We perceive this world through our mind and feelings; those are the two instruments we have. With their help, we gradually begin to understand the world we find ourselves in and we learn to use it to our advantage.

All that is wonderful, but the fact is that there is another world, a vast and higher world that we do not sense. We live the allotted number of years in this world, preoccupied with our family and work, and are unaware that an eternal and perfect world exists alongside us.

We see that people live and die, but it turns out that this is not all; there is another life, and it is possible to reveal it, attain understanding, awareness, and sensation of it. And for this, we need to develop.

We are born with organs of perception inherited from our parents, through which we can feel this world and settle into it. But it is possible to develop additional organs of perception through which we will feel the upper world and begin to live in it. As it is said: “You will see your world in your lifetime.”

There are people who are already born with a desire to reveal the upper world, and for others, it comes later in life. Some feel unhappy their entire lives as if they are lacking something in life. They do not understand why they live, and what to do with this life, but they do not know where to look for the upper world.

Namely, we want to attain the upper world, and there is a methodology called the science of Kabbalah that allows us to do this. But this is a very difficult path that requires great efforts, perseverance, and hard work from a person. The problem is that you do not break into the spiritual world by force; you need to format yourself correctly in order to enter it. I have to mold myself into a special form that suits the spiritual world.

This correspondence of a person to the upper world is the central point of the method of Kabbalah. That is, the question is how to explain to a person and give him the strength and instructions to adjust himself to the upper world, to find his place in the general spiritual system, to feel the Creator, to draw closer to Him, and to begin to serve Him. The science of Kabbalah teaches all of that.

In this world, a person uses the qualities given to him from birth: the mind, the feelings, and three-dimensional perception. But if we were born in another world, we would apparently have different qualities.

There are stories about Native Americans being unable to see Columbus’s ships approaching the shore because the ships were so large and unfamiliar, and the indigenous people were accustomed to the small boats they used. It was only by the way the waves surged around the hulls that they realized that something was in the water and discovered the ship.

I do not know whether it actually happened or not, but it very well could have. We exist in a certain world, and we format ourselves according to it. If I were suddenly to meet a person who lived several thousand years ago, I would not be able to understand him, because our minds are different and our approaches to life are different.

And the spiritual world is altogether completely different from our world. It is written about it: “I saw an opposite world.” And if everything is opposite there, then how can I imagine it and bring myself into correspondence with it?

Kabbalah answers: by working in faith above reason, which helps us acquire new vision, new sensory organs in order to see what others cannot see. Just as the Native Americans did not see Columbus’s large ships since they were accustomed only to small watercraft. We are in the same world, but I see and they do not.

This is the kind of spiritual vision we need to achieve. Although at the moment we do not see the spiritual world, we will gradually correct our sensory organs and will see it. In order to expand our senses to the perception of the spiritual world, we must work in faith above reason, that is, above our mind. Now I perceive everything in my mind, but by opening it, I will see the world differently; not as three-dimensional, but in other dimensions.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/7/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

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The nature of the body is such that it always sees flaws in others rather than their merits. That is why the sages said: “Try to justify every person.” Meaning, even if within reason I see that a friend is not right, I still try to justify him. And if I see the friend’s merits even within reason, that is even better.

After all, it is not important to me whether someone else is right or not, and in fact, it is impossible to ever truly judge that. What matters to me is calibrating myself according to the spiritual world. If I think that all my friends are righteous, kind, and respectable people, and I want to see them as great, as if they were the Creator, then through this I adjust myself, I correct my vision, my perception, of the upper world.

Therefore, if I see the friend’s merits within reason, this means I have already tuned myself to the correct vision. If I don’t see this, then I must strive to see and imagine as if he is right, because through this “as if” I come closer to seeing spirituality, to seeing the truth.

It is desirable to see our friends as great, each in their own way. Every person has qualities that I do not possess. If I constantly look for only the positive qualities in them, it will help me see  “Columbus’ ship,” to see spirituality.

By doing so, I diminish my egoism and elevate the qualities that are external to me. And through this, I as if elevate spirituality because it is currently zero to me since I do not feel or understand it. If I raise the friend in my eyes, I thereby increase my ability to perceive the spiritual.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/7/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

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Even when a Kabbalist is already on high degrees, it is very useful for him to study the books of other Kabbalists. Then he can see reality through another’s qualities because each person looks from their own point of view. By learning how others perceive the spiritual reality, he begins to see it through every corrected soul, and thus he quickly joins the common soul.

