Question: What are the limitations we should impose on required needs in order to proceed correctly towards spirituality?

Answer: There are no limitations. Eat, drink, have fun and do what you want, but from within that maintain a permanent connection with the Creator: “There is none else besides Him.”

To the same extent that you are not able to be with this thought, you must reduce exaggerated living. In other words, doing all that you want, begin to reduce the threshold of material excesses so that the “There is none else besides Him “ will constantly be the main thing for you. And at Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction), you will consume without limits and will ask from the Creator all that there is in life.

Kabbalah is the science of receiving eternal and infinite pleasure. With time you will begin to understand which pleasures to exchange with which, and you will see how few of them are exchanged with others or clothe upon others.

Thus, there is no need to limit yourself, but only if you execute all the conditions of adherence with the group, with the teacher, and with the Creator.

The vessel that was entirely received from the Creator makes a restriction. This restriction does not apply to our world. From within it, you can use everything. If the corporeal pleasures don’t interfere with rising towards the Creator, don’t distract your opinion of Him, then use them.

Would it be that from sitting down to a meal with friends and crying or eating vegetables, you would turn into a saint? The opposite, enjoy the tasty food, but it should be that all of this will complement the happiness of the meal and will in no way detract. When you feel that there weren’t even anything on the table and you would have stayed with the same uplifted spirit with the friends, then you can add all that.
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From a lesson in Russian 2/10/14

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Question: How do I nullify myself toward the group?

Answer: It is very difficult to do this, it is just about impossible. It is necessary to close your eyes and put yourself under the influence of the group and try physically, morally, psychologically, and spiritually to be nullified within the environment. It is only like this! Submit and lower yourself and accept them as they are. If this is the group to which they brought me and I nullify myself toward it, then I attain my restriction.

Therefore, it is most important at every given moment to organize yourself internally, and clarify: “Toward where are my thoughts, powers, and desires directed—everything that is in a person?”

Constantly carrying out a scan of the internal self-image, I describe to myself who I am at this moment, a beast or something close to the image of man. Unfortunately, I always discover that I am a beast. However, after that, movement happens, even a small one, in the direction of the human in me.
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From the Writings of Rabash, “The New Moon”: Malchut is called the moon, and it is called the new moon, the concept of the kingdom of heaven being that, we need to accept the yoke anew every day. Yesterday’s acceptance is not enough, because the holy Ari says that we need to raise the sparks that fell to BYA all the time, lifting them to holiness.

It is found that a person takes on the yoke anew all the time, this being the name for his taking a portion of the separation and attaching it to spiritual unification. And this is the idea that Malchut returns to a point every day, this point being called a black point, which has no whiteness in the holy Zohar; that is, it doesn’t shine, for illumination is called whiteness, meaning that we must renew it all the time.

If a person really nullifies himself to the group, respecting it and satisfying its desire by wanting to place the characteristic of bestowal and love into the connection between the friends, then to the degree of his effort, he sees how far he is from this condition. And if he strengthens his feeling that the greatness of this feeling is desirable, the distance brings him to despair due to his inability to reach this goal. But along with this, he understands how important the goal is and he gets the power to attain it.

Eventually he completely realizes the nothingness of his powers. And here no person is as wise as someone with experience; it’s impossible to skip over this clarification. Only through the multitude of deeds, activities, and work that the Kabbalists recommend for us do we reach a state of despair.

A state of despair also brings happiness. As Baal HaSulam writes, there is no happier moment in a person’s life than when he finds himself in despair of his own powers. For now he is ready to scream from the depths of his heart for a true prayer. He asks for the power to be nullified towards the group, for his entry into spiritual work depends on this.

And then he receives this power, making it possible for him to nullify himself and adhere to the group. This is called the transformation of his black point into white. That is how he advances, and immediately he gets a new black point. And so from these points, one after another, he builds himself, transforming darkness into light all the time. That is how the moon is renewed.

Until eventually, all of the entries and exits that constantly alternate one after the other build in him a state of smallness (Katnut). The spiritual fetus is finally formed and born, turning into a newborn. The fetus nullifies itself completely. All of its 613 desires pass through correction through nullification, and thanks to this he becomes “white,” reaching the level of Nefesh and is born into the new world.

After birth, he continues to grow. His desire to receive grows more and more on the level of Ruach. There the person already must know how he joins with the actions of the Creator in that he takes part in the work of the Creator himself in order to start managing himself. This happens precisely with the same stages as the fetus develops in the physical world.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/14

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Question: Do I annul myself only against my group or against any situation in life?

Answer: Annulling occurs only against my group through which I view any situation in my life. After all, since I entered the spiritual work, I have only one goal in front of me: I have to cling to my friends in the group.

