Chanukah is the celebration of Light. A person celebrates it upon exiting the material world.

His life is very short and filled with worries, chores, and fear of the unknown. Man doesn’t know what he is living for and what will happen to him in the next instant. In truth, the whole world is being overtaken by terror, drug abuse, divorce, and depression.

But here, as the wisdom of Kabbalah explains, we receive an opportunity to come out to the Light, the sensation of eternity and completeness, the most exalted harmony. Having risen above the corporeal world, we begin to experience the spiritual world and suddenly discover a new reality.

It is as if you were driving a car on a highway when you suddenly ran out of gas and found yourself on the edge of an abyss. One more second and it will pull you in. But…nothing happens. Suddenly, this abyss dissolves and you continue your journey on a straight, smooth, wide road: From this grey, dull life you transition directly into the world of joy and illumination.

When this beautiful additional world is revealed to a person and he immediately starts living in it, he experiences the most exalted moment! He sees that he has received an enormous gift, and this is what Chanukah symbolizes. The name comes from the Hebrew word “Chanaya,” a stop on the path to complete correction, as well as from Hebrew “Chanukat Bait.”

Chanukah is celebrated as a historical event on three accounts:

1. The Maccabean Revolt, when few troops revolted against the regular army and won;
2. Illumination of the Temple, which in Hebrew means “Chanukat HaBait,” hence, the name “Chanukah” for the celebration;
3. The miracle of the Menorah burning for eight days on a single day’s oil.

In spirituality, “Illumination of the Temple” means that a person rises above his egoism to the property of Bina, the Temple, which is the place where the Creator is revealed.
[28390]
From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Hanukkah” 12/1/10

Related Material:
The Light Of Hanukkah In Your Heart
“Praising The Miracle” Of Hanukkah

Filed under: Holidays, Inner Work - No Comments →

Rabash, Letter 43: The candles will not glow until three conditions are met:

1. There is a candle, which is a vessel into which oil is poured,
2. There is oil,
3. There is a wick.

When these three conditions unite together, it becomes possible to rejoice for the light they produce.

These three conditions that are necessary for the light also reflect our structure. We consist of the will to enjoy, which acts egoistically.Therefore, when we look at the world, we see that it is full of suffering and problems.

No one acts honestly, everyone harms one another, and I can’t understand why the Creator (if He even exists) has created such a bad world. I would have made it much better if I were Him! I look at everything through my evil, egoistic desire, and that is why I see evil all around.

However, if I begin to override my confusion by thinking that the Creator is good and does everything well, whereas I feel evil only because I am bad, then all of these thoughts and desires collide inside me and contradict one another. This is called the “wick” (Ptila) because I discern where is the “waste” (Psolet) from my desire and what is bad about it.

The desire is a vessel and there is a “wick” inside it that is produced by overcoming the desire. These discernments (Birurim) give rise to the fuel (Beirut), meaning the oil – the Light of Hochma.

These three components are also present in the human soul, which desires to figure itself out and light up like a candle. They are also present in the regular candle, which is a symbol of the soul.

The vessel or desire was egoistic by nature, wanting “for its own sake.” That is how I was born. With the help of studying Kabbalah in the group, I create a “wick” that can light up because I begin to fight back and discern who is the Creator and who am I. The “oil” is the result because this state gives rise to the “fuel.”

I wage a struggle: I want to attain bestowal, but I am incapable of it. I dash forward, but my nature pulls me back. Pharaoh does not let me come out of his power. However, that is how I discern myself and the Creator, as well as the kind of system through which I can be connected to Him.

And after overcoming this a person merits the Light of the Creator that illuminates his soul, called the Light of Hanukkah. This is the revelation of the Upper Providence, carrying goodness to the creatures.
[28343]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/10, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
The Phases Of War With Pharaoh
“Praising The Miracle” Of Chanukah

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work - 3 Comments →

I always have some kind of attitude to what is happening to me, to my environment, my loved ones, and the world. If I attach the Creator to that attitude, then I delve into discernments of why it is happening, for whom, whom will it benefit, and so on.

