Question: If I don’t have any study questions, do I nevertheless advance?

Answer: A person himself has to check whether he is advancing or not. How can he do it? By examining if during the study he experiences ascents and descents in his connection with the others and rejection thereof. Now I only need to know whether I am connected with the others and try to reveal the images that we study in The Zohar, the images of the Creator, within this connection.

Do I aspire for it? Yes, I do. How strong is my aspiration? How many times during the lesson did I leave and come back to these thoughts? How many times during this work did I feel concerned about the others so that they, too, hold this intention? Then, their collective thought will also act upon me so that even if I leave these thoughts, I will immediately return to them. It is actually good to have as many of these quick exits and entries as possible.

For this reason I need the support of the group, and I have to constantly hold the thought about the connection. This is my entire work. These signs help me evaluate my progress. If I stop thinking about the connection and never return to these thoughts again, I don’t advance.

Hence, don’t ask, but rather examine yourself.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/5/2011, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “Yitro (Jethro)”

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Since eons ago, all Kabbalistic books have described spiritual attainment, the spiritual world. However, their content was distorted by the public to fit corporeal definitions. Consequently, the principle of faith turned into blind faith.

“I believe that somewhere ‘in the void, a suitcase (substitute anything, including the Creator) is spinning around.”
“Have you seen it?”
“No, I haven’t; but I believe it.”

This is what the public calls faith: Somebody told me about something I have never seen, and I faithfully repeat after them.

One of the essential parts of our spiritual work is to discard the erroneous ideas of the masses about faith and religion and return to the authentic meanings of these terms: the wisdom of Kabbalah and attainment of the Creator. In his article “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose,” Baal HaSulam regards the wisdom of Kabbalah as religion, the method to get to know the Creator. Yet, in our world, it has been used to create various confessions and spiritual practices.

When we encounter a false idea, we have to perform a correction within, constantly returning to the correct definitions. “Religion” is the wisdom of Kabbalah, “faith” is knowing the Creator, the property of bestowal, the Light of Hassadim (Mercy). “Absolute faith” is living in full awareness of the Creator, the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), dressed in the Light of Hassadim.

“Faith above reason” is the path of bestowal above reception. I seem to be sailing in the waves of egoistic desires under the sail of bestowal that is cut out precisely for them while being opposite to them at the same time.

“Israel” are those who aspire directly for the Creator. All the rest are regarded as “the nations of the world.” Each of us, until we have completely transformed ourselves, lives in both of these states. “The King of Israel” is when a person is in the state of “Israel” and feels that the Creator rules within them. “The king of the nations” is when the Creator still rules in a person but not by the latter’s consent or with his awareness.

Everything depends on definitions, and we must know them by heart so that while reading the text, the terms automatically pop up in our consciousness.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/2/2011, “Above Reason in Divine Service”

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Question: Does it matter for spiritual advancement whether we read The Book of Zohar in Hebrew or translated into other languages?

Answer: I have to say that it does. The uniqueness of the Hebrew language comes from the fact that it has spiritual roots. That is why the shape of the letters as well as their sequence reflect combinations of spiritual forces.

Hebrew isn’t my native language, and specifically because I am not accustomed to it, I can see in the combinations of letters and their shapes a truly mathematical logic. They are calculations and signs that are expressed in the form of letters. A letter is a sign.

The Zohar describes letters, their shapes, and order in such great detail that if you read it in another language, you as though become unable to do it. The same refers to the order of the words and the sequence of letters.

Let’s say, Hebrew has many things that seem to be unnecessary: letters “Shin” and “Sin” that  appear as the same letter same but are pronounced differently, or “Tav” and “Tet” that are different letters but are pronounced in the same way, or the spelling of letters and words.

Other languages got modified as history progressed; hence, there still are individual elements of the ancient language in the modern one, such as the endings in the French language, for instance. As to Hebrew, it hasn’t changed with history. The forces in charge of creating the meanings of words in spirituality are arranged in such manner that over the course of millennia it is impossible to change either the spelling of the words or the shapes of the letters.

Every language has an old and a modern version whereas Hebrew does not. There is a colloquial slang, but the language itself hasn’t been altered. It cannot change since its structure is based on the forces which create the signs regarded as letters and words.

This language will disappear only at the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun), when we will ascend from ZAT (seven lower Sefirot) of Bina and ZON to GAR (three upper Sefirot) of Bina, wherein the letters will vanish. That’s when all of the matter will also dissolve.

Therefore, when asked “Should or shouldn’t I learn Hebrew?”, I would reply that it will be necessary, to a certain degree. If a person has time and opportunity to do so, it is worthwhile making an effort.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/30/10, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “Yitro (Jethro)”

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When I came to study to Rabash, I was 33. I was a strong and successful person; I had a family, house, and successful business. I asked him, “Now I am going to invest all my life into you. I will be next to you until the very end because otherwise it is impossible to learn anything. I am ready to go for it, but how can I be sure that I am in the right place?”

