The process of correction is divided into several stages that determine the order of our advancement. If we were allowed to feel now in our vessels of receiving the pleasure that comes from the Creator, that He is good and benevolent, we will never be able to correct them so that they will be in order to bestow. They would understand what pleasure there is in the upper Light and it would be impossible to restrict and to correct them.

So during the first stage, a person must attain faith, which means to acquire the force of bestowal that is born in him by the influence of the Light if he makes efforts in working in the group, yearning for bestowal, to the extent of his understanding of this attribute. Then the force that suddenly obligates him to feel that bestowal is good is gradually stabilized in him.

It seems that he prefers bestowal for egoistic reasons too, but it’s not so. He enjoys the fact that he isn’t selfish. The Light, due to its influence gives him this inclination, such values, that force him to value bestowal. Then a person is ready to perform actions of bestowal for the sake of the actions themselves. He only asks to be able to perform such actions towards those around him.

To the extent that he acquires the force of bestowal, he begins to understand how to work with his vessels, which is called observing the 613 commandments, which means the correction of the 613 desires to which a person’s general desire is divided into. Then, of course, he uses his whole desire only in order to bestow.

To the extent that he can use his own desires in order to bestow, he begins to feel not the force of bestowal anymore, but the force of love. Thus, as a result of keeping the 612 commandments, he reaches the last commandment, the 613^th commandment, love of the Creator.

Then the permanent eternal pleasure is revealed to him by all these commandments, which was the goal of creation, by which the Creator initially intended to fill man.

It turns out that not one step along this path is possible without a person’s deficiency that precedes it. In that a person totally depends on the environment. So to the extent that it directs a person and increases his deficiency for bestowal, he raises his environment so that these deficiencies will be their common goal.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/12

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If a person comes to the wisdom of Kabbalah and studies it all the while for himself but not to reach the higher quality, then it closes everything to him. He understands nothing of what happens inside him if he does not tune himself to the connection with the group, if he does not seek correction, to change himself through the upper Light, and if he has no urgent need to change himself.

And at first he performs all the actions completely artificially, and only gradually under the influence of the upper Light this becomes a necessary requirement. But if he does not have the right direction and he does not want to participate in this even artificially, like a child in a game, then Kabbalah becomes poison instead of the “elixir of life.”

Why? Because he becomes even more egoistic. He wants to make money with the help of Kabbalah. He thinks he has already become great and big and he does not need anything else. Such people usually move to the side or open their own groups. But it is good. Everything will eventually become clear.
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From a Virtual Lesson 11/18/12

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 42: Indeed, you should know that the reason for our great distance from the Creator, and that we are so prone to transgress His will, is for but one reason, which became the source of all the torment and the suffering that we suffer, and for all the sins and the mistakes that we fail in… “lack of our understanding in His Providence over His creations,” that we do not understand Him properly.

If we could understand the upper Providence, we would discover the upper force and learn what it wants of us, by clarifying the relationship between ourselves and the Creator, and then: Clearly, by removing that reason, we will instantly be rid of any sorrow and pain. We will immediately be granted adhesion with Him in heart, soul, and might.

But we don’t reveal the Creator Himself as people mistakenly believe. Any attainment is only possible by the comparison of attributes, and so the attainment of the Creator refers to resemblance and equivalence to Him according to our attributes. I can only check, measure, and feel Him in relation to myself.

If I want to reveal the Creator, I have to be equal to His attributes in some way, since otherwise I wouldn’t be able to feel Him. But the moment I draw close to Him according to the equivalence of attributes, I begin to discern Him, and then from that moment on I definitely make fewer mistakes and will necessarily change faster.

Even in order to advance towards the very first revelation, to the first feeling of the Creator, I have to change, so my whole way is divided into stages, the first of which is in the “dark,” when I operate and carry out Kabbalists’ advice, believing that by that I will get closer to the Creator. I believe what the books say, and incorporate and participate in the group, taking an example from the friends, and eventually I begin to feel and to discern the upper force a bit.

A kind of inner feeling and an inclination towards the Creator is revealed in me, and then it develops even more. Then I already begin to understand what the books say and what Kabbalists mean. Until then, it may well be that I have just been reading for a decade, but only now do I begin to somehow taste every word.

This text becomes close to me, as if part of me. I understand that it speaks about what is happening inside me.

