Question: We know that there is no “almost” in spirituality, but at the same time, the spiritual path is divided into levels, and each of them brings us closer to perfection. How does the absolute combine with the gradual advancement?

Answer: On every level, on every spiritual degree, we each have our own measure, according to the order of the realization of the Reshimot (spiritual records). The big general vessel was shattered to pieces, and each piece has its own limits, its own measures of conjugation with others, its measure of correction, and its own “measure of efforts,” both in the absolute value and individually.

Indeed, there is no “almost” in spirituality. If at a given level you correct nine parts out of ten, then you have not managed to correct it yet. Only after you correct the tenth part do you complete the work.

In the same manner the electron cannot exist separately from the atom. The atom is made of many particles and they all have to be in the right place. Later other bigger, more complex forms are created: molecules, cells, and bodies, and they each have to be in their whole measure. Even the smallest measure has to be whole, down to the last smallest particle.

Question: On one hand, everyone has to be as one man with one heart, and on the other, it says that every person can judge the whole world either to the scale of merit or unfavorably. How can we explain that?

Answer: It’s impossible to explain that on our level. It’s impossible to perceive by our mind. It isn’t the laws of ordinary mathematics that operate here, according to which one plus one equals two. Spirituality has its own mathematics.

Question: What is a “whole measure?” What is the criterion for wholeness?

Answer: A whole measure is a sign of change on every level, according to the principle of “I have exerted myself and I have found.” I increasingly exert myself and suddenly I “leap” to a new state. It’s only according to this reaction that I know for sure that I have exerted myself enough. It’s impossible to predict it. There is no “counter,” no indication in advance, according to which I can judge my success.

It’s because we work “above reason,” in bestowal, and bestowal cannot be measured. The measures are always in the desire to receive. In bestowal, the measurement can only be with regards to the revelation, and so it’s always according to “I have exerted myself and I have found.” This “finding” is the ultimate check.
[105446]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/13, “The Introduction to The Book of Zohar” 

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 44: And all the spiritual elements of still, vegetative, and animate in that world, which correspond to that Sefira of Malchut of Assiya, serve and aid that Partzuf of Nefesh of one who has risen there.

Question: What are the spiritual elements of the still, vegetative, and animate nature?

Answer: All the five phases, from the root phase until phase four, connect in a person’s exertion. Although we exert ourselves only with regards to the intention, only with regards to the human nature in us, there are also other layers in the desire, in which we are managed, having no free will. These layers of desire are similar to our physical needs and are included in our work; they operate on us while we cannot influence them in any way. As Baal HaSulam says in “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” the elements of the still, vegetative, and animate nature ascend and descend together with the human level having no accounts of their own.

Question: Does this mean that in spirituality we also do things not by our choice?

Answer: Of course. The same thing also happens in our world since it’s an exact replica of spirituality. I don’t need to work on the multitude of spiritual forces that don’t belong to the human level. On the human level I also have to clarify things first and only then perform corrections. First, I should clarify where exactly I can exert myself so that I will bestow where it can lead to actual results. Most important is to differentiate between the “working area” and the “non-working” one and to put much effort in the former.
[105464]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/13, “The Introduction to The Book of Zohar” 

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Baal HaSulam, “The Writings of the Last Generation,” Part One: It is the responsibility of Israel to accept the international altruistic communism first for all the nations of the world, and to be a model of the goodness and beauty of this regime.

Question: What is the international altruistic communism?

Answer: Baal HaSulam explains this in the “Writings of the Last Generation.” The altruistic communism is based on laws that we study, not from the legacy of Karl Marx, but from The Study of the Ten Sefirot that describes the interaction between the Lights and the vessels. After all, the vessel and the Light have to be in adhesion. What are the necessary conditions for that?

In general, the law of similarity or equivalence of form (=) operates here between the two desires: the desire to receive and the desire to bestow. To resemble the desire to bestow, the desire to receive has to perform the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph –TA), after which it doesn’t want to receive anything for itself. Then it reaches the level of Hafetz Hesed, and afterwards the level of to receive in order to bestow.

