As we read in The Book of Zohar, Introduction we should be more concerned with the intention, rather than with understanding the text. Our main concern should be to keep ourselves attuned properly. Why are we reading The Zohar? What happens to us meanwhile? What affects us? What do we wish to achieve as a result?

Only then do we turn to the text itself, trying to penetrate into its meaning. Only by “cleaning out” a place within ourselves will we achieve the needed effect. Otherwise, there will simply be no place for it to be revealed.

Question: How do we prepare this place?

Answer: We prepare it by rising above the obstacles. A person comes to a lesson on Kabbalah, to a “date” with The Book of Zohar, to a meeting with the friends with a whole heap of problems which seem coincidental to him, but there are no coincidences. There is none else besides the Creator.

Therefore, I need to perform the right calculation: I don’t understand what is happening, why it happens to me in particular or to us, and I still need to rise above everything only for the sake of unification with the friends. In this manner we prepare the foundation, create a place for future ascents; we form Malchut. This is written about in a different article from The Book Of Zohar, Introduction: “The Night Of The Bride.”

At the lesson, we are given an opportunity which is not present anywhere else. How important is it for me to reveal the Creator, to give Him pleasure? How important is it for me to rise above my egoism and unite with others in order to reveal Him? I constantly measure my goals according to their importance.

At the same time, I see that every time, I am given obstacles, and I need to step on the throat of my egoism in order to continue the path, staying in unification, on topic, and in direct closeness to the spiritual primary sources. This is a great work, and this is what is meant by “preparing a place” for the revelation of the Creator.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, The Zohar, Introduction, “The Rose”

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Question: From the very beginning of the lesson, I feel that I am battling myself in order to hold the intention, but I fail constantly. How can I hope to win this battle someday?

Answer: Since you’re asking me, I will tell you just one thing: If a person doesn’t connect himself to the group, the teacher, and the studies using every means possible, he will not survive. Only patience and perseverance can help… “Holding on with his teeth,” a person needs to determine his place and advance against his ego.

If you are here and you are constantly unhappy, wishing to escape every minute, and you still stay, be grateful at least for this. After all, this is already some kind of connection. It’s not important that you are “naked and deprived of everything,” as was written about King David. Nevertheless, you have some connection to the Torah.

Nothing can be done. We don’t understand to what extent we need to perform inner work. We cannot see this. A person constantly judges himself. He forgets that he is dealing with the Creator.

After all, the Creator gives you all this. He wishes to pull out all the stubbornness from you, all your pride, foolishness, and dumbness in the mind and in the heart. He pulls you in various directions, not leaving you alone even for a minute.

Allow Him to work on you. What can you do? How long will it go on? The more you can withstand, the faster He will carry out this work. However, if you are unable to stand it and every minute you scream, “Oh, no! Just not this!” He lessens His influence since He is proceeding along with you. It turns out that you advance very slowly.

Readiness to endure is everything. He reveals to you who you are to the extent that you have patience when you just don’t see this, but you are able to exert much effort to sort out all these things properly. What are they for? Why? From where? From Whom? What specifically do I do with them now?

If you truly invest all your strength into this, then you will advance. If not, you will continue to advance less. However, in any case, every one who exists within these boundaries advances. It takes years, but such is the path. Sometimes, it takes from 10 to 20 years, but so what? What is this compared to the universe that has existed for 15 billion years?

Your ancestor, a hundred thousand years ago, hunted for animals in order to find food for himself and throughout his whole brief life of 20 to 30 years didn’t think about revealing the spiritual world or the Creator. Just look at how many reincarnations you have already gone through and only now you have an opportunity to really realize them. All the previous incarnations are now reaching their realization.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, The Zohar

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Question: How do we strengthen the responsibility of every friend in regard to the mutual guarantee?

Answer: If the Light does not affect me to a sufficient extent and does not bring me to a state where I begin to care about the friend’s state, will I really think about him? Never! On the other hand, if I receive an awakening from the Light, suddenly I will feel such a desire. Either I have it or not. However, I need to contribute to having it.

Therefore, I do not eat myself up for not loving the friends. I don’t love them, don’t care about them, and don’t think about them because I am not connected to them. In order to change this state, I need the influence of the Light. If it affects me, I will think about others; if it doesn’t affect me, I won’t think about them. I need to determine exactly where and how I can cause a change.

Right now, I don’t love you, but the Light comes, and, suddenly, I do. Why is that? I don’t know; the Light does this. We only need to rouse its influence, and everything else is a consequence. However much desire, concern, and worry He gives me is how much I will have.

Hence, the most important concern is to awaken the Light, and this can happen only in the process of mutual studying. We await this phenomenon precisely from studying since there is no other means. During the studies, we think together, “When will the Light finally change and unite us?” This is the intention.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: How can I think about the correction that The Book of Zohar brings us if I feel negative emotions such as hatred?

Answer: Prayer is whatever the heart feels. If there is hatred in my heart now, then this is my prayer, “I want to hurt my enemy.”

