Excerpts from Rabash’s articles about the society.

We have gathered here to establish a society for all those interested in following the path and method of Baal HaSulam—the way to climb the rungs of man, and not remain as a beast.
–“The Purpose of Society 1”

We have gathered here to establish a society where each can follow the spirit of bestowal upon the Creator. And to bestow upon the Creator, we must first bestow upon man, and this is called “love of man.”

Love of man can only be with self annulment. On the one hand, each of us should feel humbled, and on the other hand, we should be proud that the Creator has given us the opportunity to partake in a society whose members have but one goal: to discover the Creator among us.
–“The Purpose of Society 1”

By being together in a group, like brothers, with love of friends, we can rise to adhesion with the Creator. This ladder is called “the path of bestowal,” and it is against our nature. Therefore, to be able to achieve it, there is but one advice: love of friends. Through it, each can help his friend.
–“Love of Friends”

The advice for achieving bestowal and the rule, “love thy friend,” is love of friends. If each is annulled before his friend and mingles with him, the small parts that want love of man become a single mass, united into a collective force. And each person has such great strength, he can realize the love of man. And then each of them can achieve love of God.
–“According to What Is Explained Concerning Love Your Friend” [Read more →]

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A question I received: Who should you release your personal anger on? Sometimes it’s felt very strongly, and so I wanted to know how it can be used, whether at all.

My Answer: There is no one quality that was created in us without a purpose, and we need to use all of them, including anger. However, how we actually use anger needs to be clarified. When feeling angry, we first need to unite with the One who initiates our existence – the Creator (“There is none else beside Him”) – and our initial conditions for being able to do so are in having a Reshimo and a desire. We then need to determine what depends on us, to which we say “If I am not for me, then who is?” As a result, we should come to hate that which is within us, preventing us from uniting our entire sensation into one whole (“Israel, Torah and the Creator.” Read Baal HaSulam’s letter “Taking the True Path,”* in Pri Chacham, pages 63-64). We should then come to hate external disturbances, treating them as impurities, and neutralize them within ourselves. And because of “the necessity to practice caution with the laws of nature,” one should take after the collective (see Baal HaSulam’s article “The Freedom,” item “Take After the Collective”).

* Note: Baal HaSulam’s letter “Taking the True Path” is not yet available in English, however, below is an English translation of a lesson on this letter with M. Laitman.

Lesson on Pri Chacham Letter on p. 63 – “Taking the True Path”

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A question I received: Dear Rav, the path of Kabbalah has become my salvation, it’s something to live for, every day I immerse myself deeper into Kabbalah and this makes me happy, I receive the answers to all of the questions that just wouldn’t let me be throughout my entire life, I see the light and the way to rid myself of my egoism. I’ve just read about people that don’t hear things, that “fall asleep,” so what should my attitude be towards the fact that we fall asleep during the web class?

My Answer: Sometimes I would fall asleep during Rabash’s lessons. It happens and there are many reasons why. However, one needs to continue studying and do everything that’s in one’s power, like going to the lesson even when knowing that he might end up falling asleep. It’s because we don’t want knowledge, but the entrance to spirituality. Spirituality is awarded according to a person’s effort, and not according to one’s knowledge of the material.

Related Material:
* Spiritual Work – a chapter from the book Attaining the Worlds Beyond [Free PDF Download | Purchase]

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A question I received: The question of lack of time seriously bothers me. I don’t have the opportunity to watch lessons; the only connection I have is to a daily mailing list with lesson excerpts. I don’t have enough strength. The desire keeps increasing, and opportunities keep decreasing.

My Answer: Effort is all that’s required, and not the amount of time or knowledge. “Lefi Tsaara – Agra,” “The reward is according to the labor.” Spirituality is true and just, and as such, even if you only have one hour a day, but you dedicate that hour to your spiritual growth, it counts as if you’ve dedicated your entire day to it.

Related Material:
* The Beginning of a Kabbalist’s Way – section from the chapter “Proper Study” in the book The Path of Kabbalah: Revealing the Hidden Wisdom (Free PDF Download | Purchase)

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A letter I received: I’m ashamed of my desires, and I’d be ashamed if you knew what they are. More and more, I feel that I want it all: all the women, all the power, money, and honor. I feel so envious of others that I don’t know where so much envy can come from! My body refuses to do anything, and I feel like a bottomless glass. I also feel that absolutely nothing is up to me, that I’m like play dough, or a feather in the wind.

Yesterday I had the desire to become president, but today I can’t even get out of bed – I have no motivation or desire. I want to roll up into a ball or burst into pieces.

Yet, I try to connect all that’s happening to the Creator, and I’m thankful that I can at least think about Him. At other times I try to fall into oblivion and forget about everything. I have faith, but with a hint of reproach.

I always remember that you and the group are there, and other people who are searching. Whether I am suffering, trying to run away from the suffering (to forget about it all), trying to find the meaning of my life (if you can even call it a life) and of all life in general – I believe that only the Creator can help me, no one but Him.

My Response: This is life – your first realization of it. Later on, you will understand the changes you’re going through, and right now, you’re learning about yourself, your nature, and your egoism. You’ll later come to hate your egoism and decide to separate from it – and that will be your return from exile.

All of these states are wonderful, because you’re delving into nature, and the Creator is teaching you who you are. After all, you’re not forgetting about Kabbalah and about Him. Read “There Is None Else Beside Him” and other articles from Shamati (I Heard).

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A question I received: Why are people afraid to fall under the influence of a certain environment, such as a sect? One way or another, they’re influenced by their surroundings, and even though their surroundings are broad, they still aren’t free. Maybe it’s because the influence of a broad environment – the whole world – isn’t felt so much, creating an illusion of freedom?

