Question: What are Reshimot?

Answer: A Reshimo (informational record) is an impression that remains in the Kli (desire) after the Light that filled it departs. Hence, Reshimot are the Lights contained in the Kelim (desires).

What does “the Light departs from the Kli” mean? It means that it does not illuminate the Kli as before because there is no screen, no contact between the Kli and the Light. Hence, the Light shines only from afar, and it is therefore said that Kli contains a little bit of Light.

Reshimot are similar to reminiscences of my past. The Light fills my will to receive (desire) when I, with the help of the screen, acquire the connection with the Light and we merge together because the screen binds the two opposites with one another. But when there is no screen, the Light is not connected with the Kli. It stays in the Kli and doesn’t depart, yet the Kli cannot feel it or cause it to shine. The Light within it is barely perceived, and we call it a “Reshimo.”

We simply express it by saying that the Light departed and left a Reshimo in its place. Yet in truth, it isn’t the case. The Light remained in place and did not depart, but because we don’t feel it, the Light and the Kli are seemingly disconnected.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question from Germany: How can we raise MAN correctly in anticipation of the great convention in Berlin?

Answer: On January 28-30, 2011 there will be a European Kabbalah Convention held in Berlin. We have to prepare for it more than for any other convention because Europe is the most problematic continent, the source of all wars and problems in the world. This was the case over the  entire course of history and continues to be so to this day.

Therefore, if we can help people to stop and think about true unity instead of mutually beneficial cooperation at the Common Market, then it will be a big step forward for the whole world. Otherwise unfavorable events will once again begin developing on this continent and I think Europe’s residents already feel how this is starting.

Therefore, all of us together must work on positively influencing Europe.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: How can the kind Light turn into a cruel fire?

Answer: You are right; many people asked me this question when the fire broke out in Israel. The Light comes from Above, but we turn it into a fire with our properties and actions that are opposite to it. Here is what The Zohar says about this (there are many such places in the Book).

The Book of Zohar, Chapter Beresheet (Genesis), Item 17, Article “The Earth was void”: Darkness is a strong fire. And this darkness covers the void, reigns over this waste, and becomes corrected from it. This way, darkness is not simply the absence of Light, meaning emptiness, but a category of an emptying action, which is similar to a strong fire that burns down and destroys any essence: It touches it and leaves its place empty.

Hence, it is said that darkness is the strongest fire that burns and destroys everything. This is how darkness eliminates and suppresses the Light in its place, and this darkness covers this void. It is called darkness and not fire because the force of burning that it carries within originates not in it, but from the fact that it rules over the waste called the void and receives from it.

For this is the inclusion of the property of judgment into the property of mercy. Malchut rose to the place of Bina to get corrected there with the category of the screen in her. And since Bina does not contain any judgment or fire, in order for Malchut to get corrected in the screen, the way the chaos was corrected, this darkness rules over the void, the place of the fire that turned impurity into the waste and void.

From there, darkness receives the force of the burning fire that resembles a strong desire in the void. This darkness covers the void, rules over this waste, and becomes corrected from it for it receives from the void the might of a strong and burning fire.
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“The Light of the egoistic desires (Klipot) is when we think that if only we had a million dollars, then we would be happy.”
– From the book The Point in the Heart

Question: It is written that Klipot tempt the souls. What does this actually mean in our sensations? What is the temptation?

Answer: The will to enjoy beckons us, “Go there! Do that! Earn more! Take it! Steal it! Succeed!” All this happens inside the egoistic Kelim or desires in a clear, simple form where the benefit is clear to every person.

This is the work of Klipot, and very great work indeed! It is necessary to understand that Klipot help us; they are help against our ego. Their work is blessed.

Since we are all in a broken state, what else can influence us? The Upper Light cannot affect us because there is a law of equivalence of form. I cannot hear or perceive the Light and it does not influence me. Its influence on me takes place from “behind the scenes” because the Light is present everywhere, but it influences me through an intermediary.

The practical influence on me that actually makes me move happens through Klipot. They are what I understand and have a connection with. Therefore, there is a system of impure worlds (Klipot), which is my uncorrected environment, in which I, too, exist in an uncorrected state. That’s why we understand each other: what’s worthwhile for me to do and what isn’t, why should I do something and for what purpose. It’s clear that I should earn more, make the whole world work for me, and use everyone. I understand the world and the world understands me, and we don’t have any problems. We cannot complain about anyone because we are the same and so is the whole world.

