Question: What does it mean that a person has to agree and desire for the upper one to act upon him?

Answer: We were created of the will to enjoy and all the actions of correcting this desire are done by the Light. The Light corrects the Kelim or desires, orders them, and gives them the sensation of the abyss between the desires and the Lights, the gap between the levels, the sensation of lack of fulfillment. The Light awakens and shakes up the Kli or desire.

It turns out that I must only cause the Light to come forth and work on me. This is my only action and means to accelerate my development.

One way or another the Lights works, influencing Reshimot (informational data) more and more. Then the Reshimot come out of concealment and are realized at a specific rate called “Beito” (in due time).

When I make special actions in the group, the study, my inner work, and my search, I thereby awaken the Lights, causing them to influence me with greater force and speed. But I don’t do anything more than that.

In any case everything comes from the Light. I can only speed up its influence on the Reshimot that are inside me. Then my development is called Ahishena (accelerating time). And doing this is our entire work.

However, this can only happen on the condition that instead of advancing by the lengthy and difficult path where the Light influences me by bringing me all kinds of suffering that I have to flee, gradually realizing the purpose of the suffering, instead of that, I can awaken the Light so it will influence me more strongly, provided that I agree with all the unpleasant and horrible things it brings me.

Let the Light bring me all of that; all I want is to ascend above it by the force of the environment. From the environment I receive the strength to be above the suffering. Then, if I prepare in this way, the Upper Light can influence me and cause me to advance and develop.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/21/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: Is there any indication that the lower ones have correctly prepared for the actions of the upper one?

Answer: In spirituality there are two opposite qualities that unite together. However, we are unable to grasp this with our earthly mind. That’s because our mind is built so it perceives everything only from the point of view of this world. It works only inside the ego so I understand, feel, and act only with what I receive inside my ego.

For now I cannot work with two forms, two opinions, or two opposite forces. That is why I am always left without any understanding of what is happening. And that’s why we also don’t understand anything in our world.

Even though in our world we exist in one, small ego which desires to fill itself and nothing more; nevertheless, we are governed by upper forces of bestowal. That is why we also don’t understand how this world operates.

Why don’t I know this? It’s because I cannot take into account a different force that operates in the world. This force is concealed from me and its qualities are opposite to me. Yet it nevertheless influences me, evoking reactions in me and making me act in response to it.

I do not detect and am unaware of this second half of our reality, which is operated by the upper force, the force of bestowal. I do not understand it and cannot take it into consideration. That is why I always lack understanding, knowledge, and awareness. And that is why we do not understand the actions of the upper one upon the lower one and the reactions of the lower one to the upper one. What upper one, what lower one? Everything is concealed. And that’s the problem.

Thus, if we are talking about the upper system, it contains the force of the receiver and the force of the Bestower connected together, complementing each other and working together in one net, in one unity, in order to receive for the sake of bestowal. They depend on each other and need one another.

However, in our world we exist in just one force, which is egoistic. Even if we talk about the second force, it still does not connect with the force of reception and they cannot work together. Bestowal is opposite, and that is the entire problem of our world.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/21/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: When does evil become an obstacle on a person’s way?

Answer: It happens when a person identifies it as the “evil inclination.” At first, I don’t consider my egoism to be bad. On the contrary, I serve it as much as I can. It helps me and provides the sensations of life. Without it, I stop existing.

If a person loses his appetite because of some illness, we urge him to eat a little. If a person loses his sexual drive, he tries to cure himself by using various remedies. No one can survive without pleasures; one has to receive delight.

Food, sex, family, wealth, respect, and knowledge constitute all of my life, and I want to have a good bite of everything. If I lose the desire to receive pleasure, I become desperate and almost feel that I am dying. For this reason, when it’s time for a person to transcend this world, pleasure is taken away from him. He feels that he has nothing to live for. He simply cannot enjoy the desires that are at his disposal. Where can he find fulfillment?

At the same time, he is given a spark of a much higher spiritual desire, which by itself directs him to the wisdom of Kabbalah, a remedy that enables him to achieve a new kind of delight. A person is being lead to a group, and at first, he awaits much stronger egoistic pleasures. “Give me angels, reveal spiritual worlds, bring the Creator to me on a tray, and so on.”

As Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” before a person reaches a state called “thirteen years old,” he is ready to “swallow” all the material world. After reaching the degree of “thirteen years old,” he switches to pleasures of the world to come.

