A created being is something that exists in the spiritual world, because our corporeal world exists only in our imagination.

The created being is born from the middle line, from the point where two opposite forces are present: reception and bestowal.

It knows how to combine these two forces in such a way as to use the force of reception, which is opposite to the Creator. It was deliberately created this way in order to give the created being independence and the ability to stand freely opposite the Creator. In this way, we can build our own independent identity that incorporates both of these forces together.

At every step, the created being must combine these two forces correctly, and verify the process stage by stage for each new portion of egoistic desire that is revealed within it. Thus, the created being grows itself, builds itself from its own material with the help of the force of bestowal, which it draws from the right line.

In essence, all the work is performed by the force of bestowal, the force of the light, the Creator. But the created being must prepare everything necessary for this. Just as in our world we use all the means available to us on the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels, together with all the powers of our feelings and mind. Yet we still say that we ourselves did the work, because it is we who perform these actions using the materials of this world and our own abilities.

Corporeal and spiritual construction proceeds in the same way: first there is a plan, and then, using the materials available to us, we begin to build different forms. So it is in the spiritual world. Through our desire and understanding, we ourselves build the “forms of the Creator,” our attitude toward Him, which resembles His attitude toward us.

On the one hand, this is our own work, as it is written: “I labored and found.” But on the other hand, it is the Creator’s work, because we learn from Him, from His examples, and ask Him to carry it out. We are true partners with Him, because we ourselves know exactly what we want and must prepare everything necessary!

In other words, we pursue the middle line in our intention, by uniting desire and intention, and by deciding for ourselves how to correctly unite the forces of holiness and impurity, the left and right lines.

We also build the middle line by connecting with the group through the light. We want to become included in the group and find our desire to bestow within it, yet that desire can be created only by the light, by the Creator, who is concealed within it. Thus, we incorporate these two forces: the force of the group and the force of the Creator within ourselves, while we remain in the middle line.

In many other examples as well, we see that we operate in the middle line, because we must combine these two forces—reception and bestowal—in order to acquire freedom of choice and independently build ourselves from them.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/28/11, “Preparing for the New Jersey Convention”

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We cannot initiate a single action, even now, in the preparatory period and our most egoistic state (Lo Lishma), unless we intend to attain faith, bestowal, and an altruistic intention through that action. It all begins with rising above our desire in order to connect with another person. Otherwise, I will never establish contact with them and will remain locked inside myself.

To come out of oneself and connect with a friend means to separate from one’s ego, to raise oneself above it; only then will I be able to come into contact with others. Otherwise, nothing will work out, and I will remain walled up inside myself like in a shell.

All our actions must be directed toward coming out of our ego and connecting with a friend outside of it. As it is written: “The righteous will live by his faith.”

If for now only a small egoism is revealed to me, then it is relatively easy to come out of myself and begin to draw closer to others. But as soon as I achieve the first successes, the ego begins to grow more and more. And again, I must apply efforts in order to tear myself away from it.

This is how it is on all 125 degrees until the desire to enjoy expands to its full volume and I nevertheless remain above it. This will mean that I have risen to the degree of Lishma, the degree of Bina.

And then I will already be able to return to my ego and begin to receive within that sphere for the sake of bestowal, first in the thinnest “peel,” and then expanding it more and more, and so on until the very end, until I have engaged the entire desire.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/28/11, Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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A person acts out of habit, and feels and accepts only what they are accustomed to. Everything unfamiliar passes by us and remains elusive.

We unconsciously disregard everything new before we sense or, become aware of it. That is why it is so difficult for us to encounter spirituality!

We live in a world we select from the world of infinity; we choose the familiar and habitual.

To expand our world with the world of bestowal, we must not push it away, but accept the states of bestowal through “faith above reason,” accept the properties, desires, thoughts, and actions of the “anti-world.”

To do this, you need to combine two opposing levels within yourself: realize your current egoistic state, the lower degree, and from the perspective of the property of bestowal, the highest degree.

One must exist between these levels, rejoice in the sensation of the lower level’s emptiness of the lower and in the opportunity to find the strength to rise above it.

This strength comes to me from the upper light through the group; it holds me above the “earth” as if by a magnet.

Truth and faith (bestowal) should pull me upward more strongly than the sensation of animalistic egoism pulls me down toward the “earth.”

