A person cannot avoid being influenced by the environment, which elevates or belittles him. It is impossible to resist if I am important in my eyes.

If I don’t wish to conform to this opinion, I have to construct another image around myself, one that will become meaningful to me. In that case, I will measure everything in relation to it: If I am being reprimanded or praised, foremost, I will check whether it is beneficial or harmful to this image. And then, let me be scolded, but if the image benefits from it, helps me to achieve it, and come closer to it, I feel good.

If I am being scolded by the people whom I hold in authority, I value their opinion. But if I regard them as foes, then the more they scold me, the more it convinces me that I am correct. I am glad they are criticizing my path. In this case, the most horrible condemnations may sound as blessings to me.

Let’s say you are being cursed by the Pharaoh, it’s great, because he is opposite to the Creator; it all depends on whose influence you choose. Hence, I must remain only under the influence of my environment that I chose for spiritual growth. I should be very responsive to it since with its help, I can aim myself in the right direction.

Upon entering such an environment, its opinion must become sacred for me. I copy all its values and live in accordance with them instead of with what used to fill me before.

If I wish to receive the mind of the Upper One, the Creator, instead of my own, then I unfold my entire future world in the head (Rosh) of the group, in their desires. I don’t have anything else: They are that very Kli which I receive the future world into. Therefore, the collective opinion of the group and its values, start prevailing over everything else.

In fact, I will never be able to uncover the tiniest particle of the spiritual world unless I step out of myself and exchange my head for the common head and heart of the group. Therein lay my sole choice and chance to reach spirituality.

You need to be responsive to their mind and heart and keep trying to find within what the true environment is. As a result, you will suddenly get to realize that they have it all although they themselves are unaware of it. It is this particular group in relation to which you have to nullify yourself, and that is where you will find the entire World of Infinity.
[28504]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/2/10, The Writings of Rabash

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Question: You explained that the text we read in Talmud Eser Sefirot and The Book of Zohar describes the forces of connection between us. Can you give me an example of this connection?

Answer: If you were in spirituality, then you would actually reveal everything you read about in the book. You would reveal the forces of connection among us, including their might, character, how they operate, and how they unite together into the net connecting us.

You would participate in the net of these forces and its work, in the illumination of the Shechina. You would see how much you are able to take an active part in it, how much you can add to it yourself. While reading the text, you would see how this entire net behaves.

However, if you do not live inside spiritual attainment, it is impossible to convey this to you. Baal HaSulam writes in his poem, “Whatever your eyes will see, you will see it and no other.”

As long as you do not feel spirituality, you have to read these texts hoping that it will become revealed to you. We read the Kabbalistic texts in the quality of Segula (a miraculous quality), and not in the form of facts.

For example, suppose I am blind and I am listening to a physics professor tell me about optical laws. He tells me how a ray of light splits into several colors. Yet, I am just hearing about it. I do not understand what he is talking about, but only hear that these phenomena exist.

I can keep studying this way my entire life, without understanding what it is talking about. However, if I make special efforts and begin to feel the phenomena I heard about, then they become my life. This is called “Taste and see how good the Creator is.” You have to taste it – to receive these Lights and feel their taste.

The real science of Kabbalah begins only after you have this sensation.
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/6/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: For whose sake should I demand unity now? For the group or for the whole world?

Answer: The common soul divides into many parts, and the order of their awakening divides into many phases. Meanwhile, we are going through two processes:

1. Being a part that received an awakening from Above, we are obligated to actualize it and become corrected. Only after being awakened in this way does a person ask the question about the meaning of life and find the answer by revealing the Creator. This task is incumbent on us first and foremost.

This might seem like a super egoistic endeavor. However, revealing the Creator means revealing the quality of bestowal, love for the neighbor, and realizing it through unity with others. Bestowal is self-rejection, self-nullification. You come out of yourself towards others and there you find your soul.

Therefore, the first impression is deceptive. You are endeavoring to find your soul and to fulfill it with eternal pleasure. The Creator Himself has given you this opportunity and endowed you with an impulse to achieve this. Any way you say it, it sounds extremely egocentric, but the real content, the inner essence is above egoism.

