According to the sources, an angel takes a drop of semen before a person is born and asks the Creator what will become of it: a hero or a weakling, a wise man or a fool, a rich man or a poor man. But it doesn’t say if he will become righteous or wicked.

Therefore, we have to focus all our attention only on that. Everything else is predetermined and there is nothing we can do about it. People who have lived a long time know that what you are is what you will be and that a person doesn’t change. There is no way you can change yourself.

So we shouldn’t have complaints about anyone, but simply should try to help a person become a righteous. Then all his negative qualities and discernments will suddenly become so useful that you will simply be very happy.

The higher a person is spiritually, the more his qualities are revealed as negative so he will be able to correct them. So when the greatest righteous are in a state of descent, they appear to be very egoistic people: irritable, angry, grumpy, stingy, etc. On the one hand, most of these qualities are revealed internally and no one feels it on the outside. But on the other hand, it says: “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is even greater.”

Envy is the most wonderful quality and it should actually be cultivated and increased, as it says: “The envy of authors will increase wisdom.” The reason is that if you see it correctly, then you can be greatly impressed by the positive qualities of the friends, by their achievements, their adhesion to the group in order to bestow; I see how they succeed while I don’t. This is the right kind of envy! I don’t try to humiliate the friends’ qualities and to annul them, but rather try to attain these qualities by myself.

There are two ways of using the same attribute correctly: either the negative use of envy when I want to “eliminate” a friend who succeeds or when I want to become even better than him.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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We are in concealment in our relationship with the Creator. We do not feel what exactly comes to us from Him and do not see that all this is for our benefit. We evaluate good and evil according to how much and what our “animate” level feels.

This is the main attribute of concealment. If we had felt that everything comes from the Creator, the Good Who Does Good, we would have seen the world differently. How can we achieve this?

The Creator sends us His attitude of the Good Who Does Good not applied to the egoistic desires, but in relation to the goal, wanting to raise us above the “animate” to the human degree. Thus, His influence always seems bad to us, harmful for the “animate” level.

In the same way, the child feels under constant pressure from his parents: “You have to eat well, don’t get dirty, clean up after yourself, keep your things in order, study this, read that, and so forth.” We constantly demand something from him, wanting to nurture the human degree in him, and this looks bad in the eyes of the “animate level” that wants to grow freely.

However, children in our world strive to look like the grownups, learn from their examples. For us, the example is the environment in which we will grow like children who develop easily.

We see that development occurs due to many efforts. And accordingly, the more good examples I have before my eyes, the less effort I will need to invest. My nature will want to be like others.

This means that if the environment is important and valuable in my eyes, if it appeals to me, if the friends play before me showing that they are great and they have connection with the Creator, if time after time they show increasingly higher and more qualitative examples, then it is easy for me to develop and I rise without much effort.

Conversely, if the environment does not give me good examples or if I ignore it, if we do not raise the Creator in our eyes together, then it is difficult to move forward. It is a problem; I do not have good teachers.

Thus, in order to not be an “animal” in the course of his development, a person has to participate in this process himself. Together with friends he builds the group, the environment, so that it always appears to him higher, growing more and more. As a result the friends for him are in the world of Infinity, and the greatness and quality of the group is compared with the Creator—and no less. If the group in his eyes is lower than the Creator, then he does not appreciate it enough in order to optimally and as quickly as possible develop with its help. This is what we should remember.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/6/13, Shamati #8 “What Is the Difference Between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra”

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Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”: The truth is that the root of this whole disorder within us is no more than the above-mentioned attribute of singularity, which exists within each of us, whether more or less.

And although we have clarified that it comes from a sublime reason, that this attribute extends to us directly from the Creator, who is single in the world and the Root of all creations, still, out of the sensation of singularity, when it sits within our narrow egoism, it affects ruin and destruction until it became the source of all the ruins that were and will be in the world.

