Question: With respect to the general public, our method should be the means by which they will be provided with basic needs such as food, safety, and health. How does it help them reveal the spiritual world?

Answer: They reveal the spiritual world more passively than we do.

We become connected with the upper one to bring the Light that Reforms and to resemble It. This Light we pass on, carrying the method of correction to people. And they perform only the necessary steps under our direction, not caring about the Light, and this practice of connection is enough to bring it to their environment. The Light will affect and advance them towards the understanding and feeling, and then they will want to receive it themselves to move towards unity and the revelation of the Creator, as it is written: “All shall know Me, young and old.”

Thus, we must carry the method of unity to the people so that they feel good. We cannot explain what “good” actually means; however, the Reforming Light lies in these activities, and due to It, people will move further and further in the interpretation of their benefit until they come to The Good and Who Does Good.

Question: How is it combined with people’s simple needs, for example, for cheaper food?

Answer: We explain how to unite so that food becomes cheaper. Of course, no one wants to unite, but this is the condition if we want to achieve something, and that is why a person pays this price. And then, continuing to act in the same direction, he discovers that unity is a treasure in itself: not as a tool to help you achieve something, but as a state. This is how the Light acts, giving us a new understanding.

So, we explain to people that united together they will have many advantages. Mutual support will instill in them a sense of security; their life will become better, safer, etc. Of course, you have to pay for it by a measure of personal convenience, by a share of your egoism, but it is easy and attractive with overall participation. The strength of the masses does the job. And then, having approached realization, people will see that it really brings them benefits, that the solution to the problems has been found.
There will be no repeating of the scenario of Soviet Russia or Israeli kibbutzim; the script of unity is just for the sake of a better life. After all, today we are engaged in the process, and only through our participation people come together so that it is good and useful for development. Suddenly, they will feel that unity attracts them because therein lies a higher root, a higher state, something that fills them with the spirit of life. So, they will go ahead.

Question: Where do we need to start our explanations to involve them in the process?

Answer: We need to develop an approach that would allow properly explaining to people that unity can greatly improve society, to achieve discounts and mutually beneficial exchange, learning to help each other, instead of paying someone money, etc. Someone will voluntarily take on a children’s club, others will also contribute, and we will be able to live a normal life without money, discounted by the crisis. We will feel the need for and the benefits of reciprocity.

Of course, without the Light that Reforms, not intending to unite seriously, people would “run away” after having used each other. But here, thanks to our leadership, people will feel the need for internal growth. Time after time, they will discover higher desires that require fulfillment, for the time being egoistic. And then, gradually, people will come to the altruistic intention from Lo Lishma to Lishma (not for Her name to Her name).

Thus, everyone goes through the same process; only their starting point lies below our point. We begin with the state of “Yisrael,” with the aspirations “straight to the Creator” (Yashar-El), we have the urge to reveal the spiritual world. And they do not have this attraction, and that is why we have to pull them along, to be what is called the “Light for the nations.” We conduct the Light in the actions of unity, through which we train people. These actions benefit the people, and meanwhile, the Light hidden in them develops people.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/5/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: When we turn to the general public we first of all propose they unite in order to solve their daily troubles. Then the real meaning of the unity will be revealed, is this true?

Answer: Yes. From an egoistic intention (Lo Lishma—not for Her sake) we move on to an altruistic intention (Lishma—for Her sake). Baal HaSulam writes about it in the Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot (items 138-139): “People turn to the Torah from the worst state.” We may ask, who let them? Who gave them permission to do so? The sources describe in legends how the angels asked the Creator: “How can You give Your Torah, Your study to such lowly creatures?” But Moses beat the angels by asking: “Do you feel envy? Is there an evil inclination in you?” This is the only way; we have to use the force of the Light in the situations that the Creator sends us on purpose when there is nothing in our soul.

So we have to present the method of correction to people and explain that we should connect and unite. The more softly and accessibly we convey this message, the faster they will accept it and will not deteriorate into real hunger and real critical states.

