The Book of Zohar, Introduction, Article “The Rose,” Item 1: These five lights are the light that the Creator created on the first day. Adam was watching it from the end of the world to its end.

Question: Why does it say, “from the end of the world to its end,” and not “from the beginning of the world to its end”?

Answer: In our perception, we exist between the attributes of judgment and mercy, between the two lines. Our entire world “fits” between the forms of these borders.

Hence, in a given context, we cannot see the world from the beginning to the end. In each state the world is limited by the bounds of our Kli (vessel), which we are able to detect.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, The Zohar, Introduction, “The Rose”

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Question: If during the lesson a person feels anger and hatred toward the friends, how can he build the intention directed toward unity?

Answer: First of all, one needs to see himself in this. Then, he has to envision a correct picture: I and the Creator are positioned on the opposite poles, and in between us, there is the group. I form my attitude toward the group until I see the Creator in it. Indeed, this is the Place where I reveal Him and the Upper World.

On one hand, in order to unite with the friends, I can subject the group to criticism: Our effort is not unified enough. But on the other, how can I make sure that I am not just nagging or sliding the mud of my egoism on the friends?

I see it from their feedback, from how they raise the importance of the goal in my eyes. Then, having being imbued with the importance of the goal, I turn to the group in order to find the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) that Reforms between us.

Thanks to the impact of the Light I undergo changes and again turn to the friends to reveal the Creator between them. This ends the initial cycle of my analysis. Then, the next Reshimo (spiritual gene, record) awakens, and a new round begins.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/28/10, The Zohar, Introduction, “The Rose”

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Question: What does it mean to reveal broken desires or Kelim? Do we reveal them in our aspiration to attain the Creator or in the desire to unite with one another?

Answer: We reveal our broken Kelim only in the desire to unite with each other in order to attain the Creator. And we reveal them more and more each time.

Let’s say that at the recent convention we discovered that on one hand we would like to unite, but on the other hand we do not desire it. Something on the inside stops us; there is some enemy, hater, inner stupor, or Machsom that does not let me come closer to others and unite with them.

This is the first plague of the ten Egyptian plagues or blows to Pharaoh (Pharaoh is the name of the one stopping me). I feel that he does not let me unite with others, even though I don’t yet fully realize: why I have to unite with them, where is the Creator here, and how is it possible to bestow to Him. For now I only have an aspiration to unite.

It will happen differently the second time. We want to unite and we have to be together to attain spirituality because spirituality becomes revealed only in the unity among us. This will become a little bit clearer to us. On the other hand, we will once again feel that something stops us. We demand, “Free us!” But he does not let us go.

The Creator continuously reveals a more powerful ego inside us, “hardening Pharaoh’s heart.” Then we will go out and attack again, and this does not have to happen only at a convention. We will then see that we are unable to do it ourselves; we need an external force. So where is this external force? We begin to desire for the Creator to unite us; then we will break through the Machsom.

Next time we will begin to feel that breaking the Machsom means breaking the Machsom between us. We shouldn’t attack some external boundary. The Machsom is between us, in our hearts, which are isolated from each other by an egoistic boundary.

Afterward, by making another attack, we will feel that we do not need all of this for ourselves; we don’t need it in order to unite and reveal spirituality, but in order to bestow to the Creator through it. This is the “last stop.”

All of this becomes revealed gradually. Once we reveal all of these phases in practice and experience them to the fullest, we will thereby create the right desire, Kli, or vessel for receiving the Light. Otherwise you cannot reveal the Light. The Light is abundantly present, but you have to reveal the right desire or Kli for it; you have to attain the same frequency or the same quality. This is possible only through the actions that come to us as they create a true desire in which the Light will become revealed.

So let us get ready to make the next attack on Pharaoh!
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: What does it mean to be above disturbances?

Answer: Above disturbances means that I take them, process them, keep them, and stay above them as if I am atop the waves.

I don’t erase them. They remain inside me and by ascending above them I come in touch with the Light, the Creator, the One who bestows to me. He gives me these disturbances so that above them I would come closer to Him.

