The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Truma (Donation),” Item 24: Due to the Dinim in her, Malchut is called Efer [ash] and Efron. Efron means “our Efer.” From the moment Malchut rose to Bina, Bina is called Efron as well. At that time Bina divides into two—GAR, upper AVI, are Samech, corresponding to the six Sefirot HBD HGT, each of which comprises ten. From the Chazeh down she is established as Partzuf YESHSUT, which includes the four Sefirot NHYM, and it is Mem….

Question: What are the letters The Zohar talks about?

Answer: A letter is a symbol. The forms of letters symbolize the forces that are connected together. We have to give them a form to use it to describe these forces.

There are no forms in spirituality. However, in our world I can use letters to explain spiritual properties. Let’s say, the letter “Samech” (o) is round which indicates its property of mercy, bestowal. Its numerical value (Gematria) is 60. Sixty is 6 x 10 (six Sefirot, each consisting of ten). Thus, it’s possible to explain what 6 is, what 10 is, what “round” means, and what property we represent in the form of the round letter “Samech.”

There is nothing like this in the spiritual realm. However, to explain something to each other it’s necessary that we have a common language. If it were not for language as the communication between us, there would be no need either for letters or any other symbols.

Indeed, in spirituality, meaning in my inner sensation, I don’t need to draw any forms for myself. There are no images in my inner sensation; there is only a sensation in the desire, receiving an impression. However, when I want to say what my desire is, how much it’s impressed, from what, by which opposite properties, then the left and right sides, above and below, and various colors appear. Then, I need all these aspects.

Why does an artist paint a picture? He feels that he simply must express his or her inner sensation, delight, and inspiration and convey them to other people. A picture is only an external expression, to some extent reflecting his inner feeling and desire to share it with others.

People who don’t understand think that an artist simply threw on to the paper or canvas all his inner impression and inspiration. If we are talking about a weak earthly impression, that’s still possible.

However, it’s impossible to communicate a spiritual impression. That’s why it’s forbidden to portray spirituality in the form of paintings and statues because you will not be able to express your inner impression. Yet, it’s allowed to illustrate spiritual properties, states, and processes in the form of letters and diagrams because in them you depict not your inner impression, but only the symbols of impression.

This is called a language, when we connect among ourselves through external symbols, each of which, according to our agreement, may awaken in us a corresponding inner impression, and pass it from one to the other. Nonetheless, each human has a different impression because we are different from each other.
[44046]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, The Book of Zohar

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The creature develops in different ways and on different levels. Overall, there are five of these levels. However, each level divides into another five, those divide again, and so till infinity. The key in this whole process is one simple action, as it is written: “The expansion of the Light and its departure make the vessel worthy of its task.”

If we want to beget any quality or reaction either for or against reception, for or against bestowal, or for or against intention, in any form, we must evoke in that form, in these details of perception, development and its halt, the reception of the Light and its exit, an opening and a closure. Then, through these two opposite actions, we will receive the correct impression: a new desire.

In other words, I want to rise from desire No.1 to a higher quality desire No.2. I want to change my quality, become wiser, more giving, a better observer, more sensitive. Then, I only need to evoke one action: Let the Light spread through me and then abandon me. This action will cause qualitative changes in my desire, which will make me understand more, feel more, and notice more things compared to what I noticed before.

All my actions must be very targeted to send a precisely aimed impulse that evokes the entrance and the exit of the Light. Thus, I determine the speed of my development. When I want to attain a new detail on the spiritual degrees, ascend the ladder, elevate my quality, this can only be done through the expansion and the exit of the Light. This is the way a better and higher vessel is built, one worthy of its new purpose.

Therefore, we see that we are capable of constantly raising ourselves. Naturally, we use external factors: the force of the Light and the force of desire. However, we are the ones who activate them.
[43977]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/2011, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Initially, we must understand that the creature is desire. In fact, desire is the only means, the tool available to the creature; it is a sense organ, a sensory element, something allowing it to sense its own being and reflect upon it: “Why do I exist? From where did I come and through what? What is life? What is my fulfillment, and where is it going?” All of it manifests in desire.

