Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 1: Rabbi Hanania Son of Akashia says, “The Creator wished to cleanse Israel; hence, He has given them plentiful Torah and Mitzvot (commandments), … It is as our sages said, “The Mitzvot were only given for the purification of Israel” (Beresheet Rabba, Parasha 44). We must understand this cleansing, which we achieve through Torah and Mitzvot, and what is the Aviut (thickness/coarseness/will to receive) within us, which we should cleanse using the Torah and Mitzvot.

We know that only one force works in the world besides which there is nothing else. But in that case, it seems to be doing some really “silly” things. Why did it make us selfish, coarse, dark, insensitive, and, basically, just bad?

Is it really a good creation? If the Creator is perfectly good, how can we get something bad from Him? If the creature is bad, we should blame the Maker who created it. Where else can a flaw come from if not from its root? Besides, if the Creator made such vice and intentionally created us flawed and selfish, why did He later give us a remedy called the Torah and Mitzvot (commandments) and force us to correct what He corrupted and made bad in us?

These questions run deep. Indeed, we begin to understand them only when we start climbing the spiritual rungs. That’s where we come to realize that the advantage of the Light can be learned solely from the darkness. If we didn’t have this darkness in the first place, we wouldn’t be able to attain the Light. It can’t be found in any other way.

Don’t think that it’s a payment for your work and somebody needs you to do your job first and get rewarded for it afterwards. It’s only you who needs it because if it weren’t for this darkness that you turn into the Light, you would have no chance whatsoever to feel what the Light is!

We get to see it only when we enter the spiritual world and start carrying out these acts of correction by transforming darkness into the Light with the help of the Torah and Miztvot, a specific sequence of spiritual acts that we need to perform with perfect accuracy.
[44216]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/23/2011, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Desire doesn’t unfold until it has undergone the four stages of development under the influence of the Light and reached a state of awareness, sensation of self, when it is able to make autonomous decisions and respond to the Light to a certain extent. This means that in any point of creation, wherever the “root” (zero) phase is found, it signifies bestowal from the Creator who wishes to cause a certain reaction in the creature, in “existence from absence” (Yesh Mi Ain).

Starting with phase zero, from the so-called “tip of the letter Yod,” it is necessary to pass through the four phases of HaVaYaH (Yod, Key, Vav, Key), or the first, second, third, and fourth phases of the Direct Light. Only at phase four (Behina Dalet) does desire respond.

At any place in creation, no matter what point we take in the entire universe, we will discover a zero stage in it: the Creator’s connection with some point “from absence” (Yesh Mi Ain). From it, affected by the Light, a will to receive begins to develop and has to undergo the four stages in order to form into a created being, start sensing, and respond to the effect of the Light.

Thus, everything starts from the “tip of the letter Yod,” “existence from existence,” the Thought of Creation, His thought. Then, it begins to work, and stages one, two, three, and four come to light or Yod-Key-Vav-Key, until we reach the fourth phase, Dalet that at this point experiences itself as existing.

There are two forces here, the leading and the led. Each of them is active and potential at the same time. The first three phases, zero, one, and two (Keter, Hochma, Bina) still pertain to the Creator. Stages three and four (Zeir Anpin and Malchut) refer to the creature.

A similar division can be observed later on in all spiritual objects, Partzufim, the worlds. The first three degrees (GAR) pertain to the thought or the program of the upper one. ZAT (Zeir Anpin and Malchut) refer to the lower one, the creature, where ZA serves as the adaptor between the upper one and the lower one.

The upper one is Keter. Its property of bestowal is Hochma (Wisdom). The form in which He wishes to bestow is Bina. The form in which He relates to the lower one is Zeir Anpin. This is a multidimensional relationship: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod, Malchut. As to Malchut, it is matter that absorbs all the previous forms since it wants to know and construct them within it in order to gain the form of the preceding phases.

Thus, Malchut implements this act internally. Hence, it needs to experience all of the previous phases, receive an impression from them, conform, and develop the desire to be like them. Thereby, in response, it creates an identical connection to the root, becoming the root itself.

The creature cannot unfold until all the four phases have come before it. It’s only at the last, Dalet, phase of development, when I have both desire and intention (meaning that everything comes from me), from here on, we can talk about the creature. Until then, there are only the properties of the Creator whereby He builds creation.
[44062]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Everything starts with a black point “created from absence,” which the upper Light works on and thereby develops the creature. All development, except for this point of “Yesh Mi Ain” (existence from absence) is done by the Light, the force that acts in the creature, in the part that’s being “led.”

