Question: While anticipating the Kabbalah Mega Congress these days, I started to feel like a child who is looking forward to a holiday feast. What does it mean?

Answer: We stand on the threshold of the desired revelation. It is a very serious action that may bring about incredible changes. If we want to enter spiritual world, meaning to reveal the Creator among us, we can achieve this only in our unified desires.

During the three days of the congress, we will try to come together and connect our desires in one. If we keep aspiring to experience everything in one collective desire, we will meet the condition which the people had received at Mount Sinai: become as one man with one heart. If we do, the Torah – the Light that created and divided us and is now willing to unite and lift us to the Creator – will be revealed to us!

We won’t be able to unite by ourselves, but if all who participate in the congress truly yearn for unity in a single desire for the Creator, we will draw the Light upon us. Our oneness could be temporary, or it could be real and cause the correction of our “fall into sin.”

United desires are called the Soul (Adam), and the Light which is revealed in them is the Creator, Bo-Reh (from Hebrew words “Bo” – Come and “Reh” – See). This means we have come and attained such quality of oneness that we found the Creator in it.

In my perspective, it is quite possible. Therefore, I see congresses as profoundly important. If, however, the complete oneness is not achieved this time, I won’t despair. I know how much closer such gatherings bring people and I have no doubt that after a few such actions, we will have the Creator reveal Himself to us anyway.

There is no better means to accelerate our progress. One such “attack” of people unified in a single desire is worth six months of   scrupulous, daily studies. This is why I am so excited and hopeful that we will achieve what we aspire to.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/23/10, Article, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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The Zohar, Chapter “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” Item 96: Three Degrees NRN. The most hidden is given to the wise at heart. Three degrees cling to one another—Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama.

All of The Book of Zohar and the entire wisdom of Kabbalah speak about spiritual degrees. However, what is a spiritual degree? What is ascension? What do we ascend in? In the corporeal world, a greater fulfillment of the desire to receive pleasure (in terms of food, sex, family, wealth, recognition, and knowledge) is considered to be an ascent. This is material “ascension” since it is dictated by the aspiration to receive egoistic pleasure.

In contrast, spiritual ascension is greater bestowal to others. A spiritual force is the force of bestowal, whereas a material force is the force of reception. This shows that the science of Kabbalah speaks about ascensions in bestowal.

Where can I actualize, verify, experience, and perceive this ascension and be certain that it is real? I can do this in the group. This is why the Creator broke the connections between the souls. He gave us a perception of this reality called “this world” and a diversity of numerous similar creatures that we call “people.” However, in essence, they are all souls who have lost the sensation of spirituality and live solely in the corporeal world. Thus, instead of experiencing our spiritual vessel, which is the will to bestow, we feel the material desire that paints a reality for us where we live in our bodies in this world.

What are we left to do? In our present state, we must start yearning for bestowal and mutual guarantee. Then, we will become equivalent to the nature of the spiritual degrees that the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about, and we will be able to ascend the steps of bestowal.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/10, The Zohar

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We can only change how fast we advance and how quickly we pass through the various states in our development. An animal doesn’t experience change, while a person does since the egoistic desire grows in a person day by day. From the dawn of humanity and during multiple lifetimes, our egoistic desire grew on its own. We were not aware of it and could not do anything about it. Now, however, we have to participate in the process of creating our new desires for bestowal. This is in our hands. We can change the speed of our progress through our own efforts.

Depending on the speed, we will know what goal we are advancing toward and how we feel about it. Do we desire it or not? If we do not desire change, we walk the path of suffering. If we do, we walk the path of Light. Other than the speed of our advancement, we can change nothing. What helps us in this process is the Surrounding Light that we draw during our studies and self-analysis that we perform through the group. How quickly we clarify our desire depends solely on how fast we unite.

This is why it is written: “We shall do and we shall hear.” We can perform actions without understanding all the fine details. But by first going above our reason like children, we gain knowledge and perception in the end. In some few months, a person begins to discern certain changes and states within. This is the result of the path he has walked, although what exactly he had gone through was unknown to him beforehand. All we need to do is follow the recommendations of the Kabbalists in order to expedite all the necessary changes.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/10, Article, “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning”

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If a person’s actions are directed at uniting with the friends, he very quickly discovers the need for direct connection with the Creator who should aid this unification. Every action should lead us to the correction of the breaking, to unity among us, and then the need for the Creator’s influence for the quality of bestowal and love will manifest in it.

