The difference between double concealment and single concealment is very great. It is a phase that takes a long time, even years. In the past, it took Kabbalists an even longer time.

The difference here is that in double concealment the person doesn’t know definitely, nor even approximately, what bestowal is, but only talks about it when he repeats what is written about it in the books. Thus, it is very difficult for him since all of these words are artificial.

We see this in his conversation, but he must do it like a child who, in the meantime, imitates the grown-ups and plays with dolls and cars. This is so, until he attains the state where the upper Light bestows on him, and it becomes enough to begin to feel the value of bestowal.

He begins to describe to himself, in his imagination, what bestowal is, how he exits himself toward others and loses himself there, how he begins to feel them and not himself. This is not even “we,” meaning, I am in connection with others. Instead, he ceases feeling himself and feels only what is external to him. It is not possible to convey this feeling with words, but it begins to be grasped within a person.

This is called reaching single concealment. Then, he begins to demand the disclosure of bestowal. It is now understood to him that it arrives only with the help of the reforming Light. In the transition from double concealment to single concealment, he sees that everything is realized only through the upper force and that only he, himself, can awaken this force through all kinds of actions, but not more than that.

Here, the demand matures in him that he must have the upper force that will produce within him the quality of bestowal. We are in this state now, before the congress in the desert, before the meeting with the Pharaoh and the exit from Egypt.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/7/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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In order to describe my state to myself, I need to see that I am within a sphere. It is the Creator who shows us everything that goes on within it. There is no event in the entire world that is initiated by another force.

All, from the cruelest enemies to the closest friends, including the Creator, are actors in a play shown to us. Everything is within a person’s perception, within his awareness.

Since he is already in single concealment, he now needs to see the world, respond, and relate to everything in a mature way, that in everything, he sees the relationship between himself and the Creator, through all of these messengers: all the inanimate, vegetative, animate and human levels of nature that are within his perception.

He feels all of his impressions in the natural way as they come; however, they actually come to him from the Creator. This is the way you need to relate to this. First of all, you need to make a calculation, and if you are able to from the result of these or those surrounding relationships, attain a connection, assimilation, adhesion and closeness to the Creator who is positioned behind them. Since they serve as signs of what he needs to correct, these imaginary images will disappear, and, in the end, you will discover the Light that will shine on you.

All of this is obtained thanks to a game called, “Come to Pharaoh.” In this game, we ask for the force of bestowal so that it will begin to rule inside us thanks to the reforming Light. Thus, we exit Egypt and enter the desert. Then, we begin to increase this force, to acquire it, to work with it, and to advance to the entrance of the spiritual world, to the land of Israel.
[69173]
From the 4^th  part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/7/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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When we speak about the Light we refer to the phenomenon that takes place in the desire. This means that I want to do good to someone without any personal accounts of self-profit. The more I check myself, the more I see that I really have no urge for personal benefit. This is the Light: It is as if some spirit is dressed in me and I want to bestow, to love others, and to want only the wellbeing of others, because by that I please the Creator.

When I work in a group, I summon the Reforming Light that builds in my “body”, in my desire, the phenomenon called the Light. Thus the surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) influences the desire so that it can feel the phenomenon of the Light internally.

Question: Where does the Ohr Makif come from?

Answer: It comes from a higher level. I can’t receive it inside me and so it “surrounds” me and prepares my desire, my vessel, in order to enter it later on. This Light is also inside me, but I don’t feel it yet. It is as if it is operating from a distance: Something ripens in me, but I feel it indirectly, according to the results.

One way or another, everything is inside a person: all the lights and all the worlds, including the world of Ein Sof (Infinity).

Question: In order to feel that, do I have to work in a group?

Answer: You have to follow the advice of Kabbalists, which we call the “faith of the sages,” and carry out their recommendations. You are brought to the group from Above, and you begin to work in it, even without asking any questions. Only later does the issue of freewill come up when you understand what is happening and can find your way around and realize: “So this is what I should do! I should love the friends…”

You approach the mutual work and from a “study circle” you become one whole, acquire one heart and one thought, make great collective efforts, and act in front of one another in order to evoke a deficiency in the friends and to raise the Creator’s greatness in their eyes.

