The Book of Zohar, Introduction, Chapter “BeLaila DeKala (On the Night of the Bride)“: …the Sitra Achra has only a thin light of the illumination of Malchut. This is regarded as Shoresh [root], and it is sufficient for the persistence of the Klipot… This Shoresh is also called “a fine thread,” meaning a thin root for the sins. It is written about it, “At first, it is akin to spider-web, and later it becomes as cart-ropes.”

Klipa is Kelim that we are unable to correct yet by the intention of bestowal. We are talking about very powerful and important desires in which the greatest Lights will be revealed later on at the final correction. In principle we do not have the possibility of doing anything with the desire for pleasure. We can only sort out its parts and decide which of them we are now able to work with on various conditions.

As for the rest of the desires, we have to “can” them and constantly keep guarding them so they won’t break out and attack us. All the enemies of Israel, meaning those who hate the aspiration “straight to the Creator,” are exactly the great egoistic desires which we cannot correct yet. The Torah calls them the nations that never let Israel be.

Of course, we understand that their wars are the awakening of egoism, which is for a person’s benefit. They enable him to discern his uncorrected desires and “to kill” them, meaning to always find new parts in them that can be corrected and attached to him in order to be used for the sake of bestowal.

Thus, we need to worry about the egoistic parts of the desire which are not yet subject to correction. We have to support their existence and perform special spiritual work for their sake.

After all, I feel them inside me. It’s not enough to simply cut them off and not use them. On the current phase I correct them by giving them a small illumination, designated by the letter Kuf (ק), whose lower part descends beneath the line, bringing a thin glow to the worlds of BYA and to the Klipot that are there.

It’s the same as how a sick person is connected to a life support machine in the emergency room. It’s not that I pretend that these desires don’t exist in me, but on the contrary, I admit that they exist and I rule over them. It turns out that they depend on me because I support a small spark of life in them.

We need the Klipa because, like a peel, it protects the fruit during the period of its ripening. Without these actions we are unable to start correcting Malchut.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, The Zohar

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Question: How does the story of David and Bat-Sheva become expressed in group work?

Answer: The question is correct. We don’t work just on a person’s individual desire, but on the desire that is between us. That is precisely what was broken and it is what has to be corrected.

In the general desire for correction every person is present with his own particular egoism, which is not taken into account at all. Inside of me there are desires of the animate, vegetative, and still levels, which are not subject to correction directly. They will be corrected to the degree I work on the human level.

What needs to be corrected is the relationships between us, the threads of connection between us. This general desire is evil in relation to you – the intention for the sake of bestowal.

Leave everything else alone and work only on the human being in you, Adam, the one who has to be similar (Dommeh) to the Creator. All the other desires will automatically follow him.

That is why all of our work is done in the group. Malchut, Bat-Sheva, is the common broken Kli for which we have to find correction, unity. The discerning Upper Light AB-SAG comes and takes a part of the Light from us. That is how Uriah passes away, the Light Yod-Hey. Only Vav-Hey remain with which we can work.

Then David takes a part of Zeir Anpin, which is intended for correcting Malchut, and starts to work. Being a screen (Masach) with the intention “for the sake of bestowal,” he corrects Bat-Sheva and reaches the right Zivug, unity with her, in order to give pleasure to the Creator.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Tzav (Command),” Item 39: …since Malchut was taken from ZA and was built into a complete Partzuf. It follows that ZA is lacking the Sefira of Malchut, and as it is generally lacking from the Malchut, it is lacking from her in each of his elements, since each particular Sefira consists only of nine Sefirot, and not of ten. Hence, when the Malchut rises and joins ZA, she complements each of his elements into ten Sefirot, complementing each of his organs.

This is the law of the integral system. By completing any small part of the system, we complete all of its parts. All the particular Sefirot of Malchut are interconnected just as all the Sefirot of Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Hochma are. That is because all the Sefirot come from the general structure of Infinity: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut, or the point of the letter Yod, Yod, the upper Hey, Vav, and the lower Hey. There is nothing besides this structure.

All the levels and worlds, which seem to have expanded from Infinity downwards until this world, are just the same structure of Infinity that we cannot approach correctly in its 100% authentic form. Therefore we have been given the opportunity to correct the same structure in a lessened form, to a smaller degree.

Therefore, we always complete the same Sefirot. All the Malchut in all the worlds come from one Malchut of Infinity in all of its particular Sefirot, which in turn also divide into its particular Sefirot and so on. All of their Malchut belong to the same Malchut of Infinity. All of the Zeir Anpin belong to Zeir Anpin of Infinity. The same thing is true for Bina – all the Binas belong to the Bina of Infinity, and likewise all the Hochmas belong to Hochma of Infinity.

In any place, any Sefira and any quality is connected to its source. And even though all the Sefirot are interconnected into ten Sefirot, there is always a connection between the parts with the same name.

