Entries in the 'Spiritual Teacher' Category

In Me and Outside of Me

962.3Question: When you say something in a lesson, you emphasize to everyone that this depends on you and that depends on you, and so on. I hear it too and wonder why you don’t connect everything together?

Answer: I address them because this way I enter their reality. I speak to them on the level of their reality.

If you and I were to rise to another level where we both perceived reality differently, I would speak to you differently on another level of perceiving reality. Suppose we both sensed the absence of this world and existed in the world of Yetzira, then we would communicate on the level of forces and not images as we do now.

Right now you see me on your computer screen, and I see you on my computer screen. But if we were to move into the realm of electrical signals beyond the screen and start communicating, not through imagery, but as the computer commands, everything would be different. Imagine two wires connected to each other, nothing more. And information flows from one to the other, not as images, but as impulses.

But in a lesson, I convey information to people as if they exist separately from me, because otherwise I would not be able to explain anything.

And this is how all of Kabbalah is described. How else could it be? We address a person who perceives our world as an objective reality in which they exist rather than a reality that exists within them.

Question: So are you speaking to them? Or are you speaking just to me?

Answer: I am speaking to myself.

Question: To yourself? Then why do you keep saying that it depends on you, you, and you? I hear it too, so it turns out it depends on me and not on them.

Answer: Of course! Only on you! We say: “The whole world depends only on you.”

Comment: This feels like a trick.

My Response: It is not a trick. We exist in a state that we have no other way to communicate. No one is deceiving anyone. Are we playing childish games, deceiving each other in this world? Is there anything worthwhile on this infantile level where people supposedly deceive one another? They are deceiving themselves!

Question: So how should I relate to these elements that you communicate with?

Answer: In no way. Correct yourself.

Question: And the connection? You always talk about connection.

Answer: Connect! And you will discover that all of it is you, that all of it is yours, that you are the one and only Adam filled by the Creator. And everyone else are just parts of you that have integrally become yours, and you alone exist.

Question: But you say the problem is that people cannot achieve connection because not everyone wants it. How can that be that not everyone wants it, yet everything depends on me?

Answer: Because these are your own desires that you have not yet gathered together and corrected to resemble the Creator. Therefore they seem to be opposite to you, standing against you, with whom you must somehow work, connect with, and attract to yourself.

Question: But if it is my fault that there is no unity, why don’t you pressure me, why don’t you say: “It is your fault” instead of speaking to the entire mass around you?

Answer: Because each of them is just like you, and each one must realize that everything is contained within them.

Question: No, this is probably impossible to understand. You speak very confidently, saying that this is clear and that is clear, but at the same time, there is a contradiction in it.

Answer: Even in quantum physics we encounter such paradoxes. What can you do?

Comment: So they exist, and at the same time, they do not exist.

My Response: Yes. When we start approaching the microworld where there is a kind of threshold for transitioning to another world, we discover that nothing is definite, that two things can be in the same place at the same time, and one thing can be in two places, that distance does not exist—it is entirely conditional.

Imagine I take a piece of paper and fold it and bring two opposite points together. In linear geometry they are on a plane. But by folding the paper, they now represent a single whole. It all depends on my perception of space.

This is what a spatial leap is—the ability to leap from one part of the universe to another across millions or billions of light-years. On a plane, they are separated by billions of years, but I simply fold it and find myself in another point instantly. And it depends only on my perception—only on me! If I can fold it within myself, then I am at any point I choose.

Everything exists only relative to me.

Question: Do you practice this?

Answer: It is not about practicing or not. It is simply the reality that exists within you.

You must rise to it because everything depends on the level of your egoism—whether it is linear, flat, or whether you can already shape it in any way, control it, give it any form, and construct your true reality upon it. Take any shape and say: “This is a plane,” and build your geometry on it, meaning, perceive the entire world through it.

And what does it depend on? On how much you can integrate your nine fundamental qualities, the nine Sefirot into the tenth, in Malchut. And then everything is within you. You truly perceive everything beyond time and space, only through your internal transformation, through the sensation of the Creator within you. And nothing else exists.

And you do not grieve over losing people, souls, or communication. It is all inside you and has become even closer, deeper.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. In Me and Outside Me” 7/26/10

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The Behavior of a Kabbalist Determines the Goal

290Comment: It seems to me that you have a different attitude toward those you studied with and your students.

My Response: A student is a student. And with those with whom I studied with Rabash, we were more equal, even though there was no friendship between us. Unlike the others, I was always exclusively next to Rabash.