The Creator, the upper Light, created merely a shapeless point, “existence from absence,” which we have to develop since, in line with the program of the Creator, the creature has to ascend to His height. This point is the entire creation. It’s opposite to the Light, and this property is enough. Thus, it’s called a point.

During its development, the point has to experience various types of opposition to the Light, emanated from the Light. The Light projects itself onto this point and in this way, creates in it reverse forms.

Thus, it was only one point that emerged as “existence from absence.” Its other properties appear as “existence from existence” and take their origins from the Light. This point is evolving in the properties that are projected by the Light and opposite to it. From its opposite state, the point learns the degrees of similarity to the Creator, which it is able or not able to reach. Thus, it reveals the Light.

This point of the desire to receive undergoes a long, grand, multifaceted, gradual development. If the Creator is the desire to give pleasure, the creature, inevitably, is the desire to receive pleasure.

For the creature to have an opportunity to express itself, it has to define the form of its desire to receive. How is it done? It’s by cyclic development: Every time desire acquires its form, receives fulfillment in that form, after which the fulfillment departs, leaving the form empty. Then, the creature decides how to use it.

Previously, the Light determined the conditions of pleasure for the creature. Now, to the contrary, the creature receives pleasure in giving pleasure to the Giver. In this way, the creature turns reception into bestowal.

So, the Light creates desire and its form; it also brings fulfillment to desire. Later, the creature finds out that it needs to become empty, to be deprived of the Light. The creature cannot bear it; shame prevents it. Then, it asks for strength from the Light itself, in order to get rid of it. The Light, which awakened the sense of shame in the creature, agrees and gives strength to the creature. Then, the creature demands internal changes and corrections from the Light and advances through these demands.

Even if everything comes from the upper force, from the force of the Light, that is primary relative to the desire to receive, at the same time, it’s the creature that begins to decide what it wants and intercepts the initiative, gains supremacy. That’s why the period of development begins from a sense of shame and, below, is credited to the creature.
[43981]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/2011, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: It is written that when you lose thought of spirituality, you should give thanks to the Creator. How can we possibly thank Him for that?

Answer: We know that all our work is solely on desire, and except for the right kind of desire, we need nothing else. In order to reveal the property of bestowal, the Creator, we only need to continue preparing ourselves for the next upcoming moment. All we have to do is just decode it correctly: From whom did I receive the sensation of living, and why did it come in the form that it did?

I know nothing about it. However, if I received it from the Light, from the upper force that is leading me toward the purpose of creation, then the only thing required of me is my awareness and the right response. That is, in each of the states I am going through, I have to be able to see Him and His kind attitude toward me, despite the fact that I feel the opposite.

Thus, a discrepancy arises between how I wish to view Him, as good and doing good unto me, and the world I am experiencing right now, which is not that nice and good. That’s where I am given room to work because the difference between what I desire and what is real, between the thought of how it is supposed to be and my present experience, is the foundation for prayer.

If I don’t feel perfection at any given moment, it means that I feel the gap separating me from it—my own inadequacy. Hence, I already know how to move forward since I sense my digression from the course, from the goal.

The right direction is where everything becomes unified: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator.” That is, the self, the internal meaning of the group and our unity, and the revelation of bestowal in it, all of this together is one whole. If I can’t tie it all together correctly, I view the Creator’s attitude toward me as bad.

In other words, I feel that I’m corrupted and living in a corrupted world. Judging from what the Creator gave me, I discover that He is not good who does good, and I am not living in the world of Infinity. Because of my flawed perception, I am unable to feel perfection.

Hence, I have precise information about how I am supposed to be (if I aim myself at the goal) and how it differs from what I really am. In each of the states, I have a complete set of data, and all I have to do is to use them correctly to assess what I really want. It will become clear that I am always deficient in bestowal, which would otherwise complete my perception and switch me from feeling bad to feeling the perfection that was given to me by the Creator.

The Creator offers me perfection, whereas I feel as though I am flawed and living in a flawed world. The difference between what He sent to me and what I feel is, in fact, my internal flaw. Right now, if I could add bestowal to all my desires, I would move from a bad state to a good one instantly. This deficiency I feel is the prayer with which I am turning to Him right now to ask for the property of bestowal, the force of Bina or correction.