Today we are not dying of hunger, but we do feel the limitations and the growing pressure of the circumstances. If now, while the situation is not threatening yet, we manage to convince people, things will work out. If we don’t, things will get worse and deteriorate to a level in which we will be able to meet the masses and reach them. Then we will be able to present the right explanations to them and they will listen to us.

But we have to bring them the information about what is going on now, out of love and concern. Not even a fraction of the evil has been revealed and we already have to think about how to overcome the crisis. But today we “go out to the people” not in order to take part in demonstrations, but in order to explain.

What is more, in Israel we cooperate with other social movements in order to create a connecting network among the people. There are many organizations and circles that can cooperate with us in the process. Our participation is enough in order to start the support from Above.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/5/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: How can we convince ourselves that we are waiting for not an ordinary convention, but really there will be something special at this convention?

Answer: First, we have come to the state where the world demands this. The world has long been in a “desperate state,” but all this is just masked, obscured. But no matter how you hide them, the problems have already come out from under this cover. And that is why, while they are still trying to hide something, it no longer helps.

So, on the one hand, we see that the world forces us. And this is the most important thing since Kabbalah was revealed because the world is beginning to come to integral interdependence. But no one, except Kabbalah, has the method of preserving society, peace, family, and oneself in this integral interaction.

That is why Kabbalah was waiting for this moment to be revealed and to become the method of constructing a new society. We have to demonstrate on ourselves how to do this and learn from lectures and workshops how to teach this so that it is very clear and simple.

Every person who comes to the congress, in principle, is a potential distributor who will be able to give lectures, organize workshops and roundtables, etc. At least, if a person is not able to learn everything, he will still be able to absorb something and then finish his studies in our courses. I very much look forward to it.

We have to go through all the states that a person must pass beginning from zero and finishing with full connection with each other.
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From a Virtual Lesson 7/29/12

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Question: Why are we engaged in dissemination as if we want to correct the world if we need to correct only ourselves?

Answer: You see other people around you who seemingly have their own power and are strangers to you. But this is the way your split perception is revealed to you, the difference between you and the corrected soul.

The corrected soul feels that there is no external world and it’s all in your heart. And as long as you can’t feel this way, it’s the sign of a fault within you. So, you need to take care of others and convince them. You need to approach them to the extent that they seem external to you.

You treat them like strangers whom you should attract to correction. And if you do it properly, then you train yourself internally. Supposedly by reaching out to people and correcting them, you really correct yourself inside, and due to that they are changing!

Do you think that you go out into the world and give lectures to others? In fact, you give the lecture to yourself. You think you are trying to change them? It’s you who persuades yourself to change!

You can’t approach yourself directly and make a correction in yourself. You have no power. By seeing flaws in others, the force of egoism helps you correct them. You have to correct yourself in such a deceptive form.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Not many are attracted to the wisdom of Kabbalah today. Should we expect the awakening of new points in the heart according to our dissemination?

Answer: I don’t have an accurate answer for this question. I don’t want to say anything that Kabbalists didn’t write about. But you should understand that there is a hero in quantity and there is a hero in quality. It says: “You are the fewest of all the people.” So in the future there will also be few people, like the members of our groups all over the world and also “fans,” outer circles, that are not aimed at the wisdom of Kabbalah directly, but who listen to and support us and feel close to us.

We are very few, but strong and powerful in height, in understanding, in recognition, in our connection with Godliness. Through us, like through lightning, the forces will flow down to earth, the recommendations, the plans and events for the general public. Then when they will have no choice or perhaps because they may believe us, people will get used to our message.

If there is one sighted person who is leading a group of blind people, Baal HaSulam says they can follow him and be sure they will reach the goal. I don’t think anything will seriously change in this scenario.

We give lectures and hold roundtables, open courses, but not in order to bring people closer, not in order to draw them to our lines. On the contrary, we should work in their “territory,” and convey the general, “popular” method of correction to them and not our special method. Masachim (screens), Lights, vessels, Partzufim, restrictions, all this isn’t for them. People only need to know about the general connection that would ease the corporeal life.

This is our message to the public. We shouldn’t “inject” Kabbalah and the high material into them. We should speak to people at eye level, at the “pulse of his heart,” about what worries him: the education of his children, his daily troubles, etc.