Today, after the shattering, the group is built of individual parts. Which laws should operate in it so that we will be able to reach an equivalence of form? How can we make a contract with the Creator so that He will lead us to adhesion? If we think about it, we will see that it’s about the same conditions described in Kabbalah books. There are three factors involved here: the desire to bestow, the desire to be adhered, and the equivalence between them. There is nothing but that.

The desire to bestow (1) is constant (const) as is the desire to receive (2). The third factor is a variable called Masach (screen).

It’s so simple! If only we weren’t blinded by our ego, because of which we don’t want to see the truth.
[105151]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/13, “Israeli Nation” 

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With the help of the environment one should try not to forget that we are specifically making inner corrections. Throughout the entire way, a person perceives his own wretchedness more and more. As it is said, “Where you perceive His greatness, there you perceive His humility.” These two polar opposites are connected and depend upon each other: The higher Keter, the lower Malchut is.

Thus with our point we descend to minus Infinity and with the characteristic of bestowal, with the Reflected Light, we reach plus Infinity. All of our work is in this.

Therefore, we require very strong support from the environment; otherwise, the person is not prepared to descend at all, to shame or to lower himself, to trample on his pride. Even if he wanted, he cannot do this since his entire nature opposes this. This is because he doesn’t have both types of nature in him, only one.

Therefore, there is a great need of an environment that will support you in the goal, of learning in your group that will attract the Light to give you the power to endure blows to your ego, pride, and the desire to control and be the master of every state. In this way you will finally reach adherence with the upper one.

There is no going back, only going towards humility and correction of the ego, bringing us to bestowal and holiness. This correction always happens from within, not through external actions or words.

In order to hasten our development, it is important to pay attention to what you associate your ascents and descents. A descent is suffering from your wounded pride, while an ascent is the feeling of adherence with the Creator. These are determined not by your mood or by something else, but exist only in relation to your pride, narcissism, control, the feeling that you act, decide, and understand on your own. It is specifically here that you feel the blows and descents. You feel that you cannot handle your state or control your life.

And you determine your ascent according to how much you are ready to annul yourself and to find new opportunities for self-abnegation. And a real miracle happens here: From Above you are shown how to annul yourself and how by this all problems and difficulties disappear immediately. This is the next stage of the work, which we must learn from experiencing descents and ascents.
[105524]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/13

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How do we examine our relationship at the beginning and at the end of the work? Where do we begin and what must we reach in the end? A person has to remember always that “There is none else besides Him” and strive not to leave the authority of the one, higher power.

You have to check as to what exactly influences you, in which states there are foreign thoughts and emotions that awaken in you, weakening your feeling of the uniqueness of the upper governance, and you have to work with these states. This is to say that it is forbidden for you to “accidentally” depart from the state of “There is none else besides Him.”

Even if you go to a marketplace or a doctor, it is up to you to know in which part of your grasp of reality you now intend to correct your lack of adherence with the Creator Who “Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before,” Who  controls  you directly and indirectly. The Creator prepared this entire state from the start, but you need to complete it with your attitude.

When your desires are corrected, then the past, present, and future will be connected for you into a single whole. This means that you make an effort physically and mentally in order to connect the behavior of the Creator with yourself, with your mind and heart, so that at all times, in all places, and in all deeds these will be joined together.

This doesn’t mean that you have to ignore the control  of the Creator as if He were not looking out for you. Rather, you have to clarify within yourself, in your private world, the place where you feel an opportunity to add something of yourself and do it yourself. You feel that not all of your actions are done according to the desire of the guiding hand of the Creator. Instead, you feel that this is not the Creator Who acts in you, but you yourself. This is what you need to correct. It is up to you to address cases like this, a desire like this, an area like this.

The work is to invest maximal effort and ultimately reach the decision that “There is none else besides Him.” If you are doing the right action through your connection with the group and self-annulment, by connecting yourself (Israel), the Light that Reforms (the Torah), and the Creator, then you also are connecting all of these states to the Creator and become convinced that “There is none else besides Him.” This means that you are bringing all these states back to holiness.
[105042]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/14/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Items 29 – 30: …This is regarded as being under the Sitra Achra and the Klipot, whose role is to expand and enhance his will to receive and make it exaggerated and unrestrained in any way, to provide one with all the material he needs to work with and correct.