This is natural since we cannot enter spirituality without a full-grown desire that is eager to consume everything there is and preside. I demand that the Creator serve me, and I claim, “Why did He create this world ‘as is?’ Why doesn’t he fulfill me properly?” Later, a person begins to realize how opposite he is to the Creator. It is an immense egoistic desire that brings him to this understanding.

The same happens in this world: A small crook doesn’t consider himself to be a criminal. We, too, think of ourselves as being “innocent.” However, similarly to Pharaoh, a real, mature recidivist admits before robbing someone, “Yes, the Creator is righteous, but we are sinners.”

Thus, before the desire manifests itself to its fullest extent, a person has no way to realize that he is “bad.” It is not easy to comprehend that it is the Creator who made the evil inclination.

How many people in the world can admit that they are “bad?” On the contrary, all of them think that they are “righteous,” even “saints.” It needs much work and effort and lots of Light from Above to make a revealed ego manifest its wickedness.

It is important that we divulge our evilness only relative to the Creator, rather than to other people. I am bad only compared to the Creator, to the property of bestowal. I figure out that the desire to receive pleasure, the urge to receive instead of give, hatred toward others, the desire to take advantage of them, is, in fact, what we call “the evil inclination.”
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/17/10, “The Creator Created the Evil Inclination, and He Created the Torah as A Spice”

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Question: It is unclear how I can enjoy bestowal and giving when I do not have anything myself?

Answer: We are not talking about material bestowal, meaning the still, vegetative, and animate levels of desire (although it is also important if done correctly). First of all, in order to bestow, we have to correct our desire and intention so that they are aimed at this form.

Bestowal doesn’t mean that I start stuffing you with all kinds of pleasures that you don’t need. To bestow, I have to first develop myself to such a degree that I will start feeling your desire as my own.

Your desire is next to me, and I have to attach it to myself as if it is my own. Then, I begin fulfilling your desire as my own, thereby turning it into mine. This is what wisdom of Kabbalah is all about (it means “the wisdom of reception” in Hebrew). Look at the sophisticated game here!

At first, I thought that it was someone else’s desire. Then, I crossed over this “psychological barrier” (Machsom), attached this desire to myself, and now I feel your desire as my own. You became more important to me than I am, like a baby to its mother, who sees the purpose of her life in it and is willing to bestow to it endlessly, thinking solely about her baby.

In the same fashion, I attached myself to you; your desires became more important to me than my own, and all I do is work for your benefit! This means that I relate to you in complete bestowal. And since your desire became mine, I feel pleasure in it. It is I who feels pleasure by fulfilling it.

In this way, I gradually re-attach all souls to myself. After all, they used to be part of my “self.” But I was suddenly cut off from all these parts, and instead, my mind was implanted with some “microchip” that makes me hate the parts of my own soul. And I start despising and hating them instead of loving them.

Now I need to rise above this confusion and overcome this psychological rejection. And as soon as I start treating them as my own authentic, integral parts that are inseparable in their connection with me, I will bestow to them and enjoy it!

I did this work, corrected myself, and now feel pleased. We are not expected to do anything else but overcome this psychological barrier and repulsion so that love may replace hate. Then, we will be truly enjoying ourselves.

You will feel that these specific parts, alien to you for now, are the foundation for the root of your soul. You will reveal the Creator in them in particular. And the part of the still, vegetative, and animate degree, which you previously thought of as yourself and your world, has nothing to do with you at all. It is the lowest level in relation to you. Who is interested if they live or die? And they do indeed die, and you are left to live with your soul!

Therefore, before you leave this material world, it would be better to reach at least the first degree of the soul. Then, you won’t regret parting with the body.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/17/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: Why is it written in Part 8, Item 29 of Talmud Eser Sefirot that the lower one corrects the upper one? What does this mean?

Answer: The lower one (the world of Atzilut) corrects the upper one (the world of Nekudim). That’s because the world of Nekudim broke instead of attaining the full correction

It is necessary to reveal the evil inclination, the ego, as it is written, “I created the evil inclination and I created the Torah for its correction.” But the evil was not revealed in the world of Nekudim, and therefore it becomes revealed during the breaking. It then becomes possible to build the world of Atzilut, “the Torah for its correction.”