So the Lights expand from Above downwards through ten Sefirot, from Keter to Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin and Malchut, or in the reverse direction, ascending from below upwards through the Reflected Light. But as the Light passes through this passageway, it always attains the Sefira intended for it, entering it and filling it with the necessary Light from the same place in Infinity that it came from.

If I want to fill a specific quality, I have to relate to it with the same quality, desire, and Light, and that is how I fulfill it. There is an aspect of the Light’s passage, according to screens, the dissemination of Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey from Above downwards or from below upwards, and there is an aspect of the character of the Sefirot. Therefore, an “ear,” for example, cannot receive Light intended for the “eye” or carry out its function. A screen over a specific desire can perform a special function that precisely corresponds to that desire.

It turns out that in any case there is a very precise division into HaVaYaH and three lines, according to their source in Infinity: the four-letter HaVaYaH (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey).

From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, The Zohar

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The Book of Zohar, Weekly Torah Portion “VaYishlach,” Selected Excerpts
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The Zohar, Chapter “Tzav (Command),” Item 18: Happy are the righteous in this world and in the next world, who know the ways of Torah, and who follow it on the path of truth. It is written about them, “The Lord, by them they live.” “By them” are the ways of Torah. “Live” means that they will exist in this world and in the next world.

Each one of us is part righteous and part sinner. Perhaps one’s percentage of righteous is still zero, while the sinner in him comprises 100%. Or it may be that he is in the process of transforming the sinner’s part, his desire which is 100% intention to receive for oneself, into the intention for the sake of bestowal. Then that part is called the righteous within us.

Every time, we go through the following process:

1. We pass to the state where we feel ourselves as sinners.
2. We take part of our desires from there and correct them.
3. That very moment we become the righteous.
4. Then, we become sinners again by going back to another uncorrected desire to receive pleasure.
5. Once again, we transfer part of our desires into the intention for the sake of bestowal.

This way, our corrections accumulate piece by piece into one general correction.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar, Chapter “BeShalach (When Pharoah Sent),” Items 466-467: “And Aaron and Hur supported his hands.”… When he raised means that he raised the right over the left. By that, it meant that when he spread his hands, Israel prevailed, Israel above, ZA. “And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”

The right refers to Hesed (the quality of mercy), and the Light of Hassadim (Mercy) is what we need most. First and foremost the Light of correction, the Light of Hassadim, must reign within us for that is what binds everybody together.

It reigns inside our desire (Kli), covers it with the intention to bestow, and then, to the extent the Kli is corrected by the intention to bestow, the Kli can be clothed by the Light of Hochma (Wisdom), which is the Creator’s presence, His sensation and revelation.

But before the Creator is revealed, we need equivalence with Him. This is done by the Light of Hassadim, the Light of bestowal and mercy (Hessed), filling us at our request.

Therefore, the entire war between Moses and Amalek (Amalek is an abbreviation of Al MenAt LEKabel, “for the sake of receiving”) amounts to Moses initially demanding the Light of Mercy, the force of Hassadim, which is the force of Aaron who supports him from the right. Then Moses begins to raise his heavy hands, called “the hands of faith.” Why are they heavy? It is because his desire to enjoy is great and constantly growing on account of Amalek.

When the desire to enjoy is awakened in a person, his hands, “the hands of faith,” the symbol of bestowal, are lowered, and the intention for himself overcomes him once more. What follows is the necessity to support Moses’ hands.

Hence, the Upper Forces come out against Amalek: the right, Aaron, and the left, Hur, while the Light descends from Above and clothes one’s desire, corrected by faith, the Light of Bina. Then Moses is able to defeat Amalek, his egoism.

This takes place in many situations in our work: The desire to enjoy grows, and we must wage war against it.
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From 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/10, The Zohar

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The matter of creation, meaning us, is the will to enjoy. We cannot make any action unless it is necessary for us to experience pleasure. We only act by the demand of our desire, which is called a “place” (Makom).

It is written, “A person learns only in the place where his heart desires,” which means that he learns out of necessity and aspiration. In that case, what is the use of my sitting here and trying to build some kind of intention inside? It’s all a lie. My heart desires something, and I don’t even know what it wants.

So isn’t it better to simply read the text, without hoping to get through to the heart? How can we change the desire if we are that desire? In response Kabbalists say: You have to unite and become included in each other, look for the common desire of everyone, strengthen it, and change it. You have to change your intentions and goals with the help of the environment.

The rest does not depend on you. Baal HaSulam explains in the article “The Freedom” that when we are included in the group, we “flow” together with it and are influenced by it in every way. However, we accomplish what we want because we start to act by the will of our new desire, which we acquired from the group.

Time and time again a person tries to connect to the group and his desire changes. Thanks to this he comes to the study with a different demand and attracts Upper Light that is constantly renewed, which will change him and draw him towards a clear goal and a higher degree.

Even if my desire is egoistic, I want all the benefits from this world and from the world to come. I have no care for others and the Creator. However, in the meantime the group around me talks about exalted things.

