Question: Can a Kabbalist abide by two ideologies simultaneously and be religious at the same time as being a Kabbalist?

Answer: No, he can’t. Kabbalah takes the upper hand over religious ideology. A Kabbalist can carry out all sorts or religious customs as a result of his upbringing, culture, and the traditions of his nation. And I think it’s good to do so. I do not look down on religion.

However, this should not replace Kabbalah because the most important thing for a person is to attain revelation of and adhesion with the Creator. Anything that interferes with this should be removed from this path. What interferes isn’t religion itself, but the false conception of it, thinking that it can replace the attainment of the Creator, that instead of spiritual revelation it’s enough to carry out some kind of material actions, to pray according to written words, and to think that this is sufficient.

This is completely not so. It is written that “Everyone must know the Creator from the smallest of them to the greatest of them.” We have to attain adhesion with Him. Everyone says they agree with this because that’s what is written and it is impossible to argue with it. It’s clear to everyone that we have to attain “the Creator’s work” and to bond to Him. It is also written that the main rule of the Torah is to love your neighbor as yourself. However, people everywhere only talk about this, but do not actually make it happen.

No one even knows what adhesion with the Creator means, how to come closer to Him, and how to become similar to Him. The problem is that religion has replaced the science of Kabbalah after the breaking of the Temple, when the nation of Israel fell from the spiritual level to the material level and all that remained for the people to do was to carry out just physical actions as a tradition in order to commemorate the previous spiritual actions.

Now we have to learn to ascend back to the spiritual level and add the attainment of the Creator to these national traditions. Religion seems to stop a person, telling him that it’s sufficient to make just the mechanical actions that are carried out by religious people.

However, many source texts say that it’s not enough to make just the material actions, that the Creator does not care how you slaughter an animal—in a kosher manner or not, and that the commandments were given in order to correct the creatures by them. This means that the action has to be supplemented with the right intention.

The intention is the most important thing, in fact, it is the person himself. What is important are his thoughts and desires, rather than the actions. A religious person usually does actions by habit, having been raised from childhood to make them without thinking. There is no correction in doing so.

That is why we want to supplement tradition, the customary way of life, or what is called religion, which we perceive as a nation’s culture or tradition, with “the Creator’s work,” meaning the inner work of a person whereby he corrects his desires in order to become similar to the Creator. Adam, man, means similar.

Every person, secular as well as religious, has to understand that Kabbalah can add something to his life. It adds the revelation of the Creator, the upper force that controls everything. And when you see it, understand it, and feel it, then you understand how to go forward without making mistakes, both in this world and in the “world to come,” the spiritual world that becomes revealed to you.

We do not attain the revelation of the Creator by religious actions, but by uniting with others. However, these actions do not become canceled. They are simply like a branch symbolizing the spiritual root, and a person can remain in that culture. This is a custom that does not interfere with one’s advancement, but neither does it help him. It simply reminds you that spiritual actions exist, and that is why it was preserved throughout the years of the exile.

The Creator does not care about your physical actions. He only cares about the intention you put into them.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/20/11, “Introduction to the book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: What is the Surrounding Light that we are trying to attract?

Answer: The Light is the upper force, the one, single, and only existing force in the universe. Besides this Force there is only desire, which becomes revealed to us as a receiving desire. Yet by using the force of the Light we can change it to bestowal.

There is nothing besides Light (the Creator) and desire. We simply call Him by different names (such as Surrounding Light, Inner Light, or the Light that Reforms) in order to provide more precise definitions.

The Surrounding Light influences me if I aspire to my next form. Even though I don’t know exactly what that form is like, I study it through a book that describes all sorts of Partzufim, worlds, and Sefirot. That is how I express my desire to ascend there and attain, and that is how I attract this state that I want to attain to myself. It begins to influence me to the extent I aspire to it.

I open myself up and become more sensitive to this influence, to the next state that I must reach. I simply accelerate my development, adding a little bit of my own desire to the natural force that develops me.

I receive this additional desire from the environment. That is how I realize my free choice and receive from them the sensation that it is important to advance to the next state. After all, being in the next state means being more connected with others, canceling myself more, and bestowing more.

I receive this inspiration from the group and then I take it with me when coming to study and aspiring to attain the future form that is more bestowing. Then I am influenced by Light from there because it has the same nature of bestowal that I want to acquire. We have the same desire, the same tendency, and therefore we are close according to the law of equivalence of form.