I perceive and evaluate all situations in my life through the group: How much my problems help me by preventing my becoming included in the group and annulling myself before the group! I look only at this thing. Any situations in my life, any problems in the family, at work, or with my health I perceive as obstacles along my way of connecting with others in the perfect form and revealing the Creator between us. This is our ultimate goal.

I evaluate everything only from this perspective. Then I can consider this picture of life as correct. I understand that everything comes from the Creator who paints my entire world for me in such a form.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2.16.14

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Question: How do we establish the state of the embryo and the womb it needs by the connection between us?

Answer: It is a new phase in our development that has begun as a result of our progress. The stronger the connection between us, the more that can be revealed to you. After all, what I reveal to you is only for the sake of our future work.

We see that the world is made of two forces, two halves: the internal part, which is me, and the external part, which is the group. Then the group becomes the internal part and the whole world becomes the external part. These waves spread and draw further and further away from the center. Thus you can establish more and more advanced forms of the spiritual embryo and the spiritual womb each time.

First I was an embryo and the group was my womb. Then I and the group connect into one whole and become the embryo while everything that is around us becomes a womb, which is the greater group, which is all of humanity.

The terms internal and external constantly expand. First I was considered the internal part and the group was the external part, then both the group and I became the internal part and all of humanity became the external part. It’s like levels that fold into one another. The whole world is divided into two parts: an internal part and an external part. The internal part is called Israel and the external part is called the nations of the world.

We have to constantly think about how to establish these concepts. We have to even establish the concept of humanity since now it has no form. If we reach a state in which we become a group, we become an embryo with regard to humanity that is supposed to be our womb, and we start to work with it.

The spiritual embryo builds the womb by itself! After all, we ascend from the bottom up and establish the upper level by ourselves. Therefore, the Creator is called Bore, is called “come and see” (Bo-Re). We have to establish both the form of humanity and the Creator by our work from the bottom up.

We must constantly keep this picture of the world. It has to become our constant perception of reality, the image of life, our philosophy, the glasses through which we see the world. When I am in the group, I perceive myself with regard to the group. However, when I go out to disseminate, I perceive myself together with the group with regard to all of humanity.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2.13.14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: What is the benefit of discovering the Creator?

Answer: If we were not to feel a desire to live, to receive pleasure, understanding, knowledge, and to improve our condition, then even this question would not exist. I require the Creator for my own good.

Question: But this cannot be the ultimate goal.

Answer: Why not? I am a desire to receive; I have nothing more than this. Therefore, I am not ready to wish for anything besides good and plenty. And so by searching for the most good, I discover that there exists a source for the good, the Creator or the Light. Apparently I am built such that the best state for me is when He fills me. Here is where the game begins, why am I filled? Am I filled so it will be good for me or so that it will be good for the Creator?

Suppose that I am doing this for my own sake. In that case my fulfillment will be very small. I will be just like an infant that is satisfied and full, lying down without moving, full of pleasure. This is because all movement is a search for pleasure and in this state he lacks nothing. Even the still is above this; it protects itself, and here even protection is superfluous.

The Creator doesn’t want us to be in this state, for this is a very small level. Therefore, He arranges everything so that we will not be satisfied with fulfillment of the self; rather, it is so that we can fulfill Him, as if He needed it. More precisely, we can be fulfilled for His sake. This adds more and more endless new fulfillments to us all the time, and as a result of this, we feel alive.

You feel a little hunger and a little satiation, and again hunger and satiation, and so on, again and again. That is the way life flows all the time and you don’t freeze, you don’t stop on the primitive level of self-satisfaction that fills you up to the end without leaving any deficiency. On the other hand, if the Malchut of Infinity had not made a restriction (Tzimtzum) and had filled all of the vessels to the end, it would disappear and return to the beginning point of something from nothing (Yesh mi Ain).

For this reason, the Creator created everything in such a form that we must be like Him, become someone who bestows. While we are a desire to receive, at the same time, we want to bestow and we “oscillate” between reception and bestowal, constantly increasing the range. This gives us the opportunity for limitless development and with it we feel an adventure, true pleasure. We enjoy both hunger and filling, for from the start even our hunger is directed towards the good of the other. Therefore, I enjoy love from two sides, both from the side of Din (judgment) and from the side of Rachamim (mercy).

Question: How can one truly want this?

Answer: These distinctions arrive with the help of the Light. It illuminates us to the degree of our accommodation to it, to the degree that we resemble it. And we begin to resemble it with the help of work with the friends in a group.

Try to help them and you will feel the resistance. Don’t agree with this resistance in order to bestow to them, and then to the degree of your effort, you will awaken the Light that Reforms.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/13/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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When a person begs for mercy for himself, he is in a desire to receive and thinks only about himself. And the more that he prays for himself and tries to influence the Creator to improve his personal situation, not only does he not come close to the Creator, but also he moves away from Him, through awakening greater and greater egoism.