At first, I am a point inside a circle. I have corrected myself and built my connection with infinity, a line from the center of the circle to the light surrounding it. I have connected with all the other souls, and thereby expanded this line, like a sector, over the entire circle. Now the entire plane of the circle is my corrected desire. I have completely corrected myself by uniting with the other souls.

But this is not enough. Because my circle is flat. And there are other circles, other corrected souls. When all these circles unite, they form a sphere, with one common center. This means that I must see all the corrections of all souls from their point of view.

Why? Because the Creator looks from above at every soul and brings it into action. I must reach that very same level. Therefore I need to clothe myself in each person and see his correction from his own point of view, from within his soul.

Only then do I attain equivalence of form with the upper force. It is not enough for me to correct my own plane. I must correct one plane after another, circle after circle, until they all unite into a sphere.

This is mandatory. Otherwise, we do not attain similarity to the Creator. And so each person connects with others and looks through them.

And then all must unite together. All the individual spheres combine into an even more “rounded,” perfect dimension. And then all private distinctions disappear completely.

But this stage is beyond our corrections.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/10/09, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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Faith above reason allows one to see reality as the Creator sees it.

Ordinarily, we perceive the world through our egoistic knowledge, through the lens of self-interest. The Creator deliberately created us within egoism in which we feel ourselves and the world as separate and limited.

But through faith above reason, we elevate ourselves to the degree of bestowal, to the level of Bina, and enter into the Creator’s vision, into His world, into His perception of reality.

Therefore, faith above reason is not self-deception or imagination. On the contrary, it transfers us into the true world, the world of truth. Then we see ourselves within the reality of the Creator and behold all things through His eyes.

Faith above reason is the highest degree—the attribute of Bina, of bestowal, the quality of the Creator Himself. When we enter this quality, relative to us it is called faith above reason, for reason represents the view of our egoism, while faith represents the degree of Bina, bestowal, the level of the Creator.

Thus, when we strive for faith, we do not become dreamers or idealists. On the contrary, by doing so, we attain the world of truth, a reality untainted by our egoism.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/20

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The Creator created only one state, called the world of infinity. All changes happen only within us. We exist in that same world of infinity, yet instead of perceiving infinity, we perceive only ourselves.

Once, in my perception, I was united with all other souls and felt the world of infinity— boundlessness, eternity, and perfection. Then my state, my perception, changed; I began to feel that I exist in a dark, corrupted world, full of suffering, problems, chaos, pressure, and limitations.

Things kept getting worse until I reached the lowest state in which I felt myself existing among others like me, in our world, in the surrounding reality.

All this occurred solely within me, in my subjective perception of reality. Nothing changed outside. It is as if I take off my glasses and see no one around, or put them on and begin to see a completely different world.

Thus, our inner qualities changed from the level of the world of infinity to such an extent that instead of it, we now perceive this world, which bears no resemblance to the world of infinity. Yet we can return to that very same state, called the world of infinity, where everything exists in upper harmony, eternity, and perfection, where the light reigns, the good and the benevolent.

What do we need for this? We must reach the perception of that state by awakening it within ourselves. The world of infinity is concealed within us, behind many layers of concealment. Gradually, as we move from a deeper concealment to a lesser one, we reveal the world of infinity.

The stages through which I return to the perception of infinity are called worlds, concealments (“world,”  “Olam” is from the word “concealment,”  Ha’alama). Step by step, this concealment diminishes, and I rise above it.

This means ascending the ladder of degrees, climbing the rungs of the worlds, rising above concealment, and feeling more and more of reality.

How do we do this? We awaken the state called the world of infinity. Together, we read The Book of Zohar, which describes the connection within the world of infinity, and this very desire awakens that state within us.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/2/10, “The Book of Zohar“

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Question: What actions can help one be freed from thoughts about oneself?

Answer: The only action that can truly separate me from thoughts of myself is incorporation into the group. I must do everything in my power until I reveal the inner force of the environment that I have attached myself to; until then, nothing else will help.

