Question: If I need to nullify myself before the teacher’s opinion, is it correct that some friends say that they are only willing to do what the teacher, but not any other management, tells them?

Answer: A teacher shouldn’t be anyone’s personal manager. He shouldn’t be explaining to everyone what it is he wants from them. He can be almost as concealed as the Creator and not say anything at all. Whoever is willing can nullify himself on his own and reveal the teacher’s opinion.

This can be observed from the behavior of the Kabbalists of the past, the group in Kotzk or Baal HaSulam who only gave a lesson to his students once a week or even once a month. A teacher reveals his opinion ever so slightly, and the rest is the student’s work. If the student understands what to look for, how to reveal the teacher’s opinion to help aim himself toward the goal, he will be able to do it. Otherwise, he will not.

Spirituality cannot be expressed in words. How could you possibly explain how to direct your heart toward the goal?
[43952]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/11, Shamati #25

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Shamati #25: Regarding things that come from the heart, enter the heart. …The thing is that when one hears the words of his teacher, he immediately agrees with his teacher, and resolves to observe the words of his teacher with his heart and soul. But afterwards, when he comes out to the world [to a different environment], he sees, covets, and is infected by the multitude of desires roaming the world, and he and his mind, his heart, and his will are annulled before the majority.

…He mingles with their desires and he is led like sheep to the slaughter. He has no choice; he is compelled to think, want, crave, and demand everything that the majority demands. In that case there is only one counsel then, to cling to his teacher and to the books [on the internal level]. This is called “[Being nourished] from the mouth of books and from the mouth of authors.”

A person who is born and lives in this material world develops in an environment that’s far away from spirituality, and obviously he cannot understand anything on the spiritual path. Even if he has an aspiration to spirituality, this point is immersed in the egoistic desire, which is surrounded by the egoistic society. Therefore, it does not have any chance of developing correctly.

Only a person who makes his way into the right environment merits spiritual development. This is an environment which has a teacher and a group that carries out the teacher’s advice. Besides, this group must study the authentic Kabbalistic sources, but this is already a result of how they accept the guidance of their teacher.

Therefore, the bottom line is that the group’s development depends on the teacher, the Rav (which means “big”). To the degree the students are able to cancel their opinion to his opinion, that is how they will develop. That’s because the spiritual environment is based on the teacher’s opinion, thought, and method, as well as the recognition of the teacher’s authority.

A necessary condition for the student is to constantly check who and what determines his opinion. After all, he is under the influence of two forces and must always decide that the teacher’s opinion has greater force than his own opinion. And if he does not feel any struggle and resistance, it means he does not perform this verification at all and instead thinks that everything is fine just the way it is.

Sometimes a student goes against his teacher’s opinion and thinks that he has a better understanding of how he should act from the point of view of his logic and reason. That is, he does not annul himself. But nullifying oneself means that he goes against his desire, against his logic.

If he endures in this resistance, it means he chooses the spiritual path and progresses on it. But if there is no opposition and inner struggle, then a question arises: Maybe he does not even understand that he is always following his own opinion, all the while thinking that he is advancing correctly?
[43949]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/11, Shamati

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The holiday of Lag B’Omer (the 33rd day of Omer) is celebrated to honor Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of The Book of Zohar, who died on that day. In the chapter “Idra Zuta,” article “Azinu,” The Book of Zohar describes Rabbi Shimon’s passing in this way: For the Lord bestowed blessing, even eternal life upon him” (Psalm 133). Rabbi Abba said: The holy Light did not finish proclaiming life until his speeches were completed. I recorded it and thought of recording some more, but did not hear. And I did not lift my head because there was a very great Light that I could not look upon. Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Abba stood up and took him away from his place. And the whole house was filled with a fragrant scent. They placed him on the bed and no one touched him besides Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Abba. When they carried the bed out of the house, they heard a voice. Then everyone entered and gathered together for the celebration to honor Rabbi Shimon.

