Question: Is there a difference between studying The Book of Zohar at the congress with the masses and studying it in our group at the morning lessons? What is more important, quality or quantity?

Answer: Quantity doesn’t demean quality. Within a mass of people, there always are those who can unite to a greater or lesser degree, and there are those who can’t unite at all or who forget about it. In either case, quantity has its advantage, as it is written: “I dwell among my people.”

At this point, we are not talking about some special group of people, meaning those who are bright, determined, capable of inner work, and well trained. The Creator dwells within the entire nation, not just in some small group of special characters that He Himself advanced and brought together into the tip of the pyramid. Regardless, He still says that He dwells among the masses.

The Upper Governance cares most of all about the still level (in humanity), less about the vegetative one, less so about the animate, and the least about the speaking level. The weaker the created being, the less free will it has, the less autonomously it can work for the correction of creation (according to the Plan of Creation and the common system), the more the Upper Governance gets clothed in it, and this is a sign of revelation of Godliness (Elokut).

In other words, we are not talking about revelation of the Creator in some exalted souls such as Rashbi and all the great Kabbalists. The revelation of the Creator is measured with regard to society, not individuals. Therefore, we should not neglect large quantity but value it. The power of the masses lies in quantity, not some individual characters that have personally attained spirituality and perform personal spiritual work.

It is the common work which matters the most because by doing it, we allow the Light to be revealed and attain the revelation of the Creator. As to the personal, special work of some individuals, our group, or several groups, it is necessary solely in order to connect to this huge mass (several million people into billions of them) and through us, bring to it the spirit of life.

Therefore, the aim, intention, and goal are namely the society and the people. Hence, we need to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah in the masses.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/21/10, The Zohar

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The Creator brings a person to a specific place and tells him, “Take it.” A person has to accept this place and check: What kind of people are there, what is their goal, and what sources do they study? The check is performed through the mind and feeling, according to all of one’s notions and concepts.

A person checks all of this “upon his arrival” and then he has to make a decision: Will he stay here or not? Without making this firm decision he cannot make any further actions and he cannot advance!

We are talking about the inner circle that Kabbalah calls “600,000 souls,” which is the nucleus. A person must clearly feel that he has accepted and entered the spiritual environment. That is why Kabbalistic groups always had an agreement, a statute, and a list of friends who have decided to enter the group and who were accepted by the group.

What does it mean to “become part of the environment”? The correction of the soul requires total dedication. It is written, “A person will sell the roof of his house.” In other words, for the sake of spirituality a person “sells” everything he has in life besides the vital necessity. No matter how much his understanding grows, a person always tries to go higher, above it.

He makes an agreement with the friends, promising to support and strengthen them with all his power and to be together with them so the common unity will enable every person to rise higher. All the forces for ascending can only be received from the unification with the group in which a person finds the Light.

The faster a person makes the decision, the faster he will advance. And vice versa: By being indecisive and failing to make a decision, he stands in one place. The decision is made once and after that a person has to carry it out.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/24/10, Writings of Rabash

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During the convention, a person goes through various states; he experiences mood swings, all kinds of thoughts pass though his mind, some of them "in favor," some of them "against." But we will try to explain to beginners that all of that is inner work which develops us very quickly. These discernments save us years of life with needless suffering.

What you go through in three days of the convention is more than all what you experience throughout your entire life, and all of it is preparation of your inner, spiritual vessel by the power of the Light drawn by such a huge mass of people. It is because the Creator is present "within the nation." Unity contains the Light and that Light acts upon us!

Some understand this more, others less, yet everybody is influenced by the Light according to his or her level. There is no risk in it. A person scrutinizes his states, and it’s very beneficial. We will discuss it there.

You can invite anyone. A person will feel absolutely free at the convention. He will always have an opportunity to go outside, sit down, have a chat with others (there will be stands with tea, coffee, and cookies), and then return to the convention hall or even go home and return the next day.

A person has come in touch with his inner work, and it leaves a mark in him. You can’t put any pressure on him; just give him a chance to come in touch with the Light, with spirituality.

Don’t be afraid; a calculation is made from Above concerning everybody as far as how much force one needs to receive from that human mass in order to advance him. It can’t have any adverse effects.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/18/10, "The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence"

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The group supports every person according to his loyalty to it. By giving himself over to the group, a person becomes a great asset to it. It’s not just one more force. Rather, in spirituality every person is equal to the common soul of Adam. Every soul attains all the souls and constitutes the entire Malchut of the World of Infinity.

