Baal HaSulam, “A Sage’s Fruit”: During a common prayer a person is prohibited to separate from the others and to ask for himself, even if he wants to bring pleasure to the Creator, but he is going to do it himself, and not with the others. After all, he who disconnects from society and asks for his own individual soul does not build it, but on the contrary, he damages his soul, by becoming the “proud man, with whom the Creator cannot be together.”

It’s not easy to overcome this difficult psychological problem. Our ego does not allow us to understand, to remember, to learn, and to adopt the rule that only by coming out of the boundaries of our body will we find the vessel of our soul. And everything that I psychologically see now as my “I” exists only in my fantasy so that I must cancel this thinking, annul myself, and see myself outside of it.

To accept this fact, this worldview, and to live with it, we need the strong support of the environment and studies and hard work in mutual guarantee. Any action of correction starts from this because every time more egoism is added to us, we have to work with this additional load in order to decide that, in spite of it, our vessel is above it.

These messages: “That which is hateful to you, don’t do to others” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself” seem to us simple rules of courtesy, “cultural” behavior, moral homilies. But no, we talk about an internal orientation that must exist in a person if he wants to find his inner part, his soul, and begin to correct it.

That is why the one who prays for himself not only does not advance in spirituality, but also causes great harm to himself because by this he cuts himself off from the others, worsening the breaking. Although it’s clear that negative actions are also inevitable because a person needs to come to the realization of evil before he understands and feels that this is an incorrect attitude.

But we are about to complete this work, and that is why we must understand and constantly reinforce the general opinion that spiritual existence, advancement, and the result of work are only in “We,” not in “me,” but only between us. This where we need to draw all our forces, trying to accustom ourselves to this view and replace ourselves with “We” in order to live inside the soul.
[101778]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/3/13

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 4: To understand these questions and inquiries, the only tactic is to examine the end of the act, that is, the purpose of Creation. For nothing can be understood in the middle of the process, but only at its end.

This is the rule, only by observing the end of the act can we understand all the details, the phases, the reasons for everything, and the whole process. It’s because only at the end does it become clear how essential every detail is and to what extent all these details had to be arranged one after the other in this order; only at the end do we see that everything is complete. The complete end is possible only when all the details are arranged correctly. But how do we reach the end if we are in the middle of our path?

And it is clear that there is no act without a purpose. We see this today in modern science, where everything does indeed operate according to a cause and effect relationship and according to absolute laws. At least on the level of the still, vegetative, and animate, nature, I discover great wisdom, logic, and common sense; there is nothing redundant, and everything is arranged so that every small detail is connected to all the other endless details. I can thus come to a conclusion regarding the level of the “speaking”: that the corruption I see in it stems from my corrupt personal perception, which doesn’t allow me to see the wonderful order that is also on the level of the “speaking,” but on the contrary, shows me a picture that is opposite from the truth. We actually see corruption and great disorder in human society, but it’s because we are causing it.

Of course, there can be another explanation for this phenomenon: We can say that the Creator is good and benevolent and that He includes everything and does everything, but that he has abandoned His creation. Baal HaSulam brings different examinations of this approach in his article “The Peace.” However, if I already respond to what I see in life and use different approaches, I understand better that it’s preferable to look at the end result. By the experience from our studies, we see that nature develops according to a certain goal, and so, Baal HaSulam says that we should first look at the goal of creation since it’s impossible to understand anything half way, but only by looking at the final result.

I know that there are those who cast over their backs the burden of Torah and Mitzvot (plural for Mitzva), saying the Creator has created the whole of reality, then left it alone. Here, Baal HaSulam refers to people who don’t believe that everything was created for man, that man is in the center of creation, and that only from this point can we develop correctly. Everything was created for me—our whole world and all the worlds—and I have to accept this, to reveal it, and to control the situation; “for me” means that I can correct it and use it. This use is called “observing the Mitzvot” which I do by the help of the Light that Reforms or the “Torah.” Thus I reach the goal of creation.

Indeed, without knowledge they have spoken, for it is impossible to comment on our lowliness and nothingness before we decide that we have created ourselves with all our corrupted and loathsome natures. It’s clear that we are not whole, but it’s impossible to decide that the world is lowly if we don’t see how everything in it gradually reveals its wholeness.

