Question: Millions of people around the world desire to grow spiritually. But what about the rest?

Answer: Everybody is suffering; everybody feels bad. Look how unrest is growing around the world. Isn’t it obvious that we are on the verge of adversity? This process is accelerating at a remarkable speed. I recently received a letter from Spain where the regular folks are facing serious problems. Unemployment is sky rocketing.

This is how the Creator is pushing and turning everyone to face Him. Willing or not, people start asking: “What do we do? How to do we get out of hardships?” First, to avoid hardships is the key: If a person has nothing to eat and no money to pay the rent, if he or she lacks necessities, spiritual matters will hardly interest them. But you can show them what the solution is.

Read what the analysts write, search wherever you want: Today, nobody has any solutions to the problems the world is facing. At least that much is already evident. Those who are still in power as well as political commentators are fully aware that we have come to a dead end. Nobody has the courage to raise their hand and offer a solution of their own. It is too obvious how unrealistic and impractical anything they may offer is. In this type of situation, only we can speak out. And we must hurry to do so.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/2011, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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The purpose of creation is to become similar to the Creator. This is the meaning of the words “to do good to His creatures.” How can the creature become similar to the Creator? What does this similarity entail?

First of all, you should want this. How do you start wanting? You have to be opposite to the Creator and wish to become similar to Him. This is a desire: I do not have what I want, but I strongly desire to get what I do not have.

The Creator is good and does good to the bad and the good; He is love and bestowal, the property of Hesed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod…. There are plenty of qualities that I do not understand, but I have the opportunity, the need, and the desire that corresponds to each of them, to want them.

The Creator has 613 properties of bestowal. I have (although I have not discovered that yet) 613 desires enabling me to want the same properties as the 613 properties or Lights of the Creator. I have to reach these desires; I want to become similar to the Creator in each of them. It is said about it: “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

However, to want that, I have to know what I am lacking. But how can I know what I do not have? To understand what it is to be a grown up, I have to become one. To understand how to be strong, rich, or wise, I have to know about that firsthand. Could I wish what is unknown to me?

In our world, a child wants to grow up instinctively, without knowing why, which is because nature obliges him to grow, bypassing his understanding. This development takes place on the animate level; however, in spirituality, I myself have to know why and for what I want. This is a real desire.

How can I start desiring similarity to the Creator? To do that, I have to attain the status of the Creator, to verify what it is, whether it is worth it or not, and then desire it. How can I attain the status of the Creator so that I want to become similar to Him?

For this purpose, the breaking of the vessels took place. Thanks to it, we strive to be similar to the Creator, more and more, and become like Him by means of His force. That is why the destruction of the First and the Second Temples were necessary, which the science of Kabbalah studies in the spiritual context of the breaking of the vessels. We are talking about the fall from the level of reception for the sake of bestowal (the First Temple) to the level of bestowal for the sake of bestowal (the Second Temple), and then to the level of reception for the sake of reception, into this world.

As a result, we have a record of all the states that we went through, starting with the level of the First Temple, from the height of love, and including the Second Temple, which is much lower than the First Temple, yet it is still great. All the impressions which were acquired on this path are ingrained in us and are called “Reshimot.”

When they awaken in me, I have to realize them. In other words, one Reshimo is not enough; through it, I have to imagine what it means to be a giver. To do this, I have the group and studying: In them, I realize my Reshimo and from it, to the extent of my strength, form a reality.

Relationships with the friends, with the environment, with the Light that Reforms become a “construction site.” I have “material,” meaning a desire as well as a Reshimo, and now I want to introduce this Reshimo into material so that it realizes itself there and gives it material form. Then, I need the force from Above, the force of the Light, that will help me and will carry this out.

Rabash writes about this in article No. 940 from the collection Dargot HaSulam (Rungs of the Ladder): “It is said on the destruction of the Temple: ‘Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” This means: Build me a Temple from your desire, build such a house which will become the house of holiness, of bestowal and love. If you have such a vessel of bestowal and love, “I may dwell among them,” meaning the upper Light will settle in it.

“We are talking about the point in the heart that should become the place of the Temple so that the Light of the Creator will dwell in it. That is why a person has to try to build his house of sanctity.” From all my desires that are originating from Infinity with the help of the Reshimot embedded in me during the breaking, I have to build the correct form, each time realizing my Reshimo from heavier material.

This will give me all the necessary details of perception because I always get the form opposite to the Creator. Thus, knowing my form, I am able to perceive His form opposite to mine and move forward.

In such a way, in our world a person already has forms corresponding and opposing the Creator. In this gap between the desired and the actual states, a person always has an opportunity to build his desire, knowing what he wants. It’s possible because once, before the breaking of the vessels, we existed in a perfect state from which the Reshimot were left in us.

This is the answer to the eternal question: “How can I become similar to the Creator? How do I know what this means?” We may wish this because of the records kept in us from the stages we went through.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Feeling hatred towards others, I feel as if an “animal” is hidden inside me, which is stronger than me. How can I gain power over this “animal”?

