Entries in the 'Spiritual Work' Category

The Patent for Infinite Pleasure

198Question: What does it mean “to receive from the Creator in order to bring Him pleasure”?

Answer: Baal HaSulam explains this in the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” using the example of a guest and a host.

A guest comes to the host. The host has laid a table full of food for him because he loves the guest with boundless love, without any calculation, and wants to give him pleasure very much.

The guest feels how the host loves him and wants to bring him pleasure. But suddenly the guest feels such shame that he cannot accept anything from the host.

The host loves him so much and so deeply desires to bring him pleasure; he already knows how much the guest wants to receive and what dishes he likes. He has prepared everything exactly according to the guest’s wishes, both in quantity and quality.

But the guest feels shame. What should he do? The guest refuses to accept the meal:

“I do not want to receive anything! I want to bestow like you do! You have shown me your love, and I feel it. How can I do the same to you?” The guest begins to think: “But if I do not accept anything, I will give it back to the host. Is this how I respond to his love?! What can I do?!”

And then he finds a solution: “I will receive only for the sake of the host. Since the host has the desire to bestow and wants me to receive, I must first enter into his desire so that it becomes my goal. I enter his desire and feel how he loves me, how much he wants me to receive, how he suffers from my refusal to accept his offering. I work with his desire and think only about how I can fulfill it.”

Through being inside his desire and striving only to fulfill it, I discover the ability to do so within myself by accepting the meal and enjoying it, because only through the pleasure that I feel can I bring pleasure to the host. I am obliged to receive and enjoy without limit because I feel how this fills him.

In this way, each one works with the other’s desire. The host thinks about how the guest will receive from him and enjoy. And the guest thinks about how he will receive and enjoy in order to fulfill the host’s desire to bring pleasure to him. Each uses their own desire to fulfill the other’s desire.

At the same time, each benefits doubly, or even more, because each exits themselves outward, and thereby experiences infinite, boundless pleasure.

This “patent” seems very simple at first glance. But when we begin to contemplate it, it appears difficult to implement.

However, ideally, if we understand it, this is the only way to fill ourselves with infinite pleasure, because I use the desire of the other, outside myself.

The Creator is an infinite desire, and I am merely a tiny point. But if I begin to attach myself to Him, I thereby acquire an infinite desire for myself that I can fulfill. And I begin to feel how I fill it and how that desire is enjoying itself.

It turns out that by treating Him with love, I receive infinite desires, infinite life, eternity, and perfection. I receive all of this if I relate to the Creator as the goal that I must fulfill.

Therefore the wisdom of Kabbalah is truly the science of reception (the word “Kabbalah” in Hebrew means “reception”), of how to receive and how to enjoy myself without any limitations.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/17/10, The Book of The Zohar

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The Importance Of Connection With The Creator

276.02It is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” that only the low can see the exaltedness (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 26, “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”).

Why specifically the lowly? After all, we usually say the opposite, that attainment of the Creator comes according to the equivalence of form between a person’s qualities and the Creator’s qualities. If I feel the Creator, see Him, it means I have become similar to Him. Does it mean that if I become lowly, then the Creator is also lowly?

So what does the phrase mean: “The Lord is high and the low will see”?

Baal HaSulam explains that The letters “Yakar” [precious] are the letters of “Yakir” [will know]. This means that one knows the exaltedness of a thing to the extent that it is precious to one.

One is impressed according to the importance of the thing. The impression brings one to a sensation in the heart, and according to the measure of one’s recognition of the importance, to that extent, joy is born in him.

Thus, joy is a result of the importance of something—an object, a state, or an event.

Thus, if one knows his lowliness, that he is not more privileged than his contemporaries, meaning he sees that there are many people in the world… who have not attained understanding of where they are, what they live for, who created them, for what purpose, and how. Meaning, they exist on a lower level than he does.

Even from an egoistic perspective, without any intention to have a special connection with the Creator, these people are not in connection with Him, not only a direct connection, but not even an inverse one. The Creator has not yet made a single move toward them.

While he was imparted the desire and thought to at least occasionally to remember Him, to aspire toward Him, to be with Him in one system, to feel that he is approaching or even moving away, but is still in some kind of coordination, some kind of connection with Him, even the simplest.