In our evolution, we go through four stages of the desires that belong to this world: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. Each next step is “steeper” than the previous one.

Later, a totally new developmental level begins whereby the desire to receive aspires to correction. The more efforts we apply, the more our aspiration to unity and love is, the more wickedness we reveal in ourselves.

It’s more of a qualitative process during which we acquire the entire “thickness” of desires in the four worlds of ABYA, according to the exertions we apply. Thus, we reach the highest point at which the entire evil inclination is already manifested within us.

Although it is dressed in his will to receive at birth, it only begins to awaken after thirteen years, and then one begins to enter the system of the pure worlds…

One already has a huge, exorbitant egoistic desire within which there is a point in the heart. It is connected to the Light and that’s why it starts acting. Thus, after “thirteen years” of acquiring the entire desire to receive for the sake of receiving, the point in the heart (*) and its connection with the Surrounding Light awakens. It’s as if we inflate the balloon of our desire, reaching our point through the impure worlds of ABYA—and then it awakens.

Until then, it doesn’t surface from the depth. Naturally, we only can correct the defects that have already manifested in us. And vice versa, until they are exposed, why would our points in the heart appear?

When one obtains the excessive spiritual will to receive, one wishes to devour, for one’s own delight, all the wealth and delights in the next, eternal world, which is an eternal possession.

Only if we aspire to unity can we reveal how wicked we in fact are. We try to be friendly and nice, but each time we feel that we are truly indifferent, forgetful, careless, and unresponsive. Sometimes we even admit to ourselves that we enjoy other people’s suffering. Isn’t that so?

This is our nature, our regular egoistic desire with which we were born and live. Previously, it was hiding in the “shade.” At this time, when we strive to unite with others and be kind to them, it started manifesting in us. However, it’s not spirituality as of yet, nor is it genuine bestowal; we are still only attempting to reach it.

Then, the next stage takes place. Before we reached “thirteen years of age,” all we did was try to exit our egoism and reveal the evil inclination inside us, meaning our unwillingness to change and the constant downfalls into an even bigger egoism. However at this time, we stop attempting and start to act in order to reach bestowal. These actions demonstrate the greatness of the Creator to us: eternity, perfection of the universe, and the Light itself.

This is the point at which an egoistic desire to “snatch” everything for one’s own sake wakes up: “Can I steal eternity? Can I reign?” Our actions that are oriented to bestowal absorb lots of the Light. This is the moment when we stumble.

It’s a very special, “juicy” condition. The desire that we acquire in it strives for the upper Light, and it’s a billion times bigger than everything that was revealed to us before.
[103432]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: Can an evil thought be equated to slander?

Answer: Humanity is like a malignant tumor inside nature’s healthy body. The body consists of the still, vegetative, and animate levels of this world, which are in complete harmony with general nature, and under its control that leaves no room for freedom of choice. That’s why these levels cannot be held liable for anything at all since they fully obey natural instincts.

Egoistic nature acts within human beings and motivates them. This makes us different from other beings since we have a tendency to harm others. There is no other creature in this world (a stone, a plant, or an animal) that harms others except humans. People enjoy when others feel bad. This is what is called the human evil.

We don’t kill each other for the sake of food or to avoid dying of hunger. If that were the case, we wouldn’t touch others after satisfying our appetite, as animals do. Human beings want to “swallow” the entire world even after they receive everything they need, and that’s only because they don’t want others to have it.

A desire to harm our neighbors, take advantage of them, and enjoy somebody else’s troubles is called the evil of egoism, which we have to correct. Because of this quality, we act as a foreign body and “infiltrate” the general picture of all of nature, including the higher worlds.

