Bestowal and reception are the only two qualities in the world. We use different terms to describe the quality of bestowal: the quality of faith, mercy, goodness, love, Shechina (divinity), the Creator, and so on. All of these terms describe the force of bestowal, the force of the Creator.

The qualities of reception, although they are negative and contrary to bestowal, were created by mercy (Hesed), a benevolent force of bestowal. “The end of the action is in its initial thought” means that everything is prepared precisely this way in order to bring the creature to independence. Then, situated between the two forces, it will always be able to assert its independence by using them according to its own choice.

Within the opposition of these two properties, the created being reveals a third line: itself. Each time, it searches for an opportunity to bestow to the Creator through the proper implementation of receiving and bestowing desires. Neither of them belongs to the creature, and with their help it brings bestowal out of itself and to the Creator. Thus the creature determines its independence, its status, precisely because all of the forces and goals are outside, while it merely decides what to use them for.

These conditions are prepared for us in advance. The “speaking” degree that arises from the combination of qualities and actions by which we become equivalent to the Creator when we construct ourselves into His image manifests specifically under these circumstances.
[23298]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/10, “The Matter of Mercy”

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Question: Can I break through the external decorations and connect to the points in the hearts of my friends, to their internal emptiness, which they themselves may not yet feel?

Answer: Yes! Begin to use the force of the mutual guarantee because the system is already there. If a person manages to open it even for an instant, it is his success!

The same system exists between us and the Creator, but it does not allow us to reach Him. Upon addressing the Creator, we do not have the opportunity to “rollback”: The minimal threshold of entering the system rises to the measure that we open it. For example, I manifest 10% of it, so now there is no way back, only forward because the Creator is constant, and the contact with Him can only be built on an ongoing basis. If I raise the measurement to 15%, this becomes my minimum.

This is why for now we can “play” the mutual guarantee not in relation to the Creator, but only in relation to the group where there are no problems with ascents and descents and where it is not necessary for us to be constant. In this, the system of souls differs from the Creator Himself. He is present in it, but by concealing Himself within the group, He allows me to “romp about” in the meantime, jumping up and down while all the same moving forward. And when I reach a constant direction only to Him, He will reveal Himself to me.
[23411]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, “The Arvut”

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All of Israel are responsible for one another (Sanhedrin, 27b, Shavuot 39).

1. The key is to keep in mind that between us (the souls) there is an eternal system of connection. Initially we are unified, and each of us is indebted to the other. There is no freedom in this, because we are initially interconnected and interdependent. Moreover, this holds true not only for Israel, but for the entire world.

2. If we wish to ascend to the spiritual degree of the revelation of the Creator, we must learn the law of connection working in this network and implement it.

3. “Israel” is a small group that decided to learn the law of connection by having aimed straight to the Creator. The name “Yisrael” means “Yashar-El” or directly to the Creator. In Abraham’s time, it was a group of Babylonians who left the general mainstream of development, by separating and distancing themselves from its ideological views.

Today it is not the nation of Israel, but a part of humanity (the modern Babylon) reaching the same decision. Ultimately, all of humanity will join this goal.

4. The main rule in attaining the Creator is the condition of mutual group guarantee (Arvut). We must truly agree to meet it by way of the process called “We shall do, and we shall hear.” We will do everything in our power to do, and consequently, we will “hear” or reach the state of guarantee.

Having met this condition, we uncover the correct connection between us all and become “as one man with one heart.” Finally, the Torah, the method of correction of human nature (egoism), becomes revealed to us.

5. Essentially, Arvut (mutual guarantee) is a very simple thing: I receive from the influence of the group such a strong feeling of certainty and security that I stop thinking about myself completely. If I were a king, I would have money, healers, and an army at my disposal, but none of it would give me such assurance. However, thanks to the total interconnectedness of souls, a person’s desire is assured to be fulfilled and at rest if everyone is thinking about its fulfillment.

6. Wealth and power are useless here; besides, the fellow-guarantors do not have anything to fill me with. And yet, with the collective thought and caring, the friends will open the channels for the Light, and it will flow to me through them.

