Question: How can a group influence a person if he does not annul himself before it?

Answer: It can’t influence a person positively.

Question: Then what is the point a person being in that society?

Answer: There is no point. Maybe over time he will begin to understand that he must bend himself before the environment, and ask for that, and study for that purpose.

Comment: But we are just bundles of egoism. A person cannot make the right calculation anyway. It is a very difficult process. And all the time, you do not know whether you are on the right path or not.

My Response: Just annul yourself before the group. That is all.
[343244]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Bend Over and Ascend” 8/15/10

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Question: Is it better for a person to go through all the states intensely together with you or separately in a group?

Answer: It is preferable to go through all the states as quickly as possible, that is clear. It is also desirable to go through them while I am still here, that too is obvious. After all, there is support, hope, guidance, advice.

But it is impossible to go through them only with me; it is better to do it in a group. Without the group, it is not possible. Without a teacher, it is possible.

Question: You keep putting the emphasis on the group. But how do you feel that it is specifically the group that is the mechanism a person must integrate into instead of using some other method?

Answer: You see how much I talk about this, and it is still not clear.

There is nothing else besides the system of souls, the connection between souls, the network of souls. This interconnected network of souls is the only global mechanism that the Creator created. We exist within this network, but we do not feel the connection between us.

It is as if we are torn apart in our perception. It is an illusion, but for us it feels completely real. In that illusion, each one of us feels themselves as existing on their own. That illusory feeling manifests within us as “this world.”

But as soon as I begin to restore my connection with others, that is, to restore this network of forces in my perception, it is as though I revive myself and return to consciousness. Then I immediately begin to feel this network or the upper world or the Creator.

When I feel only myself, I feel what is called “this world.” When I feel myself within the network with everyone else, I feel the upper world or the Creator, the unifying force, which is the common quality of this network. That is it. There is nothing else. There is no other space around us. None! Only this network of forces, and we are within it.
[343212]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. You or the Group” 8/1/10

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Question: Does true Kabbalah begin at the stage when a person goes against his desire?

Answer: No, one cannot go against one’s desire. It is impossible to go against a desire because in the end one have strength to move forward. And strength appears when you go against your initial desire.

Anyway, if you are making a movement, it means you are receiving energy from somewhere; it means you have acquired a desire to make that move.

Where does it come from? From the importance of the goal.

Where do you get the importance of the goal if the goal is not visible? You get it from the group.

If you can absorb the importance of the goal through the group and move toward it, then you can even ask the Creator to reveal Himself to you. And then, you will use His revelation solely for spiritual advancement and not for self-satisfaction.
[343246]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When There is no Desire” 8/12/10

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Question: You say there is no easy path. When a person advances spiritually, what does he have to overcome and where does he get nourishment from?

Answer: A person draws nourishment only from the environment; he cannot draw anything from himself. It is like a car that needs to be filled with energy—install a battery, fill the gas tank, and so on.

This external energy must be within us constantly. We must always think about how to provide ourselves with it. As a rule, this is done through two sources, which eventually merge into one: the group, the surrounding environment, and the Creator, who is also your surrounding environment, until you find them both within yourself, not outside. Therefore, one can only move forward if one is connected to them.

Comment: But you have said that you learn from your students.

My Response: I learn from them, meaning, by perceiving their desires and questions, and by beginning to answer them, I understand even more, I am impressed, I answer myself on everything I have, and I uncover an even broader picture for myself.

After all, their questions are not mine. Each soul has its own. And when I connect to other souls and include them within myself, I gain more space for exploration. I am no longer working only with my own desire, which is the matter on which I conduct all research, but with the desires of others, which I integrate into myself. That is why I am very glad to have students.
[343137]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Recharging On The Way” 8/13/10

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Question: If the matter of creation is the receiving desire, what does it mean to bestow in order to bestow? Where is the work with desire?

Answer: The truth of the matter is that the receiving desire itself works for the sake of bestowal. It supports a fellow human being, helps him, and performs various actions in relation to him.

In general, to understand bestowal for the sake of bestowal, it is necessary to understand what reception for the sake of bestowal is. It means that I work with my receiving desires so as to use them to raise a fellow human being and perform the actions of bestowal upon him, similar to how Bina works in its AHP.

I include the receiving desires of the other into my own and fill him with everything he requires. And what he requires is infinity. Then with my help his desires reach an infinite magnitude, while the Lights coming to him through me grow to the infinite size of NRNHY. This is how I work receiving in order to bestow: I make sure to give the other everything necessary, utilizing all of my abilities for this purpose and totally ignoring my own benefit.

However, for this I need the upper force that is not in my nature. My inborn nature lets me perform only actions that promise me personal benefit, whereas the actions of bestowal are totally selfless and do not benefit my receiving desires in any way. This is why I can’t perform them unless I receive the strength from the upper dimension, that of bestowal.

