First we develop at this world’s level, in our egoism, when we only worry about it until we become wiser and see it as our most hateful enemy, which stands in our way.

But this is not a hindrance regarding life in this world, although here too egoism sometimes buries itself. The main point is that there are people in whom a new desire begins to grow, which is in conflict with this world and with a person’s whole life. Such people would like to disconnect from this life and rise to a different level of existence, to another reality, instead of the reality that satisfied them before.

So they enter a period called the time of preparation to enter the spiritual world (Lo Lishma – not for its sake), and begin to work on themselves by studying, the group, and a teacher. They try to enlarge the point in their heart, the first bud of the new desire, above all their egoism, above the egoistic heart.

As this new desire grows, a person begins to appreciate his new goal even more and to understand that the goal is bestowal, connection, the exit from his ego, and ascent to new desires, to connection with others. He doesn’t see his “self” any more, but the “we.” Thus, this “we” becomes so infused that the sum becomes “one.”

We aspire and yearn for this new dimension and try to rise from the egotistic level to the level of connection as we constantly increase the importance of the goal, annul ourselves and connect with others, and accept the opinion of the environment that our unity is more important than life inside our ego. The upper Light influences us in response to our efforts and advances us towards the internal change.

Eventually the internal shift, called birth in the new world, takes place, as our perception changes from receiving to bestowing. From now on we begin to see reality through the attribute of bestowal, which is totally different from our previous perception.

Now we see the same part to which we previously didn’t pay attention: the system of bestowal that exists in nature, the inner forces, the connections, the spiritual levels (Partzufim, worlds, Sefirot).

Until now, we only saw the levels of the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels, and suddenly another part of reality is revealed to us, which is called the world of bestowal, the upper world. Then we begin to study this system and according to how much we join it, we enter it.

Each time as we achieve a stronger connection, the more we connect to this system, as if we are taking another step deeper into the forest, into the field of the new world. But our whole advancement is realized thanks to the connection. And so, we get to know the system of bestowal.
[63973]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/26/11, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
An Intermediate Form Between A Person And The Creator
Revealing The Connection Between Everything
The End Of  An Illusion Or A Paradigm

Filed under: Body and Soul, Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - 1 Comment →

We know from the wisdom of Kabbalah that all the best things in our personal lives—be it our current egoism or something higher that we strive to, all the goodness in the desire to enjoy or the desire to please, whether in this world or the upper World—is only achieved through unity.

Today we discover this in fairly difficult and unpleasant forms: We encounter problems and become submerged in the crisis. All this is designed to show us that we must unite, since we simply do not have another choice. Nature is pressuring us without leaving us a free space to maneuver.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is offering us its help in these conditions. It says: “I will help you attain unity. You yourselves see that there are no other options. This is the only way to fix your lives.”

Assume we do not want this, but how else can we acquire happiness? We are drawn by eternity, perfection, fulfillment both in this and the future world; we want to rise above life and death. If we were to make a list of how we envision consummate welfare, it would not be big—ten points at most. Overall, I would refer to pleasure, regardless of whether it is in the heart or the mind. And the only way to achieve it is by uniting.

So, today when we are discovering this out of hopelessness, Kabbalah comes to the rescue. It is not proposing to somehow go around this fixed condition, it does not promise protection; it does not take us to the spiritual world through the backdoor. This simply is impossible because this refers to a law of Nature.

Yet, Kabbalah helps realize it the good way. Yes, this condition is unpleasant, uncomfortable, bitter to taste, but bitterness can be turned into sweetness, and discomfort can be overcome through mutual efforts, music, a common flow of joyous feelings, festive ceremonies, and entertainment programs.

There is difficult work before us; we must go through an inner transformation. It is similar to the way an ill person agrees to surgery knowing that he will have a better life after it.

And the wisdom of Kabbalah helps us go through this surgery, which will cardinally change us. Our way of thought, our perception and understanding of the world, our perception of reality, all our actions, all our goals, mind and sense mechanisms – all these things must transform. We must uninstall the old program and install a new one.

