Question: What does it mean to think about unity during the reading of The Zohar in order to have the entire group cross the “Red Sea” and enter the spiritual world?

Answer: The Zohar reveals that what happens from the perspective of the spiritual vessels (desires), that is, different types of connection. It does not describe the picture from the Light’s perspective. There are Kabbalistic books that contain descriptions from the Light’s perspective: how different Lights come and how they spread. It is like we are being told what is depicted in a certain picture.

To provide a description from the desires’ perspective, however, is to explain how a picture was drawn, not what is actually drawn. It is like saying what colors one needs, how they are mixed, how to apply them on the canvas, or what technique and brush to use.

It turns out that a spiritual picture is not simply made by freely drawing whatever I want, like from the Light’s perspective. No, at first, everything needs to be arranged as if you were using a ruler and other graphing “tools” (Kelim, vessels); everything needs to be calculated. This is because it comes from the side of the desires, the spiritual vessels, and they need to be well-prepared in the first place.

This is the narrative style of The Zohar and the entire “practical” Kabbalah that comes from the side of the created beings: the depth (Aviut, coarseness) of the desire that is needed, the screens, different actions including screens, and that which will be consequently revealed. We need to use this description and draw the picture ourselves, instead of simply enjoying it.

If we already were in these states, we would be able to enjoy the picture in a different way. We would read and receive the explanations of the picture that we would already see. However, so far, we are unable to be impressed by the picture. We arrive from the side of the desires and learn to draw the picture. The Zohar tells us step by step where we need to arrive and hands us the instruments that we need to create this “canvas.”

We create this picture in the group, in the unity between us, and all the names, lines, and all the objects only stand for different types of interconnections of the desires. Once you connect them and create even the initial, minimal connection, you will attain the first spiritual degree, and the picture will become revealed.

It’s essential for us to understand the way everything operates, the way everything needs to be connected for the system to work. It is like constructing a vehicle, connecting all the parts and the power supply, putting in the gas, the oil, all the necessary fluids, completing the construction, turning on the ignition, and, voila, the car powers on! This is the result we need to reach.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/27/10, The Zohar

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Question: What kind of perception of reality does the Creator have?

Answer: The Creator does not have any perception of reality because He has only one property: the desire to bestow, bestowal. The Creator does not have reality. He is, Himself, the perfect reality.

When we perceive and depict the surrounding reality, we reach the states that become increasingly closer to Him. Therefore, the best form of the world appears when we correct ourselves to the degree that we create or project to ourselves the reality: the Creator. This is the state we achieve.

When we go through all the movies, pictures, and forms during our correction, we gradually, step by step, bring them closer to such a reality in which only the Creator exists, as it is said, “He and His name are one” and “There is none else besides Him.”
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From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Perception of Reality” 10/26/10

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Desire that works with the screen is regarded as “a line,” and without the screen “a circle.” Mutual work between the line and the circles moves the desires (souls).

A circle and a line are two different forms of behavior: A line is an individual behavior, a circle is a collective one. Circles relate to the desires as though the latter don’t have a screen. Hence, they move the desires as if in a magnetic or gravitational field, counting not the degree of correction of the Kli (vessel) itself, but the force acting in this part of the field. Therefore, circles can affect and move the desires that don’t have a screen.

Conversely, a “line” is the desires that have undergone the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph); they characterize a person who has an anti-egoistic screen. And if I don’t have a screen, I am not affected by the line since I am not related to it, I don’t have any common attributes with it.

Therefore, at present we are tossed from one place to another solely by the force of the circles, which is regarded as the “environment” (Sviva). The system of relations between our souls is subordinate to these laws.

Inside the system, there are acting circles, the “circles of Tzimtzum Aleph” with the center in the points of Malchut. There are also the “circles of Tzimtzum Bet (the Second Restriction),” with the center in the points of Bina, where the desires to receive end and the desires to bestow begin.

Every part of the desire, every tiniest detail that contains both types of the desire, which belong to the Tzimtzum Aleph or Tzimtzum Bet, is affected by the circles of Tzimtzum Aleph and Tzimtzum Bet. Suppose, I have the desires that I can discern already and also those that don’t get discerned until the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun). Accordingly, they will be affected by one field and unaffected by the other.

In other words, we exist in both of these fields, the field of Tzimtzum Aleph and Tzimtzum Bet, that surround us. This common field contains all memory, the entire program, the Purpose and Thought of Creation, and all our states of existence till Gmar Tikkun. And we have to only harmonize ourselves with this field.

But how do I accomplish this if I don’t feel this field? This is the Surrounding Light, but I cannot establish a connection with the Light. Hence, I make a connection with the desire, with friends, with some part of the integral system, and I try to become similar to it according to the laws contained in the Light to the best of my ability.

Thereby, I receive greater impact of the Light. I become more sensitive to it, and, as a result, it affects me stronger. The Light itself doesn’t get stronger; it is stable. But I must sharpen my perceptions in order to feel greater effect of this field of Light. And this is how I will move in it!

