Question: Does stubborn persistence on the path help overcome all the obstacles in the work?

Answer: It isn’t just stubborn perseverance that’s required of us, but also persistent clarifications. My task isn’t to simply endure like a concrete block, unyielding to any changes and standing on my previously formed opinions and understanding. Naturally, this is not the path of advancement. The Creator wants us to be developing, to analyze our states each time, and to reach more and more qualitative, internal clarifications.

In spirituality, power is not determined by quantity, not by amplifying the “volume.” Greater power always means higher quality. In spirituality, there are no quantitative changes in a force, but only changes in quality.

Every higher degree is above not because it’s simply more powerful. There are three stages: embryo, nurturing, and maturity (Ibur, Yenika, Mochin), and each contains 10 Sefirot. How are they different from one another? In this world, we clearly see that a tiny baby first grows into a big child and then fully grows and becomes an adult. But in spirituality, everything is determined by the measure of understanding, the quality of clarifications.

At first, a person doesn’t know or feel anything and isn’t capable of discerning and clarifying anything. But at least he annuls himself; this is called the still level, NHY (the lower part of the Partzuf: (Netzach, Hod, Yesod). And after, in every state he is already able to remain in bestowal (Hafetz Hesed) – HGT (the middle part of the Partzuf: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet). When he unites with the higher reason, with the upper force above him, this is called HBD (the upper part of the Partzuf: Hochma, Bina, Daat).

All of these are qualitative clarifications and not mere stubbornness. Stubbornness is required for using every moment correctly.
[81747]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/27/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: I have heard many times that you treat such directions as, for example, New Age, as a deviation from the correct path.

Answer: It is a search! In no way do I disregard it! Humanity is in constant search, and these deviations from the straight path are necessary like for a missile that is flying to its target: It needs to deflect to pinpoint its exact path.

That is why I believe that there is a place for all methods and practices that have emerged in the middle of the last century. They have led to the point that today, a person is at a complete dead end. Otherwise, he would have hoped for something. So all these techniques, philosophies, New Age, and various sects have done their work.
[81504]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/24/12

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Question: The call or, as you say, the commandment to “love thy neighbor as thyself” has been discussed many times, and many desired to implement it, until it turned into the appeal for children to be peaceful, rather than the real call for grown-ups to change their relationships. What’s the difference between your appeal and others, and why are you certain that you will be able to realize your fantasy?

Answer: When ordinary people, the 99%, talk about connection, they refer to the correction of human society, similar to how we advise children to be friends and not to argue. When Kabbalists, the 1%, talk about connection, for them this connection is the means for reaching a higher goal: the revelation and attainment of the Creator, the upper force of nature, and reaching the next level of development, the sensation of the upper world.
[80687]

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A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah: “Harkov 2012”

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Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”: These are the words of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, who said that the world is judged by its majority. He was referring to the role of the Israeli nation to qualify the world for a certain measure of purity, until they are worthy of taking upon themselves His work, no less than Israel were worthy at the time they received the Torah.”

It’s wrong to imagine the “world” as a desire to receive that cannot perform any actions on its own. It isn’t so. The part of Israel in the world is simply similar to the head of the Partzuf, to the first three Sefirot (GAR), and it must act as the “adaptor” between the Light and the desire to receive.

The Partzuf is divided into five parts: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. The Light resides in the vessels of Keter, Hochma, and Bina, and they are adapted to it. By being the same desire to receive, they contain the Light and perform Zivug de Haka’a (coupling by beating) with it and pass it on to the receiving vessels, to Zeir Anpin and Malchut (ZON).

So it’s impossible to manage without the vessels of Keter, Hochma, and Bina. They are the link and they are very important since without them the connection would be lost. On the other hand, the goal of the process is that the vessels of ZON, whose work is to raise the request for correction (MAN) to the vessels of bestowal (GAR), to be incorporated in them and to join them.

The two parts help each other mutually. ZON helps the vessels of GAR to fulfill their role as the link, and GAR evoke the vessels of ZON and bring them the method of correction needed for the receiving vessels in order to connect and to be incorporated in the vessels of GAR. Thus the “nations of the world,” those that don’t have a spark of bestowal, perform important work when they connect to the vessels of the first three Sefirot.

The same thing happens to us: How could we draw the Light if we weren’t connected to Rabbi Shimon, to Baal HaSulam, to Rabash, and to the other great Kabbalists, or in other words to the Partzufim, the Sefirot, the spiritual levels? We connect to them in order to receive power from them, so that they will operate on us and unite us. When I read a Kabbalistic text, I try to connect to its author. After all, he is the upper one for me and through him my connection to the Light flows. It isn’t about a certain person that once lived; I want to connect with the source of the Light, and I am drawn to the link, to the spiritual mechanism through which that connection continues.

When I develop my spiritual vessels together with the Masach (screen), when I can connect with the spiritual world, I will see the Kabbalist in his spiritual form, as a Partzuf. Now he is the author of the article or the author of the book for me. This is the uniqueness of our world: Here we can use texts, which we don’t actually understand yet, and can connect with spirituality through such external devices. The Kabbalist invites me, cares for me, and I try to hold on to him, and thus we are in a relationship of mutual guarantee.

As for the “nations of the world,” they will not receive the correction all at once either. Their role is to join, to help, to be incorporated in the vessels of GAR. This is very serious work thanks to which Hochma is revealed in them. It is by them that all the Light is revealed.

