Work without pleasure is called “labor.” That is, the person would not do this if he did not know he would be paid for the effort. (Rabash, Article 27 (1987), “What Are ‘Blessing’ and ‘Curse’ in the Work?”)

Before performing any action, a person always asks: “What will I get out of it?” Peace, money, honor, something that he needs. This can even be seen from the enormous variety of hobbies that exist in the world.

Nothing forces a person to pursue his hobby except pleasure. One person enjoys fishing, catching fish on a hook; another, on the contrary, enjoys feeding fish, and breeding them in an aquarium; a third collects a herbarium of leaves. We find nothing in this for ourselves, whereas for him it is exactly the opposite. And so everyone has his own way. Some collect things that we can understand: money, experiences, honor, knowledge, and so on.

Thus, pleasure can be clothed in the most diverse forms, but it must be there. If I do not see any pleasure, I cannot perform an action. I have to see some pleasure ahead. It may come in a month, at the end of my life, or even after my life is over. Many people are willing to work hard throughout their entire lives so that they will be remembered after their death. We see that human pleasures can even transcend the boundaries of time.

However, the very feeling of the pleasure that lies ahead already belongs to the present. This feeling, when I experience future pleasure now, provides me with the energy and the fuel to perform the action. I look at what will happen to me; I bring that pleasure closer to myself, as though filling my fuel tank with gasoline, and with that I can work.

But if I see absolutely no pleasure ahead, then I have no energy, not a drop of fuel to perform any action. The car stops, and that is it. Sometimes we feel exactly like this: “No matter what, I cannot even move.” Such feelings are given to a person who begins spiritual work.

Then the question arises: Which goal will be important to me? This depends on the surrounding society, where I grew up, what I did, and what kind of education I received. This is how my attitude toward everything is formed, and according to it—as well as, of course, according to my nature—I choose certain goals in life.

Goals are forms of pleasure that I wish to enjoy in the future, while I already enjoy them now through my connection with them.
[360592]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘Blessing’ and ‘Curse’ in the Work?”

Related Material:
The Benefits of Spiritual Development
Enjoyment from the Past, Present, and Future
A Sweet Medicine

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Our work before the Machsom and after the Machsom differs each time. After the Machsom, where there are Kelim [vessels, plural of Kli] of bestowal and Kelim of reception, everything is different. After I have attained awareness of the greatness of the Creator, the action itself is already performed differently. Before that, there is nothing to discuss, for I am striving in the wrong direction. First I must direct myself, and only then do I fly there. This must be done before everything else.

I worked with airplanes for several years in the Israeli Air Force. Imagine an airplane sitting on the ground completely unoriented regarding the cardinal directions; the pilot in the cockpit does not know where he is, the directions are unknown to him. He exists within a three-dimensional sphere, knowing nothing about it.

Should he fly? No; in this situation, it is better for him to remain in place because moving even a millimeter could lan him who knows where. So, first of all, he must check the location of the goal toward which he needs to head.

And so we direct ourselves: this is our goal, in the direction of it we now apply effort, and only then do we begin to move.

However, this goal is concealed; the Creator is hidden. I don’t have the slightest notion of similarity of form; it does not attract me; the issue doesn’t even exist for me. The group must provide me with this Hisaron, this need. My point in the heart only feels that something is missing.

The first nine Sefirot must reveal what is lacking in my point in the heart. They must tell Malchut: “This is what you lack.” And these first nine Sefirot, in relation to me, are embodied by the group. Nothing else will help me.

If my friends do not provide me with this, I must seek another group. Either I organize them so that they give me the importance of the goal, or I must leave them and seek another group where the importance of the goal already exists; and if not, then I will bring it there. And the group will hear that this is important and that work must be done on it.
[360764]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

Related Material:
A Spiritual Orientation Toward The Creator
The Three Components Of The Ascent
The Flight Path Into The Spiritual

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: Could the reason for the feeling of heaviness in the work be that a person reveals the Creator as the main active player, and refuses to accept this?

Answer: All the states, from the initial one until the moment of revealing the Creator, are difficult states. A sense of lightness, ascent, strength, confidence, potential, and realization can be felt only from the presence of the Creator.

Only when He appears before you will “our heart rejoice in Him.” Everything that happens before this (no matter in what form) will always be difficult, heavy, and sorrowful. This is intentional, but if a person agrees with these uncorrected states…

Question: But he cannot agree. Does the feeling of heaviness come as a result of a person’s inability to accept that the Creator governs all of reality? And the further a person advances, does it become more difficult for him to accept this?

Answer: I do not know how to express it. In any case, until a person has passed the barrier, it is difficult for him; only each time we feel the heaviness and powerlessness differently. It is impossible to express this in words. We are speaking about a transforming perception; the concepts of heaviness, sorrow, and laziness change.

And nevertheless, it is difficult in the sense that it is difficult to work with anything in the desire to bestow. We feel as though it is difficult for us to work in the will to receive, but in fact we are not speaking about this desire because, if we felt the goal in the will to receive, we would work with full strength. We lack nothing except the sense of the goal.

Each of us at least once in our life experienced enthusiasm in business, or in the pursuit of something interesting or useful, or in attempts to obtain something very necessary. And so it is now. Just show us some worthwhile goal, and we will run after it.

However, this time the goal is in the desire to bestow, the higher degree that reveals its reverse side to us. Therefore this is how we feel it.
[359720]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

Related Material:
Calculations Before and After the Machsom
Art At Work
Before and After the Machsom

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: How can I move from regretting my own situation to feeling sorrow for the state of the whole world?

Answer: This is not the right question. Just as sorrow about my own state accumulates in me, so does sorrow about the state of the entire world. It all depends on a person’s inner work. The development of one’s Kli gradually leads to a state where one feels that one’s Kli is not only what is in one’s own belly, but also what is within others.

Just as parents feel dependent on their children, where what ultimately happens to the child also happens to their parents, so too does a person begin to feel like a father toward his children, that what is happening in the whole world, with all of humanity, is essentially what is happening to him.

He perceives this naturally; other people’s desires become joined to his own, and nothing can be done about it. This is how the Kli grows. You can’t artificially start taking an interest in someone else’s affairs. You suddenly remember something about it, then you forget, but that is all artificial, driven by self-benefit.

But a state arrives when you suddenly begin to feel, to some extent, concern for all of humanity, truly as if they were your own children. This happens in accordance with the degree of correction within the desire to receive. And there is no way around it, just as parents cannot free themselves from caring for their children.
[359527]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/23/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Anyone Who Mourns for Jerusalem Is Rewarded with Seeing Its Joy,’ in the Work?”

Related Material:
Inner Concern For The Future Of The World
The Key To 99% Of The Global Soul
Feeling The Suffering Of The Whole World

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: The articles speak a lot about suffering and a sense of heaviness, and a person begins to take this for granted, justifying it by saying that the surrounding light is shining upon him. How can we prevent such an attitude from turning into an escape from the real difficult questions?

Answer: A person begins to experience heaviness and suffering, and they seem to turn into his idol. He begins to worship this state, coming to think that if he suffers, it means that he is superior to all of humanity. After all, humanity suffers from a lack of money, honor, and so on, while he suffers because he has not yet attained spirituality.

If a person wants to remain in this state even for a moment, it means that he is no longer suffering, but is enjoying his suffering, much like a masochist. This is a Klipa (shell, impurity) that has latched onto the person whispering: “Now you are truly working for the Creator. Look at the lofty ideals you are suffering for.”

Every moment of a person’s suffering is directed against the Creator, against the goal of bringing good to His creations. I know from my experience that it is very difficult to get break free from this, and impossible to do so alone. It requires a form of brainwashing by the group. Let your friends constantly tell you that this is wrong.

It is easy for us to lecture one another and to play a role in each others’ eyes is quite simple; the will to receive itself supports such an approach, when I present myself to you as being steadfast in my convictions. However, this does not prevent you from taking everything seriously, so why not make use of this?

We were given a foolish nature whereby another person’s external manifestation makes an impression on us, because outwardly my friend can project whatever outward image he chooses. And so, through his false “external self,” he defines my true “inner self.”

And there is nothing to be done about it—I am simply constructed in such a way that I am susceptible to the impressions made by the actions of the people around me. Just like an infant, who can be frightened by a scary facial expression and amused by laughter. We are exactly the same and no different from an infant in this respect, except that our reactions are not in such an obvious form. It is impossible to leave this state alone.

A person can suffer for years, justifying his suffering by telling himself he is a hero. Why is he a hero? Because he suffers. Some even go to prison and suffer there for all of humanity, feeling that they are special in their suffering. This manifests as a Klipa (shell) at various levels—both in connection with spirituality and outside of it.

After all, the purpose of creation stemming from the Good Who Does Good is to bestow goodness to His creations and for them to exist in goodness. Anything contrary to this, no matter how you justify it, is not suitable.

Even if you observe the most terrible things in the world, if you begin to suffer, it means that you are implicitly justifying what is taking place. You are not justifying the fact that the Creator is the one causing these things—although, of course, that is indeed so—but rather, the very fact that these things are happening to people; consequently your suffering stems from something other than their current state.

Here you may ask, what does meant by “suffering together with society,” as it is written in the books? It means relating to people from the perspective of the Creator and regretting the absence of the Shechina (Divine Presence) among them.

Regret over the exile of the Shechina is a purposeful state that drives a person to help others reach a state of revelation, and not at all to go and weep alongside them. This is completely different from the state toward which our body tries to incline us.
[359712]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

Related Material:
Elevate the Creator Above the Pharaoh
The Power Of The Creator And The Power Of Pharaoh
Revealing The Creator’s Greatness

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: If I am going to perform an action of “If I am not for me, who is for me?”, where can I get the confidence that I will not enjoy it to the extent that I will disconnect from Him?

Answer: In his book A Sages Fruit, Baal HaSulam gives an example that in the morning a person should say: “If I am not for me, who is for me?” and in the evening, “There is none else besides Him.”

What does this mean? Suppose I am going to work now, and I am working hard; meaning, I am going to immerse myself in the desire to receive, sweat, and think that thanks to this effort I will get paid. Afterward, I examine the situation and realize that it is not me who is sweating and receiving payment, but rather, the Creator gives me the work and the earnings. In other words, the work lies not in what I actually do, but in how I relate to it.

If I change my attitude toward what I must do in life by recognizing that He is the one sending it to me, then I will feel neither the difficulty of connecting with Him nor the difficulty of performing any work because the “work” as such ceases to exist. Our difficulty lies in the challenge of forging a connection between ourselves, the purpose of creation, and the work that exists before me.

It is not difficult for a person to dig a hole all the way to the center of the earth. If through this action they remain connected with the Creator, they will receive endless energy and motivation. We do not understand that the problem is not the physical difficulties, but the fact that the action is not connected to the light, to the Creator.

If you connect with the Creator in every task, if the work becomes a purposeful action and begins to bring you the light from above and adhesion, then the light of adhesion will serve as your payment; and then instead of sweating during the action, you will be in the designated goal. The action itself will become the goal.

Therefore, our work embodied in the phrase“If I am not for me, who is for me?” lies in drawing closer to the one who is the cause of our work. In that state the work ceases to feel like labor. That is why, in the evening, after you have succeeded in unifying all this, you declare: “If I am not for me, who is for me?”

Of course, this does not refer to our literal mornings and evenings. Morning represents the intention where you act as Hafetz Hesed (desiring nothing for yourself), in Hassadim (Mercy) without Hochma (Wisdom). And in the evening, when there is no light, you receive Hochma and say: “If I am not for me, who is for me.” This signifies that you have brought this light to yourself, through your own effort.

In the morning the light comes through the Creator, while in the evening, even in darkness, light becomes possible through your own effort.

In life we often find it difficult to perform a task, perhaps we are weary or harbor some resistance to it and find it burdensome. Yet, if I attach a sense of purpose to this action, it becomes easy to perform. I sort of forget about the action itself; it becomes merely a means to connect with what I am currently united with—a means for achieving the goal.

Therefore, we should not pay attention to what is happening to us; rather, we should concentrate on our attitude toward what is happening.
[359631]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/26, Rabash, “Who Needs to Know that a Person Withstood the Test?”

Related Material:
As Though Everything Depends on Me
“From Your Actions We Know You”
If I Am Not For Me, Who Is For Me?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Comment: It seems that there is a certain atmosphere of glorifying suffering in our group. Even in the articles, it is not emphasized enough that suffering is a Klipa.

My Response: We are obliged to fight against suffering. We must emphasize that suffering is the opposite of the light and comes as a result of our seeing its reverse side (Achoraim).

We are not corrected enough to see the light, and when a little more light is poured upon us, we feel only its reverse side. Because a vessel that is opposite to the light experiences its opposite. If the light were truly to come to me now, I would feel such darkness that it would be impossible to escape from it.

This can be compared to a starving person who suddenly finds himself at a feast given by wealthy people. He has not seen even a crust of bread for a week, and here there is such an abundance of food that it is almost lying underfoot. Would he experience pleasure from it? No, he would feel even greater suffering. Previously, he thought that everyone in the world lived as he did, that it was not so terrible and could somehow be endured. But when he sees such abundance, his own life suddenly appears horrible to him.

Therefore, we must understand that all these opposite impressions come to us because of the lack of correction of our vessels. However, in any case, I do not think that the articles fail to explain that one must not sink into gloom, give in to states of despair, heaviness, or a feeling of helplessness. I think this is written about in all the articles.