By myself I do not have any desire for bestowal or spiritual progress. I have zero desire. But then I turn to the group and from them I take "10 pounds” of desire to advance to bestowal and unity among us, and with that desire I come to study. I want to attain the next state with the same force of 10 pounds. My similarity to the Light is measured by this force of 10 pounds, and to that degree it influences my desire, making it similar to the Light.

This is the same Light that fills my next state because it already exists. When I aspire to that future state, the Light begins to shine on me. For now it is called “surrounding” because it must first correct me and only then clothe into me. It works in two stages, performing two actions.

The same phenomena exist in physics: If I come closer to a magnet, then I enter the field of its attraction and influence. Even you and I influence one another. There is a certain field around every person. In fact, there is not one physical body that isn’t surrounded by a field—not even any stone.

Everything operates by the same principle. The closest state you aspire to (your next state) is what influences you. However, there are many fields around you that you do not even relate to yet. You do not yet aspire to them or know anything about them. When you reveal the spiritual world later on, you will see how many different things are happening in it and how many different dimensions exist in it.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Kabbalah does not talk about our imaginary world, but about the soul’s correction and how to attain the true reality. The true reality is the Kli in which the Creator is perceived by virtue of a certain degree of adhesion with Him.

The Kli or soul is divided into two parts: Israel, the part that aspires toward unity with the Creator, toward the goal, and the nations of the world, which is the part that’s unable to do so. We feel a certain yearning to reveal the Creator. The science of Kabbalah is by definition the method of revealing the Creator to creation. In other words, it is talking about revealing the quality of bestowal and love in creation itself.

In order for us to have the opportunity to attain this goal, the people who have the suitable desire unite in the common field of the Creator. They feel attracted to one another without knowing why and they come together like electrical charges or metal shavings in a magnetic field. That’s when they acquire the opportunity to realize the method of correction.

At first they do not know that they have to correct themselves. They simply feel a calling to the most important thing: “What am I living for? What is the meaning of my life?” Eventually they start to understand that all of these questions lead to the revelation of the Creator, the upper force that builds, supports, forms, and controls all of reality. There is nothing besides this force.

That is how a person goes from the question about the meaning of life to the question about how to reveal the Creator. After all, the revelation of the Creator gives him the answer to everything. Thus, in order to come closer to revealing the Creator, these people unite.

The Creator is concealed, and in order to reveal Him rather than anything else, meaning to reveal the quality of bestowal and love that lies outside of our nature of reception and hate, to rise above it, I am brought to a certain gathering of people.

Together with them I begin to understand that the question about the meaning of life shifts to the need to reveal the Creator as the answer to all questions that I have asked and will ask. Revealing the Creator means revealing the force of bestowal and love. It can be understood only to the degree of one’s similarity to it, only if I will also attain this quality, which is Him.

I have to acquire this quality, and in order to ensure this acquisition I am among people similar to me. This was arranged for me deliberately. The Creator is concealed because the quality of bestowal is opposite to me. Due to their fundamental difference, these qualities do not feel one another and therefore I do not feel the Creator. And it is impossible to work in relation to someone I do not feel. I will definitely be mistaken and will fall into self-deception.

Therefore, instead of giving me work with Himself, the Creator gave me work with my neighbor. This enables me to perform authentic verifications, to receive forces from the friends, and to check myself in relation to them: How much do I advance from hatred to love?
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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Nothing that happens in the world is extraneous. Everything comes only from the necessity to bring us to the final, perfect state where we exist in total equivalence with the single Upper Force. Therefore, if we forget about this in the group, this force tramples upon us, bothering us and constantly bringing about all sorts of “cunning” events, and the most important thing to do is not to give in and to always remember that all of it is happening deliberately. No one ever does anything accidentally.

Unless a person is psychologically sick, then everything taking place to him in the group happens specifically in order for him to ascend above it and to relate to it the right way. This does not necessarily mean that we have to ignore the problems. But the most important thing is for us to connect them to the Creator, the Force that controls us. Everything comes from Him. He is the one who is tripping us now in order for us to learn to move above these problems and thus to ascend above egoism. However, the egoism we ascend over is not our personal one, but the one that emerges between us.

If I am enticed by certain egoistic actions, for example, I want to buy a better car, earn more, and so on, this does not belong to Kabbalah; it is my personal business. But the things happening between us in the group, the degree of my friction with others comes from the Creator and only from Him. We can cope with these problems only if we don’t forget that He influences us.

