Our correction occurs at two stages: fear and love. These two stages become realized within us if the Light corrects our desires. This means that we have to aspire toward corrections but we don’t actualize them on our own. Such an approach differs drastically from what we’re used to in this world. In our world it’s up to me to search out the strength and the knowledge that’s needed to realize my plans. For spirituality, however, I have to search out the strength and the knowledge with which I’ll be ready for what the Light is going to realize within me.

On the spiritual path, all of our preparation is aimed at our creation. At each new level we prepare ourselves for a rebirth, thereby getting to know the Creator’s actions and working with Him as His partner. We prepare ourselves for birth and He begets us over and over again. Through this process and through His actions we get to know Him better.

Clearly, on this path we don’t attain the essence of the action that begets us. Possibly by the end of all corrections and after attaining a perfect degree we’ll understand how the Creator operates.

But for now our work consists of preparation. This preparation allows us to better sense and attain the Creator and His work; however, from this encounter we must draw exactly what is necessary for our preparation for the next birth. This is how we advance from one level to the next and this is the only thing that should concern us.
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
On The way Towards Love
How Can We Please The Creator?
You Will Find The Creator In The Group

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Question: Why was there a need for the great move of all the worlds, when all the worlds rose together with Adam HaRishon (first man) on the evening of the sixth day of creation, if later on he sinned and fell even lower than the place where he was born?

Answer: After the sin of Adam HaRishon, all the worlds descended to the same place they are now, which is the world of Nikudim. Yet, as a result of all the ascents and descents, the environment where the souls are was created. From this point onward, the souls are placed in a world, in an environment, and thanks to that environment they can exist.

The levels of the inanimate, vegetative, and animate of the worlds, the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya (BYA), allow the souls to exist in a “beastly form” and provide them with the necessary conditions for living. But after a person receives life, he can reach the existence of the soul on the level of the speaking in addition to the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels. In order to do that, the souls have to connect, and then they build a network between them.

At first the worlds rise without a person’s participation according to the plan of creation. There is a plan called Beito (in its time) that ticks like clockwork and is fulfilled step-by-step like the movement of the hands of a clock. You can hasten the plan if you wish, and make the clock tick faster, but you have to make extra efforts for that. There is a preliminary plan, and everything moves according to the plan of creation and returns to its root.

The world of Atzilut by itself is Galgata ve Eynaim. If I insert Galgalta ve Eynaim into Awzen, the result is the world of Beria; if I insert the world of Atzilut into Hotem, the result is the world of Yetzira; if I insert it into Peh, the result is the world of Assiya. So the worlds of BYA are a copy of the world of Atzilut in Awzen, Hotem, and Peh (AHP), that is the incorporation of the attributes of Bina and Malchut. This is how the worlds of Beria, Yetizra and Assiya, which are the environment of Adam HaRishon, were created.

Now man is in the desire to receive in which there are different attributes of bestowal, different attributes of life. These attributes of life have no free will, and there are only levels of the inanimate, vegetative, and animate. It is exactly like in our world, where there are levels of inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature, which exist and are active around a person, creating for him an environment in which he can live.

We live by the world of Atzilut, by the Creator’s attributes that are around us in the natural forms of the inanimate, vegetative, and animate! Thanks to this we exist. But if I don’t want to exist by the level of the inanimate, vegetative, or animate, but rather by the level of the speaking, which is the world of Atzilut itself: I have to rise to it.

Then from the worlds of BYA, I collect the information about the meaning of life, from the attribute of bestowal (Galgalta ve Eynaim) that is incorporated in the attributes of receiving (AHP). I want to join the force of the attributes of bestowal (Galgalta ve Eynaim) and I express my desire for that by my attempts to connect the shattered parts and to raise them to the world of Atzilut.

I don’t raise the shattered parts of the desire to receive to the world of Atzilut, but only the shattered parts of the desire to bestow, the points in the heart that were separated from each other by the desire to receive (AHP) that entered them. I want the Light to come and to connect the points in the heart on top of the desire to receive. Then they will begin to work mutually with AHP. This means that I raise AHP to Galgalta ve Eynaim.
[57758]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/11, “Study of the Ten Sefirot“

Related Material:
The Whole Truth About Me In Black On White
In The World Of Atzilut Means “At His House”
Come And See What I Have!

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator, Q&A - No Comments →

Question: What is the difference between “I awaken the dawn” or “the dawn awakens me?”