I think that this is the main obstacle in disseminating Kabbalah, i.e. the demand for a person to create a proper environment for himself. People today don’t even want to start a family because they’re afraid of being dependent on their spouses and children. They feel a basic fear towards it. But maybe this will change as they experience more and more suffering?

My Answer: You’re right. Besides the society that Kabbalah urges one to create (whether a civilization or just a group of Kabbalists for now), all other societies (civilizations, religions, communities) are sects, because they impose their views on people and manipulate them. We know that that’s how the mass media and the government operate.

Take religious people as an example: Instead of providing their children with knowledge and the opportunity to choose their own path, religious people deliberately don’t educate them and impose upon them a special dress style, in order to keep them dependent on their environment.

Even though the environment rules over the person, he doesn’t feel subjugated because others encourage conformity to society, and this fulfills his ego. But today we see that egoism is outgrowing the social framework, because it’s getting ready to turn to the Creator. Therefore, people are acting against their environment (their families, clans, or religions). It takes time, but people will soon discover that a person isn’t free in any society or even within himself, and that freedom can only be found within a group that seeks to attain similarity with the Creator.

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The Allegory of the Lost Friends in the Desert

There is an allegory about friends who were lost in the desert. One of them had found a settlement and remembered his poor brothers, but he was so far away from them that he didn’t know where they were. He began to shout; perhaps they would hear him and approach the abundant settlement.

It is similar with the issue before us. We, too, have been lost in the terrible desert, along with the whole of humanity, but now we have found a wonderful treasure—the Kabbalah books that nourish our souls. But the memory of our lost friends who are still in the desert does not give us rest.

We are very far and our words are not heard. This is why we have written these texts, so our brothers may hear and approach, and be as happy as we.

Know, our brothers, that the wisdom of Kabbalah is knowledge of how the world has descended from its highest point to our lowliness. Hence, in Kabbalah we can easily find all the corrections on our way henceforth, from the worlds that preceded us.

We evolve by suffering that pushes us from behind, which seems unavoidable. Yet, here before you is a book in which all the wisdom of statesmanship is written, and all the arrangements of public and private life that will prevail at the end of days, presented in the books of Kabbalah. Open these books and you will find all the good conducts that will appear at the end of days. From those you will learn how to properly arrange matters today, since we can learn from history how to correct the future.

I have seen all that, and I cannot restrain myself any longer. Hence, I have decided to disclose the ways of correction. I shall call upon the people of the world with this Shofar (symbolic horn), which I think should suffice to gather all those who will begin to delve in the books and determine themselves and the whole world to a scale of merit.

Egoism and Altruism

There are two kinds of people: egoists and altruists.

Egoists are those who do everything for their own benefit. If they do something to benefit others, they need a worthwhile reward, such as money or honor. [Read more →]

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A question I received: For a long time now I’ve been connected to you through the website. I’ve stopped reading books and watching television. I rarely see my friends, and I don’t work since I recently gave birth. To my regret, I read an article in the book Shamati and realized that I’m presently on the level of a sinner. What should I do now?

My Answer: You shouldn’t regret reading Shamati. I think that you still have a long way to go before you’ll become a sinner. This is something you have to sense within you, even without a book. It’s something one feels in relation to the Upper Light.

When we study correctly, the Light shines, and we see our true selves relative to the Upper Light. We then have feelings of shame and sin, and these feelings push us forward toward correction.

Listening to lessons on Baal HaSulam’s original texts with commentary is the best thing you can do, because they are a very powerful medicine.

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Alexander Rapoport is a practicing psychologist specializing in relationships, as well as a famous TV and radio host, theater and film actor, and singer throughout the Russian-speaking world.

We had a conversion over a video conference once, and it’s available here for your reading:
This World Has Not Been Created In Vain – Conversation between Michael Laitman and psychiatrist, sexual pathologist and actor Alexander Rapoport (December 1, 2005)

Here’s how the talk began:

Alexander Rapoport: By listening to the CDs with your speeches, I am ready to subscribe to every word. To me, everything that you say seems to be correct, everything that you say is good, everything that you say is very clear. The only thing that is not clear to me is how this differs from what the representatives of other teachings: yoga, Islam, Orthodoxy, qigong, Tai-Chi and etcetera claim. How is this teaching unique?

My Response: Your question, “How does Kabbalah differ from other teachings, religions?” I can answer by saying that on the surface, it does not differ at all. It stands in the same row as all other teachings: esoteric, non esoteric, religious, different spiritual practices. And man outwardly cannot distinguish one from the other. One can say that it is older than the rest, one can say that it has a more serious inner apparatus, with sketches and graphs, an enormous amount of literature, a connection to different manifestations in our life, but all this does not yet speak about the verity and uniqueness of the teaching.

The uniqueness of Kabbalah is absolutely not visible outwardly. Read the Full Conversation…

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The more you study TES (ed. abbreviation for Talmud Eser Sefirot), the more you understand what it is talking about. Every several lessons you suddenly understand something new, which changes the way you previously perceived and thought of matter. You’re able to understand things on a different level and project this differently onto everyday reality and the group.

A question I received: What difference does this make, if the only thing one needs is for the Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) to take him through the Machsom (barrier)? Why does one need his understanding to change? After all, he can’t benefit from these changes, since what he understands comes from the will to receive, which is uncorrected and has no screen.

My Answer: You’re right. Everything that one attains through the mind, without feeling it, everything one attains in one’s uncorrected senses, without the intention to bestow – has no importance when it comes to spiritual attainment. But it’s important before he attains spirituality, because it helps him connect with the material in different states, when his senses aren’t working. And when one’s senses are working, he should try connecting them to the material that he studies. After all, TES speaks about your corrected state, and by studying it, you aspire to attain it with all of your organs, to actually enter it.

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