Rabash replied that I had every right to ask this question. However, I have to choose what teacher I want to cling to by myself. Nobody should interfere or influence my decision. He said: “Go and check out other places!”

But after you make your decision and choose your place, you should cast away any doubt about it and not swing from side to side in the middle of the path. You cannot be under any other influence but your teacher’s.

In other words, if you become my student, you are obliged to receive only my spirit and not to listen to anybody else. After all, you are going to develop and it is forbidden for a person to listen to other opinions during his growth.
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From Lesson 2, Convention at the Arava Desert 12/31/10

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Question: What should we do with the people who study the material independently and come with established, self-imposed “axioms” with which they confuse other students?

Answer: The group should isolate itself in its Kabbalistic center like an embryo in the mother’s womb. A developing soul needs to be protected. It must be surrounded with love and care like an embryo or a baby, by building a nurturing atmosphere around it, similar to “Noah’s ark.”

While students have not yet reached spiritual revelation and don’t quite understand what they are doing and where they are going, they get tossed from side to side, from state to state because each time new systems are formed within us. And while we are constructing ourselves, we continue going through unstable states; hence, we cannot be under the influence of several factors, but only one.

Baal HaSulam writes in “A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar” that if a student doesn’t cleave to the teacher, like an embryo clings to the mother, and doesn’t adhere to the upper one, then he doesn’t advance. This law rules in the spiritual world as well as the material one while we are in the preparation stage and work with our egoistic desires.

If a student doesn’t conform, nothing will help. He may be very smart and have outstanding abilities, but he won’t reach spiritual attainment. Hence, the sages said: “A thousand [disciples] enter the class, but only one comes out to the Light.” And the only reason for this is negligence, reluctance to accurately follow the spirit of the teacher, the person that passes spirituality to you.

I myself don’t need this in the least; you know how I loathe any kind of worship. But a student has to develop such an attitude. At the very beginning of the path, one has to make up his mind, according to the principle: “A person learns where his heart desires.” So how can you allow someone to enter your center, your home, and confuse you? I would never allow it.

We still cannot determine who is right and wrong, everything is relative. And if you wish to advance spiritually, don’t trust anyone; you must choose the source you want to drink from on your own. Everyone must unilaterally select a teacher who will answer his questions and meet his expectations, and who is qualified to guide him or her on the path of spiritual growth.
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From Lesson 2, Convention at the Arava Desert 12/31/10

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Kabbalah derives all its definitions from the original creation, the will to receive pleasure, which stands against the Light and has to become identical to it. This is why we should evaluate our desire only in relation to the Light and not to our current experiences.

Man has arranged an entire system of criteria of good and evil, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, which he employs. And now you are reading a Kabbalistic text which implies something totally different, but you don’t wish to penetrate its real meaning. You wish to twist it so that it serves your ego.

We are reading Kabbalists’ writings and think that we can understand them using our present perception, as it suits the current definitions of “good” and “evil,” “bestowal” and “reception”, “top” and “bottom,” “corruption” and “correction.” But in truth, we know absolutely nothing of their true meaning.

The book says “this world,” and I think that it means the world I presently live in. But wait, first you have to “clothe” into the author and read with his eyes! For instance, in the book Beit Shaar HaKavanot (The Gatehouse of Intentions), Baal HaSulam writes: “And the seven heavens that we see in this world…” Where have you seen seven heavens here?

In other words, we need to understand that it discusses spiritual meanings opposite to our current understanding. And until we enter the spiritual world, we won’t understand them; nonetheless, we must strive to become more familiar with them in some way.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/23/10, “Peace in the World”

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Question: I don’t understand Hebrew just yet, so what should I do when we are reading The Zohar? Should I look at the letters or just listen to the text?

Answer: All languages but Hebrew are meant for communication in this world. Hebrew, on the other hand, is not a spoken language but a record of spiritual actions from ZAT de Bina (its seven lower Sefirot), Zeir Anpin, and Malchut on the matter of Malchut. The symbols describe these spiritual actions.

So look at the text before you as a sequence of commands in a computer program: It is simply a record of spiritual properties, forces, and actions that you must carry out within yourself. This is how I view Hebrew. I don’t treat it as a literary language used to make text flow smoothly, as in other languages.

While you don’t usually look at the letters and combinations when reading the Kabbalistic texts, you still look inside the word and its inner meaning. You look at the symbol since each letter is always a symbol.

Hebrew has so much data, information hidden within the language, that it’s impossible to reflect it in a translation. After all, the sequence of letters of the text describes the Sefirot, the order of actions. How can that be recorded in another language?

In each letter we should see a symbol of some spiritual property or action that it signifies.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/30/10, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar, Article “Yitro (Jethro)”

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The Book of Zohar affects a person in a special way: It’s enough for a person to read, listen, and desire to be connected, even virtually, with the group; all of this, even in a small degree, to the extent that life allows a person to free himself for this book, The Zohar immediately starts developing the spiritual organ of perception in him. As it occurs, a person begins to experience changes, stages of development.