Answer: “The dawn awakens me” means that I am being awakened from above. Multiple attempts are made, but they will be paused if I am unable to make an effort to awaken.

There might be a few more attempts to awaken me in this life, or I might be left alone until the end of this reincarnation, and I will continue living like everyone else, going with the flow of life.

If, however,  “I awaken the dawn,” then I hasten time (Achishena). It is important for me to awaken and accelerate time, thus every moment of life becomes precious to me, and I work really hard to make sure I do not waste it or take it for granted. This is what it means to “awaken the dawn.”

Man’s entire work consists of “awakening the dawn,” and it does not matter what he receives from it. He might need to keep awakening the dawn for a long time until he sees some kind of a response.

It is important to understand that man always works with his vessel, desire, and that the upper Light is in the state of absolute rest. And if you have made a lot of effort to awaken the dawn and have not yet received anything, this does not mean that there is a lack of Light. There is a lack of effort in revealing the Light, which is inside it.

We await a reward as if we have paid in one place and wish to receive in another. I work with the actual revelation, which is right here before me, and all I need to do is reveal it more and more in the same place.

So I have no one to blame in my lack of success in awaiting the dawn; everything depends only on my effort. And if I have not yet managed to awaken the dawn, then I have not yet made enough effort. Because if I had made enough effort, I would definitely find it: It would have awakened.
[67710]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/25/12, Shamati #175

Related Material:
Awaken The Dawn
Ordering My Own Development
Only A Fool Gnaws At Himself

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

Question: I feel that the Creator is constantly presenting me with different opportunities, but I don’t use a single one of them. What should I do?

Answer: Most importantly don’t give up. Always try to do something in order to make sure that you can’t. The only thing that depends on me is to try and do something but the end result isn’t up to me. In turn, the Creator shows me that I’ve failed. Then I try again and once again I fail. But this doesn’t bother me; like a persistent child I keep trying. A child can try a thousand times to do something he can’t and he won’t give up. Learn how to act from a child. The only difference is that a child’s actions are driven by nature where as we have to apply our own effort.

My only concern should be making sure that I do all I can in the given circumstances. This is called being the Creator’s slave: I ask for nothing in return except for the opportunity to do something. This is the minimal spiritual state. If you attain this state then it will be the beginning of your spiritual life, the small state (Katnut). If you do something and await the reward, then you’ve clearly deviated from the correct path.
[67716]
From the 1^st part of the Daliy Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, Shamati #175

Related Material:
He Will Do What I Couldn’t
A Comfortable Niche Is A Trap On The Path
Only A Fool Gnaws At Himself

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

Question: If the breaking of the Kelim (vessels, desires) occurred as a chain reaction, then does love have the ability to connect everything back together through a chain reaction?

Answer: There exists a kind of spiritual “virus” that spreads through the group if we are even somehow connected together, even partially. And then this virus “infects” everyone and obliges them to submit to it.
[67362]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/23/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
Every Point In The Circle Is A Peak
Radiating Love Onto The World
A Spiritual Virus

Filed under: Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Love, Mutual Guarantee, Q&A - No Comments →

Question: How do we awaken envy in the group towards the writers of The Zohar in order to want to be similar to them, to reach their level?

Answer: It is difficult. They are very remote and incomprehensible to us. Additionally, we totally cannot understand what it is for a man to understand all of creation and to be in a place that is full of Light where the laws that manage the entire creation are revealed to him beyond the limits of our world, and to have understanding and feeling for the inclusive nature, of the great mind, the great thought, that operates everything, and that knows the same harmony that connects all the parts of creation to each other.

It is especially from this that all our pleasure comes. In spite of our thinking that pleasure is something emotional, and the desire to receive, as it were, only understands the language of feelings and emotional enthusiasm, it is not exactly so since we receive the emotional enthusiasm from the Light of Hochma (wisdom).

This slightly confuses us and we don’t completely understand what this is. But real pleasure is from obtaining the system of the upper providence and governance, where the Creator is revealed. We don’t obtain the abstract form and the essence but the form clothed in substance, the form of bestowal clothed in our substance, the substance of reception.

Thus the Creator (Boreh) is called Come and See (Bo – Reh) since we come and then see, come and attain. But we attain the Light of Hochma, how it clothes the entire system and manages all its parts from one end to the other. We see how different and distanced the parts are from each other by their egos, by the differences in their attributes, and how connected they are through these forms, the revelation and the completeness. We can’t even imagine that it could connect or complete them. It is especially the connection between the contradictions that gives great joy and the attainment of completeness.

