Attaining the Creator depends on the tightness or density of our connection. What does the density refer to? To how compactly and tightly together we are connected. We have to enter one another so that there will be nothing left in me and I will be in the others. This is what everyone should do, each of us in everyone else. There is nothing that is left behind except for the body. Everything that we call the soul, the point in the heart, our yearnings are all in the group.

The environment that absorbs me helps me dissolve in it. Does the group have to think about how to do this? Frankly, we have never spoken about this issue.

For the first time in this convention I feel that I can already start talking about how to establish such an environment, when by artificially drawing away from one another we expand the distance between us in order to fill it with the Light of Hassadim. Then we do the opposite as we contract by tightening the connections between us, this time in order to fill it with the Light of Hochma. We have to gradually reach this type of breathing by the actions we perform together, but it will be fulfilled after we connect. Then we will be able to perform it.

Can you imagine the work that is done in the group? We should all work together, to understand one another, to feel one another internally. Words cannot express this in any way. This is how Kabbalists work, by creating a space inside them for the revelation of the Creator as they expand and contract each time.
[113926]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Specifically when I am found within the group, very close to the friends, we need to awaken the “Surrounding Light” on ourselves, which appears to the degree of density between us, the degree that the power of connection appears between us despite weaknesses, lack of desire, and even our laziness when we are swimming within some kind of indifference.

Even so, it is up to us to attract the Upper Light upon ourselves, and it is attracted only through unity, not through anything else!

Have you already felt this? So, continue to realize the unity even in states where you don’t want anything, for specifically when you don’t want to come close, your efforts will be most useful for prayer is created here.

You will not be successful at all, but you must reach the same state as in a convention, but already with today’s Aviut (thickness), with the newly discovered denseness of ego, when you seem to yearn for this but with a new deficiency, then the new level appears in you.

How does this happen? We know that when the Partzufim begin to be extended from above to below, then first Partzuf Galgalta goes out, and it is clothed Partzuf AB and after it, Partzuf SAG.

In Galgalta was Reshimot Dalet-Dalet (4/4). After that, when it is refined, clarified, then the Reshimot Dalet-Gimel (4/3) is left, and, within the SAG, the Reshimot Bet-Gimel (3/2) is received.

What does the gap between Reshimot de Hitlabashut and Aviut of Dalet-Gimel (4/3) give us? Dalet is a Reshimo of the Light because it is clothed on the Partzuf, and Gimel (3) is a Reshimo of the Kli, the desire (Aviut).

If we advance from above to below, then there is a Tzimtzum of the levels or Partzufim, the states.

What happens if we advance from below to above? Suppose I was at the Saint Petersburg convention and arrived there in state “1.” Let’s symbolically call it “Saint Petersburg Convention 2013.”

At the time of the convention, I received good fulfillment, and now it is up to me to rise to the next state which must be more intense.

In the previous state, I had Reshimot 1/0, where 1, is something illuminated from my future state depending on my Aviut, and now I need to rise to a level in which I will receive 2/1 fulfillment.

For this, I must transform the previous Light (1) that filled me into a Kli, this is to say, the previous Keter (the Light) transforms into the next Malchut (Kli, desire).

How do we do this? We don’t need to think about it. The Light will do this instead of us, but it is up to us to understand that it transforms previous fulfillment into a new deficiency, into a deficiency of the new level. Therefore, it is up to us to advance with “faith above reason,” specifically to yearn for connection just as at the convention.

“2” is the attraction of the Creator because this is a greater Light than before. It is forbidden to confuse this Light with the Light of the Torah, the correction, because this is specifically the light of fulfillment, the discovery of the Creator in us according to equivalence of form with bestowal.

Therefore, every friend included in a group discovers the Creator within connection. In this kind of form, we advance. This is called advancement with “faith above reason.”
[113118]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/13, “Faith Above Reason”

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Question: What does it mean when you say that the Reflected Light (Ohr Hozer) is realized in the group?

Answer: The Reflected Light is realized in the group since we are unable to imagine spirituality, the soul, or the Upper Light, as of yet.

If we take seven billion people, and ask each them very seriously and carefully what they think spiritual work is, it will become clear that each one of them has a different opinion, and no one has a clue what they are talking about, yet, all of them have some idea about it. That’s why we never want to act theoretically, only practically.

In other words, we are not interested in fantasizing. Kabbalah is a purely, practical science, a science of understanding the true system of the universe through the tools that are in my hands. Anything that is spoken theoretically, I don’t care about, because anyone can say anything they want.

Today, we agree with some things, “Yes, that guy is surely right!” Tomorrow, we realize that it was nonsense. That’s why we don’t “buy” any words, hypotheses, or theories. We refuse to take them into account. It is a prerogative of philosophy that, nowadays, already has turned into a household name.

