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.

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It is really not easy to arrive at the sensation of need of true love. In our world, the only love that exists is love for one’s own self. When I love something, I want to come closer to it, bring it close to me, and fulfill myself with something. In other words, I wish to “get hold of it.” For us “love” is acquisition. “I love” means that I like the fact that it is mine—this is what the desire to receive pleasure says.

Naturally, it brings a good sensation. But we value this quality in man as if it was referring to his good qualities, which is because our entire world is made of “consumers.” We do not love anything in any other way but in our egoistic desires.

Love that Kabbalah speaks of is completely different, and we are not able to understand it well. There is the upper force that does not depend on us and that has existed before we were created, without us, that is, before the Creator had the desire to create the creature. The creature is something that exists outside this upper force, the Creator, and perceives Him.

To perceive Him means to understand, feel, and attain His qualities. To bring the creature to the point of perceiving the Creator, it was necessary to create the creature with the qualities opposite to the Creator’s: in egoistic love. And development must bring the creature to love of the Creator referred to as “love thy neighbor.” After all, no one else exists beside the Creator and the creature.

We must go through this development on our own, that is, we must feel, understand, examine, and evaluate all the details of perceiving the Creator. And at the end, we must change our egoistic love—the desire to enjoy that only allows us to perceive ourselves and encapsulates us within ourselves—to the development of perception of what exists outside of us. This is why the one external to us is called a “neighbor.” And since this perception is given to us by the Creator’s degree, position, it is referred to as the good inclination.

There is nothing beside these two states: either I perceive myself or I perceive the Creator. But this transition is absolutely not clear to us since I am absolutely separated from the second state and am unable to feel it. To help me go from perceiving myself to perceiving Him, the Creator prepared a certain illusion within my egoistic desire, my perception of myself, which gives me the feeling of not being alone.

This is why I feel like I am in an environment that is referred to as my “neighbor” and includes the still, vegetative, and animate world, and the people, that is, different creatures, different parts of creation. And I, a certain regular person, feel how I can use this environment either for my own interests or as an exercise to try to do it for the sake of the environment.

My need to act for the sake of the environment arises when my desire for the Creator awakens. I do not understand this desire yet, I do not know the Creator, and this is why I am given this exercise: Try to treat your neighbor, those who are outside of you, altruistically. This is the place where you will be able to build your love for your neighbor.

When through these exercises you will acquire new qualities and understanding and will perform multiple clarifications, then you will be able to come closer to having a connection with the Creator.
[62041]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/2011, Writings of Rabash

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At the end of our development, we must reach a state of unlimited reception, unlimited revelation of good, eternity, perfection, and power, as well as absolute fulfilment. This is what awaits us ahead if we begin to receive in order to express intentions toward the Creator that are equivalent to those He displays toward us. This is the essence of all our work.

The purpose of the creation of our world, meaning the concealment of the Creator, is for us to try, under these conditions and with the environment that is given to us, to develop such skills of interaction between us that will allow us to switch from reception—theft, bad intentions, rivalry, envy, and hatred—to the feeling of bestowal, love, and rising above oneself.

If a person truly rises above himself, he begins to perceive the Light that fills the world around him, the Creator who is present in this world, the general Light, the general quality of love and bestowal. Then, he disconnects from his animal body and simply “floats” in this huge, endless atmosphere of being filled with love and goodness.

This is the next state that we must ascend to. In no way does this destroy our world. We enter it gradually, feeling it together with our world, and transform in our sensations to the next degree.
[62032]
From the Sunday Virtual Lesson Series 11/6/2011

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Question: It is very hard to find some connection between the words or the letters in The Book of Zohar and the love of friends. How do you do that?

Answer: We’ve already said that we don’t define the word “love” correctly. Love means connection, equivalence of form, equivalence of attributes. It is not the concept of love that we use in our world: I love what belongs to me, and I don’t love what isn’t mine.

We build love, we actually acquire love: Through the efforts that I make, by changing and correcting my attributes, I attain love. It isn’t a love that is typical to my nature and my character, when I love one thing and not another. I naturally love those who are close to me, and not those who are distant because I want to use them in order to fill my ego. We are not speaking about such relationships. Everything that takes place inside our ego has nothing at all to do with the love the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks of.

When I am in the group and try to work on the connection with the friends, I know that it is all depicted only in my imagination. Actually, there is no group or anything else. Only I exist. All of the external images that I see are only a play of my imagination. My ego, that still dominates me, divides me into internality and externality.

If I corrected myself, I would return to the real picture of reality that actually exists right now, but it is hidden from me by the degrees and the worlds (concealments). I would return to the world of Infinity where there is no “I” and no “others.” Everything is my desire, my vessel, where there is the Creator, the fulfillment, and where there is none else besides Him. This is how I should imagine all of reality.

So, what is love? It is the attainment of the attributes of love and bestowal, bestowal upon others, the love of others. Eventually, it is all about overcoming the lie I am in. That is all.

The infinite reality divided by the force of separation into numerous forms that seem to be outside of me. This was done intentionally. This is a false image of reality. If I work on the basis of this false form that I cannot annul, if I rise above it and reunite Infinity into one whole, then even though the false form remains, I attain the feeling of Infinity that is 620 times stronger in my true sensation, understanding, and awareness.
[62045]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/2011, The Zohar

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In order to imagine what is love of friends and the Creator, we have to detach from this entire world and from ourselves, as if nothing exists besides one force. It’s as if there is no one observing it, seeing it, or feeling it. And this force has a goal: to create something equal to itself.

