Question: If the Creator’s plan is to bring man to the purpose of creation, what did He gain from the events that took place in Israel at the beginning of the month? What is their outcome?

Answer: I am not going to check how the people changed. We act along the axis of time: There was a state before the fire, then there was a fire that took people’s lives and destroyed vegetation, and when it was over, the rain fell.

What changed in this period of time? You started asking questions: “Why did the rain start the day after the fire had been put out? Was it some kind of joke? During the fire we needed rain so much and begged for it so passionately, but there was no response. And when we didn’t need it any longer, it started raining cats and dogs bringing so much damage. We were struck twice.”

Indeed, it is exactly as the Torah describes: If Israel is unworthy, the rain falls at the wrong time in the wrong place. It is the law of nature. Above there is the Light, and below there is the will to receive (desire) that must reach equivalence with the Creator. The Light constantly works on desire, and the latter keeps changing.

The Creator does only this calculation: two states, the initial and the final one, must be the same. Based on this, He acts. Just as the Light created four phases of expansion of the Direct Light, it continues to develop everything within them.

The Creator doesn’t react; it is the law or Nature. What do you want from Him? Would you be willing to approach an erupting volcano and beg: “Do me a favor, stop erupting for a few minutes, I need to pass through?”

Why then do you think the Creator will respond to your prayers? In this case, you are worshiping an idol. You view Him as wishing stars that bring luck, as if with their help you may change your fate. It’s true that you can learn something about the future, but changing it is beyond your power.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/12/10, “A Handmaid that is Heir to Her Mistress”

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Why was all this life drama necessary: for Israel to exit Babylon by separating from the rest of humanity, ascend to the spiritual level, build the First and the Second Temples, and then break and fall into the Klipot (shells)? It was done in order to collect a little Upper Light from Above and bring it downward, to the souls, in tiny sparks.

These sparks are the result of the breaking, and this is why they can exist inside the ego according to the law of equivalence of form. And if there is a spark in the ego, it can raise MAN (prayer) through the group that will pass this request to the Creator. The Creator will send a response in the form of the Light that Reforms that will perform a correction.

In the spark itself there is nothing to correct, but the Light will correct its connection with the other souls so that the will to receive pleasure (desire) will participate in it as well. Gradually, a person bonds with all others, and the souls begin to unify into one soul again.

Hence, this entire process undergone by the group called Israel was solely in order to correct all the other souls. Otherwise, Babylon couldn’t have been reformed for it didn’t possess spiritual sparks.

Thus, some time ago humanity divided into two groups. One of them went on attaining the spiritual world and later returned: It broke apart and fell into the material world. But this group brought the sparks of the breaking with them, and for the next two thousand years, the two groups were “stewed” together and intermixed. The time was pre-set for it. Now, the time is up and what are we to do next?

Now we have to clarify the conditions of correction both on the spiritual level and on the material one. Therefore, mankind is entering a global crisis while at the same time the method to resolve it, the wisdom of Kabbalah, is being revealed.

We are able to feel all of it only because the sparks of the breaking are living within us.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/6/10, The Zohar, Introduction, Article “Who Created These”

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There is Israel in the inner sense (Isra-El, Yashar Kel, straight to the Creator), which is a person with a point in the heart or one who aspires to spirituality. Besides, there is an external meaning to the nation of Israel. However, they also aren’t just people, but souls who were chosen in Ancient Babylon by the force called Abraham (the force of Hesed, bestowal) out of the general breakage called “the Babylonian confusion.”

Back then this confusion took place on the first degree of desire and it was from there (from Babylon) that Abraham chose these desires, which desired to correct themselves. Later they attained the level of Mochin de Haya – the First Temple, meaning that they already ascended to the level of AB and SAG, and then broke.

Now these Kelim are included in the general desire and it’s clear that compared to others, they contain a preliminary preparation, which helps them begin to ascend. These Kelim are called Israel in our world.

That is why there is a difference between a person who was born a Jew and one who was not born a Jew but who belongs to Israel by virtue of his point in the heart. A person who was born part of Israel probably has an inclination to ascend inherent from the previous breakage.