Of course, I treated them somehow differently, but I neither exalted nor belittled them. They knew something, but unfortunately, they did not implement it. That’s why I distanced myself from them without getting closer.

I am much closer to my students than to those who once studied with Rabash. I treat my students much better, with love.

Question: But couldn’t this be detrimental to the students? Or are you simply distancing yourself from them?

Answer: I am not distancing myself from anything. My work is my life, my world, I live within myself. I believe I should behave this way. Why should I act differently?

If you saw Rabash, he never embraced anyone. It was very rare to see him even shaking hands with his students or close ones. If a stranger approached him, of course, he would greet them with the usual human courtesy. But with the closed ones, he was absolutely ordinary. Moreover, with his students he was quite strict, even somewhat dry.

I subconsciously copy him in many ways, it happens involuntarily.

Question: And whom did he copy?

Answer: I don’t know if he copied anyone. In principle, the internal and spiritual qualities that form within you shape the way you relate to others in a certain way. You must behave this way and not otherwise because your inner traits hold you within these boundaries.

I don’t think I behave arrogantly. I just have my inner life, and I live in it. Externally, I act as I deem necessary for my spiritual existence. Basically, everything I do sets the goal, from pleasant to maybe outwardly unpleasant actions.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call, Teacher and Student” 6/25/10

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Annul Yourself Before the Truth

276.03Question: What actions should the clarification of truth and lies lead me to?

Answer: Figuring out the truth and lie leads me to the only action—annulling myself before the upper. After all, the truth is in the upper, while in me, given that I am the lowest, it is always a lie. To reveal the upper, I must accept Him by faith above reason. All the conditions the upper gives me, I must recognize as the truth, and all my inner impulses as lies.

It turns out I want to come out of myself and stick to the upper, to receive His values and try to follow them according to His mind. It is like a child who wants to use his father’s mind, and due to this, he grows up, acquiring the mind of an adult.

Due to our annulment before the upper, we gain additional opportunities. This is not how it works in our world. If I annul myself before you in this world, it means I give up one of my opinions and accept yours because I consider you to be more intelligent, cultured, educated, or a better scientist. I am annulling myself on a specific issue so I can learn from you.

But in the spiritual world, I have to annul myself before the upper in everything, so that nothing of my own remains in me. Not even like a child before adults, but much more. I need to annul myself as if I do not exist at all: annulment in thoughts and feelings. But I do it rationally and with great wisdom. Special psychological work is required here. I examine myself and observe how I annul myself before the upper to clothe in Him and adopt His state.

This form of annulling myself before the upper allows me to rise to His level. First, there is my complete self-annulment before the upper, which is called the “embryo” (Ibur). Then, there is an even greater self-annulment, which is called feeding (Yenika). And then, even greater self-annulment, called adulthood (Mochin).

Initially, it is a very simple self-annulment, although it is not easy for us to resolve ourselves. I annul myself as if I simply do not exist and turn into a single point, a drop of seed in the womb of the upper. This is just the beginning of my self-annulment. But then, to master this degree, I need to take all my previous thoughts and desires and transform them to match the upper.

They will always be the opposite because Malchut of the upper has turned into Keter of the lower; therefore, the dregs of the upper were food for me—sweetness and truth. What was garbage at the upper level (in Malchut of the upper), waste I did not want to use, turned into food, sweetness, and truth for the lower.

If I want to do other work, I have to turn all the bitterness I feel now into sweetness, and everything I thought was sweet should become bitter at the degree of the upper. All my truth, when transferred to the level of the upper, must turn into a lie, and all my lies must become the truth of the upper. This means that Malchut of the upper turns into Keter of the lower. If I want to rise, I have to do the inverse work.

But first, I just annul myself without figuring out where the truth or lie is. No matter what happens, all I care about is annulling myself before the upper as if I do not exist, and turn into a point, a drop of seed. But then I start analyzing myself and turn bitterness into sweetness and lies into truth, and so I climb the degrees.

In the nine months of embryo development, I am constantly growing due to the fact that I am annulling myself more and more, turning all my lies into truth, all the bitter tastes of giving into sweetness. It is a vast and continuous work to transform yourself into your opposite in all your desires and thoughts, turning them all to giving, bestowal, and feeling the sweetness in all this.

Clearly, this change occurs due to the light coming to me. But I must constantly annul myself at an ever higher level for the light to work on me. The light that comes to me during these 9 months of growth of the embryo is called “blood” (Dam), from the word “inanimate” (Domem), which gradually corrects me. Then, I go through the stage of “feeding” and become an “adult.”