We do not know why this thought suddenly emerged. This occurred even before the first action occurred, aimed at our creation. We do not attain what preceded this. This is a boundary in our attainment because it takes place in our vessels—desires that did not exist before. We begin from the plan to delight the creatures—the program and thought contained in this single upper force, which decided, “I want to create creatures that are equal to me in order to delight them.”

That is how the upper force begins to implement the program, to create creatures and promote them to bring them to its own height. That is, the form of creation was set initially and must be the same as the form of the Creator. There is no creation without the Creator or Creator without creation. One exists opposite the other.

This condition of equality to one another determines the entire process. It’s like a mathematical equation where the unknown that is being sought out exists by itself, but it has to be equal to the upper force, its eternity, perfection, understanding, sensation, and qualities—to everything that is present in the Creator.

We do not know the Creator’s qualities exactly. We only know that creation must replicate them while remaining a separate creation. That is, in the end there is the Creator – #1, and the creation – #2. This is the difference between them: The Creator is first, and creation is second, but this does not get in the way of their equality.

According to this condition, the universe begins to develop like by a mathematical formula. We have to observe the condition that creation exists independently, having its own understanding, attainment, and sensation of itself, its freedom of choice—everything that belongs to the notion of “I.” And at the same time, this “I” must be completely equal to the Creator.

After that, this condition begins to come to life, like a person who planned to build a house and imagines its future form, and then begins to implement it: to build a detailed plan, to create the specifications, to determine the number of necessary materials and people who will work on it. But all of this results from the final form, which already exists in the Creator. And a lower form exists only in the creation for the time being, which is why it has to go through various changes.

These changes do not take place in creation itself, but in its consciousness, understanding, and perception of itself: who it is in relation to the Creator.
[62167]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/11, Writings of Rabash

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Our attitude to the neighbor, to the environment in the world where we were born, which we feel inside of our egoism, is called the preparation period. When we go from love for the environment or love for friends to love for the Creator, this is already the time of the real work, when we acquire the qualities of bestowal.

As a result of acquiring these altruistic qualities and going through the degree of bestowal for the sake of bestowal, we finally attain love. But since this path leads to the attainment of love for the Creator, that is how the entire path is called.

And even though today we are working in our realm, in our world, with egoistic qualities, this is still considered work on love for friends, for the neighbor, even though all of it is very far from real love.

Love for the Creator, love for the creatures, and love for friends are the same thing because it is directly opposite to love for oneself. That is why it requires so many qualitative changes inside of a person. But the value of love for friends is very high because it allows us to acquire additional desires and sensations, to reveal the true reality we are in, meaning the Creator.

To the extent that a person values the Creator and the final goal, that is how important he considers the means leading to it, such as the exercises in the group, with the friends, and the studies because without these means he could never attain the goal.

On one hand, this entire world is imaginary and there is no one around me: not the still or the vegetative levels, nor animals or people. All of these are my own desires, which divided into these parts and therefore present the Upper Light to me in this way.

This is also how I must treat the group – as if nothing exists besides me. And everyone I feel around me: the environment, the group, the teacher, and even the Creator, are inside of me, in my sensation. I received this illusion that everything is outside so I could learn what the sensation of the neighbor means: so I could feel him, have relationships with him, and attain bestowal and love.

If a person perceives all of reality this way, then he does not err. Clearly, he still has to discern new details all the time and supplement the common picture with them, but he is already on the right path.
[62050]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/11, Writings of Rabash

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If we want to feel the real world we live in, we have to develop our sensations. Then we will begin to gradually see how limited our world depicted to us by our five bodily, “beastly,” senses is. It depends on these senses and exists as long as they exist. That is, our body is a limited egotistic desire, the existence of which is so short-lived.

A person returns to this world again and again and develops his senses. This is all in order to awaken him and to eventually develop sensations on a human level, on the level of similarity to the Creator, which is to develop the sensation of the Creator within him.

This sensation also arises through the five senses, but together they form the giving, altruistic desire, which absorbs what is on the outside. Today we perceive only what is inside us, while the spiritual organ of perception captures the external reality, according to the law of equivalence of form.

When a person calibrates his internal sensation, he rises above his egoistic desire towards the opposite desire: towards bestowal. Only so can he understand what bestowal is: as something opposite to him. As he rises, he begins to perceive what is outside of him and thus discovers the external world.

What will help me feel this external world? Exercises. If I am in contact with other people, with my friends in the group, if I feel them inside me and connect with them, we begin to awaken each other so as to feel that the friend is more important to me than myself. Thus we come closer to the out of body sensation because the spiritual world is “outside our skin.”

How can I “jump out of my skin”? With the help of the group. These are special people who also want to feel reality outside their beastly bodies. This reality is called “the eternal world” since it isn’t limited by the corporeal existence and the five bodily senses. So I begin to appreciate these friends since they help me acquire eternity. Thanks to them I can develop sensations that are independent of my body and rise above my present “self.” This is what the group is.

This is why the collective soul was shattered. The multitude of individual souls, numerous bodies in our world, enable us to develop the external, spiritual feeling in us by ourselves. The wisdom of Kabbalah was intended only to help us do that.

Thus we acquire the new body, the body of the soul. It also has five senses: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. In other words, it is the desire to receive with five levels of Aviut. It is in this body that we begin to live our real life, a life on the level of bestowal, everlasting, eternal, and the one that we imagine in our fragmented senses, like this world.

The present physical reality gradually “disintegrates” inside a person. It isn’t because his corporeal body dies, but because he rises above this feeling. As we advance in the spiritual reality, this world disappears from our perception. It was depicted in our imagination from the start so that on the basis of this world we would discover the true one.
[61246]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/20/2011, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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