Although according to the opposite value between the Lights and the vessels, it’s first revealed only in the vessels of GAR and only for the time being, on the way to the end of correction. Later everything is filled with one simple Light, as it says “and they shall all know Me from the smallest to the greatest.” And there won’t be even one grain of desire that will not receive complete fulfillment. Since all the grains are included in each other, each of them, every individual soul attains Ein Sof (Infinity).
[79919]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/06/12,“The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Question: Is there a difference between man and woman in spirituality?

Answer: No. In each one of us there are two parts: female and male, and with them we advance. However, with respect to the unity in the group, the male and female souls are a little different in their approaches. Women unite according to their strength, whereas men must connect and unite with all their hearts, in the strongest brotherly bonds.

Here, the entire matter is the uniqueness of the soul: The male soul belongs more to GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim) and the female to the AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh). But both of these need to attain the most upper level, and along the women’s way, there are no special obstacles.

I very much suggest to and ask the women to worry about the men, push them to unite and connect, stand in a circle surrounding them in order to prevent them from withdrawing. After all the men stay as children all their lives. They don’t have the mechanism of giving birth and worrying about others. He doesn’t change, only grows in size.

On the other hand when a woman becomes a mother, she goes through very serious hormonal changes in one way or another. In her is concealed the same potential, the same longing, the same understanding. Thus she is more connected to life, to nature. She is more logical, more realistic. The ups and downs touch her less than they do a man since her body is used to “swallowing” these blows regularly.

This is the reason that women need to help the men, and this is spoken about a lot in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Without the help of women, the men won’t attain the goal. So take care of them like mothers who cherish their babies.
[77360]
From the Brazil Convention 5/06/12, Lesson 5

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Question: If the Creator is revealed between us and not in every person individually, how does each person feel this field of a single force?

Answer: The spiritual is bestowal. Bestowal is something that is revealed outside of every person rather than inside one. Inside of us we can only feel what we feel now: the picture that we call this world.

Therefore, if I wish to reveal something above my corporeal existence, something outside of what happens in my animal body, I need to build a new, different body. This body is called unification between people. Since they also are created from animal bodies, we build a new body between us, which arises between us, and feel our out-of-body reality there. That reality is called the spiritual world or higher reality, since it contains all the forces and qualities, the program of creation, and its goal. Everything is situated there, between us. That field, the upper force, controls us. It’s called Light, Creator, Elokim, and many other names.

Thus we have no choice but to build unity between us. By striving toward this unity, even egoistically, we rouse a certain influence from it onto us and begin to sense it on the degree called Lo Lishma. Then it affects us more and more, and we begin to feel it on the first spiritual degree, and then with greater and greater intensity. The power of our unification determines the power of the Light that Reforms, the sensation of bestowal that is being revealed. However, all of this is revealed between us.

Such is our work. We just need to try to constantly imagine this state in a more authentic and real manner, and adjoin to it everything we know from science, psychology, and the relationships between us. And then you will see how true it is. Suddenly everything will unite.
[77445]
From a Lesson in New Jersey 5/10/12, Shamati

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Question: Everyone in my group wants to unite. Everyone tries, makes an effort, but nothing comes from it for anyone. This feeling very much interferes with my concentration, and I don’t know how to deal with it.

Answer: The process isn’t easy. Even in our corporeal world, we don’t grow up simply. Look at how much time passes until a person grows, until he turns into an adult.

On the spiritual path, we need to gather a great many discernments and feelings. All of our feelings are based on disappointments and on attainments.

We simultaneously walk “on two legs,” on the left and right, in minus and in plus. It is only when we attain a certain size, a certain value between the minus and plus, that we exit to the next level.

This means that we need to go through great disappointments and attainments; otherwise, we don’t advance. Thus, the one who advances is only the one who walks the path, who overcomes it. One simply must move forward. The training, the exercises, that you are beginning now, must be organized without stopping.

I am sure that each one of you gradually will begin to feel the appearance of unity, the shared force that is specifically created on the surface of our mutual feelings. This will be revealed. One simply must work constantly on this.

This is the system for the inner development of the additional sensor, of the spiritual sense. It is specifically developed within a group, and only in this way.

We will develop this system even more. We will make it more accurate and more complex. You will get these tasks. You will feel that you are changing.

You know that, when one prepares the dough for bread, one kneads it for a long time. You must “knead” yourselves, until an image of “man” comes forth from your attributes.

This work needs to continue for a few months. As much as we aspire to this more strongly, it will yield results more quickly. However, only in this way will it be realized.

All of this is described in our sources. I am not saying anything new. We simply are beginning the most serious and broadest implementation of this system.

It is very good that today you are either experiencing something or not experiencing something. Don’t forget that, but also, don’t remain there! Simply write it down in your notebook and move forward.

You will see how, gradually, time after time, your state will change. The accumulation of these impressions, in the end, will produce within you intellect and sensation, and will enable the mutual discovery of the next level, the force of the Creator. He will be revealed.

In any case, even if you felt nothing that you had hoped or wanted to attain, you went through some kinds of stages, through some kinds of feelings, and this already is quite a bit. You must value this!

The main thing is not to degrade. All the discernments are positive, and man must undergo them.
[75901]
From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/2012, Workshop 1

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