My soul’s desire will feel satiated; it will stop fearing emptiness and demanding fulfillment, giving me an opportunity to rise above it and to start bestowing to the others without thinking about myself. Hence, aspiring to the Creator is a required pre-condition, and aspiring to the friends is needed as the condition for attaining the Creator.
[23181]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, “The Arvut”

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Question: I have a problem that hasn’t been resolved for a number of years, nothing works, and this situation is an obstacle on my path toward a mutual guarantee. When will it disappear? Perhaps, I am doing something wrong?

Answer: You shouldn’t pray for making your problem disappear; rather, you should ask for the ability to rise above it in your search for spirituality, that is, to build a screen on all of your difficulties with the right intention. In this case, all your troubles will become indispensable for the purpose of obtaining a screen.

There are many unpleasant circumstances in our lives, but the more we grow, the better we understand that they are actually beneficial for us. Otherwise, we would do many silly things. Our fear, shame, and jealousy keep us within certain limits, within a special attitude toward the world. With their help, we advance. It balances us out.

All bad and good phenomena in our lives are necessary since they stabilize us on our path. I don’t even try to figure out what helps or harms me; all I ask for is to be above them and to adhere to a higher degree.

Question: How do I know what will happen to me at a higher degree if I am not there yet?

Answer: This is the reason it is called “faith above reason.” I am about to connect to a higher degree. Hence, I don’t want to know anything about it; all I need is the power to cling to it. It is insignificant to me whether I will experience difficulty or not. One gets fulfilled only when the desire to bestow is built on top of the desire to receive.
[23198]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/10, “The Love of the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Question: What is the difference between caring for a person from this small circle of people with whom I have signed the conditions of the mutual guarantee and caring for other people?

Answer: They are not consciously in the system of the arrangement.

Question cont.: Does this mean that I should not care for them?

Answer: You must care for everyone in the world, but they will receive this coverage to the degree of their aspiration for the mutual guarantee, according to the degree of their correction.

Question cont.: How will you make sure that they do not lack anything?

Answer: You need to make sure that the Light passes through the group to the entire world. The Light will spout through every channel and direct them to the purpose of creation. Then, deficiencies will become revealed to them, but this will happen softly. They will discover the existence of the medicine for their problems, will take it, and heal.
[23201]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/10, “The Love of the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Question: It is written that when 600,000 people will have no other business in life but guarding the fulfillment of my needs, then I will be satisfied. When it says that “they will have no other business in life,” it confuses me.

Answer: There is nothing else with which to concern ourselves. We should only be concerned with every person having an opportunity to rise above his ego.

Question cont.: I can list a great deal of things which are still necessary.

Answer: No, I only want to free myself of obstacles in order to give myself to thoughts about unity so as to reveal the Creator in them.

Question cont.: What about taking care of yourself, work, and family?

Answer: We are speaking about those who strive to reach the mutual guarantee. This means that you only want to care for unity, where the Creator is to be revealed. So, we pledge to provide you with peace if these worries interfere with your work on the mutual guarantee.
[23205]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/10, “The Love of the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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In our world, humanity gradually advances from the animate (natural, human) level to the “human” (spiritual, Adam or “similar to the Creator”) level. That is, beside the desire for sustenance, sex, family, wealth, fame, and knowledge, the desire for spirituality, the yearning to attain the purpose of life and its source, awakens in the collective system of souls, in people.

This desire awakens in stages, step by step, since the collective soul consists of various parts: Rosh (head), Toch (body), Sof (end), the three lines, HBD (Hochma, Bina, Da’at), HGT (Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet), NHY (Netzah, Hod, Yesod), 10 Sefirot, GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim), AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh), and so forth. Obviously, not all parts are the same. There are differences in their Aviut (thickness or coarseness of the will to receive): Shoresh (0), Aleph (1), Bet (2), Gimel (3), and Dalet (4). There are also differences in how they work with the will to receive: without a screen, with a screen, before the breaking, or after it.

After the breaking, desires fell from the level of bestowal to that of reception, mixed among themselves, and are awakening to correction gradually from the souls with the lightest desires to those which are heavy in their desires. The souls with a relatively small will to receive started to awaken as early as in the times of Babylon.

Then, for the first time, an awakening of the masses occurred; those who recognized within them the desire to attain spirituality are regarded as “Isra-El” (aspiring to the Creator). Abraham collected them and organized the first group. He taught them his quality, “Hesed” (Mercy).