The true state lies in sensing both degrees simultaneously while each one in isolation is a lie. Even if I am entirely in spirituality, that alone is a lie.

The true state is always found between two degrees that simultaneously bring a sense of both perfection and lack, gratitude and prayer.

I must rejoice that I experience both sensations at once and constantly remain in a transitional state sensing obstacles yet holding myself above them by force of will, like a climber scaling a mountain who feels that if they were to relax their tension for even a moment they would immediately fall.

This is the only true state; we need to train ourselves to remain in it all the time, and to find joy in it.

This is how we can test ourselves. Are we capable, despite all our discontent, eternal struggle, and constantly vacillation between inspiration and utter despair, of remaining in joyful nevertheless?
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/10, Rabash, “The Meaning of Truth and Faith”

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It is said about the embryo: “The mother gives him the red part, the father the white part, and the Creator the soul.”

A frequent problem in the work is that we forget about the third component, about the Creator, who must finish all the work for us.

A person makes tremendous efforts and then wonders: where is the desired result?

They fail to realize that they are not bringing this action to completion, because they forget that all their actions must begin and end with the Creator, with the upper force. The person stands in the middle.

In the same way, we ascend from the initial state (one) to the final state (three); we emerge from infinity and return to infinity.

Along the way we develop and correct ourselves, either by the path of suffering or by the path of light. In any case, it is the light that works, and we only add our desire. We do not correct ourselves; we only accelerate our development.

Yet, a person usually forgets that he is only one of the components of his development, one that slightly intensifies it, and because of this feeling how the action changes from bad to good.

But the action itself takes place by virtue of forces that already exist in nature. The main thing here is the force of the Creator.

If a person does not draw the Creator to his aid so that He will complete the action, this third component, absent from his picture of nature, then not a single action is brought to completion, and therefore the person remains as he was!

This is a well-known mistake that often remains unnoticed. And there is only one solution: to turn to the group for help.

If there is a common opinion in the group that the Creator is the main force that determines the outcome of the action, then each one included in the group will not forget about this. Then he will not have to experience the bitter disappointment of having worked so much and having achieved nothing.

Seek the Creator (as it is said: “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves,” Song of Songs) and remember that a person is not able to win this battle by himself, there is also a partner.

And without Him, a person has only an empty desire, which gradually dies out like a small flame.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, Rabash, 1985 “On My Bed at Night”

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Comment: When you suggest something new (for example, a “spiritual stimulant,” people say: “Here goes Laitman with another new scheme. Later, there will be something different.”

My Response: Of course there will be!

We are looking for a way to create something that constantly unites us, helps us adjust to each other, keeps us together, and compels us to return to the same fundamental question. This is a pressing issue for us, and it is not going away. It can be in this form, or in a different form, or in a third. We shall see!

Comment: There are people who take a passive, waiting stance, andothers who are active. As a rule, newcomers tend to be more active.

My Response: Those who wait around lose! Spirituality is not like our world where you can dodge responsibility and do nothing. Here, you work for yourself and not for a boss! So, if people want to pass us by, let them. I am not driving anyone with a stick.

Question: What is the importance of a “spiritual stimulant?” Is it dictated by forces from above?

Answer: No, we have advanced to a state where we have to work on unity. The “stimulant” is a means for uniting. Come up with something different, more productive, and we will be happy to switch to it. Why not, if there is something more effective?
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Laitman’s bullying” 10/13/10

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Question: What role does the group play when we go through different states?

Answer: We need the group for several reasons. Actually, there is only one reason, but since the Creator is still hidden from us, this reason is divided into several sub-reasons in relation to me. At first, I feel the group reminds me of the importance of spiritual work. Its influence helps me get back on track with my work. Without a group, I lose the correct direction.

All this is just at the beginning of the path. As I progress, I begin to see the group as a part of my soul. The spiritual construction is designed in such a way that there is a part of my soul in each person, and ultimately, I must unite with each of them. I do not know how yet, but I will have to do it somehow.

We are taught that all this is arranged as a pyramid. I have to unite with everyone, but not in the same measure. I connect with some souls on the inanimate level (Domem), with others on the vegetative level (Tzmeach), and with others on the living level (Chai). In other words, I unite with all the parts of Adam HaRishon‘s common soul, but with each on a different level of unity.

Ultimately, I need friends around me who I can work with as one Kli (vessel). They and I will function as organs of one body, one Kli. That is how we must work. Indeed, we see the most advanced and effective designs in our world are based on this method.

