When the spies were picking fruit in the valley of Eshkol, three giants who were living around Hebron were paying attention to them. These were Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the three sons of Anak, the tallest of all the giants. They were all that remained of the ancient giants who were born after the generation of the flood. When the giants drew very close, all of the spies fainted except for Joshua and Caleb…when they saw that the spies who fainted were lying on the ground, they revived them. They spoke: “We see that you came here to cut down the trees that we worship and to shatter our statues!” the giants growled. “No,” answered the spies, whispering, “We just picked some of the fruit.” The giants answered firmly: “Go away from here! Your God will soon bring you to this land and then you will have plenty of time to cut down our trees.” (From the words of “Midrash Rabba,” Parshat Shelach).

The Midrash Rabba, just like the Torah, speaks about our inner characteristics. In particular, here it is talking about our need to rise from Malchut to Bina from the characteristic of reception to the characteristic of bestowal, and suddenly we come across strong opposition.

The giants are my gigantic personal desires that I must correct. This is because without them I will not be able to exist on the level of Bina. So the characteristics themselves were created like this, so that only through overcoming them will I rise to this level. A “giant” symbolizes something great, immense. I require a big ego, gigantic desires that seem like giants to me.

The characteristic of Bina is the characteristic of full bestowal, something that is very light and soft, that is poured out like water, which revives and calms everything. And suddenly, in order to attain it, I must somehow overcome the immense giants. But the giants are not coarse characteristics; rather, they are the characteristics of Bina. And if I use them correctly, receive them within me correctly, they will not bother me. But the moment I begin to object that I don’t want to correct them to their level, they will immediately rise up against me.

So the giants say to the spies that they will yet return to this land. In other words, these characteristics that are found in us know everything from the start because they are designed to protect this level and to make it possible for only those who are fit for the level of Bina to enter. In this way, in order to rise to the level of the land of Israel, we must overcome enormous egoistic desires, especially those states that are like “Hebron” or “Shechem.”
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/2/15

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The Torah, “Numbers” 13:17 – 13:22: And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them: “Get you up here into the South, and go up into the mountains; and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds; and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes. So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, at the entrance to Hamath. And they went up into the South, and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

This is talking about very strong forces acting against the children of Israel. It is also the place itself, Hebron, and the time of the first fruit of the grapes, which symbolize the fruit of Hochma and also Anak and his three children.

In general, everything is working against the possibility of the person overcoming the obstacles; he has no forces for this. Here this requires a new force, the characteristic of bestowal, which they didn’t succeed in attaining in the wilderness. So how could they get it now on the border? This is not understood. So they go back and tell everything that they saw. From their side there were no sins; the only thing they say is: “With what we have, we cannot control the ego that stands in front of us. We don’t know what to do. There is no answer.”

In principle, they carried out their mission absolutely correctly; they discovered everything that there is correctly. And further, this was not even any of their business. The problem is just that they drew the wrong conclusion in that they decide that it is forbidden for them to go forward. We don’t need to stop. We need to search for another way, to search for the power of faith above reason, do something, but not give up on the next level of ascent.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/30/15

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The Torah, “Numbers” 13:17 – 13:18: Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan, and he said to them, “Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain. You shall see what [kind of] land it is, and the people who inhabit it; are they strong or weak? Are there few or many?”

Climbing the mountain and looking at the land from above means to summon the Upper Light, which temporarily raises you just because you ask for it. This however, doesn’t happen in practice, you only see it, because you cannot do anything but see.

Seeing can both raise or lower you, but it is essential in order to understand with what you have to work, which means to work in faith above reason. In order to do so, you need to have great knowledge because  you shouldn’t just follow blindly but should clearly understand all the instructions, guidelines, the whole system, and how to work with the Upper Light. This is the reason that the upper mind is activated before every level.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/30/15

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Midrash Raba, “BeShalach”: The children of Israel now camped in Kadesh, north east of the land of Israel. They knew that they would climb the mountain on the border of the land of Israel. Excited, pushing one another they ran to Moses with their request: let’s send the spies ahead, so that they will explore and check the land; they will advise us which way we should go and will tell us which cities would easily be conquered; so that we should know who to attack first. But of course, they had no need for spies, because the pillar of cloud moved before them. This is the reason that they had to think of different excuses in order to convince Moses to send the spies.