Kabbalah explains that your basic qualities do not change. Your inherent qualities and acquired skills will remain as they were. You only change the program, according to which you achieve different goals in life. And then you suddenly see that all of them can be realized.

Today you are disappointed and helpless because of the wrong program. You need to update it, and you will achieve all the best things you now want.

And gradually, man takes steps along this path. Moreover, changes are not caused by the natural pressure of suffering from Above through which Nature always reveals problems and faults to us, forcing us to run. When we feel like we are held in a grip, we naturally direct ourselves towards the next state.

As Baal HaSulam says, we are unable to remain in the current state when it becomes unbearable, and then we cross into the next state having no other choice. This new state does not appeal to us; otherwise, we would have chosen it to begin with. According to our nature, we hover around as long as we can manage, and we only agree to the change when we reach our threshold of endurance.

And even then the situation is not the most pleasant—it is as if we needed to move somewhere, leave our home with all our possessions, reach the new place, and assimilate there…. These changes pose a lot of discomfort. But suffering increases so much that it forces us to make this “move.” This is how we advance through the stages of human development.

On the other hand, Kabbalah opens new horizons, shows us how good our lives will be there, ahead. After all, Nature’s objective is not to push us with blows, but it creates conditions for us to develop on our own towards goodness.

And then instead of pressure from behind, we feel drawn forward. This really helps: Before our train would be shaken by the jerks of the engine attached in the back, but now another engines pulls it in the front.

Kabbalah says that in the 21^st century, our development is realized through unity. This has never happened before, before everyone developed individually, but now the time has come to unite, to become included in one another, for everyone to acquire a common vessel within. Then everyone will grow on the same level as everyone else, as it is written: “The private and the whole are equal.” Everyone will feel similar to Infinity, the upper force, perceiving and embracing the whole reality in himself.

Man must acquire a second force to realize this—the force of bestowal, unity, and mutual inclusion with others. And this is why he is brought to a group, a state of his first union, even if this union is external, it is a union with people like him who aspire towards the same goal.

As we read The Zohar, we aspire towards this force, which attracts us, and we make efforts to unite between us. We help this force; we participate in the process—and advance towards the goal instead of moving towards it under pressure of the initial force of suffering. We turn to the path of Light from the path of suffering.

The Zohar describes the things the Light does to us, and this is why when we think about unity and aspire towards the Light, the reading turns into an inner, spiritual effort. It is just like a child tries hard during a game, and an adult goes all out to achieve success. Here we are trying to implement a certain action—but this action is not physical, it is internal. And once we realize it, we feel the result—and the result is also internal.
[62232]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/11, The Zohar

Related Material:
Down The Trajectory Of Light
A Science Of A Successful Future
Between The Desired And The Actual

Filed under: Body and Soul, Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Inner Work, Mutual Guarantee, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Our unity above Pharaoh stands for the correction of the bestowing desires, which symbolize the holiday of Chanukah, the lighting of the Chanukah candles.

Every spiritual root must touch its corporeal branch once, and this is why all these events took place over the course of the descent from above downward. At first there was the exit from Egypt, the building of the First Temple on the degree of Mochin de Haya—a very high state. And then the fall from it, the breaking of the Temple and the Babylonian exile where the miracle of Purim took place. Then there was the correction and the building of the Second Temple on the degree of Mochin de Neshama. But we were not able to hold on here and once again were exiled. The war with the Greeks and the miracle of Chanukah happened during the time of the Second Temple—in the small state (Katnut).

And then the Greeks completed the separation from the spiritual, which corresponds to the First restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph)—the fall beneath the Machsom, the barrier that separates the spiritual and corporeal worlds.

And when we begin to rise from below upward—in the reverse order, we first pass the Machsom, then we acquire the spiritual vessels which correspond to Hanukkah, and then—Purim.