At first I perceive the environment as if I were a seed that has fallen into dry sand. But then I begin to see that this is soil that contains certain minerals and moisture that can nourish my growth. This “moisture” is the quality that can soften my egoism so that I begin to desire the attribute of bestowal. And the “minerals” are the light of Hochma, which can provide nourishment for my development. In this way, I begin to receive the lights of Hassadim and Hochma from the environment and grow to the extent that I annul myself before it.

Then I already understand that annulling myself before the environment is a beneficial and correct decision egoistically. For now, it comes from my egoism. I have no intention yet to bestow selflessly. I want to annul myself before them in order to be nourished by their environment and grow. If growth is possible only through bestowal, then I am ready to think about bestowal. But for the time being, it is still a calculation for my own benefit.

I want to acquire the quality of bestowal and become a giver. This is a special kind of egoism; one that leads toward the spiritual world. We will have to change such vestments many times on the way until we reach true bestowal without any calculation for ourselves. In the meantime, we do not know what that is. Only the light that reforms can give us this shape. And along the way we will change many more forms, which are each more cunning and egoistic than the last and which are all opposite to the final form.

At first it seems that we are advancing well, that we have already come close to bestowal and are almost entering the spiritual world. And then suddenly it is revealed that all this was still concealed reception. In this way we continue to develop. The main thing is to constantly receive support from the environment, to annul ourselves before it, and not to fear any states because you are on the path.

What is needed is a collective prayer, that is, for my thoughts and desires become the same as the inner thoughts and desires of the group, that I delve ever deeper into the group and want to flow together with everyone in one current to such an extent that wherever they go, I go, without any criticism from myself. This is called collective prayer. What everyone wants, I want too.

For me society is not something external, but the inner desire of the group, although later I will discover that the same force acts within all external people as well.

In summary, if I wish to advance correctly, I have to do everything possible to join the group and not look at external faces, but at the inner thoughts and desires, and strive to unite with them. This is what collective prayer means. Whatever this society desires, whatever it strives for, I join them and I yearn for the same.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/27/11, “Preparing for the New Jersey Convention”

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Question: Why is so much attention in the science of Kabbalah given to the structure of the spiritual worlds?

Answer: Five worlds separate us from the world of infinity, which is complete perfection and revelation of all forces; they are five concealments, filters, that hide the world of infinity from us. They are Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beriya, Yetzira, and Assiya, and under the world of Assiya in complete concealment from the higher worlds our world exists.

Each of these worlds is arranged in exactly the same way as the world of infinity, only it is weaker, less clear and shines less. But all these worlds are identical in all their details, both in quantity and in their connections between them. Everything that exists in each world, including our world, is the same.

And therefore, in our world, where the inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature and the human exist, they are all interconnected in the general structure by exactly the same connections as the forces in the spiritual world.

Only in the spiritual world the qualities of forces are different. But the connections between the parts are the same, and the order between them is one and the same.

And everything that seems to us as wrong, confusing, disorderly, and unjust in our world is explained by the fact that we are in total darkness and do not see the similarity between our world and the upper one.

But undoubtedly our world is the branch, and the world of Assiya is the root. In turn, the world of Assiya is the branch, and the world of Yetzira is its root, and so on up to the root of everything, the world of infinity. That is how everything is arranged.

We are in our world, and we have no choice; we exist now in a certain reality with our qualities.

My forces, my qualities, my mind, and my feelings are such that I reveal a picture called “this world.”

But through this picture I can begin to change my feelings and mind. And since the upper world is arranged according to the same model and differs only in its properties, it represents the very same picture, only more alive. Then I can try from the world I am in now to attain a higher sensation since the parts of the worlds and the connections between them are the same, except the quality of the forces is higher.

Therefore by studying the science of Kabbalah, I draw a force from above upon myself, I strive to attain the upper world, and in response this yearning brings me a light that returns to the source, the force that changes my qualities. It should not change either the composition of the parts or the order of things within me.

It has to change only one thing, the quality of my main property, so that instead of my egoism, I would acquire a bit of bestowal that is more exalted than mine. And then I rise with everything that I see and feel to a higher degree, to a higher dimension, and I begin to feel the spiritual world.
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From the “Questions and Answers” 8/30/09

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Question: What is the purpose of this whole complex material world if I eventually have to get to an inner point that is unrelated to the entire reality as I know it?