Then people discover “the field that the Creator has blessed.” They don’t wander in the field like the sons of Jacob, but rather acquire the force of Joseph, which brings them together and takes them through the land of Egypt to the Land of Israel. This is all our work, and this is where our freewill begins.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/12/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Our work is perpetual. The upper Light is in a state of absolute rest, and its rest is constantly pushing us towards the goal. It is the same with us: If we constantly “press the gas pedal” yearning for the goal, we are in a state of rest because there is nothing else but this and I only operate in one direction.

Here we might argue, but I am acting against my egotistic desire, which constantly confuses me.

Still, if you try to keep the right direction with the help of the group and the books, you are at least close to resting.

Actually, it is only a psychological problem. If we decide, if we determine for ourselves what is most important for us and we don’t divert our attention to something else, if we go straight towards the goal, towards adhesion with the Creator, and add everything we can glean from the study, the teacher, the books, the group, and dissemination to it, we lock ourselves on the target and we only have to keep the right course.

In order to do that, everyone must be connected. Only then can you choose the goal, because you don’t actually know it, and it is attained from within the center of the group. Where is that center? You are the one who draws the crosshairs on the sight. You pass through the circles as their diameter gets smaller and smaller, and in every circle, you better get to know the Creator and His actions, and eventually you find the center: and meet Him.

Today we have to work on several planes:

1. All the friends are equal; there are no great ones or small ones.
2. Everyone must do his best and act in front of the others and show them how much he wants to love them. The friends should see only this yearning in him. We must constantly set an example for everyone so that no one will be able to avoid an equal attitude towards others. This is our obligation.
3. We do all this on purpose, so that we will be able to connect, and in the connection among us, discover love: first conditional love and then absolute love, until we reach the end of correction, Gmar Tikkun.

The whole process takes place in the group. There is nowhere to run to: You have a place for fulfillment, you have friends who yearn for the same thing, and you have the evil inclination, which actually constantly helps us look for the center of the circle. We have all that we need and we should support one another and constantly rise above the interruptions, as it says, “Love will cover all the sins.”

Let’s hope that we will advance this way, from success to success.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/12/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Question: What do I have to do if I realize that when I am praying for my friends I am in fact praying for myself?

Answer: This is called “Lo Lishma.” You think of others because without them you can achieve nothing. It is an egoistic intention since you pray for everybody else only because you can’t manage without them. So, this means that you are really praying for yourself, “Lo Lishma.”

We pray to get closer to the Creator and to “bestowal.” But do we clearly realize what bestowal is? For us, bestowal is a pleasant sensation, some kind of positive acquisition, a present!

Does it have anything in common with actual bestowal? No, it doesn’t. It’s a lie, but with good intention. So far, we sense that concealment is given to us from Above to make us think of various spiritual concepts as if we were little children. A child looks at each garbage truck with delight thinking that it’s God’s chariot that descended from the skies; he regards its driver as an angel and envies him.

The deceit is organized by nature so that a child learns to respect anything that is higher than him and thus learns to strive and achieve an upper level, otherwise he won’t grow. The same scenario works with all of us: We have to worship the group because only with its help can we achieve the spiritual world and attain bestowal.

We regard bestowal as a process of giving to us, rather than our giving to others! This is how we view bestowal; if not for that, we would have run away a long time ago. However, the force Above overturns the deceit completely and presents it to us in a totally opposite way, thus making us wait for a present. Sweet treats stimulate our growth.

Therefore, our current concepts are wrong; they are the reverse side of reality. That’s why our world is called “opposite” and deceitful. When we advance towards spirituality, we become opposite to it. But those who lead regular lives are not considered opposite to spirituality whatsoever; they are simply cut from it.

We are aware of our oppositeness to spirituality since we educate ourselves. We try to be in control of our divergence as much as possible by restricting ourselves. If we can understand where actual truth is and where deception is and if we manage to expand the boundaries of sanctity by giving up on something we like, then to the extent of our efforts we will advance.

