Baal HaSulam, “600,000 Souls”: And when a single soul from Israel is purified from all its filth, it will draw onto itself the whole of the soul of Atzilut, and through it, all the souls of its generation will be completed. This is the meaning of one being dependent on the other, as it is written (Sanhedrin, 11), “It was befitting that Divinity would be upon him, but his generation was unworthy of it.”

There is the matter of individual success and there is the matter of the success of the group, and there is also global success of all of humanity. These three components have to be arranged together. It is like in an eclipse of the moon, where the moon the sun and the Earth are arranged in the right position. The soul also has to be in the same line with the generation (the group) and with the world. They have to be synchronized in some way and then the action is possible.

This is the time we are living in: There is already a crisis in the world; there is a crisis between people; there is great confusion and a great deficiency. In addition, the wisdom of Kabbalah and the necessary means are revealed. Everything is arranged the same way just like during the eclipse of the moon when the Earth conceals the light of the sun, or the other way around when the moon conceals the sun and then the world becomes dark, which is an eclipse of the sun.

The special current era is characterized by the fact that all these relative forms operate for the sake of the general advancement. If in the previous generation the world wasn’t worthy of that, now the generation is already ripe.
[118165]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 10/10/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why is it said that “there is no coercion in spirituality,” that it is impossible to force someone to perform spiritual actions, but on the other hand it is said: “He is forced until he says “I want to?”

Answer: “There is no coercion in spirituality” means that if you are on the spiritual ladder already, then it is possible to ascend to the next level only if you reach total freedom. You have to be free of everything, including the Creator, so that you can actually perform an independent action.

You find yourself in a situation with the freedom to do whatever you want and have disposed of all the punishments and rewards. You see that no matter which action you perform, whether it is close to the Creator or far from Him, whether it is good or bad, you will receive neither a punishment nor a reward. It is much easier to perform an action that is against the Creator, but you still yearn for the Creator, trying to see Him as more important in order to perform the action for His sake, for the sake of the attribute of bestowal. Then it is called freewill.

Freewill opens the option for a person to be really free of everything, including the Creator. There, at that point, we can say that “there is no coercion in spirituality.” It is there that a person chooses the fact that he wants to exert himself and to work for the Creator. It is as if he chooses the hardest way.

Freewill is the middle line, the middle third of Tifferet, a very fine balance, like a pointer on a set of very sensitive scales between two balanced forces, the good force and the evil force, holiness and impurity.

Freewill is impossible if I fear something, if I feel ashamed, or if I want a reward. There can only be freewill if I am totally free of all the fear and anxieties, of all the pleasures that illuminate in front of me. This is the state we have to stabilize regarding many factors. When you stabilize it, you have to decide what to do with it. If you become totally neutral then how can you act, on what basis can you make a decision?

When you actually achieve this free state, then you decide where you have the opportunity to make a real effort. This is really the right way. It turns out that it is your evil inclination which shows you exactly where you are; it is the evil inclination which takes you by the hand and brings you to the Creator. It shows you that if you follow this direction you will have to exert yourself in order to overcome the obstacles that it has placed before you.
[118119]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/13, Writings of Rabash

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We know from our own experience just how incapable we are of even thinking about any kind of bestowal, of tearing something away from oneself and giving it to another, even a trifle. We agree to this only if we are expecting to receive something in return or we achieve a good attitude toward ourselves. Or do we want to feel superior to others, or are showing off and awaiting others’ approval.

If we hope to get an immediate reward right on the spot, then we can give; the main thing is to receive in return. But to tear something away from oneself without any compensation clearly realizing that you will not get any benefit from it, this is completely impossible.

All corrections are possible only by virtue of the Light. It will draw us up like a magnet and pull us out of our egoism. In that moment when I am in the air, I am capable of giving without any calculation. And again the Light raises me, and being suspended in the air, I once more can give selflessly, that is, to act without expecting a benefit for myself.

