The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to correct the desire that represents the entire matter of creation to a degree that we start sensing the Force that permeates the universe: the Creator (the Light). There is nothing except this Force and desire.

Revelation happens in accordance with the law of equivalence of form: Desire feels the power of the Light to the extent of its correspondence to it. Full revelation of the Light is the program and the purpose of creation. It means that we have to correct ourselves to a degree of complete equivalence with the property of the Light: bestowal.

For that purpose the whole system of worlds was created; it helps us to change our desire and make it similar to the Light. This world is where the first steps are made; later, we rise into the Worlds of Assiya, Yetzira, and Beria. Nine lower Sefirot of Malchut of the World of Atzilut is where the broken souls “dwell.”

Keter, the upper Sefira of Malchut, is above the Parsa, in World of Atzilut, where bestowal is in effect. The property of reception acts below the Parsa.

Malchut receives the forces from Zeir Anpin. For us, Zeir Anpin is the Upper One, the giver; we receive everything from him. In its turn, Zeir Anpin is connected with the higher Partzuf of the World of Atzilut, Abba ve Ima (AVI), a part of which is Yeshsut. Below, there is the Partzuf of Arich Anpin (AA), which receives the Light from Infinity (Ein Sof) and passes it down the chain to Malchut.

The major issue for us is how we (the broken souls that live in the Worlds of BYA) rise to Malchut de Atzilut. By including ourselves in it, we begin to take part in the process of correction. The World of Atzilut corrects broken desires that bear egoistic intentions.

The desire to receive is unchangeable; it is matter which cannot be altered. But desire can be used in two different ways: It can either be filled from the inside by receiving, or it can be utilized for bestowal. In the second case, the desire will receive for the sake of bestowal. It is possible only as an outcome of love and union with others.

The Book of Zohar helps us mostly at the first stage of our rising to the World of Atzilut. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1.      We raise our request to get corrected (MAN).
2.      The answer (MAD) returns back to us in the form of the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) that empowers us.
3.      We rise upward to Malchut de Atzilut.
4.      Malchut delivers our request to Zeir Anpin.
5.      Zeir Anpin gives Malchut powers and corrects the souls.

Thus, all we do is work with the Light. Our work is intended to attain union among us in order to correct our desire by applying intention to bestow to it. This becomes possible only as a result of the Light’s influence.

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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/10, “Hakdama, Laila de Kale (The Night of the Bride)”

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Question: What is better: reading the original Hebrew text during a lesson without understanding it or reading a translated text?

Answer: This is a big question. In general, the Kabbalistic lexicon is so limited that students gradually become accustomed to it. We are talking about approximately a couple of hundred words that allow you to understand the Hebrew text. We see it in Moscow group which reads original texts in Hebrew.

I don’t think that in the future any person who pursues the goal will study Kabbalah in any other language. It is very hard. We haven’t learned the Hebrew letters yet and haven’t started studying their external or internal meaning.

Knowledge of the Kabbalistic language is extremely helpful. I am sure that you already know half the major terms in Hebrew, and can assert that you won’t be able to abide without understanding the original text.

Yes, it is not simple. We are talking about an unusual language that is very different from Latin. But there is nothing we can do about it, the Light descends to us from right to left, that’s why in Hebrew the direction of writing is the same.

Besides, we write the letters from right to left and from top to bottom, according to the direction of the Lights of Hassadim (Mercy) and Hochma (Wisdom). All letters consist of these elements. Their shape is defined by various combinations of the Upper Forces.

All linguistic rules and grammar also have a spiritual foundation. They are built on interaction of Bina and Malchut. There are no rules in Hebrew that are invented by human beings.

Since Adam’s birth 5772 years ago to this day, nothing has changed in the language, neither written nor verbal. If you met a person who lived thousands of years ago in Egypt or Babylon, you would understand each other with ease. Everything depends on the Upper root which is unchangeable. Laws of interactions between Bina and Malchut are eternal, and that’s why the language doesn’t undergo any changes.

Other languages transform according to the mentality and ethics of the people speaking them. A thousand years ago your ancestors used language that you would hardly recognize today. Spelling and the external form of the letters themselves also change with time.

However, Hebrew is not a human language but a projection of the Upper Forces and their combinations. Even though it is not convenient for contemporary people to use Hebrew, we have no choice. Kabbalists cannot convey Kabbalistic knowledge any other way.
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From he 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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Question: Are the differences between men and women really so enormous that they are unable to understand each other?

Answer: I don’t think that there is another science other than Kabbalah which can explain how much we differ. In spirituality the power of bestowal is a male force, whereas the power of receiving is a female force. However, in contrast to our world, receiving in spirituality is positive and vital.