The question is: If the Creator is whole, then hasn’t He created evolution in a perfect way from the start? But that can’t be, since there also has to be a reality in the created being. This reality is opposite from the Creator, and so it has to be incorporated of two opposite parts: the attribute of the Creator and the attribute of the created being. The two attributes have to grow in creation and within it face one another; it’s in the middle between the two attributes, building itself of the two forces: the force of bestowal and the force of receiving.

This means that if we don’t understand the goal, we definitely won’t be able to justify creation and will find different justifications, such as: The Creator who is whole is disappointed with us, left us, and is found somewhere in His wholeness. Other versions are that the Creator is not found in these two forces at all, the good force and the evil force, or that there may be many good forces and many evil forces, etc.

One way or the other, it’s clearly impossible to justify what is going on unless a person receives the Torah, which means, unless he reaches the state that he understands that he is in a corrupt system and that it’s that way so that he will become part of it, will correct it by the Light as he draws himself each time more towards operating the system. Then he discovers that everything was created for him and it was impossible to reach the level of the Creator without first correcting the system, or to be more accurate, to install it. In the same way children build themselves through games by collecting and putting their toys together, it’s the same in our work, in the connection of the parts. So we have to play games of connection, unity, and mutual guarantee in order to understand the goal.
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From the 4^th part of Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/28/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar“

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Question: There are people who we like more than others; there are friends and enemies. Is it possible to maintain good relationships with everybody in the group?

Answer: First of all, you should uncover corrupt relationships among you. Let’s say, I don’t like someone. I can’t stand him without any idea of why I don’t like him. There is something in him that repels me and I can’t do anything about it. My hatred pours over the edges and I literally “spread poison.”

So, people around should “inadvertently” say good things about this person to me. All of a sudden I hear: “You know, I saw him recently and he told me what a great thing he accomplished! It’s wonderful!”

At first, I will be shocked, but later on under the influence of the common opinion, my evaluation criteria will change. It’s inevitable since those people who I admire and respect relate to him in a good way. Gradually, I start valuing this person and being very polite with him without any traces of hatred.

Let’s pay attention to how our relationship develops. Though we won’t become the best of friends immediately, it’s possible that at least my bias towards this person will change to a cautious and distant respect. My prior attitude to him sharply and strongly “manifests” in me. It changes to a positive approach, thus helping me cope with my prior negative feelings. It happens naturally. My attitude to this person transforms against my will.
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From KabTV’s “Staffing Secrets” 2/8/13

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Everything that happens is for our benefit. All the concealments, judgments, and problems arising show us those places in which we need to put efforts at this time, at this step, in order to advance. Therefore, first of all, we should try to obtain a correct view of the entire reality.

Everything that we see in front of us are our own faults, our inner world, that result in this picture of the world. That is why we see only negative around us. If you want to use every revelation correctly, you must rise above every state by faith above reason to try to see a perfect picture, the world of Infinity, through this earthly reality that is visible to our eyes.

If you cancel your negative attitude towards reality and approach it positively, then instead of the picture that you see now, you will see the Light clothed in desires.

The main thing is to justify the states through which you pass, understanding that they are given to you so that you would overcome them and decide that they are sent by the Creator with the best intentions so that, through them, you would change your attitude. Nothing needs to be changed but the attitude. A change in attitude, that is, intention, changes the whole reality.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/5/13

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Question: We often speak about the other; what is the desire to receive of the other?

Answer: All of reality that you can imagine is all about the other; in other words, it is everything that is outside the “self.” We should understand that the “self” is merely a spark and that’s all. Everything else is restricted and unimportant. You may eat, drink, and enjoy life, but only in order to sustain yourself. Everything is determined by one’s intention.

You must see yourself as a spark. Everything else is the animal level and you should provide what it needs, but all your attention should be aimed outwards, towards what is external to the spark. There, outside yourself, is your desire, your spiritual vessel, everything that you can only imagine: all of the still nature, the vegetative, the animal and the speaking levels.

You can manage automatically with the first three levels of your external desires (the still, vegetative, and animate levels) since there is no resistance on their part. But we have trouble with human nature since, in it, you see yourself, your essence, what you are. It’s like the atlas of your inner spiritual anatomy with all its components. Everything is in there, and still, it’s your desire, and so you should work with it.