However, if a person does not belong to the nation of Israel by birth, it is unknown who he is because we do not know where the ten lost tribes of Israel are located, as they were dispersed after the breaking of the First Temple. They did not take part in building the Second Temple and therefore did not reach “unfounded hatred,” which was the reason for its destruction. They only went through the first breakage, not being able to “receive for the sake of bestowal.” However, it’s as if they kept the degree of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal” in an unbroken state!

That is to say, now as we ascend from below upwards and attain the level of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal” in the general mass, we will reveal the ten lost tribes! We will attain equivalence of form with them and then they will be found.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/5/10, Introduction to the Book of Zohar

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Baal HaSulam, “Messiah’s Horn”: …the children of Israel are redeemed only after the wisdom of the hidden is revealed to a great extent, as it is written in The Zohar, “With this composition, the children of Israel are redeemed from exile.”

Until the wisdom of Kabbalah has spread all over the world, Israel (“Isra” – “directly,” “El” – Creator), meaning those who aspire for the Creator, will not be able to reveal the Light that Reforms, which must pass through them to all humanity. The world has to be ready to receive the wisdom; otherwise Israel will remain enslaved to their egoistic nature.

The Zohar was revealed in order to accelerate the development of the entire world. But what is so special about this Book? Why does it affect the world so much?

The truth is that we do not live in this corporeal world, it just appears this way to us on our internal “screens.” The world is one; reality is one.

Thus, when The Book of Zohar, a spiritual source, is revealed on the corporeal level, it influences and affects us. Existing among all the souls, this source accelerates our progress and spreads like a virus. It penetrates every desire, every reaction, and begins to change them.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/19/10, “Messiah’s Horn”

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Baal HaSulam’s article “Exile and Redemption” (Synopsis):

Harmony Between Religion and the Law of Development or Blind Fate
“And among these nations shalt thou have no repose.”

“And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; in that you say we will be as the nations, as the families of the countries.”

The nation of Israel cannot exist in exile. It will find no rest there, as other nations that mixed with others and dissolved in them without a trace.

Not so is the house of Israel. This nation will find no rest among the nations until it realizes the verse, “And from there you will seek the Creator.”

And we say about all the rebuke that is happening to us that it is chance and blind fate. This has but one cure—to bring the troubles back on us to such an extent that we will see that they are not coincidental but steadfast Providence.

Due to the wisdom of Kabbalah, a far more rapid development than the other nations has come to us. And because the members of the nation developed so, there was always the necessity to go forward and self-correct.

And because they would not do it, but wished to include their narrow selfishness, this developed the ruin of the First Temple, since they wished to extol wealth and power above justice, as other nations.

But because the wisdom of Kabbalah prohibits it, they denied it and the prophecy and adopted the manners of the neighbors so they could enjoy life as much as selfishness demanded of them.

And because they did that, the powers of the nation disintegrated: Some followed the kings and the selfish officers, and some followed the Kabbalists. And that separation continued until the ruin.

In the Second Temple, it was even more conspicuous, since the beginning of the separation was publicly displayed by egoistic disciples. Their mutiny against our sages revolved primarily around the obligation of Lishma.

Because they did not want to retire from selfishness, they created communities of this corrupt kind and became a great sect called “Tzedokim” (Sadducees) who were the rich and the officers, pursuing selfish desires.

And they fought the Prushim (Pharisees), those who exited from their egoism, and brought the Roman kingdom’s rule over Israel. They are the ones who would not make peace with the imperious, as the Kabbalists advised, until the house was ruined and the glory of Israel was exiled.

The Difference Between A Secular Ideal and A Religious Ideal

A secular ideal stems from humanness to raise itself, in similarity to humanness.

But a spiritual idea, which stems from the Creator, can raise itself above humanity.

This is because the basis for a secular ideal is equalization and the price of glorifying man, and he acts to boast in the eyes of people, even if they don’t know him.

A spiritual ideal, however, is based on glory in the eyes of the Creator. Hence, he who follows a religious idea can raise himself above humanness.

In exile, for as long as we followed the intention of Lishma, we retained strength. But because people rebelled against this in their aspiration to execute their selfish ploys, we have lost life’s purpose.