Nobody will make any progress until we realize the degree of our singularity that was given to us by nature. Everyone has to fully see their egoism in its authentic form. Meaning that on this material plane, in this world (the way we perceive it) before anything else, we should understand the basics and realize the magnitude of our desire to act solely for our own sake.

Eventually, we will figure out that we are the only ones who we ever take into account and that we never hesitate when it comes to “overlooking” others; we always do whatever we want with others if it brings us even a tiny drop of delight. When we analyze our calculations, we see that we don’t care about anything else but ourselves, and that a minimal particle of our pleasure is equal in our eyes to world-wide afflictions. Let this realm vanish, burn or continue suffering forever!

Unless we discover this condition internally, we won’t “get acquainted” with ourselves. Actually, it’s a realization of the attribute of singularity, meaning the realization of the evil inclination.

It’s extremely hard to reveal this within ourselves. Even if we admit our wickedness, we still don’t agree with it internally. An evil inclination does not allow us to go through the process of self-scrutiny, nor does it let us visualize or sense our nature, our exquisite egoism, our “I-ness,” that obscures the entire picture of the world from us, nor does it leave any space for anything else. It’s like others just don’t exist; we are simply unable to take them into consideration. They are out of our range of perception. This kind of awareness is an essential step on our way to correction.

Question: Why does our egoism conceal the truth from us?

Answer: It’s a natural defense. Our egoism doesn’t want us to suffer. If we saw the entire degree of wickedness we have, we would strive to rid ourselves of it. That’s why our egoism hides the truth from us: It slightly shows some the edge of the cover and then re-covers it. It’s organized this way to make us sink deeper and deeper until we hit the very bottom, maximum realization. At that time we are ready for the Light’s help.

Until then, we are not “equipped” for that; we just would resist our desire to self-correct, we’d run away at the very last moment. If our egoism didn’t protect us from negative sensations that we experience because of our awareness of our egoistic essence, we wouldn’t be able to continue our work.

This explains why a cognitive process happens in “jolts.” A moment ago we were astounded by our wickedness, but the curtain falls and once again we catch ourselves having vile thoughts about others: “I wish him to be dead! Why do I need him at all? He is in my way…” And yet again we are shocked by our malevolence, but then once more we forget about it. Generally, every attribute is paired with its opposite. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to penetrate to the very depth.

In any case, if we don’t aspire to the good, we will never recognize our malevolence. It’s a universal rule that works at all states that we go through. We seek benevolence and bestowal; we want to stay with our friends; we pursue our great goal without hesitation, without looking around, without “beating around the bush.” However, instead of benevolence, we discover loneliness, obliteration, and chaos.

It is said: “Do what you can.” It means that one should be a “good boy” and aspire to the goal stubbornly and steadily. On this path, one learns lots of things and becomes smarter, but the main thing is to continue advancing and acting.

Question: Can we prepare ourselves for a revelation of evil beforehand, so that we can immediately correct it?

Answer: No, we never should prepare ourselves for evil. A person who worked in a circus once told me that acrobats have a very important rule: before they performance begins, they check where they might fall. They know ahead of time where they will land if they fall and what position they will keep while falling.

In spirituality, there is an analogue to this training. However, we work not for the sake of falling. We should always aspire forward. Yes, we have to prepare the “rear guard,” but our eyes should see the goal ahead. We don’t intend to retreat.
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In a Kabbalistic group, love for another is attained when we stop paying attention not only to the externality of the friends, not only to their physical appearance, but also to their inner potential, because all this mixes together and each one works within the other.

We have already spoken of this not just once, that I don’t have those desires in me that I can fulfill through the Upper Light, through the Creator, through attaining the upper world. They are all found in you; whereas in me, they don’t exist. There is only a point in me and no more than this.

To the degree that I acquire your desires as mine, “and you shall love your friend as yourself,” so I acquire that spiritual Kli, those desires, that I can fill. And through their fulfillment, I fulfill myself.