We should emphasize and evoke his deficiency a little and show him that we can calm him and fill him by our method.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: Baal HaSulam says that if we don’t keep the balance between the forces of receiving and bestowal, nature punishes us. Why should people be punished if they don’t know anything about it?

Answer: It isn’t “punishment” in the usual sense, but rather the way a person is evoked to self-correction. On the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature, the “punishment” is the correction itself. On the other hand, on the human level the punishment is the awakening, the push so that a person will hasten his correction in “I shall hasten it” and not in “it’s time.”

In the meantime we develop according to the first three levels—the still, vegetative, and animate—and our development is a natural, instinctive process, which we call “according to schedule,” “in its time,” according to the plan. Kabbalists knew in advance the approximate dates of the different phases, but starting from the 15th century, the wisdom of Kabbalah became part of this as it was meant to speed up the process. Since then, part of humanity continues to receive “ordinary” blows and problems that lead to scientific, technological progress, while another part began to receive special blows, that are intentional and by which people are evoked and turn to the wisdom of Kabbalah. This awakening started from the Baal Shem Tov who actually opened the gates to the internal work for the Jewish people and founded its principles for the future generations. He didn’t write anything, but he disseminated the method to an unprecedented extent. He was an exceptionally practical man, considering the conditions in his time.

It was the Baal Shem Tov who initiated the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah for the masses. He had power that was given to him from Above, of course, to insert the sparks into the devastated nation that had been through troubles such as poverty and pogroms in Eastern Europe. He organized people and built a general network among them. He began to reveal to them the structure of the spiritual reality: the five worlds, Sefirot, Partzufim… then The Book of Zohar became accessible to the masses, which again was an unprecedented event. It was possible for the Hasidim to keep it on their bookshelf since the wisdom of Kabbalah was not forbidden anymore.

The first students of the Baal Shem Tov were great Kabbalists. They founded Hasidic movements and wrote books that the people could accept. These books, which are written in a very emotional, beautiful language made people accustomed to the internal work.

It isn’t by chance that Baal HaSulam thinks very highly of the Baal Shem Tov; after all, he started a true Kabbalistic revolution and opened the door that used to be locked for all those who are interested in it. He himself is still a mystery; we can talk about his actions but not about him.

His students carried on his work, each according to his character, and eventually all the Hasidic movements made a great step towards the fulfillment of the wisdom of Kabbalah among the people. People began to respect the spiritual attainment, the self-annulment and the love of others. Concepts such as “Love thy friend as thyself,” and “Worship the Lord with joy” became part of life. It was a time of very intensive internal work.

Only two hundred years later there was a descent, when the Hasidic movement became a “ritual” and the internality became externality again.

If we come back to the question, we are concealing the facts from ourselves; we don’t want to hear about them, and the moment we forget about the spiritual work, we are immediately back in our corporeal work. Here the ego that controls us operates and it conceals even the slightest connection with the Creator from us; it conceals His actions, His existence. We don’t want to know anything about Him.

It isn’t by chance that this concealment is so great; it builds the space for a person to stabilize himself. On the other hand, he is reminded of what’s important and is evoked and brought to the group. This process will gradually spread all over the world, but first there is the period of darkness, which is the basis upon which a person should build himself in the future.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/02/12, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” p. 57: If the worshipers of the Creator had at least engaged in the internality of the Torah and extended a complete Light from Ein Sof, the whole generation would have followed them. And everyone would be certain of their way that they would not fall. But if even the servants of the Creator have distanced themselves from this wisdom, it is no wonder the whole generation is failing because of them. And because of my great sorrow, I cannot elaborate on that!

If the masses studying the Torah understood what the true teaching is… That is how they call the wisdom of Kabbalah, but they do not want to learn it. And yet, if they had taken up this science, of course, we could have made great corrections, both quantitative and qualitative. And then our situation today would be different.