In order to correctly use the force that’s hidden in The Book of Zohar while reading it together in a group, I must first prepare my heart so it will desire the same thing the Creator desires. In reality, the Creator responds to every prayer, meaning the desires in our heart. That is why our world is so bad!

However, on the other hand, it is written that He responds only to the prayer that has gone through “the gate of tears.” So does He really respond to every desire, even the whim of a baby or the machinations of a villain?

Yes, say the Kabbalists who have revealed the system of our relationships with Him. A thief who has set his sights on some object, or a criminal who goes out “on the prowl” and is ready to kill someone, also desire to succeed and their prayer is also accepted. After all, we are talking about the desire of Malchut of the World of Atzilut, and everything beneath it, including our world, belongs to it.

Why, then, do we say that the desire can ascend into Malchut, or it can not ascend? The matter is that we draw a division into two types of desires:

– Some aspire in the same direction as the Creator’s will. Then they unite with the upper desire and are perceived as abundance from Above.

– Some do not match the Creator’s will. They also evoke the same response from Above as the positive desires, but are perceived by the negative desires negatively, as a negative reaction. This corrects a person, leading him down a lengthy, difficult path of suffering instead of the short, easy path where his desires coincide with the Creator’s desires.

That is why it is best for us to prepare for the right prayer and to use it when turning to The Book of Zohar. A person cannot sit at the lesson without any desires. One way or another, he desires something, and if his desire has been prepared ahead of time and aspires in the right direction, then he advances easily and quickly while reading The Zohar.

Besides, we have to remember that we are in the group, which helps us to strengthen our prayer. Thus, if a person’s thoughts are not aimed at the goal, then he takes an adversarial position in relation to the group and feels what seems like a negative reaction from Above even more.

Therefore, our entire work amounts to preparing for the lesson, that is, for reading The Zohar and other Kabbalistic books. Once we are at the lesson, it is difficult to change anything because a person’s heart is already tuned to a specific desire.

That’s why it is so important what thoughts I have when going to sleep and how I prepare for the lesson in the morning. These minutes play the decisive role. And we shouldn’t forget about the physical preparation so the body won’t fall into slumber.

Rabash writes the following in Article 36 in Writings of Rabash:
It is written, “He who hears the prayer.” Why does it say “the prayer” in the singular tense? Doesn’t the Creator hear all prayers? The matter is that we have to raise just one prayer: to restore the Shechina from the dust.

To pray for the restoration of the Shechina from the dust means to desire the revelation of the Creator, the quality of bestowal and love for the neighbor inside me in order to become similar to the Creator in this regard. If we all aim our efforts in one direction, then we are knocking on the gate that will definitely open.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/7/10, The Zohar

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Question: How do I recognize the signs of drawing closer to bestowal?

Answer: It comes from within. We don’t feel the effect of the Light. Generally, we don’t know the underlying causes of events and judge our life solely based on the effects.

Electricity manifests by giving function to electrical devices or electric shock. Similarly, the Light remains “behind the scenes” and demonstrates to us the effects of its work. I don’t see the Light itself, but its effects.

We are all the Creator’s makings. How, then, may we judge what changes take place in us? The criterion lies in the fact that I begin to think differently, and treat myself and the world in a new way.

I change within; it is hardly noticeable from the outside. Changes unfold not in egoistic properties, but in the new, additional desires. On the outside, the person remains the same.

Hence, Kabbalah is regarded as secret wisdom. On one hand, it reveals what is hidden, and on the other, it is concealed from the eyes of the outsiders who are unable to detect my inner transformation. They simply don’t possess the properties enabling them to perceive it.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/10, The Zohar, Introduction, Article “The Rose”

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Question: We see that our efforts should result in a miracle. What must we do for it to happen?

Answer: We have to really want it, like a small child. However, a miracle happens after numerous efforts. You have to see what a monster your ego is and how it gets in your way, blocking all that’s good. You have to come to hate the ego despite the fact that you grew up on Pharaoh’s “lap,” played with his crown (Keter), and were a true prince who had everything.

Now, you hate your ego passionately and can’t remain in it. You’re ready to receive blows to the ego. You intentionally subject it to the ten plagues of Egypt in order to disconnect from it.

However, when we feel a blow, we instantly try to hide from it because we associate ourselves with the ego. Yet, if I disconnect from the ego, then I will agree to accept the blows: Let the ego receive the blows and suffer; the ego is not my “I.” I’m simply next to it.

Then, I’ll gradually begin to separate myself from the ego until I go through all ten plagues. I don’t associate myself with the ego, although the ego is suffering a great deal. This is the only way I can rise above it and escape.

Escape is exiting from Egypt. This is when I’ve almost disconnected from the ego, but there is still a thin thread left which I cut off in order to disconnect myself completely and run off into the darkness of night.

We must go through all the disconnections before reaching the final one by means of methodical blows. We have to rise above them.