It is for such moments, such situations, that we should yearn in order not to make mistakes and to understand what the upper force wants of us.
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From the 1^st part the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot“: The third question, which is the fear that one will turn sour, well, there is no fear at all here. This is because the deviation from the path of God that occurred before was for two reasons: Either they broke the words of our sages with things that they were forbidden to disclose, or because they perceived the words of the Kabbalah in their superficial meaning, as corporeal instructions, breaching “Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image.”

Hence, until this day there has indeed been a fortified wall around this wisdom. Many have tried to begin to study, but could not continue for lack of understanding and because of the corporeal appellations.

First, it all belongs to the past, when people were not developed enough. Therefore, as it says, “they ate unripe fruit,” which is very dangerous. An undeveloped person mustn’t be given information that is not suitable for his level.

We see that the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed in our times, that it is seemingly widespread and many people are attracted to it, each according to his preferences. There are those who try to use it to heal different illnesses, there are those who turn it into a religion, others turn it to mysticism, new age, etc. Everyone builds his wisdom from it, unless he is a part of a Kabbalistic group under the influence of a real teacher who knows what he is talking about, and follows the method relying only on the sources that he has received from his teacher.

Unfortunately, there are many groups that study the wisdom of Kabbalah in the wrong way, or learn TES by heart as if studying Babylonian Talmud in a Yeshiva, or trying to extract some mystical powers from it. It is the natural inclination of a person who wants immediate results—to take the wisdom of Kabbalah and interpret it according to familiar terms, as any other science.

A person doesn’t understand that he has to wait until the wisdom of Kabbalah begins to change him. Then after these changes take place, he will be able to begin the course of study. It is impossible to do it any other way, except for working in a group and revealing the upper force, that “there is none else besides Him,” and that He is “good and benevolent.”

So there were, are, and will be many more mistakes with regard to studying the wisdom of Kabbalah. But they are also included in the plan of creation. If a person doesn’t correct himself, but is still attracted to correction, but simply doesn’t fulfill it correctly, then he directs all the forces that were meant to help him in the process of correction in the opposite direction. In addition, others follow him into this empty study. Then later, after a long time goes by, they are finally disillusioned and accept this wisdom, not trying to profit from it, but loyally and rigorously carrying out what the books say or what they hear from the teacher.

It is impossible to remain “free” studying this wisdom, since freedom at the moment means acting according to our ego. The wisdom of Kabbalah, however, is the concealed wisdom, it is concealed from a person and every new level revealed suddenly brings such internal changes to a person, which he cannot even imagine in advance. Therefore, one must work blindly here, and carry out all the conditions the teacher and the books speak about.
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From the 1^st part the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/28/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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The entire Torah is divided into so-called: Pshat (simple interpretation), Remez (hint), Drush (allegory), and Sod (secret). They are not just the four parts of the Torah, but rather the four ways of explaining the methodology of correction in this world.

These four languages are used by the Kabbalists to present to us the one and only method at four different levels. It’s up to us to choose the level that satisfies us: secret, allegory, hint, or simple explanation.

In this world, these steps are turned upside down: a “simple interpretation” is believed to be just reading the texts, treating it literally. When one reads the text and doesn’t understand it at all, it is called “a mystery.” However, the thing is that we don’t understand what’s written in the Torah at all. Indeed, under Pshat-Remez-Drush-Sod is meant just the opposite. Pshat (simple interpretation) is the wisdom of Kabbalah, Sod (secret) is when this method of correction is hidden from us behind many layers.

Secret—this is exactly what people are used to as a simple interpretation, that is literal understanding of the text, whereas, the Torah only speaks of the ways of correction, spiritual levels, and stages of the elevation of a human being. It is said: “I created the evil inclination and the Torah as a spice to it, the Light that Reforms.”

The Light of the Torah impacts us in accordance with these four steps. The maximum Light is enclosed in  “the simple explanation” (the wisdom of Kabbalah) where everything is open to man and can be easily explained in a plain form.

It describes a desire that is selfish by nature and thus has to be corrected. For that, we need the Light that Reforms. Bringing a selfish desire to the right (bestowing) intention is called “correction”; to achieve it, we have to participate in a group, unite with friends, and continue our studies in order to attract the Light.

