Our whole work is meant to prepare the desire for the next degree. I exert effort in order to check myself: What exactly do I aspire to? Maybe I still think I can rise to a higher degree with my own strength, or maybe I’m not so foolish anymore and already realize that I’m unable to do this on my own and only the upper force can help me. And then I begin searching for a way to reach out to the Creator, to force Him to help me.

Kabbalists say that we can turn to the upper force only through the society, the group. So how many years will I need to work in order to explain to myself that the society is the only means to attract the Creator to help me, and my participation in the group is equal to attracting the Creator’s force for my correction? After all, if I unite with the society precisely for this and ask for only this, then He will do it, and we—I, the group, and He—will all meet there together, as it is written: "Isra-El (one who aspires straight to the Creator), the Torah (the upper Light) and the Creator are one."

This is called trying to "gain favor" from the Creator. The Creator will like you when you have the same desires as He has. You need to understand that you depend on Him and must lower your ego. Kabbalists explain this to us using the most precise words, and the second you reach the end of this work, you will begin to speak in their words; the language of the branches will be realized in you.

You will have no other words! You will begin to speak verses from the Psalms or prayer books. This is because Kabbalists took these words from their attainment: the whole order of words and letters. You will begin to speak in the same exact manner since everything that is said is undoubtedly determined by the next degree, and it is impossible to say it differently.

This is the most scientific approach from all approaches. Regular science is very minute; it works only within the bounds of this world, in these limited conditions, and thus everything is relative. However, Kabbalah is an absolutely scientific method where everything obeys one law. Only one formula is in place in the whole universe: Bestowal and reception need to unite into one whole.

This doesn’t even need to be proven to anyone. We search for some scientific proof and examples just to bring people closer to Kabbalah. However, the wisdom of Kabbalah itself does not demand any proof; it is revealed within a person.
[35309]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/14/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: It is one thing to play something with someone, but it is another thing to play on the inside, artificially. How do you do this?

Answer: You understand that you must go from one state to another. You are experiencing one of the states right now, but the state that you want to attain is still in your imagination. You paint it in your mind and imagine what it can be like.

If I were to ask you, “What exactly are you imagining? What do you want to attain?” You would say, “Love and bestowal.” Well, aren’t you lying? Of course you are! But you are told that you have to bestow, and you seem to agree with this.

Very well. You have friends, so start building this relationship of love and bestowal among all of you. Go ahead.

But now you’re no longer in the mood for it…. Well, that’s natural. You are not supposed to want to do this. Just carry out simple mechanical actions. Sit together with the friends, think about it a little, or as much as you are able. The key is that the Light comes when you study and then suddenly you feel that you gradually agree with this aspiration and this development.

Now it is important for you to advance in this direction. You do not want it very much on the inside yet, but you already understand that this is important. The states keep changing and that is how you advance. You move under the influence of the Light, but you are also able to do the things that are meant for you to do.

This is why the breaking of the Kelim took place. It was to prepare the necessary condition for us: We are able to begin to attract the Light that Reforms through mere physical actions, without any desire. I exist among everyone and I hate them all. I cannot concentrate; in fact, I am unable to even think of love and bestowal. I do not care about the friends. I want to be alone with the Creator in the entire world.

Yet I still make some slight actions externally, even if I do not like it and even if I am only able to do what I am told. This is the beginning.

And then hatred becomes even more apparent. Yet, together with it, the importance of the goal also becomes more apparent. I see how important it is to attain bestowal and how far I am from it.

And finally, the importance reaches a limit. Bestowal is the only thing you want, but on the other hand you hate it and are incapable of it, being completely cut off from it. That’s when you cry out – when these two poles assume their final forms in your perception and reach their final power.

This is what is referred to as the “gates of tears for the poor in spirit.” You feel that you do not have anything and you can no longer tolerate that.
[35391]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: I made a choice and entered the group, but sometimes disagreements arise. What should we do to stop them?

Answer: First of all, we must be aware of problems in the group. We mustn’t cover them up or pretend they don’t exist. For example, a group has thirty or forty members, and everyone is pulling to their side, or they are creating factions.

It is essential to understand that we are under the upper governance which arranges these factions and disagreements for us. Why? This is so that we rise above our problems to the One who brought them to life. It is He who gives the start to all problems between us. He even admits, “I created the evil inclination.”

But why? It is so that you may use the Torah as a spice, meaning that you would start desiring the Light that Reforms hidden in it. When you demand the Light, you rise above problems to the one Source from whence all evil and good derives.

Question cont.: Yes, but there are more problems after that.

Answer: You need to accumulate the necessary power of desire and the Light that Reforms in order to ascend to the first spiritual degree. Hence, problems grow and will not stop growing.

Leave it to the Creator; He knows what to do. This is why He speaks of having created the evil inclination for you to understand that everything comes from one Source. You just need to make it the basis of your work. We have nothing else.

The key is to adhere to this. Some friends may become rivals, while others don’t take anybody’s side. Let there be a mess in the group, but take it all as a package prepared by the Creator. He set it up, and my job is to always row toward unity, either with friends or despite them, in all sorts of states.

This is what we call being “as one man with one heart.” Otherwise, over what ground will we unify? The foundation of our unity is not the “nice kids,” but bullies and roosters. We fight and hate, but above all that, we unite as one whole. Love for one’s neighbor arises precisely above this, and that is when you come to receive the Torah.

Whether you agree or not, this principle won’t change. While in the group, we have to decide that there is no way out, that we are agreeing with it already, albeit artificially. We stop arguing and start pretending to love one another. We study in hopes that the Light that Reforms will influence us and establish a connection among us. During the lesson, everybody thinks: “I wish He had helped just a little.”

Otherwise, we will bite each other’s head off, unable to complete the exercise the Creator assigned us to do. It is He who “lured” us into this, as if He placed us into a computer game, a polygon restricted by the sides of the screen. We are inside of it. What do we do now?

This is the place where we must establish new relations that we wish to achieve. What do we lack on this playing field where we all hate each other, scattered like dots on the screen? What do we do?

We must reveal the Light that Reforms. Let us learn to demand for it to occur. It is easier said than done. The problem is that we have to wait until the new degree unfolds in all its might, which takes time. After all, the first spiritual degree is especially high; you can’t just jump onto it. Compared to the first, the other degrees are already easier.
[35059]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/11/2011, Writings of Rabash

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How do we advance in a group? Together we know that our goal is to attain love and bestowal. And the force of correction only comes to us through studying the corrected system. This is the wisdom of Kabbalah.

This is why we unite and study together as we build the maximum intention for unity. Along the path we discover real hatred (Sinnah), Mount Sinai, between us, but at the same time we discover the need to attain love and bestowal. After all, there is no other solution—this is the goal. And that is how we gradually advance.

A person strives toward love of friends, checking his efforts and successes, and to him this is no different than being close to the Creator. Even though the Creator is concealed, these two corrections—work with the neighbor and work with the Creator—are similar, in fact, identical.

This is because a “neighbor” is everything that exists outside of a person’s desire, be it the Creator or a friend. Both of them are as one since they are both foreign to man. Thus, if he is able to entrust himself in relation to a friend, he needs to know that by doing this he entrusts himself in relation to the Creator.

Besides, in the group he receives help from friends because they expect work from him and they motivate him to do it. That is why he can definitely succeed here.

We unite with the friends as must as possible in order to correct the quality of our unity through the study. This is the method. And when we do this with the purpose of attaining bestowal and love for the Creator, we structure ourselves according to the principle of “Israel, Torah, and the Creator are one.” When we unite with the friends through the study of Kabbalah, we evoke the Light that Reforms, the inner force in us, the Creator. Then we reach unity with Him through the unity between us.
[35381]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabaah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Why am I unable to clearly comprehend the importance of the environment?

Answer: You feel that you do not fully comprehend its importance because you are not finding the corresponding desire within you. You understand the words, but your heart is not responding yet. Sometimes you even get sick and tired of hearing about it.

This is natural. You just need to continue working on the common desire. Everyone has to begin thinking that this is important and that this is exactly what we need. We artificially strive to care for one another: I care for others so they would direct their thoughts towards the goal together with me. I constantly worry about it and then a real fear ripens inside me: Will they be able to keep their thoughts on the goal?

And then the heart of the group appears before me, not their names or faces, but the deep desire that reigns among the friends. Is everyone’s desire ready to unite with others so all of them would aim at the goal? This is what concerns me. If this comes true, then we will attract a little bit of Light to this common desire over a brief period of study, and then we will attain the goal.

The problem is not the Light that influences us. The problem is for all of us to connect our desires to be together on the path to the goal. Primarily, this is the concern that has to settle in everyone’s heart. This is mutual guarantee.

When we have a common desire, it “flows” from one part of the friends to another, and therefore it is always working. When we strive to study in order to realize this desire and we don’t get distracted by any other goals, then we evoke the Light with this common desire that’s aimed at mutual bestowal, the Creator. Then we will be full of desire as we prepare to study and during the study.

There can be nothing beyond this. It is written: “Habakkuk came and reduced everything to one thing: a righteous man will live by his faith.” The greatest effect comes from an action by which you want to attain bestowal. Bestowal is also referred to as “faith.”

At the end, this is a very simple thing. Overall, Kabbalah keeps being revealed in an increasingly simplified manner. And even though the path is difficult and it takes years, we have the opportunity to greatly accelerate our development.
[35370]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: What is the Surrounding Light that we are trying to attract?

Answer: The Light is the upper force, the one, single, and only existing force in the universe. Besides this Force there is only desire, which becomes revealed to us as a receiving desire. Yet by using the force of the Light we can change it to bestowal.

There is nothing besides Light (the Creator) and desire. We simply call Him by different names (such as Surrounding Light, Inner Light, or the Light that Reforms) in order to provide more precise definitions.

The Surrounding Light influences me if I aspire to my next form. Even though I don’t know exactly what that form is like, I study it through a book that describes all sorts of Partzufim, worlds, and Sefirot. That is how I express my desire to ascend there and attain, and that is how I attract this state that I want to attain to myself. It begins to influence me to the extent I aspire to it.

I open myself up and become more sensitive to this influence, to the next state that I must reach. I simply accelerate my development, adding a little bit of my own desire to the natural force that develops me.

I receive this additional desire from the environment. That is how I realize my free choice and receive from them the sensation that it is important to advance to the next state. After all, being in the next state means being more connected with others, canceling myself more, and bestowing more.

I receive this inspiration from the group and then I take it with me when coming to study and aspiring to attain the future form that is more bestowing. Then I am influenced by Light from there because it has the same nature of bestowal that I want to acquire. We have the same desire, the same tendency, and therefore we are close according to the law of equivalence of form.

By myself I do not have any desire for bestowal or spiritual progress. I have zero desire. But then I turn to the group and from them I take "10 pounds” of desire to advance to bestowal and unity among us, and with that desire I come to study. I want to attain the next state with the same force of 10 pounds. My similarity to the Light is measured by this force of 10 pounds, and to that degree it influences my desire, making it similar to the Light.

This is the same Light that fills my next state because it already exists. When I aspire to that future state, the Light begins to shine on me. For now it is called “surrounding” because it must first correct me and only then clothe into me. It works in two stages, performing two actions.

The same phenomena exist in physics: If I come closer to a magnet, then I enter the field of its attraction and influence. Even you and I influence one another. There is a certain field around every person. In fact, there is not one physical body that isn’t surrounded by a field—not even any stone.

Everything operates by the same principle. The closest state you aspire to (your next state) is what influences you. However, there are many fields around you that you do not even relate to yet. You do not yet aspire to them or know anything about them. When you reveal the spiritual world later on, you will see how many different things are happening in it and how many different dimensions exist in it.
[35411]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: My spiritual desire emerged and I came to the group. I study and understand that a single law accompanies me during the entire course of the path. However, on the other hand, the Creator wants me to be autonomous. What does my independence entail?

Answer: The Creator lets you be independent in the point of choice and nothing besides that. In the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Baal HaSulam says that the Creator Himself “places one’s hand on the good fate and says to him, ‘Choose this for yourself.’” In other words, you can choose what will influence you: the education you have received, your internal qualities, or the environment.

How do you choose, then? Try to take everything that occurs in the group, all its values, with the minimal inner obstacles coming from you, as you are in the present state. Currently, you view life based on past experiences. Until now, nothing was up to you, but now you are told: Try to neutralize everything you have absorbed and built yourself from and instead, receive the influence of the new environment.

Imagine you are a child who looks at the world with wide open eyes and wants to know everything, learn everything, and re-create everything he sees. Try to look at the new environment exactly like that, if you indeed made up your mind to walk with them to the goal. In that case, you don’t have any other choice but to become a child who is hungry for the influence the environment provides.