Until we reach the end of correction, these two parts of nature are equal and absolutely opposite to one another in every detail and quality. Even at the stage of final correction nature remains intact and both parts remain opposite to each other.

However, as a result of the correction that is performed by each part (male and female), they are brought so much closer together that they become like one whole. It doesn’t mean that the differences between them disappear; the basic differences still remain, and the detachment that was created at the beginning of creation doesn’t “fade away” completely. But the process of correction brings them to equality, unity, and even to adhesion.

With the help of the method of correction called “the wisdom of Kabbalah” both male and female parts improve, and we are able to build new types of family relationships, arrange our lives in a correct way, not to mention the ultimate reward which we sense in the revelation of the Creator between us.
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Men and Women” 10/14/10

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Question: What exactly is the Light that Kabbalists talk about?

Answer: There is a special force in our reality called “Light.” This force is concealed, and you cannot feel it. But if you study the wisdom of Kabbalah, then you will be able to awaken this Light, and it will start working on you.

What does it mean “to study the wisdom of Kabbalah?” There are people who have already attained the Creator, equivalence of properties with Him, and described the various states of existence ,which they have uncovered in their relationship with the Upper Force in the Upper World.

Obviously, while reading their books, you are unable to understand anything written there because you are not in the same world and don’t know anything about it. You hear only what you can imagine in your own world even if the text speaks about the spiritual world, which is totally different from this world.

If, while you are reading the texts of the Kabbalists, you desire to be in the Upper World with everything you have within you, then through your aspiration you evoke a special force from the Upper World. This force is regarded as “the Light.”

You can awaken it because you have a spark from the Upper World, which was planted in you at birth. Then the Light that comes from the Upper World shines upon it.

Therefore, if you wish to awaken the Light and get it to act on the spark, read Kabbalah texts and concentrate on this. Nothing else is needed. You don’t need to understand what is written in the book, have a sharp mind, or be especially lucky. You just need to be an ordinary person with a desire for the world that the Kabbalists describe to you to constantly work on your spark. Then, the spark will gradually grow until you suddenly start feeling what they are talking about.

This is exactly what we need while studying The Book of Zohar. But the force of this Light only comes to a person if he strives to be in the Upper World, that is, aspires to be in bestowal.

But how do I know what it means to be in bestowal? Kabbalists say: If you read The Book of Zohar in a group and visualize that you are connected with the others as one organism, without any difference between you, and if you possess one desire, one intention, one aspiration toward the force that illuminates you, then this one singular, undivided force will act on your united desire, and you will indeed reveal this Upper Force that is working on you and promoting you. This is what is called the revelation of the Creator to the created beings.

Hence, we are reading The Zohar in the group, with an intention that we are coming together in our desires to reveal the Light so that it would act on us, correct us, and manifest within us.
[26089]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, The Zohar

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Question: How can I keep being joyful when I am in a descent?

Answer: Everything depends on what your goal is. I remember how when I was a kid in winter we used to climb up a hill and then slide down on a sled. We weren’t happy on the way going up, but only on the way down. Therefore, everything depends on the goal. If you know that the descent reveals new matter to you which you can use to build your next level, then doesn’t it make you happy?

When mess and confusion come to me, when everything becomes “smeared” before my very eyes, I am happy. That’s because I will acquire new knowledge, new feeling, new closeness, and new revelation after the darkness. Inside the darkness that falls upon me, inside the clouded feelings, inside the fog in my consciousness, I look at myself from aside, detaching from the confusion and sadness, and using them to assess the upcoming ascent.

That is how Rabbi Shimon understood that he was standing before the ascent to the final correction when he felt that he was “Shimon from the market.” Even though we haven’t reached such high levels yet, nevertheless when you are overcome by weakness, when the sun is veiled away, you have to see that this is preparation. That is how the material of the following degree is revealed when it is not yet realized, when it still hasn’t taken on the necessary form.

When this happens, you shouldn’t sit there and wait for whatever comes; don’t stay in the same place, gathering up your strength, but on the contrary, start working. Try to immediately overcome the obstacle and pull yourself out of the darkness, even if it is very slight. Thanks to this, all of the matter that has to join the process will start to participate more quickly.

You have the opportunity to carry out systematic preparation on a daily basis with the help of the studies and the group. Stay connected all throughout the day and don’t let go of the spiritual thread even if it comes to you through the headphones of an mp3. And let others remind you about the goal since you disconnect from it when you are in a descent.

If you constantly stay under the influence of the right environment, then even when the negative side gets stronger, you will be able to see your state from aside and analyze it. This will enable you to relate to what is happening in a different way. Joy comes when you build the next state.