Answer: Gaining power over our ego is possible only under one condition: that we see how much we lose because of that “animal” that controls us. We are ruled by our ego, and it does not allow us to achieve an eternal, perfect life in a good, kind world.

If I saw how much my ego steals from me, how much it has taken from me and does not give me, then I would hate it. But I do not hate it and I even love it; I identify myself with it because my entire life is, in fact, to fulfill it. How can I feel that my ego is death for me?

The most important thing that I can do is to enter the group, the environment, so that it raises the importance of spirituality for me, the importance of bestowal and unity with others because thanks to this in particular I reveal life at the human level. If I am impressed by the environment and it can influence me, then I attain enough strength to overcome my ego.

All our work and efforts are necessary to reach the realization of evil, our egoistic desire. Today, it seems useful for me: The more I desire, the more I earn, gain power, or steal. More, more, more…. In our society, those who have a big ego appear to be more successful.

I have to convince myself that obtaining a good life in this world deprives me of a spiritual, beautiful life and lies to me by depicting a good life here, in this world. This is only possible in an environment that can “brainwash me,” influence me, persuade me. The opinion of the environment can work on me so much that I want to rise above the power of my egoism.

Then, I will begin to experience life at a different level which I did not feel before. It happens instantly; there is no transition. I immediately feel that there is life outside of me, not inside me, when I constantly wanted to fill myself as much as possible. On the contrary, I sense life when I exit this “animal” which cannot absorb anything.

By doing this first step, I reveal the upper world right away. What is “the upper world?” The reality where I live now is called “this world.” But the reality which I feel outside of myself, in the connection with my friend, with a fellow human being, is called “the upper world” because it is the human level which is more exalted than the animate one.
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From Lesson 1, Convention in Spain, 6/3/2011

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Question: Where does our connection lie in regard to the spiritual records, the Reshimot?

Answer: What I draw from the environment is a new desire with which I appeal to the Light. This desire is what we call the need to connect.

The stronger our bond is, the higher we rise on the ladder of the spiritual worlds, getting closer together, uniting, and linking with one another up to Infinity where everything is unified. There, we become one soul.

Everyone’s individual soul depends upon the degree of integral connection he or she has attained. For instance, I see just a small part of what surrounds me, and that is what defines my soul, while you have revealed something much greater beside you, and it probably includes me as well. Everyone works with his or her soul until every desire links into one soul.

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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Is it possible to feel at least a tiny fraction of the spiritual world through the point in the heart?

Answer: How is it possible to feel anything in a point with no volume? To do that, you must add a desire and intention to it. The point in itself is formless; it has neither intentions nor desires. It is just a point.

What desire can I attach to it? Kabbalists answer this: Besides the point, you have bodily desires (food, sex, and family) and human desires (money, honor, and knowledge). Can you combine them with the point in the heart? Give it a try, but be aware that all of them belong to this world.

Where can you get the desires, the aspiration for the spiritual world? You can get them only from the environment if you value and praise it. You have no other opportunity. You will not be able to reach the point in the heart and enter the spiritual world with your material desires. Your only chance is to join a good environment and get from the friends their desire, their aspiration for this important goal.

Then, you will begin to advance toward it, to form a spiritual vessel. The point becomes the base, and the desire that you have received becomes the vessel. You ask the Light to come. It will influence you and give you a screen. Then, you will have the Reflected Light. In this way, you will have all the necessary components.

The Light is waiting, the environment is present, the point has awakened, and the bodily and human desires are inherent. Everything is ready. Go ahead!

Question: Are there milestones on this path? Is there any possibility to check the direction? How can I press only this point, to boost it and not egoistic desires?

Answer: To do this, you turn to the environment that influences you. This appeal increases your point in the heart, and in response, you receive a new desire, the only desire with which you can make a request upward.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: It is written, “Bless you in all your actions.” What does it mean to be “blessed”?

Answer: “Blessed” means that I am granted the property of bestowal into my will to receive. I find its flaw and work hard to prepare myself, after which I receive the Creator’s “blessing,” the intention to bestow over all my desire.

Blessing is Bina. What else can a person be blessed with? What can we lack but the Light that Reforms? There is nothing. The entire creation is made of desire, and if it gains the intention to bestow, it is already blessed since there is no state as perfect as this. That’s all we need.

It is said that a person should receive one hundred blessings daily. In other words, one has to reform his or her entire vessel to fit bestowal, the ten Sefirot, each of which divides into ten. These one hundred blessings become the one hundred gates (Shaarim) because in his present state, a person evaluates (Meshaher) the Creator with his corrected vessel that becomes filled with the Light.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: The point in the heart stirs up doubt in a person: “Who and what am I? What am I living for?” Is there a point on the spiritual path when a person stops doubting the Creator and His plan, or does it accompany him until the end?

Answer: Doubts will surely continue since without them, it’s impossible to advance and examine oneself. Doubting is a state when anything is possible in any direction, when you can’t tell the angel of death from the angel of life, good from evil, and the Creator from His opposite.

