After the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph) and the creature’s decision to only receive the Light through an anti-egoistic screen, we begin to exist in a different nature of reality. The simple law of reception in accordance with the size of desire is not the only law that operates there, the way it was in Malchut of Infinity before the restriction.

After the restriction, it becomes impossible to receive anything in an open desire. This law operates above us, and if there is a desire to receive pleasure below Malchut of Infinity, the Light cannot shine in it because it needs to go through this law, this condition that is imbedded in nature.

Besides, it is not enough to simply do a restriction. The question is what do you want after the restriction and on? To the extent that you desire to become like the Creator in your action, to bestow just like Him, you receive Light, a small pleasure called “the Light of Hassadim (Mercy)” that fills you.

This Light of Hassadim also contains NRNHY, all the levels of Bina, until you attain a degree when all your desires begin to be filled with the Light of Hassadim because your intention is to be Hafetz Hesed: “I do not want anything for myself! I receive pleasure from being like the Creator by not receiving anything.”

This is the level of the righteous. He sees that the Creator does not receive, so he also does not want to receive. In other words, he is looking at His action, not the intention. The Creator does not receive, and I only want to have the strength to stop desiring fulfillment.

And then the Light comes to me and gives me an ability that enables me to not receive, regardless of how much I am being given. But the very next moment I am given an even bigger desire to receive pleasure from Above.

The Light develops this desire in me and I will want to receive once again. And again I ask: “Give me the strength to stop receiving,” and the strength is given to me. And then I become filled with pleasure called “Hassadim,” and I am content with being like the Creator by not receiving.

And every time, my empty desire to receive pleasure is increased in me in this way, but instead of asking for it to become fulfilled, I overcome it and ask for the strength to want to be like the Creator instead of wanting to be fulfilled. I want to be content with Hassadim, like GAR of Bina.

Attaining GAR of Bina means that I have acquired the desire to bestow. Now I am Hafetz Hesed, I have completed the “repentance from fear.” What does “from fear” mean? It means to not receive anything for yourself, and to be like the Creator by not receiving.

This does not make me absolutely equal to the Creator, but it makes us similar according to our Kelim (vessels). He does not have desires to receive, and I do, but I have corrected them so they no longer bother me. I have acquired such strength that even though I have an infinite Kli (desire) to receive pleasure, it is completely filled with the Light of Hassadim, and I do not want anything but it. Why? The Creator’s greatness shines at me, I want to be just like Him, and I enjoy being similar to Him.

After this, a new empty desire naturally becomes revealed to me. Until then I do not understand what it is, much like in the four phases of the Direct Light, when after not receiving anything in GAR of phase Bet (two), I begin to understand: “The Creator gives, He is the Giver, so how can I give in my actions, like Him?”

Now also, as I develop from below upward, I begin to understand that if I am able to receive for the sake of bestowal, I will become completely like Him. This is my goal, and the means are to receive for the sake of bestowal.

How can I do this? I demand additional strength from the Light so it will correct me, enabling me to receive in these Kelim so that the pleasure that I feel will be completely for the sake of bestowing to the Host. I feel this pleasure, I enjoy all its flavors, as it is written: “Taste and see that the Creator is good.” I draw enormous pleasure from this, and nothing I feel confuses me. I am making sure that all this pleasure can only be felt under the condition that I give this pleasure to Him.

Then I feel how much I have given Him and how much He enjoys it. This makes my Kelim grow even more because I understand Who it is that I am pleasing. Now I become like Him, and even bigger than Him because I am giving Him pleasure!

My Kelim expand even more beyond the limits of the desire to receive pleasure that was created by the Creator in me. Just as once having connected with the group I become the owner of seven billion spiritual sparks instead of just one spark, I now connect with the Creator and become the owner of an enormous Kli, as big as the Creator to Whom I bestow.

I perceive His Kli, where He receives pleasure, as my own because I fulfill it. Can you imagine what this is?! Here we come out into another dimension. But it is impossible to speak about it… This is a gradual process of development, where every time brings understanding of what to do next.
[28588]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/3/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
When One Road Ends, Another One Begins
Spiritual Ascension

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Zohar - No Comments →

Question: How far do letters descend in the process of creation of the worlds?

Answer: They descend to the lower seven Sefirot of Bina (ZAT) and settle in YESHSUT. Here, there are nine letters, starting with Aleph (א) and ending with Tet (ט).

Below, in Zeir Anpin, there are nine letters, from Yod (י) to Tzadi (צ). And in Malchut, there are four last letters: Kuf (ק), Resh (ר), Shin (ש) and Tav (ת).

This order derives from the Second Restriction (Tzimtzum Bet) when Malchut ascends exactly to ZAT de Bina (lower seven Sefirot of Bina), bringing her Kelim (desires, vessels) there, her will to receive. She cannot rise any higher. Consequently, the properties of Bina and Malchut, bestowal and reception, get mixed, thereby forming contours of letters. Mingling, the forces of Malchut and Bina get intertwined and create various forms of mutual inclusion, their combinations.