It doesn’t mean that you have to correct others. Simply by worrying about them, you discover that they belong to you. This is why we disseminate. It’s as if you want to reach the others, to pass on the method of correction to them, but in order to get close to them you have to understand and to feel that it is your own “self.” Then, by really feeling yourself in them, you begin to understand what is written in the books of Kabbalists.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/4/13,”Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Correction is possible by great sufferings that cannot even be described since it requires the full recognition of evil in each individual property in order to refuse to receive in each one and to move on to the path of bestowal. This path is impossible since a person cannot bear such sufferings.

Therefore, the advancement is usually somewhere in the middle, between the path of sufferings and the path of the Torah (the path of the Light), between “I shall hasten it” and “in its time,” along what is called “Derech Eretz (the path of earth).” A person advances as he is pushed from behind by the sufferings or drawn forward by the Light. He cannot be on the same path all the time.

It’s impossible to move to the path of the Torah from the beginning, unconditionally, but to the extent that we try to do it—especially by actually building the Shechina, which means by building the connection between us in mutual bestowal, according to our exertion and our responsibility for others—then, to that extent, we leave the path of suffering and advance towards the goal along “Derech Eretz,” along the middle road.

It isn’t that the “middle line” is better for our spiritual ascent, but the “middle road” is a compromise between the two roads on which we should remain. The only choice is to strengthen our society so that it will influence everyone. We should see the friends as the area where the Creator will be revealed, the attribute of bestowal. Thus I see my soul and not myself.

A person can check himself and his advancement according to how he worries about the friends and the group so that the revelation will take place in them, like a mother who worries about her babies. Then one can be sure that he understands what advancement means, that he knows what to add to it, and that he can actually fulfill this in this world now and bring his intention to wholeness.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/4/13

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Question: If we draw a picture of a bright future, we seem to realize it, don’t we? As they say, “You want to be happy, be happy.”

Answer: In general, it is true because thoughts work. If we cultivate positive thoughts, then naturally we will create the positive field in the integral circles and everywhere else and will generate the positive forces of nature.

On the other hand, the field will also educate us. That is why it is desirable to be in a good mood all the time with good support, and then a relatively easy life is guaranteed.

We are in the absolute of nature and all sorts of data flow inside of us, which we perceive as the flow of life. That is why, if we perceive the same data flowing through us now, differently, life will seem quite different. It turns out that we ourselves regulate the quality of our life: what it is, good or bad, purposeful or meaningless.

You cannot imagine how much we affect each other! Even if a person does not go outside, he still affects others! It is the same unified field!
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From KabTV’s “Professional Secrets” 2/10/13

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Question: In his letter No. 29, Baal HaSulam writes that “prohibition is the same as permission, since the key that is good for locking is also good for unlocking.” What kind of “key” does he mean?

Answer: The key is the Light of Hassadim, the intention to bestow. On one hand, we can lock ourselves with this key and thus bar the Light from entering our egoistic desires. On the other hand, we can open ourselves for the Light that dresses in the intention to bestow. Under this condition, the Light is allowed to enter the desire to receive. Bina refuses to receive; therefore, Bina is against the Light of Hochma. How does it open itself for the Light of Hochma after restriction occurs? It turns itself into a “garment for the Light,” into a condition. We are ready to receive treats from the Host’s table under the condition that He allows us to think about Him, rather than our stomachs.

If we keep thinking of the Creator while we continue receiving pleasures, if we feel Him and understand that He enjoys us, then our sensations become a million times bigger than those that we get from direct self-indulgence. We multiply the pleasure because we understand the significance of the Host and feel love for Him. And that is how we become ready to accept the treats.

So, Bina blocks only a small amount of the Light (Nefesh de Nefesh) that it could have received directly in the desire to receive. It opens itself to the Light of NRNHY, the infinite Light of the Creator. This implies that the key that locks the door also unlocks it. As it is said: “Open a tiny space the size of an eye of a needle for Me and I will open gates through which carts and chariots enter.”

We can’t receive directly more than a thin ray of Light that supports life in all of us and revives the entire world. The intention to bestow multiplies a tiny live spark and expands it to the size of the Creator if we strive to bestow to Him.

We “use” the Creator as a magnifying glass and amplify a thin ray that formed all of creation, all of matter. We increase both the matter and the pleasure proportionately to the greatness of the Creator in our eyes. This opportunity is granted to us by a “tool” that is called “the intention to bestow.”