Everything depends on the degree to which we are able to give correct sensory definitions to spiritual concepts in order to start sensing bestowal, in other words to start realizing that for us it is similar to death and that there is nothing worse than that.

It’s even worse than death, since death is a complete discontinuation after which there is nothing at all, whereas here our lives are taken away from us and we become the Creator’s slaves; we can only torture ourselves from morning till night by working hard against our own will; we can neither compliment our egoism nor die.

It is opposite to such an extent that one cannot even imagine it. Oppositeness unfolds only when we acquire the property of Bina, the readiness to suffer until that suffering turns into the opposite of its opposite state: into love.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/12, The Zohar

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When a person despairs from his life, he begins to search for a way to justify his existence, for a reason life is worth living. Actually, what motivates him is the ego, the pride that hides within, which demands an explanation: How do I exist if it’s not worthwhile living?

I must find something to exist for. Everyone, constantly, searches for this justification for himself. It doesn’t matter who he is. The pride from the feeling that he is a person, derives from the point of creation itself, “Something from nothing,” from the contradiction of the “something” and this “nothing.”

This brings him to search for the meaning to which accordingly he chooses the way of life, the profession, and the style of behavior at each moment. This point motivates him during each moment of his life. And when this question becomes real, then the person finds the wisdom of Kabbalah, and enters the influence of the Light that reforms and begins to develops.

This first question: “What am I living for,” “Is life worthwhile living,” “How can I justify my existence,” matures into a very clear question about the meaning of life. And then a person begins to study, is included in a group, and receives the books and the teacher.

And gradually he begins to feel that he is in concealment. It is as if something is hidden from him, even though he doesn’t understand what concealment and disclosure are. He simply feels changes in his mood in relation to others, in measures of patience and annoyance, as much as he understands or not until he finds himself in a fog and is confused. In this way these states change within him.

And of course, the relation to life is constantly changing. Sometimes he feels that it is worthwhile to exist, that life is shining on him to the point that he is ready to sing from happiness, and sometimes he feels the opposite. All of this is the work of the Light that awakens and moves the person and in this way builds in him the spiritual Kelim (vessels, desires).

And the Kli is measured according to the size of the gap between the highest and lowest points in relation to the feeling, the understanding, recognition, and values from how the person examines the closeness or distance of the desired goal.

Thus he progressively advances. In the beginning he evaluates his state only according to his mood, if it is good or bad. And later, he already begins to examine it according to more accurate criterion: how much he succeeded in understanding and feeling, more or less. The mood doesn’t worry him so much, but the most important thing is to understand, to feel and to advance. The truth becomes for us more important than the pleasure.

In this way he advances, until he feels himself in double concealment.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/7/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Excerpt from a lesson by Rabash: The analogy is somewhat complicated. What is clothing in corporeality? When a person is naked, he is lacking. If he is clothed in any clothing—that’s his filling so he won’t be naked.

The lesson is: Previously, man was naked and had no Light. The vessels were empty. Now, the Light comes from the lower one and fills him, as if filling his deficiency, not a hundred percent, but in a certain way it resembles the upper clothing. Similar to a person who lacks clothing fills his lack; likewise here, the Lights from the lower one fill the empty vessels.

In what way does it resemble clothing? I wear clothing; I cover myself with clothing. That is why I say: “When I’m naked, it’s a deficiency for me, it’s not nice, I am ashamed. If I have clothing, I cover the deficiency I had when I was naked.”

What can we learn from that regarding spiritual work? Just like clothing fills the deficiency of the upper one in corporeality, arousing the aspect of shame in him; likewise, the empty vessels are the aspect of deficiency. And when the Light comes and fills it: it is like clothing.

Corporeal clothing is similar to spiritual clothing from a certain aspect, since we wear it as a result of shame. Without that, we feel a deficiency in our egoistic desire. We want to maintain our honor, pride, and protect our ego; that’s why we need corporeal clothing.