Therefore, every person who tries to ascend above knowledge and egoism, and to give himself into the hands of the right environment, brings a very powerful force with him. Through him it then becomes possible to attract the Light that Reforms to everyone.

After becoming included in the group, a person cannot criticize its spiritual state; he must worry only about strengthening the group, both externally and internally. Without rejecting the group, he continues to support it through his personal participation and example.

A person increasingly gains a better understanding that spirituality can only be attained through the group. That is where the broken and corrected places are, that is where the Creator and creation – the common soul of Adam – are. Everything is contained in the group. It is the system which the Creator made, and it is the only thing there is.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/24/10, Writings of Rabash

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We study Kabbalistic texts about the Upper World, the concealed part of reality. The Kabbalists describe this reality, this world, in a poetic form, and we don’t understand what they say. They seem to take the words from this world to tell us about the Upper World. Why is this so?

It is because the Upper World is the world of forces that descend into our world and perform actions in it. All events that take place in our world we already see as deriving from the forces that trigger them. We don’t perceive the forces, don’t know or feel where they come from. We see only the effects of their action: our world and ourselves.

We are given an opportunity to read and hear about the Upper Forces, how they descend and bring this world into motion. Kabbalists describe this to us so that on our way back to the source, we can rise from the actions that these forces perform here in our world to their roots. If we read the books written by the Kabbalists with this intention, then these texts affect us, and, gradually to the extent of our efforts, we start approaching them more closely, like a child with the help of the game that gradually helps him to develop and grow.

But there is one more condition: The forces that we wish to ascend to are not ordinary, as in our world. The Upper Forces are opposite to us; they are the forces of bestowal. And we are the receiving matter, the desire to feel pleasure, that is affected by them.

In order to attain the nature of bestowal from the receiving one, we have to organize ourselves in a group prior to opening The Book of Zohar, and, while reading in the group, try to keep thinking about our unity since this is the nature of the very same Upper Forces that are affecting us. Then, they will be affecting us not only through their governing action as they do in relation to all humanity and the world, but also with their property of bestowal.

Everything occurs in accordance with our desire. If we wish to not only be affected by the Upper Forces but to also become as they are and attain the property of bestowal, then gradually we’ll change and become part of these forces as bestowing as they are.

This means that we gradually ascend from this world to the level of the Upper Forces. Clearly, we don’t ascend and descend physically, but we start being organized within, realizing and agreeing with that very force of bestowal which affects us more and more; we identify with it.

This force fills me ever more, and I act accordingly. This is regarded as “spiritual ascent” that takes place under the condition that I am in the group and wish, as all the others do, to feel how this force of bestowal fills us.

Let’s think about this while we read The Zohar, and we will succeed!
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/19/10, The Zohar

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We have already reached the state where we can attain the mutual guarantee, now we only need to work harder. It might be beneficial to imagine in great detail how much we will lose if we do not attain it. Imagine that we were unable to turn the November convention into anything more than a colorful festival and did not bring the point of unity into this action. What will happen to us if we do not advance in reality?

We have decided that we must reach unity this year, and we need to remember that all the time during the preparation for the convention. There will be no problem reaching unity if all of us together are absolutely serious about it. People that are less advanced than us are capable of doing it.

Our group has gone through a very serious preparation. We are simply facing a psychological barrier. The greatest problem is that we are unable to imagine this notion, this goal. We need to constantly think about it so that the loss in relation to the gain and our actual loss will become more obvious.

We are already connected in the common system; we only need to reveal it from our state. Beside this relative revelation, nothing else happens. Everything is already here! This is also relevant to the entire world, but we have more because we have gone through a great deal of preparation.

The spiritual system has become closer to us; we have drawn closer to it and pulled it towards us. It has already started to “surface” from the depth and come closer to us. Now we just need to work harder to reveal it. It will become much easier to work after the first revelation. The hardest part is rising to the first degree.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, “From My Flesh Shall I Know God”

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You can impact the spiritual system only by entering it through the relationship of a mutual guarantee because then you will uncover your connection to the system. And if you exist in it simply as an observer, then you are there as a “beast” (angel).

Your actions aim at restoring your connection with this entire system, and it depends solely on you. And then, through this relationship, you will see how the system gets renewed. It is written: “You will eat what has long been laid in store for you.” There is nothing new! You only need to discover your connection to the system thanks to the mutual bestowal.

