The first man who revealed it, who attained the wisdom of Kabbalah 5773 years ago, was called Adam. We will be celebrating his birthday soon. After all, the biblical new year is the birthday of Adam as a Kabbalist, the day when he revealed the upper world, the upper force. He wrote a book about it, “The Secret Angel.” We count from this first revelation of the upper world.

In fact, humanity is given 6,000 years to understand itself and its highest level (the status equal to the Light). Since the days of Adam, the discoverer of the upper world, 5773 years have passed. Thus, 227 years remain before the end of the process.

But this process can be realized sooner. Why? Because until now we have evolved under the influence of the driving upper force, almost without using our knowledge to rise to the level of the upper Light, to reveal It, and to ascend to the next degree, to the next dimension.

So, today, the unfolding global crisis, which has long been written about by Kabbalists, is precisely in order to give us all an impulse towards our combined, common, global development. And so now, we can apply the wisdom of Kabbalah, which teaches us how to attract the upper Light. The entire method is in this; there is nothing else.

We are in the egoistic desire to be fulfilled to reveal ourselves. As a result, our desire to be fulfilled will be filled with the upper Light. Kabbalah is a guide that explains how each state can attract the upper Light to itself in its maximum intensity and develop.

We have been studying this methodology for a while. First, there was a long “latent period” when we learned, created all sorts of teaching aids, books, and everything else. And now, the global crisis is beginning to flare up, that is when our global egoism shows us its ending, the inability to continue to exist in the previous paradigm; it will have to start to change because in its current state, it will drive itself to death, to terrible conditions. And we are already seeing this.

In the great mass of people, there is a need to do something with themselves. So here, as the carriers of the method of attracting the Light, we have to think not only about ourselves, but also about all of mankind. For this we were given such “inspiration,” such a desire as to become attracted to Him, to discover the meaning of life.

And the meaning of life is to rise to the level of the Light, the level of eternity, infinity, the level of perfection and harmony. We need to attain this level in practice, on ourselves, and also to teach it to the whole world.

We are interconnected. It is only in our sensations that the desire created by the Light was split into seven billion pieces. Each of us is a little bit of that desire, and his relation to the other today is repulsion, egoistic. To attract the Light is possible to the extent to which we try to unite today.

This condition is called the law of similarity, the law of similarity of the desire to the Light. As far as the desire, in spite of its egoism, will make an effort and strive for unity, so it will rise to the Light, becoming more and more like It.

It is impossible to become similar to the Light just by trying to unite because this unity is false, superficial. However, the attempts, the efforts, that we put in order to unite, attract the awakening of the higher Light on us. It affects us, and Its influence begins to correct our egoistic desire from “for its own sake” (from its egoistic force) to “for the sake of bestowal” (to unity with others).

That Light will realize connection between us and our unity will actually lead us to the similarity with the Light, and will create a network of relationships of bestowal, up to a relationship of love, that is, to mutual inclusion into each other.

When I feel the desires of others like my own, want to fulfill them through myself, and live to do this, then I get out of my egoism and exist in fulfilling others. This existence is called the higher, above our egoism. And thus, we find the connection between us in this huge system.

This system is revealed gradually. All that we learn with you in Kabbalah: the Sefirot, Partzufim, worlds, and all kinds of relationships between them are the relationships between us and this system. It all happens between us up to the extent that the system of our relationship becomes the world of Infinity, that is, a system of absolute interconnectedness, analog, integrated, and interdependent. And then in it, in accordance with this, the upper Light or the Creator is revealed in it without any interference, in its absolute form.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Lesson 1

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The first spiritual degree is the most difficult. What labor a small child goes through to take his first steps. How much work it is for him to grasp something, to say the first word. How much internal effort nature makes him apply. Why? Why can’t we develop peacefully, freely?

Look how young children work non-stop, seven days a week. A child may have a high fever, and he still plays, still wants something. No disturbances, nothing stops him; he is so stubborn and persistent. And we need to follow his example. We must do the same thing to enter the upper world, to become grown-ups.

