Question: What is truth?

Answer: Truth is the upper light that covers all the differences and disagreements that exist in the Kelim. The light of the Creator in its pure form, before it passes through the Kelim, is called truth.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/22/25, Writings of Rabash “What Are the Light Mitzvot that a Person Tramples with His Heels, in the Work?”

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We are working and preparing ourselves to ascend to a spiritual degree, but all we can do is apply effort and nothing more.

The actual action is performed by the light; I do not have the strength to rise above myself. I cannot grab myself by the hair and pull myself out of the swamp of egoism!

The result of all our efforts is called “He labored and found,” because the action is performed by the upper light.

The exodus from Egypt happens through the awakening from above, due to the revelation of a very great light, GAR de Hochma.

It is called the darkness of Egypt because the light is revealed, but we have no clothing of Hassadim to perceive it.

That is why it is called night and not day, and not an ascent through spiritual degrees but rather an escape, a leap. Pesach comes from the word “to skip” (passover).

This ascent occurs in a person as a single impulse beyond time, motion, space, or any human evaluation.
Everything happens through the force of the influence from above. That is why we must be prepared for this exodus.

It comes suddenly, in haste, and the moment before it happens, a person cannot even imagine that they are standing right at the threshold of exiting Egypt that it is about to happen.

It occurs completely unplanned. And it is said about the transition itself that when the Creator does this to us, we experience it as if in a dream.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/10, The Zohar, Chapter 166, “Bo”

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Question: A person often has a state where he tries to avoid transitioning into the spiritual. That is, his egoism pushes him away, and makes him take some steps of retreat. How can one avoid making a mistake here and still go against his ego?

Answer: This must be done in advance. The moment you miss it, nothing will help. Egoism will still trick you, drag you in, distract you, and you will not be able to escape it. Therefore you must always protect yourself in advance, like a climber who is in a rope team with others. Without this you cannot do anything; such a connection is essential.

Moreover, it must be constant, every second. In Kabbalah, you fall every second, and without this connection, you fall into the abyss, and then you have to climb back up. This takes a lifetime. That is why a person does not manage to achieve spirituality, let alone advance through 125 steps.

Everything is created very clearly and logically when you act correctly. It is the law of nature. There are no concessions from the Creator here: “You are so small my beloved; I will make everything okay.” No! Here the force of bestowal and the force of reception are opposed to each other. And you must find the right connection between them and act clearly. This is the law!

It is not like in our world where from our weakness we constantly create anti-natural conditions for ourselves. Nature has no mercy as we imagine it. To receive what I do not deserve is what we call mercy, but this is wrong. Why should it be like this? “Because I am so beautiful.”

If we understood the essence of nature and how we should behave with it, we would truly succeed, justify the Creator’s actions, and not wait for some favors. It is exactly like in the saying, “We should not wait for favors from nature.” We should not wait for it to show mercy toward us, but we should study its laws and clearly reproduce them within ourselves. And then there will be no problems. We will see how perfect and eternal it is and become similar to it.

Question: What could be the solution for a person to prepare himself in advance?

Answer: It is only in connection with others, only in a state of mutual guarantee. And this is given.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. How to Deceive Egoism” 5/18/10

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And a certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” And he said, “I seek my brothers. Tell me, I pray you, where they are feeding the flock?” (Genesis, 37) (RABASH, “Love of Friends – 1“).

At the point a person collects all one’s previous searches, doubts, regrets, and aspirations within oneself reaches a state called “Yosef” [Joesph] in their development. The word “Yosef” is derived from “asefa” or “osef,” meaning “to collect.”

At this point, Man, with a capital letter, appears within a person and asks: “What are you really seeking?” This marks the beginning of one’s spiritual journey.

Before this, one was internally torn and did not know where, why, for what purpose, or how to proceed. Even now a person does not really know, but the “Man” emerging in him or her from within begins to explain the purpose of life, what path one should follow, what to dedicate oneself to, and what to achieve.

Then he asks himself: “So what do you really want?” And Joseph within him answers: “I seek my brothers.” This means that a state of truth has manifested itself within him and reveals the true purpose of creation. Now he takes a direct path to Egypt into the heart of egoism, toward Pharaoh, in order to explore his nature, and by correcting it achieve the purpose of creation.

It is precisely after his brothers, i.e., his internal qualities, betrayed him, sold him, and reduced him to nothing, that he begins to understand that only by annulling himself can he unite with them and truly feel his nature—everything that is within him but has not yet emerged—and attain the Creator from it.

He feels that all his qualities or “brothers” are against him because their true egoistic nature is now beginning to manifest itself.

Therefore from the point of bifurcation that he has passed, he connects with them by annulling himself. From now on he can incorporate them all within himself, i.e., become Joseph, by gathering all his previous qualities within him: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, and Hod. He himself is Yesod, the last of the six Sefirot.

Joseph does not have a quality of his own; he can only collect together his previous qualities, everything he aspires to and is capable of, what he is suitable for, and what he lacks. This is his mission. Only then can he correctly connect with egoism, with Malchut, in which Keter, the quality of the Creator, will manifest itself.

Comment: You claim that Joseph must annul himself before his brothers to include them within himself. But the article says that they must annul themselves before him.

My Response: It is stated this way because his brothers are his qualities that he must gather within himself. Initially, they exist in him in an egoistic form, and therefore, when they sell him into slavery, he changes his attitude toward them, toward how he should gather these qualities.

Initially he has an aspiration for attainment, for the Creator, for the meaning of life, but it is still clothed in general egoism. But when he is thrown into a pit and then redeemed, he already forms a correct attitude toward his mission. He must rise above himself. If earlier he believed that everyone should egoistically unite within him, he now understands that only self-annulment is necessary.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. The Last Generation” 6/21/18

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Israel will not return to their land until they are all in one bundle.

Our sages said, “Israel will not be redeemed until they are all in one bundle.”

2. We must understand how Israel’s unity pertains to redemption (Baal HaSulam, “Inheritance of the Land“).

What does “return to their land” mean?

If we speak about the external world, returning to the land of Israel is not such a great problem. It is possible that we could have done so several hundred years ago. After all, Jews have always lived here.

However, we are talking about the connection of the branch and the root. “Return to their land” means returning to a desire that is entirely directed toward the Creator (Yashar-El). This is the origin of the name “Israel.”

How can I return my desire to the Creator? This is possible only if, together with all other desires, I become a unified whole.

By correctly interpreting the terms, we see that everything aligns. The sages did not play with words, but arranged them precisely according to their meaning. Israel cannot return to their land until they become one. In doing so, they realize the essence of these words and fuse desires into a single aspiration toward the Creator.

On the other hand, in exile, outside the land of Israel, they are divided, separated from one another, and full of mutual hatred.

Understanding the meaning of the words makes their significance clear. Abraham asked the Creator: “How will I know that I will inherit this land?” In other words, why do we go through this process, and how do we return to our land, the desire wholly directed toward the Creator, toward bestowal?

If we return to bestowal, we will inevitably return to the spiritual land of Israel. Then by the very nature of reality, spiritual forces will influence the corporeal world, and a corresponding situation will arise here as well.

In the past, we adhered to the intention of bestowal both in corporeality and spirituality. As a result, the physical land of Israel corresponded to its spiritual root. Then, having lost our spiritual aspect, we were expelled from the physical land of Israel as well.

Now, as Baal HaSulam states, we have been given an opportunity for spiritual ascent, and therefore we have returned here. Though in essence we do not yet match the corporeal land of Israel, we have nonetheless been granted this opportunity so that we may ascend to the spiritual land of Israel. This is the inner mechanism of events.

During the time of the Temple, we were on a spiritual level. Then we lost it and became shattered. In parallel, in the corporeal world, we lived in the Land of Israel, and even after our fall, we remained here for a certain period, let us call this conditionally  “70 years.” In reality, this “70-year” period lasted longer and showed clear signs of the impending destruction of the Temple and exile. Eventually, we were expelled and scattered throughout the world.

Now, 2,000 years later, the process is unfolding in reverse. First we have been given the opportunity to return to the corporeal Land of Israel with the hope that through this we will rise to the spiritual land of Israel. Thus, in Baal HaSulam’s words, we have been given a chance for redemption.

How long this window will remain open is unknown, but it has been open for over a 100 years. Just as there was a delay before our corporeal fall, now we have once again been granted a delay, a chance we must seize.

If we fail to do so, if we miss our opportunity, just as we missed the chance to correct our spiritual fall in the past, then, as Baal HaSulam writes, we may find ourselves in exile once again.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/10/11, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Inheritance of the Land”

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Question: What does the understanding of mutual guarantee include? Can you describe it a little bit?

Answer: Just like with mountain climbers: only together can we reach the goal. I have to think of you as myself, as equal. On equal terms! I am rooting for your every move like I root for myself.

Comment: It is understandable with mountain climbers because otherwise they will fall, and they see it. But here you constantly return to the tastes of this world, and they make you happy.

My Response: This is part of the same program of mutual support, mutual awareness that we are moving forward in this state and must hold each other. We have to realize this. And there should also be mutual support in this; that is, simply concern for what is happening to others, because without that, you will not reach your goal.

And then suddenly, under the influence of the upper light, you start to feel a feeling for them that they become important to you, more important than yourself.

It is just like in our world, when you start caring for someone else’s child, and he becomes important to you, you start loving him. This is the influence of the upper light.

Question: But is it not an obsessive anxiety when they try to force you where to go: now to the right, then to the left?

Answer: No. Try it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. How to Deceive Egoism” 5/18/10

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Question: How did Kabbalists lift each other in the past? How did they give the greatness of the goal one to another?

Answer: First of all, it was originally arranged that Kabbalists were not alone. Why did Abraham begin gathering people right away?

It is because correction is possible only in the connection between all, precisely in the place where the breaking of the connection happened. In the world of infinity, you are absolutely connected with everyone else in one single soul where all are interconnected like organs in the body; moreover, to such a degree that if one piece is detached, then the entire system breaks.

In our world, we do not feel that, we do not see that. Imagine if our body were to rise to the level of the world of infinity and even if one hair were to fall from its head; that would be it, it would be instant death, and everything would literally become destroyed. This is because perfection, eternity, and godliness is such a whole, closed, and absolute system that if you remove one atom from it, everything will shatter like a house of cards, and not a single connection remains undamaged.

Therefore, we had to descend from the world of infinity to such a state where all connections seem to be completely destroyed, we can exist independently from each other and even harm one another and continue to live.

Can you imagine what an irony it is? We did not simply descend from the level of infinity, but we turned into something opposite: we exist and enjoy harming one another. Imagine this whole system where everything is opposite!

And now from this state, we have to rise back, meaning we have to determine that by harming one another we in reality harm ourselves, we detach ourselves from the source, from eternity, perfection, infinity, and live like animals in constant worry, anxiety, and fear.

When I realize this, I begin to understand that correction is only possible in rebuilding the connection and in nothing else.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Breaking the Connection Between Souls” 6/20/10

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Question: Have there been moments in your daily life when something or someone disturbed you, and you started to get angry, but then you remembered where it all comes from? For example, if some knocking, humming, or other noise is distracting you.

Answer: If it falls within the boundaries of freewill, I am ready to “kill.”

The “boundaries of freewill” mean, for example, that if dissemination depends on you and someone is interfering with it, this cannot be forgiven under the excuse that everything comes from the Creator, because dissemination is something you are obligated to do.

There is no forgiveness in such a case, except within the framework of freewill where you must disseminate and do everything in the best and most correct way. Otherwise, nothing exists, not even the wisdom of Kabbalah. Then we are simply animals.

We are not animals only because we have been given the wisdom of self-correction. We are obligated to attract the light for our correction. If someone around me, who has been given this opportunity, does not use it or does it incorrectly, I cannot accept it. But only this!

In everything else, I do not even have the strength to force someone or interfere in any way. Only in what is filtered out as part of their freewill and they are not using it.

Question: But freewill applies not only to dissemination and passing on the wisdom of Kabbalah, but also studying, right? Or is study not part of freewill?

