Question: How can you check that you really understand the lesson from the point connection with the group?

Answer: A person reaches connection out of despair, when he despairs of all his actions and sees that they will lead to nothing, and that he must do something. He thinks about himself, about his entire life, about the efforts he has made in vain, and eventually comes to the conclusion that he only can attain the goal through the group.

The group is a spiritual structure and not the faces that you see around you. It is a spiritual force that is revealed in a very realistic manner, like some safe shelter. It is like a “flying saucer” that as I enter it, I have a chance to succeed and if I am not in it, I have no chance.

A person must understand this clearly in order to keep this thought. He should know that by staying in the group, which he sees as a collection of spiritual forces, he will undoubtedly reach a good result. The group enables him to breathe, and without it, he has no access to the oxygen hose.

However, a person only can reach this decision when he feels despair from his own powers. Our discussions and workshops enable us to reach this conclusion faster. However, what I hear are people speaking about what they have read and not from their hearts.

I give a short introduction, and then I ask a question about it. The question may be a continuation of what has been said; it can be in contrast to it or somehow related to what has been said. However, it is all done intentionally. The answer shouldn’t come from the mind, but from the point of connection that should be attained within the discussion circle.

Then, the answer will be the answer to our prayer. The discussion must turn into a prayer that we all want to clarify and, together, to find the answer. During the discussion, each of the ten friends says something, and thus we complete one another. Each one annuls himself before the others by raising them and respecting their opinion. Thus, we build our self-annulment and the attribute of bestowal that is above all of us.

The group is not a physical assembly, but it acquires a spiritual value. This is because the annulment of the ego and the desire to be incorporated in the friends is already a spiritual action. The topic of the discussion spurs us on to clarify our unity, the connection, and the work. All this turns into a prayer (MAN).

Within the connection in the group that we attain by this prayer, we must receive an answer (MAD). The answer to the prayer of many (MAD) is called the center of the group. We feel collective warmth, a collective feeling, the force that supports us to such an extent that we are scared to come out of there. I don’t want to come out of there. I want to remain inside this center and to grow there. This is the purpose of the workshop, which you have to try to attain with every 15-minute question discussion.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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In the workshop, everyone must constantly check himself, and the friends should support one another and remind one another of this point so that throughout the workshop everyone will feel the fear of leaving the connection. During all our life, we must hold onto the center of the group, not only during the lesson or the workshop.

However, a lesson or a workshop is the main time to work on our collective thought, which determines everything. Here, we need each other’s support without words, and, at the same time, we have to feel the inner burning. We have to discover some collective field that constantly spurs us on and keeps us “in the air.” It is all up to us.

It is as if you were signing a contract with the friends so that they would constantly care for you and make sure that you don’t leave this field with your thoughts. Pay them so that they will take care of you. This is called “buy yourself a friend.” You have to give the friend something so that he will be motivated to constantly spur you on.

However, how can he spur you on if we are all on the same level, and he himself needs someone to spur him on? Here, the upper providence operates, about which it is written, “the Creator is within His people.”

If we decide that we are committed to spur one another on, the Creator spurs us on. He gives us this power so that at least someone in the group constantly will be in contact with spirituality and will be conscious. This means that “the Creator dwells among His people.”

If there is a connection, it is called a house of assembly for prayer (Beit-Knesset) in which the Creator is present. As it is written, “I came to the house of prayer and did not find a single person?” However, if there is a connection among us, then the Creator will come and find a “human” in it!
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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I must understand that in my mutual relationships with others, the positive force is on the outside, and the negative force is inside me. It isn’t by chance that it is written, “Man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

It is a problem of how we perceive ourselves and the world. We naturally imagine that the world is corrupt and that we are corrected. We take care of ourselves, think about what is good for us, and look at everything from the perspective of how to use everything to our benefit. I constantly worry about one thing only: “How can I feel better?”

This indicator, this inner program that is constantly active inside us, is the ego. This program focuses all my thoughts and desires in one direction: to use the world for my own benefit.