The children of Israel demanded that Moses send the spies to the land of Israel, which means that they didn’t have faith in the pillar of cloud, the cloud of glory, that guided them in the desert. But now the time had come to fight against the strong egoistic desires in the land of Israel, and only if the people overcome them will they acquire the spiritual level, which is the land of Israel.

The point is that the desert is a state in which we accept the good, equal, calm attitude toward everyone, passive bestowal. It isn’t the active work with the ego yet, since we don’t invoke it inside us and don’t bring it out. The land (“Eretz”) of Israel comes from the Hebrew word “desire” – “Ratzon,” on the other hand, is a desire that is aimed at the Creator.

This land is called Canaan now and at the moment it is aimed at a totally different direction. Seven nations (according to the number of the Sefirot) live in it; seven forces that pull everyone who has these desires in the opposite direction. This means that it is the same Egypt but in a more serious form. This is the reason that it is possible to cross the Red Sea, to undergo the experience of Mount Sinai and the desert, and at the same time to enter the state of the land of Canaan before it is conquered by the nation of Israel, that is, the very strong egoistic desires that are on guard, protecting themselves.

According to the egoistic state, the land of Israel is much higher than Egypt. For Pharaoh the nation of Israel is the intention to work in order to bestow upon themselves by receiving on purpose: I give to you, but eventually I receive from you, like a good owner of some factory who cares about his employees because he profits from them and it is much more worthwhile for him. This means that Pharaoh is a normal capitalist with a healthy approach. He says: “Go out and work and you will receive everything: meat, fish, and vegetables. You can live wherever you want and you can observe your religion. I don’t prohibit anything, just work! Do you wish to organize differently? Go ahead! But under my supervision!”

On the whole, he is a good and caring employer, who doesn’t suppress his subjects as long as they don’t rise against him and refuse to accept him as their employer anymore. This is the reason that he is ready to give them the best conditions: Do you want a pension fund? Here you are! A vacation? Here you are. Do you want it twice a year? That’s fine! Do you want extra pay? Okay! The best conditions for your kids: kindergartens and schools? I will do everything! It will be heaven! You don’t need to think about anything but simply do what you are told and that’s all! The only condition he has is that: “You should be loyal to me and then you will be well off.” This is called to bestow in order to receive. If you don’t accept this, you have a problem with Pharaoh and should therefore gather all the forces in order to overcome him and to move forward. This is what happened in Egypt.

But now we reach the next level called the land of Canaan, the future land of Israel. The land of Canaan is much higher than Egypt. When the nation of Israel enters it this level becomes increasingly more egoistic. They have seven sub levels called seven nations, seven egoistic desires. They are so big that they oppose the attribute of bestowal, of getting closer, of mutual support and mutual guarantee, that they are ready to tear to pieces anyone who begins to think about love and bestowal.

Therefore, when we approach the state called the land of Canaan, which means its borders, we begin to feel the deadly cold coming from there. If you want to unite, to love others, and to establish good relations with others, to bestow unto each other, you feel that everyone hates and rejects you. It is much worse than what Abraham experienced when he saved Lot from Sodom because everyone lived for himself there. This is how we want to live today. Everyone has everything of his own: “I have my own house and my car; I am alone in my home and I am alone in my car. I don’t need anyone. If I need someone I can invite him for an hour or two and that’s enough.”

This is Sodom, where everyone lives by himself. According to the laws of Sodom if you let someone spend the night at your home, then you are an enemy. You are breaking the social laws that are based on the fact that no one has any relations with anyone else; no one helps others, and there is no mutuality anywhere. If someone is starving, for example, it means that he deserves it and no one should help him. The Creator will help him, don’t interfere. You have no right to. Everyone is managed by the upper force. This is a very deep internal ancient philosophy that has a very serious basis.