Our work consists of no longer wishing to associate ourselves with Pharaoh: He is separate from me, and I’m separate from him. It’s true that I grew up in his home. I came from him, but it’s not my “I.” Now, Pharaoh is my biggest enemy.

The miracle is in the help that you get. This is how all miracles happen: We work and put in the effort in disconnecting from the ego and elevating ourselves, and in the end, a miracle occurs. The Light makes it happen after you’ve put in all your effort.

So, after working hard, let’s wait for a miracle. Happy Hanukkah!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/10, Writings of Rabash, “Hanukkah”

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Question: Is there a connection between the World of Atzilut after the breaking of the World of Nikudim and the World of Adam Kadmon?

Answer: We do not have any connection to the World of Adam Kadmon because it belongs to the First Restriction. We cannot feel it and are unable to understand the principle by which it exists and operates. It is reason, sensations, and a calculation that we cannot attain. We will attain it only after our full correction.

Suppose that your cat is looking at you. It does not understand what you are thinking about. It slightly senses your mood and state because an animal that depends on you has some sort of notion of you as its master. However, it can never understand your thoughts, calculations, and desires.

Similarly, we cannot understand the World of Adam Kadmon. The five Partzufim of Adam Kadmon are above our attainment. Also GAR (the first three Partzufim) or the World of Atzilut are called unattainable and we do not attain them.

Only starting from the full correction (Gmar Tikkun) and onwards, when all the Kelim or desires unite, will it be possible to attain it. First we will correct AHP de Aliyah (AHP on the ascent), we will correct ELE, which will ascend and connect inside the name ELOKIM, the full Bina.

After that in the concluding action of the process of correction, called "Rav Paalim UMekabtziel," when the Light that comes from Above into the World of Atzilut descends until the Parsa and all the broken desires join Atzilut, then the World of Atzilut will expand beneath the Parsa as well, until the conclusion of the World of Adam Kadmon (Sium Galgalta), as it is written, "And his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." Then we will be able to unite with the ten, full, original Sefirot of Adam Kadmon.

The entire process of the expansion of the worlds and our correction is intended to fill the first Partzuf Galgalta. Only then will we attain the five Partzufim of Adam Kadmon and will we enter the circle of Infinity together with them. Then the line (Yosher) and the circles (Igulim) will become equal. Everything that was inside the circle will take on the form of the line and there will be no difference between the line and the circle.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/7/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: If the entire responsibility for the whole world rests on those who have a point in the heart, why then did the fires start in the north of Israel where other people live, and not in my house?

Answer: We are now in the preparatory stage for doing practical spiritual work, which begins with our entrance into the perception of the Upper World, our presence in it. Therefore, there is no sense in distracting you from the studies by making you lose your home and health in the fire. For the time being, you must quickly and easily move forth toward the practical work.

However, later on, you will find out that the people who are now suffering on the material plane, such as those who lost their homes, including children, the elderly, and women, are parts of yourself. In fact, they are closer to you than your biological children.

Your lack of sensitivity blocks this perception in you, but your are yet to see all of this and include it in your correction. For now, it is similar to two parts of the body: In order for one of them to be healed, the other suffers at its level. Afterwards, however, they become one, included in one another.

We are expected to understand this and experience it on the level of spiritual awareness instead of the level of matter so you will feel that it is you who burnt there in the north of Israel! Moreover, your inner work determines whether this predicament will be resolved or not.
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From the lesson on Rabash’s article on 12.03.2010

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Question: I am a 22 year old American and have been on a spiritual quest for my entire life, but specifically these past few years. I am so confused. I want more than anything to live a spiritually fulfilled life, but do not believe I need to renounce the world as we know it to achieve such. I am highly interested in science and technology and the convergence of such studies with spirituality. I have become increasingly sensitive to the downfalls of our societies, and it is becoming harder and harder for me to function.

I have been living between Israel and the USA for the past four years, and have been looking for a true teacher to guide me on a personal level. It seems that today, there are so many people who claim things, and so many things you can sign up for, but it is so difficult to find a true teacher. Do you have any suggestions of how I can find a teacher that can guide me and help me amidst my confusion?

Answer: If we are nevertheless talking about Kabbalah, then it is definitely against “renouncing the world.” The world is a sensation of the soul felt when it is separated from the Creator. The soul descends to this state, our world, so that after being disappointed in all ways of receiving earthly pleasures and in all “spiritual practices” (more and more people are feeling this disappointment) it would raise this world to the Creator.

Kabbalists have always directed their students toward correspondence to the law of nature, which states that, similarly to man in this world, the soul is also formed and raised by its environment and not by a teacher personally.

Our movement, Bnei Baruch, has made significant progress in creating an environment that helps the souls transcend all doubts and reach their goal: merger with the Creator. Therefore, the best advice to you is to find this kind of environment.
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Question: What can I give the group during the study?

Answer: Your participation and aspiration to the goal, which has to be as strong as possible. This is the force of mutual guarantee by which we strengthen the group.

This is especially so during the study because that’s when we are able to unite and attract the Light that Reforms.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/7/10, The Zohar

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