If I imagine that my hardware, my “iron,” is the starting point, my abilities, my attributes, the potential of my thoughts and desires that are in it, then the ego is my software. This software of self-fulfillment was installed within me.

My attributes are neither good nor bad, but the egoistic software that operates me obliges me to use them for my own benefit and, at the same time, at the expense of others since this enables me to feel above those who are around me. This is our ego, the evil inclination. The inclination itself is the “iron,” and the evil is the software, the addition.

Now, I must turn this software from evil to good. The inclination stays the same, but I change the method of using it. I see that the endless chase of self-benefit only harms me in the end. The evil inclination is bad for me, but, when I begin with the help of the environment to change it to a good attitude toward others, it actually brings me good, too.

How does that happen? Why do I feel good when I treat others well, and why do I feel bad when I harm others? It is because I come closer to the truth this way and begin to feel that the others and I are the same thing.

It is like a mother who “merges” with her child. It brings us together so closely that we feel as one whole and merge into a new, inseparable system of mutual relationship by stopping to differentiate between what happens to myself or to someone else.

Thus, all of humanity becomes one family. Perhaps not right away, but it’s a start, and we already understand this approach that is totally based on psychology.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/11/12

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Question: I am taking the International Kabbalah Academy course online. How important is it for virtual students to come to the convention in Kharkov? Can we virtually participate in it as we do in our lessons?

Answer: No way! You will never replace the direct interaction. You can keep taking the Kabbalah Academy online courses and gain knowledge. However, without real unity it’s impossible to unite and connect in order to sense the Creator in our connection. After all, the revelation of the Creator is our main problem. This is precisely the reason for our existence, for the existence of this entire world, and for our courses.
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From the Virtual Lesson 7/8/12, “Kharkov 2012”

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Everything depends on the preparation and there is the issue of the group here, since the connection is the expression of the acquisition of the attribute of bestowal, the closeness, the adhesion between those who work together and follow one path; it is an expression of the attribute of love that they acquire.

The unity among them is similar to the uniqueness of the Creator, since if they want to be “as one man in one heart,” which means to be mutually incorporated in thought and desires, without any differences between them, as one integral system, they yearn to resemble the Creator who is One.

Thus they prepare themselves, all of them together and each one on his own, to feel the true taste of the meal that was prepared by the Creator.

This is why we were given freewill in our world, in order to enable us to reach the meal of the wicked or the meal of the righteous. You decide whether you prepare yourself seriously, or whether you play with toys!

We speak about those who have reached the wisdom of Kabbalah. We cannot demand anything from those who have not reached it yet. They simply continue to suffer from the general crisis that pushes them to correct themselves from below. These poor people don’t understand what is going on. They expect salvation, but salvation can only come from those who have prepared themselves correctly for the King’s meal. Then through them, the meal will reach all the others who have not started preparing yet.

So all our work is in the group, in mutuality, “as one man in one heart,” as it says: “Each man shall help his brother,” “Don’t do unto your friends what you hate,” “Love thy friend as thyself,” and “From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.”

All these principles can only be fulfilled through connection, since this is the preparation for the revelation of our relationship with the Creator, so that He will be revealed within our preparation, within the connection. This means that the attribute of bestowal and love is revealed in the vessels that we have prepared and corrected, in order to reveal this attribute according to the law of the equivalence of form.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/13/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: What should happen at the convention in Kharkov, Ukraine so that it really becomes our next stage?

Answer: As it is known, there is force in quality and force in quantity.

When we gathered at the convention in the North of Israel, we tried to create this qualitative force, and we succeeded.

It was indeed a very powerful “ball” by intensity, force, and people’s abilities. There were people who study with us seriously and perform minimal, but important conditions necessary to advance towards unity.

The Kharkov convention is intended as a general convention of the entire Russian-speaking area. Of course, our friends from Europe will also arrive, but in general, there will be representatives of Russia and nearby countries, the former Soviet Union. So, unlike the convention in the North of Israel, this convention is for a fairly wide range of participants.