But the land of Canaan is much worse. When the children of Israel begin to feel the cold that is beyond the border called the land of Canaan, which they have to overcome in order to conquer this land and to turn it into the land of Israel, they discover obstacles on a level to which they cannot ascend. It is many times bigger than the Wall of China. This means that you have to change the small ego that is left, which suddenly grows sky high, and then the next level you should reach is revealed and you feel like a dwarf compared to it. What is more, this obstacle is ideological and clever.

It pressures, convinces, and proves to you that you are doing something that is totally wrong, aiming against the Creator! Who sent you to do that? Did He send you? How can that be? After all it is all in contrast to Him! Even the message “send,” which means “send the spied there,” is against His condition to advance in faith above reason, and to advance in bestowal disregarding everything. So can you send someone?

It turns out that it is impossible to overcome the level itself by our own mind and feelings. That’s the way it always is in the spiritual work. You face a state that you cannot grasp in your mind and which you cannot justify.

Comment: A person constantly follows the pillar of cloud, which means that he advances by faith above reason, and then he suddenly stops and sends spies…

Answer: The people are ready to follow blindfolded, like blind puppies. But in order to ascend to the next level, they have to use their mind, since you can follow in faith above reason in the attribute of bestowal when you raise the mind to an upper level. This is the reason that you are allowed to use your mind, your understanding, your recognition, and your feelings, and now you have to advance above it. This is what the sin and the fall of the people is about: On the one hand, they raised themselves to the level of the new healthy mind, but on the other hand, they couldn’t rise above it. This means that the mind is activated before every spiritual level and it is only afterward that we can advance in faith above reason, since what else is there to ascend above if not above our mind?

Comment: If we compare Sodom, Egypt, and the land of Canaan, Abraham enters Sodom in order to protect the righteous; people go down to Egypt because of famine, but when they come to the land of Canaan they follow the pillar of cloud and are managed by Moses, which means by the point in the heart.

Answer: People enter Egypt because of famine because this is where they receive additional egoistic desires that they later have to ascend above. This ascent isn’t fulfilled by conquering Egypt but when they escape from it. In order to ascend above it, they need the Torah, the right spiritual method. It is only in the land of Canaan that they begin to ascend above Egypt, when they summon great egoistic desires that were increased during their wandering in the desert. This is actually what is revealed before them now.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/30/15

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The Torah, “Exodus” 34:27 – 34:28: The Lord said to Moses: Inscribe these words for yourself, for according to these words I have formed a covenant with you and with Israel. He was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water, and He inscribed upon the tablets the words of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:27 – 28)

This speaks about the ascent of Malchut to Bina.

“Forty” is a stage in which a person goes completely out of his egoistic state, rises above it in forty steps (the level of Bina, bestowal) and achieves the characteristic of “Moses.”

The Torah gives a person the method for his elevation to the level of “Adam” where he is released from all of his egoistic characteristics. But this doesn’t mean that he becomes an ascetic, fasts, stops being involved in regular things, stops working, and has no family, no! Simply within himself he only begins to go deeper into an intention for the sake of bestowal.

In everything else he manages a normal way of life: He works, takes care of his family, and communicates with the whole world. But all of this is now built only in the direction of approaching the characteristic of bestowal.

All the necessities remain, and everything that is unnecessary is gradually sifted out and the person moves on by rising to a level where one pure intention remains for him—to reach the characteristic of bestowal, which is called “ascent in forty steps.”

“…forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water,” this signifies that the person is only involved with bestowal and attains it when he already enters into contact with the Creator on the level of Bina.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/30/13

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The Torah, “Numbers,” 13:3 – 13:5: So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran by the word of the Lord. All of them were men of distinction; they were the heads of the children of Israel. These are their names: For the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zakkur. For the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

All the names in the Torah, and especially the names of the spies, have a special inner meaning. Their numerology symbolizes attributes by which the future land of Israel can be explored. This is the reason that we have to reveal and expose these attributes inside us,  prepare ourselves for them, and make them a group. In this group, made of the heads of tribes, they are correctly united. Thanks to this force of unity, they advance towards a gradual equality of their attributes with those that are in the land of Canaan and see to what extent they cannot fight them.

