Question: Why is it impossible to attain spirituality naturally, just by doing my work? Why is it that we definitely have to reach despair first, crying and asking the Creator?

Answer: You don’t have to cry artificially. You just reach this state naturally. You reveal it and then your inner affliction is called prayer. You don’t have to say any words out-loud or make any artificial actions. With your work you will simply achieve a state that you will no longer be able to tolerate. And that means that you will burst with prayer.

You shouldn’t try to reach it artificially or simply scream. You should concentrate on your work, and then the request will come naturally, the way thirst does. You don’t think about the fact that at sometime in the future you will want to drink. But the time will come when you definitely will want it. Thus, if you study and advance together with the group, then at some point you will reach the state of spiritual thirst. You will definitely want it!

This is talking about strictly determined qualities and set laws that develop by a clear chain of cause and effect. You advance according to the root of your soul from your initial state to the final correction along a clear line that has already extended to you from the world of Infinity. Now you are going back along the same line. The only thing up for discussion is the acceleration of time and development.

In order to speed up this movement we have to participate in it ourselves, get organized into a group, and start attracting the Light with our study. If you have been given this desire, then realize it! You want to shift to the next level faster, so imagine it and start building it artificially as if you already are on that level. Attract it to you in order to ascend to it faster.

In essence we are building a certain image of the upper level, our next state, which is defined by the fact that 1) I am more connected with others, and 2) that our connection is filled by Light which unites us. To do this I have to connect with others the way I am able to today, and by studying to attract the Light that will connect us. What I study are the kinds of connections between us on a higher level, in a more corrected form.

I read about the world to come, about the corrected, wonderful state, and from there I attract Light to myself, and I also aspire to it. This is the simplest physics. There is nothing artificial or imaginary about it.

However, in it, what operates is desires, and desires are force. If I aspire to some state with my own forces, then I thereby evoke its illumination upon myself, receiving an influence to the degree that I aspire.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Fourth Commandment,” Item 212: It is written, “And let them be Me’orot [lights],” with the letters of Ohr [light] Mavet [death], since the Klipa follows the brain. The brain is light, and the other side is death….

When this light departs from there, the letters of separation, Mavet, unite. When not making the unification in the place of AVI, but in the place of ZON below, the light departs from there because AVI are promptly separated from their Zivug and the light stops. Then the word Ohr comes out of the word Me’orot and the letters of Mavet join. This is so because after the elicitation of the light from the word Me’orot, the word death remains there because the letters of Ohr have already departed from the word and they no longer separate the letters of Mavet.

This implies to the sin of that primordial serpent, which connected below in the place of ZON, and hence separated above for AVI because their Zivug stopped because of it and has brought death to the world.

From this we see how short the distance between life and death is, how instantly it turns life into death. Everything depends on whether or not a person discerns within himself the presence of the Creator. If the Creator is present and He is above, it is life, and if not, death.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/14/2011, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar”

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Question: If it is impossible to comprehend what Kabbalists talk about until one enters the spiritual world and sees the roots, then why are you trying to explain everything "more clearly" to us?

Answer: I attempt to awaken in you the desire to reach spiritual attainment, and then you will understand what I was relating. Baal HaSulam writes about it in the article "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah":

And once he has thoroughly attained the upper roots with his own mind, he may examine the tangible branches in this world and know how each branch relates to its root in the upper world, in all its orders, in quantity and quality.

When one knows and thoroughly comprehends all that, there is a common language between him and his teacher, namely the Language of the Branches. Using it, the Kabbalist sage may convey the studies in the wisdom, conducted in the upper, spiritual worlds….

However, when a disciple is not wise and comprehends the language on his own, meaning how the branches indicate to their roots, naturally, the teacher cannot convey even a single word of this spiritual wisdom, much less negotiate with him in the scrutiny of the wisdom. This is so because they have no common language they can use, and they become like mute.

In Kabbalah, "forbidden" means "impossible." In our world certain actions are prohibited because if one wants to, he can nonetheless do even what’s forbidden. But such behavior can only occur "in the fall of man" and below it. In the spiritual world, if something is forbidden, it means that it’s absolutely impossible to do it.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/14/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: It is said that when Rabbi Shimon and his disciples were creating The Book of Zohar, they were sitting in a cave, Rabbi Shimon was talking, Rabbi Abba was writing it down, the son of Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Elazar, was listening to him "from mouth to mouth," while the rest were listening through the heart. What do these different levels of connection mean?

