I cannot directly change anything within myself. I cannot “touch” myself at all. I have no access to my will to receive.

For example our vision. Scientists traced the path from the eyeball to the optic nerve, from there to other more complex systems of the organism, and discovered along the way what we see, how we see, and how vision can be corrected.

Eventually they arrived at what is called the pleasure center. If you begin to examine this center, you will quickly discover that it is a specific structure in the brain that operates through biochemical reactions.

But behind it, beyond the reach of a scalpel, lies a part of us known as the “feeling” self; this is the spiritual Kli. There is no way to reach it. It is a desire! Everything else is merely the material garments of the desire, the means through which it operates and expresses itself. But we cannot reach the desire itself.

So what do my eyes perceive? Sparks of light clothed, let us say, in a beautiful painting. I look at a beautiful picture and enjoy it. What does this mean? There is no pleasure in the picture itself. There is a spark of light in it that corresponds precisely to my Kli. Someone else may look at the same picture with indifference, or even disgust. But it fills me with pleasure.

In other words, the spiritual spark that is clothed in the picture is perceived by me through my eyes, passes through all the systems until it is finally released at the end of the material, biological chain, and enters the source of my spiritual pleasure: the spiritual desire.

The entire path that it travels—from the picture, to the eyes, and through all the systems of the organism—is merely a channel of transmission. At the beginning there is a spark of light and at the end the will to receive. That is all! All our sense organs are merely transmission channels.

This is how we live in this world: the same lights and Kelim, only with an intermediary between them. From this we see that we have no power over the light and the Kli. They are completely separate from us and exist outside our bodies, and we can change them only by drawing the surrounding light.
[360084]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called ‘Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

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Question: We say that in reality everything is within us. But wasn’t the world created first, and we were created only afterward?

Answer: Indeed, we say that everything a person feels, he perceives through his five sense organs. These sense organs present him with a picture of the world, although in reality there is no such thing as a picture of the world in itself. We can speak about form only in relation to the one who perceives it.

There are entire articles on this subject. Rabash writes that it is impossible to speak about the attained without the one who attains. Therefore, we cannot speak about the existence of anything outside a person. And we attain the person himself as existing because we base ourselves on our own sensations.

Let us suppose that we accept this as a fact: We do not know what exists around us, and we perceive the picture of the world through the internal reaction of our sense organs. We are so incapable of distinguishing between reality and its perception that what we perceive, what appears to us, seems to us to exist in reality: “If I perceive an object as existing through my sense organs, then it truly exists.”

It is very difficult for me; I cannot step outside my body and see that outside of it this object has no form and no existence. Well, then, let us take the sages at their word.

But, on the other hand, the sages say that in spirituality, the world was created first, and only afterward man was created. It is the same in this world: first the universe was created, then the Earth began to form and cool, and only afterward did man appear upon it. So how can we speak about the existence and gradual development of external nature even before the emergence of man, who perceives this nature through his sense organs?

So when we speak about nature that existed before the emergence of man, we mean precisely how we imagine it through our sense organs. Otherwise, we would not be able to speak about it.

Everything in the world is an expression of desires, but the one who can later tell us about it according to his attainment tells us about it using our words.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

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Quality is far more important than quantity. There is an infinite number of plants in the world, yet one flower is equivalent to all the still matter in the universe.

One animal is equivalent to all the plants in the world. One person is equivalent to the rest of nature. This is how the difference between the degrees that are separated by an abyss is manifested.

If all the stones in the universe were gathered together, it would be impossible to grow even a single flower from them. For a flower contains life, that is, development, which does not exist in still matter.

The development of a human being, however, is completely unique and incomprehensible to the ordinary view. It would seem that each person possesses only a very small force, yet it is of an extremely high quality.

Therefore, an event such as a congress, our connection, gives tremendous strength. What are all the stars in the universe compared to a single human thought?

Today, scientists are discovering that our thoughts influence physical processes, the behavior of elementary particles in the collider. In fact, our thoughts govern all the stars, the entire vegetative and animate nature. All of this is the consequence of a person’s attitude, thoughts, and desires.

Therefore, it is said that all the parts of nature are included within the human being, and that there is nothing in nature that we need to correct except our thoughts. By doing this, we correct the entire world.