It is that way with everything in our lives. Let’s suppose you see a movie or a certain incident. You are especially impressed that in the beginning the people were separated, opposing each other and suffering, and suddenly reconciliation and completeness appears. This is what most inspires a person. Let’s suppose there is some injustice, and then justice wins, or other situations similar to this; on this is built all creativity.

It is derived from the same upper root:In the beginning we see and obtain the great separation that exists between all the parts of the system, and then afterward, we obtain its completeness. From the separation we obtain the completeness, as it is said, “Cover all transgressions with love,” and the attainment comes from this, the understanding and appreciation of the Creator.
[67467]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, The Zohar

Related Material:
The Universal Law Of  Harmony
What Is The Light Of  Hochma
Work Based On A Combination of Contradictions

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Love, My Similarity to the Creator, Q&A, Zohar - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot“: “Naturally, one who is imparted this open Providence is certain that he will not sin again, as one is certain that he will not cut into his own flesh and cause himself terrible suffering. In addition, one is certain that he will not neglect a Mitzva without performing it the instant it comes to his hand, as much as one is certain that he will not neglect any worldly pleasure or a great profit that comes into his hand.“

We don’t understand this. What does “open Providence” mean? If I reveal the good and the benevolent, it seems that I am free of all my worries, lying in the arms of the Creator like a baby lying in his mother’s arms. Does he try to solve anything, to understand anything?—no, he is simply wrapped with love.

Does this love weaken us? Doesn’t it make us lose our power of self-preservation?

This is the problem. Parents’ love spoils the children. If they treat them only with love, the children have no limits and eventually begin to hate the parents.

Baal HaSulam writes about parental love (in Letter 2): “Come and see a wonderful custom in this love, where apparently if the son is an only child of his father and his mother, he is obliged to love his father and mother more, because they show greater love to him than parents who have many sons.

But it isn’t so in reality, but rather the opposite, that if parents are strongly connected to their sons by their love then the value of loving the sons is minimized, until sometimes the sons feel that “any feeling of love in their heart is extinguished” which is nature’s law that is in the world.

And the simple reason is, that a father’s love to his son is natural…and the son doesn’t fear at all that this love may diminish, and he doesn’t hope that his love will grow, which is called “absolute love,” and then gradually the son grows lazy in showing his father good deeds…and it becomes his second nature, close to hatred…”

Children need two forces; they can’t hold on to one force only. Every person needs two “reins”: the force of receiving and the force of bestowal; a “shell” on the side of receiving and a “shell” on the side of bestowal. Only this provides us with some “coordinate system” and places us somewhere.

But if everyone treats me lovingly, it will confuse and irritate me. I have to decide, to settle down somewhere. My brain can’t stand this and so it may finally come to hatred.

How can I guard myself when the Creator is revealed, so that I can handle the revelation of His love? How can I create borders around me, limits, so as not to lose my independence, my “self”? How can I establish my attitude towards Him too?

After all, I mustn’t conceal myself from the Creator’s love. He wants to reveal it to me to the fullest, and I seem to object; “No, that’s enough. I already see that you are treating me well.” This would be showing contempt to Him.

So the revelation of the Creator brings about many more problems than His concealment. A person has to establish internal systems that will enable him to manage himself under much stricter limitations. This is an ascent up the spiritual levels: stricter limitations, in order to work above the egoism and to build greater Masachim (screens).

At the same time, the stronger the desire is, the stronger the love is. In our world too, we love naughty children more than quiet children. The absolute love is actually perceived in “bad” desires and vessels. It is there that it is felt as positive or negative and from there, eventually it receives a response from the Creator. Eventually when a person’s worst vessels are corrected, he can return the same absolute love for the Creator…
[67485]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Free Will, Inner Work, Love, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Question: If we prepare all day long for the lesson like for a meeting with a king, where it is possible to come with only one request, how would tomorrow’s lesson look?

Answer: You would receive a very great Light. You would feel how much it gives you. Through the material studied, you would begin to feel the spiritual system that bestows upon you. Dry lines (of the text) would be resurrected. They would acquire depth and transparency and create inner volume in everything. It would become clear to you that our entire world is flat, like a picture on the wall. And behind it, you would suddenly see a new dimension, a system that moves the whole picture and assembles its parts. When you feel the importance of the goal, you will begin being in it.

But in the meantime, we belittle the goal, reject it subconsciously, thus, of course, it is distant from us.