I remember my meeting with physicists in San Francisco, the authors of the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? I brought a friend of mine, a professor and doctor of philosophy, to this meeting. At that time, I planned to write a book together with him. These physicists did not even look in his direction. They could not hide their contempt. Physicists research reality and we respect them for that and look forward to further contact with them.

It is exactly the same practical approach that we should have. With it, we need to approach the world. Only then would we be able to persuade others that this methodology has practical value. Baal HaSulam writes that we should make a space where we would show the entire world how this methodology works, what happens to people who are involved in it, and what kind of future they can anticipate. The only way to achieve this state of affairs is to show it to them as a model! That’s why there is no place for theoretical speculation.

You can object to my words by saying, “You only sit for three hours a day with your students, and all you do is read, and read, and read.” I do it only to attract the Upper Light. It is outlined in Item 155 in the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot. We do it solely to attract the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif), and there is no other meaning behind it. That’s why, in my eyes, those who are very knowledgeable and those who know nothing are absolutely equal.

There are people who remember many quotes by heart and know how to use them. They help me in my group work and assist me in preparation for the lessons. However, in spirituality, it doesn’t matter if a person is hardworking or very able. One’s realization is possible only within a group!

It is said that studying is available not only to wise men since one’s advancement doesn’t depend on their aptitude. Only one factor, a strong group, defines everyone’s success! It is the only criteria of attainment.

When one grinds one’s teeth and forces oneself to join the group against one’s egoism, one eventually begins rejecting his group-mates, “I don’t want to be with them! It’s disgusting! I am ready to do anything, but I don’t want to go to friends’ meetings, and I don’t want to do anything together with them.”

Why do we need to disseminate? Do you think that we do it in order to tell the world about us? No! We do it because it is our joint work, our common mission. While working together, we attract others and, thus trigger even greater Surrounding Light onto us. However, the real Surrounding Light that connects us with each other and organizes us descends to us only when we disseminate.

If, in the process of dissemination, someone experiences multiple predicaments but continues one’s work, one attracts an even bigger surrounding Light.

Consequently, first of all, people reveal their egoism; that is, they clearly realize that they don’t want to be a part of a group. In the beginning, our resistance is quite small. Then, it gradually grows. Contrary to our ego, we begin searching for various methods to join the group. Our inclusion into a group that happens against our egoism is, in fact, reasonable. We already understand why and for what purpose we do it; that is, we go by “faith above reason.” One should find strength to act contrary to what is on one’s mind and in one’s heart.

Only then will the Surrounding Light descend.
[112768]

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Question: It says that a person’s height is measured according to his responsibility, whether he is devoted only to his town or to his nation, or even to the entire world. What is meant by “devoted to his town, to his state, and to the world?”

Answer: Devotion means that we attribute all the parts of our soul that seem foreign to ourselves. We do this although they are detached from us by a great egoistic desire, by indifference, and by the desire to profit at the expense of others, to be more important than others, to avoid suffering by causing others pain.

If I turn my entire ego into a means to reach adhesion with others so that each one and all of them together will be more important to me than myself, it means that I am devoted to them like to my own kids and that I am ready to give them everything. I turn my ego, which separates me from others, into bestowal according to my height.

If I can relate this way only to those who are close to me or to neighbors that live in the same town I live in, it doesn’t mean that I am very high. However, it requires a great effort to perceive the entire world as my relatives. After all, these people are distant from me to begin with. There is a greater ego between us, a much greater quantity. So, it requires a much greater intensity, a greater height, in order to overcome the ego.

It seems that it is only about quantity, but quantity is related to quality. The concept of quantity doesn’t exist in spirituality, only quality. However, quality is made of quantity, just like computer software that thanks to the capacity of the memory can offer totally different options. The difference is actually in the quantity of memory cells that operate, but this quantity makes the qualitative difference. Thanks to this difference, I can understand, feel, and perceive more.

Thanks to this additional quantity, I begin to understand the Creator. The number of neurons in our brain and the connections between them determine our cognitive ability, which means that the quantity is related to the quality. Still, it isn’t as we imagine. We cannot calculate to what extent we must expand in width in order to reach something in height. These concepts are related, but we cannot work with this formula yet.

We don’t see the right formula since our perception isn’t integral; it isn’t analog. It is digital, discrete. Everything is segmented—1,2,3—while in spirituality, everything is according to a circular calculation and not a square calculation like in our world. This is why we cannot simply count quantity in width and height, and say how something should be.

