Question: What is the difference between the Masach (screen) and Machsom (the barrier separating us from spirituality)?

Answer: Crossing the Machsom is equivalent to receiving the first anti-egoistic screen. Such barriers exist between all levels, but we simply call them degrees.

The very first spiritual degree, “Machsom,” is so unique because the person has no idea of what bestowal is. However, after reaching it, he already begins to picture bestowal a little; he sees an example of the Upper One and imitates Him. The person already has some connection with the Creator. In contrast, when he rises to his first degree he has to break through this “barrier” while being totally blind.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2010, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: Why do they say that the Creator is concealed? Aren’t His actions manifested in every part of the Universe?

Answer: The revelation of the Creator implies that I feel the upper force, its cause, the entire network of acting forces, the way this network operates, and the results of its influence. I attain the entire totality of creation in the infinite dimension.

The only question is to what degree I attain it. I can either be without glasses, or I can wear the reading glasses, or distant vision glasses. Everything depends on the level of my perception.

The attainment of the spiritual world means that this reality becomes transparent for me, and through it I see the entire system of forces, which operates in the whole world. I understand the reasons behind the forces which act and move everyone of us and also why we react in a certain way.

I can observe this process from different angles: time, motion, place, life cycles of souls, from the beginning of creation to its end. A person reveals all of this. However, in the beginning, he sees this picture very vaguely, then increasingly more clearly until it becomes completely transparent for him.

At that point, you change your attitude to what is happening. You understand that your neighbors or anybody else cannot be blamed for your problems. It becomes clear to you that the entire universe is governed by a single law: the general law of nature called the Creator.
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From the Introductory Lecture “Why the Creator is Hidden” 12/14/2010

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Question: Why when we pronounce the Tetragrammaton, the four letter name of the Creator (HaVaYaH– יהוה), in Hebrew, do we say “Yod-Khey-Vav-Khey,” replacing the sound “h” with “kh”?

Answer: There is nothing special about it; the people do it just out of respect for the Creator. This is also customary in the wisdom of Kabbalah. You don’t call your father by his first name, do you? Rather, you address him as “father,” and in a similar manner, you address the Creator.

But in truth, all of the names that we attribute to the Creator are manifestations of the Upper Light relative to us. We regard them as “Boreh,” the Creator, because the word “Boreh” consists of two words: “Bo” (come) and “Reh” (see). In other words, you do not name Him, but rather the occurrence you experience within your properties (Kelim, vessels). The Light that works on you evokes in you certain sensations, and you assign names to them.

After all, what does “the merciful Creator” mean? I feel that now He is treating me particularly so, with such compassion. But whether He is really merciful is unknown to me. All I know is that to me, for instance, He has shown mercy. Therefore, all the Creator’s names are my reaction to the Upper Light’s influence upon me.

Additionally, “Elokim” is Bina; “HaVaYaH” is Zeir Anpin, and “Adni” Malchut. These are phenomena that are revealed to us from the upper system. What we call “the Creator” is the manifestation of a certain force that is upper relative to us, not what sets this force in motion. The Creator’s essence, Azmuto, cannot be revealed to us.

In short, “a judge has only what his eyes can see!” When you get to know the Creator, you will find names for Him yourself since it is we who name phenomena manifested by the Upper Light.
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From the Introductory Lecture in Netanya 12/12/2010

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Question: Why is it that even when a person knows what is good for him, he still goes and does things that harm him?

Answer: We even see this happening with small children. How many times do you have to punish a child until he starts to understand something? And even then, is this a result of the punishment, or did he simply grow up and become smarter? Maybe the punishments were not beneficial at all? This is indeed a question: What causes us to change our actions?

In reality, we do not change by being punished. Overall, there is no such thing as reward and punishment as we understand it. We never learn under the influence of fate’s misfortunes. We simply grow until we outgrow our Reshimo. Then new ones emerge in us and the surrounding environment changes, and we change under its influence as well. We only change from the confrontation of two parameters: our inner informational data (Reshimot) and the surrounding society. As they interact with one another, they determine our state.

