We are created with egoistic nature and can only think about filling ourselves with pleasures. That is why if a thought about bestowal occurs in our minds, slightly raising us above our egoism, and we start thinking in the opposite direction, it certainly does not come from our inner nature, but from the Light, from the Creator.

There are only two forces in the universe: the force of the Creator, the desire to bestow, and the force of the creature, the will to enjoy. Thus, if the desire to reflect on what is higher than one’s earthly existence, that is, about the meaning of one’s life, suddenly awakens in a person, this means that the upper Light started acting upon him.

Then, a person is brought to the group, or he comes across a book about Kabbalah, or all of a sudden he hears an interview—everybody encounters Kabbalah as if completely “by chance.” However, we should understand that there is nothing accidental here. And when a person is brought to the right place and given an opportunity to connect with the teacher, the books, and the group, he should not miss this.

Not everything depends on us, and everybody will have to go through a process, but there is some part in it that we have to organize ourselves. And if the Creator has called us to spiritual development, from the moment when we recognize this invitation from Above, we should not miss it.

That is why we get together in groups, come to the lessons every day, inspire each other with the importance of the goal, and organize various events. All this should convince me of the importance of the process of spiritual development. If the group is constantly thinking about how to reach the goal, this affects each of us and forces us to be empathetic.

Then, if I am given any opportunity with thoughts about advancement and the greatness of the spiritual goal awakened in me, I immediately react to this. These are very important moments. Everything depends on how a person responds to the Creator’s call.

In reality, every day we get several such invitations. And if we react correctly, then tomorrow, we will get even more of them, and the day after tomorrow, even more!  This way, you can reach the state when all the time you will feel that you are in a dialogue with the Creator, until in all these opportunities, thoughts, and desires changing in you, you feel a constant connection with the Creator.

There are several levels of this connection that should increase more and more and acquire different types. It comes and goes to awaken a greater desire in us. It is like a game, a flirtation, with which the Creator inflames a desire in us so that we chase Him. As it is said: “’My Beloved is like a deer” that always looks back, running away, disappearing and getting closer. Thus, the Creator is playing with us.

The key is not to miss the opportunities as they arise and to react properly. In those moments when you feel an awakening, you should not forget that it comes from Above, and you have to answer this call. As it said: “Call upon Him while He Is Near!”
[46333]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah World 6/24/2011, Shamati #241

Related Material:
Listen To The Creator’s Hints
A Time For Reflection
Learning To See The Good

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

Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”: Prior to the giving of the method of Kabbalah, the children of Israel had assumed the relinquishment of any private property to the extent expressed in the words, “a Kingdom of Priests,” and the purpose of the whole of Creation—to cleave unto Him in equivalence of form with Him: as He bestows and does not receive, they, too, will bestow and not receive. This is the last degree of Dvekut (adhesion), expressed in the words, “Holy nation”….

How do we exit this world? We enter the period of preparation. After that we cross the Machsom (the barrier separating us from spirituality) and rise to the level called “Hafez Hesed,” that is, bestow for the sake of bestowal. This is the degree of Bina.

Then, we rise to the degree of Keter, to reception for the sake of bestowal, and receive the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), while on the level below, we received only the Light of Hassadim (Mercy).

On the degree of Bina, we cancel “private property,” meaning arrive at the state of Hafez Hesed and are not supposed to use our receiving desire. This is also preparation, the phase of the correction of the vessels. The reception of the Light takes place on the next degree.

[46359]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah World 6/24/2011, “The Freedom”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Inner Work, Spirituality - 2 Comments →

Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words“: Question 25. [What is a spiritual vessel] Kli. The will to receive in the emanated being is the Kli.

However, the will to receive alone is not enough: We know that it requires the intention to bestow. In other words, this desire needs to be corrected, supplemented.

The spiritual vessel is initially created as desire: the place for receiving fulfillment. But later on, it changes and builds a new vessel above itself, which is regarded as the “screen” and the “Reflected Light.”

Before the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph), the emanated being’s will to receive served as the vessel for the Light. But afterwards, by the decision of the lower ones and with the approval of the upper one, the vessel for the Light can only be the screen and the Reflected Light created by the emanated being, instead of its primordial desire to receive pleasure that it has rejected as defective for receiving the Light.

Desire is a raw material that is handed to us from Above through the informational genes (Reshimot), the influence of the upper Light. It isn’t up to the creature. But the latter says: “I reject this vessel given to me to receive the treats, and I refuse to work in this way! I don’t wish this egoistic desire to control me as a blind instinct!” I don’t want to forget who I am and thoughtlessly do only whatever pleases me. I want to make every move with an understanding, consciously, upon my own examination and according to my decision.”

