Question: How should we work so that an action will be above our desire to receive?

Answer: It is hard to imagine this at the moment because for us even an action of bestowal is because of the desire to receive. But this is also good and it is called “Lo Lishma,” (not for His sake).

If I bestow in order to gain more, then it is a big and developed ego in our world. An undeveloped egoist simply takes for himself, like a robber who threatens you with a gun and takes everything for himself like the simplest naïve egoist operates.

If the bank steals from you by seemingly helping you by giving you a loan, you later see that they made a big profit at your expense, but this is already a higher more developed ego. Even throughout human history there were many wars and stealing at first and people had to hide behind city walls.

But later people got wiser and learned to lie to one another and to steal cleverly, legally. People already calculate things and see that there is no point using weapons and shedding so much blood if it can be done differently by making deals that will bring greater and safer profits. However, all these calculations stem from the same desire to receive.

But when I attain a desire to bestow, my actions are called “Lo Lishma,” because although I do them egoistically, for myself, I try to do it not for myself. I simply have no choice because I am in exile, enslaved to my ego, and so I have to listen to it and to think about myself.

Sometimes I want to bestow so much, to connect with others, but later I see that I did everything for myself. If it weren’t in my interest to do so, I couldn’t do anything, not even think about it. But I already disagree with that and try to do at least something in order to bestow, this is why it is called “Lo Lishma.” It is 100% spiritual work because it isn’t a person’s fault that he is in exile, under the domination of his desire to receive.

He has no choice, and he must go through this process, by building up a high enough speed in order to attain a full deficiency, a whole vessel for bestowal. We still have to operate in “Lo Lishma” by trying to imagine all the states in which bestowal itself is fulfilled “Lishma,” (for His sake), to actually try physically, mentally, internally, with all our heart (desire) to take part in this action, by forcing ourselves to be included in it.

Even if I succeed to some extent to think about bestowal and everything else is egoistic, I still tried. Therefore, it is called “spiritual work,” because even if I know that I am working for myself, at least externally, I do everything in my power to act in order to bestow. This is why it is called “Lo Lishma.” It is already spiritual work and not just false altruism as we see in our world.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/12, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Why was the last convention in Israel held in the desert? Is symbolism really that important to Kabbalists?

Answer: We saw that it does matter and make a difference. The first time we went there because we have a big, serious group of 40-50 people there, who are scattered throughout a number of smaller spots in the desert. They live in their small houses in the middle of the desert and farm for a living, growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, figs, bananas, and so on.

It virtually never rains in the desert, you have a few drops once a year at the most. Therefore, what we have witnessed was a supernatural phenomenon. Even the people who were born in that area and have lived there for 40+ years have never seen anything like it. Let alone the fact that the rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning, which is entirely unnatural for the desert. We view this as a good omen.

Why the desert? It’s not the desert in the traditional sense. There were mountains there. Essentially, it’s empty land, but not sand.

Interestingly enough, there are huge reserves of water underground: from saltwater, like in the Dead Sea, to water with salt concentrations, like in a regular sea or ocean, to plain, so-called sweet water. Depending on where you drill the earth’s crust, you can produce a different type of water. And while there’s an ocean of water underneath, above ground is the desert.

This is why the locals grow special fruits and vegetables there. Depending on the concentration of salt in the water they use to irrigate their crops, they get a particular flavor. For instance, figs are very sweet by nature, but if you irrigate them with saltwater, they grow to be several times larger and several times sweeter because they need to as if fight the saltwater.

There is also a nature reserve where special horned animals are bred. Many international organizations fund the reserve because special genetic experiments are conducted there.

In short, it’s a very interesting place. In the desert you can truly isolate yourself from outside distractions. We’ve already gone there several times, and we liked it. But this time, obviously, the convention surpassed all expectations.

I think that the convention site and the timing were chosen well. We should all be happy with what we’ve attained. We felt ourselves as a single whole, and through that we can continue to develop within us the rudiments of viewing the world in an integrated way. And from there we can reveal the Creator, as per the law of equivalence of form.
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From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 2/26/12

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Question: You have said that we have to look at the world through the prism of the group. In other words, anything that happens to us in the corporeal life has to remind us that we must return to the thought about our friends and the degree of unity between us. Have I understood correctly that everything that happens is just a reminder? Is this the prism of the group?

Answer: There is no reminder here. You exist in an enormous integral infinite world. The Creator did not create anything but the world of Infinity. Everything that exists in our understanding and sensations, besides for the world of Infinity, is a partial perception of the same world of Infinity.

We receive the great Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif), the Light of correction, to the extent of our ability to pull ourselves towards the perception of the integral world. In other words, we have to try to be closer to it, try to sense it as a general, eternal, perfect Light, the way it actually is, and not the way we imagine it to be. We evoke the illumination from the upper degree upon us to the extent of our efforts, and thus we grow.

We have now reached a state when we are able to look at the world and begin to perceive it as a single whole, and perceive ourselves as those revealing it. This is necessary.

