worship of the values that separate us, no matter where we live. Every such urge becomes a phase of the exodus from Egypt, since Pesach symbolizes our “step over” (Passover) the dispute and the separation towards the level of love.
[156462]

Related Material:
Pesach: Brothers In Spirit
Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future
Short Stories: Crossing The Egyptian Border

Filed under: Egoism, Group Work, Holidays, Inner Work, Israel, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: The Jewish nation has gone through a special transformation, the transition from slavery to freedom, to which the feast of Pesach (Passover) is dedicated. What is the meaning of this transformation?

Answer: The meaning of liberation from slavery is acquiring the power of love due to exiting from one’s egoism. We are under the control of the system that advances us, especially given under the power of our egoism, which is called Pharaoh.

First, we feel good in this bondage, but then realize that we are in exile and are slaves to the egoism that rules over us absolutely. We do not agree with this authority and wish to escape from it, from the bad attitudes towards each other, because we see that in this form, it is impossible to move on and exist.

After many failed attempts, we become convinced that nothing can be done and only a miracle can save us. Indeed, egoism is killing us to the extent that we do not see success in anything in our lives in any way. In this way, Pharaoh’s rule between us is manifested.

That is the situation we see today in Israel. There are 23 political parties in a little country, huge gaps between different layers of the population, crisis in the education system, an increasing divorce rate, and growing use of drugs. Half of the citizens would be willing to move to another country if given the chance.

Our unkind attitude to each other can be seen from the behavior on the roads and elsewhere. We are divided by indifference to others and pride. Egoism reigns within us and makes us act in this way. It is not our fault, but it is our nature that plays with us.

One must realize that our nature is the evil inclination, which enslaves us. If we do not get out of it, then our lives will be over and we will not leave behind anything good for our children. Life will become worse and they will not have even those crumbs of happiness that we once had.

This is slavery, and the Passover Haggadah tells us how to escape it to reach freedom. But above all, we need to understand that we are in slavery. After all, while you see yourself in the darkness of egoism that separates us through mutual hatred, it is impossible to understand the reality of freedom from this angel of death.

We have to desire to become a free people in our own country, independent of our desire. We need to wish to achieve love, connection, mutual guarantee, and unity between everyone above our egoistic nature.

The people of Israel once escaped its egoism and rose to a height of unity and love, which is called the building of the Temple. But then we were not able to remain at that height and fell from it.

Rabbi Akiva taught that you cannot leave the principle of love for others as oneself; otherwise, we will again fall back to unfounded hatred. Egypt is the state of causeless hatred between us. After the destruction of the Second Temple 2,000 year ago, we returned to this state of hatred, which is called Egypt.

After thousands of years of living in unity and connection, the Jewish people again went to Egypt, to unfounded hatred. But today the whole world must realize that we are in Egypt.

Once, a small group led by Abraham left Babylon and became united into the people of Israel. But then it went back to Babylon and mingled with all the Babylonians. Today, we again find ourselves facing the same Tower of Babel and are confronted with hatred towards each other and the unwillingness to know and understand others. This is called a confusion of the tongues.

Once again, we have to make the same action as was once performed in ancient Babylon. It is said that acts of the fathers are an example for their sons. Today, we once more need to exit from Egypt, but this will be the last exile before the final liberation.
[156760]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/22/15

Related Material:
Pesach Is A Holiday That Is Always With You
Is A Person Free Or A Slave To His Nature?
A Slave Cannot Understand Someone Who Is Free

Filed under: Ancient Babylon, Egoism, Group Work, Holidays, Inner Work, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work, Unity, World - No Comments →

Question: The celebration of Passover is a special opportunity to learn something new about oneself, about our people, about our society, and make a qualitative change in our relationships to each other.

Rav Kook wrote that if the people of Israel once had not made this transition from slavery to freedom, the whole world would have never been able to make such a change. Is it true that the people of Israel affect the whole world so much?

Answer: The people of Israel are a special group of people that were selected from the entire world and came out from ancient Babylon in order to unite.

Today, the whole world is in the same mutual hatred, which once was revealed only between the Jews during the destruction of the Temple. Due to this hatred, Jews fell from the height of unity to the level of this world, and that means going into exile.

Today, the Jewish people are mixed with the entire world, and we all are in the same state, which is called Egypt or the slavery of mutual hatred.

Since the Jews have already exited this slavery, we have memories, the genes (Reshimot) of that previous state. This is why we must lead everyone else in exiting this terrible state the whole of humanity exists in now and in setting an example to everyone, meaning, being “a light to the nations of the world.”