Most effectively, we attract the Light by working in the group, trying to suppress our egoism, connecting with each other above our selfishness and becoming as one man with one heart, and also by thinking about the Light that influences us and learning from the books how it acts and impacts our desires.

The topic that we are studying, our actions that aim at self-correction, the prayers at the lessons—everything connects together and comprises the easiest method of attracting the Light that corrects coarse egoists (us) who are at the end of generations and at the peak of the egoistic development.

If we don’t strive to attract the Light that Reforms to correct ourselves and if all we do is acquire theoretical knowledge instead of the Torah, then we are not aspiring to the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is said: “One should believe that the nations of the world possess the wisdom, but one should never believe that they have the Torah.” The nations of the world are those who strive to acquire knowledge rather than self-correct.

At first, everybody goes through a state called the nations of the world until they recognize that their task is to self-correct, even if it happens in another lifetime, during the next reincarnation.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/20/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Many people in history managed to attain spiritual revelation by studying the external parts of the Torah, the Mishnah, the Talmud, and not Kabbalah; that is, they used another language of presenting this wisdom. The entire Torah speaks about correction of a human being and that is the reason why the Torah was granted to us.

Texts of the Torah describe the states that one goes through during one’s advancement to the Creator, attaining adhesion with Him, and acquiring similarity of properties with Him. The problem is solely in the way of presenting it, meaning, in the language. Ways of presenting this material are not equal relative to the Light that Reforms; each of them possesses a different intensity of the Light. The most powerful Light is in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

They represent four layers, four filters that screen (hold) the Light on its way from top to bottom. The language of Kabbalah is pure Light. Kabbalah doesn’t limit the Light in any way, nor does it place filters on its way; Kabbalah doesn’t weaken the Light. Therefore, when one studies and denotes spiritual conceptions that refer to one’s soul, one elicits powerful Light that corrects him and brings him closer to the goal.

If one studies the Torah presented in any other language, then the same ideas, the same Light, goes through filters and descends to a person in an extremely weakened form. Consequently, the “quantity” of the Light is not enough to correct a person.

The four languages of the Torah: Pshat (simple explanation), Remez (hint), Drush (allegory) and Sod (secret) correspond to the worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya.

If one studies the wisdom of Kabbalah, it is the teaching (Torah) of the world of Atzilut, the Light that Reforms descends to him directly. If one studies any other way, then depending on the method he chooses, he receives less Light.

This is the way Kabbalah explains the division into the levels of Pshat-Remez-Drush-Sod, while the general opinion, is taken to the contrary, that Pshat (simple explanation), is the literal understanding, and Sod (secret), spiritual attainment.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/20/12, “The Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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The only thing we have to correct is our relationship with the upper force that controls everything and manages life, as it says: “There is none else besides Him.” There are four languages that speak about the relationship between man and the upper force: Pshat, Remez, Drush, and Sod (Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, and Kabbalah).

They belong to the four levels of the desire: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking, and accordingly the clarification is in four ways. In this case there is already an opposite division in which the wisdom of Kabbalah is the simple interpretation and not Sod (secret) in which everything is revealed to a person. So we need the language of Kabbalah in order to be sure that we advance correctly.

It is an essential precondition, but it isn’t enough since the wisdom of Kabbalah can be perceived incorrectly. But at least a person learns from the right sources, which provide him with the right approach to the writings, although there are people who try to extract some secrets, mysticism, abstract knowledge, blessings, and remedies.

But still it is very important to stick to the language of Kabbalah and to the Kabbalistic approach and study conditions, since it is different from the ordinary study of different sciences. Here we are totally dependent on the source, which passes us this spiritual knowledge. If the source is real and reliable, we advance gradually according to our exertion and the positive external conditions in order to eventually attain the opening of the eyes.

We study about ourselves and about our nature by starting to feel a little what bestowal is, the force that is opposite from us. Then by the balance of these two forces, the force of receiving and the force of bestowal, we begin to feel the creation. Thus we attain the Creator by His actions upon us.
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From the 1^st part the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/27/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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I have a problem: If I reveal something, then I reveal it just like all other creatures—in the same vessels and with the same mind everyone else has.

For example, I’ve discovered a new phenomenon in quantum physics. Obviously, I can’t talk about this with any housewife, but there is a circle of people who can understand me. We have developed a special language to describe these things, and in principle, anyone can learn it. In general, everyone has a basis, and the only thing still lacking is its sensible and rational development.