“This is the way I wish to be now, from now on and forever! Please help me to become it, I am begging you! I don’t wish to remain a beast; I wish to become a human! To be human means to know who you are and make your own decisions. Please give me this chance! From now on, let us agree that the vessel (desire) that You created in me is unfit. Give me a chance to choose on my own how to use if first. And then, the screen and the Reflected Light become the vessel.

I plead with You so that You build this vessel for me, which I don’t naturally possess. I hate my selfish nature that makes me act unconsciously. I don’t want it. I want to be aware of what is going on with me from the beginning to the end and to choose on my own.”

In that case, I receive an opportunity to make clear, precise, and allegedly final choices regarding everything that concerns my nature: about reception and our relationship with Him, which will be regarded as my spiritual vessel. It is a device that I created to be able to receive the treats from the Host.

The primordial desire remains since without it, it’s impossible to do anything. But where I am concerned, I don’t wish to use it to act. The new desire requires of me to learn how the Host feels about me and how I can become similar to Him, and I reveal my primordial desire only in accordance with it.

This means that we do not reject the natural desire as it is, but only its “traditional” use.
[46142]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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

Baal HaSulam “The Freedom”: It is said: “Harut (carved) on the stones”; do not pronounce it Harut (carved), but rather Herut (freedom), to show that they are liberated from the angel of death.

It is said: “I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as a spice.” What is the Torah? It is the tool that contains the Light that Reforms.

Thus, we can attract the upper Light, and it brings us back to the Source so that from the evil inclination we turn ourselves into the good inclination. In this way, we change from the receiving desire called “the angel of death” to the giving desire called “the angel of life.” This is freedom from the angel of death.

Indeed, in our receiving desire, we can perceive nothing but this world, that is, an animate existence. We live, suffer, and eventually die. We cannot even imagine how low and defective this life is.

Until we reach bestowal, all our life here is an escape from suffering for the sake of  such meager pleasures that they have no place in the spiritual world. The smallest spiritual degree is myriad times greater, fuller, and more whole than all the pleasures of this world at all times. It is impossible to imagine.

To sustain such a great spiritual pleasure, it is necessary to prepare the vessel with the intention to bestow. Be that as it may, we will be able to rise above the angel of death only in the property of bestowal.
[46362]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/2011, “The Freedom”

Related Material:
When Evil Will Disappear From The World
Kindling The Spark Of Light
The Light Of Hochma, The Basis Of Life

Filed under: Body and Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Free Will, Inner Work - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words”: Question 27. Maatzil (the Creator). Any cause is regarded as the Maatzil of the effected degree. The title Maatzil contains both the Hamshacha (drawing) of the Ohr (Light) and the Kli (vessel) that receives the Ohr.

It’s clear for us that the upper degree is called the Creator with respect to the lower one that it has created. But why is it added here that the concept of “the Creator” includes not only the received Light, but also the vessel receiving this Light, meaning my vessel, desire?

I receive the Light and sense my reality inside my desire. Inside this reality, I feel the upper degree. In other words, the sensation in me is divided in two parts: myself and the upper one. And all this is called the Creator.

That is, everything is attained only inside man’s sensations, and I call a special part inside myself the Creator. Therefore, it is said: “From Your actions we will know You!”

We can talk about the Creator (Bo-reh or “come and see” in Hebrew) only to the measure of our own corrections. I call the Creator that part within myself that I correct to bestowal, to the properties that are not inherent in my nature from birth.

That is why the soul can be merely a point, a drop, or can grow bigger and bigger, but it is always part of the upper one. I sense the upper root, the Creator, inside the part in me that is corrected to bestowal and called the soul. The Creator is already in me, not in the heavens, but we are talking about the property of bestowal that is above me, above my nature. Although I have obtained it and am now working with it, I nonetheless attribute it to the upper one.

That is why the Creator is always within a human being, and not somewhere in the sky. The same applies to the upper degree: Only those who attain it and are in contact with it can talk about it. That is, the upper degree is also in me, only I consider it higher degree for me.

In my perception, there are always such degrees which I have already acquired and practically work with, as if they belong to me, and the one that is still higher and shines for me “from afar.” That is, it is in me, but in such a form that I cannot use it for the time being. Everything is perceived and sensed only within a person who attains.
[46252]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

Related Material:
The Miracle Of Creation
Two Sides Of The Thought Of Creation
What Is The Creator?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Q&A, Spirituality - 1 Comment →

“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.” (Mark Twain, Following the Equator).