And if a person can appreciate such an attitude of the Creator toward him, regardless of whether it seems good or bad, if he assigns importance to this connection, then he must thank and praise the Creator, and one is elated by every single point in the holy work, he knows Whose servant he is, and thus soars ever higher.

Even if it is just to be in some kind of mutual reciprocal contact, some movement toward one another even without any special intention to become like Him

Still, if I simply remember that I have a connection with Him, one that exists right now, then I already come to some feeling of joy in the heart.

Even if I would like more, the very fact that there is a contact, and that the Creator reaches out to connect with me should fill me with joy.

As soon as we begin to realize that we are in contact with Him, the next opportunity arises: I can now expand this connection by constantly praising Him according to how great this connection appears to me.

In truth, we are unable to measure a person’s connection with the Creator, and to the extent it seems great to us, so it indeed will be. I become permeated with this sensation of connection and rise to ever-higher levels of gratitude, awareness, and importance.

I begin to feel all the details of the spiritual work, all the mutual connections between us, I attain with Whom I have a connection, and in this way, I reveal more and more nuances and summits of our bond.

It is precisely through this effort that a person—even from the most initial, lowly, and minor connection—reaches the greatest possible state of adhesion with the Creator.

Baal HaSulam briefly mentions this in the article “The Future of a Person Depends on His Gratitude for the Past.” That is, a person’s future depends on the extent to which he cherishes his connection with the Creator even in the smallest doses of interaction.

This is the meaning of what is written, “I thank You for the grace that You have made with me,” meaning for the past, and by this one can confidently say, and he does say, “and that You are destined to do with me.”

Therefore, it is necessary to restore full connection with the Creator and to express gratitude for the past, present, and future, relying on the fact that we have reached such a lofty evaluation of this connection.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/2019, “What does the future depend on?”

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Everything Was Created with One Thought

703.04Everything was created by a single thought, and this one thought encompasses and includes everything from the beginning of creation to its end. Everything that comes from there is contained there, which due to our lack of correction appears to us as fragmented and contradictory to the extreme.

But all this division and separation, all the “antagonism” and opposition between these parts, exists only in us, in our perception. We simply lack the unity to see them as a single whole where each detail complements the other.

If we correct our desire by equipping it with an intention for the sake of bestowal, then these two poles (the left and the right) will merge together and unite in the middle line. Then for us, everything will unite into one, both the force of the Creator and the force of creation. We will come to understand that all these separating forces, which tore us apart, were only necessary in order to reveal our unity. Without them, we would not have been able to attain it! The advantage of the light is attained from within the darkness.

The advantage of the light, unity, bestowal, love, is attained only through darkness, through its opposite states. Otherwise, we would not be able to attain it, to understand and feel the taste of adhesion. A person understands everything only through the contrast of two opposites.

Therefore, in the thought of creation there is only one quality. But in creation itself two opposite qualities were embedded so that it could correct itself and unify them into one. In doing so, it becomes similar to the Creator.

The perfection of the Creator lies in His singular quality—bestowal. Creation is perfected when it includes two qualities: the desire to receive, but with the intention to bestow. Its intention is bestowal, and in contrast, it possesses a desire to receive fulfillment. It is precisely from the difference between these two that it perceives unity.

That is why it is said, “The greater the person, the greater his ego.” The greatest separation and opposition are revealed just before attaining the world of infinity. There a person feels an infinite gap between reception and bestowal, the utter impossibility of uniting them and making them complement each other. This is what one feels right before making the final correction.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/15/2011, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Questions about Spiritual Work—245

281.02Question: You said that through the changing of states of separation and connection, we can come to understand the nature of the Creator. How can this be done?

Answer: I don’t know! We will advance toward it, and eventually from within the qualities that divide us, we will gradually learn how to connect above those qualities. In this way, we will understand what the Creator is, and what is prepared for us.

Question: Baal HaSulam writes: “First, the body divides and completely denies him of the radiance of the soul, and by the force of the Torah and the Mitzva [commandment], the body is cleansed, and to the extent of its cleansing, the common soul shines on him.” What is this shining of the common soul?