Being a cancerous tumor that strives to ingest everything around pertains solely to this material world and exquisitely to humans. As a result, humanity kills itself because it destroys the environment that becomes unable to feed it any longer. This is how a cancerous tumor behaves in a human body: It devours everything around it. When there is nothing left, the body dies and the tumor dies together with it. Nowadays, we see that humanity behaves the same way and approaches a lethal finale at a tremendous speed.

In order to cure the disease, we have to understand how to approach this phenomenon. We can perform mechanical and physical actions, or we can act at the level of desires and thoughts. We can perform mechanical actions with our bodies even without the desire or much thought. Corporeal bodies are capable of moving either because of persuasion or under outside pressure.

Besides, we have an ability to correct the connection between us by following our desire, meaning from the heart that embodies our feelings. Moreover, we can add our thought, plan, and intention, that is, our reason.

One has only three opportunities to correct one’s attitude to the environment: an action, a desire, and a thought. Out of these three ways, the most effective and powerful is a thought. Thoughts influence our desires that in their turn impact our bodies.

However, there is a different way to activate ourselves, as it is said: “Hearts (desires) follow the actions.” Desires change thoughts. This flexible remedy can be used in various ways.

Connection among people defines the shape of the universe. Corrupt connection is called slander. It stands for a bad attitude to others and an unwillingness to maintain healthy connections and mutual communication, in similarity to organs of a single body, which help each other and make the body healthy. All parameters, such as blood pressure, temperature, fluids, and so on, everything should be in balance. If some bodily organs do not maintain correct interaction with others, it is immediately seen in medical tests.

Everything is built accordingly: ecology, politics, finances, and human relationships. Divorces, depressions, and drugs are the consequences of the imbalance in the system of our connection. It’s not terrible if one person is spoiled—the major thing is a corrupt connection between us. It is the real reason for all our problems. And an incorrect connection is called slander.
[103168]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/19/13, Writings of Rabash

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Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”: And you find that all the seeds from which the good states grow are only the corrupted deeds themselves, meaning that all the exposed evils that come from under the hands of the wicked in the generation join and accumulate to a great sum, until they weigh so heavily that the public can no longer bear them. Then, they rise up and ruin it and create a more desirable state.

All evil must be exposed because the good will sprout out of it. It is impossible to achieve the good unless it is preceded by the revelation of evil.

There is nothing new in it. Abraham spoke about this issue. It is well known both in Kabbalah and outside of Kabbalah. History, nature, and the dialectic process serve as proof to it. Each state lasts until its shortcomings “ripen” to the degree that they become obvious. Namely these shortcomings destroy the current state and shape a subsequent one. This is a scientific and historic fact.

The same laws apply to humans. It is not an accident that children do not obey their parents; it is natural.

Question: If the evil is unavoidable, why do we call the Creator “Good that does Good?”

Answer: It is so because it characterizes a developmental tendency oriented to the goal, rather than the path per se. Can one develop if he feels great? The state of complete comfort doesn’t allow further advancement. What would push us forward if everything were fine?

The problem is that we take good things that happen to us for granted. We don’t value the positive events in our lives, nor do we consider them important. And vice versa, we treat hardships as an unfair burden.

In other words, we evaluate good and bad things on different scales. The final outcome of the deeds we accomplished during our lifespan turns out to be opposite to what we considered them to be. We simply cannot avoid the “pricks” of life. If someone says bad things about us, we boil for many months until we find a way to repay the debt. Everything that we bear in mind and heart against those who insulted us seems normal and natural to us: “He deserves it!”

Question: Still, shouldn’t there be a balance between troubles and joys? Instead, we are told that we are beholden to the Creator from the very beginning. As it is written, “‘All is in deposit, and a fortress spreads over all of life. The store is open and the shopkeeper sells by deferred payment; the book is open and the hand writes. And all who wish to borrow may come and borrow…’” (Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”). What exactly does He lend me?

Answer: The thing is that you can take goods from the shop now and pay for them later. Today, grocery stores use the system where their owners keep track of what their regular customers bought on credit, and at the end of month the latter have to pay their bills. On our way to the goal, we also are allowed to borrow. Moreover, we’ll pay our debts not at intermediate stages, but the very end of our path, when the goal is achieved.

