If you want to feel the spiritual state a little, you can imagine that you are drowning in a sea of Light and that you are left without oxygen, like a fish swimming in the water. The Upper Light wraps me on all sides and immediately responds automatically to my every move. I barely lift a “hand’ or “foot,” i.e., the slightest movement in my heart, and I immediately summon the response of the Upper Light.

This is how I should live all the time, from morning till night, from the night until the morning, and feel that I am in a sea of the Upper Light that fills all of reality. This is the only force, “There is none else besides Him.” He is good and benevolent and responds to every move I make in order to bring me to the goal in the best possible way.

I am in this Light in any movement of my desires: in the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking, and so I immediately summon a response from the Light, I have to take this into account.
[128426]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/21/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts  

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”   

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

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Preparation for the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”  

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

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Question: What does it mean that the Masach (screen) broke? How can that be?

Answer: All states refer only to a person. Reality exists only with regard to the person who apprehend it.

Suppose that I were in a state of holiness now, in the intention of “in order to bestow,” and that I have arranged all my intentions, desires, and everything that is revealed in me according to the restriction, Masach, and the Returning Light. Suddenly, I have new, thicker desires, which are greater and stronger, so the old state seems to be destroyed and the new, greater desires dominate me, and I feel that I am in a ruined world.

This is another question: Is it destroyed? Because the moment it actually undergoes a change, I don’t think that it is destroyed. I think that I follow the Klipa (shell) and that I will enjoy it, and that I must incorporate in the shell, to feel it, to be in contact with it, and to be connected to it.

It says that the contact with the Klipa should only be momentary. This depends on my preparation, but I must feel it. So, the moment I feel that my life is good and that the desire to receive delights me and that everything is fine, it is because I actually am being thrown into the depths of the Klipa, and, what is more, I don’t even realize that it is a Klipa. I discern that it is something good.

Then, if I continue, if I have mutual guarantee, the forces of the group operate on me and I come out of the domination of the Klipa. If I don’t, I cannot come out.

This means that, every time a new desire appears, the old state is destroyed.

Thus, I ascend the levels, and in every state I attain a state of holiness and build the temple out of my vessel. Then, it is destroyed, and I begin to build another temple, and then another and another. We go through such states, and eventually, we attain what is called the Temple of Holiness and, in contrast to it, the shattering and the destruction that we go through in the process of preparation. It is impossible to reveal the Creator, wholeness, and to attain the thought of creation without going through these states.
[127841]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/20/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts  

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”   

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

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“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” “The Donkey Driver,” Item 87: The donkey driver is the impregnation of the soul of a righteous that comes to assist those who walk on the path of the Creator, to exit his degree and arrive at a more important degree, like those donkey drivers who take people from place to place on their donkeys. At that time, the righteous, too, falls from his previous degree and comes to an impregnation of a new degree, like the soul that comes to assist him. Impregnation means departure of the Mochin.

You should know that this applies to any new degree, since as long as one needs to receive a new degree, he must arrive at the departure of the previous Mochin. And as he previously never had any degree to begin the acquiring of the soul anew, which is called Ibur, then Yenika, which is the Light of Ruach, she therefore said that because of that, “My son, go and drive the donkeys.” Because it is impossible to extend anything from the previous degree, you must start the Ibur anew, and this is called “donkey driving.”

We shouldn’t be scared that we start the work anew each time from the same place that we were seemingly before and repeat it over and over again. If a person is given a state of descent, it’s actually a sign of advancement! This means that he isn’t simply thrown into the corporeal life but is also given the feeling that he has descended. This means that he has completed the previous level and is now starting a new level that he lacks for the completion of his vessel.
[127602]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/16/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “The Donkey Driver,” Item 105

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Item 7

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 60  

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The greatest and most important Mitzva for building a person is love, as it is said in the Torah (Leviticus 19:18): “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and “from love of the creatures to love of the Creator.” But this is the second Mitzva; not because it is less important, but in order, it comes after the Mitzva of fear. You see we build love on top of our ego, over our nature. Therefore, first of all, we must build fear within us toward the characteristic of love and bestowal. And only after this can we build the characteristic of love within us.