We have to bring our Reshimot to balance with the environment. This is all we aspire to. It is the basic law of the universe: similarity, balance, equilibrium. Everything in nature automatically aspires to this. That is why as soon as an imbalance emerges inside us with the surroundings, then consciously or not (depending on a person’s development) we immediately put all our energy toward trying to bring ourselves to balance.

For example, when you enter a certain society or a certain group of people, you always adjust yourself because you desire to be similar. That is how things are built; it is the law of equivalence, the initial law that the Creator put at the head of everything. Having created a nature opposite to Him, the will to enjoy, He desires for it to gradually reach equivalence with Him, the will to bestow. That’s because growth creates a mind inside the desire, and then the creation gains awareness, sensations, and reveals the Creator, becoming equal and identical to Him.

A person differs from any inanimate creation by the emergence of a mind that consciously directs creation toward similarity to the Creator. Therefore, our entire freedom of will lies in constantly creating a surrounding environment for ourselves that will “pull us up” to the Creator. That means we have to take care of the environment so it would be a level higher than we are. In that case we will want to become similar to it, and thus we will keep advancing toward the Creator. By envisioning the group as higher, greater, and more ideal than ourselves, we advance forward.

Therefore, everything depends on creating the right environment because it will enable us to automatically pull ourselves forward. Therein lies the entire law of growth.
From the lesson in Moscow on 1/17/11, Shamati

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Question: It is written that creation has to attain the Creator independently, but what does that mean?

Answer: What is my independence and where can I find it?

I have to find out what my dependence is, who or what do I depend on, and what depends or does not depend on me. It’s possible that I am independent or not, and I have to or don’t have to agree or disagree with it. After making all the analyses of my state, I discover that I am outside of the Creator.

This is possible because the Creator is expressed as the influence of two forces upon me: positive and negative, right and left. That is why there is a state between us where they neutralize each other like the field between two magnets.

I am in the neutral zone. The right line is the force of bestowal, while the left line is the force of reception, and I am between them. I am influenced by two forces, yet at the same time I am not influenced by anything. Their neutralization is inside of me. That is to say, on one hand the Creator exists and these two forces influence me, but they influence me in such a way that I do not feel their influence on me because they neutralize each other inside of me.

So on one hand, “There is none else besides Him,” but on the other hand, “If I don’t do it for myself, who will do it for me?” This neutral state is called the middle part of Sefira Tifferet. If I find this state, then it is the basic point from which I personally determine what I prefer: the right, bestowing, or the left, receiving, direction for my development.
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From the lesson in Moscow on 1/14/11

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Question: Why does the Light work on us so slowly? What else must we do?

Answer: We are advancing in big steps. However, we can’t measure how many more steps we have to take in order to switch our perception from consuming inward to bestowal so as to draw the force that will link the “cogwheels,” our souls, together, thereby letting us feel the upper world.

Neither I nor anyone else in the world, including all the Kabbalists of the previous generations, have ever experienced the state we are undergoing today. Never before has such a large group of people striven to the end of correction based on the lack of connection between them, as well as the lack of the Creator’s revelation in them. Since there is no precedence for it, I cannot say in which form it will occur.

In truth, in the wisdom of Kabbalah, everything is identical to nature. If something isn’t revealed, you can’t know how it manifests. A real scientist will say that according to his data, it must be this way or that way, but if he makes a step forward, he steps into the unknown.

There are scientists that spend decades studying some phenomenon and are certain that they have found an explanation as to how it works. Yet, they suddenly say, “No, we were wrong“ and start all over again.

The same is true in reference to the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is a science. We have to explore the upper world ourselves and not expect an email, SMS, or something else from there. All that has been revealed up to this point, unfolded in personal, individual Kelim (vessels) of each Kabbalist.

