Question: Essentially, the wisdom of Kabbalah gives a very precise technical description of the degrees of spiritual development. Why do Kabbalists present this description using so many stories, allegories, and names in which it’s so easy to get lost? Why don’t they give a clear set of instructions, including the order in which the actions are to be performed?

Answer: Say, I will write: “Take desire No. 28 and desire No.35, mix them up with desires No.43 and No.62, then multiply them by the coefficient, and afterward, build an intention for the result, consisting of certain components. Now, coping with the resistance, overcome, and so on….” It’s the same as getting a chemical formula that consists of unknown words with numerical values. Now try to combine all the ingredients in such a way that final unification will result in adhesion.

What would you do with this? Moreover, the term “adhesion” itself is unclear to you. The word is familiar, but the meaning isn’t.

And that’s why Kabbalists clothe their message in different forms so you have a chance to understand it. They only have one option—to bring it to you in the language of analogy using words that correspond to the spiritual roots. This language is called the language of branches.

If you only received technical instructions, you would not find anything to hold onto. But this way, although you’re confused, you at least make efforts to find the right path leading to the Light from the confusion of our egoism. Egoism is what confuses you, picturing a seemingly external world. On the other hand, it is exactly this confusion from which you go towards the truth; it is from it that you can reveal the true picture. First, you ask yourself a lot of questions, and only then you start getting closer to the answers.

Indeed, by means of the language of Kabbalists it is hard to understand the truth, but without it, it is simply impossible to reach it. Only later will we understand the integrity of this approach.
[49107]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/24/2011, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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All Kabbalistic texts are intended for Kabbalists in order to convey inspiration and impression among them, as well as knowledge of the connecting network between the souls in which they exist. The aim of this is to reveal the upper force, the Creator faster, and to move other souls closer to correction.

We can also use these books without even knowing or understanding what Kabbalists write to one another because each of them writes on his own level. But when we read them like little children, aspiring to find out what they write there, what they want to convey to one another, and what they want to describe to us, when we open up these books by great Kabbalists, wishing to become similar to them in unity and mutual bestowal, meaning to join them, to join the system of souls where they exist in a connection with one another, to take our place among them, to gather in the same circle, then, with the help of these manuscripts, we merit coming closer to them.

That’s because the texts written by Kabbalists contain their force, their thoughts. And if we desire to cleave to them, then by trying to unite with one another and by reading their texts together, we are asking to enter this system and to join the state they are in.

Therefore, while reading The Zohar, we should try not to forget that with the help of this text, we want to become corrected and included in the same system that already contains the souls, and we are the only ones still missing there in our unity. We come there once we connect with one another and desire to enter the same system where all the great Kabbalists already reside. In essence, this state already exists there and we are only searching for it. After all, The Zohar talks about our future state, which we reach and join.

So let’s imagine ourselves in the common system of souls, among these great Kabbalsits—and let’s ask for it!
[49097]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/24/11, The Zohar

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Question: What is the reason for the fact that when we read The Book of Zohar and keep a very tangible intention, it suddenly disappears, and we understand that it has disappeared only once we remember about it?

Answer: That’s obvious! This is given to us so we would demand the sensation. We are unable to keep two thoughts in our mind. What can be better than attuning myself correctly before reading The Book of Zohar, together with the friends, in a circle, and inside of it desiring to reveal what we are reading?

However, what happens is that I attune myself and start reading, and suddenly I become immersed in the text slightly more deeply. Then I no longer use it as “Segula” – the special quality of the Light, wishing to reveal it in the connection between us. Instead, I switch my attention to the text itself, aspiring to understand it and to attain it, the way I read regular books, wishing to find out what they’re talking about. I don’t perceive what is written there as something that happens inside of me, between us, inside of us, but as something that exists outside of me. I immediately shift to the external picture.

After that, all kinds of alien thoughts come to me and I start “traveling” in these fantasies and calculations.

This happens until a person sees that he is unable to come out of this and it deprives him of the right approach where he would literally be able to “latch on by the teeth” in order to hold on to the right attitude to the reading.