It will be clear to me that I am giving and it is already vanishing into the other. But as it vanishes, I make a calculation while remaining inside this bestowal. That is, my benefit is precisely in the fact that what I have given disappears into others. I receive this new attitude due to an acquired property of bestowal.

Clearly, this is not easy, and only the Light can retain us and allow us to perform such actions of giving from ourselves outward. NHY de AK are demanding unending bestowal from us, no questions asked. All desires of one’s egoism, yearning to enjoy, to fill itself, to understand, to feel, to conquer, to dominate, with all its envy, lust, and honor, you need to turn over to the service of others and be overflowing with joy.

But you do not do this for the sake of joy; it is simply a consequence of your bestowal because you are happy that you performed a completely selfless act, and the only thing that remained in you is the Light of Hassadim.

The world of Adam Kadmon demands this kind of behavior from us—unconditional bestowal. But the world of Atzilut, which is responsible for our correction, operates more selectively. It separates some of our desires leaving them for later, regarding them to be too much to begin with. It is as if it lowers the bar for us, both in height and intensity. It does not unfold this entire shimmering spiritual picture with boundless bestowal and reception before us, but dims the Lights and dulls the desires. It becomes grayer and bleaker, but now you can at least withstand it, because otherwise it would simply swallow you and force you to receive egoistically.

This is why the World of Atzilut arranges everything in a way that leaves only a small barrier in front of us, the minimum overcoming of our egoism for the sake of bestowal. It is taking care to ensure that the temptations are not so strong and obstacles not so huge, allowing us to come closer to a state that is possible to endure. And then we ask for help in order to overcome this tiny egoistic obstacle and rise above it, each time transitioning from degree to degree.

The overcoming always consists of me hiding from all possible misfortunes inside the center of the group, becoming included in it, and above all, searching there for a concealed secure place, like an embryo within a mother’s womb. I hide from all egoistic forces (Klipot) and cleave to the upper. And once in the center of the group, I begin to grow. I now become a child who is sitting in the arms of an adult, a mother or a father, and is indicating to them where I should be carried and what I want. Thus, each time I advance with their help, choosing the direction on my own, and the upper agrees to carry me there, approving my choice. In this form, a little spiritual person grows.

A group to me is a mother and a father, and only from its center do I clarify all spiritual properties.
[117927]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/13, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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Question: Each lower Partzuf of the world of Atzilut as well as of the world of Adam Kadmon, clothes on the upper one. What does it mean “clothes”?

Answer: Clothing means attaining. I clothe on you, i.e., on your reason and your actions. It means that you attain them.

The upper one descends to the lower in order to clothe upon him. And then, when the lower holds on to him, the upper one begins to raise him to a higher level in order to help him understand it.

The lower feels that the upper gives birth to him, gives him everything, and takes care of him. And since the lower empties himself and procreates the next Partzufim, he wants to attain the upper: to know who and what he is and what is the purpose of his existence.

After all, now he feels the same need to take care of his own lower Partzufim. In order to fill them, he appeals to the upper one, because one can receive fulfillment only from the world of Infinity.

It turns out that he is obliged to communicate with the upper. Communication with the upper and his attainment is called “clothing.”

For one thing, the lower has the need to give to the one who is beneath him. For another thing, such need and lack of answers leads him to connection with the upper. For yet another thing, he is prepared to attain the upper, because he and the upper are alike as two drops of water.

Such clothing of Partzufim is always completely identical. The lower who clothes on the upper, sees in the upper the same model he has inside. He sees in the upper his own structure, like his own reflection in the mirror. He, therefore, has no problem attaining the upper. That’s why clothing means attainment. The lower sees himself exactly as the upper one wants him to be.
[29484]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/10, The Zohar

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It is clear that a person cannot do anything for the Creator. He operates out of fear of punishment or hope for a reward, but it is always for his own benefit. The moment things work out for him, he immediately forgets about the Creator. We see that a person usually turns to the Creator when he feels bad and when he cannot handle something. The moment he sees that he can manage without the Creator, he immediately leaves Him. We, however, perform actions by which we want to get closer to the Creator and we also want to correct our intention, or are at least making an effort to do so.