Thus, three components of our state – the Torah, Israel, and the Creator – are revealed. The Torah is the force that creates the desire (the world is created through the Torah), the force that corrects the intention of the desire ( the Light that Reforms), and the force that fills the desire (pleasure and wisdom, the goal of creation). “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the general rule of the Torah. Israel (one who aspires to the Creator, the soul) is the common Kli (the unification of souls, Shechina). The Torah is the Light, the force that corrects. The Creator is the inner source of this force.

Together we create the condition for unification and a mutual guarantee. We prepare the place for the revelation until “the sons of Israel cried out from the work,” that is, when we require His help. We see the comparison of the society and the Creator in almost all of the descriptions in the Torah. Without the society, we are unable reach the Creator. Therefore, the group is the means. It is the Shechina, Knesset Israel (Assembly of Israel), the collection of souls which ask not to stay in the dust (egoism). All the articles state this.

A person forgets about the need for connection with the Creator since this goes against his nature. However, this connection will appear in our nature if we unite into a group. If I am not connected to a group, then I am not aiming at the Creator and will not find the direction to Him.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, Article, “On My Bed At Night”

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It is written about an embryo: “A mother gives it the red part, the father gives the white part, and the Creator gives it the soul.” A common problem in spiritual work is that we forget about the “third component,” the Creator who needs to finish the work for us. A person exerts a great amount of effort and then he is perplexed: where is the desired result? One doesn’t understand that he does not complete this action; he forgets that all his actions should begin and end with the Creator, the Upper Force, while he stays in the middle.

Likewise, we come out of Infinity and return to Infinity. And “on the way” we develop and become corrected either through the path of suffering or through the path of the Light. But in both cases the Light works, and we merely add our desire. We do not correct ourselves; we only hasten our development.

However, one usually forgets that he is merely one of the components of his development. He intensifies slightly and thus feels the action changing from a negative to a positive one. But the action itself occurs due to the forces that already exist in nature. The most important component is the force of the Creator. If a person does not bring the Creator to help him so that He would complete the action, if he does not summon this third component that is not present in his picture of nature, then not a single action is finalized and a person remains the way he was!

This is a common mistake, which often remains unnoticed. And there is only one solution here: to turn to the group for help. If there is a common opinion in the group that the Creator is the most important force that determines the end of the action, then none of the members included in the group will forget about this. One will not be forced to experience bitter disappointment resulting from him working so hard and still not achieving anything.

Look for the Creator (as it is written in the Song of Songs: “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth”) and remember that one does not have the strength to win this battle alone; he also has a Partner. And without Him a person has only an empty desire, which gradually dies out like a small fire.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, Article, “On My Bed At Night”

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Question: In his article “Finding the Creator Within,” Baal HaSulam writes that a person keeps reincarnating until he completely attains the wisdom of Kabbalah. What does that mean?

Answer: To completely attain the wisdom of Kabbalah means to comprehend the structure of my soul in general and in particular, to attain all inner differences and actions that can occur within me with all their fulfillments, causes, and affects. That is, one attains the soul’s structure, the actions that take place in it, and from this, a perfect state. This is what thorough, complete knowledge is.

In other words, complete knowledge is attainment of the Creator which happens as a result of our adhesion with Him. The soul (one soul or all souls together) or the Creator are the same. Each soul attains all the souls because all of them are its parts. The Creator is the force that connects the souls together and encompasses them.

Who was shattered? The Creator was. We assume that the breaking occurred in our Kli (the general desire, the unified soul). But in fact, the breaking occurred in the Creator within us; the screen (Masach), the force that binds us all together broke. The Creator was broken within us to such a degree that we stopped recognizing and sensing Him.

What are we actually achieving by bringing the shattered splinters of the broken soul together? As we connect our impressions, inspirations, and sensations into one, these “constituents” eventually will bring us to perceive the Creator. The same Creator, the same Upper Force previously filled us when we were in a state of “love of others,” but with the shattering it turned into “unfounded hatred.”

Now, we have to reverse and return this force into its correct state. It doesn’t mean that it will alter itself; the relationships among us will. Therefore, from the state of hating the Creator we rise to loving Him, which happens to the extent of our efforts to transform unfounded hatred into brotherly love.

From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/10, Article, “From Within My Flesh I will See the Creator”

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Question: Is the whole process of the creature’s development and the measure of its bestowal predetermined?

Answer: Nobody is restricting you in any way! You have free choice and every opportunity. Even the prophets could not predict the way we will advance. In all the prophecies of the days of the Messiah and the war of Gog and Magog, the revelation was only in the left line, the line of natural development and not in the three lines.

Nobody knows ahead of time the extent to which we will be able to sweeten this path. That is, we cannot predict what may happen at the Mega Congress. It is entirely possible that we will cross the Machsom and continue our spiritual ascent!