We will never be able to cope with them separately from Him even if we will constantly try to solve them with each other. Even if we understand that we have to solve them because we have to be together because that is how we unite in the group and it is not acceptable to separate, this still won’t help! We will sink into this more and more.

It is possible to solve this question cardinally, correctly, and realistically only when each of us, the group, and the Creator are together and we solve this problem together. He awakens the negative, egoistic phenomena among us in order for us to “attract” Him to us, or putting it differently, to reveal Him among us. Problems are empty space, which we want to discover as being filled by the Creator. This is the opportunity He gives us. That means the problem lies in correctly reacting to His challenge, when He awakens egoism inside each of us and friction between us.

The Creator “flirts” with us, awakening our attention to Him. The right reaction is the common prayer, when we begin turning to Him all together. That is to say, without entering any confrontations with one another, we gather together and turn to the Force, the Primary Cause from which all of this comes. This is called “the prayer of society.”

We call on the Creator, summon Him, and obligate Him to become revealed between us. He evoked the negative interactions between us and we transform them to a desire or need for His presence. We are like children who have quarreled and cannot do anything about it, and so they demand for their mother to come and stand between them. The Creator deliberately evokes problems inside us, and in response we have to realize this and call on Him to fulfill that space.
From the lesson in Moscow on 1/16/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: When we are in the common system of souls and attain the Creator’s level, do we still remain cogwheels in this system?

Answer: Yes, when we are in this system and similar to the Creator, we still remain cogwheels. However, each one of us gains absolute freedom because when spinning together with everyone according to the desires of all the others, precisely through this one feels total freedom.

If I love them and spin only for their sake, with all of their qualities, then I am absolutely free. Of course, from the egoistic point of view this appears opposite. But if I treat them altruistically and with love, then this is precisely so. That’s because I don’t have any other desires besides spinning for their sake. If I have this opportunity, then I am free.
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From the lesson in Moscow on 1/14/11, The Zohar

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Question: How can I see an example of the Creator’s work? In my everyday life can I tell what He is now trying to show me?

Answer: You will recognize the Creator’s example directly in your sensation. My soul is structured in such a way that inside it begins to feel a certain part of a higher soul that shows it an example. Then I follow its example, looking at it like a child looks at an adult. And when a child receives an example from the adult, he wants to do the same thing.

However, you cannot find such examples in our life because you still don’t have the qualities of bestowal. You will only be able to discern them when you have the Kli that can help you become similar to Him. Then you will see His example according to the equivalence of form.

We have been given just one example. When we experience despair, then on its background we are brought to the group that studies the science of Kabbalah. Then you are told: “Start uniting with the friends and studying Kabbalistic books together.” Only then, with the help of the right study, by building connections with the friends and starting to reject your ego, the Light will come to you and help you overcome your egoistic desire. And only after that will you be able to acquire upper qualities.

However, it is only possible to receive the Creator’s example when you have a Kli in which you can realize it. By proving that you have the opportunity to become similar to Him, you will acquire an image according to which you will build your equivalence with the Creator.
From the lecture in “Kabbalah L’Am” Hall on 12/14/10

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As we read the works of Kabbalists, people who have revealed the upper world, the super-reality, we do not understand or feel what they talk about, but simply follow their words. They tell us that there is an upper force which is unattainable by itself. On our part, we attain it as the Creator, the Good who Does Good. Coming from this quality, the Creator made creation and desires for it to develop and receive His goodness.

The goodness lies in becoming equal to the Creator. There is nothing better or higher than that. Therefore, “doing good” means bringing creation to the level of the Creator. To do that we have to acquire two parameters, which are inherent in Him: perfection and independence. In principle, independence is part of perfection, but for us it has a special meaning and is of prime importance. We must be independent like the Creator. Just as He existed by Himself before creation, so must we reach the same degree of independence despite being His creatures.

Besides, we have to be able to attain the degree of the Good who Does Good ourselves and acquire this quality as well. In order to give us this opportunity, the Creator made a perfect state where we are identical to Him, similar, united, and unified in every way—in qualities, in perception, in independence, and every other regard.

From this initial and final state, He lowered us into various details of perfection until we reached total oppositeness. Then, from this opposite state, He gives us the opportunity to return to perfection with a valuable possession. All we need is to come back home.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, Writings of Rabash

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There is a triangle and we—all seven billion of us—are at its bottom. The closer we come to each other, the more we reveal the Creator. Everything depends on whether we match Him or not.

