Question: How far do letters descend in the process of creation of the worlds?

Answer: They descend to the lower seven Sefirot of Bina (ZAT) and settle in YESHSUT. Here, there are nine letters, starting with Aleph (א) and ending with Tet (ט).

Below, in Zeir Anpin, there are nine letters, from Yod (י) to Tzadi (צ). And in Malchut, there are four last letters: Kuf (ק), Resh (ר), Shin (ש) and Tav (ת).

This order derives from the Second Restriction (Tzimtzum Bet) when Malchut ascends exactly to ZAT de Bina (lower seven Sefirot of Bina), bringing her Kelim (desires, vessels) there, her will to receive. She cannot rise any higher. Consequently, the properties of Bina and Malchut, bestowal and reception, get mixed, thereby forming contours of letters. Mingling, the forces of Malchut and Bina get intertwined and create various forms of mutual inclusion, their combinations.

Why are there only 22 forms and not more? According to the laws of the Second Restriction, we employ not Malchut per se but only her connection with Bina. In Bina and Zeir Anpin, there are ten Sefirot, which Sefira Malchut is prohibited to use. Thus, all in all, they have 18 “workable” Sefirot. Besides, four Sefirot of Malchut clothe in Zeir Anpin, which totals 22.

Additionally, there are five forms, MaNTzePaCh, belonging to Parsa; they are different shapes of certain letters when they end a word. The entire process of letter formation takes place in the world of Atzilut, where they are called to perform bestowal to the world of BYA (Beria, Yetzira, Assiya) and the broken souls.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, "Introduction from The Book of Zohar," Article “The Letters by Rabbi Amnon Saba”

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Question: As I advance, I should be more grateful for the fact that there is the Upper Force which advances me. But I don’t know how I can do it, how can I rely on the existence of the Upper Force?

Answer: Don’t rely on it! Don’t believe in the Upper Force  until you activate your power from below. There is no Creator without the creature. We advance only according to our request, MAN, by influencing the forces of nature with it.

When Kabbalists describe the Partzufim, they tell us only about the actions of bestowal. Partzufim, per se, don’t exist. In exactly the same manner, they write about our effort and existence: There is no Creator and no worlds; there is nothing if a person does not activate his or her power of bestowal.

As soon as a person activates the force of bestowal, the worlds immediately appear, not relative to him, but in a general sense since they don’t exist otherwise. All of reality, including the spiritual world, does not exist outside of man. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah states in its section “The Perception of Reality.”

So, what can a person rely on? Outside of man there is nothing; everything is within him only. If we don’t put ourselves in motion, we don’t construct the system of worlds.

As soon as I’m willing to give, I immediately face the Light of Infinity. Then, between it and me, the worlds are born, a communication system between me and the world of Infinity. If I am not performing acts of bestowal, then nothing exists.

All of spiritual reality (we are not talking about the material world because it’s imaginary) exists within man to the extent that he has the power of bestowal. If he has no power of bestowal, then nothing exists. We can’t say that there is something outside of man unless he himself builds it, creates and implements it.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/8/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: What is the love of friends?

Answer: Love is unity in one common desire. Kabbalah gives us the following example: When Bina reaches the state of Hafetz Hesed (wanting nothing for oneself), it comes down to Malchut, unites with it, and absorbs its desire so as to fulfill it with all the force of Bina.

That’s called love: to absorb someone else’s desire and fill it with whatever you can. It is written that one has to give up his only pillow; it’s the manifestation of love which we need to achieve.

But how is it possible to achieve it? We have to make sure that in the material world each one would have all the basic necessities, and in the spiritual world each one would receive everything there is in our common desire (Kli, vessel).

It’s very important to view all of us as one desire and to do everything to keep it alive. Each one must feel that it depends on him and that it’s in his power to tip the scale for this world from the cup of guilt to the cup of mercy. This way, we create a place called Malchut in which the Upper Light, the Creator, is revealed, but we have to try not to forget that the ultimate goal is to give contentment to the Creator.

But it’s not easy to do it in regards to the Creator; we still lack a clear feeling of His Light. So we should, at least, think about how to bring pleasure to the place where He is hiding, the place all desires for Him have assembled. As it is written, "From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator." Love of the created beings actually is the most general, unified desire.

The relationship between our souls that we want to restore is called the love of friends. Friends are individuals coming together on the material level in order to reach the inner, spiritual connection. We already know all about it; now it’s the time to just implement it.

An infinite number of words have already been spoken about it, but, each time, they are perceived anew, according to the state a person is in. We only need to absorb them more deeply within ourselves, and the Light will come and develop in a person the entire picture without words. Then it will become clear to us.