From “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 202: Rabbi Shimon took him and kissed him. This is to say he created a spiritual connection with him called a “kiss,” one of the three levels of connection: “embrace,” “kiss,” “Zivug.” Rabbi Pinchas came and blessed and kissed him. “Blessing” is an additional level of connection. And he said, “It must be that the Creator has sent me here. This is the fine Light that I was told was integrated in my house, and which afterwards will illuminate the entire world.” Rabbi Elazar replied, “Certainly, this fear must not be forgotten in all the Mitzvot, much less in the Mitzva of love—fear should be attached to it. And how is it attached? Love is good on one side, when He gives him wealth and bounty, long life, sons, and nourishments and then fear should be evoked—to fear lest he will cause the sin and his fortune would turn on him. It is written about that, ‘Happy is he who is always fearful,’ for fear is included in love.”

There cannot be love without fear. Fear is imperative, for based specifically upon fear, exactly to that degree, love can be maintained. Fear is the foundation of love.

The question is must I entirely finish with the level of fear to be able to go on to love? Or can I get a little fear and build love above it that will require me to develop a new fear above it? Do the states of fear and love alternate one after the other on the levels of the 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, with fear and love consecutively alternating? Or is it that only fear is felt first and only after that love begins?

Sometimes it happens this way and sometimes the other way. We reach the level of Bina and after that the level of Hochma and along with this we build our relationship to the level of Keter. After we build the level of Bina, we build the level of “love,” Hochma. We must also develop Hassadim to pass from simple faith to complete faith. “Complete faith” means that Ohr Hochma is clothed within Ohr Hassadim. So existence on the level of Hassadim can be like the life of “a person living in the forest.” He doesn’t have a shirt, but he is happy with his lot because he has Hassadim, complete Hassadim. But he doesn’t have love, a connection with what is higher. He has only risen above his desire, but he still cannot reach connection with the Divine.

After this he builds a link with the Creator, from the middle of the level of Bina and above. But for this, within himself he must develop Ohr Hassadim within which can be clothed Ohr Hochma.
[127275]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/11/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Preparation to the Lesson

Workshop

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “The Donkey Driver,” Item 102

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 9, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Item 6

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 58  

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Question: How do we establish the state of the embryo and the womb it needs by the connection between us?

Answer: It is a new phase in our development that has begun as a result of our progress. The stronger the connection between us, the more that can be revealed to you. After all, what I reveal to you is only for the sake of our future work.

We see that the world is made of two forces, two halves: the internal part, which is me, and the external part, which is the group. Then the group becomes the internal part and the whole world becomes the external part. These waves spread and draw further and further away from the center. Thus you can establish more and more advanced forms of the spiritual embryo and the spiritual womb each time.

First I was an embryo and the group was my womb. Then I and the group connect into one whole and become the embryo while everything that is around us becomes a womb, which is the greater group, which is all of humanity.

The terms internal and external constantly expand. First I was considered the internal part and the group was the external part, then both the group and I became the internal part and all of humanity became the external part. It’s like levels that fold into one another. The whole world is divided into two parts: an internal part and an external part. The internal part is called Israel and the external part is called the nations of the world.

We have to constantly think about how to establish these concepts. We have to even establish the concept of humanity since now it has no form. If we reach a state in which we become a group, we become an embryo with regard to humanity that is supposed to be our womb, and we start to work with it.

The spiritual embryo builds the womb by itself! After all, we ascend from the bottom up and establish the upper level by ourselves. Therefore, the Creator is called Bore, is called “come and see” (Bo-Re). We have to establish both the form of humanity and the Creator by our work from the bottom up.

We must constantly keep this picture of the world. It has to become our constant perception of reality, the image of life, our philosophy, the glasses through which we see the world. When I am in the group, I perceive myself with regard to the group. However, when I go out to disseminate, I perceive myself together with the group with regard to all of humanity.
[127414]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2.13.14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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