The entire world of Atzilut and its entire apparatus is Atik. Arich Anpin, Aba ve Ima, and Zeir Anpin in relation to Nukva of the world of Atzilut is called the system of “Torah” that brings the Light that returns the souls ascending into Malchut to the source of goodness. Therefore, after the breaking of the world of Nekudim, the lower one corrects the upper one.

Likewise, in our souls, which are fragments from the breaking of the common soul of Adam HaRishon, we also correct the body of the broken Adam. We are the surviving parts of this system and we have to correct it. Adam HaRishon, the upper one in relation to us, broke, and we, the lower ones, correct him.

The same thing happens in our world. The next generation has to correct the mistakes made by the previous generation. The children correct what the parents did, first with the help of the parents, and later ascending above them and taking everything that the parents left behind uncorrected in order to continue the correction. In other words, the children correct the parents, meaning they correct what the parents revealed.

The same thing happens in the world of Atzilut: On one hand the lower one corrects the upper one, but on the other hand the Upper One provides the instruments for correcting Himself.
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/21/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: According to the spiritual roots, which nation will have the most difficult time joining the process to attain peace in the world?

Answer: It is difficult to answer that question right now because the process is very complex. Yet it doesn’t have to be difficult because the operating force is the Light; it discerns the desires.

Precisely for this reason, the lowest desires can feel their lowliness and start ascending. Thus, it is possible for a connection to emerge between the desires where the first parts to awaken will be ones we did not even suspect.

For example, we suddenly found many people in South America aspiring to spiritual development and having the right sensation and understanding of this method to attain the Creator. On the other hand, Europe, a place that was always considered the world’s cultural capital, still remains deaf to Kabbalah. However, no one knows what will happen tomorrow. Everything can flip upside down!

That is why we disseminate the science of Kabbalah all over the world; whoever is due to awaken will awaken.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/20/10, "Peace in the World"

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“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Letters of Rabbi Hamnuna Saba,” Item 26: He told her, “Tzadi, you are Tzadi, and you are Tzadik, but you must be hidden. You should not be so disclosed as to begin the creation of the world with you, to not give the world excuses.”

Question: If the letters of my name point to a Klipa (shell), do I have to change it?

Answer: We are not talking about someone’s name here, but about the names of spiritual actions, Partzufim. "Letters" are the properties awakened in the vessels by the Light. We do not discuss the Light itself; it is unattainable for our perception. We perceive only the reactions of the Kli (vessel) which, in conformity with the Light, enters a certain state.

At all degrees, the desire to enjoy finds positive aspects in 22 states of Malchut or, in other words, in 22 "letters." And it is indeed so: There is nothing superfluous in creation. Even a part of the Klipa, the force of impurity, can claim to be worthy of becoming the basis of the world’s creation if the spark of Light settles on it.

The Book of Zohar explains to us that not a single state of Malchut is perfect except the one created by the letter Bet. Yet even Bet is not perfect by itself, but only thanks to its dependence on Bina. This is why the letter Bet in particular is worthy of creating the world by it.

On the other side, the rest of the letters are not only included into Bina; they are also connected to Malchut, which prevents them from becoming the basis for correction of the world. In all other forms of connection beside "Bet," there is a deficiency which will necessarily hinder the path.

Hence, each letter is a symbol of the degree of Malchut‘s similarity to Bina. The words put together from the letters are the acts of the Lights, concrete corrections.

There is no connection with the names given by the parents to their children in our world. You may change or add a name; it will bear no change in spirituality. If we were able to influence the world with such tricks, we would have brought it to ruin long ago.

The hopes to change reality by simply re-arranging the letters of one’s name are futile. Reality will change only when we will change ourselves, when we draw closer to the Light in our properties. When you change yourself, you change the world. After all, only our Kelim are changing.

It is said: "Change of place, change of luck." "Place" is desire. Change your desire and you will truly experience transformations.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/10, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Letters of Rabbi Hamnuna Saba”

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We have to understand that the more we try to come closer to each other, the more each of us discovers that he hates the others. That’s because every time I come closer to you, I discover how opposite you are from me. And the closer I come to you, the more I leave the place I came from where I was alone.

Suppose I take steps toward you, meaning that I get to know you more and more. The more I get to know you, the more my hatred for you grows. Why? It’s because I gain a greater realization of how opposite you are from me. This poses one obstacle to advancement.