Now, we must uncover the upper world in this enormous collective desire, in our mutual unification. And it will be done for the first time. All seven billion people might not unify, but there will still be hundreds of thousands or even millions.

In other words, the aspiration to see the spiritual world has become collective rather than individual. This has never been seen in the past. Hence, it is impossible to tell when it will occur, but we are advancing at a very fast pace.
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From the Lecture on the Unity Day 12/26/2010

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Question: What inner meaning should be attached to kindling the Chanukah candles? What do we need to explain to children?

Answer: We aspire to bestowal and love for our neighbor, and that should become for us the Light which fills us with pleasure. If we all connect like one man with one heart, we will begin sensing the spiritual world, the Creator, eternal life. This is called kindling Chanukah lights.

Chanukah is still not the end of correction, but only a stop on the path. We reach the property of Bina, bestowal for the sake of bestowal; we come out of our egoism, meaning we rise from Malchut to Bina.

For now, I am still unable to descend back from Bina and start using Malchut. I only rise above reason. This is called Chanukah. This is why we are not supposed to use this Light; we can only look at it.

Afterward, when we achieve the holiday of Purim, we take this Light and use it in our desire to receive pleasure so that “the darkness will shine like the Light.” Then, all powers of Bina descend to Malchut, and Malchut herself begins to shine.

This is the end of correction, while Chanukah (Chanu-Ko, “they stopped here”) is still a stop over, a break in the middle of the path. It is like a generation wandering in the desert and discerning the ways to rise above their ego.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2010, Writings of Rabash, Letter 43

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Question: As we prepare for the European Convention in Berlin, we are experiencing difficulties trying to receive forces from the environment. While we make the physical actions, how can we avoid losing a connection with the inner goal?

Answer: First of all, it is good that people feel a lack of intention because without the inner component, the intention of bestowal, the external efforts cannot succeed in attaining the Creator’s revelation. So where can we get the right intention for uniting and connecting, inside of which we will act?

We have to try, the way a small child tries to be an adult, with all our might to keep the intention and not forget that we carry out all of the external actions coming from our inner effort. To what extent will we able to do it—that no longer relates to our success.

It is possible that the Creator wants to show us that we really are small and unsuccessful so we would stop being proud of ourselves and would feel that without help from Above we will not be able to keep the intention and will not be able to unite with our own powers. If we were able to do it ourselves, then we would not need the Creator and would not reach the state of “Let us go to Pharaoh.” In essence, a person never has reason to complain about the states he receives. They become revealed as a result of his advancement and therefore at every moment they are correct. The question is how to be able to build the right attitude to them with the help of the group.

In most cases we give ourselves a guilt trip about the past, thinking about how we acted incorrectly, did something bad, missed out on something, were unable to do something, and so on. This is the influence of the impure force, Klipa, which brings us back to the past. The same thing is true about being disillusioned in our qualities: What is the point of blaming ourselves if it is a known fact that we are egoists and continuously reveal just this? We have to form the right attitude above this state.

Therefore, everything depends on the effort. It is impossible for a person to be unsatisfied and to want something different, but that doesn’t matter because the sensation comes from Above. Beginners are shown how successful they are, being encouraged and supported like small children. On the other hand, those who advance are shown their flaws and mistakes not so they would correct themselves, but so theywould demand correction. And all of the reactions are for our own good.

A person’s inner work in relation to the group should be separated from the actions done to organize the studies, the conventions, and dissemination. One does not relate to the other. The inner ascents and descents should not affect the external work. There has to be a daily routine and program, according to which we act independently of desires.

In our inner work we make efforts as much as we can, but the sensation we receive—good or bad—depends on what exactly we should be feeling. If we do not feel inspired, excited, and generally supported, it means that this sensation is being sent to us to help us detach from egoism.