But the combination of that concentration of quality that has been achieved in the North of Israel with the quantity that we hope to reach in Kharkov should give significant results and the next degree.
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From the Virtual Lesson 7/8/12, “Fundamentals of Kabbalah”

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Question: What is the meaning of the demand indicated in the books to accustom oneself to fulfill the Torah and the commandments, which ultimately will help us obtain a second nature—love of the neighbor?

Answer: The actions of correction that I want to implement are called the commandments. First, I must reveal inside of myself what I need to correct, as it is written, “It is impossible to implement a commandment if, at first, one has not violated it,” meaning that first of all we reveal the lack, the evil inclination inside of ourselves, and then we see what we need to correct.

The correction of the desire to enjoy for the sake of bestowal is called the implementation of the commandment because that is the precept of the Creator. But to realize this is possible by means of the Light, the force that is called the Torah.

That is, I am given all of the conditions for the revelation of my egoistic beginning, working relative to friends and clarifying my relationship to them. And when I am revealing my ego, then I understand what needs to be corrected since this is the real evil because it separates me from the upper force, from the Creator.

Then I use the force of the group. If we have the desire to unite for the sake of receiving the force of correction, the Torah, then we receive it from above and it unites us. The steps of our unity are called the commandments, which have been implemented. That is, I am implementing these successive portions of the precepts of the Creator, His will relative to me, and, in the end, I arrive at the fact that my desire to enjoy becomes a giving one, and, according to the similarity of qualities, the force of bestowal, the Creator, is revealed inside of it. All of this is realized right in the spot where I am located on this earth and not somewhere in the heavens as it seems to us.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/1/12, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Nothing will be solved if we don’t start from the point of our connection. It is the foundation and everything should start from it. It is to this that we add every word, every attribute, everything that we want. It is to this point of connection.

Therefore, we mustn’t activate a single thought before we determine this point. You first must stabilize it within you and start thinking about how to strengthen it, how to expand your control over other attributes, how to turn it into a circle.

This is fulfilled by the environment. If you create this point and work in order to incorporate the friends in it, it expands correctly, and you don’t forget what is really important.

Question: So, why are the states prolonged? Why do we feel heaviness?

Answer: You feel heaviness in your corporeal, egoistic vessels. When you feel better and things are easier, you are happy. On the other hand, if you advanced mutually connected to others, you would feel happy when you feel heaviness.

The question as to why the states are prolonged is an egoistic question. A person who advances doesn’t have such thoughts. He asks himself one thing only: “How can I be sure that in my current state I bestow without any self benefit? I only need a sign that I really am bringing You pleasure, a sign that is totally detached from me. I don’t need any sensations or that things will be easier, I just need to know that I am doing the right thing.” This is bestowal.

Question: What is the sign that I have succeeded?

Answer: It is according to the Light of Hassadim that you receive. It won’t give you anything except the belonging to bestowal. Then, I will understand and feel that the Creator knows nothing about my efforts and my achievements, and neither does anyone else, and I feel even happier about that. It is a sign that I am truly detached from my ego.

Question: How can we fix such an attitude in our hearts?

Answer: You can do that only by the general opinion of the society. We need to know what is “in the air” about bestowal, which is the lack of different, opposing demands. I only need the right direction and the powers to go through it, and the road itself is like a one way road.

Then, by correcting my vessels this way, I ascend to a new level and begin to enjoy in order to bestow. This cannot be described in words. I receive in order to bestow and enjoy, but my pleasure isn’t felt in the ordinary desires, although they are all there.

Question: What is “the general opinion of the group?”

Answer: It is the general tendency that puts bestowal above everything. Everyone must simply know that this is how they should speak about it although they raise the importance of the Creator in the eyes of one another artificially.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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Question: From my experience during trips abroad, I can say that in relation to the concept of the “chosen people,” others envy the Jews and ask: “Why them, but not us?”