Only the group can help us accomplish this. If you can’t demand help from the people that you are familiar with and connected to, then how can you demand it from the Force that you don’t know or feel? We have to build between us a system of relationships that will constantly shake and push us.

The group must not accept indifference. Everyone has to feel that he depends on all the others, in happiness and grief, in corporeality and spirituality, in everything!
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, “From My Flesh Shall I Know God”

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It is possible to follow a commandment only if you initially hated someone but then managed to correct this with the help of the Light that Reforms, the Light which can be attracted only through the study of Kabbalah in the group (in the right environment) by attaining a state of “mutual guarantee.” In this case it is considered that one “performed a commandment” and maybe not just one but all of them, and thus reached a personal “final correction.”

However, for that, we have to follow certain conditions: perform actions that lead us toward unity in the correct environment and get impressed by the environment rather than do something that occurs to us. Each time, I strive to choose a better environment that can transfer to me its values and to implement them as if they are my own.

In other words, I cancel myself in relation to the opinion of others and strive to be “included” in them, meaning into the system of spiritual principles that they follow, rather than in them as ordinary people. If I manage to do so, we act as one, follow our common direction, and implement the same principle. This principle will turn into our prayer (MAN, Mayin Nukvin or Female Waters) to which we will receive a response (MAD, Mayin Duchin or Male Waters), the Light of correction, and will establish a contact with the spiritual world.

This contact will be founded on our unity; no one can attain spirituality on his or her own. Spirituality exists only within the connection, in the Creator, the force that connects our souls.

Therefore, I cannot grab “a piece of spirituality” from the group, leave them behind, and go home with it. I remain within this unity and increase my input into it even more. This is where I reveal spirituality. If I think about myself and, therefore, separate myself from others for a fraction of a moment, I return to the sensations of this material world which is what I feel now.

Why don’t I feel anything at the moment? It is because I am not bonded with others. As soon as I connect with others, I begin to sense spirituality, whereas when I disconnect from others, I sense corporeality.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Question: How do I know whether I am learning altruistically (Lishma, for Her Name) or egoistically (Lo Lishma, not for Her Name)?

Answer: It all depends on the goal that I am trying to achieve. If my goal is to annul myself before the group so I may receive from it the correct spiritual gene (Reshimo) and realize it, then this studying is correct.

With my point in the heart, I come into the group and become its part. In that case, the group plants in my “point in the heart” its own Reshimo. I didn’t have the kind of Reshimo that the group possesses. This Reshimo is new for me, from the previous connection and separation (breaking). If I agree with the opinion of the environment and place myself under its influence, I accept this Reshimo as primary. It becomes mine, and I raise it in the request to have it corrected.

It turns out that I act through my connection with the group and wish for this connection to come true. In other words, I correct the breaking of the collective soul and with my action draw the Upper Light since the breaking responds only to it. On my part, I raise the correct request (MAN, Mayin Nukvin or Female Waters) and receive the corresponding Light, the Light of correction (MAD, Mayin Duchin or Male Waters).

Therefore, if I act in the group and annul myself before the importance of the spiritual goal and connection that the group demonstrates to me, it means I advance correctly. No other criteria exist. I may know everything that is written in the books perfectly and work hard in the group and in Kabbalah circulation, but my spiritual advancement depends solely on the conscious correction of the connection between us. There is nothing else for us to do in this world.

Everything is evaluated only according to whether or not some movement toward unity occurred. There are people who have been studying Kabbalah for decades but don’t even think about unification. But if that is the case, a person should not be scorned; it simply means that he hasn’t ripened yet. Either way, he is advancing in some way, and it is better than doing nothing.

Yet, until a person has started to realize this point in the heart, he hasn’t stepped onto the spiritual path.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Question: What is the difference between “love others as I love myself” and “care for others as I care for myself”?

Answer: “To care for another as I care for myself” is the level of concern and caring, while “love thy neighbor as thyself” is fulfillment. When I am at the level of the former, it is regarded as “bestowal for the sake of bestowal,” when I have nothing to give.

When we ascend the degrees of spiritual correction, then from a period of preparation, we transition to the period of fear (worry or concern) in which a person learns to care for the others. He can’t fulfill them yet and only worries about them. A space, a desire to care, gets created. Then, the degrees of love follow, and then it is already clear how to fulfill others.

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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “What is Mutual Concern” 10/13/10

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