The only thing that can deprive you of the ability to work is a total break with the spiritual connection, caused by insufficient preparation. You should prepare for every moment of your life in such a way that you will never come out of the right influence. If you really value the group, then joy will never abandon you.
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From the lesson on Rabash’s article on 11/19/10

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Question: How does the science of Kabbalah say I should relate to the things that threaten my life, such as war, a terrorist attack, falling rockets, or just a regular criminal attack?

Answer: While we are still uncorrected, we have to live in this corresponding, uncorrected world of ours while correcting ourselves and thereby correcting the world. In the meantime every person should behave according to what is accepted in society and the world.

At the same time, each of us must correct himself and thereby reveal the Upper Force, the quality of bestowal and love inside him and in the world. To the degree he makes this revelation, our enemies will gradually become our friends and all the bad things will disappear.

However, for now we have to behave in accordance with our uncorrected qualities. All my haters and enemies are the evil that’s inside me, which becomes revealed on the outside in this manner. I project them to the outside and that is why they exist.

However, if instead of them I see the Creator standing behind them, then they suddenly become inseparable parts of me. Therefore, we shouldn’t be afraid. What we have to do is perform corrections.

I am certain that nothing bad can happen to a person if he is always aimed at “there is none else besides Him.”
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From Lesson 7, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/11/10

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Shamati #1: It is written, “there is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him.

There is a single Upper Force that governs the whole universe. And what man sees, that there are things in the world that deny the Higher Household…in other words, it seems to us that there are many opposing forces operating in the world that overpower one another, and that it is possible to receive help from one force in order to oppose another, using this “multiple power.” …the reason is that this is His will.

This one force, which has total power, wants us to become so confused by the multitude of forces, desires, kinds, and qualities, so that from within this mess we would start to gather the only existing force ourselves. It seems to us that this life is multi-faceted and complex, but we have to bring it to one desire, one goal, and one operating force.

It’s similar to how we teach children by giving them exercises where they have to assemble and fix something that’s broken, not ready, or incomplete. They have to correct it and complete it on their own. That is how we have to act at every moment of our lives.

It seems to us that it is very difficult to work hard in life and to make efforts, but if we did just one thing behind all of these material actions — if we completed the Upper Force in order to see that He is the only one who acts, then we would not need to do anything else!

We work in the material world to produce many things, but in reality we are simply running away from solving the only, tiny problem: to discern that behind all of these problems, details, thoughts, and discernments, there is one force standing opposite me. There is me and Him, and between us He has built all of these decorations that confuse me so that through them I would find my way to Him and feel that they come to me form Him! This is called clarification.

If at every moment of my life, no matter what I do, whether I am talking to someone, someone is attacking me, or on the contrary, someone approaches me in a good way, or something happens to my health, money, or status at work or in my family, if behind every occurrence I try to reveal the Creator, then I will begin to unite everything into one net as if making an embroidery. I will begin seeing and revealing this system of connections: His program and attitude to me through all of these people and all the possible life situations.

I will suddenly understand what happened in the past and will start to see what He will do to me in the future. He slightly lets me see what needs to be done with various problems, teaching me like a small child. I have to accept this life only as a quest for Him — to look for Him and find Him! After all the efforts I make, I should always see that there is none else besides Him and everything comes only from Him!

This has to happen to such a degree that when I am in the most difficult and unpleasant situation, when I reach total despair and exhaustion, and I am completely unable to connect it to the Creator, I nevertheless begin to aim it toward the Creator and to look for the reason why this has come to me in this form and where it came from. Then I reveal how wonderful it is….

I begin to put all of the components of the general picture in order and suddenly discover that He has set everything up only for my own good to help me reach newer revelations! Eventually I reveal that everything around me is one interconnected net of His attitude toward me through the entire universe and through all the Upper Worlds. I am surrounded by a force field of His love, and I am at its center. This is called the revelation of the Creator to the creatures.
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From Lesson 7, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/11/10

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Question: What do we need to do in order to aspire towards the high state of unity that exists in The Zohar?

Answer: This comes from disappointment. No matter what I tell you now, it will not help until you develop an urgent need, aspiration, a vital necessity. Only then will you turn to the group.

When you know that you have a big problem, your life is at risk, or you are ill, then you run for help. But when you do not feel ill, do not see that there is a problem, or do not believe that anything will help, you remain still. This is why we need a deficiency. Either the Creator gives us a deficiency as He pushes us from behind with suffering, or we make a connection with the environment without waiting for suffering and try to receive an opposite reaction from it.

I come to my environment without experiencing a need for it; I simply follow the advice of the Kabbalists. They are wise, and I listen to them. This means that the Creator places man’s hand on a good faith and says: “Take it! Take it! Why should you suffer?”