Instead of scattering monetary surplus on collective needs, they were scattered on the joys of life.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, the natural law of development, goes hand in hand in wondrous unity even with blind faith. Thus, the bad incidences in the exile, which we have much to tell of from the days of our exile were all because we embezzled the Torah. And if we kept the commandments of the Torah (unity and Lishma), no harm would come to us.

Congruity and Unity Between the Wisdom of Kabbalah and Blind Faith, and the Development of Human Calculation

Hence, we must say to our troubles, “Enough!” and at the very least, make a human calculation regarding our country as well: We have no hope of remaining on this earth as a nation as long as we do not accept the work with the intention of Lishma, and not for oneself.

If we do not establish ourselves accordingly, then we will undoubtedly be pushed right and left as all nations are, and much more so. This is because the nature of the developed is that they cannot be restrained, for any important notion that comes from an opinionated person will not bow its head before anything and knows no compromise.

This is a psychological law.

They believe that in the end, the other side will understand the danger and will bow his head and accept their opinion. But the nature of the developed will not allow one to surrender to the other even a little, and no danger will interrupt anyone from carrying out his ambition.

As long as we do not raise our goal above the corporeal life, we will have no corporeal revival.

We are the children of the idea. And even if we are immersed in materialism, we will still not give up the idea. Hence, it is the holy purpose for His name that we need.
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Question: We have managed to organize a really great Convention. Does that prove that we are advancing by way of the Light (the Torah) and not by way of suffering?

Answer: Certainly! After all, we have been allowed to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah among wide audiences and in the place where the most powerful force of resistance (Klipa) resides, in Israel, the place of the destruction of the Temple, the spiritual breaking.

The rest of the world doesn’t resist Kabbalah as much since it doesn’t know much about it. But in Israel, there is great resistance to it because long ago these people resided on the spiritual plane, living with the intention of love and bestowal to others. However, then they fell from that level to unfounded hatred, the impure forces, Klipa, the egoistic intention. This is why here, the territory of Israel, is the place where the forces of evil and the greatest impurity become revealed. However, this is also the place of their correction.

It is even worse in Jerusalem, the place of the destruction of the Temple. But the worst place of all is the “Holy of Holies”, the most sacred place in the Temple, which became the place of the greatest impurity.

Hence, the fact that we are able to arrange such an enormous and well-known Convention in Israel, which has been announced on television, in the newspapers, and even on the commercial billboards on the streets, and we have been able to attract thousands of people to participate in it, indicates that the Creator is employing us as the medium of His revelation to the created beings! The Creator is performing these actions, which are aimed at achieving correction because the time for it has come!

However, it isn’t just a smooth journey lying ahead of us. The path to the rose, Malchut, lies through its thorns (see the “Preface to the Book of Zohar,” chapter “The Rose”). Therefore, we are yet to struggle for Malchut’s redemption in order to reach its corrected sate, the rose. And we are yet to discover resistance to our aspirations toward the integration of the entire world and “Love thy neighbor as you love thyself”!
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From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article “The Last Generation” on 11/07/10

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In his article "Exile and Redemption," Baal HaSulam writes that Israel (a person who searches for the Creator) will find no rest among the “other nations” (desires of this world) until the following takes place within him: “And from there you shall crave the Creator, and you shall find Him, for you shall look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Until you have reached such a request, you have no chance of escaping Egypt for it is only with a ripe desire that you will gain your freedom. Your own desires to remain in Egypt are the guards that are keeping you there.

This is why the 10 Egyptian plagues are necessary. In order to be born, one must come to feel a great yearning for the next degree, that is, to desire what’s on the outside while still remaining on the inside.

It’s as though there are two totally opposite desires inside of you. They cannot be reconciled, but you come to a point where they almost connect, and that is when the breakthrough happens. The force of the Upper One expels you and hurls you onto the next degree in accordance with the principle, “I labored and I found” (Igati ve Matsati).

Indeed, you have achieved the point of near-contact between your desire in your current state and your subsequent state. In nature it is impossible for the desire to receive to make contact with the desire to bestow. Therefore, when this transition takes place inside you, the Creator completes the work (the serpent’s bite), and you are born on the next degree!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, “Exile and Redemption”

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Since the times of ancient Babylon, there are people who belong to “Isra-El,” that is, have a desire for the Creator. Their number is increasing over the course of history because their souls are becoming mutually incorporated in one another. This is why there are so many people now who search for spiritual redemption, meaning desire to abandon the property of egoistic reception and attain bestowal.

