Comment: When our friends in Sochi went out to disseminate, the rest of the people who didn’t go out arranged a “mirror” workshop, carried out the same activities and discussed the same questions. We did this as a support for our friends; we tried to be with them as a single whole.

Answer: Your concern for the success of your friends is the main thing. You created an atmosphere for yourselves that you can only dream of. What can be more spiritual and more useful for attracting the Upper Light?

Wherever our friends go out to disseminate, we are concerned for them. We feel them.  Make it so that everything will succeed for them! We are ready to give everything, only so that they will succeed. There is nothing higher than a prayer like this. Certainly everything will work out for the best for them!

If we create such a state at the Saint Petersburg convention, or in whatever other circumstances, then this is destined to succeed from the start! So, you have grown! It is called the “prayer of many” (Tfiflat Rabim) when I pray for my friend. Believe me, there is no need here for anything else!
[143003]
From the Convention In Sochi 8/25/14, Lesson 1

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Question: If my friend is in a difficult situation, what must my prayer be? Must it only be about him or about the whole world?

Answer: In cases where you don’t know how to behave and you have no clear discernment about how to act, and even in those cases where you seem to know how to behave, you must consult with other friends. You are part of a large collective and you don’t have the right to act and behave on your own, as your mind or heart tells you.

You are a small cog in a large machine, and you must realize that according to this general mechanism, you alone cannot insert new relationships into the work. It is impossible for a person to act according to the principle, “That is what I decided, that is what I suppose, and that is what I will do.” In such a case, we will remove you from our machine. Even though our mechanism will become smaller, it will work in partnership.
[142676]
From the Convention In Sochi 8/25/14, lesson 2

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We have to apply maximum effort to reach the goal we aspire to and in doing so get prove that we are unable to reach it. Then, we have to check if we are going in the right direction and whether we can possibly ever get the chance to attain it; then by employing our intellect and sensations we will realize that we will never be able to achieve this goal on our own and need the Creator’s assistance.

We should accept the fact that only the Creator is able to give our entry into the spiritual world, to realize our spiritual birth, to transition us from our mother’s womb where we are separated to the state of connectedness. During birth, we pass through the narrowest place that connects one world with another; that’s the place of the initial connection among us that happens at the minimal spiritual level. Are we able to achieve this or not?

If the answer is “yes,” then let’s do it, if the answer is “no,” let’s demand the Creator to do it, one of the two. Let’s make an immediate decision and execute it quickly rather than waste time!

As a rule, the evil inclination whispers into our ears with “promises” of tremendous success waiting for us “next time”; it tells us that we haven’t yet achieved all that we were capable of, we haven’t read enough or learned everything that we could have, and thus there are plenty of things that we still have to take care of.

This is how we acted for many years; we acknowledge that as a result of the influence of the group we began to realize that we are incapable of breaking into the spiritual world and we call for the Creator’s help.

This is the time when we start to scream and ask Him for His help, and this is the right direction because we do not possess the power of bestowal but only retain the force of receiving.

The group’s influence will provide everybody with the understanding that only the Creator is able to build a system of connection among us and unite us. We demand that it happens and strongly disagree with our egoism that invites us to continue working independently. There is no reason to continue acting the old way; our environment can influence us in a way that we will arrive at such a decision.
[28649]
From the lesson 11/12/10, “Letter 57,” Baal HaSulam

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We listen to the advice of the Kabbalists about the proper way of organizing ourselves in different situations and states in order to receive the maximum influence of the Light that Reforms.

This is why we carry out different artificial, material, egoistic actions according to the principle of “We shall do, and we shall hear!” And this advice works.

But Kabbalists cannot obligate us to perform acts of bestowal. As we work with our egoistic material according to their advice, we want to attract the unfamiliar force of the Surrounding Light so that it will influence us and transfer us into a new state.

And at that moment when I begin to change, I begin to act in a different manner, with a new mind and a new heart. We work according to this chain: advice -> a wonderful means -> a new calculation.

This is why, when working with students (both children and adults), one needs to search for activities that will attract the maximum Surrounding Light, and this will have the best outcome. And, if it does not work, then there is nothing that can be done. All we can do is ask for correction, raise MAN (prayer): I want an inner change!

Everything that comes from above is a consequence of the influence of the Upper Light, which we cannot touch. It pertains to the “secrets of the upper governance.”

We attract the Surrounding Light by studying the primary sources. And if adults read the texts of Baal HaSulam, it is enough for the children to have a discussion about these articles; for example, a discussion on “Body and Soul,” “Perception of Reality,” or “Freedom of Will,” discussing their connection with some physical or chemical laws in our world. Make it entertaining, in the form of a game. By doing this, we will attract the same Light.