The disturbances are a language. The Creator awakens my inner qualities that are opposite to Him. If I ascend above these opposite qualities, then I come in touch with Him.

For now this contact is not felt very much, yet nevertheless through it I begin to feel His attitude. I begin to value these disturbances because precisely they bring me contact with the Creator. Without them I would never come in touch with Him.

The disturbances show me what separates us, what prevents us from coming in touch with each other. If I ascend above them, then I overcome the obstacle and acquire a certain connection with the Creator.

Therefore, we have to be grateful for all the disturbances; we have to process them correctly and treat them as an obstacle that we have to ascend over in order to attain a connection with the Creator.

The quality that separates me from the Creator becomes the quality that connects us if I ascend above it. In spite of the thing that seems like a disturbance to me, I perceive it not as a disturbance, but as a means to create a connection with the Creator.

If I cancel myself and desire to be above the disturbances, then I “swim” above them as a wooden chip on waves, constantly being in touch with the air. Therefore, I don’t erase the disturbances, but am above them. I need them in order to ascend above them.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, The Zohar

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Question: What can we do to force the Upper Light to elevate us to the first spiritual degree?

Answer: There is only one answer: Keep on trying to check: Are really turning to the Upper Light or its source, the Creator? Are you binding all the factors together? Because if you are not, then you are straying off the path; you are not turning to the right place and are not bringing in the broken vessel (Kli) of your soul, saying: “Please fix it for me here!”

Suppose you take a leaking bucket, come to a blacksmith, and say: “Look, there is a hole here. I want you to fix it.” Then, as per your request, he sees the hole and stops it up.

The same happens in spirituality. You have to bring your vessel (desire) with the place of the breaking and say what needs to be done, what it means for you to be corrected. Then the Light will surely make it happen.

The Light must carry it out; it is the action itself. Your job is to prepare the intention for this action. The Light instantly glues, mends, or puts a patch. It is done by the Light. But it’s up to you to do everything else.

On the higher spiritual degrees you have to bring the Kli knowing precisely the measure to which it is broken and how it can be fixed. At that point, you take the example of correction from the Upper One; you agree with him completely or partially. You analyze not just intention, but types of correction.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/28/10, The Zohar

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Question: What deficiency of the spiritual work allows the “impure forces” (egoistic intentions) to cling to it?

Answer: It happens when I, in my spiritual work, allow the egoistic intentions (impure forces) to arise and exist in me by wanting to use spiritual data, forces, and discernments egoistically. It diverts me from the goal. Being on guard against these thoughts is called “the measure of purity” in the work.

I may err in my intentions; however, a conscious desire (intention) “to bestow in order to receive” or “to receive in order to bestow” is an impure act. On the other hand, purity is defined by my discerning whether or not I steal from spirituality for the sake of corporeality.

It is very important not to try to extract any personal benefit from anything that pertains to spiritual work. We are held strictly accountable for this.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/28/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: In his book Beit Shaar HaKavanot, Baal HaSulam describes that the upper soul (Neshama) is in the brain, the spirit (Ruach) in the heart, whereas the lowest soul (Nefesh) is in the liver! Could you explain this?!

Answer: Kabbalists use words of this world because everything there is in this reality descended from the spiritual world. That is why it is possible to describe the Upper Forces using earthly words.

We have no other choice since in spirituality there is no language, only forces. We can give them any names or even assign numbers to them. However, our definitions have to bear certain correspondences and be able “to speak to us.”

Kabbalists found an easy and wonderful solution: They use words that belong to this world to name phenomena Above. They perceive spirituality, sense its forces, phenomena, actions; they live there! They observe spirituality through this world as if it is translucent. They view powers that act behind each object of this world and behind the entire picture.

It is similar to looking through a transparent glass and seeing a spiritual force that is placed at the other end of my “visual axis.” I see a force that works behind each person and each action in this world, and, therefore, it is easy to find a connection between them. For me, they are the same!

Differences between them show up only relatively to an “observer,” a person who discloses them. He either divulges them through his five bodily senses or perceives them within five spiritual organs of perception.