The whole ascent from the lower to the upper consists of the work of self-annulment. Therefore, through disseminating this knowledge and reaching out to the general public, we realize our self-annulment. After all, by annulling ourselves before the people, before this world, by serving it, we annul ourselves before the Creator in it. Because it was the Creator who placed this whole world before us.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Scrutiny of Bitter and Sweet, True and False”

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Commitment to the Goal

961.2I never chase famous or wealthy people. They are absolutely empty; there is nothing you can do with them. Nothing! They exist in a society in a kind of shell that deadens them.

They are forced to play their games, to act out their performances in life. These are unfortunate people who are already dead while still alive.

So why would I need them? What can I gain from them? You have to play along with them, say what they want to hear, flatter them. Then they will pay you. But in doing so, you stop being straightforward and honest with yourself, and directed toward the goal. That is why I cannot even imagine how a Kabbalist could be involved in such things.

Question: But you do have a few famous students?

Answer: Do I single them out? I put them below everyone else. What difference does it make if one is a famous composer and another is a well-known actor? He is famous to outsiders who scream with excitement and throw their hats in the air when they see him because he entertains them from the stage.

But I do not pay any attention to that; I do not value it. Just like I do not value the few lawyers and economists who study with me. What is the difference? Do they stand out because of their spiritual potential, their inner capabilities, and how they realize them? Now that is a different matter. But everything corporeal has no relation to Kabbalah.

Being fully committed to the goal, that is what I value in a person. That is what I thank the Creator for. I have nothing good in my character or qualities except for one thing: I do not let go of the goal. Of course, this was given to me from above; it is not my own merit. But it is the only thing I truly appreciate in myself. Not that I take pride in it, but I value it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. It is Better to be Empty than Full” 6/23/10

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The Open Path for Development of the Soul

65If during the lesson you make an effort to concentrate as much as possible on what I am saying, you will feel how through these words I am opening a path for you to develop your soul.

We have texts that we study and discuss in a group. At the same time, we are influenced by the laws of nature, the laws of ten, the laws that bind us at a higher level, and the laws that bind us at a lower level, and we must constantly be in this cycle.

And when I get inside the book, it becomes my rightful ruler, like a mother to an infant who changes his diapers, bathes him, and changes his clothes over and over again. We must strive to reach a state where the Creator would want to care for us just like a mother cares for a baby.

Nothing limits us in our work, and everyone has the opportunity to make even greater efforts. But it happens that despite investing a lot, we get minimal results.

And this is a consequence of the fact that in our work there are forces acting on a person’s desires, and there are forces acting on a person’s connection with reality. And we must strive to achieve the greatest success in both of these areas.

We need to choose words and passages from The Book of Zohar that will draw the maximum illumination to us and so move forward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/24/25, Continuing the Convention With an Ascent

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The Connection of the Student with the Teacher

588.03World Kabbalah Convention Connecting to Lishma, Lesson 2

Question: You say that one must rely on the teacher, on his opinion. But when you hear the advice of the teacher, sometimes it seems that there is a contradiction in it.

How can we help each other so that each friend has clarity in relation to what you say?

Answer: When you begin to receive the “revelation of the heavens,” then it will not seem to you that you need to speak in an understandable language because you will feel these states inside yourself. We must come to this. This is called the study of Kabbalah.

Question: Is the internal connection of the student with the teacher a quality of faith above reason, and on whom does it depend?

Answer: The connection of the student with the teacher depends only on the student.

Question: We turn to the Creator with prayers and requests for unity and adhesion. Is there a place for such an appeal to the teacher-sage?

Answer: I am here precisely to give you the end of this chain.
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From the International Kabbalah Convention “Unite In Lishma” – 2/20/25, Lesson 2

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The Role of the Teacher in the Virtual Community

281.02Question: What is the teacher’s place in the virtual community? Can the system you want to create exist without a teacher?

Answer: I think it can. It is like how there used to be czars and kings and then they were replaced by parliamentary republics.

Therefore such a system can work because if a connection is established between each individual and his virtual environment, which simply more clearly shows the individual the correct attitude of society toward him, then he only has to implement it.

Rabash says in his articles that the Creator is called the teacher. Therefore the earthly teacher fades into the background.

I believe that it is quite possible to create such a system of interconnection, to launch it into implementation, and to enable my students to move forward with its help. This will be the final act of my life. And then they can move on their own.

Question: Is there a chance that without a teacher, students will get confused and will not progress? Anyway, the teacher is in spiritual attainment, and here people do not know where they are going.

Answer: It depends on the system we create. At first a person is required to gradually enter into his spiritual environment Lo Lishma.