From the spiritual point of view, it’s possible that all of my friends are liars, but they speak eloquently and I am inspired by their speeches. As a result, along with my simple egoistic desire, I unwillingly adopt a new direction toward bestowal from the group. I want to become part of it and I start to value unity.

Whether I desire it or not, I become permeated by the values of the group. The friends become a part of me and my intention changes. Now, when I desire the Light’s influence at the study, it obviously comes thanks to the “virus” I received from the environment. I now have something besides my own ego, a new direction towards a goal that I did not desire and could not even imagine previously.

The group obligates me to do this. That’s because in our root we are connected into one soul, and therefore, I am permeated by the desires of the friends and they influence me.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/17/10, The Zohar

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Question: What does it mean to ask the Light for correction, to turn to the Light?

Answer: We need to understand that the actual correction does not depend on us. We are the desire for pleasure, and if we are able to do anything, it is only to evoke the action from Above.

Our entire work is the raising of MAN, the request for correction, but the Creator does all the work. This is why our path is called “the Creator’s work.” We exert efforts in the group and studying only to convince each other of the need to develop a single aspiration described as: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one.”

We should not forget for even a second that we must ask for correction. Everything is only given through a prayer, an appeal, the uncovering of the need. I do not just want something abstract: I want to correct the Kelim (vessels), I want to be like You, I want to be big.

A child looks at those who are older and instinctively wants to grow up. So I also want the same, but I do not just want, I demand it. After all, the force of development comes from the Creator. We will not grow up without asking Him for help.

The problem is that we consider ourselves to be actual participants. We think that we can make things happen on our own. But in reality, nothing depends on us except for the revelation of the desire.

So how do I reveal it? Through uniting with others. They, too, don’t have the strength, but they have desires, and this is all I need.

The desire I receive from my friends is far greater than the one I had initially. Imbued with this desire, I strive to unite with them, and I do not succeed. Now I can finally turn to the Creator.

Through our collective action at the Convention, we have discovered that we are unable to unite. It has never been this clear before. A wall appeared clearly before us, and our efforts broke against it. Now all that we need to do is turn to the power of the Light for it to break this wall. And we really can appeal to it.

We must demand correction while studying, especially when reading The Zohar. You can ask and receive an answer right now, right this moment.

Your ego is in the way; you have frozen like a rock: “Who else should I ask? I don’t see a Creator around here.” That’s true, so demand to Him to reveal Himself and make it clear for you to whom and how to ask.

We are egoists and we will not break the Machsom on our own. When egoism becomes an unbreakable wall, we ask the Creator for strength to rise over it.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/10, The Zohar, “Introduction to The Zohar”

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When we turn to the works of Kabbalists, we can either study the science or the Torah (the method of correction). “Science” implies regular sciences such as physics, chemistry, history, geography, and so on. This is what academics think of Kabbalah. According to them, The Zohar was written in Spain in the Middle Ages, and not 2,000 years ago in Israel.

Scientists are trying to draw knowledge and information from Kabbalistic sources. They discuss the style, analyze texts, and try to draw a correlation between the text and historic events.

This rational approach has nothing to do with “studying the Torah.” This is because the Torah is a method of correcting our nature and becoming similar to the Creator in our properties. The Creator becomes revealed within us to the extent of this similarity.

The purpose of all the “holy” books is to reveal the Creator to man. However, primary sources like the Five Books of Moses, Talmud, and Mishnah are narrated with an earthly, material language; they describe the Upper World through corporeal images. It is difficult for us to see spiritual actions in these narrations.

But the language of Kabbalistic books helps to avoid deviating from the direction towards correction and similarity to the Creator. This is because it speaks of correcting yourself through unity in order to reveal the Creator.

This is why the language of Kabbalah is most appropriate for the attainment of the goal for which the Torah has been given. It is written: “I created the evil inclination and the Torah because the Light in it reforms.” For us, the Torah is a method of correction; it is not a science, but the Light that Reforms.

It is written that one must bless the Torah before studying it, otherwise he will receive a curse instead of a blessing. This means that one needs to concentrate on correction. “To bless the Torah” means to thank the Creator for giving you the opportunity to correct yourself with the help of the Light that is hidden in it.

The Zohar describes our correcting the connection, that which was broken between us. This is why we must strive towards unity when studying it and wait for the Light, the force that corrects our connection. Only then, to the extent of our unity and the mutual guarantee, the Creator will become revealed between us.

So let us “bless the Torah”: Think about the creation of the collective Kli as we turn to The Zohar.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/10, The Zohar, “Introduction to The Zohar“

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “Hakdama, BeLaila De Kala (The Night of the Bride),” Item 133
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The Book of Zohar — Selections, Chapter “Tzav (Command),” Item 28
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Baal HaSulam, “Beit Shaar HaKavanot,” Lesson 45
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose,” Lesson 5
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