The people of Israel are a group of people who severed a connection with Babylon because they received and experienced a unique desire directed towards attaining the Creator. As a result of that, they received this method of attainment from Abraham based upon the “mercy of Abraham,” on the principle, “and you shall love your friend as yourself.”

It is written about this, “There is none else besides Him.” The Creator is the only force that works in reality. In order to discover this, it is necessary to connect and reach equivalence of form with this force. And this is discovered in us specifically through love of others just as one loves oneself. We gradually acquire love, and so the higher power is also gradually discovered.

The means that makes it possible for us to discover the higher force through connection is called Kabbalah. By definition, the wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for revealing the Creator to the creature in this world. He is discovered to the degree that one takes on equivalence with His characteristics: bestowal and love. What characterizes Him must also characterize the creature.

So people who feel an inner drive towards this, who have awakened Reshimot (spiritual genes) like these within them, hear the message of Abraham in Babylon. Maimonides writes about this in his book, Mishna Torah – The Laws of Idol Worship: When he was forty years old Abraham recognized his Creator and began to stand and loudly proclaim to all of the people to let them know that there is one God for the whole world and it is fitting to serve Him. And he went and proclaimed and gathered people from city to city and from kingdom to kingdom, in that Babylon, until thousands and myriads were gathered to him, and they were the people of the House of Abraham. And this great principle was planted in their hearts and books were written about it, and this went and grew in the children of Jacob and in those who accompanied them and a nation was made in the world which knows the Creator.

This is talking about a unique people that has maintained its uniqueness to this day. Indeed, their ancestors received spiritual awakening even during the time of Babylon and with the help of Abraham molded the concept of the “people of Israel.” In fact, this was a group of people who were connected in order to attain the Creator through special unique relationships between them.

Of course, of all of humanity, of all modern Babylon, there is a special account particularly with the people of Israel. So this group is found in such bad, unpleasant, stressful circumstances. Unconsciously, everyone demands for it to maintain its obligation. Along with this, the Jews don’t understand what is wanted from them, and the nations of the world themselves don’t understand what they want from this group.

This is expressed in anti-semitism, the well-known phenomenon throughout our entire history. And to the degree that we can bring ourselves and the world closer to correction and to adherence to the goal of creation, then the waves of hatred, meaning the forces that want to awaken us to our role, lessen.

And with the opposite, meaning to the degree that we cannot recognize it, are not ready, are stubborn, and don’t want to carry out our role, then these forces are strengthened and influence us in a particular way. And so someone who looks at the world in the right way can understand that this attitude towards the Jewish people, and in general towards the entire condition of the world, including the environment, the economy, health and so on, and the general state of the Kli (vessel) that must reach adherence with the Creator depends solely and only on that group that must show the world how to reach adherence with the Creator.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/02/14, Chosen Topics on: Mission of the People of Israel

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Baal HaSulam, “The Inheritance of the Land:” Our sages said that Israel cannot be redeemed unless they are all one bundle.

Redemption is when there are vessels that are a desire to receive. First they are revealed in us with an egoistic intention of in order to receive and we correct their intention into an altruistic one in order to bestow. Then the Light, the Creator’s presence, is revealed in our vessels according to our correction. Thus we feel the upper force inside us, the new upper reality, the upper world.

This correction is gradual, starting from the shattered egoistic vessels. First we can perform actions in this world only, not yet in our desires, but only physically. We connect within a group, come to study together, and perform different actions together.  Although our actions totally lack the right intention in the heart, they are still beneficial, and evoke an illumination from a distance, which influences us more and more.

Thus we gradually advance, our actions become more and more focused, and the connection between us becomes more clarified until we acquire the complete vessel that is great in its measure and in its quality. Inside it we reveal the connection between us with the intention of in order to bestow among us and unto the Creator. This revelation is called redemption.