Answer: You are in the mold of the spiritual world to be able to enter spirituality from the outside.

Besides, the reality of our world precisely and optimally prepares you for entry into the spiritual world. Here you study, perform all kinds of actions and prepare yourself for the spiritual phase.

The spiritual stage is based on our reality, it is not completely detached from it. We are yet to see it firsthand. It is impossible to appreciate the importance of our world without looking at it from the outside.

We are not just dragging through our existence here. We will need many details of perception we have learned in this world in the spiritual world. Of course, they take a different form there, but nevertheless, they are needed.

Question: Can we say I have to go through material reality subconsciously, like a small child who is not yet aware of what is happening?

Answer: No, after all, with the help of this reality, you establish contact with other souls, connect and correct them, keeping connected with the rest of reality.

This world is very important. It allows you to make many corrections, therefore, it should not be underestimated. This outer shell does not disappear until the very end of correction. Only when everyone corrects themselves and unites, a special action will take place, as a result of which the material world will disappear from our senses.

Then we will call it imaginary. It turns out it never existed. It turns out that everything was happening in our imagination, and we had to live in this imaginary picture in order to build a spiritual world above it again and again.

Every spiritual action is based on this world. Even before the final ascent, you fall to the very bottom and become “Shimon from the market” who knows only his trade, football in the evenings, and nothing more.

Precisely from there do we ascend to the last degree. Imagine how important this deep, narrow gorge is, if only from there can you ascend to the top.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/11, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Acting Mind”

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The first man (Adam HaRishon) was created as an angel—in a small, undeveloped state. Only after the transgression with the tree of knowledge of good and evil did he begin to become a man.

It was then that the two forces appeared: reception and bestowal, contraction and expansion, between which a struggle began. As a result, all levels of nature developed—the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human.

Ultimately, this being appeared—the man—standing between good and evil, bestowal and reception, light and darkness, feeling himself to be an independent creation in relation to them. That is us!

Before that, there had been no “third”; only these two forces of nature acted together as one upper force. But when they reached the culmination of their development, someone third emerged from them that possessed the ability to exist and evolve beginning with the inanimate level, then the vegetative, the animate, and ultimately reaching the awareness of self and of the Creator, that is, becoming man.

All this is the result of the sin, after which these two opposite, shattered forces began to interact and integrate with one another.

Baal HaSulam writes that when our planet Earth was forming, it went through alternating periods of about 30 million years of heating up and erupting with fiery lava from within, then cooling from outside and solidifying. This continued until it reached a stable state that made the development of the next levels possible—first plants and then animals.

All this evolution took place due to the struggle of these two forces. Therefore, only now are we reaching the completion of that process and beginning the true work of man. All generations before us existed as “angels.” Only in our time do we act as a result of the shattering and merging of the people of Israel with all other nations. We are the first who now begin correction.

The first man, Adam HaRishon, was a spiritual Partzuf from which man developed as from a drop of seed. And as a result of all the development and our work, he is destined to become a creation that will become similar to the Creator. It is for the sake of this future state that he is called “Adam” (from the word “Domeh”—similar to the Creator).

Before that, he was merely an angel, a creation of the hands of the Creator that possessed no independence of his own.

That is why, when man was being created, the angels asked the Creator: “Why are You creating this evil inclination?” But the Creator replied that evil is necessary, for it is precisely through it that the two forces hatred and love will unite, and thus the Creator will be attained. As it is written: “They shall all know Me from their smallest to their greatest.” After all, the Creator’s contentment lies in His creations attaining His perfection, wholeness, and greatness.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/16/2011, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Question: Is there good and evil regardless of our perception?

Answer: There is no good and evil at all. These sensations manifest only in relation to a person until one corrects them toward the right direction, toward the correct perception of the Creator.

Our world is absolutely subjective. What is good for you may be bad for me. That is why we are always in disagreement with each other.

Question: How can you come to common agreement?

Answer: By rising above yourself! And there, we have a single measurement system—the ten. There, everyone has one perception. It is on different levels, but it is the same.

Question: That is, when you and I rise above our egoism, then we both will say that this is good?

Answer: Yes, we will say the same thing, but it will manifest in us to different degrees, depending on our level.
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From Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 6/4/17

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