Why do we need a group? Our common Kli (desire) broke only in order for us to begin to put it together with our own efforts. These efforts evoke the Surrounding Light. On one hand, the Surrounding Light increases the sensation of our individuality, meaning our egoism grows (the left side, the left line). But on the other hand, the Light gives us the sensation of unity, the revelation of the quality of bestowal (the right side, the right line).

When we are not in the world of Infinity, but 125 degrees beneath it, by pulling ourselves towards it, by force, like on a high bar, to the extent of our aspiration, we attract upon ourselves the upper Light from that same world of Infinity. This Light increases both our egoism and the quality of bestowal—two opposite qualities.

This way you reveal the world of Infinity to be 620 times greater in its power than before. If before you were on the lowest, zero, level, then by attaining the 125th degree you increase yourself 620 times. You attain all the Lights of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida, you rise from Malchut through Zeir Anpin, Bina, and Hochma towards Keter, and thus arrive at the state of Infinity from our world.

All these sensations are not physical; they are inside of you. It is as if you were inflating a sensory organ inside of you, which initially is only a point, and this is why it is called the point in the heart, where you are unable to feel anything. You gradually inflate it by using two opposite lines: a line of reception and a line of bestowal, the desires to enjoy and the intentions to bestow.

You grow as you ascend these degrees to the extent of your intention to bestow and your desire. Thus, everything depends on our pressure, on your aspiration towards the next and always greater degree.
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From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 2/26/12

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Question: I have understood more than I have felt at this convention. Is this normal or did I miss something?

Answer: Understanding without feeling is also good. At least you have seen the unity of people, you have seen their aspiration, you have understood that our attainment of reality is based on this specific aspiration.

Without uniting, we cannot create the sensor where we will be able to feel the upper world, the Creator. This is exactly why we are broken and exist at the very bottom: to start putting the pieces of the upper world together. And as we put it together, we will discover and feel new elements of the true, real, spiritual, world.

And we will see our world the other way around, as getting further from us, because essentially, it has nothing—it is smaller than a point. It is under the point of the straight line, under the “feet” of the Partzuf of Galgalta. There is Sium, or the end of all the Partzufim, and the point of our world is even lower, under it, meaning it is as if it doesn’t exist. And we exist in it, but it is like we are “nonexistent.”
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From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 2/26/12

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Question: Are there people who have already reached the fourth level of development, the level of Man? Could it be that these are certain leaders in the world?

Answer: Unfortunately, the leaders are very far from that because only the greatest egoist can be a leader in our world. This is because our world is egoistic, and so in order to climb to the top, you need to be the greatest egoist with a very big desire.

There are nearly two million people around the world who study the method of the integral upbringing in the framework of the ARI Institute. Many other different organizations and circles are engaged in that as well.

I hope that the year 2012 will be a special year because many changes are about to take place now, and we see that the speed of these changes is increasing, particularly in terms of understanding and adapting the integral system to humanity. So we will see great changes, and I hope they will be for the better.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/22/12, Preliminary Lesson

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Question: Why does the Light need me? Am I really that important?

Answer: We lack the deficiency, the desire, to discover the upper, whole, spiritual world. The Light doesn’t need you; it is you who needs the Light so that it will build the right deficiency within you. When you really want bestowal, you will discover it.

We are in a sea of Light right now, but we don’t feel anything because we don’t have a deficiency. However, if I were to summon upon me the influence of the Light, it would build this deficiency within me. Then, I finally would feel what I lack.

As a simple example, let us say that I don’t want anything in life. I am indifferent. However, a friend comes over and invites me to go on a trip.

I agree reluctantly, and on the way, we go by a restaurant. I smell the scents and become a little hungry. We go inside the restaurant, and, as we eat, as it usually happens, the appetite comes with the meal. Then, I really have a true appetite.

So, we must open the curtain gradually. First, we only “smell” the Light by summoning it from a distance. Then, we taste it. Thus, the vessel is created within us.

I say to a child, “Taste this, you will like it.” The child asserts, “No, I don’t want to! I won’t taste it!” I respond, “Do it for me.”

This is how the Light creates the vessel.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/16/12, Writings of Rabash

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Question: The more I study the Creator, His nature, and the principles of unity, the stronger I feel that I am opposite to all of this and that I am confused. Why does this happen and what does it mean?

Answer:Imagine: there is a person, who is hospitalized. If we were to speak with a physician observing this patient, he would tell us about a rare disease, different methods of treatment for this disease, and about his assumptions regarding this case. Now let us question the nurse: She knows all the illnesses and all the medicines, in general and in particular. And finally, talk to the hospital janitor: She knows all the illnesses and all medications, in general and in particular.

The moral: the deeper a person penetrates the essence of things, the greater the complications he finds in them. For him, every detail goes to extremes and divides into a multitude of components. Things are difficult for a person like this, he always hesitates; many things are questionable to him. The same way sages have doubts where things are clear as day to regular people.

