Everyone starts studies hoping to attain the spiritual world with the mind, like philosophers. However, a person gradually realizes that theoretical knowledge does not help, but rather stops him. It confuses him because he expects to achieve something by it.

We all have to go through this confusion, a stage of development, in which we try to understand the Creator through the mind; yet, we begin to grasp that neither the mind nor even feelings are intended for spiritual perception, that is, the true perception of reality. To do this, we need new sense organs.

Therefore, that part of desires and thoughts, the heart and mind, that was engaged in philosophical research is now freed from this occupation and can be dedicated to action. That is, a person really wants to change his desires and is willing to undergo surgery to have the stony heart cut out, turning it into the complete opposite.

He is ready to give himself to it, to have any changes made in him to the faith and devotion of the soul. He gives his soul to be changed qualitatively, and not in the mind. It is called that he becomes a hero, exits the nations of the world, and joins Israel.
[117196]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/13, The Book of Zohar – Introduction

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It says in The Zohar: “There is none like you among all the sages of the nations of the world.” This is talking about a person’s inner discernments. Cohen (a priest), Levi, and Israel are called Jews since they are attracted to unity (which has the same root in Hebrew). Scientists or philosophers have the human desire to achieve the same, but it is purely theoretical without any aspirations for changing and correction themselves.

This work is only in the mind and not in the heart. But we need to correct the heart, which means a person’s desires. Philosophers, on the other hand, want to do the same thing but in their mind, and therefore get confused and engage in “idolatry,” creating all kinds of fantasies in their mind.

All the properties except for Israel (those that aim Yashar El, straight to the Creator) are called the nations of the world since they are not attracted to adhesion with the Creator in order to delight Him. The nations of the world are divided into seventy nations and Israel is divided into 12 tribes and to many other parts, which means that the division is infinite. At the same time, each of us is incorporated in everyone else. This happens as a result of the shattering of the vessels, as a preparation for us.

So when we read in The Book of Zohar about some philosopher or a righteous we have to regard them about properties within us. The whole Torah is written about one person who includes the whole world inside him. The question is whether that person is created as someone who can attain the Creator by the inner vessels that were given to him: his desire to receive and the wisdom of the mind.

Of course not! The expansion of our vessels by which we attain the Creator and not philosophize about Him, like the sages of the nations of the world do, is done only by the upper force that provides us with a Masach (screen) and the Returning Light. This is a totally different expansion of the vessels compared to those we can expand by wisdom.

If a person studies something logically, he acquires wisdom, a mind, and general knowledge. But his vessels of perception for attaining the Godly system, the upper operating system, are not expanded by it. He doesn’t learn about the forces that operate him; he doesn’t study the Creator. After all, the Creator can be grasped only through the acquisition of His attributes. If a person doesn’t change his properties, then he is still one who receives under the domination of his desire to receive and the mind that serves the desire to receive, trying to fill it.

This is how we operate in this world and there is nothing we can do about it. Unless we receive help from above that expands our vessels of perception and provides us with new vessels of bestowal, we will not attain the Creator. We will have no idea what Godliness or the spiritual world is.
[117146]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/13, The Book of Zohar — Introduction

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot“

The Book of Zohar — Introduction

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9 

Writings of Baal HaSulam “One Commandment” 

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #127 “The Difference Between Kernel, Essence, and Added Abundance”

The Book of Zohar — Introduction, “The Fourth Commandment,” Item 215, Lesson 76

Lesson on the Topic: “Sukkot,” Lesson 2 

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Question: What does the dialog between letters and the Creator that is described in The Book of Zohar in chapter “Letters of Rabbi Hamnuna Saba” mean?

Answer: We want to clarify the properties of each force (a letter) relative to Keter (the goal, the white Light) that act in the general system of our universe that was made by the Creator. The system defines relationships between the power of bestowal and the force of receiving.

There are two forces: “something out of something” (Yesh mi Yesh) and “something out of nothing” (Yesh mi Ain) and there is a system of relationships between them. How is it possible to make “something out of nothing” similar to “something out of something?” How can the desire to receive become like the desire to bestow? The desire to receive cannot turn into a giving desire, but it can copy the latter by acting like it. This type of behavior is called “receiving for the sake of bestowal.”