On the other hand, further development of sense and reason won’t help me either. One can be equipped with thousands of glasses, connect radars to one’s ears, and microscopes and telescopes to one’s eyes: No instruments or sensors will do any good. We are talking about perception, which is not rooted in any creature on earth. Many animals have a wider range of sensations compared to people, but we aren’t talking about that. There are very intelligent and insightful people whose ability to perceive and analyze is much higher than mine, but that’s not the point.

We are talking about something that is not in our world, about creating a new sensation, a new perception and analysis that doesn’t exist here. This sensory organ is called a “part of the Creator above.” A person who acquires it must be similar to the Creator, the one, unique, and only. Then a person senses something similar to the Creator; he decrypts and identifies Him, oneself, and the relationship between them in this sensory organ that is somehow similar to the Creator. And according to feeling this adhesion with the Creator, a person can talk about what comes from Him: about the plan and purpose of our creation, about the process we go through, and all the events and situations in this world.

Today, we are able to study our existence on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, but there is nothing we can learn about the human level until we get to know the Creator at least to some extent. Thus, a Kabbalist cannot tell us about his spiritual attainment, because it is perceived in the other sensory organ incomparable to those we have. It is impossible to talk about that in a way I talk about the borders of our world.

Here, even if a person lacks a sensory organ, we still can explain something to him by analogy. But there is nothing analogous or similar to the spiritual sense. We won’t be able to know until we reach it. Even at the preparation stage without entering the spiritual, we see how details of perception change, how suddenly they turn upside down and back again…

But then why did the Kabbalists give explanations?

To bring people closer in order to give them at least a primary right point of contact. And even though it is not a real contact, it still lets them evoke the Reforming Light. So people can move towards revelation.

Some “just get” this revelation from above. How and why are not our business. It doesn’t come to us all at once, but methodically: A hidden desire gets revealed in a person, and he makes efforts and moves forward in response.

If he wants to pass his revelation to those who have nothing yet, he must establish connection with them. And this connection—the essence of a language, a code which we can use to talk to each other about things that only one or even none of us comprehends and we are based on—is what we read in the book.

Hence, it is necessary to understand how difficult it is for Kabbalists to reach out and explain something to people who haven’t entered the spiritual world yet. In fact, not even to explain, but to progress. That’s why we call our study “a special means”. After all, it is not about understanding and not even a sensation: We need to think only about that very means as it is said: “I labored and found.”

This raises a question: Which language is best suited for this? How do Kabbalists reach out to us so that we don’t just learn by receiving some abstract knowledge, but at the same time, don’t get pushed into mysticism? How do they keep us away from the natural call of the mind and senses? How do they protect us from red strings and blessings as well as falling into scholasticism? How do they guide us through the “golden mean,” the middle line, so that we study, are imbued with the sense, and act in the group properly?

This is possible only with the help of a special means which we sometimes call a “game.” This is, in fact, a very serious concept which illustrates our relationship with the upper one a little better: We really want to be at His level, but haven’t reached it yet.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/25/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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A person who comes to the wisdom of Kabbalah really becomes enslaved. If he enters this system, then he really enslaves himself. There is nothing terrible about it since it is impossible to attain this system in any other way. If you go to special experts in yoga or any other system, they will tell you the same thing: If you want to attain our wisdom, our technique, our system, then you must temporarily detach from other things, otherwise you won’t be able to feel it in depth.

By the way, the wisdom of Kabbalah is not as strict as other systems, since it doesn’t separate the person from this world. He must be married, raise children, work, be connected with the world, and not abstain from doing things, not to go on diets, not to do all kinds of special, physical exercises, breathing, and postures. He needs to be a completely, regular person in this world. There is nothing expected from him except for only one thing, that is, the internal longings and intentions for the goal. This is specifically the most difficult condition, but in principle, the only condition.

All the rest isn’t important. It isn’t important what he eats, what he drinks, how he lives, or what he does professionally, of course, as long as it isn’t anti-social behavior. A person can be intelligent or can be simple. It doesn’t matter. In attaining the upper world, there is no importance in age or in level of education. It is opened to absolutely everyone! A person is not limited in anything.
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From the Georgia Convention 11/6/12, Lesson 4

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A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah “Introduction to the TES,” Lesson 2

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