Hence, I incorporate the needs of the other into my desires and then through my desires I fulfill him. In general, we are talking about the desires that relate to our interconnection since the spiritual work is performed at the level of the unity of souls where we fill ourselves with the upper lights.

There is another option: not to engage my receiving desires, but only to transfer all the good from myself to the other, to participate in his fulfillment, but not with my own desires. This is pure bestowal. As a rule, these actions precede mutual bestowal. They correct our unification. Thanks to them we annul our egoism in order to rise above it to unity. And unity itself is activated by the direct use of our receiving desires.

In this way, bestowal for the sake of bestowal is an intermediate, small, weak, “poor” state. But we have no choice: We need to undergo it since we thereby clean our desires and rise above our egoistic qualities. Without it, it is impossible to start working with them. First of all, we have to “cleanse them,” meaning to fill them with the Light of Hassadim (Mercy).
[R38899]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/23/2011 on The Principles of Global Education
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Question: How do we add faith? Is this something we do ourselves?

Answer: The Creator does it, but it is thanks to the fact that we constantly, all together want to increase faith. Each does so in their our way, but, in principle, together. We want to be in perfect faith.

Perfect faith is faith that completely replaces knowledge, sensation, and everything we can receive from the Creator.

Question: How can we help each other achieve a constant lack of faith that will ultimately replace our knowledge and feelings?

Answer: Friends can show an example and support, and then you will see what you lack to gain complete faith.
[328340]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “What Is Greatness and Smallness in Faith?”

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Question: You advise us to engage in inner dialogue with the Creator and to annul ourselves before our friends. What should we pay special attention to? After all, we cannot focus on everything at once.

Answer: You do not need to focus on everything; there is no need to scatter yourself. On the contrary, it is important to gather yourself and clearly understand what you are aiming for. The goal should be very simple: to direct yourself toward the Creator with a completely open heart and to merge with Him.

This is your personal inner work, your thoughts and intentions. Imagine that you are constantly in contact with the Creator and see what comes from that.
[343049]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/14/25, Writings of Baal HaSulam “What Is Greatness and Smallness in Faith?”

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Question: I feel that every word my friend says separates me from adhesion with the Creator. Can we say that my flaws that I feel are the Hisaronot (deficiencies) that  I accept upon myself?

Answer: You don’t want to feel them, so it can’t be said that you’re truly accepting them.

Question: In that case, what is the turning point when I begin to want to take them on?

Answer: Ask. Just ask!
[343114]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 4/17/25, “Passover”

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Before the Exodus from Egypt a person passes through “49 gates of impurity.” That is, he no longer believes in anything; he doesn’t expect anything; he sees that he just about doesn’t have any connection with the upper force and that it is impossible to change anything in his life. Where is this upper force found, which is “There is none else beside Him”? Everything is under the control of Pharaoh and it is impossible to do anything against the ego that controls him.

A person doesn’t understand and doesn’t believe in the “good that does good.” Only a thin thread connecting him to spirituality remains; it is so fragile that he no longer believes that something will come from it. The despair is so great, and the thread that holds him is the patience that is beyond the intellect and logic.

This situation gradually accumulates, and if the person truly reaches the 49 gates of impurity, then the upper power acts against them, acquiring redemption for him.

Here it should be mentioned that “every action leaves an impression,” time after time, a bit further and further, and so we count the 400 years during the period a person accumulates clarifications, efforts, even weaknesses, and over comings, which he succeeds in doing by himself or with the help of the Creator.

Our entire struggle to leave Egypt is under the control of the Creator, There is none else beside Him and He is the good that does good. And the Klipa (the egoistic force) denies the higher providence of There is none else beside Him in every possible way.

The servitude, the exile (in Hebrew, Galut) differs from the redemption (Geula) basically because of the letter “Aleph,” which is the Lord of the World. One must concentrate on this point constantly and not on anything else. Specifically it is necessary to constantly sharpen our clarification, fight against our nature, against Pharaoh, because there is none else beside Him, the good and that does good.

We don’t ask for someone to change anything; we don’t appeal our fate. Instead we only turn to the Creator with our requests. This is what there is none else beside Him, means, because everything that happens we connect only to Him. Only He performing every action, preparing them so that from within the struggle against all the disturbances in which He has wrapped Himself, we discover Him and turn to Him.

Exile means that we are still not ready, but we very much yearn to discover the source of everything that is happening, as it is said, “I and not a messenger.” This is a very important moment. This is our only work, and it is up to us to be ready for it.

It is very important to remain at this point like a ship or an airplane that we must constantly navigate to remain on the right track despite the wind and various disturbances. This is possible only with a good crew.

Everything is constructed so that a person is not prepared to maintain his position by himself. Problems fall on him, and then pity is taken upon him and he is given another opportunity. But this chance is specifically to build the right team for himself so that together with them he will maintain his direction.