All of our thoughts in every circumstance go to the Creator, for we are found in a single system; we are embedded in it. It’s impossible to think about something, to decide something, and to do something without influencing the entire system, for from the start we are found in it with every cell in our body and with our heart, with all our thoughts and desires. Before we even begin to understand what we are thinking about and what we want, this has already gone into the system! We are already within it! And that is how it is for every person, all people in the world, all the still, vegetative, and animate nature, everything!

It’s only with the human that a completely different account is made, for we have been given the possibility of influencing the system through choice. Therefore, when a person’s thoughts are directed towards himself, then the system is influenced negatively. And if he continues to pray for himself, with this he invites a terrible negative awakening from the entire creation. The clearest discovery of ego is in this, when a person wants the Creator to do something for him according to his personal understanding and desire without realizing that the Creator gives him the best possibilities for correction at every moment.

So it’s not just that he has an effect on the entire system, rather he arouses immense upheavals in it, causing it to move backwards against the tendency towards the goal of creation that was activated in the form of the evolution of all of humanity. The moment that a person revives and begins to think: “Me, world, creature, Creator, my condition,” he must direct himself first towards a connection with the Creator through the group. Otherwise, all of his influence on the system of creation will be negative, and first and foremost, he will cause his personal movement to be backward.

So the best starting point for everyone is the constant transmission of bestowal through the group on all that is around us. This is called the “prayer of the many” because we are asking on behalf of the many. Such a prayer doesn’t indicate that many must be gathered together, there is no importance in this. One person is enough, only he should ask for many in such a way that he can ask for them as he would for himself. And “many” is at least ten. And then the influence of the person on the system will be positive and with it the Creator will be revealed. This is a very simple general rule.
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From the World Zohar Week “Integral Education Convention” Day Three 2/4/14, Workshop 5

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The Torah, “Exodus,” Ki Tisa, 32:25 – 32:27 And Moses saw the people, that they were exposed, for Aaron had exposed them to be disgraced before their adversaries.

So Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said: “Whoever is for the Lord, [let him come] to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

He said to them: “So said the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Let every man place his sword upon his thigh and pass back and forth from one gate to the other in the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his friend, every man his kinsman.'”

“…every man kill his brother, every man his friend, every man his kinsman” stands for ridding oneself of the properties, habits, desires, hopes, and memories that one cherishes the most, i.e. letting go of the core of one’s entire life and universe. One has to part with these notions forever, “shut them down,” internally restrict them, and then gradually correct other qualities.

An appeal “Whoever is for the Lord, [let him come] to me!” stands for “Whoever is for the pure bestowal…”

“And all the sons of Levi gathered around him” refers to people or to certain human qualities that have to “stand out” (become obvious) from the point of view of the internal part of the Torah.

Question: Then, why did the sons of Levi take part in the creation of the golden calf?

Answer: It happened because there was no Moses, no illumination of the Upper Light on Malchut. When the Light influences Malchut, the properties that are ingrained in it rise. In other words, the Levites approach Moses; whereas, if the Light doesn’t descend to Malchut, the Levites stay under the influence of Malchut’s power of egoism. The Levites have no choice of their own.

It applies solely to Mose’s governance that descends through every part of the system to the people. That’s why Aaron, the Cohens, and the Levites are only “adapters” that connect Moses with the people.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/11/13

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Question: When I am in a group, I feel some kind of sense of shame and try to understand what my ego wants to tell me with this. But this is not shame with regard to the Creator, but in regard to the physical world?

Answer: Tell me, what should I be ashamed of in this world? Is it because I am a regular normal beast? Even if abnormal beastly defects exist within me, this is also not me. What is there to be ashamed of?! I want to steal? Yes. I want to sin? Yes. Yet this is no reason to be ashamed! These are normal human characteristics, and it’s not even necessary to think about them.

Shame can be only from this, I could approach the Creator and I belittle those possibilities that He gives to me. A feeling like this appears only with regard to a host who honors a guest and the guest begins to feel ashamed. But this happens on the highest levels. And so it is also said that shame is only for high souls. Therefore, shame must only be because I don’t utilize the opportunities that are given to me from Above.
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Question: Why do health problems appear with us all the time, in the family, etc.?

Answer: We don’t know why we are sick because we don’t see the entire system of creation. Someone does something in one place and for that someone in another place “takes it on the head” because we are a single integral system. So I cannot tell you how to act when someone is sick.

We need only to advance towards an inclusive unity. Only this alone! As Baal HaSulam writes, love of friends is ready to cover all of our problems.
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