Question: Is it possible to transition to bestowal without any pain and suffering?

Answer: Yes. It is possible to make this transition without suffering if you do it under the influence of the environment.

The environment is able to imbue me with an aspiration to any goal, even the most unrealistic one. If everyone around me thinks about it, I will also start to aspire to it. Then it won’t be at all difficult for me to value the quality of bestowal. I will see it as a great reward instead of my current egoistic reception. However, the condition for this is that others around me also think and act this way.

A person is much like a computer whose old program can be erased by society and a new, more advanced program with new data can be installed. I advance to the degree this happens.

The only reason I need a mind is to follow those who show me the spiritual path. However, following them is not that simple because you don’t do it by turning into a robot, but on the contrary, you grow!

You constantly receive interferences on all levels: still, vegetative, animate, and human, which impede you from following the spiritual path. You have to lower yourself and come down from the height of your enormous egoism in order to be able to follow the spiritual teacher. That is why you have to have a great mind in order to decipher all of the shrewd tricks of your egoism. Then you will avoid following your egoism and will advance by faith above reason, by following your teacher.

We receive states that are so confusing that we start to look down on the teacher and even to hate him. However, if you are able to ascend above this and turn yourself into “nothing,” to “dust under the feet of the righteous,” it means you are following a righteous person on the spiritual path. This causes you to be great like that person because you receive everything that is in his mind. You receive this through him from the Creator.

When it says that the nation followed Moses like a flock follows a shepherd, it doesn’t mean that they walked like animals. Rather, it is talking about a special form of advancement where you nullify yourself before the teacher, Moses, and through him you nullify yourself relative to the Creator. In the same exact way we go from love for the people to love for the Creator. Otherwise, we cannot change.

You change your previous form and acquire a new one, which is similar to the Creator. This does not belittle you in any way. If you nullify yourself in the spiritual world against the Klipot at the height of the Worlds of Assiya, Yetzira, Beria, and Atzilut, and you follow your teacher, then you rise to the height of those worlds. We are talking only about the height of your opposition to the interferences that are sent to you (that emerge).

This is called “walking by faith above reason.” I don’t have the knowledge that my spiritual teacher does, and thus I nullify myself in relation to him. I cancel my mind and receive new knowledge from him. It is knowledge of the Upper Level, “faith.” The lower part of his spiritual Partzuf, AHP, becomes immersed in me and I accept darkness as Light even though it appears dark inside my egoistic desire. That is how I can advance along the spiritual path.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: What comprises the parts of our spiritual path?

Answer: The spiritual ascent consists of several parts: the development of the Universe, the evolution of Earth, and spiritual correction which began with the breaking of a part of humanity (the nation of Israel from the time of Babylon until the destruction of the Second Temple), the continuing development of humanity to our times, up to the beginning of the crisis between humanity and nature (the Creator).

Starting with this latter stage, the crisis, gradually all people will start feeling a need to rise above the level of our world and attain the purpose for the world’s existence and for everything that happens in it. This will bring them to the science of Kabbalah which was revealed back in Ancient Babylon.

Everything comes down to replacing our nature with an Upper one, to replacing egoism (the desire to receive for one’s own benefit) with altruism (the desire to bestow). This process occurs in stages, by attaining 125 degrees. However, a person goes through an initial period of preparation within the group, through the theoretical study of spiritual qualities, and by examining one’s egoistic nature. When, under the influence of that environment, a sufficiently powerful desire emerges in him to replace egoism with bestowal to others, the common force of nature, the Upper Light, will change him. Then one begins to experience worry (fear) about others, much like a mother does in relation to her child.

But this is still only an ascent above egoism. Subsequently, follows the stage of acquiring the quality of love where a person is willing to give everything to others as they become more dear to him than he is to himself. During this stage a person begins to feel and merge with the Creator because he becomes equal to Him through his actions.

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Question: Is the whole process of the creature’s development and the measure of its bestowal predetermined?

Answer: Nobody is restricting you in any way! You have free choice and every opportunity. Even the prophets could not predict the way we will advance. In all the prophecies of the days of the Messiah and the war of Gog and Magog, the revelation was only in the left line, the line of natural development and not in the three lines.

Nobody knows ahead of time the extent to which we will be able to sweeten this path. That is, we cannot predict what may happen at the Mega Congress. It is entirely possible that we will cross the Machsom and continue our spiritual ascent!

Or we can rise over it for some time and fall again, needing to cross it several times so as to ultimately stay in the spiritual world. Everything depends on how we organize and realize our connection.

The other essential factor is how we will accept this revelation. If we have prepared ourselves to accept it only for the sake of bestowal, and do not yield to the pleasure it offers, then together through mutual guarantee, we will be able to use all the revelations, pleasures, and states that will come and continue our path upward in spirituality.

But everything is in our hands. Everything is ready!

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/10, Article “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Why Is The Creator Concealed From Man?
Questions about the post “Kabbalists On The Purpose Of Creation, Part 5”

Question: What is the purpose of creation?

Answer: To enjoy just like the Creator!

Question: Is this a true statement: “If all Jews observed the 613 Mitzvot, then anti-Semitism would disappear”?

Answer: Yes. However, it doesn’t refer to earthly actions, but rather to correcting the 613 desires which make up the soul. If the Jews corrected their souls, the Light would pass onto all the souls of the world (see “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Items 70-71). This is because their souls have already been in the property of bestowal and lost it. Therefore, they have to be the first to return to it in order to be the conduit between the Creator and the souls of the world.

The reason for anti-Semitism is the fact that the Jews ignore their mission. In this way the Creator hastens them towards their highest mission. At the same time, the nations of the world feel this mission subconsciously and, as a result, feel hatred.

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A question I received: Following is a quote from an article by Rabash. “Then the Creator said to him (Abraham): you should not regret that you do not work with uncircumcised people. Now, after circumcision, you have a similarity in qualities, and hence I can reveal myself to you.”

Is the circumcision the First or the Second Restriction? Also, what does “reveal” mean? Is it a connection between friends or a true desire for bestowal with an altruistic foundation as opposed to an egoistic one?

My Answer: Circumcision is the Second Restriction. As it is written, “Cut off the edge of your heart.” This means do not work with the egoistic desires (extremities) that will only become corrected at the end of correction, Gmar Tikkun.

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Why Is The Creator Concealed From Man?
Questions about the post “On the Purpose of Creation, Part 18”

Question: Why is the Creator concealed from man?

My Answer: In order to give us free choice for otherwise His apparent greatness would rule over us fully.

Question: The Creator’s concealment… could we already be in bestowal, could we already be giving pleasure to the Creator, only it is concealed from egoism so as to not give it fulfillment?

My Answer: Everything is measured only with relation to us. If you discover the Source of your pleasure and become completely fulfilled by it, it means you have achieved the goal.

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Why Is The Creator Concealed From Man?
Questions about the post  “Kabbalists on the Purpose of Creation, Part 17”

A question I received: Kabbalists affirm that the Creator wanted “…to create creatures so He could be benevolent towards them since if there is no receiver of the goodness, there is no benevolence.” Also, there is no Benefactor.

It looks like all attainments of the Upper Force and Its qualities occur relative to creation, man who attains or senses. How does the entire Thought of Creation look relative to the Creator Who cannot even define Himself without someone sensing Him? Are we (humans) like receptors of Someone who self-attains Himself?

My Answer: It is exactly as you describe it. The rest can be found in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part One, Histaklut Pnimit.

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Why Did the Creator Place the Burden of Creation Upon Us?

Questions about the post  Kabbalists On The Purpose of Creation, Part 12

A question I received: Quote: “Their completion [attained by themselves] would be their [merited] reward, resulting from their efforts to attain Him. And all that [evil created by the Creator and the opportunity to turn it into good] only serving His desire to do complete goodness [to the creatures].” Suppose we try to visualize the relationship between us (created beings) and the Creator. What does it most resemble: the relationship between a son and a father, parents and children, a husband and a wife, friends, or is it a completely different relationship? Is it even worth imagining at all?

My Answer: We can’t help imagining our relationship with the Creator because we are studying the wisdom of Kabbalah that reveals the Creator to us. But until we start perceiving Him directly, like everything in this world, we should visualize him as a kind but strict Father.

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What is the Purpose of Creation?

Questions about the post
“Kabbalists On The Purpose Of Creation,” Part 8

Question: Quote: “To correct all of the deficiencies of creation.” What are these deficiencies of creation? Didn’t the Creator create everything in perfection? How can imperfections derive from the Perfect One?

My Answer: The concealment of the Creator gives us an opportunity to complete what is hidden. In other words, to become like Him, revealing Him solely to take an example of what we should be like.

Question: Quoting Baal HaSulam: "All the souls and worlds that were destined to be created, emerged filled with all the delight and pleasure and the gentleness He had planned for them, in the final perfection that the souls were intended to receive at the end of correction.” If everything is already perfect and exists in its corrected state, then where do we and the distorted picture of the world that we see come from?

My Answer: It is the result of the Creator’s concealment relative to us, which is given to us as an opportunity to complete ourselves.

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The Attainment of the Purpose of Creation Rests Upon the Whole of Mankind
Questions about the post “Kabbalists On The Purpose Of Creation,” Part 7

Question: Will I be better off if everybody else is well?

My Answer: Yes, because you are part of everybody else, the only way you will truly be well is if all others are well.

Question: How can I stop wishing others well egoistically, and start wishing them well altruistically?

My Answer: Only the Upper Light can do it!

Question: Why is the Creator so selective toward the creations? Why are certain people or nations chosen? Why didn’t He create everybody equal?

My Answer: Precisely so we could help one another to attain Him.

Question: What is mutual bestowal to the Creator?

My Answer: From everyone according to his ability.

Question: I feel that the World Kli has long been trying to unite for the Creator’s work. If this is the purpose of creation, why doesn’t this infinite fulfillment for His sake take place?

My Answer: We are in the process of forming this unified desire.

Question: Quote: “According to Rambam, we see that everybody must come to the state of Lishma, the only difference being the time when it happens.” Why time, and not effort? Why are these types of “mistakes” not entirely uncommon in the Kabbalistic texts?

My Answer: Because effort refers to actions, whereas time refers to the realization of these actions, their result.

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