Disappointment with the states that come to us shows a person that the egoistic desire does not support him and thus he naturally turns away from it. Egoism itself helps us to reject it, which is called “help against you.” Our unpleasant sensation in the work is help from the opposite side, until we are able to ascend above our nature and look at it from Above together with the Creator. This is called standing against Pharaoh together with the Creator. That is how one ascends and passes the Machsom.
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From the lesson on 12/24/10, Writings of Rabash

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Question: Can we build the collective intention before the lesson begins? If so, how?

Answer: The collective intention has to be founded on the common goal. Our ultimate purpose is to delight the Creator, whereby we equalize ourselves with Him. In order to accomplish this, we must get to know Him since He wishes that we see His love and kindness. It isn’t our personal need; the Creator wishes for us to know Him.

Getting to know something means to become equivalent in form. Hence, we do our best to aim all our efforts at bestowal. I exert effort not to gratify my egoism, but yearn to step out of myself and desire to find the Creator namely to delight Him therewith.

To accomplish this, I need to possess the Kelim (properties, vessels) of bestowal, and I turn to the aid of the Light concealed in the Kabbalistic texts, especially in The Book of Zohar. The Light can reform me, walk me across the abyss that lies between my properties of reception (receiving Kelim) and bestowal (bestowing Kelim).

However, if I think about it alone, there isn’t sufficient force. It doesn’t even sustain my ability to hold the intention to bestow. On the other hand, if I work with the others as a link in the chain, in one desire where everyone nullifies himself before all the others, then our common spirit gains great power. Kabbalists, who had already passed these stages, promise us that this is the way to success.

Hence, I am happy to be among the friends and to be able to build the intention with them by withdrawing from myself as far as possible in order to finally bring pleasure to the Creator. In this way, we become similar to the Creator in qualities and get to know Him in the same degree; moreover, we achieve adhesion with Him.

Therefore, we must start preparing before the lesson and arrive to it with a fully formed desire. By thinking about it, a person “heats” himself up more and more until he finally succeeds. It is written: “Mitzva (commandment) without intention is like a body without a soul.” You are given a commandment to study the Torah, a Kabbalistic method that is designated to reform the evil inclination. With its help, you will attain bestowal, feel love for all others and, ultimately, for the Creator. The Torah derives from the Hebrew word “Ohr” (light) and from the word “Oraa” (instruction).

But if you haven’t equipped yourself with the necessary intention, you are sitting at the lesson dead and performing mechanical actions deprived of spirit and the Light of life. So it is up to you to decide what you are getting up for at night and what you are doing.

Even if a person is unable to keep the intention, let him at least feel how strongly he lacks it. The heartache caused by the empty, bitter heart is just as important.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2010, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Buds”

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Question: In the beginning of the lesson, you usually set a common direction for all of us; you help us focus on a common intention. How important is this directive?

Answer: We need to come to the lesson already prepared, with a particular desire (intention): What do I wish to receive from the lesson? I need to think a lot about this prior to the lesson.

Sometimes I organize an intention for everyone without relying on your preparation, but rather setting an example myself. However, in general, each of us should prepare for the lesson on his own, in his own intention. One’s success in revealing the Creator depends precisely on the intention.

A mother gives to her little child what she thinks is necessary. However, as he gets older, a person chooses things according to his taste, using his own experience and comprehension.

We have come in contact with The Book of Zohar many times already; we have tried many exercises with the intention. Over the course of the day, a person needs to prepare for the lesson and for attuning himself to the studies. We need to give people an opportunity to build an intention on their own rather than gathering them like a nursery school teacher: “Take each other’s hands, and everyone follow me!”

One has to prepare for the lesson on his own based on his present sensations and understanding, based on his current state. After all, the lesson is a time for the realization of desires. Here, being on a date with the Light, a person can receive what his point in the heart aspires for.

Maybe we should sit in silence for 15 minutes before the lesson so that every person could search within. However, I depend on you in this regard: Between waking up and coming to the lesson, you have time to think, attune yourself, and build your intention.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2010, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Buds”

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