Answer: When we attain it, then you will feel it and understand.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/26/2025, “The Ruin as an Opportunity for Correction”

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Stepping on Our Egoism 125 Times

528.04In order to resemble the structure of the infinite vessel (desire), in which we exist as one soul in the world of Infinity, each of us must annul our ego, the egoistic “I,” through 125 degrees. As we descended from the world of Infinity, our “I” grew and grew until it reached this world, where each one became a tiny point. But as we begin to ascend back upward, our ego continues to grow until it becomes immense, and each time we must turn it into bestowal.

Therefore, the work against the evil inclination is ongoing, and it can only be done through mutual effort. Each rung of the ladder is a specific form of connection between the parts of the shattered soul that desire to unite despite their egoism.

It is impossible to advance without a yearning for mutual connection, in which each one invests the maximum of their capabilities and even more. Each must carry out their own inner calculation and do everything within their power.

Everything should be gathered together: their desire, effort, the importance they attribute to their state, to the environment, to the greatness of bestowal, and of the Creator. Along with the feeling of one’s lowliness and opposition to all of this, the sense of emptiness and, simultaneously, the expectation of fulfillment within the collective desire, if connection is attained.

This is the essence of the work: to unite all of this within oneself and, internally, without any words, to desire to pass it to another to strengthen him so that all of this would also take place in him, and he would feel that he must inspire others with the greatness of the goal.

On the other hand, we are friends, and I am not greater than others; on the contrary, I am smaller, and I want to receive support and help from them. For without the support of a friend, I cannot make even the tiniest step.

In these endless, ongoing clarifications, internal work, and analysis, a person discerns all the details of their connection with the group, above all rejection, separation, and disturbances that they receive. All actions must stem from the person themselves, from their yearning and inspiration, and of course, with the support of the group. But they must understand that all the disturbances come from above, from that perfect, infinite Kli that we are all destined to reach.

This infinite vessel is our goal, where the principle is realized: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.” This is how one should always picture their advancement.

Only if one constantly envisions this boundless, perfect state where Israel (one who aspires straight to the Creator), the Torah (the light that reforms), and the Creator merge into a single whole, then one is on the correct path.

The light that created the desire and fills it, also shattered this desire, and it is the light that corrects it. And from the person’s side, there is only one action: to request correction. In doing so, one expresses all of their ability, their entire act, their whole desire to delight the host, the Creator. After all, the ultimate goal is to bring contentment to the Creator, as it is said: “From the love of friends to the love of the Creator.”

Therefore, all the clarifications at every degree eventually merge into one conclusion: the person, the group, and the light that reforms all unite together in order to bring contentment to the Creator and to reach the same form as Malchut of the world of Infinity.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/11, Writings of Rabash “According to What Is Explained Concerning ‘Love Thy Friend as Thyself’”

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The Fiery Arc Between Degrees

232.08Question: In order for a new plant to grow, a seed is needed, one that contains the full potential. But then the seed must completely rot, and only then can a sprout break through. Can we take this example for spiritual development? Is some kind of gap necessary before rising to the next degree?

Answer: There is a gap between the degrees, and the desire must make a leap to reach the next one. I perform 99% of the work on my current degree in order to reach such an acute desire to ascend from it that remaining on it becomes “worse than death.”

I act above reason, annul all my intellect and feeling, and want nothing except greater bestowal, the quality that the upper degree possesses. I cling with all my strength to the teacher, the environment, and the books just to complete this one remaining percent. But I am certain and know that only the light can help me make this leap.

A gap remains, like between two electrodes, which must be bridged by a spark. I’ve brought my “electrode,” my current degree, as close as possible to the next one. But now, what must connect them is a fiery, electric arc, and that is no longer within my power. What depends on me is only the effort, my desire to eliminate this gap, to short-circuit it!

This is the very percent that the Creator completes for you, when you’ve done all that depends on you and approached so closely that what remains between the degrees is only the stony heart (Lev haEven), which you cannot short-circuit, and then the Creator breaks through it for you and carries out this leap.