The Zohar uses these colorful descriptions because it is written in the language of Midrash (story telling). But of course, it is not talking about his physical death, but the passing of the soul which goes on to the state of the end of correction. That is why this is such an important event and why this entire system, which includes his students, receives such a great Light.

This is not talking about a person’s death, but about the thinning out of a spiritual Partzuf. First the Light comes and dresses into a Partzuf, forming inside it Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, and Otiyot. The clothing of the Light into a Partzuf and its disappearance make the Light fit for being used, and that is how Rabbi Shimon’s soul attains its true action—the last level, the general end of correction. This is what The Zohar describes.

All the other friends, all the souls that depended on him and that resulted from his Partzuf, which became filled with Light and is now freed from it, now receive through it the entire Light that leaves it. They are those who were attached to it, connected to it, and participated in attracting Light when it passed away.

The death of a Kabbalist means that the entire Light he absorbed inside of his soul together with his students, accumulating it with their help for all humanity, is now made free by him and passed to all the other souls. Now this Light becomes like an illumination, like surrounding Light which he gives to others. His passing symbolizes this passage of Light.

That is why we celebrate this day in this way and are happy about receiving this upper Light, which is called “The Zohar,” capable of correcting all the souls, of connecting and elevating every person to the Creator’s level. That is why this holiday is called the holiday of Light—the Light that reforms, the Light of correction. Every person has to ask himself: Does he really use this Light?

This Light has been given to us, but are we using it and are we realizing ourselves correctly? This is called participating in the holiday of Lag B’Omer.
From the program on Lag B’Omer on 5/17/11

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Question: What does it mean that each of Rabbi Shimon’s nine students represented a separate Sefira? Can Kabbalists like that exist in our time as well?

Answer: The ten Kabbalists who made it possible to write The Book of Zohar are the ten main Sefirot. Each of them, by attaining the root of his soul, understood that he belongs to one of their main ten Sefirot, and then their inner unification produced such an enormous force that they could fully reveal the upper Light and “splash it out” on us. That is why this book is called “The Zohar,” according to the name of the Light that shines in the upper part of the world of Atzilut (GAR de Atzilut).

I don’t think that today we need Kabbalists of such high stature. They have already revealed everything, have illuminated the entire system of souls, and then all the other Kabbalists joined the same system. This produced an entire corrected net of souls inside of the common system of souls, which are not corrected yet.

Now, if we want to correct ourselves, then it’s enough for us to read The Book of Zohar and as much as we can, with all our might, to try to join its authors, their souls, as well as the Kabbalists who follow them. They became the corrected part in the common system of souls, and if we want to join them, then we will be able to use all of the Lights and forces that operate in their mutual unification. That is how we will be able to use the Light of The Book of Zohar.

Essentially, we have already received everything! There already exists a corrected system of souls inside of the system that still hasn’t corrected itself. We have the book at our disposal and all of the science of Kabbalah in general, which we study by the method of Baal HaSulam. This is enough for us!

It’s clear that there will still be new revelations, we will explain everything more and will better understand what is written in this book. But from above we have already received everything in order to complete our correction.

Kabbalah is studied in a group. And every person in the world who feels that he has to correct his soul and aspires to reveal why he exists, where the root of his life is and its reason, will eventually find his way into the same net—into one of our groups. There he will begin to reveal what we are doing and how to reveal the root of the soul, how to reveal the spiritual system in which we exist, although we are there in an unconscious state for now. So how can we come to realize this system?

When we come to the group and start studying, then at first we see people in front of us. But then, after we have studied for some time, we begin to understand that these are not people, but an internal connecting net that unites us.

For now this system is dysfunctional, but we are trying to reveal a certain connection in it, looking for a force that could correct us, make us one person with one heart, bring us to love for the neighbor, mutual guarantee, and mutual unification.