There are people who think that they already have the intention of in order to bestow and that they connect with the Creator through meditation. But the point is that it is impossible to operate the intention of in order to bestow or even want to reach the intention of in order to bestow if you don’t perform an action. An intention without an action is called a “demon,” a spirit that is not real.

However, if we operate with the desire to change our intention and to establish the first corrected part of our soul, it happens. This is why we are here now in the world of actions. We only have to perform the right action, the correctness is obvious, and the intentions are corrected by themselves to the extent that everyone wants to correct them. The main thing is not to sit by idly.
[118116]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/08/13, Writings of Rabash

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Question: How can I stop thinking about the past when the memories simply keep coming up?

Answer: I understand and know that it is very difficult, but you should understand that it is a game, that you are being tested as to whether or not you attribute your whole life to the Creator.

If you accept the fact that “There is none else besides Him” at least a little, then accordingly you have to decide whether you did whatever happened to you or whether it was the Creator operating you.

You should feel the same about the future: Everything depends on the Reshimot (spiritual genes) that will be revealed and the Light that will appear in the Reshimo. You are between them like a middleman who has to determine to what extent and how the Light will influence the Reshimo. There is nothing other than the Light and the Reshimo and here you can match the two, connect them, and bring them closer together.

This is possible only with regard to the future, whereas in the past everything has already happened and was done by the Creator. That’s the way it should have been; it was predetermined. It isn’t at all about whether or not you could have done things differently.

You cannot say that about the future at the moment since you are not between the two worlds yet and cannot tie these two opposites into one. But you have to say that it wasn’t you, you did nothing in the past; it was the Creator who did everything, and you adhere to this thought and feeling regarding the past.

A moment after you decide you agree with the past, you will feel the heavy thoughts and regrets again. Once again you will think about why you did or did not do something, why you behaved in a certain manner towards someone, why you lost something; I lost money here and missed good opportunities in life. There are many things you can regret about your life. This wound is opened up again on purpose so you will examine your past but so that you will complete your attitude towards the upper force, towards the one force that operates in reality.
[118010]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/13, The Zohar

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Question: I understand that we shouldn’t regret the past, but what should I do if I now find myself in a difficult situation because of mistakes that I made in the past? Does it mean that I don’t have to correct anything but hope for the Creator’s help instead?

Answer: Of course it is the Creator who has ruined everything and of course He is the one who will fix everything. You only have to ask, to thank Him for the fact that you see the corruptions He has caused, and to be thankful that you are asking Him to correct it now. After all, it says: “Everything is in the hands of the Creator, except for the fear of the Creator,” except for the fact that I see that I pin everything on Him. If He hasn’t corrected your state yet, it is a sign that you haven’t asked Him to do so or that your requests were incorrect; check them!

You are not a master of your past or future. You are in charge only of the present, the current moment—to the extent that you can choose between the path of Torah and the path of suffering, to ask the Creator to perform the correction on you—that is specifically on you!

You have to ask for such correction so as to cling to the upper governance with all your mind and heart, with all your being, with your entire consciousness, so as to not disappear in the current of life, but rather be in agreement with everything that happens and accept it in all your mind and heart, with all that you are.

But this doesn’t mean that you should simply sit and wait for the Light to do all the work. You have to perform many important actions in order to reach such serious thoughts, using all the means that you are given in this world. You will have to build this world, change society, make revolutions, manage in life, raise children, work, and worry about other people by bringing them closer to the Creator— a lot of different things.

Besides, you have to inspire the friends in the group to make sure that they have the best conditions for their study, development, and connection. You have to perform many actions, both physical and mental. But it is all in order to tie all the future moments to those of the past and the current ones with the only force acting in creation. This is our job, which is called the work of the Creator. He does everything and you justify everything that He does in all the vessels of your soul, in all your inner feelings.
[118005]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/13, The Zohar

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Question: How will it help me if I think that everything comes from one benevolent force, the Creator, if I am forced to struggle with each problem individually and deal with them separately?