Who is more aware of this gap between the desired and reality than Baal HaSulam, when instead of internality we are preoccupied with externality? The end of the 19th century, when the return to the land of Israel was allowed, was the latest milestone. In general this period lasts from the time of the Ari, the Messiah, son of Joseph.

Rabbi Abraham Ben Mordechai Azulai writes in the “Introduction to the book, Ohr HaChama [Light of the Sun]” 81:

The prohibition from Above to refrain from open study of the wisdom of truth was for a limited period, until the end of 1490. Thereafter is considered the last generation, in which the prohibition was lifted and permission has been granted to engage in The Book of Zohar. And since the year 1540, it has been a great Mitzva (precept) for the masses to study, old and young. And since the Messiah is bound to come as a result, and for no other reason, it is inappropriate to be negligent.

From here, we can understand at least a bit how much we lose because we still neglect the science of Kabbalah, and what harm it carried to the people then and to this day. In essence, we make a great offense.

Question: Baal HaSulam writes that: “The entire generation would have followed us.” Does this mean that everyone should learn the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: It is not accustomed to speak in the subjunctive mood, and yet: If the religious people in those generations had studied Kabbalah and added the hidden part—the writings of the Ari and the teaching of Baal Shem Tov—to the explicit part, then over time, we would have corrected ourselves. First of all, we would have felt reality correctly. People would not have abandoned the religion; the time of the “Haskalah” (the Age of Enlightenment), caused by separation from the right direction in human development, would not have arrived.

After completing a period of spiritual exile, in the 15th century, the Jewish people would have continued towards salvation and ascent.

It was from that time that “the era of the last generation” has begun. Even then we had to become engaged in Kabbalah, that is, the method of correction that carries the Light that Reforms everyone, and all of us together. Then the nations of the world would have received illumination through us, which would have changed their attitude.

However, we did not engage into the internal part of the Torah, the science of Kabbalah, and thus, we did not have connection with the Light. It affected us in its own way, according to the new epoch, and this made our path more difficult. Instead of the Light, the world grew dark because we were not able to accept It. Darkness is the same Light that we cannot discern in our corrupted desires. If we had corrected ourselves, we would have felt Its approach as something desirable. However, everything went to the contrary; we don’t want the Light, and It turns into darkness for us, terrible suffering.

That’s the problem: So far, people were engaged in the Torah only externally, in the studies. “Externally” means not in order to correct the soul. The exile in which we are was caused by the fact that we don’t correct ourselves, but study without advancement. Once, we had to act that way, but chronologically this period ended in the 15th century. We are 500 years behind.

Question: Today, it turns out that the secular part of the population is closer to the Kabbalah.

Answer: Right. Let’s hope that situation will change. In the meantime, the religious part is going through the stage of the awareness of evil in themselves and in the contemporary events. Little by little, in different forms, it begins to realize that. And this will happen in a couple of years.

In any case, we are not going to correct anyone but ourselves. Anyone who wants to join the process of correction is welcome. In the total system, we are all interconnected; so let’s hope that this will affect everyone.

If the religious audience had begun to study Kabbalah, of course, we would have quickly come to general correction. However, such are the conditions, such are the properties inherent in the receiving desire.

In addition, we must understand that what we face is a consequence of the breaking and exile. This part of the people should behave in this way. Indeed, we are all driven by nature, and nothing is beyond its scope. During the exile, a person is in the nature of the desire to receive; he does not feel his connection with the Creator. The upper Light and the Creator are not revealed to him and there is no connection. On the other hand, he is content by studying the Torah and the Commandments in their current form. And that is why, tied by the left line, he just cannot get out of this state.

This is the result of the path we have traversed, and we cannot accuse anyone of anything. We look at these social events as researchers, objectively, remembering that there is none else besides Him. So it had to happen.

As for the practical corrections, we need to understand that now everything depends on us. We demand nothing from anyone but ourselves. This is our approach to every part of human society and to everyone: We must give him the best explanation, and then it is his free choice.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/01/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: Should we prepare those who now are taking the course in integral education to become instructors?

Answer: Absolutely! The method of changing a person must serve all of humanity. Everyone who understands, knows, and knows how to teach this method will be viewed as a public treasure.

