Rabash, “What is Because of Impatience and Hard Work in the Work”: We need to work hard because it is only the sufferings of hard work that make us cry out to the Creator with a whole desire that the Creator will save us from the dominance of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. This means that it is from a state of lowliness that a person senses that he feels worse than all the other people and this pushes him to cry out to the Creator with all his heart so that He will help him. But he believes that the Creator hears his prayer since He has revealed his evil to him and so He will surely help him and take him out of the evil too, which is called redemption. This means that he believes that the Creator let him understand that he is in exile and He will surely take him out of exile afterward.

We advance by two forces, but for those who don’t know where to go, there is only one force that pushes them from behind and forces them to move forward. They are constantly trying to escape from it, trying to be saved from the “roller of evolution” that catches up with them from behind and pushes them to advance.

But the path of the Torah is different from the path of suffering. A person is given the wisdom of Kabbalah so that he will build up the force that will illuminate before him and will pull him, in the hope for a better future, with great hopes, positive examples, a feeling of awe that is felt by the connection and spiritual elation.

The goal must be as glowing and as attractive as possible, and depicted as wonderful and good. Although the advancement is by the ego, which we must constantly reject, we have to try to use this method: to draw the Light that Reforms, so that it will do all the work. The approach here requires subtlety, like in anything. If you know how to enter it, then it is very easy for you to do it. Someone who doesn’t know this feels great difficulties and constantly runs into a wall.

We have to arrange the right environment in which you will soon begin to suffer because of the lack of connection and because of your envy, lust, and desire for respect. You will see that others are more successful than you. You will envy others that succeed in connecting so strongly and you will also want to attain that.

The envy forces you to demand your change. You already know how to evoke the Light that Reforms, you begin to change under the influence of the Light, and thus advance. The main thing is to develop the drawing force that is called “I shall hasten it.” It is because the troubles, the sufferings, the natural force of evolution “in its time,” is not up to you. We should understand that the sufferings come to a person in order to wake him up; we need to develop the pangs of love by ourselves instead of corporeal sufferings so that instead of the evil that catches up with us, the goodness will illuminate in front of us.

Instead of the natural course in the grip of time, we should rise above time in order to determine the pace of our advancement by ourselves. This means that it is all in your hands! We have to feel elation and a sense of awakening since it all depends only on us! If we want it today, it will be today! If we really want it now, it will be now! Everything that we want to attain by the path of the Torah can be promoted and achieved.

It is very important to emphasize this in the work: to operate and integrate all the components, all the means that we have in the way of “I shall hasten it” that will help us advance. We have to develop all the means and to connect them correctly in order to see that there is certain method here instead of following the path of suffering by developing under the pressure of our nature. A person can advance by rising above nature in order to advance before it and to open the gates for it.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/13

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 20: And the same “body,” in its bad form that is given to us in the present, this too does not spoil our essence as this and all its properties are about to be annulled completely together with all the system of impurity that is its source, and everything that is about to be burned is as if it is already burned, and is considered as if it never existed.

The essence of the soul (Nefesh), clothed in the body, is merely at this stage of desire, but the desire to bestow is derived from a system of four worlds of ABYA of sanctity; it exists eternally, because this form of the desire to bestow is in equivalence of form with the source of life and is unchangeable.

We exist in the reality of Ein Sof (Infinity) and all the worlds (olamot), meaning the concealments (alamot), are only filters that adjust the picture of Ein Sof for us; the degree of concealment exists only in our perception and they will vanish the moment we are able to annul our body,” the desire to receive for itself.

However, this desire still needs to be revealed. Where does it really exist? In fact, today all my desires are actually acting at the beastly level. The real desire in order to receive is revealed only when I begin to work in order to bestow and find out everything that is opposed to the desire to bestow. Opposing the right line, the left line is revealed; against sanctity, impurity is revealed.

Here below, under the line of spiritual perception, we are in the imaginary world where our desires, as it is said, “All look like beasts.” But if by work in the group, in dissemination, in connection, for friends, for humanity, and finally for the Creator, we reveal our inclination toward Above, then we reveal our corrupted “body,” meaning the desire to receive with the intention to receive.

In order to correct this desire, the intention needs to change to in order to bestow. The desire to receive itself stays and above it I build a desire in order to bestow that is called soul (Neshama). Its essence is in my bestowal to everyone. By giving to everyone, loving everyone, I develop the soul above my “body.” And in this form, we are reach correction.

Then this world disappears, and I can see all the worlds to the world of Infinity.