And these reminders seem insufficient to you because you want to see them constantly before your eyes precisely because this is the state into which you are continually being drawn.
[359717]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, 1989 “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

Related Material:
The Devious Sweetness Of Pain
See the Light from Within the Darkness
Disconnection from the Creator

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: How can I know whether the attitude I bring into the group is correct? If my future depends on what I contribute to it, how can I be sure that I am contributing something correct?

Answer: You are asking: what actions toward the group on your part will be unequivocally good? How can you avoid leading it astray? Even from an egoistic point of view, this can affect you in unpredictable ways. If only you make a mistake, is one thing; but if you mislead a thousand people, it all comes back to you, and how it returns! Is that the question?

Comment: It is not so much that I am misleading them, but rather that I am doing anything useful.

My Response: Doing nothing is tantamount to misleading them. Baal HaSulam writes about this in “The Giving of the Torah,” and there is nothing more to say on the matter.

How might I mislead or not lead my friends or avoid doing so? If I evoke enthusiasm in them based on things other than the greatness of the Creator, this is a sign that I am misleading them. Then the question arises: Does it mean I shouldn’t say a word to them other than, “The Creator is great,” “Glory to God,” or “With God’s help”? Shall we speak only like that?

No. However, it must be clear to all my friends that my attitude toward them is conditioned by the greatness of the Creator, and I want this to be present in them, in me, and in the group. Otherwise, I wouldn’t address them, wouldn’t demand anything from them, and I wouldn’t be here at all.

Question: How can this be clear?

Answer: Let them feel it. Let them feel. It is very simple. It need not even be expressed in words, no. If only between the lines in messages and telephone conversations, that is perfectly normal.

However, you understand that a certain transmission of force, of enthusiasm, is necessary; a certain message of bestowal from one to another, when, regardless of my desire, I as if spread my attitude toward the Creator onto the friend, and the friend feels this.
[360772]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, “Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,” in the Work?”

Related Material:
Strengthen In The Greatness Of The Creator
Raise the Importance of the Creator
How Can We Raise the Greatness of the Creator?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: As a person advances, do their natural qualities grow, hindering them and forcing them to overcome them?

Answer: Egoism grows in a person who is advancing. All of their natural qualities remain within them, but as their desire to receive increases, another factor also grows within them—their connection with the Creator.

Therefore, one begins to use all of their natural qualities in relation to the Creator.

Depending on this, these qualities change, and then the way their pride, impatience, and laziness are expressed becomes completely different.

Question: But do they increase as obstacles?

Answer: I do not perceive them as obstacles. Why do you think that laziness is an obstacle? Laziness is an exact calculation within the desire to receive: what is worth making an effort for?
[359624]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born With Bad Qualities?”

Related Material:
Do Not Connect Corporeal Qualities with Spirituality
Who Are You in Relation to the Creator?
Why Are We Given Unattractive Qualities?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: How do I know whether I am giving the group the awareness of the importance of the goal? For example, I have this thought. How can I check whether this really affects the group?

Answer: It is written: “All that is in your hands and in your power to do, that do.” Only this is meant: not that you do everything that comes to mind, but that you work specifically toward that end. All that is in your hands and in your power to do, do it in order to increase the importance of the Creator.

Question: This is clear. But perhaps time is being wasted, is being spent inefficiently?

Answer: Since all that depends on us is the acceleration of time, its shortening, condensation, and compression, our negligence, conversely, leads to the prolongation of time. This is the whole point.

How can you know whether you are wasting time or not? If you constantly maintain a state of enthusiasm regarding the Creator, an enthusiasm stemming from the knowledge that you want to be connected to Him rather than a pleasant sensation; if an ascent for you means connection with the Creator rather than a feeling of fulfillment—then you are acting correctly.

And if the sensation of the Creator constitutes fulfillment for you, then the question becomes what kind of sensation is it—one for the sake of receiving or for the sake of bestowing? If it is for the sake of receiving, I might feel calm, as if nothing more is needed. I feel good with this sensation of the Creator.

If, however, it is a sensation in which I already think a little about Him for the sake of bestowal, then I must immediately have a Hisaron, a need. Am I bestowing? What am I bestowing? How am I bestowing? Does He truly feel me? And so on.

Then you begin to feel a different Kli within yourself, a Kli that is within Him, which joins your point in the heart. Because your point in the heart is a point foreign to the heart, inside it. It is called the quality of Israel, whereas the heart is called “the nations of the world.”

Israel does not belong to this world. These are Galgalta Eynaim, vessels of bestowal; they are not counted among the nations of the world.
[360768]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, “Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,” in the Work?”

Related Material:
How Should We Spend Our Time?
Reassessing The Desires
How Not To Waste Time

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →