A question I received: Thousands of people will come together at the upcoming Zohar Convention 2010 How can we receive them so as to retain a connection with them after the Convention?

My Answer: We are not a cult. We don’t drag people into religion and we don’t chase after their souls. Our doors are always open whether a person is coming in or going out. Whoever comes in doesn’t owe us anything. If he wants to, he is welcome to come in, sit down, and study together with us. If he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t even need to say goodbye. If he goes out the door, nobody will ask whether he’s left for a minute or for good. Therefore, we’re not looking to attach anybody to us during the Convention or afterwards.

We want to continue our broadcasts on television and on the Internet, and to continue hosting conventions and gatherings such as this one, but we’re not luring anybody to us. Nobody owes us anything. A person can come, participate, and leave. He’ll decide to what extent he wants to be connected to the science of Kabbalah. It’s not even about us; it’s that all people must be connected together. First, all of Israel must unite as brothers, and then the whole world. That is our hope.

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The Zohar, Chapter “BeHaalotcha (When You Mount the Candles),” Item 4: “It is as a bridegroom coming out of his Huppah (wedding canopy).” The sun, Zeir Anpin, spreads to the west, Malchut. When the west approaches, the north side, Gevura, rises up against her first, approaches the west, and mates with her in her place. This is so because the beginning of Zivug Zeir Anpin is in the left, Gevura, which is reconciliation and obtaining permission, as it is written, “Let his left hand be under my head,” and then the south side, which is right, Hesed, as it is written, “And his right hand embraces me.” Then, “He rejoices as a strong man to run his course,” to illuminate the moon from the middle line, Yesod.

As we are reading this, we have to try to feel that we are together. We should understand that this is the only way that we can receive the revelation. We are trying to find these descriptions within ourselves regardless of whether we understand them or not. Understanding isn’t that important because the main thing is the intention.

Sometimes, The Zohar describes very vivid, impressive pictures, but one should be wary of being carried away by these descriptions. He shouldn’t perceive them as fictional literature while completely forgetting about the intention. On the contrary, when the text is completely confusing and unclear, he has no other choice but to think about the intention. Since he doesn’t understand anything, he recalls that the most important thing is the intention. He’s happy that this is what he has to work on because his mind can’t grasp what is written. He doesn’t even understand how to connect these words. Therefore, in any state, we first should try to discern our reality which is the one common desire.

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “BeHaalotcha (When You Mount the Candles),” Item 39
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“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 179, Lesson 70
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“Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 48, Lesson 22
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The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 158: When affliction enters the house, the spirit of impurity that was in the house appears, and they fight one another.

This whole war occurs inside a person.

At first it seems that the spirit of impurity that was covered has reappeared, and the affliction that was revealed has been covered. Afterwards, it appears that an affliction was revealed in the house and that the spirit of impurity has been covered. It is written about that, “Shall come and tell the priest,” for it is a word of wisdom.

In spirituality, we always advance toward a greater sensation. What seemed good to me yesterday seems bad to me today. This does not mean that I descend. Rather, going around in circles like this leads to my next state.

Yesterday I thought that I reached correction. However, a few minutes went by and the next stage arose with a new Light shining (called a “new day”). This makes me see that my previous state was not good, but bad. I no longer feel that it was the same good state that I had previously. In my eyes it has turned into a bad state since I begin to evaluate it from the point of view of greater bestowal.

A person might think that he is getting nowhere or even going backwards, but in actuality he is always moving forward. Yesterday he thought that he had risen, whereas today he feels that he descended. In reality, he did not descend. He is situated on the same ascent as yesterday, however, this is how he defines his state today and it becomes a springboard for the next ascent.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Ki Tissa (When You Take),” Item 81: …for a thing that requires disclosure, to be revealed later, needs a place for hiding and covering, first. First, it must be concealed from the eye, and then the craftsman lets his craft be shown. Thus, what needs covering later needs to be revealed first. This is so because “God has made them one opposite the other.” All that exists in the degrees of holiness has its opposite in the Sitra Achra (impurity).

Everything will be disclosed through its opposite; the advantage of the Light is revealed from within darkness. The Creator cannot disclose Himself to the creature until the creature reveals His opposite form and learns through that opposite form about what the direct form is.

We can perceive only darkness. We read black letters on a white background, meaning that we feel what is missing. What we reveal is not the Creator, but His absence. We are unable to reveal His properties. Our entire work amounts to revealing Him from His opposite side, as it was said to Moses: “You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

That is why a person who truly wants to attain the revelation has to go by faith above reason and acquire the power of bestowal, Bina. However, he is unable to reveal this force of bestowal, since he does not feel it. He can reveal it only under the condition that he feels a lack within him, within his darkness, his egoistic desire. This lack is a need for bestowal. We have to reveal it from the opposition, because we always come from the side of the darkness, from the side of egoism and see the opposite of everything. Upon revealing the spiritual world, we will say: “I saw a reverse world.” We don’t even realize how opposite to us spirituality is.