Other than that, all phenomena are identical. After all, our world is imaginary, and we feel it the way we do only within our sensations. If we get additional organs of perception, we’ll see things as if they happen simultaneously on two parallel screens.

Then, everything gets clarified and we never get confused any more. We realize what “brain,” “heart,” “liver,” and “Ibur – Yenika – Mochin” (conception, drawing of sustenance, adulthood) stand for. We recognize the spiritual meaning of all earthly words, such as “ascend,” “downfall,” “embrace,” “mating,” “left,” or “right.” They only have one meaning and cannot signify anything else.

We attain spirituality through our material world and sense it as its root. It becomes lucid and “apparent” to us, but the language that describes it has to be “borrowed” from this material dimension as if we “lay” a transparent film over it.

You used to see certain material images, but now you retain only their names that are further transferred onto a parallel screen in spirituality where they cling to the right places. You start using them without any confusion; you don’t have to explain their meaning to others since they, ascending to the spiritual world through the corporeal one, see the same picture and know what an illusion it is!

“Soul in the brain” means that the Light called Neshama (soul) dresses into a spiritual Kli (vessel) called “brain.” Beside the Light and desire, there is nothing else.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/25/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: Is it correct to clarify your state with the help of the mind, using it to discern: Why did I receive this state, where did it come from, and what should I do with it?

Answer: Nothing can be clarified with the mind because the desire is what makes the mind work. Don’t think that the mind exists independently of desire, or that I can take the mind and use it as a device to measure my state or desire. The mind is controlled by the desire.

Sometimes it tells you one thing, and sometimes it tells you the exact opposite, depending on your desire. Knowing this, can you really rely on its conclusions?

How does our mind develop? It develops by virtue of me always wanting to do something, to attain something, or to receive something; that is how I have built my mind. Thus, the mind is an acquisition.

However, when then Light comes, it gives us the opportunity to ascend so we are not enslaved to the mind or the desire. The Light begins to rule over us instead, elevating us and giving us its power.
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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Question: Why are we given the illusion of freedom in this world?

Answer: We consider ourselves free for as long as we do not think about it much and identify ourselves with our animate body. But if we rose above our body a little, we would see that it strictly obeys the laws and processes it is subject to.

I think it is up to me when to go to sleep and when to go to work. But who is it really up to? I am placed in certain conditions and given certain internal qualities. Meanwhile, our will to receive pleasure (desire) acts as an engine that works according to a simple principle: maximal pleasure at minimal effort, that is, maximal gain at minimal investment.

This is the calculation we perform at each moment of our lives, in every aspect, any direction, any place, and in relation to everything there is. This is how our nature works, taking into consideration various conditions: how tired and healthy I am, how big the danger and possible pleasure are, and so forth. Understandably, as such, we remain inside our ego, and there is no free will there.

We have to realize that free will is possible only if I control my desire and am above it. For as long as I remain in my egoistic nature, I will always be an obedient puppet, fully controlled by my egoism.

If, however, I wish to take control in my own hands, I have to manage my desire, rise above it. In other words, free will is possible, but only above desire. And the only question is: How do I rise above my nature, by what means?
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: If I once chose the path and rose above my egoism, am I free for good or must I keep choosing anew?

Answer: In order to reach the purpose of creation, we have to attain the state of “Israel (those who aspire to the Creator), the Torah (the Light of correction), and the Creator are one” and experience it in all our properties and desires.

Therefore, each moment of our evolution, we have to aim ourselves at oneness with the Creator, which constitutes our free choice. From all of these points of adhesion, we build one line and arrive at the final destination.

In other words, it isn’t enough to make a choice once so that later you may do whatever you want. You make a choice based on the conditions that are revealed to you at the moment. But next time, you will be completely different, a new creation, new world inside and out.

It’s because you keep uncovering new, stronger, desire to feel pleasure, which has different properties. And you have to discern yet again what conditions you are placed in, find the point of free will, decide what you are choosing, and move on with this new choice.

Conversely, at each point of the journey, you need to perform the work of clarification in order to “distance yourself from evil and choose the good” and realize that point of adhesion fully.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/10, “The Freedom”

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