All miracles happen because of the Light that returns to the source, but they are realized through the connection in the group. Everything depends only on our connection. By connecting more—we rise and become free, and by connecting less—we fall and become exiled. Our ascent depends on the strength of our connection with one another, and our descent depends on our distance and separation from one another.

There is nothing else! We will continue to rise until we unite as one man with one heart, when “The Creator and His Name will be one.”

For this we need to reveal the entire system and see how complex and rich it is, and the enormous amount of connections we can reveal in it and use. Everyone connects with everyone else, repeatedly multiplying each other by mutual inclusion in one another, and this goes on infinitely, like in a holographic image.

And this is qualitative infinity, rather than quantitative—an infinite connection. Our connection keeps growing until the discrete, digital sum becomes analog, until there is no difference left between us, like droplets of water that merge into one great drop. This will mean that the final correction, Gmar Tikkun, has been reached.
[63797]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/21/11, Writings of Rabash, “The Miracle of Chanukah”

Related Material:
We Need One Victory
The Most Ravishing Moment
Celebrate The First Victory Over Yourself

Filed under: Body and Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Holidays, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

It is written, “Choose life!” Of course we are not talking about the animal life, since a person already has questions that are higher than our regular existence—questions about real life, receiving the Light into corrected desires and becoming similar to the Creator. This is called human life, since all previous existence was imaginary, like preparation for the human degree.

However, life without achieving bestowal and true existence is harder than death. And this is not because it is difficult physically. Humanity is reaching a state where half of it is in depression and the other half is in fear. Consequently, life is becoming unbearable, not only due to natural cataclysms and disasters, but because of the intolerable inner pain.

We can have all the benefits in our material life, and yet feel horrible because it lacks meaning. A life devoid of inner correction and the inability to answer the question regarding the meaning of one’s life is becoming more horrid than death.

After all, a question emerges in a person, as well as new desires from the human level, and then a huge problem arises because every question from a higher degree cancels out everything one has. One does not understand why he needs all these fulfillments if he fails to find meaning on a higher degree. People are not committing suicide in countries that lack food, but particularly in the most well-off regions, such as the Scandinavian countries.

A life without the correction of desires is very difficult for a person who is asking this question. He begins to suffer not only because he does not receive pleasure from anything, but also from the fact that he brings suffering to others. He criticizes himself for his past, present, and future. He considers himself guilty in regard to his children, close ones, and strangers—in regard to everyone because he feels that he is the source of misfortunes for other people.

He is shown an overview of his whole life, and he sees how evil he was in regard to every person he encountered and how much he used everyone. In these circumstances, it’s difficult to remain without an understanding of the goal, which is the opposite: good and does good. He has no hope for the future, for the days to come, which will only be worse. A person feels that he will spend the rest of his life in the same useless manner, without receiving any fulfillment in the present or the future—no inner or surrounding Light.

However, one who lives for the sake of correction and rouses inner and surrounding Lights not only becomes worthy of receiving pleasure from life itself (when Light is clothed into desires), but he is happy to “bring sons into this world” (new states). That is, he advances further. He develops his desires and sees that he needs the whole world since it represents his own desires, which he joins to himself and fulfills. It turns out that they all are his sons.
[63586]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/19/11, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
Humanity In Transition
The Question That Demands An Answer
All Of Humanity Is In Exile

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Evolution, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator, Suffering - No Comments →

From our life and from lessons of Kabbalists, we learn that there is no other force in the world except for the Creator ruling everything. The difference between us and the Creator is huge. He is absolutely opposite to us.

We fully consist of the desire to receive for ourselves, to enjoy and attract everything possible to ourselves—this is our nature. He, to the contrary, is a desire to bestow, to please others—this is His nature. And the purpose of creation established by Him is to bring us to His state—the highest eternal state of perfection.

The relationship between a person and the Creator is like that between an infant and a parent. If a parent wants to teach a child to walk, he shows the child how to do that: He puts the child on the floor, supports him to stand strongly on his feet, and then lets him go. A child stands in the middle of the room—he can stand, but he can’t walk yet! So he cries and doesn’t know what to do.