The second obstacle is that the closer I come to you, the further away I get from myself. In order to get to know you, I have to leave my qualities and attain yours.

Say you are a salesman and I am a customer. You name your price and I offer mine, and gradually we bargain, reaching a compromise. But the more I go in your direction, the further away I move from my initial words. It becomes more and more difficult for me because I leave behind my previous opinion in order to come closer to you. Even though you also grow distant from your opinion, this does not worry me. I am worried only about myself.

Thus, to the degree I come closer to you I discover: 1) Your opposition and 2) Distancing from myself. Therefore, the more we advance and move closer to the Creator, to corrections, the more our Aviut or thickness of desire increases, and the heaviness that we feel grows exponentially as well. It becomes more and more difficult for me due to the realization that you are opposite to me and that I have to move away from you more.

To the degree we advance we always acquire additional Kelim, desires for correction, and increase them. We suddenly discover desires that are much greater than we thought before. And this is good because then I have what to correct, and I have much more than before. Previously I thought: "Who cares, I need to correct just 10 ounces." But suddenly I discover that it isn’t 10 ounces, but 50 pounds. However, by correcting them, I earn 50 pounds of Light.

Question: So when does correction happen?

Answer: Correction will happen when you reject the great hatred you feel and neglect the great separation from yourself because the most important thing for you will be to connect with me. This is a rejection of us both. Do you want to exist in love? Then show that you love! How? By rejecting hatred and neglecting separation from yourself. In our world everything is simple: You buy a ring for your bride and she is yours. But in spirituality this rejection is very difficult.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/20/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: You have explained that each word and letter we read in the Kabbalistic texts contains the force of correction. It is my job to draw this force and feel how it enters me and reforms my flaws into perfections.

Is it correct to assume that when you speak and explain the content of the Kabbalists’ writings, I must also apply this process regardless of the fact that in one case, I am dealing with a word written in the book and in another, I hear it from you?

Answer: No, it works in a different fashion. You hear from the other what has already passed through him, his own experience of spiritual revelation; therefore, you adhere to him and, together, you act as one system. Meanwhile, when you read the text yourself, you perform corrections differently. In short, there are different ways to do correction, depending on whether you listen to or actually read the text.

When you read it yourself, you become one with the author and belong to his system, whereas when you listen to someone, you join him and together with him or through him you perform correction.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/16/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: Why are there so many natural disasters of late, like the terrible forest fire on Mount Carmel in Haifa?

Answer: The general tendency of nature is such that natural disasters are becoming a commonplace phenomenon in the entire world. It’s unfortunate, but as we continue advancing, we hear about them more and more.

The wisdom of Kabbalah offers a simple explanation. From the very beginning of creation and to its end, the Creator is always pushing us in one direction, in a straight line, and He will not back down. In other words, there is a very simple formula whereby nature is always intensifying its influence over us, compelling us to grow.

At the preceding phase of development, we grew on account of being influenced by the Light, the Upper Force, nature, the Creator, so that our egoistic desire was always increasing. This was called the development of human civilization which lasted for tens of thousands of years.

The development conformed to one simple formula: The ego grew generation to generation and over the period of one’s life, and we actualized it directly, achieving all that we wanted and developing all possible means for that purpose. Therefore, there was no problem. We simply needed to correctly utilize all that was around, that is, human society and natural resources, so as to fulfill ourselves.

However, the end of the 20th century, which was referenced by Kabbalists long ago, wasn’t only the end of the millennium, but also the end of the entire paradigm of the past, the entire principle of development where we grew in our ego with the sole aim to keep fulfilling it. The time has come to take stock and realize we cannot continue like this for we are no longer developing or fulfilling ourselves. This has become a rat race in pursuit of an artificial prize, and we no longer wish to participate in it.

This path of development is finite since the entire development transpires along four phases: 1-2-3-4 (Aleph–Bet–Gimel–Dalet), and we have now reached the 4th phase, having fully completed the first period of development. Kabbalists calculated it long ago and gave us a date when it would happen: the year 1995.

Now, we are gradually experiencing the crisis in all spheres: family, education, culture, industry, international relations, and, most importantly, the climate. Due to the imbalance we create with our incorrect inter-relationships by not changing our approach to our development, we greatly violate the general balance in nature. We insert the imbalance of human inter-relationships into all of nature.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/3/10, Special Talk on the Tragedy in Northern Israel and Balance in Nature

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