The light enters this world through the system called “Adam” (Man), for it is above everything else, and the light spreads from above downward. To the extent that this system is connected or, conversely, divided, that is, corrected or corrupted, to that extent the light passes to all the other parts: the still, vegetative, and animate, and it determines how we perceive the world.

Therefore, it is said that all of nature is included within the human being and rises and falls together with him. If I ascend and attain a greater connection with others, thereby correcting the common soul, then through me a stronger light passes to all of nature, and it too becomes connected in greater harmony.

I am the center of all this nature, and around me are the still, vegetative, and animate levels, and I determine their correction. When I complete my correction, they disappear and join me, for they are all my own parts—my reflection.
[9809]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/10/10, Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: How can a person ask the Creator for help and wish only to bestow without receiving anything for oneself?

Answer: That is exactly what we ask for. I ask the Creator to give me the ability to bestow. To bestow upon the Creator means to bestow upon the group, as it is written: “I dwell among My people.” It is one and the same.

There is no other Creator. “I dwell among My people” means that He is revealed within the group. The collective force of the group is called “The Creator.” To bestow upon the group as a whole is to bestow upon the Creator.

We tend to think about this in ordinary, earthly terms, and so it seems to us. “What is so special about the group? What can I possibly give them? This is nonsense!” But if you were truly able to come out of yourself and bestow upon others, you would reveal the higher reality rather than this world. We simply have not yet attained it.

One might ask: “Haven’t many philosophical movements also promoted devotion to society? Have they not claimed that the voice of the people is the voice of God?” But that is not the same because they did not use the reforming light, the inner force contained within the collective.

So what does the wisdom of Kabbalah ultimately say? You have nothing but desire. Within that desire lies a unique force called “the Creator” concealed there from the outset. You can awaken this force within the group if you genuinely wish to advance toward it by bestowing upon the group. There, within the group, you resolve all your relationships—with yourself, with the group, and with the Creator. Everything takes place within the group, in the bestowal that you acquire outside yourself.

There is no difference between bestowing upon the group, and bestowing upon the Creator. Bestowing upon the group refers more to bestowing upon the vessels (Kelim), the desires of others. Bestowing upon the Creator means becoming more integrated into the general force of bestowal that reigns within those desires.

We must free ourselves from religious concepts, from the lingering belief that there is some Creator ruling somewhere in the heavens and influencing us from there. Notice how deeply rooted this stereotype still is within us! But there is no higher force outside of us! That force exists within the group, in the connection between us. There is nothing beyond that reality that you reveal. Outside of reality, there is nothing.

As you delve more deeply into these concepts, you begin to understand that this is, in fact, a very materialistic approach.
[38659]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/11, on The Book of Zohar, Yitro (Jethro)

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Question: Why is our goal called adhesion with the Creator, rather than the correction of the soul?

Answer: Because the goal must be the attainment of a specific state, whereas the correction of the vessels is not the state, it is the means. You must certainly concern yourself with correcting this, but why you are correcting the Kli (vessel) is the essential question.

If you do not know why you should correct your Kli, then you become like those who observe the commandments simply because they have been told to do so. And if you were told something else, you would behave differently.

If you perform corrections without understanding their purpose, then they are merely pseudo-corrections. If, simply because you have nothing better to do, you want to become a good person, that is your personal choice. The Torah does not demand that. The Torah requires a person to attain adhesion, equivalence of form, to become Adam, similar to the upper one (Edameh leElyon). If you simply want to be good, that is fine; there are many people who say they are good.

So why should you correct yourself? What is the reason for correction? What will it give you? Some kind of personal satisfaction? You reason as follows: “I am told that my goal is to attain similarity to the Creator, to adhere to Him. As He is merciful, so I should be merciful; as He is compassionate, so I should be compassionate. But I do not know who He is, so how can I know what I am supposed to become?”

So you return to the same question: if I do not know who He is, how can I know what I am supposed to correct? You say you are willing to engage only in correction, but how can you correct yourself if you do not know the standard by which you are to measure yourself? On the one hand, it is said: “From Your actions we shall know You.” On the other hand, which actions? How am I to know what I am supposed to be?

“Why do I need the revelation of the Creator?” This is the question you are really asking. I need His revelation in order to become like Him, in order to know what I am supposed to be. If you demand His revelation for this purpose, then He will reveal Himself to you. This is what it means that one comes from Lo Lishma (not for His sake) to Lishma (for His sake).