Now this task is for the people of Israel who are living in the land of Israel. This is why we were able to come back here. We must realize our mission for the benefit of the whole world. After all, the purpose of creation is that all of humanity become one people, one family, as it is written in the Prophets.
[156994]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/22/15

Related Material:
A Holiday Of Freedom From The Shackles Of Hatred
Pesach Is An Example To All
Pesach Is A Holiday That Is Always With You

Filed under: Ancient Babylon, Group Work, Holidays, Inner Work, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work, Unity - No Comments →

Pesach (Passoever) is a holiday that is always with us, because on the spiritual path we always have to be in a state of transition (from the Hebrew word “pe’sach“- skipping over, selecting), that is, constantly moving forward.

Pesach is not an historical story or a point on the evolutionary timeline, but a day to day development, from one hour to the next, every second. It is about the development of the created being in all his parts on the levels of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking nature. If we want to understand the essence of this holiday, we must look globally at the history of the created being’s development.

A Created Being Free From the Creator

Man was created the opposite of the Creator. The Creator is the attribute of goodness, love, and bestowal, and therefore He can create, expand, unite, and revive. It is a thought or a force whose role is to create the created being who resembles Him.

However, the difference between the two must be determined so that the created being will be able to exist in unity with the Creator. If the created being were like the Creator, he simply would merge with Him.

So what is it to be opposite and at the same time similar to the Creator? This is the only way he can feel himself, feel the Creator, attain Him, and be in adhesion with Him. These are very complex concepts that will be more clear later on.

The created being must exit the Creator, draw away from Him and not feel His influence so that he can develop. He must feel that he is free. How can he be free of the one great force in creation? After all, there is none else besides Him, and everything is included in Him. He doesn’t take up any volume, and there is nothing external to that volume. In our world, there are limitations of time, space, and motion, while in the spiritual world, there is no such thing. There is only one, unique force, which is limitless and rules beyond time, motion and place.

How can the created being appear, have a place, have his own freewill, understanding, feeling, desire, action, influence, a beginning and an end? There is a problem: How can the created being be taken out of the Creator? Another created being that is different from the Creator and opposite Him must be created. There is no other way! You are either totally adhered to Him, and you don’t exist; or you are totally detached from Him, and then you exist.

However in that case, you are completely opposite from him and don’t feel Him at all, since you have no similar attributes, thoughts, or feelings. You are on two different dimensions, and you don’t connect. This is actually the state the created being should be brought to. The created being who initially was created is constantly with the Creator, under His domination, and so all the attributes that are opposite from the Creator are not revealed. Then, the Creator conceals and restricts Himself and the created being begins to feel that he is free of Him, as if he were the only one who exists in nature, in his desire to enjoy.

If the Creator is the attribute of love and bestowal, the created being becomes the opposite, the attribute of receiving and hatred, in order to feel independent. In that case, he is torn to pieces, and each of them is opposite the other. This happens similar to the way that the internal energy of huge masses of celestial objects explode in space. On the whole, this is exactly how the Big Bang in our universe occurred. This is where the evolution of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking natures begins: through the differences between them as one swallows the other in a struggle of opposites.

The Essence of Man – The Struggle of Opposites

With each generation, people discover that they are becoming increasingly more egoistic and opposite one another. Although they understand that they should cooperate with one another, they cannot do so because they are made of two polar forces. One of them stems from the Creator and the other is opposite the Creator. The struggle between these two opposites is the basis of mankind and distinguishes him from the still, vegetative, and animate natures, because the two forces develop in parallel within him, complementing one another. Although they are in constant oppositeness, they still exist in a certain symbiosis.

We are like kids who cannot play together amicably. We must take something from the other: I will not give to him and will not play by myself. In other words, we cannot overcome our egoistic nature.

We were not created equal in these characteristic attributes. We were not made clever so that we could restrain our egoistic impulses with our minds. We can begin to understand that it isn’t about us, but as soon as we engage with others, we begin to work with our egoistic instincts, which are more powerful than our mind.

When we speak about friendship and unity, we truly believe that we must be together, but the moment that we must fulfill that, we forget about it. If I work only according to my mind, I can imagine that the entire world is filled with pleasure, delight, unity, and love. However, the moment I touch my egoistic desire a bit, everything immediately disappears and I want to erase the others from the surface of the earth so that I will not have to see them at all.