There is an inner struggle inside each one of us between the desire of “Isra-El” which strives to reach love and bestowal and all our other desires which do not yet wish to hear of bestowal and unity. This way, man constantly balances between the two sides, the two powers.

When the desire is truly to bestow, when there is a spiritual spark that remains from the breaking, the person will not be able to remain submerged in his egoism, in his desires of the “nations of the world.” Spiritual sparks will necessarily flow out of there.

At first, they fell and mixed with this enormous egoistic desire, as if they were thrown into a “broth” and had “soaked it up,” and then they were taken out together with the desire (Aviut or coarseness) they had “soaked up.” In other words, the spark (GE) returns to its place, but now it is surrounded with the desires which have attached themselves to it. They are called AHP de Aliyah (of elevation).

However, as long as Israel, the desire for the Creator, is submerged into the desires of the “nations of the world,” it will not find peace and will keep being pushed out by them as a foreign body in order to ascend and perform the correction. To be in the power of these desires is referred to as exile, while the ascent and correction is referred to as redemption.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, "Exile and Redemption"

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The Zohar, Chapter “BeHukotai (In My Statutes),” Item 50: “And I will chastise you, to go into exile. And if you say that I will leave you, I, too, am with you.”

Even though we are talking about actions that aren’t done for the sake of reward, in actuality such an action cannot exist in nature. We always require a reward as energy for our action. After all, only crazy people and little children act purposelessly.

However, our goal is to attain revelation, to see the true state, to understand its reasons, and to realize what our place is. We need the full scope of the truth, here and in all the worlds.

The revelation of this truth is the revelation of the Creator. This is our reward. That is how the essence of the science of Kabbalah is defined: It is the revelation of the Creator to the creatures in this world.

We aspire to the highest reward, yet we don’t acquire it in the form of egoistic fulfillment, but in our aspiration from falsehood to truth. My entire life can seem like luxury that’s so sweet, it’s nauseating. However, at the same time I feel empty because there is no truth in it. Then I change my goal: Instead of receiving direct fulfillment with sweetness, I want to acquire the fullness of truth.

It isn’t easy to achieve this. In Hebrew the word truth consists of three letters – אמת. Alef is the first letter of the alphabet, Mem signifies Bina, the quality of bestowal, and Tav is the last letter of the alphabet. In other words, all my qualities must come together around Bina, the intention for the sake of bestowal, and then I will understand what this is and will reveal the Creator.

Truth is the criterion of my exile. If I see that I am in exile relative to the truth, that means I am in exile relative to the Creator. In the final, desirable state we are united, merged, and fused together in one, perfect, unceasing Zivug. And that means that right now we are both in an undesirable state. In other words, both me and Him are in exile.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/3/10, “The Creator and Israel Went Into Exile”

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The spark called “Isra-El” becomes revealed in a person through the fact that he comes to Kabbalah. Otherwise, what force would bring him there? Every person who studies has this spark; otherwise he wouldn’t study.

We are all swimming in the field of the Upper Force, the force of the desire to receive or the desire to bestow, from one end to the other end, finding a suitable point of balance at every moment. It’s as if every person is inside an electromagnetic field as a charged particle that reacts to the field’s influence. If the field changes, it transfers a person from one place to another, like a particle.

That is how you came to Kabbalah. A desire awakened inside you that belongs to this sum of people, and you joined them. That is why you are called “Isra-El” (straight to the Creator) according to this spark. This desire for bestowal cannot rest until you realize it. You won’t be able to keep living in your inner exile anymore!

7,000 people are about to gather at the Convention; some of them live in Israel and some are from all over the world. However, every one of them is in exile from the spiritual world! Like one spiritual nation of “Isra-El,” they are all united by the spark that does not belong to the material world. For now it exists in spirituality only as a point, but according to its goal these people are already called “the Creator’s nation” by virtue of their future state.

When all these people come together and connect their spark together, each of them contributes his small force and then every person receives the force from everyone, helping him to enter the spiritual world.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/10, “Exile and Redemption”

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