That’s because we actualize all of this together by means of bestowal, love, unity, and mutual help. We do it by aspiring to come out of ourselves, instead of absorbing everything inside.

In the past Kabbalists did not have the opportunity to disseminate the science of Kabbalah throughout the world, to study it publicly, and to teach others. Yet, back then the particular correction of their souls in small groups was also aimed at the benefit of the whole world. That’s because they acquired a great force of bestowal which operated among all the souls in the world, even though the world did not feel it.

2. Today we have to act in one more direction. We not only correct ourselves and acquire a greater inner force of bestowal in our groups, but also disseminate the Kabbalistic knowledge all over the world.

These are the two parallel vectors of our efforts, and they are both necessary.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/6/10, The Zohar

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Question: Why do we feel comfortable when there are candles glowing in a room?

Answer: We relate a candle to warmth, light, and hope. That is how we perceive it according to our spiritual root.

The candles of Chanukah symbolize the outcome of man’s war with his ego. What is a candle, really? It’s a body that contains oil, a wick inside the oil, and a fire burning on the wick. Each of these components has a meaning: The body is the spiritual vessel or Kli, the oil symbolizes the Light of Hochma that becomes revealed to us, and the wick stands for the discernments we make. All of this together gives us fire, the Light.

When a person makes enough inner discernments, waging a war with his ego, desiring to ascend above it, independent of the egoistic approach where all his actions are aimed only at fulfilling himself, when he desires to get rid of his egoistic nature, this is called “the war of the Maccabees against the Greeks.”

In Hebrew the Maccabees are called Makabim, which is an abbreviation of the phrase, “Those who are going toward the Creator, follow me.” In essence we separate from the “Greeks” inside us – the rational thinking, the egoistic desire to enjoy – and slightly rise above everything earthly to bestowal and love for the neighbor. The level of Bina means, “Do not do to another what you hate.”

In other words, a candle is a good, beautiful symbol of the spiritual nature. That is why we feel so good and comfortable when it glows.
[28706]
From the program “Kabbalah for Beginners” on 12/1/10

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When a person desires to enter the group and to unite with it, then precisely there, inside the interconnection with the friends, he reveals the four phases of the expansion of Direct Light, the ten Sefirot, the forms and degrees of unity that the Kabbalists describe. The stronger he merges with the desires of the friends by the principle of loving his neighbor as himself, the more the Light is revealed inside him, filling these desires. This is the revelation of the Creator to creation.

As Baal HaSulam writes in item 155 of "Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot," we have to desire for the material we study to become revealed and come alive inside us. We study the correction of creation so that inside these texts we will reveal the Light, the Creator, the goal of creation.

To correct creation means to correct a person’s connection with his environment. All the worlds lie on the path between myself and the group, on the line of connection between us. The higher I ascend, the more connected I am with the friends. The power of our interconnection corresponds to the degree of my inclusion in the group. To this degree I reveal the spiritual reality and acquire the vessel of the soul.
[28766]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/5/10, The Zohar
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Our entire history is nothing but development in the material body in this world, but now we have to build our spiritual body and do so ourselves. In our world, I was born from the father and mother who raised and educated me until I became an adult and started living independently. In the spiritual world, I have to do the same. And here, too, we have a spiritual father and mother (Aba ve Ima), a spiritual environment that develops us. However, we need to arrange it with our own desire.

The question is where to get such desire? For this, we are given a spiritual spark, “the point in the heart,” a tiny desire for spirituality. With its help, we can evolve nurtured by the environment, a Kabbalistic group, and the Upper Force that is called Aba ve Ima (father and mother).

We have them, and we are yet to find them. They can also be called the Creator who works on us by means of two forces, Hassadim and Hochma (mercy and wisdom). The force of mercy assists us, and the other force burdens our path, similar to how we teach a child by giving him difficult assignments.

These two forces, “help” and “help against us,” come to us and teach what needs to be done while we move forward. If we arrange our evolution so that we will be able to advance at the speed that depends solely on us since there is no time in spirituality.