We were made that way and our desire cannot be balanced by our minds. It is impossible to naturally attain what all the philosophers and humanists dream of.

In the Cruel Grip of the Ego

Man’s nature is evil, and the more we advance, the more repelled we are from goodness and everything that has to do with good relationships between us. Mutual oppositeness develops inside us and we cannot get along with one another, not in the family, at work, or in daily life—not anywhere and not in any way.

When we expand in our ego, we draw away from one another and reach a state in which space suddenly collapses and becomes limited. We have developed in different directions for many years and suddenly have discovered that there is nowhere else to which we can escape. It is as if we are in an huge building, unable to get out.

However, the ego makes us feel repulsed by one another, and we want to escape as far away as we can from others because we feel the greatest comfort when we don’t depend on others, when we have no relationships with others and actually don’t care about anyone. It makes no difference if we suppress others because we don’t want anyone or anything to begin with. We want to be alone!

On the whole, everything advances toward the state in which a person remains alone. At the same time, there is the growing feeling that we are all in one building, in one limited space, that we depend on each other, and cannot escape anywhere.

What should we do so that a person will feel good and comfortable in this world? If we learn the plan of our evolution, we will see that we were created that way on purpose so that having developed our egoistic desires, we will begin working on connection and unity. This is where we reach a state that we don’t understand at all. How can we join our egoistic efforts, impulses, attributes, and motions?

In Europe, for example, there are more than 30 countries. They are all egoistic and all have huge problems. These problems may be solved together, but not one can overcome its ego and connect with others. They hold different committee meetings and summits, discuss different issues and make decisions, but nothing works out. Nothing! They don’t have a method that can overcome the overall separation. We don’t need to find a centrifugal force but need a centripetal force that will focus us on the point of unity between us. We see that our minds can recognize this problem only partially, but it cannot overcome our nature since it wasn’t made for that.

We are like small, miserable creatures who lead themselves to slaughter. Notice that now we are speaking in a totally calm manner about a third world war, as if it is inevitable and near. We don’t want to have children, and if we do, it is only because it gives us a pleasure, something to worry about, a fulfillment, because we need something in life. There are, however, many people who believe that it is also pointless. They give up having children and we accept that. On the other hand, why do we need so many people on this planet? There is no point in that. Let’s not have children, and that’s it. We usually suffer when someone dies, but if he were never born, there would be no need to suffer.

The Force that Can Unite Us

The current state of humanity brings us to a very interesting point in our evolution. We must discover the force that ties us together above our ego. Otherwise, we will not be able to exist as a civilization. What is more, this force must unite us despite our egoistic nature, which we cannot change and that will continue to develop the way it always has: internally, instinctively, and naturally. Today, it pushes us to perform different new actions, arranging us in our places in our mutual problems and relationships. We must find another force.

Can we attain that by using our mind? I doubt it. I see that even philosophers, scientists, economists, politologists, and sociologists don’t understand that. Although they see that we have reached a dead end, subconsciously they feel that there is nowhere we can find this force, so why deal with fantasies? They don’t understand that there is no other nature but evil, human nature, which we cannot control. We try to establish different organizations, circles, G88, G20, and so forth, but we see that nothing helps and aggressiveness breaks out in different places each time.

These unite against those, on all levels: against oil, for oil, and so on. Different religions are involved here, and historical problems and old relationships are covered by different layers, especially in Europe.

This is why it is so difficult for us. We simply must acknowledge that humanity has no other way because there is no other way in our corporeal frameworks and capabilities. Suddenly, for the first time in human history, and quite unexpectedly, the wisdom of Kabbalah comes forth, claiming that this method can change our reality. It explains that there is no other way but to ascend above our ego and that the ego will develop since we cannot dictate the conditions and the speed of its development. We cannot suppress it because it is against nature, and we must act according to it. We must only produce another force from it, a positive force that will cover the ego. We will then be able to use it properly in order to build the connection between us.

The wisdom of Kabbalah tells us what this force is, how to produce it from nature, and how it covers the ego and tames it. Then, we will begin to work in accordance with the second, altruistic force. This whole method stems from the state called Pesach.
[156388]
From KabTV’s “A Talk About Passover” 3/18/15

Related Material:
A Holiday Of Freedom From The Shackles Of Hatred
The Daily Cleanup In The Heart
Passover – The Level Of The Exodus From Egypt

Filed under: Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, Kabbalah Study, Mutual Guarantee, My Similarity to the Creator, Society, Spiritual Work, The Creator, Unity, World - No Comments →