All the created beings resemble one another in that and each one simply acts according to his level, according to his dependence on the tree of life. On the whole, since the general soul of the first man was divided into many souls, its parts are in each of them. Being on his level, in his place, a person begins to feel how involved he is in the evolution of this life and of this world.

Some parts awoke in the time of ancient Babel, and only they are called Israel. Now other parts are reaching this mission. Some of them reached the group in the same way ten years ago, others five years ago, and some only yesterday or today. Eventually everyone with come together and be incorporated in one another and there will be no differences; anyone who joins us becomes a part of us.

All the souls who haven’t joined the process of correction by connection are called Gentiles according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Goy, which means “a nation” in Hebrew. People who yearn for holiness, which means for mutual bestowal, are called a holy nation of Israel, which means Yashar-El (straight to the Creator).

It is said that “Israel cannot be redeemed unless they are all one bundle.” They will clearly have no spiritual power unless we connect. A spiritual vessel is connection., and the stronger it is in quality and quantity, the more compatible we are with the Upper Force.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/01/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: How can it be that some individuals study for many years, participate in a group and in dissemination, and, apparently until now, they have no desire, and they need to strengthen it?

Answer: Sometimes ten years are required for a person to understand that there is no choice and that it is necessary to connect with others. However, these are not years that are wasted. Everything is taken into account, for we don’t know and don’t understand the level of the still.

According to our universe, we see how much time it took to stabilize it, billions of years. This means that this is a very concealed process that moves very slowly and gradually, but we must pass through these levels.

The level of Nefesh is our foundation, and it must reach completion so that after it the level of Ruach will begin. Ruach indicates that we already have independent movement, whereas Nefesh cannot move by itself. A person comes and goes to lessons and workshops, listens, but doesn’t hear, yet continues. Many years go by.

This is the level of the still. Within it, he still can’t do anything, for he is on the level of the still! So what? I wait patiently because I see that he is changing in spite of it all. This is so, even though in the meantime, he is not growing towards the Light, like a plant that begins to come out of the ground.

In the meantime, he is only soil that passes through all kinds of states of contraction and expansion, but he cannot carry out any activity on his own. Everything is done according to external conditions.

We need to organize ourselves like this and provide everyone with maximal influence. However, if a person flees from this, there is nothing to be done. It won’t take him ten years, but rather a number of incarnations.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/29/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: You said that we must stabilize internally the desire for the gift that the Creator wants to give us. Isn’t this an egoistic desire?

Answer: It is a very nice prayer. I want that all my desires will not be attracted to different unimportant matters but that they will be focused on what the Creator wants to give us.

It doesn’t matter whether it is an egoistic request or not. The Creator wants to give me a present, but He only can give it to me if I really want it. However, I don’t have the desire for it.

The Creator has created me the way I am on purpose so that I will ask Him to create a deficiency in me for His gift. It is because we connect by my request, and thus I reach adhesion with Him, begin to understand Him, turn to Him, and ask Him to help me.

“How can I help you?” It is as if He begins to speak to me and to clarify what I really need. He begins to play with me. I check things, “No, this isn’t right; I need one less and the other more.” The Creator is revealed a little in His posterior, and I begin to understand a little of what I need, and what I don’t, in order to reach the right vessel.

Thus, I get to know Him, connect to Him, and begin to converse with Him. We become partners. I cannot operate by myself in the process of the correction of creation, which means in preparing the vessel for receiving the gift. I need the Creator because I actually don’t know anything.

The gift is concealed at the moment and the Creator plays around with me so I gradually get to know Him. I don’t get to know the Creator Himself because I never will be able to feel Him. However, I learn and attain Him through my connection with the friends as I look for a way to connect to them.

We go out to disseminate, hold workshops or a convention, connect with the outside world, and this is all considered as the clarification of the vessel for receiving the Creator’s gift. Everything is aimed at that.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/29/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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A meal is one of the central points of the contact between us. It is an inseparable part of our human culture. Ancient traditions of communal meals distinguishes us from animals.