The more sensitive I am to the Light, the faster I will swim in this force field, gravitating from the periphery to the center. In the center of the field, there can be simultaneously enormous darkness and huge force impact. However, due to this contrast, I arrive to the “straight” action “in the  line” sooner. In this manner, by moving “within the circles,” I reach the “line” and acquire an anti-egoistic screen.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/1/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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The time has come to return to a natural system, to a close cohesion that Nature, the degree of Bina, demands of us. We have to bring ourselves to the equivalence, homeostasis, and similarity of properties and from total brokenness ascend to a level where we will be completely connected as parts of one healthy body.

All forces that affect us do so for a single purpose: to push us to a natural form of reciprocity and love. However, if our egoism has grown while we haven’t yet found the correct interconnection among us, then the discrepancy between the states, the difference between the demanded unification and factual separation, is experienced as suffering.

This is why life is becoming harder. The supplementary systems designated to soften the predicament or scare us can no longer help us since we have entered the final stage of evolution and must assemble ourselves into one integrated global system.

Today, humanity is discovering that we are all connected with unbreakable ties, and that is why it simply must realize the law of nature within itself, the law of correct interaction of all parts of creation.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, “Explanation of the Article, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Our natural characteristic is self-love: an egoistic force of hate and rejection. This is how we initially perceive ourselves. On the other hand, everything in the world is permeated with the force of mutual connection, the force of love and attraction.

Kabbalah speaks of love namely in this sense, absolutely not implying all that we label as “love” in mundane life. Love means that I absorb the desire of another in order to fulfill it to the best of my ability.

This phenomenon takes root in the four phases of the Direct Light. The first phase (Behina Aleph) introduces desire to receive pleasure. The second phase (Behina Bet) is the desire to please, which understands that specifically by receiving it will be able to delight the Creator. This stage is regarded as Bina or Elokim. All creation resulted from it.

Further on, the third phase (Behina Gimel) appears, which receives pleasure for the sake of bestowal, followed by the fourth phase (Behina Dalet), Malchut, which is pure reception.

Now, at the phase of Malchut, we must become similar to Bina, pure bestowal. By unifying two major desires, to receive and to bestow, we form the desire to receive in order to bestow. Thus, when speaking of love, we imply the force of Bina that desires to receive all the great Light from Above in order to pass it down, without keeping anything for ourselves. This is what we must attain by way of correction.

As a result, the entire system is divided into two parts: One is before and above me, and the other is behind and below me. I receive everything from Above from the Creator and pass it down to others. In the same fashion, cells behave while serving the body.

What does an individual cell have? Nothing. It only receives and passes on to the others, and all of them are connected by the ties of love. What then is hidden in this collective bestowal? Interconnection of parts creates a unique spirit, a special field, which is life itself.

Neither a cell nor an organ feels alive individually. But the correct connection permeated by mutual bestowal begets the sensation of life in them. They generate life not in each of them separately, but namely in mutual connection. The key is not in them; they simply carry out a condition, meaning create equivalence of properties, and then the Light, the Creator, clothes in their connection. This is what life of the created being is.

Mutual connection between us creates a place for the Light. In other words, it is the Kli (vessel) in which we experience life to the extent of our connection. The created being lives in the measure of its similarity to the Creator, the cosmic force of love and oneness that rules in the Universe.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, “Klalut Adam”

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Question: How do we reach the proper connection for the Light to be revealed between us?

Answer: Imagine that there are two windows before us, like on a computer screen. In one of them we see a system where we are perfectly connected with one another. It is called the “World of Infinity.” In the other window we see the system that is now before us, where hatred governs instead of love. This system is called “this world.”

These are two different systems. The World of Infinity lives and exists; it is called the first (Aleph) and the third (Gimel) states of reality. This is the only state created by the Creator, in which He exists.

All other states, from the World of Infinity to our world, the 125 degrees of connection between us (125 states), are for us to use to gradually ascend. All the states except for Infinity are called “worlds,” meaning concealment, hiding. The same World of Infinity, but a more concealed one, vaguer, and not fully recognizable is called the World of Atzilut. An even foggier one is the World of Beria, and so on.

Every world is similar to the world above and below it in every part and detail. The only difference is the degree of revelation of the Light in it. The less Light, the darker it is. It is similar to when we see things well during the day and everything is clear, but at night it is dark, yet there is little difference between darkness and light.

In other words, we exist in that same state, referred to as the “World of Infinity,” only 125 degrees of concealment are blocking it from us. And because the concealment is so large on the last degree, where we exist in our world, we are considered completely separated from spirituality. We do not even have the slightest sensation that there are states and degrees between us and the World of Infinity, as if we only exist here, and there is nothing else.

We exist in this world, in our “window” on our “screen,” but there is another “window” on the same “screen,” the World of Infinity. For this reason, when we try to treat each other properly, like in the World of Infinity, as if we already were there (even though we are not yet capable of it), by doing so we make ourselves similar to the World of Infinity, we as if desire to reach it.

When we aspire to it like infants who want to become adults, we evoke the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) from the same World of Infinity. This Light is the Light that Reforms and brings us closer to the World of Infinity.

