Comment: When there are completely different kinds of people in a group, some may repeat slogans, which is unacceptable to others.

My Response: We must forgive people. What can you do? We all started our lives by soiling diapers. It is the same here. People come; what do they understand, what do they know? Everyone is puffing up, wanting to express something of their own, and put themselves in a certain position. These are natural impulses of a small person. I too had them, and so did each of us.

I remember so well how totally hollow I used to be, all the bragging: why, how, for what? After all, I was not young anymore, over thirty, and not stupid, I was a scientist. And still. I remember how the egoism rocked me, I went through stages of self-aggrandizement, bragging, domineering, jealousy, whatever. Every person goes through all this.

Comment: I think it is great to be aware of it, not to stay in this, but to go through everything.

My Response: You are talking about realizing this, being able to correct it, and supposedly staying above it. That is, how good it is to realize that you are now putting pressure on egoism, how good you are, how strong you are, etc…! But this is an even higher form of egoism.

Question: What is above that?

Answer: There is more above it.

Comment: But still it is better than living in it.

My Response: Yes, undoubtedly, all this is much better, more purposeful, closer to the Creator, despite all the tricks egoism plays on us. Of course, this is better, because a person sees the work of the Creator on oneself. What did the Creator create? What evil, with what sophistication in me, such qualities!

Comment: The worst thing is when you want to change something and cannot do anything.

My Response: This is not terrible; it is wonderful when you are unable to do anything and feel completely empty, discouraged, powerless, and misunderstood—just out of it.

This is when you begin to think the Creator did this on purpose so you would turn to Him. But you do not have this need until you reach this point of despair. Only then will it arise in you: you need to turn everything only to Him; this is the only option, the only salvation.

Then you turn to Him. If your appeal comes from a totally disillusioned, desolate state, without a future, without anything, then the Creator helps you because you already have a complete request, a ripened desire.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When There is no Desire” 8/12/10

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Question: You say that if a person has the strength for something, then it is a Klipa, meaning something impure?

Answer: If a person has a desire to do something before reaching spirituality, then that desire is egoistic.

Question: But how can one act without a desire? Let’s say, something needs to be done.

Answer: You cannot do anything without a desire, no one can. For that, you must be in a group that gives you inspiration and ask for strength from above. You personally do not have anti-egoistic or altruistic desires. Therefore, all your desires can only be egoistic. That is, if you have the energy to do something, it means your egoism is giving it to you.

Question: When I do something related to my profession, I cannot perform it without a desire, right?

Answer: Of course not. But know that your desire is egoistic. You want to assert yourself, gain recognition, prove to yourself what you are capable of, and so on.

Question: But still, there is some inner impulse that makes you do certain things?

Answer: Of course. It is the desire for power, fame, need for self-assertion: “I am capable, I can, I will prove it to everyone, and to myself as well.”

Question: I mean, one can find other directions too. Why is there such a need to pass on specifically Kabbalistic knowledge? For example, if I have discovered for myself that the world is built this way, why do I want to tell everyone about it?

Answer: Because it is important to you, and you want it to be important to others. Simple human egoism is the desire to impose something on another.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Creativity in Kabbalah” 8/18/10

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Comment: You, as a Kabbalist on high spiritual levels, constantly go against your own desire and come to the lessons most likely in a difficult state, not with the same joy as the newcomers.

My Response: So what? That is my duty. Of course, it is hard for me, but I feel the highest obligation. There is not even a question about it.

How can I not come to the lesson when it is a means of dissemination, of conducting the Creator’s line in this world?! I have been authorized to do it.

I am simply fulfilling a mission from above, and I am grateful for the opportunity to carry it out. And every day it is a miracle that I manage to give a three-hour lesson, explain, write a blog, answer questions, and appear on some television program.

I see this as a gift, a great favor that the Creator has done for me. What difference does it make whether it is hard or not? It is so important, so necessary! At least that is how I see it. That is what gives me strength.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When There Is No Desire” 8/12/10

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Question: Is it good or bad when a person pushes himself to study without desire?

Answer: It is good. It means the goal is higher than his own small, egoistic desire. That is good; he is making an effort. And if he studies without putting in effort, then where is his personal exertion? Even worse is when he does it with desire.

The best state is when there is no desire at all and the person is as if dead begs the group to give him some opportunity, some awareness of the importance of the goal. Then, by nullifying himself before his friends, he is ready to pay them, to do anything, just so they would tell him how important the goal is, and this would inspire him to show up to the next morning lesson. That is the best.

Question: So when a student comes to you and says, “What do I do? I cannot do anything. How do I go on?”—is the best state?

Answer: Yes. Then I tell him: “Congratulations! You already have some awareness of your nature. You understand that you do not want anything, that you are just an animal and all you need is a bit of animal fulfillment and nothing more.”

Question: So is being in a lesson with desire just an initial stage when a person has not achieved anything yet?

Answer: What does that give? Nothing yet. The most important thing is the connection with the group, with friends, where they can pass on additional desires to him, and then he can rise higher.

Question: And when a person crosses the Machsom, meaning rises to the first spiritual level, does his lack of desire feel different there?

Answer: When he crosses the Machsom, then there are completely different forces and calculations that influence him.

Question: So it means that all the way to the final correction there is always a kind of struggle against one’s nature?

Answer: Yes, of course. How else can you progress if not by revealing ever more egoism within yourself and rising above it by correcting it?
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When There Is No Desire” 8/12/10

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Question: How can a group influence a person if he does not annul himself before it?

Answer: It can’t influence a person positively.

Question: Then what is the point a person being in that society?