A person alone simply cannot advance. All he can do is somehow come to realize, over millennia, that he cannot break into spirituality alone. Anyone who flees from society is completely hopeless.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/26, Rabash, “What Is the Importance of the Groom, that His Iniquities Are Forgiven?”

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Aside from obtaining the full measure of the will to receive, giving one all the material one needs for one’s work, this is the degree that brings one to Lishma [for Her sake]. It is as our sages said (Pesachim 50b): “One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], as from Lo Lishma, one comes to Lishma.”

One should take every measure suited to come to Lishma, for if one does not strain for this and does not achieve Lishma, he will fall into the trap of the impure maid (Baal HaSulam, Introduction to the Book of Zohar).

If a person wishes to move from his current state (1) to the next state (2), he must understand what he is striving for. In the first state, he must be able to feel the second state and desire it above all other possible states that may present themselves to him. If he truly desires the second state more than anything else, he evokes a force called the light that reforms, which transfers him from the first state to the second.

This transition does not mean that the fulfillment within me changes: “Previously, I knew one thing, and now I know another. Previously, I felt one way, and now I feel differently.” No. The action of the light produces a different result: previously, I thought according to one system, and now my system of thinking has changed. Previously, I felt according to one system, and now my system of feeling has changed. Through the light that reforms, it is not the content of the mind and feeling that changes, but the mind and feeling themselves. That is how I pass into the next state.

Therefore, already in the first state, a person does not really want to change the fulfillment. That is not what matters. What matters is that the feeling and the mind themselves change. He wants them to become bestowing rather than receiving.

Question: How can one imagine this new pattern?

Answer: It comes through effort and contemplation. Time also plays its role. But if you do not want the process to take a long time, hasten it!

There are two states: the current first state and the next second state. In each state I have both feeling and mind. In both states there is fulfillment, but in the first state the fulfillment is bad, while in the second it is good. I rise above both of them and ask for a new vessel, a new feeling, and a new mind. I ask not for a different fulfillment, but for a different heart and brain.

This is how we advance by faith above reason, from separation to adhesion. What matters to me is not whether the fulfillment within the vessel is good or bad, but what I do above it by raising Ohr Hozer (reflected light).

Question: What is the difference between asking for fulfillment and asking for a new feeling and mind?

Answer: The intention. I change my intentions.

Question: But by nature, the desire wants fulfillment. How can it switch to a different request?

Answer: Through the Ohr Makif (surrounding light), which returns to the source. Through the Torah.

Question: Do I know what I am striving for, or do I simply want something new?

Answer: I know. After all, I am working with my desire. I must at least have some understanding of what bestowal is.

Question: What is the actual process of moving from the first state to the second?

Answer: A change in attitude from oneself to the Creator.

Question: What exactly happens to my mind and feeling during this transition?

Answer: It all depends on what is more important to me. The mind and the feeling are me. The light acts upon me and changes my priorities.

I cannot change myself on my own because I will truly know myself only at the end of correction. For now, I am only somewhat familiar with the “animal” in which I live but not with my true self. I must come out of that “animal,” separate myself from it so that it stands beside me, and only then begin to work on myself. Only then will I begin to know who I really am.

Question: According to what Baal HaSulam writes here, does that mean not everyone will attain the intention of Lishma?

Answer: Anyone who has a genuine attraction to the wisdom of Kabbalah already wants, at least inwardly, to change himself. He may not yet realize it or understand it, but he is already prepared for it. Such a person possesses an inner demand and is not willing to remain as he is. He seeks a true transformation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/13, Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”

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Our work is to rise above evaluation according to the principle of “sweet–bitter” to evaluation according to the principle of “true–false.” After all, the Creator is called Truth.

The word “truth” (Emet) consists of the letters “Alef–Mem–Tav.” “Alef” and “Tav” (the first and the last letters of the alphabet) are the desires at the two extreme poles.

And “Mem” in the middle is the quality of Bina, by which one can connect these poles and come to correction, that is, to truth.

Determining where truth lies and where falsehood lies is possible only in relation to a group of Kabbalists, the environment. By myself, within myself, I lack the necessary conditions for this; I possess only one parameter: my ego. To measure I absolutely need one more parameter outside of myself.