Where then do we get such different properties as individuals? From the Light! The point of creation “from absence” is a mere point. But the Creator splits His relation into billions of creatures and then re-connects them by tying them together in all sorts of ways so that everyone becomes connected with the seven billion others. Thereby, He wishes to express Himself within the matter of “existence from absence.”

He wouldn’t be able to express it in any other way except by such multiplied number of small creatures, each of which is created in a special, unique manner, unlike any other. Every creature comes to its individual correction, having renounced the part of “Yesh Mi Ain” (existence from absence) in itself and gaining a desire to consist of the properties of “Yesh Mi Yesh” (existence from existence), which can help it unify with the others. And thereby, it increases its “Yesh Mi Yesh” from a small point provided by the Creator to Infinity, to the exalted status of the Creator Himself.

How do I, this tiny point that appeared out of nothing that was created with a virtually zero connection with the Creator, come to His revelation? I unify with all the other points (desires) by cancelling my “existence from absence,” which allows my “existence from existence” to grow to the size of the entire creation that I adjoin to myself.

In other words, connecting thereby, I make out of this point the whole spiritual vessel, “Yesh Mi Yesh,” filled with the infinite connection to the Creator, “Yesh Mi Yesh,” to all. This can be done only by multiplying such tiny parts, each of which unifies with the rest, and thereby, all of them intertwine with the each other as multiple layers.

One unifies with the other; then, the previous two which became one unify with the third and intertwine within, while the new three bond with one more, and so on. So, it’s not just my connecting with all the others, but rather it is a multi-dimensional system of connection. And it is the only medium for the Creator to express Himself within the general creation upon completing this work at the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun).
[44059]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/2011, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah
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Question: What is the difference between the Thought of Creation and the Creator?

Answer: Everything we say is in reference to us. We do not know anything except for the things happening within our desire. And even when we reveal the existence of Light, “existence from existence,” which created desire, “existence from absence,” we also base this on desire which reveals to us what supposedly happened before us in this way. All our attainments come from the sensation of matter in our desire.

For this reason, when we speak of perception, a sensation within desire, we divide our entire perception into three components:

• the one who perceives (I am the perceiver),
• that which is being perceived (what I perceive from the Creator),
• who it is being perceived from (the source of the sensation, the Creator).

As I learn my ability to change the perception of the Creator whom I feel in terms of what He wants from a connection with me, I start having a connection with Him and change the relationship between us. How do I know what I am changing? It comes from my sensations. How do I know what He feels and how He reacts at the same time? This also comes from my sensations. Everything is based only on my sensations; I do not have any other qualities of perception. Everything exists only within desire.

This is why we say that HaVaYaH (the four letter name of the Creator, “Yod-Key-Vav-Key”) is the four stages of the development of desire. The revelation of the Creator within man (Creator or “Bo-Reh” refers to “come and see”) occurs only after that.

The worlds also exist only in our perception in the form of revelations or concealments (“world” or “Olam” comes from the word “Alama” or “concealment”). The ladder of spiritual degrees exists within man as well. The group, humanity, the entire reality, the world of Infinity, everything is within us.

But what do I attain through all of my efforts in wishing to learn who and what I am, who the Creator is, what He wants from me, and what my connection is with Him? As a result of all these efforts and the long journey, when we realize all the possibilities given to us, we attain a single perception, a single understanding, a single sensation, called “the Thought of Creation is to bring contentment to the created beings.” This plan includes everything: Who the One who pleases the creatures is, what kind of pleasure this is, who these creatures are, everything.

The state when we attain the Thought of Creation is called “the point of adhesion” or “a drop of adhesion” because in our perception everything centers on one point of the Thought of Creation. We attain it through our efforts as we desire to unite with the Creator, and this is why we call it “a drop of adhesion.”
[43964]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Shamati #25: Regarding things that come from the heart, enter the heart. …The thing is that when one hears the words of his teacher, he immediately agrees with his teacher, and resolves to observe the words of his teacher with his heart and soul. But afterwards, when he comes out to the world [to a different environment], he sees, covets, and is infected by the multitude of desires roaming the world, and he and his mind, his heart, and his will are annulled before the majority.