We need to explain the mechanics of changing a human being to children. They perceive it as facts and begin to use it. Gradually all of this will become stored in them.

Working with children differs from working with adults. It is written that teaching a child is like writing on a clean slate. A child’s matter understands everything naturally so they accept everything they hear from adults as the truth.

This reflects the between the root and the branch. When we perceive someone older than us, we perceive all of his words as obvious facts. And we need to use this property that children have in order to fill them correctly instead of that with which our egoistic world stuffs them.
[28086]

From the lesson “Body and Soul” 11/29/10

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Question: Baal HaSulam said that a person must act practically in order to awaken a love for the Creator in him, but why is it so difficult to do so? Why is there such an inner resistance?

Answer: The fact is that the moment you fall, you not only cease to feel the love for Him, but  you also lose the connection with the Creator, and so it seems to you that the Creator has left you.

The truth is that His love is absolute and infinite, but the concealment on the part of your ego is increasing every day and every moment, so you don’t feel the love inside you. The point is that you forget that it is a result of your inner cooling off, and you think that it is the Creator who has left you.

Therefore, you cry out, “Why have you left me!” However, in fact, no one has left you. On the contrary, the Creator has given you a chance to discover Him even more, by yourself. This is the difference between religion and the wisdom of Kabbalah. A religious person prays to the Creator asking the Creator to do everything for him, while a Kabbalist prays to the Creator to give him the power and the means by which he can correct something.

Question: Does the idea of awakening the love for the Creator mean awakening the love of friends inside me?

Answer: It is impossible to do it otherwise. It is only through the love of friends that you can reach the love of the Creator. As it is written, “From the love of man to the love of God.”
[141798]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/19/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: We have done great external and internal work in dissemination. What do we lack in the group in order to reach greater unity between us so that we will be able to reveal the Creator?

Answer: There is one word that replaces absolutely everything: prayer. I rarely speak about it because prayer should burst out by itself.

It is the feeling that you are totally dependent on the Creator and that He is the only one who manages you: whatever you think and feel, whatever you ask for and receive, everything except for the one point of turning to Him, although that also comes from Him—when you thus connect to Him and still want to do something external to Him in accordance to what He does for you—this is called a prayer.

This should be our common state because then it will focus on Him. But it comes from each of us separately and it is focused on the opposite direction. This is the point of recognition that you cannot go out of your way and with that you turn to the Creator so that He will unite all our points together, melt them and connect them into one drop.

I hope that we will recognize and understand that we need this prayer.

The force that destroyed us on purpose and has created all the conditions for the recognition of the oppositeness from the Creator is also the force that will correct this state of oppositeness and will give us a sense of the Creator.
[141363]
From the talk at a meal at the Toronto Congress, 8/4/14

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Question: How can one consistently be in inner work, in inner prayer, to pass toward unity?

Answer: It is impossible to be consistently in inner prayer. Even the greatest Kabbalists went through great descents and ascents, and the higher that a person is, the greater his descents. So, it is necessary to understand that this work continues until the completion of correction.

We correct the general shattering of the Kli, and it is natural that the greatest shattered states are the strongest. In fact, the more complex shattered states are microscopic. First, we simply don’t pay attention to these contradictions, and, after that we reach a state such that our sensitivity rises all the time. We begin to be involved with our states in that we receive them with great sensitivity.

With great Kabbalists, all kinds of changes are made with great regularity because they are correcting themselves all the time, and the imprecision seems immense, great, to them, and this is the work of correction! This is life.

Every time you feel that you are working on the next level and, after that, on the next level, and so forth. The problem is not that as if you have come to work, have obtained a position, for example, that of a clerk, and begin to rise on the organizational ladder higher and higher. Here, internal work is done in your spiritual collective with the Creator. Indeed, the work on this connection gives lots of different discernments, but it is the same.

The great Kabbalists describe this in their writings. At first glance, it seems that very extensive material is found in their writings, but if we sort them, then there is nothing unique here. It is always talking about desire, about Light, and  the connections between them.

So, what is required of us is only the right intention.
[141004]
From lesson 4 of the Convention In Sochi “Day Two” 7/14/14

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When we go out to disseminate, and more generally, throughout the entire day, we must wholeheartedly worry about the strength of our unity. This is the only thing determining the strength of the Light, which passes through us to the nation of Israel and to the world. It’s like we’re trying to hold something up, afraid to let it fall lest it break. We constantly hold up unity because the Light will pour forward only through it. This is mutual guarantee.

Otherwise, our words will remain empty sounds. What does it mean to unite? To sit and hug each other? To talk about it? We have been talking about it for years, but is it of any use? Does each of us have to be up against the wall, with a gun pointed at him, to feel the need to unite?

To you, “uniting” means sitting and talking about how important this is. But I don’t enjoy sitting and I don’t enjoy talking about it.