Together with this we transform into very big egoists, only this is no longer called “egoism” because you see I overcome my small physical ego in order to acquire a gigantic desire that is filled by the Light through the presence of the Creator. And all of this is mine!

Therefore don’t separate from anything, don’t escape anything, don’t sacrifice anything, and don’t pretend you are heroes. On the contrary, you are approaching very great reception of Ein Sof, therefore this wisdom is called the “science of reception.”

The one thing, as Baal HaSulam says, is that there is a small psychological trick here where we must overcome a psychological barrier that I “as if” fulfill others relative to my present self.

But as soon as I gradually begin to feel the way a mother feels towards her child with the group, that this is mine, then immediately it becomes understood by me that it really is mine. This is my acquisition, my Kelim. And that’s it! This is your world of infinity. Please, be like the Creator, take control of it, you will get it, and enjoy it!

Because what is the goal of creation? To enjoy! Therefore don’t try to make of yourselves holy martyrs. We sacrifice the smallest most nothing ego in order to leave it and acquire a truly limitless Kli filled with infinite pleasure.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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The main thing is the group. I heard much about Baal HaSulam dreaming of creating a Kabbalistic community. He brought tannery machines with him from Poland, thinking that he would open a small factory where he would work with his students and this would be enough for them to survive. And in a small and compact circle like this they would learn the wisdom of Kabbalah. He had many similar programs. From his articles one can feel how much he dreamt about this. He was an immense spiritual romantic.

But this was still impossible in those times. Even in our times we see that in the meantime we are only on the way towards it. I could put it that this will be possible, but in what way we still don’t know. It’s not necessary to override time.

Anyway, we see that in all times, all the Kabbalists learned specifically in groups and related within it very fundamentally to its constitution, laws, and general rules of conduct.

All the laws that are described in the Torah and in the rest of the sources are laws of behavior within a group. They are not meant for a nation, nor for the masses, but only for Kabbalistic groups. Even though the impression is apparently created that this is how the masses should behave, all this is very conditional. Basically this effects only those who want to “go outside of themselves,” from their ego.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Baal HaSulam: “The Secret of Conception and Birth”: The exodus from Egypt is called birth but the embryo is born dead, since after the pregnancy, which is the iron furnace and the enslavement in Egypt, there is the birth and they were not ready to breathe the spirit of life in the enlightened world yet, to which they were promised to arrive—until the count has begun and the war with Amalek and the water trials, etc. and they arrive at the Sinai desert. Sinai means hate, which means the sufferings that is part of every illness.

We should understand that everything is determined by the final point, by the goal of creation. It says: “first think, then act.” This final point determines the flaws that must be revealed in every stage in order to reach the ultimate goal.

The ultimate goal is revealed in every stage as flawed according to the number of levels that separate it from that level. If I am on level five, for example, and there are a total of 125 levels, I have to reveal the need for the 120 missing levels on the fifth level. But I cannot reveal them and so they are in the state I am in, in their concealed form, preparing the future flaws that I have to correct and which are gradually starting to be revealed starting from this level onwards.

Every level includes all the flawed future states until the end of correction. So even at the time of the exodus from Egypt it was determined that the correction has to come to an end after 6,000 years. All this was already known; Abraham also knew about this process and Jacob wanted to reveal the future secret to his sons but didn’t manage to do so.

It all stems from the fact that the ultimate goal, the final state, is incorporated in every level since it has a beginning, the actual state, and its conclusion. So the fetus that is born during the exodus from Egypt already conceals in it the future corruption. Just like the participation of the points of SAG with NHY of Galgalta, when it was clear that the heart of stone is concealed in NHY. Therefore, it was possible to predict the future shattering, since the unrevealed evil was left in Bina and in Malchut. They thought that they could correct everything and reach the end of correction but it only got worse.

Evil has to be concealed on the way and revealed in the future and be corrected. The same thing happens here too, with the fetus is still born. The children of Israel came out of Egypt when they were totally detached from one another. They built the first Temple, but it was destroyed and they had to be exiled to Babylon, where the whole story of Ahasuerus, Mordecai and Haman took place. Then they returned to the Land of Israel again and built the second Temple, but it was also destroyed.