The same principle works everywhere: When I aspire to attain a source of energy, I evoke a large influence through my aspiration to come near it. These are precise laws of physics operating here, there is nothing imaginary or mystical here.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, The Zohar

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Question: What is the inner connection between the friends?

Answer: The inner connection takes place between spiritual sparks. Each of us has his own egoistic “I,” and beside it there is a spiritual spark, the “point in the heart.” One may be “blue” and the other “green,” but each has a point in the heart, and all of them are the same “red!” It is these “red” points that we must connect!

If we connect our points in the heart, the connection between them is regarded as a spiritual vessel (not the points themselves, but their connection). To the degree that everyone annuls themselves, there will be love between us, in opposition to hate. And by the difference between love and hate, we measure the exaltedness of the soul, the magnitude of the spiritual vessel.

All the work occurs within a person, when he sees in the others only their spiritual sparks and yearns to unify with them. Afterward, we begin to see on the outside how this reflects on one’s attitude to the group, to the collective achievement and caring for the others. From the internal effort, it expands outside and becomes a practical action.

If I am able to connect these spiritual sparks, the bodies will begin acting differently in accordance with them. It is all up to us, and let’s hope that we will seriously realize it during the Convention.

I am certain that we will understand these principles. After all, people come to Mount Sinai with no knowledge and understanding. But first, we have to arrive at it!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/28/10, “The Acting Mind”

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Question: People who are new to Kabbalah are taken aback by the word “Light” and associate it with something mysterious.

Answer: The Upper Light is a vital force that animates us like the sunlight on which our lives and health depend. That’s why the Upper Force is also called the “Light.” As sunlight “animates” our material life, so the Upper Light conveys spirituality to us.

The entire system that operates in this world (the earth, the sun, and the moon) corresponds to work of the World of Atzilut where all influences originate and where the Light of Hochma (Wisdom) clothes in the Light of Bina and descends to our souls. This is the reason why spiritual objects are given these names, in accordance with the “language of branches.”

The Upper Light, like sunlight, brings us life. But in this world, we are not surrounded by the real Light. Rather, we are enveloped only by the light that animates our “protein matter,” maintains our metabolism, and thus allows us to stay alive for approximately 70 years.

We strive to receive the real Light of life that illuminates our souls and is able to grant us eternal, perfectly fulfilled life. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method of attracting and receiving that Light by a person. When a person receives the Light, it means that he has attained the wisdom of Kabbalah which makes those who are empowered by it “alive.”

Our life stems out of the Light of Hochma. The Light of Hassadim (Mercy) represents correction, but everybody in this world is eager to be fulfilled by the Light of Hochma. That is why the science of Kabbalah bears a name of “wisdom of receiving” since it teaches us how to receive the Light of Hochma.

It is prohibited to receive the Light of Hochma directly, but only within the Light of Hassadim. That is why we study how to dress the Light of Hochma into the Light of Hassadim and eventually obtain the whole Light.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/18/20, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Question: Three or four times a week I get up and go to the lesson, and I don’t really understand why. What’s going on here? Why do I do this?

Answer: You receive an example from Above: the Creator forces you out of sleep, and you come to the lesson. This is meant to show you that you are capable of getting up and coming to the lesson, but only three times a week, when the Creator awakens you. The rest He leaves up to you. Now let’s see what you do when you don’t get this impulse.

If you don’t understand why you are here, you should analyze the situation. It appears that you come here because if you don’t, you’ll feel bad. It follows that you come in order to escape evil.

Question cont.: So what can I do to start coming every day and on my own?

Answer: For that you need another kind of fuel. You need to come here not to escape from evil, but in order to realize the importance of the goal. You need to get up not because otherwise bad things will happen, but because a lofty goal is awaiting you.

Question cont.: How do I exalt the goal in my eyes?

Answer: You are incapable of doing this alone. The goal cannot be achieved individually. Here you need to see your true state: There is a single system of souls, similar to the Creator, within which the Inner Light of life (NRNHY) is revealed. This is the Creator. We are separated from this state by 125 “filters” which weaken the Light. I want to receive the strength to return to that state.

Looking at the system of souls I see that it unites everybody into a single whole, and thanks to this the Light fulfills them and gives them life. Consequently, in order to ascend, I must establish a stronger connection with the friends.

The Creator does not relate to any individual alone. Any step toward correction ought to be regarded as an even greater level of unification in the group.

It follows that if you were to unify with the friends ahead of time, you would receive from them the inspiration and fuel to come to the daily lesson. Whereas now you are isolated from them, and even on the corporeal level the flame burning within them does not rub off on you.
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From 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/10,  “All of Israel Have A Part in the Next World”

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We exist in a general system. If we actualize the right connection between all its parts, we will create a web that connects our desires correctly.

It is as though we correct a “pipeline” between us, whereupon the Upper Force (the Creator) comes and begins to run the Light of life through these “pipes.” Everything depends on how we establish the connection between us, meaning the diameter of the “pipe,” to what measure is it the right kind of connection. And then the Light of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida (NRNHY) flows through it.

Thus we advance along the 125 degrees of connection between us, until we reveal the entire Light of NRNHY, which means we exist in the World of Infinity.

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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, The Zohar

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