We are in a broken state that is detached from the Upper Light and is opposite to it. In this state the Light cannot influence us. All the actions that nevertheless help us to awaken and reach correction take place by virtue of the system of Klipot. So say “Thank you” to them! It is written that Pharaoh brought Israel closer to the Creator. This is his work. And he really does work very hard.

Would I move from my current place by the will of my mundane egoistic desire? I wouldn’t move at all! Even a grain of sand cannot be moved unless it is affected by a force. Moreover, in order to move a person from his place and in addition, to make him move not mechanically as an animal, but to awaken him to development, it is necessary to give him a great motivation or driving force. This is what the Klipa does, being a system that knows no rest.

Look at what it is doing to the whole world and how it brings everyone closer to correction! For the time being it is doing this work instead of holiness, the forces of bestowal. Holiness is unable to do this because we do not have any connection to it.

One exists against the other: The broken me is in a broken world, whereas the correct me reveals the corrected world. The world around me immediately changes to the degree of my correction or lack thereof.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: What is a strong desire that enables a person to enter the upper world?

Answer: A strong desire is the desire when a person does not need a lot of time to return to the spiritual thoughts. See Baal HaSulam, Shamati No. 19, “What Is the Creator Hates the Bodies, in the Work.”

It is essential to try to acquire a strong desire to overcome one’s egoism and reach the property of bestowal. The strength of the desire is measured by the amount of delays and stops, meaning the amount of time that passes between having acute desires or, in other words, the length of a descent, falling out of spiritual efforts: a split second, an hour, a day, or a month.

Then one again resumes his work on overcoming his egoism and tries to reach bestowal. A strong desire is the desire when the interruption of efforts does not take a lot of time for a person, and he immediately awakens for the work. In this case, his efforts accumulate, as if into a single blow.
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Question: Will there be any positive outcome if we affect other people, most of whom do not aspire to spiritual growth, by our example and thus facilitate good relations and communication in the entire society?

Answer: Yes, when we become an example, we will positively impact the entire society. Baal HaSulam describes it in his article “The Future Generation.” If the entire society decides today that we can’t exist in the egoistic form anymore and must start to consider each other, it will be a tremendous correction.

You may ask: “If a regular person does it without having a goal to reveal the Creator and bestow to Him, won’t it repeat an unfortunate experience of socialistic Russia?” However, in our times, there is a Kabbalistic group practicing bestowal and the dissemination of Kabbalah, and everyone who might wish a greater awareness can join us.

As to all the others, it is enough if they assist and support us, as do people who usually don’t enjoy studying and loading their mind with knowledge. If there is a balance in society, whereby one of its parts, such as the “head” which maintains the intention, draws the Light that Reforms to all through itself, and the other part carries out some supplementary actions, then we can achieve great success.

Let’s hope that we will succeed. The whole of mankind is designed as a pyramid, and according to it, that is exactly how it has to be. Only a few are responsible for the connection with the Creator and draw the Light to the masses (See Baal HaSulam’s article “The Future Generation”).
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: What should every person’s concern be at the lesson: The purity of his own spiritual work or just unity?

Answer: It’s not enough to be schematically concerned about unity in general. As Baal HaSulam writes, we have to build the unity of Israel, the Torah, and the Creator.

We are in a state where every person and all of us together decide everything. Every person adds his “penny” to the group’s common desire and from it receives the right aspiration to prayer. Then his personal prayer once again pours into the unity of the common prayer.

The individual work always combines with the common work: A person completes the whole, and also completes himself with the whole. As a result we form a single prayer, about which it is written, “The sons of Israel cried out from the work.”

In order to achieve this, the goal must be extremely important to us so that we wouldn’t trade it for any “achievements” or theoretical knowledge. We are not satisfied by the calming rhythm of the daily routine because at the current rate we can keep “advancing” for another thousand years. We are not satisfied by success in dissemination because this is obviously just a means. No matter how great our achievements are, we cannot consider them the goal of our lives, not even a temporary, intermediate one.

We cannot calm ourselves by the results of our work and efforts, hoping that they will do the job with time. Instead, a person must immediately shift his gaze to the most important thing and place the true goal in front of him: the revelation of the quality of the Creator, the quality of bestowal inside him. We should demand this unequivocally and tirelessly. Any break harms the person and his connection with the Creator. Therefore, this is where the common prayer is necessary, which is able to be constant.