What should he do? Eventually he reaches a demand that he needs the sensation—not to get to know the text or hear it, but to enter this picture, to attain it. He wants this to happen, for this picture to become clear to him. Just as he is in this earthly reality now, so he has to find himself inside of that spiritual reality.

Therefore, this entire confusion, all of these states have to bring us to such despair that we will desire only the sensation, while clearly realizing that we are incapable of anything on our own, even of keeping the intention. But nevertheless, we will clearly discern exactly what we do need.

Then, on one hand you understand that there is nothing you could do and there’s no point even in opening up the book. You reach total despair. But on the other hand, you know that you are unable to leave this path because your entire life is in it. And then, you receive it….

This point is truly critical because from it, you can enter the spiritual world. And that is what really happens.
[49094]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/24/11, The Zohar

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Question: In his article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” Baal HaSulam writes that we have to act without any payment, without any compensation, and without any admixture of self-love. How can we cleanse ourselves from the expectations of reward, of good results?

Answer: You have the tools: the Kabbalistic method called the Torah and the group. If you want to unite with the entire group and build a future world in it as a proper example for everyone, do this.

How can you unite? You can unite through the Torah. The Light in it reforms. Everyone should feel how much he is disconnected or connected with others. Each must try to check all the time whether he gives an impulse to connect.

Finally, our aspiration is necessary during studying. Where is the prayer during the lesson? Where is the prayer that motivates you to unite?

There is a common network; however, its threads are cut off, and we have to reconnect them. We come to the lesson to study the broken ties between us and to understand how to weave them back together. These are the results that we should expect from the lesson. Are we expecting them?
[48485]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/2011, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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People come to Kabbalah with many illusions and incorrect ideas about this science, imagining it in whatever way their egoistic desire depicts it to them based on all kinds of rumors. People present it as mysticism and think that it is related to astrology, healing, blessings, miracles, holy water and red strings, and that it can be used to reveal the past and the future. After all, our ego is looking for some special kind of fulfillment for itself.

Therefore, at first everyone has a difficult time grasping the Kabbalistic principle, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Even if they agree with it, they approach it egoistically. This is the basis of all kinds of “spiritual” methods.

However, it takes special people to come closer to the true realization of the method of Kabbalah. This requires great endurance, many efforts, and mutual support from a group of people who are ready for this and who understand that otherwise they don’t have any chance of realizing themselves. Only through this mutual desire, the “common vessel,” can they receive the opportunity to become people and do something with themselves in order to rise above the material, animate existence to the “human” level.

The spiritual action that we have to do is expressed in the execution of the “613 commandments,” meaning actions of unity among people who have decided that they have to unite.

This is what happened during the times of Abraham and during the times of Moses as well. And it’s the same in our day. The principle is still the same. If fragments of the broken soul that was created by the Creator are ready to unite together in order to restore the common vessel, then it becomes a great summary of the Torah – the vessel for the Light. The Light becomes revealed inside of that common desire, the common efforts, the mutual support and guarantee.

Therefore, it’s pointless for a person to think about spiritual attainment and his self-realization unless he perceives all of this through unification with others, with “neighbors,” meaning with the same kind of people as himself, who also desire to unite and who understand that only by uniting will they acquire a second nature.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/11, Writings of Rabash

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Starting from the first restriction on, Malchut starts to receive for the sake of bestowal to the extent she is able to return goodness to the Host. Naturally, she is unable to receive everything, all 100%.

But since she made the restriction on her own, by her free choice, she has the force to withstand the entire Light of the world of Infinity and to start gradually accepting it for the sake of bestowal.

But this is not easy at all because I reveal the pleasure of adhesion, the greatness of the Giving One, of my equivalence to him, from the fact that I become the same as Him. This adhesion contains “620 times” more pleasure.

Malchut can tolerate only a small part of this pleasure, and therefore it is called “a very thin line” (Kav Dak Meod), a thin ray from the whole Light. But this little ray is not from the Light that Malchut of Infinity felt before the restriction, because only the Light of Nefesh was present there.

Now in this line she reveals NaRanHY (Nefesh-Ruach-Neshama- Haya-Yehida) – very significant actions. They are “620 times” bigger – meaning all of the “commandments,” all of her corrections. When instead of receiving inside of her, she performs actions of reception for the sake of bestowal in each of her corrected desires, this is called carrying out 620 commandments which are filled by the Light of adhesion.