He gets confused and frightened that everyone left him. And he doesn’t understand that he was left alone to make a step forward! Regardless of everything, we have to do that in such way, because the child wouldn’t learn to walk without that.

And he takes one step forward—and we catch him right away. Just make one step! He almost falls forward, but before he falls, we catch him, put him on his feet and let go. And he wobbles again and doesn’t know what to do, but there is no other way—either he falls in the same spot or takes a step almost falling forward and we catch him again. Thus time after time, he learns to take steps on his own, holding onto something at first, and walking little by little afterwards.

Our world is a snapshot of the spiritual world. It is made inside of our egoism, but all the actions reflect the actions in the spiritual world, but in a reversed form. Thus through this example, we can realize what happens to us in this life and in what ways the upper force which stands in front of us all the time, teaches us to move forward to overcome the distance separating us from the Creator.

On one hand, the distance is huge. And every time we feel as an infant who doesn’t understand what’s going on and why this happened to him—where is his support and why he was left alone. Why after a good state comes such a bad state?

But if we perceive the Creator’s behavior in the right way and know how to use Him properly, we accept these not very pleasant states with love and happiness realizing that we grow through to them.
[63571]
From Lesson 4, The World Arvut Convention 12/7/11

Related Material:
The Right Abducts And The Left Rejects
To Make An Abode  For The Creator
The Conspiracy Of The Prisoners Of This world

Filed under: Body and Soul, Conventions, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator, Spirituality - 1 Comment →

The Creator’s “problem” with the creature lies in the creature needing to attain Him. It is impossible to bring man to goodness if he remains in his original state. It is necessary to endow him with power, understanding, and sensitivity, and to make him equivalent to the Creator.

Similarly, the host must elevate the guest to a level equal to his own, so that he wouldn’t feel shame toward the king’s feast. To this end, the guest must obtain all the wealth of the host. And here the will of the host alone (“directive from Above”) is not enough.

So how can the guest be brought to this equivalence? Is it enough to simply shower him with presents? No. Perhaps it’s OK to help him? That’s also a problem since the host was never helped. Transitioning from “existence out of absence” to “existence out of existence” is a real problem.

This includes a great many things that we will only understand further along the path. They cannot be explained in simple terms. Ultimately we need to reveal the means that allow us to actualize our only free choice and to reach the goal.

And we know ahead of time that we’re talking about the group, about participating in its life. With the help of the group we reveal the force of bestowal, with its help we reveal the Creator’s quality. In the group we create His image and likeness, His support. This is called Shechinah—the place where He dwells (Shochen).

We must make a precise template for His reign. This will be the Temple (literally “House of Sanctity”), that is, Malchut who receives the quality of Bina. Thanks to this the Light of Hochma can clothe in her with all its forms and fulfill her.
[63480]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/18/11, Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

Related Material:
The Foundation Of The Third Temple
Activate The Group
Building The Third Temple

Filed under: Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

The Creator created us as material opposite to Him—the desire to enjoy, which does not feel or understand that there can be something except itself. We feel only ourselves and wish to receive and derive pleasure from everything else. Every person feels only his own desire and the fulfillment in it. These are the only two states perceived by the desire to receive: yes/no, 0/1. This is how egoism works, and this is the order of work that we observe in nature in many instances and in different cells.

However, in order for the desire to enjoy to exit itself, to rise above its quality of perceiving good and evil only within its ego, and to feel good and evil outside of itself, we need some special tool that does not exist within the egoistic desire. The egoistic desire lacks any foundation for rising above and creating something opposite of itself.

We don’t even know what this opposite means; we cannot imagine what the spiritual world is. In order to reach it, we need to perform the kind of changes in ourselves that the desire to enjoy is incapable of performing! Nonetheless, this is our duty: to reach, understand, and execute them ourselves. Otherwise we will not receive independence and become equal to the Creator as is instilled in the goal of creation.