We will begin to uncover these forces that act in Nature, the Father and Mother, the positive and negative ones. When we ascend to the first spiritual degree, we already start perceiving ourselves as eternal and complete. After all, we don’t depend on our body anymore. We start perceiving everything in bestowal, outside of ourselves. I connect and bond with all, and they become my spiritual vessel.

In the corporeal world, I always received into myself to the extent that I was able to, and as soon as I was filled, I lost the sensation of pleasure. In contrast, the spiritual pleasure is defined by how much I will pass to another and he to the next one.

This is how we all pass this fulfillment to each other. Therefore, it is an endless stream of unending pleasures. It is what we call the sensation of eternal life.

The Light of Infinity enters each of us, but he takes from it only what is necessary to sustain corporeal existence and passes this endless Light further. If we exist in such a form, we experience ourselves in the World of Infinity, unrestricted and fulfilled by the entire Light of the Creator.

This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah wishes to bring us to, and this is why it is called this way (“Kabbalah” means receiving in Hebrew). It teaches us how to receive fulfillment and experience eternal and complete life here and now, in this lifetime.
[27252]
From Lesson 1, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/9/10

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Question: What does it mean to reveal broken desires or Kelim? Do we reveal them in our aspiration to attain the Creator or in the desire to unite with one another?

Answer: We reveal our broken Kelim only in the desire to unite with each other in order to attain the Creator. And we reveal them more and more each time.

Let’s say that at the recent convention we discovered that on one hand we would like to unite, but on the other hand we do not desire it. Something on the inside stops us; there is some enemy, hater, inner stupor, or Machsom that does not let me come closer to others and unite with them.

This is the first plague of the ten Egyptian plagues or blows to Pharaoh (Pharaoh is the name of the one stopping me). I feel that he does not let me unite with others, even though I don’t yet fully realize: why I have to unite with them, where is the Creator here, and how is it possible to bestow to Him. For now I only have an aspiration to unite.

It will happen differently the second time. We want to unite and we have to be together to attain spirituality because spirituality becomes revealed only in the unity among us. This will become a little bit clearer to us. On the other hand, we will once again feel that something stops us. We demand, “Free us!” But he does not let us go.

The Creator continuously reveals a more powerful ego inside us, “hardening Pharaoh’s heart.” Then we will go out and attack again, and this does not have to happen only at a convention. We will then see that we are unable to do it ourselves; we need an external force. So where is this external force? We begin to desire for the Creator to unite us; then we will break through the Machsom.

Next time we will begin to feel that breaking the Machsom means breaking the Machsom between us. We shouldn’t attack some external boundary. The Machsom is between us, in our hearts, which are isolated from each other by an egoistic boundary.

Afterward, by making another attack, we will feel that we do not need all of this for ourselves; we don’t need it in order to unite and reveal spirituality, but in order to bestow to the Creator through it. This is the “last stop.”

All of this becomes revealed gradually. Once we reveal all of these phases in practice and experience them to the fullest, we will thereby create the right desire, Kli, or vessel for receiving the Light. Otherwise you cannot reveal the Light. The Light is abundantly present, but you have to reveal the right desire or Kli for it; you have to attain the same frequency or the same quality. This is possible only through the actions that come to us as they create a true desire in which the Light will become revealed.

So let us get ready to make the next attack on Pharaoh!
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/30/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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The science that leads us to receiving pleasure and fulfillment and brings us the sensation of comfortable, eternal, and complete life without a slightest recollection of any loss or lack is called the wisdom of Kabblah. It is a science that teaches how to obtain comfort in life by joining the good. After all, this is our true desire and nature.

We shouldn’t try to conceal or decorate it, or deceive ourselves. On the contrary, we need to discern what is worth desiring and, in accordance with that, clarify what our greatest desire is and what pleasure it can bring. Therefore, the entire wisdom of Kabbalah has been revealed to us so that we aim at the correct goal, the correct desire, and then cultivate it as much as possible.

However, in order to perceive the Creator, we must realize that the sensation of pleasure is only possible if I am equivalent to this pleasure, to the Creator. To receive pleasure from Him means to understand and feel Him. And this means that we have to be like Him, meaning to bestow, to give. But first, I have to comprehend what it means, and then I will be receiving His delights.

