In the previous workshop we reached the conclusion that we cannot do anything by ourselves. We tried to do everything in our power, but it led to nothing. That’s true! It led to nothing! There is no hope that it will lead to something! Why? Because we actually have no powers. Those who say that we cannot do anything are actually stating a fact.

We are merely egoists, and we can only work within our ego. We cannot do anything outside the ego; it isn’t in our power. We cannot do anything above the ego; we cannot actually advance and get closer to someone else. We can only do that when we see some benefit in it.

What can we do? Ask the Creator! Nothing else can help us since it is the only force in the world that does anything. We were given the chance to discover this, to discover that He is the only force that operates and no one else.

So all our work comes down to a request to attain a desire that will really oblige Him to help us.

But it isn’t easy to reach such a desire. It grows gradually. We have to think about when it will grow so that we will shout; we have to ask for it each time. This request should include all our desires, including the smallest ones, no matter what they may be.

They are not real intentionally, just like kids who whine, cry, and weep and get what they want no matter what by using our love for them. We have to behave in the same way with the Creator, to learn from this world how we should behave.

All the requests, the demands, the begging, and the pleading are generally called “prayer.”

A prayer is also a feeling in the heart. In fact, it isn’t a request but a feeling in the heart when a person checks himself and no matter what he sees he wants to turn to the Creator with what is in his heart. No matter if it is good or bad, no matter what: Take it and do what You have to do with me!

There can be different prayers: serious prayers and less serious ones, emphatic prayers, whatever; what is important is to pray. Everything is attained only by the power of a prayer, the power of the request. The stronger it is, the more firm it is, the more insistent it is, the better.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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An appeal to the Creator, a prayer, in our state can be only collective. Otherwise, the Creator does not hear. He hears only when people gather together and come to the same opinion as one man with one heart, one mind, because, thus they create a collective desire.

What do they want? Him to correct, raise, fulfill them, and so forth.

One person is worth nothing, means nothing: Such a prayer does not exist. You can scream as much as you want, but it will be the voice of one crying in the wilderness. If ten people get together, then, no matter how they shout, even falsely, their plea will taken into account because they are trying to connect with each other.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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We can cultivate a true desire for bestowal only if we actually work on it in the group. If a person leaves, it means that he is simply going in the wrong direction. Outside the group we can’t understand what a desire to bestow means at all. We have to make efforts, feel that we don’t want it, that it’s repulsive and painful; we escape the fact that we have to be connected with others. Only if we are persistent and stay in order to be connected in mutual guarantee, do we begin to understand what the attribute of bestowal means and to what extent we are far from it. Then comes the demand so that the force of bestowal will simply influence us because it is the source: It created us.

Now from this point of view, we can look at what is going on in the world. It seems that on the one hand everyone is mutually connected now and there is nowhere to run, all of humanity makes up one big group and this mutual connection is being revealed more clearly now but as a negative connection. However, at the same time people already begin to understand and to recognize that if there were a good mutual connection among us, we could create a wonderful humanity, a wonderful world.

But we can’t do it! It’s because our ego does everything that it can to separate us, it pits us against one another: this mutual hate, distrust, repulsion, etc. This means that the world is headed in the same direction we are but in small steps, gradually, according to its form, but still in the same direction. So it’s already possible to speak about this source everywhere.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is the inner psychology of the individual and of all of humanity. It is the continuation of the ordinary psychology. The point is that psychology has run its course and has been in a crisis for several decades now. The wisdom of Kabbalah is its substitute. It tells us about inner attributes, about the forces of nature, not only man’s forces but of the world around us, which means how man and the world around him reach a state of balance. This is actually the role of psychology: to bring a person to a state of balance with the world that surrounds him.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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Question: During yesterday’s workshop, some circles weren’t able to reach a mutual agreement. How can we reach a mutual agreement during today’s seminar? What are we doing wrong?

Answer: I don’t think that you’re making any mistakes, just like you can’t say that a child is making mistakes. This is a natural process of growth, and it’s called education not mistakes.
I think that we got excellent results from yesterday’s workshop, regardless of the fact that not all groups spoke up. Perhaps they were too shy to disclose their conclusions. We must understand that even if yesterday we all had the same phrase, we still would think differently and imagine those words in our own way.

Ultimately, by uniting in the group, we reach a state called the “prayer of the many.” This is when all the mutual phrases, which are different for each person, unite into a mutual integral desire. This is what we have to achieve.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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Question: I am sure that at this convention we will achieve something very high, powerful. But with this confidence, I feel an alarm, an additional animal fear for the world, a fear that others will not ask.