Well, after all this is known and understood, even if not fully, yet. The same child who already knows how to walk and talk, at the age of four, five, six years, starts a completely different process of acquiring knowledge, with more awareness. Here in the process of attaining the upper state, we obtain more conscious tools. We have already passed the first stage, already know how to connect, with whom to “play,” like a child who at the age of three acquires a sense of those around him and starts to understand a little that it is better to play with others than on his own.

Thus, we develop relationships with others: how we can interact with them, how it is possible to develop really wisely, mutually, by building our “games.”

That’s why we play around a lot. It seems to be nonsense, but in fact, they are very serious games. We do not want this, we feel ridiculous. After all, we are adults, serious people! What do we do? Is it worth spending time on?

In fact, yes, if we understand that the development of new properties at each stage of the process occurs in the same way as in children; in play, in workshops, in all kinds of joint actions, we have the opportunity to come closer to each other and thus to attract the upper Light to us.

Although our egoistic mind sees these actions as irrational, non-serious, and childish, in fact, they are the highest exercises because we want to go against our nature.

Then, having ascended to the first level, we get a substantial recharge of the mind, understanding of the initial scheme, like a small child who is already versed in our world and to some extent understands what is good and bad, how to move further, where to take toys and how to use them, how to develop, learning something new, etc. The child begins to understand how to use the adult world for his further advancement. Similarly, are we in relation to the upper world.

Thus, the important thing for us is to climb to the first degree. After that, everything will be clear to us, understood. After that, no one will run away from our groups and return to that life again because in this life he did not have the patience to discover the top layer.

We have to hurry to reach that level, so we can help everyone else. For this purpose, we received an awakening to the next level. Our task is to reveal it, to achieve it. To the extent that we strive to make this effort for the sake of everyone else, it will be a manifestation of our attraction to bestowal. Thus, we will receive an even greater portion of the upper Light.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Lesson 1 

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The current state of the world is much worse than we feel, see and know. It is true that we do not talk about it because politicians and economists are not interested in creating a panic. They have no answer to the question about the crisis. They have no answer, and there is nothing you can do. Why should one panic in vain? And they’re right.

But we need to provide to people who are in a state of fear of hunger, drought, cold, shock, and the unpredictable approaching from all sides now. We should try to absorb all the animal fears of the world, fears of survival. They help us to gather and reveal that force, the surrounding Light (Ohr Makif), which will pass through us to the world, and everything will calm down. All the countries, societies, and people will begin to interact because they will understand that this is the only way to bring the world to balance, that not the still, not the vegetative, not the animate nature, but only the human being disturbs harmony, and everything else is disturbed by his egoistic actions.

We lack anxiety; we lack internal hysteria. If it were there, it would be easier.

Our problem is that we are disconnected from this world and try to find a quiet corner somewhere in our higher place. This is not good. On the contrary, we should find, on one hand, the state of the greatness of the goal, and on the other hand, inner fears, because our egoism is fed only by these. Fear and the greatness of the goal are two great forces that are pushing us from behind (fear) and drawing us forward (the greatness of the goal). They will help us to unite.

We should put pressure on ourselves to try to absorb from the world all of its negative feelings that arise in connection with the crisis and to turn them into the force of our development. Indeed, development occurs under the law of “negation of negation.” Until we feel more or less normal, we will not come to the next state. Only suffering or the greatness of the goal, when I suffer because I don’t have it, makes us go.

There are two types of suffering: suffering from a lack of feeling and suffering from unfulfilled love.
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From the Preliminary Lesson 8/16/12, Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 

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A workshop is a special action. I would say sacred. We are going to clarify a question, namely to clarify, not to answer, so that it is clear to us. Then, I will talk about it to explain it in a few minutes. And then, sitting in a circle, we will discuss how to find a logical solution, the real solution to this question, but not what is described in our books. In no case we should rely on the wise sayings of Kabbalists, rather we communicate from our heart to keep connection with each other.