To the degree that I adapt to and resemble Him, become similar to Him, to that degree I begin feeling Him and delight in Him. Hence, the essence of our work lies in becoming similar to the Creator. The more I resemble Him, the closer I am to Him, the better I understand and feel Him.

But if I wish to merge with certain pleasures, it means I love them. Wanting to merge with the Creator, we, thereby, bond with the pleasure of bestowal, meaning that we have to love this quality.

How do we achieve it? That is what the wisdom of Kabbalah is all about. As soon as we learn to love the quality of love and bestowal, we will immediately begin to understand, feel, and enjoy the Creator.
[27829]
From the Introductory Lecture “Kenes-Springboard” 11/2/10

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Question: What should I do if at The Zohar lesson I feel like I am just wasting my time? Should I try to overcome this by faith above reason and suppress this sensation?

Answer: There are studies on human life showing that out of 70 years that we have to live, we spend 30 years sleeping, another 10 years eating, 5 years washing and doing an enormous amount of other things until at the end, after accounting for all these years, we have about one free day left – so what will you do during that day? You’ll probably sleep through it….

That’s why I ask you: What fills up your life so much that you feel sorry wasting your time on The Zohar lesson? Just think about how you live in this world for 70 years and then die, whereas here you have the opportunity to reveal eternal life. So perhaps it’s worthwhile to work for it a little.

You can persuade yourself and lie to yourself as much as you want; anything to stay in touch with this source. When a person comes to Kabbalah he first imagines something imaginary and unreal. However, we understand that the world to come is the quality of bestowal in which the Creator becomes revealed.

That’s when we acquire attainment and understanding of the Upper World. If you have attained this in your Kelim, that means it is yours and it doesn’t matter whether you are alive or your biological body has died.

The animate body was given for you to start with and to accompany you so that by starting with it you will be able to attain spirituality. Once you attain it, it means you have won, and if you haven’t attained it, you will receive another chance to do it later on.

Therefore, if the Creator has given you this opportunity and you are already sitting in the group reading Kabbalistic books, that means from now on the problem is only inside you. So don’t miss this opportunity!

Alternatively, you can decide that you do not agree with the Creator and go back to your regular life: “The shop is open and anyone can come in and borrow, but the Hand writes….”
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From the lesson on 11/25/10, The Zohar

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Baal HaSulam, “Thou Hast Hemmed Me In Behind and Before“: Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, meaning the revelation and concealment of the face of the Creator, for indeed “His kingdom ruleth over all,” and everything will return to its root because there is no place vacant of him. But the difference is in present tense or future tense, because he who connects the two worlds, discovers in the present His clothing: that everything that is done is a clothing for the revelation of divinity.

All events, from the beginning to the end, are sent by You and are aimed solely to open my eyes and bring me back to the Source. And there is no place where You don’t rule so that I may say that I acted on my own or someone else stood for or against me.

Everything is permeated by the Light of Infinity, the Creator; therefore, there is no act, thought, or step that would not be completely controlled by Him. And all of it has only one purpose: to get us to attain Him so that we come closer to Him, know Him, cling to Him, and accept His governance.

We need to become like Him and walk with Him further, agreeing with all His actions and copying all His moves to such an extent that we would be able to predict what He is going to do and wish to do it before He does. It turns out that it is my desire to make it so, and He is the one who does it after me!

A person reaches such subtle understanding and perception of all this system that is being revealed to him that he completely unifies with the Creator. I anticipate what the Creator wishes me to do, and like a small child who pulls the grownup by the hand, so do I move the creature toward perfection.

Clearly, in this case we annul time. There is no more past, present, or future, and we ascend to the state where everything takes place at once and simultaneously. The future gives way to the present.

And this is deemed present tense, meaning that now too he comes out in royal clothes [also in Malchut’s clothing] and evidently shows that the rider is not subordinate to the horse. But although it seemingly appears that the horse leads the rider, the truth is that the horse is provoked to any movement, only by the sensation of the bridle and headstall of the rider. And that is called the construction of the stature of divinity, and it is also called face-to-face.
[27114]
From Lesson 7, World Kabbalah Convention 2010, 11/11/10

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