Because between degrees there exists an infinite gap. You cannot pass from one to the other, you can only jump. The difference between degrees is as between Yesh (existence) and Ein (non-existence), between the Creator and creation. After all, on the next degree, you become in some aspect similar to the Creator. You transition from the degree of creation to the degree of the Creator.

And the same occurs on the next degree, once you’ve realized it completely on the level of creation, you must once again leap to the degree of the Creator that is higher than you.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/11/11, Writing of Rabash

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The Degree of Importance

231.01It is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,'”that only the low can see the exaltedness. The letters “Yakar” [precious] are the letters of “Yakir” [will know]. This means that one knows the exaltedness of a thing to the extent that it is precious to one.

One is impressed according to the importance of the thing. The impression brings one to a sensation in the heart, and according to the measure of one’s recognition of the importance, to that extent, joy is born in him (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 26, “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”).

It all depends on the degree of importance, which depends on the environment. If people are talking about spirituality everywhere, I am ignited with desire and begin to appreciate it although I have no idea what it is. Then I have the fuel, the strength, to follow the path and acquire something ephemeral, the subject of everyone’s conversation, which escapes my field of vision. This is not a problem; I am ready to follow others with my eyes closed.

This is how society “hypnotizes” me and pushes me forward. In our world, it ends up with me meaninglessly buying things I don’t have the slightest need for. But in a group, it pushes me toward a spiritual goal, which I gradually reveal until it comes out in its entirety. This whole path, all the steps of the spiritual ladder, are conquered only because I am imbued with the importance of the goal from the environment.

Thus, if one knows his lowliness, that he is not more privileged than his contemporaries, meaning he sees that there are many people in the world who were not given the strength to do the holy work even in the simplest way, even without the intention and in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], even in Lo Lishma of Lo Lishma, and even in preparation for the preparation of the clothing of Kedusha [holiness], while he was imparted the desire and thought to at least occasionally do holy work, even in the simplest possible way, if one can appreciate the importance of this, according to the importance one attributes to the holy work, to that extent he should give praise and thanks for it.

This is so because it is true that we cannot appreciate the importance of being able to sometimes observe the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Creator, even without any intention. In that state, one comes to feel elation and joy in the heart.

The praise and the gratitude one gives for it expand the feelings, and one is elated by every single point in the holy work, he knows Whose servant he is, and thus soars ever higher. This is the meaning of what is written, “I thank You for the grace that You have made with me,” meaning for the past, and by this one can confidently say, and he does say, “and that You are destined to do with me (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 26, “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”).

There is no one worthy to come to the Creator. Moreover, no one deserves to come to the Creator before others do. What kind of merit can there be?

Therefore, if a person is at least involved in the process, is drawn to spirituality although in fact the Creator is pulling him toward Himself, one should be grateful for it, it should be given great importance and significance. Because of the degree of importance and sensitivity a person has cultivated in himself, he feels how the Creator draws him upward in a mutual relationship. It turns out that the Creator is behind his entire story, behind all crimes and missteps through which He deliberately guides a person right up to the present day. Then a person begins to acquire a sixth sense—the sensation of the Creator. This is only in the measure of the importance he has.

Why is the formula so simple? Why do we only need to give importance to spirituality in order to evoke a response from the Creator?

In fact, this awareness of importance includes everything. For its sake, I must bow my head, as it is said: “The Lord is high, and the low will see.” I raise Him in my eyes, i.e., the property of giving, and lower myself, i.e., the property of receiving.

I take strength for that from the environment, which means I have to join it as a small one. After all, it is the small one who can learn from the great one because he really perceives them as such. That is why I join a group, and by doing so, I already develop the quality of bestowal, love for my neighbor, and unity.

At the same time, I also need to study the actions of the Creator: how He set up the whole reality. Also, I have to spread this message to others. After all, I honor Him, and therefore I find out what He wants. He wants to reveal Himself to everyone, to bestow to others, and so I act in this direction.

It turns out that the mere concept of the importance of the Creator is enough to add everything necessary, everything that exists in me, in the vessel, and before the light to this action.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/24/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam “One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past”

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Correction Is Getting Closer to One Another

530It is written that “The Torah, the Creator, and Israel are one” (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 78); all these three components must be united. Baal HaSulam explains that Israel is a person who wants to return to his root as united, in similarity, that is, in mutual love with the Creator.