However, I must accept a friend as great, infallible. It does not matter what nonsense he says. It is my feeling that he is stupid; I feel that I see it because I am not sufficiently connected with him. If I loved him, I would have felt through him that the Creator speaks to me.

Thus, while sitting in a group of ten, we must understand clearly how to relate to each other. Representatives of the Creator are sitting in front of me, and they tell me the absolute truth. I have to suppress any criticism, any distrust, anything that might alienate me from them. They are, without realizing it, saying the things that I cannot agree with. I am against it; I don’t want to hear it; I see everything stupid as having long passed, standard, and identical. It all seems so to me so that I rise above myself.

So, here we face a huge internal work.
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From the Preliminary Lesson 8/16/12, Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 

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From the “Light and Sun” by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi (one of Noam Elimelech’s students): And what is more when Israel are unified and dealing with the Torah for its sake, they distinguish the names of the Holy Divinity by their speech and thus subdue all those that rise against them, and everything that they say, the Creator fulfills their desire.

We know that there is an additional power in unity, in addition to the usual sum of the individual forces, both evil and good. If we connect and unite in order to evoke and to attain the upper Light that should be revealed, in order to receive the force of bestowal, the attribute of bestowal, the upper force begins to operate among us and gives us the power of the spiritual level.

So if people who haven’t attained spirituality yet connect in order to attain it, by wanting the Holiness and the pure bestowal to dwell among them, they draw this attribute closer to them, obliging it to be spurred and to dwell among them. Thus they grow, by annulling all the evil decree, moving from the path of suffering to the path of the Light.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/15/12

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Question: How can one imagine the group in its ideal state?

Answer: A group is one whole. This is its model, its image. Suppose we have some common desire, a common intention, common thoughts, and ideas. Where are they? They are between us. This desire, intention, thought, begins to guide everyone. We begin to support it, and we see that our existence is in that.

With the help of creating this image, we then will transform the whole of our life in order to support this image. We will relate to each other differently, build family and social connections, transform industry, and relate to nature, based precisely from the fact that we have created this united whole, the image of Adam, the image of one person.

Humanity will become free of excess work, will cease polluting the Earth, will stop messing with being a society of consumption of completely unnecessary things. It will be forced to free many people from unnecessary work since nature is purposely leading us toward our dedicating five to eight hours of our time per day to the studies of integral connection, the creation of an integral society.

We will be obliged to do that, and, on the scale of the whole of humanity from young to old. Absolutely everyone, from pensioners to small children, must go through this level of re-education.

Question: In order to build this image, some kind of energy is needed. Where can we get it from?

Answer: Nature gives us energy! It pushes us with a stick toward happiness. Of course, we need introductory explanations, courses, understanding the necessity of these transformations, realization of the fact that, otherwise, each one of us will enter his or her own personal crisis and the crisis of society.

See how the ecological crisis is approaching. The Earth is being depleted. How will we warm ourselves? What will we eat if within the coming couple of decades, we will completely deplete Earth, including uranium, fuel, gas and other natural resources? We must stop at the right time, and nature is slowing us down in advance.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 2/29/12

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Question: Kabbalists say that, as it is written, “Since the world is judged by its majority, and the individual is judged by the majority, if he performs one Mitzva, happy is he, for he has sentenced himself and the whole world to a scale of merit.” How is that possible?

Answer: In a whole system, the individual and the general are equal. We don’t understand that because we always are operated by quantitative data, but in the whole analog integral system, however, even the smallest part is crucial.

If it breaks down, the whole system breaks down. It cannot operate on half its power or on 99% of it. As long as there is even one defect, the whole system is disabled.

These are the laws of the mutual connection among the souls, which together make one desire. The condition for the connection stems from this: “As one man in one heart” when everyone transcends above the ego, “above reason.”

Of course, we advance toward this gradually by going through 125 levels on the way to full connection, but, even in the process, the principle of equality of the individual and the general affects things so that when one gram of me is added to the circular general system, it enables it to rise to the right level. We must use this principle, which means to see even the smallest action performed by each individual as important.

Question: Does that mean that my corruptions also are transferred to the system?