Question: Is shame a kind of a sin on the spiritual path?

Answer: Shame is a wonderful quality. Shame is what separates man from animal. There are no other differences. Only shame creates a difference, meaning that it lifts man above the animate level.It is written that all people are like animals. The difference only appears when I start feeling shame. This is a sign of a Human originating within me.

Everyone is a thief in our world, but the majority is afraid to steal. We call this fear shame. We are afraid of being seen, of being caught, exposed, beaten, incarcerated, and so on. Briefly speaking, fear keeps us from stealing. The same way a cat, after getting kicked a few times, looks at sour cream from a respectable distance. It already accepted the fact that there is nothing it can do about it.

But there is another kind of shame: without a reason, without a consequence for oneself. Do whatever your heart desires, the entire world is at your service, like in a dream, when you walk down empty streets and all the doors open before you. Stores, cars, everything is yours, everything is allowed. Enjoy. But you refuse.

Why do you refuse? I do not want this because I want to grow up by using the power of shame as intended.

This shame comes from the perception of the Giver. It is impossible to attain bestowal without perceiving the Giver. And this is why you cannot perform a single act for the sake of bestowal, you are unable to correct a single of the 613 desires of your soul without the wisdom of Kabbalah, the method of the revelation of the Creator. You will not be able to do anything on your own, without the Light that will give you this quality. And this is no longer corporeal but spiritual shame.

On the other hand, when it comes to animals who do not feel shame, it is also possible to evoke fear of punishment. Then how are we with our “shame” different from them? In reality, we do not feel shame in our world—we fear.
[46263]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

Related Material:
Shame That Keeps Us From Going Back
From Love To Hatred And Back To Love
It’s A Shame Not To Become A Human

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

Baal HaSulam, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah),” Item 8: This matter is like a rich man who took a man from the market and fed him and gave him gold and silver and all desirables every day. And each day he showered him with more gifts than the day before. Finally, the rich man asked, “Do tell me, have all your wishes been fulfilled?” And he replied, “Not all of my wishes have been fulfilled, for how good and how pleasant it would be if all those possessions and precious things came to me through my own work, as they have come to you, and I would not be receiving the charity of your hand.” Then the rich man told him: “In this case, there has never been born a person who could fulfill your wishes.”

The Creator intentionally created the creature so that it feels discomfort and as a result, cannot receive any fulfillment in its desire. This discomfort is meant to encourage the creature to become corrected to such an extent that it would not calm down until it bestows upon the Creator as much as the Creator bestows upon it. The creature cannot just receive any more because in that way it seems to neglect the Giver, His love and bestowal.

The love of the Giver is absolute: His bestowal is perfect and devoid of any intention to cause shame in the creature. We feel that shame is coming from us, out of the receiving desire. In our sensation, we do not attribute this desire to the Creator, and thus we do not “blame” the shame that awakens in this desire on the Creator.

“Wait! But there is none else besides Him. The Creator governs everything.”

True, but the question of ownership arises here. If I think of myself as existing, then I ascribe the receiving desire and the shame in it to myself. If I do not think of myself as existing, I can ascribe the desire and shame to the Creator. There are no other options; I cannot feel my existence and at the same time attribute it to the Creator: “He did it!” Do I have the point of my own existence? If I don’t, we have nobody to talk about. If I do, then precisely I desire and feel shame.

Thus, shame is the lever, the device that enables us to achieve correction. What is it? Shame is the difference between the receiver and the Giver, felt in the receiver. In other words, we have to reach this shame yet.

Thus, in the chapter “Inner Reflection,” The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Baal HaSulam cites Rabbi Elazar who said that shame was prepared only for the high souls. They attain the Creator, His attitude towards us, and hence achieve shame. The more we advance in the revelation of the Creator, the more we feel shame that becomes the tool for correction.

We cannot correct anything without shame. It is useless to reproach a cat who has eaten sour cream. Only a human can blush and feel ashamed because he has this root, but the animate level can’t. Accordingly, on the human level, it all depends on how much I understand and consider myself a thief, the one who receives for the sake of reception, regardless of the Master, the Giver.

There are some subtleties: If I want to perform bestowal, I need to sense the Giver, to feel how much He wants to give me. I cannot have shame without this, meaning a sense of how much I should give Him in return. Then, there is no similarity between us, and I will not know how to behave and what He wants from me in reality.

In other words, without revealing the Creator, the creature cannot perform a single commandment, a single action of bestowal. If I do not have the image of the Giver in front of me, I have nothing to compare myself to.