Answer: You have to ask for them.

Israel is now in a state before war. And atomic bombs, thousands of missiles, and everything else are at the ready from two sides. For every citizen of our country, we have perhaps, a few missiles from all sides. We understand that; otherwise, our people will not stir, and the Creator has to act in this way in order to bring the nation to its usual prayer, to the correct state.

But how can we come to this? That is why we, as a group, feel that we are responsible not for changing the actions of the Creator—that’s His business to decide—but for maximally directing us all at the goal and, thus, somehow try to win over all the others.

That is the solution to every problem. These problems are never solved physically. We see that the more people get involved in physical problem solving, the more they multiply other problems. So, sometimes, it may be enough for one person to ask for the world. And the fact that you cry is good, you cry for all of us.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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Question: Do we receive the forces that advance us through our exertion, and then through them, rise above the ego?

Answer: It is through our exertion that we allow the Creator to affect us. It is only according to the measure of our correct efforts—and it’s even more correct to say attempts and not efforts—that through them we invite on ourselves the influence of the Creator. It is only by that.

Furthermore, the Creator is the field of bestowal. Just as there exists a field of gravity, a field of reception, there also exists a field of bestowal. It fills everything by itself and is permanent; its tension and intensity is identical in each point.

This means that the Creator relates to everyone, both small and great, in a completely identical way with love, with the attribute of bestowal. However, each one according to the measure of his efforts, yearnings, and exertions, invites upon himself greater impact from this field.

Question: Do the forces that throw us from the goal determine in which place and in which attribute we need to be located within this general system?

Answer: No one throws you. Besides that, this field is constant and permanent. It is revealed to us more and more in its increasing strength, its intensity, its illumination, its emanation, and its bestowal.

To the extent that its influence on us grows, we begin to feel worse and worse about ourselves since we exist in attributes that are opposite to it. The field affects even more a person who makes efforts and really becomes closer in similarity to the attribute of bestowal. He feels even worse with himself than do others.

Here the strength of the group is required in order to hold on and understand that it is the Creator who bestows on him in a special way, rejects him in a special way, so that in the end, he will attain the maximum desire through which he can be born, which means to come into initial contact with the field. At the time of the first contact with the field, it will, in any case, continue to operate and affect him. In any event, it will continue to reject him, but it already will be on the next level.

There, the rejections are of a different nature. They are more qualitative. It is not that the forces grow, but that the field operates in a wiser way, in a more meticulous way in order to invite and awaken in you a more qualitative development, the realization of this entire system, the same way as in school you go from grade to grade.

Question: Is the demand for the Creator like huge greed, hunger, or thirst?

Answer: The demand for the Creator is a necessity.

Question: The great need is not clear, for what?

Answer: No, that doesn’t exist: “It’s not clear why.” Gradually becoming closer to the Creator, you begin to understand what the attribute of bestowal is, and you begin to desire it. Otherwise, what do you need?

Advancement is progressive. It must be realized before you are born. You need to reach the point of your birth through two states:

• I am not able to do anything by myself;
• Only the Creator can help me attain the attribute of bestowal.

You must know, more or less, what you want: how much you want that world before you are born in it.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Lesson 3

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Question: How can I tell that my prayer to the Creator is correct?

Answer: The right prayer is when you don’t ask for the obstacle to go away, but to see the goodness and usefulness in it. You have to rise above the disturbance and understand that it is leading us to ascent, progress, advancement toward the goal, and there are no accidental, irrelevant forces in it. “There are no criminals in the king’s castle”—everyone in this world are His devoted servants, whom He uses to lead you to correction.

If you ask for your attitude to what is happening to change and it doesn’t, that means your plea is still artificial and superficial, and is still egoistic inside. That is, you still haven’t completed this request to the full measure, which is necessary for the request to become valid and bring about your correction. There is still some dirt or egoistic benefit mixed up with it. Therefore, the Creator either replaces one obstacle after another in front of you, or He beats you with the same obstacles, and this can go on for years, until you finally understand.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/23/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: You said that we have to play actively in front of each other that we are at the next degree, so that others envy and follow us. How can this be expressed? Should we simply be good, kind, helpful, smiling and this will excite and draw the friends? Or should we be firm in relation to the goal? How should I show this in order to cause maximum envy?