It must always be remembered that all of the disturbances come from the Creator and not from Pharaoh or his army and that there are no accidents and no messengers. Instead everything comes directly from the Creator. Our task is to discover the Creator instead of all the sources of power and other actions. Through this, our servitude, the blows, and all of the events of the story of the exodus from Egypt are revealed. All of this is a struggle to locate the Creator through all of the disturbances that are found between the Creator and us.

In the beginning there is no connection between the Creator and us because we are opposites. And the disturbances come precisely so that we will use them to build a connection with the Creator. So we see that Pharaoh brings us closer to the Creator; the evil inclination is help against us (Genesis 2:18)  and we transform that into a connection with the Creator.

If we consistently work this way and try to build connection, then gradually we rise to a stronger and stronger connection, like the rungs of a ladder, and we fall into even greater disturbances, into a greater lack of connection. And again we try to build Pithom and Ramses and again fall, losing the connection, tearing, and becoming confused, denying any control by the Creator.

As a result of our efforts we pass through 49 gates of impurity. If we reach the 49^th gate, it means that we have made a multitude of corrections on our connection with the Creator. But this is hidden from us. For a fraction of a moment we discover something and fall immediately. In this way we must discover all of the disturbances that are contrary to the fact that there is none else beside Him.

And the discovery is made according to the principle of “I and not a messenger” if we are ready to depict the upper force in spite of all the disturbances. The exile is given to us so that we can feel the Creator, locate Him within “out of nothing.” That is how we reach redemption.

So it is impossible to forget that all of the work towards redemption is to determine the fact that there is none else beside Him when faced with all of the disturbances that of course come from the Creator.
[R131431]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/01/14, Shamati #190

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Rabash, “Letter 66”: And indeed we do say in the Passover Haggadah: “From the start our ancestors were idol worshippers and now we approach the Omnipresent to serve Him” and so forth.

To understand the idea of teaching us what they were before, we have to explain this through ethics. A person must know when he is involved with the idea of the departure of a person from the Egyptian exile, we see that all of the Mitzvot (precepts) depend upon this concept, for with all of these things we say: “A recollection of the Exodus from Egypt.”

All of the Mitzvot are corrections of the desire to receive in small portions that can be implemented only after the person rises above the Machsom (barrier). After he passes through the Machsom, he begins to pass through the parts of the desire to receive above the Machsom.

First of all, the person himself passes through the Machsom and transforms his desire to receive into “for the sake of bestowal,” and after that he turns downward and elevates desire after desire. All of this activity is called repentance, in other words, he returns the desire to receive to an intention of for the sake of bestowal. Every acton like this is called a Mitzvah and is done by the Torah, meaning by the Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) that transforms the corrections into possibilities. The first action is called the Exodus from Egypt.

When I am under the Machsom, I don’t have a connection with the light. However, above the Machsom, I already have light, the power of bestowal, and I can use it for advancement and correction. I have the consciousness, feeling, intelligence, and power as a capable, mature person. I transform myself into an expert on correction on condition that there is light in me. Light is the power of bestowal that is acting in me, and with its help, I can connect more and more new desires, one after another, and correct them. I turn to a higher level and receive additional power from it for the lower part that I want to correct, correcting it and connecting it to me.

In this process there are three partners: the Creator—the origin of the power, me—the one who wants to correct, and desire—the place that I want to correct.

With the light that is in me, thanks to my connection with the Creator, I see exactly what is ready for correction in me and ask for this power from Him. I work with Him as a partner, for I am no longer under the Machsom. Rather, I am together with Him, feeling Him. Therefore, I begin to clarify how it is possible to work with the damaged desire, how it is possible to awaken and elevate it. This means that I want to transform it from for the sake of reception to for the sake of bestowal. So I ask for that.

I don’t get any pleasure from this activity myself while I feel it as my desire. For me, it becomes more precious than my desire—as it is written, “Make that His will should be your will” (Pirkei Avot 2:4)—like a mother does with her child. I wrap His desire within my desire and that is how I begin to elevate it, asking the Creator to correct it for me, as I would for my baby.

Then I get the required power, intelligence, and feeling. After all, I don’t know how to correct what is below for this is a completely separate system, the AHP that is built within me, the spiritual womb.

This means that, first of all, I grew in order to correct it. I accept a new system and join what is below to me. So after the correction we are juxtaposed to each other. Thus, many Partzufim are clothed one on the other.

Question: Is it important for people who are engaged with dissemination to have passed through the Machsom?

Answer: It doesn’t seem to me that the person who has passed through the Machsom will succeed more in the external dissemination. I am not sure that Rabash would have been more successful in dissemination than the average person in our group.

So Baal HaSulam writes that it is even possible to pay professional people monetary compensation. After all, it’s necessary to get as close to the people as possible. Certainly, it is clear that they would need to know the direction, the purpose, a bit of the explanations, but not too deeply, only according to the level of the people to whom they turn.
[R133381]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/14, Writings of Rabash

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