Torah is the stages he goes through in preparing himself for the need to unite in a group, a common desire, a request. Then the light comes, which manifests itself in a welded vessel.

But with regard to a broken vessel that wants to unite, this light is called the surrounding light that returns to the source. It corrects desires as much as possible, at the level friends are at, that is, at the level of our connection. Then their action is called the fulfillment of the 613 commandments, the correction of desires.

They perform these corrections at every opportunity available to them when the light awakens them to the next state. The light comes from infinity to their level and pulls them up a little higher each time. If they work this way, they eventually reach the final state, the goal of creation.

But there is nothing here except fulfilling the law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. At each stage, when we ask for the reforming light, the light that returns to the source, it comes (that is, it awakens inside us), corrects, and unites us. This is called the Torah—its 613 lights that correct 613 egoistic desires by converting them all to bestowal.

Afterward, the revelation of the Creator is clothed in them; it is the general light that is revealed in the light of Hassadim, in the light of bestowal.

That is, all our work consists of: on the one hand, in annulling ourselves, on the other hand, in our growth, in order to be able to influence others, and in the connection between us realized by the light that returns to the source.

It is already among us; we just need to reveal it! After all, we do not feel the force of correction, but only ourselves when we become a little more corrected.

To become more corrected means to become inwardly closer to each other and connect, internally, not externally!. Due to this inner closeness, we begin to feel what connection means, the force of bestowal.

By getting to know the force of bestowal, we attain the Creator and begin to understand the purpose of creation, its program, reason, and the entire process we go through in revealing the actions of the Creator. In revealing the actions of the Creator to the creatures lies the pleasure we can give Him, so that all creatures recognize Him as a giver and bringer of goodness.

For those who want to advance and consider this the main goal, nothing will work except imagining a corrected state and always trying to get closer to it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/11, Writings of Rabash “According to What Is Explained Concerning ‘Love Thy Friend as Thyself’”

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A Test on Devotion to Spirituality

938.04…there is only one counsel then: to cling to his teacher and to the books. This is called “From the mouth of books and from the mouth of authors.” Only by clinging to them can he change his mind and will for the better. However, witty arguments will not help him change his mind…

In other words, all the concepts upon which he builds his building, saying one must always follow in the path of the Creator, is founded in Dvekut with his teacher. Thus, if he loses the foundation, all the concepts are powerless since they will now be lacking the foundation. (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 25, “Things that come from the Heart“)

When after many hardships, searches for the meaning of life, or attempts to suppress the inner questioning with antidepressants a path is finally revealed to a person, and he is brought to a Kabbalistic group and a teacher, he faces the task of changing how he sees himself and the world, transforming his perception.

To do this, he must follow the advice of the Kabbalists: “Make for yourself a Rav and buy yourself a friend.” In other words, he must attach to something outside of himself. If he replaces his own desire with the desire of another—of the teacher, the group, the friends, those close to him in spirit—he acquires a spiritual vessel through this.

He then moves from an egoistic approach where he perceives nothing more than this so-called world, to a perception through the group where he begins to feel the spiritual world.

Here, unity with the teacher is of great importance, because someone must bring the person into the group where he will acquire his spiritual vessel. Just as in life, there are childhood years before one grows up, and during this time one is guided and supported by parents, society, and an entire system.

When a person matures and enters life, he finds his place in this system and can exist independently. But first, someone must give birth to him, guide him through childhood, and help him stand on his own two feet. This guide, this educator, is the teacher—or as he is called in Kabbalah, Rav (great one). This is a spiritual concept and not a physical body.

Rav is the higher part of the general system, who cares for the students just as the spiritual Partzufim Aba ve-Ima care for ZON in order to raise them upward. Why are we given the sensation of this higher part of the system in the form of a physical person living in our world? So that we can be awakened in some way through events of this material life and feel that we have support.

The measure of a person’s spiritual advancement is how closely he follows the teacher’s advice regarding spiritual actions, how much he acts with faith above reason, that is, replacing his own opinion with the teacher’s, his own values with the values of the upper one. Along this path, there are many ups and downs: from love for the teacher to hatred toward him, many doubts, questions, and clarifications.