All our exertion is quantitative as if it were possible to measure it in kilograms, but, later, it rises to Ein Sof (Infinity) and is incorporated in Malchut of Ein Sof, in our MAN, and in response we receive MAD. Thus, all our exertion returns to us in an analog, integral manner, and it isn’t digital anymore. Our constant connection with Ein Sof is added to this connection, and this disrupts our calculation.

However, it is thanks to the connection with Ein Sof, from which everything comes back to us, that we have a chance to bring our exertion into Ein Sof each time and to save it in the right box. Then, we heal the whole system by our personal exertion by even the smallest action! Our exertion doesn’t insert some small cube into the general structure, but melts in all of Ein Sof.

Then, when the bestowal from Ein Sof returns to us, it makes actual changes in us and raises us to the next level. Although we see our actions as digital and limited, when they reach Ein Sof and return to us, they build an analog, integral form in us that is similar to Ein Sof.
[113659]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/26/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: How can I never be detached from the Creator?

Answer: If I do not feel the Creator, if there is a complete separation, it means that I return to the animal state and can do nothing by my own strength. So, I need a daily schedule, regular work that I have to perform. Then, this still level, my schedule, will bring me back to life. I will begin to read, study, and take part in some actions, and thus will recover. I would not be able to do this myself and would never go back to the Creator.

Thus, everyone should organize for himself mandatory activities during the day that when necessary will bring him back to some connection with the upper management. And after I have regained connection, (after I worked on an article, talked to someone, did something), then I return to spirituality, even if not yet in feeling and in the heart, but at least in thoughts, with the mind.

I read, edited text, studied it, did my part. I do not have a sense of connection with the Creator yet, but due to the environment that inspires and pulls me along, I am starting to wake up and come to life. And the heart and the mind begin to bring me back to spiritual work. I understand that I must reveal the Creator, the upper management, in everything that I see before me.

Someone yells at me; there are some problems at home, at work, and I try to recognize the Creator beyond all these people and events so that the external picture of reality does not overshadow Him and does not become that “iron barrier” between us about which Baal HaSulam writes. I want that picture, the outlines that I see, to help me reveal the Creator instead of hiding Him. This is the difference between the concealing screen and the revealing screen: It all depends on how I will be able to change one into another.
[114120]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/7/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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If I have a big, strong, good society, I am like a kid who follows this example, trying to do whatever the friends do. In that case it isn’t hard to resemble the Creator at all. A good society will teach me how to do this, just like a grownup teaches children.

I have to make efforts on my part, but they should be more qualitative each time. The society sets a clearer example for me each time, while I receive a greater hardening of the ego each time from the Creator so that I will be independent in my attitude to the group and free of its influence.

My desire to receive keeps growing and I have to work with the group and the Creator in order to overcome the growing ego. It’s like a child who grows and becomes lazier and doesn’t want to make any efforts anymore. A person is given a chance to benefit more by seeing the importance of the society, the goal. His desire to be bigger like the Creator is like a child in our world who dreams about being a pilot. But he must always participate to some extent (like a child does) by trying to see the society as more important. If I see the society that helps me resemble the Creator and come in contact with Him as more important, it means that I connect “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator,” and this helps me focus directly on the goal.

It turns out that it’s impossible to manage without the society. I have to constantly follow the example that it sets for me so that it will seem as great as possible. This is important in order to acquire equivalence of form with the Creator and to perceive that I will eventually receive everything that is good from Him without any concealment.

Now I also receive an infinite filling from the Creator, but the problem is that my desire to receive is opening gradually and slowly. Now, I use, let’s say, only one percent of my whole desire. So instead of the world of Ein Sof (Infinity), I feel only one percent of it. This one percent is divided into my right and wrong attitude towards the Creator, which means that there is always concealment.

This is how I advance, step by step, like a child growing in our world. I feel the concealment with regard to the society, the Creator, and my qualitative advancement. It’s because I shouldn’t just grow like an animal by remaining the same child but simply bigger. It’s rather the human being in me that should change for the better each time.
[114043]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/06/13, Shamati #8 “What Is the Difference Between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra”

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Question: How can I include the friends in me so I will always feel what they lack in order to be able to constantly fill them?

Answer: I should simply think about what else I can give the friend. Have you seen how a mother treats her small child? She constantly looks at him and thinks only about him and about what else she can do for him. She can talk to you and at the same time not let him out of her sight.

This is how we should see the group, since it is the only valuable thing we have in order to attain something in this life.
[114110]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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The Kabbalists who attained an inner understanding of the world, described the entire creation as multidimensional, composed of many “worlds”: basically this is what both physicists and psychologists are beginning to talk about today.