In other words, the force of togetherness, connection, and unity that they attained is not enough to overcome the force of the ego that can overcome them and tear them to pieces. They simply don’t understand how to overcome and dominate it. But the state they are in is absolutely correct. It is impossible to say that they had missed something while exploring the land and that they couldn’t clarify things. Everything is correct! All the attributes by which a person intends to conquer the land of Canaan are not enough to conquer it.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/30/15

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The Torah “Numbers” 11:4 – 11:6: But the multitude among them began to have strong cravings. Then even the children of Israel once again began to cry, and they said, “Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge, the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now, our bodies are dried out, for there is nothing at all; we have nothing but manna to look at.”

For what reason did the nation begin to complain, after all, there weren’t any previous assumptions? Since in their midst was “Erev Rav (the mixed multitude).” That means that all the desires of the nation had not yet been purified from the ego, and since these desires called, “Erev Rav” were so close by, they were afraid of the Creator, but worked for their own benefit, for the benefit of their “Pharaoh.”

Imagine a man who has fear of the Creator and executes all that is written in the holy books: in the prayer books, in the Shulchan Aruch. For what? I carry out all that which is spoken about, and You should carry out what you promised me! That is called, “Erev Rav.” The person, as if, exists near the Creator, and as if, provides for himself a future in the Garden of Eden. He can even die knowing that before him awaits Nirvana (complete rest). There are known cases when, at the last moment, terrorists were arrested, they shouted that they wanted to die. This is because they were ready to enter heaven in another moment.

The Erev Rav incites the nation, meaning man’s desires, and he begins to complain. He doesn’t accept what he should. This is because all the movements in the desert are empty movements. A person doesn’t receive anything. He just needs to move forward. He is given just a small sign that he is going for something, a small, fabricated cloud. When can he feel the presence of the Creator more clearly? When he performs some violation and gets punished for it, “Oh! I came to know that that’s forbidden.” And then it turns out that one must do something. These egotistic desires are saying, “We don’t want to settle for the Creator’s request.”

Since what is the meaning of MAN (Mayin Nukvin – Female Water) in the desert? Specifically thanks to my being in the desert, I have nothing. It is from the state of complete hopelessness that I can find the one and only way, the way to the Creator. I no longer have anyone to turn to!  When I turn to him, it is called MAN. This means that MAN is the raising of my prayer, specifically my request to the Creator and only in the desert! Only when I am completely empty and I have nothing, not for the benefit of the body and for the sake of those near me, and not even for the next world. So then I can turn to Him. And by doing that I fill myself, this turning to the Creator fills me.

Actually, I don’t receive anything except a one-sided connection with the Creator. If I act in this way, then MAN comes to me from the sky, and I am nourished from it and begin to fill my soul. But it is filled only by my turning to the Creator! Thus, we are not talking about MAD (Mayin Duchrin – Male Waters), which is the filling from above (answer from the Creator), but specifically from the fabricated referral, one-sided, unanswered, not based on anything for the Creator, from within the state of hopelessness.

I don’t want any favors or pleasures of this world, I don’t want anything except the desert that makes it possible for me to turn to him in a one-sided manner (that’s because it’s not known if I turn to Him or not), and that’s enough for me. That fills my soul. If in this way I can move forward, then I go into the desert and pass through it.  It is said that the manna had all kinds of flavors. Everything that I feel in the manna depends on how much I can connect the egoistic desires to my relation to the Creator. Then accordingly, I feel that I, as if, am filled with all kinds of things.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/11/15

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The weekly section of the Torah, “Beshalach,” tells us about the spies that Moses sent to the land of Canaan, the future land of Israel.

This is a trick on the Creator’s part who constantly sets different traps for us. On the one hand, He seems to tell me, “Send the spies,” but how can I send the spies if I am ready to follow the Creator with my eyes blindfolded?

Thus, despite this inclination and my internal desire to follow Him, I must invoke different egoistic desires inside of me that are called “the people,” and send the strongest and most skilled spies before me so that they will see what the Creator prepares for us in the land of Israel.

It turns out that we go through the entire way from First Man, through Babel, Egypt, and the desert, and reach the borders of the promised land and suddenly He says, “Go and find out what has been prepared for you.”

How can that be? The Red Sea was split before us, and we were not afraid to go through the desert and reach Mt. Sinai, and here he tells us, “Check out in advance what has been prepared for you,” despite the great, previous yearning and our close relationship.

This is the other side of the coin. It is time to fight the great egoistic desires in the land of Israel, and if we beat them, we will acquire a new spiritual level.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/30/15

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Of the seventy-two sages that Moses chose by lot, two irregular Tzadikkim (righteous) didn’t show up at the Mishkan (tabernacle). They hid in the camp and said: We don’t deserve the great honor of becoming the leaders of the people. And the Creator said: You humbled yourselves, so I will raise you above all the elders. When the elders stood beside the Holy of Holies, Eldad and Medad then received the spirit of the Creator and began to prophesize. Eldad prophesied: Moses will leave this world and Joshua his servant will succeed him. Joshua will bring the Jews to the land and will conquer it. As a reward for the humility of Eldad and Medad, their prophecies climbed above the prophecies of the elders. The holy spirit which rested upon the elders, made it possible for them to predict the near future only, whereas Eldad and Medad prophesied for the far future, right up to the period of the war of Gog and Magog (From “Midrash Rabba,” Parshat BeHa’alotcha).

This is not talking about two old prophets, but about special characteristics. Moses received his clear characteristics, his destiny, his role, because this was the characteristic of Bina. And above it are found Hochma and Keter, which are very serious and elevated systems. Besides this, a very unique Light descended from above that produced the two characteristics, “Eldad” and “Medad.” Which is to say, very many systems of leadership descended from above.

The role of Moses is to remove all the desires of the general human soul from Pharaoh, from Egypt, through the Exodus from Egypt, splitting the Red Sea, standing before Mount Sinai, and crossing the wilderness until entry into the land of Israel, and nothing beyond this. Moses speaks in the Torah only about this way. But from this way all the rest can also become clear to us; for after all, the Torah begins from Adam, the first man who attained the thought of creation. There are also other sources that don’t refer to people as characters, but rather the forces of management that work further, beyond Moses.

Yet there was no prophet greater than Moses. But Eldad and Medad were found a little on the side and prophesied about the future after Moses. So it seems to us that one of them had to be greater, someone had to be smaller, even though the Torah doesn’t talk on a level like this. It simply talks about the existence of parallel chains of leadership that include Moses, seventy sages, Eldad and Medad who would later enter into the land of Israel and lead the people for a time until the building of the Temple. It means that Eldad and Medad were under the direct management of the Creator and walked in parallel to Moses.

We learn the same thing in the “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” in which two higher systems: Abba and Ima, are described. These are not people, but characteristics of the Creator that are divided into bestowal and reception. There is a division between them that runs in parallel to the regular lines. We need to enter into this spirit gradually and understand that the Torah doesn’t even speak about the characteristics of one person, but about connection between people. The Torah is designed only so that we will attain this connection; in this we will find everything that it talks about, all the way to the completion of correction, and simultaneously we begin to attain the higher levels: a state outside of time and space.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/25/15

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The Torah, “Numbers” 11:5: We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge, the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 

Question: Why did the memory of what they ate in Egypt suddenly come up?

Answer: The people demanded what would fulfill their ego. For this, MAN was spiritual nourishment, spiritual fulfillment from what I give when I fulfill and, turn towards someone. But when egoistic desires arise in me, I begin to feel their need the same way that they exist in these desires. Which means that the people really wanted the Light of fulfillment in these desires, the Light of Chaya and Yechida, which meat symbolizes. They were apparently saying, “We have no need for spiritual fulfillment, we demand meat.” meaning that which was in the ego. Egoistic desires arose in them called the “mixed multitude.”

But these desires specifically arise in a person from the perspective of his spiritual work, by convincing him, “You have no need for this; you can have it all right now if you go in another direction. We promise you both the world to come and everything that you want. Here, take this book, carry out what is written in it and everything will be okay. You don’t need to work on yourself.”

The desires of the “mixed multitude” obligate a person to examine if he is carrying out the Mitzvot (commandments) of this world correctly. They call upon him to maintain the Torah with the help of physical actions, rather than correcting his soul, his relationships with others.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/11/15

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