Here, patience is needed. It’s not that I agree to wait and put everything away for later, for tomorrow. Have the patience to make every possible effort today, but if you don’t see any signs of success, have confidence that it will happen any moment.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/2010, Baal HaSulam, Letter 13, 1925

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Question: What is the difference between the need to prepare for the lesson before the convention and now?

Answer: It has become clearer to us that we are under the rule of egoistic desire which will never let us reveal the Creator on our own without help from Above. We have revealed our helplessness a bit more, the inability to achieve it on our own, and as a counter to it, we have come to realize that there is an Upper Force that can do this if we really want it.

It’s become a little bit clearer, but that "little bit" is quite a lot indeed! It’s a revelation from Above. It actually is the "illumination of the day," an "illumination by the Light," and that Light makes egoism visible, something Baal HaSulam called the "revelation of the wicked." The convention did its job.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/10, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Question: There are always inner disturbances present by our side, the Pharaoh that makes us forget about the Creator. How can we fight him?

Answer: We have to love the disturbances! That is, we have to hate them, but with love! It’s as if you have revealed an illness and on one hand, you are happy that you have discovered it, while on the other hand you hate it.

Any disturbance is the Creator’s messenger, intended to direct you, to “mold” you, to set you in order, and to give you a specific form. Everything comes from the One who is Good and Does Good. Therefore, if I now receive any kind of bad response, reaction, or burdening of the heart, then even if I don’t love it, I should at least welcome it with joy.

Yet, we also shouldn’t delve inside all of these disturbances, but ascend above them. We have to accept all of them as help.

How else can we act? Imagine that you are an athlete and there is a coach standing next to you who tells you that you have to jump ten times. But you start to object and argue that you don’t want to jump.

Then he gives you more exercises and you once again refuse to do them. Do you think that this kind of athlete will ever achieve any results? But that is exactly how we behave.
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From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s Letter on 12/10/10

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Question: What are “letters” in the spiritual sense?

Answer: Letters are forces, attributes of the upper influence on Malchut. Malchut, per se, is the assembly of all souls. Their unity has to absorb all the 22 letters and five of their final forms (MaNTzePaCh), including their multiple forms in the Torah: starting with the first word “in the beginning (Beresheet)” and ending with the last word “Israel.”

The question is: What is the basic letter, basic “signal,” upon reception of which a person will definitely reach correction? Even the properties integrated into the structure of Bina, which manages all corrections, and even the forms of communication with the Creator and connection with Him that are included in Bina, such as Samech (ס) and Mem (מ), do not guarantee us success.

The letter Samech signifies the upper part of Bina. At the first glance, what could be more exalted than that? It doesn’t wish anything for itself and needs only bestowal, wants only to be included in the Giver, exist above its desire, no matter its eruption within.

The letter Mem contains Samech in it; moreover, it is filled with the desires of others to be able to bestow to them. What more can there be if I already don’t wish anything and, above all, I take care of all the others like a mother?

The properties of Samech and Mem meet all demands of bestowal: They correspond to repentance from fear and repentance from love accordingly. Why then can’t we get reformed by them? What is missing here?

What is missing is the letter Bet (ב) symbolizing blessing, that is, the magic property, a special force from Above. It shows us that nothing matters: neither mind, nor heart, nor time you spent studying matters, nor, frankly speaking, anything that we may want to consider. None of this leads us out into the spiritual world.

This is the main idea of the article on letters from “Introduction from The Book of Zohar”: We need only a blessing.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, “Introduction from The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Letters by Rabbi Amnon Saba”

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Question: I believe when you say that all problems are mere effects of my distorted perception. But what should I do if for now, all of this is just philosophizing to me, whereas the problems are real?

Answer: If you connected to the group and became able to receive a sense of security, a guarantee, from them, you would feel as safe as in a mother’s arms. What would you worry about if you knew that you were surrounded by 600,000 souls that will take care of you? Nothing bad can happen with you since Shechina (divinity), the Creator, dwells among them. Therefore, you can worry about only one thing: how to learn to treat others as you treat yourself, and get to see that, in reality, they are you.

We need to stop believing our eyes and egoistic senses, which tell us that outside of us there are other people. It will free you from all your problems! Gradually, by using this method, you will uncover the correct perception of reality; the world will become transparent and behind each object, you will see the force that moves it.

You will suddenly see how everything falls together and will marvel at how blind you used to be! What awfully distorted lenses you were wearing! Truth be told, it all depends on your vision and perception. Nothing changes; I only attune my sight a bit, align the axes of vision, and a whole new picture suddenly emerges.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/10, ““A Handmaid that is Heir to Her Mistress”

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Question: Lately I feel very tired and fall asleep at the lesson. Does this mean that my desire for the goal is not strong enough?