As I do this, I am inducted in an entire war for every state! If I discern these states “inside knowledge,” it is called a “Greek” approach, meaning according to my mind, feeling, understanding, and all my notions. Alternatively, I can advance by “faith above reason” and search for the force of bestowal, wishing to see everything from this point of view. In that case I do not want to receive knowledge and understanding into the desires that awaken in me, but I want to come out of myself with the help of these desires. I want to step to the outside, enter others, and there receive all the knowledge and fulfillment by faith above reason, inside the Kelim of bestowal.

The fulfilment I am able to receive inside myself is called “this world.” What I can receive on the outside, coming out of myself to the outside, is called the Upper World. I am fighting for this approach which I want to maintain, and this is called the war of the Maccabees against the Greeks. The Greeks are just a symbol for all rational thinking that exists in the world, the human mind, the scientific approach. The Maccabees are above this because they personify the work of the priests (Kohanim) that belong only to bestowal.

A person must always wage this war until he ascends above the battlefield. In this war you have “spies” whom you send to the “market,” meaning to the place (desire) that is ruled by “multiple authorities.” Among your thoughts and desires, some are still ruled by “many,” which sometimes pull you in one direction and sometimes another, all for the sake of their egoism. This continues until just one power is established in all of your desires! When it does, it means you leave the “market” and enter your “house.”

The market turns into the house and the “spies” leave there, as it is written, “Until the last foot leaves the market.” You remain alone with the Creator, together with Him, in adhesion, in your desire or house.

In the spiritual world we do not shift from one place to another. There exists only one place or desire. However, you change it and build it by changing your attitude so it goes from being a “marketplace” to a “house” in which you light a candle, “praising the miracle” (Persuma de Nisa).
[28340]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/10, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
The Light Of Hanukkah In Your Heart
Kabbalah Moments: Miracle

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays - 1 Comment →

For seven days, we have been drawing the Surrounding Light, constructing the canopy of the shed. The Light expands from Aba ve Ima (AVI) of the World of Atzilut through Zeir Anpin (ZA). Zeir Anpin is represented by the branch of the palm tree.

Further on, the Light passes through HGT, the Sefirot of Hesed, Gevura, and Tifferet, symbolized by three branches of the myrtle tree, and through the Sefirot of Netzah-Hod, represented by two branches of the willow tree. After that, from Yesod of Partzuf Zeir Anpin, the Light enters Malchut, represented by the Etrog fruit. And this unification of all channels of Light from AVI to Malchut occurs under the canopy of a shed or under the screen that conceals the soul from the Light.

Having received all seven Surrounding Lights of correction during the seven days of the celebration is called “Great Supplication” (Hoshana Rabbah). I verify what I have attained, which screen or the property of bestowal. In fact, the effect of the Surrounding Light in our work is namely the screen. As soon as I acquire it, I, to the degree of the power of my screen, instantly begin to feel the Creator and to define our relationship.

This is why we honor this moment in our development as a special event, the beginning of work with the screen. This work builds me as a character in the spiritual world. That’s because without the screen I simply don’t exist. The screen’s degree, size, type, and form make me what I am. I do not determine the will to receive pleasure nor the will to bestow, the Light. What am I then? I am only the screen.
[22230]
From the Hoshana Rabbah Night Lesson 9/29/10, Shamati #8

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Get Ready To Be Born: Flip Over “Head Down”
Laitman.com Post: Four Species (Arba’at Haminim) Of Sukkot
Laitman.com Post: The Spiritual Induction

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work - No Comments →

Question: On the night of Hoshana Rabbah ("Great Supplication," the seventh day of the Holiday of Sukkot) it is customary to check the “shadow,” meaning the screen with which one can then receive the Light. How is this screen formed?

Answer: Each of us is an egoistic desire. When we wish to reach spirituality, we unite into a group. Naturally, none of us desires to engage in exercises of “bestowal,” but each has a “spark” on top of his egoistic desires which pulls us into the unknown.

Kabbalists explain that we exist in a field of “Light.” This field encompasses all of reality and influences us in such a way that the “sparks” awaken in every person. To the extent that they are roused, they interact with the field of Light which orients them, and people gather in one physical and/or virtual place, consequently wishing to unite. This is called a group, a connection of people through their spiritual desires. Egoism is left behind by everyone and they unite through their mutual aspirations for spirituality.

If we begin to aspire to mutual bestowal, we rouse the influence of the Light in the common efforts and begin to change. Gradually, we feel continuously greater egoistic desires, but at the same time, their value drops in our eyes. And we raise the spiritual desire on the scale of values.