A meal is an action that is natural for our bodies. Babies are attached to their mothers by an umbilical cord through which they receive sustenance. When adults sit at the table and eat together, it is a sign of mutual trust and connection among them.

Our meals are very specific because we are in that state of connectedness. However, our meals are not Kabbalistic as of yet; rather, they are in between what we would like to achieve and what we are capable of achieving.

During the meals, we don’t “hint” at the internal work of our friends; instead, we fulfill others by asking questions, giving answers, singing songs, saying L’chaims. In other words, we fill others and don’t let them be themselves.

Anybody who attends our common meals should be focused internally and very little on the others. There should be a purely internal communication among us.

Question: What is the spiritual root of meals?

Answer: The spiritual root of meals is receiving of the Light of Hochma. The Kli (vessel) has to be ready for the quality of Hesed (bestowal). Only under the condition that the vessel receives the Light of Hassadim can it experience spiritual hunger. It happens because the vessel acquires a chance to receive the Light of Hochma, but it doesn’t descend to it. This is a prerequisite of the clarification and revelation of the Light of Hochma. At this point, absorption (consumption) of the Light occurs and Taamim (tastes) appear.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/17/14, Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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Baal HaSulam, Shamati #59 “About the Rod and the Serpent”: However, if one’s mind does not attain it, but resists one’s mind, then one should say that the faith is of superior importance to one’s mind. It follows that at that time one lowers one’s mind, and says that what he understands within reason, that he resists the path of the Creator, that faith is more important than his mind. This is because all the concepts that contradict the path of the Creator are worthless concepts.

Rather, “that have eyes, and see not, that have ears, and hear not.” It means that one annuls everything that one hears and sees, and this is called going above reason.

If I try to acquire powers from the environment and from the Creator and keep following the spiritual path, although it seems useless and hopeless, it means that I work in faith and in bestowal since I disregard what my mind tells me.

I may still hope to receive what I desire at some point, that I will see some benefit later on, although I don’t see it now. In that case, I work within reason as I simply accept a certain extension and hope to see everything around the corner.

I also may perceive this as an opportunity to give up the reward, to rise to the level of bestowal and to follow this path without any account of future self-benefit and without any hope of receiving something in the future. I don’t even want to have such hopes, but simply want to carry on knowing that there is nothing in it for me and that there will not be anything, and still I do it so that, together with the friends, we will delight the Creator.

From this point, I have the right to ask for powers. I mustn’t look for any material support when feeling despair, like, “Later I will see. Things will surely open up for me. Redemption will come since it comes all at once, suddenly.” This is how people who invest in the stock market feel when the stocks fall, hoping for a future rise, calming themselves that there is comfort in the trouble of many.

However, we have seized this moment of despair in order to say that, “I don’t see any reward, and it is all one big misfortune in which there is nothing for me, and it is good that it is so!” My reward is in the fact that I can now perform actions without any reward. I will receive the fuel from Above.

I am given such conditions now that there is no reason for me to move and I have no fuel to move with. My machine won’t work without fuel, but now I must receive fuel from Above. I understand that I need the Creator and will demand these powers from Him.

These are several delicate points here that will be clarified  in the future.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/14, Shamati #59 and #190

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Question: You say that all of the problems and questions need to be brought to a group and solved there. We can turn to the Creator with a request only through the center of the group. But the thing is that I don’t know what this center of the group is. I have looked for it and haven’t found it.

Answer: You want it, you find it! You can ask the Creator only from the center of the group.

When you feel that you are all connected together, then this shared feeling will bring you to the wavelength of a connection with the Creator. Otherwise everything is in vain, He doesn’t hear! You are working on a different frequency.

Turning to the Creator through the center of the group means that you and the group adhere together, there is nothing that divides you, and you melt into it. Everything depends on you. The group is always in a perfected state. Externally it can be in a big dispute with gloomy states of hatred, but internally there is love.