But their desires were weak, and hence, the correcting device, the Torah, the method of drawing of the Upper Light that Reforms, wasn’t necessary. Their own strife was sufficient to draw the Light that Reforms without using the help of the entire system of connection between us, which is called “the Torah.”

Clearly, all corrections are made solely with the help of the Light, but the weak Aviut that the “forefathers” possessed during the period of time between ancient Babylon and Egypt allowed them to reveal spirituality and correct themselves naturally. But after “Egypt,” the souls have acquired greater egoism, the will to receive, and they became separated by hatred as enormous as Mount Sinai. On one hand, they hated each other, but on the other, they had already attained the recognition of evil, hated their exile from spirituality, and were eager to break free.

The key is in the magnitude of the desire, the revelation of egoism. To counteract the ego unfolding during the exodus from Egypt, the souls have to connect with the force regarded as “six thousand souls.” And only when they are eager to unite in this manner, having accepted the rule of Arvut (mutual guarantee), the Light that brings them back to the source, the Creator, gets revealed. This is called “the reception of the Torah.”
[23220]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/10, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”
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Question: Are we building the Creator’s image within ourselves, or does the Creator Himself form His image in us?

Answer: We need to find the Creator’s image within ourselves every time. Baal HaSulam gives an example of a servant chosen as the head of the King’s ministers. To reach the desired, he had to fight his cruel opponents twice (even though they were faking), in order to first reach the property or degree of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal” and then the degree of “receiving for the sake of bestowal.”

Without a fight within, it is impossible to see and attain all the forces and properties, to absorb them into ourselves, and understand what it means to be a “minister,” that is, to be similar to the Creator.
[23289]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/10, “The Matter of Mercy”

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Question: Sages said, “We shall do, and we shall hear.” What do we need to do?

Answer: I need to make efforts to come together and take care of everyone because everyone takes care of me. Even egoistically, as much as possible, we must connect with each other. This has to be the major condition: “Are you willing to do everything you can?” We don’t know what we have the capacity for, but we will try to do it. After all, we are not being asked to do anything beyond our capacity.

However, this “shall do” that is expected of us is truly the most serious and difficult act that we are capable of performing. Although in reality, we are incapable of almost anything. Yet, these efforts are enough to start attracting upon us the Light hidden in the system within us. If we strive for this system as little children yearn to become adults, then it is enough to awaken the force residing in the corrected system, the force called “the Light.” As a result, it will act upon us and bring us closer to the state of the corrected system.

This is a very basic form of development which exists in our world as well, in everything. If a person aspires to something, he attracts to himself the state he is yearning for. It effects the person and approximates him to itself, and he suddenly becomes more intelligent, understands and feels more.

It is written, “There is none wiser than he who is experienced” since a person gains wisdom from experience. However, what is so special about experience? The person tried to do something: “We shall do.” Just like a child, he acted according to the same natural method of development.
[23225]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/10, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

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Question: If I walk in faith above reason, does it mean that I am moved by the mind of the group?

Answer: There is no group outside of me. The group is “painted” within me like all the other realities. The notion of the group should be understood as something given from Above. In this way, the Creator is letting me see the friends so that by arranging my relationships with them, I would be able to construct my relationship with Him.

First of all, I yearn for the Creator. But He seems to be placing a condition before me: “Do you want to find a connection with me? Then please be pleasant and close to those who are close to Me. These people, the group I brought you to, are my family. Do you want to do something nice for Me? I will accept nothing from you, but watch how you treat them, what presents you give them, and how kind you are to them. Demonstrate your love to My family, and then you will become close and dear to Me.”

From this, it becomes clear whether you truly desire unconditional closeness with the Creator or act based on egoistic calculations. If you treat the friends well regardless of how you view them and become close with them, then you wish to be close with the Creator indeed. However, if you are unable to be close with them, then it is an egoistic motive which pushes you toward the Creator, and since it is not good for the Creator, you remain outside.

This is how we should view the entire world. The Creator offers us reality as a means to assist our correction and bring us into total equivalence with Him.
[23056]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/10/10, “The Matter of Above Reason”

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