They will be needed at any enterprise, in manufacturing, government, school, and family, as family counselors, psychologists, and so on. People will need them.

That is why we just need to educate instructors from our friends who are studying both Kabbalah and the method of integral education. They are the foundation, the source through which the upper force will act on the entire world.

People will feel this. Each person will be worth his weight in gold. He will be appreciated greatly and be extremely popular. That is why we must prepare them as teachers, tutors of integral education, and for all ages, for both men and women.
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From a Fundamentals of Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/12

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We need to accelerate time. On the eve of the High Holidays in Israel, we must be prepared to use this time properly.

There comes a special period, leading to the correct understanding of the crisis around the world. So, what we talked about a few years ago, today finally gets on the pages of newspapers. Hopefully, people will feel the seriousness of the situation.

We do not want them to suffer, but we want them to understand. And it depends on us. An empty stomach and an empty pocket, and the oppressive anxiety for the future of the children, all this we have to translate into understanding. After all, the state of crisis comes from great mercy; it comes from the Creator who wishes only thereby to raise us to the good and abundance.

We are entering a very unusual state and must conduct aggressive dissemination without a second thought. Today, we take off the white gloves and do not compromise. Of course, we must act respectably, as it is customary in society, and at the same time, as openly as possible, using all forms of delivery and opportunities.

This will save us. We need to push the word, so that it pulls us forward, and our success is founded in this. All of our past efforts have been the preparation for the attack that begins today and continues tomorrow. And then we will succeed.

We must unite in order to become a powerful force and pull the world with us. It is easy to escape from responsibility, but we should not allow any excuses for realizing what, in total, Baal HaSulam writes about in all his articles.

The past, present, and future should be linked into one. We ourselves, our center, the groups in Israel and around the world, as well as the general population need to be joined into a single system and given a sustained momentum, having connected them all together. This is the only way we will succeed. This is our work, our purpose.

Today, what we talked about has come true, but not in dramatic forms. Let’s hope that we can avoid this drama, that people will sweeten what is happening with their reason and feelings, will understand the situation, will not immerse themselves in great physical suffering, and will sort out through the spiritual analysis and will go the quick, easy way, instead of a long and heavy one. This is what lies before us.

That is why we need great anxiety, great care about the world. We are not happy that the troubles of others confirm that we were right. We are pleased that this state has come, and now we can turn it into a remarkable path, a wonderful ascent.

It is in our hands. We must not lose focus. We must take the world by the hand and rise together with it to the Creator.
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From A Conversation During the Meal Commemorating the Death of the Ari, 7/25/12

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Question: Our students teach Kabbalah, participate in focus groups, and are engaged in integral education. Don’t these contradict one another?

Answer: They teach the same thing but in different languages. If I am talking about the spiritual world, mentioning Tzimtzum (restriction), Masach (screen), Zivug de-Haka’a (coupling while striking), that is, all kinds of spiritual actions, I am talking about how I, who is a Partzuf, desire, contract this desire, put the screen on my egoism, and starting from this point and up, work with others. This is called the “property of bestowal.” At first, when I rise just above my ego, it is called the Light of Hassadim (Mercy), and when I start working with it for bestowal, it is called the Light of Hochma (Wisdom).

And there is no difference here. Only now am I beginning to understand how people still need to adapt to the relationship between the language of Kabbalah and the language of integral education that we now introduce.

The essence is the same. It’s just that the language is a little bit different because the integral method speaks about our human level where we use other words. And when we talk about the spiritual degrees, we are talking about the same properties, the same forces, the same actions, only in units of measurement because we can measure them in the spiritual world.

In our world, I cannot measure how much I am repulsed by you or attracted to you, how much we are connected, and how we sense the distance between us relative to yesterday, today, tomorrow, and so on. We cannot measure this, and in the spiritual world, it is all measurable.

That is why the language of Kabbalah is a scientific, precise language, but it just does not work in our present state because we cannot measure anything in our world with the precise tools that exist in the spiritual world. In our world, everything can be measured only by our earthly senses and lexicon.
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From Fundamentals of Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/12

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