Internally, the group is found in a perfect state of absolute equality. This equality is differential in conformity with many characteristics that we cannot even consider. These include the original data of a person, his opportunities for the moment, what has been arranged for him from Above, and controls how they connect with him from below. It’s impossible to think about the immense quantity of this data, but ultimately, all are equal according to the module.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/17/14, Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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Question: What is the spiritual root of dance?

Answer: Dancing in a circle where people hold hands symbolizes that in a circle all are equal. And this is its spiritual root.

Holding hands symbolizes our mutual connection and the circle shows equality and wholeness, since in our world there is no image more complete than a circle or a sphere. So men dancing in a circle is derived from spiritual roots.

With my teacher, Rabash, the students danced only in a circle, holding hands. Moreover, they always went around from right to left, counter clockwise, because the right line comes first, and after that the left line, and then the middle line.

Sometimes individuals would enter the center of the circle and dance within it. This symbolized that precisely within the circle a person can feel a unique spiritual state. All the other kinds of dances belong to modern forms and don’t have spiritual roots.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/17/14, Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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The Torah, “Leviticus,” 5:2-5:3: Or if a person touches anything unclean, whether it is the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of unclean domestic animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping animal, and it was hidden from him, he incurs guilt. Or if he touches the uncleanness of a human, with any uncleanness through which he may become defiled, and it is hidden from him and [later] he knows, he has incurred guilt.

Touching symbolizes nearness and contact. In the spiritual world, closeness between two states takes place according to the degree of compatible attributes. Contact is when there is at least one similar part between two spiritual states or objects, which means sharing one common attribute, and then they are in contact.

But this closeness can be a big problem. The point is that there is absolute egoism and absolute altruism. If the altruism is corrupted in any way, it begins to come closer to egoism, although there should be a certain distance between them. If altruism can sustain itself in a normal state and perform actions of love and bestowal, the ego doesn’t prevent it, since altruism places it under its restriction (Tzimtzum).

But if altruism grows weak, it begins to draw closer to the ego in the spiritual space. Then a point of contact is formed between them, which means an attribute similar to egoism arose in altruism, and the two connect. The egoistic intentions can pour through this common attribute and a person doesn’t even feel what is happening to him.

Therefore, the Torah says that a person cannot forget what happens to him. There must be a detachment, a distance between the different egoistic attributes from altruism, and accordingly, we need to perform a correction in order to separate them again, which means to burn the egoistic attributes, bury them, or throw them out of the camp, which means outside the borders of our unity. There are very clear instructions as to how to detach from the ego internally and guard ourselves from it.

Question: In our world, a person usually cannot resist contact with the ego, no matter what oath he makes. He may swear, for example, to remain clean and not to take a bribe, and then suddenly fall.

Answer: No one can be absolutely clean. I am not trying to protect anyone, but it says: “Don’t trust yourself until your dying day,” which means until the death of your ego. But we should do everything that matches the spiritual laws and then you can guard yourself. The main thing is that the group, the society you are in, can guard you.

The group itself can guard and protect you only in mutual relations since it connects internally by the help of the upper force, the general force that everyone discovers in their attitude towards one another, by working for others.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 11/27/13

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Question: Where am I found in the connection between us into one point of mutual guarantee? I do not find myself there! Where are my characteristics and tastes? Do they disappear within this connection?

Answer: Specifically when you disappear, you are found. You exist only in this form when you melt into the connection. Does a mother have anything of her own other than what she provides for her children?

Does she need something of her own? No, that is why she is called a mother, thinking only about the welfare of her children. Bina has nothing of her own. Her upper half belongs to the Sefirot of Keter and Hochma, and her lower half belongs to ZON, and what is left for herself? She only has the point of the Chazeh where Bina calculates how much to rise further and how much to descend further.

The further a person rises up the ladder of levels, the more he will resemble Bina and extend further over all of reality. His entire upper part reaches to the world of Infinity, and his entire lower part encompasses all the lower levels, down to the lowest part. In that way, he covers the entire creation.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/14, The Zohar

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