Answer: Beside the external language that Kabbalists can use for communication, "the language of branches," there is also an internal connection called "Peh El Awzen" (from mouth to ears) at the level of Bina, when the teacher and the student are united in a state of Katnut (a small state), as well as the connection called "Peh El Peh" (from mouth to mouth) at the level of Keter, in the state of Gadlut (a big state). Such connection requires no language: One understands the other without words, through the inner adhesion, union.

In other words, we can understand each other in one of the following ways:

• After long conversations, or
• by taking the hint, or
• we start understanding each other without words, or
• we become so united into one whole that it becomes impossible to say that you understand me and I understand you since we are inseparable, and we don’t need to pass anything to each other.

These are the levels of the spiritual connection.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/14/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: If human nature is the will to enjoy, why then is the majority of humanity satisfied with very little and why doesn’t it seek eternal pleasure?

Answer: Some time ago, I ran into my old childhood friend. Back then he was already collecting stamps. In my own time, when I “grew out” of this hobby, I gave him my entire collection. I recall that stamps had lost value in my eyes, but he really liked them.

So, when we met this time, he said to me: “Now I also collect envelopes.” He said it with such seriousness that I promised to send him our envelope. There is nothing funny about this: A person values something, he has a certain desire. I didn’t even want to start talking to him about the Lights and eternal pleasure. What sense will it make if he wants to talk about envelopes and stamps?

Everything derives from desire. When I had a desire, I collected stamps. In childhood, everybody passes through such periods. But his desire remained, so how can I pass my desire to him? It is impossible.

I saw many children growing up near Rabash, as well as his students and relatives. If a child has a desire, it is there; and if he doesn’t, it isn’t. You cannot force it on him. He sees what you do, and the rest depends on his aspirations. There is nothing you can do in this regard.

So, we can’t demand a person to work on unification. How many people in the world really care about it and wish to see the whole world as one simple Light, one force? Who wants to see only this picture of reality and not to even feel himself in it? You either have such desire or you don’t.

Yes, with the help of the group we can speed up our development, but again, without pressuring a person.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/10/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: If a considerable part of humanity starts to unify as we do during Kabbalah conventions, then there should be less suffering in the world, correct?

Answer: Our actions are undoubtedly fruitful. It’s also true that today suffering manifests in the world in a lighter and more cushioned form than it would without our external and internal efforts. But how much lighter it is remains unclear to us because we don’t see the connection between our actions and all kinds of events.

Therefore, we can’t say by what percent the flood or fire rate went down thanks to our convention, but it most certainly did. The picture of our influence can be visible only if we develop the same collective sight as an integral environment (society), meaning if we reach at least the first spiritual level, the first degree of oneness.

Question cont.: So, in egoistic sensory organs we will never see how through our unity we prevented a terror act or a natural disaster, will we?

Answer: You can see it on the condition that you have the screen and your goal is to reveal the information not in order to satisfy your curiosity or gain internal peace, but to bestow to the others thereby. You need knowledge so you may go above it: First, you feel the necessity to go above reason, and afterward, in accordance with this, the upper (global, integral, spiritual) knowledge unfolds.

Question cont.: In that case, I shouldn’t blame myself that because I didn’t put forth sufficient effort to unite, something bad happened, should I? It doesn’t help my correction, does it?

Answer: It is a system of nature: If this information were necessary for you, it would be revealed to you since everything works according to one program and moves the world to the final correction.

At present, you cannot see it, but later on, you will reach a state when it will become possible. However, if such knowledge isn’t required in order to bestow, you won’t want it to be revealed to you. If it isn’t for bestowal, why do I need to see and know?!

Eventually, you will see the world from end to end; you will know everything! And you will say: “I don’t want any of this! I will take as much knowledge as I need for bestowal so that I can rise above it in bestowal.”
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/9/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: What desires do we have to receive from the world? What does it mean, “to absorb the desires of others”?

Answer: It’s the same as connecting to the group. I have a spark of love for another called “the point in the heart.” But it is just a spark which won’t flare up by itself. I have to connect it to the sparks of my friends. If our sparks unite, it will supply us with greater strength for correction. And then we will receive the Light.

The same applies to our work with the world: A person has no desire to correct his or her soul unless he unites with “the nations of the world.” It’s because one part of his soul (GE) exists in himself and his friends, while the other part (AHP) in “the nations of the world.” Our task is to unite these parts in order to create the whole Kli (vessel).
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/13/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: How can a person know that his teacher is a real Kabbalist?

Answer: How can you know that he is a true Kabbalist? He cannot show you any specific diploma or perform miraculous acts that would look spiritual to you since how do you know what spirituality is anyway? Hence, you can only listen to your heart and examine whether what you hear resonates with you, connects you to the root of your soul.