For that, it is necessary to have a sensation of the Giver since we are not yet concerned about Him; all we worry about is how to fulfill ourselves. In order to receive for the sake of bestowal, we have to sense the one to whom we are giving and use our desire in accordance with what the Giver wants.

Our desire turns into a method of pleasing the Creator, so we need energy and properties that we did not have previously. We want to “get acquainted” with the One to Whom we bestow and we should understand why we are doing this. In other words, we have to detach from ourselves and start feeling somebody else’s internal world.

What properties, forces, and augmentations are necessary to achieve this goal? We have to resolve this problem. We have to go through a certain process in order to achieve the goal. This question is clarified to us by the letters. Malchut asks Keter if she can become similar to Keter with the help of the letter “Samech.”

Keter responds to Malchut that it’s not possible. She can only cover a part of the path to meet Keter; she can only go a small portion of the road, to the place where Malchut separates from herself and receives support (Simcha) (derivative of the letter “Samech”). At this point, Malchut does not depend on the desire that she had in the beginning of her journey. It’s as if she floats in the air.

What’s next? Correction cannot be accomplished this way. On the contrary, if Malchut wants to proceed, she has to receive for the sake of bestowal. “Samech” doesn’t want to receive. This letter aspires to bestowal, to “Hafetz Hesed,” nothing but that. It’s like a righteous man who lives alone in the woods and doesn’t have even a shirt, but he doesn’t need one.

That’s why it’s necessary to cancel “Samech” since the force that envelopes this letter becomes a hindrance to it. We need a developmental power of the letter “Mem” that consists of two letters: “Dalet” (two doors – Delet) that have to open and let the fetus go out in order to continue its development. These doors are two opposing forces that fight with each other. That’s why they are called the door hinges (Tzirim), or labor pains (Tzirim), meaning the pain of advancement. The second power that cancels “Samech’s” protection is getting stronger and the fetus starts getting additional desire to be pleased that was previously under the power of egoism, but now it transitions from receiving to bestowal.

There is nothing that is absolutely and entirely good. There is no letter or force that could help us in all circumstances with the exception of the letter “Bet” that means “blessing.” The letter “Bet” doesn’t depend on anything at all, only on the Upper. The ways of receiving its blessing (meaning the Returning Light) can be learned from the wisdom of Kabbalah. The remaining properties reveal and correct because of this blessing.
[108678]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/27/13, The Zohar

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #58 “Joy Is A Reflection of ‘Good Deeds“

The Book of Zohar — Introduction, “The Fourth Commandment,” Item 213, Lesson 75

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9 

Lesson on the Topic: “Sukkot”

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Meaning of Conception and Birth,” Lesson 15

The Book of Zohar — Introduction, “The Third Commandment,” Item 207, Lesson 74

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar“

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Question: What is the thing that the Klipa (shell) wants most?

Answer: The Klipa wants most to confuse us so that within this confusion we will want to turn to the Creator, to make us feel that we need faith, devotion. The Klipa brings us to these states, to such confusion, that it’s impossible to bear. And in the end, you agree to give up on everything. You are confused to such an extent that then you will understand that it’s worthwhile to be completely annulled in order to just cling to the Creator and not in order for the confusion to end, but because the Creator is the higher one, the source of everything.

The system of the Klipot is very sophisticated. It needs to be the exact copy of divinity and is actually composed of a mixture of holy forces and forces of the shell. This is so since it cannot confuse us if it’s only bad and shallow. Thus, it must be very sophisticated and diverse so as to teach us also what is correct and what is not correct according to the sensation and the intention.

In holiness, there are no forces of the shell that are revealed. They are already there in the inverted form through our preparation, which enables us not to ever be wrong. And then we are allowed to work with the Light. But all of this is on the condition that we have already included within us all of the impressions of the darkness and the Light, as it is written in The Book of the Zohar: “Whoever inverts darkness into light, the bitter to sweet, then enters the Palace of the King.”