Question: So how can we overcome these final millimeters between us? We feel indifferent, disunited, and repelled by one another. Every person sits in his own corner, in his own niche, with his own thoughts and plans. But we don’t want to go back, so what should we do?

Answer: You need a cry, a prayer.

You need to understand that there will be no forgiveness, no second chance. If you want to attain success, then now’s the time. And if you’re not up to it, then you’re better off going your separate ways. At least that way you’ll know for sure that you’re on the wrong path and have no part in the correction of your soul.

In such cases, words are useless. When a person feels real love, he doesn’t talk about it. People don’t parade the thing closest to their heart—they hold it in secret. That’s why I cannot go out shouting about unity. It’s a different matter when you talk about it scientifically, although the emotion cannot be expressed since it lies much deeper.

In any case, you now have a unique chance and it is up to you to implement it. On my part, I have given you everything and cannot do anything for you. The ball is in your court. If you step back now, the future of Israel and your own future will come under the upper verdict…

There won’t be any other time. You have always waited for time to do its work. But it won’t. Baal HaSulam said in this regard: One who rejects the moment will realize it years later. Right now we are simply obligated to work 24/7, upholding the unity at every moment. There’s no other option. This must be our personal and common, single objective.

Forget about me. You have everything you need, so take action, if that’s what you want. And if you don’t, then I have nothing to add. There are things a father cannot do for his son. The ball is in your court now. Everything is up to you.

What’s important is not the materials we hand out or the conversations about having to unite. This has to be conveyed sincerely from heart to heart. I hope you will accept this and feel it deep down. I hope you will attain prayer, a cry and mutual support. Good luck!
[140912]
From a Talk “The Importance of Dissemination” 8/3/2014

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In the News (from Huffington Post): “Underscoring the close ties between Christianity and Judaism and calling Holocaust denial “madness,” Pope Francis told an interviewer that ‘inside every Christian is a Jew.’

“In a wide-ranging interview published Friday (June 13) in Spain’sLa Vanguardia newspaper, the pope said dialogue between the two faiths can sometimes be a ‘hot potato.’

“’I believe that interreligious dialogue must investigate the Jewish roots of Christianity and the Christian flowering of Judaism,’ Francis said. ‘I understand it is a challenge, a hot potato, but it is possible to live as brothers.’

“Francis’ statement seems to go further than his predecessor, St. John Paul II, who made headlines in 1986 as the first pope to visit Rome’s main synagogue and declared Jews to be the ‘elder brothers of the Christian faith.’

“’Every day, I pray with the Psalms of David. My prayer is Jewish, then I have the Eucharist, which is Christian,’ the Argentine pontiff added.”

My Comment: Undoubtedly, the further development of humanity towards the purpose of its creation will lead people to distance themselves from all religions and faiths of the world. They will increasingly begin to feel their common spiritual root, which is not clothed in earthly images and representations that religion and beliefs impose on them.

This will lead all people of the world to feel that only Kabbalah expresses the true representation of the higher force. In this aspiration to become close to it, they will come close to each other.
[139650]

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People who have a spark, a particle of the higher nature, don’t correct themselves like all the rest of the seven billion people, because through this spark, we can connect to the source of the Light, to the source of bestowal, to the power of bestowal.

This means that we include two systems within us: a system of reception and a system of intention, meaning bestowal. In us, there is a desire that is directed toward ourselves. Besides this, we have a point within the desire, a spark that can be developed into a separate system.

If we develop this spark into the system of bestowal, in other words, if we acquire an intention to act for the good of others, then our deeds will be unimportant. They will always be under the control of the intention for the sake of bestowal.

It follows that this intention for the sake of bestowal will determine all of my deeds and behavior. It doesn’t matter if I receive from others or give to others physically in this world. My intention always will be determined so that all of my deeds are intended for the good of others, and this always is more important than my own good.

Part of the collective soul that works according to this program belongs to the head of the spiritual Partzuf. Through the Light, we can create thoughts, actions, intentions, and plans that are truly for the good of others, and I will use these beyond personal benefit. All emotion and thought, strength and understanding, I put into service for the good of others. I am adherent to others and do everything for their good.

Such changes are possible only through the Light that Reforms. For all seven billion of mankind, the Light only reveals how much they are connected to each other, and then they stop doing evil to each other and become one body, which is still egoistic. All of them act for their own good as one family.

We must make another connection between us where our intention will be entirely for the benefit of others, as it is written, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is not that I just don’t harm others, knowing that, through this, I cause myself harm. I don’t look at this at all as to whether this will come back to me in some way. Rather, I think and act only for the benefit of the other person, without checking how this will affect me for good or bad. This is called working above my ego. This is working with faith, in other words, bestowal.
[139598]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/13/14, Shamati #60

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