Of course, you desire His revelation because you want to feel good. Yet at the same time there is already a certain attitude toward Him. You value Him, you want Him. Then the Creator reveals Himself to you, but only to the extent that this revelation will correct you, rather than merely fill you. What does it mean to correct you? It means that you receive His qualities, not the pleasure that comes from Him.

The light of correction means that the Creator imparts His greatness to you: “See how merciful I am, and how good this quality is.” As you perceive this, you begin to recognize that this quality is good, that it is higher than your own.

Thus, His revelation comes in two forms: either as the one who corrects you, or as the one who fills you.

Accordingly, this is what you should ask of Him. Prayer is correct when you first ask Him for correction, and only afterward for fulfillment.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given out of the Darkness in the Work? ”

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We need to change our attitude to what is happening to us and redefine it according to true spiritual concepts rather than our own perception. Our world is not a world of action, but a world of consequences.

This means that everything you see in yourself and around you are the results, the consequences, of what is happening above. The roots are above; the branches are below. And if that is how you look at it, then at least you see the true picture. How to react to it is another question.

But if what we see is a consequence, then your attitude toward yourself and what is happening changes. The situation has been determined from above, and nothing can be done about it. The question is, what do I need to do to bring about correction so that something different will descend from above?

What becomes important is proper planning. What must I do for a different picture to descend from above? This is a completely different approach to life! Then the entire connection is directed upward, so to speak. You look at this world as a laboratory in which various experiments are being conducted.

So here we see only the consequences, and it is necessary to ask questions about what needs to be done to get a different result. Then in everything: in action, in intention, and in the heart there is an upward orientation toward the Creator, for that is the only place where we can truly exert influence.

But if we simply bustle about in this world without connecting what is happening with the upper world, then it is a waste of time. After all, our world is called: an illusory world.

You see consequences, like images on a television screen, and nothing more. You might think that if you shout at the television, something in it will change. In order for something to change on television, you need to reach out to real people, and then maybe something might change. So, it is with us; it is just a picture on a television screen.
[358894]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/5/26, Rabash, “What Does, ‘Everything that Comes to Be a Burnt Offering Is Male,’ Mean in the Work?”

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Question from Facebook: I have always been certain that I live in Israel, and specifically in Jerusalem. But from what you say, it turns out that this is not really the case. From the Kabbalistic point of view, what are Jerusalem and Israel?

Answer: The Kabbalistic perspective is concerned not with geography or history, but with the development of egoism as a fundamental part of nature. Kabbalah speaks not about the physical planet Earth, where people, animals, and everything else exist, but about desire, the primary force of nature, and about how this desire is governed by the higher force of nature, the Creator.

There are two forces: the force called the Creator (the force of bestowal) and the force called the creation (the force of reception). The Creator, the upper force, governs the lower force. That is the entire picture. Therefore, all of history is the development of the lower force, the desire to enjoy, under the influence of the higher force, the Creator, whose desire is to delight His creation.

Question: So when you speak of Jerusalem and Israel, are you referring to desires?

Answer: Of course. Desire at the inanimate level is called “the earth.” Within it is Jerusalem, or the so-called Holy Mountain upon which stands the Temple, and so on. All of these represent desires, and they all exist within a person.

This is where people encounter difficulty; they do not immediately understand what is being discussed. All of this exists within a person, because there is nothing outside of us. We perceive everything only within ourselves even though it seems to us as if it is unfolding externally.

Question: What is the desire called “Israel,” and what is the desire called “Jerusalem”?

Answer: Israel is the desire directed toward the revelation of the Creator. The word “Isra-El” means straight to the Creator. Jerusalem represents an even more specific aspiration toward the Creator, beyond the general desire.

That is why there is the Land of Israel, called “Eretz Yisrael.” “Eretz” means desire (Ratzon). “Yisrael” means directed toward the Creator. Within the desire called the Land of Israel is Jerusalem, which is a more inward desire for the Creator. Within that is the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit), then the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash), and so on.

Question: So my desires become increasingly refined and focused until they reach their highest point. What is at the very top? What is that ultimate desire?

Answer: At the very top is the point in the heart, the most hidden and innermost of my desires, that must attain complete contact with the Creator. This is the direction to which I aim it.

Contact with the Creator means that the Creator fills all of my desires that are directed toward Him through this point.