Why are there only 22 forms and not more? According to the laws of the Second Restriction, we employ not Malchut per se but only her connection with Bina. In Bina and Zeir Anpin, there are ten Sefirot, which Sefira Malchut is prohibited to use. Thus, all in all, they have 18 “workable” Sefirot. Besides, four Sefirot of Malchut clothe in Zeir Anpin, which totals 22.

Additionally, there are five forms, MaNTzePaCh, belonging to Parsa; they are different shapes of certain letters when they end a word. The entire process of letter formation takes place in the world of Atzilut, where they are called to perform bestowal to the world of BYA (Beria, Yetzira, Assiya) and the broken souls.
[29824]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, "Introduction from The Book of Zohar," Article “The Letters by Rabbi Amnon Saba”

Related Material:
Letters Are Desires
Where Is The Creator’s "Brain" Located?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Q&A, Zohar - No Comments →

Writings of Rabash, Dargot HaSulam “The Creator Created the Evil Inclination, and He Created the Torah as a Spice”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Tzav (Command),” Item 162
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Explanation of the Article, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Lesson 8
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Rav Yehuda Ashlag “The Freedom,” Lesson 9
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →

The Book of Zohar, Weekly Torah Portion “VaYechi,” Selected Excerpts
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Torah, Zohar - No Comments →

The Book of Zohar — Introduction: “The Letters by Rabbi Amnon Saba,” Item 32, Lesson 5
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Talmud Eser Sefirot 3, Part 8, Item 27, Lesson 13
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Baal HaSulam, “Beit Shaar HaKavanot,” Item 81
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Rav Yehuda Ashlag “A Handmaid that is Heir to Her Mistress,” Lesson 8
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →

It is written that a person who opens up a Kabbalistic book desires to save his life, his soul. He asks the question about the meaning of life and looks for this meaning, wishing to be saved from the emptiness that is worse than death itself. We see that all of humanity is gradually coming closer to this state.

When a person cries out for correction from the bottom of his heart, then what is correction for him? This is the entire problem: Does he correctly imagine the salvation for which he asks? Is the meaning of it for him to ascend above egoism, to unite with others and with all of reality into one whole? Does he understand that he can no longer use the receiving desires, Kelim? Does he ask himself: What is the point of living by reception, by absorbing inside?

If a person really wants something more, it is possible only in the bestowing desires, in the Kelim that are aimed toward the outside. Then his cry for help means, “Save me from the desire that pulls everything to itself and gives nothing!”

If a person’s heart is already aimed to the outside, if he desires to come out of himself, to establish his connection with everyone and to find the sensation of life there, then his intention is correct, and then the Light that comes to him returns him to the Source.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
My Work Is Part Of The Common Work
The Developer Of Desires
Don’t Try To Argue With The Creator

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Prayer and Intention, Zohar - No Comments →

Question: What are “letters” in the spiritual sense?

Answer: Letters are forces, attributes of the upper influence on Malchut. Malchut, per se, is the assembly of all souls. Their unity has to absorb all the 22 letters and five of their final forms (MaNTzePaCh), including their multiple forms in the Torah: starting with the first word “in the beginning (Beresheet)” and ending with the last word “Israel.”

The question is: What is the basic letter, basic “signal,” upon reception of which a person will definitely reach correction? Even the properties integrated into the structure of Bina, which manages all corrections, and even the forms of communication with the Creator and connection with Him that are included in Bina, such as Samech (ס) and Mem (מ), do not guarantee us success.

The letter Samech signifies the upper part of Bina. At the first glance, what could be more exalted than that? It doesn’t wish anything for itself and needs only bestowal, wants only to be included in the Giver, exist above its desire, no matter its eruption within.

The letter Mem contains Samech in it; moreover, it is filled with the desires of others to be able to bestow to them. What more can there be if I already don’t wish anything and, above all, I take care of all the others like a mother?

The properties of Samech and Mem meet all demands of bestowal: They correspond to repentance from fear and repentance from love accordingly. Why then can’t we get reformed by them? What is missing here?

What is missing is the letter Bet (ב) symbolizing blessing, that is, the magic property, a special force from Above. It shows us that nothing matters: neither mind, nor heart, nor time you spent studying matters, nor, frankly speaking, anything that we may want to consider. None of this leads us out into the spiritual world.

This is the main idea of the article on letters from “Introduction from The Book of Zohar”: We need only a blessing.
[29723]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, “Introduction from The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Letters by Rabbi Amnon Saba”

Related Material:
Blessing And Condemnation
Letters Are Qualities

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Q&A, Zohar - No Comments →

Question: It is written that Rabbi Shimon cried while writing The Book of Zohar because he feared to reveal the secret. "Woe if I tell it and woe if I don’t. If I do, then the sinners will learn to work for their master. And if I don’t, then the friends will lose this great asset." What is the great secret concealed in The Book of Zohar that Rabbi Shimon cried about?