…He mingles with their desires and he is led like sheep to the slaughter. He has no choice; he is compelled to think, want, crave, and demand everything that the majority demands. In that case there is only one counsel then, to cling to his teacher and to the books [on the internal level]. This is called “[Being nourished] from the mouth of books and from the mouth of authors.”

A person who is born and lives in this material world develops in an environment that’s far away from spirituality, and obviously he cannot understand anything on the spiritual path. Even if he has an aspiration to spirituality, this point is immersed in the egoistic desire, which is surrounded by the egoistic society. Therefore, it does not have any chance of developing correctly.

Only a person who makes his way into the right environment merits spiritual development. This is an environment which has a teacher and a group that carries out the teacher’s advice. Besides, this group must study the authentic Kabbalistic sources, but this is already a result of how they accept the guidance of their teacher.

Therefore, the bottom line is that the group’s development depends on the teacher, the Rav (which means “big”). To the degree the students are able to cancel their opinion to his opinion, that is how they will develop. That’s because the spiritual environment is based on the teacher’s opinion, thought, and method, as well as the recognition of the teacher’s authority.

A necessary condition for the student is to constantly check who and what determines his opinion. After all, he is under the influence of two forces and must always decide that the teacher’s opinion has greater force than his own opinion. And if he does not feel any struggle and resistance, it means he does not perform this verification at all and instead thinks that everything is fine just the way it is.

Sometimes a student goes against his teacher’s opinion and thinks that he has a better understanding of how he should act from the point of view of his logic and reason. That is, he does not annul himself. But nullifying oneself means that he goes against his desire, against his logic.

If he endures in this resistance, it means he chooses the spiritual path and progresses on it. But if there is no opposition and inner struggle, then a question arises: Maybe he does not even understand that he is always following his own opinion, all the while thinking that he is advancing correctly?
[43949]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/25/11, Shamati

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The science of Kabbalah revealed itself to us from time immemorial. In essence, it’s the first science discovered by humankind in the form of teaching about the structure of the world. However, much like it is today, in all previous generations, the majority of people didn’t need it because their ego was still evolving. We went through all these reincarnations, developing from generation to generation, and life seemed good. We were constantly striving to new achievements, desiring to fulfill ourselves with greater pleasures.

The wisdom of Kabbalah said thousands of years ago that this pursuit of pleasure is only a race for the internal engine working within us and it doesn’t give us true fulfillment. Everything is false; we are simply playing with our desires, with these fleeting, instantly disappearing pleasures. What’s the point in it all?

Nonetheless, people didn’t want to hear that. Only a few wondered about the meaning of life: What is the purpose of life, this race between birth and death? These few people were developing the wisdom of Kabbalah more and more. They discovered that in fact, this game which our ego, our nature, plays with us is just a deadly game; they discovered that we happened to fall into a meat grinder that grinds us, constantly pushing us to undesirable actions: either pleasures that we cannot refuse or sufferings that we try to escape from.

Thus, under the influence of these two forces, pleasure and suffering, I am constantly running like a small animal. They beat me, I run away to avoid blows. They show me pleasure, I rush to it. I end my life, filling my days with this race.

Observing such development of humanity, these people looked for a way out of this senseless race, until they discovered that this entire process has an end. They realized that we don’t live in an endless flow of life between the two forces, good and evil, in the eternal pursuit of pleasures and escape from endless suffering, trying to improve our lives and avoid evil. They found that finally we came to the completion of this development.

This completion is taking place precisely today, after a long process of human evolution. We are the first generation that, after a number of reincarnations and as a result of the development of all past generations, is beginning to understand what happens to them.

We begin to recognize that we have reached a certain satiation, and many people have become disappointed by this race. Although they don’t realize that during their whole life they are chasing after pleasures and running away from sufferings, they do feel frustration and plunge into depression. Many people are beginning to understand that this is madness, not life: to come to this world because of some race and then leave it as if they entered a casino, gambled, and left having done nothing because they were forced to run from pain and chase after pleasures.

Hence, they come to the understanding that evidently this isn’t so because nothing in nature happens without purpose. Everything in it is precisely determined by the order of cause and effect, and apparently this entire process is dictated by the law of development which should lead us to a certain goal.

Although this process is very long and seems illogical, in truth, a special inner logic is hidden in it: We must recognize the evil inherent in our nature in order to obtain the good from it. The possibility to reach this goodness appears nowadays if we accelerate the recognition of evil.