Answer: There is no point. Maybe over time he will begin to understand that he must bend himself before the environment, and ask for that, and study for that purpose.

Comment: But we are just bundles of egoism. A person cannot make the right calculation anyway. It is a very difficult process. And all the time, you do not know whether you are on the right path or not.

My Response: Just annul yourself before the group. That is all.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Bend Over and Ascend” 8/15/10

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Question: When you were studying with Rabash, you did not know what a group was as such?

Answer: I had a different preparation. Rabash thought that there would be a group, he believed that he should do it. I brought students to him. We can see what kind of articles he wrote.

But the group did not form as a result of these articles. It was I who came out of it. No, the others came out of it too; I am by no means diminishing them. They are all my former friends, and I love and value each one of them because they are also students of my teacher. But the group was not formed from us.

Now each of them works on their own. I do not judge anyone. Each one just does as much as they can and how they can. I am the same, one of them. But still, I was the student closest to Rabash, his assistant. He spent a huge number of hours with me together in study, in everything.

That is why I have developed an internal sense of connection with him, which leads me forward. I feel that he is with me. I have an absolutely sober and clear feeling that in all my endeavors, he stands behind me, and I am fulfilling everything by realizing my teacher in myself.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. You or Group” 8/1/10

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Question: Is it better for a person to go through all the states intensely together with you or separately in a group?

Answer: It is preferable to go through all the states as quickly as possible, that is clear. It is also desirable to go through them while I am still here, that too is obvious. After all, there is support, hope, guidance, advice.

But it is impossible to go through them only with me; it is better to do it in a group. Without the group, it is not possible. Without a teacher, it is possible.

Question: You keep putting the emphasis on the group. But how do you feel that it is specifically the group that is the mechanism a person must integrate into instead of using some other method?

Answer: You see how much I talk about this, and it is still not clear.

There is nothing else besides the system of souls, the connection between souls, the network of souls. This interconnected network of souls is the only global mechanism that the Creator created. We exist within this network, but we do not feel the connection between us.

It is as if we are torn apart in our perception. It is an illusion, but for us it feels completely real. In that illusion, each one of us feels themselves as existing on their own. That illusory feeling manifests within us as “this world.”

But as soon as I begin to restore my connection with others, that is, to restore this network of forces in my perception, it is as though I revive myself and return to consciousness. Then I immediately begin to feel this network or the upper world or the Creator.

When I feel only myself, I feel what is called “this world.” When I feel myself within the network with everyone else, I feel the upper world or the Creator, the unifying force, which is the common quality of this network. That is it. There is nothing else. There is no other space around us. None! Only this network of forces, and we are within it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. You or the Group” 8/1/10

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Question: Does true Kabbalah begin at the stage when a person goes against his desire?

Answer: No, one cannot go against one’s desire. It is impossible to go against a desire because in the end one have strength to move forward. And strength appears when you go against your initial desire.

Anyway, if you are making a movement, it means you are receiving energy from somewhere; it means you have acquired a desire to make that move.

Where does it come from? From the importance of the goal.

Where do you get the importance of the goal if the goal is not visible? You get it from the group.

If you can absorb the importance of the goal through the group and move toward it, then you can even ask the Creator to reveal Himself to you. And then, you will use His revelation solely for spiritual advancement and not for self-satisfaction.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When There is no Desire” 8/12/10

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Question: You are a teacher. Who could replace you in teaching?

Answer: I do not think that it is even necessary. There are around 20,000 recorded lessons. There is an enormous volume of knowledge, advice, and practical exercises in Kabbalah,  more than enough for deep study and real application.

As long as I am able, I will continue moving forward. Once I stop, nothing more is needed. People can take these archived lessons and study them systematically. There is at least ten years’ worth of material; it is plenty to achieve everything needed. It is more than enough.

Still, everyday I try to offer something new. I continue to find clearer examples, simpler language, and more accessible ways to express the material.

In Kabbalah, simplicity is key. Unlike philosophy or other sciences where complexity is often valued, Kabbalah demands the opposite: to convey lofty, abstract, and intangible concepts in ways that are close and understandable, especially to the average person. Today Kabbalah is meant for widespread dissemination.

I am working to make it accessible to everyone. The great 12^th century Kabbalist Rambam wrote that we must develop this method and simplify it so it is ready for women, children, and those without formal education, in short, for all people. Not just for intellectuals or a small elite, but for every individual in the world.

Ultimately every person must correct their nature and attain the level of the Creator. That is the essence of our generation’s mission or perhaps of the next one, but within the coming decades, we must reach it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. 20000 Lessons…” 8/3/10

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Question: You say there is no easy path. When a person advances spiritually, what does he have to overcome and where does he get nourishment from?

Answer: A person draws nourishment only from the environment; he cannot draw anything from himself. It is like a car that needs to be filled with energy—install a battery, fill the gas tank, and so on.

This external energy must be within us constantly. We must always think about how to provide ourselves with it. As a rule, this is done through two sources, which eventually merge into one: the group, the surrounding environment, and the Creator, who is also your surrounding environment, until you find them both within yourself, not outside. Therefore, one can only move forward if one is connected to them.

Comment: But you have said that you learn from your students.

My Response: I learn from them, meaning, by perceiving their desires and questions, and by beginning to answer them, I understand even more, I am impressed, I answer myself on everything I have, and I uncover an even broader picture for myself.

After all, their questions are not mine. Each soul has its own. And when I connect to other souls and include them within myself, I gain more space for exploration. I am no longer working only with my own desire, which is the matter on which I conduct all research, but with the desires of others, which I integrate into myself. That is why I am very glad to have students.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Recharging On The Way” 8/13/10

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