At this time, we only beg the Host to grant us powers, desiring to obtain certain virtues: “Where is Your generosity? Where is Your empathy?” Take everything you want from the shelves; everything is at our disposal. You will pay your debts at the very end of the path when your job is complete.

In fact, there is nothing to return since we will change so much that our indebtedness will disappear.

So, don’t think that the Creator needs our payment. No, He needs only our attitude. He wants us to agree with His calculations and nothing more than that. Our “healthy” egoism prompts us that there is a trick on the Creator’s behalf, but it is not true. With our mere consent to receive the power for correction, we will immediately receive it and will pay off our bills.
[102891]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/13, “The Peace” 

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Question: How do we build the right intention in us?

Answer: The intention is the result of the work of the person, the result of the Light that influences him, as a reaction to his right efforts to be included into the group, from his intention to acquire an intention for the sake of bestowal. Only the Light can give him this intention, its power.

When the Light illuminates the center of the group, everyone is connected to that center as to a well of living water, and then everyone and all together receive the Light that Reforms. In this way, thanks to the intention, we correct the desire so that it will be under the control of the intention. This is called the people of Israel conquering the land, meaning the power of intention.

This is the work in the group and during the study, where everyone intends to attract the Light that Reforms. This is continuous work to attract the Light to the center of the group, into the connection between us, our readiness to be one. Thanks to the illumination that comes, our vessels of reception are expanded “620” times. This is, by correcting each and every step, every small desire, with the intention in order to bestow, we build an immense desire that contains many distinctions. Every part swells 620 times.

The center of the group is the Shechina, our connection as one person with one heart. This is not our whim, but the condition of the spiritual statute, which demands this kind of connection from us in order to correspond to the Light. So, to the degree of the effort that we invest, the Light will act on us and help us to really connect.

The moment that we reach the first minimal degree of connection, we begin to discover the Light within us. This is called crossing the Machsom (the border to the upper world), birth into the spiritual world, meaning to a state of absolute bestowal to everyone and from all of us to the Creator.

The Light performs corrections, while our task is to exert effort.
[105171]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Baal HaSulam: “The Writings of the Last Generation”: It is a fact that Israel are the most hateful of all the nations whether it is for religious reasons, because of race, because of…or because of cosmopolitanism, etc. It is because hate precedes all the reasons, but everyone solves his hate according to his own psychology.

Once the nation of Israel was as one man with one heart, and hence although it’s dispersed all over the world today, the nations of the world treat us as one whole. In the world, this attitude is originally rooted between the desire to receive and the intention for the sake of bestowal, and we have to correct it only on the spiritual degrees.

There cannot be any correction in our world. Although there are attempts to “mediate” between us and our Palestinians neighbors, Turkey or others, there is no way these problems can be solved on the level of our world. It’s because our situation here is only the result of an action that stems from Above.

This is one of the fundamental laws. There is only a motionless desire to receive in this world. The only thing that can move it is the Light, the force of life.

When the Light comes in its time, it brings about trouble and evil (1). Why? It’s because it is then revealed through its posterior. But if the Light comes as a result of our request for correction (MAN), it’s revealed as the good and benevolent Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif, OM).

Thus the only difference is to what extent we can advance towards the goal faster than the forces that come from Above. Our free will is between these two options.

So there are simply no efficient means on the level of this world. Talks on all levels, politics, the UN, and so on are all useless. In fact, it’s all the outcome of the action of the upper Light that influences different factors in our world according to the first option.

No matter how many decisions are made in summit meetings and conventions, the Light actually determines everything. Essentially, the politicians are puppets, and the only thing that is really effective is our request for correction, which we raise before the negative force comes. Only then will the negative force be changed to the positive one—after all, we want to be corrected without waiting for trouble.

So how do we reach this request? We do so with the help of the group and the study (a prayer). The group connects us into one body, one vessel, and by praying during the lesson we connect to the one source of the Light, to the Creator.

[105145]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/13, “The Israeli Nation”

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