That’s why the science of Kabbalah has been revealed, so we don’t advance as before by a long and random path, in an endless choice between good and evil, every time encountering problems, solving them, and escaping to something better, but so that after many searches, having been disappointed in the previous path, we desire to see what is awaiting us and advance consciously.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is divulged for such people. The point in the heart awakens in them and doesn’t give them rest. They come to the place where they can gain knowledge about how to lay the right path for themselves, not twisting, but straight, according to the law of nature, becoming like it and using it correctly.

In essence, we aren’t sponsored or granted a miracle; we simply know the law. Instead of reaching the goal in zigzags, we go straight if we want to fulfill this law. This is a closer and easier path, but at the same time more complex. After all, we have to study and realize this law on ourselves instead of the forces of nature that knead us like dough shape us in their form. We ourselves have to participate in this, to carve out of ourselves the form required by nature. If we succeed, we give ourselves the same form that we should acquire at the end, and reach the purpose of creation.
[43743]
From the 1st lesson at the Rome Convention on 5/21/11

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Question: In “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” Baal HaSulam writes that the desire for pleasure, which formed in its final form, is in “this world.” What is “this world?”

Answer: It’s precisely what is written there: the state of the “receiving desire which has formed in its final form.” In reality there are two things in existence: Light and desire. Everything else are just names for these forces.

When the receiving desire undergoes changes, it finally reaches the lowest state called “this world.” This is a spiritual notion, which is why we differentiate between it and “our world,” in which we exist for now on the animate level. Only a person who feels that he is at the last stage, in the final form of the egoistic desire, determines his location as “this world.” This can already be called spiritual attainment in some sense because a person is aware of where he is according to the spiritual coordinates. But a “person from the street” does not live in “this world” yet, but still in his own world.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/24/11, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Development occurs by virtue of the “electric” force that circulates in the system. When I connect into it with the two forces I have, the egoistic and altruistic ones, its force starts circulating through me as well. In that case, the system is working with me, and I feel the “current” that permeates its entirety; I discover its program and purpose and get engaged in it ever more.

Thus we ascend the spiritual degrees, rising back toward the unified Force. Plus and minus, positive and negative, unify, and we find our eternal life and the final purpose of our existence. This is the program.

This allows us to see the cause of the crisis and its consequences. We understand why we didn’t receive the wisdom of Kabbalah and didn’t discover the group until our egoism had grown to the limits. Only now do we feel, day to day, how everything is changing around. So many things are happening in the world, all of which are devised to reveal the crisis and demonstrate our desperate plight as well as the hopelessness and lack of understanding prevailing in the world. Day by day, at a rapid pace, we’ll be making steps on this path.

Hence, very soon, we will need to show to the world that we understand the plan of creation. Obviously, we do not know all of it since we attain it by climbing the rungs of development. And yet, we do know how to carry it out and how to begin this process. As to the rest, we study it as we go.

Among us, there aren’t individuals who have reached the finish line, which wouldn’t make a difference anyway. Essentially, we learn from Kabbalists who told us about this entire process, the whole human history. Besides, they gave us this information millennia ago, but to this day, their words still keep coming true.

Therefore, we need only to hear what laws to obey in order to quickly become part of the integral system. As soon as I reveal myself as being such part, all the laws start working through me. I begin to understand and experience what is going on in our world. I see right through it, the forces that run through me; I discover what’s causing them as well as the essence of their work.

It is written: “From Your actions we will know You.” The wisdom of Kabblah is a purely practical method that I apply solely on myself. I don’t study any insects under a microscope, nor do I study the external world. On the contrary, I reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah and all creation in general on myself. No science is more practical and experiential than Kabbalah.

Kabbalists explain what laws are to be followed in order for us to become an active part of a greater whole. After all, humanity is merely a small part of the enormous system of the world of Infinity. They talk about simple laws that we need to observe in the group. We must structure it as a mini-model of an integral, immense reality so that within this model we would look for an opportunity and strive to perform according to the ground laws of creation pertaining to our egoism and the positive creative Force.

Then the group will become a “construction area” for me, a sort of “laboratory” where I examine the friends and myself, where we, all together and among ourselves, work, build, create, and shape the future world, the upper world, and humanity of tomorrow. Our acts are in sync with what Kabbalists advise, and we act solely experimentally, by testing and verifying the results of our work.
[43710]
From the 2nd lesson at the Rome Convention on 5/21/11

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