The construction of the Sukkah (hut) indicates raising the quality of bestowal (the roof) over the desire to receive. We wish to separate bestowal and reception so that the Light does not enter the egoistic desire through the covering of the Sukkah.

The Light corrects us in such a way that all of our spiritual desires make their way over the roof of the Sukkah, and the egoistic desire remains inside. In other words, we hide the egoistic desire in the shadow. We build a covering on each desire for we do not wish to use these desires egoistically. By creating such a “shade,” we acquire a spiritual sensation in which we feel spiritual reality: the world that we perceive in the quality of bestowal.
[22205]
From the Hoshana Rabbah Night Lesson 9/29/10, Shamati #8

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Waste Of Barn And Winery
Laitman.com Post: Come Out Of Your Reliable Home And Dwell In A Booth
Laitman.com Post: The Screen Is Not Just A Partition, But An Entire System

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Holidays, Inner Work, Q&A - No Comments →

Shamati #2 “Examining the Shade on the Night of Hoshana Rabbah”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Shamati #8 “What is the Difference Between A Shade of Kedusha and A Shade of Sitra Achra”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter, “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 114
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Holidays, Zohar - No Comments →

The celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), like all other holidays, represents spiritual states that every person in the world will have to undergo while ascending in his qualities from our world to the World of Infinity. Ascent is defined as the strengthening of the connection between us and, through it, our greater similarity with the Creator. It could be described as our drawing closer to the Creator rather than “ascending.”

It is not a mechanical ascension, but a qualitative one through the senses and against our egoistic nature. This nature can be overruled solely by the force of the Light.

This is where the difficulty lies. The problem is not in defying egoism and not in struggling with natural idleness; we do this in corporeal life. The challenge of the spiritual path lies in the fact that it isn’t accomplished by our own effort. My nature cannot be changed by my own effort but only by some hidden force that I must ask to perform this action. That’s where the problem lies.

In fact, if I worked against my egoism alone, I would feel as a hero. Many people feel this way, and our very egoism forces us to defy it if the goal is worthwhile. We are willing to go against our egoism and its yearning for rest since we anticipate reward for our envy, lust, and ambition. However, on the spiritual path, it is necessary to annul the self and ask “something” that is opposite to me or “someone” whom I don’t know to come and reverse my nature.

When it is necessary to unite in order to defeat someone, we do so and return as heroes. However, to unite in order to convince the Creator to correct us or unify us is a huge problem. The issue lies in the fact that the Creator is concealed, and we can’t assess what we are working for and against.

Hence, many people start spiritual work and give up. They cannot overcome this concealment and reconcile with that part of our work which is not up to us. A person has trouble accepting that in order to correct himself, he must ask the invisible force for it. That is why the whole problem is not in our laziness, but the Creator’s concealment.
[21906]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/10, Selected Excerpts For Sukkot

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Waste Of Barn And Winery
Laitman.com Post: We Must Make The Demand Of Pharaoh To Let Us Unite
Laitman.com Post: The Special Light Of The Sukkoth Holiday

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work - No Comments →

We are accustomed to working in agreement with an egoistic mind and heart that together are regarded as the evil inclination (Yetzer HaRa). It is evil because when I discover how it operates, I realize how opposite my mind and heart are to love, eternity, and perfection. This is why I call my nature evil as it is preventing me from attaining good.

Our egoistic nature is defined by our striving to receive for our sake, to fulfill ourselves. However, the good desire or inclination (Yetzer HaTov) is love and bestowal. These two opposing forces of reception and bestowal are revealed to me by the Light which I attract by studying Kabbalah and uniting with the friends.

To ascend from our nature to the upper one is possible solely by switching the importance from reception to bestowal. The unimportant is regarded as waste, and the important as sustenance. According to this principle, we build the Sukkah (booth). My state of existence is regarded as “home” or a solid and reliable dwelling for egoism. Bestowal is regarded as a “temporary dwelling” or Sukkah. So, I choose in what property am I willing to exist: the egoistic home or the altruistic shelter.

There is fulfillment in both of them. In the former, I am fulfilled through receiving and in the latter through the act of bestowal. Hence, the key is what I view as sustenance and what I consider waste. I build my home from what I value the most.