We have to understand that it takes very great efforts to enter the spiritual world, but they are not so difficult to make in the group and depend only on our agreement.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, The Zohar

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Question: You said that the first action of correction is to discern all of my desires in order to understand which of them are subject to correction. Can you give an example of these desires? How do I make the clarification inside me? How do I know what is subject to correction?

Answer: You have to discern this in the group. Start to tune into the group with all your qualities, desires, inclinations, and inner sensations. Then take a look and see: Which of them is for and which is against? What helps you in this work more and what helps you less?

Don’t pay attention to the “taste” you feel in the process, if it is “bitter or sweet,” even though that might help you. Rather, first and foremost pay attention to the “truth and falsehood”: What can you use to connect with friends, and what can’t you use?

Then you will discern it. You will start to reveal qualities and desires inside you that you did not notice previously and did not even suspect existed. These are the desires from the breaking. We do not work with the broken desires or Kelim in our regular lives because we do not aim to unite with others.

Desires from the breaking are only those that helped us be “as one man with one heart” in our root, which then broke and are now present in us. Start uniting with the friends and you will start to reveal that these desires are present inside you. If you don’t feel them, it means you haven’t started uniting with the group yet. That’s why you still don’t feel how many desires you have inside you that oppose unity, or in other words, are in a broken state.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: Ever since I started studying Kabbalah I feel so small, as if I’m a tiny embryo, and I feel less and less confident as time goes by. Where will I suddenly get real confidence in this single force that controls the entire universe, sets up all the problems for me, and is my only source of support?

Answer: Usually a person finds confidence in religion when he believes that there is a Creator who is good, who will take care of him, and whom he can trust. This worldview sets in deep inside a person and supports him, which is why Kabbalists do not speak out against religion.

However, there comes a time when a new desire awakens in a person and he can no longer be calmed by the blind faith of the past. He develops and outgrows it. Traditional actions are no longer enough for him; he wants to know the Creator!

Ideally, we should have ascended from religion (Dat) to knowledge (Daat) and realized what is written, “Know the Creator.” However, in actuality this is not happening.

In actuality it is only possible to achieve this by connecting with a Kabbalistic group. There is no other means. The group must be the place where you can attain the Creator, the quality of bestowal.

The sensation of insecurity comes only from a lack of the quality of bestowal. As soon as you are ready to bestow, you will feel total confidence and will acquire freedom from yourself! That’s because bestowal is Bina.

Then you will live without any fear and your only worry will be, “When will I attain the deeds of the forefathers through my deeds? When will I be able to bestow to the Creator?” Or in other words, when will I ascend even higher than Bina?
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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: Why didn’t the Creator arrange it so we would already now feel everyone as organs of our own body?

Answer: It’s because you have to reveal the form of bestowal from its opposite. From hatred, reception, and exploitation of your neighbor, you have to attain love and unity.

Imagine that you suddenly found out that your greatest enemy, whom you desired to crush and obliterate using every possible execution technique, is actually your own son who you did not know anything about, just like in a movie.

You don’t understand this now, but try to enter the group and imagine that you are tuning into the common desire. Don’t look at the faces, but look at the desire that everyone shares and delve inside it. Then through that desire, you will feel that you are surrounded by special souls and only you are looking at them from aside. Try to enter inside them and to cancel yourself completely.

Through this self-nullification you will begin to live! Stay in this thought at all times so it won’t leave your mind. Make the decision that from now on this is how you want to look at the world.

Try to stay in this sensation until tomorrow, constantly renewing it and bringing this picture back. Then at the next lesson you will be ready to bring it to life! You will imagine what takes place inside these desires, which are connected with each other: How Partzufim AB and SAG operate and what Rabbi Shimon is telling his friends. It all speaks only about this desire and the connection among its parts.

Desires that are pure or impure, corrected or not yet corrected; everything is inside one system that you are now revealing. You want to reveal life, the vital force in this system and yourself inside of it, as well as to understand how everything works. This is exactly what all the Kabbalistic books talk about and you want this to become revealed.

When the connection between all parts of the desire and the harmony in which they operate becomes revealed, this practical revelation of the correct, operating connection is called the revelation of the Creator. After that the Creator or this connection will continue being revealed more and more, which signifies ascent along the degrees of the worlds toward ever greater revelation of the Creator.

The Creator is called Bo-Reh, meaning "come and see" how the system works in mutual bestowal, how the Light operates inside the desires or Kelim.
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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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