First, we must know that when dealing with spiritual matters, which have no concern with time, space, or motion, and moreover when dealing with Godliness, we do not have the words by which to contemplate and express. Our entire vocabulary is taken from sensations of imaginary senses.

For this reason, the sages of the Kabbalah have chosen a special language that we can call “the language of the branches” (Baal HaSulam, Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Restriction and Line,” Inner Observation).

The language of the branches is a special language used by Kabbalists. On one hand, it is taken from our world, and on the other hand from the sensation that they take from the upper world. It turns out that while speaking in the language of our world, Kabbalists propose to describe some phenomena in the upper world.

In principle, this is impossible, but when a person gradually studies the text, devotes a lot of time to this, and wants to attain the real spiritual laws and actions, then he invites the upper light to come closer to him because it is how it is embedded in the text itself by its author.

Therefore, a person begins to come closer to understanding the inner meaning of the text. In this way, he slowly overcomes this basically insurmountable barrier between our world and the spiritual world and begins to understand spiritual actions through the words of our world.

In the Study of the Ten Sefirot, Baal HaSulam provides a dictionary of Kabbalistic terms and gives an explanation of them that is close to understanding in our world. But still, this is not our world.

Light, darkness, becoming closer, distancing, restriction—in general he tries to explain all actions of the spiritual world with the help of various terms, and by studying them we attract the surrounding light upon ourselves.

In fact, we do not understand what it is about, but we at the same time awaken the upper light, which influences us and brings us closer to feeling the actions of the upper light
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From KabTV’s The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES) 10/16/22

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Question: If I understand correctly, the reduction of desire occurred due to the fact that the creation felt itself opposite to the Creator precisely in its intention and not in the fact that it has a desire to receive (Aviut).

Is the shame of creation not that it is opposite to the Creator (He is the desire to give and it is the desire to receive), but rather in how it uses this desire?

Answer: Naturally because creation cannot command what it can be, but it can choose a reaction to what it is. Therefore its reaction was: “I want to be similar to and as close as possible to the Creator.”

Question: Can this be applied to our lives? Should I not be ashamed that the Creator created me like this? It is clear that I have a desire to receive and I want to use everyone. But is the problem not that, but rather in how I use my desire?

Answer: Yes. It’s what is in your will, what your choice is.

Comment: That is, the fact that I will always want to enjoy is understandable.

My Response: This is not a vice.

Question: And the fact that I want to enjoy at the expense of others, can this in principle be considered a vice?

Answer: It is your choice.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Since in Ein Sof it is He is One and His Name One, and since there is no place and vessel (meaning our desire) apparent there at all, no mind of a created being can attain Him, for there is no attainment without a vessel (Baal HaSulam, Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Chapter 2, Item 30).

Question: What does it mean “there is no attainment without a vessel”?

Answer: We must change our desire so that it is similar to the Creator, but how can we do this if we are created beings?

Therefore the influence of the light on our desire gives it an intention. If our intention matches the intention of the Creator, then we come closer to Him, and to this extent we can feel Him, contact Him, and be filled with Him.

It means that the most important thing is not the desire itself. The desire to enjoy is the primordial desire of creation itself, and it remains. But we can change our intentions for whose sake we enjoy, for ourselves or for the Creator (there are only two of these possibilities).

If we can change our intention from receiving pleasure for our own sake to receiving pleasure for the sake of the Creator, then we will become like the Creator in this; as the Creator wants to bring contentment to us, so we want to bring contentment to Him. To this extent, we will begin to feel Him.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Question: Baal HaSulam wrote The Study of the Ten Sefirot as a textbook for beginners. In addition to the original text and comments on the book The Tree of Life, he made explanations called “Inner Light” and “Inner Observation,” and also compiled “Questions and Answers” to clarify the meaning of words, terms, and spiritual actions. This is a complete textbook.

Are there any other books similar to The Study of the Ten Sefirot? As far as I know, all the other books are written quite differently.

Answer: The Study of the Ten Sefirot is a special compilation based on the book of the Ari’s The Tree of Life and is its complete commentary. There is nothing to add or take away. This is a complete statement of what the Ari wanted to say in his book The Tree of Life. Baal HaSulam really showed how deeply he understands the Ari and continues him. It is not for nothing that we believe that the soul of the Ari was incarnated in Baal HaSulam.

Question: Was it in the character of Baal HaSulam to write a Kabbalistic work in such a form as a textbook at a university with questions and answers? Or did he just want it to look like a textbook?

Answer: Firstly, he wanted it to be closer to a textbook since he was already writing for our generation.

Secondly, he would not have otherwise been able to explain thoroughly in detail what the Ari wanted to say: how a desire is born that is controlled by light, how it can react correctly to it, and through successive actions come to a complete similarity to light.

Thus, the textbook The Study of the Ten Sefirot contains an absolutely complete collection of the actions of desire regarding light.

Comment: Baal HaSulam wrote this book in two columns per page so that the eye immediately covers all the information. That is how it looked originally.

My Response: He did not like long lines in general, even when he was writing for himself.

That is, the page was divided into two columns, which can be read in narrow text. This is done so that you can cover the entire line from beginning to end with one glance, without moving your eyes or turning your head.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/16/22

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Question: Does a person born in our world already have an intention? Is he born not just with the desire to receive?

Answer: Yes, but they are small, micro intentions.

Question: We see that a small child has a desire to enjoy. Yet you cannot even say that he enjoys for his own sake. But when he grows up, he shows such, one might say, cunningness that he does it consciously for himself, he consciously uses others. Do we have a desire, a mind, and another function?