Until now, you evolved at the animate level and now, you wish to evolve spiritually, which is a totally new degree. Therefore, try to be the least in the group. After all, a younger child automatically learns from the older ones. This kind of attitude toward the group is what your choice entails. Now, choose!
[35067]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/11/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Why do we have to study to attract the upper Light? Why can’t the Light influence us while working in the group the way it influences a child while he’s playing? Why isn’t it enough for us to play the game of “love for friends” in order to attain that love?

Answer: During the study we try to unite together and we definitely need the Light to develop us. This Light does not come by us just trying to unite together. It has to come to us from the upper world, from the higher state or level.

We do not grow like animals, meaning, we do not grow on the same level. A small child that wants to get older only grows inside his ego, without transforming it “for the sake of bestowal.” He just becomes a more grown-up animal.

But in our spiritual work, at every level we turn our ego to bestowal and that is why we need the Light that Reforms. Therefore, it’s not enough for us to “play” in the group in order to attain love for friends because this love is opposite to our nature. I play love, but by doing that I won’t reach it.

If people wish to unite in order to attain the egoistic goal that our ego understands, such as to win or earn, then they don’t have any problem uniting. But if we have to change our nature, then our ego doesn’t understand why it’s necessary to unite with others, and that’s why we are unable to do so. I hear many complaints. People come to us and perplexedly ask, “These are the relationships that you, Kabbalists have?! But there has to be infinite love here! And instead, look at what’s happening here!” People from outside don’t get it.

If you enter any external society that has a clear egoistic goal, you will see that they are united together because they understand that together they can attain the goal, such as succeeding at some business or building a house. But we cannot unite because unity between us is possible only by breaking the ego, while in the external society it happens by increasing the ego.

That is why we have to additionally evoke the Light that Reforms. Only the Light’s influence can unite us. We can only reveal hatred among us. In the external society, which is united by the egoistic goal, people reveal love among them, whereas we reveal hatred. This is called “Mount Sinai”—the mountain of hatred. Then we will need the Torah—the Light that Reforms because we can only unite with its help.

That is why only hatred becomes revealed in a real group of Kabbalists, and then they have to study in order to attract the Light that will unite them. But the Light unites them only for a moment, and then they reveal hatred once again in order for them to advance further by attracting the Light to them. And that is how they constantly have to attract the Light since otherwise they become immersed in hatred. Hatred is their ego, “help against them,” helping them to advance in this way.

That is why we need the group and we have to try to unite together even though it is clear to us that we won’t attain it on our own. Yet we must try not to hang our heads in the face of this game. And we have to study together in order to attract the Light that Reforms because it has to perform this revolution inside us, since we won’t unite without acquiring the quality of bestowal.

External societies unite egoistically, whereas we unite only by virtue of mutual spiritual bestowal. If the Light influences us and unites us with one another, then in the common Kli between us, we will immediately reveal the Creator. The common force that will become revealed among us is the Creator. Then our desire to enjoy will turn into the desire to bestow.
[35407]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: If human nature is the will to enjoy, why then is the majority of humanity satisfied with very little and why doesn’t it seek eternal pleasure?

Answer: Some time ago, I ran into my old childhood friend. Back then he was already collecting stamps. In my own time, when I “grew out” of this hobby, I gave him my entire collection. I recall that stamps had lost value in my eyes, but he really liked them.

So, when we met this time, he said to me: “Now I also collect envelopes.” He said it with such seriousness that I promised to send him our envelope. There is nothing funny about this: A person values something, he has a certain desire. I didn’t even want to start talking to him about the Lights and eternal pleasure. What sense will it make if he wants to talk about envelopes and stamps?

Everything derives from desire. When I had a desire, I collected stamps. In childhood, everybody passes through such periods. But his desire remained, so how can I pass my desire to him? It is impossible.

I saw many children growing up near Rabash, as well as his students and relatives. If a child has a desire, it is there; and if he doesn’t, it isn’t. You cannot force it on him. He sees what you do, and the rest depends on his aspirations. There is nothing you can do in this regard.

So, we can’t demand a person to work on unification. How many people in the world really care about it and wish to see the whole world as one simple Light, one force? Who wants to see only this picture of reality and not to even feel himself in it? You either have such desire or you don’t.

Yes, with the help of the group we can speed up our development, but again, without pressuring a person.
[34965]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/10/2011, Writings of Rabash

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