Answer: The secret of The Book of Zohar is that by relating to it the right way, it is possible to draw Upper Light from it that returns us to the Source. This Light can become the elixir of life for us as well as a deadly poison, depending on our attitude to The Zohar and to the Torah in general.

However, we see that there was no prohibition on studying the Pentateuch or Talmud even though they were also written by Kabbalists. Only The Zohar was concealed and prohibited for many years, and that is because there is a very powerful Light concealed inside this book which we are able to attract. Of course, the Torah also contains Light, but it is nearly inaccessible because of it’s exceeding height.

The Light of The Zohar is closer to us, but if a person is still inside his ego, he will want to use this Light egoistically. Then this Light will turn into a deadly poison for him.

If I want to attain bestowal, then this Light will be the elixir of life for me and will help me attain it. If, however, a person studies the Torah without intending to achieve bestowal, then he becomes more egoistic and starts to consider himself special, greater than others, and righteous. The Torah becomes a poison for him and increases his ego. Instead of lowering himself and feeling that he is smaller than others, he starts to feel the opposite, pride.

For the most part all of this happened recently, over the last century, when egoism reached a new level. That is why Kabbalists feared that people will start studying the science of Kabbalah egoistically as well, taking pride in it, and turning it into a business that sells "magical means" such as red strings, holy water, and blessings.

This will confuse people and push them away from correction, making them lose many life cycles until they finally reveal that this approach is a swindle and lie. But how much time and suffering will it take to get there!
[29759]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/14/10, “A Handmaid that is Heir to Her Mistress”

Related Material:
The Secret Of The Book Of Zohar
Are You Anticipating The Light’s Arrival?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, History, Kabbalah Study, Kabbalistic Sources, Q&A, Zohar - No Comments →

The Zohar, Chapter “Otiot de Rav Hamnuna Saba (The Letters of Rav Hamnuna Saba),” Item 31: This is the playing of the Creator with each of the twenty-two letters, by giving each room to show her governance according to His wish until they sort out by themselves—out of their own desire—which of them is worthy of leading the world. This is why it was said that 2,000 years before He created the world, the Creator was looking and playing with them.

The Light created the Kelim upon four phases of expansion. Then a restriction took place whereby a screen was established and Malchut decided to receive pleasure only for the sake of bestowal. That is how she interacts with the Light, the Creator, becoming similar to Him according to the law of equivalence of form.

Malchut wants to adopt the quality of Bina and in the process of doing this work, 22 forms of the desire for pleasure form inside her. It’s as if this quality is outlined and comes through by these contours, which accumulate to the degree that Malchut connects to Bina.

Initially the desire is formless like clay, but when it takes on the 22 forms of Bina, together they cause the desire to be similar to the Creator. So which of these forms is worthy of being the foundation by which the world is created? Which of them connects the beginning and end of creation? Which leads all the other forms after her? This is talking about the key intention, the main action, the calculation for making a striking interaction (Zivug de Hakaa) which is always done in the head of a Partzuf.

Following the reverse order, meaning from the side of the Kelim, all the letters appear before the Creator, or in other words, they raise MAN, a request. In reponse each of them receives MAD, an answer, telling it whether it is possible to create the world with it or not.

If no impurity latches on to the answer, it means that this is that very form. If, however, in response to the request from Above a force comes, but next to it Klipa awakens as well, then the world cannot be created using that form.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Just Like On An Oscillograph Screen
Place Of Residence: The Group
The Guide To Life

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Hebrew, Prayer and Intention, Zohar - No Comments →

The outline of all the letters is precisely determined. Every detail of the letters is a geometrical symbol of a certain spiritual quality, produced by the combination of bestowal and reception. That is why Hebrew writing has remained unchanged over the course of millennia. All other alphabets changed with time, sometimes even to the point of becoming unrecognizable, whereas the forms of the Hebrew letters are fixed by the combination of spiritual forces and are therefore preserved throughout the centuries.

The horizontal details of the letters’ outlines symbolize the influence of the Light of Hassadim, while the vertical ones symbolize the influence of the Light of Hochma. Hassadim belongs to the force of Bina, while Hochma belongs to the force of Malchut.

This can be compared to an oscillograph, whose signal is also made up of the interaction of two scales. In fact, all the pictures in our world are also based on the combination of two forces, although there is also chronological development superimposed on them. This is caused by the intrusion of Klipa, which “stretches” the process in time. As a result, a difference emerges between the beginning and the conclusion.

To the degree we correct the forces of impurity, they join the single whole, bringing the initial and final states closer until reaching total unity. Then the very notion of time disappears.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/10, The Zohar

Related Material:
Timeless Language
Competitive Selection Of Spiritual Qualities

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Hebrew, Zohar - No Comments →