Thus we are given a means called a group—something foreign to the egoistic desire. In regard to this strange object, the egoistic desire feels the same as in regard to the Creator, considering it nonexistent so to speak. It does not give it any independent value and simply wishes to use it. However, it understands and feels it is in connection with it.

On one hand, the egoism wishes to use the group like any outside object. On the other hand, it can use it in the opposite form: in order to achieve bestowal, a quality that is opposite to it.

Therefore, we have an intermediary form between degrees, a means of transition—like corals are between the inanimate and vegetative levels; a mythical half-plant, the “field dog” between the vegetative and animate levels; and the monkey between the animate and the human levels. And the intermediate form between man and the Creator is the group.

If a person joins a group and is able to work with it for bestowal, he will be able to rise to the degree of the Creator. One needs to try to reach this by his own effort, since becoming like the Creator means, first and foremost being independent, understanding, feeling, and demanding your changes on your own.

All of this is supplied to us by the environment. Therefore, it is written, “One who aspires to the Creator (Isra-El), the Light of correction and the Creator are one whole,” and “love for the creatures leads to love for the Creator.” We need to view our environment as a means to achieve the goal of creation. To the extent that the goal of creation is important to you, you should value the group to the same height.

This pertains not only to those in whom the point in the heart has awakened that pulls them toward the goal of creation; it pertains to all of humanity. Everyone will need to build such examples: societies or small states that will serve as examples, which everyone else will emulate while trying to draw closer.

In this manner, the whole world will advance correctly, nearing the form of the new human being, the new humanity. Consequently, we need to achieve love for the Creator—similarity to the quality of bestowal and altruistic perception. Love for the friends is a means for achieving this goal.
[63466]
From the 1st part of the  Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/18/11, Writings of Rabash

Filed under: Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Convention Preparation
The goal of creation – to delight the creatures, lies in bringing creation, which exists in the quality that is opposite to the Creator, to equivalence or identity with Him because this is the best, perfect state. Therefore, the law of equivalence of form lies at the foundation of the whole process. On one hand, by our nature we are the will to receive, the will to enjoy, and we only analyze what we have inside of us – am I sufficiently fulfilled, do I desire anything more, can I enjoy something else and receive it inside of me? Essentially, this is my entire nature: at every moment I check how else I can improve my state. That is how I was created. I cannot free myself of this and I cannot come out of it since otherwise I won’t be creation.

On the other hand, we have to attain the state that is equal to the Creator. And the state that is similar to Him is opposite to us, meaning when I constantly check how I can benefit my neighbor, what I can take out of myself and give to him. The neighbor is everything that is outside of me. Essentially, only the Creator is outside of me. How can I get to the point where I will always think only about Him? I am incapable of that. My nature is initially such that I don’t feel this at all. Each of us understands that we are incapable of thinking about the good of someone else. In order to perform this revolution inside of us, meaning to make us similar to the Creator, He prepared two means.

First of all, the Creator placed the rudiment of the quality of bestowal inside of us, the “point in the heart,” the spiritual spark that is inside of us even though we do not feel it. We feel an unconscious desire, but we do not feel a real desire to bestow to the neighbor, to the friends, to the Creator, to become similar to Him. Yet this spark does exist.

In truth, it exists in all people in the world. But there are some in whom it is already awakening, and there are others in whom it is not awakening yet. People in whom this spark awakens are called “Isra-El” – “Straight to the Creator,” according to this spark which directs them to spirituality.

But this spark, which is inside of our will to enjoy, is not enough yet. Outside of us there is the upper force, which created us in the will to enjoy with a spiritual spark inside of it. This upper force is in the state of expectation: it is waiting for us to demand for it to influence us. This force is not one tiny spark, but one enormous Light, like billions of sparks.

But since we are in a dual state, like a dipole, combining both the will to enjoy and a spark of bestowal inside of us, we have to prepare to attract the Light to us, to obligate it to influence the spark, to increase it so the tiny spark would ignite into one enormous Light. This is our work.