After long study and many clarifications in the group, a beginning Kabbalist starts to feel himself in the general (global) system of desires, among other “points in the heart.” Relative to this particular environment, I am given the opportunity to acquire new sensory concepts: drawing closer to it and distancing from it, sensing its global system, my inclusion in it, the necessity of its support, the realization of it as the place in which I will reveal for myself the upper world and the Creator.

Meanwhile, within me, an interaction of two forces —myself and the environment—takes shape within me. The environment gains weight and acts as a counter force to my “I,” my ego. Another authority emerges, one outside of me, which I will begin to take into account and view as a source of salvation, a lever that can pull me out of my current state, out of this world.

I measure the “self – environment” dynamic, and as a result of my measurements I obtain quantitative and qualitative measures for measuring spiritual relations, forces. I build a measuring ruler: on one end is me and on the other is the group. With this ruler I can already research, measure, and depict the upper world.

From the “I – group” relationships a spiritual cell is formed within me with which I can measure all of reality above myself. In this way I build a soul within myself.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/9, Baal HaSulam, Letters 41 & 42

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If you see that something in the group does not align with the goal, or does not lead to adhesion with the Creator, you should carefully analyze this situation point by point, find quotes, talk to your friends, and bring the matter before the group. If the group sees that this can lead to improvement, it will accept the suggestion.

We must clearly and logically show everyone what needs to be improved and why, and invariably link it to the need to achieve adhesion to the Creator, but in a plain, practical way.

What does practical mean? Rabash writes that abstractions can destroy the whole world. Abstraction is a form not clothed in matter. You cannot say, “You must be altruistic; whoever is not altruistic should be kicked out of the group! There is no place here for the biggest egoist!”

We must follow the path of form clothed in matter and act only in accordance with a reality that can be realized and embodied, and which defines everything for us.

It is written that just as a donkey is blindfolded and walks forward, so must you close your eyes and walk. How can you close your eyes and go? Only if the group pulls you along. Clearly, you cannot walk that way on your own. You still do not know what spiritual forces influence a person.

I know this from my own experience. There were times when I would sit at home, and Rabash would call and shout: “Come over!” But I sat there and sobbed into the phone: “I cannot come! I feel a force stopping me.”

Therefore we must determine in advance how to proceed. A person does not join a group on the condition that he accepts some of the group’s laws but not others, and signs under this condition. He enters the group and signs everything; among the points is one that authorizes him to act according to the group’s rules regarding modifying any points.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/26, Rabash, “These Are the Generations of Noah”

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The rules of the group change according to the group’s advancement. If a group establishes artificial laws and rules for itself, then either it delays its development for some time, or sooner or later it discovers that it cannot keep them. The rule may remain written somewhere, but who actually follows it?

Suppose we define something, write it down, and everything looks wonderful, but no one really needs it. I constantly say that examining our internal laws is the most important thing, because through this a person examines himself. He must relate to the group’s rules as to his own inner rules, be in harmony with them, and advance together with them.

This does not determine my relationship to the members of the group; rather, it determines the relationship among all my inner forces, feelings, and desires. Therefore, first of all, I must see it as a model of how I want to see myself internally. We are not talking about my relationships with the friends; we naturally adjust to one another in any case. The charter must first and foremost be internal. There should be no difference between the external charter and the internal one.

In our world, after a country establishes its laws, it also establishes penalties for violating them. What is the purpose of these penalties? To compel a person to obey the laws.

In our case, it is what happens to a person if he fails to fulfill something in his personal account with the Creator. We cannot even imagine to what extent the rules that we establish within the group are accepted “Above.”

Baal HaSulam writes about this in “The Giving of the Torah”: The governance established by the people and the governance of the Creator naturally correspond to one another. What a large group of people determines becomes, in a certain sense, a law of the upper governance for them.

Do not take this too literally, we will speak about it more. I only want to say that by trying to fulfill some of your rules, even if they may seem foolish or unimportant, you will clarify the charter more quickly. You will discover what is relevant to us and what is not, what is more important and what is less important.

Ultimately, whether working with the internal or the external charter, your goal is to analyze it and thereby advance. How does a person advance? He examines the degree on which he stands: whether it is good or bad, useful or harmful, whether it is for his own sake or for the sake of bestowal. Through this examination, he acquires a clearer understanding of his state and of the direction in which he must move forward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/26, Rabash, “These Are the Generations of Noah”

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