Answer: We are in the world of Infinity, the full connection with each other. The only problem is that we do not perceive it. We are like blind kittens. We need to begin to feel where we are in reality through our properties.

That is why the 125 spiritual degrees are called the rungs of revelation, the revelation of what you exist in. But you are underdeveloped and don’t feel that. Here now, as if in the same space (although not actually in the same space, but in other dimensions), there are plenty of various phenomena, objects, relationships, and actions. We feel none of this; it is outside of our senses.

Some people, including psychics, sense this a little. In fact, it is so. Bedouins living in Israel feel what’s going on 100 miles from them according to various manifestations of nature. But all this is at the level of our world. Psychics like Wolf Messing feel a little higher of course, outside of time, because the next degree raises man above time, etc.

That is, we play the next higher level, thus wanting to attract the forces of nature to ourselves so that they pull us towards it. We do the same thing in our lives; people play: I want to be like someone, for example, like scientists or musicians, I play this, do exercises, and thus come closer to them.

Why do the exercises pull me towards this? Because I’m attracting the same upper Light, only at our egoistic level. This is a physical law: If I aspire to something, these forces of aspiration realize everything. Therefore, we must become inspired to play.

But most importantly, we have to desire this inside ourselves because initially we are connected with each other, and if I want something, our desires concentrated together and directed at the same state will lead us to it.

That is why there are people who are dancing in front of you with a harmonica and inspiring others, and there are those who are standing modestly on the side and cannot even join the circle or sing along with everyone else; there are different people, it doesn’t matter. Externally, we must also show this for our friends in order to be inspired together. But the most important thing is an internal aspiration.
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From Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Lesson 1

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Question: How is it possible to precede the acts of the Creator each time and to become more rigid in relation to the ego so as not to surrender to its treacherous schemes, and on the other hand, to be sensitive to the hints of the Creator?

Answer: Don’t think about the ego under any circumstances, not of how to surrender to it or the opposite. All of these games with the ego won’t help. It is more cunning than you and everyone else.

Egoism is a very strong nature that is completely opposed to the Creator and is equal to Him in its intensity. The entire egoistic system was created by the Light entering into the desire, which made its nature and all its attributes in all of its forms. Thus, the struggle against the ego won’t help at all! It is only rising above it and having the desire become similar to the Light that will help! But to face the ego head on is hopeless.

You don’t need to pay attention to it! Only yearn to move ahead! Don’t wait until it pushes us from behind.

Question: What should you do if you constantly think about this, and at the last moment forget about the ego and also about the Creator?

Answer: That is because there is no connection with the group and the environment doesn’t help you go forward.

Here there is a very simple system of forces. From the beginning you are given a point to lean on, you are given direction, pushes. It is said that the Creator puts your hand on good fate and tells you: “Choose this.” And then you choose.

Baal HaSulam writes, for this person it is constantly said to choose an environment for yourself that is stronger and stronger, one that will strengthen you, and in which you will not fall and not forget the goal.

The choice of a strong environment depends only on your investing in it. You don’t need to change people, you need to invest in them more, and then you will feel a greater influence from them. This is the point of choice of the new environment. It is not a matter of faces of people, but to what extent you can take from them that same upper energy that is in them, but they themselves don’t even know about it.

If it doesn’t succeed, then it’s a sign that you need to yearn to attain this. There is nothing to do. The work is only in that.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/16/12, Preliminary Lesson

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Question: What are we waiting for, what should we hope for, for all the friends who devote themselves for the convention?

Answer: You should hope to connect as a result of all your efforts that should be absorbed with the intention to unite. There are all the necessary conditions for that in the world today.

Every day articles by scientists and researchers, economists and politicians are sent to me about the globalization of the world and the mutual connections in it. They are actually using our words, although they don’t say everything since they don’t understand how they can change the situation in society. They do understand, however, that the world will have to reach unity, harmony, integrality, etc.

We are in an unprecedented state. We have been given a chance to change the world by uniting, and what is more, it is given to us in a country where the wisdom of Kabbalah has developed for many years and where today, too, there are the strongest groups and most faithful students. We can cause the force that we will discover among us to really help the whole world reach the Creator through it.

This is called a trinity: We, each of us, through the group, through all of us, through the world Kli (vessel), and after us the world community, yearn for the Creator and connect. This means that we, all the friends throughout the world, together with all of humanity, and the Creator make one general whole. This general whole should be revealed, felt, and created, since it doesn’t exist at the moment!

I do hope that our preparation will serve that.
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From a Virtual Lesson 8/12/12

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