Answer: We have mind, desire, and intention. The most important thing is the intention. It determines where a person aspires in his actions.

With the help of the mind, we can change the intention. Desire itself is purely mechanical. But how we can elevate the intention above the desires and change the nature of the desire itself—for our own sake or for the sake of others—is already a human ability.

The mind is a very important function. Thanks to it, we can change our intentions.
[304114]
From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Question: In The Study of the Ten Sefirot Baal HaSulam writes that four worlds were formed at a point of contracted space. “Olam” (world) comes from the word “Alama” (concealment). Four concealments, four filters were formed. Why were these filters needed?

Answer: The fact is that no one created anything on purpose. But since there is opposition between the Creator’s property to fill and creation’s property to be filled, they form four stages of mutual, interdependent influence in interaction with each other.

Therefore, from the light itself, the zero stage comes the first stage where the light spreads in the desire. The desire begins to feel it and changes to the extent that it gets restricted. And then it still receives all the light into itself. This state is called the world of infinity.

In The Study of the Ten Sefirot, this is analyzed in great detail since knowledge about the four stages of the expansion of light is basic in the science of Kabbalah.

In other words, these are options for combining two properties: the properties of the Creator and creation, i.e., the properties of bestowal and reception. These combinations of connection provide four variants of concealment, which we later begin to discover in ourselves and change in accordance with them.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Do not be misled into the thought that the restriction of the light from the middle point caused any changes in Ein Sof. There is no change and absence in spirituality, and all the more so in such a sublime place (Baal HaSulam, Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Restriction and Line,” Chapter 2).

Question: What does it mean “there is no absence in spirituality”? What is this principle talking about?

Answer: No subsequent form of reaction to receiving light from the Creator affects the previous forms. Light comes from the Creator and fills the creation in a completely free form. The creation reacts to it and changes according to the difference between its qualities and the qualities of light, meaning, the Creator.

The light itself is always in a state of absolute rest because it does not change its qualities and intentions when performing any actions. Moreover, these actions can be very different, but the light does not change itself.

Its quality is the absolute fulfillment, saturation, and delight of creation. Therefore, it can perform various actions, but its intention is always the same: only to fill the created beings with all the best.

Absolute rest means that the intention of the light to bring the creation to its purpose does not change.

We also have this in our life. For example, parents often can scold their children or they can caress them. But all the same and in any of their behavior regarding children, they are guided only by good intentions.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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The upper light is not subject to change and incidents. These above occurrences of innovations are only with respect to the vessels (Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Chapter 2, “Restriction and Line”).

Baal HaSulam wants to say that there are no changes in the upper light, and all changes occur in creation itself, that is, in the desire. If creation changes, then in accordance with this it feels that the upper light, the Creator, the Creator’s attitude toward it, is changing.

The Light is in absolute rest, but something is changing in the Kli (vessel); that is, our desires are constantly changing, and it seems to us that the light is changing.

Do not forget that we are not discussing corporeal terms whatsoever. Instead, the more refined is called higher, and the thicker is called lower (Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Chapter 2, “Inner Light,” #4).

We should not imagine a circle and a line as some kind of geometric shapes. Here we mean qualitative changes.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Prior to the restriction there was He is One and His Name One, and the mind cannot attain Him (Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Chapter 2, Item 5).

Desire is created by the light opposite to it and is filled with it. We practically cannot understand this state. It is called the world of infinity.

It is written, “He is One and His Name One.” He is the Light, and His name is the state of desire. Initially, they were one; there was no difference between them.

Question: Why is it written that “the mind cannot attain Him”? Then why write about it if the mind does not attain?

Answer: Because there are other opportunities to bring this state closer to oneself and somehow evaluate it, realize it, measure it, and feel it. But not in the mind.

Our mind is a very limited tool because it is a desire. We must rise to a state where we become above our desire, where together with desire we will have intentions with which we can change desires to become similar to the light.

Then, by comparing the desire and the light of the Creator once we come to equivalence, we will be able to evaluate, feel, and even measure their coincidence.

Question: It is said: The mind is a consequence of desire. If the desire is egoistic, then the mind obviously serves it. Do you say that there also is an opportunity to rise above desire and there we will have some new mind?

Answer: Yes. It is called “faith above reason.” The quality that we acquire is the quality of bestowal. Within it we can feel the quality of the Creator by rising above ourselves.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Question: You once said: “If you unite, I will be able to explain more.” Do you own the information and you need a formed desire toward which you give this information?

Answer: We need desires that will be at the level of what I want to explain. If there are no such desires, then the explanation will not work.

Let’s say you are sitting in front of a group of students. They ask you some questions, and at the level of these questions, you have to explain everything to them. You can’t give them an answer a few courses higher—they won’t understand it and it will only confuse them.

Therefore everything goes only according to the plan that my students dictate to me. Sometimes I get a little ahead of events in order to prepare them for the next degrees.

Question: If an external person listens to the information that you give us and which is clear to us, will he somehow understand or will he not hear it at all?

Answer: He will think that I am saying something completely incomprehensible, philosophical, psychological, and generally abstract from our world.

But there are people, many people in the world, who are familiar with this information although they are not in it. Even the same Hasidim, although they do not attain what is written in their books, they know it. And so if they hear me, they will say, “Yes, he says what is written in our books.” After all, the founders of Hasidism were great Kabbalists.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Hidden Information” 8/6/13

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