In any case, we must advance forward, and first of all to be concerned about understanding its importance. Even if we are advancing now, we must always pass over to the left line for critical clarification and see that it is not enough. With each day we must add efforts to the connection, and only to this.

Besides that, we must thank our friends from all over the world who perform dissemination and distribute explanatory materials. We need to support them in their work, it really helps us all very much.
[67491]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
Spiritual Energy Charge For The Whole Day
Preparation Is The Key To Success In The Study
Why Do I Get Up For A Lesson?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Kabbalah Dissemination, Kabbalah Study, Perception - No Comments →

We have to understand that every movement we feel around us is given to us as help. After all, without it we wouldn’t be able to move. We also come across very exhausting states that last for days, and it seems to a person that there is no pleasure and no need for them.

There are days when a person sees himself as a beast. But in fact, it isn’t his job to check his state; he only needs to use every state correctly and to make the best of it. He may stay in these states until the end of his life. These states come from Above, but a person’s response comes from himself.

So we must constantly check and assess the essence of the state, not according to the state itself but according to our response to it, and thus decide whether it is good or bad. The states themselves may not change, but a person constantly responds to them differently trying to find different tricks in order to rise.

Although the state itself doesn’t change, he continues to fight stubbornly in order to reach some bestowal, some connection, to come closer to the Creator. This is exactly how he assesses these states, which let him feel even the slightest deficiency to enable him to advance.

He is grateful that he is not totally detached, and that the Creator gave him the desire and urge to cling to the end of the rope, and he expects that at any moment he will be led to the place where he will be able to exert himself. This is enough for him, he doesn’t ask for more.

It is in the most serious work that the slightest grip is required: just not to be detached. From that moment on, everything is already in a person’s hands.

So it is very important for a person to have a fixed schedule in studying, in dissemination, and in taking part in the group, and to constantly keep himself on track, at least several times a day, if he can.

It is all in a person’s hands and he should decide what he considers a “day” and what he considers a “night.” If he holds on to the end of the rope, it is already the beginning of the day. No matter what states are sent to him from Above, what is important is how he evokes himself. As it says “I will awaken the dawn!”

Question: What should my response to the states be?

Answer: If I don’t fall into a state of total unconsciousness, when I totally forget about spirituality and begin to think like an ordinary person, if I am given a feeling that there is the work of the Creator, a purpose to life, a means called the wisdom of Kabbalah, and other such thoughts and desires, at least as a reminder: This is the only thing that I need.

The state can be bad, but it makes no difference. It is enough if I only do my work no matter what all the other conditions are. I only want one thing no matter what happens: not to leave. If I have the end of the rope, I can hold on to it from now on and can advance from any possible state, even in the most difficult states if they are somehow connected to the goal, even in an opposite manner: It is enough.
[67583]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/25/12, Shamati #175

Related Material:
Get Well Soon!
Decoding Each Moment
Overcoming A Potential Obstacle

Filed under: Inner Work, Prayer and Intention, Q&A - No Comments →

It isn’t easy to reach the understanding that the most important thing for us is the deficiency and that day and night and good and bad are measured in comparison to it.

If there is a deficiency, it is good and is called “day.” If there is no deficiency, it is called “night.” This is how you should always check yourself. This is completely opposite from what we are used to because it doesn’t match the feelings in our desire to receive but rather in our tendency for bestowal, for holiness.

You should picture yourself standing in front of the King, trying to please Him, to bestow upon Him. But what can you bestow upon Him, with what can you please Him so that it can be considered our bestowal? We should check what He enjoys.

All the actions the Creator enjoys are called Mitzvot, and they can be performed only with the help of the reforming Light, called the Torah. All the Mitzvot are in the connections among the created beings, and so love thy friend as thyself is a great rule in the Torah. It is called the correction of the general desire by means of the Torah because the Light in it reforms. Then thanks to all the actions in which we connect, one great bestowal is created, called the general vessel, the one soul.

This yearning is called day, and the actions of connection are called Mitzvot. The general attribute that is revealed in that is called the attribute of bestowal, or Masach, the Reforming Light, in which the Host’s pleasure is revealed and the Host Himself. The direct Light is revealed in the returning Light according to the equivalence of form. Thus we advance.
[67586]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/25/12, Shamati #175

Related Material:
How Wonderful That There Is Nothing To Steal
Love Of The Creator: A Development Marathon Finale
An Honorable Task Of Becoming Righteous

Filed under: Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Mutual Guarantee, My Similarity to the Creator, Prayer and Intention - No Comments →