Therefore, our work is to correct our desires so that they are all directed toward Him. Ultimately, He fills them with Himself. In this way, throughout all of my desires, only one higher force is revealed, the force called the Creator.
[212719]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 3/11/23

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Question: Can a thought be called the Creator?

Answer: The Creator is not a thought, but a movement of the soul. There is a desire and a vector of its direction: either toward oneself or away from oneself. If we build our world above the desire, directing it outward, beyond ourselves, it is called the spiritual world.

The Torah and the wisdom of Kabbalah enable us to direct our world outside ourselves. With their help, I can reorient it, expand it, and create an entire realm in which I exist outside myself, above myself. That realm is called the upper world, and it is into that realm that I move.

As I gradually enter it completely, I begin to see that everything in which I previously existed (my body, this world, and everything else) was merely a matrix that gave me the perception in which I lived.

People, history, my family, myself, the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature, all of these existed within my former perception of “within myself,” “for myself.”

But now, as I begin to perceive everything not inside myself, not within the bubble centered on myself, but within the bubble outside myself, I gradually give birth to the spiritual world, enter it, and live within it. I begin to feel that the previous bubble never truly existed; it was like a dream. This is why it is said in the Psalms of King David that when we enter the upper world, we see our previous state as though it had been a dream.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/12/10

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Question: Are you saying that there is no connection between corporeality and spirituality?

Answer: Yes, because they exist at different sides of the screen. Practically, we live in the same domain, but we perceive this world and that world in polar opposite ways: this world through the lens of egoism and the other through altruism.

Spirituality is perceived in completely different properties. If I sense this world in the property of receiving for my own sake, with the intention to receive pleasure for myself, then the upper world is the intention to bestow, to fulfill and give pleasure to others.

Question: Does it mean that everything depends on a person’s perception? Is something corporeal also spiritual, but just a part of some kind of picture?

Answer: Of course. What else is there besides the light and the desire? The light created the desire, and whatever is happening with the desire is done by the light. After all, our world did not appear from somewhere unknown. It is the final descent of spiritual states from above to below.

Question: Why do you distinguish between these two realms when you say “You can ask me questions concerning spirituality, but you should turn to other people if you have questions about corporeality.”

Answer: The thing is that the corporeal world where we try to work directly with egoism is doomed to failure and problems from the start. Therefore, I do not want to work with it.

A person can live in it comfortably only if he fully aspires to the upper one. Then whatever one is unwillingly obliged to do to maintain one’s existence in this world will be beneficial for them. Otherwise, there is no way. Any excess will do just harm. Although it is hard for us to agree with it, this is the most optimal existence.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. The Difference between the Material and the Spiritual” 9/25/10

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Question: The Creator speaks to me as if in a foreign language. How do I learn to translate His words.

Answer: At least we can hear what is said in another language. But we do not even hear the Creator. It does not seem to us that the entire world is the language of the Creator.

We think that the world revolves on its own, according to its own laws. Someone offended us, shouted at us, and someone else did something good for us. We do not perceive all of this as the influence of the upper force, beside which there is nothing else.

The whole world is busy with squabbles and politics, like little children in a sandbox, constantly fighting with each other. But if I want to understand what the Creator is saying, I need to imagine that everything that happens in my life comes from the Creator. There are only two of us, me and the Creator.

This will be the beginning of my correct perception of reality. I do not yet grasp it, but this is precisely how I can hold on to the end of the thread that leads to the truth. Apart from this point of the oneness of the Creator that I am now holding on to, there truly is nothing else; there is none else besides Him.

This is the very first point from which I begin to understand Him. Outside of me there is only the Creator, one force, one authority, one desire. And inside me too, everything has been created by the Creator except for the desire to know Him.

And even this desire to know the Creator has also been created by Him. But within it, He has left me freedom of choice that I must develop. And then I will become a free human being, a creation called Adam, which means “similar” (Domeh) to the Creator.

Question: And what about all these people around me?

Answer: There are no people. There is only the Creator. This is the starting point of the correct perception of reality through which I can see the path. And then I will have to overcome various obstacles and problems, focus my gaze more and more on the Creator, and build an ever deeper relationship with Him in order to understand how He speaks to me.

He deliberately confuses me so that I will penetrate more deeply into Him, and understand His qualities and method. I absorb all of this from Him, and by this build myself in His likeness.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 516 – The Wisdom Of Kabbalah: God And I, Part 2” 2/7/15

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