The “multidimensional” world is composed of concentric circles which we investigate from within our small world which is found in the middle of their central point.

The great Kabbalist, the ARI, writes that after everything was contracted, a ray of light was drawn and created all the worlds up to our world, which is the last of all and is found within the empty gaping void. And only a narrow channel of Light passes from the world of Infinity (symbol ∞) to our world.

We began to be developed from its most central point, which within it, according to astronomy, through the power of an explosion that all matter was created. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, matter was created as a result of a contraction even before the explosion.

Our world is absolutely the opposite of all that exists outside of it. And therefore we don’t feel all that exists outside of it. Together with this, we feel only what enters by way of our five senses, and from this we describe to ourselves the picture of the world. This is what we have.

The entire creation was formed through a consistent contraction from above to below. This is to say, all the circles were gradually contracted until the area of the contraction was shattered into a multitude of parts under the influence of the Light. And therefore within matter (the desire to receive), the characteristics of the Light appeared, except in an opposite form.

If the characteristic of the Light is to bestow, to fill, to love, to connect, to enrich, and to create, which is to say, to create everything so that it will be beneficial, good, and eternal, then when it enters and shatters matter, it divides it into a multitude of parts, and in itself produces in this place characteristics which are its opposite, characteristics of reception, egoism, coercion, hatred, and rejection; these are within our negative emotions, although we use them because it has become our nature, and that is how we are.

Everything that separates us (the so-called “Pharaoh”) is the negative characteristics of the Light, its opposite. And from them we can learn, we can explain them in reverse all the time and can see what is happening.

Therefore, our work is realized with “faith above reason,” which is to say with bestowal above reception, with yearning for bonding, connection, and love, rising above ourselves, above our nature. In this manner it is possible to go forward.

But we ourselves can only make small efforts, and also, those who are ready for this are only people who have a “point in the heart,” the beginning of the characteristic of bestowal.

In principle, this spark exists in everyone; only it is discovered gradually, beginning with people who are more subtle and after that in those who are coarser. At the same time, the coarser the person is, his potential is greater. Even though it is more difficult for him to correct himself, but accordingly, the intensity of the discovery of his spiritual height will be greater also. Therefore, those who will be corrected after us will add immense Light to our perception.

Let’s say that in sum we attain the level of Nefesh, and after that, when this passes to them, the attain the levels of Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida. Every generation attains some particular level and the following generation that replaces it reaches even greater heights. And we develop in an identical manner.

Our development is gradual. Those in whom the point in the heart is awakened are inclined to search after the meaning of life. They are not influenced by any religion, what interests them is attainment, which is to say a real filling of knowledge, emotion, and ability to “take” the whole world, to discover it fully, to feel it within them, and in a real, tangible manner to feel themselves within it. The point in the heart pushes them towards this.

But the point in the heart alone is not enough for this, rather the mutual help of the rest of the shattered parts of the collective desires is required, or at least a part of them. Thus the group is gathered.

What is more, it is not we who gather the group. It is created as if by chance. The idea is that around us there exists a higher Light that fills the empty void that was formed (we call this an empty void because we don’t actually feel the Light), and it acts on us to the degree of the inclination of our yearning for its characteristic.
[112702]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 3

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Question: When the friends are incorporated properly, I feel delight that I bring the Creator pleasure. How can I keep in mind that it is the Creator, that everything is under His control, and that it has nothing to do with me and my pride?

Answer: It is written: “I am the first, and I am the last.” This means that no matter what you do, it is the Creator who does it. Everything that you start, no matter what state you and your environment are in, it is He who arranges everything. Whatever happens in the end is also arranged by the Creator.

What doesn’t he arrange? There isn’t such a thing! Everything stems from Him!

So where am I? You are only the one who does his best so that everything would work out. But what for? After all, He arranges everything? When you make such attempts, you adhere to Him, that’s all and there is nothing but that.

The illusion that you exist separately and independently, that you do something, that you think, etc. is given to you only for your sake. It is so you will attain the revelation that you are totally adhered to Him anyway and that you constantly move together in your desires, intentions, and actions in everything
[114027]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Question: How should a group behave if it notices an eruption of the ego in several friends, or disrespect of one friend toward another?

Answer: You should set a quiet example with a hint. Suppose I see that one friend treats another disrespectfully. I will try, as if by chance, to speak respectfully about the one he disrespects, in a conversation that we may have. I will do that without hurting or humiliating anyone. It only relates to the spiritual work.

If we speak about our work with the public or here at the center, which is not related to spiritual contact, then we can object to one another and not agree with one another. But then again, it has to be totally detached, and absolutely clear that it has nothing to do with our spiritual adhesion.
[114025]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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