It is called “bestowal,” but due to it we receive the opportunity and acquire the ability to increase our desire to receive that was shaped by the Creator “out of nothing.” It’s similar to a tiny grain of sand, a tip of the needle that we can multiply proportionately to the Creator’s “scale” so that it can be filled with the Light that is as powerful as the Creator Himself.

It happens because we begin working in bestowal “on the tip of a needle,” on a “tiny grain of sand” of a desire to receive that was created by Him. We receive one gram of delight and simply cannot “fit” more into this small desire that is as little as a grain of sand. However, if we manage to expand it for the sake of bestowal, it is crucially important for whose sake we do it. Thus, we multiply our desire and the delight proportionately to the scale of His love for us, as an infant who smiles at his mother and thus causes huge joy in her.

It’s the “patent” we use, a miraculous opportunity granted to us by the Creator. We use its power and the strength of His love for us by expanding ourselves with its help. Otherwise, we would be the lowest creatures in the world. All other levels of nature (inanimate, vegetative, and animate) fulfill themselves directly, whereas by the mere fact that we are born as people, we go through all prior levels (inanimate, vegetative, and animate) and there is only one thing left for us: a point in the heart that is completely empty of any fulfillment.

Because we are so unhappy, a tiny spark awakens in us. It’s a desire to receive pleasure at the speaking level that now still remains empty in us. If we fail to receive the Creator’s power and won’t take “advantage” of His love and His kind attitude toward us by using it to “magnify” ourselves by this quality, we’ll be left with a scanty and hollow desire. Even death is better than such kind of life…

Luckily, we are given a chance to receive the power of the Creator if we treat each other in a correct way. That’s why the shattering and all other kinds of preparations from Above happened, so that people can feel a need to love or at least realize the necessity to unite.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Letter 29”

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We advance from concealment to revelation and discover what already exists. “There is nothing new under the sun,” there is nothing that was not created and nothing just suddenly appears out of nowhere, except for the revelations which we constantly add by our efforts according to our advancement. We open wider the picture that already exists and discover more and more of it.

It is as if it were dark and I gradually turn on the light by slowly twisting the dimmer knob. It gets brighter and brighter and I can see better and understand all the details in the picture.

It isn’t a simple light, but the light of the mind, the light of our feelings. It allows me to penetrate this picture and to discover it, to connect more strongly to it, and to influence it. I discover the system that connects to me. I suddenly see that I am in it, incorporated in it, and not simply observing it from the outside like an independent researcher. I live in it!

We discover that all of the upper world already exists; this is all our work: to discover the world of Ein Sof (Infinity) as the fixed, eternal, true state. Everything else is only its concealments that we have to get rid of by rising above them. All the concealments are necessary, only so that we will be able to gradually, from one level to another, adjust ourselves to the world of Ein Sof.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/13, The Study of the Ten Sefirot 

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Question: What is the concealment made of?

Answer: The concealment was made of our corrupt feelings and mind. It is as if I am trying to understand something but do not succeed. I make efforts, “breaking my head”, trying to approach it from one direction and from another direction, but I cannot understand this. I find different points to hold on to, but I cannot penetrate it so that it will make sense to me. The reason for that is lack of connection, which means lack of vessels of perception.

It is like a puzzle that has to be put together so that each bulge will perfectly match the designated dent. It is the same thing here, I lack the right dents in my deficiency so that the part of the puzzle will enter me and connect with me. And then I will understand, realize and feel, and the picture will suddenly be revealed to me.

I remember that when I was Rabash’s student, I came complaining indignantly to him that the concealment lasts for so long. But the concealment stems from lack of equivalence, from lack of compatibility between your inner attributes and deficiencies and the world that has to enter you. For the time being, your deficiency cannot perceive this form, so what can be done here? You are like a child who is trying forcefully to put a cube through a round hole. But the child does not understand that he will not succeed and so he keeps on pushing the cube and crying.

We too don’t understand the need for compatibility here, and that it is attained by observation and by efforts. It is hard and we see how a kid cannot stand this situation. It is the same with us as the reason is always incompatibility, lack of equivalence. Whole and perfect pictures come from Above, but we have to become compatible to them.

So every event in your life, every situation that is not felt as totally perfect, like the Creator’s image, indicates a lack of vessels of perception, some kind of your incompatibility with the upper.

First, be thankful for the feeling of deficiency; it is already a revelation. You don’t need to calm and to silence this feeling, but rather work with it purposefully. Rejoice that the evils are being revealed and start correcting them.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/25/13, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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