We can repel Him by repelling everyone else. To the degree I repel other people, I repel the Creator and then experience Him as evil and suffering. To the degree I desire to come closer to others in order for all of us to be together, I begin feeling the good that comes from Him.

I cannot influence the Creator directly. He is concealed from me and I cannot reach Him, grab onto Him, bring Him to me, or force Him. The only thing I can do is make actions in my realm below. If we act together here, below, then we influence Him to the same measure. This is the entire wisdom of Kabbalah: to work with each other, coming closer together, and to the degree we succeed, we bring the Creator closer to ourselves.

The Creator is the constant force of goodness that does not change, as it is written, “I did not change my name HaVaYaH.” This is a force of nature that has an unchangeable desire and thought. It is like a constant field of memory in a computer (ROM) that we cannot change. It is attached to us and influences us automatically to the degree we influence others.

We all influence one another, and according to this the upper force influences us without changing by itself in the slightest. We can also say that He is already among us and by coming closer and uniting with each other, we make Him become revealed, as if bringing Him closer to us. And by separating from each other, we repel Him and don’t let Him be revealed.

The closer this force is to us, the better we feel because it is the force of goodness. The more we repel each other, repelling the Creator to the same degree, the worse we feel because we repel the source of goodness and prosperity. This is a very simple mechanism.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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Question: If we advance only by virtue of the environment, then when will our choice come from our own altruistic intention, Lishma?

Answer: We have to attain perfection, and it contains two parameters:

1. On one hand, I am independent and equal to the Creator in every way,
2. On the other hand, I am similar to Him in every way.
In that case, I am independent and perfect.

It turns out that independence and perfection have to unite and bring me to the final state. But how can independence and equivalence exist together? How can I reach perfection by elevating both of these qualities, which are opposite to each other?

To enable this, the Creator had to add a third factor to the two already existing ones (Him and me). This third factor will be the place of our meeting, the place of revelation. It is where I will reveal my independent self and the Creator opposite from me.

It is necessary to create a “territory” where we will be able to be partners, opposite but equal and united. This territory is called the sum of the souls, the Shechina, Malchut. After the breaking, we as well as the Creator are outside of the boundaries of the sum of the souls, and now we must meet there. We do this to the degree we are able to participate in this process and reveal one another.

That is why creation was broken. It broke into many disparate parts, which are the degree of creation’s independence, meaning its separation and detachment from the Creator.

We have to use this situation, which is why Baal HaSulam writes that we have to keep every person’s uniqueness. After all, it will never be duplicated in anyone else. Every person must be independent and special.

But on the other hand, we must give every person the opportunity and help him reach equivalence of form with the Creator. By means of one’s uniqueness, by having an inimitable combination of qualities and desires, a person develops them in order to direct them toward bestowal. That is how he reaches equivalence with the Creator.

This similarity is actualized by way of uniting with others. Why isn’t it done through uniting with the Creator? It is in order to preserve independence. When working before the Creator, a person nullifies himself, whereas in relation to the group, he can play the decisive role, similar to the Creator.

The place of our meeting is the territory of the group, which was artificially created and divided into parts. We come there in the middle line and unite. There we actualize the Zivug of HaVaYaH and Elokim, the unity of judgment and mercy.

However, if a person does not think about these three elements: him and the Creator, uniting in the group, then he incorrectly imagines the realization of the goal of creation which awaits him.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/11, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Do we need to resist the egoism or work with it?

Answer: I resist egoism when I look at it while I identify myself with the point of the Creator. I acknowledge that such is my nature; however, it will become the Creator’s nature once I correct it, because egoism is His imprint.

This is why egoism is referred to as “help against you”: Its form is opposite to the form that I need, but it helps me since I do not have anything else.

For this reason, at this moment I am lacking Light, which will help fill the egoistic “dents” in the imprint with the proper qualities, and I receive unity—the Creator’s form.

Our egoism contains all the opposite forms as they formed while alienating from their perfection to our world.

These forms are as though included in one another, like nesting dolls. And we need to arrive in a complete proper form in the reverse order, with the help of the Light.

This is why we stand against egoism in the realization that we have everything except for the upper Light. So I need to evoke the influence of the upper Light on my desire for the future state of unity, my desire for the corrected form (Reshimo).

For this reason we say “we will do and we will hear” from the very beginning; in other words, we are ready for unity once we receive the desire from the group.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, “The Arvut”

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