All these states are a result of the wrong birth, but it also had to occur that way, since the heart of stone that was supposed to be revealed and die is concealed in the fetus. All this stems for the ultimate goal and determines all these states.

It was impossible to change anything we have passed through along the way until today. Only now do we reach the state of the beginning of the correction and we have freewill. We had no freewill in any of the previous states since they were all just a preparation for today.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Truth and lies can change places in a moment. We hear a certain opinion and think that it’s the truth. Then suddenly we hear another opinion and hold on to it and think that it’s the truth and what we thought before already seems like a lie. Truth and a lie change very quickly and even the feeling of sweetness and bitterness change, but not as fast.

It turns out that nothing is absolute in reality. I can never say that something is sweet since it may be bitter tomorrow because of my bad mood. I may discover that sugar is bad for me, that it simply kills me, and I will not even be able to look at it. It will not seem so sweet to me anymore, but rather bitter, since I will be so afraid to eat something that is harmful. This fear will change all the flavors that I taste.

So how can we absolutely determine what is sweet or bitter, what is the truth or a lie? The clarification of truth and a lie is in our brain, and the clarification of bitter and sweet is in the heart, in the desire. So we have to pay attention while working with our heart that it will be for the sake of bestowal and not receiving.

This is already a certain standard, a certain parameter, according to which I can measure myself. Now the truth means to benefit as much as possible, and wherever we lose, we call it a lie. This is how a person usually sees life, in a biased perspective. The ego, the bribe covers a person’s eyes and doesn’t let him see the truth or the lie. Whatever is beneficial is called truth and what is not is called a lie.

We need an objective standard that is external to us, which means the measure of bestowal compared to which I can measure my truth and my lie and to calibrate my brain correctly. The environment gives us this chance. This is the reason for the shattering of the vessels that left each of us detached from all the rest, locked inside his ego. But if I connect to society according to Kabbalistic rules, it will be the truth for me.

The more I can annul myself and connect with the friends, the more I will see this standard in them, the truth. I will see myself compared to the truth as living in a lie. This is actually the main goal of our work in the group: to calibrate ourselves with regards to the truth, so that the truth and bestowal will become one for us.

Bestowal is my connection to the group: The more I give myself to the group, the closer I get to the truth, which means to bestowal. This is the first state I have to arrange for myself. Then we can be sure we are accurately calibrated, in the right direction with regard to the brain.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/13, Shamati #148 “The Scrutiny of Bitter and Sweet, True and False”

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Question: Our friends study for about 25 hours a week, three hours are dedicated to friends’ meetings and there are about 5 hours left for dissemination. How relevant is this time division? Perhaps we should devote more time to friends’ meetings, to unity, and to dissemination?

Answer: The main thing is dissemination! By disseminating you begin to understand better and to perceive with what you are dealing.

A person who engages in dissemination and is absent from some of the lessons still advances very fast! In fact he perceives the wisdom of Kabbalah faster than others, since dissemination is the Creator’s actual instruction of what He wants from us.

He wants to be revealed to all the people in the world, which means to bring goodness to His created beings. How does He bring them goodness? It’s by His revelation among them. The revelation of the Creator to the created beings in this world is actually the pleasure with which He wants to fill us.

In Saint Isaac Cathedral in St. Petersburg it says: “My home shall be called a house of prayer.” This is just the beginning of the verse and the second part says: “for all the nations,” as it says in Psalms. For all the nations!

He wants to create a vessel, but we should do it. So we have to yearn for Him and our yearning should include absolutely everyone. This is His goal.

When you do this kind of work, it’s the most efficient action for ascending. I say it since I have experienced it myself. So any kind of work in dissemination, even just talking to passers-by about integral education is preferable to studying. It will help you more!

We have to see how we value our actions in this world and not be wise guys. It has nothing to do with a person’s skills or abilities, but only with how close his actions are to the Creator’s will. It’s nothing more than that.

Unfortunately there are groups which were founded a long time ago who stubbornly refuse to devote themselves to this and don’t look for a way to implement the Creator’s main desire, to be revealed to the created beings. We don’t completely fulfill the one condition that determines everything and which is the basis for everything, and then we have complaints, what for and for whom?!
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/13, Shamati #59 “About the Rod and the Serpent”

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The yearning of the person for spiritual attainment depends upon a group because it can lower or raise him. In accordance with this, Rabash writes that there is nothing more terrible than neglect, carelessness at work, when a person thinks to himself, “Not bad. It’s okay, anything goes.”

Control of a person over himself is established only through his choice of an environment, how much the group influences him is the degree he can control himself. Therefore the group needs to direct, to motivate, and to encourage him so that he will feel that he cannot go any lower than this level but can only rise, always continuing upwards. If the group is directed correctly, then this is easy.

The relationship regarding the friends must be gentle; we need to understand that each has his characteristics. We are not teachers and not critics of the character of one another in any way. For each there are characteristics that must remain in him, but in a corrected form. That is to say, one is stingy, another is a fool, and a third is lazy, jealous, and irritable and so on. It’s forbidden in any way to suppress these characteristics! It’s necessary only to help transform them. That is all!

It’s necessary to direct anger against my bad characteristics; jealousy is a wonderful characteristic if it’s aimed in the right direction. We always tell a child: “See how he is, learn from him.” That’s how we ignite jealousy in him. This is to say, we need to look at each other as a mother looks at her child, and see that there is only good in everything that leads to connection between people. And the opposite, all kinds of seemingly good characteristics can destroy humanity if they are not directed towards connection and unity.

Enter into all kinds of sources of psychology and philosophy, whatever you want, and you will see what kind of nonsense was invented around the characteristics of a person. For with them everything is considered relative to the characteristic itself, and not its usage. But if we direct this characteristic correctly towards connection and unity between people, then it’s possible to be convinced that there is nothing bad in us. Everything depends only on intention!

Certainly this should be reflected in our relationships regarding each other. There are no bad people, they are not corrected. For this sake we are together. Therefore we love each other.

If I discover some seemingly unbearable characteristic in someone and feel that I cannot get along with this, I immediately stop and begin to develop another side in me (in myself and not him), and then from this I receive spiritual powers. I recommend that you remember this! I am telling you this from my own experience. Try it!

Suddenly new powers appear within you. You begin to feel how the Creator gives you sources for forward advancement. Specifically instead of “turning it,” open yourself. Relax, behind it stands the Creator. Agree and that is all! You create within yourself an open new space full of spiritual energy because you have changed yourself.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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A good environment is the only means of attaining the goal. When we gather together with an intention like this, with intensity like this, with a desire like this and see how all of our friends throughout the world are following us, are found together with us, and we feel their pressure on us; then certainly this subject is heard and invites a completely new and strong influence.

I have told the story not just once that when I asked Rabash: “What is bothering me? Why don’t I advance?” he immediately answered that I required friends. Frankly, I didn’t completely understand for what, but what was said. I began to search, to give lectures and ultimately brought people to him. From them groups were formed.

And then Rabash began to write articles for them because I didn’t know what to say to them. First he wrote short articles on silver cigarette pack papers. In general that is how it was when we walked and talked in the park and we had no other paper, I would take out the silver paper from a pack of cigarettes and he wrote.

That is how the first articles appeared. And after this I would take sheets of paper folded in half with me. After that we bought a typewriter for him and he began to type texts with one finger. Much later we got an electric typewriter and so it went. Therefore, as of today, we have many articles by Rabash.

These articles set out all of the basics of human interaction in the group as the most important environment for spiritual growth. We learn them again and again methodically and according to our growth we see how in those sentences, in those words, new meaning is discovered all the time.
[113729]
From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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