A person goes through many states and must experience them all. But the key is to hasten the process and realize that he has been given the opportunity to rise above himself and cling to the upper one even in a material way: through a physical person, through that person’s desires, thoughts, teachings, help, and submission to his advice, which is often contrary to one’s own opinion, calculations, and pragmatic logic.

Ultimately, he realizes that he cannot pass the exam of devotion and union with spirituality if he does not first pass it in relation to his teacher.

As Baal HaSulam says in his Speech for the Completion of The Zohar:

“Serving one’s teacher with body and soul leads to unity with him—that is, to similarity of form. In this way, the student receives the thoughts and knowledge of the teacher ‘mouth to mouth,’ through the merging of souls. By this, he attains the greatness of the Creator to such a degree that bestowal becomes reception, turning into the energy sufficient to place his entire soul and being into achieving adhesion with the Creator.”

Thus, merging with the teacher is a means for spiritual advancement. Through it, one transitions from learning “mouth to ear” to the spiritual transmission of information “mouth to mouth,” through an internal channel that arises between the student, the teacher, and the upper system.

Of course, this is merely a means for attaining adhesion with the Creator. Just as a father and mother are the means through which a person is born, grows, and becomes ready for independent life, so too are these systems—the teacher, the group, and the books—absolutely essential. One cannot do without them.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/1/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Things that Come from the Heart”

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“From Above They Give Giving, and Take, They Do Not Take”

232.08“From above they give giving, and take, they do not take” (as all that is given from above is not received in return, but stays below). Hence, if one extends something from above and then blemishes it, it remains below, but not with the person. Instead, it falls to the sea of the Sitra Achra (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 35 “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha”).

I drew the light, but I am unable to retain it. In the first moment, I reached equivalence with the light, and it was revealed within my desire. But already in the next instant, a new, uncorrected informational record (Reshimo) was revealed in me, which needed to be adjusted anew to the light.

But I didn’t do that, and therefore the previous light disappears from me. In truth, the light remains; it is just that I cease to feel it because my desire has been renewed.

From the illumination I received, I must learn how to continue next time: to prepare the desires, the foundation, the forces, the mutual guarantee, the confidence, in order to draw the light for the sake of bestowal. Each time, my participation must grow greater and greater.

At every following moment a new Reshimo is revealed that no longer matches the previous state. A stronger desire emerges, and opposite it a greater light. I must align the desire to the light by applying greater effort. But I did not do this; I was not prepared, and therefore I lost the illumination of the previous state.

The system is initially built in such a way that I am never immediately ready to receive the light. Since my vessel is broken, a corrupted desire is revealed along with a light opposite to it, which, of course, I am unable to receive at that moment. It is written about this: “There is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin.” And after every transgression, a correction, a commandment, is revealed, because “It is impossible to perform a commandment before transgressing it.”

First, there is always a revelation of the shattering. That is how we advance, we fall, and we rise. Without a descent, there is no ascent, no correct use of the desire to receive, because the desire is only revealed through the feeling of descent.

The desire becomes suitable for work only after being impressed by the qualities of the light. This occurred at the time of the shattering. Due to the light entering the desires, the shattering happens, the boundary between the desire to receive and the desire to bestow breaks down, and these desires intermingle.

Within creation, the qualities of the light and the qualities of the vessel mix. Thus, through the shattering, creation acquires the attributes of the Creator, even though it perceives itself as corrupted and broken. But this unpleasant feeling stems precisely from the sense of being opposite to the Creator, that is, because the Creator is present within creation and is revealed in it.

This is already their meeting, contact, and revelation. Therefore, only after the shattering can we truly speak of a creation that stands opposite the Creator. The creation can now neglect the Creator and desire to rule independently: this impure force (Sitra Achra) is our true nature, the sense of our opposition to the Creator.

This is an advanced state, because now there is a connection with the Creator and an awareness of its opposition within creation. The creation knows the Creator and knows itself, and still insists: “I will rule!” From this point on, correction becomes possible, but not before. This occurred during the shattering of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile, and therefore, only now, today, have we become ready for correction, and not earlier.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/4/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha”

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