As soon as the right plea is formed, I get an immediate response which actually can be an even worse state of being. That is, my feeling of how remote I am from authentic bestowal is going to become even more acute. I used to assess my remoteness with a rough measuring device, and now I am using a very accurate one, which is how I am able to see a greater deviation.

However, it doesn’t mean that my state has gotten worse in itself. I did change for the better, but at the same time, I have come to understand my state better. I have gained greater receptivity.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/2011, Writings of Rabash

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We shouldn’t criticize the states we experience every moment. After all, we don’t know what they are given for and where they come from.

All we need to do is try to understand how to use the state we received right now. We should acknowledge it with the understanding that there is no better state for our advancement, for the correction of our soul, than the one we are presently in. We should thank the Creator for the bad just as we would for the good.

After all, I measure my state according to my flaws. If I were reformed, I would feel infinity in each state. However, if I experience an opposite feeling somewhere, it means there is a certain flaw that I need to feel, work through, and to correct this sensation until I feel perfect.

Hence, it follows that it is the Creator who causes a person’s prayer. He is the very cause. However, between His calling and a person’s action, there lies free will of the person himself, which consists of the way he responds and clarifies the following:

• from whom he received this condition,
• what he is supposed to do with it,
• what will help him reform himself,
• what state he should come to next.

All of this is up to a person himself. He discerns the difference between the state he is going through and the one in which he would like to see himself. Indeed, the sensation of deficiency will determine his subsequent state.

As for us, we are not expected to provide anything else except the correct desire, until it is aimed directly at reaching the final goal: bestowal, the degree and might of which equals that of the upper force as in the root of our soul from where we all came.

Thus we work together: The Creator awakens us, while we, at each moment of our life, first have to understand that everything is supplied by Him. We must aim ourselves at the right work: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.” Thereby, we develop a prayer that expresses our personal desire.

That is, both of us, the Creator and I, are working on desire. As for the Light, it’s not our concern. I worry solely about desire. He gives it to me, and I start working with it, having done so and exerted sufficient effort to bring the desire received from Him to another desire which is now called a prayer. To the degree of my desire being correct or corrupt, the Creator reforms me and provides me with a new desire. With its help I have to correct myself again, defining my desire more accurately and precisely, which will become my new prayer.

Thus, the Creator and I keep working on my desire together, until it acquires the right shape in value, power, character, and form, thereby reaching Malchut of Infinity which includes the desires of all souls. Then, to the extent of my attained caliber of bestowal and my own lowliness, I formulate my prayer, my authentic will to receive, in the proper manner, and, there, reveal the purpose of creation.
[43842]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Rabash, Shlavey HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder), Article “Who Causes the Prayer”: In that state of reflection, when he feels how remote he is from any reverence for the work of the Creator, he begins to awaken and think, “Something must be done. I cannot stay in that state of lowliness for the rest of my life.”

Certainly, this is the time when a person begins to pray to the Creator to bring him closer to Him and to help him from Above, as our sages said, “He who comes to be purified is aided.”

A person knows that he has to come to feel that the Creator is “good and does good” and to cleave to Him. This means that our goal is to reveal the Creator. Otherwise, we won’t achieve what we were destined for.

This task can be accomplished only if there is equivalence of form. Hence, a person suffers since he hasn’t yet come to faith, the property of bestowal, where he could find the Creator and thank Him. That is, he doesn’t seek this revelation selfishly, but only so that he truly may attain the greatness of the Creator.

Then, he sees the “nations of the world” within him argue with his “Israel” part which aspires toward the Creator. So far, one cannot win over the other; the will to bestow cannot defeat the will to receive.

However, man has no power over his thoughts and feelings whatsoever. He doesn’t choose what the mind and heart experience. Every state is formed from Above, meaning not by a person himself, but by the upper force that places him in a specific predicament and expects a certain action, some sort of response to what it has done. This is called: “I am the first.”
[43846]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/2011, Writings of Rabash

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There is only one desire to receive, but it manifests in many different forms, including the present, final form that we feel today. All of our sensations are nothing but the desire to enjoy which has many different facets. I see a world full of people, myself in it, and many other things, actions, causes and consequences. It all amounts to the same desire to receive that exists in the spiritual world.