Or we can rise over it for some time and fall again, needing to cross it several times so as to ultimately stay in the spiritual world. Everything depends on how we organize and realize our connection.

The other essential factor is how we will accept this revelation. If we have prepared ourselves to accept it only for the sake of bestowal, and do not yield to the pleasure it offers, then together through mutual guarantee, we will be able to use all the revelations, pleasures, and states that will come and continue our path upward in spirituality.

But everything is in our hands. Everything is ready!

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/10, Article “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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A question I received: Can one person with a correct intention affect the entire group that reads The Zohar without any intention?

My Answer: When we read The Zohar together, we strive to unite. We gather in a group so that there are no difference between an advanced student and a beginner, a prominent one and not. Together in a group we are all equal.

Each of us may be in a certain state: one just started and doesn’t fully comprehend where he is, while another has studied The Zohar for some time and has already gained a certain picture from it. Yet both undergo different states. Perhaps today a person feels especially attuned and inspired, but there are times when he is unable to tune in at all, as if unconscious. It may be that yesterday there was great clarity, and today that person is unable to collect his thoughts.

Therefore, everything depends on the collective mass of those who study together, and how well, through a unified effort, they are able to feel that this mass contains everyone within itself. It turns out that those who have sharp clarity today help those who are now lifeless. Moreover, both benefit from each other.

As a matter of fact, the person now inspired lacks the force of egoistic desire (Aviut), but receives it from those currently in the dead state and vice versa. In this way, when there is great inspiration and Aviut at the same time, then together in unison we help each other to receive an opportunity for advancement. Thus, when we connect and bring both together, it works and brings good results. Conversely, if only those who are burning with inspiration came to study today while those who feel lifeless stayed in bed, we would gain nothing. We would not have a sufficient force of egoistic desire to advance.

Our strong desire attracts the Light that Reforms. We burn with the desire to receive it and it comes. So where does the Light enter? Where is your egoistic desire that it can influence? Yet when several “dead” friends sit next to you, the Light influences them and brings them back to life. And tomorrow you will switch places, and everything will reverse.

We do not fully comprehend the unique potential of a group. Without it, spiritual advancement is impossible.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: What does the group do? Does it help me see my egoism or correct it?

My Answer: Both. None of us can live without a system, without a spiritual environment. My exercising free will as well as my work completely depend on it. A seed pulled from the soil and left without the necessary environment dies! What will come out of it if you drop it on the ground, uncovered by the soil that provides water, nourishment, minerals, and energy?

For a person, the difference lies in whether he works in the group or not. Suppose you have a sack of seeds and you can plant them in order to grow something. If not, what else are they good for? Only to eat….

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/10, The Zohar

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It is believed that a collective prayer occurs when a person raises his or her prayer among others who are praying at the same time. Yet, those who are more spiritually aware believe that a collective prayer is a plea for society. Such a prayer is immediately accepted by the Creator, whereas an egoistic prayer (when a person prays for himself ) is not heard.

Nevertheless, even a request to the Creator for society is not perfect. In fact, if the Creator “is good that does good,” my request implies that society is suffering because of the Creator, doesn’t it? It seems like I think that the Creator is mistreating society, and that I should pray for them. However, if the Creator is always benevolent to everybody, for whom am I asking?

It follows that I cannot ask the Creator to change His attitude toward me (a personal prayer) or toward society (a collective prayer). Since the Creator is absolutely and invariably good, I can ask Him only to correct me and all the others in such a way that we will feel that He is only good.

If all who desire to be connected to the Creator in the property of love and bestowal are willing to unite with others in the same property, then through their aspiration, they create a place where the Creator is revealed. That place is our mutual love.

However, such a state can be achieved only through the correction of each individual’s 613 desires, which is called the “fulfillment of 613 commandments.” In the degree of our correction, we draw closer to each other since the correction of desires lies in their unification.

This is why the sages said that “love of others is the greatest law of the Torah,” and all the commandments are necessary only in order to attain the last one, the universal commandment: love. As a result, in these individual and collective corrections, we will feel the power of love and bestowal filling us.

But if we are not corrected and united, and everyone wants to receive for himself, our prayer is solely for material things. (Material is what is received egoistically, whereas spiritual is what is received in order to bestow). In this case, receiving for ourselves, we become “the nations of the world,” and not “Israel” (straight to the Creator).

These terms are not related to some nation or nationality. They describe the states of a person on the spiritual path. According to this, our prayer is either to improve our personal state of existence or to correct our attitude toward the others and the Creator.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/10, Article “The Importance of the Prayer of the Many”

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