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, chapter “BeHaalotcha (When You Mount the Candles),” Item 13
Each particular contains within it the whole. It is our limited perception that divides a picture into many pieces, when in reality we are always looking at infinity.
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“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 176, Lesson 69
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“Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 44, Lesson 21
I nullify my ego in relation to the common desire to unite in order to reveal the Upper Force, the force of bestowal and mutual love.
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The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 86: “Who keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps his soul from troubles.” His soul, which used to speak, is now silent because of the evil words that she spoke. Then comes the serpent, for everything has reverted back to the beginning, as before he was rewarded with a soul. And when the evil speech rises by certain ways to being before the harsh serpent, several spirits awaken in the world, and an impure spirit descends from that side, of the serpent, and finds that the man evoked it with the evil speech. It finds that the holy speaking Ruach is removed from him, at which time the impure Ruach is upon him and defiles him, and then he is a leper.

Where do evil forces come from and what power do they have? They exist only if a person reveals them within himself and decides that they are evil. They are his own uncorrected properties or evil desires. However, if he wants to correct them, they become revealed for the purpose of correction and they aren’t considered transgressions. On the contrary, it is written, “One who comes to be corrected is aided.” That person receives help and doesn’t feel the burden.

However, the evil can also become revealed without a person’s participation, when he is least prepared for it. These are the evil forces he did not correct in the past and is not planning to correct now either. That is when the serpent and other frightening images appear, which are our evil inclination coming to destroy us.

These are all our uncorrected properties which don’t appear according to our desire to reveal and correct them, but in a natural way. They become revealed as evil and harmful forces that act against us.

The Zohar describes it as an outer, alien force which is opposite to holiness. However, it exists within the uncorrected desires of the person himself. Therefore, one shouldn’t think that some unexpected event takes place sent to us by the Creator, but that these events are unfolding only within us. We should always be ready to use any discovery for our correction. Then, it will be for our good.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 70: “…pangs of love are hidden from people.” Pangs of love is the state also known as “I am lovesick.” It means that I don’t need anything; I only want to give, to bestow. My only wish is to fulfill your desire.

This is an intermediate state where I very much want to give but I am unable. Since I haven’t yet acquired a screen, I am unable to receive the Light in order to fulfill your desire. Love is a state where I feel the desire of the other more than my own.

The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 72: It is written, “Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden,” which means that open rebuke is better. And if the rebuke is out of love, it is hidden from people. Similarly, one who rebukes one’s friend with love must hide his words from people so his friend will not be shamed by them. And if his words are open before people, they are not with love.”

In our world we naturally desire to hide our relationships and the love between us because love requires discretion. We want to protect it from everything that might potentially hurt it. But what does it mean “to be ashamed” or “to reveal love in front of others” in spirituality? Who are those others? They are my desires.

If I attain connection with the Creator in one desire, then the other desires in which I cannot connect with Him are called “the others.” Therefore, I need to pay attention to them so that they don’t hurt my love, as well as keep in mind that everything is happening internally.

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“I heard from my teacher that The Book of Zohar has a new interpretation every day” (Degel Machane Efraim). This means that while a person changes every day, the book remains the same.

The Book of Zohar is the system of the spiritual worlds. It is a global system of governance encompassing all 125 degrees of the soul’s ascent from our world to the World of Infinity. Not only does The Zohar provide an explanation of this system, it brings us the Light capable of raising us along the entire spiritual ladder from beginning to end. We only need to strive to come to the demands of this system while reading this book.

Therefore, if we bring ourselves into correspondence with the system governing us, we will receive the Reforming Light that it is filled with. This constitutes our work. Thus, while reading The Zohar we should aspire to unite into one desire and await the Light that corrects us.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 20: When the soul descends to the entrance to this world, she first descends to the Garden of Eden of the earth, and sees the glory of the spirits of righteous standing column by column. Afterwards, she goes to hell and sees the wicked crying “Alas! Alas!” and no one pities them. She is given testimony of everything: the wicked testify how they are punished for each sin, and the righteous testify to the good reward that they receive for each Mitzva [good deed, commandment]. And that holy image stands over her until she leaves toward this world.

The Zohar always speaks about one soul, one man. Whether it speaks of the Garden of Eden and hell, or the righteous and the wicked – all of them are included in one man.

When we enter the system of our soul, we become submerged in our inner reality and in examining all of the possibilities there. This is what is meant by travel between the Garden of Eden and hell, and to observe what is happening there. In other words we create a map containing the route of our spiritual advancement.

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