Answer: If you fight every problem separately, you will never get your life in order! You will keep trying to defeat these alien forces: your boss at work, your wife, your neighbor, friends, and foes, the entire world, and you will waste all your life only to see that you resolve nothing.

Everyone will be disappointed here and very much so since we put ourselves at the mercy of thousands of reasons and people who are acting simply like robots! They are parts of our own souls, but since we haven’t attached them to ourselves correctly, we think they have their own power.

The instant you start connecting them to yourself and loving them “as you love yourself,” you will discover that they truly are like “yourself” and belong to you, and that beside them there is only one force that is at work and which arranges all this for you. And by themselves, they don’t exist and act independently.

The moment, you worry about various problems and can’t sleep, it is all because you can’t imagine yourself as a baby in the Creator’s arms. Feel how He is holding you in His arms, and you have nothing to worry about. The only thing worth worrying about is: When will I really perceive myself, unveil the Creator, and experience His love for me, which means becoming similar to Him and able to receive all this?

When the properties of love and bestowal emerge in you, you will feel how much He loves you. And if you yourself cannot love, how will you feel His love? If you hate everything that surrounds you, you will feel only hatred from everything and won’t stop suffering!

But if you could relate to everybody with love, you would feel only love that fills the entire world. It depends solely on your qualities, desires, Kelim.

So you have to, on one hand, keep calm since everything is in the hands of the Creator and “There is none else but Him,” “the good Who does good.” But on the other hand, “nobody will help me but me” to practically achieve the perception of “There is none else but Him.”

In fact, in order to feel this way, I need to have my attributes corrected and then I will be able to perceive what is really happening in reality. I am surrounded by the Light of the world of infinity, except that I don’t feel it! This is the only thing I should worry about, my properties (Kelim), in order to experience this infinity.

What else is there to worry about? Everything else is a mere illusion manifesting in my corrupted properties. And I worry about illusory problems that are painted by my corrupted senses; I am scared of shadows like a little child.
[29662]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Unity of the friends is the place where I unveil the spiritual world. The moment when I will manage to connect all our desires together, I will see in this point of oneness an opening, the entrance that leads inside into the Upper world! It will suddenly expand and unfold, and through it, I will discover a new spiritual dimension, or desire.

And it is clear that around this point of entrance that has to open for me, there are a great many barriers. And they are not obstacles; on the contrary, they attempt to aim me at entering spirituality correctly, so it looks like they deliberately trip on me from every side.

But if I don’t despair and instead try to understand that it works as “help against me,” then I will pass through all the barriers and enter the spiritual world. The entrance to it will show up in this specific point.

At present, it seems difficult and impossible to us, but it will suddenly open so we will fly directly in! We won’t have to push and keep breaking through—it will simply pull us into itself.
[30107]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: How should we prepare ourselves for the morning lesson now, after the congress?

Answer: We ask for the Light that is contained in the depth of our collective power, our common desire, to be revealed. We seek the revelation of the Light! I don’t know what the Surrounding Light is. The Surrounding, inner, outer, Nekudot (points representing vowels ), Taamim (flavors), I don’t know the difference between them; I only know that if we manage to reach unity between us in some small degree, we will be able to unveil the Light concealed within this unity.

Therefore, I apply pressure to our oneness as I see it in order to find the Light in it. What is the Light? It is the property of bestowal! I wish to have the property of bestowal revealed between us. There is a common desire where all desires are gathered in one, all our points in the hearts, and I wish to unveil the Light resting in it, the Light of oneness, mutual guarantee, and love.

I don’t assess the spiritual rungs in it yet but just wish to find spirituality, to uncover the Light, the mutual attribute of bestowal, the Creator, in order to delight Him. It is as if I have a little child and think about how to make him happy, what to buy him, what present to give him. I think and care about it. In the same way, I think about the Creator whom I wish to find in the connection between us; therefore, our unity is the place where I can reveal the Creator revealed and the state in which I can bring Him pleasure.
[29808]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/10/10, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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