As we work on attaining the upper force and we constantly encounter confusion and analyze things; we must enjoy one and the other. There are two sides of the same process, which leads to the realization, understanding, and attainment. It is written that there is no greater joy than elimination of doubts. Many contradictions overtake you, you are not able to tie anything together—and suddenly everything becomes clear, thus greatly pleasing you.

When the Light of wisdom, the Light of Hochma, enters the Light of Hasadim and fills the desire, you experience a state of perfection, which comes from our Source. The following is always just: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day.” Again and again Light dispels the darkness. Thus we advance.

The feeling of night usually weighs upon new students, and unable to control themselves, they capitulate. I remember myself lying, unable to rise; I did not see a gleam of light before me. But then the next stage comes: You begin to understand where this comes from and why, you gather experience by opposing these waves, you gain feeling and reason: You first gain feeling, and then you transition to the stage of understanding.

This is the journey, and the main thing is to continue it. Changes will come. Naturally, it is hard for a person in the beginning: He is subject to his state and is not yet able to rise above it. This is why we must be delicate with new students, when they lose it under the pressure of circumstances or become lost as in a fog. This is the way a new additional realization affects a person once he gains it. We are made of desire and sensations are our life. There are different states, and time heals us when the mind is powerless. This is the period of preparation.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/12/12, Shamati #190

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Question: The convention in Brazil is approaching. What can it give those who will physically participate in it?

Answer: If a person has already taken part in our conventions and cannot make it this time, it may not be so critical. On the other hand, these people already understand that the convention is worth the effort. As for people who have never been to a convention, they should do their best to be there.

Today our conventions are first and foremost about connection. People don’t just come to hear me lecture. The convention springs me into action so that I form a vessel, a desire, together with everyone. Then I feel the difference between my private thoughts and the thoughts of the general circle. These are two totally different levels of thinking and feeling.

The convention enables a person to feel the taste of unity a bit, which is essentially the “posterior” of the Creator. When unity takes hold of a person a little, he discovers that there is a special hidden sensation here, the “point of unity” that Baal HaSulam talks about. If a person discovers charm in the unity with the group, he reaches the path that leads to the Creator.

Thus, the convention is a rare opportunity thanks to which a person can continue marching safely onwards because he already has the right impressions. I don’t think it is possible to attain this without an actual, physical connection.

Therefore, it is very important to arrive in person. A person who has already been to a convention generally understands that he should go—at any reasonable price. But if you’ve never felt that, then listen to some advice: Come and that’s all. In a country like Brazil, the next convention will probably be in another two or three years. It is even worthwhile to take a loan and to repay it later in several monthly payments. By this you are buying yourselves a true asset, and if you miss it, you will regret it later. A reasonable debt isn’t so bad. Don’t postpone the main thing in life for later. I strongly recommend that you come.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/16/2012, Writings of Rabash

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Question: We need to become imbued with desire from the group, but also to take desire from the masses. What is the difference?

Answer: There is our group, Bnei Baruch (BB), and there are the nations of the world. Even if a unity (∑) of the nations will arise in the future, it will only be able to beget a cry aimed upward. Their unity is good for joining into our unity. And our unity, in turn, will join with the One (1).

Thus, there is unification of the nations, there is unification among us, and there is unification of the nations with us, where masses become included in us like the seven lower Sefirot of Bina. It is necessary to have internal unity below and internal unity above, and then we all unite and merge with the Creator into a single whole.

In this manner, we, as the three upper Sefirot of Bina (GAR de Bina), should provide the correction of its seven lower Sefirot (ZAT de Bina).

Question: So there are two levels of correction: We unite for the sake of bestowal, while the masses need to correct egoism on the material level?

Answer: We don’t correct anything there among the nations. We connect to people and take their desire, which helps us band together even tighter and to establish a connection with the upper force, with the Light. And the Light acts on them through us.

Ultimately, we are the ones who are performing the work, and not the masses. Without being capable of doing it themselves, they give us the strength for correction, and no more than that. It’s true that they also need to try to unite; however, nobody is capable of real unity, not even us. Only the Light realizes it. And this is why the most important thing is for them to understand that without unity between them, there won’t be a good life. And we will take this demand, we’ll penetrate and absorb the depth of its bitter grief and transform it into a prayer.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/12, Writings of Rabash

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Question: If the Torah is the book of instructions telling us about the spiritual path, how can we follow them if we don’t feel anything but this world?

Answer: First we have to rise. The Torah wasn’t written for people who are below the Machsom (the barrier separating us from spirituality). Even when it tells us about different events such as the Egyptian exile, the forefathers, or Babel, the real meaning of what is said there can only be revealed by those who are already engaged in the spiritual work, beyond the Machsom.

Everything depends on the level of revelation of the spiritual concepts. The Book of Zohar, for example, explains the word Beresheet (Genesis) in a way that includes the whole path, from the beginning to the end.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/2012, Writings of Rabash

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