I am like the poor man from Baal HaSulam’s example, and the rich man stands in front of me. He loves me, he gives me everything and is ready to do anything for me, even to become poor by making me rich. But I have to sense him, to feel his attitude and opposite to it, myself and my attitude. I have to understand that I am unable to return his love.

The problem here is not in fulfillment or in what he gives me. Otherwise, it would be enough just to stop accepting his gifts. Moreover, even if I wanted to repay him, what can I give to the owner of infinite treasures? What can I give to the Creator?

Thus, shame is the reason why the creature acquires the vessels of bestowal, the intention to bestow.
[46266]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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

Question: During the first expansion of the Light (Keter) the vessel does not yet exist. So what does the Light dress itself into?

Answer: Of course, this is not yet called a vessel. That is why it is referred to as the phases of the expansion of the Direct Light and not the phases of the vessel. You can also call it the stages of the development of the vessel, but undoubtedly, until the fourth stage there is no vessel which could be called an independent creature.

It’s only after the fourth phase, expanding from Above downward, performs the Restriction and reaches this world, that it can be said that the vessel completes its development. It is only here, in this world, where the creature will desire to return back to its root, that it can be considered independent and possessing the point of free will, which it can enlarge from a point to the scale of the world of infinity.

According to the sensation of this point of free will and to the extent of its development, it is called the creature, while a simple desire to enjoy is not called the creature. It is the created being only from the side of the Creator, the Host. The real creature stands opposite to the Creator and possesses its own will.

That is why the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature are not considered to be the creature. They exist instinctively under the complete control of the Light, without any independence. In this same form, not independently, a lot of people still exist now, obeying the orders of their nature.

Choice begins where the creature feels shame due to its lack of equivalence with the Creator, which pushes it to develop itself. This state is called the creature.
[45812]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/19/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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

Question: During the preparation for the Moscow convention, many of us focused on the thought that the convention had already started, and we truly felt that we were already there. Should we constantly concentrate on the state of the convention?

Answer: If don’t see ourselves living at the next, higher, spiritual degree, we will never ascend to it. We should do what little children do which, for us, is an example of how to study the spiritual level while being on the physical one. If we don’t yearn to grow up, we won’t. Therefore, visualizing unity as an ongoing, permanent convention is undoubtedly useful.

Concerning the group, we should do the same. In my imagination, the group resides in the corrected state. The only wicked, uncorrected egoist is me. Thus, I am supposed to strive to be with them, visualize that I am already part of them, and clarify what I need in order to be included.

Our entire world is imaginary. However we see it, that’s what it is. Nothing is real. All of this is merely a figment of my imagination.

Put everything in its place. Give everyone, be it a group, person, or quality, a certain value, a specific degree, and you will see that thereby you are tuning the world like a musical instrument to make it fit you.

Everything depends on how you will tune it. What will be higher and lower for you will determine the direction in which you will move: either to evil or good, to stealing and drug abuse or to love and bestowal. It is all up to you as to what kind of world you will create for yourself. The world as it is doesn’t have any form. It all depends on how you attune yourself to it.
[45728]
From the Lesson in Moscow 6/16/2011, Writings of Rabash

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

Question: What does it mean to do inner work?

Answer: A person is supposed to do inner work 24 hours a day. It may be that one is so absorbed in it that having come to the lesson, he doesn’t see a word written in the book, but that doesn’t matter. The key is what is happening in him.

You shouldn’t blame yourself. Inner work is when you keep trying to hold yourself in adhesion with the internal essence of the group. As a result, when you open the book, what you see there is not some external knowledge, but rather the information describing the types of unification with the friends in the group and, more than that, in the integral soul.

You begin to realize that The Study of The Ten Sefirot, The Book of Zohar, and other Kabbalists’ writings describe only various types of connection between you and the others. If you honestly desire to have this connection clarified, you are studying the Torah indeed (the word “Torah” in Hebrew derives from the words “Ohr,” Light, and “Oraa,” instruction).

Question: So, my work is in finding this inner network between us, does it? However, how do I utilize the corporeal world for this?

Answer: Our entire world is the same kind of network between the people, but is its most external manifestation. This is why we experience it as corrupted.

As to our internal network of connection, we experience 125 consecutive degrees of greater bond, integral unification between us. Yet, our existing state in the external world is mandatory: This is where we start and exist so that we may delve into this connection deeper and deeper.

We need a foundation that doesn’t pertain to moving inward, and this is what the external network of connection between us is, where we exist in the corporeal world. It’s only now that it becomes revealed how truly corrupted this connection is, while previously we simply didn’t think about it. That is what obligates us to perform corrections.
[45711]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/25/2011, Writings of Rabash

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