This kind of discernment can be achieved solely by way of studying Kabbalah and through the group. Hence, it is written that the roof of the Sukkah is built from the “waste of barn and winery.” Wine represents the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), and the barn (bread) represents the Light of Hassadim (Mercy). The waste of the barn and winery are not important to us. But if I desire to bestow in order to become similar to the Creator, then they become more important to me than bread and wine.

We need to build our new state of existence from them in particular so that they become our head, roof, and the compass that sets the direction for us. Then, we will attain spirituality. Everything else loses its importance for us. That is what the Sukkah represents.
[21905]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/24/10, Selected Excerpts For Sukkot

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Evil Inclination Is Not What You Think It Is
Laitman.com Post: In The Unity Of Opposites We Will Reveal The Creator
Laitman.com Post: On The Holiday Of Sukkot

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work - 1 Comment →

Question: It is written that we have to be joyous on Sukkot. What does that mean?

Answer: Joy is an effect of attainment and unification; it is joy from bringing contentment to the Creator. There is the World of Infinity, the vessel of the Creator, which is empty. I fill the Creator through the group, and this act of fulfilling Him causes me to feel joy.

At first, I felt empty and demanded fulfillment from the Creator. However, thanks to studying with the group, I realized that fulfillment comes solely from fulfilling the Creator. I am filled with bestowal to the Creator in the same way as a mother is filled with joy when her child is fulfilled.

Ultimately, it makes no difference to me whether I give or receive. The goal is to be fulfilled which I can achieve solely by way of fulfilling Him. When I fulfill Him, I fulfill myself. However, if I fulfill Him for self gratification, it is egoism (Klipa, shell); it’s similar to working for a reward.

However, if I fulfill myself in order to fulfill Him, it is bestowal (holiness). If I fulfill Him in order to fulfill myself, it is reception (impurity).

Diagram: Impurity: 1-2) I fill Him, 3-4) in order to get filled myself. Holiness: I) I raise MAN to Him, II) to make Him fill me, III) so that by filling myself, IV) I could fulfill Him.

In either case, we are both fulfilled. Still, everything is determined by the intention: For whom do I perform these actions? If there is love between us, the more I get filled, the more I fill Him. In our world, there are no other models for this than a mother and her child. [21803]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/10, “The Agenda of the Assembly”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Like A Loving Mother Giving To Her Child
Laitman.com Post: The Middle Line
Laitman.com Post: Fulfillment Is The Screen And The Reflected Light

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work, Q&A - No Comments →

Question: It is written about the holiday of Sukkot: “Come out of your permanent home and dwell in a temporary abode.” Do you believe that a sane person can leave a secure and comfortable home and move to a temporary hut?

Answer: We will be compelled to change our egoistic dwelling despite our wishes anyway. No matter how solid your home seems right now, everyone knows that it is temporary, and we will all move to another, permanent place.

But Kabbalah invites a person to “come out of your permanent dwelling” that seems to be so reliable and move to a “temporary” one in advance. Our egoism pictures our world as permanent, but studying Kabbalah reveals a different relationship between the worlds: The world of bestowal is permanent because a person actually unites with the Creator and attains eternity and perfection in the World of Infinity.

We, like little children, are attached to our current dwelling; we are afraid of moving away from it, leaving our favorite toy. Even as adults we have a problem giving up our current views and looking at the world differently. The difference between a permanent and a temporary dwelling is that with the help of a new environment, I’m trying to separate from the previous environment, our “permanent home.”

In my previous environment, I was under pressure from the media, the opinions of co-workers and neighbors; I was obligated to be and think like everyone else. I was dependent on a multitude of factors that defined my “permanent dwelling”; I owed everyone and ran around like everybody else. Everyone understands and agrees with this.

But then the permanent dwelling turns out to be like a concentration camp for me and I can’t escape! I begin to see outside of myself and how this permanent life is actually temporary, and that it will end soon. Under a new influence from books and the opinion of the group, I gradually leave this “rat race” called life and see the “permanent dwelling” (state) in the Upper Light, in its absolute rest, in this world and the next one, now.
[21766′]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/22/10, Baal HaSulam, Letter 51

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Come Out Of Your Reliable Home And Dwell In A Booth
Laitman.com Post: The World Of Infinity Here And Now
Laitman.com Post: The Method Of Spiritual Birth

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Holidays, Inner Work, Q&A - 2 Comments →