Answer: Freewill includes study, connection in the group, one’s attitude toward the book, the teacher, and the Creator, in other words, everything related to personal and collective advancement toward the goal.

Comment: But you do not pressure people when they go through different states.

My Response: They must go through them. Their freewill consists of enduring these states on their own. I have no right to interfere. If I did, I would be acting as if I were the Creator controlling them from above, from the outside. I have no right to do that.

Question: So does this mean there are two types of freewill, one that is punishable and one that is not? For example, going through states versus dissemination?

Answer: No, there is no such division. It is all the same. It is about a person’s attitude toward their advancement. One is absolutely connected to the other.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. When the Creator Is Revealed” 5/4/10

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Question: If a person falls sick and is embarrassed to ask the group for help because he believes that the group should not be involved in such matters, what does the person lose, and what does the group lose? Or is it just his personal problem?

Answer: He loses the opportunity for help, rapprochement, and connection with his friends. But why should he be embarrassed? Everything that happens is guided by the Creator according to His plan. And we are expected to act in alignment with this plan.

It is crucial not to perceive what happens as solely personal. What is personal here? We are just protein-based organisms interacting within our own slime. The most important thing for us is to elevate the soul above this. Why should we make something significant out of our insignificant material existence, something that supposedly needs to be preserved and cherished? It is the soul that we should value and aim to elevate as soon as possible.

Therefore, we should take advantage of every opportunity, whether someone feels bad or good, in any situation. If we can use all this for spiritual elevation, we should do so. Why should I value fleeting moments of my organic life? It turns out that I do not understand the purpose of life. What is it given for?

It is so that I unveil, create, shape, and expand the soul, receive the upper light within it, experience eternal existence, and remain in it while still existing within this transient organic form.

Suppose, I am given a car to travel from point A to point B, but along the way, I start fussing over it, tending to it, washing and cleaning it. Then it all ends there: I am turning a means into a goal.

Question: But does a person assist his group by reaching out to friends for help?

Answer: The point is that we are created as complex beings, largely unaware of our place and actions we should take. Therefore, in the plans that the Creator implements upon us, He considers our current level of development.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Ask the Group” 6/15/10

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The Creator never left Israel in exile, before He came to place His Shechina with them. It is even more so with Jacob, that when he went down to exile, the Creator and His Shechina and the upper holy ones and the Merkavot, all came down with Jacob, as it is written, “Who came to Egypt with Jacob.” This settles the question that even though He said, “I will go down to Egypt with you,” it does not mean He alone, but rather with His Shechina and armies and Merkavot. This is the conduct of the Creator in all the exiles, as Ezekiel revealed in the exile in Babylon (Zohar for All, Vol. 4, “Shmot,” Chapter 59).

What does it mean that He came to place His Shechina with them? We think that there is something in which the Creator does not act. But in reality, there is only one force operating in all of creation, within us: the Creator, the light.

Exile is a special state of creation that the light deliberately generates in it, in the desire it created, in order to lower it, to distance it from Himself, and to create a desire for Him in it.

The light precisely measures all the states of exile, which includes all the troubles that will manifest in the desire to receive, all the emptiness, all the suffering.

The reverse side of the light, of the Creator, operates in exile, as it is written: “I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” The Creator was also present within the flood and in other such events.

After all, “There is none else besides Him.” Exile is a form of the action of the light, of the Creator, in its opposite, reverse side in a clearly measured, precise way, in all gradations of qualities corresponding to each desire, each soul, in all their interconnections.

Therefore, it is evident that the Creator, the light, is together with the people in exile, continuously acting upon and sustaining them. He Himself creates this exile through His reverse, shadow side, as King David said: “You surround me from the front and the back (with light and darkness).”

And when there is no longer a need for the light to act through its reverse side, that is, through darkness—when He has sufficiently stirred and awakened the desire (Kli) and it truly strives toward the direct side of the light, toward bestowal—then He draws the Kli out of exile into redemption.

Only the light is the sole active force—whether through its reverse or direct side. And thus, all of exile is His preparation for us for our redemption.
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From Daily Kabbalah lesson 4/12/10, The Zohar “Shmot”

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