I studied in five or six places before I found Rabash. And I used to leave them not because I would find something better; I just saw that there was nothing else to do there, nothing else to learn. And it isn’t because their intent was to deceive me; it’s just that each of them had their own method, ideas, and delusions.

But I was seeking a place where I could study Kabbalah as a science. And when I met Rabash, I immediately saw that his students studied authentic primary sources: The Zohar, the works of the ARI and Baal HaSulam, which are the most fundamental Kabbalistic texts, and that he attached deep meaning to the concepts in a logical form, without external religious acts or meditation.

In other words, he used a strictly scientific approach without shifting to one or the other side. By then, I had already realized that everything else has nothing to do with truth. I had a sense that wherever they talk about some actions related to the corporeal body or fantasies, it doesn’t have anything to do with spirituality.

I had a very clear feeling that here there was some entrance into a more internal world that doesn’t depend on the body or imagination, on all those attributes I have at the moment. It is required that a person reveals a certain internal layer within, and I was searching: How do I do that? And when I came to Rabash and started to study, I saw that that’s exactly about what he was speaking.

Baal HaSulam writes that anyone who wishes to receive spiritual knowledge must find himself a teacher, an authentic sage-Kabbalist who seems to be right for the job. But if he feels that he is in a place which doesn’t suit him, he shouldn’t stop looking. After all, time is running out.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/13/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: I am quite convinced by what Baal HaSulam says about the fact that there is no chance for us to comprehend spirituality with our corporeal mind because if somebody wanted to lure me into it, they would promise me exactly the opposite. But it is still painful to realize that I am unable to understand anything. Why is it so?

Answer: It is because you don’t have spiritual organs of perception, awareness, or sense.

I always bring up a memory of a very vivid example I received when we were working on a musical adaptation of one of Baal HaSulam’s melodies .The home owners’ fat cat was always near us while we worked. We cried and were overwhelmed with feelings, while the cat just lay there totally undisturbed; only his ear would occasionally twitch when the music was getting too loud.

Both of us live in corporeal bodies, in the very same world, but a cat cannot understand me. It lacks the ability to feel. How can you explain to a cat what emotions we wish to express through music?

But trust me, to teach a cat to comprehend a symphony is a less complicated task than for us to comprehend spirituality. After all, the animal is at the same level in this world, while we need a much stronger impact of the upper Light in order to bring us to sense the spiritual world.

And then, according to this sense, you will immediately begin to understand what every word a Kabbalist says means. You will hear some words with external hearing, but the internal sensations will start unfolding in you. Imagine yourself speaking with a cat, when it suddenly starts understanding you….
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/13/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: If all our work is to find the place of our breaking, what are we lacking then in order to do it?

Answer: You simply don’t want to reveal it! Why should you disclose your envy and hate? It is much easier and safer to remain apathetic.

A person feels that the friends, “the others,” simply don’t seem to exist. In Kabbalah, “the other” is a person whom I feel as being outside of me. I know that everybody is supposed to be within me if my perception of reality is correct, yet I feel them as outsiders in relation to me, someone who is distant and abhorrent. And it frightens me: Do I really hate the parts of my own soul this much?! That is exactly how the force of the breaking feels. I know that it is a lie, and I want to fix my distorted sight!

Try to attempt to see that all the friends are related to you. Even the whole world already sees how round and interconnected it is. But we don’t arrive at this conclusion from the external side due to the lack of choice. This is what the rest of the world does, by getting blows that point at people’s interconnectedness. Our path is internal and in this way, we gradually discover that all of us are one whole and are linked in an integral system.

Knowing all this, I look around and see people who are alien to me. I don’t feel what they are thinking about, what they desire. Moreover, I don’t even care about them; I am unable to keep focusing on them, let alone feel them. Not even one of them!

In other words, I realize that it is a total breaking: I am ill with a horrible disease. In fact, I see that I completely lost my sensitivity, my ability to feel all these parts that must become mine. I am disintegrating like a corpse. After all, death is when the life force leaves the body and it starts turning into dust. I feel as if I am losing my arms and legs. It throws me into a panic.

I can see and feel all of this in the organs of perception (Kelim) that evolve in me thanks to the study of Kabbalah and that in the future will become my properties of love and bestowal. But love starts with our revelation of hate towards the others, and we begin to hate it within ourselves.

And now I am living this hate, my inability to feel the other because I don’t care about him. And even worse than that, I measure my success by their failures. The worse they feel, the better I feel. What a perverted and distorted perception it is, and how blind I am that I think of the others in this way.

Rabash gives an example of a person who suddenly finds out that the child next door who annoyed him so much is in fact his son. It is possible to repair this picture only if you strive to see how everyone in the group is eager to correct this distortion together.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/13/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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