It’s only that in this case, it assumes a “material” form which we call a human body. The higher form is what we call a soul, but in any case, we’re speaking strictly about the desire to enjoy.

All the degrees are identical in their matter (desire) and fulfillment (Light). Only the last, lowest degree differs in that it imparts to man a feeling of separation from all other degrees or leaves him without this feeling altogether in the reality of this world. This degree has its own details of perception, but even they are perceived in relation to the desire to receive and the Light which exist at their lowest state.
[43883]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/2011, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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The essence of the method is to awaken yourself to move as quickly as possible, to take the force of development into your hands and control it. That’s why I organize the environment made up of people like me, in order for it to influence me and give me additional power. That is, everything depends on my impression from the environment—this is the measure of my ability to advance.

But I exist in a system of forces and have to know how to get from it the best and most effective influence in order to not harm myself and the environment. Indeed, the harm inflicted upon the environment will return back to me. In this influence there is a force called “the evil eye,” meaning an uncorrected human egoism not covered by a screen, which a person can set in motion unknowingly. Or the person may even be aware of these actions but can’t help it.

If a person sees that someone is more successful than he, he becomes jealous, whether he likes it or not. This can be good, productive jealousy, pushing the person towards development. That is, it could be “the good eye,” when I envy someone and try to advance too. Or it can be “the evil eye,” when I am so jealous I want to kill him because he is greater than me and this poisons my spirit.

There is a joke about this: “Are you making a revolution so that there aren’t any rich people? We were dreaming of a world without the poor….” Which state you desire makes the whole difference: that there are no rich or no poor? With what eye are you looking?

It’s the same in spiritual work: When you’re looking at a friend who is greater than you, do you want to bring him down or to advance yourself?
[44024]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, Writings of Rabash

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In Kabbalah, we talk about a person’s inner work. One needs to go deeper inside himself and, there, build images of the friends, the group, himself, his inner world, and his impression of spirituality, paying no attention to external impressions which may even be opposite.

The impressions one receives from the external environment may not be true because these are feelings that result from the states (Reshimot, informational records) awakening in him. One can’t rely on these impressions. Rather, one must rely on the images that he has built within himself of the friends, the group, himself, the Creator, and the connection between us.

I don’t rely much on what I feel today and see around me. After all, who sees this? I myself see, and I’m entirely in deception. So, it makes no difference what I see now. I have to build inside myself a model of the future world where we are all connected by mutual love and bestowal, inside of which we reveal the Creator as if in Divinity (Shechina).

[44027]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, Writings of Rabash

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There is a strict ban: You should never talk about the inner states in which you exist. After all, many of your friends still do not have the anti-egoistic screen, and they can harm you with their envy, hatred, and pride even without wishing to do so.

They seemingly do not want to harm you, but the lack of their inner correction forces them to do that if they see that you are above them and have more inspiration, if you achieved more connection and came closer to the goal. The one who has not yet reached correction cannot tolerate this and will harm you.

If you start sharing your personal sensations, you trigger the fire upon yourself. It is written that 99% of all failures happen due to the “evil eye.” This is not some mystical superstition that people believe in, but rather the normal envy of someone towards you.

As a matter of fact, we exist in the system of forces and connected desires. The one who envies you diminishes your power. Instead of love and connection, he passes a negative force to you.

If this just happens in the outside world, there is nothing we can do about it because the world is still uncorrected. However, if this happens with a friend within a group, and in addition, you are at fault for provoking such a reaction, it turns out that you harmed both him and yourself. You are the one who caused this “evil eye,” and it is not your friend’s fault because he still has not reached correction.

The system of laws force us to act this way. The forces of envy, hatred, pride, thirst for power and glory stand opposite to the positive forces of love and bestowal. In order to allow the positive forces to act within us, we have to be modest.

Kabbalists explain how we should use all these forces so that they facilitate good, effective, and fast advancement.
[44030]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, Writings of Rabash

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