Answer: Yes, and Baal HaSulam writes about that, but the point is that our system is already almost totally corrupt. We begin the ascent from the bottom, from the worst state, and first correct the purest, lightest vessels, desires.

Question: Does this integral law operate on everyone or only on those who are aware of it?

Answer: First, as the group is revealed, a person enters this system and participates in its work. Besides, on the outside, there is the system of all of Israel and then of the all of the nations of the world. Each part belongs to the system according to its weight.

The unity itself is concealed, and what is revealed to us at the moment is only its crust, which is the easiest part to correct. It is here that the mechanism that enables each of us to judge the world to a scale of merit operates.

This is because, for the time being, this is our world, the part that is revealed today and is given to us so that we can work in it. We have not entered Malchut of Ein Sof in its full intensity yet. We discover a thin layer of it each time so that we can work with it.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/12, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Question: What does it mean to talk to the Creator through the group?
Answer: It is like you’re talking to yourself and making clarifications. However, it can’t simply be an inner dialog with yourself. It has to be a dialog with the Creator. This can happen on condition that you conduct this dialog through the general vessel, Shechina, where the Creator dwells.

For example, if you wanted to speak with an important person, you would have to pass a letter through his secretary and follow certain requirements. You have to do the same with the Creator and conduct your dialog with Him through the group, that is, through your attitude toward the fellow friends, through bestowal, to the extent that you can imagine it.

Otherwise, this appeal will not be directed toward the Creator. The group and the entire reality is a place where the Creator dwells. If you can connect to his reception room, then you can connect with Him. He gradually will reveal Himself to the extent of your readiness to connect properly to this place where you and He are supposed to meet. This place is like His chamber.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/12, Shamati #35

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Question: The first lesson of the Kharkov Convention is called “Unity Within the One,” that is, a lesson about the happiness of unity, about the group that is united by one goal to become similar to the Creator, about how we can feel this now and be confident that we will succeed.

Answer: The problem is that we start to feel all of us, existing together in one single external sphere of nature. This sphere is called the Creator, or Nature. It envelops us all, and we are under its laws.

Therefore, in the end, if we come to similarity with this sphere through our properties, then we will reveal our unity, oneness. Then, it will be unity within the One.
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From a Virtual Lesson 8/12/12

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Question: The point of the convention is born in the first moment of the convention. But I know for myself that it is not always possible to immediately enter into it; one should definitely go through some intermediate states. How can we shorten this way to grasp this point to become a true source of importance for the friends?

Answer: I think it should already appear during the preparation for the first talk, but not when people sit and listen to my lecture. They must be included into each other before that.

If you are going to be included in the convention after half a day or a day, it doesn’t work. We must make every effort to prepare, so that when you arrive there, you are so to speak “hot,” and immediately join in the general flow, the general excitement; otherwise, we will lose time.

Don’t talk yourself into that, say, coming and getting in the mood in the evening, or maybe tomorrow. You will have no time to recover, and then it’s over. On the contrary, it is necessary to connect at once and stay at a pace that you are always experiencing more and more states.

So, I beg you, do not waste your time.

For what are we doing all this today? Just for you to be more and better prepared, to come to the convention and not to think: “I will tune in later, when I gradually learn everything.” We have no time for this! You have to arrive there fully prepared and become included immediately. I beg you.

The same goes for all of our friends who are connected with us virtually: don’t relax! If you sit in front of the screen, try to “enter” in it with your soul and don’t be distracted no matter what. You have to control yourself twice because there may be no one else next to you: You are alone.

So, prepare in advance everything you need: to drink, eat, and do not disconnect from the lectures and workshops, which are two and a half hours. Do not turn off! Just sit there and that’s all, as if you were sitting in the center of our lecture hall. I hope for your seriousness in understanding the state the world is in, all of us.

This is a very important event not only for us but for the whole world because it depends on how much we go the right way: by accelerating the process and easing it, or the slow and harsh way. Everything now depends on this turning point. This convention, I would say, is something historic.
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From a Virtual Lesson 8/12/12

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