On every new degree, in every state, you are supposed to pass through the states that reflect the entire path, including the worst and the best in mind and heart. Without doubting as an intermediate state, we won’t succeed.

As it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” Each new degree begins with an evening, meaning from the blending of things that I can’t tell apart: “It looks like light, but it isn’t anymore…. It looks like I am in the dark, but it’s not that dark.” Everything is blurry before my eyes.

Hence, when you fall into confusion and doubt, you should know that a new state is approaching you: “Everything is foggy again, I forgot even the simplest things I learned, or there is nothing I can hold on to.” This is how you pass from one degree to the next. Enjoy this passage.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Today, a lot of people will come to us for the holiday of Shavuot. Some of them are not connected with Kabbalah in any way. How should we treat them?

Answer: It is very important to ignite them with inspiration through songs, dances, and the warmth of open hearts. My talk with them is not that important since people have a hard time feeling the difference through hearing. You may think that my lecture is the most important thing in all of this, but this is not so. People need to take home a good mood from such gatherings.

As much as I would like to, I won’t be able to give them a good mood or inspiration. All of this is “spirit without an ascent.” You have to bring your spirit there. Besides, among the people, there will be a lot of our friends with the same “baggage.”

The most important thing is the inner sensation which will stay with people when they leave, even if it is not clothed in any words. If a person is unable to sit still, it means the result has been accomplished.

Question: Will this influence them spiritually?

Answer: Yes, since they nevertheless want to join us and be part of this. This is the way it works. Nothing will go through the mind anyway.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/6/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: You are about to travel to Russia. What is your attitude to this country? Do you see it the same as America, Europe, or Asia?

Answer: Without a doubt, Russia has a special spirit, one of Byzantium. It is by no means a European civilization. This is also evident from Europe’s attitude to Russia as to something different to it by essence. Even though this Russia seems like a Christian nation, it is nevertheless orthodox, meaning it has an element of competition with Europe over who has the Christian truth. And in addition, it has a great Asian influence as well.

Russia loves European culture. It loves France as one loves a mistress, but France’s principles of liberalism and freedom are alien to Russia. These are the principles of Europe – the principles of a new, technocratic civilization. But for Russia the slogans, “freedom, equality, and brotherhood” are vain attempts to create naked modernization. True, it does resemble it, as if smart machines were placed next to slaves….

But maybe this is exactly why Russia, the place where the commandments of the French Revolution did not catch on, in spite of all of Europe, is the place where the question about life’s meaning is apparent in every person: What are we living for!? That is why I am going there with the hope that I will be understood!
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Question: Are the mother’s love for her children and the love between husband and wife egoistic?

Answer: This love is not considered egoistic. All our desires are divided into the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels (1,2,3,4). The desires of the animate level that arise in a person are similar to the desires of animals, only they are more developed. These include the mother’s desires in relation to her child or the desires that appear between spouses.

The mother’s instinctive attitude to her children is not egoistic. Nature forces a human being (a mother) to behave in this way to satisfy the desire of another person (child). On the other hand, the ego is the desire to enjoy at the expense of a fellow human being, that is, it’s when I want to feel good at someone else’s expense. Even the fact that someone is in a bad situation can give me pleasure.

This kind of pleasures could be divided into many levels. For example, I can get pleasure from turning the other into my slave. Also, pleasure exists in the possibility of harming him, humiliating him, and causing him suffering. Pleasures from the exploitation of others, rather than from a natural desire to enjoy, is considered egoistic.

My desire to get pleasure from tasty food, from communicating with my children, or from something in life that does not harm anybody is not considered egoism. Egoistic actions are aimed at using others for personal gain.

We reveal our true (spiritual) ego at the “human” level when we come to the group. Then, we start feeling a special hostility to each other and put a wall between ourselves.

To the extent that we want to become closer to each other, to study together, to have common meals, and unite in order to reach the property of bestowal, to that extent we feel an even greater hatred towards one another, aversion, and reluctance to connect. Our ego manifests at this particular moment. It is not present in common people; only those who want to connect to reach spirituality have it. These people find out that they cannot do anything with it. Why? It is so that they later develop a need for the upper force.

Where does this force come from? It is present initially in a perfect system and disappears (becomes concealed) after (as a result of) its breaking. This force exists but hides inside. If I try to unite with my friends and will not be able to, my level of egoism will be revealed to me more and more (to a certain extent). It will be my first spiritual degree, the first 1/125th of the total ascent.

I am working on this for months, until I reach the state which I will not be able to overcome myself. Then, I will develop the need for the Light which used to fill us and now is hidden inside, and I will want it to come, to become revealed, and to connect us together.

This requirement frees the first spiritual degree for me: I, my friend, and the upper Light between us. Afterward, my goal will be to reach the next degree, where the ego will grow even more and hatred that I didn’t know existed will break out.

I will be irritated and repelled by small things in my friend. Together, we will have to work hard and will ascend to the second of 125 degrees, and in this way until the end of correction.
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From Lesson 1, Convention in Spain, 6/3/2011

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