In order to urge the Light to influence this spark, we have to become similar to the Light according to the same law of equivalence of form and attract it to us. How do I attract it? To the extent of our equivalence of form. How can I become similar to it? That is why besides me, there are many others like me, the group. If on one hand, I try to unite our sparks with them, and on the other – to cancel our desires as much as possible, then it turns out that we become more and more similar by that. We lower our egoistic desires down, while wishing to unite and elevate these sparks. Then, according to the law of equivalence of form, the upper Light becomes closer to us and illuminates more. And when it illuminates more, it raises these sparks, uniting them into one big spark. That is how we start growing closer to the Light, until we begin to reveal it. What does it mean to reveal it? It’s when it influences our sparks and we begin to feel it. Our sparks unite with one another and inside of them we begin to feel the Light, the common, mutual bestowal, the quality of Light, the Creator.

Then we begin to feel how besides our will to enjoy and our tiny spark inside of it, above it there is a quality of common, all-enveloping bestowal, the Creator. And in this sensation, we begin to feel the second force that exists in creation. In reality, this is the primary force that created us.

Each one of us and all of us together become included in this force, which becomes revealed to us. And in it, we already exist, or it exists inside of us, which is the same thing. Then we feel it, and that means we feel the upper world, the spiritual world, our life in the spiritual dimension. And our body exists on the side. It is not even connected to the same desire, like some animal existing next to it. That is how we exist.

Therefore, in all of our actions, it is very important for us to understand that “the Shechina dwells only in a perfect place.” That is, we have to unite, to become similar to the Light by our nature, and to that extent the Light influences us, comes closer to us, and becomes revealed inside of us.

That is why we get together, in as big as quantity and quality as possible, and prepare. It’s all to unite our sparks and inside of them to feel that we really do have a place for the Shechina, for the revelation of Light inside of us. The first revelation means that we pass the Machsom and already exist in the revelation of Light. Let us hope that we will have to actualize this and we really will reach this.
[62504]
From the lesson on 11/11/11 on “Joy”

Related Material:
Evolution Beyond Darwin’s Theory
Tell Us About Spirituality!
I Give By Receiving Everything

Filed under: Conventions, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Love towards friends is necessary for achieving the similarity with the upper force. To the extent that we connect with each other, we change our state.

All the time, we are in the state of creation and gradually reveal more and more of it, and thus advance. In essence, we return to the understanding and feeling of what it means to be similar to the Creator, and how to come from disparity to similarity. This is our path.

That is why, we never have bad states on the way, they are always in the direction of good. Every action, which we perform for connection, is aimed at the achieving of a good state, toward when we break the barriers that divide us, the walls of egoism, and inside the common circle reveal what happens there in reality.

Concealment, created by partitions, separating us from each other, is disappearing, and we connect more strongly. When these walls fall, which is called the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun), in our unity, we will reveal ourselves as one creature. Through this, we will achieve equivalence of form with the Creator, who is also One.

All the laws of the group and our corrections follow from here. All corrections are intended for the correction of these partitions, which should stop dividing us. And while we are all different, but despite these differences which we do not destroy, we rise above all the barriers, differences, and there reveal the Creator fully.

We are now in the final state, only this infinite spiritual state is concealed from us, and we see only a material group in front of us. But if we begin to connect with the group without any barriers that hinder our unity and connection, then it suddenly turns into a structure similar to the Creator.

The first time we can feel, instead of an average group a single formation, similar to the Creator, we discover His manifestation at least to a small measure. This means to rise above the Machsom to the first spiritual degree.

There are 125 degrees of ascent or the likeness with the upper force, the Creator, due to our connection with each other.

Related Material:
Love that Egoists Are Not Familiar With
About the Value of Love for Friends
Love Of Friends Is Our Common Treasure

Filed under: Body and Soul, Collective Soul, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Inner Work, Mutual Guarantee, My Similarity to the Creator, Perception - No Comments →

Filed under: Free Will, Group Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →