Entries in the 'Spiritual Work' Category

Kabbalah and LSD

600.01Question: LSD is a separate category of drugs. If, as you say, it is just a certain illusion, then why does it cause a person to feel sensations that Kabbalists describe?

Answer: Taking LSD is not a solution to a problem; it is a disconnection from reality; meaning, it is not a conscious correction of oneself within society where you become a useful member, and express yourself as loving and caring, like a mother toward others, and where every member of society perceives you this way, and you perceive them the same. Such relationships are characteristic of the society of the future.

But those who take LSD detach from reality while not connecting with others. They do not want even the smallest contact! They enjoy experiencing all kinds of rosy visions within themselves.

Yet Kabbalah speaks about something entirely different: a very real, very difficult path of correcting a person, where he controls himself and acquires screens, meaning forces, that allow him to rise above his egoism, above each of its measures.

This is a very clear path carried out in connection with other companions, where together you go into battle against your own nature.

All this is completely opposite to the disconnection from reality, to the solitary floating, abstracted from others, that consists of perceiving some internal excitations. I see no connection between Kabbalah and taking LSD. It is a completely different approach, and works on completely different material. It is not you working, but chemistry. You can inject anyone with a drug, and there you go; he already supposedly floats in another dimension.

A person does not change his nature in this. He returns again to the same world, and that is it. Of course, he can tell how good he felt. But what next?! What does he change through this?!

You are suggesting: “Let us make an injection, and then for years not work on our nature.” But we must change our nature, and become godlike people, similar to the Creator; meaning, we must rise above our egoism into the quality of giving and love, into the correct mutual engagement between us, reveal in this engagement the higher world, eternity, perfection, and exist within it.

At the same time, our world does not disappear. We sense two levels of existence: our world in its full material form—we go to work, have children, raise them, serve in the army, do everything necessary—and simultaneously we feel ourselves on a higher level. A person exists on two levels! And one level does not cancel the other but helps it.

On the earthly level, each person is a useful member of society to the extent that he behaves normally as a simple human being. He does not shout: “Let us love each other!” and so on.

But internally he works toward the others so as to bring them closer to the quality of giving and love, to the correct interaction between themselves as one organism. I have never seen or heard that people who take LSD strive for this.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Kabbalah and LSD, Part 1” 10/6/10

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The Means of Drawing near to the Creator

595.06Question: We know that the main thing is the intention. What can it clothe in to draw the light?

Answer: A person is in a state into which the Creator has placed him, and from this state he must begin his path of change in order to reach the goal. He has no one to turn to except the Creator.

The question is, by what means will he turn to Him, and what exactly will he ask for? People who have already gone through this path write about what needs to be done. To whom do I turn for advice? It is simple: to one who already has experience.

These people advise us what to do and say that there is a study through which you extract forces and draw the light that returns one to the source. And in order for you to have the desire to ask for this force during the study, before the study you must arm yourself with a desire greater than the one you already have. This additional desire you can acquire from the group.

Just as in ordinary society, when a person enters it he acquires various desires and goals—how good it would be to achieve this, to buy that, to be such-and-such, and so on. It is the same with you. If you enter a good spiritual society, it adds to you the desire to draw closer to the Creator.

And then you sit with the book, not like some friends whose eyes have barely been opened, but already waiting, hoping, and wanting to receive something from the book. That is, everything depends on what kind of society you have found, and what you have received from it, and of course, the teacher and the books. The general direction comes from the teacher, and through the correct texts, which connect you to the spiritual roots, illumination is given to you.

Thus there are only a few means: the right book, the right teacher, the right group, and you yourself, who wish with their help to change in order to attain the revelation of the Creator. First to correct the Kelim (vessels), and then to receive the lights.

The correction of the Kelim is called the acquisition of faith, the intention to bestow, and the reception of the lights is reception with the intention to bestow.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 1/18/26 and 1/19/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Penny by Penny Adds up to a Large Sum

938.01Comment: Rabash writes that in faith, one must follow the path of “penny by penny accumulates to a large sum.”

My Response: Of all the actions a person supposedly performs in life, there is only one that he actually makes, and it remains forever. All others are temporary. A person commits them, enjoys them, or suffers from them, and that is it.

There is only one action: to correct my Kli, my desire to receive. It accumulates from moment to moment or from cycle to cycle, and everything I have done stays in my “bank account” to my credit and for my benefit. Each time I add another penny to my account depending on the number of corrections made.

And what are my corrections that we already know? This is an increase in the force of bestowal with the help of the group and study; that is, it is the realization of free choice. If I perform an action in accordance with my free choice (when I do it, and not the Creator), it is credited to my account.

My free action can only be one thing, to make the group stronger every time so that it influences me and strengthens the power of my desire, so that with an even greater desire to give, I turn to the Creator and demand an even greater force of giving from Him.

Thus, another number appears in my account balance. So I turn to the group again, change it again, and again it raises me and inspires me to advance and bestow. Once again, I turn to the Creator. I ask Him for the force of bestowal, and my account balance grows once more, etc.

There is nothing else because this is my only free action. Everything else is not done by me but by the Creator. But this is done by me, and therefore it is credited to my account. Each time, only this remains as a result of our lives. Only this account remains. Therefore, Rabash writes that after a person departs, only the Torah and the good deeds he has done during his life remain with him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lessons, 1/18/26 and 1/19/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Expression of Individuality or Just a Gimmick?

272Today, many people want to express themselves. But they do not know how to express themselves. One walks around with a tail on their head, another with piercings, a third covered in tattoos front and back. All of this is supposedly a kind of distinguishing mark, a sign of belonging to certain trends. But it says nothing about a person’s individuality. On the contrary.

All of this is sold by those who profit from it. We are taught that this is how you will be considered special, and we follow along. But where is individuality in this?

First, I must discover my individuality. Then I must understand how it can truly be expressed. Only then can I actually reveal myself. Otherwise, I just see everyone fooling around, and I fool around too, saying, “Look how cool I am!”

But cool in what way? You’re exactly the same as everyone else.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call.Everyone should be the same” 10/1/10

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Think About the Greatness of the Creator

528.04Question: In his articles about the group, Rabash writes that first it is necessary to strengthen the greatness of the Creator in the eyes of the group and only afterward to speak. Shouldn’t we think carefully before opening our mouths?

Answer: Yes, Rabash writes that first you need to think about the greatness of the Creator. But you see that not everything in life goes according to what is written; life is life. So as it turns out on our level, that is how it is, and if not, then not.

What does it mean to “think first of the greatness of the Creator”? What does it mean to think or not think? This is in my external mind. But is my heart ready for this? Is it in such a sensation, at such a level that I feel the Creator, that I think that He is in my heart, and from this level I begin to judge or not?

This is not simply to sit and think. So I am sitting and thinking, and then I close my mouth for some time, and I do not criticize anything. So what? Everything depends on the correction in the heart, on an ever higher and higher level than the one on which you are.

I do not think it is possible to advance without contradictions, without disputes. People should reveal their attitude toward the group. And of course, they need to arm themselves with the intention that without the group they are not capable of moving forward, that without it they will not succeed at anything.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lessons, 1/18/26 and 1/19/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Everyone Hears on Their Own Wavelength

963.5Question: You say that at the meals and other events there are listeners and there are speakers. What should be the attitude of the listeners toward those who speak?

Answer: Everyone should be patient with their friends until we all mature together. How do you perceive a child? He does things that seem silly and unnecessary. You see how he makes mistakes, how he tries, how something works out and something does not. But through this, he somehow grows.

Comment: I am asking because for many people who encounter Kabbalah for the first time, this is not clear.

My Response: It does not matter to me whether it is clear to them or not. It is impossible to explain anything for the first time. If a person has matured, if he understands that he has nowhere else to go, then he will see logic in it, something higher; he will feel deep inside that there is something here. And if he is not ready yet, why should he understand? It will be better if he leaves.

Do you think everything is decided by some clever words? No. Look how many beautiful, professional video clips you have created. And how many people come because of those clips? There are millions of views, but only a handful come. Can you explain to me what is happening here? You cannot reach their hearts. You are knocking on them, but their hearts do not yet respond to that knock.

Comment: That is exactly what I am saying. You want to disseminate as widely as possible, but people are not ready.

My Response: We try to do everything possible. I am not going to change us because of this. We are who we are, and we are gradually trying to be more open—closer, simpler, more accessible, and more understandable to others. We are doing this all over the world, here in Israel, on television, and on the Internet.

Of course, there is still much more that can be done. We try to write books and express everything that Kabbalah wants to say to people in a simpler language. But if a person is still not ready from his side, what can we do?