Whereas spiritual clothing is the screen and the reforming Light with which I want to clothe the upper one in order to enable His revelation in me. I suffer and am included in the lack of the upper one and it becomes my primary desire. I begin to love the others even more than myself, and their desire becomes my desire. The significance of spiritual clothing is that instead of my individual ego, I begin to appreciate the upper one, who becomes more important to me.
[69279]
Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/9/12

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Question: What does it mean to unite with the Creator?

Answer: With the help of friends and study, due to the surrounding Light, I obtain the aspiration for the Creator, the desire to bestow upon Him, to be in bestowal, disconnected from myself so there is no longer my “I,” and I am entirely in this property of bestowal. Then, I discover that I become similar to Him because He is the very desire for bestowal, not a body, object, or entity.

Thus, the Creator begins to appear to me more and more as the property of bestowing force governing the Universe. And when I rise above myself and exit myself, I discover that in essence, I am a force, a desire, aspiration itself. And then I loose the feeling of my body, and I feel that there are only two mutual desires: His and mine.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/9/12, Shamati #16

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A person goes through different stages in his spiritual development. At the beginning, while on the still level, a person isn’t capable of independent action, he doesn’t understand where he is; therefore, he includes himself in the group and it begins to effect his development.

A few years go by until a person realizes that his active involvement is required. There’s work for him and he needs to be active. He always has to clarify in what direction he’s headed. From that moment on, he advances from the still to the vegetative level. He begins to grow as a result of taking care of himself, connecting with others, following the teacher’s advice, and paying close attention to the path he’s on.

He submits himself to the influence of the environment because he realizes that a group isn’t just a gathering of people but that it possesses a unique inner force, which he needs in order to develop. He becomes a “plant” and the group becomes his “soil” from which he draws the strength to develop and to further include himself in the group. He realizes that only an adult tree can produce fruit and that a tree can grow only if a person includes oneself in the group.

Upon growing, he wishes to receive the fruits, which are connection, love, and the revelation of the force of mutual bestowal, where the Creator is revealed. For the time being this is all on the vegetative level.

Then there is the animate level. This is when a person can influence things and partially takes it upon himself to care for the connection between everyone. He is no longer a “tree” that’s stuck to the ground and that is passive in relation to the one taking care of it.

The human level within a human is where one takes care of the tree. But the animate level within a human is more than a tree because it also strives to grow and actively participate in the whole system. A person sees general flaws and tries to fix them. He sees not only how to correct himself and to passively include himself in the system, but also sees how to help others; thereby, he enters into general connections and corrections. This can be attributed to the animal level.

The human level is where one adheres to the Creator as a result of his actions. So it turns out that the basis for our development is in caring for the “tree”

Primarily it’s enough to divide your life into corporeal and spiritual. You should give to the corporeal what is necessary, no more and no less, and give the rest to your spiritual work without any limitation.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/8/12, Writings of Rabash

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Question: The Kabbalists are telling me about the property of bestowal, but I don’t sense it. I don’t even have the end of the thread…

Answer: When you experience the need for bestowal you can understand what bestowal is like. Try to bestow to your friends and you will see that you don’t want it. From this you will understand what it would be like if you possessed the property of bestowal. Then you will start guessing what you lack.

The reasoning is as follows. I want to achieve unity with my friends. They are united with one another while I am detached from them. Honestly I don’t want this unity, I am incapable of doing this, I keep forgetting about it. The sparkle of my desire dims. I can revive it only when I am with my friends, when I connect to them even because of shame.

I become closer to them, I work in the group and I begin to understand how much I need love. The sketches of my efforts gradually depict a picture of bestowal. I think about its benefits and this way I form a vessel, desire. Perhaps it’s still unreal and only preliminary. However, with every effort I draw the upper Light, which is built according to my desires. It is coming from perfection, from Eternity, to the very breakage, to this world. Perhaps like a child I play a guessing game, but the Light is doing its work. This makes it possible for me to move toward bestowal.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/2/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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