But where can she get a screen for such a great Light – for pleasure from adhesion? After all, I receive, thinking that I do it for the sake of the Host, but now I reveal what it means to be the same as Him – what an unusual pleasure this is, what height, and how good it is to be in adhesion with Him!

This is what becomes revealed inside of the spiritual Partzuf. And therefore, it’s clear that Malchut is unable to receive the entire Light of Infinity in this form.

If the task were simply to receive without thinking about the Host, then there’d be no problem, or even to receive in order to give pleasure to the Host – this is also possible. But the problem is that by giving pleasure to Him, I myself receive a very enormous, additional pleasure – one that’s “620 times” more than the previous. It’sNaRaNHY instead of the Light of Nefesh! And I don’t have the strength to withstand it.

So where will I get that kind of force? For that I descend lower and lower with all the worlds, increasingly feeling just how unable I am to accept the pleasure from adhesion, from the greatness of the Creator, and to stay in bestowal. Therefore, this leads to the downward descent of the Partzufim and worlds.

This is not because I cannot accept the pleasure that filled Malchut of the world of Infinity. But one more great pleasure was included there, which did not become revealed to her there – pleasure from adhesion, from unity. And if she had also responded, then an enormous force of mutual love would have become revealed between them.

But she is incapable of feeling that kind of pleasure while remaining in bestowal. Therefore, now she descends and continually checks the extent to which she is incapable of that kind of bestowal. Therein lies the essence of the descent of the worlds and Partzufim which were born during the descent of Malchut of the world of Infinity down to this world. That is, this is the realization of how enormous is the greatness of the Creator, the greatness of adhesion with Him – it is “620 times” greater than what I am able to bear.

I am able to perceive for the sake of bestowal my own pleasure from being filled by Light. But I cannot accept for the sake of bestowal the pleasure that becomes revealed as a result of the fact that I returned pleasure to the Host – this is adhesion, love, and Light that is born, that breaks through between us as the heat of love, the result of my response.

For this kind of pleasure, I am unable to create a screen and to reflect the Light in full, but only small parts of it, only as much as I can in order to cling to Him….

This means that the pleasure from bestowal also returns to the Creator.
[48699]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/11, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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Kabbalistic texts are written in Hebrew and Aramaic, as if using the right and wrong sides of the same language. But in reality, language doesn’t matter. Anything can be described in English, Greek, or German; it makes no difference which language we use.

It doesn’t matter which symbols are chosen. The key is that they are suitable to express the properties that exist on the level of reception so that with their help we elevate our desire to the level of bestowal.

The language of branches isn’t like languages of this world. It articulates the desire with all its properties since it attracts the Light that Reforms and changes us so that we can rise to the next step. Language means connection; it has similar usage in this world, but it is used in a simpler, one dimensional way.

When I say something, I express my connection with this notion to the extent that I understand, feel, or worry about it. The language of branches is not a common explanation of my attitude, but rather an explanation of elevation—the very action of ascent. The language teaches us how to connect with the upper level from the lower one.

Any language expresses connection; there is nothing else except connections. The universe consists of multiple elements, and the main thing for us is the connection between all of them. Our development is about perfecting the connections. This is how advancement is defined.

Each time we reveal a more authentic connection between the parts of reality until we reveal the world of Infinity where all connections are open. This connection is called “the Creator,” the property of bestowal that governs all of the parts.
[47823]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/11/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Truma (Donation),” Item 503: “You shall make a table.” A table stands inside the tabernacle with a high blessing upon it, and food for the entire world coming out of it. This table need not be empty for even a minute, but food should be on it because there is no blessing on an empty place. For this reason, there must always be bread on it so that the high blessing is always in it. From that table, blessing and food go forth to all the tables in the world, which are blessed thanks to it.

The key during the reading of The Book of Zohar is to organize the system of values within oneself so that by every word, one would move along the ladder of properties and inner definitions, understanding that everything exists within one’s desire. This desire has multiple shades, and within them, one has to try to understand the study material. Then, as a result of these efforts, the Surrounding Light will come to him.
[47768]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/11/2011, The Zohar

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