This means, from the beginning we must equip ourselves with the whole system of the Klipot as a result of the inclusion of the opposing situations, a Kli (vessel, desire) emerges which is ready to be divine. The work of divinity is very simple in comparison to the study of the Klipa. Thus, the time of preparation takes a very long time.
[116291]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/13/13, The Zohar

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Preparation to the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Introduction

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 3, Part 9

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar“

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The Book of Zohar—Introduction, “Rejoicing in Holidays and Not Giving to the Poor”: This is the meaning of Truth’s complaint about the creation of man, saying that he is all lies… However, Hesed said, “Let him be created because he does mercy,” since the mercies that he does, which is necessarily an act that is scrutinized as bestowal, through it, he is gradually corrected until he can engage in all the Mitzvot in order to bestow.

The attribute of truth speaks about the matter of the desire that is totally egoistic (in order to receive) and which cannot think about anything else but receiving for itself. So why was it created? After all, it isn’t worthy of anything. This is how a person sees himself in the mirror of truth.

But the attribute of Hesed is responsible for the fact that a person can change. This is because the matter of the desire can perform actions of Hesed (mercy).

But how is that possible? After all, the desire to receive is in a total lie and only wants to benefit for its own sake. It is true, all its intentions are for its own good, but the actions can be aimed at in order to bestow. Then, despite this internal split, despite the gap between the thoughts and the actions, the actions with the inaccurate intentions at the moment can change the desire.

I use the actions of bestowal in order to reach the attribute of bestowal. Although I don’t want to reach bestowal and I only seem to be yearning for it, if I try to do so as much as I can by connecting to the friends, the teacher, and the Creator, then together with this lie on part of the attribute of truth, these actions will bring me to correction.

I cannot evoke the Surrounding Light by my egoistic intention, but the action itself is in order to bestow and I am aware of that. So I evoke the Light that Reforms and it influences me to the extent that I seemingly want to exit my egoistic intention of in order to receive and acquire an altruistic intention of in order to bestow.

It is true that I cannot and don’t want to bestow, but my actions are aimed correctly, and that is enough. A correct action together with the wrong intention evokes the Light that corrects the intention.

It is because I am made of a desire and an intention (a thought). I cannot control my intention, since I always want for myself. Sometimes it seems that I really want the good of others, but then it turns out that it’s all a fixed game and that I simply lie to myself since I don’t understand myself. My intentions are wicked, wrong or evil (by mistake or even intentionally). This is a result of the shattering of the vessels and there is nothing we can do about it.

But I can perform actions in the group, in dissemination, and in spreading integral education. If these actions are arranged correctly so that I can fulfill them, I have to ask the group for the power to come to the lessons and to the teacher in order to gradually acquire wisdom and turn to the public in order to convey my message to them so that they will accept my opinion. I arrange my actions as if I bestow as much as possible. This is enough in order to evoke the Surrounding Light, which in response begins to change my intention.

This is because my actions are correct and only my intention is corrupt. Now it’s also added to my actions by the Surrounding Light that operates. Thus “the hearts are drawn after the actions,” until the intention matches that action.

We are different from everyone else only by our intention by which we draw the Light that Reforms. If we don’t do that, we will not succeed and things will even get worse. We will go through a new round that will eventually also bring us to the good but by the path of suffering.

Performing good actions is not a problem. I can give out presents only because there is an angel with a stick standing behind me, and if I stop for a moment, I immediately receive a blow. It turns out that the action itself is fine, but the intention is sometimes concealed even from me. So the only thing I need is to evoke the Surrounding Light by my efforts. I try to add the right intention regarding the friends, the teacher, the study, and the public since it’s these efforts that evoke the Light that Reforms.

The matter of the desire doesn’t change, the actions don’t change; the only thing that changes is the intention. The whole creation is intended only for establishing the right intention and to gradually connect it to our actions.

The actions have to match the intention. First I don’t want to receive anything since I don’t have the right intention, and then I can already receive something thanks to the Masach (screen) and the Returning Light. I can already bestow in return, and then I operate the desires, my vessels of receiving.

This means that our work can be in avoiding receiving or in receiving in order to show that we understand what the Creator’s love towards us is and we want to thank Him for that and to repay with the same attitude. The main thing is that the intention determines the quality of the action.
[116365]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/13, The Zohar

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