Answer: What advantages do people see in being the “chosen people”? More money? Are the Jews awarded some special treatment other than anti-Semitism and general hatred? Would anyone like to take their place? If you look at it from the standpoint of common sense, then it is better not to be Jewish.

Only if I accept my duty, if I feel that I can perform a special task in the world, then it makes sense to be a Jew. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Hence, there is assimilation, an inability to accept one’s Jewishness, and the like. If various Jewish organizations around the world started speaking with a warm heart about the role of the people of Israel by leading them towards unity through love, then there would be no assimilation in its current scale. Then a person would feel that a special part that needs to be realized is inherent in him, that he is unique in history, in all reality, in the universe.

Question: Isn’t there a pretext of pride?

Answer: There is a place for responsibility and care for others, but not for pride. Being deeply acquainted with the methodology, personally, I feel no arrogance; I am just anxious about realizing our mission.

It is said: “The Creator has chosen you,” but He chose you for the purpose of correction. You have to work; you should take care of the whole world. And after you complete your task, and all people unite in love becoming a single entity, there will be no difference between us. People will integrally unite in a common “sphere” that has no right or left, no top or bottom, no great or small. Everyone will unite together, similar to the upper force.
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From a “Talk at the Convention” 6/5/12

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We must stop dealing directly with our desire, trying to fill it through the different systems we have created. It simply doesn’t work. It worked partially for a while, meaning intentionally in order to let us reach the shattering, and the full recognition of our evil. But now we’ve reached a state in which we can come to the conclusion that we can’t advance this way anymore. We have to rise above the old approach, above the attempts to fill ourselves and to manage our lives egoistically. We will never succeed this way and so we must rise to the level of bestowal.

If we don’t rise from the attribute of receiving to the attribute of bestowal, we won’t be able to reach fulfillment. We must understand that we cannot continue with the old way. The new approach is: only the connection of everyone, not of some on the account of others. We can fulfill ourselves only if we unite.

It’s as if nature is confronting us with a condition, a new egoistic law that says: “You can have a wonderful life, everyone will receive fulfillment and will be happy, but only if you are all equal.” It’s like a mother who says to her children, “Do you want some ice cream? You will get it only if you are connected and don’t fight. If not, no one will get anything.”

This is how nature calls us to advance to equality, so that within the equality we will be able to discover an even greater opportunity. The main point is not the ice cream that you will get when you reach equality; you are being drawn by the ice cream so that you will reach equality and feel that it’s the highest value. When you eat the ice cream, you already enjoy it from a state of equality and connection. You suddenly discover that the ice cream that is eaten together when you are connected is 1000 times tastier than the ice cream you ate by yourself.

So what does nature want? It wants you to feel that you have received a new vessel, a new desire that enables you to discover a taste that is a 1000 times greater, NRNHY instead of Nefesh. You become free of the limitations of life and death and begin to exist in an infinite space. You reach a new perspective, a feeling of limitless freedom from the limitations that the ego imposed on you.

You feel how wonderful it is to connect with others. The ice cream was just an excuse, a trigger that brought about the changes, the discovery of the new integral desire. This is the process the whole world has to go through now.

We are going through this process consciously, as we understand where we’re headed. Therefore, we have to help the rest of the world, by explaining to them that they shouldn’t try to reach connection in the old ways anymore. They have all failed. Let’s try a new approach, a very simple approach: If we unite, we will succeed.

For others it will be a simple egoistic goal: to unite in order to succeed. But because we organize it and we are together, through us they will receive another filling. The desires of the world are “round” and our desires are “straight.” So when they connect to us they will also receive this straight form, just like a musical instrument that fills its bag. After all, the “circle” already contains the straight form that has the Masach (screen) and works with the Light. Then everyone will start feeling that it’s this integral form that gives the special filling, NRNHY, and thanks to our connection, the world will advance.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/02/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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