Now we also exist in the world of Infinity. And now, too, everything depends on my intention. Nothing is immutable and constant, as everything is being depicted and happens only in my qualities.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/13/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” 

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Question: Can we measure the desire of the group?

Answer: Yes, if it’s really a group, meaning that it has a formed system in which you see the ten Sefirot. After all, a real group is something that exists on its own, a spiritual mechanism, a spiritual structure, a spiritual body.

Question: What stands between us and such a group now?

Answer: A lack of connection. We need to establish a correct relationship between us that is infused with dedication, unity, and support. We need to feel that there is no alternative, that this is our duty; otherwise, we will not achieve the property of bestowal and will not bring contentment to the Creator through the friends and teacher. We will not advance without connection, we will not be able to save the world, and will not be able to delight the Creator.

Moreover, without strengthening our mutual connection, we bring damage, like someone who drills a hole in a common boat. Baal HaSulam writes in his article “The Peace,” that society punishes theft, but if a person does not add his efforts, there is no punishment. Meanwhile, he who “prays,” does so for himself and he damages society. After all, the real prayer can be produced only by a community of people who want to bring contentment to the Creator by mutual bestowal.

Alone, none of us is capable because I do not have that “place,” that desire, from which I could address Him. There is no Creator without the unity of created beings who want to mutually bestow upon each other, thus giving Him a “place” to be revealed between them and to enjoy. Once and for all I have to understand that I have no “place” to be filled, no force that will help me to bestow; there is nothing. Everything is only in the connection between us.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/3/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Sages’ Fruit about the Torah,” “It Isn’t Time to Collect the Herd”: When the seventy souls of Jacob spread to 600,000 souls, things went back to the way they were before, that the herd have to be collected, and the stone should be rolled from the well, and when the strength is lacking from one part it causes the exhaustion of the full measure. And this is the secret, that the individual and the general are equal and everything that was included in the general and became an exception doesn’t come to teach us about the exception but rather about the general… and this is what the fable in The Zohar means when it tells about two who came to a boat and one was drilling a hole underneath him and his friend reprimanded him saying, why are you drilling a hole, and the fool answered him: “What do you care, I am drilling underneath myself,” since indeed the individual ruins the beauty of the whole figure.

… and this is the meaning of a prayer for the public, that the individual mustn’t be an exception and ask for himself, even if it is to bring contentment to his Maker, except for the general as a whole… since he who is an exception and who asks for himself, doesn’t build but rather brings about destruction upon himself, since there cannot be an exception without the dress of pride, and alas for the one who brings destruction upon his soul… and every person should be included with all his might in the general Israel, in every appeal to the Creator, in praying and in the work…since this is the nature of the Light of the general that resides on the individual that annuls his individuality so that he doesn’t feel himself.”

We must constantly remember that all our thoughts come as ‘help against” and it is thanks to them that we can get stronger and develop. We have to rise above every interruption and connect as much as we can to the feeling of the general family, “as one man in one heart.”

We mustn’t leave these thoughts, the feeling that we are all part of one family. The general feeling of “one family” is the feeling of the Creator that resides among us, in us, when we constantly yearn for the feeling of connection among us despite all the interruptions.

This is our work. We have to remind each other about this and it is even better to try to do it with our thoughts: to keep this thought and to try to influence all the friends and the whole world by our thoughts and to pass on the emphasis on internal actions. This is our goal at the moment; we have to reach adhesion and to succeed.

This is the meaning of the “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one”—all those who yearn for the revelation of the Creator (Yashar – El) in the connection between them following all the advice of the Kabbalists in order to reach connection in which the Creator will be revealed.

So even the purest prayer with the best intention doesn’t help if it isn’t a prayer for many, for the general as one whole, but is rather a prayer of a person who separates himself from others. Not only isn’t it helpful, but it is actually harmful! We should regard separation and division, especially if it is intentional, as unacceptable conduct. It is the most serious obstacle and we should try to root it out.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/17/13

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Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”: And you find that all the seeds from which the good states grow are only the corrupted deeds themselves, meaning that all the exposed evils that come from under the hands of the wicked in the generation join and accumulate to a great sum, until they weigh so heavily that the public can no longer bear them. Then, they rise up and ruin it and create a more desirable state.

If I want to advance correctly, I have to participate in destroying evil by concrete actions along the way. These actions come down to the most efficient act, which is connection among the friends. It is the connection that destroys evil.

Question: What does it mean that the evil appears during the connection?