Today when I walk down the street or stay somewhere, I see simple people who wave to me, who greet me, who thank me that there is a Kabbalistic channel, and that they can watch it. They even say, “So far we do not understand much. But it feels so good!” There are those who feel that it gives them a sense of peace and security. Still others say, “When I am on your channel, I just get distracted and relax.”

That is, everyone hears us on their own wavelength, and I am very glad about that. And whether they understand or do not understand the inner meaning and essence of Kabbalah, they do not need it because the world is structured like a pyramid. 99% of people cannot understand Kabbalah at all. They are created by nature, by the Creator, in such a way that they can only join it, so to speak, and participate in it.

For example, how many people build our world, lay its foundation, start enterprises, banks, the foundations of society, or conduct scientific research? How many of them are there? A thousand or two in the whole world who manage everything?

Only a few hundred people in the world truly create something, and the rest implement it. This implementation is carried out by a huge number of scientists, engineers, and researchers. But the foundation, the idea is the legacy of a very small number of people. And the billions of others? These billions are under them. This is how the world is arranged.

In exactly the same way, the perfection of all souls is achieved. When everyone, individually and together, reaches a single unified structure, everyone includes themselves in everyone else, and then everyone is included in all. As a result, each feels himself as this entire system. But that happens at the end of creation, at the end of correction.

Meanwhile, I absolutely do not expect these billions of people to realize the true greatness of what is being revealed before them, the true possibility of what Kabbalah speaks about.

I know from my own experience, from the 40 years I have been engaged in Kabbalah, what stages I have gone through, what revelations I have experienced, and what still lies ahead.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Transfer of Information,” 1/23/11

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Everything is Attained Through Prayer

631.3In many Kabbalistic sources it is said that the spiritual is attained only by the power of prayer. Most people in the world think they understand what prayer is, but in reality, this is far from the case.

In the science of Kabbalah, we study:
 Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, The Upper Simple Light had filled the whole existence. And there was no vacancy (The Ari, The Tree of Life).

The upper light (the Creator in His unrevealed form) filled the desire that He created out of nothing. “Something from nothing” is precisely the act of creation.

Then the Creator began to modify and transform this desire into something from which an independent created being could later be formed. He performed various actions upon it until the desire shattered into many parts, which in Kabbalah is called the shattering of the common soul (Adam).

The fragments of the common soul divided more and more until each of them became a point, the point in the heart which ignites within us and through which we feel a longing for the Creator.

At first this sensation appears unconsciously. We do not know where it came from or why it gives us no rest, but it leads us to a Kabbalistic group. This is how our spiritual path begins.

While working in the group, we begin to understand that in the nature of creation there is no other material besides egoism, as it is said: “I created the evil inclination and gave the Torah for its correction.” Egoism was intentionally created by the Creator so that one could immerse oneself in it, take it along, and then, by correcting it, ascend to the Creator.

Therefore, our task is to reveal egoism within ourselves and bring it to its correct form, which is called “desire” (Hisaron).

The point is that when we are immersed in corporeal desires, we do not influence the spiritual system, we are not within it. But a properly formed desire, directed toward integration into the spiritual system of Adam, toward uniting with its parts, influences it is called “prayer,” i.e., a request to connect and function correctly within the general system of creation.

That is why it is said that everything is attained only through prayer, through the proper formation of one’s desire.
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From the International Kabbalah Convention 5/2/16, Lesson 3

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Despite The Obstacles

226Question: Is it possible to say that the Creator outside is some kind of logic, laws, and the Creator inside is some kind of feelings? And when these two principles merge, a connection with the Creator occurs?

Answer: Of course, you can say whatever it seems to you right at the moment, but the Creator is the single force that acts in each of us and in all of us together.

There is not much to say about the Creator, because this “substance” includes absolutely everything. And even what I am saying to you now, and what you are hearing and thinking, comes from this force of nature.

Except it, practically nothing exists. We are within it, we are its parts. We are given a certain blindness, a restriction of our thoughts and feelings, so that we do not feel Him, and can reveal Him from this state. Then we, as it were, begin to exist.

There is me and a vast world. I perceive this entire world as a manifestation of the Creator in relation to me. In this way, I try to attune myself to the perception of this world, i.e., the Creator, this universal, the omnipresent force. By attuning myself in this way, I suddenly begin to feel that I am changing to match this force, the Creator. It is exactly to this state we need to arrive.

The purpose of creation is to achieve similarity to the Creator. When I, despite all the obstacles that He puts between Himself and us, reveal Him as the only One who exists, as filling the entire universe, then in this state I merge with Him. But the oneness of the Creator is not violated by this at the same time.

And the fact that He created such a remarkable quality of our separation from Him is given only so that we could, as if from the outside, as if from a distance, understand Him, feel Him, and reveal Him.
[257578]
From Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 12/1/19

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The Search for the Creator

234How can we get out of the egoistic nature and not be merged with the Creator because of the desire to receive?

At the first stage, you examine your states in order to reveal their cause. And gradually, as your Kelim (vessels) grow, you come to an inner sensation that apparently there is someone who governs everything.

You begin to search for the one who turns everything, but He is concealed, and you search for Him from within the desire to receive. This is called “Lo Lishma.” You develop an attitude toward the Creator and begin to realize His importance despite His concealment.

This happens under the influence of the surrounding lights. With them, He seemingly draws you to Himself. And so you advance from double concealment to single concealment.

What is the difference between single concealment and double concealment? It is the fact that you begin to feel the cause of what is happening to you. But you prefer to be with the Creator rather than with the cause because the sensation of the Creator sweetens the suffering in the states that He sends you. In the desire to receive you feel bad, and the sensation of the Creator gives you sweetness. This is still called “Lo Lishma.”

If you develop the greatest Lo Lishma, when in any case you prefer to be in adhesion with Him as with the truth, and despite the unpleasant sensations that may arise in you, this becomes more important than anything, then you reach the greatest Lo Lishma from which one transitions to Lishma.

That is, throughout the entire path you demand Him, seek Him, and try to feel Him; otherwise you feel bad even if in material life everything is fine for you. This search is possible only from the point in the heart because from all other desires, aside from the point in the heart, you will seek the fulfillments of this world. But the point in the heart demands the sensation of the Creator. With this it is filled.

Question: When I reach the greatest Lo Lishma, does it mean that no matter how much evil I feel, I will still cling to Him because He is the truth?

Answer: Both yes and no. You transition to evaluating on different scales and begin to weigh good and bad according to the presence or absence of adhesion with Him. The moment you feel separated from Him already becomes bad for you. The desire to receive loses its value for you because only adhesion with Him becomes important.

Question: But how can He be important to me if I know that it is He who makes me feel bad?

Answer: Come closer and you will see.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 1/25/26, Rabash, “What Is, His Guidance Is Concealed and Revealed?”

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Spread Your Wings

928Question: The flapping of each goose’s wings creates an updraft that supports the birds flying behind.

If people move toward a goal, let’s say that they understand that they must move together. What are “wingbeats” for people?

Answer: For people, this can exist if they define a single higher goal and understand how to achieve it.

Question: It says here that this updraft from the movement of wings supports the birds flying behind. How do they support them? With what?

Answer: The same applies in battle: those who go in front set an example for those who follow. That is, the wingbeat is the example you show.

Question: When a bird breaks formation, it begins to experience sharp air resistance, which forces it to quickly return to formation and continue flying with less effort.

Suppose people set high goals and can’t endure it, they drop out, leave. How can it be made so that in their mind and heart there is the thought that a lone individual won’t break through, that to do so one must be in this group?

Answer: They must all be preoccupied with one goal. Then some will go in front, stay together, and others will hold on behind them, and in this way they will all reach the goal together.

Question: And those who hold on behind understand that they are weaker, so they hold on to their friends; will they have the thought that “I won’t break through alone”?

Answer: Of course.

Question: That is if the importance of the goal is constantly maintained?

Answer: Yes.

Question: When the leader gets tired, it flies to the back of the flock, and another bird replaces it. In life, leaders—politicians, those who lead people, states—don’t feel responsibility. They leave only at elections. There isn’t such a thing as “I’m tired, I give my place to another.” What must a leader have for this thought to arise?

Answer: The importance of the goal of the entire flock.

Comment: I see, the importance of the goal is the peak, the foundation.

My Response: Yes. He must understand that he is responsible for ensuring that the flock continues the path and reaches the goal.

Comment: Even if he won’t be there, even if he…

My Response: That doesn’t matter.

Comment: Meaning his thoughts are not about himself at all, but about the flock.

My Response: Yes.

Comment: That is the most important thing! We seem to have had such an example. Begin left that way, on his own. He suddenly stood up in the middle of a meeting and said, “I’m tired.”

My Response: Yes. That was a great decision.

Comment: And then he sat quietly for ten years, gave almost no interviews. And that’s how he departed.
[351659]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 1/5/26

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