This mutual aspiration toward one another in order to reveal the connection between us in the unity of hearts brings us to the sensation of that net. We feel that it exists. We suddenly begin to feel that it is present. And then, inside of this connecting system, we see ourselves and all of the great Kabbalists that enter this net as its corrected elements and support it, conducting Light inside of this system, nourishing it by the Light of unification, love, and mutual participation among all its elements.

It doesn’t matter how we sit together: physically or virtually. The most important thing is that we feel together and want to become part of the same system, to join the Kabbalists. And if we read The Book of Zohar, then we pull nourishment, force, understanding, and spiritual sensation from these souls, from that corrected net, just like children pull it out of adults. This enables us to become part of that system ourselves and attain mutuality, connection, and concessions, canceling ourselves and uniting with everyone.
From the program about Lag B’Omer on 5/17/2011

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Question: Throughout all of history, Kabbalists passed the science of Kabbalah from one generation to the next. But on the other hand, they created a special concealment over this science to make sure it wouldn’t expand all over the whole world. Why?

Answer: Kabbalists reveal their attainments in concealment. That’s why it is written, “When revealing one measure, conceal two.” This is talking about the revelation of the necessary desire in a person, in which he will then feel the upper world.

Our nature is desire, and only if this desire is present do we perceive the world inside of it. The greater the desire, the more it perceives. All the objects in our world differ from one another only by the size of the desire. The desire of level 1 is still, level 2 – vegetative, level 3 – animate, and level 4 – human. If the desire intends to enjoy by itself, then it is in our world. If it intends to give pleasure to someone else, then it is in the upper world.

It’s known that pleasure can only be felt to the extent that one has a desire for it. In other words, the Light can only be received when there is a vessel.

Concealing two measures means that a Kabbalist teacher must create a concealment in a student—the desire of one measure, the need for revelation, and the concealment of one more measure so this desire for revelation would be for the sake of bestowal. In that case, the student will merit revelation inside of that corrected desire.
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/9/11, The Zohar

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Question: How can we, your students, join your mind?

Answer: What does it mean “with me?” You are with me if you annul yourself, lower your desire before my desire. If you attend lessons, it does not necessarily mean that you are with me. This is not the study in the true meaning yet.

After all, uniting should be inner; it’s not about the words you hear. We unite through desires, goals, and common actions. The one who evokes the property of bestowal into action is the one who studies. In this case you indeed study the wisdom. You will not be able to receive the wisdom, the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), from me if you do not activate the Light of Hassadim (Mercy) as a vessel. And Hassadim is self-annulment and unity when you are ready for this.

You vacate a space for every soul in your heart, and then all souls fill this volume. The entire reality returns to you. However, it returns precisely through your annulment.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/30/2011, “The Acting Mind”

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Baal HaSulam, Letter 10: “If a student goes into exile, his teacher is exiled with him.” But how can egoistic claims overwhelm the student in his studies and work so much that he would stray off the spiritual path, despite his connection with the authentic Kabbalist teacher?

It is all due to the fact that during the descent the student thinks that his Teacher is also in descent. And it is truly so since he can receive help from the Teacher only in the extent that he values his teacher’s greatness.

Therefore, his teacher is presently low and weak, according to how the student views him, and this means that the Teacher falls together with the student. The beginning of the Egyptian exile starts with that “a new king rises over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph”—a new power in the mind of everyone who fell from his previous degree (and so did the teacher with them).

Hence, they “don’t know Joseph (the righteous man)” and imagine him being similar to themselves. And this is the beginning of bondage since otherwise, the righteous man would protect them from slavery and exile.

This passage doesn’t discuss historical events, but rather a person who is living his “spiritual history” right now. From the moment he starts seeking the purpose of life, he is led to a place where he can grow spiritually and realize his life’s purpose, unveil its secret, meaning that he finds a Kabbalistic group and the teacher.

And then, everything depends upon how much he values what he received: the group, Kabbalistic texts, and the teacher. And his “Egyptian bondage,” the exile, unfolding of his ego, starts with his ignoring the teacher.

After all, the teacher shows him the way. Otherwise, a person of this world would never attain the truth that is hidden from us; there is no chance to find it on one’s own. All souls are arranged according to the chain: AHP of the upper one descend into GE of the lower one, and only by cleaving to the former can we advance.

Hence, the Egyptian exile begins when the student ignores the teacher, which is a natural development that he must undergo. First, he doesn’t feel what happened at all and that he is veering off the path. He thinks that he is totally all right: He is advancing, understands and feels more, and can make his own decisions and judge, knowing what steps he is making.

In other words, he has an opinion about everything based upon “common sense” and “logic,” while he forgets that it’s all well and good only in regard to his personal egoism and not in relation to the “teacher, the books, and the group,” where one should always progress by way of “faith above reason.”

It is said that they no longer felt Joseph (the righteous one within), meaning that a person no longer registers his point in the heart which previously linked him to advancement, the spiritual path, and bestowal to a certain degree. And he severs the ties with spiritual progress completely since he has nothing to lean on if the teacher who was leading his way is gone.

A person thinks that he continues to evolve, while this development only pushes him deeper into the bondage that he is yet to discover. There is nothing we can do; these are the necessary stages one has to pass through.
[41106]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/2011, Baal HaSulam’s Letter 10

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Question: No matter how much I try to rise above my reason, where is the guarantee that everything I do will not end up being within my reason? How can I check whether I have risen above it, and what will help me rise?

Answer: Reason always strives toward knowledge and reception. And above reason are faith and bestowal. Now I need to elucidate: Am I heading toward bestowal because my reason wills me so or because faith wills me?

If I am situated only in one of two points, and depending on my state, I will certainly act within or below my reason, meaning that I will work for my egoism. Two points together are always necessary. Imagine that you hate the teacher, you boil with anger toward him, thinking that he is not right. And along with that you build a relationship of love, bestowal, and total rejection of yourself, and you adhere to him. Then your desire develops precisely between these two points, in their difference, due to the fact that you maintain yourself in one of them in opposition to the other.

Otherwise, what use is there from Pharaoh if you do not build your love over him, over all this hatred and confidence in you being right, to accept the teacher’s opinion in spite of your knowledge, opinion, and reason? However, if you lose one of these points, you won’t rise anymore. Usually in this case, people descend below reason.
[40632]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/2011, Shamati No.59

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Question: What is the difference between faith above reason and below reason?

Answer: If you annul yourself before the teacher because you’ve decided in your mind that it is worthwhile in order to attain spirituality, this is called faith below reason. After all, your mind endorses this kind of self-annulment: You think that the teacher is great, and with his help, you will be successful.

You need to feel the might of your ego to the fullest, the whole Pharaoh that exists within you. You need to feel these two points, Pharaoh and the Creator, meaning the extent to which you want to remain in your ego, criticizing the friends, yourself and everything in your environment, to remain in all the various calculations with the logic and potency of your sharp, rational mind.

Only then will you be able to decide that in spite of it all, it may be worthwhile to lower yourself since the mind sees that otherwise you will not attain spirituality. This is called faith below reason. Or you can go in faith above reason. How does it work? How can you go against your mind, what calculation must you make that will enable you to rise above your intellect?

This pertains not only to your attitude toward the teacher, but also toward the friends and the Creator. After all, you relate to something that is outside of you. The teacher provides the direction, you annul yourself before the group, and your friends do the same. Your goal is to unite like cogwheels, where you are dependent on them and they are on you. If you work within the group to carry out the teacher’s instruction, you will merit the revelation of the Creator, the general force of bestowal.

You annul yourself before the teacher so as to accept his advice. You annul yourself before the group so as to actualize this advice in practice, so that together, with them and within them, you can reveal the Creator.
[40636]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/2011, Shamati No. 59

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