I see this as a very serious realization of a spiritual construct. We can see from the examples of the Tamagotchi toy that a person begins to work with a computer as with a living organism, and treats the virtual environment as if it were alive. It kind of animates him, humanizes him.

We want to create an image of the right group for ourselves on the computer, which wants to position, show, manifest, and expose itself relative to each of us.

A person will see in this the appearance of the group to him; that is what the group wants to show him. Everything is absolutely clear here according to the rules outlined by Rabash.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Virtual Community, Part 6” 5/18/10

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The Innovation of Rabash

 961.1Question: You say Rabash was the first to outline the rules for working in a group. Didn’t Baal HaSulam describe them?

Answer: Kabbalists did not talk much about it; they hid such things, considering them very personal.

They simply described the structure of the upper worlds so that by reading their works you could attract the upper light. But prior to that, how you should shape yourself, you and the group, the desire to move forward, and the ascent to greater bestowal for which you need the upper light was practically not discussed. This is each person’s inner work, his work in the heart.

Therefore, before Rabash, humanity did not need a massive explanation and the implementation of group work. Rabash described the rules of interacting in the group very clearly, but did not disclose his writings because the time had not yet come.

We see that his method of working in a group is the most important thing he has done for the world. In fact, he has done a lot, but this is the most important and most necessary thing for us. Right now, this technique can be implemented in our organization and in us.

There is a reason we are called by his name: Bnei Baruch. Indeed, apart from that, we do not need anything else. As Baal HaSulam said, love of friends covers absolutely all our problems.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Virtual Community, Part 4” 5/17/10

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Contact With Rabash

961.2My teacher, Rabash, passed away in my arms. I did everything I could to keep him alive, but what is beyond our power is simply beyond our power.

We must help a person because we never truly know the final verdict concerning them. That is why we are obligated to make every effort to ease their life. But the moment they are gone, that is it.

After his passing, I shut myself away for several months, dedicating myself completely to the study of Kabbalah, cutting myself off from everyone except him. Though, to be honest, I was always only with him anyway.

I didn’t feel, and still don’t feel, a significant difference whether he is physically near me or not.
When I was a young student, it was very important for me to be physically close to him, to listen, to see, to ask questions, to feel my connection to him. It gave me a sense of security, a way forward, confidence in myself “at his expense,” so to speak.

But over time, I became more or less independent, relatively speaking, of course. Still, I have no illusions about the fact that even today, we are in contact. I feel it absolutely clearly, just as one can feel a close person nearby, perhaps in the next room or standing behind you.

The thing is, there’s an image you form inside yourself from his physical presence, impressions, and expressions toward you. And then, there is his spiritual presence in relation to you when you create his spiritual image. In this way, you remain connected.

Question: But when people say, “I’m still in contact with my teacher,” it immediately brings to mind an image of a ghost hovering around, whispering, “Tell him this… Let him do that…”

Answer: That’s all just human nonsense.

Your next level, where you connect with him, exists within you just like everything else.
You cannot connect with him unless you yourself rise to the level of souls, unless you reveal the collective soul from within your own point in the heart. In it, you feel all other souls, absolutely everything!

To what extent depends on your level, but you do begin to feel it, like a small child feeling the world around them. There is still some contact.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Death of Rabash…” 4/10/10

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The Group—Informational Amplifier

945Question: Why do you say it is preferable to watch lessons in a large group? Does it  amplify your information?

Answer: Of course. It is said: “In the multitude of people is the King’s glory.” We are very small by ourselves. But if a thousand people are listening to a lesson, wow! And if it is ten thousand? WOW! We look at the headcount and the numbers, but we do not understand the quality.

Question: Is the group a very strong amplifier?

Answer: Yes, there is a big difference between whether I give information to one person or a thousand. After all, it is distributed among all according to each person’s disposition. There are instances when you can study with one person, expressly tune them in, and lead them toward a spiritual goal. However, there is no such thing today. Today it is only going out to the masses.

At one time I was a student of Rabash, and he was constantly engaged with me. Every morning we went for walks together, and every week we would go on a two-day trip to Tiberias. However, these are isolated instances that Kabbalists had in the past.

But now we have crossed a line, and I do not think it can happen again. There is no such option today. I do not see anyone I can bring near me and shape into a leader of the next generation.

This would be in great contrast with all the others and would harm the general dissemination of Kabbalah, which is very relevant now.

In the past, there was no way to disseminate, but this is no longer the case. Nowadays dissemination is only for the masses.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. The Group—Informational Amplifier” 4/17/10

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