Answer: First of all we must accept every state as coming from Above, from the Creator because “There is none else besides Him.” If I relate to every state as being constructive and coming from the Creator, and therefore advancing me toward the goal, then it is already a useful state that really does build me. In this regard everything depends not on the state itself, but on my attitude to it: Who is it from?

It doesn’t matter what state I am in – good, bad, intermediate, or one that lacks any motion, even if I remain in it for several months. If I always relate to it as the right state for making discernments, corrections, and advancement, then I do not worry about what is actually happening.

I always raise MAN, remain in the intention, and in response, from Above I receive MAD, the state that comes to me. The intention comes from me, while the state comes from the Upper One.

Therefore, we must look at everything that comes to us from the Upper One as a blessing. Whatever came to us is what came because it undoubtedly comes from the One who is Good and Does Good, and there is none else besides Him. I have to treat every state as being necessary on the path.

If I constantly change and delve deeper into the study, the group, and the intention, then I am not worried by what I receive from Him. On the contrary, it’s possible that each time I will receive a harsh treatment (Gevurot) from Him, but I understand that precisely this treatment is what advances me. After all, that is how a serious person is treated, one who is expected to make progress, in contrast to a baby who is treated tenderly and nothing is expected of him. Thus, everything depends on whether or not you’re a hero….

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, The Zohar

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Question: I feel threatened when we read these texts. I don’t understand them. How can I properly work with this feeling?

Answer: Maybe it’s a good feeling. We exist in a reality which is unfolding only within us. Right now, I am speaking with “you,” a part of my soul, and with other people all over the world, but all of them reside within me. And beside me, there is only the upper force split into multiple parts.

I should arrange all of my desires in order to mutually connect them with each other, incorporate all those who seem alien within myself, and love them as myself. I must merge with all of reality and become one whole with it. Then, I will see that all of it is mine, and there is only one Light that fills one desire.

And until then, I naturally get confused and undergo very obscure states. But it doesn’t threaten me. I must perceive the reality correctly, meaning that I have to begin feeling that all of this is happening within me. It is my “I,” and it is only due to my inner division that I mistakenly perceive my own parts as being outside of me.

For example, I had a surgery under local anesthesia. I didn’t feel anything, but in the mirror I saw what the surgeons were doing: inserting a needle and cutting a part of the flesh that didn’t seem to belong to me. I didn’t feel it as mine because of the anesthesia. However, since I was still aware that it was my part, despite the fact that I didn’t feel it under a local anesthetic, it was interesting for me to watch what was being done to it.

In essence, we are precisely in such a reality. But as soon as this “anesthesia,” the fog, dissipates, you start to experience and feel reality as your own, and everything looks different! Then, you see that you are dealing only with the Creator, the “Good Who does good.”

It turns out that your ability to feel the “Good Who does good” instead of a threat, to sense eternity, perfection, and harmony instead of your current state, depends on how you attach all of these seemingly alien desires to yourself.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: It is written that Rabbi Shimon cried while writing The Book of Zohar because he feared to reveal the secret. "Woe if I tell it and woe if I don’t. If I do, then the sinners will learn to work for their master. And if I don’t, then the friends will lose this great asset." What is the great secret concealed in The Book of Zohar that Rabbi Shimon cried about?

Answer: The secret of The Book of Zohar is that by relating to it the right way, it is possible to draw Upper Light from it that returns us to the Source. This Light can become the elixir of life for us as well as a deadly poison, depending on our attitude to The Zohar and to the Torah in general.

However, we see that there was no prohibition on studying the Pentateuch or Talmud even though they were also written by Kabbalists. Only The Zohar was concealed and prohibited for many years, and that is because there is a very powerful Light concealed inside this book which we are able to attract. Of course, the Torah also contains Light, but it is nearly inaccessible because of it’s exceeding height.

The Light of The Zohar is closer to us, but if a person is still inside his ego, he will want to use this Light egoistically. Then this Light will turn into a deadly poison for him.

If I want to attain bestowal, then this Light will be the elixir of life for me and will help me attain it. If, however, a person studies the Torah without intending to achieve bestowal, then he becomes more egoistic and starts to consider himself special, greater than others, and righteous. The Torah becomes a poison for him and increases his ego. Instead of lowering himself and feeling that he is smaller than others, he starts to feel the opposite, pride.

For the most part all of this happened recently, over the last century, when egoism reached a new level. That is why Kabbalists feared that people will start studying the science of Kabbalah egoistically as well, taking pride in it, and turning it into a business that sells "magical means" such as red strings, holy water, and blessings.

This will confuse people and push them away from correction, making them lose many life cycles until they finally reveal that this approach is a swindle and lie. But how much time and suffering will it take to get there!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, “A Handmaid that is Heir to Her Mistress”

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