Then we receive additional desire from the group. This is how it works. Those who are lucky will hear, turn to the group, arrange for this booster of desire, and come to the Creator though the group.

Ultimately, the group needs to direct a person towards the Creator. The connection with the group and our entire work is the preparation of the desire, the Kli. And then we come to the Creator.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, The Zohar

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Question: During the Convention we really wanted to attain the goal, and then we discovered that our ego would not let us do it. Why won’t the Creator answer our prayers and let us rise above this mountain of egoism? Why are we unable to do this?

Answer: The Creator is the general force of bestowal. He created our force of reception. These two forces stand one opposite the other like stringers of a ladder with rungs in between.

As you correspond to a higher step, you ascend to it, advancing to a new degree one step at a time. Everything is in your hands. You have been given a key to nature in order to change your own nature and make it similar to that of the Upper One.

You ascend as soon as you become similar to it, but when you are different from it, then you remain in the same place. It does not depend on the Creator, His desire is constant; He is Good and does Good. The Creator does not change, this force is absolute and invariable.

But in order to let you ascend, the Creator divided the entire path into steps or states. Every time that you are like the Upper degree, you ascend to it, and as you become even more like it, you continue to ascend higher. Between each step, you have to prepare yourself for the following step, and this way you continue ascending each time.

You have no one to pray to, no one to ask. This is why you can’t object: “Why won’t the Creator help me? Where is He? Where did He go? What is going on? What else does He want me to do?” Essentially, when you pray and ask, you are judging yourself in relation to the Upper Light that shines for everyone in an equal, constant, and unchanging manner. Everyone can take as much as he wants from it.

It is written about the Creator: “I do not change my HaVaYaH,” “There is none else beside Him,” “The Good Who does Good.” He does not change. When you correlate your properties to His, as if He were thinking about or reacting to your cries, then you are making all of it up. Throughout history people have been attributing human characteristics to forces of nature: the wind, the rain, the moon, as well as the Creator. But this does not exist!

We are working against nature. Kabbalists explain to us that Nature where we exist has its own laws. In Hebrew, the numerical value (Gematria) of “nature” and “Creator” is the same. We can use these laws and continue to ascend its degrees time after time until we reach the universal Nature referred to as the level of Bina, the Creator (Elokim).

This is why it is clear to me that if I have not yet received it, then the problem is in me. I have no one to fear and no one to ask.

It is correct to say that the Creator rules over us. Doesn’t nature rule over us? Yes it does. Tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters occur, and it is surely nature’s rule over us!

In nature, there are two opposite forces which constantly collide and battle: the force of bestowal and that of reception. It all happens according to the program that leads us towards the purpose of creation. In the beginning these forces are completely opposite, but they gradually become closer until they unite. This is the process of development in nature.

This is why you have no one to work with but the group. You can change yourself through the group and make your properties similar to those of nature. The group is an adapter between your desire, which you do not control, and the Creator, whom you cannot control either. The group, the society, the environment, is your only power; it is the only thing you can change.

Hence, if instead of advancing unconsciously according to nature’s program that leads the entire creation towards unity with the Creator, I want to change something; if I want to advance towards Him on my own, and not by nature’s cruel forces, then I only have one choice: to work with my environment.
[26815]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, The Zohar

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Question: Is there a method in Kabbalah that enables a person to switch from the path of suffering in this life towards the good and kind path?

Answer: Yes, this method exists. Through the group, the environment, the friends, and the mutual guarantee, you can organize specific conditions where the environment, and not suffering, pulls you towards the goal in a careful, wonderful, and loving manner. You will have it replace the blows you receive from behind that are constantly sent to you by the Creator as He pushes you, like a donkey, with a sharp stick.

Instead of the “donkey driver,” the special angel from Above that stabs your desire to receive pleasure, your “donkey” (“Hamor” in Hebrew, which comes from the word “Homer” or matter), forcing you to advance, you receive a good angel that pushes you forward and shows you the way.

This angel is called the “force of the group,” and you are the one who builds it. The only way to advance down the good path without problems, suffering, illnesses, and wars is through a strong environment which pulls you along, like an adult pulls a child by the hand regardless of whether he wants it or not.

A person knows that there is no choice and he needs to run in order to save himself from the tsunami or the Pharaoh’s army that follows him. The group will pull you against your desire because, naturally, you do not want it. This is exactly why you need the group to work this way with you.

For this, you need to connect to the environment and ask them to do anything they want with you as long as they take you with them. I am ready for anything, let them bind my arms and legs, I will pay for it. I will do anything for the group! Nobody can bring me to the goal or drag me there by force beside them.

If it weren’t for them, the increasing blows would catch up with me from behind since the Creator will not abandon His plan. This is the only way to save yourself from the blows. Nature does not compromise.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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