The Book of Zohar just needs to be read. It would be good to publish selected pieces in a pocket-sized format so that a person could read it anywhere. In truth, there isn’t a more effective means for advancement than this book.

The Book of Psalms doesn’t help to advance a person spiritually. Humanity has been reading it for thousands of years. People are simply pacifying themselves.

This doesn’t in any way diminish the value of the Book of Psalms, written at the degree of the complete Malchut. After all, King David represents Malchut, the entire creation. Like all other “holy” books written by those who have attained the Creator, they carry His Light within.

However, as Baal HaSulam explains in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” the Light that Reforms that builds the property of bestowal within us is closer and more effective for us if it comes from The Book of Zohar. The Light in The Zohar is the most powerful.

Obviously, reading The Zohar must go hand in hand with studying the articles of Baal HaSulam and Rabash and The Study of the Ten Sefirot. Yet, The Book of Zohar should fill all of a person’s free time.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/30/10, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar, Article “Yitro (Jethro)”

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Question: Can I use my imagination to picture the future corrected state?

Answer: That depends on what we imagine to ourselves at the future degree. To portray it mechanically, we make drawings.

It is possible to put all the conditions of the future degree into some table, to list all the technical particulars of these states: desires, screens, levels of Aviut, entrance and exit of Lights, the Surrounding and Inner Lights, the degree’s division into a multitude of internal and external systems in the Second Restriction.

But, ultimately, we come to the same spiritual discernments recorded by Kabbalists so as to describe to one another the technical details that need to be carried out in order to feel what they wish to convey. Suppose I give you a sheet of musical notes; that is, I convey to you some sort of data. Can you do anything with it? No. You must first perceive it as external information and then carry out the internal counterpart. If you read music, you’ll be able to sing it, and then you will know what I intended to convey by it.

Kabbalists do exactly the same by passing to you technical data. Carry them out in your soul and you will receive all they had intended. That is how you will know what they’re talking about.

The transfer of information through the Internet works the same way. I draw a picture on the computer screen or import photos from a camera, save the images in a particular format, and send you this information via a communication channel. You receive these technical data and use a decoder to once more transfer them into an image on your screen.

That is also how Kabbalists keep in contact with one another. They have attained a spiritual picture, recorded it, and passed it to us, except we’re missing the “decoder” to turn this information into that same picture. We read about it but don’t have any way to imagine what they’re talking about. To us it all seems like fantasy.

We are unable to decipher and extract the meaning of any of the four languages used by Kabbalists to describe to us the spiritual world (the languages of Tanach, Halacha, Hagaddah, and Kabbalah). But what is it that Kabbalists tell us? Use these texts as a “miraculous remedy” (Segula). What is Segula? If you want to attain revelation and somehow understand that the revelation is only possible in the quality of bestowal, you will see yourself and the whole world in love and bestowal to one another, in mutual guarantee, like one man with one heart.

If you aspire to this picture, you’ll begin to draw closer to the correct decoding of these texts. It will influence you, and, ultimately, the same spiritual “decoder” will be revealed in you. That is why we read The Book of Zohar.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/28/10, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar, Article “You Are Partners with Me”

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My task is to transform my nature. It means that I have to change all my inclinations completely.

I won’t take anything of what I have now with me into spirituality: neither reason nor feelings, nor views, criteria, or calculations. This poses huge, almost insurmountable obstacles in front of intelligent people, and they often fail. One needs to be truly wise in order to abandon one’s own mind.

A smart person believes in his or her logic that works perfectly well in our world, and it’s difficult for him to imagine that it’s powerless on the spiritual path. “Mind, energy, and perseverance are my strong suit. Isn’t that enough?”

Actually, such a person has nothing more than keen intelligence and sensitivity, but here’s the catch: That’s not the currency that buys you a ticket into the spiritual world. There, you need faith. What is it?

Faith is a power that you receive from Above, from the Light. You don’t have it inside you; it’s above your mind and feelings, above who you currently are. An upper influence comes, and you feel like something penetrates inside, awakens in you a consideration which is opposite to everything that you are.

Then, you begin to relate to reality in an inverted way. You used to look at everything through the prism of personal profit. Now, however, you take into account not yourself, but the unity. It’s so strange that it’s indescribable, but, nevertheless, a new consideration forms in you, and you now can’t return to the old one.

Certainly, there are intermediate states, but after a person “exits Egypt,” he comes to a higher consideration, completely abandoning his previous priorities. After all, his intelligence and wealth of feelings, experiences, and reflections just cease to work.

That’s why it is said, “It’s not a wise one who learns.” Typically, success does not favor the brightest minds. Actually, they in particular need a great deal of perseverance and luck to break through into the upper world.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/26/10, “What is the Extent of Repentance”

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