Answer: That’s right. The true evil is revealed only when I want to connect with others and see how repulsed I am by them and how much I hate them. I am attracted to them and this repulses me and I feel rejection. This is the evil inclination and that’s the only thing we have to correct. Everything else are animalistic feelings.

After all, Adam, a human being, is only someone who is attracted to the connection with others. The negative response to connection is the evil inclination that I correct and turn into the good inclination.

My first inclination is to establish a connection with the group and with the friends. Then I feel that I don’t want to study or do anything anymore. Instead I feel the hardening of the heart; I am tired of trying, “How much longer? I don’t see that anything good comes out of this…” This is the evil inclination, the Pharaoh in me that I have to work on now. His evil is that he opposes the connection.

On the other hand, the result of the connection is called “Creator – Bo-Re” which means come and see (Bo – come and Re – see in Hebrew). If I connect with all the souls or with some of them, then in the connection between them I discover the Creator. In other words, I reach connection and there inside it I discover the result.

But in the meantime I feel bad since my desire is extinguished and I fall asleep and don’t see the point in anything anymore, not in this world and not in the next world. Nothing is worth the effort anymore. Now when I feel the hardening of the heart, I have to find the power to act, to raise MAN, a request.

So how do you do that if I already want to receive a sleeping pill for the rest of my life? Here we need an environment to help us wake up. This environment does two things:

First it “buries” my evil inclination.

Second, when we connect, and together rise to Holiness, we ask for the force of bestowal by the prayer of many with all our might.

Therefore, the good inclination can only be revealed in the group. Then from Above, I receive the good force, the force of bestowal that unites me with the friends and the Creator.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/13, “The Peace”

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So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. (The Torah, Exodus, “BeShalach,” 16:30 – 16:31)

Saturday (the Sabbath) is a special state when, for the last six days (states), we correct our egoistic desire and approach its realization in the corrected form. In total, there are five levels of egoism that we have to correct. On the sixth day, their mutual blending, mixing, and combination into a single whole takes place. And then, we receive the Light on this corrected united desire. This light is Saturday.

But I don’t correct my egoistic properties myself; the Light corrects them. There is a Light that comes to correct in me the properties of the first day, then of the second, third, fourth, and fifth. On the sixth day, a special Light descends that unites all this together, and the result is a single common altruistic desire, the common property of bestowal, in which I receive fulfillment on the seventh day. That is, over the six days purification of the vessel takes place in which the Light can enter afterward. This Light, filling the pure vessel, is the representation of the seventh day.

Question: Why is it given a taste called “manna”?

Answer: Because it always moves under our constant yearning upward to receive the Light of correction and then the Light of fulfillment.

Question: Why is it said that it tastes “like wafers made with honey”?

Answer: This is a somewhat unclear allegory. It doesn’t mean honey, but rather, egoism sweetened by correction that starts to work on bestowal and that represents this meal. But sometimes, it’s referred to as a “bull” sometimes as to a “whale” (Leviathan), etc. We are talking about the spiritual roots that appear in our world in this way.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/4/13

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Question: What is the “eternal Sabbath,” about which it is said that everything will be on the seventh day?

Answer: The “eternal Sabbath” represents complete adhesion of the Creator and the created being. This is a feeling of complete correction.

“Eternal rest” means that you have nothing to fight but that you have much work in constant positive yearning for the Creator. This yearning is not a result of lack, but due to the revelation of greater perfection.

We have no idea how this is possible. How can I move forward, not using the left leg at all? It is as if a middle leg appears, and you just walk forward in the revelation of the Creator.

That is, you go towards Him not because you correct yourself and move towards Him, but because He is revealed more and more, and you enter Him more and more. This is the system.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/4/13

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In every spiritual state on the spiritual levels, there is the Inner Light and the Surrounding Light. But in our state, as long as we do not attain restriction and a Masach (screen), we can be assisted only by the Surrounding Light.

The force of the Surrounding Light depends on how much we value it, on our appreciation of the upper, of the next level, which means the Creator. But we cannot value Him. We were only given a couple of means by which we can develop an inner feeling of the greatness of the upper. The upper for us is the group, the teacher, and the books, meaning the study that tells us about the spiritual world and the Creator hidden behind all these means.

We begin to value the upper who is external to us by using all these means: the group, the teacher, the books, and the intention of attaining equivalence of form with the Creator in order to bring Him contentment. Although we don’t feel it for the time being, even if we just talk about it trying to feel it from time to time, we raise the greatness of the upper in us by that. Then at a certain point He becomes so important that He allows us to feel His presence next to us.

It’s because everything that is external to a person is the Holy Shechina, the Godly presence. But everything depends on how much we value Him. All the other rules of behavior in the group as to how we should speak, what to demand of it, and how to treat it, stem from this condition, from the need to value the upper.

Accordingly, the Surrounding Light shines upon a person. It is the real upper Light, but in the meantime it operates on the lower as the Light that Reforms, which means that it brings about changes in us by gradually bringing us closer to bestowal. Then finally it will give us the “restriction” and the Masach, which means the ability to work spiritually.

Then we will begin to understand where we are and what is happening to us, but at the same time, we have to work in faith above reason and value the upper despite all the problems the upper sends us and all the reasons for an opposite attitude. This is our work that is based on our great appreciation of the upper until we adhere to the posterior of the upper as if it were His face. Then we will see that it was never His posterior, but that He has always turned His face full of light to us. Thus we leave exile and reach redemption.

At first it was as if you were unconscious, but then you begin to feel that you are in exile, so, step by step, you begin to get closer to redemption and finally you leave exile and come into the Light. These are the levels of ascent according to your appreciation of the upper, and later your adhesion to Him.

We have all the means, all the roads are open, and everything depends on us. There is nothing else that we need. The Creator has given us every possible opportunity and everything else is up to the person. We will not be forgiven and there are no concessions from Above if we don’t do our work, since otherwise we will not build our spiritual vessels.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/8/13

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 13: This is so because in His Eternalness, past, present, and future are as one… On the contrary, that equivalence of form, destined to be revealed at the end of correction, appeared instantly in the Infinite.

About this it says, “First think, then act.” The final form already exists and what is more, there is no other form but it. What we go through is the process of recognition of that final form, from our nature to the Creator’s nature. Thus, gradually, the distance between us turns into the attainment of the Creator above the created being.

By that we gain twice: On the one hand, we remain created beings, and on the other hand, we reach the same status as the Creator. It’s because we cannot be created beings if we don’t have our attributes, but at the same time, we acquire the Creator’s attribute and reach His wholeness.

Question: In what way do the Creator and the created being differ in this wholeness?

Answer: Their adhesion is an equivalence of form. On the whole, adhesion includes two sides that are adhered according to their intentions and are separate according to the “matter” of the created being. The “matter” of the created being has to be different from the Creator so as to enable the created being to feel that he is independent.

Thus, the feeling of adhesion itself indicates the initial difference, because in order to feel it, we have to feel its deficiency. So the created being has to go through a development process and to gather all the Reshimot (spiritual genes) of all the states and then reach adhesion.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/7/13, ”Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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We are in the world of Ein Sof (Infinity). But in the world of Ein Sof there is a very small Light: Nefesh of Nefesh that created the created being as “something from nothing,” as a tiny grain of the desire to receive. This is the first phase, the “root phase” of the world of Ein Sof. So why is it called infinite?

It is because there is nothing but the tiny spark of Light and the tiny speck of matter. Everything else comes on the account of the greatness of the Light in the feelings of the speck of the created being, by the great respect towards the Light that has created it and which takes care of it. From the recognition of this greatness comes the feeling of the world of Ein Sof.

Then this speck begins to develop and become increasingly more independent, and whole worlds are born in its feelings. First it happens instinctively, under the influence of the Light. But eventually its development reaches the point we are in now. If now, from this state, we rise back by using all the preparations that were made for us, we will reach the true recognition of the Light.

But we can call it real only conditionally since it is impossible to attain the Creator’s real essence and height with regard to the created being. But when we rise again, we discover the Light of NRNHY, the extent to which the Creator allows us to attain Him called “adhesion.” To that extent, according to His will, we have to be like Him.

It says, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust” (Psalm 113). But we don’t demand that He should raise us from the dust in order to be rich, but rather, we want to rise only so that we will respect and praise the Creator. This is the only reason that we ask Him to raise us from the dust: in order to attain His greatness and not in order to improve our own condition.

This ascent is in order to understand who created us and who has taken care of us. The matter itself can remain in absolute poverty since what is important for us is to join the upper Light, the attribute of bestowal, not for our own sake but in order to bring the Creator contentment. This is our only hope. Thus we bring ourselves to perfectly match the picture, the image, that is in the world of Ein Sof: a speck of matter next to the spark of Light, and everything else is the infinite greatness of the Creator.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/7/13

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